The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-05-31

The CALLS Query Column is conducted With
view 10 ala All seekers after knowledge OF ged~
eTal interest.
Catch questions will not receive any attention.
NO opinion VIII be given in TINS column regard
Ing the reliability or character OF any person o.
firms IN this city or elsewhere.
questions, answers 10 which are IN the nature
OF an advertisement. will not be answered.
Every inquiry must have The true and full
name OF the sender, well as the correct resi-
dence. ANY inquiry that has not the corr
rect name and address of the sender VIII
De treateV as II II was not signed, and the
writer need net expect an answer.
LIGHT AND HEAT-W. H., City. o. Light
has been defined as any effect on the sense
of sight-a sensation due to the mechanical
effect produced upon the extension OF the
optic nerve, which forms the sensitive SUR
face OF the retina. Such mechanical action
must have mechanical cause, and as far
as can be judged with the present know
ledge the cause must consist of impacts on
the retna, due to moving matter. This
matter may have travelled all the way FROM
the source OF light, or it may have been set
in motion in the eye by disturbance which
has travelled from the source. AS far as can
be conceived light must consist in the mo-
ton of particles of some kind from externaS
objects to the eye, or in the propagation OF
some disturbance or wave motion in an, as
yet, unknown medium. (2) Heat is a property
of matter known by one Of six very di stinct
senses. Man has no definite idea as to the
nature of heat-whether it be subtle elaS-
tic fluid or state of motion, or, possibly,
some modification of matter related to ac-
ton OF force. The only hypothesis that at
all acc0rds with the phenomena of the mas
terallty OF heat Is that it is form of mo-
ton.
ITALIAN BRIGADE j. G. W. and j.
c., City. There was no Italian brigade
during the War of the Rebellion. There
was regiment, however, of Italians, COM
manded by Colonel f. G. d'Utassy, and It
mustered 939 men when taken into the SER
vice on June q, 1861. This regiment was
the Thirty-ninth New York Infantry, better
known, perhaps, as the Garibaldl Guards,
and wore uniform very mHch like that u
the Bersagieri Guard of this city, except
that legglngs were worn, Into which the
trousers legs were tucked The Thirty
ninth formed the reserve at Centervllle AZ
the first battle of Bull Run. being in th9
First Brigade of the Fifth Division. -Four
companies OF il were also in the reserve of
the Third Brigade of the Third Divisions III
the Second Army Corps on the second day
Of the battle of Gettysburg. On this occa-
sion they were attacked by the Twenty -firss
Mississippi, repuised 1t, and under the cons
mand Of Lieutenant Peoples of Battery l.
Fifth United States Artillery, recovered tire
DdlltIE , guns.
MAN ON HoRsEBACK-L. S. L., City.
The reference by public speaker TO 1.-THE
speedy arrival of the man on horseback" aS
the only agent TO settle the conflict between
capital and labor meant simply that such
differences would only be terminated at the
will OF Providence in some creature Of
destiny. The phrase by whomeyer first EN-,
pl0yed originally designated Napoleon
Bonaparte, in alluSion perhaps to the many
familiar pictures of him on horseback az
the 'Little.Corp0rap and so became equiyal-
ent to the Man of Destiny" the appella-
ton given by Walter Scott to Napoleon. liz
this sense the expression came into pot I'M
common use during the political turmoil in
America preceding the War of the Rebel
lion. because of passage in famous letter
written by the Hon. Caleb Cushing ID Jan,
uary, 1860. from Bangor. Me-; Cruel
waT-Yar at home, and in the perspective
sword in his hand. Some Atlantic Cesar,
or Cromwell, or Napoleon" etc.
SAN FRANCISCO MAYoRs-J. ?. a, City,
The Mayors of San Francisco have been: j.
| w. Geary, Nav, 1850; G. j. BRENNAN. May,
1851; S. r. Harris, January 1852; c. j. Bren-
ham. November, 1852; C. K. Garrison, Oc-
tober, 1858; S. p. Webb, October. 1854 /;
James Van Ness, July. 1865; under the
| CuDSOtlldllOH hCl-Is w DUH IOJc-Ol -t)o-
! 80; II. T. Teschem cher, 1860 6l-62-63; II. p.
| Coon. 1S64-Gj-66-67; Frank MeCoppn. 1868
| 90; Thomas II. Selby, 1670-71; William AL
| word, 1928; James Otis. 1915; George
| HewstOn. 1875; A. J. Bryant, 1S76-77-7S 70 ;
Isaac ). Kaloch, 1SS0-Sl Nj. c. Blake, 1882
SO; Washington Bartlett aud Z. b. Pond two
terms each. followed by George II. Sander
son. the incumbent.
A VERY REMOTE RELATIoN-A. L. J..
! City. The relationship between Carlos /.
King of Portugal. and Queen Victoria OF
| Great Britain is very remote one. By the
marriage of King Carlos grandmother,
| Queen Maria III, to Prince Ferdinand Of
| SaXe-COburg, he is member of the family
of German soveregns Victoria married
Prince Albert, a brother of Ernest IL, the
| son of Ernest | Of the house of Sake C0burg,
| A brother of Ernest by a second marriage
was Prince Ferdinand, whose son, Ferdi-
nand, King of Portugal, married Maria III,
| Queen OF Portugal. Then, moreover, Queen
Victoria's mother was the fourth daughter
of Francis, Duke OF Saxe-COburg-SaalfeId.
CABLE RAILwAYs-F. n. B., City. San
Francisco is the home of the cable railway,
| and with a mileage of AZ. 22, reported on De-
cember 81, 1889, was then and is now the
banner city in the United States for such
| system of passenger transportation. While
of mileage OF cables in Melbourne, Aus
tralia, it may safely be asserted that San
Francisco greatly exceeds. In 1887, hcw-
ever, the city Of Melbourne had in operation
fifteen miles of double-track cable railway,
and nineteen miles more were in progress
| OF construction.
WEST POINT-H w. r., Contra Estaca,
Mexico. ~ Appontees to the Military
Academy must be able to pass careful ex-
animation in reading, writing. OTthCgraphy
arithmetic. grammar, geography and history
of the United States. % Algebra neces-
sarily comes IN afterward in the course OF
instruction, which is largely mathematical
| and professional (3) For the preliminary
examination the books best to study are
those used in the highest grade of the gram
mar school. % Apprentices must be be-
tween II and % years of age.
OFFICIAL GRADES j. B., San Jose.
| The official grade at Greenwich and Kearny
streets, which is almost the summit of Tele-
graph Hill, is 231 feet; the bluff on Chest
nut street, at Dupont, 10 feet, and Stockton
| street, at Greenwich and Lombard, 95 and
80 feets respectively. These grades are
computed in feet from the base or zero,
which is 81 feet above an ordinary high
tide mark on pile at the boat-stairs al the
corner Of Pacific and Davis streets.
July 4, 1861. c. W., City. 1t was on
July 4, 1868, that the accident occurred on
the ferry steamer FL Captain. THE CALL
referred to it at the time as "ene of the M st
terrible ealamities that it has ever been our
| lot to record The Garibaldi Guard had
| gone to Oakland TO take part in the ohserv-
| ance Of the day, and on the return homeward
the suspension gang-pank gave way. pre-
cipitatiDg In the water some sixty people, Of
whom fifteen or twenty were drowned.
BELFAST AND LIsBURN-A. w. n, City.
| a. Belfast is the county town OF Antrim in
which it is mainly comprised, with the ex-
ception of the large suburb Ballymacarret,
which is Oil the other side of the river and in
County Down. (2) Lisburn, the market