an associate of congenial taste and benevolence to erect such a building
as here described, and then devote her time and wealth to the elevation
and salvation of the sinful and neglected, would she sacrifice as much
as does a Lady of the Sacred Heart or a Sister of Charity, many of
whom have been the daughters of princes and nobles? They resign to
their clergy and superiors not only the control of their wealth but
their time, labor, and conscience. In doing this, the Roman Catholic
lady is honored and admired as a saint, while taught that she is doing
more than her duty, and is thus laying up a store of good works to
repay for her own past deficiencies, and also to purchase grace and
pardon for humbler sinners. If this is really believed, how soothing
to a wounded conscience! And what a strong appeal to generous and
Christian feeling! And the more terrific the pictures of purgatory and
hell, the stronger the appeal to these humane and benevolent principles.
But how would it be with the Protestant woman practicing such
self-denial? For example, the lady of wealth and culture, who gave up
her property and time to provide a home for incurables--would her
pastor say she was doing _more_ than her duty? and if not, would
he preach to other rich women who, in other ways, could humble
themselves to raise up the poor, the ignorant, and the sinful, that
they are doing _less_ than their duty?
Is it not sometimes the case, that both minister and people, by example,
at least, seem to teach that, the more riches increase, the less demand
there is for economy, labor, and self-denial for the benefit of the
destitute and the sinful?
Protestants are little aware of the strong attractions which, are
drawing pious and benevolent women toward the Roman Catholic Church,
To the poor and neglected: in humble life are offered a quiet home,
with sympathy, and honored work. To the refined and ambitious are
offered the best society and high positions of honor and trust. To the
sinful are offered pardon for past offenses and a fresh supply of
"grace" for all acts of penitence or of benevolence. To the anxiously
conscientious, perplexed with contentions as to doctrines and duties,
are offered an infallible pope and clergy to decide what is truth and.
duty, and what is the true interpretation of the Bible, while they are
taught that the "faith" which saves the soul is implicit belief in the
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. All this enables many, even
of the intelligent, to receive the other parts of a system that
contradicts both common sense and the Bible.
Meantime, a highly educated priesthood, with no family ties to distract
attention, are organizing and employing devoted, self-denying women,
all over the land, to perform the distinctive work that Protestant
women, if wisely trained and organized by their clergy, could carry
out in thousands of scattered Christian homes and villages.
In the Protestant churches, women are educated only to be married; and
when not married, there is no position provided which is deemed as
honorable as that of a wife. But in the Roman Catholic Church, the
unmarried woman who devotes herself to works of Christian benevolence
is the most highly honored, and has a place of comfort and
respectability provided which is suited to her education and capacity.
Thus come great nunneries, with lady superiors to control conscience
and labor and wealth.
But a time is coming when the family state is to be honored and ennobled
by single women, qualified to sustain it by their own industries; women
who will both support and train the children of their Lord and Master
in the true style of Protestant independence, controlled by no superior
but Jesus Christ. And in the Bible they will find the Father of the
faithful, to both Jews and Gentiles, their great exemplar. For nearly
one hundred years Abraham had no child of his own; but his household,
whom he trained to the number of three hundred and eighteen, were
children of others. And he was the friend of God, chosen to be father
of many nations, because he would "command his household to do justice
and judgment and keep the way of the Lord."
The woman who from true love consents to resign her independence and
be supported by another, while she bears children and trains them for
heaven, has a noble mission; but the woman who earns her own
independence that she may train the neglected children of her Lord and
Saviour has a still higher one. And a day is coming when Protestant
women will be _trained_ for this their highest ministry and profession
as they never yet have been.
XXXVII.
THE CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORHOOD.
The spirit of Christian missions to heathen lands and the organizations
to carry them forward commenced, in most Protestant lands, within the
last century. The writer can remember the time when an annual collection
for domestic missions was all the call for such benefactions in a
wealthy New-England parish; while such small pittances were customary
that the sight of a dollar-bill in the collection, even from the richest
men of the church-members, produced a sensation.
In the intervening period since that time, the usual mode of extending
the Gospel among the heathen has been for a few of the most
self-sacrificing men and women to give up country and home and all the
comforts and benefits of a Christian community, and then commence the
family state amid such vice and debasement that it was ruinous to
children to be trained in its midst. And so the result has been, in
multitudes of cases, that children were born only to be sent from
parents to be trained by strangers, and the true "Christian family"
could not be exhibited in heathen lands. And as a Christian
neighborhood, in its strictest sense, consists of a collection of
Christian families, such a community has been impossible in most cases
among the heathen.
[Illustration: Fig. 75]
When our Lord ascended, his last command was "Go ye into all the world,
and preach the Gospel to _every_ creature." For ages, most Christian
people have supposed this command was limited to the apostles.
In the present day, it has been extended to Include a few men and
women, who should practice the chief labor and self-sacrifice, while
most of the church lived at ease, and supposed they were obeying this
command, by giving a small portion of their abundance to support those
who performed the chief labor and self-sacrifice.
But a time is coming when Christian churches will under stand this
command in a much more comprehensive sense; and the "Christian family"
and "Christian neighborhood" will be the grand ministry of salvation.
In order to assist in making this a practicable anticipation, some
additional drawings are given in this chapter. The aim is to illustrate
one mode of commencing a Christian neighborhood that is so economical
and practical that two or three ladies, with very moderate means, could
carry it out.
A small church, a school-house, and a comfortable family dwelling may
all be united in one building, and for a very moderate sum, as will
be illustrated by the following example.
At the head of the first chapter is a sketch which represents a
perspective view of the kind of edifice indicated. On the opposite
page (Fig. 75) is an enlarged and more exact view of the front elevation
of the same, which is now building in one of the most Southern States,
where tropical plants flourish. The three magnificent trees on the
drawing heading the first chapter are live-oaks adorned with moss,
rising over one hundred feet high and being some thirty or more feet
in circumference. Nearly under their shadow is the building to be
described.
[Illustration: Fig. 76.]
Fig. 76 is the ground plan, which includes one large room twenty-five
feet wide and thirty-five feet long, having a bow window at one end,
and a kitchen at the other end. The bow-window has folding-doors,
closed during the week, and within is the pulpit for Sunday service.
The large room may be divided either by a movable screen or by sliding
doors with a large closet on either side. The doors make a more perfect
separation; but the screen affords more room for storing family
conveniences, and also secured more perfect ventilation for the whole
large room by the exhaust-flue.
Thus, through the week, the school can be in one division, and the
other still a sizable room, and the kitchen be used for teaching
domestic economy and also for the eating-room. Oil Sunday, if there
is a movable screen, it can be moved back to the fireplace; or
otherwise, the sliding--doors may be opened, giving the whole space
to the congregation. The chimney is finished off outside as a steeple.
It incloses a cast-iron or terra cotta pipe, which receives the
stove-pipe of the kitchen and also pipes connecting the two fireplaces
with the large pipe, and finds exit above the slats of the steeple at
the projections. Thus the chimney is made an exhaust shaft for carrying
off vitiated air from all the rooms both above and below, which have
openings into it made for the purpose.
Two good-sized chambers are over the large lower story, as shown in
Fig. 77. Large closets are each side of these chambers, where are
slatted openings to admit pure air; and under these openings are
registers placed to enable pure air to pass through the floor into the
large room below. Thus a perfect mode of ventilation is secured for
a large number.
[Illustration: Fig. 77.]
On Sunday, the folding-doors of the bow-window are to be opened for
the pulpit, the sliding-doors opened, or the screen moved back, and
camp-chairs brought from the adjacent closet to seat a congregation
of worshipers.
During the week, the family work is to be done in the kitchen, and the
room adjacent be used for both a school and an eating-room. Here the
aim will be, during the week, to collect the children of the
neighborhood, to be taught not only to read, write, and cipher, but
to perform in the best manner all the practical duties of the family
state. Two ladies residing in this building can make an illustration
of the highest kind of "Christian family," by adopting two orphans,
keeping in training one or two servants to send out for the benefit
of other families, and also providing for an invalid or aged member
of Christ's neglected ones. Here also they could employ boys and girls
in various kinds of floriculture, horticulture, bee-raising, and other
out-door employments, by which an income could be received and young
men and women trained to industry and thrift, so as to earn an
independent livelihood.
The above attempt has been made where, in a circuit of fifty miles,
with a thriving population, not a single church is open for Sunday
worship, and not a school to be found except what is provided by
faithful Roman Catholic nuns, who, indeed, are found engaged in similar
labors all over our country. The cost of such a building, where lumber
is $50 a hundred and labor $3 a day, would not much exceed $1200.
Such destitute settlements abound all over the West and South, while,
along the Pacific coast, China and Japan are sending their pagan
millions to share our favored soil, climate, and government.
Meantime, throughout our older States are multitudes of benevolent,
well-educated, Christian women in unhealthful factories, offices, and
shops; and many, also, living in refined leisure, who yet are pining
for an opportunity to aid in carrying the Gospel to the destitute.
Nothing is needed but _funds_ that are in the keeping of thousands of
Christ's professed disciples, and _organisations_ for this end, which
are at the command of the Protestant clergy.
Let such a truly "Christian family" be instituted in any destitute
settlement, and soon its gardens and fields would cause "the desert
to blossom as the rose," and around would soon gather a "Christian
neighborhood." The school-house would no longer hold the multiplying
worshipers. A central church would soon appear, with its appended
accommodations for literary and social gatherings and its appliances
for safe and healthful amusements.
The cheering example would soon spread, and ere long colonies from
these prosperous and Christian communities would go forth to shine as
"lights of the world" in all the now darkened nations. Thus the
"Christian family," and "Christian neighborhood" would become the grand
ministry, as they were designed to be, in training our whole race for
heaven.
This final chapter should not close without a few encouraging words
to those who, in view of the many difficult duties urged in these
pages, sorrowfully review their past mistakes and deficiencies. None
can do this more sincerely than the writer. How many things have been
done unwisely even with good motives! How many have been left undone
that the light of present knowledge would have secured!
In this painful review, the good old Bible comes as the abundant
comforter. The Epistle to the Romans was written especially to meet
such regrets and fears. It teaches that all men are sinners, in many
cases from ignorance of what is right, and in many from stress of
temptation, so that neither Greek nor Jew can boast of his own
righteousness. For it is not "by works of righteousness" that we are
to be considered and treated as righteous persons, but through a "faith
that _works by love_;" that _faith_ or _belief_ which is not a mere
intellectual conviction, but a _controlling purpose_ or spiritual
principle which _habitually controls_ the feelings and conduct. And so
long as there is this constant aim and purpose to obey Christ in all
things, mistakes in judgment as to what is right and wrong are pitied,
"even as a father pitieth his children," when from ignorance they run
into harm. And even the most guilty transgressors are freely forgiven
when truly repentant and faithfully striving to forsake the error of
their ways.
Moreover, this tender and pitiful Saviour is the Almighty One who rules
both this and the invisible world, and who "from every evil still
educes good." This life is but the infant period of our race, and much
that we call evil, in his wise and powerful ruling may be for the
highest good of all concerned.
The Blessed Word also cheers us with pictures of a dawning day to which
we are approaching, when a voice shall be heard under the whole heavens,
saying, "Alleluia"--"the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms
of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."
And "a great voice out of heaven" will proclaim, "Behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be
his people. And God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no
more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any
more pain; for the former things are passed away."
The author still can hear the echoes of early life, when her father's
voice read to her listening mother in exulting tones the poet's version
of this millennial consummation, which was the inspiring vision of his
long life-labors--a consummation to which all their children were
consecrated, and which some of them may possibly live to behold.
"O scenes surpassing fable, and yet true!
Scenes of accomplished bliss! which who can see,
Though but in distant prospect, and not feel
His soul refreshed with foretaste of the joy!
"Rivers of gladness water all the earth,
And clothe all climes with beauty; the reproach
Of barrenness is past. The fruitful field
Laughs with abundance; and the land once lean,
Or fertile only in its own disgrace,
Exults to see its thistly curse repealed.
"Error has no place:
That creeping pestilence is driven away;
The breath of Heaven has chased it. In the heart
No passion touches a discordant string,
But all is harmony and love. Disease
Is not: the pure and uncontaminate blood
Holds its due course, nor fears the frost of age.
One song employs all nations; and all cry,
'Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us!'
The dwellers in the vales and on the rocks
Shout to each other; and the mountain-tops
From distant mountains catch the flying joy;
Till, nation after nation taught the strain,
"Behold the measure of the promise filled!
See Salem built, the labor of a God!
Bright as a sun the sacred city shines;
All kingdoms and all princes of the earth
Flock to that light; the glory of all lands
Flows into her; unbounded is her joy,
And endless her increase. Thy rams are there,
Nebaioth, and the flocks of Kedar there;
The looms of Ormus and the mines of Ind,
And Saba's spicy groves pay tribute there.
"Praise is in all her gates: upon her walls,
And in her streets, and in her spacious courts,
Is heard salvation. Eastern Java there
Kneels with the native of the farthest west;
And Athiopia spreads abroad the hand,
And worships. Her report has traveled forth
Into all lands. From every clime they come
To see thy beauty, and to share thy joy,
O Zion! an assembly such as earth
Saw never, such as Heaven stoops down to see!"
[Footnote: Cowper's _Task_.]
AN APPEAL TO AMERICAN WOMEN BY THE SENIOR AUTHOR OF THIS VOLUME.
My honored countrywomen:
It is now over forty years that I have been seeking to elevate the
character and condition of our sex, relying, as to earthly aid, chiefly
on your counsel and cooperation. I am sorrowful at results that have
followed these and similar efforts, and ask your sympathy and aid.
Let me commence with a brief outline of the past. I commenced as an
educator in the city of Hartford, Ct., when only the primary branches
and one or two imperfect accomplishments were the ordinary school
education, and was among the first pioneers in seeking to introduce
some of the higher branches. The staid, conservative citizen's queried
of what use to women were Latin, Geometry, and Algebra, and wondered
at a request for six recitation rooms and a study-hall for a school
of nearly a hundred, who had as yet only one room. The appeal was then
made to benevolent, intelligent women, and by their influence all that
was sought was liberally bestowed.
But the course of study then attempted was scarcely half of what is
now pursued in most of our colleges for young women, while there has
been added a round and extent of accomplishments then unknown. Yet
this moderate amount so stimulated brain and nerves, and so excited
competition, that it became needful to enforce a rule, requiring a
daily report, that only two hours a day had been devoted to study out
of school hours. Even this did not avail to save from injured health
both the teacher who projected these improvements and many of her
pupils. This example and that of similar institutions spread all over
the nation, with constantly increasing demand for more studies, and
decreasing value and respect for domestic pursuits and duties.
Ten years of such intellectual excitement exhausted the nervous
fountain, and my profession as a school-teacher was ended.
The next attempt was to introduce Domestic Economy as _a science to
be studied_ in schools for girls. For a while it seemed to succeed;
but ere long was crowded out by Political Economy and many other
economies, except those most needed to prepare a woman for her
difficult and sacred duties.
In the progress of years, it came to pass that the older States teemed
with educated women, qualified for no other department of woman's
profession but that of a schoolteacher, while the newer States abounded
in children without schools.
I again appealed to my countrywomen for help, addressing them through
the press and also by the assistance of a brother (in assemblies in
many chief cities) in order to raise funds to support an agent. The
funds were bestowed, and thus the services of Governor Slade were
secured, and, mainly by these agencies, nearly one thousand teachers
were provided with schools, chiefly in the West.
Meantime, the intellectual taxation in both private and public schools,
the want of proper ventilation in both families and schools, the want
of domestic exercise which is so valuable to the feminine constitution,
the pernicious modes of dress, and the prevailing neglect of the laws
of health, resulted in the general decay of health among women. At the
same time, the overworking of the brain and nerves, and the "cramming"
system of study, resulted in a deficiency of mental development which
is very marked. It is now a subject of general observation that young
women, at this day, are decidedly inferior in mental power to those
of an earlier period, notwithstanding their increased advantages. For
the mind, crowded with undigested matter, is debilitated the same as
is the body by over-feeding,
Recent scientific investigations give the philosophy of these results.
For example, Professor Houghton, of Trinity College, Dublin, gives as
one item of protracted experiments in animal chemistry, that two hours
of severe study abstracts as much vital strength as is demanded by a
whole day of manual labor. The reports of the Massachusetts Board of
Education add other facts that, in this connection, should be deeply
pondered. For example, in one public school of eighty-five pupils only
fifty-four had refreshing sleep; fifty-nine had headaches or constant
weariness, and only fifteen were perfectly well. In this school it was
found, and similar facts are common in all our public and high schools,
that, in addition to six school-hours, thirty-one studied three hours
and a half; thirty-five, four hours; and twelve, from four to seven
hours. And yet the most learned medical men maintain that the time
devoted to brain labor, daily, should not exceed six hours for healthy
men, and three hours for growing children.
Alarmed at the dangerous tendencies of female education, I made another
appeal to my sex, which resulted in the organization of the American
Woman's Education Association, the object being to establish
_endowed_ professional schools, in connection with literary
institutions, in which woman's profession should be honored and taught
as are the professions of men, and where woman should be trained for
some self-supporting business. From this effort several institutions
of a high literary character have come into existence at the West, but
the organization and endowment of the professional schools is yet
incomplete from many combining impediments, the chief being a want of
appreciation of woman's profession, and of the _science_ and _training_
which its high and sacred duties require. But the reports of the
Association will show that never before were such superior intellectual
advantages secured to a new country by so economical an outlay.
Let us now look at the dangers which are impending. And first, in
regard to the welfare of the family state, the decay of the female
constitution and health has involved such terrific sufferings, in
addition to former cares and pains of maternity, that multitudes of
both sexes so dread the risks of marriage as either to avoid it, or
meet them by methods _always_ injurious and often criminal. Not
only so, multitudes of intelligent and conscientious persons, in private
and by the press, unaware of the penalties of violating nature, openly
impugn the inspired declaration, "Children are a heritage of the Lord."
Add to these, other influences that are robbing home of its safe and
peaceful enjoyments. Of such, the condition of domestic service is not
the least. We abound in domestic helpers from foreign shores, but they
are to a large extent thriftless, ignorant, and unscrupulous, while
as thriftless and inexperienced housekeepers, from boarding-school
life, have no ability to train or to control. Hence come antagonism
and ceaseless "worries" in the parlor, nursery, and kitchen, while the
husband is wearied with endless complaints of breakage, waste of fuel
and food, neglect, dishonesty, and deception, and home is any thing
but a harbor of comfort and peace. Thus come clubs to draw men from
comfortless homes, and, next, clubs for the deserted women.
Meantime, domestic service--disgraced, on one side, by the stigma of
our late slavery, and, on the other, by the influx into our kitchens
of the uncleanly and ignorant--is shunned by the self-respecting and
well educated, many of whom prefer either a miserable pittance or the
career of vice to this fancied degradation. Thus comes the overcrowding
in all avenues for woman's work, and the consequent lowering of wages
to starvation prices for long protracted toils.
From this come diseases to the operatives, bequeathed often to their
offspring. Factory girls must stand ten hours or more, and consequently
in a few years debility and disease ensue, so that they never can rear
healthy children, while the foreigners who supplant them in kitchen
labor are almost the only strong and healthy women to rear large
families. The sewing-machine, hailed as a blessing, has proved a curse
to the poor; for it takes away profits from needlewomen, while employers
testify that women who use this machine for steady work, in two years
or less become hopelessly diseased and can rear no children. Thus it
is that the controlling political majority of New-England is passing
from the educated to the children of ignorant foreigners.
Add to these disastrous influences, the teachings of "free love;" the
baneful influence of spiritualism, so called; the fascinations of the
_demi-monde_; the poverty of thousands of women who, but for
desperate temptations, would be pure--all these malign influences are
sapping the foundations of the family state. Meantime, many intelligent
and benevolent persons imagine that the grand remedy for the heavy
evils that oppress our sex is to introduce woman to political power
and office, to make her a party in primary political meetings, in
political caucuses, and in the scramble and fight for political offices;
thus bringing into this dangerous _melee_ the distinctive tempting
power of her sex. Who can look at this new danger without dismay?
But it is neither generous nor wise to join in the calumny and ridicule
that are directed toward philanthropic and conscientious laborers for
the good of our sex, because we fear their methods are not safe. It
would be far wiser to show by example a better way.
Let us suppose that our friends have gained the ballot and the powers
of office: are there any real beneficent measures for our sex, which
they would enforce by law and penalties, that fathers, brothers, and
husbands would not grant to a united petition of our sex, or even to
a majority of the wise and good? Would these not confer what the wives,
mothers, and sisters deemed best for themselves and the children they
are to train, very much sooner than they would give power and office
to our sex to enforce these advantages by law? Would it not be a wiser
thing to _ask_ for what we need, before trying so circuitous and
dangerous a method? God has given to man the physical power, so that
all that woman may gain, either by petitions or by ballot, will be the
gift of love or of duty; and the ballot never will be accorded till
benevolent and conscientious men are the majority--a millennial point
far beyond our present ken.
The American Woman's Education Association aims at a plan which its
members believe, in its full development, will more effectually remedy
the "wrongs of woman" than any other urged on public notice. Its general
aim has been stated; its details will appear at another time and place.
Its managers include ladies of high character and position from six
religious denominations, and also some of the most reliable business
men of New York. Any person who is desirous to aid by contributions
to this object can learn more of the details of the plan by addressing
me at No. 69 West Thirty-eighth Street. But it is needful to state
that letters from those who seek aid or employment of any sort can not
be answered at present, nor for some months to come.
Every woman who wishes to aid in this effort for the safety and
elevation of our sex can do so by promoting the sale of this work, and
its introduction as a text-book into schools. An edition for the use
of schools will be in readiness next fall, which will contain school
exercises, and questions that will promote thought and discussion in
classrooms, in reference to various topics included in the science of
Domestic Economy. And it is hoped that a previous large sale of the
present volume will prepare the public mind to favor the introduction
of this branch of study into both public and private schools. Ladies
who write for the press, and all those who have influence with editors,
can aid by directing general attention to this effort.
All the profits of the authors derived from the edition of this volume
prepared for schools, will be paid into the Treasury of the A. W.E.
Association, and the amount will be stated in the annual reports.
The complementary volume of this work will follow in a few months, and
will consist, to a great extent, of _receipts and directions_ in
all branches of domestic economy, especially in the department of
_healthful and economical cooking_. The most valuable receipts
in my _Domestic Receipt Book_, heretofore published by the Harpers,
will be retained, and a very large number added of new ones, which are
healthful, economical, and in many cases ornamental. One special aim
will be to point out modes of _economizing labor_ in preparing food.
Many directions will be given that will save from purchasing poisonous
milk, meats, beers, and other medicated drinks. Directions for detecting
poisonous ingredients in articles for preserving the hair, and in
cosmetics for the complexion, which now are ruining health, eyesight,
and comfort all over the nation, will also be given.
Particular attention will be given to modes of preparing and preserving
clothing, at once economical, healthful, and in good taste.
A large portion of the book will be devoted to instruction, in the
various ways in which women may _earn an independent livelihood_,
especially in employments that can be pursued in sunlight and the open
air.
Should any who read this work wish for more minute directions in regard
to ventilation of a house already built, or one projected, they can
obtain his aid by addressing Lewis Leeds, No. 110 Broadway, New York
City. His associate, Mr. Herman Kreitler, who prepared the architectural
plans in this work relating to Mr. Leeds's system, can be addressed
at the same place.
CATHARINE E. BEECHER.
NEW YORK, June 1, 1869.
APPENDIX.
GLOSSARY OF SUCH WORDS AND PHRASES AS MAY NOT EASILY BE UNDERSTOOD BY
THE YOUNG READER
[Many words not contained in this GLOSSARY will be found explained in
the body of the work, in the places where they first occur.]
_Action brought by the Commonwealth:_ A prosecution conducted in the
name of the public, or by the authority of the State.
_Albumen:_ Nourishing matter stored up between the undeveloped germ and
its protecting wrappings in the seed of many plants. It is the flowery
part of grain, the oily part of poppy seeds, the fleshy part in cocoa-
nuts, etc.
_Alcoholic:_ Made of or containing alcohol, an inflammable liquid which
is the basis of ardent spirits.
_Alkali,_ (plural, _alkalies:_) A chemical substance, which has the
property of combining with and neutralizing the properties of acids,
producing salts by the combination. Alkalies change most of the
vegetable blues and purples to green, red to purple, and yellow to
brown. _Caustic alkali:_ An alkali deprived of all impurities,
being thereby rendered more caustic and violent in its operation. This
term is usually applied to pure potash. _Fixed alkali:_ An alkali
that emits no characteristic smell, and can not be volatilized or
evaporated without great difficulty. Potash and soda are called the
fixed alkalies. Soda is also called a _fossil_ or _mineral alkali,_ and
potash the _vegetable alkali. Volatile alkali:_ An elastic, transparent,
colorless, and consequently an invisible gas, known by the name of
ammonia or ammoniacal gas. The odor of spirits of hartshorn is caused by
this gas.
_Anglo-American:_ English-American, relating to Americans descended
from English ancestors.
_Anther:_ That part of the stamen of a flower which contains the pollen
or farina, a sort of mealy powder or dust, which is necessary to the
production of the flower.
_Anthracite:_ One of the must valuable kinds of mineral coal, containing
no bitumen. It is very abundant in the United States.
_Aperient:_ Opening.
_Archaology:_ A discourse or treatise on antiquities.
_Arrow-root_: A white powder, obtained from the fecula or starch, of
several species of tuberous plants in the East and West Indies, Bermuda,
and other places. That from Bermuda is most highly esteemed. It is used
as an article for the table, in the form of puddings, and also as a
highly nutritive, easily digested, and agreeable food for invalids. It
derives its name from having been originally used by the Indians as a
remedy for the poison of their arrows, by mashing and applying it to the
wound.
_Articulating process_: The protuberance or projecting part of a bone,
by which it is so joined to another bone as to enable the two to move
upon each other.
_Asceticism_: The state of an ascetic or hermit, who flies from
society and lives in retirement, or who practices a greater degree of
mortification and austerity than others do, or who inflicts
extraordinary severities upon himself.
_Astral lamp_: A lamp, the principle of which was invented by
Benjamin Thompson, (a native of Massachusetts, and afterward Count
Rumford,) in which the oil is contained in a large horizontal ring,
having at the centre a burner which communicates with the ring by
tubes. The ring is placed a little below the level of the flame, and
from its large surface affords a supply of oil for many hours.
_Astute_: Shrewd.
_Auricles_: (From a Latin word, signifying the ear,) the name given to
two appendages of the heart, from their fancied resemblance to the ear.
_Baglivi, (George)_: An eminent physician, who was born at Ragusa,
in 1668, and was educated at Naples and Paris. Pope Clement XIV., on
the ground of his great merit, appointed him, while a very young man,
Professor of Anatomy and Surgery in the College of Sapienza, at Rome.
He wrote several works, and did much to promote the cause of medical
science. He died A.D. 1706.
_Bass_, or bass-wood: A large forest-tree of America, sometimes called
the lime-tree. The wood is white and soft, and the bark is sometimes
used for bandages.
_Bell, Sir Charles_: A celebrated surgeon, who was born in Edinburgh, in
the year 1778. He commenced his career in London, in 1806, as a lecturer
on Anatomy and Surgery. In 1830, he received the honors of knighthood,
and in 1836 was appointed Professor of Surgery in the College of
Edinburgh. He died near Worcester, in England, April 29th, 1842. His
writings are very numerous and have been, much celebrated. Among the
most important of these, to general readers, are his _Illustrations of
Paley's Natural Theology_, and his treatise on _The Hand, its Mechanism
and Vital Endowments, as evincing Design_.
_Bergamot_: A fruit which was originally produced by ingrafting a branch
of a citron or lemon-tree upon the stock of a peculiar kind of pear,
called the bergamot pear.
_Biased_: Cut diagonally from one corner to another of a square or
rectangular piece of cloth.
_Bias pieces_: Triangular pieces cut as above mentioned.
_Bituminous_: Containing _bitumen_, which is an inflammable mineral
substance, resembling tar or pitch in its properties and uses. Among
different bituminous substances, the names _naphtha_ and _petrolium_
have been given to those which are fluid, _maltha_, to that which has
the consistence of pitch, and _asphaltum_ to that which is solid.
_Blight_: A disease in plants by which they are blasted, or prevented
from producing fruit.
_Blonde lace_: Lace made of silk.
_Blood heat_: The temperature which the blood is always found to
maintain, or ninety-eight degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer.
_Blue vitriol_: Sulphate of copper.
_Blunts_: Needles of a short and thick shape, distinguished from
_Sharps_, which are long and slender.
_Booking_: A kind of thin carpeting or coarse baize.
_Botany_: (From a Greek word signifying an herb,) a knowledge of
plants; the science which treats of plants.
_Brazil wood_: The central part or heart of a large tree which
grows in Brazil, called the _Caesalpinia echinata_. It produces
very lively and beautiful red tints, but they are not permanent.
_Bronze_: A metallic composition, consisting of copper and tin.
_Brulure_: A French term, denoting a burning or scalding; a blasting of
plants.
_Brussels_, (carpet:) A kind of carpeting, so called from the city of
Brussels, in Europe. Its basis is composed of a warp and woof of strong
linen threads, with the warp of which are intermixed about five times
the quantity of woolen threads of different colors.
_Bulb_: A root with a round body, like the onion, turnip, or hyacinth.
_Bulbous_: Having a bulb.
_Byron, (George Gordon,) Lord_: A celebrated poet, who was born in
London, January 23d, 1788, and died in Missolonghi, in Greece, April
18th, 1824.
_Calisthenics_: From two Greek words--_kalos_, beauty, and _sthenos_,
strength, being the union of both.
_Camwood_: A dyewood, procured from a leguminous (or pod-bearing)
tree, growing on the western coast of Africa, and called _Baphianitida_.
_Canker-worm_: A worm which is very destructive to trees and plants.
It springs from an egg deposited by a miller that issues from the
ground, and in some years destroys the leaves and fruit of apple and
other trees.
_Capillary_: A minute, hair-like tube.
_Carbon_: A simple, inflammable body, forming the principal part
of wood and coal, and the whole of the diamond.
_Carbonic acid:_ A compound gas, consisting of one part of carbon
and two parts of oxygen; fatal to animal life. It has lately been
obtained in a solid form.
_Carbonic Oxide:_ A compound, consisting of one part of carbon and one
part of oxygen; it is fatal to animal life. Burns with a pale, blue
flame, forming carbonic acid.
_Carmine:_ A crimson color, the most beautiful of all the reds. It is
prepared from a decoction of the powdered cochineal insect, to which
alum and other substances are added.
_Caseine:_ One of the great forms of blood-making matter; the
cheesy or curd-part of milk; found in both animal and vegetable
kingdoms.
_Caster:_ A small vial or vessel for the table, in which to put
vinegar, mustard, pepper, etc. Also, a small wheel on a swivel-joint,
on which furniture may be turned in any direction.
_Chancellor of the Exchequer: In England, the highest judge of the
law; the principal financial minister of a government, and the one who
manages its revenue.
_Chateau:_ A castle, a mansion.
_Chemistry:_ The science which treats of the elementary constituents of
bodies.
_Chinese belle,_ deformities of: In China, it is the fashion to compress
the feet of female infants, to prevent their growth; in consequence of
which, the feet of all the females of China are distorted, and so small
that the individuals can not walk with ease.
_Chloride:_ A compound of chlorine and some other substance.
_Chlorine_ is a simple substance, formerly called oxymuriatic acid. In
its pure state, it is a gas of green color, (hence its name, from a
Greek word signifying green.) Like oxygen, it supports the combustion of
some inflammable substances. _Chloride of lime_ in a compound of
chlorine and lime.
_Cholera infantum:_ A bowel-complaint to which infants are subject.
_Chyle:_ A white juice formed from the chyme, and consisting of the
finer and more nutritious parts of the food. It is afterward converted
into blood.
_Chyme:_ The result of the first process which food undergoes in the
stomach previously to its being converted into chyle.
_Cicuta:_ The common American hemlock, an annual plant of four or five
feet in height, and found commonly along walls and fences and about old
ruins and buildings. It is a virulent poison as well as one of the most
important and valuable medicinal vegetables. It is a very different
plant from the hemlock-tree or _Pinus Canadiensis_.
_Clarke, (Sir Charles Mansfield,) Dr.:_ A distinguished English
physician and surgeon, who was born, in London, May 28th, 1783. Ha was
appointed physician to Queen Adelaide, wife of King William IV., in
1830, and in 1831 he was created a baronet. He was the author of several
valuable medical works.
_Cobalt:_ A brittle metal, of a reddish-gray color and weak
metallic lustre, used in coloring glass. It is not easily melted nor
oxidized in the air.
_Cochineal:_ A color procured from the cochineal insect, (or
_Coccus cacti,_) which feeds upon the leaves of several species
of the plant called cactus, and which is supposed to derive its coloring
matter from its food. Its natural color is crimson; but, by the addition
of a preparation of potash, it yields a rich scarlet dye.
_Cologne-water:_ A fragrant perfume, which derives its name from
having been originally made in the city of Cologne, which is situated
on the river Rhine, in Germany. The best kind is still procured from
that city.
_Comparative anatomy:_ The science which has for its object a comparison
of the anatomy, structure, and functions of the various organs of
animals, plants, etc., with those of the human body.
_Confection:_ A sweetmeat; a preparation of fruit with sugar; also a
preparation of medicine with honey, syrup, or similar saccharine
substance, for the purpose of disguising the unpleasant taste of the
medicine.
_Cooper, Sir Astley Paston:_ A celebrated English surgeon, who was born
at Brooke, in Norfolk county, England, August 23d, 1768, and commenced
the practice of surgery in London, in 1792. He was appointed surgeon to
King George IV. in 1827, was created a baronet in 1831, and died
February 12th, 1841. He was the author of many valuable works.
_Copal:_ A hard, shining, transparent resin, of a light citron color,
brought originally from Spanish-America, and now almost wholly from the
East-Indies. It is principally employed in the preparation of _copal
varnish._
_Copper, Sulphate of:_ See _Sulphate of copper.
_Copperas:_ (Sulphate of iron or green vitriol,) a bright green
mineral substance, formed by the decomposition of a peculiar ore of
iron called pyrites, which is a sulphuret of iron. It is first in the
form of a greenish-white powder or crust, which is dissolved in water,
and beautiful green crystals of copperas are obtained by evaporation.
It is principally used in dyeing and in making black ink. Its solution,
mixed with a decoction of oak bark, produces a black color.
_Coronary:_ Relating to a crown or garland. In anatomy, it is
applied to arteries which encompass the heart, in the manner, as it
is fancied, of a garland.
_Corrosive sublimate:_ A poisonous substance composed of chlorine
and quicksilver.
_Cosmetics:_ Preparations which, some people foolishly think will
preserve and beautify the skin.
_Cream of tartar_: See _Tartar_.
_Curculio_: A weevil or worm, which affects the fruit of the
plum-tree and sometimes that of the apple-tree, causing the unripe
fruit to fall to the ground.
_Cuvier, Baron_: The moat eminent naturalist of the present age;
was born A. D. 1769, and died A.D. 1832. He was Professor of Natural
History in the College of France, and held various important posts
under the French government at different times. His works on Natural
History are of the greatest value.
_Cynosure_: The constellation of the Lesser Bear, containing the star
near the North Pole, by which sailors steer. It is used, in a figurative
sense, as synonymous with _pole-star_ or _guide_, or anything to which
the eyes of many are directed.
_De Tocqueville_: See _Tocqueville_.
_Diamond cement_: A cement sold in the shops, and used for mending
broken glass and similar articles.
_Drab_: A thick woolen cloth, of a light brown or dun color. The
name is sometimes used for the color itself.
_Dredging-box_: A box with holes in the top, used to sift or scatter
flour on meat when roasting.
_Drill_: (In husbandry,) to sow grain in rows, drills, or channels;
the row of grain so sowed.
_Duchess of Orleans_: See _Orleans_.
The _East_, and the _Eastern States_: Those of the United States
situated in the north-east part of the country, including Maine,
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont.
_Elevation_, (of a house:) A plan representing the upright view
of a house, as a ground-plan shows its appearance on the ground.
_Euclid_: A celebrated mathematician, who was born in Alexandria,
in Egypt, about two hundred and eighty years before Christ. He
distinguished himself by his writings on music and geometry. The most
celebrated of his works is his _Elements of Geometry_, which is in use
at the present day. He established a school at Alexandria, which became
so famous that, from his time to the conquest of Alexandria by the
Saracens, (A.D. 646,) no mathematician was found who had not studied
at Alexandria. Ptolemy, King of Egypt, was one of his pupils; and it
was to a question of this king, whether there was not a shorter way
of coming at geometry than by the study of his _Elements_, that Euclid
made the celebrated answer, "There is no royal path to geometry."
_Equator_ or _equinoctial line_: An imaginary line passing round the
earth, from east to west and directly under the sun, which always shines
nearly perpendicularly down upon all countries situated near the
equator.
_Evolve_: To throw off, to discharge.
_Exchequer:_ A court in England in which the Chancellor presides, and
where the revenues of and the debts due to the king, are recovered.
This court was originally established by King William, (called "the
Conqueror,") who died A.D. 1087; and its name is derived from a
checkered cloth (French _echiquier_, a chess-hoard, checker-work)
on the table.
_Excretion:_ Something discharged from the body, a separation of animal
matters. _Excrementitious:_ Consisting of matter excreted from the body;
containing excrements.
_Fahrenheit, (Gabriel Daniel:)_ A celebrated natural philosopher,
who was born at Dantzig, A.D. 1686. He made great improvements in the
thermometer, and his name is sometimes used for that instrument.
_Farinaceous:_ Mealy, tasting like meal.
_Fell:_ To turn down on the wrong side the raw edges of a seam after it
has been stitched, run, or sewed, and then to hem or sew it to the
cloth.
_Festivals_ of the Jews, the three great annual: These were, the
Feast of the Passover, that of Pentecost, and that of Tabernacles; on
occasion of which, all the males of the nation were required to visit
the temple at Jerusalem, in whatever part of the country they might
reside. See Exodus 28:14, 17; 34:23; Leviticus 33: 4; Deuteronomy
16:16. The Passover was kept in commemoration of the deliverance of
the Israelites from Egypt, and was so named because the night before
their departure the destroying angel, who slew all the first-born of
the Egyptians, _passed over_ the houses of the Israelites without
entering them. See Exodus 12. The Feast of Pentecost was so called
from a word meaning _the fiftieth_, because it was celebrated on
the fiftieth day after the Passover, and was instituted in commemoration
of the giving of the Law from Mount Sinai on the fiftieth day from the
departure out of Egypt. It is also called the Feast of Weeks, because
it was kept seven weeks after the Passover. See Exodus 34:32; Leviticus
23: 15-21; Deuteronomy 16: 9, 10. The Feast of Tabernacles, or Feast
of Tents, was so called because it was celebrated under tents or
tabernacles of green boughs, and was designed to commemorate their
dwelling in tents during their passage through the wilderness. At this
feast they also returned thanks, to God for the fruits of the earth
after they had been gathered. See Exodus 23: 16; Leviticus 33: 34-44;
Deuteronomy 16:13; and also St. John 7: 2.
_Fire-blight:_ A disease in the pear and some other fruit-trees,
in which they appear burnt as if by fire. It is supposed, by some to
be caused by an insect, others suppose it to be caused by-an
over-abundance of sap.
_Fluting-iron:_ An instrument for making flutes, channels, furrows,
or hollows in ruffles, etc.
_Foundation muslin_: A nice kind of buckram, stiff and white, used for
the foundation or basis of bonnets, etc.
_Free States_: A phrase formerly used to distinguish those States in
which slavery was not allowed, as distinguished from Slave States, in
which slavery did exist.
_French chalk_: A variety of the mineral called talc, unctuous to the
touch, of greenish color, glossy, soft, and easily scratched, and
leaving a silvery line when drawn on paper. It is used for marking
on cloth, and extracting grease-spots.
_Fuller's earth_: A species of clay remarkable for its property of
absorbing oil, for which reason it is valuable for extracting grease
from cloth, etc. It is used by fullers in scouring and cleansing
cloth, whence its name.
_Fustic_: The wood of a tree which grows in the West-Indies called
_Morus tinctoria_. It affords a durable but not very brilliant
yellow dye, and is also used in producing some greens and drab colors.
_Gastric_: (From the Greek [Transliterated: gasths], _gaster_, the
belly,) belonging or relating to the belly, or stomach. _Gastric
juice_: The fluid which dissolves the food in the stomach. It is
limpid, like water, of a saltish taste, and without odor.
_Geology_: The science which treats of the formation of the earth.
_Gluten_: The glue-like, sticky, tenacious substance which gives
adhesiveness to dough. The principle of gelly, (now generally written
_jelly_.)
_Gore_: A triangular piece of cloth.
_Goring_: Cut in a triangular shape.
_Gothic_: A peculiar and strongly-marked style of architecture,
sometimes called the ecclesiastical style, because it is most frequently
used in cathedrals, churches, abbeys, and other religious edifices. Its
principle seems to have originated in the imitation of groves and
bowers, under which the ancients performed their sacred rites; its
clustered pillars and pointed arches very well representing the trunks
of trees and their in-locking branches.
_Gourmand_ or _Gormand_: A glutton, a greedy eater. In agriculture, it
is applied to twigs which take up the sap but bear only leaves.
_Green vitriol_: See _Copperas_.
_Griddle_: An iron pan, of a peculiarly broad and shallow construction,
used for baking cakes.
_Ground-plan_: The map or plan of the floor of any building, in which
the various apartments, windows, doors, fire-places, and other things
are represented, like the rivers, towns, mountains, roads, etc., on a
map.
_Gum Arabic_: A vegetable juice which exudes through the bark of
the _Acacia, Mimosa nilotica_, and some other similar trees growing
in Arabia, Egypt, Senegal, and Central Africa. It is the purest of all
gums.
_Hardpan_: The hard, unbroken layer of earth below the mould or
cultivated soil.
_Hartshorn_, (spirits of:) A volatile alkali, originally prepared
from the horns of the stag or hart, but now procured from various other
substances. It is known by the name of ammonia or spirits of ammonia.
_Hemlock_: see _Cicuta.
_Horticulturist:_ One skilled in horticulture, or the art of cultivating
gardens: horticulture being to the garden what agriculture is to the
farm, the application of labor and science to a limited spot, for
convenience, for profit, or for ornament--though implying a higher
state of cultivation than is common in agriculture. It includes the
cultivation of culinary vegetables and of fruits, and forcing or exotic
gardening as far as respects useful products.
_Hydrogen_: A very light, inflammable gas, of which water is in part
composed. It is used to inflate balloons.
_Hypochondriasis_: Melancholy, dejection, a disorder of the imagination,
in which the person supposes he is afflicted with various diseases.
_Hysteria or hysterics_: A spasmodic, convulsive affection of the
nerves, to which women are subject. It is somewhat similar to
hypochondriasis in men.
_Ingrain_: A kind of carpeting, in which the threads are dyed in
the grain or raw material before manufacture.
_Ipecac_: (An abbreviation of _ipecacuanha_) an Indian medicinal plant,
acting as an emetic.
_Isinglass_: A fine kind of gelatin or glue, prepared from the
swimming-bladders of fishes, used as a cement, and also as an ingredient
in food and medicine. The name is sometimes applied to a transparent
mineral substance called mica.
_Jams_: A side-piece or post.
_Kamtschadales_: Inhabitants of _Kamtschatka_, a large peninsula
situated on the north-eastern coast of Asia, having the North Pacific
Ocean on the east. It is remarkable for its extreme cold, which
is heightened by a range of very lofty mountains extending the whole
length of the peninsula, several of which are volcanic. It is very
deficient in vegetable productions, but produces a great variety of
animals, from which the richest and most valuable furs are procured.
The inhabitants are in general below the common height, but have broad
shoulders and large heads. It is under the dominion of Russia.
_Kerosene_: Refined Petroleum, which see.
_Kink_: A knotty twist in a thread or rope.
_Lambrequin_: Originally a kind of pendent scarf or covering attached to
a helmet to protect and adorn it. Hence, a pendent ornamental curtain
over a window.
_Lapland_: A country at the extreme north part of Europe, where it is
very cold. It contains lofty mountains, some of which are covered with
perpetual snow and ice.
_Latin:_ The language of the Latins or inhabitants of Latium, the
principal country of ancient Italy. After the building of Rome, that
city became the capital of the whole country.
_Leguminous:_ Pod-bearing.
_Lent:_ A fast of the Christian Church, (lasting forty days, from
Ash-Wednesday to Easter,) in commemoration of our Saviour's miraculous
fast of forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. The word Lent
means spring, this fast always occurring at that season of the year.
_Levite:_ One of the tribe of Levi, the son of Jacob, which tribe
was set apart from the others to minister in the services of the
Tabernacle, and the Temple at Jerusalem. The priests were taken from
this tribe. See Numbers 1: 47-53.
_Ley:_ Water which has percolated through ashes, earth, or other
substances, dissolving and imbibing a part of their contents. It is
generally spelled _lye_.
_Linnaeus, (Charles:)_ A native of Sweden, and the most celebrated
naturalist of his age. He was born May 13th, 1707, and died January
11th, 1778. His life was devoted to the study of natural history. The
science of botany, in particular, is greatly indebted to his labors.
His _Amaenitates Academicae_ (Academical Recreations) is a collection of
the dissertations of his pupils, edited by himself, a work rich in
matters relating to the history and habits of plants. He was the first
who arranged Natural History into a regular system, which has been
generally called by his name. His proper name was Linne.
_Lobe:_ A division, a distinct part; generally applied to the two
divisions of the lungs.
_Loire:_ The largest river of France, being about five hundred and fifty
miles in. length. It rises in the mountains of Cevennes, and empties
into the Atlantic Ocean about forty miles below the city of Nantes. It
divides France into two almost equal parts.
_London Medical Society:_ A distinguished association, formed in 1773.
It has published some valuable volumes of its transactions. It has a
library of about 40,000 volumes, which is kept in a house presented to
the Society, in 1788, by the celebrated Dr. Lettsom, who was one of its
first members.
_Louis XIV.:_ A celebrated King of France and Navarre, who was born
September 5th, 1638, and died September 1st, 1715. His mother having
before had no children, though she had been married twenty-two years,
his birth was considered as a particular favor from heaven, and he was
called the "Gift of God." He is sometimes styled "Louis the Great," is
notorious as a period of licentiousness. He left behind him monuments of
unprecedented splendor and expense, consisting of palaces, gardens, and
other like works.
_Lumbar:_(From the Latin lumbus, the loin,) relating or pertaining to
the loins.
_Lunacy, writ of:_ A judicial proceeding to ascertain whether a person
be a lunatic.
_Mademoiselle:_ The French word for miss, a young girl.
_Magnesia:_ A light and white alkaline earth, which enters into the
composition of many rocks, communicating to them a greasy or soapy
feeling and a striped texture, with sometimes a greenish color.
_Malaria:_ (Italian, _mal/aria, bad air_,) a noxious vapor or
exhalation; a state of the atmosphere or soil, or both, which, in
certain regions and in warm weather, produces fever, sometimes of great
violence.
_Mammon:_ Riches, the Syrian god of riches. See Luke 16:11-13; St.
Matthew 6:24. _Mexico:_ A country situated south-west of the United
States and extending to the Pacific Ocean.
_Miasms:_ Such particles or atoms as are supposed to arise from
distempered, putrefying, or poisonous bodies.
_Michilimackinac_ or _Mackinac:_ (Now frequently corrupted into
_Mackinaw_, which is the usual pronunciation of the name,) a military
post in the State of Michigan, situated upon an island, about nine miles
in circuit, in the strait which connects Lakes Michigan and Huron. It is
much resorted to by Indians and fur-traders. The highest summit of the
island is about three hundred feet above the lakes and commands an
extensive view of them.
_Midsummer:_ With us, the time when the sun arrives at his greatest
distance from the equator, or about the twenty-first of June, called,
also the summer solstice, (from the Latin _sol, the sun_ and _sto, to
stop_ or _stand still_,) because when the sun reaches this point he
seems to stand still for some time, and then appears to retrace his
steps. The days are then longer than at any other time.
_Migrate:_ To remove from one place to another; to change residence.
_Mildew:_ A disease of plants; a mould, spot, or stain in paper, cloths,
etc., caused by moisture.
_Militate:_ To oppose, to operate against.
_Millinet:_ A coarse kind of stiff muslin, formerly used for the
foundation or basis of bonnets, etc.
_Mineralogy:_ A science which treats of the inorganic natural substances
found upon or in the earth, such as earths, salts, metals, etc., and
which are called by the general name of minerals.
_Minutiae:_ The smallest particulars.
_Monasticism:_ Monastic life; religiously recluse life in a monastery or
house of religious retirement.
_Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley:_ One of the most celebrated among the
female literary characters of England. She was daughter of Evelyn,
Duke of Kingston, and was born about 1690, at Thoresby, in England She
displayed uncommon abilities at a very early age, and was educated by
the best masters in the English, Latin, Greek, and French languages.
She accompanied her husband (Edward Wortley Montagu) on an embassy to
Constantinople, and her correspondence with her friends was published
and much admired. She introduced the practice of inoculation for the
small-pox into England, which proved of great benefit to millions. She
died at the age of seventy-two, A.D. 1762.
_Moral Philosophy:_ The science which treats of the motives and rules of
human actions, and of the ends to which they ought to be directed.
_Moreen: A kind of woolen stuff used for curtains, covers of cushions,
bed hangings, etc.
_Mortise: A cavity cut into a piece of timber to receive the end of
another piece called the _Tenon_.
_Mucous:_ Having the nature of _mucus, a glutinous, sticky, thready,
transparent fluid, of a salt savor, produced by different membranes of
the body, and serving to protect the membranes and other internal parts
against the action of the air, food, etc. The fluid of the mouth and
nose is mucus.
_Mucous membrane: That membrane which lines the mouth, nose, intestines,
and other open cavities of the body.
_Muriatic acid: An acid composed of chlorine and hydrogen, called also,
hydrochloric acid and spirit of salt.
_Mush-stick:_ A stick to use in stirring _mush, which is corn-meal
boiled in water.
_Nankeen_ or _Nankin:_ A light cotton cloth, originally brought from
Nankin, in China, whence its name.
_Nash, (Richard:)_ Commonly called _Beau Nash, or King of Bath, a
celebrated leader of the fashions in England. He was born at Swansea,
in South-Wales, October 8th, 1674, and died in the city of Bath,
(England,) February 3d, 1761.
_Natural History:_ The history of animals, plants, and minerals.
_Natural Philosophy:_ The science which treats of the powers of nature,
the properties of natural bodies, and their action one upon another. It
is sometimes called _physics_.
_New-milch cow:_ A cow which has recently calved.
_Newton, (Sir Isaac:)_ An eminent English philosopher and mathematician,
who was born on Christmas day, 1642, and died March. 20th, 1727. He was
much distinguished for his very important discoveries in Optics and
other branches of Natural Philosophy. See the first volume of _Pursuit
of Knowledge under Difficulties_, forming the fourteenth volume of _The
School Library_, larger series.
_Night-Soil:_ Human excrement, so-called because usually removed from
privies by night.
_Non-bearers:_ Plants which bear no flowers nor fruit.
_Northern States_: Those of the United States situated in the northern
and eastern part of the country.
_Ordinary_: See _Physician in ordinary_.
_Oil of Vitriol_: (sulphuric acid, or vitriolic acid,) an acid composed
of oxygen and sulphur.
_Oino-mania_: A disease of the brain produced by excessive use of
alcoholic stimulants; derived from two Greek words, _oinos_, wine, and
_mania_, madness. The same disease sometimes arises from overuse of
tobacco and other stimulants of the nerves.
_Orleans, (Elizabeth Charlotte de Baviere) Duchess of_: Second wife of
Philippe, the brother of Louis XIV., was born at Heidelberg, May 26th,
1652, and died at the palace of St. Cloud, in Paris, December 8th, 1722.
She was author of several works; among which were _Memoirs and Anecdotes
of the Court of Louis XIV._
_Ottoman_: A kind of hassock or thick mat for kneeling upon; so-called
from being used by the Ottomans or Turks.
_Oxalic acid_: a vegetable acid, which exists in sorrel.
_Oxide_: A compound of a substance with oxygen, though not enough
oxygen to produce an acid; for example, oxide of iron, or rust of
metals.
_Oxidize_: To combine oxygen with a body without producing acidity.
_Oxygen_: The vital element of air, a simple and very important
substance which exists in the atmosphere and supports the breathing
of animals and the burning of combustibles. It was called oxygen from
two Greek words, signifying to produce acid, from its power of giving
acidity to many compounds in which it predominates.
_Oxygenized_: Combined with oxygen.
_Pancreas_: A gland within the abdomen just below and behind the
stomach, and providing a fluid to assist digestion. In animals, it is
called the sweet-bread.
_Pancreatic_: Belonging to the pancreas.
_Parterre_: A level division of ground, a flower-garden.
_Pearlash_: The common name for impure carbonate of potash, which in a
purer form is called _Saleratus_.
_Peristaltic_: Contracting in successive circles; worm-like.
_Petroleum_: Rock oil, an inflammable, bituminous liquid exuding from
rocks or from the earth in the neighborhood of the carboniferous or
coal-bearing formation.
_Phosphorous_: One of the elementary substances.
_Physician in Ordinary to the Queen_: The physician who attends the
Queen in ordinary cases of illness.
_Pitt, William_: A celebrated English statesman, son of the Earl
of Chatham. He was born May 28th, 1759, and at the age of twenty-three
was made Chancellor of the Exchequer, and soon afterward Prime Minister.
He died January 23d, 1806.
_Political Economy_: The science which treats of the general
causes affecting the production, distribution, and consumption of
articles of exchangeable value, in reference to their effects upon
national wealth and welfare.
_Pollen_: The fertilizing dust of flowers, produced by the stamens and
falling upon the pistils in order to render a flower capable of
producing fruit or seed.
_Potter's clay_: The clay used in making articles of pottery.
_Prairie_: A French word, signifying meadow. In the United States,
it is applied to the remarkable natural meadows or plains which are
found in the Western States. In some of these vast and nearly level
plains, the traveler may wander for days without meeting with wood or
water, and see no object rising above the plane of the horizon. They
are very fertile.
_Prime Minister_: The person appointed by the ruler of a nation
to have the chief direction and management of the public affairs.
_Process_: A protuberance or projecting part of a bone.
_Pulmonary_: Belonging to or affecting the lungs.
_Pulmonary artery_: An artery which passes through the lungs, being
divided into several branches, which form a beautiful network over the
air-vessels, and finally empty themselves into the left auricle of the
heart.
_Puritans_: A sect which professed to follow the pure word of God
in opposition to traditions, human constitutions, and other authorities.
In the reign, of Queen Elizabeth, part of the Protestants were desirous
of introducing a simpler, and, as they considered it, a _purer_ form of
church government and worship than that established by law, from which
circumstance they were called _Puritans_. In process of time, this party
increased in numbers and openly broke off from the church, laying aside
the English liturgy, and adopting a service-book published at Geneva by
the disciples of Calvin. They were treated with great rigor by the
government, and many of them left the kingdom and settled in Holland.
Finding themselves not so eligibly situated in that country as they had
expected to be, a portion of them embarked for America, and were the
first settlers of New England.
_Quixotic_: Absurd, romantic, ridiculous; from _Don Quixote_, the hero
of a celebrated fictitious work written by Cervantes, a distinguished
Spanish writer, and intended to reform the tastes and opinions of his
country-men.
_Reeking_: Smoking, emitting vapor.
_Residue_: The remainder or part which remains.
_Routine_: A round or course of engagements, business, pleasure, etc.
_To Run a seam_: To lay the two edges of a seam together and pass
the threaded needle out and in, with small stitches, a few threads
below the edge and on a line with it.
_To Run a stocking_: To pass a thread of yarn, with a needle, straight
along each row of the stocking, as far as is desired, taking up one loop
and missing two or three, until tie row is completed, so as to double
the thickness at the part which is run.
_Sabbatical year_: Every seventh year among the Jews, which was a year
of rest for the land, when it was to be left without culture. In this
year, all debts were to be remitted, and slaves set at liberty. See
Exodus 21:2:23:10; Leviticus 25:2, 3, etc.; Deuteronomy 15:12; and
other similar passages.
_Saleratus_: See _Pearlash_.
_Sal ammoniac_: A salt, called also muriate of ammonia, which derives
its name from a district in Libya, Egypt, where there was a temple of
Jupiter Ammon, and where this salt was found.
_Scotch Highlanders_: Inhabitants of the Highlands of Scotland.
_Selvedge_: The edge of cloth, a border. Improperly written _selvage_.
_Service-book_: A book prescribing the order of public services in a
church or congregation.
_Sharps_: See _Blunts_.
_Shorts_: The coarser part of wheat bran.
_Shrubbery_: A plantation of shrubs.
_Siberia_: A large country in the extreme northern part of Asia, having
the Frozen Ocean on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east, and
forming a part of the Russian empire. The northern part is extremely
cold, almost uncultivated, and contains but few inhabitants. It
furnishes fine skins, and some of the most valuable furs in the
world. It also contains rich mines of iron and copper, and several
kinds of precious stones.
_Sinclair, Sir John_: Of whom it was said, "There is no greater name in
the annals of agriculture than his," was born in Caithness, Scotland,
May 10th, 1754, and became a member of the British Parliament in 1780.
He was strongly opposed to the measures of the British government toward
America, which produced the American Revolution. He was author of many
valuable publications on various subjects. He died December 21st, 1835.
_Sirloin_: The loin of beef. The appellation "sir" is the title of a
knight or baronet, and has been added to the word "loin," when applied
to beef, because a king of England, in a freak of good humor, once
conferred the honor of knighthood upon a loin of beef.
_Slack_: To loosen, to relax, to deprive of cohesion.
_Soda_: An alkali, usually obtained from the ashes of marine plants.
To _Spade_: To throw out earth with a spade.
_Spermaceti_: An oily substance found in the head of a species of whale
called the spermaceti whale.
_Spindling_: Shooting into a long, small stalk.
_Spinous process_: A process or bony protuberance, resembling a spine or
thorn, whence it derives its name.
_Spool_: A piece of cane or reed or a hollow cylinder of wood, with a
ridge at each end, used to wind yarn and thread upon.
_Stamen_, (plural, _stamens_ and _stamina_:) In _weaving_, the warp, the
thread, any thing made of threads. In _botany_, that part of a flower on
which the artificial classification is founded, consisting of the
filament or stalk, and the anther, which contains the pollen or
fructifying powder.
_Stigma_, (plural _stigmas_ and _stigmata_:) The summit or top of the
pistil of a flower.
_Style_ or Stile: The part of the pistil between the germ and the
stigma.
_Sub-carbonate_: An imperfect carbonate.
_Sulphate, Sulphates, Sulphites_: Salts formed by the combination
of some base with sulphuric acid, as _Sulphate of copper_, (blue
vitriol or blue stone,) a combination of sulphuric acid with copper.
_Sulphate of iron_: Copperas or green vitriol. _Sulphate of lime_:
Gypsum or plaster of Paris. _Sulphate of magnesia_: Epsom salts.
_Sulphate of potash_: A chemical salt, composed of sulphuric acid and
potash. _Sulphate of soda_: Glauber's salts. _Sulphate of zinc_:
White vitriol. _Sulphuret_: A combination of an alkaline earth
or metal with sulphur, as _Sulphuret of iron_, a combination of
iron and sulphur. _Sulphuric acid_: Oil of vitriol, vitriolic
acid.
_Suture_: A sewing; the uniting of parts by stitching; the seamor
joint which unites the flat bones of the skull, which are notched
like the teeth of a saw, and the notches, being united together, present
the appearance of a seam.
_Tartar_: A substance, deposited on the inside of wine casks, consisting
chiefly of tartaric acid and potash.
_Cream of tartar_: The crude tartar separated from all its impurities by
being dissolved in water and then crystallized, when it becomes a
perfectly white powder.
_Tartaric acid_: A vegetable acid which exists in the grape.
_Technology_: A description of the arts, considered generally in
their theory and practice as connected with moral, political, and
physical science.
_Three-ply_ or _triple ingrain_: A kind of carpeting, in which the
threads are woven in such a manner as to make three thicknesses of the
cloth.
_Tic douloureux_: A painful affection of the nerves, mostly those
of the face.
_Tocqueville, (Alexis de:)_ A celebrated statesman and writer of
France, and author of volumes on the political condition, and the
penitentiaries of the United States, and other works.
_Trachea_: The windpipe, so named (from a Greek word signifying
_rough_) from the roughness or inequalities of the cartilages of
which it is formed.
_Truckle-bed_ or _Trundle-bed_: A bed that runs on wheels.
_Tuber_: A solid, fleshy, roundish root, like the potato.
_Tuberous_: Thick and fleshy; composed of or having tubers.
_Tucks_, (improperly _Tacks_): Folds in garments.
_Turmeric:_ The root of a plant called _Curcuma longa_, a native of the
East-Indies, used as a yellow dye.
_Twaddle:_ Idle, foolish talk or conversation.
_Unbolted:_ Unsifted. _Unslacked:_ Not loosened or deprived of cohesion.
Lime, when it has been slacked, crumbles to powder from being deprived
of cohesion.
_Valance:_ The drapery or fringe hanging round the cover of a bed,
couch, or other similar article.
_Vascular:_ Relating to or full of vessels.
_Venetian:_ A kind of carpeting, composed of a striped woolen warp on a
thick woof of linen thread,
_Verisimilitude:_ Probability, resemblance to truth.
_Verbatim:_ Word for word.
_Vice versa:_ The side being changed, or the question reversed, or the
terms being exchanged.
_Viscera_, (plural of _viscus:_) Organs contained in the great cavities
of the body, the skull, the abdomen, and the chest. Generally applied to
the contents of the abdomen.
_Vitriol:_ A compound mineral salt of a very caustic taste. _Blue
Vitriol_, sulphate of copper. _Green Vitriol_, see _Copperas. _Oil of
Vitriol_, sulphuric acid.
_White Vitriol_, sulphate of zinc.
_Waffle-iron:_ An iron utensil for the purpose of baking waffles,
which are thin and soft cakes indented by the iron in which they are
baked.
_Wash-leather:_ A soft, pliable leather dressed with oil, and in
such a way that it may be washed without shrinking. It is used for
various articles of dress, as undershirts, drawers, etc., and also for
rubbing silver, and other articles having a high polish. The article
known in commerce as chamois or shammy leather is also called
wash-leather.
_Welting-cord:_ A cord sewed into the welt or border of a garment.
_The West_ or _Western World_. When used in Europe, or in distinction
from the Eastern World, it means America. When used in this country, the
West refers to the Western States of the Union.
_Western Wilds:_ The wild, thinly-settled lands of the Western States.
_White vitriol:_ see _Zinc.
_Wilton carpet:_ A kind of carpets made in England, and so called from
the place which is the chief seat of their manufacture. They are woolen
velvets with variegated colors.
_Writ of lunacy_. See _Lunacy.
_Xantippe:_ The wife of Socrates, noted for her violent temper and
scolding propensities. The name is frequently applied to a shrew,
or peevish, turbulent, scolding woman.
_Zinc:_ A bluish-white metal, which is used as a constituent of brass
and some other alloys. _Sulphate of Zinc_ or _White vitriol_; A
combination of Zinc with sulphuric acid.