8. Translation through space, the greatest of all.
388. Which is the floral emblem of the United States?
The violet is the national emblematic flower of our country. Perhaps it is symbolic of the native modesty of Americans.
389. Who was the first white child born in America?
The first of which we have any record was Snorre Thorfinnson, who was born at Straumfjord (Buzzard’s Bay), in the present State of Massachusetts, in the year 1008. He was the son of Thorfinn Karlsefne and his wife Gudrid. From him the famous sculptor, Albert Thorwaldsen, is lineally descended, besides a long train of learned and distinguished men, who have flourished during the last eight centuries in Iceland and Denmark.
390. What king wrote an essay against tobacco?
King James I., of England, issued in 1616 a Counterblaste to Tobacco, in which he describes its use as “a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless.”
391. What metals are valued at over $1,000 a pound?
Vanadium,—a white metal discovered in 1830, is valued at $10,000 an avoirdupois pound.
Rubidium,—an alkaline metal, so called from exhibiting dark red lines in the spectrum analysis, $9,070.