Chapter V: Part 5

CHINESE PROVERBS.--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. The following are a few specimens of this sort of literature: 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 neighbor's 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 us 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."

MASON AND DIXON'S LINE.--Mason and Dixon's line is the concurrent State line of Maryland and Pennsylvania. It is named after two eminent astronomers and [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'mathemeticians'] mathematicians, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, who were sent out from England to run it. They completed the survey between 1703 and 1707, excepting thirty-six miles surveyed in 1782 by Colonel Alex. McLean and Joseph Neville. It is in the latitude of 39 deg. 43 min. 26.3 sec.

GREAT FIRES OF HISTORY.--The loss of life and property in the willful destruction by fire and sword of the principal cities of ancient history--Nineveh, Babylon, Persepolis, Carthage, Palmyra, and many others--is largely a matter of conjecture. The following is a memorandum of the chief conflagrations of the current era:

In 64, A. D., during the reign of Nero, a terrible fire raged in Rome for eight days, destroying ten of the fourteen wards. The loss of life and destruction of property is not known.

In 70 A. D., Jerusalem was taken by the Romans and a large part of it given to the torch, entailing an enormous destruction of life and property.

In 1106 Venice, then a city of immense opulence, was almost, wholly consumed by a fire, originating in accident or incendiarism.

In 1212 the greater part of London was burned.

In 1606 what is known as the Great Fire of London raged in the city from September 2 to 6, consuming 13,200 houses, with St. Paul's Church, 86 parish churches, 6 chapels, the Guild Hall, the Royal Exchange, the Custom House, 52 companies halls, many hospitals, libraries and other public edifices. The total destruction of property was estimated at $53,652,500. Six lives were lost, and 436 acres burnt over.

In 1679 a fire in Boston burned all the warehouses, eighty dwellings, and vessels in the dock-yards; loss estimated at $1,000,000.

In 1700 a large part of Edinburgh was burned; loss unknown. In 1728 Copenhagen was nearly destroyed; 1,650 houses burned.

In 1736 a fire in St. Petersburg burned 2,000 houses.

In 1729 a fire in Constantinople destroyed 12,000 houses, and 7,000 people perished. The same city suffered a conflagration in 1745, lasting five days; and in 1750 a series of three appalling fires: one in January, consuming 10,000 houses; another in April destroying property to the value of $5,000,000, according to one historian, and according to another, $15,000,000; and in the latter part of the year another, sweeping fully 10,000 houses more out of existence. It seemed as if Constantinople was doomed to utter annihilation.

In 1751 a fire in Stockholm destroyed 1,000 houses and another fire in the same city in 1759 burned 250 houses with a loss of $2,420,000.

In 1752 a fire in Moscow swept away 18,000 houses, involving an immense loss.

In 1758 Christiania suffered a loss of $1,250,000 by conflagration. In 1760 the Portsmouth (England) dock yards were burned, with a loss of $2,000,000.

In 1764 a fire in Konigsburg, Prussia, consumed the public buildings, with a loss of $3,000,000; and in 1769 the city was almost totally destroyed.

In 1763 a fire in Smyrna destroyed 2,600 houses, with a loss of $1,000,000; in 1772 a fire in the same city carried off 3,000 dwellings and 3,000 to 4,000 shops, entailing a loss of $20,000,000; and in 1796 there were 4,000 shops, mosques, magazines, etc., burned.

In 1776, six days after the British seized the city, a fire swept off all the west side of New York city, from Broadway to the river.

In 1771 a fire in Constantinople burned 2,500 houses; another in 1778 burned 2,000 houses; in 1782 there were 600 houses burned in February, 7,000 in June, and on August 12 during a conflagration that lasted three days, 10,000 houses, 50 mosques, and 100 corn-mills, with a loss of 100 lives. Two years later a fire, on March 13, destroyed two-thirds of Pera, the loveliest suburb of Constantinople, and on August 5 a fire in the main city, lasting twenty-six hours, burned 10,000 houses. In this same fire-scourged city, in 1791, between March and July, there were 32,000 houses burned, and about as many more in 1795; and in 1799 Pera was again swept with fire, with a loss of 13,000 houses, including many buildings of great magnificence.

In 1784 a fire and explosion in the dock yards, Brest, caused a loss of $5,000,000.

But the greatest destruction of life and property by conflagration, of which the world has anything like accurate records, must be looked for within the current century. Of these the following is a partial list of instances in which the loss of property amounted to $3,000,000 and upward:

Dates--Cities: Property destroyed.
1802--Liverpool: $5,000,000
1803--Bombay: 3,000,600
1805--St. Thomas: 30,000,000
1808--Spanish Town: 7,500,000
1812--Moscow, burned five days; 30,800 houses destroyed: 150,000,000
1816--Constantinople, 12,000 dwellings, 3,000 shops: ----
1820--Savannah: 4,000,000
1822--Canton nearly destroyed: ----
1828--Havana, 350 houses: ----
1835--New York ("Great Fire"): 15,000,000
1837--St. Johns, N. B.: 5,000,000
1838--Charleston, 1,158 buildings: 3,000,000
1841--Smyrna, 12,000 houses: ----
1842--Hamburg, 4,219 buildings, 100 lives lost: 35,000,000
1845--New York, 35 persons killed: 7,500,000
1845--Pittsburgh, 1,100 buildings: 10,000,000
1845--Quebec, May 28, 1,650 dwellings: 3,750,000
1845--Quebec, June 28, 1,300 dwellings: ----
1846--St. Johns, Newfoundland: 5,000,000
1848--Constantinople, 2,500 buildings: 15,000,000
1848--Albany, N. Y., 600 houses: 3,000,000
1849--St. Louis: 3,000,000
1851--St. Louis, 2,500 buildings: 11,000,000
1851--St. Louis, 500 buildings: 3,000,000
1851--San Francisco, May 4 and 5, many lives lost: 10,000,000
1851--San Francisco, June: 3,000,000
1852--Montreal, 1,200 buildings: 5,000,000
1861--Mendoza destroyed by earthquake and fire, 10,000 lives lost: ----
1862--St. Petersburg: 5,000,000
1802--Troy, N. Y., nearly destroyed: ----
1862--Valparaiso almost destroyed: ----
1864--Novgorod, immense destruction of property: ----
1865--Constantinople, 2,800 buildings burned: ----
1806--Yokohama, nearly destroyed: ----
1865--Carlstadt, Sweden, all consumed but Bishop's residence, hospital
and jail; 10 lives lost: ----
1866--Portland, Me., half the city: 11,000,000
1866--Quebec, 2,500 dwellings, 17 churches: ----
1870--Constantinople, Pera, suburb: 26,000,000
1871--Chicago--250 lives lost, 17,430 buildings burned, on 2,124 acres:
192,000,000
1871--Paris, fired by the Commune: 160,000,000
1872--Boston: 75,000.000
1873--Yeddo, 10,000 houses: ----
1877--Pittsburgh, caused by riot: 3,260,000
1877--St. Johns, N. B., 1,650 dwellings, 18 lives lost: 12,500,000

From the above it appears that the five greatest fires on record, reckoned by destruction of property, are:

Chicago fire, of Oct. 8 and 9, 1871: $192,000,000
Paris fires, of May, 1871: 160,000,000
Moscow fire, of Sept. 14-19, 1812: 150,000,000
Boston fire, Nov. 9-10, 1872: 75,000.000
London fire, Sept. 2-6, 1666: 53,652,500
Hamburg fire, May 5-7, 1842: 35,000,000

Taking into account, with the fires of Paris and Chicago, the great Wisconsin and Michigan forest fires of 1871, in which it is estimated that 1,000 human beings perished and property to the amount of over $3,000,000 was consumed, it is plain that in the annals of conflagrations that year stands forth in gloomy pre-eminence.

WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES PER CAPITA.--The following statistics represent the amount of taxable property, real and personal, in each State and Territory, and also the amount per capita:

State: Total; Per capita.
Maine: $235,978,716; $362.09
New Hampshire: 164,755,181; 474.81
Vermont: 86,806,755; 261.24
Massachusetts: 1,584,756,802; 888.77
Rhode Island: 252,536,673; 913.23
Connecticut: 327,177,385; 525.41
New Jersey: 572,518,361; 506.06
New York: 2,651,940,000; 521.74
Pennsylvania: 1,683,459,016; 393.08
Delaware: 59,951,643; 408.92
Maryland: 497,307,675; 533.07
District of Columbia: 99,401,787; 845.08
Virginia: 308,455,135; 203.92
West Virginia: 139,622,705; 225.75
North Carolina: 156,100,202; 111.52
South Carolina: 153,560,135; 154.24
Georgia: 239,472,599; 155.82
Florida: 30,938,309; 114.80
Alabama: 122,867,228; 97.32
Mississippi: 110,628,129; 97.76
Louisiana: 100,162,439; 170.39
Texas: 320,364,515; 201.26
Arkansas: 80,409,364; 176.71
Kentucky: 350,563,971; 212.63
Tennessee: 211,778,538; 137.30
Ohio: 1,534,360,508; 479.77
Indiana: 727,815,131; 367.89
Illinois: 786,616,394; 255.24
Michigan: 517,666,359; 316.23
Wisconsin: 438,971,751; 333.69
Iowa: 398,671,251; 245.39
Minnesota: 258,028,687; 330.48
Missouri: 432,795,801; 245.72
Kansas: 160,891,689; 161.52
Nebraska: 90,585,782; 200.23
Colorado: 74,471,693; 383.22
Nevada: 29,291,459; 470.40
Oregon: 52,522,084; 300.52
California: 584,578,036; 676.05
Arizona: 9,270,214; 229.23
Dakota: 20,321,530; 150.33
Idaho: 6,440,876; 197.51
Montana: 18,609,802; 475.23
New Mexico: 11,362,406; 95.04
Utah: 24,775,279; 172.09
Washington: 23,810,603; 316.98
Wyoming: 13,621,829; 655.24
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Total: $16,902,993,543; 337.00

TABLE FOR MEASURING AN ACRE.--To measure an acre in rectangular form is a simple question in arithmetic. One has only to divide the total number of square yards in an acre, 4,840, by the number of yards in the known side or breadth to find the unknown side in yards. By this process it appears that a rectangular strip of ground--

5 yards wide by 968 yards long is 1 acre.
10 yards wide by 484 yards long is 1 acre.
20 yards wide by 242 yards long is 1 acre.
40 yards wide by 121 yards long is 1 acre.
80 yards wide by 60-1/2 yards long is 1 acre.
70 yards wide by 69-1/2 yards long is 1 acre.
60 yards wide by 80-3/8 yards long is 1 acre.

THE LANGUAGE OF GEMS.--The language of the various precious stones is as follows:

Moss Agate--Health, prosperity and long life.
Amethyst--Prevents violent passions.
Bloodstone--Courage, wisdom and firmness in affection.
Chrysolite--Frees from evil passions and sadness.
Emerald--Insures true love, discovers false.
Diamonds--Innocence, faith and virgin purity, friends.
Garnet--Constancy and fidelity in every engagement.
Opal--Sharpens the sight and faith of the possessor.
Pearl--Purity; gives clearness to physical and mental sight.
Ruby--Corrects evils resulting from mistaken friendship.
Sapphire--Repentance; frees from enchantment.
Sardonyx--Insures conjugal felicity.
Topaz--Fidelity and friendship; prevents bad dreams.
Turquoise--Insures prosperity in love.

GREAT SALT LAKE AND THE DEAD SEA.--Great Salt Lake is a shallow body of water, its average depth being but a little more than three feet, while in many parts it is much less. The water is transparent, but excessively salt; it contains about 22 per cent of common salt, slightly mixed with other salts, and forming one of the purest and most concentrated brines in the world. Its specific gravity is 1.17. The water is so buoyant that a man may float in it at full length upon his back, having his head and neck, his legs to the knee, and both arms to the elbow, entirely out of water. If he assumes a sitting posture, with his arms extended, his shoulders will rise above the water. Swimming, however, is difficult as the lower limbs tend to rise above the surface, and the brine is so strong that to swallow even a very little of it will cause strangulation. The waters of the Dead Sea, on the other hand, are nearly black, and contain much sulphur and bitumen, as well as salt. It is also very deep, varying from thirteen feet near the south end of the lake to more than 1,300 feet in the northern part. Its buoyancy is quite equal to that of Great Salt Lake, for travelers say that a man can float prone upon the surface for hours without danger of sinking, and in a sitting position is held breast-high above the water.

SOME FAMOUS WAR SONGS.--The slavery war developed several Union song-writers whose stirring verses have kept on singing themselves since the close of that great struggle. Two among them are best remembered nowadays, both men who wrote the words and composed the music to their own verses. Chicago lays claim to one, Dr. George F. Root, and Boston to the other, Henry C. Work. The song "Marching Through Georgia," as every one knows, was written in memory of Sherman's famous march from Atlanta to the sea, and words and music were the composition of Henry C. Work, who died not many months ago (in 1884). The first stanza is as follows: Bring the good old bugle, boys, we'll sing another song--Sing it with spirit that will start the world along--Sing it as we used to sing it, fifty thousand strong, While we were marching through Georgia.

Chorus--"Hurrah! hurrah! we bring the jubilee! Hurrah! hurrah! the flag that makes you free!" So we sang the chorus from Atlanta to the sea, While we were marching through Georgia.

Among the other songs of Work the following are best known: "Kingdom Coming," or "Say, Darkey, Hab You Seen de Massa?" "Babylon is Fallen," "Grafted into the Army" and "Corporal Schnapps." This record would be incomplete were we to fail to mention some of the many ringing songs of George F. Root, songs which have made the name of Root famous in thousands upon thousands of households in the West. Some of these songs are: "Battle Cry of Freedom," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," "On, on, on, the Boys Came Marching," "Just Before the Battle, Mother," "Just After the Battle," "Lay Me Down and Save the Flag," "Stand Up for Uncle Sam, My Boys." The well known song, "Wrap the Flag Around Me, Boys," was composed by R. Stewart Taylor, and "When Johnny Cones Marching Home" by Louis Lambert.

THE COST OF ROYALTY IN ENGLAND.--Her Majesty:

Privy purse: £60,000
Salaries of household: 131,260
Expenses of household: 172,500
Royal bounty, etc.: 13,200
Unappropriated: 8,040
_________
£385,000

Prince of Wales: 40,000 Princess of Wales: 10,000 Crown Princess of Prussia: 8,000 Duke of Edinburgh: 25,000 Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein: 6,000 Princess Louise (Marchioness of Lome): 6,000 Duke of Connaught: 25,000 Duke of Albany: 25,000 Duchess of Cambridge: 6,000 Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz: 3,000 Duke of Cambridge: 12,000 Duchess of Teck: 5,000

SOME GREAT RIVERS.--From Haswell's little work for engineers and mechanics the following figures are taken, showing the lengths of the largest rivers on the various continents:

Name: Miles.

EUROPE.
Volga, Russia: 2,500
Danube: 1,800
Rhine: 840
Vistula: 700

ASIA.
Yeneisy and Selenga: 3,580
Kiang: 3,290
Hoang Ho: 3,040
Amoor: 2,500
Euphrates: 1,900
Ganges: 1,850
Tigris: 1,160

AFRICA.
Nile: 3,240
Niger: 2,400
Gambia: 1,000

SOUTH AMERICA.
Amazon and Beni: 4,000
Platte: 2,700
Rio Madeira: 2,300
Rio Negro: 1,650
Orinoco: 1,600
Uruguay: 1,100
Magdalena: 900

NORTH AMERICA.
Mississippi and Missouri: 4,300
Mackenzie: 2,800
Rio Bravo: 2,300
Arkansas: 2,070
Red River: 1,520
Ohio and Alleghany: 1,480
St. Lawrence: 1,450

The figures as to the length of the Nile are estimated. The Amazon, with its tributaries (including the Rio Negro and Madeira), drains an area of 2,330,000 square miles; the Mississippi and Missouri, 1,726,000 square miles; the Yeneisy (or Yenisei, as it is often written) drains about 1,000,000 square miles; the Volga, about 500,000. In this group of great rivers the St. Lawrence is the most remarkable. It constitutes by far the largest body of fresh water in the world. Including the lakes and streams, which it comprises in its widest acceptation, the St. Lawrence covers about 73,000 square miles; the aggregate, it is estimated, represents not less than 9,000 solid miles--a mass of water which would have taken upward of forty years to pour over Niagara at the computed rate of 1,000,000 cubic feet in a second. As the entire basin of this water system falls short of 300,000 square miles, the surface of the land is only three times that of the water.

HOW THE UNITED STATES GOT ITS LANDS.--The United States bought Louisiana, the vast region between the Mississippi River, the eastern and northern boundary of Texas (then belonging to Spain), and the dividing ridge of the Rocky Mountains, together with what is now Oregon, Washington Territory, and the western parts of Montana and Idaho, from France for $11,250,000. This was in 1803. Before the principal, interest, and claims of one sort and another assumed by the United States were settled, the total cost of this "Louisiana purchase," comprising, according to French construction and our understanding, 1,171,931 square miles, swelled to $23,500,000, or almost $25 per section--a fact not stated in cyclopedias and school histories, and therefore not generally understood. Spain still held Florida and claimed a part of what we understood to be included in the Louisiana purchase--a strip up to north latitude 31--and disputed our boundary along the south and west, and even claimed Oregon. We bought Florida and all the disputed land east of the Mississippi and her claim to Oregon, and settled our southwestern boundary dispute for the sum of $6,500,000. Texas smilingly proposed annexation to the United States, and this great government was "taken in" December 29, 1845, Texas keeping her public lands and giving us all her State debts and a three-year war (costing us $66,000,000) with Mexico, who claimed her for a runaway from Mexican jurisdiction. This was a bargain that out-yankeed the Yankees, but the South insisted on it and the North submitted. After conquering all the territory now embraced in New Mexico, a part of Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California, we paid Mexico $25,000,000 for it--$15,000,000 for the greater part of it and $10,000,000 for another slice, known as the "Gadsden purchase." In 1867 we bought Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000. All the several amounts above named were paid long ago. As for all the rest of our landed possessions, we took them with us when we cut loose from mother Britain's apron string, but did not get a clear title until we had fought ten years for it--first in the Revolutionary War, costing us in killed 7,343 reported--besides the unreported killed--and over 15,000 wounded, and $135,193,103 in money; afterward in the War of 1812-15, costing us in killed 1,877, in wounded 3,737, in money $107,159,003. We have paid everybody but the Indians, the only real owners, and, thanks to gunpowder, sword, bayonet, bad whisky, small-pox, cholera and other weapons of civilization, there are not many of them left to complain. Besides all the beads, earrings, blankets, pots, kettles, brass buttons, etc., given them for land titles in the olden times, we paid them, or the Indian agents, in one way and another, in the ninety years from 1791 to 1881, inclusive, $193,672,697.31, to say nothing of the thousands of lives sacrificed and many millions spent in Indian wars, from the war of King Philip to the last fight with the Apaches.

ILLUSTRIOUS MEN AND WOMEN.--It is not likely that any two persons would agree as to who are entitled to the first fifty places on the roll of great men and great women. Using "great" in the sense of eminence in their professions, of great military commanders the following are among the chief: Sesostris, the Egyptian conqueror, who is represented as having subdued all Asia to the Oxus and the Ganges, Ethiopia, and a part of Europe; Cyrus the Great; Alexander the Great; Hannibal; Che-Hwanti, who reduced all the kingdoms of China and Indo-China to one empire, and constructed the Great Wall; Cæsar; Genghis Khan, the Tartar chief, who overran all Asia and a considerable part of Europe; Napoleon Bonaparte; Ulysses S. Grant, and General Von Moltke. Among the most illustrious benefactors of mankind, as statesmen, lawgivers and patriots, stand Moses, David, Solon, Numa Pompilius, Zoroaster, Confucius, Justinian, Charlemagne, Cromwell, Washington and Lincoln. Eminent among the philosophers, rhetoricians and logicians stand Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, the two Catos, and Lord Bacon; among orators, Pericles, Demosthenes, Cicero, Mirabeau, Burke, Webster and Clay; among poets, Homer, Virgil, Dante, Milton, and Shakespeare; among painters and sculptors, Phidias, Parrhasius, Zenxis, Praxiteles, Scopas, Michael Angelo, Raphael and Rubens; among philanthropists, John Howard; among inventors, Archimedes, Watt, Fulton, Arkwright, Whitney and Morse; among astronomers, Copernicus, Galileo, Tycho Brahe, Newton, La Place and the elder Herschel. Here are sixty names of distinguished men, and yet the great religious leaders, excepting Moses and Zoroaster, have not been named. Among these stand Siddhartha or Buddha, Mahomet, Martin Luther, John Knox and John Wesley. Then the great explorers and geographers of the world have not been noticed, among whom Herodotus, Strabo, Pliny, Vasco de Gama, Columbus and Humboldt barely lead the van.

Of eminent women there are Seling, wife of the Emperor Hwang-ti, B. C. 2637, who taught her people the art of silk-raising and weaving; Semiramis, the Assyrian Queen; Deborah, the heroic warrior prophetess of the Israelites; Queen Esther, who, with the counsel of her cousin, Mordecai, not only saved the Jews from extermination, but lifted them from a condition of slavery into prosperity and power; Dido, the founder of Carthage; Sappho, the eminent Grecian poetess; Hypatia, the eloquent philosopher; Mary, the mother of Christ; Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra; the mother of St. Augustine; Elizabeth of Hungary; Queen Elizabeth of England; Queen Isabella of Spain; the Empress Maria Theresa; Margaret the Great of Denmark; Catherine the Great of Russia, Queen Victoria; Florence Nightingale; Mme. de Stael: Mrs. Fry, the philanthropist; among authoresses, Mrs. Hemans, Mrs. Sigourney, Mrs. Browning, "George Sand," "George Eliot," and Mrs. Stowe; and among artists, Rosa Bonheur, and our own Harriet Hosmer.

THE SUEZ CANAL.--The Suez Canal was begun in 1,858 and was formally opened in November, 1869. Its cost, including harbors, is estimated at $100,000,000. Its length is 100 miles, 75 of which were excavated; its width is generally 325 feet at the surface, and 75 feet at the bottom, and its depth 26 feet. The workmen employed were chiefly natives, and many were drafted by the Khedive. The number of laborers is estimated at 30,000. The British government virtually controls the canal as it owns most of the stock.

SENDING VESSELS OVER NIAGARA FALLS.--There have been three such instances. The first was in 1827. Some men got an old ship--the Michigan--which had been used on lake Erie, and had been pronounced unseaworthy. For mere wantonness they put aboard a bear, a fox, a buffalo, a dog and some geese and sent it over the cataract. The bear jumped from the vessel before it reached the rapids, swam toward the shore, and was rescued by some humane persons. The geese went over the falls, and came to the shore below alive, and, therefore, became objects of great interest, and were sold at high prices to visitors at the Falls. The dog, fox, and buffalo were not heard of or seen again. Another condemned vessel, the Detroit, that had belonged to Commodore Perry's victorious fleet, was started over the cataract in the winter of 1841, but grounded about midway in the rapids, and lay there till knocked to pieces by the ice. A somewhat more picturesque instance was the sending over the Canada side of a ship on fire. This occurred in 1837. The vessel was the Caroline, which had been run in the interest of the insurgents in the Canadian rebellion. It was captured by Colonel McNabb, an officer of the Canada militia, and by his orders it was set on fire then cut loose from its moorings. All in flames, it went glaring and hissing down the rapids and over the precipice, and smothered its ruddy blaze in the boiling chasm below. Thia was witnessed by large crowds on both sides of the falls, and was described as a most magnificent sight. Of course there was no one on board the vessel.

OLD TIME WAGES IN ENGLAND.--The following rates of daily wages "determined" by the Justices of Somerset, in 1685, answer this question very fairly. Somerset; being one of the average shires of England. The orthography is conformed to original record:

s. d.

Mowers per diem, findeing themselves: 1 2
Mowers at meate and drinke: 0 7
Men makeing hay per diem, findeing themselves: 0 10
Men at meate and drinke: 0 6
Women makeing hay: 0 7
Women at meate and drinke: 0 4
Men reapeing corne per diem, findeing themselves: 1 2
Men reapinge corne at meate and drinke: 0 8
Moweing an acre of grasse, findeing themselves: 1 2
Moweing an acre of grasse to hay: 1 6
Moweing an acre of barley: 1 1
Reapeinge and bindeinge an acre of wheate: 3 0
Cuttinge and bindeinge an acre of beanes and hookinge: 2 0

The shilling is about 24 cents and the penny 2 cents.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE SIGNERS.--The following is the list of names appended to that famous document, with the colony which each represented in Congress:

New Hampshire--Josiah Bartlett; William Whipple, Matthew Thornton.

Massachusetts--John Hancock, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine.

Rhode Island--Elbridge Gerry, Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery.

Connecticut--Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott.

New York--William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris.

New Jersey--Richard Hockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark.

Pennsylvania--Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross.

Delaware--Caesar Rodney, George Reed, Thomas McKean.

Maryland--Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone, William Paca, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton.

Virginia--George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton.

North Carolina--William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn.

South Carolina--Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton.

Georgia--Button Gwinntet, Lyman Hall, George Walton.

LIFE OF ETHAN ALLEN.--Colonel Ethan Allan was captured in an attack upon Montreal, September 25, 1775. He was sent as prisoner to Great Britain, ostensibly for trial, but in a few months was sent back to America, and confined in prison ships and jails at Halifax and New York till May 3, 1778, when he was exchanged. During most of his captivity he was treated as a felon and kept heavily ironed, but during 1777 was allowed restricted liberty on parole. After his exchange he again offered his services to the patriot army, but because of trouble in Vermont was put in command of the militia in that State. The British authorities were at that time making especial efforts to secure the allegiance of the Vermonters, and it was owing to Allen's skillful negotiations that the question was kept open until the theater of war was changed, thus keeping the colony on the American side, but avoiding the attacks from the British that would certainly have followed an open avowal of their political preferences. Allen died at Burlington, Vt., February 13, 1789.

BURIAL CUSTOMS.--Among the early Christians the dead were buried with the face upward and the feet toward the east, in token of the resurrection at the coming again of the Sun of Righteousness. It cannot be said, however, that the custom was first used by the Christians. It was in practice among early pagan nations also, and is regarded as a survival of the ideas of the fire-worshipers. The sun, which was the impersonation of deity to many primitive races, had his home in their mythology in the east, and out of respect for him the dead were placed facing this quarter, among certain tribes always in a sitting posture. It may also be remarked that among other races the position was reversed, the dead body being placed with its feet toward the west, because the region of sunset was the home of the departed spirits.

THE SURRENDER OF LEE TO GRANT.--The surrender of General Lee was made at the house of a farmer named McLean, in Appomattox village, that house having been selected by General Lee himself at General Grant's request for the interview. General Grant went thither, and was met by General Lee on the threshold. The two went into the parlor of the house, a small room, containing little furnishing but a table and several chairs. About twenty Union officers besides General Grant were present, among them the members of the General's staff. The only Confederate officer with General Lee was Colonel Marshall, who acted as his secretary. General Lee, as well as his aid, was in full uniform, and wore a burnished sword which was given him by the State of Virginia; General Grant was in plain uniform, without a sword. After a brief conversation, relative to the meeting of the two generals while soldiers in Mexico, General Lee adverted at once to the object of the interview by asking on what terms the surrender of his army would be received. General Grant replied that officers and men must become prisoners of war, giving up of course all munitions, weapons and supplies, but that a parole would be accepted. General Lee then requested that the terms should be put in writing, that he might sign them. General Badeau says that while General Grant was writing the conditions of surrender he chanced to look up and his eye caught the glitter of General Lee's sword, and that this sight induced him to insert the provision that the "officers should be allowed to retain their side-arms, horses and personal property." This historian thinks that General Lee fully expected to give up his sword, and that General Grant omitted this from the terms of surrender out of consideration for the feelings of a soldier. Badeau says that General Lee was evidently much touched by the clemency of his adversary in this regard. The Confederate chief now wrote his acceptance of the terms offered and signed them. He further requested that the cavalry and artillery soldiers might be allowed to retain their horses as well as the officers, to which General Grant consented, and asked that a supply train left at Danville might be allowed to pass on, as his soldiers were without food. The reply of General Grant to this was an order that 25,000 rations should be immediately issued from the commissariat of the National army to the Army of Northern Virginia. The formal papers were now drawn up and signed, and the interview which ended one of the greatest wars of modern times was over.

COLORED POPULATION AT EACH CENSUS.--The following will show the white and colored population of the United States, from 1790 to 1880, inclusive:

Year White. Colored Free. Colored Slaves.
1790 3,172,006 59,527 697,681
1800 4,306,446 108,435 893,002
1810 5,862,073 186,446 1,191,362
1820 7,862,166 223,634 1,538,022
1830 10,538,378 319,599 2,009,043
1840 14,195,805 386,293 2,487,355
1850 19,553,068 434,495 3,204,313
1860 26,922,537 488,070 3,953,760
1870 33,589,377 4,880,009 None.
1880 43,402,970 6,580,973 None.

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.--From 1496 to 1857 there were 134 voyages and land journeys undertaken by governments and explorers of Europe and America to investigate the unknown region around the North Pole. Of these, sixty-three went to the northwest, twenty-nine via Behring Straits, and the rest to the northeast or due north. Since 1857 there have been the notable expeditions of Dr. Hayes, of Captain Hall, those of Nordenskjold, and others sent by Germany, Russia and Denmark; three voyages made by James Lament, of the Royal Geographical Society, England, at his own expense; the expeditions of Sir George Nares, of Leigh Smith, and that of the ill-fated Jeannette; the search expeditions of the Tigress, the Juniata, and those sent to rescue Lieutenant Greely; further, all the expeditions fitted out under the auspices of the Polar Commission--in which the Greely expedition was included--and a number of minor voyages, making a sum total of some sixty exploring journeys in these twenty-seven years.

THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.--The battle of Waterloo was fought June 18, 1815, between the allied British, Netherland and German troops under Wellington and the French under Napoleon. On June 16 Napoleon had attacked the Prussians under Blucher at Ligny and forced them to retreat toward Wavre, and Marshal Noy at the same time attacked the British and Dutch forces at Quatre Bras, but was forced to retire after an engagement of five hours. Napoleon's object, however, which was to prevent a union of the Prussians with Wellington's main army, was partially gained. The latter commander, having learned the next morning of Blucher's repulse, moved on to Waterloo expecting that the Prussian commander, according to previous arrangement, would join him there as speedily as possible. On June 17 Napoleon also moved toward Waterloo with the main body of his army, having directed Marshal Grouchy with 34,000 men and ninety-six guns to pursue Blucher's command toward Wavre. Both armies bivouacked on the field of Waterloo, and the next morning Napoleon, confident that Grouchy would prevent the arrival of the Prussians, delayed attack until the ground should become dry, a heavy shower having fallen on the day previous. The forces under Wellington occupied a semi-circular ridge a mile and a half in length, and the French were on an opposite ridge, the two being separated by a valley about 500 yards wide. The plan of Napoleon was to turn the allied left, force it back upon center, and gain possession of the enemy's line of retreat. To draw off Wellington's attention to his right, French troops were sent about 11 o'clock to attack the chateau of Houguemont, which the English had fortified. After a fight of more than two hours this was still in the possession of its defenders. About 1 o'clock a Prussian corps under Bulow was seen approaching on the French right, and Napoleon, finding it necessary to send 10,000 men to check their advance, was obliged to change the plan of battle. He therefore ordered a fierce attack upon the allied center. Wellington massed his troops there, and the battle was obstinately maintained for five hours, with

varying success to the participants, both commanders hourly expecting re-enforcements. Wellington was waiting for Blucher and Napoleon for Grouchy. The French at last were gaining ground; the allied troops in the center were wavering under Ney's impetuous onslaughts, General Durutte had forced back the left, and Bulow's troops on the right had been forced to yield the position they had taken. Now, however, there were rumors that Blucher's army was approaching and the allies again rallied. At 7 o'clock Napoleon, despairing of the approach of Grouchy, determined to decide the day by a charge of the Old Guard, which had been held in reserve. At this stage the advance of Prussian horse on the allied left forced back General Durutte's troops, and the Old Guard formed in squares to cover this retreat. Ney's division surrounded, made a gallant struggle--their brave leader still unwounded, though five horses had been shot under him, heading them on foot, sword in hand--but were forced to give way. The Old Guard held their ground against overwhelming numbers. Finally, when five squares were broken, the Emperor gave the order to "fall back." The cry "The Guard is repulsed" spread consternation through the French army and threatened to turn retreat into precipitate flight. Napoleon, seeing this, reformed the Guard in order to give a rallying point for the fugitives. Failing in this, he declared that he would die within the square, but Marshal Soult hurried him away. The heroic band, surrounded, was bidden to surrender. "The Old Guard dies, but never surrenders" is the reply popularly attributed to General Cambronne, and with the cry of "Vive l'Empereur!" the remnant of the Guard made a last charge upon the enemy and perished almost to a man. The forces of Blucher being now upon the field, the rout of the French was complete, and the Prussians pursued the fleeing troops, capturing guns and men. There is no doubt that the failure of Grouchy to come upon the field caused Napoleon to lose his last great battle. It was subsequently asserted that this marshal was bribed, but there seems to be no real foundation for so base a charge. The trouble was that he had been ordered by Napoleon to follow the Prussians toward Wavre and thought it necessary to follow the strict letter of his instructions. Before he reached the village the main body of the Prussian force was on its way to Waterloo, but one division had been left there to occupy his attention. Engaged in skirmishing with this, he paid no attention to the advice of his subordinate generals who, hearing the terrible cannonading at Waterloo, besought him to go to the aid of the army there. Napoleon believing that he was either holding back Blucher's forces or was hotly pursuing them, did not recall him to the main army, and the decisive battle was lost. Grouchy was summoned before a council of war, but the court declared itself incompetent to decide his case, and nothing further came of it.

OUR NATIONAL CEMETERIES.--National Cemeteries for soldiers and sailors may be said to have originated in 1850, the army appropriation bill of that year appropriating money for a cemetery near the City of Mexico, for the interment of the remains of soldiers who fell in the Mexican War. The remains of Federal soldiers and sailors who fell in the war for the Union have been buried in seventy-eight cemeteries exclusive of those interred elsewhere, a far greater number.

In the subjoined list are given the names and locations of the National Cemeteries with the number therein buried, known and unknown. We have no means of knowing what cemeteries also contain the bodies of Southern soldiers:

(Location): Known; Unknown

Cypress Hill, N. Y.: 3,675; 70
Woodlawn, Elmira, N. Y.: 3,096; ----
Beverly, N. J.: 142; 7
Finn's Point, N.J.: ----; 2,644
Gettysburg, Pa.: 1,967; 1,608
Philadelphia, Pa.: 1,880; 28
Annapolis, Md.: 2,289; 197
Antietam, Md.: 2,853; 1,811
London Park, Baltimore, Md.: 1,627; 168
Laurel, Baltimore, Md.: 232; 6
Soldiers' Home, D. C.: 5,313; 288
Battle, D. C.: 13; ----
Grafton, W. Va.: 634; 620
Arlington, Va.: 11,911; 4,349
Alexandria, Va.: 3,434; 124
Ball's Bluff, Va.: 1; 24
Cold Harbor, Va.: 672; 1,281
City Point, Va.: 3,779; 1,374
Culpepper, Va.: 454; 910
Danville, Va.: 1,171; 155
Fredericksburg, Va.: 2,487; 12,770
Fort Harrison, Va.: 239; 575
Glendale, Va.: 233; 961
Hampton, Va.: 4,808; 494
Poplar Grove, Va.: 2,197; 3,993
Richmond, Va.: 841; 5,700
Seven Pines, Va.: 150; 1,208
Staunton, Va.: 233; 520
Winchester, Va.: 2,094; 2,301
Yorktown, Va.: 748; 1,434
Newbern, N. C.: 2,174; 1,077
Raleigh, N. C.: 625; 553
Salisbury, N. C.: 94; 12,032
Wilmington, N. C.: 710; 1,398
Beaufort, S. C.: 4,748; 4,493
Florence, S. C.: 199; 2,799
Andersonville, Ga.: 12,878; 959
Marietta, Ga.: 7,182; 2,963
Barrancas, Fla.: 791; 657
Mobile, Ala.: 751; 112
Corinth, Miss.: 1,788; 3,920
Natchez, Miss.: 308; 2,780
Vicksburg, Miss.: 3,896; 12,704
Alexandria, La.: 534; 772
Baton Rouge, La.: 2,468; 495
Chalmette, La.: 6,833; 5,075
Port Hudson, La.: 590; 3,218
Brownsville, Texas: 1,409; 1,379
San Antonio, Texas: 307; 167
Fayetteville, Ark.: 431; 781
Fort Smith, Ark.: 706; 1,152
Little Rock, Ark.: 3,260; 2,337
Chattanooga, Tenn.: 7,993; 4,903
Fort Donelson, Tenn.: 158; 511
Knoxville, Tenn.: 2,089; 1,040
Memphis, Tenn.: 5,150; 8,817
Nashville, Tenn.: 11,824; 4,692
Pittsburg Landing, Tenn.: 1,229; 2,361
Stone River, Tenn.: 3,820; 2,314
Camp Nelson, Ky.: 2,477; 1,165
Cave Hill, Louisville, Ky.: 3,342; 583
Danville, Ky.: 346; 12
Lebanon, Ky.: 591; 277
Lexington, Ky.: 824; 105
Logan's, Ky.: 345; 366
Crown Hill, Indianapolis, Ind.: 686; 36
New Albany, Ind.: 2,138; 676
Camp Butler, Ill.: 1,007; 355
Mound City, Ill.: 2,505; 2,721
Rock Island, Ill.: 280; 9
Jefferson Barracks, Mo.: 8,569; 2,906
Jefferson City, Mo.: 348; 412
Springfield, Mo.: 845; 713
Fort Leavenworth, Kas.: 821; 913
Fort Scott, Kas.: 388; 161
Keokuk, Iowa: 610; 21
Fort Gibson, I. T.: 212; 2,212
Fort McPherson, Neb.: 149; 291
City of Mexico, Mexico: 254; 750

THE CATACOMBS OF PARIS.--The so-called catacombs of Paris were never catacombs in the ancient sense of the word, and were not devoted to purposes of sepulture until 1784. In that year the Council of State issued a decree for clearing the Cemetery of the Innocents, and for removing its contents, as well as those of other graveyards, into the quarries which had existed from the earlier times under the city of Paris and completely undermined the southern part of the city. Engineers and workmen were sent to examine the quarries and to prop up their roofs lest the weight of buildings above should break them in. April 7, 1786, the consecration of the catacombs was performed with great solemnity, and the work of removal from the cemeteries was immediately begun. This work was all performed by night; the bones were brought in funeral cars, covered with a pall, and followed by priests chanting the service of the dead, and when they reached the catacombs the bones were shot down the shaft. As the cemeteries were cleared by order of the government, their contents were removed to this place of general deposit, and these catacombs further served as convenient receptacles for those who perished in the revolution. At first the bones were heaped up without any kind of order except that those from each cemetery were kept separate, but in 1810 a regular system of arranging them was commenced, and the skulls and bones were built up along the wall. From the main entrance to the catacombs, which is near the barriers d'Enfer, a flight of ninety steps descends, at whose foot galleries are seen branching in various directions. Some yards distant is a vestibule of octagonal form, which opens into a long gallery lined with bones from floor to roof. The arm, leg and thigh bones are in front, closely and regularly piled, and their uniformity is relieved by three rows of skulls at equal distances. Behind these are thrown the smaller bones. This gallery conducts to several rooms resembling chapels, lined with bones variously arranged. One is called the "Tomb of the Revolution." another the "Tomb of Victims," the latter containing the relics of those who perished in the early period of the revolution and in the "Massacre of September." It is estimated that the remains of 3,000,000 human beings lie in this receptacle. Admission to these catacombs has for years been strictly forbidden on account of the unsafe condition of the roof. They are said to comprise an extent of about 3,250,000 square yards.

HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE.--The principle of the telephone, that sounds could be conveyed to a distance by a distended wire, was demonstrated by Robert Hook in 1667, but no practical application was made of the discovery until 1821, when Professor Wheatstone exhibited his "Enchanted Lyre," in which the sounds of a music-box were conveyed from a cellar to upper rooms. The first true discoverer of the speaking telephone, however, was Johaun Philipp Reis, a German scientist and professor in the institute at Friedrichsdorf. April 25, 1861, Reis exhibited his telephone at Frankfort. This contained all the essential features of the modern telephone, but as its commercial value was not at all comprehended, little attention was paid to it. Reis, after trying in vain to arouse the interest of scientists in his discovery, died in 1874, without having reaped any advantage from it, and there is no doubt that his death was hastened by the distress of mind caused by his continual rebuffs. Meanwhile, the idea was being worked into more practical shape by other persons, Professor Elisha Gray and Professor A.G. Bell, and later by Edison. There is little doubt that Professor Gray's successful experiments considerably antedated those of the others, but Professor Bell was the first to perfect his patent. February 12, 1877, Bell's articulating telephone was tested by experiments at Boston and Salem, Mass., and was found to convey sounds distinctly from one place to the other, a distance of eighteen miles. This telephone was exhibited widely in this country and in Europe during that year, and telephone companies were established to bring it into general use. Edison's carbon "loud-speaking" telephone was brought out in 1878. It is not worth while to go into details of the suits on the subject of priority of invention. The examiner of patents at Washington, July 21, 1883, decided that Professor Bell was the first inventor, because he was the first to complete his invention and secure a full patent. Since 1878 there have been many improvements in the different parts of the telephone, rendering it now nearly perfect in its working.

SECESSION AND READMISSION OF REBEL STATES.--

Seceded. Readmitted.
South Carolina Dec. 20,1860. June 11, 1868.
Mississippi Jan. 9, 1861. Feb. 3, 1870.
Alabama Jan. 11, 1861. June 11, 1868.
Florida Jan. 11, 1861. June 11, 1868.
Georgia Jan. 19, 1861. April 20, 1870.
Louisiana Jan. 26, 1861. June 11, 1868.
Texas Feb. 1, 1861. Mar. 15, 1870.
Virginia April 16, 1861. Jan. 15, 1870.
Arkansas May 6, 1861. June 20, 1868.
North Carolina May 21, 1861. June 11, 1868.
Tennessee June 24, 1861. July, 1866.

THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1811-12.--The earthquake shocks felt on the shores of the Lower Mississippi in the years 1811-12 are recorded as among the most remarkable phenomena of their kind. Similar instances where earth disturbances have prevailed, severely and continuously, far from the vicinity of a volcano, are very rare indeed. In this instance, over an extent of country stretching for 300 miles southward from the mouth of the Ohio river, the ground rose and sank in great undulations, and lakes were formed and again drained. The shocks were attended by loud explosions, great fissures--generally traveling from northeast to southwest, and sometimes more than half a mile in length--were opened in the earth, and from these openings mud and water were thrown often to the tops of the highest trees. Islands in the Mississippi were sunk, the current of the river was driven back by the rising of its bed, and overflowed the adjacent lands. More than half of New Madrid county was permanently submerged. The inhabitants noticed that these earth movements were sometimes vertical and sometimes horizontal, the former being by far the most serious in their effects. These disturbances ceased March 26, 1812, simultaneously with the great earthquake which destroyed the city of Caracas, South America.

THE DARK DAYS IN NEW ENGLAND.--On May 19, 1780, there was a remarkable darkening of the sky and atmosphere over a large part of New England, which caused much alarm among those who witnessed it. The darkness began between ten and eleven o'clock on the day named, and continued in some places through the entire day, and was followed by an unusually intense degree of blackness during the ensuing night. This phenomenon extended from the northeastern part of New England westward as far as Albany, and southward to the coast of New Jersey. The most intense and prolonged darkness, however, was confined to Massachusetts, especially to the eastern half of the State. It came up from the southwest, and overhung the country like a pall. It was necessary to light candles in all the houses, and thousands of good people, believing that the end of all things terrestrial had come, betook themselves to religious devotions. One incident of the occasion has been woven into verse with excellent effect by the poet Whittier. The Connecticut Legislature was in session on that day, and as the darkness came on and grew more and more dense, the members became terrified, and thought that the day of judgment had come; so a motion was made to adjourn. At this, a Mr. Davenport arose and said: "Mr. Speaker, it is either the day of judgment, or it is not. If it is not, there is no need of adjourning. If it is, I desire to be found doing my duty. I move that candles be brought and that we proceed to business." Mr. Davenport's suggestion was taken, candles were brought in, and business went on as usual. As to the explanation of this phenomenon, scientists have been much puzzled. It was plain from the falling of the barometer that the air was surcharged with heavy vapor. The darkness then, it might be said, was only the result of a dense fog, but the question of the cause of so remarkable a fog was still unanswered. Omitting this unascertained primary cause, then, Professor Williams, of Harvard College, who subsequently made a thorough investigation of the matter, gave it as his opinion that this unprecedented quantity of vapor had gathered in the air in layers so as to cut off the rays of light, by repeated refraction, in a remarkable degree. He thought that the specific gravity of this vapor must have been the same as that of the air, which caused it to be held so long in suspension in the atmosphere. In this case the extent of the darkness would coincide with the area of the vapor, and it would continue until a change in the gravity of the air caused the vapors to ascend or descend. In some places when the darkness cleared it was as if the vapor was lifted and borne away by the wind like a dark pall, and in others, after a period of intense darkness the atmosphere gradually lightened again. In our day, a phenomenon of this kind would be thoroughly investigated to its most remote possible cause; but then owing to the sparse settlement of the country and the difficulties of travel, the investigation of distant causes could not be made. Large fires may have prevailed that spring in the forests of Western New York and Pennsylvania--a region then an absolute wilderness--the smoke of which was borne through the upper regions of the atmosphere, to fall when it came to a locality of less buoyant air, down to the lower strata. We say these fires may have recently preceded this day, and served as its sufficient cause, but we have only presumptive evidence that they did occur. Had Professor Williams entertained a supposition of the previous existence of such fires, he had then no means of verifying it, and long before the advent of railroads and telegraphs, or even of stage lines, the scientific theories of the dark day had passed from the general memory.