“Now let me ask you, what name is given to a line which joins any two opposite angles of a four-sided figure?”
“The diagonal, papa.”
“You are quite right,” said Mr. Seymour; and, turning towards the girls, he desired them to remember that term, as they would frequently hear it mentioned during their investigation into the nature of “Compound Forces.” “I really think,” continued their father, “that Tom is as capable of instructing you in these elementary principles as myself; I shall, therefore, desire you, my dear boy, to conclude this lecture during my absence; remember, that by teaching others we always instruct ourselves: but before I quit you, I will give you a riddle to solve, for I well know that you all delight in an enigma.”
“Indeed do we,” said Louisa.
“Pray let us hear it, papa,” cried Fanny.
Mr. Seymour then recited the following lines, which he had hastily composed; the point having, no doubt, been suggested on the instant, by the remark he had just offered.
“Here’s a riddle for those who delight in their gold,
Which they p’rhaps may explain, when my story is told;
No treasure’s so precious, and yet those who gain me,
Though they give me away, will always retain me!