You come upon an artisan busily applying hammer and chisel to a statue of a matronly woman.
“Who’s the statue of?” you ask.
“Don’t know entirely,” answers the Sculptor, pointing to the inscription at the statue’s base:
“But what’s it mean?” you say perplexedly.
The Sculptor shakes his head. “It means a tragedy. Three couples were killed last week by an earthquake while celebrating the Queen’s birthday. Perhaps it was fitting they died together, as they were more than just friends—in fact, three brother-sister pairs married amongst themselves. Not incestuously, of course. Mrs. Brown was particularly well-loved in the community, and I’ve been asked to do this statue for her tomb … but no one remembers her first name.”
“No one?”
“Nope. I’ve asked around about the couples, but all I came up with were the following facts:”
- Helen was exactly 26 weeks older than her husband, who was born in August.
- Mr. White’s sister was married to Helen’s brother’s brother-in-law. She (Mr. White’s sister) married him on her birthday, which was in January.
- Marguerite White was shorter than William Black.
- Arthur’s sister was prettier than Beatrice.
- John was 58 years old when he died.
“I’m stuck until I can chisel in Mrs. Brown’s first name,” he laments. “I’d offer anyone two obols for the information.”
Tell him Mrs. Brown’s given name by submitting a solution…
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