A CENTENNIAL CURIOSITY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5056, 7 June 1877, Page 3

A CENTENNIAL CURIOSITY.

A MOST WONDERFUL CHART—THE HISTORY 01? MAN. One of the most curious us well as interesting exhibits in the agricultural building, at X, D 21, is a chart about 22 feet long, and 2.J feet wide, presenting in unbroken lines the complete history of man, including the record of every nation from the garden of Eden to the present. Upon tho scale adopted, the nations, empires, kingdoms, republics, and states ; tho manners, customs, and dress; the progress, civilisation, discoveries ; tho invention of steam, electricity, mechanics ; the introduction of letters ; the progress of language, tho spread of literature ; tho names, nationalities, and distinguishing characteristics of eminent men; the names and dates of all important battles, discoveries, and inventions; tho rise and fall of ancient empires, dynasties, and peoples; tho names of all the sovereigns, emperors, kings, rulers of the earth, and the duration of their authority ; the area, population, and number to the square milo to each country, with an epitome of ancient and modern history, together with a fac simile of ancient coins, medals, stones, pyramids of Egypt, Syria, Nineveh, and Babylon; of implements of warfare and husbandry, alphabetical letters and hieroglyphics; of mythology—the gods, temples, and priests ; of geology—tho stono age, tho iron ago, tho brass or bronze ; of navigation— the comrasw, tho galley, and tho clipper ship ; of astronoiny-r-the size, tho distanco, and number of heavenly bodies, are all given In their proper systematic, relation to the world's history. As the atlas shows the place where, so the chart shows the timo when, and the relative-position of ono event to another. In this work tho author evidently does not assume to be responsible for the facta of history, but gives them simply as they arc found on record in the several histories of the various nations of tho earth. Every student of history luw experienced the difficulty attending tho clFort to eliminate tho salient facts of general history from the voluminous network of subordinate facts and details with which- thoy scorn inevitably entangled. Without something of this kind to assist in separating tho important facts of history froivt the confused ideas and jumble of unconnected facts can wo hopo to make accurate progress in understanding the fnll record of our race? This chart shows what is going on at tho same time, the world over, In all nations. Ono of the chief features of this work ii what is termed synchronism, for here wc find, without the loss of several hours at a general library, that tho founding of Troy and Athena wcro contemporaneous with the Egyptian bondage and tho founding of Thebes by Cadmus. These also occurred

at the time of the first introduction of letters, with the Israelites in the wilderness, the building of the largest pyramid by Cheops, and the reign of Saul, the iirst king of the Jews, Zoroaster, the Persian philosopher, and Hesiod, the Greek poet. We learn at a glance that when Solomon was writing his proverbs, that Homer was writing his Iliad of ancient Troy, that Lycurgus, the Spartan lawgiver, who made iron a legal tender, and had public tables to which all were invited, and abolished all theatres and luxuries, lived at the same time as Queen Dido, the founder of Cartilage, and the prophet Elijah; that when Isaiah was prophesying, Itomulus was founding Home ; that Pythagoras, who invented the forty-seventh problem and multiplication table, lived contemporaneous with Solon, who revised the bloody laws of Draco, and JRsoy, who wrote those wise and witty fables, and Nebuchadnezzar, who took the Jews captive and the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel of sacred history ; that Cincinnatus, the Roman patriot; that Pericles, the great Athenian statesman; Herodotus, the father of history; Xerxes, Socrates and Ezra, Plato, Xeuophon and Malachi lived at the came period of time. This chart is simply a most unexpected illustration of the benefits of object-teaching, and it had been in place less than half an hour when it was surrounded with visitors. It is the first thing of the kind ever attempted in this country or in Europe, and it is a rather curious fact that a resident of the distant State of Oregon should be the exhibitor.

The work is a complete library in itself, and is always ready for immediate use. No schoolroom is completely furnished without it, as it is indispcnsible for the understanding and remembering of history. Every family which values knowledge, or has the least interest in its acquisition, should possess the work. It is sold in the shape of a chart which rolls and unrolls at each end, or in the form of a portfolio. — Forney's Pre.s-s,Philadelphia. '"We, the following named members of the union school board of Sturgis, take pleasure in recommending "Adam's map of universal history" to every school and family in this county. We have shown our appreciation of it by ordering the same for the union school of this place. !•]. S. Amidon, moderator. L. E. "White, director. C. B. Peck, assessor and treasurer. G. D. G. Thurston, supt. of schools. D. E. TnoMAS. N. I. Packard.