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”:
“Sometimes on lonely mountain meres
I find a magic bark;
I leap on board; no helmsman steers;
I float till all is dark.
A gentle sound, an awful light!
Three angels bear the Holy Grail.
With folded feet, in stoles of white,
On sweeping wings they sail.”
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?