not only employ them in conversation—and even to a greater degree
than the Spaniards, who are noted among Europeans for the number
and excellence of their proverbial sayings—but they have a practice
of adorning their reception rooms with these sententious bits of
wisdom, inscribed on decorated scrolls or embroidered on rich
crapes and brocades. They carve them on door posts and pillars, and
emblazon them on the walls and ceilings in gilt letters. In 1875,
W. Scarborough published a collection of 2,720 Chinese proverbs;
and these are but a small part of the great collections to be found
in the “Jeweled Mirror for Illumining the Mind,” “The Coral Forest
of Ancient Matters,” and other Chinese works. The following are a
few specimens of this sort of literature, taken from “The Middle
Kingdom,” by S. Wells Williams, for many years Secretary of the
United States Legation at Peking, and several times de facto United
States Minister. As a sneer at the use of unnecessary force to crush
a contemptible enemy, they say; “He rides a fierce dog to catch a
lame rabbit.” Similar to this is another, “To use a battle-ax to
cut off a hen’s head.” They say of wicked associates: “To cherish a
bad man is like nourishing a tiger; if not well fed he will devour
you.” Here are several others mingling wit with wisdom: “To instigate
a villain to do wrong is like teaching a monkey to climb trees;”
“To catch fish and throw away the net,” which recalls our saying,
“Using the cat’s paw to pull the chestnuts out of the fire;” “To
climb a tree to catch a fish,” is to talk much to no purpose; “A
superficial scholar is a sheep dressed in a tiger’s skin;” “A cuckoo
in a magpie’s nest,” equivalent to saying, “he is enjoying another’s
labor without compensation;” “If the blind lead the blind they will
both fall into the pit;” “A fair wind raises no storm;” “Vast chasms
can be filled, but the heart of man is never satisfied;” “The body
may be healed, but the mind is incurable;” “He seeks the ass, and
lo! he sits upon him;” “He who looks at the sun is dazzled; he who
hears the thunder is deafened,” i. e., do not come too near the
powerful; “Prevention is better than cure;” “Wine and good dinners
make abundance of friends, but in adversity not one of them is to be
found.” “Let every man sweep the snow from before his own door, and
not trouble himself about the frost on his neighbors’ tiles.” The
following one is a gem of moral wisdom: “Only correct yourself on
the same principle that you correct others; and excuse others on the
same principles on which you excuse yourself.” “Better not be, than
be nothing.” “One thread does not make a rope; one swallow does not
make a summer.” “Sensuality is the chief of sins, filial duty the
best of acts.” “The horse’s back is not so safe as the buffalo’s”—the
former is used by the politician, the latter by the farmer. “Too much
lenity multiplies crime.” “If you love your son give him plenty of
the rod; if you hate him, cram him with dainties.” “He is my teacher
who tells me my faults, he my enemy who speaks my virtues.” Having a
wholesome dread of litigation, they say of one who goes to law, “He
sues a flea to catch a bite.” Their equivalent for our “coming out
at the little end of the horn” is, “The farther the rat creeps up
(or into) the cow’s horn, the narrower it grows.” The truth of their
saying that “The fame of good deeds does not leave a man’s door, but
his evil acts are known a thousand miles off,” is illustrated in our
own daily papers every morning. Finally, we close this list with a
Chinese proverb which should be inscribed on the lintel of every
door in Christendom; “The happy hearted man carries joy for all the
household.”
SHINTUISM—BUDDHISM—CONFUCIANISM.
CASTLETON, Ill.
Please give us a statement in the “Curiosity Shop” of what is known
as Shintuism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, as now existing in China
and Japan.
W. H. JORDAN.
_Answer._—Shintuism, Sintuism, Sintoism, or Sin-syuism, is the
prevailing religion of Japan, the worship of the sun-goddess,
Ten-sio-dai-sin. The descendant and viceregent on earth of this
deity is the Mikado, who is therefore worshiped as a demi-god.
Two ecclesiastical judges, with monks and priests, complete the
hierarchy, and the latter minister at innumerable shrines and
temples, raised for the worship of the chief deity and a legion of
canonized heroes and benefactors. In these temples there is no idol
visible, but on the shrine is a mirror, symbolizing purity. Sintuism
requires pre-eminently heart purity and general temperance, and as
aids to these prescribes pilgrimages to holy places, observance
of holy days, and mortification of the body. Buddhism, one of the
oldest existing religions, traces its origin 2,460 years back, to
Siddhartha, or Buddha, a Hindoo prince. Its two most prominent
doctrines are the transmigration of the soul and the cursed condition
or total depravity of human existence in its natural state. The first
teaches that at death every soul immediately assumes another body,
corresponding in form and habitation to the previous character of
the spirit. If noble, it may become a divinity, or dwell in some
high place upon the earth, while the wicked wander as reptiles and
vermin, or inhabit the hells in the interior of the earth. The least
term of suffering is 10,000,000 years, of happiness 10,000,000,000
years. But however long or short, it must have an end, and the soul
enters a new body. Buddha himself, it is said, has passed through
every form of existence. The second doctrine is embodied in the “Four
Sublime Verities:” Pain exists; its cause is desire; it may be ended
by Nirvana; the way to Nirvana is a rise through eight gradations,
from simple faith to complete regeneration. Theoretically this
religion has no priests nor clergy nor public religious rites. Every
man is his own priest and confessor, and the monks are ascetics only
for their own advancement in holy living; but, in fact, Buddhist
countries swarm with priests, or religious teachers, so reputed.
Confucianism is epitomized in the following words of the great
teacher: “I teach you nothing but what you might learn yourselves,
viz., the observance of the three fundamental laws of relation
between sovereign and subject, father and child, husband and wife;
and the five capital virtues—universal charity, impartial justice,
conformity to ceremonies and established usages, rectitude of heart
and mind, and pure sincerity. Confucius did not profess to have
received any revelation from “Shan-te”—the Supreme Ruler—or to have
any clear conceptions of Him, although he acknowledged the existence
of such a being, and taught that His will as learned by studying
and practicing the wisdom of the ancients by the light of nature,
should be implicitly obeyed, as the only means of living virtuously
and happily and avoiding both in this life and the life to come the
penalties of evil-doing.
MERMAID TAVERN AND CLUB.
CHICAGO, Ill.
Please give in the Curiosity Shop a description of the famous club
founded by Sir Walter Raleigh and called the “Mermaid Club.” I have
searched in vain for information on this subject.
FANNIE MACK.
_Answer._—Tradition states that Sir Walter Raleigh, before his
unfortunate engagement with Cobham, gathered a number of his most
eminent friends in “The Mermaid,” and there instituted what was known
as the “Mermaid Club.” “The Mermaid” was a tavern so situated as to
have three entrances—on Bread, Cheap, and Friday streets, and was the
favorite resort of the leading actors and literary men in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth; but the Raleigh club was acknowledged to combine
“more talent and genius than ever met together before or since.” Here
Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Selden, Carew, Donne, and Shakespeare
met for convivial enjoyment, and this was the scene of the famous
disputes between Jonson and Shakespeare, the two eminent dramatists.
THE BLACKSMITH KING.
QUINCY, Ill.
Did any king crown the blacksmith king of all trades, as
illustrated in the heading of the _Industrial Worker_? If so, what
is the story?
JAMES ALBERTS.
_Answer._—In reply to this query we received the following
explanation from the editor of the paper mentioned: Our heading
illustrates an old Scriptural and Masonic legend, that of “Solomon
and the Iron-worker,” otherwise known as “Tubal Cain.” The scene is
the celebration of the completion of the great temple at Jerusalem.
It has been announced that on this occasion the one who of all others
has been most instrumental in the erection of the sacred structure
shall be given the chief seat of honor, and the guests are horrified
to perceive that the lowly blacksmith has, unobserved, placed himself
in it. Loud murmurs arise, and a movement is made having for its
object his ejectment. Nothing daunted, the man rises and declares
his supremacy over all the other artificers, in that he wrought all
their tools, and without his work they could have done nothing.
The correctness of his position is thus proven to the satisfaction
of the king, complaints are silenced, and all honor accorded the
humble smith. The dignity of labor, however unpretending, is thus
demonstrated. The Rabbinical legend of which we have here traced
a sketch, is full of beauty in its entirety, giving in detail the
challenge of the assembled guests, the defense of the man, and the
speech of the king.
NEBRASKA STATE NORMAL.
WAHOO, Neb.
What are the principal facts as to the State Normal School of this
State? How long has it been in operation? What is the amount of the
normal school fund? What is the amount of the annual appropriation
to meet current expenses? What results have been obtained? Please
answer and throw as much light as possible upon this subject, about
which there is a good deal of discussion going on in this part of
Nebraska just at the present time.
SUBSCRIBER.
_Answer._—The State Normal School of Nebraska is located at Peru,
near the Missouri River, about fifty miles north of the Kansas
line. This is a town of 567 inhabitants, according to the census,
accessible only by a branch of the Burlington and Missouri Railroad.
It secured the location of the school by a donation of site and other
inducements at a time when the population of the State was only about
100,000. It graduated its first class, consisting of two members, in
1870. The total number of graduates to date is 73. Total enrollment
last year, 318—the largest number in the history of the school. The
normal endowment fund, in notes and bonds, aggregated $16,308.35
last year, and the income from all sources in 1881 amounted to
$2,423.58. The total appropriation asked of the last Legislature, was
as follows, the several items being represented by the principal as
“absolutely necessary to the efficient working of the school for each
of the next two fiscal years:”
Salaries for teachers, per year $11,000
Fuel and lights, per year 1,000
Repairs, per year 500
Board’s expenses, per year 500
Janitor’s wages and help, per year 500
Apparatus, per year .............. 500
Printing, stationery, advertising, per y’r. 300
Furniture, per year 300
Wells and cisterns, per year 200
Imp’ts of grounds and buildings, per y’r. 200
Incidentals, per year 200
Postage and postal expenses, per year 100
Expense special inst’n and lectures, p. yr. 100
———————
Total $15,400
The total amount granted averaged about $14,300 a year.
BLACK HAWK’S TOWER.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.
Where is Black Hawk’s Tower, and what is it like? Is it built of
masonry or earth?
A. H. C.
_Answer._—It is a natural rock near the Falls of Rock River, near
the southeastern angle of Rock Island bluffs, a few miles from the
city of Rock Island. It commands an extensive view of the surrounding
country for ten miles up the Rock River Valley, and northward nearly
eight miles to the Mississippi. Black Hawk’s chief village was
situated in the forks of the Mississippi and Rock River, just below
this, and this wooded rock formed a natural lookout tower for him
on the side most open to attack. The name was given to it by the
pioneers.
WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING.
CHARLES CITY, Iowa.
Please give a short account of the life and writings of Dr.
Channing.
MRS. R. W. MAY.
_Answer._—The great apostle of Unitarianism, as he has been called,
was born at Newport, R. I., April 7, 1780, and in his 15th year
entered Harvard University. In 1798, on his graduation day, he
delivered an oration that captivated the whole audience, and foretold
his future fame as an orator and writer. While teaching in Richmond,
Va., he became impressed with the evils of slavery, and deemed the
surest cure for all such abuses to be the spread of Christianity.
Returning to Harvard, he began his theological studies, acting at
the same time as regent of the university. In 1803 he assumed the
pastorate of Federal Street Church, Boston, and at once became
known as an eloquent and brilliant orator, as well as an efficient
minister. His finest oration, perhaps, is the one delivered upon
the fall of Napoleon, in 1814, and entitled “The Goodness of God in
Delivering the Christian World from Military Despotism.” In 1820 he
received the title of Doctor of Divinity from Harvard. Two years
later, while visiting in Europe, he met Coleridge, who said of him,
“He has the love of wisdom and the wisdom of love.” His “Remarks
Upon the Life and Character of Napoleon Bonaparte,” which appeared
in 1828, did much to spread his fame throughout the civilized world.
His greatest theological work is, probably, the “Evidences of
Christianity.” An earnest minister of the Unitarian Church, he was
always a sincerely devout Christian. A friend of the anti-slavery and
temperance movements, when they had but few, his last public speech
was in commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the British West
Indies. His death occurred in 1842, and his body was laid in the
cemetery of Mount Auburn.
SIR WILLIAM WALLACE.
POSTVILLE, Iowa.
1. Please give a sketch of Sir William Wallace, the Scottish
patriot. 2. In what year was the Crimean war.
MAUD MURLIN.
_Answer._—William Wallace was the youngest son of a knight of good
family in southwestern Scotland. The place of his birth is uncertain,
but the date was probably about the middle of the reign of Alexander
III. When Edward offered pardon to the Scottish leaders, after the
subjugation of Scotland and the surrender of Baliol, Wallace was
excepted by name, being ordered to surrender unconditionally. This
he refused to do, and for many years eluded the search of those who
coveted the handsome price put upon his head. In 1305, however, he
was seized and carried to London, and there, after a mock trial,
on the 23d of August, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered, as a
traitor. But his cause lived, and a year later Robert Bruce was
crowned at Scone, King of independent Scotland. 2. The Crimean war
lasted nearly two years, from 1854 to 1856.
“HOBSON’S CHOICE.”
MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa.
Please tell us the origin of the expression,“Hobson’s choice.”
F. W. WILDER.
_Answer._—The _Atlantic Monthly_ for December, 1883, contained the
following: “The explanation of the proverbial saying about ‘Hobson’s
choice’ is given by Steele in the _Spectator_, No. 509,” The passage
referred to is this: “Tobias Hobson was the first man in England that
let out hackney horses. * * * When a man came for a horse he was led
into the stable where there was a great choice, but Hobson obliged
him to take the horse which stood nearest to the stable door: so that
every customer was alike well served, according to his chance, from
whence it became a proverb, when what ought to be your election was
forced upon you, to say, ‘Hobson’s choice.’”
CALIFORNIA.
FONDA, Iowa.
Will you be kind enough to give your readers a description of
California—the climate and resources of the different parts of the
State, and the price of land to each; what places are best adapted
to fruit trees, and what fruits grow there, and the amount of
teachers’ wages?
HENRY JOHNSON.
_Answer._—The State of California is divided into three entirely
distinct sections: the coast region, the valleys of the Sacramento
and San Joaquin rivers, and the deserts. Owing to the irregularity
of the surface, only about one-third of the State is arable, and in
northern California the crops are wholly dependent upon the rainfall.
In the southern part of the State the land is irrigated by numerous
streams. The chief products of California are wheat, barley, fruit,
timber, and gold; the raising of cattle and sheep is also profitable
business. The coast region is fertile and beautiful, abounding in
vineyards and orchards. The climate, varying from 51 degrees to 75
degrees in summer, and in winter seldom colder than 15 degrees, is
well suited to the cultivation of such fruits as apples, peaches,
pears, oranges, lemons, almonds, olives, and figs. In this region
also, is the great gold belt, most of the mines being on the western
slope of the Sierra Nevadas. All of the gold, however, is not found
here, as the earliest mining was on the southeastern slope, and the
precious metal is distributed over the most of the State. The valleys
of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers occupy the country between
the coast range and the Sierras. This fertile region is devoted to
farming and grazing, and produces more barley than is raised in any
other State, while its wheat harvests increased 133 per cent from
1860 to 1870. Here, during the rainy season, the mercury falls to 45
deg., and seldom rises higher than 85 deg. In the Colorado desert
the difference between the mean temperature of January and July is
greater, being some 45 deg., while the mean annual temperature ranges
from 68 to 75 deg. Little land here is arable, owing to the lack
of irrigation. California has an excellent public school system,
closely resembling that of Massachusetts. In 1880 the average monthly
pay of male teachers was $79.50; of female teachers, $64.73. Land
in California is by no means cheap. The fruit lands are scarce, and
for the most part in the hands of private individuals; when well
cultivated and irrigated they sell for $150 to $300 per acre. Grain
lands in Northern and North Central California sell for $50 to $100
per acre, though some at a great distance from railroads and rivers
may be bought for $20 to $30. Grazing lands vary in price from $1.25
to $10 per acre, according to locality. There are fruit lands in
Southern California, far from Los Angeles and any good market, which
can be had for from $30 to $50 per acre.
THE “BRANDED HAND.”
BEAVER CITY, Neb.
Please give an account of the “Man with the Branded Hand,” who died
a few years since. Why was he branded, and what was the name of the
miscreant who officiated?
B. W. HAWKINS.
_Answer._—The man who has become so famous was Jonathan Walker,
captain of a small vessel off the Florida coast. He was born at
Harwich, Mass., March 22, 1799, and died at Lake Harbor, Mich.,
April 20, 1878. June 23, 1844, though quite ill, and daily expecting
death, he attempted to carry seven slaves to Nassau, in the British
island, New Providence; but, when only a short distance out, he was
challenged by the sloop Catharine, and taken back to Key West. There
he was brought before a justice of the peace, and committed first to
jail, and afterward to the filthy hold of a steamboat that carried
him to Pensacola, where a new trial awaited him. This time, when he
was imprisoned, a chain of half-inch iron secured him to a huge ring
bolt, being fastened at the other end to a shackle around his ankle
that weighed half a ton. Owing to his feeble health his sufferings
were excruciating, but his further sentence read thus; “One hour in
the pillory, pelted with unmerchantable eggs; one year in prison for
each slave—seven in all; $600 for each slave, and all the costs;
and to be branded on the right hand with a large S, by a redhot
branding-iron.” But he bore his tortures without flinching, and lived
to be restored to his family after much unjust litigation. We do not
know who may have officiated at the branding; but Ebenezer Dorr, of
Maine, was at that time the United States Marshal for that district.
A beautiful monument to the memory of Captain Walker has been erected
in Muskegon, Mich.
THE OLDEST ARCHITECTURAL RUINS.
DES MOINES, Iowa.
What is the oldest architectural work known to exist?
SCHOLAR.
_Answer._—Perhaps it is safe to say, with the editor of the “People’s
Cyclopedia,” that it is the remarkable rock-cut temples at Ipsambul
of Abousambul, in Nubia, on the left bank of the Nile. The largest
temple contains fourteen apartments hewn out of the solid rock. The
first and largest of these is 57 feet long and 52 feet broad, and is
supported by two rows of massive square pillars, four in each row,
and 30 feet high. To each of these pillars is attached a standing
colossus, or human figure, of enormous proportions, reaching to the
roof, overlaid with a kind of stucco and painted with gaudy colors,
apparently as brilliant now, after the lapse of over 4,000 years, as
when first laid on. In front of this temple are seated four still
larger human figures, two of them being 65 feet in height—presumed to
represent Rameses the Great, more frequently termed Sesostris, whose
marvelous military exploits are depicted in drawings and paintings on
the temple walls.
PRODUCTION OF SPIRITS.
HURON, D. T.
Is the production of spirits increasing or decreasing? Some
temperance advocates maintain that it is growing less, owing to the
efforts of the various temperance organizations.
ANTI-SALOONIST.
_Answer._—The best answer to this question is contained in the latest
report of the Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Folger says: “The
quantity of spirits produced and deposited in distillery warehouses
during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1883, is less than the
production of 1882 by 31,839,853 gallons, and of 1881 by 43,741,842
gallons.” He distributes this decrease as follows:
Decrease in production of— Gallons.
Bourbon whisky 20,913,422
Rye whisky 4,440,123
Alcohol 4,482,965
Gin 23,366
Highwines 2,260,428
Miscellaneous 241,385
——————————
Total decrease 32,361,689
Increase in production of— Gallons.
Rum 97,876
Pure neutral or Cologne spirits 423,960
———————
Total Increase 521,836
——————————
Net decrease 31,839,853
There were remaining in distillery warehouses at the dates below
specified distilled spirits as follows:
Dates. Gallons.
June 30, 1883 80,499,993
June 30, 1882 89,962,645
There should come out of bonded warehouses, under the present law,
and pay tax, distilled spirits as follows:
Dates. Gallons.
By June 6, 1884 26,104,531
By July 6, 1884 3,495,512
——————————
Total 29,600,043
It is to avert taking this large amount of spirits out of warehouse
and throwing it upon the market more rapidly than it is called for
that the distillers are so lustily petitioning Congress to postpone
the date of withdrawal. Several causes have conspired to bring about
the decrease in production of spirits above shown, of which the vigor
with which the temperance movement has been pushed of late years is
indisputably one.
ART, HISTORICAL, AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.
BATTLE CREEK, Mich.
I am satisfied that many keen observers of climatic changes and
other scientific phenomena, and many old residents of this country
who are in possession of historical information of pioneer times
which should be preserved, would communicate what they know to
societies interested in such matters if THE INTER OCEAN would only
publish a list of some of the most important of such societies.
“Will not Our Curiosity Shop favor us with such a list? Also, give
the names of a few of the most noted societies or academies of
Europe.
AMATEUR.