In announcing a Problem, the Scorer may bar any word, that he likes to name, from being used as a Link. After receiving the `First-Chains', he must publish a list of the Links which he regards as violating Rule 2, and of the Syzygies which he regards as violating, owing to the occurrence of prefixes or suffixes, Rule 3 or Rule 4, and he must then allow time for sending in `Second-Chains'. He may not, when scoring, reject any `First-Chain' for a defect which ought to have been, but was not, published in the above-named list.

I have tried to embody some useful hints on this subject in the form of a soliloquy, supposed to be indulged in by the possessor of what Tennyson would call `a second-rate sensitive mind', while solving the problem `Turn CAMEL into DROMEDARY'.

`No use trying the whole Camel. Let's try four letters. "Came". That must be something ending in "cament", I fancy. That gives "predicament", and "medicament": I can't think of any others: and either of these would lead to "mental" or "mention". Then "amel". That gives "tamely" and "lamely". "Samely" is hardly an "ordinary" word: and I'm afraid "gamely" is slang! Well, we've got four Links, at any rate. Let's put them down:--

`NOW FOR DROMEDARY. No 5-letter Syzygy, that I can see. Let's try the 4's. "Drom". There's "loxodrome", but that's quite a specialist's word. And there's "palindrome"--no, that won't do: "palin" is a prefix. "Rome". That gives "chrome", which is not very hopeful to go on with. "Omed". That'll give us all the participles ending in "-omed": "domed", "doomed", "groomed": not very suggestive: however, there's "comedy": that sounds hopeful. "Meda". Well, there's "medal", and "medalist", and--and--that's all, I think: but "medalist" leads to "listen", or "listless". "Edar". That leads to "cedar", and words beginning with "re", such as "re-darn this stocking"--no I'm afraid that would have a hyphen! However, "cedar", leads to "dared", or any participle ending in "-ced". "Dary". There's "daring": that might lead to something such as "fringe", or "syringe". Well, let's tabulate again:--

`Now, can we link any of these ragged ends together? "Predicament". That'll link on to "dared", though it's only a 3-letter Syzygy. That gives the Chain "Camel (came) predicament (red) dared (dar) cedar (edar) dromedary". But there's something wrong there! "Edar" contains "dar". We must write it "Camel (came) predicament (red) dared (dar) dromedary". That'll score 17. Let's try another Chain. "Predicament" and "cedar" can be linked by putting in "enticed". How will that work? "Camel (came) predicament (ent) enticed (ced) cedar (edar) dromedary". That scores only 16! Try again. "Medicament". Why that links straight on to "comedy", with a 4-letter. Syzygy! That's the best chance we've had yet. "Camel (came) medicament (medi) comedy (omed) dromedary". And what does that score, I wonder? Why it actually scores 31! Bravo!'

If any of my readers should fail, in attempting a similar soliloquy, let her say to herself, `It is not that my mind is not sensitive: it is that it is not second-rate!' Then she will feel consoled!

The gentle reader (N.B. All readers are `gentle': an un-gentle reader is a lusus naturae never yet met with) may like to amuse herself by attempting (without referring to 6) some of the following Problems, solutions of which have been published in the Lady. The appended scores are the highest hitherto attained.