KING COLE. Who was the personage that went by the name of King Cole? JONATHAN.

About the middle of the last century, or a little later, there lived a curious character, well known then by the appellation of King Cole. He was a fish salesman at Billingsgate, and on the day of the liberation of the celebrated John Wilkes, he always invited 45 friends to dine; and he treated them with a plum-pudding containing 45 pounds of flour, and 45 of fruit; it was boiled 45 hours, and conveyed to the place, where the party were at dinner, with flags and music, and 45 butchers with marrow-bones and cleavers. There were also upon the table, 45 pigeon-pies, and 45 apple dumplings, When this ald gentleman lost his son he consolded himself by using the same mystical number. He had him buried 45 miles from town, attended by 45 fish-mongers; he paid the sexton 45 shillings, for 45 tolls of the bell; he mourned 45 days in deep mourning and 45 days in half mourning. See Oliver's "Pythagorean Triangle for account of this singular man. How is this attachment for certain numbers to be accounted for? Let the physiologist find it out if he can. The belief in the efficacy of certain numbers is too firmly fixed in the mind of of some persons to admit of being extinguished by argument of sober reason, be those arguments ever so specious and sound.

THE THREE IMPOSTORS. Who are said to be the three impostors, and who was the author of the book which bore that title? A. P. A.

Toward the end of the tenth century a rumor was current that a book had appeared by the above title, to prove that the world had been grossly deceived three times, by three impostors, each founding a religion. The most extravagant ideas prevailed and the authorship of the unknown work was in turn attributed to the emperors Frederick I and II, Averrhoes, Petrus a Vineis, Alphonzo X, king of Castile ; Cocaccio, Poggio, L. Aretin, Pomponazzio, Machiavelli, Erasmus, P. Aretino, Ochinus, Servetus, Rabelais, Gruetus Barnaud, Muret, Nachtigall, Giordano Bruno, Campanella, Milton, and others. In 1716 a person named Haag claimed to have the original in his possession. A book appeared published from a MS. of 1598. Nothing is known of its author. Some think the original title was not "The Three Impostor," as it does not call either of the founders Moses, Jesus, or Mohammed-outright impostors.

POETRY AND PROJECTILES.

Prof. Longfellow has recorded a won

derful story of the flectness of his Indian hero.

"Swift of foot was Hiawatha ;

He could shoot an arrow from him,
And run forward with such fleetness,
That the arrow fell behind him.

Strong of arm was Hiawatha ;

He conld shoot ten arrows upwards,

Shoot them with such strength and swiftness,

That the tenth had left the bow-string

Ere the first to earth had fallen."

If we suppose an arrow shot upward every second, then as ten arrows must be in the air at one time, the time of flight of each arrow must be at least ten seconds, and if the time of ascending is the same as descending, though really it is somewhat less, the height attained is found to be sixteen times the square of five, or 400 feet. As the greatest horizontal distance to which a body can be thrown is double the height it would attain if projected with the same velocity, it is evident that if Hiawatha put forth his maximum “ strength of arm " in shooting forward as well as upward, the greatest range of his arrow would be 800 feet. As a projectile attains its greatest height and remains the longest in the air when thrown vertically upward, the time of flight of the forward shot must be less than ten seconds. The theo. retical angle of greatest range being 45 degrees, and the initial velocity being equal to that due to gravity acting five seconds, or 160 feet, this velocity multiplied by the sine of 45 degrees, gives the horizontal component of the initial impulse, which is 113,136, and hence the quotient of 800 divided by this component, which is seven seconds nearly equals the actual time of the flight of the arrow. Now as the arrow flies 800 feet in seven seconds, or 114. 3 feet per second, it is plain that Hiawatha must exceed this speed to get ahead of the arrow, which would require him to run a mile in about 46 seconds, or more than 78 miles an hour. It is to be feared that such runners as he who won the lovely Minnehaha have long ago departed

"To the Islands of the Blessed,

To the kingdom of Ponemah,
To the land of the Hereafter."

N. B. WEBSTER IN The Reveille.

I.

QUESTIONS.

Define the word root when it is a value of x in an equation of any degree, and also the word when it is a base of any power.

66

2. What is the difference between the Antichrists II, 18), and the "false Christs" (Matthew XXIV, 24)?

R.

3. Who were the "Twelve Imams " and when did they flourish ? Who is the Mahdi, and is he to be the last Imam? R.

Give the real etymology of the words whole, whirl, wheel, world. R. 5. What authority is there for designating the period before the present era as the Jewish Dispensation, and the latter period as the Christian Dispensation? ALPHA.

6. Why should the woman whom it is said that King Saul visited the night before his death, be denominated "the witch of En-dor," while the text reads, "A woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor" (I Samuel XXVIII, 7) ?

ALPHA.

7. What is the reason for Joseph to be buried at Shechem, (Joshua XXVI, 32), when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with their several wives, were entombed at Hebron (Genesis XLIX, 31; L, 13)? ALPHA.

8. What was "the Testimony" mentioned in Exodus XVI, 34, and elsewhere? ALPHA.

9. Why, when Jacob and Laban made a covenant together, does each swear a different imprecation: Laban by "the God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, the God of their father" ; and Jacob by "the Fear of his father Isaac" (Genesis XXXI, 53) ?

ALPHA.

10. Why was the island in the St. Lawrence river, near Montreal, called "Isle of Jesus," and those in the west of Lake Superior, the "Apostles' Islands "? FELIX OTTINGER.

II.

What is the first account of wire that we read of either in sacred or profane history? D. M. DRURY.

12. Where is the first recorded instance of a seventh son, and also a seventh son of a seventh son? J. PAYSON SHields.

13. Rev. Dr. M. Edrehi wrote a book entitled "An Historical Account of the Ten Tribes, settled beyond the River Sambatyon, in the East." Where is the river Sambatyon? OLIVER.

14.

How many persons, or other subjects have had the "mark of the beast" and "the number of his name" or 666 applied to them; and who and what are some of them? INQUIRER II.

I.

2.

What is the origin and true meaning of the word bonfire?

ALPHA.

Does the word cross in its proper sense denote a crossed piece of timber as it is now made to imply? A crux denoted a tree, or other instrumentality for putting men to death, whether by hanging, impaling, or piercing with weapons; and a stauros was an upright stake, or a pole for impaling. The Aztecs of Mexico are said to have fixed a victim to a tree every spring to shoot to death with arrows. Would not this be a crucifixion? ALPHA.

3. Was circumcision primally an African or an Asian custom? ALPHA.

4. What is the purport and etymology of the syllable go, in Latin words as origo, virgo, virago, etc.? Perhaps it is suggested by the word li, or terminal in English. Gir, or ga, seems to have been used to signify a young person, in which ase girli, or girl, may denote a

woman.

5. We are informed that Job's household, was as follows:

ALPHA.

Does the "also," in XLII, 13, give us to understand that his children were doubled, and that he had 14 sons and 6 daughters?

6. What are some of the most "remarkable coincidences have occurred and been taken note of ?

X.

"" that SEARCHER.

7. What was the size and shape of the ancient cities of Jesusalem, Rome, Babylon, Nineveh, etc.? HANNAH.

8. What is the "quincunx order" for planting trees? JOEL. 9. Who first solved the problem of the "Tour of the Chess Knight"? LOVER OF GAMES.

IO.

called "the Bight,"

66

Is there more than one place on the globe that is, on the west of Africa; also, more than one Levant," that is, on the west of Palestine?

OBSERVER.

I.

11. Why are monkeys called quadrumana, “ four-handed"?

Mathematical Bibliography.

Several inquiries have been made for the publications of the United States devoted wholly or in part to mathematics. We therefore publish this bibliography as a reference list for those who are interested in this branch of science. Our library contains all but five of the serials wholly devoted to the science, and nearly all those containing a department devoted to it, although some of the files are broken.

DEVOTED WHOLLY TO MATHEMATICS.

THE MATHEMATICAL CORRESPONDENT ; New Elucidations, Discoveries, and Improvements. Edited by George Baron, New York. Commenced January, 1804, and published monthly for one year and discontinued. Vol. I, pp. 248. Portrait of the editor.

12mo.

THE ANALYST; OR MATHEMATICAL MUSEUM; New Elucidations, Discoveries, and Improvements. Conducted by Robert Adrain, New York. Nos. I-V, pp. 150, Philadelphia, 1808. No. I, New York, 1814.

THE SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL. Conducted by Mr. Marrat. Published at Perth Amboy, N. J. February to September, 1818; July and October, 1819. Nos. I-IX, pp. 184.

LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN'S DIARY; AND ANNUAL PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE; REPOSITORY OF SCIENCE AND AMUSEMENT. Edited by Melatiah Nash, New York. Commenced 1820 and published three years. Nos. I-III, 1820-1822, pp. 72, 96, 96. 12mo.

THE MATHEMATICAL DIARY; New Researches and Improvements in the Mathematics, with Collections of Questions. Conducted by R. Adrain; published by James Ryan, New York. Commenced in 1825, and thirteen numbers published, quarterly and semi-annually. Vol. I, Nos. I-VIII, 1825-1827, pp. 248; Vol. II, Nos. Ix-XIII, 18281832, pp. 316. Portrait of Lagrange.

12mo.

THE MATHEMATICAL MISCELLANY. Commenced February, 1836; ceased November, 1839. Conducted by Charles Gill; published at Flushing, Long Island, N. Y.; semi-annually. Vol. I, Nos. i-vi, pp. 414. Supplement: Useful Tables relating to Cube Numbers calculated and arranged by William Lenhart, York, Penn.; pp. 16. Vol. II, Nos. VII-VIII, pp. 142. 8vo.

THE CAMBRIDGE MISCELLANY OF MATHEMATICS, PHYSICS, AND` ASTRONOMY. Commenced July, 1842; ceased January, 1843; quarterly. Edited by Benjamin Peirce and Joseph Lovering; Cambridge, Mass. Vol. I, Nos. 1-IV, pp. 192. 8vo.