Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Jane Arnold seeks a short story, possibly from the 1960s, about a judge known for mercilessness who goes fishing on his day off without his toupee, teeth, or ID, and is picked up for vagrancy. His cellmate tells him about the horrible judge they’ll face the next day (himself, of course), and they break out of jail. The next time he is faced with a case, he tempers the law with mercy. Star asters are important in the story, and may appear in the title.

“Menasseh ben Israel” (November-December 2018). On clothing made from stone in China, Vincent Daly wrote that Marco Polodescribes an asbestos mine in “Ghinghin talas” province “from which the cloth which we call of salamander, which cannot be burnt if it is thrown into the fire, is made…” (A.C. Moule and Paul Pelliot, Marco Polo: The Description of the World, 1938, page 156). On swollen thighs in Cochin, India, Bernard Witlieb wrote that elephantiasis was widely prevalent there and often referred to as “Cochin leg.”

Send inquiries and answers to Chapter and Verse, Harvard Magazine, 7 Ware Street, Cambridge 02138, or via email to chapterandverse@harvardmag.com.

You might also like

Boston Ballet’s Ming Min Hui on Changing Audiences and Timothée Chalamet

The outgoing executive director and Harvard Business School graduate went from dancing The Nutcracker to growing a ballet company.

Padimut at Harvard

A rare Egyptian mummy case is on display at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East.

Two Scientists Bring the Laboratory to the Stage

The play Spare Parts is a contemporary fable about the quest to live forever.

Most popular

How Philosophy at Harvard Saved Itself

As humanities shrink across higher education, one department is flourishing. Is its success a fluke, or a roadmap?

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Martin Nowak Placed on Leave a Second Time

Further links to Jeffrey Epstein surface in newly released files.

Explore More From Current Issue

Colorful icons representing sleep, fruit, speech, and a mind with a water lily.

Check back soon to take our survey! 

A woman jogs on a path beside a boy riding a bicycle, surrounded by trees.

Why Harvard Medical School is training physicians to think more like coaches

A smiling man in a brown plaid suit stands outdoors with greenery in the background.

The professor and former Harvard College dean is the next president of Harvard Magazine’s Board of Directors