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estate. A monument was erected there to his memory in 1843, and a statue of him at Innsbruck in 1877. See Minnesinger and Literature (German.)
Walton (wa̤l′tŭn), Izaak, a famous English author and "The Father of Angling," was born at Stafford, England, Aug. 9, 1593, and died at Winchester, England, Dec. 15, 1683. He was engaged in trade in London, as a linen-draper, between the years 1624 and 1644, and made a competence, upon which he retired and devoted himself to literary pursuits, and to angling, of which he became a renowned exponent. Besides his quaint and fascinating treatise on the rod—The Complete Angler or the Contemplative Man's Recreation (1653), he wrote a series of sketches of English divines, embraced in what is known, in their collective character, as Walton's Lives. These sketches dealt with Dr. John Donne, Richard Hooker ("the judicious Hooker"), George Herbert the poet and divine, Bishop Robert Sanderson and Sir Henry Wotten, the English diplomatist and author. Walton's Lives have deservedly found a place in the best literature and are sure of a long immortality. Considering the stormy era in which he lived, that of the great English Revolution (1642-60), waged by the Parliamentary army against Charles I and on to the Restoration, it is curious to note the serenity of mind and life of Master Izaak Walton.
Wampum (wŏm′pŭm), the name of Indian money, consisting of strings of shells and shell-beads, which were worn as ornaments. They were used mostly by the Algonquins, and were made on Long Island and around New York. The white wampum, called wampumpeag, was made from the conch-shell and the black or purple wampum or suckanhock from the hard-shell clam. The black was worth twice as much as the white. The beads were made by breaking the shells, rubbing the pieces smooth on a stone, and drilling holes in them so they could be strung. The French, Dutch and New England settlers made use of them, from four to six beads being worth a penny. A string was called a fathom, and was worth from five to ten shillings. A string of wampum was given with every article of a treaty, and a belt of wampum to bind the whole transaction. The belts were embroidered with colored beads, which formed a record of the event.
Wan′amaker, John, an American merchant, postmaster-general of the United States during 1889-93, and man of affairs, was born at Philadelphia, Pa., July 11, 1838, and was educated in the public schools of that city. In 1861, after removing for a time to Indiana, he set up in business for himself in his native city; and in 1876, after turning his establishment into a colossal department-store, with a separate house in New York City, he became the head of the firm—one of the largest concerns in the United States. In the conduct of these establishments he introduced the profit-sharing system among his employés, to their great pecuniary advantage; while his philanthropies manifested themselves in other directions, especially in the founding of Bethany Presbyterian Church and its organizations at Philadelphia and in presiding over the Young Men's Christian Association in that city. He also showed his great organizating and executive ability in the office of postmaster-general of the United States, to which he was appointed in 1889 by President Benjamin Harrison. During the Civil War he was one of the founders of the Christian Commission.
Wan′dering Jew, the name given to the hero of a popular legend. In one story he belonged to the tribe of Naphtali and went with the three wise men from the east to Bethlehem and his stories of the adoration of the infant were the cause of Herod's slaying the children of that region. As a carpenter, he was making the cross for Christ, when He passed on His way to Calvary, and refused Him rest. Christ bade him wander through the earth, without rest, till His second coming, which he has done ever since, seeking death in vain—so runs the legend. In another form of the story, he was a shoemaker at his bench, whereon he refused the Saviour permission to rest. The legend appeared first in the Chronicle of Matthew of Paris, and many poems and novels have been based on it, notably The Wandering Jew by Eugene Sue. It has also been the subject of illustrations, among the finest being those by Gustave Doré.
Wap′iti, a member of the stag, elk or deer family often but erroneously called the American Elk. It is now met with only in the far west, among the foot hills of the Rockies, and across the western boundary of the Canadian Dominion, where it has received its latinized name, Cervus Canadensis. It is a large animal, akin to the red deer of Europe, though standing higher, and with broad, spreading antlers, and frequently weighing 1,000 pounds. Formerly it largely furnished the Indians with food, together with ample hides for their lodge-tents, besides buckskin clothing. It is a grazer rather than a browser.
War′bler, the name for any one of a family of small, abundant birds. There are two distinct families, the Old-World and the New-World warblers. The latter are the ones especially referred to here. There are about 100 species, all American. Many of them are less than five inches long, and nearly all are less than six and one half inches. They show great variation in colors and are difficult to identify. About 35 species regularly visit the northeastern
