A bell is a hollow, somewhat cup-shaped, sounding instrument of metal. The metal from which bells are usually made (by founding) is an alloy, called bell-metal, commonly composed of eighty parts of copper and twenty of tin. The proportion of tin varies, however, from one-third to one-fifth of the weight of the copper, according to the sound required, the size of the bell, and the impulse to be given. The clearness and richness of the tone depend upon the metal used, the perfection of its casting, and also upon its shape; it having been shown by a number of experiments that the well-known shape with a thick lip is the best adapted to give a perfect sound. The depth of the tone of a bell increases in proportion to its size.
A bell is divided into the body or barrel, the ear or cannon, and the clapper or tongue. The lip or sound-bow is that part where the bell is struck by the clapper. It is uncertain whether the jangling instruments used by the Egyptians and Israelites can be correctly described as bells; but it is certain that bells of a considerable size were in early use in China and Japan, and that the Greeks and Romans used them for various purposes. They are said to have been first introduced into Christian churches about 400 AD by Paulinus, bishop of Nola, in Campania (whence campana and nola as old names of bells); although their adoption on a wide scale does not become apparent until after the year 550, when they were introduced into France.
Benedict Biscop, abbot of Wearmouth, seems to have imported bells from Italy to England in 680, but their use in Ireland and Scotland is probably of earlier date. The oldest of those existing in Great Britain and Ireland, such as the 'bell of St. Patrick's will' and St Ninian's bell, are quadrangular and made of thin iron plates hammered and riveted together.
Until the thirteenth century bells were of comparatively small size, but after the casting of the Jacqueline of Paris (6.5 tons) in 1400 their weight rapidly increased. Among the more famous bells are the bell of Cologne, 11. tons, 1448; of Dantzic, 6 tons, 1453; of Halberstadt, 7.5, 1457; of Rouen, 16, 1501; of Breslau, 11, 1507; of Lucerne, 71, 1636; of Oxford,7.5 1680; of Paris, 12.8, 1680; of Bruges, 10.5, 1680; of Vienna, 17.75, 1711; of Moscow (the monarch of all bells), 193, 1736; three other bells at Moscow ranging from 16 to 31 tons, and a fourth of 80 tons cast in 1819; the bell of Lincoln (Great Tom), 5.5, 1834; of YorkMinster (Great Peter), 10.75, 1845; of Montreal, 134, 1847; of Westminster (Big Ben), 15.5, 1856, (St Stephen), 13.5, 1858; the Great Bell of St. Paul's, 17.5, 1882. Others are the bells of Ghent (5 tons), Gorlitz (10.75 tons), St Peter's, Rome (8 tons), Antwerp (7.25 tons), Olmutz (18 tons), Sacred Heart, Paris (27 tons), Novgorod (31 tons), Pekin (53.5 tons).
Besides their use in churches bells are employed for various purposes, formerly the most common use being to summon attendants or domestics in private houses, hotels, etc. Bells for this purpose were of small size and may be held in the hand and rung, but most commonly were rung by means of wires stretched from the various apartments to the place where the bells were hung. Bells rung by electricity became common in hotels and other establishments around 1905.
The blind are those who want, or are deficient in, the sense of sight. Blindness may vary in degree from the slightest impairment of vision to total loss of sight; it may also be temporary or permanent. It is caused by defect, disease, or injury to the eye, to the optic nerve, or to that part of the brain connected with it. Old age is sometimes accompanied with blindness, occasioned by the drying up of the humours of the eye, or by the opacity of the cornea, the crystalline lens, etc. The blind are often distinguished for a remarkable mental activity, and a wonderful development of the intellectual powers. Their touch and hearing, particularly, become very acute.
As early as 1260 an asylum for the blind (L'hospice des Quinze-Vingts) was founded in Paris by St Louis for the relief of the Crusaders who lost their sight in Egypt and Syria; but the first institution for the instruction of the blind was the idea of Valentin Hauy, brother of the celebrated mineralogist. In 1784 he opened an institution in which the blind were instructed not only in appropriate mechanical employments, as spinning, knitting, making ropes or fringes, and working in paste-board, but also in music, in reading, writing, ciphering, geography, and the sciences. For instruction in reading he procured raised letters of metal; for writing he used particular writing-cases, in which a frame, with wires to separate the lines, could be fastened upon the paper; for ciphering there were movable figures of metal, and ciphering-boards in which the figures could be fixed; for teaching geographymaps were prepared upon which mountains, rivers, cities, and the boundaries of countries were indicated to the sense of touch in various ways, etc.
Similar institutions were soon afterwards founded in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dresden, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Vienna, and in many towns of the United States. By 1900 there were comparatively few large cities that did not possess a school or institution of some kind for the blind.
At the start of the 20th century the attitude towards the blind was rather patronising, and one source may be quoted as saying 'the occupations in which the blind are found capable of engaging are such as the making of baskets and other kinds of wicker-work, brushmaking, rope and twine making, the making of mats and matting, knitting, netting, fancy work of various kinds, cutting fire-wood, the sewing of sacks and bags; the carving of articles in wood, etc'. However, it was also recognised that more skilled tasks could also be performed by blind persons, and the same source notes that 'Piano-tuning is also successfully carried on by some, and the cleaning of clocks and watches has even been occasionally practised by them'.
Around 1900 an impetus was given, in Britain, to the higher education of the blind by the formation of the British and Foreign Blind Association, the establishment of a college for the Blind Sons of Gentlemen at Worcester, and the Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind, Upper Norwood.
Various systems were devised for the purpose of teaching the blind to read, some of which consisted in the use of the ordinary Roman alphabet, with more or less modification, and some of which employ types quite arbitrary in form. In all systems the characters rise above the surface of the paper so as to be felt by the fingers. The type adopted by Hauy was the script or italic form of the Roman letter. This was introduced into England by Sir C. Lowther, who printed the Gospel of St. Matthew in 1832 with type obtained from Paris. Before this Gall of Edinburgh made use of an embossed alphabet based on the ordinary Roman small letters, in which all curves were replaced by angular lines, and in 1834 he published the Gospel of St John in this character. Subsequently he introduced various improvements, and in particular the letters were produced with serrated surfaces, thus giving greater distinctness. Alston of Glasgow, Howe of Boston, and others also used the Roman form; but the former (who was the first to print the whole Bible, in 1840) adopted the Roman capitals, while the latter adopted the small letters, printing in this type the Bible and many other books. Of alphabets deviating entirely or nearly so from the Roman letter, one consists of a stenographic shorthand invented by Lucas of Bristol; another was a phonetic shorthand devised by Frere of London. In Dr. Moon's alphabet some of the characters are Roman, others are based on or suggested by the Roman characters. The Braille system, widely adopted by the laye 20th century, is one in which the letters are formed by a combination of dots. Dr. Moon's system from its simplicity and the size of its characters is in very general use in books for the blind. There are also systems by which the blind are enabled to write, and the writing may be either in relief so as to be read by the blind, or in characters that may be read by those who see. Research Blind
Diplomacy is the science or art of conducting negotiations, arranging treaties, etc, between nations; the branch of knowledge which deals with the relations of independent states to one another; the agency or management of envoys accredited to a foreign court; the forms of international negotiations. The Cardinal de Richelieu is generally considered as the founder of that regular and uninterrupted intercourse between governments which exists at present between almost all countries; though the instructions given by Machiavelli to one of his friends, who was sent by the Florentine Republic to Charles V (Charles I of Spain) show that Richelieu was not the first to conceive the advantages that might be derived from the correspondence of an intelligent agent accredited at the seat of a foreign government. Diplomatic agents are of several degrees: 1, ambassadors; 2, envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary; 3, ministers resident;
4, charges d'affaires; 5, secretaries of legation and attaches. Their rank was regulated in Europe, in the above order, by the congress assembled at Vienna in 1814. Amongst the European powers it is agreed that of ministers of the same rank he who arrives first shall have the precedence over his colleagues. Research Diplomacy
Green Paints are for the most part compounds of copper and of chromium. The best known greens are the following: Bremen green, or verditer, consisting mainly of a basic carbonate of copper. Brunswick green, a hydrated oxychloride of copper; but the name is sometimes given to a hydrated basic carbonate, also known as mountain green. Chrome and emerald green are oxide of chromium. Emerald green is also used as synonymous with Schweinfurt green. English green is a mixture of Scheele's green with gypsum. Guignets green is oxide of chromium prepared in a peculiar way. Hungary green is a kind of malachite found in Hungary. Rinman's green is obtained by heating zincoxide with a cobaltcompound. Saxony green is an indigo colour used in printing. Scheele's green is arsenite of copper, and Schweinfurt green, Veronese green, and Vienna green, are also compounds of arsenic and copper. Verdigris is a hydrated basic carbonate of copper, often seen in copper coins. Besides these are green colours derived from plants. Of these may be mentioned chlorophyll, the green colour of leaves: sap green, the juice of Rhamnus catharticus or buckthorn, made into a green lake with alumina; Chinese indigo-green, etc. Research Green Paint
Population is the number of people inhabiting a country, region, area, or town. Population statistics are derived from many sources; for example, through the registration of births and deaths, and from censuses of the population.
The first national censuses were taken in 1800 and 1801 and provided population statistics for Italy, Spain, the UK, Ireland, and the USA; and the cities of London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and New York. Since that time a growing number of countries have taken regular censuses, often at ten-yearly intervals, including Austria (1821), France (1821), China (1851), Russia (1861), Japan (1871), and India (1901). Although censuses are approximately accurate for wealthy industrial countries, this may not be the case with other countries.
Between 1990 and 1995 world population increased by 1.7% a year (the number of elderly increased at 2.7% annually). In mid-1994 world population was 5.7 billion and increasing at the rate of 86 million per annum. According to a UN 'low variant' projection, the world population will be at least 7.9 billion by 2050, 9.8 billion by a mid-range projection, or 13 billion by high-range forecasts.
In September 1994, a UN international conference on population and development was attended by politicians from 150 countries. It emphasised the importance of improving the position of women for effective population control, as well as improved sex education and contraception. Serious population studies date from the later 18th century; for example, Thomas Malthus's 'Essay on the Principle of Population', first published in 1798. Research Population
The Lesser Clouded Yellow (Colias chrysotheme) is a species of butterfly of the family Pieridae, found only on the Asiatic steppes ranging west to Vienna and east to the Altai. Two generations occur each year, one in May and one in August or September. Research Lesser Clouded Yellow
The tulip is a genus of flowering plants of the family Liliaceae indigenous to eastern Europe. One species, the wild tulip (Tulipa sylvestris) is now native to Britain, the first tulips having been introduced to Britain from Vienna around 1578. It is a bulbous plant, attaining a height of about 30cm, with very narrow leaves and a solitary large fragrant flower. Formerly, tulips were exceptionally valuable in Britain and Holland, in 1639 120 tulips being sold for 90,000 florins and one particular flower, known as the 'Viceroy' for 4230 guilders. Research Tulip
Arminius Vambery was a Hungarian traveller and Oriental scholar. He was born in 1832 and died in 1913. He studied at Vienna and Pest universities, and in 1854 went to Constantinople (Istanbul), where he taught French. After studying Arabic and Persian dialects he went to Turkistan in 1861, disguised as a dervish ; thence to Persia, where he joined a caravan of pilgrims returning from Mecca, and travelled with them to Khiva. Thence he passed to Bokhara and Samarkand, making his way back to Persia via Herat, in 1864. Returning to Budapest, he became professor of Turkish and other Oriental languages. His principal works include The Coming Struggle for India, 1885; and Western Culture in Eastern Lands, 1906. He published his Autobiography in 1884, and The Story of My Struggles in 1904. Research Arminius Vambery
Arminius Vambery was a Hungarian traveller and Oriental scholar. He was born in 1832 and died in 1913. He studied at Vienna and Pest universities, and in 1854 went to Constantinople (Istanbul), where he taught French. After studying Arabic and Persian dialects he went to Turkistan in 1861, disguised as a dervish ; thence to Persia, where he joined a caravan of pilgrims returning from Mecca, and travelled with them to Khiva. Thence he passed to Bokhara and Samarkand, making his way back to Persia via Herat, in 1864. Returning to Budapest, he became professor of Turkish and other Oriental languages. His principal works include The Coming Struggle for India, 1885; and Western Culture in Eastern Lands, 1906. He published his Autobiography in 1884, and The Story of My Struggles in 1904. Research Arminius Vambery
Abraham a Santa Clara (real name Uleich Megeele) was a German pulpit orator. He was born in 1642 and died in 1709. As a preacher he acquired so great a reputation that in 1669 he was appointed court-preacher in Vienna, where he died in 1709. His sermons are full of homely, grotesque humour, often of coarse wit, and impartial severity towards all classes of society. Research Abraham a Santa Clara
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Abbreviations
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