Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/318

* "WALKER. 262 WALKING-STICK. spiracy and shot. Walker was then in complete control of Nicaragua, of which, after a short and successful war with Costa Rica, he had himself proclaimed President. WalUer's rule very soon became arbitrary, however, and provoked an in- surrection, which resulted in his expulsion from Granada. To save himself he surrendered May 1, 1857, to Commander C. H. Davis of the United States sloop Saint Mary's, by whom he was con- veyed to New Orleans, where he was put under bonds to keep the peace. In November of the same year he was again in Nicaragua «th a strong force of Americans and natives behind liim, but was soon again driven from the country. Late in 1858 he started with a force of adventur- ers for Honduras, but a shipwreck caused him to abandon the expedition for the time being. In June, 18G0, he made a second attempt, landed at Ruatan on August loth, and captured Truxillo (Trujillo), but was compelled to flee, and sub- sequently surrendered himself to the captain of the British sloop-of-war Icarus, by whom he was handed over to the Honduran Government. He. was condemned by court-martial at Truxillo and shot there on September 22, 18G0. He wrote The War in ^Ucaragua {18G0). Consult also: Wells, Walker's Expedition to Nicararjua (185fi); and Doubleday. Reminiscences of the Fililuster War in Nicaragua (1886). WALKER, WiLi,i.M SiDNET (1795-18-10). A Shakespearean critic, born at Pembroke. South Wales. He graduated at Trinity College, Cam- bridge, in 1819, and became a fellow in Trinity in 1820^ but he resigned his fellowship in 1829. During his later years he was at times insane, and was dependent upon his friends for support. He published numerous poems and other literary productions, but his great work consisted in his critical study of Shakespeare's plays. Part of the results of this study were published posthu- mously under title of Shalceapcare's Versifi- cation, and Its Apparent Irrefjularities Explninid by Examples from Early and Late English Writers (1854; .3d ed. 1859). There followed A Critical Examination of the Text of Shake- speare, with Remarks on Eis Language and That of His Contemporaries, Together u-ith Sotes on His Plays and Poems (3 vols., 18(10). The works are poorly arranged, but they have nevertheless been invaluable to later commentators on Shake- speare. WALKER, WiLi.iSTOX (ISfiO— ). An Ameri- can tcaclicr and writer on Church history, born in Portland, Maine. He graduatcil at. iherst in 1883, and at the Hartford Theological Semi- nary in 1886; then studied in Germany and in 1888 took the degree of Ph.D. at Leipzig; and was professor of Church history at the Hnrlford Theological Seminary from 1889 to 1901, when he accepted a similar chair at Yale University. His publications include: On the Increase of Royal Poir.er Under Philip Augustus (1888); The Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism (1893): .-I History of the Congregational Churches in the United States (1894); The Reformation (1900); and Ten New England Leadrrs (1901). WALKING FERN. A small evergreen fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllns) which grows in tufts and whose heart shaped and very tapering fronds often take root at tlio apex and tluis form new plants, hence the popular name. It is a native of eastern North America but is rather rare. See Plate of Fee.xs. WALKING FISH. One of the curious eel- like fishes of the 'snake-head' family (Ophioce- phalidaO, numerously represented in the fresh waters of the East Indies and China; in the lat- ter country they are called by a name equivalent to 'living fishes,' because, according to .Sir .John Richardson, they are, or were, "carried about in tubs and sold in pieces cut from the fish when alive." They are elongated, reaching in some cases a length of four feet, and have a snake- like head covered with shield-like scales. Their respiratory apparatus is double, as it is neces- sary for them to be able to breathe air direct, and their habit of occasionally going out upon land has given them the name 'walking fish' in India. They are common in tanks and ponds, where they lie at the margin with the head out of water. They breed twice a year, preparing a nest for the eggs, which the. male guards, and survive droughts by burying themselves in the mud. Con- .sult Day,' Fauna of India: Fishes (London, 1889). WALKING-STICK. An insect of the or- thopterous family Phasmidfc, especially one of those forms destitute of wings, in which the body is long, slender, and cylindrical like a small stick, the legs being slender and delicate, and resem- bling little twigs. Some of the walking-sticks proper, which are more abundant in the tropics than elsewhere, reach a length of nine inches or more. From their resemblance to the twigs and leaves of various plants, the terms walking leaf and leaf-insect (q.v.) are often applied to them. Some of the slenderer species look like stems of grass; others resemble pieces of bark covered with lichens, while others appear mossy. Protec- tive resemblance, in fact, is carried to an extreme in this group, the legs and antennse, and even A WALKING-STICK INSECT. the attitudes assumed by the insects, enhancing the resemblance to vegetable structures. The ecgs are frequently strangely sciilptured and resendile the seeds of various plants, each being surrounded by a capsule. They are dropped loosely on the ground, where they remain during winter. The adults are very voracious, and are plant-feeders throughout their entire growth. A North .merican species (Diaphcromera fcmo- rata) feeds on the leaves of several tree.s, but more especially upon walnuts, and when occur- ring numerously may cause excessive defoliation. If a leg be cut off beyond the fenuir and tro- chanter joint, the parts remaining outside the joint are dropped before the next molt and are afterwards renewed either as a strai,i;ht, short stump or as a miniature leg rescml>1ing the nor- mal one except in size and in the alisence of one tarsal joint. . leg cut olf nearer tlie body is not replaced. Phasmid:!; have been found in the fos-