Harper's Catalogue,
Reading edition
Thoroughly revised, classified, and indexed, will be sent by mail to any address on receipt of ten cents.
A Great American Bell.
To Cincinnati belongs the honor of casting one of the largest of the world's bells. Its weight is about fifteen tons; diameter of rim, nine feet; circumference, nearly thirty feet; diameter of crown, five feet; height, seven feet. Six hundred and forty pounds is the weight of the clapper, and fifteen feet the diameter of the bell's wheel. The bell will be swung on a yoke, to which five silver plates will be attached bearing the history of the bell, together with that of the persons whose medallions adorn it. Among the latter is Joseph O. Buddeke, who bequeathed the sum of $10,000, two-thirds of the cost of this giant bell.
Four designs ornament the bell's outer surface. They are in low Gothic relief. The low Gothic was used because high-relief ornaments are more apt to be broken in the casting, thus marring the tone of a bell. Immediately above the thickest portion of the bell is the Lord's prayer in Latin, inscribed in Gothic characters over half a foot in height. Around the crown are placed the phrases:
"Laudo Deum verum, plebem voco, congrego clerum, Funera prango, fungere frango, sublata pango."
Of these, the latter phrase was the inscription commonly placed on church bells during the Middle Ages. It was usually accompanied by the phrase:
"Excito lentos, dissipo ventos, paco cruentos."
Originally, as will be borne out by their translation, these quaint expressions arose from the belief in the charm of a church bell's sound. Note the different occasions on which bells were, and are to some extent to-day, pealed—at sun down, at bed-time, at a wedding, and at funerals. Of the designs on the bell one is civic, the other ecclesiastical. Above the civic design an American eagle is perched. Below the eagle are the seals of the United States, of Ohio, and of Cincinnati. Around this design are grouped medallions of the donor of the bell and those of the members of his family. Two flags are draped on either side.
On the other side of the bell is the ecclesiastical design. Its parts are arranged similarly to those of the civic design. In place of the eagle there is the Pope's tiara. Under it in order are the medallion of Leo XIII., his seal, and the medallion of Archbishop Elder, the head of the diocese of Cincinnati. The Elder medallion, occupying the central position of this design, is flanked on either side by medallions of Bishop Purcell, Cincinnati's first bishop, and Archbishop Fenwick. The bell is formed of an alloy of copper and tin, in the proportion of seventy-eight to twenty-two. This is given by modern experts as the best proportions of the two metals that can be used in the composition of bell-metal. No silver is used in the alloy; for that, contrary to popular belief, injures the tone of a bell when mixed with the copper and tin.
When finished, the bell will be exhibited, and then hung in the belfry of St. Francis de Sales church. There it is to be one of a peal of twenty-five. The other bells of this peal are yet to be cast. How far our bell will compare in size with the other great bells of the world can be gleaned from the following:
The largest bell ever cast is the great bell of Moscow, now used as the dome of an underground chapel. Its height is nearly 22 feet, and its weight, 193 tons. The next in size is also a Moscowan affair weighing 80 tons. China has a great bell weighing, it is claimed, 60 tons. There is a bell in the cathedral at Montreal weighing 13½ tons. Other famous bells are, "The Great Peter," cast at York, 1843, weighing 10¾ tons; "Great Tom," at Lincoln, 5½ tons; and the great bell of St. Paul's, 5-1/10 tons.
Simon Theodore Stern. New York City.
The Ancients not so Slow.
I saw in the Table that query from a New York Knight about what the ancients believed concerning the roundness of the world. The error of thinking that the roundness is a modern discovery is common. The word polus is derived from the Greek πὁλος, which means an axis. From this we see that the old Roman philosophers did believe that the world was round. Again, if this Knight had read carefully the First Book of the Aeneid, he would have noticed line 233, which reads,
"Cunctus of Italiam terrarum clauditur orbis."
If the Greeks and Romans did not know that the world was round, how can we account for the expression orbis terrarum which means "the circle of the earth," or simply "the world." Once more, in 46 b.c., Julius Cæsar, who was not only a warrior, but also a profound scholar, divided the year into twelve lunar months. To do this he must have been cognizant of the fact that the world is round. Virgil uses the word polus only as a metonymy for cœlum, which means heaven, or the sky in general. The primitive use of the word may be found in the writings of Ovid and Pliny.
Herbert A. Gibbons. Philadelphia.
The helping hand.
The energetic Robert Louis Stevenson Chapter, of Cincinnati, which has already done its full share in helping the School Fund, sends us the following, which we print with pleasure.
A LETTER FOR EVERY MEMBER.
Shall the Round Table fail in building its School?
Yes, if we do not make some effort.
No, if we follow the plan of this letter.
We have undertaken to build this school and have practically pledged our word to do so, and now are we to fail? You have it in your power to answer no. We have named our Chapters after great men, promising them to make these Chapters an honor to their names. Are we to make these men regret they have Chapters named for them? One of the Round Table editors recently said that if each Knight and Lady gave 5 cents (only 5 cents), the School Fund would be complete. This is the plan:
Below you will find a Good Will square. Fill it out and send 5 cents to the Fund. Let every one of the 25,000 Knights and Ladies respond to this and we will have our school. Fill out the "square" and send it as soon as you read this. Do not wait for others to contribute. Do not make us ashamed of the Round Table. Every member of our Chapter feels his honor and that of the Round Table at stake, and in this letter exhorts you as fellow-members to help. Let us make this a grand rally and not a last weak effort of fifty or sixty members to save the day.
Robert Louis Stevenson Chapter. Cincinnati.
GOOD WILL MITE
HARPER'S ROUND TABLE
INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FUND
Amount, $........................ ................................. Contributor.
This money is contributed, not because it is asked for, but because I want to give it.
If you use this Good Will Mite, simply pin it to your letter, in order that it may be detached for filing. If the amount is given by more than one contributor, add blanks for their names, but attach the added sheet firmly to the Mite, that it may not become detached and lost. Include a given name in each case, and write plainly, to avoid errors on the Honor Roll.
Word-Hunt Contests.
Very great interest was taken in our "word" contests. We offered $50 in money to those who could find the most words in Webster and Worcester that might be made from the letters composing the words "Harper's New Monthly"; and the same sum, to persons under eighteen, who did the same with the letters composing the words "Harper's' Round Table." In both cases the money was to be divided, $25 to first, $10 to second, $5 to third, and $1 each to the next ten.
Over eleven thousand persons took part in these contests. We had certain rules, but answers received were entered in the competitions whether contestants conformed to the rules or not. None were excluded. Where rules were not followed words were cut out, all contestants being treated precisely the same. Some of our rules were unknown to a few contestants, but no one suffered on that account. The winners are those who exercised the most diligence.
Some contestants counted in a most extraordinary fashion, hundreds claiming in their totals from two to five times as many words as they really had. Others included plurals, when plurals were forbidden, and many did not number their words. Contestants who sent lists longer than the winning ones are assured that their lists, when subjected to our uniform and fair conditions, fell to much smaller proportions than when they left their hands.
It is an odd circumstance that almost all of the Junior winners live in Pennsylvania. But they resided in widely separated towns, and did not work together. The first Junior prize, of $25, was won by John A. Contant, Titusville, Pa., whose list contains 4585 words. The other winners are: Second prize, $10, M. W. Morton, Wingham, Canada, 4484 words; third prize, $5, Chauncey Shackford Curtis, Pittsburg, Pa., 4340 words; and the next ten, $1 each, James Norman McLeod, Scranton, Pa.; Willard O. Carpenter, Troy, N. Y.; George Conradson, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Hannah Adair, Fort Stevens—will she please give the State?—E. Lawrence Conwell, Upland, Pa.; Glen Skinner, Oak Valley, Kansas; Julia Ann Stiff, Maybrook, Va.; Henry O. Evans, Jun., who gives no address; Clarence Lessels, Troy, N. Y.; and Clayton Dovey, Latrobe, Pa. All of these ten had correct lists exceeding 4000 words.
Winners in the Senior contest were more widely distributed in the matter of residence. The sender of the longest list of words was Mrs. John D. Strange, Birmingham, Ala. Her list contained 4629 words, and she is awarded the first prize of $25. The second prize-winner of $10 is Miss Helen T. Littlefield, Avon, Mass., 4516 words; the third prize, $5, Miss Jessie V. Shover, Baltimore, Md., 4463 words; and the next ten, $1 each, were Miss Alice M. Chase, Dorchester, Mass.; Mrs. Agnes R. Conwell, Chester, Pa.; Miss Bertha Fuller, Somerville, Mass.; Miss Mary E. Roebuck, Upland, Pa.; Miss Lavilla Humason, Portland, Ore.; Miss Rose Wood, South Los Angeles, Cal.; Mrs. Edward G. Spencer, Penacook, N. H.; Miss Mary E. Chamberlain, Hudson, Mass.; Misses Irene and Ethel Bogert, Bayonne, N. J.; and Miss Mary Littlejohn, Fort Worth, Texas. All of the Senior winners had above 3800 words.
The prizes have been forwarded to reach winners at about the same time as this announcement of awards. While we congratulate the winners, we bid the losers to be of good cheer. It was a spirited contest, in which winners well earned their rewards.
Quite.
Here is an interesting question for Round Table readers. Take this sentence to your Latin teacher and ask him to translate it:
"Mater mea sus mala est."
He will probably make it, "My mother is a bad pig," or something equally nonsensical. But this is quite another story, "Hasten, mother, the pig is eating the apples!" Rather surprising, isn't it?
Upton B. Sinclair, Jun., R.T.F.
Questions and Answers.
Frances de Berard, Coulter, Colo., has specimens of jasper, agate, and white topaz, and wants tin ore, copper, amethyst, gold, or silver ores. A member asks what chemicals are put in batteries that run electric lights. These lights are not run by batteries, but by dynamos. Emma Jennette Pratt asks if any belong to the Order who also belong to the Society of Friends (Quakers). We think so, though we cannot say so certainly. Lady Emma's address is 135 Algoma Street, Oshkosh, Wis., and she wants to hear from the secretary of any Chapter that wants a corresponding member. George Jillard, 92 Thompson Street, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., asks if some Knight living in the South will send him, now or whenever possible, a few cotton bolls as they come from the plant. He will remit postage. Sybel N. Stone, Selak, Colo., is interested in petrified wood and agate specimens, and wants to hear from you. She lives in a region where these are to be obtained.
This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor Stamp Department.
How to find the water-mark on stamps?
First, hold it to the light; if the water-mark is well made it can be fairly well seen. Second, lay the stamp face downward on a piece of black goods or a dark japanned surface; then hold it at various angles, in direct light, cross light, near the eye, at arm's-length, etc. It is wonderful how elusive a water-mark can be, and after an expert has shown it to you it seems to stand out so plainly that you wonder how you could have missed it. If not yet successful, then, third, soak the stamp in water, and then try the second method again. As some stamps are printed in fugitive colors (Russia, U.S. due stamps, etc.), they should not be soaked in water. The dealers usually have a bottle of pure benzine, or alcohol nearly pure. In these liquids they plunge the finest stamps, even if unused and with original gum; the effect is about the same as if soaked in water, and neither gum nor colors are affected.
Have you heard of the "Stamp Hospital," where damaged stamps are made to look as good as new? No stamp which has gone through the hospital is worth more than a fraction of the value of a perfect stamp, but it is worth two or three times as much as in its original damaged state. The doctor in charge of the stamp hospital is a clever German living in Berlin, who is a thorough philatelist, artist, and mechanic combined. One of the Round Table readers had a very rare stamp catalogued at $350 to $500 if in perfect condition. This stamp was sold to a dealer in New York city for $100. A large piece had been torn off the right-hand side of the stamp, and the corners were uneven. The dealer sent it to the hospital in Germany, where it was put under a course of treatment, and returned to him with a bill of $10 for repairs. Although the stamp was printed on very thin paper, the doctor had pasted on a piece of similar paper, and then painted the missing part in the exact color. When held up to the light no joint could be seen, and the whole appearance was that of a perfect copy, beautifully centred, wide margins, etc. The dealer has since sold the copy at a fair advance. Of course water must not touch the stamp; even a drop might loosen the patched up portion; but the collector who now has it in his album will watch it carefully and keep it from danger.
J. Ball.—The stamps of Afghanistan were cancelled by tearing out a piece. Used copies not torn are extremely scarce.
Hancock.—Send me a "rubbing" of the coin.
R. C. Wilson.—English coins are not collected in this country. If the date is undecipherable, even a rare coin would have little value. The two U.S. coins have no premium value.
F. W. Dobbs.—Dealers ask $1.50 each for U. S. gold dollars of the common dates, and from $2 to $3 for those coined in the later years. The cents named are worth from 5c. to 50c., according to condition.
A. Meienborn.—We do not buy or sell stamps.
Philatus.
High priced toilet soaps cost more than the ivory, not because the soap itself is any better, but by reason of the expensive wrappings, boxes and perfume. Then the profit on toilet soaps is much greater.
The Procter & Gamble Co., Cin'ti.