The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-04-15 00:00:00

JOTTINGS FOR THE CURIOUS.

WHAT PERSEVERANCE WILL Do. —lt is not a little
remarkale that John Ludwig, the Saxon peasant, was dis-
missed from school when he was a child, a f ter four years ineffec-
tual struggle to teach him the common rules of arithnuetic.
He spent several subsequent years in common country
labour; but at length an accidental circumstance roused
his ambition, and he became expert in all the common rules,
and mastered vulgar fractions by the help of an old school
book, in the course of a single year. He afterwards taught
himself geometry, and raised himself, by the force of his
abilities and perseverance, from obscurity to fame.
A SINGULAR ARABIAN CIISTO3I.—When an Arab
widow intends marrying again, she goes the night before the
ceremony to pay a visit to the grave of her first husband.
There she kneels, and prays him not to be offended. The
widow brings with her a donkey laden with two goats' skins
with water. The rrayer ended, she proceeds to pour the
water upon the grave, and, having well saturated it, she
departs, and makers her preparations for the approaching
nuptials.
THE CHOLERA.—The Cholera WM known in Turkey,
Persia, 1 artery, and parts of Asia, as far back as the four-
teenth century, and we have no doubt such was the case;
but it was nnly in IMO that it extended its dismal ravages into
Europe. In Asia, though it is a sad scourge, it is easily
treated if remedies be supplied in time : and the cause of its
ravages in Europe and America several years ago, was par-
tially that it Occasioned a panic, which superinduced the
disease, and because it was a new disorder, which our
medical men knew not how to treat.

HOW THE SPIDER SPINS.—Few things are more
wonderful than the spinning apparatus of the spider. On
the under side of the creature's body are placed four or six
little knobs, each not larger than the point of a pin. These
are outlets of certain receptacles within the abdomen, where
the silk is prepared. When the spider wishes to spia a
thread, it presses the knobs, or spinnerets, with one of its legs,
and forthwith there issue from each, not one but a thousand
fibres, of such exquisite fineness, that it is only when the
products of all the spinnerets are united that they become
visible to the naked eye The " thread" of the spider is thus
a tiny rope of four or six thousand strands. The twisting
into one cord is performed by the hindermost pair of legs,
which, like the rest, are fnrnished with three claws apiece.
Using thes. claws as fingers, the little rope-maker twists her
groups of thread into one with surprieing rapidity.
ORIGIN OF SIGNS —Signs were introduced into Eng-
land from FraLce, in the reign of Edward 111. and they be-
came sos general that nearly every shopkkeeper in London
had one displayed outside his shop. Great ingenuity was
exhibited in the invention of signs calculated to prove most
attractive to the passer-by, and large sums of money were
expended in this species of advertising These signs were
' not affixed to the house, but were placed on posts, or hung
thereon on binges, at the edge of the footpath. So largely
did these increase that they absolutely obstructed the free
circulation of air, and are supposed to have been among the
causes of the frequent epidemical disorders in London.
They also materially aided the spread of conflagrations; and
on these grounds were afterwards forbidden to be displayed,
in pain of a penalty.
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SINGULAR TITLE TO A BOOK.—The authors of the
time ~f Elizabeth and James L often put quaint and ridicu-
lous titles to their books: amongst others may be mentioned
Joshua Sylvester, a Puritanical poet, who wrote a poem
against tobacco, which bears this title: "Tobacco battered
and the pipe shattered about their ears that idolise so base
and barbarous a weed, or at leastwise overloye so leathsome
a vanity, by a volley of holy shot thundered from Mount
Helicon."

A " TRAGEDY " IN REALITY !—The history of Sweden
records a very extraordinary incident which took place at
the representation of the mystery of the Passion, under King
John IL, in 1513. The actor who performed the part of
Longinus, the soldier who was to pierce the Christ on the
cross in the side, was so transported with the spirit of his
action, that he really killed the man who personated our
Lord; who, falling suddenly, and with great violence, over-
threw the actress who represented the Holy Mother. King
John, who was present at this spectacle, was so enraged
against Longinus, that he leaped on the stage and struck off
his head. The spectators, who had been delighted with the
too violent actor, became infuriated against their king, fell
up.)n him in a throng, and killed him.

QUEEN ELIZABETH S SUNDAY AMUSEMENT.—When
the Queen visited the University of Cambridge, the colleges,
of course, took much pales and went to considerable ex-
pense to provide appropriate diversion for the Queen, who
was entertained on Sunday with the first Latin sermon she
had ever heard, and a representation of one of Plautus's
comedies. Not only was the Latin comedy performed oa a
Sunday, but it was put upon the stage in the very chapel
where the Sovereign had on the same day taken part in
Divine worship—facts which are important illustrations of
the way in which Sunday was kept, and of the freedom with
which our pious ancestors used their churches for social
purposes, in pre-Puritan England.
A WONDERFUL BABOON.—Le Valliant, the African
traveller, has tout some wonderful stories about the instinct
of tilt baboon. He travelled with one for a long time as a
guide. Its name was Snees. He knew the shops were the
best sherbet was to be got. Being short of butter once, Snees
brought him a number of cocoanuts, which he had thrown
away till the milk inside had become churned. He watched
by his master's side every night, killing the mosquitos which
swarm about the banks of the Nile. Be often helped Le
Valliant in unrolling the mummies and packing his trunks.
Le Valliant brought his baboon to Europe, and Snees showed
his gratitude by saving his master's life. Thieves were plun-
dering the house, when Snees ran to the alarm-bell, and
never ceased pulling it till the inmates were alarmed; the
thieves were apprehended just in time, for Le Valliant says
when be awoke there were two gentlemen at his bedside, one
with a pistol, and the other with a carving knife. Tne day
Le Valliant died, the sagacious baboon broke a blacking
bottle—whether accidentaly or not is not proved—which
blacked him from head to foot; butmany penons who Knew
Snees well, declared this was done purposely, from a desire
ot the faithful animal to show respect to the memory of his
kind mastea by going into mourning for him.
ORIGIN OF "GETTING INTO A SCRAPE."—The deer
are addicted, at certain seasons, to dig up the land with their
fore feet, in holes, to the depth of a foot, or even of half-a.
yard. These are called "scrapes." To tumble into one of
these is sometimes done at the cost of a broken ieg ; hence a
man who finds himself liven unpleasant position, from which
extrication is difficult, is said to have 'got into a scrape."

THE ESQUIMAEX.—The word " Lquimaux " -comes
from Eskimos (eaters of raw flesh). They are evidently of
Mongol origin, and consist of three principal stocks—the
Kalalitz, better known by the name of Grtenhndeos • the
Esqnimaux proper, on the north and east coast of Labrador:
and the western Esquimau; found along Hudson's Bay, the
west side of Baffin's Bay, the polar shores of America, and
both on the American and• Asiatic sides of Behrines Straits.
This last locality gives them the remarkable peculiarity of
being the only aboriginal race common to the Old and New
Worlds. Their leading physical pecnliatities are a stunted
stature, seldom exceeding five feet in height, flattened note,
projecting cheek bones, thick lips, eyes often oblique, and
yellow and brownish skin. The dress of the men consists of
a cloak of sealskins, which reaches to the knee, and that of
the women differs from it very slightly. In intellect they
are by no means deficient, and the success of Danish mis-
sionaries proves their capability of receiving the truths of
Christianity.

A CUNNING ANIMAL—One of the largest and most
ferocious animals in South America is the jaguar—a terrible
native tiger. Besides beibg large and immensely strong, it
practises extraordinary strategic schemes in procuring food,
which indicates something above mere instinct, because cir.
cumstances are constantly requiring some variation in their
fortoting expeditions for prey. Humboldt says when they find
a turtle, they adroitly turn it over on its back. It is then
helpless and totally unable to offer resistance in that condi..
tion. With the most cruel manifestations of feline character,
the jaguar then leisurely gnaws out the quivering flesh
between the shell and the carapace. Another of the j iguar's
reasoning maeceuvres is to quietly follow the margin of
streams. At a sight et a fish near enough to be appro;ched,
with a quick dash of its paw, the game is tbrown high and
dry above the hank. Fortunately for the country, the j aguar
has a match in the great serpents that infest tropical
Amerin. In a twinkling of an eye one of these monst,rs
winds himself round his body, and crushes out lute, and cracks
the bones into fragments, at the same moment.
,ofsoourofLtiebnertuiseesd,,—iins
derived from a wooden image of Pallas, Athena, Minerva,
oratory—‘f‘ oPr "PALLADIUM"--heTpnaileladteirm
called palladium, whose eyes seemed to move. The Trojans
affirmed that it fell from heaven into an uncovered temple ;
they were told by the oracle that Troy could not he taken
whilst that image remained there, which being understood
by Diomedes anct Ulysses, they stole into the Temple, sur-
• prised and slew the keepers, and carried away the image ;
the destruction of the city soon followed.

THE PINMAKING BUSINESS IN THE OLDEN TIME.—In
1614, the Loneort pinmakere, desiring to °brain a charter of
incorporation, promised Sir Ralph Whiwood £4,000, or a
moiety of the profits on the commerce in pins, if he would
use his itifinence in their behalf ; and two years later they got
their charter confirmed, securing the sole pre-emption of
foreign pins, which were forbidden to be landed at any port
but that of London. At this time they were associated, with
the wiremakers and girdlers (makers of girdles or belts), but
in 1631 were, at their own desire, separated fiom them. In
1635, upon the renewal of theirxrivileges, hy „Charles L, the
Pinners covenanted to pay his majesty £5OO a-year for ever,
which Charles disposed of by giving it as a pension to his
queen Charles 11. confirmed this charter upon regaining
the throne, and subsequently entered into a curious contract'
with the Pinners by which he bound himself to raise £20,000
to provide a stock of wire,- and to take all the pins they made
at prices fixed by the Lord Treasurer ; the Pinnere, on their
part, undertaking to deliver 70,000 lbs. weight of ordinance
half-yearly to the Master of the Ordinance, receiving ZlO,OOO
at expiration of the contract, and to pay £5OO a-year to Sir
Edward Butter, and a fifth of the amount to Sir William
Knit-grew—that couple of gentlemen making a nice thing out
Of what Killigrew called "the pin business."
OLD LONDON BRIDGE.—The first bridge thrown over
the Thimes was a w, oden one, erected by the nuns of St.
Mary's Monastery, a convent of sisters tndowed by the
daughter of a rich Thames lerryman. The bridge &urea as
a fortified place in the early Danish Invasions; and the Nor-
wegna Prince Olaf nearly dragged it to pieces in trying to
dist), -ssess the Daues, who held it in 1008. it was swept away
in a fl Kid, and its successor wee burned.. In the reign of
Hen! y 11., Pious Peter, a chaplain of St. Mary Colechureh,
In the Poultry, built a stone bridge a little farther west; and
the king helped him with the proceeds of a tax on wool,
which gave rise to the old saying tin& "London Bridge was
built upon woolpacks." Peter's bridge was a curious strue-
ture, with nineteen pointed arches and a drawbridge. There
was a fortified gatehouse at each end, and a Gothic chapel
towards the centre, dedicated to St. Thomas A'Beckett, who
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EDINBUItGIi BEGGAIRS.—The magistrates Of Eiin-
hue g, iii 1774 i-suee a croclaniaclon Interaletirg all beggars
from appearing ie the streets, under pain of being appre-
hended and confined in one of the vaults under the new
briege, there to be led on bread arid Newer.- This arbitrary
order was carried into effect, and these wretehed hole' Were
for some time tenanted by beggars, until this speCies of
iticerceration was put an end to by a melancholy event An
unfortunate creature, whose mental inoapecity nught to have
placed him in a fitting lunatic asylum, was picked oit the
streets, and summarily placed in one of these I abominable
cePs, where lie was overpowered said partly devoured by the
rate, which had from time to time inoreased to a formidable
extent. This fatal event led to an investigation, which
caused the magistrates for the future to close the vaults as a
place for receiving unfortunate beggars. This "new bridge"
is at present known as the North Bridge, and connects, in
the east, the old and new portions of the city. The Theatre
Royal, now replaced by the Post Oflice, stood nearly at the
north end, on Use east side.