Bassetts Scrap Book, Vol 4, No 12
Articles in this issue
- p. 2
A February editorial combining the history of Valentine's Day as a pagan bird-mating festival with a note that Washington was actually born on February 11 (Old Style) rather than February 22, and a grammatical distinction between peeling an orange and paring an apple.
- p. 2
An anecdote about Rabbi Hillel, a contemporary of Jesus, who summarised the entire Jewish law to a sceptic balanced on one leg as: that which is hateful to thyself, do not do to your neighbour — with the rest mere commentary.
- p. 3
A sentimental poem by T.C. Harbaugh in which a man discovers an old valentine in a book and relives a cherished childhood love, hearing the remembered footstep and seeing the remembered face form in the faded words on the page.
- p. 4
A philosophical note contrasting the capacity for wonder in civilised and primitive people, arguing that the African pigmy Ota Benga showed no surprise at skyscrapers and suspension bridges but was astonished by a lineman climbing a tree with spurs.
- p. 5
A comic poem from the perspective of a vain young woman who tosses her head at all her suitors and makes fun of the most persistent — only to finally settle on marrying him as the only practical way to be rid of him.
- p. 9
A nautical etymology note explaining that 'starboard' derives from the Anglo-Saxon 'steer board' (the steering oar was fixed on the right), while 'larboard' was the old term for what is now called port.
- p. 6
An explanation of the Rowan premium system of paying workers, under which a man allotted 100 hours for a job who completes it in 80 receives his standard pay plus a bonus calculated on the time saved.