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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1952-05-01, Page 3Shorthand Isn't Anything New Few realize that the art of speed writing, which is so vital to modern commerce, goes back two thousand years—that it all began with the Romans. The saga of shorthand illustrates the perfection reached by modern systems since the time whet stu- dents in ancient Rome stabbed a tutor to death with their metal "pens" because the 13,000 word. signs were too much to learn. The latest chapter has just been added with the publication of the first complete history of British shorthand to be written in Great Britain since 1881, The author, Edward Harry Butter, a 38 -year-old London jour- nalist, has equalled the persever- ance of the shorthand masters of old. He spent 17 years' collecting 3,000 rare manuscripts, books and illustrations for the facts. The first is that shorthand was introduced to Great Britain by Julius Caesar in 55 B.C., although it is anybody's guess how well he wrote it. It had been invented by Marcus Tiro, a slave of Cicero, and was used to record the great speeches in the Roman Senate. The crude symbols were written with large sharp s t y1 o s on wax -covered tablets. Torn to. Pieces According to Latin poets, those early stenographers could write as fast as speech. But whatever their skill, the fates which awaited them for misreporting and other wrongs were gruesome, and enough to frighten off any newcomers to the profession. One was torn to pieces. Other punishments included cutting off the hand's or severing the nerves of the fingers. In A.D. 534, Emperor Justinian proclaimed shorthand "diabolical" and banned its use. The Roman - inspired secince then faded out. It -vas in Britain that shorthand, as we know it now, was born. The oldest short -writing signs in the English alphabet were devised by a 'Honk, John of Tilbury, in 1180. They looked like childish drawings of railway signals. The second attempt was in 1588. Dr. Timothy Bright, physician at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Lon- don, and latera Yorkshire parson, published "An Arte of Shorte, Swifte and Secrete Writing by Characterie." He dedicated it to Queen Elizabeth, who rewarded him generously. Bitter Feuds Since then 418 different systems Stave been published in Great Brit- ain, invented by a mixture of en- thusiasts from bishop to petti-coat maker. Luxury Gifts �Mother BY EDNI'A MILES THE gifts that Mother gets on Mother's Day need not be ex- pensive or showy. But, because it is her day, they should be chosen with her particular wants in mind. They should be what she'd pick for herself if she could indulge some of her small whims. Luxury isn't necessarily ex- pensive, Takes for instance, the luxury of a new toilet water and stick perfume combination in a matching fragrance, It's budget - priced. The eau de toilette is for her dressing table, the stick per- fume goes into her handbag for touch-ups away from home. It is, by the way, a good traveler. Stick perfume, because it con - 'thins a higher percentage of es- sential oils, is generally longer lasting than stick cologne. It's non - greasy, too, vanishing immediately on the skin, leaving a lingering fragrance. If Mother likes to combine prac- ticality with her luxury, there's a set for her that includes an after - bath lotion and an after -bath fric- tion mitt designed to be used to- gether. . The white terry -cloth mitt has friction material across the paha eed Not Be Expeasive Eau de toilette and stick per, fume are packaged together. and a non -porous pad beneath. This means that most of the mitt is kept dry during use. Used with the lotion, the mitt soothes tired nerves and gives a cool, invigorat- ing lift. Coxrilination package contains lotion and after -bath friction mitt, British shorthand was first used to preserve church sermons, keep secret diaries, or record the fare- well speeches and prayers of those about to be executed. The early authors gained little from their inventions and died paupers. By 1672 shorthand alpha- bets sold at the unheard-of price of one shilling. The rivalry between authors was extreme. There were bitter feuds and many coffee-house brawls. One system was given away as a free gift with quack pills and teething rings for five years. In 1720, John Byrom, poet, diarist, friend of the Wesleys, took the spotlight. The most famous in the land' flocked to learn his sup- erior system for the social prestige. All Byroin's pupils were sworn to secrecy, and in 1742 an Act of Parliament gave him special short- hand teaching rights. He was the greatest shorthand genius. Yet time has obliterated his fame. To -day he is mostly remem- bered as author of the Christmas hymn "Christians Awake." The peak in shorthand invention came in the 1800s. Never did so many authors achieve so little. Most of their systems were useless. They were published merely to satisfy the authors' vanity and achieve social, rather than com- mercial, success. Good News For Lawn Lovers Hated Crabgrass Meets Match In the nationwide chemical war- fare against crabgrass, known as the worst enemy of the lawn grower, the army of homeowners has been joined by a new and powerful recruit—potassium cyan- ate. This chemical will be available throughout the country this sum- mer for the first time in the his- tory of the long and generally un- successful battle to halt the rav- ages of crabgrass. It comes as a genuine challenge to the maligned lawn grower who has decided to stop growing grass to devote his time to raising crabgrass instead. Potassium cyanate is a dry, white powder that is simply mixed with water and sprayed on the lawns with an ordinary garden sprayer. It is harmless to children and pets, does no damage to basic grasses, and eventually breaks down into fertilizing elements. The chemical has been used by some lawn growers before, in scat- tered sections where it has been available. Now, however, it is be- ing produced in volume for gen- eral usage. Crabgrass is the worst of all lawn pests, a tough, rank grass that sprouts late in the spring. It is hard to mow, and quickly spreads over the lawn, choking out the real grass and lifting its brown -seed heads to make the lawn look unkempt. For years, homeowners have been sprinkling salt, old motor oil, borax, and a variety of poisonous chemicals on their lawns in a harried attempt to stamp it out. Theodore Glowa, of the West Point Military Academy, ltas been trying for yers to lick the crab- grass problem on the Point's roll - MERRY MENAGERIE esr 421' v,aamn.ryA.dw, bw1J IIr,M, AMnrd "Now, in the first grade you must learn to look before you leap --or there'll be no second grade'." 010.ISULY ing, spacious lawns and athletic fields. After experimenting with potassium cyanate, he has this to say, "I can report that our control ran from 95 to 100 per cent and that there was no permanent in- jury or lasting discoloration to the basic grasses." None of the commercial crab- grass chemicals on the market go under the chemical name of potas- sium cyanate. Cyanate is the basic ingredient in 11 different brands, each sold under a different brand name. However, it is the potassium cyanate which ruins the crab- grass. Known as a selective weed killer because it destroys crab- grass without permanently harm- ing basic lawn grasses, potassium cyanate destroys on con t a c t. Wherever a globule of water and cyanate lands on a leaf of crab- grass, the cells of that leaf are destroyed. And as the cells manu- facture food for the crabgrass roots, the food supply is cut off and the roots perish. Potassium cyanate was p u t through years of thorough and varied tests before being placed on the market for crabgrass con- trol. It is not a new chemical. DISCOUNT A grave crisis developed recent- ly at the Twentieth Century -Fox studio. Just before a picture went into production, Darryl Zanuck decreed that the script needed bol- stering. He furthermofe decreed that only one man on earth could do the job properly: Ben Hecht. "Get him," ordered Mr. Z„ who has never had a single wish de- nied him since the day he blew into Hollywood frons Wahoo, Ne- braska. This time, however, Mr Hecht proved elusive. "He's bound for New York in two days," re- ported Zanucic's emissary, "but if yoti want, he'll work on your script all the way from Pasadena to Grand Central Station." Zanuck had had much previous commerce with Ben Hecht, so he quickly asked, "And what does he want for this labor of love?" "Mr. Hecht says be has a fondness for full round sums," was the answer. "The price he asks is one hundred thou- sand dollars." Mr. Zanuck staggered, but ral- lied quickly, "Call him again," he ordered, "and ask hint how much he'll take to work on the script as far as 1{ansas City." Meivemmei i clam Andrews Roast lamb is traditional spring- time dinner fare in many families, and is such a delightful dish that it's worth a little extra trouble to give it an attractive setting. * * Mint sauce goes with lamb as a matter of course and, when this is served in a half grapefruit shell that is also a platter garnish, it gives a fresh, colorful note to the dinner table. * * * Sprigs of fresh, ,aromatic mint also add color to the platter, and one should be served on each din- ner plate. * * * At the very last minute before putting your leg of lamb on the table to be carved, if you pour melted butter over it and follow this with an equal amount of fresh lemon juice, you "will find your meat flavor greatly improved. * * :r If you would rather serve mint jelly, there are several attractive ways to use it as a garnish. Cut`.,: lemons in half lengthwise, making boats when pulp is removed. Fill these with green mint jelly and circle your meat platter with thein, serving one on each plate. * * * If you want to make baskets out of lemon shells, stick in slen- der half circles of green pepper for handles. Or, cut rounds of lemon (thick enough to squeeze some juice from) and circle the platter with them. Heap mounds of mint jelly on top of each. * * * If you like to have vegetables on your meat platter—saving both dishes and serving conftsion— make little nests of mashed pota- toes around your roast and fill each with drained, buttered frozen green peas. For another garnish that goes well with lamb, heap slices of pineapple high with little green, seedless grapes. Alternate these fruit slices with a cluster of three small, deep -yellow carrots topped with fresh mint to simulate carrot tops. Serve a fruit slice and several carrots with mint on each plate. The Frenched leg of, lamb is probably the best known in the retail store. Always have the butcher leave oil the paperlike covering known as the fell, since it helps to keep the meat juices in and to retain the shape of the leg during cooking. Place the leg, fat side up (fell side down) on a rack in an open pan. No cover; no water. Roast at 325° F., follow- ing chart which follows. * * * If yoti allow the roast to "set" for about 30 minutes after sook- ing it makes carving easier. * * A lemon mint sauce offers a variation from the plain butter- mint sauce so often used on lamb, Here is the way to make it: L r1ON MINT SAUCE c;up sugar IA cup lemon juice 2/4 cup "'finely minced mint leaves Com ine all ingredients and al- low to stand % hour. i�,,•` * * * If ',yot r family is small and you prefer- to serve lamb in some other form t'11an the leg, try lamb steaks with i tinted stuffing for a delec- table dinner�dish. Garnish in the same ivay you would the lamb platter.-; For four servings you will -He'd four steaks (sirloin chops may IA,: fixed this way, too), and the mib flavor appears in a new guise iii the stuffing. LAM* STEAKS WITH MINT DRESSING 4 lamb steaks, % inch thick 3 tablespoons fat 8 slices bread, broken in small Ixeces m dium apple, chopped fine spoons • finely chopped.: fa spoon chopped mint eaves 2 tablespoons poultry seasoning 1% cups (about) fruit juice or water Mix bread, apple, celery, mint leaves, and poultry seasoning in large bowl. Moisten with fruit juice or water. Brown one side of steaks` in hot fat in skillet. Place two steaks, browned side down on a rack in shallow pan. Pile stuff- ing oir top of steaks. Top each with !second steak, browned side up. Fasten with toothpicks. Bake uncovered at 325° F. for 45 min- utes. Serve hot. * * * You may use this same minted dressing in lamb shanks, if you like. The flavour of this cheaper cut of lamb is good and serving them stuffed adds a surprise note. Have the butcher bone them. Stuff and brown before roasting slowly. Garnish and serve with a spiced cranberry sauce. * * * If you want a more definite flavoring, try baked breast of lamb with mustard. You'Il need several pounds of breast cut in serving pieces. Before baking, spread all sides with prepared mustard and place in open pan so all pieces are flat. Bake at 375°F. for two hours, turning occasionally until well browned on all sides. Season with salt and pepper at last turning. TIMETABLE FOR COOKING LAMB Five -Pound Leg of Lamb _Medium done, 21/4 hours, 175°F. Well done, 2y, hours, 182° F. Eight -Pound Leg of Lambs Medium done, 3/ hours, 175°F. Well done, 4 hours, 182°F. - THE FIFTH A teen-age boy was telling some of his friends about the wreck he had with his hot rod the night •before. "Five things were broken in the wreck," he told his spellbound audience. "I broke my front bum- per, my windshield, my watch and my nose!" And the girl sitting next to him observed: "That's only four things. What else was broke?" she asked "Me," the lad replied sadly. gy HAROLD ARNETT A MOUSETRAP, NAILED OR SCREWED 'TCO THE WALL IN YOUR BASEMENT OR GARAGE, MAKES A HANDY PLACE 70 KEEP DIRTY WORK GLOVS, TNANkS, !2. J, L., OBS MON1E5, IOWA, Best Seller Written In Jail The book with the widest read ership in the world is the Bible. The one with the second widest readership is "The Pilgrim's Pro- gress," written by John Bunyan, the inspired "Tinker from Bedford," whose memory is to be further per- petuated by the erection of a granite stone on the site of his birthplace at Elstow, Bedfordshire. The cottage in which Bunyan was born stood just within the parish of Elstow at the foot of a gently sloping hill between two streams. Although the cottage is no longer there the field in which it stood is known as "Bunyan's End," and per- mission has been given by the local farmers for the making of a foot- path to the new commemoration stone. John Bunyan lived in the seven- teenth century during the Puritan Age when the main preoccupation of English life and character was religion. To the majority of the population the only book known • was the Bible, every word of which was accepted as literally and his- torically true. Unlike John Milton, that other literary giant of the seventeenth century, Bunyan had received no education worth speaking of. He had never entered a college and had no kind patron among the upper classes. His father was a tinker and brazier, and Bunyan worked hard at the same trade. He was a wild youth, and during his early years his excitable nature involved him in an excess of rioting and hooliganism. He was also ad- dicted to swearing, and these characteristics—when young Bun- yan began to take an absorbed interest in religion—tormented him with misery, convincing him that he was utterly damned for the sins of his youth. In quite unjustified despair he joined the Parliamentary Army, and it was while serving that an incident occurred which has often been described as a miracle. "Shot in the Head" "I with others," he says, "was drawn out to go to such a place to besiege it, but when I was just ready to go one of the company desired to go in my room (place), to which when I had consented, he took my place, and coming to the siege, as he stood sentinel, he was shot in the head with a musket ball and died." Bunyan took this as a sign from divine providence that his own life was to be spared for some im- portant task. On leaving the Army he joined a Baptist Society•at Bed- ford and soon proved himself to be an eloquent `preacher:" He was one of the first victims of the persecution of the noncom- formists or dissenters, who were regarded as disloyal to the King and the Established Church. The Dark Abyss He was cast into Bedford jail, where, with some brief ientrvals of freedom, he was imprisoned for over twelve years. Left to • his solitary meditations, cut off from the world in a damp, unwholesome dungeon, Bunyan's powerful im- agination soared among the stars and penetrated the dark abyss of woe. It was in these conditions that he wrote the first part of "The Pilgrim's Progress," describing the adventures of Christian and Hope- ful on their way frons the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. One hundred thousand copies of "The Pilgrim's Progress" were sold within the first few years of its publication — an astonishing figure in those days. The book has now been translated into over a hundred languages and dialects. Bunyan was aged sixty when he died in 1688 and by that time he had written a total of sixty books. Six children were born to him, four by his first wife and two by his second. OLD STUFF "What a pity times are not what they used to be! Children no long- er obey their parents and everyone wants to write a hook." This plaint was voiced neither by a victim of the Inquiring Photographer nor a harassed published at the Ritz. It is a literal translation, vows E. Stanley Jones, in The Christ of Every Road, of the message in- scribed on the oldest piece of papyrus preserved by the State Museum ui Istanbul• nsnza $l� a ars , , a • ., MATERNITY WARD The Cleveland, Ohio, zoo is calling its monkey house the "Stork Club" these days. Pictured above is part of the reason --a bumper crop of 20 baby monks.