QUEER QUESTIONS AND READY REPLIES. (continued 2)

129. Which is the brightest star visible?

Sirius, or the Dog-star, of the constellation Canus Major, or the “Great Dog.” Sir John Herschel estimates its light as exceeding more than twofold that of Canopus, the second star in brilliancy, and more than fourfold that of Alpha Centauri, the third, whose light the same astronomer takes as the standard for stars of the first magnitude. Sirius is about one hundred and twenty-three billions of miles distant from the earth. By photometric measurement it has been shown that, supposing the intensity of the sun’s light for unit of surface to equal that of Sirius, it would require four hundred suns at the distance of Sirius to send us the light that star does; and our sun at the distance of Sirius would appear less than a star of the sixth magnitude, and be invisible to the naked eye.

130. Who originated our decimal coinage?

Our decimal coinage was devised by Thomas Jefferson. Two years before Governeur Morris, a clerk in the office of his uncle, Robert Morris, had conceived the idea of applying the decimal system to the notation of money. The details of the system devised by Morris were so cumbrous and awkward as almost to neutralize the simplicity of the leading idea. Jefferson rescued the fine original conception by proposing our present system of dollars and cents, which was adopted by Congress in 1785.

131. Where is the sacred well from which Hagar is said to have drawn water for her son Ishmael?

According to Mohammedan tradition, the Zamzam, the sacred well in the Great Mosque, at Mecca, is the source from which Hagar drew water for her son Ishmael (Gen. xxi. 19). This is, of course, pure invention; and, indeed, the legend tells that the well was long covered up and rediscovered by Abd-el-Muttalib, the grandfather of the prophet. Sacred wells are peculiar to Semitic sanctuaries, and Islam, retaining the well, made a quasi Biblical story for it, and endowed its tepid waters with miraculous curative virtues. They are eagerly drunk by the pilgrims, and when poured over the body are held to give a miraculous refreshment after the fatigues of religious exercise. The manufacture of bottles or jars for carrying the water to distant countries is a considerable industry. Ibu Jubair mentions a curious superstition of the Meccans, who believed that the water rose in the shaft at the full moon of the month Sha’bán. On this occasion a great crowd, especially of young people, thronged round the well with shouts of religious enthusiasm, while the servants of the well dashed buckets of water over their heads.

132. Who was the “Wagoner Boy”?

Thomas Corwin (1794–1865), a distinguished American statesman. While Corwin was yet a lad, Harrison and his army were on the northern frontier, almost destitute of provisions, and a demand was made on the patriotism of the people to furnish the necessary subsistence. The elder Corwin loaded a wagon with supplies which was delivered by his son, who remained with the army during the rest of the campaign, and who is said to have proved himself “a good whip and an excellent reinsman.”

133. Who explored the Mississippi River with La Salle?

The Chevalier Henry de Tonty (1650–1704), an Italian explorer. He was the son of Lorenzo de Tonty, who is famous as the inventor of the tontine system of association. In 1678 he accompanied La Salle to Canada, and then in his exploration of the Mississippi. La Salle left him in command of a fort near Peoria. He twice descended the Mississippi to its mouth in search of La Salle, and a third and last time to meet Iberville; after which he remained in that region and died at Fort Louis (now Mobile) in September, 1704. He wrote a memoir of La Salle’s voyage, which has been translated and published in English under the title “Account of M. de la Salle’s last Expedition and Discoveries in North America.”

134. Who was the “Ancient Mariner”?

He is the hero of Coleridge’s poem of the same name, who, for the crime of having shot an albatross, a bird of good omen to voyagers, suffers dreadful penalties, together with his companions, who have made themselves accomplices in his crime. These penalties are at last remitted in consequence of his repentance. He reaches land, where he encounters a hermit, to whom he relates his story,—

and drives him on, like the Wandering Jew, from land to land, compelled to relate the tale of his suffering and crime as a warning to others, and as a lesson of love and charity towards all God’s creatures. The conception of this poem, and the mystical imagery of the skeleton ship, are said by Dyce to have been borrowed by Coleridge from a friend who had experienced a strange dream.

135. What was the “Flying Dutchman”?

This is the name given by sailors to a spectral ship, which is supposed to cruise in storms off the Cape of Good Hope, and the sight of which is considered the worst of all possible omens. She is distinguished from earthly vessels by bearing a press of sail when all others are unable, from stress of weather, to show an inch of canvas. The cause of her wandering is variously explained. According to one account, a Dutch captain, bound home from the Indies, met with long-continued head-winds and heavy weather off the Cape of Good Hope, and refused to put back as he was advised to do, swearing a very profane oath that he would beat round the Cape, if he had to beat there until the Day of Judgment. He was taken at his word, and doomed to beat against head winds all his days. His sails are believed to have become thin and sere, his ship-sides white with age, and himself and crew reduced almost to shadows. He cannot heave to or lower a boat, but sometimes hails vessels through his trumpet, and requests them to take letters home for him. Dr. John Leyden, who introduces the story of the Flying Dutchman into his “Scenes of Infancy,” imputes with poetical ingenuity the doom of the ship to its having been the first to engage in the slave-trade. But the common tradition is, as stated by Sir Walter Scott, “that she was originally a vessel loaded with great wealth, on board of which some horrid act of murder and piracy had been committed; that the plague broke out among the wicked crew, and that they sailed in vain from port to port, offering, as a price of shelter, the whole of their ill-gotten wealth; that they were excluded from every harbor, and that, as a punishment of their crimes, the apparition of the ship still continues to haunt those seas in which the catastrophe took place.” The superstition has its origin, probably, in the looming, or apparent suspension in the air, of some ship out of sight,—a phenomenon sometimes witnessed at sea, and caused by unequal refraction in the lower strata of the atmosphere.

136. What was the “Banshee”?

In the popular superstitions of the Irish and the Scotch, the Banshee, or Benshie, was an invisible being, supposed to announce by mournful presence and voice the approaching death of members of certain ancient houses. It was said that, on the decease of a hero, the harps of his bards voluntarily emitted mournful sounds. In later times it was popularly supposed that each family had its banshee, which gave warnings of misfortune, or haunted the scenes of past troubles.

137. What was the “Irish Night”?

This was a night of agitation and terror in London after the flight of James II., occasioned by an unfounded report that the Irish Catholics of Feversham’s army had been let loose to murder the Protestant population, men, women, and children.

138. Which is the “Keystone State”?

The State of Pennsylvania is so called from its having been the central State of the Union at the time of the formation of the Constitution. If the names of the thirteen original States are arranged in the form of an arch, Pennsylvania will occupy the place of the keystone.

139. What was the origin of “Lynch Law”?

This term is usually alleged to be derived from one John Lynch, who lived in what is now the Piedmont district of Virginia, at the time when that district was the western frontier of the State, and when, on account of the distance from the courts of law, it was customary to refer the adjustment of disputes to men of known character and judgment in the neighborhood. This man became so eminent by reason of the wisdom and impartiality of his decisions, that he was known throughout the country as “Judge Lynch.” According to another account, the term is derived from Col. Charles Lynch, a brother of the founder of Lynchburg, Va., who was an officer of the American Revolution. His residence was on the Staunton, in Campbell County. At that time the country was thinly settled, and infested by a lawless band of tories and desperadoes. The necessity of the case involved desperate measures, and Colonel Lynch, then a leading Whig, apprehended and had them punished without any superfluous legal ceremony. A third account derives the term from one James Lynch Fitz Stephen, a merchant of Galway, and in 1526 its mayor. His son having been convicted of murder, he, Brutus-like, sentenced him to death, and, fearing a rescue, caused him to be brought home and hanged before his own door. Another writer has suggested that the origin of the term is to be found in the provincial English word linch, to beat or maltreat. If this were admitted, Lynch law would then be simply equivalent to “club law.”

140. Who was the “Maid of Saragossa”?

This appellation was bestowed upon Augustina Zaragosa, a young Spanish woman, distinguished for her heroism during the defence of Saragossa in 1808–1809. She first attracted notice by mounting a battery where her lover had fallen, and working a gun in his place. Byron has celebrated her in the first canto of his “Childe Harold.”

141. What was the origin of “quiz”?

Daly, the manager of a Dublin play-house, laid a wager that a new word of no meaning should be the common talk and puzzle of the city in twenty-four hours. In consequence of this, the letters q, u, i, z were chalked by him on all the walls of Dublin, with an effect that won the wager.

142. Who was the “Rail Splitter”?

This popular designation was given to Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth President of the United States, who is said to have supported himself for one winter, in early life, by splitting rails for a farmer.

143. What is the origin of the phrase “Before one could say Jack Robinson”?

This saying, used to express a very short time, is said by Grose to have originated from a very volatile gentleman of that appellation, who would call on his neighbors and be gone before his name could be announced. The following lines “from an old play” are elsewhere given as the original phrase:—

144. Who was “St. Tammany”?

This Indian chief has been popularly canonized as a saint, and adopted as the tutelary genius of one branch of the Democratic party. Tammany was of the Delaware nation, and lived probably in the middle of the seventeenth century. He resided in the country which is now Delaware until he was of age, when he moved beyond the Alleghenies, and settled on the banks of the Ohio. He became a chief sachem of his tribe, and, being always a friend of the whites, often restrained his warriors from deeds of violence. His rule was always discreet, and he endeavored to induce his followers to cultivate agriculture and the arts of peace rather than those of war. When he became old he called a council to have a successor appointed, after which the residue of his life was spent in retirement; and tradition relates that “young and old repaired to his wigwam to hear him discourse wisdom.” His great motto was, “Unite in peace for happiness, in war for defence.” When and by whom he was first styled Saint, or by what whim he was chosen to be the patron of Democracy, does not appear.

145. Who ate Roger Williams?

“The truth that matter passes from the animal back to the vegetable, and from the vegetable to the animal kingdom again, received, not long since, a curious illustration. For the purpose of erecting a suitable monument in memory of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, his private burying-ground was searched for the graves of himself and wife. It was found that everything had passed into oblivion. The shape of the coffins could only be traced by a black line of carbonaceous matter. The rusted hinges and nails, and a round wooden knob, alone remained in one grave; while a single lock of braided hair was found in the other. Near the graves stood an apple-tree. This had sent down two main roots into the very presence of the coffined dead. The larger root, pushing its way to the precise spot occupied by the skull of Roger Williams, had made a turn as if passing around it, and followed the direction of the backbone to the hips. Here it divided into two branches, sending one along each leg to the heel, when both turned upward to the toes. One of these roots formed a slight crook at the knee, which made the whole bear a striking resemblance to the human form. (These roots are now deposited in the museum of Brown University.) There were the graves, but their occupants had disappeared; the bones, even, had vanished. There stood the thief—the guilty apple-tree—caught in the very act of robbery. The spoliation was complete. The organic matter—the flesh, the bones—of Roger Williams had passed into an apple-tree. The elements had been absorbed by the roots, transmuted into woody fibre, which could now be burned as fuel or carved into ornaments; had bloomed into fragrant blossoms, which had delighted the eye of passers-by, and scattered the sweetest perfume of spring; more than that, had been converted into luscious fruit, which, from year to year, had been gathered and eaten. How pertinent, then, is the question, ‘Who ate Roger Williams?’”—Steele’s Chemistry.

146. How were bachelors punished at Sparta?

The male citizens of Sparta who remained unmarried after a certain age were subjected to a species of atimy or public disgrace. They were not allowed to witness the gymnastic exercises of the maidens; and, during winter, they were compelled to march naked around the market-place, singing a song composed against themselves, and expressing the justice of their punishment. The usual respect of the young to the old was not paid to bachelors.

147. What did the Indians present to Penn’s widow?

On the death of William Penn, the Indians sent his widow a message of sorrow for the loss of their “brother Onas” (the Indians called him “Onas,” their word for quill, which was the nearest they could arrive at pen), with some choice skins to form a cloak which might protect her “while passing through the thorny wilderness without her guide.”

148. What animal has a tail so large that it sometimes requires to be carried on wheels?

The long-tailed sheep which inhabits Syria and Egypt has a tail so large and so loaded with fat, that to prevent it from being injured by dragging on the ground, a board is fastened to the under side of it, and wheels are often attached to the board. The peculiar fat of the tail is considered a great delicacy, and is so soft as to be frequently used as butter. The weight of a large tail is about seventy pounds.

149. Who was the “Little Magician”?

Martin Van Buren (1782–1862), the eighth President of the United States, was so termed from his adroitness in political methods, and the art with which he made friends and avoided making enemies.

150. What explorer drove a herd of hogs before him for food?

When Ferdinand De Soto set out on his conquest of Florida, he took, among other things, a large herd of hogs with him to fatten on the maize of the country. It was thought that these, together with their rapid increase, would form a considerable supply of food for the conquering army.

151. When, where, and by whom was the first gun of the late Civil War fired?

At half past four o’clock, Friday morning, April 12, 1861, from Battery Stevens in Charleston Harbor, upon Fort Sumter, by Edmund Ruffin, of Virginia. At seven o’clock, Captain Abner Doubleday, U. S. A., fired the first shot in defence of the Union.

152. Who was the last Union general killed in the Rebellion?

Brigadier-General Thomas Smythe. He was mortally wounded near Farmville, Virginia, April 6, 1865, and died at Petersburg on the 9th of the same month. General Smythe was a native of Ireland, and came to America in childhood, settling at Wilmington, Delaware. He entered the Union ranks in 1861, and was made a brigadier-general June 3, 1864, for gallant conduct at the battle of Cold Harbor.

153. What words contain all the vowels in order?

The author knows of but three,—abstemiously, arsenious, and facetiously.

154. Which is the most useful tree in the world?

The palm-tree is undoubtedly the most useful product of the vegetable kingdom. It is impossible to overestimate the utility of these trees. They furnish food, shelter, clothing, timber, fuel, building materials, sticks, fibres, paper, starch, sugar, oil, wax, wine, tannin, dyeing materials, resin, and a host of minor products, which rend render them most valuable to the natives and to tropical agriculturists.

155. Which is the only canonized saint of American birth?

St. Rosa (1580–1617), commonly called St. Rose of Lima. Her parents were wealthy Spaniards, and gave her in baptism the name of Isabel; but, it is said, her extreme beauty in childhood made them call her Rosa. Their fortune having been swept away, Rosa was taken into the household of the treasurer Gonsalvo, where she supported her parents by her labor while following her bent for asceticism. She refused every matrimonial offer, assumed the habit of the third order of St. Dominic, and lived a recluse in the garden of her protectors. She was canonized by Pope Clement X. in 1671, and her feast was fixed on Aug. 30.

150. When and where did the first legislative assembly convene in America?

The first legislative body that ever assembled in America was the Virginia House of Burgesses, which convened at Jamestown, July 30, 1619. Virginia had previously been divided into eleven boroughs,—James City, Charles City, the City of Henricus, Kiccowtan or Hampton, Martin-Brandon, Smythe’s Hundred, Martin’s Hundred, Argall’s Gift, Lawne’s Plantation, Ward’s Plantation, and Flowerdieu Hundred,—each of which sent two burgesses. They held their session in the old church at Jamestown until they could provide more suitable quarters. They sat with their hats on, as in the English Commons, the members occupying “the choir,” with the governor and council in the front seats. The Speaker, Master John Pory, with the clerk and sergeant, faced them, and the session was opened with prayer by Mr. Bucke, after which the burgesses took the oath of supremacy.

157. Who was the Nimrod of the Bible?

Izdubar, an early Babylonian king and hero, was most probably the Nimrod of the Bible. In a fragment of a Chaldæan tradition of the Deluge, discovered in 1872 by Mr. George Smith of the British Museum, Izdubar appears as a giant residing in the country of Accad, a subduer of great animals in the post-diluvian times, and a mighty conqueror who acquired the sovereignty, which he exercised in the city of Erech or Uruk, the earliest capital of Babylonia.

158. Where in the Bible are we told in one verse not to do a thing and in the next to do it?

“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.”—Prov. xxvi. 4.

“Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.”—Prov. xxvi. 5.

159. What did the Indians at Jamestown plant in order to raise ammunition?

It is said that, having seized a quantity of gunpowder belonging to the colonists, they planted it for seed, expecting to reap a full harvest of ammunition for the next contest.

160. When was the first bloodshed in the late Civil War?

On the 19th of April, 1861, two young men—Luther C. Ladd and A. O. Whitney—from Lowell, Mass., were killed by a mob while their regiment was passing through the streets of Baltimore on their way to the defence of Washington. This was the first bloodshed in the Rebellion. To their honor a granite monument has been erected in Merrimack Street, Lowell, and in the same enclosure is a bronze statue of Victory, by the German sculptor Rauch, to commemorate the triumph of the Northern cause.

161. What African capital was named from a President of the United States?

Monrovia, the capital of the republic of Liberia, was named in honor of James Monroe, who was President of the United States at the time of the establishment of the Liberian Republic.

162. How many people did the ship Mayflower bring over?

There was on board of this single ship of one hundred and eighty tons a “floating village of one hundred and two souls,” not of resolute men only, but also their wives and children.

163. Who delivered the funeral oration on the death of Washington?

General Henry Lee, commonly known as “Light Horse Harry,” delivered the funeral oration of Washington, at the German Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, Dec. 26, 1799. A resolution of thanks was unanimously passed by Congress the following day.

164. Which is the nearest approach yet made to the North Pole?

On the 18th of May, 1882, Lieutenant James B. Lockwood, U. S. A., of the Greely expedition, reached the latitude of eighty-three degrees and twenty-four minutes on the north coast of Greenland. This was twenty-eight miles farther north than ever before known. Previous to this the greatest northing was that made by Commander Markham, R. N., who, on May 12, 1876, reached eighty-three degrees twenty minutes and twenty-six seconds north on the frozen Polar Ocean.

165. When was the price of flour made to depend upon the result of a Presidential election?

In 1840, men of business advertised to pay six dollars a barrel if Harrison were elected, and only three dollars a barrel if Van Buren were elected.

166. Which is the “Land of the Rising Sun”?

The poetical name by which the Japanese designate their country is the “Land of the Rising Sun,” which well describes its location as the most eastern of all Asiatic empires, and their national emblem represents the sun as rising from the sea. The name Japan is a corruption of Marco Polo’s term Zipangu, which, in turn, is a corruption of Jipunquo, which is of Chinese origin, and means “The Country at the Root of the Sun.”

167. Which is the “Land of the Midnight Sun”?

The Scandinavian Peninsula. “From the last days of May to the end of July, in the northern part of this land, the sun shines day and night upon its mountains, fjords, rivers, lakes, forests, towns, villages, hamlets, fields, and farms; and thus Sweden and Norway may be called ‘The Land of the Midnight Sun.’ During this period of continuous daylight the stars are never seen, the moon appears pale and sheds no light upon the earth.”—Du Chaillu’s Land of the Midnight Sun.

168. When did the postal card come into use in the United States?

By the Act of June 8, 1872, the Postmaster-General was authorized and directed to issue postal cards to the public at a cost of one cent each. The first cards were issued in May, 1873. The invention of postal cards is attributed to Prof. Emanuel Herman, of Vienna. They were used in England, Germany, and Switzerland in 1870, and have since been introduced into other European countries. In some countries a card is attached on which an answer can be returned.

169. What President worked on a ferry-boat when a young man?

In 1825, Abraham Lincoln, then in his seventeenth year, was employed by James Taylor for nine months at six dollars a month to manage a ferry-boat which plied between the banks of the Ohio and also of Anderson Creek.

170. What general shot a wolf in her den by the light of her own eyes?

General Israel Putnam, of Revolutionary fame, once had a famous encounter with a she-wolf that had for several years preyed upon the flocks and cattle of the neighborhood. Having discovered her den, he entered it alone by creeping into a narrow opening, and shot and killed the wolf by the light of her own glaring eyes as she was advancing to attack him. This adventure, which gave him a wide reputation for courage, took place near Pomfret, Conn., when Putnam was but twenty-five years old.

171. What did the Indians suppose the ships of Columbus to be?

They supposed the ships to be huge white-winged birds, and the Spaniards to have come from heaven.

172. What President never attended school a day in his life?

Andrew Johnson, on account of extreme poverty, never received any schooling, and at the age of ten he was apprenticed to Mr. Selby, a tailor in Raleigh, N. C. A gentleman was in the habit of visiting the shop and reading to the workmen, generally from “The American Speaker,” and Andrew became intensely interested, especially in the extracts from the speeches of Pitt and Fox, and determined to secure an education. From a fellow-workman he learned the alphabet, and from a friend something of spelling. Thenceforth, after working ten or twelve hours a day at his trade, he spent two or three every night in study. After his marriage at Greenville, Tenn., he continued his studies under the instruction of his wife, with whose aid he learned to write and cipher, while pursuing his trade as before by day.

173. How was Napoleon paid for the cession of Louisiana?

He was paid $11,250,000 in six per cent. bonds, payable fifteen years after date. The price paid for Louisiana was $15,000,000, but one quarter of this was due to American citizens for French depredations upon our commerce.

174. When was the flag of a republic first set up on American soil?

In 1497, John Cabot discovered North America and set up—together with the standard of England—the banner of his native land, the republic of Venice.

175. What was the “Confederate candle”?

The “Confederate candle” consisted of a long wick coated with wax and resin, and wound on a little wooden frame, at the top of which was nailed a bit of tin. The end of the wick, being passed through a hole in the tin, was lighted and uncoiled as needed.

176. What was the Holy Grail?

According to some legends of the Middle Ages, the Holy Grail was the cup (said to be emerald) used by our Saviour in dispensing the wine at the Last Supper; and according to others, it was the platter on which the Paschal Lamb was served at the last Passover observed by our Lord. By some it was said to have been preserved by Joseph of Arimathea, who received into it the blood which flowed from the Redeemer’s wounds as he hung on the cross. By others it was said to have been brought down from heaven by angels, and committed to the charge of a body of knights, who guarded it on the top of a lofty mountain. This cup, according to the legend, if approached by any but a perfectly pure, chaste, and holy person, would be borne away, and vanish from their sight. This led to the quest of the Holy Grail, which was to be sought on every side by a knight who was perfectly chaste in thought, word, and act. It is to this that some of the later English poets have referred, especially Tennyson in his “Sir Galahad”:

177. Where is the “Devil’s Wall”?

This name is given by the inhabitants of the neighborhood to the old Roman wall separating England from Scotland, because they suppose that from the strength of the cement and the durability of the stone, the devil must have built it. The superstitious peasantry are said to be in the habit of gathering up the fragments of this wall to put in the foundation of their own tenements, to insure an equal solidity.

178. Who was the youngest President?

Ulysses S. Grant, who was not forty-seven years of age at the time of his inauguration.

179. Who was “Foul-weather Jack”?

Commander Byron (1723–1786) was so called by the men who sailed under him, in allusion to his ill-fortune at sea.

180. When and by whom was the Pacific Ocean discovered?

During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Marco Polo and his successors travelled far to the East, and came to an ocean of unknown extent; and they partially explored its western coast. But it was not until nearly two centuries after this, that the existence of this great ocean was established to Europeans; and the honor of its discovery justly belongs to Vasco Nuñez de Balbao, or Balboa, the leader of a Spanish party exploring the Isthmus of Panama, who, on the 29th of September, 1513, saw, from the summit of a mountain, a vast ocean to the west. Balbao prostrated himself upon the ground; then, rising to his knees, he thanked God “it had pleased his Divine Majesty to reserve unto that day the victory and praise of so great a thing unto him.” When he reached the coast he advanced waist-deep into the waves, drew his sword, and swore, as a true knight, that he would defend it, with its coast, islands, and all that it contained, for his master, the king of Spain. Because he discovered it on Michaelmas day, Balbao named it the Golfo de San Miguel.

181. What sect believes in the existence of one hundred and thirty-six hells?

According to Buddhist belief, there are, situated in the interior of the earth, one hundred and thirty-six hells. These places of punishment have a regular gradation in the intensity of the suffering and the length of time the sufferers live, the least term of life being ten millions of years, the longer terms being almost beyond the powers of even Indian notation to express. But however long the life, it has an end, and at its close the individual must be born again.

182. What are the sacred writings of the Buddhists called?

The Tripitaka (i. e., “Triple Basket”) is the Bible of Buddhism. It contains one hundred and sixteen volumes, and is divided into three classes: the Sutra, or discourses of Buddha; the Vinaya, or discipline, and the Abhidharma, or metaphysics. They contain sublime, moral, and pure aspirations, and their author lived and died in the sixth century B. C. Buddhism has now existed for nearly twenty-five centuries, and may be said to be the prevailing religion of the world, as its adherents are estimated at from 400,000,000 to 500,000,000 souls,—more than one third of the human race.

183. What are the sacred writings of the Chinese called?

King (i. e., “The Books”) is the collective name of the canonical works of the adherents of Confucius. It is divided into five books. These are the Yih-King, or the Book of Changes,—originally a cosmological essay, now, curiously enough, regarded as a treatise on ethics; Shu-King, or the Book of Annals,—a history of the deliberations between the Emperors Yayu and Shun, and other personages, called by Confucius the Ancient Kings, and for whose maxims and actions he had the highest veneration; the Shi-King, or the Book of Songs,—a book of sacred songs, consisting of three hundred and eleven poems, the best of which every well-educated Chinaman gets by heart; the Le-King, or the Book of Rites,—the foundation of Chinese manners, prescribing, as it does, the ceremonies to be observed in all the relationships of life, and the great cause of the unchangeableness and artificiality of Chinese habits; and the Chun-tsien,—a history by Confucius of his own times, and those which immediately preceded him. These works stand at the head of the vast literature of the Chinese, and constitute the sacred books of about 80,000,000 of people.

184. What are the sacred books of the ancient Scandinavians called?

The Eddas are the sacred books of the old Scandinavian tribes. There are two works which bear this name,—the Edda Sæmundar hins Froda, or Edda of Sæmund the Wise, and the Edda Snorri Sturlusonar. The former, and older of these, contains the mythology of the Scandinavians, with some historical narrations of a romantic cast, embodied in thirty-nine poems, of unknown authorship and date, which were collected by Sæmund Sigfusson, surnamed Frodi, an Icelandic priest, 1054–1133. The second is a collection of the myths of the gods, and of explanations of the types and metres of the pagan poetry, intended for the instruction of the young skalds, or poets. It is chiefly in prose, and is the work of several authors, although ascribed to Snorri Sturleson, 1178–1241. The name Edda, which means great-grandmother (i. e., of Scandinavian poetry), was applied to these works by Brynjolf Svendson, bishop of Skalholt, by whom they were discovered and first brought before the notice of European scholars in 1643.

185. What are the sacred writings of the Hindoos called?

The Vedas (“Knowledge”) are the sacred books of the Hindoos. These books are of great antiquity, but of uncertain date. There are four books: the oldest is the Rijveda,—the Veda of praise; next, the Yajurveda,—the Veda of sacrifice; the Samaveda,—the Veda of chanting; and the latest the Atharvaveda, which is made up after the manner of the Samaveda, but containing additional extracts from the Rijveda; its object is to teach how to appease, to bless, to curse, etc. Each of the Vedas contains a Sanhita, or collection of hymns, and an accompanying Brahmana, or commentary. They are written in Sanskrit.

186. What are the sacred writings of the Persians called?

The Zend-Avesta (“Commentary and Text,” Avesta being properly the sacred text; and Zend, its interpretation into more modern and intelligible language) is the Bible of the ancient Persians and of the modern Parsees or Guebres, who number about 7,000 in Persia, and 200,000 in India. It is ascribed to Zoroaster, who is said to have written 2,000,000 verses, covering 12,000 cow-skin parchments. In its present fragmentary state, it consists of the Vendidad of twenty-two chapters, being the one surviving part (the twentieth) of an original work of twenty-one parts; the Yazna, of seventy-two chapters; the Visparad, of twenty-three chapters; twenty-four sections called Yashts; and a few fragments. It is, next to the Bible, the best of the sacred writings.

187. What are the sacred writings of the Mohammedans called?

The Koran, or Al-Coran, (“The Reading”), is the book of faith of the Mohammedans, or of about one seventh of the human race. It is a single volume of one hundred and fourteen chapters, of very unequal length, written in Arabic, and containing the doctrines and pretended revelations of Mohammed, “The Prophet,” whose followers number about 201,000,000.

188. What are the sacred writings of the ancient Japanese?

The Kojiki (“Book of Ancient Traditions”) is the Bible and oldest monument of Shintonism, the ancient religion of Japan. It is written in pure Japanese, and was composed by order of the Mikado Gemmio, A. D. 712, and first printed about 1625. Shintonism has no moral code, and consists chiefly in the imitation and deification of illustrious ancestors, emperors, heroes, and scholars, the veneration of fire and light, and the inculcation of obedience to the will of the Mikado. Its adherents now number only about 14,000,000, as Buddhism is now the prevailing religion in Japan.

189. What are the “Seven Bibles of the World”?

They are the Scriptures of the Christians; the Zend-Avesta of the Persians; the four Vedas of the Hindoos; the Tripitaka of the Buddhists; the five Kings of the Chinese; the two Eddas of the Scandinavians, and the Koran of the Mohammedans. Of these the Scriptures are the oldest and the Koran the most recent.

190. What President wrote his own epitaph?

Thomas Jefferson wrote his own epitaph, as follows: “Here lies buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.”

191. When was the first national convention for the nomination of candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency held?

National conventions for the nomination of candidates were unknown before 1830. In 1830, an Anti-Masonic national convention was held, in which the party resolved, among other things, to put forward candidates for President and Vice-President, and a second convention was called to meet in Baltimore, in September, 1831, to make the nominations. In 1832, that being the election year, the Democrats held a national convention at Baltimore, to nominate a Vice-President, it being generally understood that Jackson was to be re-elected.

192. Who was the first President nominated by national convention?

Martin Van Buren in 1835. The Whigs, his opponents, held no such meeting, and contented themselves with supporting Harrison as the nominee of the Pennsylvania State Convention. In 1839 the Whigs nominated Harrison in national convention, and elected him triumphantly. Thenceforward, the practice of holding national conventions became general with all parties.

193. Where were the different Presidents nominated?

Van Buren, at Baltimore, 1835, by the Democrats.

Harrison, at Harrisburg, 1839, by the Whigs.

Polk, at Baltimore, 1844, by the Democrats.

Taylor, at Philadelphia, 1848, by the Whigs.

Pierce, at Baltimore, 1852, by the Democrats.

Buchanan, at Cincinnati, 1856, by the Democrats.

Lincoln (first term), at Chicago, 1800, by the Republicans.

Lincoln (second term), at Baltimore, 1864, by the Republicans.

Grant (first term), at Chicago, 1868, by the Republicans.

Grant (second term), at Philadelphia, 1872, by the Republicans.

Hayes, at Cincinnati, 1876, by the Republicans.

Garfield, at Chicago, 1880, by the Republicans.

Cleveland, at Chicago, 1884, by the Democrats.

194. When and by whom was the first national political platform adopted?

The first national political platform was adopted by the Democratic convention at Baltimore, May 5, 1840.

195. Which is the “Blue Hen State”?

This is a popular name for the State of Delaware. This sobriquet is said to have had its origin in a certain Captain Caldwell’s fondness for the amusement of cock-fighting. Caldwell was, for a time, an officer of the First Delaware Regiment, in the war of the Revolution, and was greatly distinguished for his daring and undaunted spirit. He was exceedingly popular in the regiment, and its high state of discipline was generally conceded to be due to his exertions; so that when officers were sent on a recruiting service, to enlist new men, in order to fill vacancies caused by death or otherwise, it was a saying, that they had gone home for more of Caldwell’s game-cocks; but as Caldwell insisted that no cock could be truly game unless the mother was a blue hen, the expression Blue Hen’s Chickens was substituted for game-cocks.

196. What State is called “The Dark and Bloody Ground”?

Kentucky, of which name the above is said to be the translation. The phrase is an epitome of the early history of the State, of the dark and bloody conflicts of the first white settlers with their savage foes; but the name originated in the fact that this was the grand battle-ground between the Northern and Southern Indians.

197. Who was the author of “Greenbacks”?

Salmon Portland Chase (1808–1873), President Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury, and afterwards Chief Justice of the United States. The financial policy which carried the nation through the civil war was mainly the work of Mr. Chase. One of its essential features was the issue of United States notes, known as “Greenbacks,” which bore no interest, but were made legal tender.

198. What battle of the Rebellion was fought above the clouds?

This far-famed “battle above the clouds” took place on Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, on the morning of the 23d of November, 1863. A dense fog hung like a hood over the mountain, as the Federals under Hooker charged the Rebel fortifications. His troops had been ordered to stop on the high ground, but, taking advantage of the fog, and carried away by the ardor of the attack, they sprang up the almost inaccessible slopes of the mountain with resistless energy, and swept over the crest, driving the enemy before them. The Union flag was carried to the top; and before two o’clock in the afternoon, Lookout Mountain, with its cloud-capped summit, was swarming with Federal soldiers. Grant is reported to have declared the so-called “battle above the clouds” to be “all poetry, there having been no action there worthy the name of battle.”

199. Why was John Quincy Adams so named?

The origin of his name was thus stated by himself: “My great-grandfather, John Quincy, was dying when I was baptized, and his daughter, my grandmother, requested I might receive his name. This fact, recorded by my father, has connected with my name a charm of mingled sensibility and devotion. It was filial tenderness that gave the name,—it was the name of one passing from earth to immortality. These have been through life perpetual admonitions to do nothing unworthy of it.”

200. What President was the oldest when elected?

William Henry Harrison, who was sixty-eight years of age when inaugurated. The average age of Presidents, when elected, has been fifty-seven years.

201. What colony was founded as a home for the poor?

Georgia, the thirteenth American colony, was founded in a spirit of pure benevolence. The laws of England permitted imprisonment for debt. Thousands of English laborers, who through misfortune and thoughtless contracts had become indebted to the rich, were annually arrested and thrown into jail. Whole families were destitute or starving. To provide a refuge for these downtrodden poor of England, and the distressed Protestants of other countries, James Oglethorpe, the philanthropist, a member of Parliament, appealed to George II. for the privilege of planting a colony in America. The petition was favorably heard, and on the 9th of June, 1732, a royal charter was issued, by which the territory between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers, and westward from the upper fountains of those rivers to the Pacific, was organized and granted to a corporation for twenty-one years, to be held in trust for the poor. In honor of the king, the new province received the name of Georgia.

202. Who was the “Colossus of American Independence”?

John Adams. By his energy and eloquence he did more than any other man to crystallize the American sentiment in favor of independence. He was a member of the celebrated committee appointed to draft the immortal “Declaration.” In the debates on that instrument, he was its chief defender; and it was he who persuaded Congress to adopt it. He was the most distinguished signer. Jefferson himself said, that “he [Adams] was the pillar of its support; its ablest advocate and defender.”

203. What were the last intelligible words of Benedict Arnold?

“Bring me, I beg you, the epaulets and sword-knots which Washington gave me. Let me die in my old American uniform, the uniform in which I fought my battles. God forgive me for ever putting on any other.”

204. What bird is an apt illustration of the proverb that “Pride will have a fall”?

The pouter pigeon. It stands perpendicularly erect, and seems exceedingly vain of the swollen crop which gives it the name of pouter. It can inflate its crop with air, until the head is almost hidden behind it. This inflation oftentimes causes the bird to lose its balance, and to fall down chimneys, on which it is fond of standing, thereby aptly illustrating the proverb, that “Pride will have a fall.”

205. What noted poet was so thin that he was said to wear lead in his shoes to keep himself from being blown away by the wind?

Philetas, a distinguished poet and critic of the Alexandrian school, who lived in the fourth and third centuries B. C., was so sickly and so thin, that the comic poets stated that he used to wear lead in his shoes to keep himself from being blown away. The story runs that he died from the excessive assiduity with which he sought the answer to the sophistical problem, called “The Liar,” viz.: If a man says he is telling a lie, does he speak truly or falsely?

206. Was Adam created with a beard?

Scripture does not tell us, but the tradition that he was created with one (which may be described as bushy rather than flowing) is recorded on ancient monuments, and especially on an antique sarcophagus, which is one of the ornaments of the Vatican. The Jews, with the Orientals generally, seem to have accepted the tradition for a law. Among them the beard was a cherished and sacred thing. The Scriptures abound with examples of how the beard and its treatment interpreted the feelings, the joy, the pride, the sorrow, or the despondency of the wearer.

207. Who was the wealthiest President?

Washington, who left an estate valued at $800,000. The next in order of wealth was Van Buren, whose property was valued at $400,000.

208. Who were the original “Jersey Blues”?

They were a battalion of five hundred soldiers from New Jersey, during King George’s War (1745–1748), and were so called from the color of their uniform,—blue, faced with red, gray stockings, and buckskin breeches. They were described at the time as “the likeliest well-set men who ever entered upon a campaign.”

209. Who was “Tam O’Shanter”?

He was the hero of Burns’s poem of the same name, a farmer, who, riding home very late and very drunk, from Ayr, in a stormy night, had to pass by the kirk of Alloway, a place reputed to be a favorite haunt of the devil and his friends and emissaries. On approaching the kirk, he perceived a light gleaming through the windows; but having got courageously drunk, he ventured on till he could look into the edifice, when he saw a dance of witches merrily footing it round their master, who was playing on the bagpipe to them. The dance grew so furious that they all stripped themselves of their upper garments, and kept at it in their shifts. One “winsome wench,” happening unluckily to have a shift which was considerably too short to answer all the purposes of that useful article of dress, Tam was so tickled that he involuntarily roared out, “Weel done, Cutty-sark!” (Well done, Short-smock); whereupon, in an instant, all was dark, and Tam, recollecting himself, turned and spurred his horse to the top of her speed, chased by the whole fiendish crew. It is a current belief, that witches, or any evil spirits, have no power to follow a poor wight any farther than the middle of the next running stream. Fortunately for Tam, the river Doon was near; for, notwithstanding the speed of his horse, by the time he gained the middle of the arch of the bridge, and consequently the middle of the stream, the pursuing vengeful hags were so close at his heels, that one of them, “Cutty-sark,” actually sprang to seize him; but it was too late,—nothing was on her side of the stream but the horse’s tail, which immediately gave way at her infernal gripe, as if blasted by a stroke of lightning; but the farmer was beyond her reach.

210. Who was “Old Public Functionary”?

This sobriquet, which was sometimes humorously abbreviated O. P. F., was sometimes given to James Buchanan, the fifteenth President of the United States. He was the first to apply the expression to himself, in his annual message to Congress in 1859:—

“This advice proceeds from the heart of an old public functionary, whose service commenced in the last generation, among the wise and conservative statesmen of that day, now nearly all passed away, and whose first and dearest earthly wish is to leave his country tranquil, prosperous, united, and powerful.”

211. Who was “Light-Horse Harry”?

This sobriquet was popularly conferred upon General Henry Lee (1756–1818), a gallant American cavalry officer in the war of the Revolution, in allusion to his rapid and daring movements in battle, particularly during the campaign in the Carolinas.

212. Who was the “French Game-cock”?

On account of his bravery, this name was given by the American soldiers to Marie Jean Paul Roch Yves Gilbert Motier, Marquis de Lafayette.

213. What was the “Albany Regency”?

It was a junto of astute Democratic politicians, having their headquarters at Albany, who controlled the action of the Democratic party for many years, and who had great weight in national politics. The effort to elect William H. Crawford President, instead of John Quincy Adams, was their first great struggle.

214. In what country are prayers said by wheels?

An important part of the duties of a pilgrim to Lassa, the centre of Lamaism, is penance. Among the lighter forms of penance is turning a wheel called Tchu-Kor, “revolving prayer.” This devotional machine is usually a sort of barrel, moving upon an axis and inscribed all over with Buddhistic petitions. The worshipper sets it going, and it turns prayers for his benefit, while he pursues some more mundane occupation.

215. What Presidents were born in Virginia?

Thus far seven of our Presidents have been natives of Virginia, viz.:—

Washington, born in Westmoreland County, Feb. 22, 1732; Jefferson, born at Shadwell, Albemarle County, April 2, 1743; Madison, born at King George, March 16, 1751; Monroe, born in Westmoreland County, April 28, 1758; Harrison, born at Berkeley, Charles City County, Feb. 9, 1773; Tyler, born in Charles City County, March 29, 1790; Taylor, born in Orange County, Sept. 24, 1784.

216. Which is the only monarchy on the Western Continent?

The government of Brazil is a mild form of a constitutional and hereditary monarchy. The laws of succession are the same as in England. The Emperor Dom Pedro II., of the house of Bragança, and the Empress, a sister of the king of Naples, are universally beloved and respected for their intellectual and moral endowments, and their affectionate interest in the welfare of their subjects.

217. What becomes of all the greenbacks and banknotes after they have served their few years of usefulness?

They go to the government. After about three years of service they are pretty well worn, and are taken to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and placed in a machine containing immense knives, which chop the notes into fragments. Three officers of the Treasury Department are stationed to watch the destruction of the notes. No one else is allowed to be present except the officials and the men who run the machine. They are compelled to remain in the room until each separate note is destroyed. They must account afterwards to the Redemption Bureau for each note, and should one become lost or mislaid and afterwards find its way into circulation, the result would be the immediate discharge of the three who daily have in their custody millions of dollars of notes and bonds. The shreds are reduced to pulp, and then moulded into figures of birds and animals and sold as mementos to visitors. Often it will happen that one little object will be composed of what was once $1,000,000 worth of money.

218. What sort of mound has been raised to the memory of Kosciusko?

Near Cracow there is a mound of earth one hundred and fifty feet high, which was raised to the memory of the Polish patriot, Thaddeus Kosciusko, by the people, earth being brought for this purpose from every great battlefield of Europe on which Polish blood had been shed. From a fanciful resemblance in shape to this tumulus, the loftiest known mountain in Australia has received the name of Mount Kosciusko.

219. In what country are the forests without shade?

With few exceptions, the Australian trees are evergreens, and they show a peculiar reverted position of their leaves, which hang vertically, turning their edges instead of their sides toward the sun, and giving no shade. There are great shadeless forests of eucalypti and other trees.

220. Which are the tallest trees in the world?

The loftiest product of the vegetable kingdom is the eucalypti-trees, indigenous to Australia and Tasmania. They are sometimes called “gum-trees,” because they abound in resinous exudations. The Eucalyptus gigantea, called “Stringy bark,” sometimes attains a height of four hundred and eighty feet, and a diameter of over eighty feet; over one hundred feet higher than the highest specimen of the mammoth trees of California (Sequoia gigantea), now standing. These trees form a characteristic feature of the peculiar vegetation of those islands, having entire leathery leaves, of which one edge is directed toward the sky, so that both surfaces are equally exposed to the light. They also have the peculiarity of shedding their bark annually instead of their leaves.

221. Who was the most famous heroine of antiquity?

Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra. Her second husband, Septimius Odenathus, prince of Palmyra, was assassinated in A. D. 266, by his nephew Mæonius. Zenobia put the assassin to death, and assumed the vacant Palmyrene throne. For five years she governed Palmyra, Syria, and adjoining parts of the East with vigor and judgment, independent of the Roman power. She assumed the title of “Queen of the East,” and exacted from her subjects the same adoration that was paid to Persian monarchs. She maintained her power through the reigns of Gallienus and Claudius, but was finally defeated and captured by Aurelian, 273 A. D. Decked with splendid jewels, and almost fainting under the weight of gold chains, she adorned the triumph of the emperor, but was presented by him with large possessions near Tivoli, where she passed the rest of her life in comfort and even splendor. Her daughters married into noble Roman families, and her descendants were still living in the fifth century. She was exceedingly beautiful, dark in complexion, with large black, fiery eyes. She spoke Latin, Greek, Syriac, and Egyptian, and wrote for her own use an epitome of Oriental history. She was a passionate hunter, and thoroughly inured to fatigue, sometimes walking on foot at the head of her troops.

222. What is dynamite?

This explosive, of which we hear so much, looks very much like moist brown sugar. It is made of nitro-glycerine, a heavy, oily liquid which explodes with great violence, mixed with an absorbent to make it safer to handle. Nitro-glycerine is composed of nitric acid, sulphuric acid, and that clear, sweet, soothing liquid called glycerine. The absorbent material is a fine, white powder, composed of the remains of infusoria. This takes up two or three times its weight of the nitro-glycerine without becoming pasty; the ingredients are mixed in leaden vessels with wooden spoons to avoid friction. If fire is applied to this mass, it burns with a strong flame without any explosion; but the application of a full sudden blow causes it to explode with tremendous force.

223. Who was the “Great American Commoner”?

Thaddeus Stevens (1793–1868), of Pennsylvania, an American statesman, was so called on account of his opposition to slavery and secession. He was elected representative in Congress in 1848 and re-elected in 1850. He strongly opposed the Fugitive Slave Law and the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. He was again elected to Congress in 1858, and held his seat till his death.

224. What was the proper name of Columbus?

His Genoese name was Christoforo Colombo, which, according to the custom of the time, he Latinized into Columbus. When he went into Spain he adopted the Spanish form of it, Christobal Colon.

225. Who were the parents of Columbus?

Columbus was the eldest son of Domenico Colombo, a wool comber of Genoa, and Susanna Fontanarossa. They had two other sons, Bartolommeo (Bartholomew) and Giacomo (James, called in Spain Diego), and a daughter who married a butcher.

226. Who was the wife of Columbus?

In the convent of All Saints, Lisbon, where Columbus was accustomed to attend religious service, were certain ladies of rank, either resident as boarders, or in some religious capacity. With one of these, Doña Felipa Moñis de Perestrello, Columbus became acquainted. Her father, Bartolommeo Moñis de Perestrello, an Italian cavalier, lately deceased, had been one of the most distinguished navigators under Prince Henry, and had colonized and governed the island of Porto Santo. Columbus soon fell in love with the lady, and married her. By her he had one son, Diego, born about 1472. A few years afterward his wife died.

227. How many children had Columbus?

He had two sons. The eldest, Diego, was by his wife. His second son, Fernando, born in 1487, was the illegitimate child of Doña Beatriz Enriquez, a noble lady of Cordova, to whom Columbus became attached, while waiting for an opportunity to appear at court. This son became the historian of his father.

228. When did the line of Columbus become extinct?

Diego married Doña Maria de Toledo, daughter of the Duke of Alva. Their eldest son, Luis, exchanged the hereditary dignity of admiral for a pension and the title of Duke of Veragua, Marquis of Jamaica. Luis’s eldest daughter married her cousin Diego, and died without issue, the male line thus becoming extinct. Finally the property and titles became, in 1608, merged by marriage through the female line in a branch of the house of Bragança.

229. What were the last words of Columbus?

He died while repeating the following words in Latin: “Lord, into thy hands I commit my spirit.”

230. Where do the remains of Columbus now repose?

The body of Columbus was deposited in the convent of San Francisco, Valladolid, Spain. It was thence transported, 1513, to the Carthusian Monastery of Seville, where a handsome monument was erected by command of Ferdinand and Isabella, with the simple inscription, “To Castile and Leon, Colon gave a new world.” In 1536, his body and that of his son Diego were removed to the city of St. Domingo, Hayti, and interred in the principal chapel. But, in 1796, the remains, as was supposed, were taken to Havana with imposing ceremonies. The tomb in the cathedral is marked by a slab elaborately carved, on which is inscribed,—

which is Spanish for,

In 1877, however, while excavating near the cathedral in St. Domingo, the vault was opened and a leaden coffin found containing human bones, and inscribed in Spanish, “Illustrious and renowned man, Christopher Columbus.” It is therefore thought that the body carried to Havana was not that of the great admiral.

231. What was the last writing of Columbus?

It is contained in a final codicil to the will of 1498, made at Valladolid on the 19th of May, 1506. By this the old will is confirmed, the mayorazgo is bequeathed to his son Diego and his male heirs, failing these to Fernando, his second son, and failing these to the male heirs of his brother Bartholomew: only in case of the extinction of the male line, direct or collateral, is it to descend to the females of the family; and those into whose hands it may fall are never to diminish it, but always to increase and ennoble it by all means possible. The head of the family is to sign himself “The Admiral.” A tenth of the annual income is to be set aside yearly for distribution among the poor relations of the house. A chapel is founded and endowed for the saying of masses. Beatriz Enriquez is left to the care of the young admiral in most graceful terms. Among other legacies is one of “half a mark of silver to a Jew who used to live at the gate of Jewry, in Lisbon.” The codicil was written and signed with the admiral’s own hand. Next day (May 20, 1506) he died.

232. Which is the “Sucker State”? Why so named?

This is a cant name given to the State of Illinois, the inhabitants of which are very generally called suckers throughout the West. The origin of this term is said to be as follows: The Western prairies are, in many places, full of the holes made by the “crawfish” (a fresh-water shell-fish, similar in form to the lobster), which descends to the water beneath. In early times, when travellers wended their way over these immense plains, they very prudently provided themselves with a long, hollow reed, and, when thirsty, thrust it into these natural artesians, and thus easily supplied their longings. The crawfish well generally contains pure water, and the manner in which the traveller drew forth the refreshing element gave him the name of “sucker.”

233. What was the “Bug” Bible?

What is known as the “Bug” Bible was printed in 1551, and contained a prologue by Tyndall. Its name is derived from the peculiar rendering of the fifth verse of the ninety-first Psalm, which is made to read, “So that thou shalt not need to be afraid for any bugs by night.”

234. How is celluloid made?

A roll of paper is slowly unwound, and at the same time saturated with a mixture of five parts of sulphuric acid and two of nitric, which falls upon the paper in a fine spray. This changes the cellulose of the paper into fine pyroxyline (gun cotton). The excess of acid having been expelled by pressure, the paper is washed with plenty of water until all traces of acid have been removed; it is then reduced to pulp, and passes on to the bleaching trough. Most of the water having been got rid of by means of a strainer, the pulp is mixed with from twenty to forty per cent. of its weight of camphor, and the mixture thoroughly triturated under millstones. The necessary coloring matter having been added in the form of powder, a second mixture and grinding follow. The finely divided pulp is then spread out in thin layers on slabs, and from twenty to twenty-five of these layers are placed in a hydraulic press, separated from one another by sheets of thick blotting paper, and are subjected to a pressure of one hundred and fifty atmospheres until all traces of moisture have been got rid of. The plates thus obtained are broken up and soaked for twenty-four hours in alcohol. The matter is then passed between rollers heated to between one hundred and forty and one hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit, whence it issues in the form of elastic sheets. Celluloid is made to imitate amber, tortoise-shell, coral, malachite, ebony, ivory, etc., and besides its employment in dentistry, is used to make mouthpieces for pipes and cigar-holders, handles for table-knives and umbrellas, combs, shirt-fronts and collars, and a number of fancy articles.

235. When is “Ground Hog Day”?

Candlemas day (Feb. 2). In Germany’s folklore there is a superstition that the badger, on that day, peeps out of his hole, and when he finds snow, walks abroad; but if he sees the sun shining, draws back into his hole. This latter action, so the legend goes, signifies that the winter weather is not over, the sun’s rays being too prematurely warm for the season. Doubtless the superstition concerning the ground hog in this country is derived from the above source.

236. Where are our Presidents buried?

Washington was buried at Mount Vernon, Va.; John Adams, at Quincy, Mass.; Jefferson, at Monticello, Va.; Madison, at Montpelier, Va.; Monroe, at Richmond, Va.; John Quincy Adams, at Quincy, Mass.; Jackson, at the Hermitage, near Nashville, Tenn.; Van Buren, at Kinderhook, N. Y.; Harrison, at North Bend, Ind.; Tyler, at Richmond, Va.; Polk, at Nashville, Tenn.; Taylor, at Washington, D. C.; Fillmore, at Buffalo, N. Y.; Pierce, at Concord, N. H.; Buchanan, at Lancaster, Pa.; Lincoln, at Springfield, Ill.; Johnson, at Greenville, Tenn.; Garfield, at Cleveland, Ohio; and Grant, at Riverside Park, New York City; Arthur, at Albany, N. Y.

237. Which is the “Modern Athens”?

This name is often given to Edinburgh, on account of its many noble literary institutions, the taste and culture of the people, the many distinguished men who have issued from it or resided in it, and the high character of its publications; and also on account of a marked resemblance to Athens in its topographical position and its general appearance.

The same epithet is applied to Boston, Mass., a city remarkable for the high intellectual character of its citizens, and for its many excellent literary, scientific, and educational institutions and publications.

238. What was the origin of the term “Old Harry”?

It has been suggested that this vulgar appellation for the devil comes from the Scandinavian Hari or Heira, names of Odin, who came in time to be degraded from his rank of a god to that of a fiend or evil spirit.

According to Henley, the hirsute honors of the Satan of the ancient religious stage procured him the name Old Hairy, corrupted into Old Harry.

239. What was the origin of the terms “Whig” and “Tory”?

These designations of political parties in English, and more lately in American history, were originally applied as terms of reproach. There are three accounts for the origin of the term Whig.

1. That it is derived from whig, whey, which the Scottish Covenanters used to drink, and hence a name applied to them.

2. That it is a contraction of whiggam, a term used in Scotland in driving horses, or from whiggamore, a driver of horses. In 1648 a party of these people marched to Edinburgh to oppose the king and the Duke of Hamilton. “This,” says Burnet, “was called the Whiggamore’s inroad; and ever after all that opposed the court came in contempt to be called whiggs; and from Scotland the word was brought into England.”

3. That it is formed from the initials of the motto, “We hope in God,” the motto of the club from which the Whig party took its rise.

The term Tory is derived from an Irish term applied, says Roger North, to “the most despicable savages among the wild Irish”; and the name was first given to the followers of the Duke of York, in 1679, because he favored Irishmen.

Another account of its origin is that it is derived from toree, give me (sc. your money), a term used by the Irish robbers.

240. Who invented decimal fractions?

The inventor of decimal fractions was Simon Stevin, of Bruges, whose tract, published in 1585, was entitled the “Disme.” But the simple plan we now have was not then invented. He used circles to designate the numbers that showed the value of the figures; thus, he wrote 27.847 as 27 (0) 8 (1) 4 (2) 7 (3), and read it as 27 commencements, 8 primes, 4 seconds, 7 thirds. The (0) showed the zero point, the (1) showed tenths, and so on. These terms “primes,” “seconds,” “thirds,” etc., have disappeared. “Primes” were the first to the right of the whole numbers, “seconds” the second place, etc.

Dispute has arisen concerning the origin of the simpler notation by means of the decimal point, whether used before the fraction alone, or as separating it from the integer. Napier claimed the discovery, so also has De Morgan. But Mr. Glaisher, in a paper read before the mathematical section of the British Association, seems to establish Napier’s priority in introducing the decimal point into arithmetic. The full modern use of it was first exemplified in a posthumous work of Napier’s called “Mirifici Logarithmorum Canon’s Constructio,” edited by his son, in 1619, where the formal definition of the decimal separator is given and illustrated, and the point subsequently used in operation as we now use it. Briggs, who died in 1631, constantly used an underscored line to distinguish the decimal part of a number; and Oughtred, one of his followers, improved on this by using, together with the line, a vertical bar to mark the separation still more plainly.

241. What is the origin of “humbug”?

The origin of this word is not certainly known. Webster says it is probably derived from hum, to impose on, to deceive, and bug, a frightful object, a bugbear.

Another account states that it is derived from Hamburg, a city of Germany: “A piece of Hamburg news” being in Germany a proverbial expression for false political rumors.

A third account gives its origin as follows: “There once lived in Scotland a gentleman of landed property whose name was Hume or Home, and his estate was called the Bogue. From the great falsehoods which he was in the habit of telling about himself, his family, and everything connected with them, it became the custom to say when anything improbable was stated, ‘Oh, that’s a Hume o’ the Bogue!’ The expression spread throughout the neighborhood, and even beyond, and by degrees was shortened into humbug by those who did not understand how the phrase first came to be used.”

A fourth account, that of Mr. F. Crosley, suggests the Irish uim bog (pronounced umbug), meaning “soft copper” or “worthless money.” James II. issued from the Dublin Mint a mixture of lead, copper, and brass, so worthless that a sovereign was intrinsically worth only twopence, and might have been bought after the revolution for a half-penny. Sterling and umbug were therefore expressive of real and fictitious worth, merit and humbug.

242. What is the history of the poem “Sheridan’s Ride”?

This famous poem by T. B. Read, beginning, “Up from the south at break of day,” has quite a history. The battle of Cedar Creek took place before dawn on the morning of Oct. 19, 1863. The Confederate forces, under Gen. Early, were gaining the upper hand, when a report of the battle reached Gen. Sheridan, who was at Winchester, twenty miles distant. Putting spurs to his horse, he hastened to the scene of battle, and by his encouragement, turned a threatened defeat into a glorious victory. The news of the victory, and the cause of it, reached Chicago at nine o’clock. Mr. Read, the poet, was staying there at a hotel, and Mr. Murdock, a noted reader, was with him at the time. Slapping his friend on the shoulder, Murdock exclaimed: “Read, you must write a poem on that subject to-day! By to-morrow others, with less ability, will be ahead of you.”

Mr. Read demurred, but, after half an hour’s talk, yielded to his friend’s wishes. He retired to his room, locked the door, and in four hours produced one of our grandest national poems.

His wife and Mr. Murdock praised it enthusiastically. The latter especially appreciated the beauty and spirit of the lines, for being a personal friend of Gen. Sheridan, he had ridden upon the gallant black steed

Mr. Murdock committed the lines to memory, and that evening, at a meeting of rejoicing over the victory, he recited them. An intense silence prevailed throughout the hall, broken only by the tones of the speaker. As the last words of the grand poem left his lips, storms of applause shook the building. Coming so soon after the victory, while the people were still flushed with their success, it wrought the audience up to an excitement which could not be controlled. Every one supposed that Mr. Murdock had composed the poem, and he was overwhelmed with expressions of congratulation and praise. But he, directing the attention of the crowd to the box where the poet sat, exclaimed, “There is the man who wrote the poem!”

243. Which is the longest word in the English language?

Disproportionableness is the longest classified word in our language.

244. What gems are the emblems of the Twelve Apostles?

Andrew, the bright blue sapphire, emblematic of his heavenly faith.

Bartholomew, the red carnelian, emblematic of his martyrdom.

James, the white chalcedony, emblematic of his purity.

James the Less, the topaz, emblematic of delicacy.

John, the emerald, emblematic of his youth and gentleness.

Matthew, the amethyst, emblematic of sobriety. Matthew was once a “publican,” but was “sobered” by the leaven of Christianity.

Matthias, the chrysolite, pure as sunshine.

Peter, the jasper, hard and solid as the rock of the church.

Philip, the friendly sardonyx.

Simeon of Cana, the pink hyacinth, emblematic of a sweet temper.

Thaddeus, the chrysoprase, emblematic of security and trustfulness.

Thomas, the beryl, indefinite in lustre, emblematic of his doubting faith.

245. What is the origin of “bogus”?

According to the Boston Daily Courier of June 12, 1857, this word originated as follows: “The word ‘bogus,’ we believe, is a corruption of the name of one Borghese, a very corrupt individual, who, twenty years ago or more, did a tremendous business in the way of supplying the great West, and portions of the Southwest, with a vast amount of counterfeit bills, and bills on fictitious banks, which never had any existence out of the ‘forgetive brain’ of him, the said ‘Borghese.’ The Western people, who are rather rapid in their talk, when excited, soon fell into the habit of shortening the Norman name of Borghese to the more handy one of Bogus; and his bills, and all other bills of like character, were universally styled ‘bogus currency.’”

246. Why is buckwheat so called?

The word “buckwheat” is a corruption of beechwheat. It is so called from the similarity of the shape of its grains to the mast or nuts of the beech-tree.

247. Who originated tarring and feathering?

Richard Cœur de Lion seems to have originated tarring and feathering. Hoveden, quoted by Dr. Hook in his “Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury,” says that Richard, when he sailed for the Holy Land, made sundry laws for the regulation of his fleet, one of which enacted that “a robber who shall be convicted of theft shall have his head cropped after the manner of a champion, and boiling pitch shall be poured thereon, and then the feathers of a cushion shall be shaken out upon him, so that he may be known, and at the first land at which the ship shall touch he shall be set on shore.”

248. What is the meaning of the phrase “By Jingo”?

Jingo is a corruption of Jainko, the name of the Basque Supreme Being. “By Jingo!” or “By the living Jingo!” is an appeal to deity. Edward I. had Basque mountaineers conveyed to England to take part in his Welsh wars, and the Plantagenets held the Basque provinces in possession. This Basque oath is a landmark of these facts.

249. Who is “Old Nick”?

This vulgar and ancient name for the devil is derived from that of the Neck, or Nikke, a river or ocean god of the Scandinavian popular mythology. “The British sailor,” says Scott, “who fears nothing else, confesses his terrors for this terrible being, and believes him the author of almost all the various calamities to which the precarious life of a seaman is so continually exposed.” Butler, the author of “Hudibras,” erroneously derives the term from the name of Nicolo Macchiavelli.

250. Who was “Rare Ben”?

This famous appellation was conferred upon Ben Jonson (1574–1637), the dramatic poet. It is said that soon after his death, a subscription was commenced for the purpose of erecting a monument to his memory; but the undertaking having advanced slowly, an eccentric Oxfordshire squire took the opportunity, on passing one day through Westminster Abbey, to secure at least an epitaph for the poet by giving a mason eighteen pence to cut, on the stone which covered the grave, the words, “O, rare Ben Johnson.”

251. What was the origin of Thanksgiving Day?

In 1621, the year after Plymouth Colony was founded, Gov. Bradford set apart a day for thanksgiving for the yield of the harvests. Two years after that, there was a great drought, and the people were devoting a day to fasting and prayer, when their sorrows were turned into praise and thanksgiving by a generous fall of rain. From that time it gradually became an established custom to have a day of praise and thanksgiving after harvests. When the Colonies became the New England States, the custom was kept up, the day being proclaimed by the governors of the several States. A day of prayer was recommended by Congress during the Revolution, and by Washington after the adoption of the Constitution. This was continued by some of the later Presidents. In 1863, Lincoln proclaimed that a National Thanksgiving Day should be observed in remembrance of the recent victories and the general manifestation of God’s goodness and mercy. This has been annually issued since, and now custom has fixed it as the fourth Thursday in November.

252. Whose wife was Adam?

Adam’s. “Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.” Genesis v. 2.

253. Whose daughter was Noah?

Zelophehad’s. “Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah and Tirzah.” Numbers xxvii. 1.

254. Who are the “Hairy Men”?

The Ainos, who are supposed to be the aborigines of Japan. They are distinguished by an exuberance of hair on the head and body, a circumstance which has given rise to their name of “Hairy Kuriles.” They are different in race and character from the ordinary Japanese. Legend says that the Japanese were originally Ainos, but became a separate race by intermarriage with the Chinese. They are now found chiefly in the island of Yesso.

255. Where was the Declaration of Independence written?

Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in the second story, front room, of house No. 230 High Street, now 700 Market Street, Philadelphia.

256. What is the Golden Number of a year, and how determined?

The Golden Number for any year is the number of that year in the Metonic cycle, and as this cycle embraces nineteen years, the golden number ranges from one to nineteen. The cycle of Meton came into general use soon after its discovery, and the number of each year in the Metonic cycle was ordered to be engraved in letters of gold on pillars of marble—hence the origin of the name. Since the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, the point from which the golden numbers are numbered is 1 B. C., as in that year the new moon fell on the 1st of January; and as by Meton’s law, it falls on the same day (Jan. 1) every nineteenth year from that time, we obtain the following rule for obtaining the golden number of any particular year: “Add one to the number of years and divide by nineteen; the quotient gives the number of cycles, and the remainder gives the golden number for that year; and if there be no remainder, then nineteen is the golden number, and that year is the last of the cycle.” The golden number is used for determining the Epact and the time of holding Easter.

257. What were the causes of the American Revolution?

The most general cause of the American Revolution was the right of arbitrary government, claimed by Great Britain and denied by the Colonies. There were subordinate causes. First of these was the influence of France, which was constantly exerted so as to incite a spirit of resistance in the Colonies. Another cause was found in the natural disposition and inherited character of the colonists. The growth of public opinion in the Colonies tended to independence. Another cause was found in the personal character of the king. The more immediate cause was the passage by Parliament of a number of acts destructive of colonial liberty.

258. How was the first colonial Congress constituted?

At Boston, James Otis successfully agitated the question of an American Congress. It was proposed that each Colony, acting without leave of the king, should appoint delegates, who should meet in the following autumn and discuss the affairs of the nation. The proposition was favorably received, nine of the Colonies appointed delegates, and on the 7th of October, 1765, the first Colonial Congress assembled at New York. There were twenty-eight representatives. Timothy Ruggles, of Massachusetts, was chosen president. After much discussion, a Declaration of Rights was adopted, setting forth in unmistakable terms that the American colonists, as Englishmen, could not and would not consent to be taxed but by their own representatives. Memorials were also prepared and addressed to the two Houses of Parliament. A manly petition, professing loyalty and praying for a more just and humane policy toward his American subjects, was directed to the king.

259. What were the terms of the Treaty of 1783?

The terms of the Treaty of 1783 were briefly these: A full and complete recognition of the independence of the United States; the recession by Great Britain of Florida to Spain; the surrender of all the remaining territory east of the Mississippi and south of the Great Lakes to the United States; the free navigation of the Mississippi and the Lakes by American vessels; the concession of mutual rights in the Newfoundland fisheries; and the retention by Great Britain of Canada and Nova Scotia, with the exclusive control of the St. Lawrence River.

260. What were the leading defects of the Confederation?

1. There was an utter want of all coercive authority in the Continental Congress to carry into effect any of their constitutional measures. 2. There was no power in the Continental Congress to punish individuals for any breach of their enactments. Their laws must be wholly without penal sanction. 3. They had no power to lay taxes, or to collect revenue for the public service. The power over taxes was expressly and exclusively reserved to the States. 4. They had no power to regulate commerce, either with foreign nations or among the several States. It was left, with respect to both, exclusively to the management of each particular State, thus being at the mercy of private interests or local prejudices. 5. As might be expected, “the most opposite regulations existed in different States, and there was a constant resort to retaliatory legislation from their jealousies and rivalries in commerce, in agriculture, or in manufactures. Foreign nations did not fail to avail themselves of all the advantages accruing from this suicidal policy tending to the common ruin.” 6. For want of some singleness of power,—a power to act with uniformity and one to which all interests could be reconciled,—foreign commerce was sadly crippled, and nearly destroyed. The country was deeply in debt, without a dollar to pay, or the means even to draw a dollar into the public treasury, and what money there was in the country was rapidly making its way abroad. 7. Great as these embarrassments were, the States, full of jealousy, were tenaciously opposed to making the necessary concessions to remedy the great and growing evil. All became impressed with the fear, that, unless a much stronger national government could be instituted, all that had been gained by the Revolutionary struggle would soon be lost.

261. What were the Alien and Sedition Laws?

Two laws passed by Congress in 1798. The Alien Law empowered the President to send out of the country, at short notice, any foreigners whose presence might be deemed injurious or prejudicial to the interests of the United States, and lengthened the time requisite for becoming naturalized citizens of the United States to fourteen years. The Sedition Law limited the freedom of speech, and of the press when directed abusively against the government. Under this act it was a crime punishable with heavy fine and long imprisonment “to write, print, utter, or publish any false, scandalous, or malicious statement against either President or Congress.” These laws did much to defeat Adams’s re-election in 1800.

262. What were the principal causes of the late Civil War?

The principal causes of the Civil War were five in number: 1. The different construction put upon the national Constitution by the people of the North and the South. 2. The different system of labor in the North and in the South. 3. The want of intercourse between the people of the North and the South. 4. The publication of sectional books. 5. The evil influence of demagogues.

263. What is the title of the Czar of Russia?

Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, of Moscow, of Kieff, of Vladimir, of Novgorod; Czar of Kazan, of Astrakhan, of Poland, of Siberia, of Kherson-Taurida, of Grousi; Gosondar of Pskoff; Grand Duke of Smolensk, of Lithuania, of Volhynia, of Podolia, and of Finland; Prince of Esthonia, of Livonia, of Courland, of Semigalia, of the Samoyedes, of Bielostok, of Corelia, of Foer, of Ingor, of Perm, of Viatka, of Bulgaria, and of other countries; Master and Grand Duke of the lower countries in Novgorod, of Tchernigoff, of Riazan, of Polotsk, of Rostoff, of Jaroslaff, of Bielosersk, of Ondork, of Obdorsk, of Kondisk, of Vitelsk, of Mstilaff, and of all the countries of the North; Master Absolute of Iversk, of Kastalnisk, of Kalardinsk, and of the territory of Armenia; Sovereign of Mountain Princes of Tcherkask, Master of Turkestan, Heir-presumptive of Norway, and Duke of Sleswick-Holstein, of Stormarne, of Duthmarse, and of Oldenburg.

264. What was the origin of the phrase “To speak for Buncombe”?

This phrase, which means to speak for mere show, or for purposes of political intrigue, originated in the Sixteenth Congress, near the close of the debate on the famous “Missouri Question.” Felix Walker, a naïve old mountaineer, who resided at Waynesville, in Haywood, the most western county of North Carolina, near the border of the adjacent county of Buncombe, arose to speak, while the house was impatiently calling for the “Question.” Several members gathered round him and insisted on his silence, but he continued to speak, declaring that the people of his district expected it, and that he was bound to “make a speech for Buncombe.” Hence the phrases, “To speak for Buncombe,” “All for Buncombe,” etc.

265. What President was buried at the expense of his friends?

James Monroe, although he had received $350,000 for his public services, yet, on account of the free-handed hospitality so characteristic of his native State (Virginia) in her palmy days, together with his life-long occupation in public affairs to the neglect of his own estate, was so involved in debt, at the time of his death, that his funeral expenses were met by his friends.

266. What President married the same lady twice?

In the summer of 1791, Andrew Jackson married Mrs. Rachel Robards, a daughter of Col. John Donelson, of Virginia, one of the founders of Tennessee. Her first husband was Mr. Lewis Robards, of Kentucky. Robards and his wife were boarding with Mrs. Donelson, then a widow, when Jackson arrived at Nashville, and took up his residence in the same family. In 1790–1791, Robards applied to the Legislature of Virginia for an act preliminary to a divorce, stating that his wife was living in adultery with Andrew Jackson. The act was passed, under it a jury was summoned late in 1793, and the court of Mercer County, Ky., declared the marriage between Lewis Robards and Rachael Robards dissolved. Jackson and Mrs. Robards believed the act passed by the Legislature was itself a divorce, and they were married at Natchez two years before the action of the court. At the suggestion of their friend Judge Overton, who also was surprised to learn that the act of the Legislature had not divorced Robards, they procured a license in January, 1794, and had the ceremony performed again. When Gen. Jackson had become the chief of a great party, the circumstances of this marriage led to very serious misrepresentations. Robards was prone to jealousy without cause, and Jackson was not the first man of whom he was jealous. His statement to the Legislature of Virginia is believed to have been wholly unfounded. His relatives all sided with his wife, and never supposed her to be guilty of even an act of impropriety.

267. Why is Alaska so called?

In the dialect of the natives first encountered by the Russian explorers, the land was called Al-ay-es-ka, “the great land.” From this the present name has become changed through Aliaska and Alaksa to its present form.

268. Who was the nearest common ancestor of nearly all the reigning monarchs of Europe?

John of Gaunt (1339–1399), fourth son of Edward III. of England, although he himself was never a king, nor were any of his brothers or sisters even sovereigns, was the common ancestor of nearly all the crowned heads of Christendom. The monarchs descended from him are Victoria, Queen of England, who is of the sixteenth generation; Louis I., King of Portugal, of the fifteenth generation; Alphonzo XII., the late King of Spain, of the sixteenth generation; Francis Joseph I., Emperor of Austria, of the fifteenth generation; Leopold II., King of Belgium, of the seventeenth generation; Christian IX., King of Denmark, of the sixteenth generation; Humbert, King of Italy, of the sixteenth generation; George I., King of Greece, of the seventeenth generation; Alexander III., Emperor of Russia, of the eighteenth generation; William I., Emperor of Germany, of the sixteenth generation; Dom Pedro II., Emperor of Brazil, is of the fourteenth generation, the nearest of kin to the English progenitor; the late Chambord (Henry V.), claimant of the French throne, was of the sixteenth generation; and Louis Philippe Albert, Prince d’Orleans, the Orleanist claimant of the French throne, is of the seventeenth generation.

269. Who was the “Red Prince”?

Prince Frederick Charles Nicholas, of Germany (1828–1885), a nephew of Emperor William I., was so called from his favorite attire,—the scarlet uniform of his Brandenburg Hussars, which he loved far more than the full glitter of his highest honors.

270. Why is New Jersey called a foreign country?

In the early days of railways the New Jersey Legislature chartered the Camden and Amboy Railroad, but neglected to impose a tax upon its earnings or plant. A few years later, when it became a valuable property, the State, unable to modify the charter, levied a State tax upon each passenger carried. This tax fell upon travellers who lived outside the State as well as Jerseymen, and the former, because they were taxed to pass through it, facetiously termed New Jersey a foreign country.

271. Why is Canada so called?

Charlevoix says that this name is from an Iroquois word Kannata, a collection of huts. There is, however, a Spanish tradition that some Spanish explorers visiting the country in search of gold, and finding no mines, or other appearance of riches, said, Aca Nada, “Here is nothing,” which, being repeated by the natives to subsequent visitors from Europe, was supposed to be the name of the country.

272. Which is the “Railroad City”?

Indianapolis, the largest city in the United States situated on non-navigable waters. The first railway entered the city in 1847. Now, twelve main lines converge in the Union Depot. About a hundred passenger trains, connected with every part of the country, enter and depart daily. The numerous tracks being on a level with the surface of the streets, the obstruction and danger at the numerous crossings became very great on account of the increase of railway traffic, so that in 1877 a loop line, called the “Belt,” had to be made, passing round the city, to connect the various railways. By means of it the “through freight-cars” are conveyed past the city without blocking the traffic.

273. Which is the “Sage Brush State”?

The flora of Nevada is so scanty and so characterized by sage-brush, or Artemisia, that this State is often nicknamed the “Sage Brush State.” Artemisia is a low, irregular shrub, with thick crooked stems, growing in dry alkaline soils, which without irrigation will produce nothing else.

274. What ancient city brought about its own destruction by an ill-timed jest?

Antioch, the ancient capital of the Greek kings of Syria, was one of the most magnificent cities of the ancient world. The Antiochenes themselves brought about the destruction of their beautiful city. They were famous above all other people in ancient times for their biting and scurrilous wit, and for their ingenuity in devising nicknames; and when the Persians under Chosroes invaded Syria, in 538 A. D., the Antiochenes could not refrain from jesting at them. The Persians took ample revenge by the total destruction of the city, which, however, was rebuilt by Justinian. It was in this city that the followers of Christ were first called Christians.

275. Who was Washington’s wife?

Her maiden name was Martha Dandridge. She was born at Kent, Va., May 17, 1732. At the age of seventeen, she was married to Col. John Parke Custis, by whom she had three children. Within a few years she lost her eldest son and her husband. She was a charming widow of twenty-six when Washington first met her at the house of a Mr. Chamberlayne. After a short acquaintance, they were married Jan. 6, 1759. She died May 22, 1802.

276. What was the height of Goliath?

According to Samuel, he was “six cubits and a span.” Mr. Greaves gives the length of the cubit as twenty-one inches, and the span nine inches. This would make Goliath’s height about eleven feet three inches.

277. What is the balm of Gilead?

The balm of Gilead, also called balsam of Mecca and Opobalsam, is obtained from a low tree or shrub, the balsamodendron Gileadense, which grows in several parts of Arabia and Abyssinia. To obtain the juice, the bark of the tree is cut at the time when the sap is in its strongest period of circulation. As the juices ooze through the wound they are received into small earthen bottles, every day’s produce being poured into large bottles and corked. When fresh, the smell of the balsam is exquisitely fragrant, but if left exposed to the atmosphere it loses this quality. The quantity of balsam yielded by one tree is said never to exceed sixty drops in a day. It is, therefore, very scarce, and can with difficulty be procured in a pure and unadulterated state, even at Constantinople.

278. What was the origin of the barber’s pole?

In former times barbers served the public in the capacity of surgeons, and performed the act of bleeding, that being a favorite remedy with our ancestors. The pole represented the staff held by the person being bled, and the spiral stripes painted around it were typical of the two bandages used for twisting around the arm previous to the bleeding and after the operation had been performed. The blue stripes and stars sometimes seen were probably introduced by some barber endowed with more patriotism than love of ancient customs.