THE AMERICAN BUSINESS MAN The business man is the national hero of America, as native to the soil and as typical of the country as baseball or Broadway or big advertising. He is an interesting figure, picturesque and not unlovable, not so dashing perhaps as a knight in armor or a soldier in uniform, but he is not without the noble (and ignoble) qualities which have characterized the tribe of man since the world began. America, in common with... more...

WHAT IS A LETTER? It is not so long since most personal letters, after an extremely formal salutation, began "I take my pen in hand." We do not see that so much nowadays, but the spirit lingers. Pick up the average letter and you cannot fail to discover that the writer has grimly taken his pen in hand and, filled with one thought, has attacked the paper. That one thought is to get the thing over with. And perhaps this attitude of getting the... more...

Many Thoughts of Many Minds. Ability.—No man is without some quality, by the due application of which he might deserve well of the world; and whoever he be that has but little in his power should be in haste to do that little, lest he be confounded with him that can do nothing.—Dr. Johnson. We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.—Longfellow. Every person is... more...

PREFACE. Some eighteen months ago I took this brilliant bunch of brain burrs to my esteemed Publisher and with much enthusiasm invited him to spend a lot of money thereon. The Main Stem in the Works informed me that he had his fingers on the public pulse and just as soon as that pulse began to jump and yell for something from my fiery pen he would throw the Silly Syclopedia at it. Then he placed my MS. in the forward turret of his... more...

It's a long lane that has no ashbarrel.   Distilled waters run deep. ABSINTHE From two Latin words, ad, and sinistrum, meaning "to the bad." If in doubt, try one. (Old adage, "Absinthe makes the jag last longer)." ABSTINENCE   From the Persian ab, water, and stein, or tankard. Hence, water-tankard, or "water wagon." ACCESSION A beheading process by which you may either win or lose a political job. Old... more...

A 1 Abilities—No man's abilities are so remarkably shining, as not to stand in need of a proper opportunity, a patron, and even the praises of a friend, to recommend them to the notice of the world. —Pliny. 2 Absence, with all its pains,Is by this charming moment wip'd away. 3 Abuse is the weapon of the vulgar. —Goodrich. 4 It is told of Admiral Collingwood that on his travels he carried a bag of acorns, and... more...

HANDY DICTIONARY OF POETICAL QUOTATIONS. A.Abashed.Abash'd the devil stood,And felt how awful goodness is, and sawVirtue in her shape how lovely.1MILTON: Par. Lost, Bk. iv., Line 846.Abbots.To happy convents bosom'd deep in vines,Where slumber abbots purple as their wines.2POPE: Dunciad, Bk. iv., Line 301.Abdication.I give this heavy weight from off my head,And this unwieldy sceptre from my hand,The pride of kingly sway from out my... more...

PREFACE. Cynics may ask, how many have profited by the innumerable proverbs and maxims of prudence which have been current in the world time out of mind? They will say that their only use is to repeat them after some unhappy wight has “gone wrong.” When, for instance, a man has played “ducks and drakes” with his money, the fact at once calls up the proverb which declares that “wilful waste leads to woful... more...

  Zenith Radio Corporation warrants the parts, transistors, and tubes (including television picture tubes) in any Zenith black and white television receiver or Zenith black and white television combination receiver to be free from defects in material arising from normal usage. Its obligation under this warranty is limited to replacing, or at its option repairing any such parts or transistors or tubes of the receiver which, after regular... more...

CERVANTES. A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. The most trivial act of the daily life of some men has a unique interest, independent of idle curiosity, which dissatisfies us with the meagre food of date, place, and pedigree. So in the "Cartas de Indias" was published, two years ago, in Spain, a facsimile letter from Cervantes when tax-gatherer to Philip II., informing him of the efforts he had made to collect the taxes in certain Andalusian villages. It is... more...