89. Who were the “Seven Wise Men of Greece”?
These men, who lived in the sixth century B. C., were distinguished for their practical sagacity and their wise maxims or principles of life. Their names are variously given, but those most generally admitted to the honor are Solon, Chilo, Pittacus, Bias, Periander (in place of whom some give Epimenides), Cleobulus, and Thales. They were the authors of the celebrated mottoes inscribed in later days in the Delphian temple: Know thyself (Solon); Consider the end (Chilo); Know thy opportunity (Pittacus); Most men are bad (Bias); Nothing is impossible to industry (Periander); Avoid excess (Cleobulus); Suretyship is the precursor of ruin (Thales).
90. Who were the “Seven Champions of Christendom”?
St. George, the patron saint of England; St. Denis, of France; St. James, of Spain; St. Anthony, of Italy; St. Andrew, of Scotland; St. Patrick, of Ireland; and St. David, of Wales.
91. What were the “Seven Wonders of the World”?
These very remarkable objects of the ancient world have been variously enumerated. The following classification is the one most generally received: 1. The Pyramids ofEgypt; 2. The Pharos of Alexandria; 3. The Walls and Hanging Gardens of Babylon; 4. The Temple of Diana at Ephesus; 5. The Statue of the Olympian Jupiter; 6. The Mausoleum of Artemisia; 7. The Colossus of Rhodes.
92. What was the “Wicked Bible”?
This name was given to an edition of the Bible published in 1632 by Barker & Lucas, because the wordnotwas omitted in the Seventh Commandment. The printers were called before the High Commission, fined heavily, and the whole impression destroyed.
93. Why does a dog turn round several times before he lies down?
The dog belongs to the same genus as the wolf, fox, etc., and originally made his home in the forests and jungles. In preparing his lair in these places, nature prompted him to turn round several times in order to arrange the grass or weeds, and bend them from his body before he lay down. In his domesticated state he has not yet overcome this early prompting of nature.
94. Who were the first paper-makers?
Wasps. Their nest is made of a paper-like substance, which is merely wood reduced to a paste by the action of the jaws of the insects, and this, put into the required form, is left to dry: essentially the same thing that our paper manufacturers are doing by other processes and on a larger scale in their mills to-day.
95. How does the Red Sea get its color?
The reddish appearance of the waters of this sea is due to the prevalence of a minute bright red plant, which is akind of sea-weed. This plant is said to be so small that twenty-five millions of them can live and thrive in one square inch. From it is made a beautiful red dye, which tradition says was used hundreds of years ago. In some places, where the weed is not found, the waters are blue or green. To the Hebrews it was known asYam Sûph, the sea of weeds or sedge.
96. What was the Parthenopean Republic?
This was the name given to the state into which the kingdom of Naples was transformed by the French Republicans, Jan. 23, 1799, and which lasted only till the following June. The name is derived from Parthenope, an ancient name for Naples.
97. What is the origin of the names of the months?
January is derived fromJanus, the god of the year, to whom this month was sacred.
February is fromFebruus, an old Italian divinity, or fromFebrua, the Roman festival of expiation, celebrated on the 15th of this month. January and February were added to the Roman calendar by Numa, Romulus having previously divided the year into ten months.
March is fromMars, the god of war, and reputed father of Romulus. It was the first month of the Roman calendar.
April is from the LatinAperire, to open, from the opening of the buds, or the bosom of the earth in producing vegetation.
May is fromMaia, the mother of Mercury, to whom the Romans offered sacrifices on the first day of this month.
June is fromJuno, the sister and wife of Jupiter, to whom this month was sacred.
July was named by Mark Antony afterJulius Cæsar,who was born in this month. It was previously calledQuintilis, the fifth month.
August was named afterAugustus Cæsar, on account of several of the most fortunate events of his life having occurred during this month. It was formerlySextilis, or sixth month.
September is from the Latinseptem, seven, because it was originally the seventh month.
October, formerly the eighth month, is formed from the Latinocto, eight.
November is from the Latinnovem, nine, as this month was originally the ninth month.
December is from the Latindecem, ten, as it was formerly the tenth and last month of the Roman calendar.
98. What was the origin of the names of the days of the week?
As the names of the months were all derived from the Romans, so the names of the days of the week come to us from the Saxons.
Sunday takes its name from the sun, which was one of the principal objects of worship.
Monday is so called after the moon, also an ancient object of worship.
Tuesday is so called fromTiuorTiw, the son of Odin, and the old Saxon god of war and of fame.
Wednesday derives its name fromWoden, orOdin, the god of battle, and the chief god of the Northern mythology.
Thursday is so styled fromDonar, orThor, who, as god of the air, had much in common with the Roman Jupiter, to whom the same day was dedicated.
Friday is named fromFrigga, the wife of Odin and the mother of all the deities.
Saturday is named fromSaterne, orSaturn, to whom the day was consecrated.
99. What year is 1886 by the Jewish calendar?
The year 5646 of the Jewish era began Sept. 10, 1885, and will continue 385 days, as it is an embolismic year. The Jewish calendar is dated from the creation, which is considered to have taken place 3760 years and three months before the commencement of the Christian era. The year is luni-solar, and, according as it is ordinary or embolismic, consists of twelve or thirteen lunar months, each of which has twenty-nine or thirty days. Thus the duration of the ordinary year is 354 days, and that of the embolismic year is 384 days. In either case it is sometimes made a day more, and sometimes a day less, in order that certain festivals may fall on proper days of the week for their due observance. The following table gives the names of their months and the number of days in each:—
HEBREW MONTHS.
[1]The signs + and — are respectively annexed to Hesvan and Kislev to indicate that the former of these may sometimes require to have one day more, and the latter one day less, than the number of days shown in the table.
[1]The signs + and — are respectively annexed to Hesvan and Kislev to indicate that the former of these may sometimes require to have one day more, and the latter one day less, than the number of days shown in the table.
[2]The intercalary month, Veadar, is introduced in embolismic years in order that Passover, the 15th day of Nisan, may be kept at its proper season, which is the full moon of the vernal equinox, or that which takes place after the sun has entered the sign Aries.
[2]The intercalary month, Veadar, is introduced in embolismic years in order that Passover, the 15th day of Nisan, may be kept at its proper season, which is the full moon of the vernal equinox, or that which takes place after the sun has entered the sign Aries.
The following table shows when Tisri 1, the Jewish New-Year, occurs for each of the next five years by our calendar.
100. What was the name of the penitent thief?
St. Dismas is the name which Romish tradition has attached to the “good thief.” He is represented with a cross beside him.
101. What was the origin of the term “halcyon days”?
The seven days which precede and the seven days which follow the shortest day were, by the ancients, called halcyon days, on account of the fable that, during this time, while the halcyon bird, or kingfisher, was breeding, there always prevailed calms at sea. From this the phrase “halcyon days” has come to signify times of peace and tranquillity.
102. Who was the “Christ of India”?
Buddha Gautama (624–543 B. C.), the reputed founder of Buddhism, has been so termed. He was of ascetic habits, till, tempted by his father, he abandoned himself to every pleasure. Afterward he renounced the world, and as a result of long study and bodily maceration, discovered that non-sentient repose is the highest good attainable by the pure and the just.
103. What religious sect anoint the sick with oil, depending upon this unction and prayer, and rejecting the use of medicine?
The Tunkers are found widely scattered throughout the northern and middle parts of the United States, but are nowhere numerous. They were recently estimated to have over five hundred churches and some fifty thousand members. The name which they take for themselves is simply that of Brethren, and they profess that their association is founded on the principle of brotherly love. The name Tunkers is of German origin, signifying Dippers, and is due to their dipping in baptism. They anoint their sick with oil, depending upon this unction and prayer for their recovery, and rejecting the use of medicine. They do not insist upon celibacy as an absolute rule; but they commend it as a virtue, and discourage marriage. Chiefly engaged in agriculture, they are industrious and honest, and universally held in good repute among their neighbors.
Sole dependence upon prayer is the characteristic also of a small religious sect of which a few members are to be found in England, calling themselves thePeculiar People.
In Switzerland, the name of Dorothea Trudel, who died in 1862, was long famous for the cure of ailments by prayers.
104. What noted sage advocated the doctrine that virtue was intellectual, a necessary consequence of knowledge; while vice was ignorance, and akin to madness?
This was the fundamental doctrine of the philosophy of Socrates, the Athenian philosopher (469–399 B. C.).Knowledge, virtue, and happiness he held to be inseparable. His religious doctrines culminated in the conception of the Deity as the author of the harmony of nature and the laws of morals, revealed only in his works, and of the soul as a divine and immortal being, resembling the Deity in respect to reason and invisible energy.
105. What palace in an ancient city contains five hundred rooms?
The Palazzo Imperiale, at Mantua, Italy, contains five hundred rooms, whose choicest embellishment consists in the glorious paintings and exquisite designs of the great Mantuan artist, Giulio Romano.
106. What was the “most useful conquest ever made by man”?
Baron Cuvier, the most eminent naturalist, says of the dog: “It is the completest, the most singular, and the most useful conquest ever made by man.” This conquest was made long before the dawn of history. Cuvier has also asserted that the dog was, perhaps, necessary for the establishment of human society. Though this may not be apparent in the most highly civilized communities, a moment’s reflection will convince us that barbarous nations owe much of their elevation above the brute to the possession of the dog.
107. When was the first blood shed in the Revolution?
In the conflict known as the “Boston Massacre,” between the British soldiers and the citizens of Boston,March 5, 1770. Two Americans—Samuel Gray and James Caldwell—and a half-breed Indian negro—Crispus Attucks—were killed, and eight citizens were wounded, two of them mortally,—an Irishman named Carr, and Maverick, an American.
108. What remarkable fish is found only in Lake Baikal?
The golomynka, the only known species of its genus, which belongs to the goby family. It is about a foot long, is destitute of scales, and is very soft, its whole substance abounding in oil, which is obtained from it by pressure. It is never eaten.
109. Who was inventor of the most perfect alphabet ever devised for any language?
George Guess, or Sequoyah, a half-breed Cherokee Indian (1770–1843), invented, in 1826, a syllabic alphabet of the Cherokee language, which consisted of eighty-five characters, each representing a single sound in the language. This is said to be the most perfect alphabet ever devised for any language. For the characters he used, as far as they went, those which he found in an English spelling-book, although he knew no language except his own. A newspaper called thePhœnixwas established, a part of it printed in Cherokee, using the alphabet of Guess. A part of the New Testament was also printed in this character. Guess was not a Christian, and is said to have regretted his invention when he found it was used for this purpose.
110. Who was the “Little Giant”?
This was a popular sobriquet conferred upon Stephen Arnold Douglass (1813–1861), a distinguished American statesman, in allusion to the disparity between his physical and his intellectual proportions.
111. Which was the grandest funeral pageant ever known?
That of Alexander the Great. For two years after his death the body was deposited at Babylon, while preparations were being made for the march to Egypt. At length all was ready, and the grandest funeral pageant ever witnessed on earth started on the long march of over one thousand miles from Babylon to Alexandria. Over a year was occupied in this journey. The accounts of the splendor and magnificence of the golden car that bore his body are almost incredible. The spokes and naves of the wheels were overlaid with gold, and the extremities of the axles, where they appeared outside at the centre of the wheels, were adorned with massive golden ornaments. Upon the wheels and axle-trees was supported a platform twelve feet wide and eighteen feet long, upon which was erected a magnificent pavilion supported by Ionic columns, and profusely ornamented, both within and without, with purple and gold. The interior of this pavilion was resplendent with precious stones and gems. Upon the back of the platform was placed a throne, profusely carved and gilded, and hung with crowns representing the various nations over which Alexander had ruled. At the foot of the throne was the coffin, made of solid gold, and containing, besides the body, a large quantity of the most costly spices and aromatic perfumes, which filled the air withfragrance. Between the coffin and throne were laid the arms of Alexander. On the four sides of the carriage werebasso-relievos, representing Alexander himself, with various military concomitants. There were the Macedonian columns, the squadrons of Persia, the elephants of India, troops of horses, etc. Around the car was a fringe of golden lace, to the pendants of which were attached bells, which tolled continually with a mournful sound as the carriage moved along. This ponderous car was drawn by a long column of sixty-four mules, in sets of four, all selected for their great size and strength, and richly caparisoned. Their collars and harnesses were mounted with gold and enriched with precious stones. A large army of workmen kept at a considerable distance in advance, repairing the roads, strengthening the bridges, and removing all obstacles along the entire line.
112. What is the “oft-quoted epitaph” composed by Franklin?
“THE BODY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, PRINTER,LIKE THE COVER OF AN OLD BOOK,its contents torn out, and stripped of its lettering and gilding, lies here food for worms. Yet the work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author.”
113. Which is the largest stationary engine in the world?
The largest stationary engine in the world is at the famous zinc mines at Friedensville, Pennsylvania. It is known as the “President,” and there is no pumpingengine in the world that can be compared with the monster. The number of gallons of water raised every minute is 17,500. The driving-wheels are thirty-five feet in diameter, and weigh forty tons each. The sweep-rod is forty feet long, the cylinder one hundred and ten inches in diameter, and the piston-rod eighteen inches in diameter, with a ten-foot stroke.
114. What was the origin of “pin-money”?
“Pin-money” is a term applied to a lady’s allowance of money for her own personal expenditure. Long after the invention of pins, in the fourteenth century, they were very costly, and the maker was allowed to sell them in open shop only on the 1st and 2d of January. It was then that the ladies of the court and city dames flocked to the stores to buy them, having been first provided with the requisite money by their husbands. When pins became common and cheap, the ladies spent their allowance on other fancies, but the term “pin-money” remained in vogue.
115. Why are our Presidents inaugurated on the 4th of March?
The reason why the 4th of March is the day on which our Presidents are always inaugurated is that the Continental Congress appointed the first Wednesday in January, 1789, for the people to choose electors; the first Wednesday in February for those electors to choose a President; and the first Wednesday in March for the government to go into operation under the new Constitution. The last-named day, in 1789, fell on the 4th of March; hence, the 4th of March following the election of a President is the day appointed for his inauguration. By the act of 1792, itwas provided that the Presidential term of four years should commence on the 4th of March. By the amendment to the Constitution made in 1804, if the House of Representatives should not elect a President by the 4th of March, the Vice-President becomes President. The 4th of March is thus virtually made, by the Constitution as well as by statute, the day when a new Presidential term begins.
116. What was the origin of the word “tariff”?
On the coast of Spain, just outside the Straits of Gibraltar, there is an island called Tarifa. When the Moors had possession of Spain, they established a custom-house upon it. The taxes were fixed by the collector. Every vessel passing through the straits in either direction was brought to and robbed of as much as this collector saw fit. If the captain delivered up about fifteen per cent of his cargo, or paid its equivalent in money, he was allowed to go in peace. If he proved stubborn, his vessel and cargo were confiscated. Generally, however, no resistance was offered. When the vessel arrived at the port of discharge, her owner assessed the loss on the purchasers of the goods. Hence all money collected on cargoes is called a tariff, from the island whence the custom was first started.
117. What newspaper is called “The Thunderer”?
The LondonTimes. This name was originally given to it on account of the powerful articles contributed to its columns by the editor, Edward Sterling.
118. Who was the “Man of Destiny”?
This appellation was conferred on Napoleon Bonaparte, who believed himself to be a chosen instrument ofDestiny, and that his actions were governed by some occult and supernatural influence.
119. What was the origin of “catch-penny”?
This term originated in London, in 1824, just after the execution of Thurtell for the murder of Weare. A publisher made a great deal of money from the sale of Thurtell’s “last dying speech.” When the sale of this speech fell off, a second edition was advertised, headed, “We arealive again!” with little space between the first two words. These two words the people took for the name of the murdered man, reading it, “Wearealive again!” A large edition was rapidly sold. Some one called it a “catch-penny,” and the word rapidly spread until it came into general use.
120. Where is there an underground river in the United States?
There are two underground rivers—the Echo and the Styx—in the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. The Echo is about three fourths of a mile long, two hundred feet wide at some points, and from ten to forty feet deep. It is crossed by boats. Its course is beneath an arched ceiling of smooth rock, varying in height from ten to thirty-five feet, and famous for its musical reverberations; not a distinct echo, but a harmonious prolongation of sound for from ten to thirty seconds after the original tone is produced. The long vault has a certain key-note of its own, which, when struck, excites harmonics, including tones of incredible depth and sweetness. The Styx is much smaller than the Echo. It is about four hundred and fifty feet long, from fifteen to forty feet wide, and fromthirty to forty feet deep. It is spanned by an interesting natural bridge about thirty feet above it. Both these streams have an invisible communication with Green River, the depth of the water and direction of the current in them being regulated by the stage of water in the latter stream. In the waters of both streams are found a blind fish (Amblyopsis speleans) of an almost pure white color.
121. Who was the first martyr to American liberty?
Thomas Hansford, one of the leading participants of Bacon’s Rebellion, is generally accredited with this honor. After the failure of the rebellion, he was captured at the house of a young lady to whom he was paying his addresses, taken to Accomac, and hung as a rebel, by Berkeley, the royal governor, in spite of his prayer that he might be “shot like a soldier.” This was Nov. 13, 1676.
This name has also been applied to Christopher Snider, a boy eleven years of age, who was killed in a mob in Boston, Feb. 22, 1770.
122. Who was the author of “Curfew must not Ring To-night”?
This exquisite poem was written in April, 1867, by Miss Rosa Hartwick, now Mrs. Edward C. Thorpe. She resides at Litchfield, Michigan. She was in her seventeenth year when she wrote the poem. She has written others, but none so fine or so famous as this. It is founded on an incident in English history. Basil Underwood was a young man in the time of the Protectorate, and his only crime seems to have been unswerving loyalty to the king. The maiden pleaded in vain for a reprieve from the judges. They would not delay the execution even untilCromwell should arrive. After her fruitless appeal to the judges, she returns to the old sexton, and it is at this point that the poem takes up the story.
123. Who was “Mother Goose”?
“Mother Goose,” from whom the popular nursery rhymes were named, was not an imaginary personage. She belonged to a wealthy family in Boston, Mass., where she was born and resided for many years. Her eldest daughter, Elizabeth Goose, was married to a printer named Fleet, and when a son was born to them, the grandmother spent all her time nursing him and singing the songs and ditties she had heard in her younger days. This greatly annoyed her son-in-law, who vainly tried in every way to make her desist. He then conceived and carried out the idea of collecting these ditties and publishing them in book form, giving the edition the title of “Songs for the Nursery; or, Mother Goose’s Melodies for Children.” The adoption of this title was originally in derision of his mother-in-law; but it became so well known and liked, that now there are few boys or girls who do not revel in the delights of the old lady’s melodies and rhymes.
124. What king said “I am the state”?
This was the famous saying of Louis XIV. (1638–1715), king of France, and it expresses the principle to which everything was accommodated. In the zenith of his career all Europe feared him; and his own nation had been brought by tyranny, skilful management, and military glory to regard him with Asiatic humility. Under his absolute sway all remnants of political independencewere swept away. Even the courts of justice yielded to the absolute sway of the monarch, who interfered at pleasure with the ordinary course of law.
125. What was the origin of the word “Mississippi”?
“Its original spelling,” says the “Magazine of American History,” “and the nearest approach to the Algonquin word, ‘the father of waters,’ is Meche Sepe, a spelling still commonly used by the Louisiana Creoles. Tonti suggested Miche Sepe, which is somewhat nearer the present spelling. Father Laval still further modernized it into Michispi, which another father, Labatt, softened into Misisipi. The only changes since have been to overload the word with consonants. Marquette added the first and some other explorer the seconds, making it Mississipi, and so it remains in France to this day, with only onep. The man who added the other has never been discovered, but he must have been an American, for at the time of the Louisiana purchase the name was generally spelled in the colony with a singlep.”
126. What was the “O Grab Me Act”?
TheEmbargo Actpassed by Congress, Dec. 21, 1807. By its provisions all American vessels were detained in the ports of the United States. The object was, by cutting off commercial intercourse with France and Great Britain, to compel them to recognize the rights of American neutrality. The act was the subject of much ridicule. The opponents of the measure, spelling the word backward, called it the “O Grab Me Act”. The measure was of little avail; and after fourteen months it was repealed.
127. Who was “the learned tailor”?
Henry Wild (1684–1764). He acquired some knowledge of Greek and Latin at the grammar school of his native town, Norwich, England, after which he worked fourteen years at his trade. Then, during a long sickness, he amused himself by reading some volumes of controversial theology abounding in quotations from the Bible in the original Hebrew. This led him to devote his spare time for several years to the study of Hebrew, and afterward of Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Persian, in all of which he became proficient.
128. Where is the “Water Volcano”?
TheVolcan de Agua, or “Water Volcano,” is a huge mountain in Central America, noted for emitting torrents of boiling water which have twice destroyed the town of Guatemala. It is of a conical shape and rises fifteen thousand feet above the level of the sea. In close proximity are the volcanoes of Pacaya, on the southeast, and Fuego, on the west; and the three together present a scene of great magnificence.
129. Which is the brightest star visible?
Sirius, or the Dog-star, of the constellationCanus Major, or the “Great Dog.” Sir John Herschel estimates its light as exceeding more than twofold that ofCanopus, the second star in brilliancy, and more than fourfold that ofAlpha Centauri, the third, whose light the same astronomer takes as the standard for stars of the first magnitude. Sirius is about one hundred and twenty-three billions of miles distant from the earth. By photometric measurement it has been shown that, supposing the intensityof the sun’s light for unit of surface to equal that of Sirius, it would require four hundred suns at the distance of Sirius to send us the light that star does; and our sun at the distance of Sirius would appear less than a star of the sixth magnitude, and be invisible to the naked eye.
130. Who originated our decimal coinage?
Our decimal coinage was devised by Thomas Jefferson. Two years before Governeur Morris, a clerk in the office of his uncle, Robert Morris, had conceived the idea of applying the decimal system to the notation of money. The details of the system devised by Morris were so cumbrous and awkward as almost to neutralize the simplicity of the leading idea. Jefferson rescued the fine original conception by proposing our present system of dollars and cents, which was adopted by Congress in 1785.
131. Where is the sacred well from which Hagar is said to have drawn water for her son Ishmael?
According to Mohammedan tradition, the Zamzam, the sacred well in the Great Mosque, at Mecca, is the source from which Hagar drew water for her son Ishmael (Gen. xxi. 19). This is, of course, pure invention; and, indeed, the legend tells that the well was long covered up and rediscovered by Abd-el-Muttalib, the grandfather of the prophet. Sacred wells are peculiar to Semitic sanctuaries, and Islam, retaining the well, made a quasi Biblical story for it, and endowed its tepid waters with miraculous curative virtues. They are eagerly drunk by the pilgrims, and when poured over the body are held to give a miraculous refreshment after the fatigues of religious exercise. The manufacture of bottles or jars for carrying the water todistant countries is a considerable industry. Ibu Jubair mentions a curious superstition of the Meccans, who believed that the water rose in the shaft at the full moon of the month Sha’bán. On this occasion a great crowd, especially of young people, thronged round the well with shouts of religious enthusiasm, while the servants of the well dashed buckets of water over their heads.
132. Who was the “Wagoner Boy”?
Thomas Corwin (1794–1865), a distinguished American statesman. While Corwin was yet a lad, Harrison and his army were on the northern frontier, almost destitute of provisions, and a demand was made on the patriotism of the people to furnish the necessary subsistence. The elder Corwin loaded a wagon with supplies which was delivered by his son, who remained with the army during the rest of the campaign, and who is said to have proved himself “a good whip and an excellent reinsman.”
133. Who explored the Mississippi River with La Salle?
The Chevalier Henry de Tonty (1650–1704), an Italian explorer. He was the son of Lorenzo de Tonty, who is famous as the inventor of the tontine system of association. In 1678 he accompanied La Salle to Canada, and then in his exploration of the Mississippi. La Salle left him in command of a fort near Peoria. He twice descended the Mississippi to its mouth in search of La Salle, and a third and last time to meet Iberville; after which he remained in that region and died at Fort Louis (now Mobile) in September, 1704. He wrote a memoir of LaSalle’s voyage, which has been translated and published in English under the title “Account of M. de la Salle’s last Expedition and Discoveries in North America.”
134. Who was the “Ancient Mariner”?
He is the hero of Coleridge’s poem of the same name, who, for the crime of having shot an albatross, a bird of good omen to voyagers, suffers dreadful penalties, together with his companions, who have made themselves accomplices in his crime. These penalties are at last remitted in consequence of his repentance. He reaches land, where he encounters a hermit, to whom he relates his story,—
“Since then, at an uncertain hour,The agony returns,”—
“Since then, at an uncertain hour,The agony returns,”—
“Since then, at an uncertain hour,The agony returns,”—
“Since then, at an uncertain hour,
The agony returns,”—
and drives him on, like the Wandering Jew, from land to land, compelled to relate the tale of his suffering and crime as a warning to others, and as a lesson of love and charity towards all God’s creatures. The conception of this poem, and the mystical imagery of the skeleton ship, are said by Dyce to have been borrowed by Coleridge from a friend who had experienced a strange dream.
135. What was the “Flying Dutchman”?
This is the name given by sailors to a spectral ship, which is supposed to cruise in storms off the Cape of Good Hope, and the sight of which is considered the worst of all possible omens. She is distinguished from earthly vessels by bearing a press of sail when all others are unable, from stress of weather, to show an inch of canvas. The cause of her wandering is variously explained. According to one account, a Dutch captain, bound home fromthe Indies, met with long-continued head-winds and heavy weather off the Cape of Good Hope, and refused to put back as he was advised to do, swearing a very profane oath that he would beat round the Cape, if he had to beat there until the Day of Judgment. He was taken at his word, and doomed to beat against head winds all his days. His sails are believed to have become thin and sere, his ship-sides white with age, and himself and crew reduced almost to shadows. He cannot heave to or lower a boat, but sometimes hails vessels through his trumpet, and requests them to take letters home for him. Dr. John Leyden, who introduces the story of the Flying Dutchman into his “Scenes of Infancy,” imputes with poetical ingenuity the doom of the ship to its having been the first to engage in the slave-trade. But the common tradition is, as stated by Sir Walter Scott, “that she was originally a vessel loaded with great wealth, on board of which some horrid act of murder and piracy had been committed; that the plague broke out among the wicked crew, and that they sailed in vain from port to port, offering, as a price of shelter, the whole of their ill-gotten wealth; that they were excluded from every harbor, and that, as a punishment of their crimes, the apparition of the ship still continues to haunt those seas in which the catastrophe took place.” The superstition has its origin, probably, in the looming, or apparent suspension in the air, of some ship out of sight,—a phenomenon sometimes witnessed at sea, and caused by unequal refraction in the lower strata of the atmosphere.
136. What was the “Banshee”?
In the popular superstitions of the Irish and the Scotch, the Banshee, or Benshie, was an invisible being, supposedto announce by mournful presence and voice the approaching death of members of certain ancient houses. It was said that, on the decease of a hero, the harps of his bards voluntarily emitted mournful sounds. In later times it was popularly supposed that each family had its banshee, which gave warnings of misfortune, or haunted the scenes of past troubles.
137. What was the “Irish Night”?
This was a night of agitation and terror in London after the flight of James II., occasioned by an unfounded report that the Irish Catholics of Feversham’s army had been let loose to murder the Protestant population, men, women, and children.
138. Which is the “Keystone State”?
The State of Pennsylvania is so called from its having been the central State of the Union at the time of the formation of the Constitution. If the names of the thirteen original States are arranged in the form of an arch, Pennsylvania will occupy the place of the keystone.
139. What was the origin of “Lynch Law”?
This term is usually alleged to be derived from one John Lynch, who lived in what is now the Piedmont district of Virginia, at the time when that district was the western frontier of the State, and when, on account of the distance from the courts of law, it was customary to refer the adjustment of disputes to men of known character and judgment in the neighborhood. This man became so eminent by reason of the wisdom and impartiality of his decisions, that he was known throughout thecountry as “Judge Lynch.” According to another account, the term is derived from Col. Charles Lynch, a brother of the founder of Lynchburg, Va., who was an officer of the American Revolution. His residence was on the Staunton, in Campbell County. At that time the country was thinly settled, and infested by a lawless band of tories and desperadoes. The necessity of the case involved desperate measures, and Colonel Lynch, then a leading Whig, apprehended and had them punished without any superfluous legal ceremony. A third account derives the term from one James Lynch Fitz Stephen, a merchant of Galway, and in 1526 its mayor. His son having been convicted of murder, he, Brutus-like, sentenced him to death, and, fearing a rescue, caused him to be brought home and hanged before his own door. Another writer has suggested that the origin of the term is to be found in the provincial English wordlinch, to beat or maltreat. If this were admitted, Lynch law would then be simply equivalent to “club law.”
140. Who was the “Maid of Saragossa”?
This appellation was bestowed upon Augustina Zaragosa, a young Spanish woman, distinguished for her heroism during the defence of Saragossa in 1808–1809. She first attracted notice by mounting a battery where her lover had fallen, and working a gun in his place. Byron has celebrated her in the first canto of his “Childe Harold.”
141. What was the origin of “quiz”?
Daly, the manager of a Dublin play-house, laid a wager that a new word of no meaning should be the common talk and puzzle of the city in twenty-four hours. In consequenceof this, the lettersq,u,i,zwere chalked by him on all the walls of Dublin, with an effect that won the wager.
142. Who was the “Rail Splitter”?
This popular designation was given to Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth President of the United States, who is said to have supported himself for one winter, in early life, by splitting rails for a farmer.
143. What is the origin of the phrase “Before one could say Jack Robinson”?
This saying, used to express a very short time, is said by Grose to have originated from a very volatile gentleman of that appellation, who would call on his neighbors and be gone before his name could be announced. The following lines “from an old play” are elsewhere given as the original phrase:—
“A warke it ys as easie to be doone,As tys to saye, Jacke! robys on.”
“A warke it ys as easie to be doone,As tys to saye, Jacke! robys on.”
“A warke it ys as easie to be doone,As tys to saye, Jacke! robys on.”
“A warke it ys as easie to be doone,
As tys to saye, Jacke! robys on.”
144. Who was “St. Tammany”?
This Indian chief has beenpopularlycanonized as a saint, and adopted as the tutelary genius of one branch of the Democratic party. Tammany was of the Delaware nation, and lived probably in the middle of the seventeenth century. He resided in the country which is now Delaware until he was of age, when he moved beyond the Alleghenies, and settled on the banks of the Ohio. He became a chief sachem of his tribe, and, being always a friend of the whites, often restrained his warriors from deeds of violence. His rule was alwaysdiscreet, and he endeavored to induce his followers to cultivate agriculture and the arts of peace rather than those of war. When he became old he called a council to have a successor appointed, after which the residue of his life was spent in retirement; and tradition relates that “young and old repaired to his wigwam to hear him discourse wisdom.” His great motto was, “Unite in peace for happiness, in war for defence.” When and by whom he was first styledSaint, or by what whim he was chosen to be the patron of Democracy, does not appear.
145. Who ate Roger Williams?
“The truth that matter passes from the animal back to the vegetable, and from the vegetable to the animal kingdom again, received, not long since, a curious illustration. For the purpose of erecting a suitable monument in memory of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, his private burying-ground was searched for the graves of himself and wife. It was found that everything had passed into oblivion. The shape of the coffins could only be traced by a black line of carbonaceous matter. The rusted hinges and nails, and a round wooden knob, alone remained in one grave; while a single lock of braided hair was found in the other. Near the graves stood an apple-tree. This had sent down two main roots into the very presence of the coffined dead. The larger root, pushing its way to the precise spot occupied by the skull of Roger Williams, had made a turn as if passing around it, and followed the direction of the backbone to the hips. Here it divided into two branches, sending one along each leg to the heel, when both turned upward to the toes. One of these roots formed a slight crook at the knee,which made the whole bear a striking resemblance to the human form. (These roots are now deposited in the museum of Brown University.) There were the graves, but their occupants had disappeared; the bones, even, had vanished. There stood the thief—the guilty apple-tree—caught in the very act of robbery. The spoliation was complete. The organic matter—the flesh, the bones—of Roger Williams had passed into an apple-tree. The elements had been absorbed by the roots, transmuted into woody fibre, which could now be burned as fuel or carved into ornaments; had bloomed into fragrant blossoms, which had delighted the eye of passers-by, and scattered the sweetest perfume of spring; more than that, had been converted into luscious fruit, which, from year to year, had been gathered and eaten. How pertinent, then, is the question, ‘Who ate Roger Williams?’”—Steele’s Chemistry.
146. How were bachelors punished at Sparta?
The male citizens of Sparta who remained unmarried after a certain age were subjected to a species of atimy or public disgrace. They were not allowed to witness the gymnastic exercises of the maidens; and, during winter, they were compelled to march naked around the market-place, singing a song composed against themselves, and expressing the justice of their punishment. The usual respect of the young to the old was not paid to bachelors.
147. What did the Indians present to Penn’s widow?
On the death of William Penn, the Indians sent his widow a message of sorrow for the loss of their “brother Onas” (the Indians called him “Onas,” their word forquill, which was the nearest they could arrive atpen), with some choice skins to form a cloak which might protect her “while passing through the thorny wilderness without her guide.”
148. What animal has a tail so large that it sometimes requires to be carried on wheels?
The long-tailed sheep which inhabits Syria and Egypt has a tail so large and so loaded with fat, that to prevent it from being injured by dragging on the ground, a board is fastened to the under side of it, and wheels are often attached to the board. The peculiar fat of the tail is considered a great delicacy, and is so soft as to be frequently used as butter. The weight of a large tail is about seventy pounds.
149. Who was the “Little Magician”?
Martin Van Buren (1782–1862), the eighth President of the United States, was so termed from his adroitness in political methods, and the art with which he made friends and avoided making enemies.
150. What explorer drove a herd of hogs before him for food?
When Ferdinand De Soto set out on his conquest of Florida, he took, among other things, a large herd of hogs with him to fatten on the maize of the country. It was thought that these, together with their rapid increase, would form a considerable supply of food for the conquering army.
151. When, where, and by whom was the first gun of the late Civil War fired?
At half past four o’clock, Friday morning, April 12, 1861, from Battery Stevens in Charleston Harbor, upon Fort Sumter, by Edmund Ruffin, of Virginia. At seven o’clock, Captain Abner Doubleday, U. S. A., fired the first shot in defence of the Union.
152. Who was the last Union general killed in the Rebellion?
Brigadier-General Thomas Smythe. He was mortally wounded near Farmville, Virginia, April 6, 1865, and died at Petersburg on the 9th of the same month. General Smythe was a native of Ireland, and came to America in childhood, settling at Wilmington, Delaware. He entered the Union ranks in 1861, and was made a brigadier-general June 3, 1864, for gallant conduct at the battle of Cold Harbor.
153. What words contain all the vowels in order?
The author knows of but three,—abstemiously, arsenious, and facetiously.
154. Which is the most useful tree in the world?
The palm-tree is undoubtedly the most useful product of the vegetable kingdom. It is impossible to overestimate the utility of these trees. They furnish food, shelter, clothing, timber, fuel, building materials, sticks, fibres, paper, starch, sugar, oil, wax, wine, tannin, dyeing materials, resin, and a host of minor products, which rend render them most valuable to the natives and to tropical agriculturists.
155. Which is the only canonized saint of American birth?
St. Rosa (1580–1617), commonly called St. Rose of Lima. Her parents were wealthy Spaniards, and gave her in baptism the name of Isabel; but, it is said, her extreme beauty in childhood made them call her Rosa. Their fortune having been swept away, Rosa was taken into the household of the treasurer Gonsalvo, where she supported her parents by her labor while following her bent for asceticism. She refused every matrimonial offer, assumed the habit of the third order of St. Dominic, and lived a recluse in the garden of her protectors. She was canonized by Pope Clement X. in 1671, and her feast was fixed on Aug. 30.
150. When and where did the first legislative assembly convene in America?
The first legislative body that ever assembled in America was the Virginia House of Burgesses, which convened at Jamestown, July 30, 1619. Virginia had previously been divided into eleven boroughs,—James City, Charles City, the City of Henricus, Kiccowtan or Hampton, Martin-Brandon, Smythe’s Hundred, Martin’s Hundred, Argall’s Gift, Lawne’s Plantation, Ward’s Plantation, and Flowerdieu Hundred,—each of which sent two burgesses. They held their session in the old church at Jamestown until they could provide more suitable quarters. They sat with their hats on, as in the English Commons, the members occupying “the choir,” with the governor and council in the front seats. The Speaker, Master John Pory, with the clerk and sergeant, faced them, and the session wasopened with prayer by Mr. Bucke, after which the burgesses took the oath of supremacy.
157. Who was the Nimrod of the Bible?
Izdubar, an early Babylonian king and hero, was most probably the Nimrod of the Bible. In a fragment of a Chaldæan tradition of the Deluge, discovered in 1872 by Mr. George Smith of the British Museum, Izdubar appears as a giant residing in the country of Accad, a subduer of great animals in the post-diluvian times, and a mighty conqueror who acquired the sovereignty, which he exercised in the city of Erech or Uruk, the earliest capital of Babylonia.
158. Where in the Bible are we told in one verse not to do a thing and in the next to do it?
“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.”—Prov. xxvi. 4.
“Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.”—Prov. xxvi. 5.
159. What did the Indians at Jamestown plant in order to raise ammunition?
It is said that, having seized a quantity of gunpowder belonging to the colonists, they planted it for seed, expecting to reap a full harvest of ammunition for the next contest.
160. When was the first bloodshed in the late Civil War?
On the 19th of April, 1861, two young men—Luther C. Ladd and A. O. Whitney—from Lowell, Mass., were killed by a mob while their regiment was passing through the streets of Baltimore on their way to the defence of Washington. This was the first bloodshed in the Rebellion. To their honor a granite monument has been erected in Merrimack Street, Lowell, and in the same enclosure is a bronze statue of Victory, by the German sculptor Rauch, to commemorate the triumph of the Northern cause.
161. What African capital was named from a President of the United States?
Monrovia, the capital of the republic of Liberia, was named in honor of James Monroe, who was President of the United States at the time of the establishment of the Liberian Republic.
162. How many people did the shipMayflowerbring over?
There was on board of this single ship of one hundred and eighty tons a “floating village of one hundred and two souls,” not of resolute men only, but also their wives and children.
163. Who delivered the funeral oration on the death of Washington?
General Henry Lee, commonly known as “Light Horse Harry,” delivered the funeral oration of Washington, at the German Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, Dec. 26, 1799. A resolution of thanks was unanimously passed by Congress the following day.
164. Which is the nearest approach yet made to the North Pole?
On the 18th of May, 1882, Lieutenant James B. Lockwood, U. S. A., of the Greely expedition, reached the latitude of eighty-three degrees and twenty-four minutes on the north coast of Greenland. This was twenty-eight miles farther north than ever before known. Previous to this the greatest northing was that made by Commander Markham, R. N., who, on May 12, 1876, reached eighty-three degrees twenty minutes and twenty-six seconds north on the frozen Polar Ocean.
165. When was the price of flour made to depend upon the result of a Presidential election?
In 1840, men of business advertised to pay six dollars a barrel if Harrison were elected, and only three dollars a barrel if Van Buren were elected.
166. Which is the “Land of the Rising Sun”?
The poetical name by which the Japanese designate their country is the “Land of the Rising Sun,” which well describes its location as the most eastern of all Asiatic empires, and their national emblem represents the sun as rising from the sea. The name Japan is a corruption of Marco Polo’s termZipangu, which, in turn, is a corruption ofJipunquo, which is of Chinese origin, and means “The Country at the Root of the Sun.”
167. Which is the “Land of the Midnight Sun”?
The Scandinavian Peninsula. “From the last days of May to the end of July, in the northern part of this land,the sun shines day and night upon its mountains, fjords, rivers, lakes, forests, towns, villages, hamlets, fields, and farms; and thus Sweden and Norway may be called ‘The Land of the Midnight Sun.’ During this period of continuous daylight the stars are never seen, the moon appears pale and sheds no light upon the earth.”—Du Chaillu’s Land of the Midnight Sun.
168. When did the postal card come into use in the United States?
By the Act of June 8, 1872, the Postmaster-General was authorized and directed to issue postal cards to the public at a cost of one cent each. The first cards were issued in May, 1873. The invention of postal cards is attributed to Prof. Emanuel Herman, of Vienna. They were used in England, Germany, and Switzerland in 1870, and have since been introduced into other European countries. In some countries a card is attached on which an answer can be returned.
169. What President worked on a ferry-boat when a young man?
In 1825, Abraham Lincoln, then in his seventeenth year, was employed by James Taylor for nine months atsixdollars a month to manage a ferry-boat which plied between the banks of the Ohio and also of Anderson Creek.
170. What general shot a wolf in her den by the light of her own eyes?
General Israel Putnam, of Revolutionary fame, once had a famous encounter with a she-wolf that had for several years preyed upon the flocks and cattle of the neighborhood. Having discovered her den, he entered it alone by creeping into a narrow opening, and shot and killed the wolf by the light of her own glaring eyes as she was advancing to attack him. This adventure, which gave him a wide reputation for courage, took place near Pomfret, Conn., when Putnam was but twenty-five years old.
171. What did the Indians suppose the ships of Columbus to be?
They supposed the ships to be huge white-winged birds, and the Spaniards to have come from heaven.
172. What President never attended school a day in his life?
Andrew Johnson, on account of extreme poverty, never received any schooling, and at the age of ten he was apprenticed to Mr. Selby, a tailor in Raleigh, N. C. A gentleman was in the habit of visiting the shop and reading to the workmen, generally from “The American Speaker,” and Andrew became intensely interested, especially in the extracts from the speeches of Pitt and Fox, and determined to secure an education. From a fellow-workman he learned the alphabet, and from a friend something of spelling. Thenceforth, after working ten or twelve hours a day at his trade, he spent two or three every night in study. After his marriage at Greenville, Tenn., he continued his studies under the instruction of his wife, with whose aid he learned to write and cipher, while pursuing his trade as before by day.
173. How was Napoleon paid for the cession of Louisiana?
He was paid $11,250,000 in six per cent. bonds, payable fifteen years after date. The price paid for Louisiana was $15,000,000, but one quarter of this was due to American citizens for French depredations upon our commerce.
174. When was the flag of a republic first set up on American soil?
In 1497, John Cabot discovered North America and set up—together with the standard of England—the banner of his native land, the republic of Venice.
175. What was the “Confederate candle”?
The “Confederate candle” consisted of a long wick coated with wax and resin, and wound on a little wooden frame, at the top of which was nailed a bit of tin. The end of the wick, being passed through a hole in the tin, was lighted and uncoiled as needed.
176. What was the Holy Grail?
According to some legends of the Middle Ages, the Holy Grail was the cup (said to be emerald) used by our Saviour in dispensing the wine at the Last Supper; and according to others, it was the platter on which the Paschal Lamb was served at the last Passover observed by our Lord. By some it was said to have been preserved by Joseph of Arimathea, who received into it the blood which flowed from the Redeemer’s wounds as he hung on the cross. By others it was said to have been brought down from heaven by angels, and committed to the charge of a body of knights, who guarded it on the top of a lofty mountain.This cup, according to the legend, if approached by any but a perfectly pure, chaste, and holy person, would be borne away, and vanish from their sight. This led to the quest of the Holy Grail, which was to be sought on every side by a knight who was perfectly chaste in thought, word, and act. It is to this that some of the later English poets have referred, especially Tennyson in his “Sir Galahad”: