Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

At twelve years the second set is usually complete, with the exception of the wisdom teeth, which appear anywhere from the eighteenth to the twenty-fourth year. When the second set is coming in the beauty and character of the child's countenance is completed or forever spoiled. Everything depends upon proper care at this time to see that the teeth come with regularity and are not crowded together. The teeth cannot have too much room. When a little separated they are less liable to decay.

Dentifrices--Useful and Injurious.

The habit of caring for the teeth daily, and if possible after each meal, should be established early in life.

Those who have neglected to do so should lose no time in consulting a reputable dentist, and then persistently caring for their teeth day by day. Children especially should be taught to use the tooth-brush and some reliable dentifrice. The more pleasant the preparation the easier it will be to teach them its daily use. A fragrant, refreshing liquid is recommended, as it is a mouth wash as well as a tooth cleanser. The habit thus formed, neglected for even a single day, will make the mouth feel decidedly uncomfortable.

Cleansing the Teeth.

Preparations for cleansing the teeth and purifying the mouth should be free from all acids, and should be saponaceous or soapy, containing as one of the principal ingredients an alkali to neutralize the acids and destroy the animal and vegetable parasites which, as the microscope would show us, are in the secretions of almost every person's mouth.

A finely triturated powder having slight abrasive properties, but free from dangerous grit, should be used as the complement of a liquid. One way to use both is to pour on the wet brush or into the palm of the hand a sufficient quantity of powder and moisten it with the liquid. Occasionally the powder or the liquid alone could be employed. Be careful to use a liquid and powder of established reputation.

Beware of thy teeth.
Take good care of thy teeth,
And they will take good care of thee.

THE PERFECT FEMALE FIGURE.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Miss Helen Loewe, a student at the Chicago Art Institute, is credited by art critics with closely approaching the standard of physical perfection set by statues of the goddess Venus. Miss Loewe was posed as a model for a series of photographs issued for the benefit of the playground fund of Oak Park.

Aside from the artistic nature of Miss Loewe, a comparison of measurements with those of the typically perfect figure explains part of the success of these photographic studies.

Miss Loewe. Perfect figure. 5 ft. 7 in Height. 5 ft. 8 in. 138 Weight 140 13-1/2 Neck 13 32 Chest 33 36 Bust 37 22 Waist 23 36 Hips 39 22 Thigh 24 10 Upper arm 11 8-1/2 Forearm 9 14 Calf 15

MEN AND COMPLEXIONS.

Dr. Katherine Blackford, of Boston, speaking of men's complexions, arrives at the following conclusions. There are, of course, exceptions to all rules: "As a general rule, the blonds are inconstant. They change their minds too often. They get angry one moment and forgive the next. They are impulsive, and when they do commit crimes they are done on the impulse of the moment. A blond radiates his personality about him. The brunette, on the other hand as a rule, likes to concentrate on one subject. He is a specialist. He prefers his home and family, and his pleasures are more often lectures and kindred entertainments than those of a lighter order. He learns slowly, but he retains what he knows far better than does the blond."

HOW THE BABY'S MIND DEVELOPS.

In his book on "The Development of the Intellect," Mr. H. W. Brown presents a conspectus of the observations of Prof. Preyer on the mind of the child which shows chronologically the gradual development of the senses, intellect and will of the growing child and presents in a condensed form the result of a great number of careful observations.

It is recorded that sensibility to light, touch, temperature, smell and taste are present on the first day of infant life. Hearing, therefore, is the only special sense which is not active at this time. The child hears by the third or fourth day. Taste and smell are senses at the first most active, but they are differentiated. General organic sensations of well being or discomfiture are felt from the first, but pain and pleasure as mental states are not noted till at or near the second month.

The first sign of speech in the shape of utterance of consonant sounds is heard about the end of the second month, these consonants being generally "m," "r," "g," or "t." All the movements of the eyes become co-ordinate by the fourth month, and by this time the child begins to have the "feeling of self," that is, he looks at his own hands and looks at himself in the mirror. The study of the child's mind during the first year shows conclusively that ideas develop and reasoning processes occur before there is any knowledge of words or of language; though it may be assumed that the child thinks in symbols, visual or auditory, which are clumsy equivalents for words. By the end of the year the child begins to express itself by sounds--that is, speech begins. The development of this speech capacity is, according to Preyer, in accordance with the development of the intellectual powers. By the end of the second year the child's power of speech is practically acquired.

THE WONDERFUL HUMAN BRAIN.

According to the novel computations of a renowned histologist, who has been calculating the aggregate cell forces of the human brain, the cerebral mass is composed of at least 300,000,000 of nerve cells, each an independent body, organism, and microscopic brain so far as concerns its vital functions, but subordinate to a higher purpose in relation to the functions of the organ; each living a separate life individually, though socially subject to a higher law of function.

The lifetime of a nerve cell he estimates to be about sixty days, so that 5,000,000 die every day, about 200,000 every hour, and nearly 3,500 every minute, to be succeeded by an equal number of their progeny; while once in every sixty days a man has a new brain.

MOURNING COLORS THE WORLD OVER.

Black is by no means the only color used by man to express grief or mourning for the dead. In the South Sea Islands the natives express sorrow and hope by stripes of black and white. Grayish brown, the color of the earth to which the dead return, is used in Ethiopia. Pale brown, the color of withered leaves, is the mourning of Persia. Sky-blue, to express the assured hope that the deceased has gone to heaven, is the mourning of Syria, Cappadocia, and Armenia. Deep blue in Bokhara. Purple and violet, to express "kings and queens to God," was the color of mourning for cardinals and kings of France. The color of mourning in Turkey is violet. White (emblem of hope) is the color of mourning in China. Henry VIII. wore white for Anne Boleyn. The ladies of ancient Rome and Sparta wore white. It was the color of mourning in Spain till 1498. Yellow is the color of mourning in Egypt and in Burmah. Anne Boleyn wore yellow mourning for Catharine of Aragon.

CURIOUS FACTS ABOUT HAIR.

The hair of men is finer than that of women.

The average weight of a head of hair is from 5 to 12 ounces.

On an average head there are about 1,000 hairs to the square inch.

Hair will stretch about one-fourth of its length and retract nearly to its original length.

Four hairs of good strength will hold suspended a one-pound weight. A single head of hair, of average growth, would therefore hold suspended an entire audience of 200 people.

THINGS THAT ARE MISNAMED

Catgut is gut of sheep.

Baffin's Bay is no bay at all.

Arabic figures were invented by the Indians.

Turkish baths are not of Turkish origin.

Blacklead is a compound of carbon and iron.

Slave by derivation should mean noble, illustrious.

Turkeys do not come from Turkey, but North America.

Titmouse is not a mouse, but a little hedge sparrow.

Dutch clocks are of German (Deutsch), not Dutch manufacture.

Salt (that is table salt) is not a salt at all, but "chloride of sodium."

Galvanized iron is not galvanized--simply iron coated with zinc.

Ventriloquism is not voice from the stomach, but from the mouth.

Kid gloves are not kid at all, but are made of lambskin or sheepskin.

Pompey's Pillar, in Alexandria, was erected neither by nor to Pompey.

Tonquin beans come from Tonka, in Guinea, not Tonquin, in Asia.

Fire, air, earth, and water, called the four elements, are not elements at all.

Rice paper is not made from rice, but from the pith of Tungtsau, or hollowplant.

Japan lacquer contains no lac at all, but is made from the resin of a kind of nut tree.

Pen means a feather. (Latin. "penna," a wing.) A steel pen is therefore an anomaly.

Jerusalem artichoke has no connection with Jerusalem, but with the sunflower, "girasole."

Humble pie, for "umbil pie." The umbils of venison were served to inferiors and servants.

Lunar caustic is simply nitrate of silver, and silver is the astrological symbol of the moon.

Bridegroom has nothing to do with groom. It is the old English "guma," a man, "bryd-guma."

Mother of pearl is the inner layer of several sorts of shell, and in some cases the matrix of the pearl.

Sealing wax is not wax at all nor does it contain wax. It is made of shellac, Venice turpentine and cinnabar.

Cleopatra's Needles were not erected by Cleopatra, nor in honor of that queen, but by Thothmes III.

German silver is not silver at all, but a metallic mixture which has been in use in China time out of mind.

Cuttle-bone is not bone, but a structure of pure chalk imbedded loosely in the substance of a species of cuttlefish.

America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, a naval astronomer of Florence, but he did not discover the New World.

Prussian blue does not come from Prussia. It is the precipitate of the salt of protoxide of iron with red prussiate of potass.

Wormwood has nothing to do with worms or wood; it is the Anglo-Saxon "wer mod," man-inspiriting, being a strong tonic.

Honeydew is neither honey nor dew, but an animal substance given off by certain insects, especially when hunted by ants.

Gothic architecture is not that of the Goths, but the ecclesiastical style employed in England and France before the Renaissance.

Sperm oil properly means "seed oil," from the notion that it was spawn or milt of a whale. It is chiefly taken, however, from the head, not the spawn of the "spermaceti" whale.

Whalebone is not bone, nor does it possess any properties of bone. It is a substance attached to the upper jaw of the whale, and serves to strain the water which the creature takes up.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE FLAG.

To "strike a flag" is to lower the national colors in token of submission.

Flags are used as the symbol of rank and command, the officers using them being called flag officers. Such flags are square, to distinguish them from other banners.

A "flag of truce" is a white flag displayed to an enemy to indicate a desire to parley or for consultation.

The white flag is a sign of peace. After a battle parties from both sides often go out to the field to rescue the wounded or bury dead under the protection of a white flag.

The red flag is a sign of defiance, and is often used by revolutionists. In the naval service it is a mark of danger, and shows a vessel to be receiving or discharging her powder.

The black flag is a sign of piracy.

The yellow flag shows a vessel to be at quarantine or is the sign of a contagious disease.

A flag at half-mast means mourning. Fishing and other vessels return with a flag at half-mast to announce the loss or death of some of the men.

Dipping the flag is lowering it slightly and then hoisting it again to salute a vessel or fort.

If the President of the United States goes afloat the American flag is carried in the bows of his barge or hoisted at the main of the vessel on board of which he is.

DEATH SENTENCE OF THE SAVIOR.

The following is said to be the sentence of death, word for word, pronounced against Jesus Christ:

Sentence pronounced by Pontius Pilate, intendent of the lower province of Galilee, that Jesus of Nazareth shall suffer death by the cross. In the seventeenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, and on the 24th day of the month, in the most holy city of Jerusalem, during the pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas.

Pontius Pilate, intendent of the Province of Lower Galilee, sitting to judgment in the presidential seat of the Praetors, sentences Jesus of Nazareth to death on a cross between robbers, as the numerous and notorious testimonies of the people prove:

1. Jesus is a misleader.

2. He has excited the people to sedition.

3. He is an enemy to the laws.

4. He calls himself the son of God.

5. He calls himself, falsely, the King of Israel.

6. He went to the temple followed by a multitude carrying palms in their hands. Orders from the first centurion Quirrillis Cornelius to bring him to the place of execution. Forbids all persons, rich or poor, to prevent the execution of Jesus.

The witnesses who have signed the execution of Jesus are:

1. Daniel Robani, Pharisee.

2. John Zorobabic.

3. Raphael Robani.

4. Capet.

Jesus is to be taken out of Jerusalem through the gate of Tournes.

THE HORSE'S PRAYER.

To thee, my master, I offer my prayer: Feed, water and care for me; and when the day's work is done, provide me with shelter and a clean, dry bed. Always be kind to me. Pet me sometimes, that I may serve you the more gladly and learn to love you. Do not jerk the reins, and do not whip me when going up hill. Never strike, beat or kick me when I do not understand what you want, but give me a chance to understand you. Watch me, and if I fail to do your bidding, see if something is not wrong with my harness or feet.

Do not overload me or hitch me where water will drip on me. Keep me well shod. Examine my teeth when I do not eat; I may have an ulcerated tooth, and that, you know, is painful. Do not tie or check my head in an unnatural position or take away my best defence against flies and mosquitoes by cutting off my mane or tail.

I cannot tell you when I am thirsty, so give me clean, cool water often. I cannot tell you in words when I am sick, so watch me and by signs you may know my condition. Give me all possible shelter from the hot sun, and put a blanket on me not when I am working, but when I am standing in the cold. Never put a frosty bit in my mouth; first warm it by holding it in your hands.

I try to carry you and your burdens without a murmur, and wait patiently for you long hours of the day or night. Without the power to choose my shoes or path, I sometimes fall on the hard pavements, and I must be ready at any moment to lose my life in your service.

And finally, O, my master, when my useful strength is gone, do not turn me out to starve or freeze, nor sell me to some human brute to be slowly tortured and starved to death, but do thou, my master, take my life in the kindest way, and your God will reward you here and hereafter. Amen.

A LADY'S CHANCE OF MARRYING.

Every woman has some chance to marry. It may be one to fifty, or it may be ten to one that she will. Representing her entire chance at one hundred at certain points of her progress in time, it is found to be in the following ratio:

Between the ages of 15 and 20 years 14-1/2 percent

Between the ages of 20 and 25 years 52 per cent

Between the ages of 25 and 30 years 18 per cent

Between the ages of 30 and 35 years 15-1/2 per cent

Between the ages of 35 and 40 years 3-3/4 per cent

Between the ages of 40 and 45 years 2-1/2 per cent

Between the ages of 45 and 50 years 3/4 of 1 percent

Between the ages of 50 and 56 years 1/8 of 1 per cent

After sixty it is one-tenth of one per cent, or one chance in a thousand.

Some hae meat and canna' eat,
And some wad eat who want it;
But we hae meat and we can eat,
So let the Lord be thankit.

HINTS ON SHAVING.

Learn to shave right.

Don't shave in a hurry.

Have the water hot enough so that it won't cool too quickly.

Wash the face with soap and hot water before lathering, especially if the beard is hard.

Have the lather very soapy--thin enough to spread easily, yet thick enough so it won't drop. Rub well into the face with the brush, then with the fingers. The longer you lather and the more you rub, the easier the shave.

The hair usually grows downward. Shave with the grain, not against it. Use a sliding motion, as well as downward.

If you get a "nick," wash with cold water. Rubbing the cut with a piece of lump alum will stop the bleeding at once and help to heal.

Hold the razor properly. Lay it as flat as possible--the back of razor nearly touching the skin. Have it under easy control. Don't grab it--an easy position means an easy shave.

A poor strop will spoil the best razor ever made.

To buy a good razor and a cheap strop is pour economy.

If you prefer a swing strop, pull it as tightly as you can. Better use a stiff strop--cushion or solid--if in doubt.

A serious mistake made by a number of self-shavers is to hold the strop loose. This bends the invisible teeth and rounds the edge.

Strop your razor before and after shaving. This keeps the edge free from rust.

Dip your razor in hot water before stropping and shaving. This dissolves the accumulation in the invisible teeth.

Press as hard as you like on the back of the blade, but very lightly on the edge.

As you reach the end of the strop, turn the razor on the back of the blade to strop the other side, pulling toward you.

Keep rust away from your strop, and remember that a cut in the strop will ruin your razor. Don't use a strop that is cut.

FACTS TO SETTLE ARGUMENTS

Telephone invented. 1861.

There are 2,750 languages.

Sound moves 743 miles per hour.

Hawks can fly 150 miles an hour.

Chinese invented paper, 170 B. C.

A hand, horse measure, is 4 inches.

German Empire re-established, 1871.

Storm clouds move 36 miles an hour.

The first steel pen was made in 1830.

Phonographs invented by Edison, 1877.

Light moves 187,000 miles per second.

Watches were first constructed in 1476.

First steamer crossed the Atlantic, 1819.

Rome was founded by Romulus, 752 B. C.

First musical notes used, 1338; printed, 1502.

The first Atlantic cable was operated in 1858.

The first balloon ascended from Lyons, France, 1783.

Slow rivers flow at the rate of seven-tenths of a mile per hour.

Napoleon I. crowned Emperor, 1804; died at St. Helena, 1820.

Harvard, the oldest college in the United States, was founded, 1638.

The first steam engine on this continent was brought from England, 1753.

The most extensive park is Deer Park in Denmark. It contains 4,200 acres.

Measure 209 ft. on each side and you will have a square acre, to an inch.

Albert Durer gave the world a prophecy of future wood engraving in 1527.

The first iron ore discovered in this country was found in Virginia in 1715.

"Bravest of the Brave" was the title given to Marshal Ney at Friedland, 1807.

The highest bridge in the world, 360 ft. from the surface of the water, is over a gorge at Constantine in Algiers.

The first volunteer fire company in the United States was at Philadelphia, 1736.

St. Augustine, oldest city in the United States, founded by the Spaniards, 1565.

Jamestown, Va., founded, 1607; first permanent English settlement in America.

Books in their present form were invented by Attalus, kind of Pergamos, 198 B. C.

Robert Raikes established the first Sunday-school, at Gloucester, England, 1781.

Oberlin College, Ohio, was the first in the United States that admitted female students.

The first knives were used in England, and the first wheeled carriages in France, in 1559.

The largest park in the United States is Fairmont, at Philadelphia, and contains 2.740 acres.

The highest natural bridge in the world is at Rockbridge, Virginia, being 200 feet high to the bottom of the arch.

The largest empire in the world is that of Great Britain, being 8,557,658 square miles, and more than a sixth part of the globe.

The first electrical signal ever transmitted between Europe and America passed over the Field submarine cable on Aug. 5, 1858.

Paris was known as Lutetia until 1184, when the name of the great French capital was changed to that which it has borne ever since.

The longest tunnel in the world is St. Gothard, on the line of the railroad between Lucerne and Milan, being 9-1/2 miles in length.

Burnt brick were known to have been used in building the Tower of Babel. They were introduced into England by the Romans.

The loftiest active volcano is Popocatapetl. It is 17,784 feet high, and has a crater three miles in circumference and 1,000 feet deep.

The largest insurance company in the world is the Mutual Life of New York City, having cash and real estate assets of over $350,000,000.

The Latin tongue became obsolete about 580.

The value of a ton of pure gold is $602,799.21.

First authentic use of organs, 755; in England, 951.

Ether was first used for surgical purposes in 1844.

Ignatius Loyola founded the order of Jesuits, 1541.

The first newspaper advertisement appeared in 1652.

Benjamin Franklin used the first lightning rods, 1752.

Glass windows (colored) were used in the 8th century.

The largest desert is Sahara, in Northern Africa. Its length is 3,000 miles and breadth 900 miles, having an area of 2,000,000 square miles.

The most remarkable echo known is that in the castle of Simonetta, two miles from Milan. It repeats the echo of a pistol shot sixty times.

The first deaf and dumb asylum was founded in England, by Thomas Braidwood, 1760; and the first in the United States was at Hartford, 1817.

The largest diamond in the world is the Braganza, being a part of the Portugese jewels. It weighs 1,880 carats. It was found in Brazil in 1741.

The "Valley of Death," in the island of Java, is simply the crater of an extinct volcano, filled with carbonic acid gas. It is half a mile in circumference.

The grade of titles in Great Britain stands in the following order from the highest: A Prince, Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron, Baronet, Knight.

The city of Amsterdam, Holland, is built upon piles driven into the ground. It is intersected by numerous canals, crossed by nearly three hundred bridges.

Coal was used as fuel in England as early as 852, and in 1234 the first charter to dig it was granted by Henry III. to the inhabitants of Newcastle-on-Tyne.

The present national colors of the United States were not adopted by Congress until 1777. The flag was first used by Washington at Cambridge, January 1, 1776.

Tobacco was discovered in San Domingo in 1496; afterwards by the Spaniards in Yucatan in 1520. It was Introduced into France in 1560, and into England in 1583.

Kerosene was first used for illuminating in 1826.

Cork is the bark taken from a species of the oak tree.

National banks first established in the United States, 1816.

Introduction of homoeopathy into the United States, 1825.

Egyptian pottery is the oldest known; dates from 2,000 B. C.

Authentic history of China commenced 3.000 years B. C.

The largest free territorial government is the United States.

The Chaldeans were the first people who worked in metals.

Spectacles were invented by an Italian in the 13th century.

Soap was first manufactured in England in the 16th century.

Julius Caesar invaded Britain, 55 B. C.; assassinated, 44 B. C.

Medicine was introduced into Rome from Greece, 200 B. C.

First electric telegraph, Paddington to Brayton, England, 1835.

First photographs produced in England, 1802; perfected, 1841.

First life insurance, in London, 1772; in America, Philadelphia. 1812.

Slavery in the United States was begun at Jamestown, Va. in 1619.

The highest denomination of legal-tender notes in the United States is $10,000.

Postage stamps first came into use in England in the year 1840; in the United States, in 1847.

The highest range of mountains are the Himalayas, the mean elevation being from 16,000 to 18,000 feet.

The term "Almighty Dollar" originated with Washington Irving, as a satire on the American love for gain.

The largest inland sea is the Caspian, between Europe and Asia, being 700 miles long and 270 miles wide.

A span is ten and seven-eighths inches.

First watches made in Nuremberg, 1476.

Pianoforte invented in Italy about 1710.

The value of a ton of silver is $37,704.84.

French and Indian War in America, 1754.

A hurricane moves eighty miles per hour.

Coaches were first used in England in 1569.

The first horse railroad was built in 1826-7.

Electricity moves 288,000 miles per second.

Modern needles first came into use in 1545.

The average human life is thirty-three years.

French Revolution, 1789; Reign of Terror, 1793.

$1,000,000 gold coin weighs 3,685.8 lb. avoirdupois.

Mormons arrived at Salt Lake Valley, Utah, July 24, 1847.

The largest cavern in the world is the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.

Experiments in electric lighting, by Thomas A. Edison, 1878-80.

Daguerre and Nieper invented the process of daguerreotype, 1839.

First American library founded at Harvard College, Cambridge, 1638.

First cotton raised in the United States was in Virginia, in 1621; first exported, 1747.

First sugar-cane cultivated in the United States, near New Orleans, 1751; first sugar-mill, 1758.

First telegraph in operation in America was between Washington and Baltimore, May 27, 1844.

The largest university is Oxford, in England. It consists of twenty-one colleges and five halls.

The first illumination with gas was in Cornwall, Eng., 1792; in the United States, at Boston, 1822.

Printing was known in China in the 6th century; introduced into England about 1474; America, 1516.

The great wall of China, built 200 B. C. is 1,250 miles in length, 20 feet high, and 25 feet thick at the base.

Glass mirrors first made by Venetians in the 13th century. Polished metal was used before that time.

Meerschaum means "froth of the sea." It is white and soft when dug from the earth, but soon hardens.

In round numbers, the weight of $1,000,000 in standard gold coin is 1-3/4 tons; standard silver coin, 26-3/4 tons; subsidiary silver coin, 25 tons; minor coin, 5-cent nickel, 100 tons.

The highest monument in the world is the Washington monument, being 555 feet. The highest structure of any kind is the Eiffel Tower, Paris, finished in 1889, and 989 feet high.

There has been no irregularity in the recurrence of leap year every four years since 1800, except in 1900, which was a common year, although it came fourth after the preceding leap year.

It is claimed that crows, eagles, ravens and swans live to be 100 years old; herons, 59, parrots, 60; pelicans and geese, 50; skylarks, 30; sparrow hawks, 40; peacocks, canaries and cranes, 24.

The greatest cataract in the world is Niagara, the height of the American falls being 165 feet. The highest fall of water in the world is that of the Yosemite in California, being 2,550 feet.

The most ancient catacombs are those of the Theban kings, begun 4,000 years ago. The catacombs of Rome contain the remains of about 6,000,000 human beings; those of Paris, 3,000,000.

The first English newspaper was the English Mercury, issued in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was issued in the shape of a pamphlet. The Gazette of Venice was the original model of the modern newspaper.

The Great Eastern, at one time the greatest steamer afloat, and twice as long as any other vessel at the time of her launching, in 1858, was 692 feet in length and 118 feet in breadth. She was too large to be handled profitably with the motive power then available, but proved indispensable in the laying of the Atlantic cable. She was broken up and sold as junk, although the Isherwood system, on which she was built, has since been revived, and is now successfully employed in shipbuilding.

The seven sages flourished in Greece in the 6th century B. C. They were renowned for their maxims of life, and as the authors of the mottoes inscribed in the Delphian Temple. Their names are: Solon, Chilo, Pittacus, Bias, Periander, Cleobolus, and Thales.

A "monkey wrench" is not so named because it is a handy thing to monkey with, or for any kindred reason. "Monkey" is not its name at all, but "Moncky." Charles Moncky, the inventor of it, sold his patent for $2,000, and invested the money in a house in Williamsburgh, Kings County, N. Y.

The "Seven Wonders of the World" are seven most remarkable objects of the ancient world. They are: The Pyramids of Egypt, Pharos of Alexandria, Walls and Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Diana at Ephesus, the Statue of the Olympian Jupiter, Mausoleum of Artemisia, and Colossus of Rhodes.

In 1775 there were only twenty-seven newspapers published in the United States. Ten years later, in 1785, there were seven published in the English language in Philadelphia alone, of which one was a daily. The oldest newspaper published in Philadelphia at the time of the Federal convention was the Pennsylvania Gazette, established by Samuel Keimer, in 1728. The second newspaper in point of age was the Pennsylvania Journal, established in 1742 by William Bradford, whose uncle, Andrew Bradford, established the first newspaper in Pennsylvania, the American Weekly Mercury, in 1719. Next in age, but the first in importance, was the Pennsylvania Packet, established by John Dunlap, in 1771. In 1784 it became a daily, being the first daily newspaper printed on this continent.

"Liberty," Bartholdi's statue, presented to the United States by the French people in 1885, is the largest statue ever built. Its conception is due to the great French sculptor whose name it bears. It is said to be a likeness of his mother. Eight years of time were consumed in the construction of this gigantic brazen image. Its weight is 440,000 pounds, of which 146,000 pounds are copper, the remainder iron and steel. The major part of the iron and steel was used in constructing the skeleton frame work for the inside. The mammoth electric light held in the hands of the giantess is 305 feet above tide-water. The height of the figure is 152-1/2 feet; the pedestal 91 feet, and the foundation 52 feet and 10 inches. Forty persons can find standing-room within the mighty head, which is 14-1/2 feet in diameter. A six-foot man standing on the lower lip could hardly reach the eyes. The index finger is 8 feet in length and the nose 3-3/4 feet. The Colossus of Rhodes was a pigmy compared with this latter-day wonder.

The largest and grandest temple of worship in the world is St. Peter's Cathedral at Rome. It stands on the site of Nero's circus, in the northwest part of the city, and is built in form of a Latin cross. The total length of the interior is 612-1/2 English feet; transept, 446-1/2 feet; height of nave, 152-1/2 feet; diameter of cupola, 193 feet; height of dome from pavement to top of cross, 448 feet. The great bell alone, without the hammer or clapper, weighs 18,600 pounds, or over 9-1/4 tons. The foundation was laid in 1450 A. D. Forty-three Popes lived and died during the time the work was in progress. It was dedicated in the year 1826, but not entirely finished until the year 1880. The cost, in round numbers, is set down at $70,000,000.

The great pyramid of Cheops is the largest structure of any kind ever erected by the hand of man. Its original dimensions at the base were 764 feet square, and its perpendicular height in the highest point 488 feet; it covers four acres, one rood and twenty-two perches of ground and has been estimated by an eminent English architect to have cost not less than 30,000,000 pounds, which in United States currency would be about $145,200,000. Internal evidence proves that the great pyramid was begun about the year 2170 B. c., about the time of the birth of Abraham. It is estimated that about 5,000,000 tons of hewn stone were used in its construction, and the evidence points to the fact that these stones were brought a distance of about 700 miles from quarries in Arabia.

The largest body of fresh water in the world is Lake Superior. It is 400 miles long and 180 miles wide; its circumference, including the winding of its various bays, has been estimated at 1,800 miles. Its area in square miles is 32,000, which is greater than the whole of New England, leaving out Maine. The greatest depth of this inland sea is 200 fathoms, or 1,200 feet. Its average depth is about 160 fathoms. It is 636 feet above the sea level.

The corner stone of the Washington monument, the highest in the United States, and until 1889 the highest structure in the world, was laid July 4, 1848. Robert E. Winthrop, then Speaker of the House, delivered the oration. Work progressed steadily for about six years, until the funds of the monumental society became exhausted. At that time the monument was about 175 feet high. From 1854 until 1879 nothing to speak of was done on the building. In the year last above named Congress voted an appropriation of $200,000 to complete the work. From that time forward work progressed at a rapid rate until December 6th, 1884, when the aluminum apex was set at 555 feet 5-1/2 inches from the foundation and the work declared finished. The foundation is 146-1/2 feet square; number of stones used above the 130-foot level, 19,163; total weight stone used in work, 81,120 tons.

The largest State in our grand republic is Texas, which contains 274,350 square miles, capable of sustaining 20,000,000 people, and then it would not be more crowded than Scotland is at present. It has been estimated that the entire population of the globe could be seated upon chairs within the boundary of Texas and each have four feet of elbow room.

The Mississippi River, from the source of the Missouri to the Eads jetties, is the longest river in the world. It is 4,300 miles in length and drains an area of 1,726,000 square miles. The Amazon, which is without doubt the widest river in the world, including the Beni, is 4,000 miles in length and drains 2,330,000 square miles of territory.

THE SINGLE TAX.

This idea was first formulated by Mr. Henry George in 1879, and has grown steadily in favor. Single-tax men assert as a fundamental principle that all men are equally entitled to the use of the earth; therefore, no one should be allowed to hold valuable land without paying to the community the value of the privilege. They hold that this is the only rightful source of public revenue, and they would therefore abolish all taxation--local, state and national--except a tax upon the rental value of land exclusive of its improvements, the revenue thus raised to be divided among local, state and general governments, as the revenue from certain direct taxes is now divided between local and state governments.

The single tax would not fall on all land, but only on valuable land, and on that in proportion to its value. It would thus be a tax, not on use or improvements, but on ownership of land, taking what would otherwise go to the landlord as owner.

In accordance with the principle that all men are equally entitled to the use of the earth, they would solve the transportation problem by public ownership and control of all highways, including the roadbeds of railroads, leaving their use equally free to all.

The single-tax system would, they claim, dispense with a horde of tax-gatherers, simplify government, and greatly reduce its cost; give us with all the world that absolute free trade which now exists between the States of the Union: abolish all taxes on private issues of money; take the weight of taxation from agricultural districts, where land has little or no value apart from improvements, and put it upon valuable land, such as city lots and mineral deposits. It would call upon men to contribute for public expenses in proportion to the natural opportunities they monopolize, and make it unprofitable for speculators to hold land unused or only partly used, thus opening to labor unlimited fields of employment, solving the labor problem and abolishing involuntary poverty.

THE MYSTERIES OF HYPNOTISM.

A Compend of the General Claims Made by Professional Hypnotists.

Animal magnetism is the nerve-force of all human and animal bodies, and is common to every person in a greater or less degree. It may be transmitted from one person to another. The transmitting force is the concentrated effort of will-power, which sends the magnetic current through the nerves of the operator to the different parts of the body of his subject. It may be transmitted by and through the eyes, as well as the finger tips, and the application of the whole open hands, to different regions of the body of the subject, as well as to the mind. The effect of this force upon the subject will depend very much upon the health, mental capacity and general character of the operator. Its action in general should be soothing and quieting upon the nervous system; stimulating to the circulation of the blood, the brain and other vital organs of the body of the subject. It is the use and application of this power or force that constitutes hypnotism.

Magnetism is a quality that inheres in every human being, and it may be cultivated like any other physical or mental force of which men and women are constituted. From the intelligent operator using it to overcome disease, a patient experiences a soothing influence that causes a relaxation of the muscles, followed by a pleasant, drowsy feeling which soon terminates in refreshing sleep. On waking, the patient feels rested; all his troubles have vanished from consciousness and he is as if he had a new lease of life.

In the true hypnotic condition, when a patient voluntarily submits to the operator, any attempt to make suggestions against the interests of the patient can invariably be frustrated by the patient. Self-preservation is the first law of nature, and some of the best known operators who have recorded their experiments assert that suggestions not in accord with the best interest of the patient could not be carried out. No one was ever induced to commit any crime under hypnosis, that could not have been induced to do the same thing much easier without hypnosis.

The hypnotic state is a condition of mind that extends from a comparatively wakeful state, with slight drowsiness, to complete somnambulism, no two subjects, as a rule, ever presenting the same characteristics.

The operator, to be successful, must have control of his own mind, be in perfect health and have the ability to keep his mind concentrated upon the object he desires to accomplish with his subject.

HOW TO CARE FOR A PIANO. By William H. Damon

The most important thing in the preservation of a piano is to avoid atmospheric changes and extremes and sudden changes of temperature. Where the summer condition of the atmosphere is damp all precautions possible should be taken to avoid an entirely dry condition in winter, such as that given by steam or furnace heat. In all cases should the air in the home contain moisture enough to permit a heavy frost on the windows in zero weather. The absence of frost under such conditions is positive proof of an entirely dry atmosphere, and this is a piano's most dangerous enemy, causing the sounding board to crack, shrinking up the bridges, and consequently putting the piano seriously out of tune, also causing an undue dryness in all the action parts and often a loosening of the glue joints, thus producing clicks and rattles. To obviate this difficulty is by no means an easy task and will require considerable attention. Permit all the fresh air possible during winter, being careful to keep the piano out of cold drafts, as this will cause a sudden contraction of the varnish and cause it to check or crack. Plants in the room are desirable and vessels of water of any kind will be of assistance. The most potent means of avoiding extreme dryness is to place a single-loaf bread-pan half full of water in the lower part of the piano, taking out the lower panel and placing it on either side of the pedals inside. This should be refilled about once a month during artificial heat, care being taken to remove the vessel as soon as the heat is discontinued in the spring. In cases where stove heat is used these precautions are not necessary.

The action of a piano, like any other delicate piece of machinery, should be carefully examined, and, if necessary, adjusted each time it is tuned. The hammers need occasional and careful attention to preserve original tone quality and elasticity. Never allow the piano to be beaten or played hard upon. This is ruinous to both the action and tuning. When not in use the music rack and top should be closed to exclude dust. The keyboard need never be closed, as the ivory needs both light and ventilation and will eventually turn yellow unless left open.

The case demands careful treatment to preserve its beauty and polish, Never use anything other than a soft piece of cotton cloth or cheese cloth to dust it with. Never wipe it with a dry chamois skin or silk cloth. Silk is not as soft as cotton and will scratch. A dry chamois skin picks up the dust and grit and gradually scours off the fine finish. In dusting never use a feather duster, nor rub the piano hard with anything. The dust should be whipped off, and not rubbed into the varnish. If the piano is dingy, smoky or dirty looking, it should be washed carefully with lukewarm water with a little ammonia in it to soften it. Never use soap. Use nothing but a small, soft sponge and a chamois skin. Wipe over a small part at a time with the sponge, following quickly with the wet chamois skin wrung out of the same water. This will dry it immediately and leave it as beautiful and clean as new. Never use patent polishes. If your piano needs polishing employ a competent polisher to give it a hand-rubbing friction polish.

The highest mountain on the globe is not, as is generally supposed, Mt. Everest, that honor belonging to a lofty peak named Mt. Hercules on the Isle of Papua, New Guinea, discovered by Capt. Lawson in 1881, According to Lawson, this monster is 32,763 feet in height, being 3,781 feet higher than Mt. Everest, which is only 29,002 feet above the level of the Indian Ocean.

[Transcriber's Note: The highest point in New Guinea is Puncak Jaya (Mount Carstensz or the Carstensz Pyramid), at 16,023 feet.]

SALT-RISING BREAD.

The real formula for making salt-rising bread, as set down by the daughter of Governor Stubbs, of Kansas, and by him communicated to Theodore Roosevelt, is as follows, according to the "Saturday Evening Post":

"On the night before you contemplate this masterpiece of baking take half a cupful of corn meal and a pinch each of salt and sugar. Scald this with new milk heated to the boiling point and mix to the thickness of mush. This can be made in a cup. Wrap in a clean cloth and put in a warm place overnight.

"In the morning, when all is ready, take a one-gallon stone jar and into this put one scant cupful of new milk. Add a level teaspoonful of salt and one of sugar. Scald this with three cupfuls of water heated to the boiling point. Reduce to a temperature of one hundred and eight degrees with cold water, using a milk thermometer to enable you to get exactly the right temperature. Then add flour and mix to a good batter; after the batter is made, mix in your starter that was made the night before. Cover the stone jar with a plate and put the jar in a large kettle of water and keep this water at a temperature of one hundred and eight degrees until the sponge rises. It should rise at least an inch and a half. When it has raised mix to a stiff dough, make into loaves and put into pans. Do not let the heat get out of the dough while working. Grease the loaves well on top and set your bread where it will be warm and rise. After the loaves rise bake in a medium oven for one hour and ten minutes. When you take the loaves from the oven wrap them in a bread-cloth."

A CURE FOR LOVE.

Take twelve ounces of dislike, one pound of resolution, two grains of common sense, two ounces of experience, a large sprig of time, and three quarts of cooling water of consideration. Set them over a gentle fire of love, sweeten it with sugar of forgetfulness, skim it with the spoon of melancholy, put it in the bottom of your heart, cork it with the cork of clean conscience. Let it remain and you will quickly find ease and be restored to your senses again.

These things can be had of the apothecary at the house of Understanding next door to Reason, on Prudent street.

DOING BUSINESS WITH A BANK

In opening your account with a bank it is proper that you should first be introduced to the cashier, or some other official. If you are engaged in business, that officer will inquire as to your particular business or calling, your address, etc., and unless he is already satisfied on this point, he may make inquiries as to your business standing. This being satisfactory, he will hand you a passbook, and some deposit tickets, whereupon you make your first deposit, entering the amount on the ticket. You will then be asked to write your signature in a book provided for that purpose, or upon a card to be filed away for reference.

The Signature.

This signature should be just as you intend to use it in all your dealings with the bank. If, for instance, your name is John Henry Smith, you may write it J. H. Smith, J. Henry Smith. John H. Smith or John Henry Smith, but whatever form you adopt should be used all the time. Once having adopted the form, it should be maintained in exactly that way. The only excuse for variation from your usual signature is when presenting checks or other paper made payable to you. In that case, supposing you had adopted the form J. Henry Smith for your regular signature, and the check is made payable to John H. Smith, you should first write on the back of that check "John H. Smith," and immediately under this you should place your regular signature.

Depositing Money.

When making a deposit, always use the deposit ticket provided by the bank, filling it out yourself in ink. From this ticket, which is first checked up by the receiving teller, the amount of your deposit is placed to your credit. Do not ask the teller to fill our your deposit ticket. No doubt he would be glad to accommodate you, but to do so would violate a rule which protects both the bank and the depositor, Deposit tickets are preserved by the bank, and often serve to correct mistakes.

How to Avoid Mistakes.

Consider for a moment the vast aggregate of bank transactions, and you will see that perfect system on the part of the banks and bank officials is required to insure accuracy and avoid mistakes. Sometimes the requirements of the banks may seem arbitrary and troublesome, but reflection will show that they safeguard the depositor as well as the bank. The simple rules here laid down will enable anyone who has business with a bank to do so with the least trouble and with absolute safety.

How to Make Out a Check.

Checks are the most satisfactory and most convenient method of paying a debt or making any ordinary remittance. The stub of your check book will furnish a permanent memorandum, and when the check is canceled and returned to you by the bank, it is an indisputable evidence that the debt has been paid, or that the remittance has been made. The making of a check is a simple matter, but even the best business men make mistakes sometimes which are as difficult to remedy as they are easy to avoid. The hints here given and the facsimiles of checks printed in illustration will repay careful study.

The first facsimile shows a check properly made. It will be seen, in the first place, that this check is written very plainly, and that there is no room for the insertion of extra figures or words. The writing of the amount commences as nearly as possible to the extreme left of the check. The figures are written close together and there is no space between the first figure and the dollar mark.

All erasures in checks should be avoided. If you have made a mistake, tear a blank check from the back of your check book and use that in place of the one spoiled.

Some business men allow their clerks to fill out checks on the typewriter. This is ill-advised for two reasons: First, it is much easier to alter a typewritten check than one filled in with a pen; in the second place, a teller, in passing on the genuineness of a check, takes into consideration the character of the handwriting in the body of the check as well as in the signature. The typewritten characters offer no clue to individuality.

Never mail a check drawn to "Bearer." Remember that if your check is made payable to "Bearer" or to "John Smith or Bearer" it may be cashed by anybody who happens to have it. Unless it is for a large amount the paying teller of your bank will look only to see whether your signature is correct, and, that being right, the bank cannot be held responsible if the check should have come into the wrong hands.

A check drawn to order can be cashed only when the person to whose order it has been drawn has indorsed it by writing his or her name on the back and the bank will be responsible for the correctness of the indorsement.

If you make your check payable say, to William Armstrong or order, nobody but William Armstrong, or some one to whom he indorses the check, can collect the amount, and if through fraud or otherwise some one not entitled to it gets the money which the check calls for, the responsibility is not yours, but the bank's. It is for that reason that bankers and business men use such great care in accepting checks.

For the same reason you should never accept a check from anybody whom you do not know as responsible, and you should not be surprised or angered if some one else should hesitate to take a check from you.

Checks or drafts received by you should be deposited as soon as possible. Should you receive a check for a considerable amount and have no convenient bank account, you should go to the bank on which the check is drawn and have the cashier certify it by stamping "Accepted" or "Certified" across the face over his signature. That formality makes the paper as good as money so long as the bank accepting it is solvent.

It sometimes happens that a check drawn in good faith by a responsible party is withheld so long by the person receiving it that there is no money to the account when the check is finally presented.

Paying Notes and Acceptances.

Make your notes and accepted drafts payable at the bank where you do business. Whether it or other banks hold them for collection, they will be presented to your bank when due.