Part 9

The inventor of decimal fractions was Simon Stevin, of Bruges, whose tract, published in 1585, was entitled the “Disme.” But the simple plan we now have was not then invented. He used circles to designate the numbers that showed the value of the figures; thus, he wrote 27.847 as 27 (0) 8 (1) 4 (2) 7 (3), and read it as 27 commencements, 8 primes, 4 seconds, 7 thirds. The (0) showed the zero point, the (1) showed tenths, and so on. These terms “primes,” “seconds,” “thirds,” etc., have disappeared. “Primes” were the first to the right of the whole numbers, “seconds” the second place, etc.

Dispute has arisen concerning the origin of the simpler notation by means of the decimal point, whether used before the fraction alone, or as separating it from the integer. Napier claimed the discovery, so also has De Morgan. But Mr. Glaisher, in a paper read before the mathematical section of the British Association, seems to establish Napier’s priority in introducing the decimal point into arithmetic. The full modern use of it was first exemplified in a posthumous work of Napier’s called “Mirifici Logarithmorum Canon’s Constructio,” edited by his son, in 1619, where the formal definition of the decimal separator is given and illustrated, and the point subsequently used in operation as we now use it. Briggs, who died in 1631, constantly used an underscored line to distinguish the decimal part of a number; and Oughtred, one of his followers, improved on this by using, together with the line, a vertical bar to mark the separation still more plainly.

241. What is the origin of “humbug”?

The origin of this word is not certainly known. Webster says it is probably derived from _hum_, to impose on, to deceive, and _bug_, a frightful object, a bugbear.

Another account states that it is derived from Hamburg, a city of Germany: “A piece of Hamburg news” being in Germany a proverbial expression for false political rumors.

A third account gives its origin as follows: “There once lived in Scotland a gentleman of landed property whose name was Hume or Home, and his estate was called the Bogue. From the great falsehoods which he was in the habit of telling about himself, his family, and everything connected with them, it became the custom to say when anything improbable was stated, ‘Oh, that’s a Hume o’ the Bogue!’ The expression spread throughout the neighborhood, and even beyond, and by degrees was shortened into humbug by those who did not understand how the phrase first came to be used.”

A fourth account, that of Mr. F. Crosley, suggests the Irish _uim bog_ (pronounced _umbug_), meaning “soft copper” or “worthless money.” James II. issued from the Dublin Mint a mixture of lead, copper, and brass, so worthless that a sovereign was intrinsically worth only twopence, and might have been bought after the revolution for a half-penny. _Sterling_ and _umbug_ were therefore expressive of real and fictitious worth, merit and humbug.

242. What is the history of the poem “Sheridan’s Ride”?

This famous poem by T. B. Read, beginning, “Up from the south at break of day,” has quite a history. The battle of Cedar Creek took place before dawn on the morning of Oct. 19, 1863. The Confederate forces, under Gen. Early, were gaining the upper hand, when a report of the battle reached Gen. Sheridan, who was at Winchester, twenty miles distant. Putting spurs to his horse, he hastened to the scene of battle, and by his encouragement, turned a threatened defeat into a glorious victory. The news of the victory, and the cause of it, reached Chicago at nine o’clock. Mr. Read, the poet, was staying there at a hotel, and Mr. Murdock, a noted reader, was with him at the time. Slapping his friend on the shoulder, Murdock exclaimed: “Read, you must write a poem on that subject to-day! By to-morrow others, with less ability, will be ahead of you.”

Mr. Read demurred, but, after half an hour’s talk, yielded to his friend’s wishes. He retired to his room, locked the door, and in four hours produced one of our grandest national poems.

His wife and Mr. Murdock praised it enthusiastically. The latter especially appreciated the beauty and spirit of the lines, for being a personal friend of Gen. Sheridan, he had ridden upon the gallant black steed

“That saved the day By carrying Sheridan into the fight From Winchester--twenty miles away.”

Mr. Murdock committed the lines to memory, and that evening, at a meeting of rejoicing over the victory, he recited them. An intense silence prevailed throughout the hall, broken only by the tones of the speaker. As the last words of the grand poem left his lips, storms of applause shook the building. Coming so soon after the victory, while the people were still flushed with their success, it wrought the audience up to an excitement which could not be controlled. Every one supposed that Mr. Murdock had composed the poem, and he was overwhelmed with expressions of congratulation and praise. But he, directing the attention of the crowd to the box where the poet sat, exclaimed, “There is the man who wrote the poem!”

243. Which is the longest word in the English language?

Disproportionableness is the longest classified word in our language.

244. What gems are the emblems of the Twelve Apostles?

ANDREW, the bright blue _sapphire_, emblematic of his heavenly faith.

BARTHOLOMEW, the red _carnelian_, emblematic of his martyrdom.

JAMES, the white _chalcedony_, emblematic of his purity.

JAMES THE LESS, the _topaz_, emblematic of delicacy.

JOHN, the _emerald_, emblematic of his youth and gentleness.

MATTHEW, the _amethyst_, emblematic of sobriety. Matthew was once a “publican,” but was “sobered” by the leaven of Christianity.

MATTHIAS, the _chrysolite_, pure as sunshine.

PETER, the _jasper_, hard and solid as the rock of the church.

PHILIP, the friendly _sardonyx_.

SIMEON OF CANA, the pink _hyacinth_, emblematic of a sweet temper.

THADDEUS, the _chrysoprase_, emblematic of security and trustfulness.

THOMAS, the _beryl_, indefinite in lustre, emblematic of his doubting faith.

245. What is the origin of “bogus”?

According to the Boston _Daily Courier_ of June 12, 1857, this word originated as follows: “The word ‘bogus,’ we believe, is a corruption of the name of one _Borghese_, a very corrupt individual, who, twenty years ago or more, did a tremendous business in the way of supplying the great West, and portions of the Southwest, with a vast amount of counterfeit bills, and bills on fictitious banks, which never had any existence out of the ‘forgetive brain’ of him, the said ‘Borghese.’ The Western people, who are rather rapid in their talk, when excited, soon fell into the habit of shortening the Norman name of Borghese to the more handy one of Bogus; and his bills, and all other bills of like character, were universally styled ‘bogus currency.’”

246. Why is buckwheat so called?

The word “buckwheat” is a corruption of beechwheat. It is so called from the similarity of the shape of its grains to the mast or nuts of the beech-tree.

247. Who originated tarring and feathering?

Richard Cœur de Lion seems to have originated tarring and feathering. Hoveden, quoted by Dr. Hook in his “Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury,” says that Richard, when he sailed for the Holy Land, made sundry laws for the regulation of his fleet, one of which enacted that “a robber who shall be convicted of theft shall have his head cropped after the manner of a champion, and boiling pitch shall be poured thereon, and then the feathers of a cushion shall be shaken out upon him, so that he may be known, and at the first land at which the ship shall touch he shall be set on shore.”

248. What is the meaning of the phrase “By Jingo”?

Jingo is a corruption of Jainko, the name of the Basque Supreme Being. “By Jingo!” or “By the living Jingo!” is an appeal to deity. Edward I. had Basque mountaineers conveyed to England to take part in his Welsh wars, and the Plantagenets held the Basque provinces in possession. This Basque oath is a landmark of these facts.

249. Who is “Old Nick”?

This vulgar and ancient name for the devil is derived from that of the _Neck_, or _Nikke_, a river or ocean god of the Scandinavian popular mythology. “The British sailor,” says Scott, “who fears nothing else, confesses his terrors for this terrible being, and believes him the author of almost all the various calamities to which the precarious life of a seaman is so continually exposed.” Butler, the author of “Hudibras,” erroneously derives the term from the name of _Nicolo_ Macchiavelli.

250. Who was “Rare Ben”?

This famous appellation was conferred upon Ben Jonson (1574–1637), the dramatic poet. It is said that soon after his death, a subscription was commenced for the purpose of erecting a monument to his memory; but the undertaking having advanced slowly, an eccentric Oxfordshire squire took the opportunity, on passing one day through Westminster Abbey, to secure at least an epitaph for the poet by giving a mason eighteen pence to cut, on the stone which covered the grave, the words, “O, rare Ben Johnson.”

251. What was the origin of Thanksgiving Day?

In 1621, the year after Plymouth Colony was founded, Gov. Bradford set apart a day for thanksgiving for the yield of the harvests. Two years after that, there was a great drought, and the people were devoting a day to fasting and prayer, when their sorrows were turned into praise and thanksgiving by a generous fall of rain. From that time it gradually became an established custom to have a day of praise and thanksgiving after harvests. When the Colonies became the New England States, the custom was kept up, the day being proclaimed by the governors of the several States. A day of prayer was recommended by Congress during the Revolution, and by Washington after the adoption of the Constitution. This was continued by some of the later Presidents. In 1863, Lincoln proclaimed that a _National Thanksgiving Day_ should be observed in remembrance of the recent victories and the general manifestation of God’s goodness and mercy. This has been annually issued since, and now custom has fixed it as the fourth Thursday in November.

252. Whose wife was Adam?

Adam’s. “Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called _their_ name Adam, in the day when they were created.” Genesis v. 2.

253. Whose daughter was Noah?

Zelophehad’s. “Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah and Tirzah.” Numbers xxvii. 1.

254. Who are the “Hairy Men”?

The Ainos, who are supposed to be the aborigines of Japan. They are distinguished by an exuberance of hair on the head and body, a circumstance which has given rise to their name of “Hairy Kuriles.” They are different in race and character from the ordinary Japanese. Legend says that the Japanese were originally Ainos, but became a separate race by intermarriage with the Chinese. They are now found chiefly in the island of Yesso.

255. Where was the Declaration of Independence written?

Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in the second story, front room, of house No. 230 High Street, now 700 Market Street, Philadelphia.

256. What is the Golden Number of a year, and how determined?

The Golden Number for any year is the number of that year in the Metonic cycle, and as this cycle embraces nineteen years, the golden number ranges from one to nineteen. The cycle of Meton came into general use soon after its discovery, and the number of each year in the Metonic cycle was ordered to be engraved in letters of gold on pillars of marble--hence the origin of the name. Since the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, the point from which the golden numbers are numbered is 1 B. C., as in that year the new moon fell on the 1st of January; and as by Meton’s law, it falls on the same day (Jan. 1) every nineteenth year from that time, we obtain the following rule for obtaining the golden number of any particular year: “Add one to the number of years and divide by nineteen; the quotient gives the number of cycles, and the remainder gives the golden number for that year; and if there be no remainder, then nineteen is the golden number, and that year is the last of the cycle.” The golden number is used for determining the Epact and the time of holding Easter.

257. What were the causes of the American Revolution?

The most general cause of the American Revolution was the _right of arbitrary government_, claimed by Great Britain and denied by the Colonies. There were subordinate causes. First of these was _the influence of France_, which was constantly exerted so as to incite a spirit of resistance in the Colonies. Another cause was found in _the natural disposition and inherited character of the colonists_. _The growth of public opinion in the Colonies_ tended to independence. Another cause was found in _the personal character of the king_. The more immediate cause was the passage by Parliament of _a number of acts destructive of colonial liberty_.

258. How was the first colonial Congress constituted?

At Boston, James Otis successfully agitated the question of an American Congress. It was proposed that each Colony, acting without leave of the king, should appoint delegates, who should meet in the following autumn and discuss the affairs of the nation. The proposition was favorably received, nine of the Colonies appointed delegates, and on the 7th of October, 1765, the first Colonial Congress assembled at New York. There were twenty-eight representatives. Timothy Ruggles, of Massachusetts, was chosen president. After much discussion, a Declaration of Rights was adopted, setting forth in unmistakable terms that the American colonists, as Englishmen, could not and would not consent to be taxed but by their own representatives. Memorials were also prepared and addressed to the two Houses of Parliament. A manly petition, professing loyalty and praying for a more just and humane policy toward his American subjects, was directed to the king.

259. What were the terms of the Treaty of 1783?

The terms of the Treaty of 1783 were briefly these: A full and complete recognition of the independence of the United States; the recession by Great Britain of Florida to Spain; the surrender of all the remaining territory east of the Mississippi and south of the Great Lakes to the United States; the free navigation of the Mississippi and the Lakes by American vessels; the concession of mutual rights in the Newfoundland fisheries; and the retention by Great Britain of Canada and Nova Scotia, with the exclusive control of the St. Lawrence River.

260. What were the leading defects of the Confederation?

1. There was an utter want of all coercive authority in the Continental Congress to carry into effect any of their constitutional measures. 2. There was no power in the Continental Congress to punish individuals for any breach of their enactments. Their laws must be wholly without penal sanction. 3. They had no power to lay taxes, or to collect revenue for the public service. The power over taxes was expressly and exclusively reserved to the States. 4. They had no power to regulate commerce, either with foreign nations or among the several States. It was left, with respect to both, exclusively to the management of each particular State, thus being at the mercy of private interests or local prejudices. 5. As might be expected, “the most opposite regulations existed in different States, and there was a constant resort to retaliatory legislation from their jealousies and rivalries in commerce, in agriculture, or in manufactures. Foreign nations did not fail to avail themselves of all the advantages accruing from this suicidal policy tending to the common ruin.” 6. For want of some singleness of power,--a power to act with uniformity and one to which all interests could be reconciled,--foreign commerce was sadly crippled, and nearly destroyed. The country was deeply in debt, without a dollar to pay, or the means even to draw a dollar into the public treasury, and what money there was in the country was rapidly making its way abroad. 7. Great as these embarrassments were, the States, full of jealousy, were tenaciously opposed to making the necessary concessions to remedy the great and growing evil. All became impressed with the fear, that, unless a much stronger national government could be instituted, all that had been gained by the Revolutionary struggle would soon be lost.

261. What were the Alien and Sedition Laws?

Two laws passed by Congress in 1798. The Alien Law empowered the President to send out of the country, at short notice, any foreigners whose presence might be deemed injurious or prejudicial to the interests of the United States, and lengthened the time requisite for becoming naturalized citizens of the United States to fourteen years. The Sedition Law limited the freedom of speech, and of the press when directed abusively against the government. Under this act it was a crime punishable with heavy fine and long imprisonment “to write, print, utter, or publish any false, scandalous, or malicious statement against either President or Congress.” These laws did much to defeat Adams’s re-election in 1800.

262. What were the principal causes of the late Civil War?

The _principal_ causes of the Civil War were five in number: 1. The different construction put upon the national Constitution by the people of the North and the South. 2. The different system of labor in the North and in the South. 3. The want of intercourse between the people of the North and the South. 4. The publication of sectional books. 5. The evil influence of demagogues.

263. What is the title of the Czar of Russia?

Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, of Moscow, of Kieff, of Vladimir, of Novgorod; Czar of Kazan, of Astrakhan, of Poland, of Siberia, of Kherson-Taurida, of Grousi; Gosondar of Pskoff; Grand Duke of Smolensk, of Lithuania, of Volhynia, of Podolia, and of Finland; Prince of Esthonia, of Livonia, of Courland, of Semigalia, of the Samoyedes, of Bielostok, of Corelia, of Foer, of Ingor, of Perm, of Viatka, of Bulgaria, and of other countries; Master and Grand Duke of the lower countries in Novgorod, of Tchernigoff, of Riazan, of Polotsk, of Rostoff, of Jaroslaff, of Bielosersk, of Ondork, of Obdorsk, of Kondisk, of Vitelsk, of Mstilaff, and of all the countries of the North; Master Absolute of Iversk, of Kastalnisk, of Kalardinsk, and of the territory of Armenia; Sovereign of Mountain Princes of Tcherkask, Master of Turkestan, Heir-presumptive of Norway, and Duke of Sleswick-Holstein, of Stormarne, of Duthmarse, and of Oldenburg.

264. What was the origin of the phrase “To speak for Buncombe”?

This phrase, which means to speak for mere show, or for purposes of political intrigue, originated in the Sixteenth Congress, near the close of the debate on the famous “Missouri Question.” Felix Walker, a _naïve_ old mountaineer, who resided at Waynesville, in Haywood, the most western county of North Carolina, near the border of the adjacent county of Buncombe, arose to speak, while the house was impatiently calling for the “_Question_.” Several members gathered round him and insisted on his silence, but he continued to speak, declaring that the people of his district expected it, and that he was bound to “make a speech for Buncombe.” Hence the phrases, “To speak for Buncombe,” “All for Buncombe,” etc.

265. What President was buried at the expense of his friends?

James Monroe, although he had received $350,000 for his public services, yet, on account of the free-handed hospitality so characteristic of his native State (Virginia) in her palmy days, together with his life-long occupation in public affairs to the neglect of his own estate, was so involved in debt, at the time of his death, that his funeral expenses were met by his friends.

266. What President married the same lady twice?

In the summer of 1791, Andrew Jackson married Mrs. Rachel Robards, a daughter of Col. John Donelson, of Virginia, one of the founders of Tennessee. Her first husband was Mr. Lewis Robards, of Kentucky. Robards and his wife were boarding with Mrs. Donelson, then a widow, when Jackson arrived at Nashville, and took up his residence in the same family. In 1790–1791, Robards applied to the Legislature of Virginia for an act preliminary to a divorce, stating that his wife was living in adultery with Andrew Jackson. The act was passed, under it a jury was summoned late in 1793, and the court of Mercer County, Ky., declared the marriage between Lewis Robards and Rachael Robards dissolved. Jackson and Mrs. Robards believed the act passed by the Legislature was itself a divorce, and they were married at Natchez two years before the action of the court. At the suggestion of their friend Judge Overton, who also was surprised to learn that the act of the Legislature had not divorced Robards, they procured a license in January, 1794, and had the ceremony performed again. When Gen. Jackson had become the chief of a great party, the circumstances of this marriage led to very serious misrepresentations. Robards was prone to jealousy without cause, and Jackson was not the first man of whom he was jealous. His statement to the Legislature of Virginia is believed to have been wholly unfounded. His relatives all sided with his wife, and never supposed her to be guilty of even an act of impropriety.

267. Why is Alaska so called?

In the dialect of the natives first encountered by the Russian explorers, the land was called _Al-ay-es-ka_, “the great land.” From this the present name has become changed through _Aliaska_ and _Alaksa_ to its present form.

268. Who was the nearest common ancestor of nearly all the reigning monarchs of Europe?

John of Gaunt (1339–1399), fourth son of Edward III. of England, although he himself was never a king, nor were any of his brothers or sisters even sovereigns, was the common ancestor of nearly all the crowned heads of Christendom. The monarchs descended from him are Victoria, Queen of England, who is of the sixteenth generation; Louis I., King of Portugal, of the fifteenth generation; Alphonzo XII., the late King of Spain, of the sixteenth generation; Francis Joseph I., Emperor of Austria, of the fifteenth generation; Leopold II., King of Belgium, of the seventeenth generation; Christian IX., King of Denmark, of the sixteenth generation; Humbert, King of Italy, of the sixteenth generation; George I., King of Greece, of the seventeenth generation; Alexander III., Emperor of Russia, of the eighteenth generation; William I., Emperor of Germany, of the sixteenth generation; Dom Pedro II., Emperor of Brazil, is of the fourteenth generation, the nearest of kin to the English progenitor; the late Chambord (Henry V.), claimant of the French throne, was of the sixteenth generation; and Louis Philippe Albert, Prince d’Orleans, the Orleanist claimant of the French throne, is of the seventeenth generation.

269. Who was the “Red Prince”?

Prince Frederick Charles Nicholas, of Germany (1828–1885), a nephew of Emperor William I., was so called from his favorite attire,--the scarlet uniform of his Brandenburg Hussars, which he loved far more than the full glitter of his highest honors.

270. Why is New Jersey called a foreign country?