Stump the German

[L Verge]

(01-16-2014 10:54 AM)Gene C Wrote:  I'm stuck.
I can't even figure out what AFAIK is
As Far As I Know it stands for American Federation of Alternative Information (Klassified)

I have no idea as to the answer to this, but AFAIK is short-talk for "as far as I know." Being exposed to three texting nerds at work, a hip daughter, and a know-it-all grandson, I am learning the finer and more important things in life - like how to express yourself without writing whole words or sentences.

[Gene C]

Lauri

YMMSDH - You Missed My Self Deprecating Humor

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks for your reply, Gene! I was about withdrawing the question because I thought no one was interested in guessing. (FYI AFAIK is AFAIK As Far As I Know - LOL - but alternative information might be helpful, too, so cheating allowed.)

Ok, the second one is definitely a hard one, but the first one is well-known.

Hint #3:
1.) During his career, the first one also served as a Senator from Missouri and as a US ambassador.

2.) The second one was offered a Major General's commission in the U.S. Army by W. Seward in 1861 because of his experiences in guerilla warfare in South America and Europe.

[Gene C]

#1 is Carl Schurz

[Wild Bill]

The other is Garibaldi

[Eva Elisabeth]

1.) WD (well done), Gene!

2.) Meraviglioso, Wild Bill!

Especially as I have to admit a severe mistake (and I'm convinced everyone would have nailed the question had I asked correctly). It was not Guiseppe Garibaldi's son, but his grandson, born to his daughter Teresa on March 10, 1865, who was christened Lincoln. I sincerely apologize!

Nevertheless the choice of the name was widely celebrated in his political camp and circles, and Garibaldi commented: "The name of Lincoln, like that of Christ, marks the beginning of a glorious age in history of Humanity and with pride I wish to perpetuate within my family, that name of the great Emancipator" (to George Perkins Marsh, US Minister Plenipotentiary in Turin, on March 20, 1865).

Garibaldi had refused Seward's offer because at the time he was leading an expedition toward Rome as part of the Italian Risorgimento. He was quite popular in the US. E.g for the "New York Times", his liberation of Sicily and Naples in 1860 "carried Americans back to the days of their own struggle for independence, and revivewed in the person of the patriotic general, their own heroic Washington". Garibaldi also received material help from America. In 1859, fundraising committees raised $100,000 and a hundered of cavalry carbines for his Sicilian campaign. A New York infantry regiment, the 39th, was named the “Garibaldi Guard” in his honor. The US was also the first government to recognize the Kingdom of Italy in April 1860.

Actually I got the idea for this question when reading this:
http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...-1391.html

[Eva Elisabeth]

Once at a restaurant, Lincoln asked the waiter to translate the French menu. Even in English, the names of the dishes were unfamiliar to him; finally, when the waiter mentioned (?), “Lincoln’s face brightened and he made a quick gesture. ‘Hold on there, bring me ...(?). I know (?).’”

What (?) did Abraham Lincoln order that day?

[RJNorton]

Tea?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Excellent guess, Roger, but it was something to eat.

[Gene C]

Duck?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Another good guess, Gene, mais pas de canard. He ordered no poultry either.

[Wild Bill]

Beef Wellington

[Eva Elisabeth]

Very smart guess as well, but on that day Lincoln ordered a vegetarian dish. BTW, it was on Monday, February 27, 1860, the day of the Copper Union Speech.

---

The original source is an undated reminiscence of Mrs. Theodore Gowdy (nèe Mary Brayman), daughter of Mason Brayman, in the Ida M. Tarbell Papers, but my source is a book by Michael Burlingame.

[RJNorton]

(01-26-2014 12:50 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  but my source is a book by Michael Burlingame.

Eva, I found this in Abraham Lincoln: A Life by Burlingame:

"Hold on there, bring me some of those - some beans. I know beans."

[Gene C]

Never eat beans if your going to have to give a long speech.