3. What was the essence of the wager between Sefton Hamilton and Richard Barker, and why didn’t Barker tell Hamilton the truth in the end?

Freddy Barker was the president of the Wine Society; he was a great expert in his field and knew everything about wines. Sefton Hamilton, a very wealthy, but quite ignorant man, wanted to check his knowledge, because he didn`t believe Freddy, and suggested that Barker should guess four wines from his cellar to prove that he was a true expert. If Freddy guessed the name of some wine, he would receive 500 pounds, otherwise, he would have to give Sefton 50 pounds for each bottle. Moreover, he would have to call himself a coward and a humbug.

Barker decided not to tell Sefton that he was being cheated by his own butler, and switched wines to sell them. Perhaps Freddie didn't want to spoil the butler's life and deprive him of a good job, but it is more likely that it was a kind of revenge on Hamilton. Thus, excellent wines would not stop disappearing from his precious supply, and he would drink cheap wines instead of expensive and refined ones. Though, to be honest, it is unlikely he would have noticed.

4. What kind of deals did the Roberts and the Kendall-Humes get at Osman’s and what made these deals possible?

The Roberts and the Kendall-Humes wanted to buy a carpet. However, they did it in different ways. Before going to a foreign country, they studied a lot of information about the culture of this country, about its traditions, and how to choose a really good carpet. The Roberts were polite people. When the owner of one of the shops in Turkey offered coffee to Margaret, she did not refuse, because she knew that it was a tradition that would not be politely refused. The Roberts could appreciate works of art, the owner of the stop noticed it and sold them a carpet for a very low price. And they were surprised to learn that the real price of their carpet was higher. At this time, the Kendall-Humes were trying to choose the right carpet and bargain to the right price. They did it very tactlessly and harshly. The Kendall-Humes were rude and ignorant and they just had a lot of money. They wanted to buy a large, colorful and rather expensive carpet because they thought these were the criteria for a good carpet. As a result, they were sold a cheap carpet for a very high price. The Kendall-Humes were more typical kind of clints for Osman's than the Roberts. Osman was really happy to assist the Robertsons in choosing the right carpet. He immediately realized that these people could figure out the origin of real Turkish carpets, and he was ready to help them to choose the most beautiful one at a good price.

5. Comment on the title of the story “The Wisdom of Solomon”

Firstly, I`d like to tell you a little bit about Solomon himself in order to fully explain the meaning of the story. The Judgement of Solomon is a story from the Bible in which Solomon ruled between two women who both claimed to be the mother of a child. Solomon ordered the baby be cut in half, with each woman to receive one half. The first woman accepted the compromise as fair, but the second begged Solomon to give the baby to her rival, preferring the baby to live. Solomon ordered the baby given to the second woman, as her love was selfless.

Speaking about the story itself, there we meet Bob Radford who falls in love with Fiona, a stunning blonde, that has been divorced three times already. It is soon discovered that Bob's aunt has died, leaving him a sizable inheritance. Fiona wants to obtain Bob's entire inheritance so she divorces him. Fiona lies to the judge by pretending to be a victim in court. However, Judge Mrs Butler recognises Fiona's true intentions; she notices Bob's depression and lack of concern, so she pretends to be on Fiona's terms and offers to make a list of what she wants to get. The judge sees a long list of what Fiona should get at the final hearing. These lists are agreed upon by both parties, but the judge suggests that Bob choose which one is his.

As we see, both Solomon and Mrs Butler provoked people to see their true emotions, aims and thoughts. It can be very hard to find out the truth, especially for a judge, when there are almost no signs of truth or lie, except human feelings. I think that the Judge knew that methods like these could be very effective.