Show ODD PACTS FACTS IN HISTORY Two thousand years a ago o Herodotus said that the th Caspain sea sea across sea sea-aros across which for Persia Per Russia has been hurrying troops s sia was ala was a a sea by itself having haTing no connection with any other But centuries cen cen- tunes tures after his time such authorities as Strabo and Pliny believed ed that it was connected with the northern ocean by bya a lon long and narrow gulf Geography seems to have had bad n a I setback in the interval interval in in- ter al through h false information received received re re- re- re eid at the time of Alexanders Alexander's COI- COI con quests quest Herodotus said that the Caspian's Cas Cas' pians pian's length was fifteen days days' voyage e with wih a rowboat its breadth ei eight ht oa days Since Since- Since the actual figures are miles mies and this shows that a rowboat of the time did fifty miles mieR a day i iOne One of the shortest sermons on record was wa that preached at the funeral of Mme Ime Cresswell a woman of the Stuart I restoration period in England She bequeathed bequeathed be be- i 50 to fee a clergyman to preach her funeral sermon stipulating that he was to mention her name and to speak nothing but well wel of her 11 Ho He got ot I over oer the obvious ious ob difficulty b by brief briefly i alluding to her name and last re request without any praise fraise this She I Iwas was born well wel she lived well wen and she sho i died well wen for she was born with mth the name siame name of Cresswell she sho lived in Clinker Clinker- Cinker well vell el and and she died in Bridewell In the past if one En Englishman called caned Another a liar lar th there re was something to ray jay The ThE seventeenth century mayor sheriff sherif Jay and city grandees generally were keen on this point of etiquette The direct direct di di- accusation cost 11 1 shillings 6 pence the subtle hint hin 6 shillings s 8 pence penco And there was wa a reduction reduction tion on repetitions Swearing too was promptly suppressed In 1630 1650 a law was wa passed laying down the penalty for a first offense otense The fines were grad grad That for a n lord was 30 shillings s 70 for an es esquire 10 shillings while all al inferior persons could 20 have a few words for 3 shillings shi shil shil- ln lings hugs a and 4 pence penco 80 SO cents 1 |