I have discovered a new way to browse Trove (the National Library of Australia's Online Archive). Rather than search for a particular phrase it is possible to search by category. I chose to search for 'puzzles', which is one of the 21 categories available and then by date (earliest first). The second entry I found was a set of riddles for palindromes (words that read the same forwards or backwards) on page 3 of the The Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal of Saturday May 18, 1844.
I could not find a solutions list in the paper nor was I able to solve all the riddles, so thought it may be a fun task for the blog. I will publish our best guesses at the bottom of the list, if you have possible solutions for the others, or better solutions than the ones suggested please let me know. I will update the solutions as they arrive.
UPDATE (9 Dec 2021) The list was republished in The Hobart Town Advertiser of 1849, which then published a list of answers two weeks later. They added on more riddle to the end, which I have included also. It is a palindromic place name ... a list of other palindromic place names can be found in Wikipedia. Must admit some of the answers don't seem right. Perhaps there is word mean shift since 1849.
TWENTY-ONE RIDDLES.
1. Dean Swift often speaks of a queen, whose name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
2. Call a kitchen maid by it, and still the same name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
3 A prophet of old had a mother, whose name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
4. And of female recluses we know that the name,
Read backward and forward, is always the same.
5. When you speak to a lady, you’ll find that the name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
6. When a child, you were dressed in a thing, whose name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
7. Then, too, you were fed with something, whose name.
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
8. You may travel abroad in a carriage whose name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
9. You may pass o'er a flat piece of ground, whose name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
10. Where the lamb trots about, by a creature, whose name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
11. You may go out and walk at an hour, whose name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
12. Or you may ride at a subsequent hour, whose name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
13. If you fire off a gun, you'll hear something, whose name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
14. And your dog may hunt well, though no longer his name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
15. Your bird, too, may sicken at something, whose name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
16. You may quaff strong drink, made of wheat, whose name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
17. Or stare at a giant, whose dwarfish name,
Read backward or forward is always the same.
18. But this you can't do, without a thing, whose name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
19. If you write in defence of sound doctrine, its name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
20. Do but take a sly look, and of this, too, the name,
Read backward or forward, is always the same.
21. Nay, whatever is done, believe me, its name,
Read backward and forward, is always the same.
22. A town in Ireland, of which the name.
Read backward and forward, is always the same.
Spoiler alert - Solutions.
Bold and italic indicate the published answers. Non-bolded, non-italicised answers are from the hive mind. Thank you to those who contributed.
1. ANNA
2. NAN
3. HANNAH - mother of the Old Testament prophet Samuel.
4. NUN
5. MADAM or MA'AM.
6. BIB
7. BOOB :-) or PAP - a bland soft food or semi-liquid often fed to babies.
8. GIG - A small two wheeled carriage.
9. LEVEL
10. EWE
11. NOON
12. EVE
13. POP ... PIP
14. PUP
15. POP
16. POP
17. GAG
18. EYE
19. TENET - a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true
20. PEEP
21. DEED or DID
22. NAVAN
PS: Discovered two other, and earlier, publishing dates for this article, full references below.
Sources:
TWENTY-ONE RIDDLES. (1843, November 14). Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857), p. 4. Retrieved July 31, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8754214
TWENTY-ONE RIDDLES. (1843, December 30). Morning Chronicle (Sydney, NSW : 1843 - 1846), p. 4. Retrieved July 31, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31741823
TWENTY-ONE RIDDLES. (1844, May 18). The Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal (WA : 1833 - 1847), p. 3. Retrieved July 31, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article645078
TWENTY-TWO RIDDLES, THE ANSWERS BEING TWENTY-TWO PALIN DROMIC WORDS. (1849, February 27). The Hobart Town Advertiser (Tas. : 1839 - 1861), p. 4. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article264603122
LOCAL. (1849, March 13). The Hobart Town Advertiser (Tas. : 1839 - 1861), p. 3. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article264603258
