The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1876-11-24
CURIOUS THINGS.

to notice a few Of them. suppose we
inquire into the origin Ofcertain words,
customs, etc. Take, for instance, the
word humbug. At one time during
war on the continent of Europe, 50
many talse reports were fabricated at
Hamburg, that finally, when any one
wished to show his disbelief ola state
ment, he would say, THAT came from
Hamburg" or, That is Ham burg, or
HumJug," which thus came to imply
umbelief or incredulitv.
The word lady is derived from an
Anglo Saxon word, aud signifies givcr
Of bread. 1t originated from the Gus
tom which prevailed among the wealthy
English people of early times Of dis
tributing money end food to the poor.
Certain days were set apart for this
distribution, which were called lady
days, or gift days. The word purse
meant q receptacle for arms, and was
not invented to mean simply place
OF safety for money.
Gloves were introduced into Eng
land in the tenth century, but were
only used by the wealthy people, and
were considered very valua bic. AS
New~Year's gifts they we're quite pop
uar, or sometimes "glOve money" IN
place Of them, Pin money" origina-
ted in somewhat the same manner.
Pins we're so costly that money spent
or laid aside for them was called pin
money" and it became 80 important
that it grew into the Eame of dover,
which was settled upon the lady at her
marriage
Altar Of roses was discovered by ac-
cident, The wife Of an Eastern mOgul
had u small canal of rose-water, and as
she was walking one day upon its
banks, she noticed q thin film upon the
water, which proved 20 be an oil made
by the heat of the sun. The Egyp-
tians were very famous in the manu~
facture of perfumes, and at the muse
mn in AlnwicI there is some ointment
preserved in an alabastcr vase which
still has very powerful odor, not
withstanding it must be between two
and three thousand years old.
The word hermit comes from a
Greek word meaning a desert place,
because deserts were generally sought
i'll Orler to avoid persecution.
Sandwiches were named from Lord
Sandwich 1t is related of him, that
one day in q gambling house, being
very much fascinated 10y play, for
TWENTY-FIVE hours he was unconscious
of fatigue and hunger, when suddenly
becoming aware of them, he ordered
some food to be brought, which PROV
ell to be some beef and two slices of
bread. Placing them together he ate
them. His friends gave them the
name of sandwiches, and in his memento
he declared this act to be the most i'm.
portant one of his administration.
The origin of clecting members by
ballots came from the Grocians. When
member was TO be elected, each
member threw a small crunb Of bread
into a basket, carried by n servant on
his head, and whoever differed, flatten-
ed the pellet ut one side.
Fortnight comes from the Anglo
Saxons, who counted time by night,
and means fourteen nights.
Merry pin means merry mood, and
originated in the custom of dividing
tankards from each other by pegs or
pins, and Obliging each one 20 drink
precisely the next pin. 1t proved to
be more than some of them could bear
and thus came the expression-"He is
in merry pin"
The invention of the game Of chess
is claimed by the Chinese and the
Hindoos, with more authority IN favor
OF the latter rhc Hindoo version is
as follows: a certain Ilindco prince
oppressed his people in a most crucl
manner, and Nassir. a Brahmin, deeply
grieyed at their sorrows, determined
to try if he could not prevail upon the
prince to be more lenient. With this
idea in view, he invented a game
where the king, weak in himself
should be protected by his subjects
Assoon as the prince heard ofthe new
game, he sent for the inventor to com,
and teach him, who improved the op
portunitv to make known what The
game really taught. Another accoun
is that it was invented by the Queer
of CeylOn in the second century, t.
amuse her husband with an image o
war ut the time his capital was besieged
From TIE word chess comes our Eng
lish word check, and also eXchequer
There are certain fashions prevalen
among different nations which seem t,
us very absurd. For instance, th
ladies in Japan gild their teeth, IN tn,
Indies they paint them red, in Guzera
black III Greenland the wOmel
paint their faces blue and yellow
The Peruvians and other Indian tribe
fatten their heads, while other nation
maltreat their noses. The Chimes
shave off their hair, and allow thei
finger nails to grow to a great extent
they wear white for mourning; the,
drink their wine warm and their te
cold, and a pupil reciting turns hi
back to the teacher. They also craml
the feet of the women. 1t is statet
that certain Emperor thought th
ladies too fond of calling on each othe
and uoSsiuiDr and i'm order TO kppl