HIDDEN WORDS.
This puzzle is very similar in principle to many of the other word puzzles previously described; but in that it has peculiarities and merits of its own, we give it a place by itself. It is like in many respects to the old-fashioned word puzzle known as "Discoveries," indeed, "Hidden Words" is a modification of and an improvement upon "Discoveries." In the older and now almost obsolete puzzle, it was the practice for the riddler to propound some sentence in which certain words might be made by piecing together here and there certain letters or combinations of letters formed in the sentence, and which letters, when duly pieced together, would give the designation of some person or persons, place or places, or other object. The following is an illustration of the puzzle in question, and for the better information of the reader the letters to be discovered have been printed in italics; in the actual puzzle, however, it is to be understood that the letters to be discovered are not to be marked in any manner different from the remainder of the text.
Example: Find the name of a great warrior, and a battle he fought, in the following sentence:—
You are looking quite well since you came from Brighton; no doubt the fresh air and sea water were very beneficial to you.
Answer: Wellington, Waterloo.
In the modification of this puzzle, which we here treat under the title of "Hidden Words," the practice is to so construct the sentence from which the hidden word is to be picked out, that all the letters forming the word shall be found consecutively and in their proper order. Greater care has, consequently, to be exercised by the proposer of the riddle, while, at the same time, the difficulty of guessing the answer remains sufficient to make the task worth attempting. The few illustrations following will be useful as examples of the nature of the puzzle. The letters out of which the hidden word is composed are printed in italics, to make the object of the puzzle clear to all:—
I at once rowed over to the opposite side of the river.
The hidden word is the name of a seaport town in England, a fashionable sea-side resort, and a military depôt.
Answer: Dover.
Fear nothing from me, I have no wish to harm you.
Hidden word is the name of a river in Italy.
Answer: Arno.
Hush, Ann, only you need go.
The name of one of the largest and most historically celebrated rivers in the British Isles.
Answer: Shannon.
Is it ham, especially cooked for me?
Another large and famous British river.
Answer: Thames.
I thought it was capital, your rendering of the character of Iago.
The name of a country of Europe.
Answer: Italy.
Will I amuse the remaining guests?
A Christian name.
Answer: William.
In the construction of a riddle, acrostic, word-puzzle, or enigma; caul, aygreen, and words like these, and which are but rarely employed, are useful for mystification.
The name of a celebrated essayist and historian.
Answer: Macaulay.
The puzzle of "Hidden Words" is sometimes described under the names of "Hidden Cities," "Hidden Rivers," "Hidden Poets," "Hidden Countries, Battles, Events," and the like.