The record-union., 1896-06-07
BUREAU OF INFORMATION
Some Odd Questions Briefly Answered
Herein.
Information Given to Inquirers on
Subjects of More or Less Gen.
eral Interest.

Eds. RECONCILIATION" Please an
swer the question are Charlotte M.
Braeme and Bertha M. Clay one per-
son? I claim they are two separate
authors. A friend says they are one
Answer and Oblige, A READER.
Elk Grove.
Who can furnish the desired informa-
tion for our Elk Grove correspondent!
Eds. "Record-Union" VIII you KIND
ly answer for me Cd Who was the
author of the saying OF phrase, "A lu-
cid interyal?" CD Was the famous trav-
eier Sir John Mandeville or Maunde-
Vile? 90 Whence the term Counting
your chickens before they are hatched!''
Sacramento. RESPONDENT.
/. 1t first occurred in Bacon'S history
of Henry VII Fuller used it in his
"Pisgah, Light of Palestine" and South
in one of his sermons. Dryden, Johnson
and Burke also used it.
2. Adams, in his dictionary of English
literature, gives it Mandeville. Cas-
sells National Library spells it Maun-
deville, the editor being the scholar,
Henry Morely.
3. The sentence count their chick
ems ere they're hatched" is in Buffers
"Hudibras," Part IL, canto 5, line 3zo.
Eds. Record Union: VIII you ex-
plain to me what is meant by the dip
OF the magnetic needle?
Auburn. SCHOOLBOY.
1t is the angle which a magnetic nee
ole makes with the plane of the hori-
re fer n W
ity and is at liberty to turn in the ver-
tical plane. There is am instrument
known as the dipping needle, used for
showing the direction of the magnetic
force of the earth, but you probably do
not refer to that.
Eds Record Union: What is meant
by the Pains and Penalties bill, which
find mentioned in an English novel l
am reading? CELIA.
Sacramento.
1t refers to a process employed to
inflict punishment on State offenders
out of the ordinary course of justice.
All bills brought into the English Par
lament for the purpose of infiicting
such punishment is bill of pains and
penalties.
Eds. Record Union: / know that
Fauna" means the animals peculiar
to a country, but Will you tell me how
the word was derived? S. II. 2.
Vallejo.
1t is from the Fauni, or rural deities
of Roman mythology.
Eds. Record Union: Was there
book published giving an account of the
acts Of General Gordon in the Soudan,
and of his imprisonment by the Soudan-
ese, and if so what is it's title? / wish
much to read of it all. BUTTON.
Sacramento.
Yes "The Journals of Major-General
Gordon at Khartoum" were published,
with an introduction and appendix, by
Eoughton, Miflin &l Co., Boston, in
1885.
Eds. Record Union: Is there any
geological society in the United States,
and if so, where is it and what Is its
address? NATURAL1ST.
Sacramento. "a
We know Of but one; there may be
others. There is a very prosperous So
ciety in the city Of New York. We can
not give you the street address Of its
officers, but probably a letter to the
President or Secretary of the society,
New York City, will reach it's proper
destination. The Presidents name is
Andrew II. Green.
Eds. Record Union: In the tele-
graphic account Of Tesla's new dis
covery in electric lighting, as it ap-
peared in your paper on Wednesday,
are we to understand that Tesla pro-
duces the light without the aid Of bat
teries, or dynamos, or connecting wires
for electrical currents? INQUIRER.
Sacramento.
No; he relates his lamp to currents as
heretofore What he does is this: He
produces light in a vacuum tube with
out the use Of carbon filaments, or
without electrodes in the tube. You are
aware that now In incandescent elec-