Chapter V: Value of a pound of hair-springs for watches 4 (6)

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

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

392. Which is the “Granite City”?

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

393. Where is the “Gate of Tears”?

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

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

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

395. Who was Zopyrus?

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

396. How did the swallow obtain its name?

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

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

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

397. Who was the “Sailor King”?

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

398. What became of the chains of Columbus?

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

399. Which is the Samian letter?

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

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

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

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

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

FINIS.

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Transcriber’s Notes:

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