"Speaking of odd figures," said a gentleman who occupies some post in a
Government office, "one of the queerest characters I know is an old lame
widow who climbs up a hill every week to draw her pension at the village
post office. She crawls up at the rate of a mile and a half an hour and
comes down at the rate of four and a half miles an hour, so that it
takes her just six hours to make the double journey. Can any of you tell
me how far it is from the bottom of the hill to the top?"

[Illustration]


71.--SIR EDWYN DE TUDOR.

In the illustration we have a sketch of Sir Edwyn de Tudor going to
rescue his lady-love, the fair Isabella, who was held a captive by a
neighbouring wicked baron. Sir Edwyn calculated that if he rode fifteen
miles an hour he would arrive at the castle an hour too soon, while if
he rode ten miles an hour he would get there just an hour too late. Now,
it was of the first importance that he should arrive at the exact time
appointed, in order that the rescue that he had planned should be a
success, and the time of the tryst was five o'clock, when the captive
lady would be taking her afternoon tea. The puzzle is to discover
exactly how far Sir Edwyn de Tudor had to ride.


72.--THE HYDROPLANE QUESTION.

The inhabitants of Slocomb-on-Sea were greatly excited over the visit of
a certain flying man. All the town turned out to see the flight of the