WORDSWORTH
2ZZO
WORTH OF COINS
recognition of Coleridge and the friendship of Calvert, who at his death in 1794 bequeathed $4,500 to the poet, that he might carry out his desire to devote himself to poetry. He settled (1797) with Dorothy, nis sister and lifelong companion, at Alfox-den in Somerset, to be near Coleridge. Lyrical Ballads was the joint production of the two poets, but brought Wordsworth no nearer to public recognition. Sure of himself, he continued his work, publishing several volumes that were the laughingstock of some critics; the works of Southey and Coleridge, forming with Wordsworth the Lake School, as it was called, coming in for their share of ridicule. Wordsworth's home was now (1813-50) at Rydal Mount, in the Lake District of England. A claim of the family against Lord Lonsdale was paid, and a county-office with a small salary was secured 'for the poet, so that he was able to marry and give himself wholly to his literary work. Gradually a select circle of admirers, Leigh Hunt, De Quincey, Wilson and others, made the poet appreciated, and when his Excursion appeared (1814), his genius was acknowledged. From that time it grew, until he ranked as the first poet of his day. He received a pension of $1,500 in 1842, and in 1843 became poet-laureate. The Excursion and The White Doe of Rylstone are his only long poems- His shorter pieces, as Intimations of Immortality, The Skylark and The Daisy, with his sonnets, are the most popular poems. Some of his early poems, as
The Idiot Boy and Alice Fell, still provoke a smile and in some degree justify the ridicule of critics. Wordsworth died on April 23, 1850. He was a prophet of nature and a revealer of the grandeur of simple human nature, and he stands fourth or fifth among the great poets of England. Consult Dow-den's edition (1892) of his poems or Knight's (1896), his prose also having been edited by Knight. Myers' Wordsworth in The English Men of Letters Series is the best life for the student. The essays of Matthew Arnold, Stopford Brooke, Russell Lowell and Principal Shairp are great helps to understanding Wordsworth. So are Studies in Wordsworth by Hudson.
World's Fairs. See EXPOSITIONS.
Worms (vdrms), a town in Hesse-Darmstadt, on the Rhine. It is one of the oldest cities in Germany and is the scene of the Nibelungenlied. Held by the Romans, destroyed by Attila, rebuilt by Clovis, the residence often of Charlemagne and his successors, it was made a free imperial city by Emperor Henry V. Many German diets (national assemblies) were held here, the most famous being the one when Luther defended his work as a reformer before Charles V. During the middle ages it was a large city with extensive trade, but was almost destroyed by the French in 1689. Among its ancient buildings is the cathedral founded in the 8th century. Tobacco, leather and wine are the principal manufactures. Population 43,841.
Worms. See VERMES.
Worth of Foreign Coins in American Money. (It is impossible to obtain absolute accuracy. It also should be remembered that the constant fall in the price of silver lessens the value of silver coins. The values are approximate). NAME METAL COUNTRY VALUE
Anna...................[Money of account].................India. . . . v ,.......- .,.<,............2$?
Argenteus...............Silver.............................Rome (ancient).................., 25^
Argentine................Gold..............................Argentine Republic................$4, 85
As......................Copper........................... .Rome (ancient)...............ic to 12%^
Aureus..................Gold...............................Rome (ancient)................... .$4.50
Bolivar..................Silver.............................Venezuela.......................,. 19V
Boliviano...............Silver.............................Bolivia................,...........970
Cash...............=..... Copper...........................'. China. .........................„... &0
Centavo.................Copper and nickel..................Mexico..............................i0
Centesimo...............[Money of account]..................Argentina........................... i^
Centesimo...............Copper............................Italy.........................„......\$
Centesimo...............[Money of account]................, Spain...............................\i
Centime.................Copper............................Prance..............................tjs
Condor..................Gold...............................Chile........................... .$4.56
Condor..................Gold.............................Ecuador.........................$4.87
Conto...................[Money of account]..................Portugal.. .$1,078.. .and Brazil.. .$546.00
Crbre...................[Money of account].................India..................... .$320,000,000
Crown...................Silver.............................Austria..........................1 g%0
Crown.................. .Silver.............................England. ........................$1.21
Crown...................Gold..............................Portugal........................$10.78
Cuarto..................Copper............................Spain.............................. .f^
Daric................... Gold.............................. Persia (ancient)...........*.......$5.5 2
Decima..................Copper............................Spain....................,..........5^
Decime..................Copper..................... ...... France............,.................20
Decimo..................Silver.............................Chile...............................9!^
"Decimo..................Silver.............................Colombia..........................9}^
Decimo..................Silver.............................Spain......,.......................,. 9^
Denarius................Silver or copper....................Rome (ancient)..................„.. 17^
Dinar...................Silver or copper....................Servia........................... 19!^
Dinero..................Silver or copper.................... Peru....................,.........9 ^
Drachma................Silver.............................Greece............................19!^
Drachma................Silver.............................Greece (ancient)..............17^ to 9^
Dubbelt je................Copper............................Holland.............................4^
Ducat...................Goia........ ......,..............Austria..........................$2.26
Eikosadrachm...........Gold...............................Greece............................$3.80
Eikosipentarion.......... Silver............................. Greece............................. 05^
