Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 August 1881 — BITS OP INFORMATION. [ARTICLE]

BITS OP INFORMATION.

Ohio was admitted to the Union in im. . The first public school in Oincinnat 1 was opened in April, 1829. Josephus placed the creation of the world 4,658 years before the Christian era. Cromwell, established the first standing army that was organized in England. The early Roman candles were, composed of strings which had been dipped in pitch. Bonaparte, Wellington, Key, Soult and Lannes were all bom the same year, viz, 1769. Only three words in the English language contain all the vowels in their regular order without any repetitions — arsenious, abstemiously and facetiously. An act of the British Parliament can not be questioned by the courts, except to ascertain its meaning. It can not be annulled by them under any pretext. Parliament is the supreme authority.

Qdeen Victoria was bom at Kensington Palace, London, May 24, 1819, and ascended the throne at the death of her uncle, King William IV., June 20, 1837. She was married Feb, 10, 1840, to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who died Dec. 14, 1861. The Queen has had nine cliildren, eight ’of whom are living. The following is the length and names of the three longest railway tunnels in the United States: Hoosac: Built in 1854-76 ; length, 25,08 1 feet; mean height, 20 feet; mean width, 25 feet; through mica schist, decomposed rock and granatoid gneiss. San Fernando, or No. 20, Southern Pacific railway: Built in 1875-76 ; length, 6,966 feet; width, 16 feet; height, 19* feet; through sandstone. Under Baltimore : Built in 1871-73 ; length, 6,948 feet; width, 27 feet; height, 18.5 feet; through lock, clay and earth ; arched throughout. The fifteen decisive battles of history, from Marathon to Waterloo, are : Marathon, 490 B. 0..; defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse, 413 B. C. ; Arbela, 331 B. G. ; Metaurus, 207 B. C. ; victory of Arminius over the Roman legions under Varus. 9 A. D. ; Chalons, 451 A. D.; Tours, 732 A. D. ; Hastings, 1066 A. D.; Joan of Arc’s victory at Orleans, 1429 A. D. ; defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588 A. D. ; Blenheim, 1704 A. D. ; Pultowa, 1709 A. D. ; victory of the Americans over Burgoyne at Saratoga, 1777 A. D. ; Valmy, 1792 A. D. ; Waterloo, 1815 A. D.

The language applied to gems is purely fanciful, as is that of flowers. It is an old nonsense that has come down from the olden time, and the sentiment ascribed to precious stones is as old as the tenth century, and for centuries was the controlling feature in making gifts of gems. The following is the imagined sentiment: Garnet, constancy and fidelity; Amethyst, sincerity; Bloodstone, courage and" presence of mind; Diamond, innocence; Emerald, success in love; Agate, health and long life; Cornelian, contented mind ; Sardonyx, conjugal felicity; Clirysolyte, antidote against madness; Opal, hope; Topaz, fidelity; Turquoise, prosperity; Pearl, purity. In the year 1010, during the reign of Malcolm 1., Scotland was invaded by the Danes, who made a descent on Aberdeenshire, selecting the still hour of midnight as the time to make a descent on Staines Castle. When all was ready, and there was a reasonable hope that the inmates of the castle were asleep, they commenced their march. They advanced cautiously, taking off their shoes to prevent their footsteps being heard. They approached the lofty tower, their hearts beating in joyous anticipation of victory. Not a sound was heard from within, and they could scarcely refrain from expressions of delight, for they had but to swim across the moat and place scaling ladders, and the castle was theirs. But in another moment a cry from themselves aroused the inmates to a sense of their danger, the guards flew to their posts, and pursued the now-trembling Danes, who fled before them and the intruders were repulsed. The cause was that the moat, instead of being filled with water, was, in reality, dried up and overgrown with thistles,"which pierced the unprotected feet of the assailants, who, tortured with pain, forgot their cautious silence and uttered the cry which had alarmed the inmates of the castle, and from that day the thistle has been the national emblem.