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THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



Cities, Popular Names of. 



Aberdeen. Granite City. 



Athens. City of the Violet Crown. 



Bagdad. City of Peace. 



Baltimore. Monumental Cit3', from the number of 



monuments it contains. 

 Bi r ruing ha m. The Midland Capital. 

 Brighton. Queen of \Vatering Places, "London- 



super-Mare." 

 Boston. City of Notions, from the amount of " Yankee 



notions," so called, manufactured there; Hub of the 



Universe, so called by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes; 



Tri-Mountain City, from the three hills on which it 



was originally built. 

 Brooklyn. City of Churches, from the number of 



churches it contains. 

 Buffalo. Queen City of the Lakes. 

 Cairo. City of Victory. 

 Chicago. Garden City, from the number and beauty 



of its private gardens; Windy City, from the constant 



winds blowing from the lakes. 

 Cincinnati. Queen City, so called when it was the 



commercial metropolis of the Middle West. 

 Cleveland. Forest City, from the number of trees on 



its streets. 



Constantinople. City of the Golden Horn. 

 Detroit. City of the Straits, from its location on the 



strait connecting Lake Stl Clair and Lake Erie. 

 Edinburgh. Modern Athens. 

 Hannibal. Mo. Bluff City, from its location on the 



bluffs of the Missouri River. 

 Indianapolis. Railroad City, from its being a great 



railroad center. 



Jerusalem. Holy City; City of David; City of Peace. 

 Keokuk, la. Gate City, from its situation at the foot 



of the Mississippi Rapids. 



Liverpool. The Modern Tyro. 



Louisville, Ky. Falls City, from the falls of the Ohio 



River, here located. 



Lowell, Mass. City of Spindles, from its large manu- 

 facturing interests. 

 Manchester. Cottonopolis. 

 Nashville, Trim. City of Rocks, from its natunl 



surroundings. 

 New Haven. City of Elms, from the great number of 



these trees it contains. 

 New Orleans. Crescent City, from its position on a 



curve of the Mississippi. 

 New York. Empire City, from its being the chief city 



of the United States. 



Paris. City of the Lily, or City of Louis. 

 Philadelphia. City of Brotherly Love, from the 



meaning of the name. 

 Pittsburg, Pa. Iron City, from the extent of its iron 



manufactures; and Smoky City, from the smoke 



which overhangs it. 

 Portland, Me. Forest City, from the number of trees 



in its streets. 

 Rochester, N. Y. Flour City, from the number of 



flour mills located there. 

 Rome. City of the Seven Hills. 

 San Francisco. City of the Golden Gate. 

 St. Louis. Mound City, from the artificial mounds 



found there. 

 Springfield, .Mass. City of Homes, from the many 



people who own their own homes. 

 Springfield, O. Flower City, from the beauty of its 



surroundings. 



Venice. City of St. Mark, City of the Seventy Isles. 

 Washington. City of Magnificent Distances, from its 



being laid out on a large and regular scale. 

 Worcester. The Faithful City, so called from its 



motto: Floreat Semper Civitas Fidelia. 



DIAMONDS OF NOTE 



Duel. A premeditated and prearranged 

 combat between two persons, with deadly 

 weapons, for* the purpose of deciding some pri- 

 vate difference or quarrel. The combat gener- 

 ally takes place in the presence of witnesses 

 called seconds, who make arrangements as to 

 the mode of fighting, place the weapons in the 

 hands of the combatants, and see that the laws 

 they have laid down are carried out. The origin 

 of the practice of duelling is referred to the trial 

 by "wager of battle," which obtained in early 

 ages. This form of duel arose among the Ger- 

 manic peoples, and a judicial combat of the kind 

 was authorized by Gundebald, King of the Bur- 

 gundians, as early as 501 A. D. When the 

 judicial combat declined the modern duel arose, 

 being probably to some extent an independent 

 outcome of the spirit and institutions of chiv- 

 alry. France was the country in which it arose, 



the Sixteenth Century being the time at which 

 it first became common. Upon every insult or 

 injury which seemed to touch his honor, a gen- 

 tleman thought himself entitled to draw his 

 sword, and to call on his adversary to give him 

 satisfaction, and it is calculated that 6,000 per- 

 sons fell in duels during ten years of the reign 

 of Henry IV. His minister, Sully, remonstrated 

 against the practice; but the King connived at 

 it, supposing that it tended to maintain a mili- 

 tary spirit among his people. In 1602, however, 

 he issued a decree against it, and declared it to 

 be punishable with death. Many subsequent 

 prohibitions were issued, but they were all 

 powerless to stop the practice. During the 

 minority of Louis XIV. more than 4,000 nobles 

 are said to have lost their lives in duels. The 

 practice of duelling was introduced into Eng- 

 land from France in the reign of James I. ; but 



