EXAMINERS' REPORT.
The insatiability of an editor who is clamouring daily for our words of wisdom compels us to be very brief. This is all the more to be regretted because with such a subject to handle we could have risen to great literary heights. But to work!
The title was not "Another aught," the reason being that aught is not synonymous with naught. The difference between the two is considerable, "aught" signifying anything, "naught" nothing. The importance of this pleasing fact is often overlooked, especially by schoolchildren, who frequently speak of a cipher as "an aught," or, as they in their childish wisdom spell it "ought."
In many solutions the final letter of "onwards" was omitted. Doubtless, "onward" is grammatically just as good, but as the "s" was in the puzzle it was a pity not to transfer it to the solution.
The beginning of the third line seems to have caused trouble. Those who failed to find the true solution generally gave "On our three figures," or "On our first numbers." Both readings are good interpretations of the text, but the first is meaningless and the second is incorrect. With "On all our numbers "—adopted by a few solvers—we have little fault to find.
Many competitors kindly pointed out that the minus sign in line 6 ought to have been the sign of division. Let us examine their contention closely. Two weeks divided by two yields one week and the beginning of the line would run "A thousand one week." Two weeks minus two yields weeks, clearly, and we need pursue the instruction no further. Some of the readings at this point were remarkable, e.g., "A thousand days"; "Twelve thousand days": "A thousand years," and "A million weeks."
We have always been accustomed to regard The Girl's Own Paper with much veneration, but the idea of its having first seen the light something like fourteen thousand years before Adam is somewhat startling.
In the next line, "G. O. P." often took the place of "magazine." Our dislike of such irritating abbreviations did not prevent us from doing justice to the reading which is rhythmically correct.
The number of solvers who wrote "barque" for "bark" was amazing. The latter was in the puzzle and signifies any small vessel. The former was not in the puzzle and defines a vessel of a particular rig. And there is really no need for more.
[IN THE TWILIGHT SIDE BY SIDE.]
By RUTH LAMB.