Rensselaer Union, Volume 11, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 February 1879 — Number Twelve. [ARTICLE]

Number Twelve.

Number twelve plays an important* part in the Bible, in history, and in; arithmetic, as well as in every-day life and business. T What so common as a dmen handkerchiefs or napkins, or whatever~~the--article may beP It comes natural to think of various articles in dozens. Of course, dozen is another way of saying twelve; twelve units make one dozen, twelve dozen one gross, twelve gross one great gross. Then, although the moon travels round the earth thirteen times in ono year, making thirteen lunar months, the year is divided into twelvo calendar months, and the sun appears to past* through one constellation each monthSo we have the twelve constellations of the ecliptic or zodiac, or twelve signs in a circle. Then we have twelve pence in a shilling, English money, which has only gone out of use iu this countryxpf lato years,. We used to hear of shillings and pennies, and buy goodsat a shilling or two shillings a yard, as if lived under the British flag. We have also twelve inches in a foot; twelve ounces in a pound Troy and apothecaries’ weight. * . Twelve is the least common denominator of several numbers, halves* thirds, fourths, sixths and twelfths—so that it is very much used in working fractions. From Jacob’s twelve sons came the twelve tribes of Israel, about which so much has been written.

Our Lord chose twelve disciples to establish His Church, and the number must have been considered important, because Matthias was chosen to take the place of Judas. In the Revelation of St. John we read of the number of them which were sealed —twelve thousand from each tribe, making one hundred and forty-four thousand from all the tribes of Israel. t-In the description of the heavenly Jerusalem, we read that the wall had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelvetribes of the children of Israel. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles. The measure of the city was twelve thousand furlongs. The tree of life is represented as bearing twelve manner of fruits, and yielding her fruit every month. In the &Lble, then, twelve is an important nunwer. Long ago, in England, a woman had several husbands in succession, till suspicion was excited, and a man married her on purpose to unravel the mystery. He watched closely till one night, while he pretended to be asleep, she melted some lead and came over to pour it into his ear, when he sprang up and prevented her from adding him to her list of departed husbands. An investigation was commenced. Twelve men were chosen to look into the matter. The bodies of the buried husbands were taken up and examined. She had poured lead into their ears, and the metal was fbund in their heads. Of course the twelvo men deoidod that she had killed them all. That was the lirst trial by jury. Ever since when a crime has been committed and some one is suspected and arrested, ho is tried before twelve of his felhis guilt or innocence. lo twelve figures in every trial, and no one is condemned to prison or death except by a verdict from twelve of his countrymen. . i. So we find twelve an interesting number in many ways .—-Demorest s Monthly.

—The most honest man we have hoard ol lately was a , Washingtonstreet dealer in men’s under-clothing. A friend of ours bought a pair of shirts of him at $1.25 each, a few days ago, but, finding them too small, carried them back thoiiextday to exchange them for larger ones of the samo kind. The exchange was made without hesitation, but as the buyer was about to retire ho was asked to wait a moment. At the end of the moment the cash-boy appeared, and the salesman, taking a half-dollar from him, handed it to the astonished customer, informing him that between the -time, of purchase and the exchange the '.shirts had ; been marked dpwn to $1 each, dud he was therefore entitled to a half-dollar, the retnmed'beingsl.2sones, and those he took only $1 ones.—Boston Com. Bulletin. It may be slightly Hibernian, but it is nevertheless true, that the best way. to look at the faults of your friends is. to shut your eyqs.