Solitaire

sol-i-tar', a name given to any game that may be played by one person. In reality, a game of solitaire is in the form of a puzzle. A number of card games go by the name. A favorite game of solitaire is played with a board furnished with holes and pegs arranged as shown in the accompanying diagram, a slight modification of the fox and goose board. The central hole is left vacant. Pegs are placed in all the holes but the one in the center. Any peg may be removed from the board by causing a peg behind it to leap over into a vacant hole in front. The movements may be up or down, or crosswise, but not diagonally. The game consists in removing all the pegs from the board but one. The last peg must occupy the central hole. See Games

Solomon (1033-977 B. C.), a king of Israel. He was the son of David and Bathsheba. His father preferred him to his elder brothers and appointed him to rule in his stead. The kingdom of Israel reached its greatest pitch of glory during the rule of Solomon. After the fashion of the kings of Babylonia and Assyria, he subdued surrounding nations and levied tribute. With the wealth thus acquired, he upbuilt and adorned the city of Jerusalem. Under the influence of wealth the Hebrew forms of worship took on a degree of display and magnificence previously unknown. He built the temple at Jerusalem and fortified the city. In many cases Solomon imitated the voluptuousness of foreign courts. He maintained a large harem and many foreign wives through whom idolatrous forms of worship crept into the Holy City. At his death, the kingdom was divided. The Old Testament books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon are attributed to him, but critics regard his claim to authorship as very doubtful. Certainly, a large part of the book of Proverbs was written by others. See Jerusalem; Jews; David; Absalom; Tyre; Cedar; Temple