Part 13

An enormous opening imagined by Capt. John Cleve Symnes (1780–1829), a visionary American theorizer, to exist in the crust of the earth at eighty-two degrees north. Through this opening, he thought a descent might be made into the interior of the globe, which he supposed to be peopled with plants and animals, and to be lighted by two small subterranean planets, named Pluto and Proserpine, which diffused a mild radiance.

385. Who is the “Quaker Poet”?

This name is often given to John Greenleaf Whittier, a noted American poet, who was born of Quaker parentage and is a member of the Society of Friends.

The name was also given to Bernard Barton (1784–1849), an English poet of some note, and a member of the Society of Friends. His poems fill eight or nine volumes, the “Household Verses” being among his best productions.

386. Who was the “Newton of Antiquity”?

This title has been given to Hipparchus, who flourished in the second century B. C. He was the most celebrated of the Greek astronomers. He calculated the length of the year to within six minutes, discovered the precession of the equinoxes, and made the first catalogue of the stars, 1081 in number.

387. What are the eight motions of the earth?

1. Diurnal rotation on its axis.

2. Annual revolution in its orbit.

3. Precession of the equinoxes, which requires 25,816 years for the equinoctial points to make a complete revolution of the ecliptic.

4. Change of perihelion. In the year 4089 B. C. the earth was in perihelion at the autumnal equinox. It is now in perihelion on the 1st of January. In the year 17267 A. D., the long cycle of 21,356 years will be completed, and for the first time since the creation of man the autumnal equinox will coincide with the earth’s perihelion.

5. Change in the obliquity of the ecliptic. The orbit of the earth vibrates backward and forward, each oscillation requiring a period of about 10,000 years.

6. Nutation caused by the moon. This movement requires eighteen and three fourths years for completing a revolution.

7. Planetary perturbations.

8. Translation through space, the greatest of all.

388. Which is the floral emblem of the United States?

The violet is the national emblematic flower of our country. Perhaps it is symbolic of the native modesty of Americans.

389. Who was the first white child born in America?

The first of which we have any record was SNORRE THORFINNSON, who was born at Straumfjord (Buzzard’s Bay), in the present State of Massachusetts, in the year 1008. He was the son of Thorfinn Karlsefne and his wife Gudrid. From him the famous sculptor, Albert Thorwaldsen, is lineally descended, besides a long train of learned and distinguished men, who have flourished during the last eight centuries in Iceland and Denmark.

390. What king wrote an essay against tobacco?

King James I., of England, issued in 1616 a _Counterblaste to Tobacco_, in which he describes its use as “a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless.”

391. What metals are valued at over $1,000 a pound?

Vanadium,--a white metal discovered in 1830, is valued at $10,000 an avoirdupois pound.

Rubidium,--an alkaline metal, so called from exhibiting dark red lines in the spectrum analysis, $9,070.

Zirconium,--a metal obtained from the mineral zircon and hyacinth, in the form of a black powder, $7,200.

Lithium,--an alkaline metal, the lightest metal known, $7,000.

Glucinum,--a metal in the form of a grayish-black powder, $5,400.

Calcium,--The metallic base of lime, $4,500.

Strontium,--a malleable metal of a yellowish color, $4,200.

Terbium,--obtained from the mineral gadolinte, found in Sweden, $4,080.

Yttrium,--discovered in 1828, is of a grayish-black color, and its lustre perfectly metallic, $4,080.

Erbium,--a metal found associated with yttrium, $3,400.

Cerium,--a metal of high specific gravity, a grayish-white color, and a lamellar texture, $3,400.

Didymium,--a metal found associated with cerium, $3,200.

Ruthenium,--of a gray color, very hard and brittle; extracted from the ores of platinum, $2,400.

Niobium,--previously named columbium, first discovered in an ore found at New London, Conn., $2,300.

Rhodium,--of a white color and metallic lustre, and extremely hard and brittle. It requires the strongest heat that can be produced by a wind furnace for its fusion, $2,200.

Barium,--the metallic base of baryta, $1,800.

Palladium,--a metal discovered in 1803, and found in very small grains, of a steel-gray color and fibrous structure, $1,400.

Osmium,--a brittle, gray-colored metal, found with platinum, the most infusible of known metals, $1,300.

Iridium,--found native as an alloy, with osmium, in lead-gray scales, $1,000.

392. Which is the “Granite City”?

Aberdeen, Scotland, is so called, because the material employed in its buildings consists chiefly of light gray native granite. This granite has been quarried near this city for over three hundred years.

393. Where is the “Gate of Tears”?

Bab-el-Mandeb (_i. e._, the “Gate of Tears”) is the strait which connects the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean. It derives its name from the dangers attending its navigation, or according to an Arabic legend, from the numbers who were drowned by the earthquake which separated Asia and Africa.

394. What philosopher thought the sun was a huge fiery stone?

Anaxagoras (500–428 B. C.) taught that the heavens consisted of a solid vault of stones, elevated above the earth by the surrounding ether, and that the sun was a huge fiery stone about the size of the Morea, the southern part of Greece. For this theory he suffered banishment, as the Greeks thought it impious thus to rob the sun, which they believed to be Apollo, of his divinity.

395. Who was Zopyrus?

This distinguished Persian, noted for his remarkable stratagem, was the general of Darius Hystaspis. After his master had besieged Babylon, which had revolted from him for twenty months in vain, Zopyrus resolved to gain the place by the most extraordinary self-sacrifice. Accordingly, one day he appeared before Darius, with his body mutilated in the most horrible manner; both his ears and his nose were cut off, and his person otherwise disfigured. After explaining to Darius his intentions, he fled to Babylon as a victim of the cruelty of the Persian king. The Babylonians gave him their confidence, and placed him at the head of their troops. He soon found means to betray the city to Darius, who severely punished the inhabitants for their revolt, and appointed Zopyrus satrap of Babylon for life, with the enjoyment of its entire revenues.

396. How did the swallow obtain its name?

According to Scandinavian tradition, this bird hovered over the cross of our Lord, crying “_Svala! svala!_” (“console! console!”) whence it was called _svalow_, the bird of consolation.

There is a curious story that this bird brings home from the sea-shore a stone that gives sight to her fledglings.

“Seeking with eager eyes that wondrous stone which the swallow Brings from the shore of the sea to restore the sight of its fledglings.” LONGFELLOW’S EVANGELINE.

397. Who was the “Sailor King”?

William IV. of England was so called, because he entered the navy in 1779, at fourteen years of age, and continued in the service till 1827. He passed from the rank of a midshipman to that of a captain by regular promotion. In 1801 he was made admiral of the fleet, and in 1827, lord high admiral.

398. What became of the chains of Columbus?

Columbus was carried home in chains from his third voyage. Alonzo de Villejo, captain of the caravel in which the illustrious prisoner sailed, would have removed the fetters; but Columbus would not consent to this. He would wear them, he said, until their Royal Highnesses, by whose orders they had been affixed, should order their removal; and he would keep them ever afterward “as relics and as memorials of the reward of his services.” According to his son Fernando, he always kept them hanging in his cabinet, and he requested that when he died they might be buried with him.

399. Which is the Samian letter?

The letter Y. It was so called because its Greek original was used by Pythagoras, the philosopher of Samosas an emblem of the straight, narrow path of virtue, which is one, but if once deviated from, the farther the lines are extended the wider becomes the breach.

“When reason, doubtful, like the Samian letter, Points him two ways, the narrower, the better.” POPE’S DUNCLAD.

The same letter was also used to represent the sacred triad, formed by the duad proceeding from the monad. It is sometimes called the _Pythagorean letter_.

400. What was the origin of the term “Mugwump”?

This was a word borrowed from the Indians by the New England pioneers. It meant “chief,” “head of all,” in the Indian tongue; and was used by the pioneers humorously, much as a person does “Big Injun” when he intends to be jocose.

FINIS.

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Transcriber’s Notes:

Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been corrected silently.