Part 45

_Answer._—The Chinese are indeed remarkably fond of proverbs. They not only employ them in conversation—and even to a greater degree than the Spaniards, who are noted among Europeans for the number and excellence of their proverbial sayings—but they have a practice of adorning their reception rooms with these sententious bits of wisdom, inscribed on decorated scrolls or embroidered on rich crapes and brocades. They carve them on door posts and pillars, and emblazon them on the walls and ceilings in gilt letters. In 1875, W. Scarborough published a collection of 2,720 Chinese proverbs; and these are but a small part of the great collections to be found in the “Jeweled Mirror for Illumining the Mind,” “The Coral Forest of Ancient Matters,” and other Chinese works. The following are a few specimens of this sort of literature, taken from “The Middle Kingdom,” by S. Wells Williams, for many years Secretary of the United States Legation at Peking, and several times de facto United States Minister. As a sneer at the use of unnecessary force to crush a contemptible enemy, they say; “He rides a fierce dog to catch a lame rabbit.” Similar to this is another, “To use a battle-ax to cut off a hen’s head.” They say of wicked associates: “To cherish a bad man is like nourishing a tiger; if not well fed he will devour you.” Here are several others mingling wit with wisdom: “To instigate a villain to do wrong is like teaching a monkey to climb trees;” “To catch fish and throw away the net,” which recalls our saying, “Using the cat’s paw to pull the chestnuts out of the fire;” “To climb a tree to catch a fish,” is to talk much to no purpose; “A superficial scholar is a sheep dressed in a tiger’s skin;” “A cuckoo in a magpie’s nest,” equivalent to saying, “he is enjoying another’s labor without compensation;” “If the blind lead the blind they will both fall into the pit;” “A fair wind raises no storm;” “Vast chasms can be filled, but the heart of man is never satisfied;” “The body may be healed, but the mind is incurable;” “He seeks the ass, and lo! he sits upon him;” “He who looks at the sun is dazzled; he who hears the thunder is deafened,” i. e., do not come too near the powerful; “Prevention is better than cure;” “Wine and good dinners make abundance of friends, but in adversity not one of them is to be found.” “Let every man sweep the snow from before his own door, and not trouble himself about the frost on his neighbors’ tiles.” The following one is a gem of moral wisdom: “Only correct yourself on the same principle that you correct others; and excuse others on the same principles on which you excuse yourself.” “Better not be, than be nothing.” “One thread does not make a rope; one swallow does not make a summer.” “Sensuality is the chief of sins, filial duty the best of acts.” “The horse’s back is not so safe as the buffalo’s”—the former is used by the politician, the latter by the farmer. “Too much lenity multiplies crime.” “If you love your son give him plenty of the rod; if you hate him, cram him with dainties.” “He is my teacher who tells me my faults, he my enemy who speaks my virtues.” Having a wholesome dread of litigation, they say of one who goes to law, “He sues a flea to catch a bite.” Their equivalent for our “coming out at the little end of the horn” is, “The farther the rat creeps up (or into) the cow’s horn, the narrower it grows.” The truth of their saying that “The fame of good deeds does not leave a man’s door, but his evil acts are known a thousand miles off,” is illustrated in our own daily papers every morning. Finally, we close this list with a Chinese proverb which should be inscribed on the lintel of every door in Christendom; “The happy hearted man carries joy for all the household.”

SHINTUISM—BUDDHISM—CONFUCIANISM.

CASTLETON, Ill.

Please give us a statement in the “Curiosity Shop” of what is known as Shintuism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, as now existing in China and Japan.

W. H. JORDAN.

_Answer._—Shintuism, Sintuism, Sintoism, or Sin-syuism, is the prevailing religion of Japan, the worship of the sun-goddess, Ten-sio-dai-sin. The descendant and viceregent on earth of this deity is the Mikado, who is therefore worshiped as a demi-god. Two ecclesiastical judges, with monks and priests, complete the hierarchy, and the latter minister at innumerable shrines and temples, raised for the worship of the chief deity and a legion of canonized heroes and benefactors. In these temples there is no idol visible, but on the shrine is a mirror, symbolizing purity. Sintuism requires pre-eminently heart purity and general temperance, and as aids to these prescribes pilgrimages to holy places, observance of holy days, and mortification of the body. Buddhism, one of the oldest existing religions, traces its origin 2,460 years back, to Siddhartha, or Buddha, a Hindoo prince. Its two most prominent doctrines are the transmigration of the soul and the cursed condition or total depravity of human existence in its natural state. The first teaches that at death every soul immediately assumes another body, corresponding in form and habitation to the previous character of the spirit. If noble, it may become a divinity, or dwell in some high place upon the earth, while the wicked wander as reptiles and vermin, or inhabit the hells in the interior of the earth. The least term of suffering is 10,000,000 years, of happiness 10,000,000,000 years. But however long or short, it must have an end, and the soul enters a new body. Buddha himself, it is said, has passed through every form of existence. The second doctrine is embodied in the “Four Sublime Verities:” Pain exists; its cause is desire; it may be ended by Nirvana; the way to Nirvana is a rise through eight gradations, from simple faith to complete regeneration. Theoretically this religion has no priests nor clergy nor public religious rites. Every man is his own priest and confessor, and the monks are ascetics only for their own advancement in holy living; but, in fact, Buddhist countries swarm with priests, or religious teachers, so reputed. Confucianism is epitomized in the following words of the great teacher: “I teach you nothing but what you might learn yourselves, viz., the observance of the three fundamental laws of relation between sovereign and subject, father and child, husband and wife; and the five capital virtues—universal charity, impartial justice, conformity to ceremonies and established usages, rectitude of heart and mind, and pure sincerity. Confucius did not profess to have received any revelation from “Shan-te”—the Supreme Ruler—or to have any clear conceptions of Him, although he acknowledged the existence of such a being, and taught that His will as learned by studying and practicing the wisdom of the ancients by the light of nature, should be implicitly obeyed, as the only means of living virtuously and happily and avoiding both in this life and the life to come the penalties of evil-doing.

MERMAID TAVERN AND CLUB.

CHICAGO, Ill.

Please give in the Curiosity Shop a description of the famous club founded by Sir Walter Raleigh and called the “Mermaid Club.” I have searched in vain for information on this subject.

FANNIE MACK.

_Answer._—Tradition states that Sir Walter Raleigh, before his unfortunate engagement with Cobham, gathered a number of his most eminent friends in “The Mermaid,” and there instituted what was known as the “Mermaid Club.” “The Mermaid” was a tavern so situated as to have three entrances—on Bread, Cheap, and Friday streets, and was the favorite resort of the leading actors and literary men in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; but the Raleigh club was acknowledged to combine “more talent and genius than ever met together before or since.” Here Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Selden, Carew, Donne, and Shakespeare met for convivial enjoyment, and this was the scene of the famous disputes between Jonson and Shakespeare, the two eminent dramatists.

THE BLACKSMITH KING.

QUINCY, Ill.

Did any king crown the blacksmith king of all trades, as illustrated in the heading of the _Industrial Worker_? If so, what is the story?

JAMES ALBERTS.

_Answer._—In reply to this query we received the following explanation from the editor of the paper mentioned: Our heading illustrates an old Scriptural and Masonic legend, that of “Solomon and the Iron-worker,” otherwise known as “Tubal Cain.” The scene is the celebration of the completion of the great temple at Jerusalem. It has been announced that on this occasion the one who of all others has been most instrumental in the erection of the sacred structure shall be given the chief seat of honor, and the guests are horrified to perceive that the lowly blacksmith has, unobserved, placed himself in it. Loud murmurs arise, and a movement is made having for its object his ejectment. Nothing daunted, the man rises and declares his supremacy over all the other artificers, in that he wrought all their tools, and without his work they could have done nothing. The correctness of his position is thus proven to the satisfaction of the king, complaints are silenced, and all honor accorded the humble smith. The dignity of labor, however unpretending, is thus demonstrated. The Rabbinical legend of which we have here traced a sketch, is full of beauty in its entirety, giving in detail the challenge of the assembled guests, the defense of the man, and the speech of the king.

NEBRASKA STATE NORMAL.

WAHOO, Neb.

What are the principal facts as to the State Normal School of this State? How long has it been in operation? What is the amount of the normal school fund? What is the amount of the annual appropriation to meet current expenses? What results have been obtained? Please answer and throw as much light as possible upon this subject, about which there is a good deal of discussion going on in this part of Nebraska just at the present time.

SUBSCRIBER.

_Answer._—The State Normal School of Nebraska is located at Peru, near the Missouri River, about fifty miles north of the Kansas line. This is a town of 567 inhabitants, according to the census, accessible only by a branch of the Burlington and Missouri Railroad. It secured the location of the school by a donation of site and other inducements at a time when the population of the State was only about 100,000. It graduated its first class, consisting of two members, in 1870. The total number of graduates to date is 73. Total enrollment last year, 318—the largest number in the history of the school. The normal endowment fund, in notes and bonds, aggregated $16,308.35 last year, and the income from all sources in 1881 amounted to $2,423.58. The total appropriation asked of the last Legislature, was as follows, the several items being represented by the principal as “absolutely necessary to the efficient working of the school for each of the next two fiscal years:”

Salaries for teachers, per year $11,000 Fuel and lights, per year 1,000 Repairs, per year 500 Board’s expenses, per year 500 Janitor’s wages and help, per year 500 Apparatus, per year .............. 500 Printing, stationery, advertising, per y’r. 300 Furniture, per year 300 Wells and cisterns, per year 200 Imp’ts of grounds and buildings, per y’r. 200 Incidentals, per year 200 Postage and postal expenses, per year 100 Expense special inst’n and lectures, p. yr. 100 ——————— Total $15,400

The total amount granted averaged about $14,300 a year.

BLACK HAWK’S TOWER.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.

Where is Black Hawk’s Tower, and what is it like? Is it built of masonry or earth?

A. H. C.

_Answer._—It is a natural rock near the Falls of Rock River, near the southeastern angle of Rock Island bluffs, a few miles from the city of Rock Island. It commands an extensive view of the surrounding country for ten miles up the Rock River Valley, and northward nearly eight miles to the Mississippi. Black Hawk’s chief village was situated in the forks of the Mississippi and Rock River, just below this, and this wooded rock formed a natural lookout tower for him on the side most open to attack. The name was given to it by the pioneers.

WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING.

CHARLES CITY, Iowa.

Please give a short account of the life and writings of Dr. Channing.

MRS. R. W. MAY.

_Answer._—The great apostle of Unitarianism, as he has been called, was born at Newport, R. I., April 7, 1780, and in his 15th year entered Harvard University. In 1798, on his graduation day, he delivered an oration that captivated the whole audience, and foretold his future fame as an orator and writer. While teaching in Richmond, Va., he became impressed with the evils of slavery, and deemed the surest cure for all such abuses to be the spread of Christianity. Returning to Harvard, he began his theological studies, acting at the same time as regent of the university. In 1803 he assumed the pastorate of Federal Street Church, Boston, and at once became known as an eloquent and brilliant orator, as well as an efficient minister. His finest oration, perhaps, is the one delivered upon the fall of Napoleon, in 1814, and entitled “The Goodness of God in Delivering the Christian World from Military Despotism.” In 1820 he received the title of Doctor of Divinity from Harvard. Two years later, while visiting in Europe, he met Coleridge, who said of him, “He has the love of wisdom and the wisdom of love.” His “Remarks Upon the Life and Character of Napoleon Bonaparte,” which appeared in 1828, did much to spread his fame throughout the civilized world. His greatest theological work is, probably, the “Evidences of Christianity.” An earnest minister of the Unitarian Church, he was always a sincerely devout Christian. A friend of the anti-slavery and temperance movements, when they had but few, his last public speech was in commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies. His death occurred in 1842, and his body was laid in the cemetery of Mount Auburn.

SIR WILLIAM WALLACE.

POSTVILLE, Iowa.

1. Please give a sketch of Sir William Wallace, the Scottish patriot. 2. In what year was the Crimean war.

MAUD MURLIN.

_Answer._—William Wallace was the youngest son of a knight of good family in southwestern Scotland. The place of his birth is uncertain, but the date was probably about the middle of the reign of Alexander III. When Edward offered pardon to the Scottish leaders, after the subjugation of Scotland and the surrender of Baliol, Wallace was excepted by name, being ordered to surrender unconditionally. This he refused to do, and for many years eluded the search of those who coveted the handsome price put upon his head. In 1305, however, he was seized and carried to London, and there, after a mock trial, on the 23d of August, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered, as a traitor. But his cause lived, and a year later Robert Bruce was crowned at Scone, King of independent Scotland. 2. The Crimean war lasted nearly two years, from 1854 to 1856.

“HOBSON’S CHOICE.”

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa.

Please tell us the origin of the expression,“Hobson’s choice.”

F. W. WILDER.

_Answer._—The _Atlantic Monthly_ for December, 1883, contained the following: “The explanation of the proverbial saying about ‘Hobson’s choice’ is given by Steele in the _Spectator_, No. 509,” The passage referred to is this: “Tobias Hobson was the first man in England that let out hackney horses. * * * When a man came for a horse he was led into the stable where there was a great choice, but Hobson obliged him to take the horse which stood nearest to the stable door: so that every customer was alike well served, according to his chance, from whence it became a proverb, when what ought to be your election was forced upon you, to say, ‘Hobson’s choice.’”

CALIFORNIA.

FONDA, Iowa.

Will you be kind enough to give your readers a description of California—the climate and resources of the different parts of the State, and the price of land to each; what places are best adapted to fruit trees, and what fruits grow there, and the amount of teachers’ wages?

HENRY JOHNSON.

_Answer._—The State of California is divided into three entirely distinct sections: the coast region, the valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and the deserts. Owing to the irregularity of the surface, only about one-third of the State is arable, and in northern California the crops are wholly dependent upon the rainfall. In the southern part of the State the land is irrigated by numerous streams. The chief products of California are wheat, barley, fruit, timber, and gold; the raising of cattle and sheep is also profitable business. The coast region is fertile and beautiful, abounding in vineyards and orchards. The climate, varying from 51 degrees to 75 degrees in summer, and in winter seldom colder than 15 degrees, is well suited to the cultivation of such fruits as apples, peaches, pears, oranges, lemons, almonds, olives, and figs. In this region also, is the great gold belt, most of the mines being on the western slope of the Sierra Nevadas. All of the gold, however, is not found here, as the earliest mining was on the southeastern slope, and the precious metal is distributed over the most of the State. The valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers occupy the country between the coast range and the Sierras. This fertile region is devoted to farming and grazing, and produces more barley than is raised in any other State, while its wheat harvests increased 133 per cent from 1860 to 1870. Here, during the rainy season, the mercury falls to 45 deg., and seldom rises higher than 85 deg. In the Colorado desert the difference between the mean temperature of January and July is greater, being some 45 deg., while the mean annual temperature ranges from 68 to 75 deg. Little land here is arable, owing to the lack of irrigation. California has an excellent public school system, closely resembling that of Massachusetts. In 1880 the average monthly pay of male teachers was $79.50; of female teachers, $64.73. Land in California is by no means cheap. The fruit lands are scarce, and for the most part in the hands of private individuals; when well cultivated and irrigated they sell for $150 to $300 per acre. Grain lands in Northern and North Central California sell for $50 to $100 per acre, though some at a great distance from railroads and rivers may be bought for $20 to $30. Grazing lands vary in price from $1.25 to $10 per acre, according to locality. There are fruit lands in Southern California, far from Los Angeles and any good market, which can be had for from $30 to $50 per acre.

THE “BRANDED HAND.”

BEAVER CITY, Neb.

Please give an account of the “Man with the Branded Hand,” who died a few years since. Why was he branded, and what was the name of the miscreant who officiated?

B. W. HAWKINS.

_Answer._—The man who has become so famous was Jonathan Walker, captain of a small vessel off the Florida coast. He was born at Harwich, Mass., March 22, 1799, and died at Lake Harbor, Mich., April 20, 1878. June 23, 1844, though quite ill, and daily expecting death, he attempted to carry seven slaves to Nassau, in the British island, New Providence; but, when only a short distance out, he was challenged by the sloop Catharine, and taken back to Key West. There he was brought before a justice of the peace, and committed first to jail, and afterward to the filthy hold of a steamboat that carried him to Pensacola, where a new trial awaited him. This time, when he was imprisoned, a chain of half-inch iron secured him to a huge ring bolt, being fastened at the other end to a shackle around his ankle that weighed half a ton. Owing to his feeble health his sufferings were excruciating, but his further sentence read thus; “One hour in the pillory, pelted with unmerchantable eggs; one year in prison for each slave—seven in all; $600 for each slave, and all the costs; and to be branded on the right hand with a large S, by a redhot branding-iron.” But he bore his tortures without flinching, and lived to be restored to his family after much unjust litigation. We do not know who may have officiated at the branding; but Ebenezer Dorr, of Maine, was at that time the United States Marshal for that district. A beautiful monument to the memory of Captain Walker has been erected in Muskegon, Mich.

THE OLDEST ARCHITECTURAL RUINS.

DES MOINES, Iowa.

What is the oldest architectural work known to exist?

SCHOLAR.

_Answer._—Perhaps it is safe to say, with the editor of the “People’s Cyclopedia,” that it is the remarkable rock-cut temples at Ipsambul of Abousambul, in Nubia, on the left bank of the Nile. The largest temple contains fourteen apartments hewn out of the solid rock. The first and largest of these is 57 feet long and 52 feet broad, and is supported by two rows of massive square pillars, four in each row, and 30 feet high. To each of these pillars is attached a standing colossus, or human figure, of enormous proportions, reaching to the roof, overlaid with a kind of stucco and painted with gaudy colors, apparently as brilliant now, after the lapse of over 4,000 years, as when first laid on. In front of this temple are seated four still larger human figures, two of them being 65 feet in height—presumed to represent Rameses the Great, more frequently termed Sesostris, whose marvelous military exploits are depicted in drawings and paintings on the temple walls.

PRODUCTION OF SPIRITS.

HURON, D. T.

Is the production of spirits increasing or decreasing? Some temperance advocates maintain that it is growing less, owing to the efforts of the various temperance organizations.

ANTI-SALOONIST.

_Answer._—The best answer to this question is contained in the latest report of the Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Folger says: “The quantity of spirits produced and deposited in distillery warehouses during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1883, is less than the production of 1882 by 31,839,853 gallons, and of 1881 by 43,741,842 gallons.” He distributes this decrease as follows:

Decrease in production of— Gallons.

Bourbon whisky 20,913,422 Rye whisky 4,440,123 Alcohol 4,482,965 Gin 23,366 Highwines 2,260,428 Miscellaneous 241,385 —————————— Total decrease 32,361,689

Increase in production of— Gallons.

Rum 97,876 Pure neutral or Cologne spirits 423,960 ——————— Total Increase 521,836 —————————— Net decrease 31,839,853

There were remaining in distillery warehouses at the dates below specified distilled spirits as follows:

Dates. Gallons.

June 30, 1883 80,499,993 June 30, 1882 89,962,645

There should come out of bonded warehouses, under the present law, and pay tax, distilled spirits as follows:

Dates. Gallons.

By June 6, 1884 26,104,531 By July 6, 1884 3,495,512 —————————— Total 29,600,043