Indiana was so called In 1809, from tlie American 
Indians. Popular name—The Iloosier State. 
Ohio was so called in isoa, from its southern 
boundary. Popular name—The Buckeye State. 
Meaning of Indian word Ohio, Beautiful. 
Missouri was so called In 182 1 . from Its principal 
river. Indian name meaning muddy muter, 
Michigan was so called lu i«i)5 irom the lake 
on its border. Indian name, meaning a trier for 
fish. Popular name—The Wolverine state. 
Arkansas was so called In 1812 from its princi¬ 
pal river. Indian name. Popular name—The 
Bear state. 
Florida was so called by Juan Ponce do Leon In 
1572, because it was discovered on Easier Sunday, 
Spanish, I’axcna Florida. 
Wisconsin was so called from Us principal river. 
Indian name, meaning wild rushin/j river. 
Iowa was so called from its principal river. In¬ 
dian name, meaning the steely ones. Popular 
name—llawkeye State. 
Minnesota is also an Indian word, meaning the 
whitish water, 
California, a Spanish word, and named from an 
arm of the Pacltie Ocean. Popular name—The 
Golden stale. 
Texas, a Spanish word, applied to the Republic. 
Popular name—The Lone star State. 
Kansas is an Indian name, moaning the smoky 
water. 
West Virginia. So called after Virginia. 
Nevada Isa Spanish word, meaning white with 
snow. 
• - *•-*--* - 
FACTS ABOUT PHILATELY. 
PKAKKAMA. 
I.— Whnt ft i» nnd Why it should be studied. 
The study of Philately or stamp-colleetlng was 
almost unknown in I sun, but has since Increased 
so rapidly in popularity that the time appears to be 
not far distant when enthusiastic collectors will be 
found in every town in the (Tilted States and 
Europe. Already the stamp business lias attained 
considerable, proportions; the literatureou the sub¬ 
ject Is extensive, several periodicals being devoted 
exclusively to It; the auction sales (one of which 
I described a tew weeks ago in the Rusal) are 
largely attended; and, for the erowntug triumph of 
the new science, an International Congress of 
Philatelists met last year lu Paris. But all this has 
been accomplished by the efforts of individual 
collectors, and the subject ol Philately Is seldom 
noticed by the press. This neglect has been so 
general that I think the following facts relating to 
stamps and the way to collect them may Induce at 
least a few to engage lu my favorite pastime. As 
I am writing, not for the advanced collector.but for 
the beginner and those not collecting, I will begin 
with a statement of a few of the advantages gamed 
by the study and a brief historical sketch. 
The first advantage m practical Importance Is 
that it lfran aid to the study of geography. The 
location of a country, Island of city Is remembered 
more readily by the collector when it is associated 
In his mind with an interesting or rare scries of 
stamps. How many of those who read this and 
are not Philatelists can think instantly where 
Sarawak, Curacao, Cundinamarca, Reunion Island, 
Angola. New Caledonia, st.. Lucia, or La Guuira 
are? A second advantage is that the currency of 
a country Is shown by Its stamps. At an early 
stage of ids Investigations the collector will find, 
not merely this, but that the money of one coun¬ 
try may differ from that of another in which the 
standard coin has Ihe same name, and that the 
value of a national coin may be suddenly changed. 
As an illustration, I will select the postage stamps 
of Uruguay. The collector will notice that while 
the values of the 1858 Issue ranged from GO to 240 
centesfinos, the highest v alue of the law issue Is 
only 12 centeslmos, and ouly 211 centeslmos the f, 1- 
lowlng year. How can this be accounted tor? The 
explanation is that in Is'/j one real {fin) centesl¬ 
mos) was worth 11 cents, and that the currency 
was changed and one peso (loo centeslmos) has 
since been worth IT ceuts. The Philatelist Is not 
likely to forget that a mtlrels In Portugal Is worth 
nearly twice as much as in Brazil. 
Historical events are frequently commemorated 
by stamps. For instance: on the deposition of 
Queen Isabella II. ol Spain a postage stamp bear¬ 
ing her portrait was surcharged (primed over), 
“ Habilitado por la Junta Rcvolueionarla ” (Issued 
by the Revolutionary Junta), thus recalling the 
provisional government; while the surcharge sub¬ 
sequently adopted, “Habilitado por la Nation ” 
(issued by the Nation) allows ihe existence of a 
republic. Then the portrait of King Amadeus ap¬ 
peared, and was soon replaced on the stamps by a 
seated figure of liberty, showing that the nation 
was again under a republican government.. The 
present issue with the head of Altouso XII. proves 
that the duration Of the Second Republic was very 
brief, while the •• impuesto de Guerra ” (war-tax) 
stamps tell us of the long civil war, and we may 
see on the “ Carlist ” stamps the portrait of a pro- 
tender to the crown. 
Another example may be found In the postage- 
stamp history of Naples. During the Dictatorship 
of Garibaldi the national arms were erased from 
the dies used lu printing the stamps and the cross 
of Savoy substituted, a prophesy of the coming 
Kingdom of Italy. That the dream ol a united 
Italy was not fully realized at once is proved by 
the emission several years later of a new series of 
stamps for the Roman States, on which the tiara 
and keys are shown. On the first French postage 
stamps we see the head of Liberty; this la re¬ 
placed during the Presidency or Napoleon toy his 
portrait, while the inscription “ Kepub. Franc.” 
remains unchanged. This is succeeded the next 
year by “ Empire Franc./' and in isoa the head of 
the Emperor la encircled by a laurel wreath, em¬ 
blematic of tils Italian victories. In 1871 the head 
of Liberty again appears, a memorial of the down¬ 
fall of the Second Empire and the restoration of 
the Republic, 
In a oolJeoUon 01 RtRifipa we also find portrait^ 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
OCT. 4 
of the reigning sovereigns of many countries, or’ 
perhaps, if the State is a republic, those of eminent 
citizens. Sometimes the national arms are shown. 
In a few Instances the Inscriptions on stamps are in 
more than one language, thus showing (except In 
the new stamps Issued as provided by the Uni¬ 
versal Postal Union, with Inscriptions in the lan¬ 
guage of the country emitting them, and, also, lu 
French) either that the country was conquered 
aud had not acquired the language of Its conquer¬ 
ors like the stales of India tributary to Great 
Britain; or that, the citizens are gradually adopt¬ 
ing a foreign language for commercial purposes as 
in Japan. We can even trace some Indications of 
national character In the stamps of a country. 
'Phis may scorn paradoxical but I thluk a com¬ 
parison of the early German issues with those of 
France will confirm It. From revenue stamps in 
addition to the geographical and historical In¬ 
formation, we may learn something of the busfijess 
transactions of a nation from the nature of the 
documents, or (in other Instances) articles of com¬ 
merce, which are considered profitable subjects for 
taxation, For instance, a country destitute of 
foreign commerce would not find “ Foreign mils of 
Exchange " or sufficient Importance as a means or 
raising revenue to Issue special stamps for them. 
The beaut y of a collection of stamps In fine con¬ 
dition will be to many a greater attraction than 
their historical value. As specimens of engraving 
many postage aud more revenue stamps would de¬ 
serve preservation. As instances 1 may mention 
the splendid sets now used for postage by Hondu¬ 
ras, Peru, Ceylon and the United states, and the 
revenue stamps of Chill, Transvaal, Mexico and 
Ceylon. Most ol those 1 have referred to are also 
remarkable for beauty of colors, but In this respect 
I consider the “ Inland Revenue ” stamps of P.rltlsh 
Guln.ua to be equal to any In existence. For beauty 
of engraviug the higher values of United States 
revenues are probably unequaled. As a contrast 
to the handsome stamps mentioned, many of the 
rarest are very coarsely engraved and badly 
printed. The first issue or British Guiana postage 
stamps (one of the very rarest known) is a notice¬ 
able example, the design consisting of a roughly 
drawn circle enclosing name of country and value. 
Although revenue stamps have been long In use 
(almost two centuries lu Great Britain), they have 
only very recently attracted attention, and their 
history has never been thoroughly investigated, 
'rids mode of collecting taxes seems to be rapidly 
spreading at present, new Issues appear constant¬ 
ly and no more favorable time could be chosen ror 
commencing a collection of these Interesting labels. 
The first postage stamps were issued in mo 
by Great Britain, and are known as the Mul- 
ready envelopes. Two values of these: were 
issued, the id. black and 2d. blue; the de¬ 
sign representing Britannia sending letters to 
all parts of the world. In the same year two 
small adhesive stamps were Issued of the same 
denominations as the envelopes. Brazil Issued a 
set of three stamps in ma. The design consists of 
a large numeral in nearly circular trame; and la 
said to have been adopted by the postmaster- 
general because be thought. It would be showing 
disrespect to the emperor to blacken his portrait 
In cancellation. This Idea was adhered to by 
Brazil tor more than twenty years but has now 
been abandoned, and the portrait of the emperor 
Is given on the stamps. The French postal Issues 
date from 1849: those of Switzerland (Zurich) from 
1843; the United states was represented as early 
as 1842 by a stamp Issued by the New York post- 
office, though no general Issue occurred until 1847 . 
Postal cards were introduced by Austria In 1869. 
since then they have been very generally adopt¬ 
ed; and, in many countries “reply cards” are 
issued. A “ reply card” is furnished with a flap 
which is torn off and an answer written on It, 
while the carrier watts. 
We have seen it stated that the first known 
stamp-collector was a. Belgian schoolmaster, who 
used his collection to Interest Ids pupils In geogra¬ 
phy In 1854; tout of cotorse tills point must, remain 
doubtful. For the further history of postage 
stamps, i cannot devote space hero, but would refer 
those: Interested in t his department to the standard 
authorities on the subject,. Postage is now prepaid 
by stamps in almost every part or the world ex¬ 
cept In Central Asia and the Interim of Africa; 
the Issues of China and Persia being the most im¬ 
portant recent additions to the list.. In another 
article 1 will take up the first principles of Philate¬ 
ly, and t hen explain some of the methods of mount¬ 
ing stamps and arranging them In albums. 
MAGAZINES FOR OCTOBER. 
Tun Atlantic Monthly. — Contents. — Irene 
the Missionary, XXVII. XXXI; Ah, Dawn, Delay, 
Celeste M. A. Winslow; the Venus of Milo; Gia¬ 
como Meyerbeer, William F. Apthorp; Sleep, 
Katharine Lee Bates; The House of McVicker, M. 
L. 'Thompson; Foreign Trade No Cure for Hard 
Times, W. G. M.; Uaroun al Rasclxld, Thomas S. 
Collier; Life at a Little Court, Sidney nyde; Sin¬ 
cere Demagogy; On Lynn Terrace, Thomas Bailey 
Aldrich ; Burns and Scotch Song before Him, J. c. 
Shairp; Albert Gallatin, J. T. M., Jr.; Socialism 
In Germany, Willard Brown ; Withered Roses, 
William Winter; A Day at Windsor, Richard 
Grant White; The Contributors’ Club; Recent 
Literature. 
Eton Boys.—I t was now long after noon, and I 
saw In a field an Eton game of foot-ball. It was 
played with spirit, but with less dash than 1 had 
been led to expect. At another time, however, 
there may have been more. Apart from their 
uniforms, the players could not have been distin¬ 
guished from the same number of Yankee boys, of 
like condition in life, engaged In the same sport. 
1 also met a large party of “ old boys," as they 
came up, in their uniforms, from a cricket match. 
A lalbler lot of young fellows I never saw. Not 
that tfiey were either weak looking or unhealthy ; 
but they were not at all what the writings of Eng¬ 
lish critics had led me to expect. Not one was 
robust; only one had color; and there was not a 
purling auburn fiend wnong them. I saw Eton 
boys by scores, and found them neither ruddy nor 
plump, hut, like most other boys between twelve 
and twenty, rather pale and slender. The full- 
dress Eton costume Is a ridiculous one. it Is a 
short jacket or roundabout, wltb a very broad turn¬ 
over shirt collar, and a chlmney-pot hat. The 
comblnalion Is grotesque; and it is made more so 
by the solemnity of most of the young chaps when 
they have It on. Hunger drove me and my young 
companion into a restaurant, and l shall never 
forget the looks ot a little Eton prig who entered 
as we were silting, and took a place over against 
us. He kept on his preposterous hat, gave his 
order as If It were for his own capital execution, 
and ate Ills cakes and drank his chocolate as If 
that event were to take place at the conclusion 
of Ills repast.— Bichard Grant White in October 
A ttantie. 
Socialism in- Germany.— it. has been thought 
strange that in docile Germany, where order and 
submission have been proverbial, socialism, with 
which In the ordinary mind the excesses of the 
French Revolution are most Intimately associated, 
could ever rise to the bight, of a strong party, and 
assume proportions which for solldlLy and the 
prospector continuation and growth have been 
equaled In no other country. There are two main 
causes Of this strength: first, the condition of the 
German laborer Is, on account of natural and so¬ 
cial causes, one of hardship; and, next, the Ger¬ 
man nature Is made up of feeling to a greater 
degree titan any other European character,—of 
feeling deep and solid, which, when roused In 
philanthropy or from convictions of personal In¬ 
justice, Is not turned to this side or that, by some 
slight accident, as is the. case in French character, 
but carries the philanthropist to the end in his 
plans for assistance; and the heavy, stolid, deep 
nature of the laborer keeps him consistent in his 
opposition to a condition of society which his lead- 
era tell him Is the cause of his misfortunes. The 
German laborer, then, Is discontented, and edu¬ 
cated philanthropists, in sympathy with him, 
think that in socialism they have found a cure for 
his hard condition,—a condition depending prim¬ 
arily on baclcwardnessln Industries and the poverty 
ol the German soil, which, though fertile in the 
south, Is generally hard, unyielding, and sterile. 
Any one who has traveled through the north¬ 
eastern part of Germany knows well the hard con¬ 
dition of the peasants,— knows that they are ill fed, 
hard worked, and that their hovels, many of them 
with only oue window, some lacking even one, are 
hardly fit, for the fowls which share them with the 
family. There are many huts containing only one 
room, with damp earth as a floor, and not more 
than fifteen feet square, where two families dwell; 
where sons bring their wives; where young and 
old of both sexes are thrown together; where mod¬ 
esty can furnish no barrier to vice, and fine feel¬ 
ings, 11 any could arise, are crushed by hard sur¬ 
roundings, There is a look or dejection on most 
faces, while the women especially seem utterly 
downcast. One feels that here are the descendants 
u> those who for hundreds of years have been 
underlings, in whom habits of submission aud 
obedience have been so thoroughly grounded that 
all will be borne to the last. But there Is also a 
stolid strength here, that, when once roused, 
knows no retreat.— Willard Brown, in October At¬ 
lantic. 
ScRiBNEit’s Monthly.—Contents.— The Camp of 
the carbonates: Ups and Downs In Leadvlile, 
Ernest Ingersoll. Illustrations, by Mary Iiallock 
Foote and J. Harrison Mills: Head-piece—En 
Route to Leadvlile—Leadville Lodgings—Up-hUl 
Work—The shaft House—At the Bottom of the 
Shaft—The Jig Drill—Athwart an Incline—The 
Professor In suspense—A "Good Indication”— 
“ When Droutliy Neebors Meet”—A Sidewalk 
Study—As Comfortable as circumstances will Ad¬ 
mit-Mosquito Pass from Capitol mil— Burning 
Woods—In the Woods—At the Casino, on the 
the Piping Shepherd or Fortuny, Charles de Kay; 
With au engraving of Fortuny’s "Piping Shep¬ 
herd," by T. Cole. Field Sports in Minnesota, 
Charles A. Zimmerman; Illustrations, by the 
author, or by A. B. Frost after the author; Goose- 
Decoys—The Menagerie—A Close Shot -cornered 
by a Crane—A side Shot—A “Bond” In Wet 
Weather—A Mishap—Bond(ed) Goods In Transit— 
llow Prince got his Breakfast—Kandiyohi Pass- 
Canvas Back and Red Head—A Cold Morning— 
The Bridge 8 tend—A Tight Shell—stopping an 
Incomer — Goose-Sliootlng from Stubble — Wild 
Geese—Wild Ducks. Edison’s Inventions, Ill: 
The system of Fast Telegraphy, Edwin M. Fox; 
illustrations: Portrait of Thomas A. Edison 
(drawn by Francis Lathrop; engraved by F- 
Juengltng) and seven Figures showing the work¬ 
ings of the Automatic Telegraph. Journalism as 
Exemplified by the late Mr. Bagehot. confidence. 
Chapters v and VI: Henry James. Jr. English 
Spelling and Spelling Reform, II: T. R. Louns- 
bury. Widowed; A. B. Boyle. Sleep of years; 
John Vance Cheney. “Haworth’s,” Chapters L1I- 
LIV. (Conclusion); Frances Hodgson Burnett. A 
Sailor In a Cotton Field; Jack Randolph. The 
New Year, Philip O. Sullivan; With au Illustra¬ 
tion by Maria R. Oakey, engraved by Henry 
Marsh. Brazil, V., Rio de Janeiro, Herbert II. 
Smith; Illustrations, after drawings by B. Wle- 
gandt; Kua Prlmeira de Marco—A Narrow Street- 
Fruit and Cake Seller—Charcoal Heller—Poultry 
Seller—l’p the Bay— The Sugar Loaf, from the 
South—Water-Carta of lilo—Boiafogo and the 
Corcovado—TIJuca from the Bay—The Organ 
Mountains—The Gavla—In the I’asselo Publico— 
Porters Waiting for Work—Beer Garden. Arthur 
Sullivan, Kate Field; with Portrait. Her con¬ 
quest, lrwln Russell. Annuaetata; UjalruarUjorth 
Boyesen. Dick; William ilawley Smith. The Un¬ 
known sui]); william M. Briggs. Topics of the 
'lime; The Popular Wisdom—Good Talking—A 
Reply from Mr. Kiddle. Home and Society; Par¬ 
lor Plays (Arthur Penn)—A Short Essay on Wash¬ 
ing (Mary Dean and S. B. II.)—Fall Work In the 
Rose Garden (M. S. S). Culture and Progress. The 
World’s Work. Bric-a-Brao. A Pair of Quatrains 
(A. Fools of KMogue (invfii 
Souvenirs d'Amour (Walter Carey)—Ups and 
Downs (Job Case)—Tbe Useful with the Beautiful 
(drawing by Hopkins)—A Rhyme of the Time 
(Nellie G. Cone)—Feminine (U. C. Bunuer)—The 
School-master Abroad. 
Good T a i. k krs.— The first requisite of a good talker 
isgenutne social sympathy. A man may not say, out 
of some selfish motive, or some motive of personal 
policy; " Go to! I will become a good talker.” He 
must en joy society, and have a genuine desire to 
serve and please. We have all seen the talker who 
talks for his own purposes,or talks to please himself, 
lie Is the well-known character—the. talking bore. 
The talker who gets himself up for show, who 
plans his conversations for an evening, and crams 
for them, becomes intolerable. He lectures: he 
does not converse; for there Is no power or a talker 
so delightful as that of exciting others io talk,and 
listening to what his own Inspiring and suggestive 
utterances have called forth. Genuine social 
sympat hy and a hearty desire to please others are 
necessary to produce such a talker as tills, and no 
other Is tolerable. Social sympathy Is a natural 
gift, and there Is a combination of other gifts 
which constitute what may be called esprit, that 
are very essential to a good talker. This combina¬ 
tion Includes Individuality, tact and wit—the tal¬ 
ents, aptitudes, and peculiar characteristic charm 
which enable a man to use the materials of con¬ 
versation In an engaging way, entirely his own ; 
for every good talker has his own way ot saying 
good things, as well as of managing conversation 
based on Ids esprit. 
Yet It, Is true that, there are no good talkers who 
depend upon their natural gifts and such material 
as they get in the usual Interchanges of society. 
For the materials of conversation we must draw 
upon knowledge. No man can be a thoroughly 
good talker who docs not know a great deal. Social 
sympathy and " the girt, of gab ” go but a short 
way toward producing good conversation, though 
we hear a great deal of this kind of talk among 
the young. Hound and exact knowledge Is the very 
basts of good conversation. To know a great many 
things well is to have In hand the best aud most 
reliable materials of good conversation. There Is 
nothing like abundance aud exactness of knowl¬ 
edge wit h which to furnish a talker. Next to this, 
perhaps, is familiarity with polite literature. The 
raculty of quoting from the best authors is a very 
desirable one. Facts are valuable, and thoughts 
perhaps arc quite as valuable, especially as they 
are more stimulating to the conversation of a 
group. The talker who deals alone in tacts is quite 
likely to have the talk all to himself, while the man 
who is tamlliar with thoughts and ideas, as he has 
found them embodied lu literature, becomes a 
stimulator of thought and conversation in those 
around him. Familiarity with knowledge and with 
tlie products of literary art cannot be too much In¬ 
sisted on as the furniture of good conversation. 
Beyond tills, the good talker must be familiar 
wltb the. current thought and events of his time. 
There should be no movement in politics, religion 
and society that the good talker Is not familiar 
with. Indeed,the man who undertakes to talk at all 
must know what Is uppermost in men's minds, and 
be able to add to the general fund of thought and 
knowledge, and respond to the popular Inquiry 
and the popular disposition for discussion. The 
man who undertakes to toe a good talker should 
never toe caught napping, concerning any current 
topic of Immediate public interest. 
How to carry and convey superiority of knowl¬ 
edge and culture without appearing to be pedantic 
how to talk out of abundant stores of Information 
and familiarity with opinion without seeming to 
preach, as Coleridge was accused of doing.belongs, 
with the ability to talk well, to *• the art of conver¬ 
sation.” It, has seemed to us that If young people 
could only see how shallow and silly very much 
of their talk Is, and must necessarily be, so long as 
they lack the materials of conversation,they would 
take more pains with their study, would devote 
themselves more to the best books, and that, at 
least, they would acquire and maintain more 
familiarity with Important current events. To 
know something Is the best cure for neighborhood 
gossip, for talk about dress, and lor tea thousand 
frivolities and sillinesses ol society. Besides, a 
good talker needs an audience to understand and 
respond lo him, and where Is he to find one If there 
tsnotabundaut culture around film ?— Dr. Holland, 
in Scribner for October. 
St. Nicholas.— The October number of St. Nich¬ 
olas closes the sixth volume ol the magazine with 
an array ol features hard to match in interest for 
tlie little folks. 
Louisa M. AIcott. contributes the opening story 
entitled Jimmy’s Cruise In the Pinafore, a charm¬ 
ing narrative* illustrated with fine portraits of 
characters In the Children’s Pinafore, which will 
delight every boy and girl who has heard the fam¬ 
ous operetta. 
The Elevated Railroads of New York are de¬ 
scribed In a long article by Charles Barnard, and 
w it h It are given eight, admirable pictures of vari¬ 
ous views along the lines of the three New York 
Hoads. The text and Illustrations also show how 
the roads were constructed, and together rurnlsh 
a capital and entertaining account of those won¬ 
derful Railroads In the Air. 
Noah’s Ark Ashore,la the t itle of another descrip¬ 
tive article which will be eagerly read by every 
boy aud girl, it is a well-told narrative or a visit 
to a queer Ark on tlie Amazon river which a kind- 
hearted native had turned Into a sort of asylum 
for beasts and birds of various kinds. The story 
of this novel institution is very interesting indeed, 
and tho Illustrations are really superb. No finer 
pictures of animals have been printed of late years 
than the eight beautiful drawings which accom¬ 
pany this article. 
Besides these, there is a timely little paper tell¬ 
ing all about the strange doings and mysteries of 
Halloween, and illustrated with a lovely frontis¬ 
piece ; while a very Curious Monastery is shown In 
a full-page picture, and a fascinating School n (fie 
