THE FORTUNATE NINTH.
A sharp youth, fresh from school, having gone to visit a good-natured uncle, the latter placed on a table fifteen fine oranges and fifteen apples, and desired his young friend to take half. He, not liking the apples, was about to take the fifteen oranges; but this monopoly of the best fruit being objected to, the old gentleman told him to range all the fruit in a circle, and to take every ninth. The clever fellow ranged them in such a way as that, by taking away every ninth, all the apples were left on the table, and all the oranges were transferred to his capacious pockets. How did he arrange them?
He placed them as in the margin, A representing apples, and O oranges; and it will be found that, by commencing at the four apples, and going round and round the circle, taking away every ninth, all the oranges will be removed, and all the apples will remain.
| If we let the vowels | a | e | i | o | u |
| denote the figures | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5, |
the arrangement of the figures 4, 5, 2, 1, &c., can be easily recollected by the following line:
| Our | earth's | final | fate— | enigma | ever | dark |
| 45 | 21 | 3 1 | 1 2 | 2 3 1 | 2 2 | 1 |
or,
| Our | dear | Richard's | tale | begins | at | the | sea. |
| 45 | 21 | 3 1 | 1 2 | 2 3 | 1 | 2 | 21 |