St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-03-30

oven The Ten Commandments were de
livered ON the third day. Job had three
friends. st. Paul speaks on faith, hope ant
charity, these three. Those famous dreams
of the baker and butler were to come to pas:
in three days, and Elijah Frustrated himself
three times on the body of the dead child
Samsons deceived Delilah three times before
she discovered the source of his strength
The sacred letters on the cross are l. IL. s. ;
so also the Roman motto was composed Of
three words, sIn hoe signO." There are
three conditions for man: the earth, heaven
and hell; there is also the Holy Trinity. In
mythology there are three graces; Cerberu;
with his three heads; Neptune holding his
three to6thed staff; the Oracle of Delphi cher
ished with veneration the tripod, and the
nine muses. sprang from three. In nature
we have male, female and offspring; morn
ing, noon and night. Trees group their
leaves in three; there is the three leafed
clover We have fish flesh an fowl. What
could be done in mathematics without the
aid of the triangle! Witness the power OF
the wedge, and in logic three premises are
1 indispensable. 1t it is common phrase
that 'Ethree is a lucky number"
The number 9 possesses some remarkable
properties. If the nine digits, 1. 2, 3, 4, D,
6, z, s, 9, be added together the sum will be
40, which is equal to 5 times 9, and the sum
of the digits of their sum, and 5, is nine.
If any number subtracted from another hay-
ing the same digits in a different order, the
remainder will be divisible by9, and the sum
of the digits of the remainder will also be di-
visible by g. Subtracting 9, 1867, 634 from Z,
/ 364, 429 there remains 4, 416, 765, which is
equal to times 400, 955. The sum of the
digits 4, 4, 1, 6, z, 9, 5 is 80, which is diyis-
ible by 9. If any number be multiplied by .
the sum of the digits or figures ofthe product
will be divisible by 9. Nine times 43, 7S0,
| 135 is 1894, OBJ, 215; the sum Of the digits OF
this product is27, multiple of g. Ii a num-
Der be subtracted from another having the
same digits in different order, and one OF
the digits of the remainder erased, it can be
| found in the following manner: Add to-
gether the figures of the remainder that are
left, divide the sum by nine, subtract the
figures thatremain after dividing by 9, from
| g. and the last remainder will be the digit or
| figure sought. If there is no remainder 0
or was erased.
Ask some one to write down a number and
subtract from it another composed of the same
digits in a different order without letting
YOU see either of them. Tell him you want
all the figures of the remainder but one. By
you have not seen. The feat will appear
quite mysterious to the uninitiated. Here is
an example: SubtractiDg 156, 1924 from 231,
456, the remainder is rs, 1872. The sum of
the figures Z, 5, 3, is 16. Divide 16 by 9
we have a remainder of z. Seven from 9
| leaves 2, the other figure.
| The having twelve men on jury, estab-
lished by King Alfred in England, is said to
have been borrowed by him from an old
Brehon law in Ireland, which referred all
disputes about land to the decision of twelve
men. At that time all personal disputes
were decided by wager of battle, or personal
| combat, a barbarism which was abolished in
England within the last fifty years. Alfred
was partly educated in Ireland, where he OBJ
served the system of jurisprudence which
worked well there. When safe on the Eng
lish throne he introduced trial by jury, only
extending it to questions relating to persons
as well as property. 1t is amusing, there
fore, to find the old writers, with Cornelius
Agrippain the van, declaring that there are
twelve men in jury, "bccause twelve is a
mystical though not magical number, J"
and trying to prove this, counting up that
there are twelve hours IN the day, twelve
months in the year, twelve signs in the
zodiac, twelve chief joints in the human
body, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve apostles,
twelve gates to the heavenly Jerusalem and
twelve labors of Hercules.
| In the same way and with great minute
ness the associations of other mystical num-
bers are severely dealt with in the ''Book of
Occult Science" by Agrippa. Take the
number seven, for instance. 1t is composed
of unity and six, or two and five, of three
and four, or less than eight; as the seven
ages, ''and absorbs in itself the dignity of
its components." There are seven days Of
the week, seven wonders of the world, seven
kings of Rome, seven planets, seven wise
men, seven openings in mans head seven
main parts of the body; beyond seven hours
| life cannot 90 without breath, beyond seven
days life cannot go on without food, the
seventh day in diseases is always critical ;
the seventh day of the planets, the moon, al
ways observes this number in her courses ;
among the Hebrews ''to seven' meant to
swear; the leper had to wash seven times in
the Jordan; the seventh year was set aside
for penitence and remission of sin; the Gre
ator rested from His work on the seventh
day and declared it holy; seven is the num-
Der of petitions in the Lords prayer, and the
prophet said: ''seven times day will praise
Thee and there are seven angels standing
|
kiel, Radkel, Raphael, Camael, Homiel,
Michael and Gabriel.
Such are the follies of science as delivered
to the world some three or four centuries
ago. In olden times every seventh yeal
there was release from all this, and bonds
men were set free. From this custom ORR
ginated the binding of young men to seven
years. apprenticeship.
Tbara iC n praiudicn ranero1lv On thn nrp.
tended danger of being the thirteenth at the
table. If the probability be required,
that out of thirteen persons, of diff
ferent ages, one of them, at least, shall die
within a year, it will be found that the
chances are about one to one that one death
at least, will occur. This calculation, by
means of false Interpretation, has given
rise to the prejudice, no less ridiculous, thai
the danger will be avoided by inviting {
greater number of guests, which can only
have the effect of augmenting the probability
! of the event so much apprehended
What conception can we form of billion
We can say that a billion is a million OF
millions, and can easily represent it thus
l. 0OO. 000. 600 900. But how entirely the
mind is incapable of conceiving such mum
bers. If a person were able to count at the
rate of 200 a minute, and to work without in
Permission twelve hours a day, he would
take to count billion, 6,944 444 days, o
1895 years and 319 days. A billion o
billions-a quadrillion-can be easily repre-
scented thus: 1000, 900, 900, 900, 600, 900, 900
but to count a quadrillion, at the rate of 20(
in the minute, would require all the inhahi
tants of the globe, supposing them to be
thousand millions, to count necessarily TO
19,Os5, S75 years, or more than 5000 time
the period during which the human race ha
been supposed to be in existence.-Tro.
Times.
4 Queer EngiisIt Gentleman.
st. James Gazette.