The London Times. This name was originally given to it on account of the powerful articles contributed to its columns by the editor, Edward Sterling.
118. Who was the “Man of Destiny”?
This appellation was conferred on Napoleon Bonaparte, who believed himself to be a chosen instrument of Destiny, and that his actions were governed by some occult and supernatural influence.
119. What was the origin of “catch-penny”?
This term originated in London, in 1824, just after the execution of Thurtell for the murder of Weare. A publisher made a great deal of money from the sale of Thurtell’s “last dying speech.” When the sale of this speech fell off, a second edition was advertised, headed, “We are alive again!” with little space between the first two words. These two words the people took for the name of the murdered man, reading it, “Weare alive again!” A large edition was rapidly sold. Some one called it a “catch-penny,” and the word rapidly spread until it came into general use.
120. Where is there an underground river in the United States?
There are two underground rivers—the Echo and the Styx—in the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. The Echo is about three fourths of a mile long, two hundred feet wide at some points, and from ten to forty feet deep. It is crossed by boats. Its course is beneath an arched ceiling of smooth rock, varying in height from ten to thirty-five feet, and famous for its musical reverberations; not a distinct echo, but a harmonious prolongation of sound for from ten to thirty seconds after the original tone is produced. The long vault has a certain key-note of its own, which, when struck, excites harmonics, including tones of incredible depth and sweetness. The Styx is much smaller than the Echo. It is about four hundred and fifty feet long, from fifteen to forty feet wide, and from thirty to forty feet deep. It is spanned by an interesting natural bridge about thirty feet above it. Both these streams have an invisible communication with Green River, the depth of the water and direction of the current in them being regulated by the stage of water in the latter stream. In the waters of both streams are found a blind fish (Amblyopsis speleans) of an almost pure white color.
121. Who was the first martyr to American liberty?
Thomas Hansford, one of the leading participants of Bacon’s Rebellion, is generally accredited with this honor. After the failure of the rebellion, he was captured at the house of a young lady to whom he was paying his addresses, taken to Accomac, and hung as a rebel, by Berkeley, the royal governor, in spite of his prayer that he might be “shot like a soldier.” This was Nov. 13, 1676.
This name has also been applied to Christopher Snider, a boy eleven years of age, who was killed in a mob in Boston, Feb. 22, 1770.