No. LIV.—HIT IT HARD!
Place a strip of thin board, or a long wide flat ruler, on the edge of a table, so that it just balances itself, and spread over it an ordinary newspaper, as is shown in the illustration.
You may now hit it quite hard with your doubled fist, or with a stick, and the newspaper will hold it down, and remain as firmly in its place as if it were glued to the table over it. You are more likely to break the stick with which you strike than to displace the strip of wood or the paper. Try the experiment.
50
AN ENIGMA BY SWIFT
We are little airy creatures
All of different voice and features.
One of us in glass is set,
One of us is found in jet.
Another you may see in tin,
And the fourth a box within.
If the others you pursue
They can never fly from you.
No. LV.—THE BRIDGE OF KNIVES
Here is an after-dinner balancing trick, which it is well to practise with something less brittle than the best glass:—
