a mixture of five parts of sulphuric acid and two of nitric, which
falls upon the paper in a fine spray. This changes the cellulose of the
paper into fine pyroxyline (gun cotton). The excess of acid having been
expelled by pressure, the paper is washed with plenty of water until
all traces of acid have been removed; it is then reduced to pulp, and
passes on to the bleaching trough. Most of the water having been got
rid of by means of a strainer, the pulp is mixed with from twenty to
forty per cent. of its weight of camphor, and the mixture thoroughly
triturated under millstones. The necessary coloring matter having been
added in the form of powder, a second mixture and grinding follow. The
finely divided pulp is then spread out in thin layers on slabs, and
from twenty to twenty-five of these layers are placed in a hydraulic
press, separated from one another by sheets of thick blotting paper,
and are subjected to a pressure of one hundred and fifty atmospheres
until all traces of moisture have been got rid of. The plates thus
obtained are broken up and soaked for twenty-four hours in alcohol. The
matter is then passed between rollers heated to between one hundred and
forty and one hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit, whence it issues
in the form of elastic sheets. Celluloid is made to imitate amber,
tortoise-shell, coral, malachite, ebony, ivory, etc., and besides
its employment in dentistry, is used to make mouthpieces for pipes
and cigar-holders, handles for table-knives and umbrellas, combs,
shirt-fronts and collars, and a number of fancy articles.
235. When is “Ground Hog Day”?
Candlemas day (Feb. 2). In Germany’s folklore there is a superstition
that the badger, on that day, peeps out of his hole, and when he finds
snow, walks abroad; but if he sees the sun shining, draws back into his
hole. This latter action, so the legend goes, signifies that the winter
weather is not over, the sun’s rays being too prematurely warm for the
season. Doubtless the superstition concerning the ground hog in this
country is derived from the above source.
236. Where are our Presidents buried?
Washington was buried at Mount Vernon, Va.; John Adams, at Quincy,
Mass.; Jefferson, at Monticello, Va.; Madison, at Montpelier, Va.;
Monroe, at Richmond, Va.; John Quincy Adams, at Quincy, Mass.; Jackson,
at the Hermitage, near Nashville, Tenn.; Van Buren, at Kinderhook, N.
Y.; Harrison, at North Bend, Ind.; Tyler, at Richmond, Va.; Polk, at
Nashville, Tenn.; Taylor, at Washington, D. C.; Fillmore, at Buffalo,
N. Y.; Pierce, at Concord, N. H.; Buchanan, at Lancaster, Pa.; Lincoln,
at Springfield, Ill.; Johnson, at Greenville, Tenn.; Garfield, at
Cleveland, Ohio; and Grant, at Riverside Park, New York City; Arthur,
at Albany, N. Y.
237. Which is the “Modern Athens”?
This name is often given to Edinburgh, on account of its many noble
literary institutions, the taste and culture of the people, the many
distinguished men who have issued from it or resided in it, and the
high character of its publications; and also on account of a marked
resemblance to Athens in its topographical position and its general
appearance.
The same epithet is applied to Boston, Mass., a city remarkable for the
high intellectual character of its citizens, and for its many excellent
literary, scientific, and educational institutions and publications.
238. What was the origin of the term “Old Harry”?
It has been suggested that this vulgar appellation for the devil comes
from the Scandinavian _Hari_ or _Heira_, names of Odin, who
came in time to be degraded from his rank of a god to that of a fiend
or evil spirit.
According to Henley, the hirsute honors of the Satan of the ancient
religious stage procured him the name _Old Hairy_, corrupted into
Old Harry.
239. What was the origin of the terms “Whig” and “Tory”?
These designations of political parties in English, and more lately in
American history, were originally applied as terms of reproach. There
are three accounts for the origin of the term Whig.
1. That it is derived from _whig_, whey, which the Scottish
Covenanters used to drink, and hence a name applied to them.
2. That it is a contraction of _whiggam_, a term used in Scotland
in driving horses, or from _whiggamore_, a driver of horses.
In 1648 a party of these people marched to Edinburgh to oppose the
king and the Duke of Hamilton. “This,” says Burnet, “was called the
Whiggamore’s inroad; and ever after all that opposed the court came in
contempt to be called _whiggs_; and from Scotland the word was
brought into England.”
3. That it is formed from the initials of the motto, “_We hope in
God_,” the motto of the club from which the Whig party took its rise.
The term Tory is derived from an Irish term applied, says Roger North,
to “the most despicable savages among the wild Irish”; and the name was
first given to the followers of the Duke of York, in 1679, because he
favored Irishmen.
Another account of its origin is that it is derived from _toree_,
give me (sc. your money), a term used by the Irish robbers.
240. Who invented decimal fractions?
The inventor of decimal fractions was Simon Stevin, of Bruges, whose
tract, published in 1585, was entitled the “Disme.” But the simple plan
we now have was not then invented. He used circles to designate the
numbers that showed the value of the figures; thus, he wrote 27.847 as
27 (0) 8 (1) 4 (2) 7 (3), and read it as 27 commencements, 8 primes,
4 seconds, 7 thirds. The (0) showed the zero point, the (1) showed
tenths, and so on. These terms “primes,” “seconds,” “thirds,” etc.,
have disappeared. “Primes” were the first to the right of the whole
numbers, “seconds” the second place, etc.
Dispute has arisen concerning the origin of the simpler notation by
means of the decimal point, whether used before the fraction alone,
or as separating it from the integer. Napier claimed the discovery,
so also has De Morgan. But Mr. Glaisher, in a paper read before the
mathematical section of the British Association, seems to establish
Napier’s priority in introducing the decimal point into arithmetic.
The full modern use of it was first exemplified in a posthumous work
of Napier’s called “Mirifici Logarithmorum Canon’s Constructio,”
edited by his son, in 1619, where the formal definition of the decimal
separator is given and illustrated, and the point subsequently used in
operation as we now use it. Briggs, who died in 1631, constantly used
an underscored line to distinguish the decimal part of a number; and
Oughtred, one of his followers, improved on this by using, together
with the line, a vertical bar to mark the separation still more plainly.
241. What is the origin of “humbug”?
The origin of this word is not certainly known. Webster says it is
probably derived from _hum_, to impose on, to deceive, and
_bug_, a frightful object, a bugbear.
Another account states that it is derived from Hamburg, a city of
Germany: “A piece of Hamburg news” being in Germany a proverbial
expression for false political rumors.
A third account gives its origin as follows: “There once lived in
Scotland a gentleman of landed property whose name was Hume or Home,
and his estate was called the Bogue. From the great falsehoods which he
was in the habit of telling about himself, his family, and everything
connected with them, it became the custom to say when anything
improbable was stated, ‘Oh, that’s a Hume o’ the Bogue!’ The expression
spread throughout the neighborhood, and even beyond, and by degrees was
shortened into humbug by those who did not understand how the phrase
first came to be used.”
A fourth account, that of Mr. F. Crosley, suggests the Irish _uim bog_
(pronounced _umbug_), meaning “soft copper” or “worthless money.” James
II. issued from the Dublin Mint a mixture of lead, copper, and brass,
so worthless that a sovereign was intrinsically worth only twopence,
and might have been bought after the revolution for a half-penny.
_Sterling_ and _umbug_ were therefore expressive of real and fictitious
worth, merit and humbug.
242. What is the history of the poem “Sheridan’s Ride”?
This famous poem by T. B. Read, beginning, “Up from the south at
break of day,” has quite a history. The battle of Cedar Creek took
place before dawn on the morning of Oct. 19, 1863. The Confederate
forces, under Gen. Early, were gaining the upper hand, when a report
of the battle reached Gen. Sheridan, who was at Winchester, twenty
miles distant. Putting spurs to his horse, he hastened to the scene
of battle, and by his encouragement, turned a threatened defeat into
a glorious victory. The news of the victory, and the cause of it,
reached Chicago at nine o’clock. Mr. Read, the poet, was staying there
at a hotel, and Mr. Murdock, a noted reader, was with him at the time.
Slapping his friend on the shoulder, Murdock exclaimed: “Read, you must
write a poem on that subject to-day! By to-morrow others, with less
ability, will be ahead of you.”
Mr. Read demurred, but, after half an hour’s talk, yielded to his
friend’s wishes. He retired to his room, locked the door, and in four
hours produced one of our grandest national poems.
His wife and Mr. Murdock praised it enthusiastically. The latter
especially appreciated the beauty and spirit of the lines, for being a
personal friend of Gen. Sheridan, he had ridden upon the gallant black
steed
“That saved the day
By carrying Sheridan into the fight
From Winchester--twenty miles away.”
Mr. Murdock committed the lines to memory, and that evening, at a
meeting of rejoicing over the victory, he recited them. An intense
silence prevailed throughout the hall, broken only by the tones of the
speaker. As the last words of the grand poem left his lips, storms of
applause shook the building. Coming so soon after the victory, while
the people were still flushed with their success, it wrought the
audience up to an excitement which could not be controlled. Every one
supposed that Mr. Murdock had composed the poem, and he was overwhelmed
with expressions of congratulation and praise. But he, directing the
attention of the crowd to the box where the poet sat, exclaimed, “There
is the man who wrote the poem!”
243. Which is the longest word in the English language?
Disproportionableness is the longest classified word in our language.
244. What gems are the emblems of the Twelve Apostles?
ANDREW, the bright blue _sapphire_, emblematic of his heavenly faith.
BARTHOLOMEW, the red _carnelian_, emblematic of his martyrdom.
JAMES, the white _chalcedony_, emblematic of his purity.
JAMES THE LESS, the _topaz_, emblematic of delicacy.
JOHN, the _emerald_, emblematic of his youth and gentleness.
MATTHEW, the _amethyst_, emblematic of sobriety. Matthew was once a
“publican,” but was “sobered” by the leaven of Christianity.
MATTHIAS, the _chrysolite_, pure as sunshine.
PETER, the _jasper_, hard and solid as the rock of the church.
PHILIP, the friendly _sardonyx_.
SIMEON OF CANA, the pink _hyacinth_, emblematic of a sweet temper.
THADDEUS, the _chrysoprase_, emblematic of security and trustfulness.
THOMAS, the _beryl_, indefinite in lustre, emblematic of his doubting
faith.
245. What is the origin of “bogus”?
According to the Boston _Daily Courier_ of June 12, 1857,
this word originated as follows: “The word ‘bogus,’ we believe, is
a corruption of the name of one _Borghese_, a very corrupt
individual, who, twenty years ago or more, did a tremendous business
in the way of supplying the great West, and portions of the Southwest,
with a vast amount of counterfeit bills, and bills on fictitious
banks, which never had any existence out of the ‘forgetive brain’ of
him, the said ‘Borghese.’ The Western people, who are rather rapid in
their talk, when excited, soon fell into the habit of shortening the
Norman name of Borghese to the more handy one of Bogus; and his bills,
and all other bills of like character, were universally styled ‘bogus
currency.’”
246. Why is buckwheat so called?
The word “buckwheat” is a corruption of beechwheat. It is so called
from the similarity of the shape of its grains to the mast or nuts of
the beech-tree.
247. Who originated tarring and feathering?
Richard Cœur de Lion seems to have originated tarring and feathering.
Hoveden, quoted by Dr. Hook in his “Lives of the Archbishops of
Canterbury,” says that Richard, when he sailed for the Holy Land, made
sundry laws for the regulation of his fleet, one of which enacted that
“a robber who shall be convicted of theft shall have his head cropped
after the manner of a champion, and boiling pitch shall be poured
thereon, and then the feathers of a cushion shall be shaken out upon
him, so that he may be known, and at the first land at which the ship
shall touch he shall be set on shore.”
248. What is the meaning of the phrase “By Jingo”?
Jingo is a corruption of Jainko, the name of the Basque Supreme Being.
“By Jingo!” or “By the living Jingo!” is an appeal to deity. Edward I.
had Basque mountaineers conveyed to England to take part in his Welsh
wars, and the Plantagenets held the Basque provinces in possession.
This Basque oath is a landmark of these facts.
249. Who is “Old Nick”?
This vulgar and ancient name for the devil is derived from that of the
_Neck_, or _Nikke_, a river or ocean god of the Scandinavian
popular mythology. “The British sailor,” says Scott, “who fears nothing
else, confesses his terrors for this terrible being, and believes him
the author of almost all the various calamities to which the precarious
life of a seaman is so continually exposed.” Butler, the author of
“Hudibras,” erroneously derives the term from the name of _Nicolo_
Macchiavelli.
250. Who was “Rare Ben”?
This famous appellation was conferred upon Ben Jonson (1574–1637), the
dramatic poet. It is said that soon after his death, a subscription was
commenced for the purpose of erecting a monument to his memory; but the
undertaking having advanced slowly, an eccentric Oxfordshire squire
took the opportunity, on passing one day through Westminster Abbey,
to secure at least an epitaph for the poet by giving a mason eighteen
pence to cut, on the stone which covered the grave, the words, “O, rare
Ben Johnson.”
251. What was the origin of Thanksgiving Day?
In 1621, the year after Plymouth Colony was founded, Gov. Bradford
set apart a day for thanksgiving for the yield of the harvests. Two
years after that, there was a great drought, and the people were
devoting a day to fasting and prayer, when their sorrows were turned
into praise and thanksgiving by a generous fall of rain. From that
time it gradually became an established custom to have a day of praise
and thanksgiving after harvests. When the Colonies became the New
England States, the custom was kept up, the day being proclaimed by
the governors of the several States. A day of prayer was recommended
by Congress during the Revolution, and by Washington after the
adoption of the Constitution. This was continued by some of the later
Presidents. In 1863, Lincoln proclaimed that a _National Thanksgiving
Day_ should be observed in remembrance of the recent victories
and the general manifestation of God’s goodness and mercy. This has
been annually issued since, and now custom has fixed it as the fourth
Thursday in November.
252. Whose wife was Adam?
Adam’s. “Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called
_their_ name Adam, in the day when they were created.” Genesis v.
2.
253. Whose daughter was Noah?
Zelophehad’s. “Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of
Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of
the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names
of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah and Tirzah.”
Numbers xxvii. 1.
254. Who are the “Hairy Men”?
The Ainos, who are supposed to be the aborigines of Japan. They
are distinguished by an exuberance of hair on the head and body, a
circumstance which has given rise to their name of “Hairy Kuriles.”
They are different in race and character from the ordinary Japanese.
Legend says that the Japanese were originally Ainos, but became a
separate race by intermarriage with the Chinese. They are now found
chiefly in the island of Yesso.
255. Where was the Declaration of Independence written?
Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in the second story,
front room, of house No. 230 High Street, now 700 Market Street,
Philadelphia.
256. What is the Golden Number of a year, and how determined?
The Golden Number for any year is the number of that year in the
Metonic cycle, and as this cycle embraces nineteen years, the golden
number ranges from one to nineteen. The cycle of Meton came into
general use soon after its discovery, and the number of each year in
the Metonic cycle was ordered to be engraved in letters of gold on
pillars of marble--hence the origin of the name. Since the introduction
of the Gregorian calendar, the point from which the golden numbers
are numbered is 1 B. C., as in that year the new moon fell on the 1st
of January; and as by Meton’s law, it falls on the same day (Jan. 1)
every nineteenth year from that time, we obtain the following rule for
obtaining the golden number of any particular year: “Add one to the
number of years and divide by nineteen; the quotient gives the number
of cycles, and the remainder gives the golden number for that year;
and if there be no remainder, then nineteen is the golden number, and
that year is the last of the cycle.” The golden number is used for
determining the Epact and the time of holding Easter.
257. What were the causes of the American Revolution?
The most general cause of the American Revolution was the _right of
arbitrary government_, claimed by Great Britain and denied by the
Colonies. There were subordinate causes. First of these was _the
influence of France_, which was constantly exerted so as to incite a
spirit of resistance in the Colonies. Another cause was found in _the
natural disposition and inherited character of the colonists_.
_The growth of public opinion in the Colonies_ tended to
independence. Another cause was found in _the personal character of
the king_. The more immediate cause was the passage by Parliament of
_a number of acts destructive of colonial liberty_.
258. How was the first colonial Congress constituted?
At Boston, James Otis successfully agitated the question of an American
Congress. It was proposed that each Colony, acting without leave of the
king, should appoint delegates, who should meet in the following autumn
and discuss the affairs of the nation. The proposition was favorably
received, nine of the Colonies appointed delegates, and on the 7th of
October, 1765, the first Colonial Congress assembled at New York. There
were twenty-eight representatives. Timothy Ruggles, of Massachusetts,
was chosen president. After much discussion, a Declaration of Rights
was adopted, setting forth in unmistakable terms that the American
colonists, as Englishmen, could not and would not consent to be taxed
but by their own representatives. Memorials were also prepared and
addressed to the two Houses of Parliament. A manly petition, professing
loyalty and praying for a more just and humane policy toward his
American subjects, was directed to the king.
259. What were the terms of the Treaty of 1783?
The terms of the Treaty of 1783 were briefly these: A full and complete
recognition of the independence of the United States; the recession by
Great Britain of Florida to Spain; the surrender of all the remaining
territory east of the Mississippi and south of the Great Lakes to the
United States; the free navigation of the Mississippi and the Lakes by
American vessels; the concession of mutual rights in the Newfoundland
fisheries; and the retention by Great Britain of Canada and Nova
Scotia, with the exclusive control of the St. Lawrence River.
260. What were the leading defects of the Confederation?
1. There was an utter want of all coercive authority in the Continental
Congress to carry into effect any of their constitutional measures. 2.
There was no power in the Continental Congress to punish individuals
for any breach of their enactments. Their laws must be wholly without
penal sanction. 3. They had no power to lay taxes, or to collect
revenue for the public service. The power over taxes was expressly and
exclusively reserved to the States. 4. They had no power to regulate
commerce, either with foreign nations or among the several States.
It was left, with respect to both, exclusively to the management of
each particular State, thus being at the mercy of private interests
or local prejudices. 5. As might be expected, “the most opposite
regulations existed in different States, and there was a constant
resort to retaliatory legislation from their jealousies and rivalries
in commerce, in agriculture, or in manufactures. Foreign nations did
not fail to avail themselves of all the advantages accruing from
this suicidal policy tending to the common ruin.” 6. For want of
some singleness of power,--a power to act with uniformity and one to
which all interests could be reconciled,--foreign commerce was sadly
crippled, and nearly destroyed. The country was deeply in debt, without
a dollar to pay, or the means even to draw a dollar into the public
treasury, and what money there was in the country was rapidly making
its way abroad. 7. Great as these embarrassments were, the States,
full of jealousy, were tenaciously opposed to making the necessary
concessions to remedy the great and growing evil. All became impressed
with the fear, that, unless a much stronger national government could
be instituted, all that had been gained by the Revolutionary struggle
would soon be lost.
261. What were the Alien and Sedition Laws?
Two laws passed by Congress in 1798. The Alien Law empowered the
President to send out of the country, at short notice, any foreigners
whose presence might be deemed injurious or prejudicial to the
interests of the United States, and lengthened the time requisite for
becoming naturalized citizens of the United States to fourteen years.
The Sedition Law limited the freedom of speech, and of the press when
directed abusively against the government. Under this act it was a
crime punishable with heavy fine and long imprisonment “to write,
print, utter, or publish any false, scandalous, or malicious statement
against either President or Congress.” These laws did much to defeat
Adams’s re-election in 1800.
262. What were the principal causes of the late Civil War?
The _principal_ causes of the Civil War were five in number: 1.
The different construction put upon the national Constitution by the
people of the North and the South. 2. The different system of labor
in the North and in the South. 3. The want of intercourse between the
people of the North and the South. 4. The publication of sectional
books. 5. The evil influence of demagogues.
263. What is the title of the Czar of Russia?
Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, of Moscow, of Kieff, of
Vladimir, of Novgorod; Czar of Kazan, of Astrakhan, of Poland, of
Siberia, of Kherson-Taurida, of Grousi; Gosondar of Pskoff; Grand Duke
of Smolensk, of Lithuania, of Volhynia, of Podolia, and of Finland;
Prince of Esthonia, of Livonia, of Courland, of Semigalia, of the
Samoyedes, of Bielostok, of Corelia, of Foer, of Ingor, of Perm,
of Viatka, of Bulgaria, and of other countries; Master and Grand
Duke of the lower countries in Novgorod, of Tchernigoff, of Riazan,
of Polotsk, of Rostoff, of Jaroslaff, of Bielosersk, of Ondork, of
Obdorsk, of Kondisk, of Vitelsk, of Mstilaff, and of all the countries
of the North; Master Absolute of Iversk, of Kastalnisk, of Kalardinsk,
and of the territory of Armenia; Sovereign of Mountain Princes of
Tcherkask, Master of Turkestan, Heir-presumptive of Norway, and Duke of
Sleswick-Holstein, of Stormarne, of Duthmarse, and of Oldenburg.
264. What was the origin of the phrase “To speak for Buncombe”?
This phrase, which means to speak for mere show, or for purposes of
political intrigue, originated in the Sixteenth Congress, near the
close of the debate on the famous “Missouri Question.” Felix Walker, a
_naïve_ old mountaineer, who resided at Waynesville, in Haywood,
the most western county of North Carolina, near the border of the
adjacent county of Buncombe, arose to speak, while the house was
impatiently calling for the “_Question_.” Several members gathered
round him and insisted on his silence, but he continued to speak,
declaring that the people of his district expected it, and that he was
bound to “make a speech for Buncombe.” Hence the phrases, “To speak for
Buncombe,” “All for Buncombe,” etc.
265. What President was buried at the expense of his friends?
James Monroe, although he had received $350,000 for his public
services, yet, on account of the free-handed hospitality so
characteristic of his native State (Virginia) in her palmy days,
together with his life-long occupation in public affairs to the neglect
of his own estate, was so involved in debt, at the time of his death,
that his funeral expenses were met by his friends.
266. What President married the same lady twice?