The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-10-17
HOUSTON POST LETTER BOX.

crhis department IL intended 70 answer
| questions that are OF general interest. Us
| main object Is to supply out-of-the-way
OF personal interest only Will not be an
swered. No business or personal addresses
VIII be given. All correspondence should
aouson ps s9 o Ths Letter ss nos
Der Of questions received answers can not
always be given promptly
to What was the first church ou'lt i! To mol y.
1t was Baptist church, at the corner
| of Texas avenue and Travis street.
What do the letters IL. s." mean when
p p,nsea after mans name on ie Ko doc
They stand for the Latin words locus
sigilli. which mean 1.-THE place OF the seal"
What IS the geographic center q Q. :, the
Excluding Alaska the geographic center
is in Northern Kansas. II Alaska be taken
into consideration. the center will be near
the northern boundary of Montana.
What does '.jennesse dorce' mcanl
1t IS a French term. the liberal trans
lation OF which IS "gilded youth" The
term is used when referring to the rich
and fashionable young men OF COM
| munty.
Why were bees used as ornaments for
the royal STANDARD and mantle of the
French empire? PAT.
This custom arose from the fact that
moro than 300 golden bees were found in
the tomb of King Childerlc when 1t was
opened In 1853. Many persons think that
. tho. - a..
nothing but bee with Its wings out
stretched
Why is the term "billingsgate" used 10
designate foul or profane language?"
Der.
Billlngsoate is a wharf and fish market
little below London bridge. The fisher
men consign their cargoes to the dealers
who occupy stalls in the market. 1t is
London's only wholesale fish market, and
IS celebrated for the foul language and
vituperation used there by rival dealers
hence the word billingsgate as now Used.
Who wrote the hymn, Just as AM
without one Plea" Fab.
Miss Charlotte Elliot, an English poet
ess. She wrote 1t especially for 1.-THE In
valids' Hymn Book" In 1896. 1t has been
translated into every civilized language.
Miss Ellot's brother an English clergy
man, said that hp thought he had done
some good in the world. but nothing In
comparison with single hymn of his
sisters.
How did the term doodle" happen to be
anpled To bride money, or to funds Sc
cured easily? RIG.
It's origin is thus traced; A proprietary
al, 4
century ago by a man of that name, and
became the resort of a fast set who gam
bled heavily The winners explained their
possession of an unusual amount of money
by tn" single word Bodies" and thus
the use of the term began. Boobies IS
still in existence in st. james street. but
1t Is no longer gaming club.
Please explain the difference between n
deist and thelst BEN.
a theist is one who believes In a God.
who made and governs creation, but he
does not believt2in the Trinity. or in reve-
lat!on, A dcisty believes there is God
who created all things, but he dors not
believe that He experiments and governs
the world; that. on the contrary. lie or
dslned certain immutahle laws. which act
Nor does he believe in the Trinity OF in
revelation, Hnm
it
Please let me know how many pieces of
four dollar gold coin were issued by the
United States mint In 1879, and whether
There were ever any issues at any other
time If so, the amounts. LIN.
No four dollar gold pieces were ever
coined by this government for circulation.
few trial pieces were coined in 1879, but
none in any other year, The supern-
tendeut of the Philadelphia mint, where
these pieces were coined writes as fol-
lows concerning them: "The -four dollar
gold pieces were coined only in the year
1879 AS they were struck as trial or pat
tern pieces, Were not adopted as part of
the legal currency and did not pass into
general circulation, no record of the num-
Der Of them was MADE or kept.
Gan You ute. ten |, me the meaning Of index
eNDurSatortusY' VIC.
The Index Eypurgatorius" is uata-
ioelie of the books the reading OF which
is prohibited by the Roman Catholic
church II was first made by the inQuisi
tors and approved by the council of Trent.
lS5'' The index by which the reading of
the Scriptures was forbidden with certain
eNceli'ons) to The laity was confirmed by
n bull of Pope Clement VIII in 1898. Many
OF the works of the great authors of
France, Spain, Germany and England are
thus prohibited On January 25, 1864, |
HuGo's Les MiserabIes" and other books
were added to the number, and many 9th.
ers since.
Who or what was Tanhauser?
H.O.K.
lie is the subject OF one of the most
i""ous OF old German legends and Is rep |
resented as knight who. after many |
wahaerings' comes to the Nenusberg. He |
"a