Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/331

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WALTON 283 WAMPUM the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, and Latin Vul- gate, with various readings, notes, etc.; still thought to be "the most complete Biblical apparatus in any language." He wrote in 1658 his "Dissertation on the Antiquity and Authority of His Texts," in later editions called the "Pro- legomena," under which name it was published in the original Latin (2 vols. 1827-1828). "The Considerator Con- sidered," etc. (1659), was written in answer to Dr. John Owen's "Vindica- tion of the Purity and Integrity of the Hebrew and Greek Texts," etc., which was a criticism on his great Biblical work. He died in London, Nov. 29, 1661. WALTON, GEORGE, an American patriot; bom in Frederick co., Va., in 1740; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1774; began practice the same year in Augusta, Ga. On July 27, 1774, with three others he called a pub- lic meeting in Savannah to consider cer- tain public grievances, and was made a member of the committee to urge the various parishes to join the other prov- inces in resisting the arbitrary claims of Great Britain; was also on the com- mittee which drew up a petition to the king. In 1776 he was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and was a delegate to the Continental Con- gress from that year till October, 1781; was elected governor of Georgia in 1779 and 1789; was chief -justice of the State in 1783, 1787, and 1793; and United States Senator in 1795-1796. He died in Augusta, Ga., Feb. 2, 1804. WALTON, IZAAZ, an English author, known as the father of angling; born in Stafford, England, Aug. 9, 1593. About 1623 he was carrying on business on his own account as a sempster or man mil- liner in London, and having by 1643 acquired a competency, he retired to the quiet enjoyment of country life. His first wife, Rachel Floud, great grand- niece of Archbishop Cranmer, having died in 1640, he married about seven years later Ann Ken, whose brother, at that time a mere boy, afterward became the famous bishop. In London Walton had became intimate with Dr. Donne, Dr. Wharton, and Sir Henry Wotton, and in his later years he enjoyed the hospitality of many eminent clergymen of the Church of England. Walton's fame is mainly based on his "Compleat Angler; or the Contemplative Man's Companion," which was first published in 1653 and appeared in a considerably modified form in 1655. Few more popu- lar books exist, and the editions are consequently numerous. Walton's nat- ural history is frequently of the crud- est and most credulous kind; his prac- tical precepts are open to correction at the hands of the modern proficient; he possesses only a partial mastery over the difficult literary form (that of the dialogiie) in which his work is cast; his style is remarkable neither for rugged strength nor polished precision; but he succeeded in catching the spirit both of the gentle craft and the pleasant Eng- lish scenery in which he had learned its delights. On the publication of Dr. Donne's "Sermons" Walton supplied a "Life" of the author, and he afterward wrote similar lives of Wotton, Hooker (1665), Herbert (1670), and Sanderson (1678). A monument to Walton was placed in St. Mary's Church, Stafford (the church of his baptism), in 1878. He died in Winchester, England, Dec. 15, 1683. WALTZ, a dance said to have orig- inated in Bohemia, now of almost uni- versal adoption. It is performed by couples, who, almost embracing each other, swing round the room with a whirling motion. Also, the music com- posed for such a dance. The time is of triple measure in crotchets (quarter notis) or quavers (eight notes), and consists of 8 or 16 bar phrases. Modern waltz-writers frequently add to their original dance-form an introduction and coda. The "Vienna" waltz is character- ized by a rapid movement and strict un- broken time. Landler are slower and more dignified than the waltz. "Class- ical waltzes" are compositions in waltz form intended for set pieces, not for dance tunes. In them greater scope is given to the composer and performer than is compatible with the rhythm of the dance. WAMPUM, the American Indian name for beads made of shells, formerly used as money, or as a medium of com- merce. They were also united to form a broad belt, which was woini as an ornament, and was called wampum- paque, or wampeaque. The manufacture of wampum is carried on among the Germans living in the hills of Bergen CO., N. J. The interior of a wampum workshop resembles a limekiln. The floors are hidden from sight by great heaps of shells, and the rude benches and tools are covered entirely with white-flying dust as the shells are being ground and drilled, and suggests the application of innumerable coats of whitewash, which in fact it really is. The wampum makers purchase a cartload of conch and clam shells for 25 cents, delivered at their doors, and when a shell of sufficient thickness is selected it is broken with hammer and