"Scourge of God," defeated by the confederate armies of Romans and Visigoths.

Tours, A.D. 732. The Saracens defeated by Charles Martel and Christendom rescued from Islam.

Hastings, A.D. 1066. Harold, commanding the English army, defeated by William the Conqueror, and a new regime established in England by the Normans.

Siege of Orleans, A.D. 1429. The English defeated by the French under Joan of Arc.

Defeat of the Spanish Armada, A.D. 1588. England saved from Spanish invasion.

Lutzen, A.D 1632. Decided the religious liberties of Germany. Gustavus Adolphus killed.

Blenheim, A.D. 1704.

The French and Bavarians, under Marshal Tallard, defeated by the English and their allies, under Marlborough.

Pultowa, A.D. 1709. Charles XII., of Sweden, defeated by the Russians under Peter the Great.

Saratoga, A.D. 1777. Critical battle of the American War of Independence. The English defeated by the Americans under

Gen. Gates.

Valmy, A.D. 1792. An invading army of Prussians, Austrians and Hessians, under the Duke of Brunswick, defeated by the French under Kellermann. The first success of the Republic against foreigners.

Trafalgar. On the 21st of October, A.D. 1805, the great naval battle of Trafalgar was fought. The English defeated the French and destroyed Napoleon's hopes to successfully invade England.

Waterloo, A.D. 1815. The French, under Napoleon, defeated by the allied armies of Russia, Austria, Prussia and England, under Wellington.

Siege of Sebastopol, A.D. 1854-5. The Russians succumbed to the beleaguering armies of England, France and Turkey, and the result was delay in the expansion of the Russian Empire.

Gettysburg, July, A.D. 1863. The deciding battle of the war for the Union. The Confederates under Gen. Lee defeated by the Union forces under Meade.

Sedan, A.D. 1870. The decisive battle of the Franco-German

war.

Slavery and Serfdom.

Some of the wealthy Romans had as many as 10,000 slaves. The minimum price fixed by the law of Rome was $80, but after great victories they could sometimes be bought for a few shillings on the field of battle. The day's wages of a Roman gardener were about 16 cents, and his value about $300, while a black

smith was valued at about $700, a cook at $2,000, an actress at $4,000, and a physician at $11,000.

The number of slaves emancipated in the British Colonies in 1834 was 780,993, the indemnity aggregating, in round figures, $100,000,000. In Brazil, in 1876, there were 1,510,800 slaves, 15 per cent. of the entire population. These were held by 41,000 owners, averaging 37 to each owner. In 1882 the number of slaves was 1,300,000. Owing to the gradual abolition of slavery in Brazil by law it is expected that it will be entirely obsolete in 1900.

Slavery in the United States.

There were 47,932,000 serfs in Russia in 1861, as follows: Crown serfs, 22,851,000; appanage, 3,326,000; held by nobles, 21,755,000. The cost of redemption was, in round numbers, about $325,000,oco, as follows :

Mortgages remitted...

Government scrip.
Paid by serfs.

Balance due..

$152,000,000

101,000,000

52,000,000

20,000,000

The indemnity to the nobles was $15 per serf. The lands are mortgaged to the state till 1912. The lands ceded to Crown serfs are mortgaged only till 1901. The item of "mortgages remitted" is the amount due by nobles to the Imperial Bank and canceled.

There were 7,000,000 serfs, whose tribute averaged more than $35 per head, which was, in fact, the rent of their farms. Some Bohemian nobles had as many as 10,000 serfs. The redemption was effected by giving the nobles 5 per cent. Government scrip, and land then rose 50 per cent. in value.

In 1848 the state took 60,000,000 acres from the nobles, leaving them still 25,000,000 acres, and gave the former among the serfs. Indemnity as follows: 1. Government scrip, $900 for each serf family, to nobleman. 2. Land tax, $15 per annum, transferred to peasant. 3. Interest, $35 per annum for 47 years, to be paid by peasant to the state, being 4 per cent. on cost of redemption. Famous Giants and Dwarfs.

The most noted giants of ancient and modern times are as follows:

Many of the great men of history have been rather small in stature. Napoleon was only about 5 ft. 4 in., Washington was 5 ft. 7 in. One of the greatest of American statesmen, Alexander H. Stephens, never excelled 115 pounds in weight, and in his old age his weight was less than 100 pounds.

The more notable human mites are named below:

The total number of families evicted in Ireland for 33 years is

482,000 as below:

The number of persons actually evicted was over two millions

(say 70,000 per annum).

The most remarkable crises since the beginning of the present century have been as follows:

1814. England, 240 banks suspended.

1825. Manchester, failures 2 millions. 1831. Calcutta, failures, 15 millions.

1837. United States, " Wild-cat" crisis; all banks closed.

1839. Bank of England saved by Bank of France. Severe also in France, where 93 companies failed for 6 millions. 1844. England. State loans to merchants. Bank of England reformed.

1847. England, failures 20 millions; discount 13 per cent. 1857. United States, 7,200 houses failed for 111 millions.

1866. London, Overend-Gurney crisis; failures exceeded 100 millions.

1869. Black Friday in New York (Wall street), September 24.

Excessive Heat in the Past.

In 1303 and 1304 the Rhine, Loire and Seine ran dry. The heat in several French provinces during the summer of 1705 was equal to that of a glass furnace. Meat could be cooked by merely exposing it to the sun. Not a soul dare venture out between noon and 4 p. m. In 1718 many shops had to close. The theaters never opened their doors for three months. Not a drop of water fell during six months. In 1773 the thermometer rose to 118 degrees. In 1778 the heat of Bologna was so great that a great number of people were stifled. There was not sufficient air for the breath, and people had to take refuge under the ground. In July, 1793, the heat again became intolerable. Vegetables were burned up, and fruit dried on the trees. The furniture and wood-work in dwelling-houses cracked and split up; meat went bad in an hour.

Summer Heat in Various Countries.

The following figures show the extreme summer heat in the various countries of the world: Bengal and the African desert, 150° Fahrenheit; Senegal and Guadaloupe, 1300; Persia, 1250; Calcutta and Central America, 1200; Afghanistan and the Arabian desert, 1100; Cape of Good Hope and Utah, 1050; Greece, 1040; Arabia, 1030; Montreal, 1030; New York, 1020; Spain, India, China, Jamaica, 1000; Sierra Leone, 94°; France, Denmark, St. Petersburg, Shanghai, the Burman Empire, Buenos Ayres, and the Sandwich Islands, 90°; Great Britain, Siam, and Peru, 850; Portugal, Pekin and Natal, 80°; Siberia, 770; Australia and Scotland, 750; Italy, Venezuela and Madeira, 730; Prussia and New Zealand, 70°; Switzerland and Hungary, 66°; Bavaria, Sweden, Tasmania and Moscow, 650; Patagonia and the Falkland Isles, 550; Iceland, 45°; Nova Zembla, 34°.

1234. Mediterranean frozen; traffic with carts.

1420. Bosphorus frozen.

1468. Wine at Antwerp sold in blocks.

1658. Swedish artillery crossed the Sound.

1766. Snow knee-deep at Naples.

1789. Fahrenheit thermometer marked 23° below zero at Frankfort, and 360 below at Basle.

1809. Moscow, 480 below zero, greatest cold recorded there; mercury frozen.

1829. Jakoutsk, Siberia, 73° below zero on the 25th of January; greatest cold on record.

1846. December marked 250 below zero at Pontarlier; lowest ever marked in France.

1864. January, Fahrenheit stood at zero in Turin; greatest cold recorded in Italy.

Captain Parry, in his Arctic explorations, suffered for some time 51 degrees below zero. Frost is diminishing in Canada with the increase of population, as shown by the fact that Hudson's Bay was closed, from 1828-'37, 184 days per annum, and from 1871-'80 only 179 days per annum.

The Great Famines of History.

Walford mentions 160 famines since the 11th century, namely: England, 57; Ireland 34; Scotland, 12; France, 10; Germany, 11; Italy, etc., 36. The worst in modern times have been:

Deaths from hunger and want were recorded as follows in 1879, according to Mulhall: Ireland, 3,789; England, 312; London, 101; France, 260. The proportion per 1,000 deaths was, respectively, 37.6, .6, 1.2, .3.

Remarkable Plagues of Modern Times.