Bimini (Vol. iii, p. 83).-It seems probable that the present island of Bemini, or Bimini, in the Bahamas, has nothing in common with the Bimini of myth and table except the name. In this view, the case is a parallel one with those of Brazil, California and the Antilles, a fabulous region giving name to a real one. I do not know, however, whether there is any official or other record of the naming of the present When did it receive that N. S. S.

island of Bimini.

name?

GERMANTOWN, PA.

Easter Island (Vol. v, p. 246, etc.).— Inquiry having been made regarding my reference to the "Iconographic Encyclopæ dia," I would say that my reference is to the new edition of that work, now being issued by the Iconographic Publishing Company of Philadelphia. The illustration I The illustration I refer to is on Plate 20, which in my copy is in a fascicle of plates following page 208 in the first volume. I may add that the present issue of this work is much superior in every respect to the first edition, and is also a great improvement over the latest German edition upon which it is based.

Stilt-Walkers (Vol. v, p. 101).—There was formerly a notorious race of stilt walkers who inhabited the fens of Lincolnshire. The gradual drainage of the fens broke up their way of living, and they at last took to more civilized ways. The last of the stiltwalkers of Lincolnshire seem to have abandoned their amphibious fashion of existence about a hundred years ago. "Another over dykes upon his stilts doth walk," sings Drayton. ISLANDER.

MAINE.

Lakes Drained (Vol. v, p. 238).—To Mr. Snow's interesting article on Lakes Lahontan and Bonneville, it might be added that the lakes in question were drained by desiccation and not from the lowering of their outlets by corrasion. The old margins of Lake Bonneville, the highest being 960 feet above the present level of the lake, are a remarkable feature of the scenery along the Uinta mountains. When the surface of the lake was flush with either of the two highest margins, it overflowed into a tributary of Snake river near Red Rock, Idaho. The gap through which the lake poured its. surplus is not a very wide one, and I should take it to be less than two hundred feet, in its deepest place, below that of the lower of the two highest shore lines. Besides Great Salt lake, Utah, Sevier, Rush, Clear, Parowan, and a number of smaller lakes are remnants of Lake Bonneville. The Great American Desert and Escalante Basin are also remnants. Prof. Israel Russell, of the U. S. Geol. Survey, who is undoubtedly one of the best authorities on these lakes, is of the opinion that the region in which they are situated has been subject to periodical variations in rainfall, and the basins have been alternately desiccated and filled. I looked carefully along the old margin of Lake Lahontan for an outlet, but failed to find one. Prof. Joseph Le Conte, who has also spent some time in this region, is of the opinion that Klamath and Pit rivers may have been outlets, which is not improbable. Prof. Russell has called attention to the remarkable fact that certain of the island margins in Lake Lahontan are one hundred feet or more higher than the contemporaneous shore margin. J. W. R.

Fabrics Named From Places (Vol. iv, p. 213). In the list given at the above reference there are some very questionable derivations, to say the least. I question, for example, the alleged derivation of satin from Zeytown; also that given of taffeta, duck, baize, dimity, drugget. The later etymological dictionaries will scarcely sustain them. Even the derivation of gauze from Gaza is traditional, and not strictly historical, if I am not much mistaken. Jean may be from Gênes (Genoa) rather than from Jacu. There are many more fabric names which were probably taken from place names. Such are lawn from Laon; pulicate (an old name of a handkerchief) from Pulicat in India; gambroons from Gombroon, or Bender-Abbas; strouds from Stroud, in Essex; Carpmeal from Cartmel; lockram from Locronan; dowlas, apparently from Dowlais in Wales. Some say that rep, or reps, is named from Reps in Transylvania. Nankin is a well-known instance of the kind, Osnaburg is another. We have had some examples of place names arbitrarily given to cloths, as Paramatta, Rhadames (Nainsook is probably not a place name). Thibet, Cashmere, and the like, may be added. pose that by a little diligence this list might be lengthened even to tediousness.

BALTIMORE, MD.

I sup

BARBARA CRAFTS.

Calf of Man (Vol. v, p. 244).-Note in this connection that a small iceberg attending a larger one is called a calf; and that the process of throwing off new icebergs from an older and larger one is known to seamen as calving. ISLANDER.

VERONA, ME.

Hebrew, Israelite, Jew (Vol. iv, p. 197).-"Our broad national distinction gave us the name Israelite in the time of our ancient greatness, a greatness to which all people may at some time in the long future rise, and then we may again, together with all God-fearing people, adopt the name of Israelite. Before our ancestors were, in a national sense, Israelites, they were Hebrews, a name which was and is to-day a race distinction. The word Jew is a narrow name in use for our separate religious distinction.

Fallen Jerusalem (Vol. iv, p. 161).— This noted and remarkable heap of rocks in the sea is also called the "Fallen City," "Broken Jerusalem," and the like. At the west end of the neighboring island of Virgin Gorda, or Penniston, the formation appears to be much the same. The same curious cave-like bathing-pools, shut in by rocks, are found there. One of these bathingpools has a "ladies' dressing-room," and a "gentleman's dressing-room" close at hand, and the sea sweeps in and keeps the pool always clear and fresh.

PENNSYLVANIA.

communion, which carries back the age of the church, she opines, to the year 1000, at least" (New York Tribune).

BOOKS AND PERIODICALS.

The Atlantic for October. The conclusion of Mrs. Deland's "Sidney' occupies the first place in the Atlantic for October, and the final chapters have that intensity of feeling which is called forth by the statement of the theory of her story; namely, that love and self-sacrifice are the things which alone make life worth living. "Felicia" comes to a climax In the marriage of the heroine with a man, to whose occupation in life both she and all her friends strenuously object. Dr. Holmes' " Over the Teacups' also relates to marrying and giving in marriage; and, moreover, describes a visit to a certain college for women, not a thousand miles from Boston. The first chapters of a forthcoming serial story by Frank Stockton are announced for next month.

"

The other striking papers of the number are a consideration of Henrik Ibsen's life abroad and his later dramas, Mr. Fiske's Benedict Arnold's Treason," Mr. J. K. Paulding's "A Wondering Scholar of the Sixteenth Century - Johannes Butzbach 1 - Mr. McCrackan's account of Altdorf and the open-air legislative assemblies which take place there, and Prof. Royce's paper on General Frémont. Miss Jewett's Maine sketch, "By the Morning Boat," and a poem by Miss Thomas on 'Sleep," should be especially remembered. The usual Contributors' Club, and several critical articles, one of which is a review of Jules Breton's La Vie d'un Artiste," complete the issue.

The Arena for October, in its table of contents, embraces the names of many leading thinkers, among whom are Dr. George F. Shrady, of New York, who writes entertainingly and forcibly against the death penalty; Prof. James T. Bixby, who discusses Cardinal Newman and the Catholic Reaction in his interesting and scholarly way. The No-Name paper is on the "Postmaster-General and the Censorship of Morals," and deals with the recent attempt on the part of the postal department to suppress Count Tolstoi's latest work, in a manner well calculated to arrest the attention of liberty-loving Americans. "The Notes on Living Problems are as timely as they are able. Cyrus Field Willard, of the editorial staff of the Boston Globe, calls attention to the evils of trusts; Edward A. Oldham, the well-known Southern author, contributes a timely paper on the "Great Political Upheaval in the South;" C. A. Seiders criticises Senator Hampton on the " Race Problem." The Editorial Notes deal with the death penalty and the alarming symptons too manifest to even casual observers of the growing contempt for law.

Taken as a whole, the October Arena surpasses in excellence any issue of this able review that has yet appeared.

The October Century opens with a frontispiece portrait of Joseph Jefferson. The last installment of the autobiography accompanies the familiar face, an installment which the author considers the most important of

all, perhaps because it contains, at considerable detail, his own final reflections upon the art of which he is an acknowledged master. It is doubtful whether such subtle and at the same time practical suggestions can be found elsewhere from a source so authoritative.

Prof. Darwin, of Cambridge, England, a worthy son of a great father, contributes a paper of high and original value on "Meteorites and the History of Stellar Systems." A striking photograph of a nebula, in which a system like our own solar system seems to be in actual formation, accompanies this remarkable paper.

A Hard Road to Travel Out of Dixie," is the accurate title of a paper in The Century's new war-prison series. The present contribution is by the well known artist and illustrator, Lieut. W. H. Shelton, of New York. Mr. Shelton naturally furnishes his own illustrations for his own story of hardship and adventure.

Prehistoric Cave-Dwellings is a profusely and strikingly illustrated paper by F. T. Bickford, on the prehistoric and ruined pueblo structures in Chaco Cañon, New Mexico, the Cañon de Chelly, Arizonathe ancient home of the most flourishing community of cave-dwellers and other extraordinary cave villages not now inhabited.

"

The 'Bric-a-Brac" contributors are the late John Eliot Bowen and Edward A. Oldham.

Several articles have a general or special bearing on the fall elections-in the direction of reform and a wholesome independence. Mr. Henry Cabot Lodge, the Republican Congrossman, strongly advocates the extension of the merit system in his paper on "Why Patronage in Office is Un-American;" and Judge Thompson, the Democratic member of the National Civil Service Commission, in an Open Letter" shows the reasonableness of the reform. The leading "Topic of the Time" shows by a review of the political history of the country that there has always been " Partisan Recognition of the Independent Voter," and that State "calls" and conventions, and national "calls" and platforms have all along appealed to good citizens to take fresh and independent action in every election. The editor, in separate editorials, sustains the present Civil Service Commission, and the citizens' movement in New York city.

Vol. V. No. 23.

THE

American Notes and Queries

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Queries on all matters of general literary and historical interest-folk-lore, the origin of proverbs, familiar sayings, popular customs, quotations, etc., the authorship of books, pamphlets, poems, essays, or stories, the meaning of recondite allusions, etc., etc.—are invited from all quarters, and will be answered by editors or contributors. Room is allowed for the discussion of moot questions, and the periodical is thus a valuable medium for intercommunication between literary men and specialists.

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CONTENTS.

NOTES:-Devil in Geography, 255-The Telephone Anticipated, 266.

QUERIES:-Raphael of Cats-Accursed River-Bayonet General-Eyes of the Sea, 266-Sailor King-MirabilisBull's Blood as a Poison-Moors in New Zealand- Battle of the Three Kings, 267.

REPLIES:-Tree on Buildings - Language of PalestineLabrador, 267-Jutes-Quantrell, 268.

REFERRED TO CORRESPONDENTS:-Jiboose-Highest Mountain in the United States-Bacchus cher GregoireMount Saint Elias, 268-Suicidal Poets-Greek SlavesNorth Pacific Islands-Land of Lakes-Holland-Dogs of War-Locust Trees and Witches-Little Meeting-Buridan's Ass, 269.

COMMUNICATIONS: -Go West, Young Man, 269-Shaying-Grant's Whisky, 270-" The in Place Names-Muckamuck-Snickersnee-Fanacle-Sunflower - CummerbundHighbinder-Seaky, 271 - Skate Runners Fox Sunken Islands-Anagrams-Latinized Proper Names-Spontaneous Combustion-Sir Patrick Spens, 272-Precious Stones in Medicine-Names of Odd Pronunciation-Earthquake of 1811 -Prince Consort's Family Name-Nicknames of PeoplesLargest Rainfall - Underground Streams — Rare WordsLakes Restored, 273-Lakes Drained-Mudsills of SocietyA Glorious Time, 274-Sunken Cities-Mississippi-Oneeyed Commanders, 275-Palæologus--Pets of Famous People-Greek Words in Chinese-Canting Heraldry-Highest Waterfall, 276.

NOTES.

DEVIL IN GEOGRAPHY.

At Boroughbridge, in Yorkshire, is a group of remarkable prehistoric monoliths. called the Devil's Arrows. The Devil's Bit mountains are in the county of Tipperary, near Templemore. A remarkable ancient earthwork, near Newmarket, in England, is called the Devil's Ditch. An ancient wall across the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is the Devil's Dyke. Another Devil's Dyke is a hill in the South Downs of Sussex, with remains of a prehistoric and probably Celtic hill-fort. The Devil's Glen is a deep valley of the County Wicklow; Devil's Lake is a saline lake (and modern city) of North Dakota. Another Devil's Lake is near Baraboo, Wis. The Devil's Inkstand

is a deep and wonderfully fine crater-lake of South Australia. The Devil lends his name to form a part of the title of a celebrated cavern of Derbyshire, England. The Devil's Punchbowl is an interesting mountain tarn of the county of Kerry. In the Black Hill country of South Dakota is the Devil's Tower, an enormous natural obelisk of trachyte, 625 feet high. One of the Fuegian islands is called the Devil's Island (54° 58′ S., 69° 5′ W.). In the same group IS a Devil's Harbor, on another island. There is another Devil's Island off the coast of Maine; another belongs to French Guiana. The Devil's Peak is a high mountain of Hayti; there is another in South Africa, and a third (Mount Diablo) is in California. The Devil's Bridge is in the canton of Uri, Switzerland. The Devil's Bridge in Cardiganshire is also well known. The Devil's Nose is a Canadian Rocky Mountain peak. The Devil's Tower is at the north-east angle of the works at Gibraltar. Another Devil's Lake is in the coast region of Tillamook County, Oregon. A Mt. Diablo rises near Samana, in Santa Domingo. Devil's Bosch is a mountain region of South Africa. Devil's Point is very near Cape Town. Devil's River is in Victoria, Australia. The Devil's Thumb is on the west coast of Greenland. There is a Devil's Den (ominous fact) in a cemetery at Lawrence, Mass. The Devil's Back (or Limb) is a rock off Boston, Mass. Another rock, with the same name, is in Muscongus Bay, Maine. The Maine coast has also a Devil's Elbow, and three Devil's Heads. Time fails me to count up the many Punchbowls, Snuffboxes, Chairs, Kitchens, Fireplaces, etc., which the Devil has in this country, to say nothing of Britain, Ireland and the colonies. MARY OSBORN. CHICAGO, ILL.

THE TELEPHONE ANTICIPATED.

(VOL. V, P. 183.)

Neill Arnott's "Physics" (edition issued 1876) has the following: "The late Sir Charles Wheatstone showed as far back as 1831, that musical sounds might be transmitted through solid linear conductors. An experiment on a large scale was performed at

the Polytechnic Institute under an arrangement called a telephone. Performers on various instruments were placed in the basement of the building, and the sounds which they produced were conducted by solid rods through the principal hall, in which they were inaudible, to sounding boards in a concert room on an upper floor, where the music was heard by the audience precisely as if performed there."

Wheatsone (1802-1875), who was the "practical founder of modern telegraphy," was the son of a dealer in music and musical instruments. He was therefore rather naturally led to make experiments in acoustics which resulted in several inventions, among the best the concertina and the symphonium. The "Magic Lyre," a sort of short-distance telephone, is described in "Encycl. Brit." F. T. C.