The herald., 1912-04-18
Pumice Stone.

an
naculiar porous, vascular or pumiceous
condition to the rapid expansion of In
.l,ded moisture or gases, due TO sud-
Am release of pressure at the time Of
a.. election from the volcano. This
n,nansion may be carried to such an
s,,ent that the rock is completely
shattered, and the resultant finely
novdered material may be carried TO
rntnoyn distances by wind and air
currents and then deposited In beds
several feet thick.
Literary Funds.
The royal literary fund in England
rms established as a result OF the COM
,,,seration felt for Floyer Sydenham,
Greek scholar of oxford. who was
thrown into prison for a debt for
meals and died there at the age of
eighty. The establishment OF a fund
70 assist needy literary men was due
principally to the efforts of David Will
nams. a Welsh nonconformist minis
ter. friend of Benjamin Franklin.
A Cub.
1nfant
orally spoken OF as cubs" but in for
NOR times the word "whelps" would
have been used. Every edition of the
English Bible from Wycliffe's time to
1s11 gives "whelp" for the young of
tho lion or bear. A cub" meant orig
tcaDy In English only a young fox.
Rut by Shakespeare's time 1t was pos
sible to talk Of the young sucking
rnbs" of a she bear, and Waller even
spplied "cub" to young whale. now
Known as a calf" The origin Of
~cub" is not really known. though the
conjecture connecting 1t with the old
Irish cub" dog. would make it akin
% the Latin "canis" and English
ahound."-Exchange.
The "Ear Of Dionysius."
A cunningly constructed prison cav
ern, consisting Of large chamber con-
nected with one of smaller dimensions
situated near Syracuse. Italy. has gone
into legendary history with the title of
the Ear Of Dionysius." The smaller
chamber was unknown to the prisoners
kept in this underground dungeon, and
| the tyrant by whose name 1t is known
| had a habit of secreting himself there
| TO listen to the conversation Of the con-
victs. who were mostly political offend
| ers. An ingenious device constructed at
| the smaller end of the larger chamber
/ hA oh 70
partition, thus enabling the suspicious
ruler to hear even the whispered con-
/ versations of his suspects"
Earliest Maps.
The inventor Of geographical maps
and charts is said to have been the
celebrated Anaximander of Meletus.
who lived about the year $40 B. O..
though, Of course. there is more or
less uncertainty about the matter. We
know that maps existed among the
Greeks as early as 400 B. C.. but even
among so intelligent a people as the
Greeks 1t was impossible. owing to the
lack Of geographical knowledge. to
have more than a vague outline Of the
world around the Great sea. The first
tolerably accurate map Of the world
was not forthcoming until 1859. and
that was necessarily only in part.
much Of the earth being then un-
known.-New York American.
Rasp Got the Pig.
Surely one OF the hardest tests Of
sheep dog is to be put In charge OF a
pig. That, according to one of the
contributors to shepherds of Britain"
b what happened to Rasp. a famous
Midlothian collie. The owner found
% bis return home one day that the
pig had escaped and sent the dog to
fetch II. 80 Off went Rasp in quest
Of what proved one of the most stub
born Of the members of the bucolic
family she ever encountered. Having
been absent about twenty-five minutes.
she at last appeared with few sheep
IN front of her. But In the center of
me sheep was the pig. experience hav.
ing taught her that the little rebel
could not be driven alone"
Jacobs Ladder.
Among long staircases the world
over none, 1t is safe to say, is so long
or dihicult Of ascent as Jacobs lad
oer.' This remarkable flight contains
more than 100 steps. all rising with
me same lift in the same direction.
Inc steps rise at an angle Of exactly
torty-nve degrees. Jacobs ladder"
sscends particularly steep hill at St
neiena. The steps are naturally the
most direct route to the summit Of the
MI and despite their great length are
uaversed daily by hundreds Of way
'aren There are said to be many
persons who from long practice are
apie to ascend the steep stairway at
= npid pace without once stopping
Tor breath.
Hume and the Saints.
oaVid Hume's residence in the new
""n OF Edinburgh was the first build
s 10 new street. and a witty young
NV cnalked up on the walls st
DeVio street." abiding to the owner.
a.nes servant girl resented such a
.s.efence to her master and hurried
a''o tne house to inform how he had
made game of. Never mind.