[Solution]

No. VI.—SOLVITUR AMBULANDO

On this chequered floor, paved with slabs each a foot square, the palindrome word ROTATOR can be traced in various ways.

ROTATOROTATOR
OROTATOTATORO
TOROTATATOROT
ATOROTATOROTA
TATOROTOROTAT
OTATOROROTATO
ROTATOROTATOR
OTATOROROTATO
TATOROTOROTAT
ATOROTATOROTA
TOROTATATOROT
OROTATOTATORO
ROTATOROTATOR

If a man walks over it, taking one slab at every step, and never lengthening his strides, how many steps will he take in tracing every possible variation of the word, and how many such variations are there?

[Solution]

No. VII.—A CURIOUS CHRONOGRAPH

A bachelor clergyman, whose initials were I.E.V., had built a fernery with the profits of his tracts on the deceased wife’s sister question. He dated it on a mural tablet thus:—

My LateVVIfe’ssIsterbVILtthIs VVaLL;
bVT I In trVth
neVer VVeD any VVIfe at aLL,
nor VVont forsooth,
saIth I. e. V.

If the Roman numerals are extracted from this inscription, and added together, they amount to 1884, the desired date.