PUZZLING TIMES AT SOLVAMHALL CASTLE
40.—
Lady Isabel's Casket,
Sir Hugh's young kinswoman and ward, Lady Isabel de
Fitzarnulph, was known far and wide as " Isabel the Fair."
Amongst her treasures was a casket, the top of which was perfectly
square in shape. It was inlaid with pieces of wood and a strip of
gold, ten inches long by a quarter of an inch wide.
When young men sued for the hand of Lady Isabel, Sir Hugh
promised his consent to the one who would tell him the dimensions
of the top of the box from these facts alone : that there was a
rectangular strip of gold, ten inches by 3:-inch ; and the rest of the
surface was exactly inlaid with pieces of wood, each piece being a
perfect square, and no two pieces of the same size. Many young
men failed, but one at length succeeded. The puzzle is not an easy
one, but the dimensions of that strip of gold, combined with those
other conditions, absolutely determines the size of the top of the
casket.
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