Ten Thousand Wonderful Things: Comprising whatever is marvellous and rare, curious, eccentric and extraordinary in all ages and nations
History
Ten Thousand Wonderful Things: Comprising whatever is marvellous and rare, curious, eccentric and extraordinary in all ages and nations
Curiosities and wonders; Encyclopedias and dictionaries; Folklore
Watches first brought into England from Germany, in 1597.
Regular Posts established from London to Scotland, Ireland, &c., 1635.
The Plague rages in London, and carries off 68,000 persons, 1665.
The great fire of London began, September 2nd, and continued three
days, in which were destroyed 13,000 houses, and 400 streets, 1666.
Tea first used in England, 1666.
The Habeas Corpus act passed, 1678.
William Penn, a Quaker, receives a charter for planting Pennsylvania,
1680.
Bank of England established by King William 1693.
The first public Lottery was drawn same year.
The first British Parliament, 1707.
The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, London, rebuilt by Sir Christopher
Wren, in 37 years, at one million expense, by a duty on coals, 1710.
Westminster Bridge, consisting of 15 arches, begun 1738, finished in
1750, at the expense of 389,000_l._, defrayed by parliament.
Commodore Anson returns from his voyage round the world, 1774.
The British Museum erected at Montagu House, 1753.
149 Englishmen are confined in the black-hole at Calcutta, in the East
Indies, by order of the Nabob, and 123 found dead next morning, 1755.
LEGENDS AMONG SAVAGE NATIONS.
It is curious to note how savages endeavour to account for the
prodigies of nature. In the island of Samoa, one of the Sandwich group,
there is the following legend.
Mafuie is their god of earthquakes, who was deemed to possess great
power, but has, according to the Samoans, lost much of it. The way in
which they say this occurred is as follows:--One Talago, who possessed
a charm capable of causing the earth to divide, coming to a well-known
spot, cried, "Rock, divide! I am Talago; come to work!" The earth
separating at his command, he went down to cultivate his taro patch.
His son, whose name was Tiitii, became acquainted with the charm, and
watching his father, saw him descend, and the earth close after him. At
the same spot, Tiitii said, "Rock, divide! I am Talago; come to work!"
The rock did not open, but on repeating the words and stamping his foot
violently, the earth separated, and he descended. Being a young man,
he made a great noise and bustle, notwithstanding the advice of his
father to be quiet, lest Mafuie would hear him. The son then asked,
"Who is Mafuie, that I should be afraid of him?" Observing smoke at
a distance, he inquired the cause of it. Talago said, "It is Mafuie
heating his oven." Tiitii determined to go and see, notwithstanding
all the persuasions of his father, and met Mafuie, who inquired who he
was, "Are you a planter of taro, a builder, or a twister of ropes?" "I
am a twister of ropes," said Tiitii; "give me your arm, and I shall
show you." So, taking the arm of Mafuie, he twisted it off in a moment.
Such a practical illustration of his powers soon made Mafuie cry out,
"Na fia ola, na fia ola!"--I desire to live, I desire to live! Tiitii
then took pity upon him, and let him go. The natives, on feeling an
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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