Part 6

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 until Cromwell 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 independence were 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 second _s_, making it Mississipi, and so it remains in France to this day, with only one _p_. 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 single _p_.”

126. What was the “O Grab Me Act”?

The _Embargo Act_ passed 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”?

The _Volcan 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 constellation _Canus Major_, or the “Great Dog.” Sir John Herschel estimates its light as exceeding more than twofold that of _Canopus_, the second star in brilliancy, and more than fourfold that of _Alpha 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 intensity of 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 to distant 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 La Salle’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,”--

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 from the 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, supposed to 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 the country 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 word _linch_, 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 consequence of this, the letters _q_, _u_, _i_, _z_ were 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.”

144. Who was “St. Tammany”?

This Indian chief has been _popularly_ canonized 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 always discreet, 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 styled _Saint_, 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 for _quill_, which was the nearest they could arrive at _pen_), 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 was opened with prayer by Mr. Bucke, after which the burgesses took the oath of supremacy.

157. Who was the Nimrod of the Bible?