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[verso of tipped in article:]
the time in which the sun completes its cycle.
The yearly retrogression is relatively small
and barely noticeable in a man's lifetime, but
after two thousand years--the period which
has now elapsed since the introduction of the
zodiacal signs--the sun has dropped back a
whole constellation.
Thus at the present time, when, according
to the original zodiacal signs, the sun should
be in the constellation Capricorn during the
first three weeks of January, it is really in
Sagittarius, and in another two thousand odd
years it will in January be traversing the con-
stellation Scorpio.
However, the signs of the zodiac have now
become entirely separate from the correspond-
ing constellations, though still bearing the
same names; and Capricornus (the zodiacal
sign, not the constellation) is always asso-
ciated with January, Aquarius with February,
and so on.
The mists of antiquity enshroud the motives
which led to the choice of the zodiacal
symbols, although more or less plausible
explanations are readily forthcoming. Thus
the three spring signs, the Ram, the Bull and
the Twins are held to mark the bringing forth
of young by flocks and herds. Virgo, the
Virgin of the Corn, denotes the season of
harvest; the Crab, with his retrograde move-
ments, marks the turn of the sun towards the
equator. The Lion was the symbol of fire,
and represented the culmination of the solar
heat; the Balance represents the equality of
night and day, and so for the other zodiacal
symbols.
William Bouguereau. Although now seventy-five
years of age, there is not in
Paris a harder worker than William Bou-
guereau, the famous painter. When he is in
Paris--and indeed he rarely absents himself--
he may be found at almost any hour of the
day and of the evening also in the simple
studio at the top of his house in the Rue
Notre Dame des Champs.
"I rarely work less than seven or eight
hours a day," he said, during a recent con-
versation, which took place in this studio, as
we stood side by side smoking cigarettes in
front of a magnificent picture of the Virgin
Mary holding the Child in her arms, amidst
the adoration of angels. "Indeed," he added,
"I usually work much more than that, for
most of my evenings are spent up here
studying compositions, woring with my
pencil in hand. I have always been a hard
worker, and I hold that without hard work no
man can arrive at anything good. For my
part, I have painted between four and five
hundred pictures in my career. My first
picture is that one which you see hung on the
wall behind that screen. It is called "The
Angels of Death," and it was exhibited in the
Salon of 1849. I painted it in my poor little
studio in the Rue de la Tour d'Auvergne,
which was so small a room that I remember
that I could not turn the picture on end."
This "Les Anges de la Mort" is a picture of
oblong shape, about 8 ft. long by 4 ft hight.
Over the recumbent form of a dead man,
and, as if about to kiss his lips, two angels
draped in black hover.
"In those days there was no intriguing
amongst artists to obtain acceptance for their
pictures to the Salon, as there is to-day. One
never knew if one's work was accepted until
one bought the official catalogue. I re-
member that on the opening day of that
Salon of 1849, I had a momentary but most
bitter disappointment. I had bought the
catalogue and turned to my name, but did
not see it in the list and concluded that I was
one of the rejected. To be rejected in those
days was even more humiliation than it is to-
day for artists were much fewer. It is true
that pictures were also much fewer. In the
Salon of 1849, which used to be held in the
courtyard of the Palais Royal, not more than
a thousand pictures were exhibited.
"Well, I was turning away very sorrowfully,
when a fellow-painter came up to me and
said: 'I must congratulate you, Bouguereau;
your picture is a very effective one.' I
said: 'You shouldn't laugh at me. I
am sure I am vexed enough.' He
stared at me and offered to take me to the
room where it was hung. On referring to the
catalogue again, I discovered that my name
had been mis-spelt, and that I had been
entered as Bonguereau. That was a misprint
which had caused me to pass a very unpleasant
quarter of an hour. For I was very poor
then and had a hard struggle for life, and it
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8
March 28 1874
How much gum opium is 1 grain of
"sulphate of morphia" equal to, in medicine?
Answer. 1/8 of a grain of sulphate of morphia
is equal as a dose of medicine to 1 grain
of opium, but it is unsafe to experiment
personally with these substances without the
advice of a physician
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Is there anything that will take the stain
of nitric acid out of marble, without
injury to the marble - Answer! As the
stain is mostly superficial, rub with
another smooth piece of marble, using
water until removed, afterwards polish
with Tripoli, followed by Putty Powder
both being used with water
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To make Imitation Coral. Color prepared
Chalk with sesquioxide of Iron or
Rose Pink, pass through a seive,
and make into a paste with white wax
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Invisible Ink for Postal Cards!
Dilute solution of Chloride of Cobalt
on gently heating, it becomes visable [visible].
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Feb 1 1874. The number of Tons an ice house
will hold. Calculate the number of
cubic feet in the icehouse and divide
by 35. This gives the number of Tons of
ice if closely packed in.
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To mend Amber Mouthpieces - Rub on some
linseed oil, wrap up all the other parts in
paper, and hold over a gaslight until it
gets sticky, then press it together
and hold till [until] solid & [and] cold
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