英文名人轶事

<STRONG>Is He the Highest Type of Citizen？</STRONG>
<P>
<P>In  the Olympic Games were held in Stockholm ．JimThorpe was selected for the United States Olympic track team，andwent to Sweden ．On the ship，while the other athletes limberedup ，Thorpe slept in his bunk．In Sweden，while other athletestrained，Thorpe relaxed in a hammock．He never strained when hedidn't teel it necessary ．But Thorpe，who never wanted to prac-tice，but never lacked confidence in his ability，was the Americanhero of the Games．
<P>
<P>The two competitions requiring perhaps the most endurance and strength are the pentathlon ，a series of five varied trackevents，and the decathlon ，a series of ten track events，all per-formed  by one man．Never before in the history of the modernOlympics had one man competed in both pentathlon and decathlonat one meeting of the Olympic Games．Thorpe did this and wonboth of these difficult events．The King of Sweden，Gustav V，presented Thorpe with two gold meddals ，and other prizes whichwere valued at 0，000．“Sir，” said the King，“you are thegreatest athlete in the world．I would consider it an honor to shakeyour hand．” And William Howard Taft，the President of the U－nited States，said，“Jim Thorpe is the highest type of citizen．”
<P>
<P>King Gustav V was correct，but President Taft was not．Though Jim Thorpe had brought great glory to  his nation，thoughthousands of people cheered him upon his return to the United Statesand attended banquets and a New York parade  in his honor，hewas not a citizen．He did not become one until 1916．Even then，ittook a special government ruling because he was an Indian．</P>

<STRONG>Jim Thorpe，a Sad，Bewildered Man</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Jim Thorpe was a hero after the 1912's Stockholm Olympicsand a sad，bewildered man not too much later．Someone discov－ered that two years before the Olympics he had been paid a fewdollars to play semiprofessional  baseball．Though many ama－teur  athletes had played for pay under false names ，Thorpe hadused his own name．As a result，he was not technically  an ama－teur when he competed at Stockholm as all Olympic athletes mustbe．His 0lympic medals and trophies  were taken away from himand given to the runners－up ．Both men refused to take them，saying they really belonged to Thorpe．The medals and prizes werethen placed in a museum in Lucerne ，Swltzerland．The records ofThorpe's victories  were removed from the history of the OlympicGames．“I was not very wise in the ways of the world．”saidThorpe，and he then decided to give up amateur athletics forgood ．
<P>
<P>Several times，there was an attempt  by Thorpe's admirers to have Congress  to return to him the trophies he had won in the 1912 Olympic Games．This project  was never successful．Butwhen sports reporters told newspaper readers that Jim Thorpe didnot have enough money to buy a ticket to the 1932 Olympics，heldin Los Angeles ，thousands of people offered their own tickets tothe man who had been the hero of Stockholm，and Thorpe wasinvited to sit in the Presidential Box  with the Vice-President of the United States．When he had to have an operation  in and it became known that he needed money for hospital expenses，gifts of money from all over the country brought him a fund  ofSeveral thousand dollars．
<P>
<P>The Associated Press  took a vote in 1950 among the sportswriters and sports radio broadcasters all over the country，and 170of them voted for Jim as the greatest football star of the twentiethcentury；he led every other candidate．In another election，theAssociated Press found that 393 sports writers and broadcastersvoted for him as the greatest athlete of the first fifty years of thetwentieth century．His total was almost as great as the combinedscore of the next three men in the pool ．
<P>
<P>About seventy years later，in October 1982，the InternationalOlympic Committee  decided to restore  the amateur status and the two gold medals to this great American Indian athlete．And it was Mr．Samaranch，President of the IOC，who personallypresented the two medals to Thorpe's daughter and his grandsonWilliam Thorpe in Los Angeles in January 1983．Thus，JimThorpe，the greatest athlete of the modern times，is finally backwhere he well deserves to be．</P>

<STRONG>Sports Ethic？Sports Salaries？</STRONG>
<P>
<P>For hundreds of years，Americans were told “Do your best insports，whether or not you win．”Part of this “sports ethic”comes from the Bible's teaching that no matter what you do，Godexpects you to do it “with all your might．” Another statement ofthis ethic is expressed in the Olympic Creed ：The most importantthing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part，just asthe most important thing in life is not the triumph  but the strug－gle．The essential thing is not to have conquered but to havefought well．
<P>
<P>However，as various sports have become ways to make money，this earlier sports ethic is being replaced by the need towin，tor winners make more money than losers．Professionalplayers are now paid unbelievable salaries，more than the presi－dents of the biggest companies and much more than the Presidentof the United States．
<P>
<P>For example in 1944，some huge American sports contractswere signed：In baseball ，the San Francisco Giants baseball teamagreed to pay Barry Bonds almost forty－four million dollars to playfor six years，over seven million dollars a year for playing base－ball！In basketball，Larry Johnson will be paid eighty－four milliondollars by the Charlotte Hornets for playing twelve years，sevenmillion dollars a year for playing professional basketball．TheCleveland Browns will pay Bernie Kosar twenty－seven milliondollars for playing American football  for seven years，almost fourmillion dollars a year for playing football．</P>

<STRONG>Bruce and the Spider</STRONG>
<P>
<P>There was Once a king of Scotland whose name was RobertBruce．He had need to be both brave and wise，for the times inwhich he lived were wild and rude．The king of England was atwar with him，and had led a great army into Scotland to drive himout of the land。Battle after battle had been fought．Six times had Bruce ledhis brave little army against his foes ；and six times had his  menbeen beaten，and driven  into flight ．At last，his army wasscattered ，and he was forced to hide himself in the woods and inlonely places among the mountains．One duy，as he lay thinking，he saw a spider over his head，making ready to weave  her web ．He watched her as she toiled slowly and with great care．Six times she tried to throw her frail  thread from one beam to another，and six times it fell short ．
<P>
<P>“Poor thing！”said Bruce．“You，too，know what it is tofail．”But the spider did not lose hope with the sixth failure．Withstill more care，she made ready to try for the seventh time．Bruce almost forgot his own troubles as he watched herswing herself out upon the slender  line．Would she fail again？No！The thread was carried safely to the beam．and fastenedthere．
<P>
<P>“I，too，will try a seventh time！”cried Bruce．He arose and called his men together．He told them of hisplans，and sent them out with messages of cheer to his disheartened people．Soon there was an army of brave Scotchmenaround him．Another battle was fought，and the King of Englandwas glad to go back into his own country．After that day，no one by the name of Bruce would ever hurta spider．The lesson that the little creature  had taught the kingwas never forgotten．</P>

<STRONG>A Laconic Answer</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Many miles beyond Rome there was a famous country whichwe call Greece．The people of Greece were not united like theRomans；but instead there were several states，each of which hadits own rulers．Some of the people in the southern part of the country werecalled Spartans ，and they were noted for  their simple habits andtheir bravery．The name of their land was Laconia，and so theywere sometimes called Lacons．One of the strange rules which the Spartans had，was thatthey should speak briefly，and never use more words than wereneeded，and so a short answer is often spoken of as beingLaconic；that is，as being such an answer as a Lacon would belikely to give．There was in the northern part of Greece a land calledMacedon，and this land was at a time ruled over by a warlike king named Philip．
<P>
<P>Philip of Macedon wanted to become the master of allGreece．So he raised a great army，and made war upon the otherstates，until nearly all of them were forced to call him their king．Then he sent a letter to the Spartans in Laconia，and said，“If I godown into your country，I will level  your great city to theground．”In a few days，an answer was brought back to him．When heopened the letter，he found only one word written there．That word was“IF”．It was as much as to say，“We are not afraid of you so longas the little word‘if'stands in your way．”</P>

<STRONG>The Great King Who Swallowed Poison</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Mithradates（c．131—63 B．C．），the great king of Pontus and enemy of Rome，is said to have swallowed toxic  substances systematically ，increasing the doses  until he made himself im－mune from  assassination  by poison．
<P>
<P>Ironically ，when he was defeated and cornered  by theRomans，he tried to commit suicide  by poison，only to find that it had no effect ．He had to get a soldier to kill him with asword．</P>

<STRONG>Nero's Dearest Ambition</STRONG>
<P>
<P>After becoming Emperor of Rome，Nero cherished his dearestambition  which was to sing in public．After taking lessons，hemade his debut in Naples．An earth tremor  shook the theater，causing some of the audience to depart while Nero continuedsinging．
<P>
<P>At a later performance elsewhere，he had the gates locked sono one could leave while he was on stage．Some women gave birth in the stands ．Some men，tired out with listening and applaud－ing，furtively leaped over the walls．Three clever citizens tricked the guards into letting them an exit ：one pretended to be dead andthe other two carried him out．</P>

<STRONG>Silkworm Eggs in Bamboo Canes</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Emperor Justinian  bribed  two Persian monks  who hadlived in China to return there and bring back silkworm eggs bysecreting  them in hollow  bamboo canes．Thus，Constantinople was able to begin silk production，about 550 A．D． From thoseworms were descended  all the silk－producing caterpillars  inEurope down to modern times．</P>

<STRONG>Henry Ⅷ Was Extremely Popular</STRONG>
<P>
<P>When the eighteen－year－old Henry Ⅷ（1491－1547） becameKing of England he was extremely popular，for he had all thequalities that his people admired．Foreigners reported that he wasthe best－dressed king in Europe  and that his chief interest was“girls and hunting”，but this was only half the truth．He distrustedforeigners，as most Englishmen did at that time；but he spokethree foreign languages．He was a first－class  horseman and mu－sician．He could discuss religion  and ship－building with equalskill．He was a clever politician who trusted parliament  and madefull use of it．Most important of all，he thoroughly understood thehearts and minds of his people．He ruled through the House ofCommons ，without an army，and his people remained loyal tohim through all the diffcult years of the Reformation．</P>

<STRONG>Marriage of Henry Ⅷ</STRONG>
<P>
<P>When Henry became King of England he married Catherine，the daughter of the King of Spain and widow  of his elder brother．The Pope  had given special permission for him to marry his brother's widow，as this was against the laws of the church．She gave Henry a daughter，Mary，but all her sons died at birth，and Henry badly  needed a son to follow  him．He began to feel that  God had not approved of his marriage and Pope had been wrong to allow it．
<P>
<P>There was one possible remedy ．The Pope must declare that  the marriage had been allowed by mistake and was unlawful； Henry would then be free to marry again．The Pope could easily have agreed，as he had done for two recent Kings of France in similar cases．But emperor Charles V was Catherine's nephew ， and his army had seized  Rome．The Pope was in his power  and did not dare to annoy him by helping Henry．
<P>
<P>Henry's trouble over his marriage made him realize something that most English people had known for years：that foreign interference  in English affairs  had gone on too long and must be stopped for ever．The parliament of 1529 felt this most strongly．In seven years it destroyed the feudal  power of the church completely．The Church Council accepted Henry as its head．Archbishop  Cranmer declared that his marriage to Catherine was unlawful and accepted his new wife，Ann Boleyn，as Queen．
<P>
<P>Henry's family trouble did not end with his marriage to Ann Boleyn．She bore him a daughter，Elizabeth，but was unfaithful to her husband．After three years Henry cut off her head．His next wife，Jane Seymour，died In giving birth to his son Edward. His secretary Cromwell then brought him a foreign wife，Anne of Cleves，to please his German friends．Unfortunately she was neither well-educated nor beautiful．He sent her home，cut out Cromwell's head，and married a beautiful girl called Catherine Howard． But she too was unfaithful，so her head followed Cromwell’s． His sixth and last wife，Catherine Pars，was a wise and gentle girl but she had no children．</P>

<STRONG>King Alfred and the Cakes</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Many years ago there lived in England a wise and good kingwhose name was Alfred．No other man ever did so much for hiscountry as he；and people now，all over the world，speak of himas Alfred the Great．A fierce ，rude people，called the Danes ，had come fromover the sea，and were fighting the English．There were so manyof them，and they were so bold  and strong，that for a long timethey gained every battle．If they kept on，they would soon be themasters  of the whole country．At last，after a great battle the Englisn army was broken upand scattered ．Every man had to save himself in the best way hecould．King Alfred fled alone，in great haste ，through the woodsand swamps ．
<P>
<P>Late in the day the king came to the hut of a woodcutter ．Hewas very tired and hungry，and he begged the woodcutter's wife togive him something to eat and a place to sleep in her hut．The woman was baking some cakes upon the hearth ，andshe looked with pity upon the poor，ragged  fellow who seemedso hungry．She had no thought  he was the king．“Yes，”she said，“I will give you some supper if you willwatch these cakes．I want to go out and milk the cow ；and youmust see that they do not burn while I am gone．”
<P>
<P>King Alfred was very willing  to watch the cakes，but hehad far greater things to think about．How was he going to drivethe fierce Danes out of the land？He forgot his hunger；he forgotthe cakes；he forgot he was in the woodcutter's hut．His mind was busy making plans for tomorrow．In a little while the woman came back．The cakes weresmoking on the hearth．They were burned to a crisp ．Ah，howangry she was！
<P>
<P>“You lazy fellow！”she cried．“See what you have done！You want something to eat，but you do not want to work！” She even struck the king with a stick；but I can hardly believethat she was so ill－natured ． The king must have laughed to himself at the thought of beingscolded in this way；and he was so hungry that he did not mind thewoman's angry words half so much as the loss of the caks．We do not know whether he had anything to eat that night，orwhether he had to go to bed without his supper．But it was notmany days until he had gathered his men together again，and hadbeaten the Danes in a great battle．</P>

<STRONG>Eisenhower Tried to Stop Him</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Jim Thorpe played in many sports．In whatever sport heplayed， he excelled． He was a star in baseball，track and field，wrestling，lacrosse，basketball and football．He was so good infootball，in fact，that most other schools refused to play Carlisle．The Indian school's football schedule soon listed such major pow－ers of the early twentieth century as Pittsburgh， Harvard，Pennsylvania， Penn State and Army．
<P>
<P>The United States Military Academy at West Point，NewYork， has always had excellent football players， too． It has al－ways been a matter of great pride for a football team  to succeed inbeating West Point．In 1912 ，with  Thorpe  alone  scoring 22 points，the Carlisle team defeated West Point by a score of 27－6．One of the men who tried to stop Thorpe that day was a member ofthe  West Point team  named  Dwight D．Eisenhower，who  laterbecame an outstanding general and President of the United States．</P>

<STRONG>The Greatest American Athlete1</STRONG>
<P>
<P>The railroad station was jammed． Students from  LafayetteCollege were crowding onto the train platform eagerly awaiting thearrival of the Carlisle Indian School's track and field squad ．Noone would have believed it a few months earlier．A school thatnobody had heard of was suddenly beating big，  famous colleges intrack meets ．Surely these Carlisle athletes would come chargingoff the train，one after another，like a Marine battalion．The train finally arrived and two young men—one big andbroad，the other small and slight—stepped onto the platform．
<P>
<P>“Where is the track team？”a Lafayette student asked．
<P>
<P>“This is the team，” replied the big fellow．
<P>
<P>“Just the two of you？”
<P>
<P>“Nope ， just me，” said the big fellow．“This little guy is themanager．
<P>
<P>The Lafayette students shook their heads in wonder．Some－body must be playing a joke on them． If this big fellow was thewhole Carlisle track team， he would be competing against anentire Lafayette squad。He did．He ran sprints， he ran hurdles， he ran distantraces．He high-jumped， he broad-jumped． He threw the javelinand the  shot．Finishing first in eight events ，the big fellowbeat the whole Lafayette team．The big fellow was Jim Thorpe， the greatest Americanathlete of modern times．</P>

<STRONG>Reciting  the Polish Alphabet</STRONG>
<P>
<P>The Polish actress Helena Modjeska（1844－1909） waspopular with andiences for her realistic and emotional style  ofacting．She once gave a dramatic reading in her native tongue ata dinner party of people who didn't know Polish，  and her listenerswere in tears when she finished． It turned out she had merely re－cited the Polish alphabet．</P>

<STRONG>Once Locked in a Meat Cage</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Silent－movie saperstar Mary Pickford  was known as“America's sweetheart”， but she was adored  all over the world．On her frequent trips abroad， she would be mobbed  by hordesof overenthusiastic  fans． In Paris，  when she visited Lee Halles，the open－air market，her fans became so threatening  that twobutchers had to lock her in a meat cage until the police couldrescue  her． Latef， in Alexandria， Egypt， her car was nearlywrecked  by stevedores  who wanted to autograph their ears sothat they could have the signature permanently tattooed．</P>

<P><STRONG>The First of Millions  of Laughs</STRONG> </P>
<P>
<P>Charlie Chaplin  broke into show business at age five be－cause his mother， a music－hall performer， lost her voice duringthe performance and had to leave the stage，and Charile went onand sang a well-known song．Halfway through the song a showerof money poured onto the stage．Charlie stopped singing and toldthe audience he would pick up the money first and then finish thesong．The audience laughed．This was the first of millions oflaughs in Charlie Chaplin's fabulous career ．
<P>
<P>In the 1920s and 1930s，Charlie Chaplin was probably themost celebrated man in the world．On a visit to his nativeLondon， the motion－picture comedian  received，73，000lettersin just two days．</P>

<STRONG>Not Giving a Single  Performance in 23 Years</STRONG>
<P>
<P>More of Mozart's compositions are still in active use todaythan the works of any other composers in history—with thepossible exception of J．S． Bach ．  But some of Mozart's mostimportant works—by today's standard— have suffered longperiods of neglect．For example， for twenty－three years，beginning in 1917， the Metropolitan Opera did not give a singleperformance of The Marriage  of Figaro．</P>

<STRONG>Both Were Inspired by Cats</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Both Scarlatti and Chopin were inspired  by cats．WhenScarlatti's cat struck certain notes on the keys of his harpsichord ，one by one， with its paws， Scarlatti proceeded to write The Cat'sFugue，a fugue for harpsichord in D minor ．While Chopin wascomposing waltz No．3 in F major ， his cat ran across the keys ofthe piano，amusing Chopin So much that he tried for the samesounds in what is called The Cat's Waltz．</P>

<STRONG>Johann Strauss Conducted in Boston</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Though fearful of seasickness，the Viennese waltz kingJohann Strauss agreed— after receiving， in advance， a paymentof＄100，000 in gold— to sail to Boston and conduct there， in 1872，a supermusical called the World Peace Jubilee．Theconcert took place in a shed for 100，000 patrons． Strauss had tolead 20， 000 musicians and choristers ； to start everyone on timeand to have them end all together， Strauss gave his beat to 100 Subcondctors．</P>

<STRONG>He Stole the Wife from His Friend</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Richard Wagner was equally unscrupulous  in other ways．An endless procession  of women marched through his life． Hisfirst wife spent twenty years enduring and forgiving his infidelities． His second wife had been the wife of his most devotedfriend and admirer，  from whom he stole her．And even while hewas trying to persuade her to leave her first husband he was writingto a friend to inquire whether he could suggest some wealthywoman— any wealthy woman— whom he could marry for hermoney．
<P>
<P>He was completely selfish in his other personal relationships．His liking for his friends was measured solely by the completeness of their devotion to him， or by their usefulness tohim，whether financial or artistic．The minute they failed him－even by so much as refusing a dinner invitation— or began tolessen in usefulness，he cast them off  without a second thought．At the end of his life he had exactly one friend left whom he hadeven known in middle age．</P>

<STRONG>Innocent of Any  Sense  of Responsibility</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Wagner was almost innocent of  any sense of responsibility．Not only did he seem incapable of  supporting himself， but itnever occurred to him that he was under any obligation  to do so．He was convinced that the world owed him a living．In support ofthis belief，he borrowed money from everybody who was good for  aloan —men，women，friends，or strangers．He wrote beggingletters by the score ，sometimes groveling without shame， atothers loftily  offering his intended  benefactor 0 the privilege of contributing to his support，and being mortally  offended if therecipient  declined the honor．No record was found of his payingor repaying money to anyone who did not have a legal claimupon  it．
<P>
<P>What money he could lay his hands on  he spent like anIndian rajah．The mere prospect of a performance of one of hisoperas was enough to set him to running up bills amounting to tentimes the amount of his prospective royalties ． No one will everknow—certainly he never knew—how much money he owed．
<P>
<P>We do know that his greatest benefactor gave him＄6，000 to paythe most pressing of his debts in one city， and a year later had togave him＄16，000 to enable him to live in another city withoutbeing thrown into jail for debt．</P>

<STRONG>Not for Criticism，but for Applause</STRONG>
<P>
<P>It never occurred to Richard Wagner that he and his doingwere not of the most intense and fascinating interest to anyone withwhom he came into contact．He had theories of almost any subjectunder the sun，including vegetarianism，the drama，politics，andmusic；and in support of these theories he wrote pamphlets，let－ters，books… thousands upon thousands of words，hundreds uponhundreds of pages．He not only wrote these things，and publishedthem— usually at somebody else's expense — but he would sitand read them aloud．for hours，to his friends and family．
<P>
<P>He wrote operas，and no sooner did he have the synopsis  ofa story，than he would invite— or rather summon — a crowd ofhis friends to his house and read that it aloud to them． Not forcriticism，but for applause．When the complete poem was written，the friends had to come again， and hear that read aloud．Then hewould publish the poem，sometimes years before the music thatwent with it was written．He played the piano like a composer，inthe worst sense of what that implies，and he would sit down at thepiano before parties that included some of the finest pianists of histime，and play for them，by the hour ，his own music，needlessto say ．He had a composer's voice．And he would invite eminentvocalists ．to his house， and sing them his operas，taking all theparts．</P>

<STRONG>A Monster of Conceit</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Richard Wagner was an undersized  little man，with a headtoo big for his body—a sickly little man．His nerves were bad．He had skin trouble．It was an agony for him to wear anythingnext to his skin coarser than silk．And he had delusions of grandeur．
<P>
<P>He was a monster of conceit．Never for one minute did helook at the world or at people， except in relation to himself．Hewas not only the most important person in the world，to himself；in his own eyes he was the only person who existed．He believedhimself to be one of the greatest dramatists  in the world，one of the greatest thinkers，and one of the greatest composers．To hearhim talk，he was Shakespeare，and Beethoven，and Plato ，rolledinto one．And you would have had no difficulty in hearing himtalk．He was one of the most exhausting conversationalists thatever lived．An evening with him was an evening spent in listeningto a monologue．Sometimes he was brilliant；sometimes he wasmaddeningly  tiresome．But whether he was being brilliant ordull，he had one sole topic of conversation：himself．What hethought and what he did．
<P>
<P>He had a mania 0 for being in the right．The slightest hint ofdisagreement，from anyone，on the most trivial point， was  e－nough to set him off on a harangue  that might last for hours，inwhich he proved himself right in so many ways，and with suchexhausting volubility，that in the end his hearer，stunned  anddeafened，would agree with him，for the sake of peace．</P>

<STRONG>Wagner，Haunted by Number 13</STRONG>
<P>
<P>The composer  Richard Wagner（1813—1883） was hauntedall his life by the number 13． There were 13 letters in wagner'sname，and the sum of the figures of the year of his birth was 13．He made his first public appearance in 1831，the unmber of whichagain added up to 13．He completed Tannhauser on April 13， and it was performed in Paris on March 13，1861．On August 13，1876， he began the first presentation  of the Ring of theNibelungen．The year he was made director of the state theater atRiga， the theater opened on September 13．Wagner wrote 13 operas ， was exiled  from Saxony for 13 years，and died onFebruary 13 in the 13th year of the new German confederation．</P>

<STRONG>The First but Also the Last Meeting</STRONG>
<P>
<P>So shy was Franz Peter Schubert  that his first meeting withLudwig van Beethoven  was his last．Schubert  had written a set ofvariations  on a French tune for four hands  and dedicated  it toBeethoven，to whom he wanted to present the score  personally．A meeting was arranged．Because he was deaf，Beethoven handeda piece of papor and pencil to Schubert so that a particular bar ofmusic could be explained．Schubert became so nervous at the re－quest that he fled from Beethoven's home and the two composersnever again met．</P>

<STRONG>Picasso  Left…</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Picasso ，when he died in 1973，left in four repositories  inthe south of France the following：1，876 paintings，1，355 sculptures ，2，880 ceramics ，more than 11，000 drawings andsketches ，and some ，27，000 etchings ，engravings ，andlithographs  in various states．His estate  was worth—at theofficial appraisal —1，251，673，200 French francs ， or ap－proximately＄250 million．</P>

<STRONG>Jacob's Footprints on Picasso's Paintings</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Picasso  and the poet Max jacob ，down but not quite out in Paris，shared a bed in turn．Jacob slept at night while Picassoworked，and Picasso slept by day when Jacob worked as a novelty -shop clerk． On arising in the morning， Jacob often would have towalk on a floor carpeted with drawings． Later， Jacob's footprintshad to be removed by art experts．</P>

<STRONG>Notions1 Written in Code</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Nearly five centuries ago，Leonardo da Vinci had notions．later proved correct．about fossils，about the circulation of theblood，about the Earth not being the center of the universe，aboutfalling bodies，and about anatomy． His close observation andamazing skill at drawing were such that his pictures of waves andbubbles in water could be improved on only by a slow-motioncamera．But his genius went for naught．He kept these ideas tohimself，writing them in code in voluminous notebooks，so thathis contemporaries knew little of his ideas and remained unin－fluenced by them． Most of these writings remained unpublisheduntil the nineteenth century．Two lost works were found in  inthe National Library of Spain in Madrid．</P>

<STRONG>Notes Written Backward</STRONG>
<P>
<P>Among the designs left by Leonardo da Vinci almost 500 years ago—with notes written backward to be read with a mirror—were the parachute，life jacket， water pump，swim fins，Well digger，paddle－wheel boat，horseless carriage ，sprocketchain， steam gun， water turbine，lens-grinding0 machine，shrapnel ，machine gun， airplane， helicopter，submarine，and mass production．</P>

<STRONG>Died on the Very Same Day</STRONG>
<P>
<P>The greatest writers in their respective language—WilliamShakespeare  and Miguel de Cervantes —died on the very same day in the very same year，April ，．They probablydid not know of each other．Two men who knew each other well—the second and the third Presidents of the United States，JohnAdams  and Thomas Jefferson —died on the very same day inthe very same year，the Fourth of July in ．Adams's lastwords were：“Jefferson still lives．”Jefferson had died，however，a few hours earlier．</P>