The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-04-28
THE POSTS LETTER BOX.

| care houston Gost, and to receive ntten.
| tlon must be signed by the name In full
| OF the party making the inquiry, as we'll
as that under which 1t Is desired that the
| question shall appear. owing to the large
number Of questions received answers can
not always be given 2romptlyJ
I s. X. Go; When was the great Aiexan-
drian library destroyed, by whose ordea
for what purpose. and how lnnny manu-.
scripts and volumes did II contain2
A.There is considerable difference
among writer's in opinion in all these
particulars; The number Of volumes
has been yarously estimated at from AGO.
coo to 100000; and while some writers
claim that because Of the smallness OF the
ancient volume. these figures should be dis
counted for purposes of comparison with
modern libraries. others take another view
II Is stated and denied that part of the
library was burned by spread of the fires
that Caesar started among the fleet In the
harbor; that different portions of the col
lection were destroyed by Aurelan in 273;
by pillage of Christians. this following an
edict from rheodoslus. In $50 or 39l; and
| that final destruction came from the Sa'
racens in $40. AS to the last careful stu.
dents think 1t unlikely that the Saracens
found much TO destroy.
49,
II. r. Turner.-Q.; 1. What is the result
in case OF tie vote when the president
pro tenn Of the United States senate is pre-
siding? .. Who is president pro TEN? 3.
Explain tho long and short sessions Of CON
gress7
Al. The motion fails to pass. 2
William p. Frye of Maine s. The house
Of representatives is elected every two
years in the month of November The new
members take their seat on March Of the
following year. at which time the old con
gress expires. Congress is convened every
December and the session which commences
in December following the election neces-
sarly adjourns March when that con
gress expires, and Is termed the short
session" There Is no limit by law upon
the session which begins in the following
December and as 1t generally extends into
the months Of the next summer it is termed
the long session"
~
! Subscriber O.; Where was Nathan Hale
| imprisoned the night before his executionY
Where is he buried? What is the inscrip.
! ton ON the Nathan Hale monument in
! New York City Hail park?
An a Jail on what was then Barrack
street. It's site Is now within City Hail
| park. .. 1t Is not known. but 1t Is supposed
that his body was inferred in an old Gene
| terry just north Of Chambers street. New
York City, where were buried the dead of
the American prisoners. g. Nathan Hale.
! q captain In the regular army Of the United
! states, who gave his life for his country
| in the city of New York, September -,
| l170 y regret that l have but one life
| TO lose for my country. Erected by the
Cor ,ft IA, D.r, A.
York
| Grag-o.; Where and what were the
! Black Hole of Calcutta. the Grotta del
| Cane and the Upas Valley?
A.-Phe first was a dungeon OF Calcutta,
| India, wherein were confined the English
! garrison Of captured fort. or 146 prison.
| ers 1876 died from suffocation the first night.
! The others were liberated the following
morning. This was In 17h8 The second is
cave in southern Italy. ten feet long.
four feet wide and seven feet high which
! is remarkable for its exhalatons Of pois.
onous gases that stlhle small animals In
simultaneously 1t has been known for this
popularity since the DAYS of the aucients
The last is a valley OF Papandayong a vol
cano of the Island of Java. and is noted
for deadly gases.
|
| j. w. K.-Q.: l. How many lives have
been wrecked by the use of intoxicating
drinks In the last twenty years. q How
many lives have been lost in war in the
last twenty years? 3. What is the annual
output of Intoxicating drinks in the United
States?
Al and .. No reliable statistics have
been compiled on these subjects. 3. The
total production of distilled spirits in the
United States for 1900 (which the latest
statistics embrace amounted to 1Oo.2i5, tsT
gallons. Production of brandy from fruits
! S,TBo4S7 gallons; production Of wlne.A "a,
3o0,9oo gallons, According to the Brewers
Journal, there were sold in the revenue
year ending June 80. 1900, 80, 800 s4l barres
of matt liquor.
c. G, Fletcher-Q.: Can You please I'm
form me where ! should write TO secure
one of those scholarships left by the late
Cecil Rhodes,
a. Under the provisions Of the will the
matter OF appOrtonng these scholarships
VIII rest with the Minister OF Public In.
struetlon," the expression used by Mr..
Rhodes The matter IS not yet la tnugi
Die form, as the probating of the will in
the London courts is not yet complete.
There Is little doubt however, but the
state superintendent of public instruction
VIII be empowered to cause the examination
for ana provide for the awarding OF these
scholarships.
~
Robert r. O.; When did the Danes land
In Ireland and how long did they remain?
A.-TheIr incurslons began in the Eighth
century, but toward the end Of the Ninth
were checked for period OF forty years.
Then they returned successfully, being final
ly oyerthrown by the Irish under Brian
Boru at the battle of Clontarf on Good
Friday Of I014.
ID, S. CO: Please inform me how many
bales Of cotton were raised in the United
States In 1900.
The cotton crop for 1sOOO1 amounted to
lo,3S3000 bales
Reader-o; Please give date Of PrezL
dent John Adams birth.
A.-october 30. 1875.