QUEER FACTS OF HISTORY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 130, 23 May 1908, Page 4

QUEER FACTS OF HISTORY

IK)\V TMK CiKOUCKS W'UX T11K1I! tuuom;. M'liuii tin- Coniunlti e til' I'nldie Safely -" iil a im'ssiiyc to William of inviting Ima to come o\er In Knglaii-'l anil lie onr Kill;.', the Jiriti-li llou-v uf Communis, which held an emergency nu'etiiijj to strai;_ r !ilcu tiling* ii|i a hit, Itlil lilst to l-llllsiil l'i- ill wllii'll direction the succe.s-ion should if William lunl no children.

They deriileil iii favour 01 tile House, oi' l!i in,,.wir!;, who represented thnm,'.'li the Klectres, Sophia of Hanover, tlie nearest Stuart hlonil.

'J'])!' Jir.st Oorge proved himself u tartar, indeed. lie might iiave been a bit humbler if he iiad ta!>< u the trouble to learn Engli-h, anfl to impure I»y what preponderance of votes he came to lie kitijr. It is recorded that the voting was even, and that at the ln<st moment Sir Arthur Owen, Hurt., of Orieltun, v.ho had ridden po»t-ha*to I'rnm hi< seat in Wales arrived at the of Com-mnu-i a{ jhe e\;'ct niniiiriit wlien the nnmheis liad been di'elarnl. The tellers tfMfnd him in lie- LoMn. di«(u:i<'d him. nuuMv liooi,, ami all. iulo tlr.' v.'hrre he recuvded lti> \ute in favour of the ]>ru»s\vjck liou^e.

lu-uoiors IIISTOKY CHAXOKI) i'.V A TIII\\J>KUSTOK.\!.

In Ihe great march of events which led U|> to the Reformation, a lillle incident in Martin Luther's career, little, that is. when we consider what a profound effect his adoption of the monkV cowl was to have upon the world, may be said to liave been the prelude of tho>e universal religious changes with which his name is immortalirii.'.t.

Luther's father worked in a forge at Man>tield. He sent bis boy to Krfurt to stuily law. for Martin was to have been a lawyer. Everything was going well, the lad had taken hi rt bachelor's degree in 15U2, when one afternoon a violent thunder-dorm broke over the district.

Lulln-r had a favourite college friend to whom lie was passionately attached. This unfortunate scholar was caught in the open and struck dead by lightning. The tragic death of his dear friend no wrought on Luther's sensitive nature that, in spite of his father and family, he resolved to give up his and become a monk.

NATIONAL RECORDS I)ESTKo\ Till. HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.

11l the earliest times the public accounts were kept by means of tallies, small of wood which were notched with various-sized notches for the various sums they represented, and then inscribed with the name of the lender and split down the centre. The King's treasury ollicers kept one half, and the borrower or lender the other half of the tally. In this way the Exchequer was protected from fraudulent claims, and any tampering with the notches was at once obvious. 11l 183-1 this ancient mode of reckoning wa s abolished, and on October ltith the cellars and closets of the House of Lords, brimful of tally sticks, were cleared, and it was decided to burn their contents on the premise*. The stoves of the House of Lords were requisitioned, and through the overheating of these by the immense mavses ot faggots the woodwork caught, and before the next morning the Houses of Parliament were entirely gutted.

FUIDAV, A.MKKICA'S LI'CKY DAY. Friday lias ever been regarded a, a dav of ill-litck, yet Ainericaiis have reason lo dispute the superstition. On Friday. August '2lst. 11'.12. Columbus sa'iled oil his voyage of di-covery. On Friday. October 12th. lie discovered la nil.

On Friday, January did. I l»:i. Ir started to reliirn to Spain, by ,-alely complcting which voyage be insured the colonisation of the New World. On Friday. November 22nd. 1 It'll, he arrived at Hispaniola, in hi ri secoi'd voyage to America. On Friday, .lime 13th. 1-10-I, h',' di--covered the mainland.

On F'.idav. March olh. 1 I'M. Henry VI!. lolin C'al»ot his coiunii.-inii. which" led to the discovery of Xort-h America.

tin Friday. September T t li. Melendez founded St. Align-fine, tlu oldest by forty years of North American cities.

On Friday. November 10th. li'i2o. the Mayflower reached America, and on Fridav, Dec 'iiiber 22nd, the Pilgrim F.nli:'r„ tin'allv landed at Plymouth Hock. Washington was born on a Friday. America was saveil from Arnolds tiva-on 011 a Friday. The capitulation at Yorktown 011 a Friday practically gave victory to the revolting colonies, and 011 a Friday the Declaration of Independence was agreed to by tlio Congress.