Interesting Stories. I–IV

Interesting Stories. SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY GEORGE D. KIRBY. I. — Herbert Spencer. Herbert Spencer, the noted English philosopher, was born in Derby, England, on April 27, 1820, and was the son of a tutor in mathematics. He was a precocious boy and early developed a talent for mathematical and philosophical investigation. When sixteen years old he invented a new theorem in descriptive geom- etry, and by the next year he was so far advanced in the study of engineering that he joined the staff of Sir Charles Fox in the build- ing of the London & Birmingham Railway. He declined a prof- fered reappointment, in 1841, and went to London intending to embark upon a literary career. He began to write essays on his famous evolution theory, in 1852,and attracted attention as an original thinker. He had a hard time of it, though, trying to circulate his books and essays. It took his publisher just fourteen years to dispose of a single edition of "Social Statistics," his first book. Americans were the first to give Spencer the recognition that he had waited so long to gain, and in America his subsequent books found their best sale. His First Principles is doubtless the most representative of his works. No other book gives such a clear and complete expression of his philosophical system and manner of reasoning. Mr. Spencer died in London, England, December 8, 1903 at the age of eighty-three. II. — Musical Prodigies. Like so many of the world's great composers, Sir Edward Elgar was a "youthful prodigy" of exceptional gifts, as was proven by a recent performance of a suite composed by him at the imma- ture age of 12. But even Sir Edward was probably not as preco- cious as one of his English predecessors, Samuel Wesley, who in his

170 IMPROVEMENT ERA eighth year heard a regimental band play a march which he had composed for it. At eleven, Franz Schubert had already placed several songs, string quartettes and piano pieces, to his credit. Handel's first attempts at composition were made at eight , and Vieuxtemps, who began to scrape the strings of a tiny fiddle at two, is said to have been even more precocious. Sir Charles Halle was only four years old when he played in public a sonata expressly composed for him; Listz was a public performer at nine, Chopin and Rubenstein at eight, Lady Hall and Joachim at seven, and at five Mozart composed a piece of music almost too difficult for his father to play. III. — "Somebody's Darling." "Into the ward of the white-washed hall — Where the dead and dying lay, Wounded by bayonet, shell, or ball — 'Somebody's Darling' was borne one day; 'Somebody"s Darling,' so young and so brave, Wearing yet, on his pale, sweet face, Soon to be hid by the dust of the grave, The lingering light of his boyhood's grace." "Somebody's Darling," like "All Quiet Along the Potomac," was a great favorite throughout the period of the Civil War, and for the same reason, It speaks touchingly of the tragedy of the individual household, as against the triumph of the collected hosts. Whoever wins in war, uncounted numbers must always lose; and the blaring notes of victory bring little comfort to hearts that are wrung by the agony of their personal affliction. The poem was set to music and was sung both North and South. The history of its composition is very difficult to trace. It was written during the early part of the Civil War by Miss Maria La Coste, and by her was published in a newspaper from which it. was quickly copied by hundreds of other journals. So far as known Miss La Coste wrote nothing else that has been preserved, and none of the anthologies give any account of her. Nevertheless, the poem which she wrote, by its tenderness of feeling, and by the sadness which it has enshrined in harmonious words, will insure its remembrance even when some of the more strident and warlike popular poems of that time shall have been long forgotten. — Scrap Book.

INTERESTING STORIES 17, IV.— Soap. That soap is an ancient and not a modern convenience is well- known, but just when it became a household necessity is a mystery. ^ The books of Job and Jeremiah contain the word "soap" indi- cating that cleansing agents were used in biblical times, but the word is merely a convenient term in translation. It was substitu- ted by translators for the Hebrew word "borith" which is a general expression for cleansing substances. These substances, no doubt, were very much unlike our modern soap, although the ingredients of which they were composed is unknown. Pliny, who wrote of the eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed the two Roman cities in 79 A. D., speaks of the invention and use of both hard and soft soap by the Gauls, who, however, used it only as a dressing for the hair. He states that it was made from tallow and ashes and that the German soap was better than that of the Romans. Fuller's earth, which possesses saponaceous quali- ties was known and used for cleaning purposes by the Romans, and in the excavation of the ruins of Pompeii a soap boiler's shop, with soap in it, was uncovered, showing that its manufacture was known in the first Christian century. According to the historian Sismondi, a soapmaker was included in the retinue of Charlemagne, king of the Franks, at the end of the eighth century. Galen also referred to the use of soap. The French word for soap, savon, comes from Savona, France, where it was manufactured. It is said that prior to 1524 the English cities were supplied with it from Bristol, but in that year London began its manufacture. The Chinese Insurrection is creating widespread interest from its apparent success, and will doubtless continue to spread until the Man- churian Dynasty is overthrown. The National Assembly demanded of the Emperor, October 25, that he appoint a responsible cabinet, remove the Manchurian princes from office, pardon political prisoners, recall political exiles, establish full constitutional government, and restore to the provinces their control over railway building. There was some hesitancy on the part of the Emperor to make the changes demanded, but the demand was granted after two army divisions of 10,000 men threatened to move on Peking, unless the demands were granted. Numer- ous battles have occurred between the sympathizers with the reform movement and the Imperial army. In nearly all cases the insurrection- ists have won the victory.