Chapter I: Am Dying, Egypt, Dying

EVANSTON, Ill.

Who was the author of the touching poem commencing, “I am dying,
Egypt, dying?” It is said that he was an army officer.

J. H.

_Answer._—It was William Haines Lytle, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1826. He belonged to a cluster of brilliant young writers whose early ambition was to build up a school of Western literature, but who were drawn into the whirl of more active life, which left little time for courting the muses. On the breaking out of the late war he went into the army, serving as a Colonel in Western Virginia in 1861. He was wounded at Perryville, Ky., in October, 1862, was promoted for gallant services, and, finally, was killed at the battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1863. He was greatly beloved by his fellow officers for his noble social qualities as well as for his martial bearing; and nothing could be more unjust, according to the testimony of those who knew him well, than the story recently started by a flippant penny-a-liner, that he wrote the poem above referred to, properly entitled “The Death of Mark Antony,” on the walls of a guard-house in St. Louis, in which he was held under arrest over night for disorderly conduct on his way home from the theater, where he had seen Booth in Shakespeare’s great drama of “Antony and Cleopatra.” That the poem was suggested to him by witnessing Booth’s representation of this play is probably true: and it is asserted by some that he had written it, in part at least, some time before the eve of his death, but the following version of the peculiar circumstances under which this greatly admired lyric was completed and transmitted to the world corresponds with the traditions of the army, and is probably true. John M. Balthes, of Clifton, Ill., who was once a fellow-townsman of General Lytle, at Zanesville, Ohio, writing to a fellow-soldier of that gallant officer, says:

“I send you the following beautiful lines, written by him in the middle of the night, just before the next day’s battle, in which he lost his life. The General being strongly impressed, or having a premonition that he should lose his life in the battle that was so soon to open, sat absorbed and alone in his tent, when an officer coming in admonished him that he needed rest before the serious business planned for the next day. Thereupon General Lytle handed him these verses, remarking that they would be the last he should ever write.” This poem was published in THE SUNDAY INTER OCEAN of Oct. 7, almost precisely as given by Mr. Balthes, and as it appears in “Famous Single and Fugitive Poems,” by Rossiter Johnson.

SPECIAL PARTNERS—CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS.

A. D. Bird, Tecumseh, Neb.—1. In limited partnerships the special partner’s liability for the indebtedness of the firm is limited to their total interest in the firm, whereas the other partners are each liable for the whole indebtedness of the firm. In corporations “limited” stockholders are liable only to the total amount of their stock, or some specific amount over that. For a fuller answer see page 87 of Curiosity Shop for 1882, in book form. 2. The twelfth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which terminated the old rule that the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes for President should be President, and the one receiving the next greatest number for President should be Vice President, and requiring electors to name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and, in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice President, was adopted in 1804.

SILK FROM OSAGE-ORANGE LEAVES.

GALESBURG, Ill.

Will silk-worms fed with the leaves of the Osage orange thrive as
well and produce as fine a quality of silk as if fed on the leaves
of the white mulberry?

FARMER’S WIFE.

_Answer._—They seem to thrive well, and they produce fine-looking cocoons; but as to the value of these latter compared with those produced from mulberry leaves, it is not yet time to speak positively. The strength, fineness, and other elements of value have not been fully tested and pronounced upon by experts. Miss Nellie Lincoln Rossiter, of Philadelphia, who has written a little hand-book on the raising of silk-worms, says that there is no _apparent_ difference between the silk crops from morette, a species of white mulberry, and Osage orange leaves. It would be well for persons interested in this question to correspond with the Woman’s National Silk Association of Philadelphia. An interesting experiment in raising silk-worms has been successfully carried on the past season by the Misses Sarah Dewey and Alice Coykendall, at Canton, Ill. They procured the eggs from Philadelphia, with instructions for the management of them, and an exchange says: “They now have 3,500 worms in all stages of development, from those just hatched to those which have their cocoons fully formed. They are kept in an upstairs room on perforated paper, over which fresh leaves of the Osage orange are spread each morning. The ladies are enthusiastic over their success, which certainly seems assured. They will be able to find a ready market for their cocoons at Philadelphia at remunerative prices.”

AMERICAN KNIGHTS—SONS OF LIBERTY.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.

Give some of the facts as to the origin and acts of the disloyal
orders known during the war for the Union as “American Knights,”
“Sons of Liberty,” etc.; and of the trial of Dodd for conspiring
against the government.

JAS. BREWSTER.

_Answer._—The treasonable organization known during the late war, at one time as the “Mutual Protection Society,” again as the “Circle of Honor,” or the “Circle,” or “Knights of the Mighty Host,” but more widely as “Knights of the Golden Circle,” first developed itself in the West in 1862, about the time of the first conscription, or draft of troops, which it was designed to obstruct and resist. An association under the last of these names had existed for some years at the South being one of the chief means used to foment the rebellion before the outbreak. Because of some exposures of the signs, rituals, etc., of the Knights of the Golden Circle, Sterling Price, the Confederate general, had instituted as its successor in Missouri a secret political order, known as the “Corps de Belgique,” in honor of his chief coadjutor, Charles L. Hunt then Belgian Consul at St. Louis. Its special object was to beat up recruits for Price and otherwise co-operate with him in his design of overrunning Missouri. This was afterward merged into another secret order, called the “Order of American Knights,” commonly known as the “O. A. K.,” organized in the autumn of 1863 by Clement L. Vallandigham, of Ohio, and P. C. Wright, of New York. It is believed that it was founded by Vallandigham in consultation with Jefferson Davis and other arch-rebels at Richmond, during his banishment within the rebel lines. At least, members of the order in Indiana boasted that the ritual was prepared by Davis himself, and Mary Ann Pitman, at one time attached to General Forrest’s command as a rebel spy, declared that Davis was a member of the order. In Indiana, in May, 1864, owing to the names of some of the leaders and the signs and passwords of the order having got into the possession of the Federal authorities, its name was finally changed to the “Order of the Sons of Liberty,” or “Knights of the Order of the Sons of Liberty,” and a ritual was instituted. These soon became general. Local branches of the organization used other names outside their lodges, such as “Peace Organization” in Illinois, “Star Organization” in Kentucky, “American Organization” in Missouri, “McClellan Minute Men” in New York, “Democratic Invincible Club” in Chicago, “Democratic Reading-room” in Louisville, and so on.

This order had a Supreme Council for the United States at large, of which the chief officers were a Supreme Commander, a Secretary and a Treasurer. There was a Grand Council for each State, whose chief officers were a Grand Commander, a Deputy Grand Commander, a Grand Secretary, and a Grand Treasurer, and a certain number of Major Generals, one for each of its “military districts.” There was also a “Parent Temple” in each county and subordinate temples in townships. The constitution of the order declared that “the Supreme Commander shall be Commander-in-chief of all military forces belonging to the order in the various States, when called into actual service.” There were four Major Generals in Indiana, each commanding “a military district and its army.” In Illinois, where its organization was at one time very complete, the members in each Congressional district constituted a brigade, under a “Brigadier General.” Those of each county a “regiment,” commanded by a “Colonel,” and those of each township a “company.” In Indiana companies were subdivided into “squads.” The McClellan Minute Men of New York were similarly organized.

The first Supreme Commander was P. C. Wright, editor of the New York _News_, who was subsequently incarcerated in Fort Lafayette, New York harbor, when he was succeeded by Vallandigham. Robert Holloway, of Illinois, is said to have acted as Supreme Commander in the latter’s absence in Canada. Charles L. Hunt, Grand Commander for Missouri, Charles E. Dunn, Deputy Grand Commander, and Green B. Smith, Secretary, being placed under arrest, divulged facts confirmatory of the above. H. H. Dodd, the Grand Commander for Indiana, was arrested and tried at Indianapolis before a military commission “for conspiring against the government,” “violations of the laws of war,” and other charges. He was finally turned over to the civil authorities and liberated.

Vallandigham declared in a speech at Dayton, Ohio, in the summer of 1863, that the order numbered 500,000 men; others claimed 800,000, and some still more. Statements of its officers at different times, represented its numbers in Indiana as 75,000 to 125,000; in Illinois as 100,000 to 140,000; in Ohio as 80,000 to 108,000; in Michigan and New York as about 20,000 each, and so on. In March, 1864, it was represented that the total force capable of being mobilized for effective service was 340,000. Green B. Smith and other witnesses testified to having purchased and shipped arms to various points to arm the order. Another witness, once a member of the order in Indiana, testified that there were 6,000 muskets and 60,000 revolvers, besides private arms in possession of the order in that State.

The members were bound by the most rigorous oaths. Its “declaration of principles” declared that it was the imperative duty of its members to resist the functionaries of the Federal Government, “and, if need be, expel them by force of arms.” The witnesses, former members, testified that the duties of members were: 1. To aid soldiers to desert and harbor and protect them. 2. To discourage enlistments and resist the draft. 3. To circulate disloyal and treasonable publications. 4. To communicate and give assistance to the enemy. 5. To recruit for the Confederate army. 6. To furnish the rebels with arms and ammunition. 7. To co-operate with the enemy in raids and invasions. 8. To harass loyal men and destroy their property when so ordered to do. 9. To assassinate officers of the government when so directed to do. 10. To establish a Northwestern Confederacy.

The above statements are compiled from the reports of the Hon. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General, to Secretary Stanton on “Secret Societies,” and other State papers. Unusual space has been given to this question because it has been asked repeatedly, and our attention is called to the fact that it is not treated in the popular cyclopedias and histories.

CHIEF CITIES OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND.

RUSHVILLE, Ill.

What is the population of each of the principal cities of France?

JAMES P. CLARKE.

_Answer._—The population of each of the principal cities of France and England in 1881 is given in the “Statesman’s Year Book” as in the table below:

Paris 2,269,023
Lyons 376,613
Marseilles 360,099
Bordeaux 221,305
Lille 178,144
Toulouse 140,289
Nantes 124,319
St. Etienne 123,813
Rouen 105,906
Le Havre 105,867
Rheims 93,823
Roubaix 91,757
Amiens 74,170
Nancy 73,255
Toulon 70,103
Angers 68,041
Nice 66,279
Brest 66,110
Limoges 63,765
Nimes 63,552

London [12]4,764,312
Glasgow [13]647,095
Liverpool 552,425
Dublin [14]418,152
Birmingham 400,757
Manchester 393,676
Leeds 309,126
Sheffield 284,410
Edinburgh 236,002
Bristol 206,503
Bradford 180,459
Salford 176,223
Wolverhampton 164,303
Hull 161,519
Oldham 152,511
Newcastle-on-Tyne 145,228
Dundee 140,239
Brighton 128,407
Portsmouth 127,953

LIQUID GLUE AND CHINESE CEMENT.

BLACK OAK, Mo.

Please tell us how to make “Spaulding’s prepared glue” or some
substitute for it.