The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-05-21

the wearing Of blue stockings was one OF his
rtculiarites. So Important was his attend
arce considered, that when he happened To be
absent the members were In the habit OF say
Inc that they could not get along without
Blue Stockings" This sobriquet caught the
popular fancy, and It came, by degrees, to be
applied to the societies themselves, and after.
ward to the women who belonged to them. A
"blue stocking Is not simply a literary wo-
man, for the term carries an idea of mascu-
Unity with it-that is to say, she is a woman
that takes particular interest In questions
that used to be monopolzed by men.
~
What Is the origin OF the term high.
hinder? | know what 'highbinder' is. hut
wherc did the Celestial assassin secure his
pleasant title?"-C.A.B. The Century Die
tonary has the following note on the deriya-
ton OF the term: a slang term Of no precise
meaning thigh probably used allusiyely. as
in high links, high-falutin, "a high old time =,
etc.i binder, supposed to be variation of
bender, meaning one who goes on the sort of
spree so-caled). In New York, Baltimore and
other Eastern cities the word was originally
used to mean a drunken, registering fellow.
rufhan and bully. In 1Sie IL was carried
to California and used to mean a rufnan
one Of gang which commits outrages on
persons and property; and was applied in the
| course of time 70 the Chinese assassins Of the
Pacific coast, and at present It has no other
| APPLICATION.
In reply to D.B D. question as to the origin
Of some familiar expression: Jack and Jill
are two of the best known characters in Eng
llsh fiction, but they were originally not char
aoters at all. jack was d waxed-leather
pitcher, and gill was littla measure, and
that is how It happened that they wen, after
water. The phrase "robhing Peter to pay
Paul came from the fact that in 1850 some
property belonging to Westminster cathcdra
which is dedicated to ST. roter-was giyer
to st. Paul's cathedral, There is another OLD
story connected with the Warning not to bu,
a pig in a poke. A countryman once put
cat in a pokc-or bag-and sold it for suck
/ ling pig. When the customer Investigated hi
purchase he 'let the cat out of the bag"
49,
when were the improved breeeh-loader
tlarge caiber) first built in this country 2
WE. No improved breech-loading gun
were built in this country until after tn
civil war. The West Point foundry was es
tablished by the government in 1917 and a
carly as 1920 42-pounders Were made there
The first rifle gun in America was made a
South Boston in 1894 In 1889 columbia
was cast there Weighing 1850 pounds, !
1916 columbiads weighing over $4,000 pound
we're cast in the same foundry. There ar
now several cannon foundries in the East
arm States where all varieties of heavy ord
nance are manufactured in great quantities.
~
How many West Pointers ever get to
president of the United States?"-C.VN
General Grant was the only West Pointer WI
: ever reached the presidential chair. Jeff d.
VS. also West Pointer, got the chief maei'
tracy of the Ccnfederacy..
49,
: what is meant by the tonnage dispiac'
: ment of vessel?"-X.Yz It simply mear
tho number of tons of water a vessel will pus
. aside to make room for herself