davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10
Grant and His Friends.

GRANT In nothing more acceptable than
in his knowledge of character. No great
military leader has ever had more devoted
friends among his associates and subor-
dinates. There are no voluminous letters
on file in the department of complaining,
either of his civil superiors or military
comrades. When he had to censure or
dismiss it was done without passion or
parade He never stood ON punctilio
while commanding strict and instant
obedience. He parted from few of those
with whom he began his exampled career
The friend of Governor Yates and Mr. E.
B. Washburne at the beginning of war,
he is their friend now All his West Point
companions speak well of him; and those
who served with him in Mexico remember
him with respect. Though he had hard
ships to endure during the rebellion, and
envies to encounter, and enmities to sur
mount, few words of recrimination have
fallen from him. Even the Blair family,
who have scolded everybody through four
years of their bizarre politics, have not at
tackled him. All his Generals gather
around him like brothers; and there is not
one of the Corporal's guard of Brigadiers
who have made sort of commercial en-
gagement to vote against him, that does
not make point TO reserve a record ol
compliments TO Grant. OF all the public
men. in the country, the only one that ever
tried to get Grant into personal quarrel
is Andrew johnson, and this he did after
a long and insidious effort to get him into
his tolls. But A. j. failed in this as COM
pietely as when he undertook to restore
the rebellion.-PhiEGdeLph&G Press.
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10
CurfeW Bells,

MANY have heard of the "curfew bell"
but not all know its origin. It's history
runs back to the time of William the Con
querOr, who ordered bell to be rung
about sundown in summer, and at s o'clock
in the evening in winter, at which time
fires and lights were to be put out, and
the people to remain within doors, and
penalties were imposed upon those who
neglected or refused to comply with the
law This was called the "curfew," q
word derived from the French c0ugre fen
cover fire--and so the appropriateness of
the name is readily seen. The old King
has been generally charged with institut-
ing this custom in order to impress upon
his subjects a sense of their abiect con-
dition. But, as the "curfew bell" was
rung in France long before Williams time,
as a safeguard against fires, it is not inn
probable that he brought the custom with
him into England from the Continent, and
that he has been slandered as to his mo-
tives. At any rate, he has sins enough to
answer for without this. In the sixteenth
century "bell-men" were added to the
night-watch in London. They went
through the streets ringing their bells and
crying, take care of fire and candle; be
kind to the poor, and pray for the dead"
It was the bellman's duty, also, to bless
the sleepers as he passed their doors. In
IL Penseroso" Milton refers to this GUS
TOM
1.-The bellman's drowsy charm
To bless the doors from nightly harm"
Poets have often referred to the curfcw,
or cover fire, bell. Gray begins his beauti
full "Elegy" with
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day"
Longfellow, too, has pretty little poem
telling the story of this bell with charming
simplicity:
Solemnly, mournfully,
Dealing its dole,
he curfew bell
Is beginning to toll.
"Cover the embers,
Put out the light;
Toll comes with the morning,
And rest with the night.
Ozark grow the windows,
And quenched is the fire.
Sound fades in silence,
All footsteps retire.
''No voice in the chambers,
No sound in the hall
Sleep and oblivion
Reign over all. -"
King William died, and the original OBJ
legations of the curfew were at last re-
moved about the time of Henry l., in 100;
but the custom of ringing an evening bell
is still kept up in England, with variations
as to the hour. The "nine o'clock bell -
familiar to most New England people.
which sends so many young people home
and to bed, and which in the early history
Of our country was almost as rigidly
obeyed by all, both old and young, as the
old curfew, traces its origin directly to the
cover-fire bell In Longfellow's EVAN
geline," the custom is well described
s'Anon the bell from the belfry
Rang out the hour of nine-the village curfcw-
and strQigst1Ody
Rose Tie gaests and departed; and silence Ieigned
in the household.
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10

be good, hearty stuff, and we'll dried, but
declines to give any other advice as to its
construction. However, it is now conceded
that they can be made by any ordinary
carpenter; and we recently saw a very
simple one in this city, made of piece of
cherry board, in the shape of heart, the
dimensions being as above, the two little
castors being of brass, and placed under
the broad end of the heart, while the
pencil was placed at the point of the
heart.
The author Of volume on Planchette,
published in England, gives minute in
structions for its use, by the observance of
which he thinks most persons may in time
become confdants of its mysteries It is
not maintained by any that all the answers
given are true, or that any person, how
ever unsuccessful he may be in its use, can
put implicit reliance on its teachings.
There are various theories as to this re-
markable little companion, some maintain
ing that the influence is mesmeric, others
that it is electricity, or some unknown
connection between the brain or nervous
system of the operator and the board so
lightly touched by his fingers. There are
some of course who will attribute it all to
supernatural causes, and some who utterly
refuse the least credence to any OF the mys-
terious results affirmed.
These latter just now occupy the safest
ground. 1t seems to be clear that in the
cases when "Planchette moves without
being mischievously or designedly impelled
by the operator, that the influence is mag
netic, just as in the case of" table-moving"
under similar conditions. 1t is but proper
to say that wherever experiments with the
toy have come under our observation, the
writings of " Planchette" have either been
such as would puzzle even a Champollion
to decipher, or else they have been SO
manifestly the work of the operators, for
the purpose of creating merriment, mis-
chief, and laughter, that no one could be
deceived into the belief that either spirits
or any other supernatural agency have
anything to do with them. Planchette"
is an amusing toy, and nothing more
PhiIadelphid Ledger, Jtne 24th
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10

One soft summer morning few years
since, the little village of Liston walked up
with sublime Tor, at least, within step of
it) that something wonderful had hap
pened. The bank had been broken open
and robbed of all its treasure.
A few weeks before a travelling elocu-
ZIONIST had entered the village, accom-
panied by couple of well dressed gentle
men, who turned out to be on sporting
excursion. The quiet villagers excited no
improper suspicious among the envious
villagers, who were usually quite willing
to dissect every new conner in the most un-
merciful manner.
The professor of elocution gave series
OF lectures, to the marvellous ediication
OF lncipient CicerOs and beau-loving
ladies; and then went on his way rejoic-
ing. But his companions remained,
rambling about the woods and river for
several days afterwards, when they sud-
denly departed to parts unknown.
For several mornings after their disap-
pearance the gentleman who occupied
apartments Immediately over the bank
found his rooms in slight state of dis
order. The chairs which, on leaving the
office at night, he had arranged with sys-
tematic care, appeared to have been per:
forming some marvellous feats of somnam-
bulism; the table in the center of the
room had evidently been used as medium
of spiritual rappings, and several articles
seemed to have been executing some ex-
temporised polka in the absence of their
owner.
After making few inquiries and little
unsuccessful investigation to ascertain the
cause of these unnatural phenomena, the
matter was allowed to pass without fur
ther notice.
But the robbery of the bank at once
aroused suspicion. In examining the office
floor it was discovered that large piece of
the flooring had been cut out with the
utmost nicely and the burglars had made
an unsuccessful effort to break large
stone that covered the vault, and thus OBJ
tain access to the treasure.
But, undaunted by their failure, they
only waited for a favorable night to com
mence operations in another quarter.
For several days after the first attempt
the weather continued pleasant; but at
last the scowling skies gave token of the
approach of heavy storm Of rain and
thunder. As the deep, black night came
down upon the village, large drops of rain
pattered on the roofs and windows and
fitful gusts of wind shrieked around the
corners of the deserted streets, and made
the trees ghostly with unearthly groan-
ings.
Soon after midnight the storm set in
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10
Uniform of the "TannerS.o

THE Ogdensburg Journal says: "Several
Republican papers notice the organization
of the Tanners in this city, but DO not
seem to comprehend exactly what sort of
an organization it really is. For the in
formation of all, we would say that the
Tanners, as organized here, is Repub-
lican club, for the purpose of greater eff
cheney in the present campaign 1t is
similar to the old Wide Awakes of 1860
The uniform adopted is silver bronzed
enameled cloth, cape and cap, leather
apron and Wide Awake torch. Nearly
two hundred are already enrolled here
The name of Tanners has been adopted
as most appropriate, from the fact that
General Grant commenced his lite as a
tanner, and that he learned the business
so well that he was able to tan
the whole batch of rebels who took up
arms to destroy the country. A similar
organization has been started at Chicago,
and promises to be immensely popular.
Every good live Republican community
should have an organization of the Tan
ners.'"
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10
A Lie Nailed.

SINCE General Grants nomination for
the Presidency in May, the Democracy
has devoted itself to lying vigorously con-
cerning his antecedents, and has resorted
to absolute forgery to help on the work OF
misrepresentation. 1t has been claimed
that in 1861 he made speech (the intrinsic
improbability of this part of the story is
sufficient proof Of its falsity) in which he
talked the most atrocious apprehension to
the recruits under his command The Al
Logan Mich Democrat has seen fit to place
his reputed remarks at the head of its edi-
torial columns, as follows:
''GRANT IN 1S61.-I am Democrat: every man
in my regiment is a Democrat, and when shall
be convinced that this war has for its object any
other than what have mentioned, or the Govern
ment designs using its soldiers to execute the
purposes of the Abolitionists, pledge you my
honor as soldier that will carry my sword on
the other side, and cast my lot with that people"
-C0IO',eL .. s. Grant IN 1861
1t was found that such unscrupulous use
was being made of this forgery to discour-
age men of sincere anti-slavery convic-
tions and to ALLEVIATE them from General
Grant, that finally Mr.. Henderson, of the
Allegan Journal, addressed note of in
quiry to Hon. E. B. Washburne, and re-
ceived from him the following response
House OF REPRESENTATIVES,
WASHINGTON, D. c., June 10, 1868.
DEAR SIR: 1t is idle for the loyal men of the
country to attempt to deny the rebel and Copper
head lies now being put in circulation against
General Grant. No sooner would one lie be ex-
ploded than another would be put in circulation.
No more silly and ridiculous fabrication has been
put forth than the pretended speech of General
Grant to his regiment in 1861, which have seen
paraded in some of the most disreputable Copper
head newspapers. The whole thing is false,
there not being the shadow of shade of foun-
dation for it, Yours, truly
Z. B. WAsHBgRNE.
We publish the foregoing, not with any
idea that the Democrats will cease assidu-
ously circulating the lie in question, but
to dissipate the doubts of many well-dis-
posed Republicans whom Andrew John
sons treachery has made distrustful and
suspicious.
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10
" "PIanchette."

THOSE of our readers who have not al
ready heard Of the new institution !"
called Planchette will undoubtedly soon be
gratified or amazed or puzzled, as the case
may be, by its appearance, as it is already
offered for sale in several cities 1t con-
sists of simple oblong, or sometimes
heart-shaped board, about eight inches
long, by five to seven wide, and quarter
of an inch thick, supported on wheels or
castors, on which it moves freely when
touched, and has soft pencil fastened into
one end. The work of this pencil is the
mystery of the whole. 1t is declared that
when placed on sheet Of white paper,
and lightly pressed by two persons for a
few minutes, it will trace on the paper an
answer, more or less intelligent or correct,
to any question: third may propose 1t is
also asserted by some that the past and
the future are equally revealed, and that
distance creates no difficulty to this won
derful inanimate tOrtune-teller, matters
passing on the other side of the world be-
ing as certainly made known as those in
the same room Marvellous stories are told
of the supernatural powers of Plan
chette" by its admirers such as making
known the doings of friends in other hem
ispheres, and various other miraculous in
formation, such as is usually expected from
mesmerism, spirit-rappings, and the like;
while on the other hand some do not hest
tate to pronounce it base imposture, and
to declare that, having followed all the di-
rections minutely, they are unable to ex-
tract word of any sort from the reticcnt
machine. A writer in Chambers Joaly1aaJ
is especially severe on what he calls the
three legged impostor," and, though ac-
knowledging that marvellous tales were
told him by two of his friends, who were
eye-witnesses, one an accomplished lady,
and the other scholar Of quickness and
humor, and who, he thinks, certainly be-
lieved them to be true, yet disbelieyes the
whole of it because he could never succeed
in any such efforts at conversation.
1t appears to be of French origin, its
name signifying little board, and is
known to French, Russian and Spanish
courts In England, one maker says he
has sold four hundred and sixty-six Plan
chettes, besides sending several abroad.
This maker declares that the wood must
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10
A Love Story.

ABOUT twenty miles from New York
lives a rich man, who has fine estate and
an enterprising family, ofwhich the eldest
is a beautiful young lady, her fathers pride
and hope Last year, while his elegant
mansion was building, young carpenter,
who had just finished his trade, and whose
sole property consisted in pair of large
hands, stout, good heart, and habits of
industry and soberness, came to work upon
the premises. Very naturally the young
knight of the broad-ax soon fell in love
with the young lady; and, not strange to
say, the young lady fell equally in love
with hlm. She spent considerable time
every day IN watching the progress of the
work, particularly that performed by the
young mechanic, and he found his greatest
incentive and joy in working under the
watch of her loving eyes.
The secret, however, soon becama an
open one, and finally was broken to the
young lady's father lie heard the sad
news without apparent concern, but in a
few minutes, set off for the village. where
he made diligcnt inquiry respecting the
young carpenter, who, he learned, was the
only son and support of awidow, but was
an intelligent, capable, promising young
man. The father returned home, and
calling his daughter TO his room, asked hel
now the matter stood between herself and
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10
Cryptography.

A PARTY in New York sends us cir
cular announcing what he calls his "new
method of key writing and secret tele-
graph correspondence" for which he
states, he has secured copyright. The
circular says: "It is peculiarly adapted to
the necessities of commercial men, such
as bankers, brokers, produce and commits
sion merchants, in telegraphing the rise
and fall of stocks, and Instructions to cor
respondents, etc. While thousands are in
possession of the same secret method,
there is no possible way in which any
communication, telegraphic or otherwise,
can be deciphered except by the person
to whom it is addressed. Every word
that letters can form is key, and any
communication may be written in as many
different ways as there are words or sylla-
bles in any language. To open CORES
pondence it is only necessary to send to
the person with whom you desire to cor
respond a chart, and decide upon some
word for key, such as day, night, land,
ocean, or any other word. Once in pos
session of the chart and key-word, your
correspondence may 60 on indefinitely
without the possibility of disclosure"
In the Democrat of April IS, 1864, we
published an original article on "Secret
Writing" which was widely copied into
exchanges, and in the course of which we
described a method of correspondence by
cypher, which is undoubtedly identical
with the one now claimed as new and
original by the party alluded to above.
AT all events, it answers the description
which we have quoted, and will do all
that he claims for his. We transcribe the
following directions from our article of
four years ago:
Take a square sheet of paper, of con-
venient size, say foot square. Divide it
by lines drawn at right angles into five
hundred and seventy-six squares, twenty
six each way in the upper horizontal row
write the alphabet in its natural order, one
letter in each square; in the second hori-
zontal row write the alphabet beginning
with B. There will then be one square
left at the end of this row; into this nut
A. Fill the third row by beginning with
c and writing A and B after at the end.
So on until the whole sheets filled. When
completed, the table, if correct, will pre-
sent this appearance: In the upper hori-
zontal row, the alphabet in its natural
order from left to right; in the left hand
vertical row, the same from top to bot
tom; and the diagonal, from upper right
to lower left hand corner, viii be line
of rs.
Each party must have one of these
tables. A key-word must be also agreed
upon, which may be any word in the Eng
lish language, or from any other language,
if it can be represented by English letters,
or, indeed, it may even be a combination
of letters which spell nothing.
Now, to send message, first write the
message in plain English. Over it write
the key-word, letter over letter, repeating
it as many times as are necessary to cover
! the messages. Take simple case as an
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10

illustration. Suppose the key-word to be
Grant, and the message We aage f0e days
provisions. 1t should be placed thus:
Grantgrantgran tgrantgrant
Web avefiv dayspr visions.
Now find, in the upper horizontal row
of the table, the first letter Of the key
word, G-and in the left hand vertical
column the first letter of the message, w.
Run line straight down from G. and one
to the right from w and in the angle
where the two lines meet will be found
the letter which must be written as the
first letter of the cypher. With the second
letter of the key-word, r, and the second
letter of message, E, find in the same way
the second letter of the cypher.
The correspondent who receives the cy-
pher goes to work to translate it thus: He
first writes over it the key-word, letter over
letter, repeating it as often as necessary
Then finding in the upper row of his table
the first letter of the key-word, he passes
his pencil directly down until he comes to
the first letter of the cipher; the letter op-
posite to it in the left vertical column is
the first letter of the translation. Each of
the succeeding letters is found in similar
way.
A third party, into whose hands such a
cypher might fall, could not read it, though
he possessed a copy of the table and knew
how to use it, unless he knew the key
word. The chance of his guessing this, is
only one in millions And there is no
such thing as interpreting it by any other
method, because there are no repetitions,
and hence all comparison is at fault. That
is to say, in the same cypher, in one place
a letter, as for instance G, may stand for
one letter in the translation, and in another
place G may stand for quite different
letter.
We stated at the time that this method,
though not generally known, was neither
new nor original. We had seen it several
years before in an old publication, and re-
vived it from memory. 1t is the only alb
solutely safe kind of cryptography, or secret
writing, that we have ever seen. Those
which are based on simpler methods of
substitution can almost always be deci-
phered by experts-Rochester (M ~
Democrat.
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10

Bazzel accounted for this, saying he pur-
chased it of man having those initials.
There appears to be regularly organ
lied band in Bell county for the oppression
and determination of the Union element
BY referring to the statement of Judge
Allen it will be observed that these words
are erased, viz: "John Barr, the Revenue
Collector, informs me that the friends of
Jackson said that it would take six of
these horse thieves to pay for Jackson" !"
The Judge is positive that this was said,
but would not swear to it, or allow it to
be known that he or Barr had mentioned
the subject, for fear of being mobbed by
the party; and thus it was with everybody
with whom 1 conversed-they are in such
dread of this mob that it was with the
greatest difficulty that could get any facts
whatever.
From all that I could learn, it is very
evident that the rebels in Bell county have
determined to kill or drive every loyal
Union man from. the county. This they
are doing every day, and after they get
rid of the men, they seize their stock, or
whatever they can lay their hands on, so
that instead of killing horse thieves, they
prove to be thieves and murderers them
selves
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10
An UnspOtted Character.

MONEY is a good thing, especially in
these hard times, but there is something q
thousandfold more valuable. 1t is charac
ter - the consciousness of a pure and
honorable life This it should be mans
first aim to preserve at any cost. In times
of commercial distress, while some arc
proved and found wanting, others come
forth tried as by fire. Here and there one
comes ont of the furnace far more of a.
man than before Amid the wreck OF his
fortune he stands crect-a noble specimen
of true manhood. We have occasionally
witnessed an example of courage in such
crisis, of moral intrepidity, that deserved
all honor. Let it be the aim Of every bust
ness man, above all things else, to keep
this purity unstained This is the best
possession-this is capital which can
never be taken from him-this is the rich
est inheritance which he can leave to his
children
Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10

Nor PUT Down IN TIE BILL--The
low rates of fare now prevailing on the steamboat
lines between New York and Boston have brought
to the former place an unusual number Of vcrdant
Yankees, bent on seeing the sights of the great
metropolis. One of them, last week, having
missed the boat, undertook to return by the cars,
but. in his search for the New Haven depot,
stumbled upon the Bowery Theatre instead. lie
he recognized several acquantances from his ma
tive town, and was duly ushered into the pit.
There he looked woDderngly around for the
train and il was only after several minutes of AS
tonishment that he found voice enough TO ask his
neighbor, . say, stranger, where do take the
kecrs for BostingY'