(89) PARVARD COLL! JUN 13 1888 LIPALV MISCELLANEOUS NOTES AND QUERIES, WITH ANSWERS. "Who offends against Heaven has none to whom he can pray."-CONFUCIUS. VOL. V. JUNE AND JULY, 1888. Nos. 6 & 7. Notes. HIPPOCRATES. The father of physic and prince of physicians was the first man who laid down precepts concerning physic. It would be endless to transcribe the many things that have been said of him, or to relate honors that have been paid to his memory; with the Grecians he passed for a God and his-day was kept as a festival. He taught his art as he practiced it, with candor and liberality, a singular proof of which was his mistaking a fracture of the skull for a natural suture, and being ingenuous enough to confess it, and even leave it record. This circumstance is noticed by Celsus, who seemed greatly upon delighted with it. This, says he, was acting like a truly great man, ready to make a frank acknowledgement of his errors, and especially in a profession where it is of importance to posterity to record the truth. The most singular specimen of his ingeniousness, however, is that medical curiosity called THE OATH OF HIPPOCRATES. 66 I swear by Apollo the Physician, by Esculapius, by his daughters Hygeia and Panacea, and by all the Gods and Goddesses, that to the last of my power and judgment, I will faithfully observe this their oath and obligation. The master that has instructed me in this art, I will esteem as my parent, and supply as occasion may require, with the comforts and necessaries of life. His children I will regard as my own brothers, and if they desire to learn, I will instruct them in the same art without any reward or obligation. The precepts, the explanations, or whatever else belongs to the art, I will communicate to my own children, to the children of my master, or to such other pupils as have subscribed to the Physician's oath, and to no other persons. My patients shall be treated by me to the best of my power and judgment, in the most salutary manner without any injury or violence. I will neither be prevailed upon by any other to administer pernicious physic, or be author of such advice myself. Cutting for the stone I will not meddle with, but leave it to the operators in that way. Το whatever house I am sent for, I will always make patient good my principal aim, avoiding as much as possible all voluntary injury and corruption. And whatever I hear or see in the course of a case, or otherwise, relating to the affairs of life, nobody shall even know it, if it ought to remain a secret. May I be prosperous in life and business and forever honored and esteemed by all men, as I observe this solemn oath; and may the reverse of all this be my portion if I forswear myself." M. O. WAGGONER, Toledo, O. ANCIENT SYMBOL OF THE SUN. The flat pieces of iron, like the letter S, that are frequently seen on the walls of old brick buildings, are said to be ancient symbols of the sun. Their origin may be traced back to Asia where they were in use in prehistoric times, and the same sign was once employed on the official seals of Sicily and the Isle of Man. J. B. P. DR. GEORGE CHEYNE, M. D., was a North Briton, and a physician who enforced his doctrines by personal example. This course on his part created a host of enemies who attacked but never defended their intrepid antagonist, as the following tends to prove : THE "MOONLESS MONTH." The following "wonderful" item appears in Marysville (Cal.) Budget, March, 1888, credited to a public school journal. It has been seen in other educational journals. "A MOONLESS MONTH. The month of February, 1886, was in one respect the most remarkable in the world's history. It had no full moon. January had two full moons, and so had March, but February had none. Do you realize what a rare thing in nature that was? It had not occurred since the time of Washington, nor since the beginning of the Christian era, nor since the creation of the world! And it will not occur again, according to the computation of astronomers, for-how long do you think?—2,500,000 years. Was not that truly a wonderful month ?-Public School Journal." Now, what are the facts? The same "wonderful" thing occurred in 1771, 1779, 1790, 1798, 1809, 1828, 1847, 1866. "This occurrence," says a correspondent of the Boston Journal, "depends upon the following principle : The moon makes a revolution in 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes. If we reduce this to minutes we get 42,524 minutes. Now in 19 common years there are 6935 days; but as every fourth year has 366 days, then in a period of 19 years after any leap year, there are 4 days more. Adding, therefore, 4 days for leap years, we have 6939 days. But if this period is added to any common year, there will always be five days, (there being five leap years in the period), or 6940 days. During this period the moon makes 235 complete revolutions, and 7 hours and 40 minutes on another revolution; thus it will be apparent it returns, within a few hours, every 19 years, to the same place. This, however, does not occur every 19 years, unless it is a common year. As this period is not exactly a complete one, it will not become inaccurate in more than three periods." THE TOWER IN SILOAM. (Vol. V, 68.) We appear to be without historic evidence in relation to the falling of the tower in Siloam. The fountain there was particularly celebrated as sacred, and the peculiar ebbing and flowing of its waters were also notable. Anciently beside the sacred wells were set up pillars of upright stone, or towersthe latter being symbols of the Divine Father, and the other of the Mother. Thus, Adonijah the elder son of King David was crowned by the stone pillar of Zoheleth, which was by En-Rogel, as the Fountain of Rogel. Judaea was subject to earthquakes; and several occurred during the reign of Tiberias. Probably one of these overthrew the fire-tower of Siloam. It bore Phenician inscriptions. A. W. THE BENEDICTION OF (ST.) PATRICK ON THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND Where can be found what is known as the "The Blessing of St. Pat rick on the Irish people? JOHN ANDERSON. A translation of the blessing from the ancient orthography of the Irish language was publish in the Irish Echo, March, 1888, and as it is brief, we give it here: "THE BLESSING OF GOD upon you all. Men of Eire, sons, women, And daughters, prince-blessing, Full blessing, superlative blessing, Eternal blessing, the blessing of heaven, Cloud-blessing, sea-blessing, Fruit-blessing, land-blessing, Produce-blessing, dew-blessing, Blessing of the elements, blessing of prowess, Blessing of chivalry, blessing of voice, Blessing of deeds, blessing of magnificence, Laics, clerics, while I command The blessing of the men of heaven, It is my bequest, as it is a perpetual blessing." A POEM OF DISPUTED AUTHORSHIP. The following poem on "My Grandmother's Elm," under the name of Mrs. Mary Ann Sullivan, as author, is found in a collection of literature entitled "The New Hampshire Book, (p. 185,) being specimens of literature of the Granite State," published by Charles T. Gill, Nashua, 1842. This poem was copied into a work entitled "The Poets of New Hampshire, p. 768,) being specimen poems of three hundred poets of the Granite State, with biographical sketches," compiled by Bela Chapin, published by Charles H. Adams, Claremont, 1883. Mr. Chapin says; "Mrs. Sullivan was a native of this state. Further information in regard to this writer the compiler has been unable to obtain.” The manuscript copy of this poem is in the possession of the editor of Notes and Queries, with many others of her productions, being written by Miss Harriet M. Gillet, at eighteen years of age. She was a native of Weare, N. H., and daughter of John Gillet, who died in 1872, who also left several manuscript poems. The elm was planted by Susan Burnham, about one-half mile from the East Village in Weare, near the mill stream" called Choate Brook, and the "south easter raging by," was the September gale of 1815. This article was suggested by the reading of the poem from the manuscript of Harriet M. Gillet by a relative, Miss Annie L. Gould (second removed), on Arbor Day, April 28, at the Lincoln-street School, Manchester, when the authorship was questioned. Who was Mrs. Mary Ann Sullivan? Here is the poem as published in the collection mentioned: My Grandmother's Elm. BY HARRIET M. GILLET, EAST WEARE, N. H. If ever you visit my native town, Will you seek out the vale where the mill stream comes down? And the very old house where my grandsire abode. But the pride of the vale which I wish you to see, Is my grandmother's elm, the old mammoth tree; When the fierce south-easter was ragfng by, From the noble old tree by its fury was broke. Oft my grandmother told us, as pondering we stood, And her father planted it firm in the land. Her grave is grown smooth on the green hill side, And gay as the wild bird's melody, Are the sports I have led beneath that tree; DEUCALION. (Vol. V, p. 69.) no numeral reference whatever. designations Deva and Kala, which would indicate the god Siva, the primal nature-god of India, whose worship, as Hyde Clarke, Forlong, and others show, was once universal. A. WILDER. The name Deucalion has probably CLAIMS OF DESCENDANTS. (Vol. V, p. 68.) The claims of descendants from ancestors in Europe or England constitute the poorest kind of romance, To use an Hibernicism: 1. The courts and governments will not let these estates go out of the country; and 2d, there are none to go out. I am very grateful to my venerable ancestor who left England just 250 years ago, that she gave a quit-claim to all the family estates. I have therefore refrained from going unshod while waiting for shoes from Purley Hail. A. WILDER. |