The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-12-22
THE QUERY COLUMN.
SOME or THE CONTENTS OF THE
TIMES, NAIL BAG.
Answers to Inquiries on Variety OF
Subjects Received From Our
Subscribers.
PRONUNCIATION OF GOETHE.

What is tne proper PRONUNCIATION VI
| Goethe?
II is hard TO make this clear by SPELL
| ing. Gueh-teh comes very near IT. how
| ever.
WHO SAID 1T.
Who said Discretion is the better part
OF valor?
Shakespeare. in King Henry ~, part 2
act 3. scene l, says "rhe better part of
| valor In discretion" and the saying is
often hoisted as you have IT.
FUR-BEARING ANIMALS.
Where are fur-bearing animals most
abundant?
In the North, where the fur protects
the animals during the winter. In the
South the animals have hair, but not
| fur and the skin is not so thick as in
| the North.
CLEOPATRAS CONQUESTS.
over what men did Cleopatra have in
| fiuence, and I'm what way
Over nearly all who came I'm contact
with her, by her wit and charms, con-
| spicuous among the latter being an ex-
| quisitely modulated voice. Her most IA
nous conquests were julius Caesar, 10
whom she is said to have borne a son
| and Marck Anthony. To the latter she
| bore three children.
MUTILATED SILVER CERTIFICATE.
have mutilsted silver certificate,
| which / wish to have redeemed. What
| shall / do?
See If your nearest national bank will
not redeem Il. If not. send it TO the
| nearest sub-tneasury, or 10 the Treasur-
er Of the United States, asking to have
It redeemed. Send Il by registered mail.
NAPOLIDON'S BATTLES.
How many battles did Napoleon fight.
and how many did he lose?
Napoleon commanded the French ar
mics in forty-eight battles. In five Of
these he was defeated. These were: St
Jean d'Acre, May, 1879: Gross Aspern and
Essling, May, 1909: La Rothere. Febru-
ary 1874 and Waterloo, June IS. 1915.
We cannot name his forty-three victories.
VOICES NORTH AND SOUTH.
Are the four distinct parts of vocal
music characteristic Of any four coun-
tries2
No, though IL may be said that the
voices OF the northern nations as a rule
are deeper than those OF southern coun-
tries But music is cosmopolitan in
everything, and there are southern
bassos. and northern sopranos.
GRANTS NOMINATION.
Did the Republicans try 70 nominate
Grant before or after his return from
Europe?
There was no deliberate attempt 10
renominate Grant I'm 1876. but at the con-
venton of 1850. after his return from
his trip around the world. such an at
tempt was made. At the convention 306
delegates voted for him from beginning
to end. These men were the original
stalwarts Garfield was nominated. how
ever.
LAST CONSTITUTIONAL CONVEN-
TON.
when was the last constitutional Con-
vention held in New York? Was the Gov
ernor's term Of Office changed by that
convention? What is Governor Mortons
term?
The very latest Constitutional Conven-
ton in New York assembled at Albany
on May 8, 1894. ard adjourned finally on
September g. 1894. The Governors term
was shortened from three to two years
by the Constitution the convention pre-
pared. which was accepted by the people
Of the State. and is now in force. Cover
nor Morton's term is for two years.
WHICH Is RIGHT?
says that the water In a wave trav-
els with the wave; b says that the wave
agitates the water which It leaves be-
hind, and continually affects new and
previously untouched water; which is
right?
Neither disputant is quite right. The
water is permanently displaced forward"
says a good authority on such matters,
by each succeeding wave. But this ef
feet. like the whole disturbance, is great
est in the surface layer, and diminishes
rapidly for each lower layer" II there
was not some forward motion Of the
water. floating articles would never reach
| shore.
A TEMPER CENT. GRADIENT.
What is a temper cent. gradient?
| What is the maximum grade on any
| American railway
! A grade of one foot in ten feet, Of 5S
| feet in a mile. Gradient, by the way, is
| the British word grade is the American.
| The heaviest grade on an ordinary rail-
road is about five per cent, though tenn
porary grades OF even ten per cent have
| been used. The heaviest grade in the
| world is on street railroad in St Gan,
| Switzerland: the rack system is used,
and at one place a grade Of ninety-two
Per cent is met.
BRIDE AND GROOM.
At the altar, how DO the bride and
| groom stand?
! While the ceremony is being performed
| the bride stands al the bridegroOms left,
| as they face the clergyman. When the
! ceremony is over the bride turns 20 her
right. the bridegroom 10 his left. and the
| bride takes the bridegrOom's right arm.
| II they so into the vestry TO sign the
| register. they can come down the aisle
as they chose the bride on the right or
the left a the bridegroom. But on leav-
/ ing the altar the tactics would be as we
| have described them as being simple
and not interfering with the brides tram
MECHANICAL ENGINEER.
How can a person become a mechanical
engineer in the navy? What Is the pay
| of such a person?
A "mochanical engineer is an enlist
| ed man in the navy, and belongs 10 one
| Of the classes of artifcers. The lowest
| class is that Of sccOnd-class fireman $50
| a MONTH. then comes nrst-class firemen
| fS2o. then comes oilers $40, who are
third-class petty officers. boiler makers
| are second-class petty officers and get
| $50 and machinists are first-class petty
| officers with so a month. A man would
| have TO learn his trade outside of the ma
Wy. or else begin as a fireman and work
his way up. The engineers In the navy
are officers trained at the Naval Acad-
envy especially
HIS FAMILY NAME
| What is the Prince Of Wales family
| name? Where does he live? What IL Mr..
| Cfadstone's name and title? Where does