davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15
Kaintuck and the Fiddler

On board the steamer Indiana, in one of
her trips down the Mississippi, were a large
number of good-natured passengers. They
were seeking to while away the hours accor-
ding to their several notions of pleasure, and
would have got on very we'll but for one an
noyance. There happened to be on board. a
Hoosicr from the Wabash. who was going
down to Orleans and he had provided
himself with an old violin, fancying that he
could fiddle as we'll as the best man, and
planting himself where he would attract
notice, scraped away. The fellow couldn't
fiddle any more than setting hen. and the
horrible noise disturbed his fellow passengers
excessively. \ Frenchman, of very delicate
nerves, and Il very fine musical car. was es-
pccially annoyed, lie huttcred, fidgetcd and
sworo it the 'sacre" fiddle. The passengers
tried various cypedicnts, to rid themselves
Of the lIoosicr and his fiddle. it was no 90
"he would music just as long as he d-d
pleased. At last, big kcntuckian sprang
from his seat, saving, 81 reckon Ill fix him."
Placed himself near the amateur fiddler, and
commenced hrayins with all his might. The
effect of the move was beyond dcScription.-
odd kcntuck" braycd so loud that he
drowned the scrccchirS of the fiddle and
the discomiittcd iIoosicr rctrcatcd below. leay-
ing the victory Of the unequal contest with
the kcntuckim and his singular and im-
prompt" imitation Of Baaam> friend. The
delight of the Frcnchman knew no bounds:
quiet WAS restored for the day. During the
night the kentuckian left the boat. The
next morning. after breakfast, the passengers
were startled by the di>corlan. sound ofthcir
old tormcntor IIoo>irr had discovered that
the coast was clear. and was bound to re-
vcnge himself on the passengers Loud. and
worse than ever screamed the fiddle. The
Frcnchman. just seated to read his paper.
on the first sound rose. looked a:.x;ou>l,
around. Shrugged his shoulders and then
shouted Ware is he. ware is he Quccck
-quocck. Non Uip! Ware is .Nonxi0t,.
kcntuck. de man rot pI'W on dc .iorl.1@%."
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15
General Harvey.

From the Leavcnworh Correspondence Of the Tribune
In personal appearance. General Harvey is
impressive. lie is considerably over six feet
tall, and is largc-honed and muscular. His
hair was red, but is now thickl, mixed with
white. He wears it Shor:. and begins to be
bald on the crown of his head. His NOUS
tachcs and beard are nearly white, and arc
also thick and Clipped short. His eyes arc
blue, and dull. for he uses spectaclcs. In
Younger years, he must have been model of
physical vigor and strength, but he now looks
older than he really is, for his age, believe,
does not exceed fiftv-tivc. While in st. Louis,
l heard an anccdotc Illustrative Of his char
acter, which have never seen in print. Be
ing in New York many years ago, he passed
d store in one Of the principal streets in which
an auctioLcer was soliciting bids for an en-
craving of General Jackson. Both the seller
and the crowd were no political friends of the
subject of the picture, and wer" ridiculiug it
in every possible manner. How much am
offered for the Hero of New Orlcans?" cried
the man on the stand. "Only half a cent !?
Why, he's worth cent surely. after rcbbins
the Bank Make it a cent, won't YOU. ger
tleMcn. NOW. tnen. now MUCH am O1!er-
cd?' "Onc hundred dollars" said voice
cmphaticallv, as Col. IIarncv entered the
door: lone hundred dollars. SIR he repeat
cd. making his way through the crowd. half
a head taller than an. other man in the room.
The auctioncer, naturally as;onished, inqrir
ed if the gentleman was in earnest. and start
cd again on his witticism>. Sir, I'M in
earnest. and claim my bid" interrupted the
colonel. land if no one bids more. claim the
picture" No enc bidding more. he handed
the auc.ioncer the money and his address.
:" And now. >ir." he remarked. scizing him bv
the collar. and dragging him to the floor. Il
claim the privilege Of applying the ba~tinado
to your body for damnablc impertincnce.
And having cancd him to his satisfaction. no
one III the crowd venturin@ to interfere. he
strobe out of the store and continued MS
walk down the street. Anaiyzc the quality
nt character necessary 10 Il man to be the act
or i'll such i scene. and think YOU will dis
cover III" traits which military men consider
to fit Gen. lIarncy emincntly the leader o.:
his Utah expedition
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15
a Politician on the Bible.

The Riddctord (Mc.) .IouynaI tells good
story Of the>lion. Nathan Clifford. cx-A;tor-
ncyGrncral of the United States. ox-M!,.;>-
ter to Mexico. &c. and now Mr.. buchanan,
dispenser of the National patronage for and
within the State Of Name Ii Will he recol-
lcccd that Mr.. Clifford WIS counsel for Knight
whose trial for murder AT Lewiston. last win
Ter. excited considerable attention; bat i;
may not be generally known that as an advo-
cate i; is doubtful whether rrolixi,v or pom
po>ity is his strong poin, Bu, in the cas-.
alluded to. VIXEN he WAS about III the middle
of hi> wide waste OF argument. in order
% clynch a very improbable hypothesis of his
invention. he remarked. with portcntous So
lcmni.v and great emphasis, {" Secret things
belong to God.
AT rhis point. tsavs the Journal.) the learn
cd counsel laid down brief. took off hi spec
taclcs. and thn:>tinS his hands deep into his
pockets. observed to the court. that he was
indebted to his honor Judge Rice for this
thought. who. at the trial. reminded him that
it was the language of Hon. Pcleg Sprasue.
III concluding his argument for Saser
deeply impressed with its forcible Ian
suage. as well a, with the originality of the
.dca. he. tNr. Clittord> suspected that it must
have been borrowed by Mr.. Spraguc. and
now. having devoted some time to the inves-
,i-ation. he was happy to state TO the honor
able court that he had traced the quotation to
is source. BY diligently searching the au-
thoritics. he had ascer;aincd that the language
was first used by My Lord Hale. in his pleas
of the crown. referring the court to the yol-
ume ard page.
This WAS too much for the County !Attor-
ney. Mr.. Goddard. one of the opposing coun-
sci. who ntcrposed. oh. Mr.. Clifford. that
is in the Bible. You will find it in Deu:cr-
onomv. chapter 90. verse 90 Taken una
wares at this unexpected correction. Mr. Clif-
ford turned to Mr.. c. and said. Young man.
YOU are getting very nervous. do not want
to he interrupted in this way
% The gravity of the court relaxed for a
moment. at this unexpected view of the case.
and 1t was some moments before the learned
counsel resumed the thread of his argument.
50 ncontinentlv broken bv the untimelv
correction of Mr.. Goddard"
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15
AgrirulturaI.

CoRS CUITI'RE-Thc excessive moisture
during the months of May and June, toSctls-
cr with the lack of warmth usual at tbs peri
od of the year. has retarded the growth ofthc
corn crop. and therefore. !,w words upon
its culture, applications for "hurrying up" and
the various means that can be called into op-
Grafton to assist nature and insure the full
development Of this cereal, are still timely.
and. We hope, viii prove of value to those
intcrestcd-thc growers thereof.
MUiny although bearing the patent of an
tiauitv. is falling into strange disrcspcct-a
great number of our agricutursts perform
this labor-and between those who have
abandoned the method and those who
still cling to ancient forms there is a strife of
words The diSputaton is assuming an i'm
portancc that earns for it the title of Ma
iona,' and we should not be surprised to see
a pimk hereafter inserted in political plat
rorms-to HILL or not to hill. becoming the
test question. Would that majority of those
now forming the basis of political parties had
onc-half the virtue of this we should then
hear less concerning {" unscawOrthlncss. and
less frequently would arise the necessity of
casting overheard some exploded idea
of throwing aside a certain portion that has,
unfortunately. been deprived of its avaia-
bility."
There is bu, little doubt that. if hlling is
beneficial there has often been in the con-
structyc process too much Of a good thing
and here. We are inclined to think. is to be
found one cause Of failure The peculiar ben
ctits attributed to hilng.arc not derived from
the elevation of greater or less quantity OF
earth around the stalk. but from the man.
ner in which it IS done. and the looscning the
soil receives. II the soil is cast up at all. it
should be in such a way, that descending
moisture will be carried to, not from the
roots.-instead of acting as a watershed.
keeping dampnc>> from the crop, it should
be a basin. receiving and guaranteeing sup
ply equal to the area it occupies. Our sum-
mcr rains are generally short, rapid falling
showers. and these cones destroy. or operate
directly antagonistic to- what the growing
crop requires.
One means by which man may aid nature in
periectms the growth Of any crop, is by keep
ing the land free from weeds. and in none is
the good effects Of clean culture more pcrcep
tible than in that which now occupies our at
tention. These appropriate to themselves
the nutriment which would otherwise be ia
ken up and adapted to the waste of the corn.
detracting from its strength and depriying it
Of that which IS necessary to its support. The
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15
The Snow Of Age.

.\o ,,,w f,u, l;,L..r ,',, .l,, o,,,,,. ,.
arc: but none heavier tor !, never mrI,s"
The tjrurc is bv no means novel; but ,hc
c,oxinr ,,,r, of tho ,o,,orc, :. r.r Will -,
..,,,,,,.;. ,iho ..r;,,,,,r,, ,,..,,. ,..
tbc ,ln,rd ,ro. ub;c, l,ar. ,l,..,,,,. -.
vhiic "Tbr almond trcc .h,I1 ior,;.b
tho Lc,d shall y, }o,rv n;cl.,,. .,,.. ,.r ,,,,.
of ". cbor,c.or. vbo.o bo;r ,.,., t,,r,;,,.
rrcv tbat il looked ,> f ,;mc h9l l;rb,I,
.,,.,,.,,, il. ,..>..... ..,r,, !, ~ ,,,>>,.,..
1T never mclt>. $40 never. Ace is in
cxorahc: its wheels must move onward =:
they know not any rctrogradc movement.
The old man NAV sit and sing. Il would |
were a boy again" but he crows older rs he
sings He may seek for the elixir Of youth.
hut he cannot find it: he NAV sigh for the
secrets of alchemy which is able to make him
younr again, but sirhins brings il not. He
NAV gazc backward with an eve of LONGING
upon the rosy cheeks Of ohcr Years. but as
ore who ,rizrs ON his home from the deck of
a departipr shin. every moment c,rryinr him
further and further away. Poor old man
he has little more to do than to die.
1T never mclt>" The sEow of winter
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15
Dad is Growing Old, John.

By J. q. \. WOOD.
Av, Dad is growing old. John,
His eyes are getting dim.
And wears have on his shoulders laid
y heavy weight for him;
But You and are Young and hale,
And each 4 >talvart man.
And we must make his load as light
And easy as we can.
Hcuscd to take the hrunt. John
At cradle and the pow.
And carnc, our porrdgc by the sweat
That .richlcd from his brow:
Yet never heard we him complain,
Whatc'cr his toll might be.
Nor wanted Ger a welcome seat
Cpon his solid knee.
But when our boy strength came, John,
And sturdy grew each limb.
lie brought u> to the yellow field.
To share the toll with him:
But he went foremost in the swath,
TO sing aside the grain
Just like the plow that hcavc> the soil.
Or ship that shears the main.
Now we must lead tho van. John,
Through weather foul and fair.
And let the old man read and oozc,
And tilt his easy chair:
And hc'llnot mindi it. John. YOU know,
Atcvc To tell Us DER
ThoS" brave old tales Of British times,
Of Grand-dad and the War.
heard YOU speak Of Ma m. John;
lis gospel what YOU say.
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15

l.nRENZo Dow-On one occasion. he took
The liberty. while preaching, to dcnouncc a
rich man in the community. recently deceased
The result was an arrest a trial for >andcr
and an imprisonment i'll the county Jail. AZ
ter Lorenzo got out OF limbo" he announc-
cd that. in spite of his lin his opinion) unjust
punishment. he should preach. at given time.
sermon about "&no,her rich man" The
populacc were great " excited; and a crowded
house greeted his appearance With great
solcmnity he opened the Bible and read
:" and there was another rich man who died
and went to -" then stopped short. and seem
ed to be suddenly impressed :: he continued
Brethren. | shall not mention the place
which this man went to. for fear he has rci,-
tvcS i'll this congregation. who will sue mt
for defamation of character The effect on
the assembled multitude was irresistible. and
he made the impression permanent by taking
another text and never alluded to the subject
again.
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15

"As know the fondncss of the ancient
knick kerbockcr for stories of little children,
writes John Ph"nix. (ah. ha. =" are YOU
there, old Trucpcnnyo") Il vcnturcd to con-
tribute the following, which, besides its rare
merit as an actual occurrence. CONVEYS a use
full lesson to mothers; if, as Bunsbv has it.
the bearings lie i'll the application thereof"
Small Joe l--was PLAYING one sunny
morning in yard at the rear of his resi-
dencc, when c>saving to cast stone high in
air, he found he had dmiscalculatcd his strength,
and the we; ght of the stone, as that missile
slipped from his fingers, and taking an en-
tircly different direction from that intended.
went whack through a pane of glass in the
neighbours window. Mrs Connolly, who was
engaged in washing in the kitchen, hearing
the smash of glass in her spare room, rushed
hastily to the scene of action, and through
the broken pane beheld Joe in active retreat.
lratc, and indignant, the injured matron
sought the presence of Mrs. l., and
straight poured forth the story of her wrongs.
Mrs. L--assumcd a delightful air the
culprit was called to the presence" and the
inquest on the departed pane commenced
"Jo>cph.' said Mrs. -, with awful So
lcmnity, did YOU break the glass in Mrs.
Connolly's window:?' "Ycs'm," replied
Joe with promptitudc. "Joseph,, said Mrs.
L." if you broke that pane Of glass shall
certainly correct you; did you break it sir -
Joe heSita:ed, but conscience was powerful
and he replied that he did. Mrs. l.
took stick from the mantle-piece "Joseph."
said she, if you broke that glass shall cor
rect you most severely; | ask again, did
YOU break it? Joe looked at his mother: he
looked at the stick and hanging his head.
he murmured: No. ma am" There :"
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15

peasant went to priest to confess
having stolen hay from 4 large s.ask belong
ing to nc!ghbor. How man. l,ad. did yo,,
take asked the father confesso-. "You
may as we'll reckon the whole stask at once
sud the peasant, AS and mI wife intend
to fetch 1t all away before we stop
50 How many wives would do well to en-
ulatc the virtue of the Shawnee Indian wo-
man. who was met br Il man who asked her
to look on him. and love hie. MY ms-
band, sald she. 80 is beta-s rss eyes. and hind
der> me from seeing y"u. or asy one else,,'
sS'The Little Falls. Minnesota. Herald
III describing a scene of drunkenness which
recently occurred among 4 tribe Of Chippcwa
Indians there. says it passed off very pleas
antlv and agreeably. and that orN two or
three Indians were killed, although some
CLAIM that twice tha: runsIvr were disposea
Of
IsCoL Bnrwcll Wilks. of Holms county.
Mississippi. has been warned to leave. by =
committee of citizens. The charge preferred
against him is that Of general meanness.- or
what they would call out West. ..pure c,,.sed-
ness. He left in just two minuees after re-
ceiving the notice.
~ CITY WITHOUT A LiwYrE.-lDuh,auc
Iowa. is unblessed by the presence of a single
LAWYER"
We Genounce this As trick of the West
ern railroads to swell their August receipts
beyond all precedent.
The Savannah (Ga.) Ee,~blican has 4
letter from 5. Z. Dupon. stating that he ha.
Just lost two prime little negroes" from est
ing backing. One died in six hours. and
the other in twenty-four, and the quantity
eaten VAS not over spoonful
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15

Julius CAESAR AUGUSTUS UANNIBAL'S s DIS
COURSE ON WoMAS.-"Dey may rail against
woman as much as dey like, dey can't set
me up against dem. hab always in life
found dem fil>t in lub, fust in a quarrel. fust
in the dance, filst in de ice cream saloon, and
the fuss bcSs and lass in de sick room. Wat
would We poor debils to without dem ? Let
us be born as young. as ugly, as helpless as
we please. and woman's arms arc open to
recebc u.s. She it am who Civ us our fuss
dose of castor oil and puts close pom our
helpless naked limbs, and cuyers up our foots
and to>es in long flannel pctticoats and it
am she who, as we grow up fills our basket
with docnuts and apples as we start to skool,
and licks us wen we tear our trowsis. 1t is
she who in our manhood makes de moon
brighter, bigger, and de stars to twinkle in
de tirminent wild the splendid glory. (For
take woman out OBJ de world, and it would
lose much of its beauty.) 1t am she who
robs troble of haft its sting, when de troble
amt bout anudder woman. 1t ain she who
watches in de sick room, and CUBS YOU de
calomcr and jolop, rubub and curran Jelly,
ard it am she who sticks to YOU in de last
our OBJ life. and consoles de troble spirit as
long as sticks to dis mortal body. Who can
help lubun woman?
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15
RATES. OF DNERT!SI\C,
JOB PRINTING.

Our Printing establishment was never in better
condition than nov. and increased attention will
be given to this branch of business We keen
constantly on hand Paper and Card Stock. and are
now prepared TO print II;,ndbillS. Programmes.
Auction bills. Bill Heads. Labels Circulars. Busi-
ness and cdcling Cards. &C.. &c., at short notice.
Orders by mail will be- carefully attended to. and
the work forwarded with despatch.
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15

said Mrs l., triumphantly, that boy
never told me lie in his life. Ikaowd he
never broke no window; 'spect your little
Custer broke it she hove stone clear over
our fence.yesterday.' That's a good style of
encouraging truthfulness in a child 'wc don't
Think
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15

"a The LIFE OF A RAILROAD ENslNE1 !:
is graphically depicted in the following ex-
tr:ct, which we copy from the Schenectady
Star
But the engineer. he who guide the train
by guiding the iron horse. and almost holds
the hives OF passengers in his hand-his is a
life of mingled danger and pleasure. In
little scNen-bv-nlne apartment. with square
holes on each side for windows open behind.
ard with machinery TO lock through ahead.
!ou lind him: he is the " Pathfinder he
leads the way in all time of danger. checks
the iron horse. or causes ii TO speed ahead
with the velocity of the wind. at will. Have
YOU ever stood by the track. of 4 dark night.
and watched the comiug and passing ef 4
tram? Away off in the darkness vou DIS
cover light. and YOU hear ncisc. and the
earth trembles beneath Your feet. The light
comes nrarrr-vou can compare it to nothing
hut the devil himself. with its terrible whistle
the sparks YOU imagine come from Beelze-
bulbs nos,rlis the fire underneath. that shines
close to the ground. causing YOU to believe
the devil walks on live Goals 1t comes close
TO vou-vou back away and studder-ros,
look np. and almost on the devils back rides
tine enslneer-perhaps the" machine -shrieks
and You imagine the engineer is applying spur
TO the devils sides. \ daring fellow. that
enSlneer-you can't help saving SO. and Won
wonder wherein lies the pleasure of bein: ars
engineer. But so he does. day after dav-
night after night. Moonlight evenings he
sweeps over the country-,hrough cities and
'llaScs-thrcush fairy scenes in forest and
clearings-he locks through the square holes
at his side. and enjoys the moonlight. but he
cannot stop to enjoy the beauty of the seem
cry. Cold. rainy, muddy. dark nights, it is
the same; perhaps the tracks are undcrmin-
cd. or oHerfiown with water: perhaps seound-
rels have placed distractions in the wax. or
trees have been overturned across the track.
and IN either case ii is almost instant daatb
TO HIM. at lcast-but he stops not. Right
on is the word with him. and on he goes re-
gardless of danger. weather, and everything
save the we'll doing of his duty. Think of
him, We who shuddcr through fear in the cush-
loned seats of the cars. and get ws.u from
the fire that is kindlcd for Your benefit.
The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-08-15

SLEEr.-Wc have ot,cn heard foang mem
remark that four or FIVE hours sleep was alb
they wanted. and all that the human system
required. The habit Of gcing without sufi-
Gent sleep is very injurious Thousands. no
doubt. permanently iniurc their health in this
way-We live i'll fast age. when everybody
seems TO be irving to in,crt the order of ma
ture. If folks persist in turning night intc.
day. II is not 10 be wondered at that few last
out the allotted time Of life No matter what
be man occupation-l'hisical or mental. or.
like Othcllo's gone. ard living in idleness---
the constitution cai.rot last. depend upon It.
without 4 s,:tiic:cnc, of regular and refreshing
sleep. John Hunter. the great surgeon. died
suddenly of Spa>,nodic affection Of the heart.
4 disease greatly encouraged by want # sleep
In j jus. published volume hy a medical man.
there is one great lesson that hard students
and literary men may learn. and that is. that
Hunter probably killed himself bv taking too
little sleep. Pour hours res at night. and
one after dinner cannot he deemed sufficient
10 recruit the exhausted powers of body and
mind. certainly not: and the consequence
WAS. that Hunter died early. If men Will in
>l>t on cheating Sleep. her twin sister. Death
will aycnsc the insult