a daughter of Col. John Donelson, of Virginia, one of the founders
of Tennessee. Her first husband was Mr. Lewis Robards, of Kentucky.
Robards and his wife were boarding with Mrs. Donelson, then a widow,
when Jackson arrived at Nashville, and took up his residence in the
same family. In 1790–1791, Robards applied to the Legislature of
Virginia for an act preliminary to a divorce, stating that his wife
was living in adultery with Andrew Jackson. The act was passed, under
it a jury was summoned late in 1793, and the court of Mercer County,
Ky., declared the marriage between Lewis Robards and Rachael Robards
dissolved. Jackson and Mrs. Robards believed the act passed by the
Legislature was itself a divorce, and they were married at Natchez
two years before the action of the court. At the suggestion of their
friend Judge Overton, who also was surprised to learn that the act of
the Legislature had not divorced Robards, they procured a license in
January, 1794, and had the ceremony performed again. When Gen. Jackson
had become the chief of a great party, the circumstances of this
marriage led to very serious misrepresentations. Robards was prone to
jealousy without cause, and Jackson was not the first man of whom he
was jealous. His statement to the Legislature of Virginia is believed
to have been wholly unfounded. His relatives all sided with his wife,
and never supposed her to be guilty of even an act of impropriety.
267. Why is Alaska so called?
In the dialect of the natives first encountered by the Russian
explorers, the land was called _Al-ay-es-ka_, “the great land.”
From this the present name has become changed through _Aliaska_
and _Alaksa_ to its present form.
268. Who was the nearest common ancestor of nearly all the reigning
monarchs of Europe?
John of Gaunt (1339–1399), fourth son of Edward III. of England,
although he himself was never a king, nor were any of his brothers or
sisters even sovereigns, was the common ancestor of nearly all the
crowned heads of Christendom. The monarchs descended from him are
Victoria, Queen of England, who is of the sixteenth generation; Louis
I., King of Portugal, of the fifteenth generation; Alphonzo XII., the
late King of Spain, of the sixteenth generation; Francis Joseph I.,
Emperor of Austria, of the fifteenth generation; Leopold II., King of
Belgium, of the seventeenth generation; Christian IX., King of Denmark,
of the sixteenth generation; Humbert, King of Italy, of the sixteenth
generation; George I., King of Greece, of the seventeenth generation;
Alexander III., Emperor of Russia, of the eighteenth generation;
William I., Emperor of Germany, of the sixteenth generation; Dom Pedro
II., Emperor of Brazil, is of the fourteenth generation, the nearest of
kin to the English progenitor; the late Chambord (Henry V.), claimant
of the French throne, was of the sixteenth generation; and Louis
Philippe Albert, Prince d’Orleans, the Orleanist claimant of the French
throne, is of the seventeenth generation.
269. Who was the “Red Prince”?
Prince Frederick Charles Nicholas, of Germany (1828–1885), a nephew
of Emperor William I., was so called from his favorite attire,--the
scarlet uniform of his Brandenburg Hussars, which he loved far more
than the full glitter of his highest honors.
270. Why is New Jersey called a foreign country?
In the early days of railways the New Jersey Legislature chartered
the Camden and Amboy Railroad, but neglected to impose a tax upon
its earnings or plant. A few years later, when it became a valuable
property, the State, unable to modify the charter, levied a State tax
upon each passenger carried. This tax fell upon travellers who lived
outside the State as well as Jerseymen, and the former, because they
were taxed to pass through it, facetiously termed New Jersey a foreign
country.
271. Why is Canada so called?
Charlevoix says that this name is from an Iroquois word _Kannata_,
a collection of huts. There is, however, a Spanish tradition that
some Spanish explorers visiting the country in search of gold, and
finding no mines, or other appearance of riches, said, _Aca Nada_,
“Here is nothing,” which, being repeated by the natives to subsequent
visitors from Europe, was supposed to be the name of the country.
272. Which is the “Railroad City”?
Indianapolis, the largest city in the United States situated on
non-navigable waters. The first railway entered the city in 1847.
Now, twelve main lines converge in the Union Depot. About a hundred
passenger trains, connected with every part of the country, enter and
depart daily. The numerous tracks being on a level with the surface
of the streets, the obstruction and danger at the numerous crossings
became very great on account of the increase of railway traffic, so
that in 1877 a loop line, called the “Belt,” had to be made, passing
round the city, to connect the various railways. By means of it the
“through freight-cars” are conveyed past the city without blocking the
traffic.
273. Which is the “Sage Brush State”?
The flora of Nevada is so scanty and so characterized by sage-brush, or
Artemisia, that this State is often nicknamed the “Sage Brush State.”
Artemisia is a low, irregular shrub, with thick crooked stems, growing
in dry alkaline soils, which without irrigation will produce nothing
else.
274. What ancient city brought about its own destruction by an
ill-timed jest?
Antioch, the ancient capital of the Greek kings of Syria, was one of
the most magnificent cities of the ancient world. The Antiochenes
themselves brought about the destruction of their beautiful city. They
were famous above all other people in ancient times for their biting
and scurrilous wit, and for their ingenuity in devising nicknames;
and when the Persians under Chosroes invaded Syria, in 538 A. D., the
Antiochenes could not refrain from jesting at them. The Persians took
ample revenge by the total destruction of the city, which, however, was
rebuilt by Justinian. It was in this city that the followers of Christ
were first called Christians.
275. Who was Washington’s wife?
Her maiden name was Martha Dandridge. She was born at Kent, Va., May
17, 1732. At the age of seventeen, she was married to Col. John Parke
Custis, by whom she had three children. Within a few years she lost her
eldest son and her husband. She was a charming widow of twenty-six when
Washington first met her at the house of a Mr. Chamberlayne. After a
short acquaintance, they were married Jan. 6, 1759. She died May 22,
1802.
276. What was the height of Goliath?
According to Samuel, he was “six cubits and a span.” Mr. Greaves gives
the length of the cubit as twenty-one inches, and the span nine inches.
This would make Goliath’s height about eleven feet three inches.
277. What is the balm of Gilead?
The balm of Gilead, also called balsam of Mecca and Opobalsam,
is obtained from a low tree or shrub, the _balsamodendron
Gileadense_, which grows in several parts of Arabia and Abyssinia.
To obtain the juice, the bark of the tree is cut at the time when the
sap is in its strongest period of circulation. As the juices ooze
through the wound they are received into small earthen bottles, every
day’s produce being poured into large bottles and corked. When fresh,
the smell of the balsam is exquisitely fragrant, but if left exposed to
the atmosphere it loses this quality. The quantity of balsam yielded
by one tree is said never to exceed sixty drops in a day. It is,
therefore, very scarce, and can with difficulty be procured in a pure
and unadulterated state, even at Constantinople.
278. What was the origin of the barber’s pole?
In former times barbers served the public in the capacity of surgeons,
and performed the act of bleeding, that being a favorite remedy with
our ancestors. The pole represented the staff held by the person being
bled, and the spiral stripes painted around it were typical of the two
bandages used for twisting around the arm previous to the bleeding and
after the operation had been performed. The blue stripes and stars
sometimes seen were probably introduced by some barber endowed with
more patriotism than love of ancient customs.
279. Which is the “youngest Territory”?
Wyoming. It was organized by the act of Congress approved July 25,
1868, from portions of Dakota, Idaho, and Utah. The first settlements
within its limits were made in 1867, during the progress of the Union
Pacific Railroad, although there had been a garrison at Port Laramie
since 1834.
280. Why was the shamrock adopted as the emblem of Ireland?
The shamrock is said to have been first assumed as the badge of Ireland
from the circumstance that St. Patrick made use of it to illustrate
the doctrine of the Trinity. The story as told by Lover is as follows:
“When St. Patrick first preached the Christian faith in Ireland, before
a powerful chief and his people, when he spoke of one God and of the
Trinity, the chief asked how one could be in three. St. Patrick,
instead of attempting a theological definition of the faith, thought
a simple image would best serve to enlighten a simple people, and,
stooping to the earth, he plucked from the green sod a _shamrock_,
and holding up the trefoil before them, he bid them there behold one
in three. The chief, struck by the illustration, asked at once to be
baptized, and all his sept followed his example.”
281. What was the origin of “April Fool”?
How the custom of making fools on the first of April arose is not
certainly known, but there are several accounts of its origin, viz.:--
1. It is, perhaps, a travesty of the sending hither and thither of
the Saviour from Annas to Caiaphas, and from Pilate to Herod, because
during the Middle Ages this scene in Christ’s life was made the subject
of a miracle play at Easter, which occurs in the month of April.
2. As March 25 used to be New-Year’s Day, April 1 was its octave, when
its festivities culminated and ended.
3. There is a tradition among the Jews that it arose from the fact
that Noah sent out the dove on the first of the month corresponding
to our April, before the water had abated. To perpetuate the memory
of the great deliverance of Noah and his family, it was customary on
this anniversary to punish persons who had forgotten the remarkable
circumstance connected with the date, by sending them on some bootless
errand, similar to that on which the patriarch sent the luckless bird
from the window of the ark.
4. The custom refers to the uncertainty of the weather at this period.
5. It is a relic of some old heathen festival; and it is curious that
the Hindoos practise similar tricks on the 31st of March, when they
hold what is called the Huli Festival.
The custom, whatever is its origin, appears to be universal throughout
Europe. In France the person imposed upon is called _un poisson
d’Avril_ (an April fish). In England and the United States such a
person is called an April fool; in Scotland, a gowk.
282. What was the origin of the phrase “getting into a scrape”?
“The deer are addicted, at certain seasons, to dig up the land with
their fore-feet, in holes, to the depth of a foot, or even half a yard.
These are called ‘scrapes.’ To tumble into one of these is sometimes
done at the cost of a broken leg; hence a man who finds himself in an
unpleasant position, from which extrication is difficult, is said to
have ‘got into a scrape.’”
283. To what does the phrase “fitting to a T” refer?
This phrase refers to the T or Tee Square, an instrument used in
drawing and mechanics; so called from its resemblance to a capital T.
284. What well-known hymn was composed in a few minutes?
The celebrated hymn, “From Greeland’s icy mountains,” etc., was
composed at Wrexham in 1819. On Whitsunday in that year Dr. Shipley,
Dean of St. Asaph and Vicar of Wrexham, preached a sermon in his church
on behalf of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Heber
was son-in-law to Dr. Shipley and was on a visit. The doctor on the
previous Saturday asked Heber to “write something for them to sing in
the morning,” and in a few minutes, without leaving the room, Heber
produced the hymn now so well known all over the world. He was then in
his thirty-sixth year, and was rector of Hodnet.
285. Why was the magnet so called?
The word “magnet” is derived from the name of the city of Magnesia, in
Asia Minor, where the properties of the loadstone are said to have been
discovered. So far one authority. Another derives it from the name of
Magnes, a shepherd, who is said to have discovered the magnetic power
through being detained on Mount Ida by the magnetism of the mountain
attracting the nails in his shoes, so that he was unable to move from
the spot.
286. What was the “Vinegar Bible”?
This was a name given to an edition of the Bible, published in 1717
at the Clarendon Press, Oxford. By a ludicrous misprint, the title
of the twentieth chapter of Luke was made to read “Parable of the
_Vinegar_” instead of “Parable of the _Vineyard_”; hence the
name.
287. What were the “Breeches Bibles”?
This name was given to editions of the so-called Genevan Bible (first
printed at Geneva, by Rowland Hall, 1560, in 4to), from the peculiar
rendering of Gen. iii. 7.
288. Who is “Johnny Crapaud”?
“This is a sportive designation of a Frenchman, or of the French nation
collectively considered. The following account has been given of the
origin of this name: ‘When the French took the city of Aras from the
Spaniards, under Louis XIV., after a long and most desperate siege, it
was remembered that Nostradamus had said,--
‘Les anciens _crapauds_ prendront Sara.’
(The ancient toads shall Sara take.)
This line was then applied to this event in a very roundabout manner.
_Sara_ is Aras backward. _By the ancient toads_ were meant
the French; as that nation formerly had for its armorial bearings three
of those odious reptiles, instead of the three flowers-de-luce which it
now bears.”
289. Who is “Cousin Michael”?
This is a sportive and disparaging designation of the German people,
intended to indicate the weaknesses and follies of the national
character, and especially the proverbial national slowness, heaviness,
and credulity. The name _Michel_ is often used as a contemptuous
designation of any simple, coarse rustic, and has probably acquired
this signification through a mingling of the Hebrew with the old German
_michel_, gross.
290. Who is “Taffy”?
This is a sobriquet for a Welshman, or for the Welsh collectively. The
word is a corruption of _David_, one of the most common of Welsh
names.
291. Who is “Ivan Ivanovitch”?
He is an imaginary personage, who is the embodiment of the
peculiarities of the Russian people, in the same way as _John
Bull_ represents the English, and _Johnny Crapaud_ the French
character. He is described as a lazy, good-natured person.
292. Who is “John Bull”?
This is a well-known collective name of the English nation, first used
in Arbuthnot’s satire, “The History of John Bull,” usually published
in Swift’s works. In this satire, the French are designated as Lewis
Baboon, the Dutch as Nicholas Frog, etc. The “History of John Bull” was
designed to ridicule the Duke of Marlborough.
293. Who is “Peeping Tom of Coventry”?
This epithet is given to a person of ungovernable inquisitiveness.
The term is said to have arisen thus: “The Countess Godiva, bearing
an extraordinary affection to this place (Coventry), often and
earnestly besought her husband (Leofric, Earl of Murcia), that, for
the love of God and the blessed Virgin, he would free it from that
grievous servitude whereunto it was subject; but he, rebuking her for
importuning him in a matter so inconsistent with his profit, commanded
that she should thenceforth forbear to move therein; yet she, out of
her womanish pertinacity, continued to solicit him; insomuch that he
told her if she would ride on horseback, naked, from one end of the
town to the other, in the sight of all the people, he would grant her
request. Whereunto she answered, ‘But will you give me leave so to do?’
And he replying ‘yes’ the noble lady, upon an appointed day, got on
horseback, naked, with her hair loose, so that it covered all her body
but her legs, and thus performing the journey, returned with joy to her
husband, who therefore granted to the inhabitants a charter of freedom,
which immunity I rather conceive to have been a kind of manumission
from some such servile tenure, whereby they then held what they had
under this great earl, than only a freedom from all manner of toll,
except horses, as Knighton affirms.” It is said by Rapin, that the
countess, previous to her riding, commanded all persons to keep within
doors and from their windows on pain of death; but, notwithstanding
this severe penalty, there was one person who could not forbear giving
a look, out of curiosity; but it cost him his life.
294. What was the “Battle of Spurs”?
This name is given to the battle of Courtrai (1302), the first great
engagement between the nobles and the burghers, which, with the
subsequent battles of Bannockburn, Crecy, and Poictiers, decided
the fate of feudalism. In this encounter the knights and gentlemen
of France were entirely overthrown by the citizens of a Flemish
manufacturing town. The French nobility rushed forward with loose
bridles, and fell headlong, one after another, into an enormous
ditch which lay between them and their enemies. The whole army was
annihilated; and when the spoils were gathered, there were found 4,000
golden spurs to mark the extent of the knightly slaughter, and give a
name to the engagement.
This name is also given to the affair at Guinegate, near Calais (1513),
in which the English troops under Henry VIII. defeated the French
forces. The allusion is said to be to the unusual energy of the beaten
party in _spurring_ off the field.
295. What city is called “Auld Reekie”?
This designation is given to Edinburgh on account of its _smoky_
appearance, as seen from a distance; or, according to others, on
account of the uncleanliness of its public streets.
296. Which is the “City of Magnificent Distances”?
This popular designation is given to the city of Washington, the
capital of the United States, which is laid out on a very large scale,
being intended to cover a space four miles and a half long and two
miles and a half broad, or eleven square miles. The entire site is
traversed by two sets of streets from seventy to one hundred feet wide,
at right angles to one another, the whole again intersected obliquely
by fifteen avenues from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and sixty
feet wide.
297. Which is the heaviest metal?
Platinum was long considered the heaviest metal, but it is now an
established fact that both osmium and iridium are heavier than
platinum. The most recent authorities differ as to which of the two is
the heavier, but there is only a very slight difference. Both metals
are used for pointing gold pens. Osmium does not fuse at 2870 degrees
Fahrenheit, the greatest heat yet produced, and is as yet infusible. In
some of its combinations it is said to be the most poisonous substance
known.
298. Which is the lightest metal?
Lithium. Its specific gravity is only 0.5936, but little more than half
that of water. It is a soft, ductile, white metal, susceptible of being
welded and drawn into wire, but has less tenacity than lead. It burns
brilliantly, and floats upon water and naphtha. It was supposed to be
a very rare substance, but Bunsen and Kirchhoff have shown by spectrum
analysis that, though sparingly, it is widely distributed.
299. What was the origin of “Old Scratch”?
It has been suggested that the origin of this term must be sought for
in the _Scrat_, _Schrat_, _Schretel_, or _Schretlein_, a house or wood
demon of the ancient North.
300. Which is the “Prairie State”?
Illinois is so called in allusion to the wide-spread and beautiful
prairies, which form a striking feature of the scenery of the State.
301. What is the “Via Dolorosa”?
The Via Dolorosa (the way of pain) is a name given, since the
Christian era, to the road at Jerusalem leading from the Mount of
Olives to Golgotha, which Jesus passed over on his way to the place
of crucifixion. Upon this road are situated many of the objects
consecrated by Christian traditions,--the house where the Virgin Mary
was born, the church erected upon the spot where she fell, when she
beheld Jesus sink under the weight of the cross, the house of St.
Veronica, upon whose veil, employed to wipe away his blood and sweat,
the image of his face was miraculously impressed. The road, which is
about a mile in length, terminates at the Gate of Judgment.
302. Which is the “Turpentine State”?
North Carolina, which produces and exports immense quantities of
turpentine.
303. Who is “Black Jack”?
Gen. John Alexander Logan has been so called from his long, black hair
and dark complexion.
304. What was the “Black Hole of Calcutta”?
This name is commonly given to a certain small and close dungeon in
Fort William, Calcutta, the scene of one of the most tragic events
in the history of British India. On the capture of Calcutta, by
Surajah Dowlah, June 20, 1756, the British garrison, consisting of
one hundred and forty-six men, being made prisoners, were locked
up at night in this room, only eighteen feet square, and poorly
ventilated, never having been intended to hold more than two or three
prisoners at a time. In the morning, of the one hundred and forty-six
who were imprisoned, only twenty-three were found alive. In the
“Annual Register” for 1758 is a narrative of the sufferings of those
imprisoned, written by Mr. Holwell, one of the number. The “Black Hole”
is now used as a warehouse.
305. How did _Stonewall_ Jackson receive his sobriquet?
This famous appellation of Thomas Jonathan Jackson (1824–1863) had its
origin in an expression used by the Confederate Gen. Bee, on trying
to rally his men at the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861,--There is
Jackson standing like a _stone wall_. From that day he was known
as _Stonewall_ Jackson, and his command as the _Stonewall_
Brigade.
306. Which was the “Battle of the Herrings”?
This name is given by historians to an engagement which took place Feb.
12, 1429, in which Sir John Fastolfe, an English general, at the head
of 1,500 men, gained a victory over 6,000 Frenchmen near Orleans, and
brought a convoy of stores in safety to the English camp before that
place. The stores comprised a large quantity of herrings.
307. Which is the “Land of the Incas”?
Peru. The Incas were the ancient sovereigns of the country. Manco
Capac, the first Inca, appeared according to the traditions, with
his sister, Mama Oello, on Titicaca Island, a spot ever after held
holy. These two, claiming to be children of the sun, were regarded
as deities, Manco Capac proceeded northward, and, founding Cuzco at
the spot where his golden staff sank into the ground, introduced
civilization and art. A powerful kingdom arose and gradually absorbed
the neighboring tribes.
308. What Presidential administration has been compared to a
parenthesis?
“The administration of Van Buren,” said a bitter satirist, “is like
a parenthesis: it may be read in a low tone of voice or altogether
omitted _without injuring the sense_”!
309. Which was the first Bible printed in America?
The first Bible printed in this country was John Eliot’s Indian Bible,
whose title was this: “Mamusse Wunneetupanatumwe Up-Biblum God naneswe
Nukkone Testament kah wonk Wusku Testament. Ne quoshkinnumuk nashpe
Wuttineumoh Christ noh osc∞wesit John Eliot.” This was printed in 1663.
The Indian language in which it was made is extinct, and it is said
that only one man now living--namely, J. Hammond Trumbull, LL. D., of
Hartford, Conn.--can read it. The next Bible printed here was Saur’s,
in German, in 1743; the first English Bible printed here was at Boston,
in small quarto, in 1752.
310. What names are given by the Hebrews to the books of the Bible?