as a sitting room, was imported from America crater. A great eruption took place in 1852, and exhibited in London. The trunk was 80 immense clouds of ashes being ejected. From feet high without a branch, and the entire height 150 feet, the bark 12 inches thick, and the branches from 3 to 4 feet in diameter. The California pine is from 150 to 200 feet high, and from 20 to 60 feet in diameter. The forests in watered, tropical countries are formed of trees from 100 to 200 feet high, which grow to the water's edge of rivers, presenting a solid and impenetrable barrier of trunks 10 or 12 feet in diameter. The dragon tree is in girth from 40 to 100 feet, and 50 or 60 feet high, and a mimosa in South America is described whose head is 600 feet round. Mount Etna and Its Eruptions.Mount Etna is a volcano of Sicily, and has been active from the earliest times. The ancients had a fable that beneath the mountain was buried a mighty giant, Enceladus, whom Jove had hurled from heaven for rebellion, and pinned to earth by tossing a mountain upon him. The flames were the breath of the imprisoned monster, the loud noises his groans, and earthquakes were caused by his efforts to turn over his enormous body. The first recorded eruption of Etna occurred before the supposed date of the Trojan war, but its exact time is not known. Thucydides, the historian, next records three eruptions—one in the year 475 B. C., one in 425, and the third at an earlier date not specified. Since those there have been, down to the present time, seventy-eight outbreaks, many of them harmless. Among the most remarkable of the great eruptions were that of 1169 A. D., when Catania and 15,000 of its inhabitants were destroyed; that of 1527, in which two villages were destroyed and many human beings perished; and two eruptions of 1669, in which 15 villages were destroyed. Many fissures in the earth were made at this time- -one twelve miles long, which emitted a most vivid light. Afterward five other fissures opened, from which came smoke and loud noises. The city of Catania, at the foot of the mountain, had built a wall sixty feet high on that side to protect it, but the lava rose until it overflowed the wall and poured a current of liquid fire into the houses. This current flowed onward until it reached the sea, 15 miles distant. It was 600 yards wide and 40 feet deep. Entering the sea, the water was thrown into violent commotion, the noise of its agitation was as loud as thunder, and clouds of steam darkened the air for many hours. The eruption of 1755 was remarkable for an inundation caused by the flow of the hot lava over the snow that covered the mountain. It was imagined at the time that the water was thrown out of the two new openings on the east vast torrents of lava poured out, one of which was two miles broad, and in part of its course 170 feet deep. The outbreak of May, 1879, was violent, the clouds of smoke and showers of ashes being followed by the ejection of a stream of lava 200 feet wide, which desolated large tracts of cultivated land. There were also eruptions in 1883 and 1886, but both subsided before any great damage had been caused. Mount Etna is now 10,868 feet high. It is known that frequent eruptions have broken off large parts of the upper portion of the mountain. surface is divided into three distinct regions. The lowest is that of fertile land, producing fruit and grain, which extends 2,000 feet from the base up the mountain side, with a circumference of 92 miles. Above this is a strip nearly 4,300 feet wide, covered with large forests, above which to the mountain top there is only a dreary waste of ashes and hardened lava. In spite of its tragic history, the sides of the mountain have a population of over 300,000 people in 63 small villages and 2 large cities. Its Postage Stamps, Language of.— Of late years the postage stamp has been invested with a language of its own. When a stamp is inverted on the right-hand upper corner, it means the person written to is to write no more. If the stamp be placed on the lefthand upper corner, inverted, then the writer declares his affection for the receiver of the letter. When the stamp is in the center at the top it signifies an affirmative answer to a question or the questions, as the case may be; and when it is at the bottom, it is a negative. Should the stamp be on the right-hand corner, at a right angle, it asks the question if the receiver of the letter loves the sender; while in the left-hand corner means that the writer hates the other. There is a shade of difference between desiring one's acquaintance and friendship. For example: the stamp at the upper corner at the right expresses the former, and on the lower left-hand corner means the latter. The stamp on a line with the surname is an offer of love; in the same place, only reversed, signifies that the writer is engaged. To say farewell, the stamp is placed straight up and down in the left-hand corner. Fabian Policy.-The policy of wearing out the enemy in war by delays, misleading movements, feints of attack, etc., while avoiding open battle, is called the " Fabian policy" from the following circumstance: Fabius Maximus was a Roman General in the second Panic War. Having been appointed just after the Roman army had suffered severe defeat at Lake Thrasymene, he perceived that his disheartened troops and bands of raw recruits could not oppose successfully a trained army flushed with victory and led by their great commander Hannibal. He therefore avoided pitched battles, moved his camp from highland to highland, and tired out the enemy with marches and counter-marches. This he continued until thwarted in his calculations by the impatience of the Roman Senate. Character by the Month.-Here is an old astrological prediction, said to indicate, with tolerable certainty, the character of the girl according to the month she happens to be born in. If a girl is born in January, she will be a prudent housewife, given to melancholy, but good-tempered. If in February, a humane and affectionate wife and tender mother. nia, Dakota, and other states of the Union, but not in quantities to tempt capital to engage in mining it, with the exception of Dakota, where the Illinois Steel Mill Company has large interests. The chief tin-producing countries are the following, arranged in the order of importance: England, about 10,000 tons a year; Malacca, about 8,500 tons; Australia, about 6,000 tons; Banca, about 4,000 tons; and Billiton, about 3,000 tons. Both of these last named places are islands of the Dutch East Indies. 5 St. Valentine's Day.- The custom of sending valentines can, without doubt, be traced, in origin, to a practice among the ancient Romans. At the feast of the Lupercalia, which was held on the 15th of February, in honor of the great god Pan, the names of all the virgin daughters of Rome were put in a box and drawn therefrom by the young men, and each youth was bound to offer a gift to the If in March, a frivolous chatterbox, some- maiden who fell to his lot, and to make her what given to quarreling. his partner during the time of the feast. This If in April, inconstant, not intelligent, but custom became allied to the name of St. Vallikely to be good-looking. If in May, handsome and likely to be happy. If in June, impetuous, will marry early, and be frivolous. If in July, passably handsome, but with a sulky temper. If in August, amiable and practical, and likely to marry rich. If in September, discreet, affable, and much liked. entine, probably, only through a coincidence in dates. St. Valentine was a bishop of Rome during the third century. He was of most amiable nature, and possessed remarkable gifts of eloquence, and was so very successful in converting the pagan Romans to Christianity that he incurred the displeasure of the Emperor, and was martyred by his order February 14, A. D. 270. When the saint came to be placed in the calendar, his name was given to the day If in October, pretty and coquettish, and of his death, and this was made a festival, to likely to be unhappy. offset that of the Lupercalia, and an effort was If in November, liberal, kind, of a mild dis- made to substitute the names of saints for those position. If in December, well proportioned, fond of novelty, and extravagant. of girls in the lottery, but naturally without success. Many other customs of mediæval and later times, which have become allied in name to a holy saint of the church, are unquestionably of purely secular, even pagan, origin. The World's Principal Tin Mines. - Pure tin is an elementary metal, as much so as lead, iron, silver, or gold. The principal Royal Incomes, English.- The annual tin-producing country is England. The Phoeni-income of the Queen of England is $1,925,000, cians traded with England for tin 1,100 years before the Christian era. There is reason to believe that they got tin from Spain also; but England was depended on for nearly all the tin used in Europe until this ore was discovered in Germany in 1240. It was discovered in Northern Africa in the Barbary States in 1640, in India in 1740, in New Spain in 1782. Tin was mined in Mexico before the Spanish conquest, and used in T shaped pieces for money, and in a bronze composition for sharp tools, the principal mines being at Tasco. Peru has valuable mines of this metal, so have New South Wales, Australia, and Banca, and Malacca in the Malay peninsula. Tin has been discovered in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Califor-plied by appropriation. out of which must be paid the cost of the royal household, which includes the expenses and salaries of nearly one thousand officers and servants. The amount set aside for her personal use, or privy purse, as it is called, is $300,000; Prince of Wales receives $200,000; Princess of Wales, $50,000; Crown Princess of Prussia, $40,000; Duke of Edinburgh, $125,000; Princess Christian, $30,000; Princess Louise, $30,000; Duke of Connaught, $125,000; Princess Beatrice, $30,000; Duke of Cambridge, $60,000; Duchess of Teck, $25,000; Duchess of Albany, $30,000; Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, $15,000; making a total of $2,715,000 per annum, which is sup The Stage. BIRTHPLACES AND BIRTH YEARS OF DRAMATIC AND MUSICAL PEOPLE. Anderson, Mary.. Sacramento, Cal.. 1859 Irving, Sir Henry. Keinton, England. 1838 Easton, Pa... Piedmont, Italy. Frohman, Daniel.. Sandusky, O.. Augusta, Ga.. Kaschau, Hungary.. Rochdale, England. Hartford, Ct.. Archer, Belle. Bancroft, Sir S. B... Bancroft, Lady.. Bandmann, Daniel E.. Barnabee, H. C... Barrett, Wilson. Barron, Charles. Barrymore, Maurice.. Bateman, Isabel.. Bateman, Kate.. Bell, Digby.. Bellew, Kyrle.. Boniface, George C... Campbell, Mrs. Patrick. Daly, Augustin.. Damrosch, Walter J.. De Belleville, Frederic.. Eames, Emma Hayden.. Eytinge, Rose.... Florence, Mrs. W. J.. Frohman, Charles. Germon, Effie. Gilbert, Mrs. G. H.. Haworth, Joseph S... Herbert, Victor. Boston, Mass.. Marseilles, France 1846 Sorma, Agnes.. Sothern, Edward H.. 1858 Stanhope, Adelaide. 1850 Stanley, Alma Stuart... 1845 Stevenson, Charles A.... Stoddart, J. (H... 1861 Thompson, Denman. Wyndham, Charles. 1860 Irwin, May. Toronto, Canada 1862 1822 James, Louis. Tremont, Ill.. 1842 1869 Janauschek, Francesca. Prague, Austria.. 1830 1841 Jefferson, Joseph.. Philadelphia, Pa.. 1829 1840 Jones, Walter. Springfield, O... 1871 1839 Karl, Tom.. Dublin, Ireland. 1849 1836 Kendal, Mrs. W. 11.. 1833 Keeley, Mrs. Robert.. Lincolnshire, England.. Ipswich, England. 1846 Kelcey, Herbert H. L... London, England. 1855 1841 Kellogg, Clara Louise... 1847 Knowles, Edwin H.. 1854 Kopacsy, Julie.. Sumpterville, S. C... Rhode Island.. 1842 1845 1842 Langtry, Lily. 1862 Le Moyne, W. J. St. Helens, Jersey (Eng.) 1852 1845 Mande, Cyril.. London.... 1862 1844 Mansfield, Richard.. 1857 Mantell, Robert B.. Ayrshire, Scotland.. 1854 1832 Marlowe, Julia.. Caldbeck, England. 1865 1843 Martinot, Sadie. Yonkers, N. Y.. 1857 1846 Melba, Nellie... Melbourne 1866 1846 Mitchell, Maggie.. 1866 Modjeska, Helena.. Cracow, Poland. 1844 1847 Mordaunt, Frank. Burlington, Vt.. 1841 1864 Morgan, Edward J.. Barnes, Surrey, Eng.. 1871 1868 Morris, Clara... Cleveland, O..... 1846 1864 Mounet-Sully... 1852 Murphy, Joseph Brooklyn, N. Y.. 1839 1858 Nevada, Emma. San Francisco, Cal.. 1857 1837 Nilsson, Christine... Wederslof, Sweden. 1843 1840 Nordica, Lillian.. Farmington, Me... 1858 1835 Olcott, Chauncey. Providence, R. I... 1862 1848 O'Neil, James.. 1845 Paderewski, Ignace J.. 1853 Palmer, A. M.. 1841 Pastor, Tony. New York city. 1837 1847 Patti, Adelina.. Madrid.... 1848 1845 Plympton, Eben.. Boston, Mass.. 1850 1838 Ponisi, Madame.. Huddersfield, England.. 1825 1863 Powers, James T.. New York city.. 1862 1862 Rankin, A. McKee.. Sandwich, Canada. 1844 1860 Reed, Roland.. Philadelphia, Pa...... 1852 1863 Rehan, Ada. Limerick, Ireland. 1860 1853 Rhea, Madame. Brussels. 1855 1874 Robinson, Frederick. 1855 Robson, Stuart.. Annapolis, Md.. 1836 1850 Roze, Marie. Paris 1846 1865 Russell, Annie.. 1842 Russell, Lillian.. Clinton, Iowa. 1860 1859 Russell, Sol. Smith.. 1853 Saleza, Albert. 1861 Salvini, Tommaso.. 1868 Sanderson, Sibyl. 1873 Seabrooke, Thomas Q... Brunswick, Mo.. Bruges, France.. Milan, Italy.. Sacramento, Cal... Mt. Vernon, N. Y.. 1848 1867 1830 1869 1860 1858 Sembrich, Marcella.. Lemberg, Austria.. 1858 1837 Skinner, Ötis..... 1838 Smith, Mark Cambridgeport, Mass.. Mobile, Ala...... 1857 1855 Germany.. 1865 1871 England.. 1864 Paris, France. 1858 Jersey, England.. 1860 Dublin, Ireland. 1842 nities they monopolize, and compel them to pay just as much for holding the land idle as for putting it to its fullest use. Vaudeville. The name Vaudeville is a corruption of Vaux de Vire, the name of two picturesque valleys in the Bocage of Normandy, and was originally applied to a song with words 6. Make it unprofitable for speculators to relating to some story of the day. These songs hold land unused or only partly used, and, by were first composed by one Oliver Basselin, a thus opening to labor unlimited fields of emfuller in Vire; they were very popular, and ployment, solve the labor problem, raise wages spread all over France, and were called by the in all occupations, and abolish involuntary name of their native place (Les Vaux de Vire). poverty. As the origin of the term was soon lost sight of, it at last took its present form. The word is now used to signify a play in which dialogue is interspersed with songs incidentally introduced, but forming an important part of the drama. 66 The Single Tax.- This idea was first formulated by Mr. Henry George, in his book, Progress and Poverty," in 1879, and has grown steadily in favor. Single tax men assert, as a fundamental principle, that all men are equally entitled to the use of the earth; there fore, no one should be allowed to hold valuable land without paying to the community the value of the privilege. They hold that this is the only rightful source of public revenue, and they would, therefore, abolish all taxation, local, state, and national, except a tax upon the rental value of land, exclusive of its improvements, the revenue thus raised to be divided among local, state, and general governments, as the revenue from certain direct taxes is now divided between local and state governments. The single tax would not fall on all land, but only on valuable land, and on that in proportion to its value. It would thus be a tax, not on use or improvements, but on ownership of land, taking what would otherwise go to the landlord as owner. In accordance with the principle that all men are equally entitled to the use of the earth, they would solve the transportation problem by public ownership, and control of all highways, including the roadbeds of railroads, leaving their use equally free to all. The single tax system would: 1. Dispense with a horde of taxgatherers, simplify government, and greatly reduce its cost. 2. Give us with all the world that absolute free trade which now exists between the states of the Union. 3. Printer's Devil. The origin of this term is ascribed to the fact that in the early days of printing the apprentice's duties included the inking of the forms with bags containing ink or besmeared with it. In the performance of this work his face and hands became so daubed with the ink that in appearance he suggested the devil. Hence the name. Bastille. The famous French prison known by this name was originally the Castle of Paris, and was built by order of Charles V., between 1370 and 1383, as a defense against the English. When it came to be used as a state prison it was provided with vast bulwarks and ditches. The Bastille had four towers, of five stories each, on each of its larger sides, and it was partly in these towers and partly in underground cellars that the prisons were situated. It was capable of containing seventy to eighty prisoners, a number frequently reached during the reigns of Louis XIV. and Louis XV., the majority of them being persons of the higher ranks. The Bastille was destroyed by a mob on the 15th of July, 1789, and the governor and a number of his officers were killed. On its site now stands the Column of July, erected in memory of the patriots of 1789 and 1830. White House Weddings. The first wedding to occur in the White House was that of Miss Todd, a relative by marriage of President Madison. Then, in their order, came the weddings of Elizabeth Tyler, a daughter of President Tyler; John Quincy Adams, Jr. ; Miss Easten and Miss Lewis, both during General Jackson's administration; Martha Monroe; Nellie Grant; Emily Platt, a niece of President Hayes; and last, President Cleveland. Dying Sayings of Famous People. Give us free trade in finance by abolish- what peace a Christian can die!" ing all taxes on private issues of money. 4. Take the weight of taxation from agricultural districts, where land has little or no value apart from improvements, and put it upon valuable land, such as city lots and mineral deposits. 5. Call upon men to contribute for public expenses in proportion to the natural opportu Anaxagoras. "Give the boys a holiday." Beaufort (Cardinal Henry). "I pray you all, pray for me." Berry (Mme. de). "Is not this dying with courage and true greatness?" Bronte (father of the authoress). "While there is life there is will." (He died standing.) Byron. "I must sleep now." Cæsar (Julius). "Et tu, Brute!" (To Brutus, when he stabbed him.) love thee! Cromwell. to be gone." "My desire is to make what haste I may Demonax (the philosopher). "You may go home, the Indiana show is over."-Lucian. Elden (Lord). "It matters not, where I am going, whether the weather be cold or hot." Fontenelle. "I suffer nothing, but feel a sort of difficulty in living longer." Franklin. "A dying man can do nothing easy." Gainsborough. "We are all going to heaven, and Vandyke is of the company.' George IV. "Whatty, what is this? It is death, my boy. They have deceived me.' (Said to his page, Sir Walthen Waller.) Gibbon. "Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu!" "I have loved justice and hated Grey (Lady Jane). "Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit!" Grotius. "Be serious." Haydn. "God preserve the emperor." Hobbes. "Now I am about to take my last voyage a great leap in the dark." Hunter (Dr. William). "If I had strength to hold a pen, I would write down how easy and pleasant a thing it is to die." Irving. "If I die I die unto the Lord. Amen." James V. (of Scotland). It came with a lass and will go with a lass" (i. e., the Scotch crown). Jefferson (of America). "I resign my spirit to God, my daughter to my country." Jesus Christ. "It is finished." Johnson (Dr.). "God bless you, my dear!" (To Miss Morris.) Knox. "Now it is come." Louis I. "Huz! huz!" (Bouquet says, "He turned his face to the wall, and twice cried huz! huz!' (out, out) and then died.") Louis IX. "I will enter now into the house of the Lord." Louis XIV. "Why weep ye? Did you think I should live forever ?" Then, after a pause, "I thought dying had been harder." Louis XVIII. "A king should die standing." Mahomet. "Oh, Allah, be it so! Henceforth among the glorious host of paradise." Marie Antoinette. "Farewell, my children, forever. I go to your father." Mirabeau. "Let me die to the sounds of delicious music." Moody (the actor). "Reason thus with life, If I do lose thee, I do lose a thing That none but fools would keep."-Shakespeare. Moore (Sir John). "I hope my country will do me justice." Napoleon III. "Were you at Sedan?" (To Dr. Nelson. "I thank God I have done my duty." Pope. "Friendship itself is but a part of virtue." Schiller. "Many things are growing plain and clear to my understanding." Scott (Sir Walter). "God bless you all." (To his family.) Socrates. "Crito, we owe a cock to Esculapius." Iowa... Utah Vermont.. Washington.. Colifornia Poppy Peach Blossom Corn Wild Rose Pine Cone and Tassel Apple Blossom .Cypripedium or Moccasin Flower Rose; State tree. Bitter Root Golden-rod Sunflower Maple .Golden-rod Violet .Sego Lily .Red Clover Rhododendron Adopted by State Legislature, not by public school scholars. In other states the scholars or State Legislatures have not yet taken action. In Illinois in the vote on the leading State Flower by the pupils of the schools the Rose, Violet, and Golden-rod received the largest number of votes, in the order named, although no state flower was adopted. In Massachusetts the Columbine was strongly urged, but no flower was adopted. In Ohio and Tennessee the Golden-rod is advocated. Strength of Modern Powders and |