This appellation was bestowed upon Augustina Zaragosa, a young Spanish woman, distinguished for her heroism during the defence of Saragossa in 1808–1809. She first attracted notice by mounting a battery where her lover had fallen, and working a gun in his place. Byron has celebrated her in the first canto of his “Childe Harold.”
141. What was the origin of “quiz”?
Daly, the manager of a Dublin play-house, laid a wager that a new word of no meaning should be the common talk and puzzle of the city in twenty-four hours. In consequence of this, the letters q, u, i, z were chalked by him on all the walls of Dublin, with an effect that won the wager.
142. Who was the “Rail Splitter”?
This popular designation was given to Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth President of the United States, who is said to have supported himself for one winter, in early life, by splitting rails for a farmer.
143. What is the origin of the phrase “Before one could say Jack Robinson”?
This saying, used to express a very short time, is said by Grose to have originated from a very volatile gentleman of that appellation, who would call on his neighbors and be gone before his name could be announced. The following lines “from an old play” are elsewhere given as the original phrase:—
“A warke it ys as easie to be doone,
As tys to saye, Jacke! robys on.”
144. Who was “St. Tammany”?