PARLOR AMUSEMENTS.
4066. Riddles.—It may be asked, What is a riddle? Ah! what is it? That's just the rub! Well, then, it is a queer affair, without shape, size, humanity, compassion, breath, or sex. It is caressed, abused, courted, slighted, jostled, hustled, and, notwithstanding all that is said against it, universally looked upon as a welcome guest when it is not in a dull mood.
4067. The oldest riddle on record is that put forth by Samson (Judges xiv.)—"Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." His solution is well known, as it is explained in the same chapter.
4068. M. Voltaire's Riddle.—What is the longest, and yet the shortest thing in the world; the swiftest and the most slow; the most divisible and the most extended; the least valued, and the most regretted; without which nothing can be done; which devours every thing, however small, and yet gives life and spirit to all things however great? Answer—Time.
4069. Enigmas may be founded upon simple catches, like conundrums, in which form they are usually called Riddles, such as—
"Though you set me on foot,
I shall be on my head."
4070. The answer is, A nail in a shoe.