Pure atmospheric air is composed of nitrogen, oxygen and a very small
proportion of carbonic acid gas. Air once breathed has lost the chief
part of its oxygen, and acquired a proportionate increase of carbonic
acid gas. Therefore, health requires that we breathe the same air once
only.
The solid part of our bodies is continually wasting and requires to be
repaired by fresh substances. Therefore, food, which is to repair the
loss, should be taken with due regard to the exercise and waste of the
body.
The fluid part of our bodies also wastes constantly; there is but one
fluid in animals, which is water. Therefore, water only is necessary,
and no artifice can produce a better drink.
The fluid of our bodies is to the solid in proportion as nine to one.
Therefore, a like proportion should prevail in the total amount of
food taken.
Light exercises an important influence upon the growth and vigor of
animals and plants. Therefore, our dwellings should freely admit the
sun's rays.
Decomposing animal and vegetable substances yield various noxious
gases, which enter the lungs and corrupt the blood. Therefore, all
impurities should be kept away from our abodes, and every precaution
be observed to secure a pure atmosphere.
Warmth is essential to all the bodily functions. Therefore, an equal
bodily temperature should be maintained by exercise, by clothing or by
fire.
Exercise warms, invigorates and purifies the body; clothing preserves
the warmth the body generates; fire imparts warmth externally.
Therefore, to obtain and preserve warmth, exercise and clothing are
preferable to fire.
Fire consumes the oxygen of the air, and produces noxious gases.
Therefore, the air is less pure in the presence of candles, gas or
coal fire, than otherwise, and the deterioration should be repaired by
increased ventilation. The skin is a highly-organized membrane, full
of minute pores, cells, blood-vessels, and nerves; it imbibes moisture
or throws it off according to the state of the atmosphere or the
temperature of the body. It also "breathes," like the lungs (though
less actively). All the internal organs sympathize with the skin.
Therefore, it should be repeatedly cleansed.
Late hours and anxious pursuits exhaust the nervous system and produce
disease and premature death. Therefore, the hours of labor and study
should be short.
Mental and bodily exercise are equally essential to the general health
and happiness. Therefore, labor and study should succeed each other.
Man will live most happily upon simple solids and fluids, of which
a sufficient but temperate quantity should be taken. Therefore,
over-indulgence in strong drinks, tobacco, snuff, opium, and all mere
indulgences, should be avoided.
Sudden alternations of heat and cold are dangerous (especially to the
young and the aged). Therefore, clothing, in quantity and quality,
should be adapted to the alternations of night and day, and of the
seasons. And therefore, also, drinking cold water when the body is
hot, and hot tea and soups when cold are productive of many evils.
Never visit a sick person (especially if the complaint be of a
contagious nature) with an empty stomach, as this disposes the system
more readily to receive the contagion. And in attending a sick person,
place yourself where the air passes from the door or window to the bed
of the diseased; not between the diseased person and any fire that is
in the room, as the heat of the fire will draw the infectious vapor in
that direction.
MOTHER SHIPTON'S PROPHECY.--The lines known as "Mother Shipton's
Prophecy" were first published in England in 1485, before the
discovery of America, and, of course, before any of the discoveries
and inventions mentioned therein. All the events predicted have come
to pass except that in the last two lines.
Carriages without horses shall go,
And accidents fill the world with woe.
Around the world thoughts shall fly
In the twinkling of an eye.
Waters shall yet more wonders do,
Now strange, yet shall be true.
The world upside down shall be,
And gold be found at root of tree.
Through hills man shall ride,
And no horse nor ass be at his side.
Under water man shall walk,
Shall ride, shall sleep, shall talk.
In the air men shall be seen
In white, in black, in green.
Iron in the water shall float,
As easy as a wooden boat.
Gold shall be found 'mid stone,
In a land that's now unknown.
Fire and water shall wonders do,
England shall at last admit a Jew.
And this world to an end shall come
In eighteen hundred and eighty-one.
CAPTAIN KIDD, a notorious American pirate, was born about 1650. In
1696 he was entrusted by the British Government with the command of
a privateer, and sailed from New York, for the purpose of suppressing
the numerous pirates then infesting the seas. He went to the East
Indies, where he began a career of piracy, and returned to New York in
1698 with a large amount of booty. He was soon after arrested, sent to
England for trial, and executed in 1701.
VALUE OF OLD AMERICAN COINS.--1793--Half cent, 75 cents; one cent,
$2. 1794--Half cent, 20 cents, one cent, 10 cents; five cents, $1.25;
fifty cents, $3; one dollar, $10. 1795--Half cent, 5 cents; one cent,
5 cents; five cents, 25 cents; fifty cents, 55 cents; one dollar,
$1.25. 1796--Half cent, $5; one cent, 10 cents; five cents $1; ten
cents, 50 cents; twenty-five cents, $1; fifty cents, $10; one dollar,
$1.50. 1797--Half cent, 5 cents; one cent, 5 cents; five cents, 50
cents; ten cents, $1; fifty cents, $10; one dollar, $1.50. 1798--One
cent, 5 cents; ten cents, $1; one dollar, $1.50. 1799--One cent, $5;
one dollar, $1.60. 1800--Half cent, 5 cents; one cent, 3 cents; five
cents, 25 cents; [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'ten
cents 1'] ten cents, $1; one dollar, $1.10. 1801--One cent, 3 cents;
five cents, $1; ten cents, $1; fifty cents, $2; one dollar, $1.25.
1802--Half cent, 50 cents; one cent, 2 cents; ten cents, $1; fifty
cents, $2; one dollar, $1.25. 1803--Half cent, 2 cents; one cent, 2
cents; five cents, $10; [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads
'ten cents, 1'] ten cents, $1; one dollar, $1.10. 1804--Half cent, 2
cents; one cent, $2; five cents, 75 cents; ten cents, $2; twenty-five
cents, 75 cents; one dollar, $100. 1805--Half cent, 2 cents; one cent,
3 cents; five cents, $1.50; ten cents, 25 cents. 1806--Half cent, 2
cents; one cent, 3 cents. 1807--Half cent, 2 cents; one cent, 3 cents;
ten cents, 25 cents. 1808--Half cent, 2 cents; one cent, 5 cents.
1809--Half cent, 1 cent; one cent, 25 cents; ten cents, 50 cents.
1810--Half cent, 5 cents; one cent, 5 cents. 1811--Half cent, 25
cents; one cent, 10 cents; ten cents, 50 cents. 1812--One cent, 2
cents. 1813--One cent, 5 cents. 1815--Fifty cents, $5. 1821--One cent,
5 cents. 1822--Ten cents, $1. 1823--One cent, 5 cents; twenty-five
cents, $10. 1824--Twenty-five cents, 40 cents. 1825--Half cent, 2
cents. 1826--Half cent, 2 cents; one cent, 50 cents. 1827--One cent,
3 cents; twenty-five cents, $10. 1828--Half cent, 1 cent; twenty-five
cents, 30 cents. 1829--Half cent, 2 cents. 1830--Half cent, 2 cents.
1832-'33-'34--Half cent, 2 cents. 1835--Half cent, 1 cent. 1836--Fifty
cents, $3; one dollar, $3. 1838--Ten cents, 25 cents. 1839--One
dollar, $10. 1846--Five cents, 50 cents. 1849-'50--Half cent, 5
cents. 1851--Half cent, 1 cent; twenty-five cents, 30 cents; one
dollar, $10.90. 1852--Twenty-five cents, 30 cents; fifty cents,
$2; one dollar, $10. 1853--Half cent, 1 cent; twenty cents (with
no arrows), $2.50; one dollar, $1.25. 1854--Half cent, 2 cents;
one dollar, $2. 1855-'57--Half cent, 5 cents; one dollar, $1.50.
1856--Half cent, 5 cents; one dollar. $1.50. 1858--One dollar, $10.
1863-'4-'5--Three cents, 95 cents. 1866--Half cent, 6 cents; three
cents, 25 cents; five cents, 10 cents; twenty-five cents, 30 cents.
1867--Three cents, 25 cents; five cents, 10 cents. 1868-'9--Three
cents, 25 cents. 1870--Three cents, 15 cents. 1871--Two cents, 10
cents; three cents, 25 cents. 1873--Two cents, 50 cents; three cents.
50 cents. 1877-'8--Twenty cents, $1.50. These prices are for good
ordinary coins without holes. Fine specimens are worth more.
LEANING TOWER OF PISA.--The leaning tower of Pisa was commenced in
1152, and was not finished till the fourteenth century. Tho cathedral
to which this belongs was erected to celebrate a triumph of the Pisans
in the harbor of Palermo in 1063, when allied with the Normans to
drive the Saracens out of Sicily. It is a circular building, one
hundred feet in diameter and 179 feet in extreme height, and has
fine mosaic pavements, elaborately carved columns, and numerous
bas-reliefs. The building is of white marble. The tower is divided
into eight stories, each having an outside gallery of seven feet
projection, and the topmost story overhangs the base about sixteen
feet, though, as the center of gravity is still ten feet within the
base, the building is perfectly safe. It has been supposed that this
inclination was intentional, but the opinion that the foundation
has sunk is no doubt correct. It is most likely that the defective
foundation became perceptible before the tower had reached one-half
its height, as at that elevation the unequal length of the columns
exhibits an endeavor to restore the perpendicular, and at about the
same place the walls are strengthened with iron bars.
What causes the water to flow out of an artesian well?--The
theoretical explanation of the phenomenon is easily understood.
The secondary and tertiary geological formations often present the
appearance of immense basins, the boundary or rim of the basin having
been formed by an upheaval of adjacent strata. In these formations it
often happens that a porous stratum, consisting of sand, sandstone,
chalk or other calcareous matter, is included between two impermeable
layers of clay, so as to form a flat [Transcriber's Note: The original
text reads 'porus'] porous U tube, continuous from side to side of
the valley, the outcrop on the surrounding hills forming the mouth
of the tube. The rain filtering down through the porous layer to the
bottom of the basin forms there a subterranean pool, which, with the
liquid or semi-liquid column pressing upon it, constitutes a sort
of huge natural hydrostatic bellows. Sometimes the pressure on
the superincumbent crust is so great as to cause an upheaval or
disturbance of the valley. It is obvious, then, that when a hole is
bored down through the upper impermeable layer to the surface of the
lake, the water will be forced up by the natural law of water seeking
its level to a height above the surface of the valley, greater or
less, according to the elevation of the level in the feeding column,
thus forming a natural mountain on precisely the same principle as
that of most artificial fountains, where the water supply comes from a
considerable height above the jet.
HOW MANY CUBIC FEET THERE ARE IN A TON OF COAL.--There is a difference
between a ton of hard coal and one of soft coal. For that matter, coal
from different mines, whether hard or soft, differs in weight, and
consequently in cubic measure, according to quality. Then there is a
difference according to size. To illustrate, careful measurements have
been made of Wilkes-barre anthracite, a fine quality of hard coal,
with the following results:
Cubic-feet Cubic feet
in ton of in ton of
Size of coal. 2,240 lbs. 2,000 lbs.
Lump 33.2 28.8
Broken 33.9 30.3
Egg 34.5 30.8
Stone 34.8 31.1
Chestnut 35.7 31.9
Pea 36.7 32.8
For soft coal the following measures may be taken as nearly correct;
it is simply impossible to determine any exact rule, even for
bituminous coal of the same district: Briar Hill coal, 44.8 cubic
feet per ton of 2,240 pounds; Pittsburgh, 47.8; Wilmington, Ill., 47;
Indiana block coal, 42 to 43 cubic feet.
The dimensions of the great wall of China and of what it is built.--It
runs from a point on the Gulf of Liantung, an arm of the Gulf of
Pechili in Northeastern China, westerly to the Yellow River; thence
makes a great bend to the south for nearly 100 miles, and then runs
to the northwest for several hundred miles to the Desert of Gobi. Its
length is variously estimated to be from 1,250 to 1,500 miles. For the
most of this distance it runs through a mountainous country, keeping
on the ridges, and winding over many of the highest peaks. In some
places it is only a formidable rampart, but most of the way it is
composed of lofty walls of masonry and concrete, or impacted lime and
clay, from 12 to 16 feet in thickness, and from 15 to 30 or 35 feet
in height. The top of this wall is paved for hundreds of miles, and
crowned with crenallated battlements, and towers 30 to 40 feet high.
In numerous places the wall climbs such steep declivities that its
top ascends from height to height in flights of granite steps. An army
could march on the top of the wall for weeks and even months, moving
in some places ten men abreast.
Limits of Natural Vision.--This question is too indefinite for a
specific answer. The limits of vision vary with elevation, conditions
of the atmosphere, intensity of illumination, and other modifying
elements in different cases. In a clear day an object one foot above
a level plain may be seen at the distance of 1.31 miles; one ten feet
high, 4.15 miles; one twenty feet high, 5.86 miles; one 100 feet high,
13.1 miles; one a mile high, as the top of a mountain, 95.23 miles.
This allows seven inches (or, to be exact, 6.99 inches) for the
curvature of the earth, and assumes that the size and illumination of
the object are sufficient to produce an image. Five miles may be taken
as the extreme limit at which a man is visible on a flat plain to an
observer on the same level.
THE NIAGARA SUSPENSION BRIDGE.--For seven miles below the falls,
Niagara river flows through a gorge varying in width from 200 to 400
yards. Two miles below the falls the river is but 350 feet wide, and
it is here that the great suspension bridge, constructed in 1855 by
Mr. Roebling, crosses the gorge, 245 feet above the water. The length
of the span, from tower to tower, is 821 feet, and the total length of
the bridge is 2,220 feet. The length of the span, which is capable of
sustaining a strain of 10,000 tons, is 821 feet from tower to tower,
and the total length of the bridge is 2,220 feet. It is used both for
railway and wagon traffic, the wagon-road and foot-way being directly
under the railway bed. There is another suspension bridge across the
Niagara river at a distance of only about fifty rods from the falls,
on the American side. This is only for carriages and foot travel. It
was finished in 1869. It is 1,190 feet long from cliff to cliff, 1,268
feet from tower to tower, and 190 feet above the river, which at this
point is a little over 900 feet in width.
THE SPEED OF SOUND.--It has been ascertained that a full human voice,
speaking in the open air, calm, can be heard at a distance of 400 feet;
in an observable breeze a powerful human voice with the wind is audible
at a distance of 15,840 feet; the report of a musket, 16,000 feet; a
drum, 10,560 feet; music, a strong brass band, 15,840 feet; very heavy
cannonading, 575,000 feet, or 90 miles. In the Arctic regions
conversation has been maintained over water a distance of 6,766 feet. In
gases the velocity of sound increases with the temperature; in air this
increase is about two feet per second for each degree centigrade. The
velocity of sound in oxygen gas at zero C. is 1,040 feet; in carbonic
acid, 858 feet; in hydrogen, 4,164 feet. In 1827 Colladon and Sturm
determined experimentally the velocity of sound in fresh water; the
experiment was made in the Lake of Geneva, and it was found to be 4,174
feet per second at a temperature of 15 degrees C. The velocity of sound
in alcohol at 20 degrees C. is 4,218 feet; in ether at zero, 3,801; in
sea water at 20 degrees C., 4,768. By direct measurements, carefully
made, by observing at night the interval which elapses between the flash
and report of a cannon at a known distance, the velocity of sound has
been about 1,090 per second at the temperature of freezing water.
DESCRIPTION OF THE YELLOWSTONE PARK.--The Yellowstone National Park
extends sixty-five miles north and south, and fifty-five miles east
and west, comprising 3,575 square miles, and is all 6,000 feet or more
above sea-level. Yellowstone Lake, twenty miles by fifteen, has an
altitude of 7,788 feet. The mountain ranges which hem in the valleys
on every side rise to the height of 10,000 to 12,000 feet, and are
always covered with snow. This great park contains the most striking
of all the mountains, gorges, falls, rivers and lakes in the whole
Yellowstone region. The springs on Gardiner's River cover an area of
about one square mile, and three or four square miles thereabout are
occupied by the remains of springs which have ceased to flow. The
natural basins into which these springs flow are from four to six feet
in diameter and from one to four feet in depth. The principal ones are
located upon terraces midway up the sides of the mountain. The banks
of the Yellowstone River abound with ravines and canons, which are
carved out of the heart of the mountains through the hardest of rocks.
The most remarkable of these is the canon of Tower Creek and Column
Mountain. The latter, which extends along the eastern bank of the
river for upward of two miles, is said to resemble the Giant's
Causeway. The canon of Tower Creek is about ten miles in length and
is so deep and gloomy that it is called "The Devil's Den." Where
Tower Creek ends the Grand Canon begins. It is twenty miles in length,
impassable throughout, and inaccessible at the water's edge, except
at a few points. Its rugged edges are from 200 to 500 yards apart, and
its depth is so profound that no sound ever reaches the ear from the
bottom. The Grand Canon contains a great multitude of hot springs of
sulphur, sulphate of copper, alum, etc. In the number and magnitude
of its hot springs and geysers, the Yellowstone Park surpasses all
the rest of the world. There are probably fifty geysers that throw a
column of water to the height of from 50 to 200 feet, and it is stated
that there are not fewer than 5,000 springs; there are two kinds,
those depositing lime and those depositing silica. The temperature of
the calcareous springs is from 160 to 170 degrees, while that of the
others rises to 200 or more. The principal collections are the upper
and lower geyser basins of the Madison River, and the calcareous
springs on Gardiner's River. The great falls are marvels to which
adventurous travelers have gone only to return and report that they
are parts of the wonders of this new American wonderland.
DESIGNATIONS OF GROUPS OF ANIMALS.--The ingenuity of the sportsman
is, perhaps, no better illustrated than by the use he puts the English
language to in designating particular groups of animals. The following
is a list of the terms which have been applied to the various classes:
A covey of patridges, A nide of pheasants, A wisp of snipe, A flight
of doves or swallows, A muster of peacocks, A siege of herons, A
building of rooks, A brood of grouse, A plump of wild fowl, A stand of
plovers, A watch of nightingales, A clattering of choughs, A flock of
geese, A herd or bunch of cattle, A bevy of quails, A cast of hawks,
A trip of dottrell, A swarm of bees, A school of whales, A shoal of
herrings, A herd of swine, A skulk of foxes, A pack of wolves, A drove
of oxen, A sounder of hogs, A troop of monkeys, A pride of lions, A
sleuth of bears, A gang of elk.
THE BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.--The monument is a square shaft, built of
Quincy granite, 221 feet high, 31 feet square at the base and 15 at
the top. Its foundations are inclosed 12 feet under ground. Inside the
shaft is a round, hollow cone, 7 feet wide at the bottom and 4 feet
2 inches at the top, encircled by a winding staircase of 224 stone
steps, which leads to a chamber immediately under the apex, 11 feet
in diameter. The chamber has four windows, which afford a wide view of
the surrounding country, and contains two cannons, named respectively
Hancock and Adams, which were used in many engagements during the war.
The corner-stone of the monument was laid on the fiftieth anniversary
of the battle, June 17, 1825, by Lafayette, who was then visiting
America, when Webster pronounced the oration. The monument was
completed, and June 17, 1843, was dedicated, Webster again delivering
the oration.
THE SEVEN WISE MEN OF GREECE.--The names generally given are
Solon, Chilo, Pittacus, Bias, Periander (in place of whom some give
Epimenides), Cleobulus, and Thales. They were the authors of the
celebrated mottoes inscribed in later days in the Delphian Temple.
These mottoes were as follows:
"Know thyself."--Solon.
"Consider the end."--Chilo.
"Know thy opportunity."--Pittacus.
"Most men are bad."--Bias.
"Nothing is impossible to industry."--Periander.
"Avoid excesses."--Cleobulus.
"Suretyship is the precursor of ruin."--Thales.
FIRST STEAMBOAT ON THE MISSISSIPPI.--Nicholas J. Roosevelt was the
first to take a steamboat down the great river. His boat was built
at Pittsburgh, in the year 1811, under an arrangement with Fulton and
Livingston, from Fulton's plans. It was called the "New Orleans," was
about 200 tons burden, and was propelled by a stern-wheel, assisted,
when the wind was favorable, by sails carried on two masts. The hull
was 138 feet long, 30 feet beam, and the cost of the whole, including
engines, was about $40,000. The builder, with his family, an engineer,
a pilot, and six "deck hands," left Pittsburgh in October, 1811,
reaching Louisville in about seventy hours (steaming about ten miles
an hour), and New Orleans in fourteen days, steaming from Natchez.
THE EXPLORATIONS OF FREMONT.--- Among the earliest efforts of Fremont,
after he had tried and been sickened by the sea, were his experiences as
a surveyor and engineer on railroad lines from Charleston to Augusta,
Ga., and Charleston to Cincinnati. Then he accompanied an army
detachment on a military reconnoissance of the mountainous Cherokee
country in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, made in the depth of
winter. In 1838-9 he accompanied M. Nicollet in explorations of the
country between the Missouri and the British line, and his first detail
of any importance, after he had been commissioned by President Van
Buren, was to make an examination of the river Des Moines, then on the
Western frontier. In 1841 he projected his first trans-continental
expedition, and left Washington May 2, 1842, and accomplished the object
of his trip, examined the South Pass, explored the Wind River mountains,
ascended in August, the highest peak of that range, now known as
Fremont's Peak, and returned, after an absence of four months. His
report of the expedition attracted great attention in the United States
and abroad. Fremont began to plan another and a second expedition. He
determined to extend his explorations across the continent; and in May,
1843, commenced his journey with thirty-nine men, and September 6, after
traveling over 1,700 miles, arrived at the Great Salt Lake; there made
some important discoveries, and then pushed on to the upper Columbia,
down whose valley he proceeded to Fort Vancouver, near its mouth. On
Nov. 10, he set out to return East, selecting a southeasterly course,
leading from the lower part of the Columbia to the upper Colorado,
through an almost unknown region, crossed by high and rugged mountains.
He and his party suffered incredible hardships in crossing from the
Great Basin to Sutter's Fort on the Sacramento; started from there March
24, proceeded southward, skirted the western base of the Sierra Nevada,
crossed that range through a gap, entered the Great Basin; again visited
the Great Salt Lake, from which they returned through the South Pass to
Kansas, in July, 1844, after an absence of fourteen months. In the
spring of 1845 Fremont set out on a third expedition to explore the
Great Basin and the maritime region of Oregon and California; spent the
summer examining the headwaters of the rivers whose springs are in the
grand divide of the continent; in October camped on the shores of the
Great Salt Lake: proceeded to explore the Sierra Nevada, which he again
crossed in the dead of winter; made his way into the Valley of the San
Joaquin; obtained permission, at Monterey, from the Mexican authorities
there, to proceed with his expedition, which permission was almost
immediately revoked, and Fremont peremptorily ordered to leave the
country without delay, but he refused, and a collision was imminent, but
was averted, and Fremont proceeded toward San Joaquin. Near Tlamath
Lake, Fremont met, May 9, 1846, a party in search of him, with
dispatches from Washington, ordering him to watch over the interests of
the United States in California, as there was reason to believe that
province would be transferred to Great Britain. He at once returned to
California; General Castro was already marching against our settlements;
the settlers rose in arms, flocked to Fremont's camp, and, with him as
leader, in less than a month, all Northern California was freed from
Mexican authority; and on July 4 Fremont was elected Governor of
California by the American settlers. Later came the conflict between
Commodore Stockton and General Kearney; and Fremont resigned his
commission as Lieutenant-Colonel, to which he had been promoted. In
October, 1848, he started across the continent on a fourth expedition,
outfitted at his own expense, to find a practicable route to California.
In attempting to cross the great Sierra, covered with snow, his guide
lost his way, and the party encountered horrible suffering from cold and
hunger, a portion of them being driven to cannibalism; he lost all his
animals (he had 120 mules when he started), and one-third of his men (he
had thirty-three) perished, and he had to retrace his steps to Santa Fe.
He again set out, with thirty men, and, after a long search, discovered
a secure route, which led to the Sacramento, where he arrived in the
spring of 1840. He led a fifth expedition across the continent in 1853,
at his own expense, and found passes through the mountains in the line
of latitude 38 deg., 39 min., and reached California after enduring
great hardships; for fifty days his party lived on horse-flesh, and for
forty-eight hours at a time without food of any kind. These are the
barest outlines of five expeditions of which many volumes have been
written, but will hint at Fremont's work in the West which entitled him
to the name of the "Pathfinder."
CHINESE PROVERBS.--The Chinese are indeed remarkably fond of proverbs.
They not only employ them in conversation--and even to a greater
degree than the Spaniards, who are noted among Europeans for the
number and excellence of their proverbial sayings--but they have a
practice of adorning their reception rooms with these sententious
bits of wisdom, inscribed on decorated scrolls or embroidered on rich
crapes and brocades. They carve them on door-posts and pillars, and
emblazon them on the walls and ceilings in gilt letters. The following
are a few specimens of this sort of literature: As a sneer at the
use of unnecessary force to crush a contemptible enemy, they say:
"He rides a fierce dog to catch a lame rabbit." Similar to this is
another, "To use a battle-ax to cut off a hen's head." They say of
wicked associates: "To cherish a bad man is like nourishing a tiger;
if not well-fed he will devour you." Here are several others mingling
wit with wisdom: "To instigate a villain to do wrong is like teaching
a monkey to climb trees;" "To catch fish and throw away the net,"
which recalls our saying, "Using the cat's paw to pull the chestnuts
out of the fire;" "To climb a tree to catch a fish" is to talk much
to no purpose; "A superficial scholar is a sheep dressed in a tiger's
skin;" "A cuckoo in a magpie's nest," equivalent to saying, "he is
enjoying another's labor without compensation;" "If the blind lead
the blind they will both fall into the pit;" "A fair wind raises no
storm;" "Vast chasms can be filled, but the heart of man is never
satisfied;" "The body may be healed, but the mind is incurable;" "He
seeks the ass, and lo! he sits upon him;" "He who looks at the sun is
dazzled; he who hears the thunder is deafened." i.e., do not come too
near the powerful; "Prevention is better than cure;" "Wine and good
dinners make abundance of friends, but in adversity not one of them is
to be found." "Let every man sweep the snow from before his own door,
and not trouble himself about the frost on his neighbor's tiles." The
following one is a gem of moral wisdom: "Only correct yourself on the
same principle that you correct others, and excuse others on the same
principles on which you excuse yourself." "Better not be, than be
nothing." "One thread does not make a rope; one swallow does not make
a summer." "Sensuality is the chief of sins, filial duty the best of
acts." "The horse's back is not so safe us the buffalo's"--the former
is used by the politician, the latter by the farmer. "Too much lenity
multiplies crime." "If you love your son give him plenty of the rod;
if you hate him cram him with dainties." "He is my teacher who tells
me my faults, he my enemy who speaks my virtues." Having a wholesome
dread of litigation, they say of one who goes to law, "He sues a flea
to catch a bite." Their equivalent for our "coming out at the little
end of the horn" is, "The farther the rat creeps up (or into) the
cow's horn, the narrower it grows." The truth of their saying that
"The fame of good deeds does not leave a man's door, but his evil
acts are known a thousand miles off," is illustrated in our own daily
papers every morning. Finally, we close this list with a Chinese
proverb which should be inscribed on the lintel of every door
in Christendom: "The happy-hearted man carries joy for all the
household."
MASON AND DIXON'S LINE.--Mason and Dixon's line is the concurrent
State line of Maryland and Pennsylvania. It is named after two eminent
astronomers and [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads
'mathemeticians'] mathematicians, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon,
who were sent out from England to run it. They completed the survey
between 1703 and 1707, excepting thirty-six miles surveyed in 1782 by
Colonel Alex. McLean and Joseph Neville. It is in the latitude of 39
deg. 43 min. 26.3 sec.
GREAT FIRES OF HISTORY.--The loss of life and property in the willful
destruction by fire and sword of the principal cities of ancient
history--Nineveh, Babylon, Persepolis, Carthage, Palmyra, and
many others--is largely a matter of conjecture. The following is a
memorandum of the chief conflagrations of the current era:
In 64, A. D., during the reign of Nero, a terrible fire raged in Rome
for eight days, destroying ten of the fourteen wards. The loss of life
and destruction of property is not known.
In 70 A. D., Jerusalem was taken by the Romans and a large part of it
given to the torch, entailing an enormous destruction of life and
property.
In 1106 Venice, then a city of immense opulence, was almost, wholly
consumed by a fire, originating in accident or incendiarism.
In 1212 the greater part of London was burned.
In 1606 what is known as the Great Fire of London raged in the city
from September 2 to 6, consuming 13,200 houses, with St. Paul's
Church, 86 parish churches, 6 chapels, the Guild Hall, the Royal
Exchange, the Custom House, 52 companies halls, many hospitals,
libraries and other public edifices. The total destruction of property
was estimated at $53,652,500. Six lives were lost, and 436 acres burnt
over.
In 1679 a fire in Boston burned all the warehouses, eighty dwellings,
and vessels in the dock-yards; loss estimated at $1,000,000.
In 1700 a large part of Edinburgh was burned; loss unknown. In 1728
Copenhagen was nearly destroyed; 1,650 houses burned.
In 1736 a fire in St. Petersburg burned 2,000 houses.
In 1729 a fire in Constantinople destroyed 12,000 houses, and 7,000
people perished. The same city suffered a conflagration in 1745,
lasting five days; and in 1750 a series of three appalling fires:
one in January, consuming 10,000 houses; another in April destroying
property to the value of $5,000,000, according to one historian, and
according to another, $15,000,000; and in the latter part of the year
another, sweeping fully 10,000 houses more out of existence. It seemed
as if Constantinople was doomed to utter annihilation.
In 1751 a fire in Stockholm destroyed 1,000 houses and another fire in
the same city in 1759 burned 250 houses with a loss of $2,420,000.
In 1752 a fire in Moscow swept away 18,000 houses, involving an
immense loss.
In 1758 Christiania suffered a loss of $1,250,000 by conflagration. In
1760 the Portsmouth (England) dock yards were burned, with a loss of
$2,000,000.
In 1764 a fire in Konigsburg, Prussia, consumed the public buildings,
with a loss of $3,000,000; and in 1769 the city was almost totally
destroyed.
In 1763 a fire in Smyrna destroyed 2,600 houses, with a loss of
$1,000,000; in 1772 a fire in the same city carried off 3,000
dwellings and 3,000 to 4,000 shops, entailing a loss of $20,000,000;
and in 1796 there were 4,000 shops, mosques, magazines, etc., burned.
In 1776, six days after the British seized the city, a fire swept off
all the west side of New York city, from Broadway to the river.
In 1771 a fire in Constantinople burned 2,500 houses; another in 1778
burned 2,000 houses; in 1782 there were 600 houses burned in February,
7,000 in June, and on August 12 during a conflagration that lasted
three days, 10,000 houses, 50 mosques, and 100 corn-mills, with a
loss of 100 lives. Two years later a fire, on March 13, destroyed
two-thirds of Pera, the loveliest suburb of Constantinople, and on
August 5 a fire in the main city, lasting twenty-six hours, burned
10,000 houses. In this same fire-scourged city, in 1791, between March
and July, there were 32,000 houses burned, and about as many more
in 1795; and in 1799 Pera was again swept with fire, with a loss of
13,000 houses, including many buildings of great magnificence.
In 1784 a fire and explosion in the dock yards, Brest, caused a loss
of $5,000,000.
But the greatest destruction of life and property by conflagration, of
which the world has anything like accurate records, must be looked for
within the current century. Of these the following is a partial list
of instances in which the loss of property amounted to $3,000,000 and
upward:
Dates--Cities: Property destroyed.
1802--Liverpool: $5,000,000
1803--Bombay: 3,000,600
1805--St. Thomas: 30,000,000
1808--Spanish Town: 7,500,000
1812--Moscow, burned five days; 30,800 houses destroyed: 150,000,000
1816--Constantinople, 12,000 dwellings, 3,000 shops: ----
1820--Savannah: 4,000,000
1822--Canton nearly destroyed: ----
1828--Havana, 350 houses: ----
1835--New York ("Great Fire"): 15,000,000
1837--St. Johns, N. B.: 5,000,000
1838--Charleston, 1,158 buildings: 3,000,000
1841--Smyrna, 12,000 houses: ----
1842--Hamburg, 4,219 buildings, 100 lives lost: 35,000,000
1845--New York, 35 persons killed: 7,500,000
1845--Pittsburgh, 1,100 buildings: 10,000,000
1845--Quebec, May 28, 1,650 dwellings: 3,750,000
1845--Quebec, June 28, 1,300 dwellings: ----
1846--St. Johns, Newfoundland: 5,000,000
1848--Constantinople, 2,500 buildings: 15,000,000
1848--Albany, N. Y., 600 houses: 3,000,000
1849--St. Louis: 3,000,000
1851--St. Louis, 2,500 buildings: 11,000,000
1851--St. Louis, 500 buildings: 3,000,000
1851--San Francisco, May 4 and 5, many lives lost: 10,000,000
1851--San Francisco, June: 3,000,000
1852--Montreal, 1,200 buildings: 5,000,000
1861--Mendoza destroyed by earthquake and fire, 10,000 lives lost: ----
1862--St. Petersburg: 5,000,000
1802--Troy, N. Y., nearly destroyed: ----
1862--Valparaiso almost destroyed: ----
1864--Novgorod, immense destruction of property: ----
1865--Constantinople, 2,800 buildings burned: ----
1806--Yokohama, nearly destroyed: ----
1865--Carlstadt, Sweden, all consumed but Bishop's residence, hospital
and jail; 10 lives lost: ----
1866--Portland, Me., half the city: 11,000,000
1866--Quebec, 2,500 dwellings, 17 churches: ----
1870--Constantinople, Pera, suburb: 26,000,000
1871--Chicago--250 lives lost, 17,430 buildings burned, on 2,124 acres:
192,000,000
1871--Paris, fired by the Commune: 160,000,000
1872--Boston: 75,000.000
1873--Yeddo, 10,000 houses: ----
1877--Pittsburgh, caused by riot: 3,260,000
1877--St. Johns, N. B., 1,650 dwellings, 18 lives lost: 12,500,000
From the above it appears that the five greatest fires on record,
reckoned by destruction of property, are:
Chicago fire, of Oct. 8 and 9, 1871: $192,000,000
Paris fires, of May, 1871: 160,000,000
Moscow fire, of Sept. 14-19, 1812: 150,000,000
Boston fire, Nov. 9-10, 1872: 75,000.000
London fire, Sept. 2-6, 1666: 53,652,500
Hamburg fire, May 5-7, 1842: 35,000,000
Taking into account, with the fires of Paris and Chicago, the great
Wisconsin and Michigan forest fires of 1871, in which it is estimated
that 1,000 human beings perished and property to the amount of
over $3,000,000 was consumed, it is plain that in the annals of
conflagrations that year stands forth in gloomy pre-eminence.
WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES PER CAPITA.--The following statistics
represent the amount of taxable property, real and personal, in each
State and Territory, and also the amount per capita:
State: Total; Per capita.
Maine: $235,978,716; $362.09
New Hampshire: 164,755,181; 474.81
Vermont: 86,806,755; 261.24
Massachusetts: 1,584,756,802; 888.77
Rhode Island: 252,536,673; 913.23
Connecticut: 327,177,385; 525.41
New Jersey: 572,518,361; 506.06
New York: 2,651,940,000; 521.74
Pennsylvania: 1,683,459,016; 393.08
Delaware: 59,951,643; 408.92
Maryland: 497,307,675; 533.07
District of Columbia: 99,401,787; 845.08
Virginia: 308,455,135; 203.92
West Virginia: 139,622,705; 225.75
North Carolina: 156,100,202; 111.52
South Carolina: 153,560,135; 154.24
Georgia: 239,472,599; 155.82
Florida: 30,938,309; 114.80
Alabama: 122,867,228; 97.32
Mississippi: 110,628,129; 97.76
Louisiana: 100,162,439; 170.39
Texas: 320,364,515; 201.26
Arkansas: 80,409,364; 176.71
Kentucky: 350,563,971; 212.63
Tennessee: 211,778,538; 137.30
Ohio: 1,534,360,508; 479.77
Indiana: 727,815,131; 367.89
Illinois: 786,616,394; 255.24
Michigan: 517,666,359; 316.23
Wisconsin: 438,971,751; 333.69
Iowa: 398,671,251; 245.39
Minnesota: 258,028,687; 330.48
Missouri: 432,795,801; 245.72
Kansas: 160,891,689; 161.52
Nebraska: 90,585,782; 200.23
Colorado: 74,471,693; 383.22
Nevada: 29,291,459; 470.40
Oregon: 52,522,084; 300.52
California: 584,578,036; 676.05
Arizona: 9,270,214; 229.23
Dakota: 20,321,530; 150.33
Idaho: 6,440,876; 197.51
Montana: 18,609,802; 475.23
New Mexico: 11,362,406; 95.04
Utah: 24,775,279; 172.09
Washington: 23,810,603; 316.98
Wyoming: 13,621,829; 655.24
--------------------------------------------------
Total: $16,902,993,543; 337.00
TABLE FOR MEASURING AN ACRE.--To measure an acre in rectangular form
is a simple question in arithmetic. One has only to divide the total
number of square yards in an acre, 4,840, by the number of yards in
the known side or breadth to find the unknown side in yards. By this
process it appears that a rectangular strip of ground--
5 yards wide by 968 yards long is 1 acre.
10 yards wide by 484 yards long is 1 acre.
20 yards wide by 242 yards long is 1 acre.
40 yards wide by 121 yards long is 1 acre.
80 yards wide by 60-1/2 yards long is 1 acre.
70 yards wide by 69-1/2 yards long is 1 acre.
60 yards wide by 80-3/8 yards long is 1 acre.
THE LANGUAGE OF GEMS.--The language of the various precious stones is
as follows:
Moss Agate--Health, prosperity and long life.
Amethyst--Prevents violent passions.
Bloodstone--Courage, wisdom and firmness in affection.
Chrysolite--Frees from evil passions and sadness.
Emerald--Insures true love, discovers false.
Diamonds--Innocence, faith and virgin purity, friends.
Garnet--Constancy and fidelity in every engagement.
Opal--Sharpens the sight and faith of the possessor.
Pearl--Purity; gives clearness to physical and mental sight.
Ruby--Corrects evils resulting from mistaken friendship.
Sapphire--Repentance; frees from enchantment.
Sardonyx--Insures conjugal felicity.
Topaz--Fidelity and friendship; prevents bad dreams.
Turquoise--Insures prosperity in love.
GREAT SALT LAKE AND THE DEAD SEA.--Great Salt Lake is a shallow body
of water, its average depth being but a little more than three feet,
while in many parts it is much less. The water is transparent, but
excessively salt; it contains about 22 per cent of common salt,
slightly mixed with other salts, and forming one of the purest and
most concentrated brines in the world. Its specific gravity is 1.17.
The water is so buoyant that a man may float in it at full length upon
his back, having his head and neck, his legs to the knee, and both
arms to the elbow, entirely out of water. If he assumes a sitting
posture, with his arms extended, his shoulders will rise above the
water. Swimming, however, is difficult as the lower limbs tend to rise
above the surface, and the brine is so strong that to swallow even
a very little of it will cause strangulation. The waters of the Dead
Sea, on the other hand, are nearly black, and contain much sulphur and
bitumen, as well as salt. It is also very deep, varying from thirteen
feet near the south end of the lake to more than 1,300 feet in the
northern part. Its buoyancy is quite equal to that of Great Salt Lake,
for travelers say that a man can float prone upon the surface for
hours without danger of sinking, and in a sitting position is held
breast-high above the water.
SOME FAMOUS WAR SONGS.--The slavery war developed several Union
song-writers whose stirring verses have kept on singing themselves
since the close of that great struggle. Two among them are best
remembered nowadays, both men who wrote the words and composed the
music to their own verses. Chicago lays claim to one, Dr. George
F. Root, and Boston to the other, Henry C. Work. The song "Marching
Through Georgia," as every one knows, was written in memory of
Sherman's famous march from Atlanta to the sea, and words and music
were the composition of Henry C. Work, who died not many months ago
(in 1884). The first stanza is as follows: Bring the good old bugle,
boys, we'll sing another song--Sing it with spirit that will start
the world along--Sing it as we used to sing it, fifty thousand strong,
While we were marching through Georgia.
Chorus--"Hurrah! hurrah! we bring the jubilee! Hurrah! hurrah! the
flag that makes you free!" So we sang the chorus from Atlanta to the
sea, While we were marching through Georgia.
Among the other songs of Work the following are best known: "Kingdom
Coming," or "Say, Darkey, Hab You Seen de Massa?" "Babylon is Fallen,"
"Grafted into the Army" and "Corporal Schnapps." This record would be
incomplete were we to fail to mention some of the many ringing songs
of George F. Root, songs which have made the name of Root famous in
thousands upon thousands of households in the West. Some of these
songs are: "Battle Cry of Freedom," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," "On, on,
on, the Boys Came Marching," "Just Before the Battle, Mother," "Just
After the Battle," "Lay Me Down and Save the Flag," "Stand Up for
Uncle Sam, My Boys." The well known song, "Wrap the Flag Around Me,
Boys," was composed by R. Stewart Taylor, and "When Johnny Cones
Marching Home" by Louis Lambert.
THE COST OF ROYALTY IN ENGLAND.--Her Majesty:
Privy purse: £60,000
Salaries of household: 131,260
Expenses of household: 172,500
Royal bounty, etc.: 13,200
Unappropriated: 8,040
_________
£385,000
Prince of Wales: 40,000
Princess of Wales: 10,000
Crown Princess of Prussia: 8,000
Duke of Edinburgh: 25,000
Princess Christian of
Schleswig-Holstein: 6,000
Princess Louise (Marchioness of Lome): 6,000
Duke of Connaught: 25,000
Duke of Albany: 25,000
Duchess of Cambridge: 6,000
Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz: 3,000
Duke of Cambridge: 12,000
Duchess of Teck: 5,000
SOME GREAT RIVERS.--From Haswell's little work for engineers and
mechanics the following figures are taken, showing the lengths of the
largest rivers on the various continents:
Name: Miles.
EUROPE.
Volga, Russia: 2,500
Danube: 1,800
Rhine: 840
Vistula: 700
ASIA.
Yeneisy and Selenga: 3,580
Kiang: 3,290
Hoang Ho: 3,040
Amoor: 2,500
Euphrates: 1,900
Ganges: 1,850
Tigris: 1,160
AFRICA.
Nile: 3,240
Niger: 2,400
Gambia: 1,000
SOUTH AMERICA.
Amazon and Beni: 4,000
Platte: 2,700
Rio Madeira: 2,300
Rio Negro: 1,650
Orinoco: 1,600
Uruguay: 1,100
Magdalena: 900
NORTH AMERICA.
Mississippi and Missouri: 4,300
Mackenzie: 2,800
Rio Bravo: 2,300
Arkansas: 2,070
Red River: 1,520
Ohio and Alleghany: 1,480
St. Lawrence: 1,450
The figures as to the length of the Nile are estimated. The Amazon,
with its tributaries (including the Rio Negro and Madeira), drains
an area of 2,330,000 square miles; the Mississippi and Missouri,
1,726,000 square miles; the Yeneisy (or Yenisei, as it is often
written) drains about 1,000,000 square miles; the Volga, about
500,000. In this group of great rivers the St. Lawrence is the most
remarkable. It constitutes by far the largest body of fresh water in
the world. Including the lakes and streams, which it comprises in its
widest acceptation, the St. Lawrence covers about 73,000 square miles;
the aggregate, it is estimated, represents not less than 9,000 solid
miles--a mass of water which would have taken upward of forty years
to pour over Niagara at the computed rate of 1,000,000 cubic feet in
a second. As the entire basin of this water system falls short of
300,000 square miles, the surface of the land is only three times that
of the water.
HOW THE UNITED STATES GOT ITS LANDS.--The United States bought
Louisiana, the vast region between the Mississippi River, the eastern
and northern boundary of Texas (then belonging to Spain), and the
dividing ridge of the Rocky Mountains, together with what is now
Oregon, Washington Territory, and the western parts of Montana and
Idaho, from France for $11,250,000. This was in 1803. Before the
principal, interest, and claims of one sort and another assumed by
the United States were settled, the total cost of this "Louisiana
purchase," comprising, according to French construction and our
understanding, 1,171,931 square miles, swelled to $23,500,000, or
almost $25 per section--a fact not stated in cyclopedias and school
histories, and therefore not generally understood. Spain still held
Florida and claimed a part of what we understood to be included in the
Louisiana purchase--a strip up to north latitude 31--and disputed our
boundary along the south and west, and even claimed Oregon. We bought
Florida and all the disputed land east of the Mississippi and her
claim to Oregon, and settled our southwestern boundary dispute for the
sum of $6,500,000. Texas smilingly proposed annexation to the United
States, and this great government was "taken in" December 29, 1845,
Texas keeping her public lands and giving us all her State debts and
a three-year war (costing us $66,000,000) with Mexico, who claimed
her for a runaway from Mexican jurisdiction. This was a bargain that
out-yankeed the Yankees, but the South insisted on it and the North
submitted. After conquering all the territory now embraced in New
Mexico, a part of Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California, we
paid Mexico $25,000,000 for it--$15,000,000 for the greater part of it
and $10,000,000 for another slice, known as the "Gadsden purchase."
In 1867 we bought Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000. All the several
amounts above named were paid long ago. As for all the rest of our
landed possessions, we took them with us when we cut loose from mother
Britain's apron string, but did not get a clear title until we had
fought ten years for it--first in the Revolutionary War, costing us in
killed 7,343 reported--besides the unreported killed--and over 15,000
wounded, and $135,193,103 in money; afterward in the War of 1812-15,
costing us in killed 1,877, in wounded 3,737, in money $107,159,003.
We have paid everybody but the Indians, the only real owners, and,
thanks to gunpowder, sword, bayonet, bad whisky, small-pox, cholera
and other weapons of civilization, there are not many of them left to
complain. Besides all the beads, earrings, blankets, pots, kettles,
brass buttons, etc., given them for land titles in the olden times, we
paid them, or the Indian agents, in one way and another, in the ninety
years from 1791 to 1881, inclusive, $193,672,697.31, to say nothing
of the thousands of lives sacrificed and many millions spent in Indian
wars, from the war of King Philip to the last fight with the Apaches.
ILLUSTRIOUS MEN AND WOMEN.--It is not likely that any two persons would
agree as to who are entitled to the first fifty places on the roll of
great men and great women. Using "great" in the sense of eminence in
their professions, of great military commanders the following are among
the chief: Sesostris, the Egyptian conqueror, who is represented as
having subdued all Asia to the Oxus and the Ganges, Ethiopia, and a part
of Europe; Cyrus the Great; Alexander the Great; Hannibal; Che-Hwanti,
who reduced all the kingdoms of China and Indo-China to one empire, and
constructed the Great Wall; Cæsar; Genghis Khan, the Tartar chief, who
overran all Asia and a considerable part of Europe; Napoleon Bonaparte;
Ulysses S. Grant, and General Von Moltke. Among the most illustrious
benefactors of mankind, as statesmen, lawgivers and patriots, stand
Moses, David, Solon, Numa Pompilius, Zoroaster, Confucius, Justinian,
Charlemagne, Cromwell, Washington and Lincoln. Eminent among the
philosophers, rhetoricians and logicians stand Socrates, Plato,
Aristotle, Seneca, the two Catos, and Lord Bacon; among orators,
Pericles, Demosthenes, Cicero, Mirabeau, Burke, Webster and Clay; among
poets, Homer, Virgil, Dante, Milton, and Shakespeare; among painters and
sculptors, Phidias, Parrhasius, Zenxis, Praxiteles, Scopas, Michael
Angelo, Raphael and Rubens; among philanthropists, John Howard; among
inventors, Archimedes, Watt, Fulton, Arkwright, Whitney and Morse; among
astronomers, Copernicus, Galileo, Tycho Brahe, Newton, La Place and the
elder Herschel. Here are sixty names of distinguished men, and yet the
great religious leaders, excepting Moses and Zoroaster, have not been
named. Among these stand Siddhartha or Buddha, Mahomet, Martin Luther,
John Knox and John Wesley. Then the great explorers and geographers of
the world have not been noticed, among whom Herodotus, Strabo, Pliny,
Vasco de Gama, Columbus and Humboldt barely lead the van.
Of eminent women there are Seling, wife of the Emperor Hwang-ti, B.
C. 2637, who taught her people the art of silk-raising and weaving;
Semiramis, the Assyrian Queen; Deborah, the heroic warrior prophetess
of the Israelites; Queen Esther, who, with the counsel of her cousin,
Mordecai, not only saved the Jews from extermination, but lifted
them from a condition of slavery into prosperity and power; Dido, the
founder of Carthage; Sappho, the eminent Grecian poetess; Hypatia, the
eloquent philosopher; Mary, the mother of Christ; Zenobia, Queen of
Palmyra; the mother of St. Augustine; Elizabeth of Hungary; Queen
Elizabeth of England; Queen Isabella of Spain; the Empress Maria
Theresa; Margaret the Great of Denmark; Catherine the Great of Russia,
Queen Victoria; Florence Nightingale; Mme. de Stael: Mrs. Fry, the
philanthropist; among authoresses, Mrs. Hemans, Mrs. Sigourney, Mrs.
Browning, "George Sand," "George Eliot," and Mrs. Stowe; and among
artists, Rosa Bonheur, and our own Harriet Hosmer.
THE SUEZ CANAL.--The Suez Canal was begun in 1,858 and was formally
opened in November, 1869. Its cost, including harbors, is estimated at
$100,000,000. Its length is 100 miles, 75 of which were excavated; its
width is generally 325 feet at the surface, and 75 feet at the bottom,
and its depth 26 feet. The workmen employed were chiefly natives, and
many were drafted by the Khedive. The number of laborers is estimated
at 30,000. The British government virtually controls the canal as it
owns most of the stock.
SENDING VESSELS OVER NIAGARA FALLS.--There have been three such
instances. The first was in 1827. Some men got an old ship--the
Michigan--which had been used on lake Erie, and had been pronounced
unseaworthy. For mere wantonness they put aboard a bear, a fox, a
buffalo, a dog and some geese and sent it over the cataract. The bear
jumped from the vessel before it reached the rapids, swam toward the
shore, and was rescued by some humane persons. The geese went over
the falls, and came to the shore below alive, and, therefore, became
objects of great interest, and were sold at high prices to visitors at
the Falls. The dog, fox, and buffalo were not heard of or seen again.
Another condemned vessel, the Detroit, that had belonged to Commodore
Perry's victorious fleet, was started over the cataract in the winter
of 1841, but grounded about midway in the rapids, and lay there till
knocked to pieces by the ice. A somewhat more picturesque instance was
the sending over the Canada side of a ship on fire. This occurred in
1837. The vessel was the Caroline, which had been run in the interest
of the insurgents in the Canadian rebellion. It was captured by
Colonel McNabb, an officer of the Canada militia, and by his orders
it was set on fire then cut loose from its moorings. All in flames, it
went glaring and hissing down the rapids and over the precipice,
and smothered its ruddy blaze in the boiling chasm below. Thia
was witnessed by large crowds on both sides of the falls, and was
described as a most magnificent sight. Of course there was no one on
board the vessel.
OLD TIME WAGES IN ENGLAND.--The following rates of daily wages
"determined" by the Justices of Somerset, in 1685, answer this
question very fairly. Somerset; being one of the average shires of
England. The orthography is conformed to original record:
s. d.
Mowers per diem, findeing themselves: 1 2
Mowers at meate and drinke: 0 7
Men makeing hay per diem, findeing themselves: 0 10
Men at meate and drinke: 0 6
Women makeing hay: 0 7
Women at meate and drinke: 0 4
Men reapeing corne per diem, findeing themselves: 1 2
Men reapinge corne at meate and drinke: 0 8
Moweing an acre of grasse, findeing themselves: 1 2
Moweing an acre of grasse to hay: 1 6
Moweing an acre of barley: 1 1
Reapeinge and bindeinge an acre of wheate: 3 0
Cuttinge and bindeinge an acre of beanes and hookinge: 2 0
The shilling is about 24 cents and the penny 2 cents.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE SIGNERS.--The following is the list of
names appended to that famous document, with the colony which each
represented in Congress:
New Hampshire--Josiah Bartlett; William Whipple, Matthew Thornton.
Massachusetts--John Hancock, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Robert Treat
Paine.
Rhode Island--Elbridge Gerry, Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery.
Connecticut--Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams,
Oliver Wolcott.
New York--William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis
Morris.
New Jersey--Richard Hockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John
Hart, Abraham Clark.
Pennsylvania--Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John
Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson,
George Ross.
Delaware--Caesar Rodney, George Reed, Thomas McKean.
Maryland--Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone, William Paca, Charles Carroll,
of Carrollton.
Virginia--George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin
Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton.
North Carolina--William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn.
South Carolina--Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch,
Jr., Arthur Middleton.
Georgia--Button Gwinntet, Lyman Hall, George Walton.
LIFE OF ETHAN ALLEN.--Colonel Ethan Allan was captured in an attack upon
Montreal, September 25, 1775. He was sent as prisoner to Great Britain,
ostensibly for trial, but in a few months was sent back to America, and
confined in prison ships and jails at Halifax and New York till May 3,
1778, when he was exchanged. During most of his captivity he was treated
as a felon and kept heavily ironed, but during 1777 was allowed
restricted liberty on parole. After his exchange he again offered his
services to the patriot army, but because of trouble in Vermont was put
in command of the militia in that State. The British authorities were at
that time making especial efforts to secure the allegiance of the
Vermonters, and it was owing to Allen's skillful negotiations that the
question was kept open until the theater of war was changed, thus
keeping the colony on the American side, but avoiding the attacks from
the British that would certainly have followed an open avowal of their
political preferences. Allen died at Burlington, Vt., February 13, 1789.
BURIAL CUSTOMS.--Among the early Christians the dead were buried
with the face upward and the feet toward the east, in token of the
resurrection at the coming again of the Sun of Righteousness. It
cannot be said, however, that the custom was first used by the
Christians. It was in practice among early pagan nations also, and is
regarded as a survival of the ideas of the fire-worshipers. The sun,
which was the impersonation of deity to many primitive races, had his
home in their mythology in the east, and out of respect for him the
dead were placed facing this quarter, among certain tribes always in
a sitting posture. It may also be remarked that among other races the
position was reversed, the dead body being placed with its feet toward
the west, because the region of sunset was the home of the departed
spirits.
THE SURRENDER OF LEE TO GRANT.--The surrender of General Lee was made
at the house of a farmer named McLean, in Appomattox village, that
house having been selected by General Lee himself at General Grant's
request for the interview. General Grant went thither, and was met
by General Lee on the threshold. The two went into the parlor of the
house, a small room, containing little furnishing but a table and
several chairs. About twenty Union officers besides General Grant
were present, among them the members of the General's staff. The only
Confederate officer with General Lee was Colonel Marshall, who
acted as his secretary. General Lee, as well as his aid, was in full
uniform, and wore a burnished sword which was given him by the State
of Virginia; General Grant was in plain uniform, without a sword.
After a brief conversation, relative to the meeting of the two
generals while soldiers in Mexico, General Lee adverted at once to the
object of the interview by asking on what terms the surrender of his
army would be received. General Grant replied that officers and men
must become prisoners of war, giving up of course all munitions,
weapons and supplies, but that a parole would be accepted. General Lee
then requested that the terms should be put in writing, that he might
sign them. General Badeau says that while General Grant was writing
the conditions of surrender he chanced to look up and his eye caught
the glitter of General Lee's sword, and that this sight induced him
to insert the provision that the "officers should be allowed to retain
their side-arms, horses and personal property." This historian thinks
that General Lee fully expected to give up his sword, and that General
Grant omitted this from the terms of surrender out of consideration
for the feelings of a soldier. Badeau says that General Lee was
evidently much touched by the clemency of his adversary in this
regard. The Confederate chief now wrote his acceptance of the terms
offered and signed them. He further requested that the cavalry and
artillery soldiers might be allowed to retain their horses as well
as the officers, to which General Grant consented, and asked that
a supply train left at Danville might be allowed to pass on, as his
soldiers were without food. The reply of General Grant to this was
an order that 25,000 rations should be immediately issued from the
commissariat of the National army to the Army of Northern Virginia.
The formal papers were now drawn up and signed, and the interview
which ended one of the greatest wars of modern times was over.
COLORED POPULATION AT EACH CENSUS.--The following will show the
white and colored population of the United States, from 1790 to 1880,
inclusive:
Year White. Colored Free. Colored Slaves.
1790 3,172,006 59,527 697,681
1800 4,306,446 108,435 893,002
1810 5,862,073 186,446 1,191,362
1820 7,862,166 223,634 1,538,022
1830 10,538,378 319,599 2,009,043
1840 14,195,805 386,293 2,487,355
1850 19,553,068 434,495 3,204,313
1860 26,922,537 488,070 3,953,760
1870 33,589,377 4,880,009 None.
1880 43,402,970 6,580,973 None.
ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.--From 1496 to 1857 there were 134 voyages and
land journeys undertaken by governments and explorers of Europe and
America to investigate the unknown region around the North Pole. Of
these, sixty-three went to the northwest, twenty-nine via Behring
Straits, and the rest to the northeast or due north. Since 1857 there
have been the notable expeditions of Dr. Hayes, of Captain Hall, those
of Nordenskjold, and others sent by Germany, Russia and Denmark;
three voyages made by James Lament, of the Royal Geographical Society,
England, at his own expense; the expeditions of Sir George Nares,
of Leigh Smith, and that of the ill-fated Jeannette; the search
expeditions of the Tigress, the Juniata, and those sent to rescue
Lieutenant Greely; further, all the expeditions fitted out under the
auspices of the Polar Commission--in which the Greely expedition was
included--and a number of minor voyages, making a sum total of some
sixty exploring journeys in these twenty-seven years.
THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.--The battle of Waterloo was fought June 18,
1815, between the allied British, Netherland and German troops under
Wellington and the French under Napoleon. On June 16 Napoleon had
attacked the Prussians under Blucher at Ligny and forced them to retreat
toward Wavre, and Marshal Noy at the same time attacked the British and
Dutch forces at Quatre Bras, but was forced to retire after an
engagement of five hours. Napoleon's object, however, which was to
prevent a union of the Prussians with Wellington's main army, was
partially gained. The latter commander, having learned the next morning
of Blucher's repulse, moved on to Waterloo expecting that the Prussian
commander, according to previous arrangement, would join him there as
speedily as possible. On June 17 Napoleon also moved toward Waterloo
with the main body of his army, having directed Marshal Grouchy with
34,000 men and ninety-six guns to pursue Blucher's command toward Wavre.
Both armies bivouacked on the field of Waterloo, and the next morning
Napoleon, confident that Grouchy would prevent the arrival of the
Prussians, delayed attack until the ground should become dry, a heavy
shower having fallen on the day previous. The forces under Wellington
occupied a semi-circular ridge a mile and a half in length, and the
French were on an opposite ridge, the two being separated by a valley
about 500 yards wide. The plan of Napoleon was to turn the allied left,
force it back upon center, and gain possession of the enemy's line of
retreat. To draw off Wellington's attention to his right, French troops
were sent about 11 o'clock to attack the chateau of Houguemont, which
the English had fortified. After a fight of more than two hours this was
still in the possession of its defenders. About 1 o'clock a Prussian
corps under Bulow was seen approaching on the French right, and
Napoleon, finding it necessary to send 10,000 men to check their
advance, was obliged to change the plan of battle. He therefore ordered
a fierce attack upon the allied center. Wellington massed his troops
there, and the battle was obstinately maintained for five hours, with
varying success to the participants, both commanders hourly expecting
re-enforcements. Wellington was waiting for Blucher and Napoleon for
Grouchy. The French at last were gaining ground; the allied troops in
the center were wavering under Ney's impetuous onslaughts, General
Durutte had forced back the left, and Bulow's troops on the right had
been forced to yield the position they had taken. Now, however, there
were rumors that Blucher's army was approaching and the allies again
rallied. At 7 o'clock Napoleon, despairing of the approach of Grouchy,
determined to decide the day by a charge of the Old Guard, which had
been held in reserve. At this stage the advance of Prussian horse on the
allied left forced back General Durutte's troops, and the Old Guard
formed in squares to cover this retreat. Ney's division surrounded, made
a gallant struggle--their brave leader still unwounded, though five
horses had been shot under him, heading them on foot, sword in hand--but
were forced to give way. The Old Guard held their ground against
overwhelming numbers. Finally, when five squares were broken, the
Emperor gave the order to "fall back." The cry "The Guard is repulsed"
spread consternation through the French army and threatened to turn
retreat into precipitate flight. Napoleon, seeing this, reformed the
Guard in order to give a rallying point for the fugitives. Failing in
this, he declared that he would die within the square, but Marshal Soult
hurried him away. The heroic band, surrounded, was bidden to surrender.
"The Old Guard dies, but never surrenders" is the reply popularly
attributed to General Cambronne, and with the cry of "Vive l'Empereur!"
the remnant of the Guard made a last charge upon the enemy and perished
almost to a man. The forces of Blucher being now upon the field, the
rout of the French was complete, and the Prussians pursued the fleeing
troops, capturing guns and men. There is no doubt that the failure of
Grouchy to come upon the field caused Napoleon to lose his last great
battle. It was subsequently asserted that this marshal was bribed, but
there seems to be no real foundation for so base a charge. The trouble
was that he had been ordered by Napoleon to follow the Prussians toward
Wavre and thought it necessary to follow the strict letter of his
instructions. Before he reached the village the main body of the
Prussian force was on its way to Waterloo, but one division had been
left there to occupy his attention. Engaged in skirmishing with this, he
paid no attention to the advice of his subordinate generals who, hearing
the terrible cannonading at Waterloo, besought him to go to the aid of
the army there. Napoleon believing that he was either holding back
Blucher's forces or was hotly pursuing them, did not recall him to the
main army, and the decisive battle was lost. Grouchy was summoned before
a council of war, but the court declared itself incompetent to decide
his case, and nothing further came of it.
OUR NATIONAL CEMETERIES.--National Cemeteries for soldiers and sailors
may be said to have originated in 1850, the army appropriation bill of
that year appropriating money for a cemetery near the City of Mexico,
for the interment of the remains of soldiers who fell in the Mexican
War. The remains of Federal soldiers and sailors who fell in the war
for the Union have been buried in seventy-eight cemeteries exclusive
of those interred elsewhere, a far greater number.
In the subjoined list are given the names and locations of the
National Cemeteries with the number therein buried, known and unknown.
We have no means of knowing what cemeteries also contain the bodies of
Southern soldiers:
(Location): Known; Unknown
Cypress Hill, N. Y.: 3,675; 70
Woodlawn, Elmira, N. Y.: 3,096; ----
Beverly, N. J.: 142; 7
Finn's Point, N.J.: ----; 2,644
Gettysburg, Pa.: 1,967; 1,608
Philadelphia, Pa.: 1,880; 28
Annapolis, Md.: 2,289; 197
Antietam, Md.: 2,853; 1,811
London Park, Baltimore, Md.: 1,627; 168
Laurel, Baltimore, Md.: 232; 6
Soldiers' Home, D. C.: 5,313; 288
Battle, D. C.: 13; ----
Grafton, W. Va.: 634; 620
Arlington, Va.: 11,911; 4,349
Alexandria, Va.: 3,434; 124
Ball's Bluff, Va.: 1; 24
Cold Harbor, Va.: 672; 1,281
City Point, Va.: 3,779; 1,374
Culpepper, Va.: 454; 910
Danville, Va.: 1,171; 155
Fredericksburg, Va.: 2,487; 12,770
Fort Harrison, Va.: 239; 575
Glendale, Va.: 233; 961
Hampton, Va.: 4,808; 494
Poplar Grove, Va.: 2,197; 3,993
Richmond, Va.: 841; 5,700
Seven Pines, Va.: 150; 1,208
Staunton, Va.: 233; 520
Winchester, Va.: 2,094; 2,301
Yorktown, Va.: 748; 1,434
Newbern, N. C.: 2,174; 1,077
Raleigh, N. C.: 625; 553
Salisbury, N. C.: 94; 12,032
Wilmington, N. C.: 710; 1,398
Beaufort, S. C.: 4,748; 4,493
Florence, S. C.: 199; 2,799
Andersonville, Ga.: 12,878; 959
Marietta, Ga.: 7,182; 2,963
Barrancas, Fla.: 791; 657
Mobile, Ala.: 751; 112
Corinth, Miss.: 1,788; 3,920
Natchez, Miss.: 308; 2,780
Vicksburg, Miss.: 3,896; 12,704
Alexandria, La.: 534; 772
Baton Rouge, La.: 2,468; 495
Chalmette, La.: 6,833; 5,075
Port Hudson, La.: 590; 3,218
Brownsville, Texas: 1,409; 1,379
San Antonio, Texas: 307; 167
Fayetteville, Ark.: 431; 781
Fort Smith, Ark.: 706; 1,152
Little Rock, Ark.: 3,260; 2,337
Chattanooga, Tenn.: 7,993; 4,903
Fort Donelson, Tenn.: 158; 511
Knoxville, Tenn.: 2,089; 1,040
Memphis, Tenn.: 5,150; 8,817
Nashville, Tenn.: 11,824; 4,692
Pittsburg Landing, Tenn.: 1,229; 2,361
Stone River, Tenn.: 3,820; 2,314
Camp Nelson, Ky.: 2,477; 1,165
Cave Hill, Louisville, Ky.: 3,342; 583
Danville, Ky.: 346; 12
Lebanon, Ky.: 591; 277
Lexington, Ky.: 824; 105
Logan's, Ky.: 345; 366
Crown Hill, Indianapolis, Ind.: 686; 36
New Albany, Ind.: 2,138; 676
Camp Butler, Ill.: 1,007; 355
Mound City, Ill.: 2,505; 2,721
Rock Island, Ill.: 280; 9
Jefferson Barracks, Mo.: 8,569; 2,906
Jefferson City, Mo.: 348; 412
Springfield, Mo.: 845; 713
Fort Leavenworth, Kas.: 821; 913
Fort Scott, Kas.: 388; 161
Keokuk, Iowa: 610; 21
Fort Gibson, I. T.: 212; 2,212
Fort McPherson, Neb.: 149; 291
City of Mexico, Mexico: 254; 750
THE CATACOMBS OF PARIS.--The so-called catacombs of Paris were never
catacombs in the ancient sense of the word, and were not devoted to
purposes of sepulture until 1784. In that year the Council of State
issued a decree for clearing the Cemetery of the Innocents, and for
removing its contents, as well as those of other graveyards, into the
quarries which had existed from the earlier times under the city
of Paris and completely undermined the southern part of the city.
Engineers and workmen were sent to examine the quarries and to prop up
their roofs lest the weight of buildings above should break them in.
April 7, 1786, the consecration of the catacombs was performed with
great solemnity, and the work of removal from the cemeteries was
immediately begun. This work was all performed by night; the bones
were brought in funeral cars, covered with a pall, and followed by
priests chanting the service of the dead, and when they reached the
catacombs the bones were shot down the shaft. As the cemeteries were
cleared by order of the government, their contents were removed to
this place of general deposit, and these catacombs further served as
convenient receptacles for those who perished in the revolution. At
first the bones were heaped up without any kind of order except that
those from each cemetery were kept separate, but in 1810 a regular
system of arranging them was commenced, and the skulls and bones were
built up along the wall. From the main entrance to the catacombs,
which is near the barriers d'Enfer, a flight of ninety steps descends,
at whose foot galleries are seen branching in various directions. Some
yards distant is a vestibule of octagonal form, which opens into a
long gallery lined with bones from floor to roof. The arm, leg and
thigh bones are in front, closely and regularly piled, and their
uniformity is relieved by three rows of skulls at equal distances.
Behind these are thrown the smaller bones. This gallery conducts to
several rooms resembling chapels, lined with bones variously arranged.
One is called the "Tomb of the Revolution." another the "Tomb of
Victims," the latter containing the relics of those who perished in
the early period of the revolution and in the "Massacre of September."
It is estimated that the remains of 3,000,000 human beings lie in this
receptacle. Admission to these catacombs has for years been strictly
forbidden on account of the unsafe condition of the roof. They are
said to comprise an extent of about 3,250,000 square yards.
HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE.--The principle of the telephone, that sounds
could be conveyed to a distance by a distended wire, was demonstrated
by Robert Hook in 1667, but no practical application was made of
the discovery until 1821, when Professor Wheatstone exhibited his
"Enchanted Lyre," in which the sounds of a music-box were conveyed
from a cellar to upper rooms. The first true discoverer of the
speaking telephone, however, was Johaun Philipp Reis, a German
scientist and professor in the institute at Friedrichsdorf. April 25,
1861, Reis exhibited his telephone at Frankfort. This contained all
the essential features of the modern telephone, but as its commercial
value was not at all comprehended, little attention was paid to it.
Reis, after trying in vain to arouse the interest of scientists in his
discovery, died in 1874, without having reaped any advantage from it,
and there is no doubt that his death was hastened by the distress of
mind caused by his continual rebuffs. Meanwhile, the idea was being
worked into more practical shape by other persons, Professor Elisha
Gray and Professor A.G. Bell, and later by Edison. There is little
doubt that Professor Gray's successful experiments considerably
antedated those of the others, but Professor Bell was the first to
perfect his patent. February 12, 1877, Bell's articulating telephone
was tested by experiments at Boston and Salem, Mass., and was found
to convey sounds distinctly from one place to the other, a distance
of eighteen miles. This telephone was exhibited widely in this
country and in Europe during that year, and telephone companies
were established to bring it into general use. Edison's carbon
"loud-speaking" telephone was brought out in 1878. It is not worth
while to go into details of the suits on the subject of priority
of invention. The examiner of patents at Washington, July 21, 1883,
decided that Professor Bell was the first inventor, because he was the
first to complete his invention and secure a full patent. Since
1878 there have been many improvements in the different parts of the
telephone, rendering it now nearly perfect in its working.