’Twas in ........ that we saw him play
Like a ........ in his sports, and they
Amuse us as a good ........ may.
Each missing word has the same eight letters.
No. XXXIV.—GUARINI’S PROBLEM
The following curiosity, which is known as Guarini’s Problem, dates back to the year 1512. On a board of 9 squares two white Knights are placed in the top corners, and two black Knights in the bottom corners, thus:—
The problem is to interchange, in as few moves as possible, the positions of the white and black knights.
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We call particular attention to the construction of this very curious couplet, in which the spaces are filled by the same seven letters. In every case four of the letters of the missing words or phrases are the same, and keep the same order, and in all but the first the order of the letters is unchanged throughout, though the meaning always alters, as it does in that most perfect old Latin motto, “Persevera, per severa, per se vera,” “persevere through trials, true to thyself.”