davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13
SlIk-Sbipning SDIderS


"A spideris found on the island Of ST. He
lena which is handsomely. marked, banded,
and ealorsdj the fbfess Of the egg-bag O.
which might be used as silk and the ladies
of the Bermudas actually useJ the silk Of spi-
ders for sewing purposes. The silkc0f a spi-
der common in the Bermudas, Epeira clavipes,
$50 strong that it tean bsW6und from The in
sect itself like cotton from reel The webs
of this spider stretch ten feet across between
the eedar-trees, catching large insects and
small birds : Oertaina proef thatstheir "a reads
rival cotton threads in siren 9Th In reference
to the practical, Industrial ana commercial
question Of the usilityof spidersilk, it is an
importantfact that their webs are strong
enough to hold small birds, When Madame
Merfan hrst Published this fact, 1t was stOut-
y denied BY the stRy-at hme 7uaturatists, the
regular critics Of travellers tales. Here IS a
specimen Of the sort Of experiment upon the
results Of which The 'testimOny of observers IS
often gainsayed, and even their veracity and
good faith called in question. Madame Mer-
ignhRFipg said there were spiders which
SHARED and deyoured birds, naturalist wOuH-'
ded hummii z bird and 0 fered itte q nygGl
But the mygaIe instead Of attacking be bird,
Tetreated from it With fear or aversion. Con-
fdent in the result of his experiment, the nat
uralist secuted the story of the bird-eating
spider Yet il has been repeatedly confirmed
since, and never was Improbable. NJ. Nor
FeaU de Jv8Res says that the South American
mygale slubs trees. to devour, the young hum
ming birds and N. II. W. Bates saw in
BRAZIL two little fheHes entangled IN the
Eebfof a grat-brOWu mygale. The fuChes
heiudgedtQ be male and female; one was
dead, and the other was under the body. Of a
hideous spider. Threads strong enough 20
hold birds may we'll be used for sewing pur-
poses by ladies resident in hot countries
aboundiRg in such spiders.-AH tEe Tear
Round.
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13
A Snake SensatiOn-..A Black Snake
Fascinating q Baby,

The people of WarrensviIle e were much
exercised, a few days since, by a snake
sensation, which created no small alarm
among the mothers in the neighborhood.
A girl, drawing child IN a baby wagon;
along the read, some distance this side of
the Center, left the child in the wagon,
drawn up by the side Of the road for a
few minutes, while she went to a neigh.
boring house. A man coming BY soon
was attracted BY apeeuliar noise, and by
the singular condition Of the child, which
#as staring intently and with fasciua-
ted gaze into a tree ovorhanging the road.
On looking up, the man saw huge black
snake, ecilgd around the tree, and looking
directly in the eyes Of the child, while its
distended jaws and quivering fangs evinoed
its hostile intent. The man had no Reap-
on with which to attack the snake, so ne
ruised an alarm which soon brought a
number Of the neighbors to the spot.
Weapons we're procured, and the snake
speedily killed. Ehe reptile was found to
be about the thickness Of a man s wrist,
and measured over five fest 10 length.
Black sDaESs Of this size are very seldom
found in this neigbborhood, aud the event
of this distinguished stranger" has oaus-
ed.no small trepidatiou among mothers Of
small children who are in the habit of
straying into the woods.
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13
A RemlnIseenee Of Lola MOntez.

= .
Manager Lumley's Reminiscenee Of the
Opera" contains the following story about LO-
Ia AIOntez; er fs1 81
There is still another even remaining, in
the Circumstances, connected with which there
is something 50 strangely ludierous, that can
scarcely look back upon it without a smile.
Tl, 5 event was the appearance as a dalsegss of
the late celebrated Lola Montez 1t is not nv
intention to rake up the worldwide stories Of
this strange and fascinating woman, not long
since passed from the world. Perhaps it will
be sufficient to say frankly that was in this
instance fairly taken in" A noble lord
afterwards closely connected with the For.
eign Office, had introduced the lady TO my
notice as the daughter of a celebrated Span
ish patriot and martyr, representing her mer-
its as dancer in so strong a light that her
"appearauce'' was granted The afterwards
great Lola was received with rapture; Pub
lie press, opera goers; all gave way to such
immodefate fits Of enthusiasm that Il is diff
eultto this day to account for the strange in
fatuatidn which peryaded all ranks. True; !
the s0-called Sonora was 8 agula / be lutiful
her style was new, and there was something
piquant and provocative in the surprise Great 4
ed. Yet she had no pretensions to the title
Of ddasease in any sense. To speak the plain
truth, she was but the variest novice in her
art Whlch she hal never studied as an art at ]
all ! do not intend by this plain statement
to declare that the French and Italian schools \
Of dancing are alone to be endured BY spec
tators Of the highest class, for there is art in [
the Spanish-school Of dancing as well as in |
the others. But this. spurious Spanish lady /
had no real knowledge Of that which she pro |
fessed: The whole affair was an imposture |
and on the very night of her first appearance !
the truth exploded: Doubts already created /
were confirmed, and the true spaniards in
dignahtly refused TO acknowledge the impos-
tor as an exponent Of their national dance.
On the discovery Of the truth 1 declined q /
allow the English adventures, for such she [
was, another appearance on my boards. And
certain it is that acted wisely, though had
to exercise the virture Of. selfdenial as there
is little doubt, from the reception she had met
with on the FIRST night, that the lovely woman
would have drawn large sums of money to my
treasury for some time at least. In spite Of 4
the expostulatiOn of the friends ofthe lady
in spite Of the depreeatory letters in which
she earnestly denied her English origin, and
asserted that she was a true Lola, a genuine
Montez'- spite of even the desire express
ed in high places to witness her strange per-
f0rmance remained inhxiblO, and the false
danssase was never again allowed % exhibit
her handsome person and her spurious grace
at Her Meiesty's Theater.
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13
Rich COnYiets.


Galignani says: "The hull Of the old
line-of battle ship Santi Petri which caught
fire two or three years ago, while serving
as floating barge at Toulon, aud was
scdttled in order to extinguish the fame,
has now broken up, the waters in the ba-
sin have been let out IN order to enable
the Borkmen to carry on that operation.
The catching Of fish which had establish
cd themselves in the vessel as a reservoir;
was exceedingly abundant; but the most
euFi6ds discovery is the quantity Of gold
coin found in her rs
The circumstance has not caused
much establishment at TUuIon, where it was
known that thetessel; having for twenty
years served as a prison ship, must be
fullpf hiding places, ingeniously formed
by the eon7iets to conceal their money:
The large sums that have been found lead
to the supposition that several hundreds
of thousands of francs disappeared in the
flames. Ono prisoner is mentioned who,
in his moments Of repose, constantly oc-
cupied himself with reading in an old
prayer book, little calculated from its ap-
pearance to excite the 5upidity of his COM
panions, but in which be had skilfully
pasted; between some Of the leaves; a sum
of thirty thousand francs in bank-notes.
Among the curiosities of the barge may
also be seen teneentime pieces in copper
followed out, and containing twenty
franc gold coin, the presence of which no
one would ever discover unless the secret
was made known to him.
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13
An inside view Of Petersburg.

II ..a.. 7.
a letter from the Army of the Potomac
says that during the Gag Of truce on Mon
day last, Col. Thomas, commanding a.
brigade Of Ferrefo's col6Ted division, was
captured throughmisbake, blythe enemy's
piekets, at a point of the line where the
flag was not visible. He was taken into
the city and confined for a few hours in
jail, where he had an interview with Gen
eral Bushrod Johuson from whom be
claimed his release. Next morning be-
fore daylight he was sent through the
lines. and arrived safely with his com
mand. He says that Petersburg shows
but few marks Of the siege, and that the
people have not evacuated, but are uu-
merously plentiful about the streets.
Eeverything is Of course extravagantly
high in the eating aud drinking line.
The Colonel paid five dollars-green-
backs-for ten apples. Whisky in the
groggaries is three dollars per drink in
more aristoeratic places FIVE dollars.
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13
AFelicltous Comparison.

Henry Ward Beeeher has said few bet
ter things than the following, which We
6ndin enc of his sermons:
We have a large number of cOuseFva-
tive persons among us, who, in looking
upon the condition Of this nation, have
great fear on account Of the various des-
truetions that take place for the saliva
ton Of the 5euntry In the first place,
they are exceedingly troubled in regard
to the destruction to the Constitution.
An owl sits in tree to see an eagle
hatch its egg; and by and by, when the
shell is cracked to let the young eagle
out, the owl boots, "Spoiling, spoilinq;
sPoIBtNa the she'll l'' What is the she'll
to the eagle that is inside of it? and
what is the Constitution but the shell Of
the spirit Of liberty? 1t was ordained
for liberty, and when it is broken; that
the eagle, Liberty, may come forth, the
owl hoots They know the shell, but
they do not know the eagle
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13

The Married Life Of John Wesley.

When Wesley settled he said ut would
be more useful to marry BE married a
widow, who, through herjealOusy, led him
a life Of wretehedness and misery. At
last bis spirit was up. and he wrote to
her-'Kpow me and know yourself
Suspect me no more, provoke me no
more; do not any longer contend for
power, money, or praise be content to
be private, insignificant person, known
and loved by God and me-. 1t is not
likely that woman would be pleased at
being recommended to be an Insignificant
person. After twenty yeares Of dis
quietude she one day left him. He bore
it pbilosophically. He went even be-
yond it4hefook his diary and put the
most pithy entry into it 1 ever met with
in a diary Non cam reliqui, non demisi,
non revocabo, which may be translated
thus I did not leave her; l did not
send her away !; l shan't send for her
back And so ended the married life 0
John Wesley. p,
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13
The Power Of Imagination.

Mr.. Charles Babbage in his second
book of "reminiscences under the title
Of Passages in the Life Of d philOso-
pher," relates the following anecdOte
of the poet Rogers and himself -
Once at large dinner party, Mr..
Rogers was speaking Of an mcOnve-
nience arising from the custom, then
commencing, Of having windows
formed of one large sheet of plate-
glass: He said that a short time ago
he sat at dinner with his back to one
Of these single panes Of plate-glass ;
it appeared to him that the window
vas vide. open, and such was the
force Of Imagination that he actually
caught cold. It 50 happened that I
was sitting Just opposite to the poet.
Hearing this remark, I Immediately
said, 'sDear me, how odd it is, Mr..
Rogers, that you and [ should make
such d very different use Of the facul=
ty Of imagiuatiOn.-When I 90 to the
house ola friend in the country, and
Unexpectedly remain for the night
having no night cap I shouldnatarally
catch cold. But BY tying a bit of
black thread tightly round my head,
[ get to sleep imagining that 1 have a
Ons consequently ! catch no
cold at al. . This sally produced
much amusement al around, WhOsup-
posed / had imployised it; but odd
as it may appear, it IS a practice L
have often resorted 20. Mr.. Rogers,
who knew full wen the respect and
regard I had far him, saw at once
that / was relating simple fact, and
Oined cordially in che merriment it
excited"
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13

A LADY HoasB DEALER.-NeW York
papers state that for the last few days a
young lady of very prepossessiDg appear
anee, WEARING d monitor straw bonnet
trimmed with black ribbon, and brown
duster, and apparently not over sixteen
years Of age, has presented herselfin Wall
street, offering for sale a dashiug little
equipage. consisting Of handsome sorrel
pony aud a long-wheeled eabfiolet, trim
med with exquisite taste. The beautiful
stranger appears to understand herself
perfectly, aud conducts herself with the
most business-like propriety. She says
she has come from Troy, and is visiting
the city to dispose Of her horse aud car
riage. Her appearance attracts much at
teHtiOu among the gushing and unsophis-
ticated spectators Of Wall street.
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13
waterloo ne Day afler the Battle:
on q surfaee Of tRo sauarsl miIes,

0n.a surface of two square miles it |
was d aseertained that 10000 men and'E
horses were lyiugl7 The luzurious crop |
Of. ripe grain which had covered the field :
of battle was reduced to litter and
beaten into tie earth and the surface,
trodden dewn By the cavalry, and fur
fowed deeply BY the cannon wheels. was
strewn with many q relic Of the fight.
Helmefs and euiFasses, shattered firearms
and broken swords, all ltheNarieus mIiita-
~ Ornaments lancer caps and Highland
-bdnuets; uniforms Eof every color, plume
and pennon; musical instruments, the
apparatus of artillery drums, bugles; but
good God why dwell on the harrow
ing picture of fogghten field? Each
and every ruinous display bore mute tess
timony to the misery Of such a battle.
X = = = Gould the melancholy ap- ,.
pearanee Of this scene Of death Be heigh-
tened; It would be oby witnessing the
lreseafcles Of the living amidst its desc
lAtion Rf0r the object OfIts love. Moth
eIs,g aud wives, and. children, for days
bRere occupied hain that hourntul
duty, and the, confusion of the coTpses,
friend and foe intermingled, astbey we're,
often rendered The. attempt at reeognizr /
/ ing iudividu1ls difficult, and in some
! cases impossible. In many pla-
/ ce3 tie dead iay four deep upon each
{ other, marking the spot some. British
square lad occupied when exposed for
hours to lielmurderous FIRE Of a French
battery. Outside, lancer. 9and1 cuirassier
were scattered 5thickly on the earth.
Madly attempting to force the serried
bayonets of the British, they had fallen;
in the boetless essay, by the musketry Of
the files, Farther op, you trace The spot
| where the cavalry. of France and England
had encountered. Chasseur and hussar
were intermingled; and the heavy Norman
horses of the Imperial Guard were inter
spersed with the gray chargers. which had
carried Albion's ehivalty. here the
Highlander and tiralleur lay, side by side,
together; and the. heavy dragoon with
Green Erin's badge upon his helmet
was grapplihg IN. death with the Polish
lancer. = On The summit Of the
RIDGE, where the ground was covered
with dead, and trojden fetlook deep in
mud and gore. By the frequent rush Of
rival cavalry, the thick -strewn eorpses of
the Imperial Guard pointed out where
Napoleon had been defeated. Here, IN
column, that favored corps in whom his
last chance rested, had been annihilated
and the advance and repulse Of the Guard
was traeeabIe by mass Of fallen French
men. In the hollow below, the last
struggle Of France had been vsinly made;
for there the Old Guard, when The mid
die battaEons had been forced back, at
tempted to meet the British, and afford
time for their disorganizsd companions
to rally. Here the British left, which 4
had converged 4pon the French centre,
had come up; and here the bayonet clos
ed contest.-ti5 e4s -s -aas--
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13
UnsDeakahIe.

The thoughts and feelings which are
conveyed by language, even among our
selves, are. not the deepest. The cleaTest
perceptions Of truth, Of beauty and of
goodness, -surpass the power of words to
express. There are things which ''it is not
possible for man toutter." Our deepest
feeling awe say f'unspeakable." ." There
is a Joy which is beyond the reach Of
words, terror which is "speechless, " a
love which is "unutterable." The inner
most revelations of soul to. soul may pass
in silence. The eye may speak in a fixed
expression of sadness. the whole tragedy
of a Lifetime; and the silent countenance
convey gladness or misery better than any
sylIables which the lips could voice abroad
to men Thus also God can communicate
without words: A silent spirit Of wisdom
and power, works among the orbs of hea.
ven. There is "no. speech nor language,
no voice is heard;" yet argument flashes
from tbe skies upon every heart from that
eternal Godhead SO reasoning from on
high with created minds. A silent inspi-
ration teaches the bird to build her nest,
and Bezaleel to build the tabernacle. Bv-
cry wonderful fabric in nature is ''made in
secret by that mind which is the quick
est, because it IS the migbtiBst. In the
same manner, in bis greatest work of re-
demtion, a quiet secresy marks Gods re-
valations to men. Christ did not on earth
'feauss his voice to be heard in the street"
neither will he from heaven. He does not
vocaly converse with the millions of his I
worshippers. But be does what is great
eli. He diffuses over the soul a spiritual
sense Of his presencei and fills it with
thoughts aud emotions which eause it to-
awaken like Jacob from the dream of life,
with ''God was ii this place and I knew it
uoH How awful in this placel This is none
other than the house of God, and this is
the gateOf heaven RI Christian specta-
tor, =. rT .- 80
4. . ~
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13
The Republic OfJOnes.

The NacheE Courier gives an account of
Curious 'Republic," which was organia-
ed in Jones County, Miss, year or so
ago. It appears that numbers Of rebel
deserters having cODgregated in the
sWamps of.that county, determined to form
a govement for themselves. A rebel Col
onel MoWry, with considerable force,
was sent to disband them, and it was
supposed had succeeded, but it now ap-
pears that the malconteuts offered des-
perate resistance, dispensing the assailants,
killing, Wounding and capturing a CON
siderable portion of them. The Com
mander-in- chef of the Jones forces made
a report announcing his victory to the
Secretary Of War for the Republic of
Jones. After the fight an armistice was
entered into, and ministers we're ap-
pointed to confer with the Hso-called
Confederate States
Propositions for peace and an ex.
change of prisoners were offered by the
Jones authorities, and declined by the $50
called Confederate authorities The
Jones Congress has met, and entertained
the question Of forming an alliance with
the United States, but the Government Of
the latter was not considered sound on
the secession question, and consequently
the proposition was defeated. At last
accounts the Republic" was still in the
enjoyment Of health and strength, and
determined to resisj to death the en-
croachments of tie Confederaey This is
the story, in substance, as given by the
Natohez Courier, and whether true or not,
forms an amusing as well as instructive
pictufe of what would be the condition Of
some portions Of the country should the
fright of secession be carried out to its
fullest extent. In addition to the GRE
public of Jones" we should then have
tho Kingdom of Smith" the "Limited
Monarchy Of Brown" aud the "Abso-
Lutte Government Of Robinson" Louis
vile Journal.
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13

~One great secret Of the practical
failure in after life Of so many promising
young persons is, l appreheud, that they
do not learn that mans capacity and
success in the world are estimated not by
what he'can do, but by what he does do.
The opposite heresy is, l am sorry to be
lieyeJ early imbibedi in most Of our semi.
naries. of learning, how the youth Of gent
us, real or supposed, is worshipped by his
associates, and too often by s ciety also,
while the more diligent plodder is left in
neglect TO "work out his own salvation,
as ho almost inlalhblg does.
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13
Hope and york.

There are some pc iple who think that
nothing Is gained runb IS allzis gained
They prefer TO go hungry, if they cannot
have The whole haf at once, They are
iapaiient, restless, and impractical. They
rarely bring much to pass, but spend
their days IN chasing phautoms, Mourning
over thesharllships Of their lot and watch
ing for a Utopia or an earthly Paradise
Another anda wiser class see. that all
healthy changes, al zeal and lasting re-
forms, ars slowly inaugurated. They
have learned from the past that All en-
during iustituti0ns are the products Of
long and slow growth. They gladly
avail themselves of every advantage, how
ever small, which is offered them IN the
prosecution Of their work, ana toll on,
cheerful In stle hOpelthat prezeia achieve.
Rents will form the stepping stones to
ethpr and greater victories -os
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13

B%A woman who, quarter Of a cen
tury ago, was the beauty Of her time, has
just died in Paris. This was Madame de
Lanskoi the widow, OF, as some call her
the murderess-of Pouohkine, the best
poet Russia has yet Produced She was
awotian Of extraordinary beauty. She
inaamed French officer, who had Joined
the Russian army, with the loasest desires;
and she listened to his portestations. Her
husband became an eyewitness of bis dis
honor, and challenged D'Antbes (this was
the name Of the prohgate) to dnel The
poet fell His widow married M. de Lan-
skoi, and passed the remainder Of her life
atgempting-so her friends say-=t0 atone
for her guilt in every way Heaven has
taught as eficaciohs. She must have been
vel nigh upon sixty years of age-the
duel took place twenty-five years ago
yet she retained, her youthful freshness
aud great beauty to the last.
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13
FlFnlness vs. ObstlnaCyg


Where a man IS firm for a right thing,
and in a sensible and Feasouabla way,
everybody says, How BEAUTIFUL But
whore a man is cOnstitutiopally firm, and
is obstinate in little things as well as IN
great thing, and sticks toathing when be
has. once. said it no matter if he said It
ina Pfsfien;s and will not take up his
hand when be has put it down, just be-
cause he has ~ppt it down; and has no
pliabiliiy about him; and, Il stead Of be-
ing like . tree that when the wind Blows
upon it, is always at the same place By
the5rqOt, but never. at the same place BY
the boqgb, combining perfect frmaess, is
like a east-iron tree, tlat is stiff in trunk,
and sdf in every twg, clear out to the
leaves-is he lovely2 Not to the one
that has to live wiki him-BEEcHER. =
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13

BgAn Freshman got out Of the cars at
a railway station for Refreshments, and
unfortunately the bell rang and the train
left before he had finished his repast
'iHould oulp cried Pat, as be ran like a
mad man after the car; ah0uld on, ye
murthcru old shame ihgin yo'vo got a
aboard that's IiGt behind.
The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-09-13

"a A Dutehman thus describes an nc
cident "YOuce, long vile ago, I went
intos mine gbble orchard TO climb bear
tree to get some peaches 10 make mine
vrow a plumbSpuddiog NIT; and when /
gets TO the topermest branch, I vail from
the lOwermOst limb, nit Won leg on both
sides of The fence, and Ike stove mine
outside in"