davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30
Y MORNING, OCTOBER 30, 1868.
Sper0s.

bat few Of the many people who us'
sponge could say whether Il is an anims
or vegetable production. Il was not un'
I'll comparatively short time since tha
the voice Of tho best naturulists decided !
was an animal DR.. Johnson, In his "Tres
tise on British Zoophytes." says :--"6pon
ges, therefore, appear 10 be true xoophyies
and il imfarts additional interest to theii
study to consider them as they probably
arc, the first rnatrix and crudlo OF organic
life. and exhibiting before Us the lowest or.
ganization compsiible with its existence y
Sponges aro dvisible Into fresh and salt.
water sponges, and these again have each
scyernl subdivisions.
When a sponge is taken out Of the wateI
there b seen to escape from II q fluid re'
Stumbling In appearance the white Of On egg.
The substance from which this Huid ex.
.udes will be found. on examination, to con.
sist Of number OF slender threads % In.
terlaced as to form a complete network.
These threads arc horny, smooth. and oi
unequal thickness. and form tho outer Gov.
ering to minute spikes Of silicious or calca.
reous matter. When examined under q
strong magnifying glass, these objects are
found to consist ofinorganic pieces, having
an internal cavity, the function Of which Is
not shown. ...... ... ..
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

Those composed ofsilceous matter are
for the most part needleshaped the calca'
reous ones are moro varied in form, some
Of them having three or four prongs at one
end. The two sorts are not found togeiher
In tho same sponge and spongcs in which o
great number OF either kind arc found arc
TOO rough and harsh for domestic purposes
These snd tho horny threads together make
up the fabric which 10 the home Of the
sponge animal. In and ont OF Il the gela.
tino,s Huid mentioned above, flows and re.
flows. carrying on In the labyrinth Of horny
passages the different processes Of its little
understood life. For the sponge animal
exists In this fluid, which has an unctuous
feel, eIni,s when burned fishy smell, and
appears TO the naked eye a. q transparant
coIorsess medium, like white Of egg. Exam.
insd under the microscope, Il Is seen to
consis, Of very small, Transparent, spheri.
cal srsnules. which arc taken TO be the
very sponge animals themselves. By some
wonderful procsss OF secretion and .ssim
ilation, these s,rangc creatures subtrse,
from tho water In which they live tho ele.
ments necessary for the construction Of
their house and pile and cement them. sf.
ter % woykmanliks a sort, d n6(6ins
short Of violence will destroy the fabric they
rear out of,hcm.
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30
A,,,rrus.-Tbe drink called ..bsintb,

AsMErHs.- The drink called ssbsinthes
which b used exisnsircly In Fnnce, and
we understand to some extent In New York
City. owes i,s peculiar intoxicating proper
tics to the essential principle contained In
obsinihium Tor wormwood). from which L
inkes hs name. A French physician. who
I,ns been studying tho different alcoholic
drinks served to Thirsty p,cop!a. ssys' "Ab:
sinthe Is prepared by dstilling sprigs Of
wosmuood. angelica root etc. This mig.
ture appears simple. You have hcasd Of
prissc acid, which instantly kilIs any ssi.
NAL touched by it1 Pour six drops OF psus.
sic acid into quart Of water; take snotb.
er basin and pour six drops or slsinths into
. quart Of water. Throw into both hasins
some live 6shes. Those thrown into the
basin with absinlhs win die foSs times
sooner than tl,ose thrown into the basin
containing prussic acid." -rra
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

An old negro. named Pete, was very
much troubled about his sins. Perceiving
him one day with . downcast look, his
master asked him the cause. 'sOh, rnassa ,
/ am such great sinner" "But, Pete" "
.aid his master. ''you arc foolisi, TO take Il
N much TO heari. You never go mo
,,onbIed about my sins" NJ know dc .rea-
.on msssa." said Pete. aWhen you 60
out duck shooting, and kill one duck and
wound snoder, don't you nin after dc
wounded duck7" EYES, PsteS = and tho
master wondered what was coming next.
.Well, masa, dat u do way wd you and
me. DO debbel hsb got you suro , but as
he am not surc oh mo, no chsses dis chile
all do time." ''l
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

Our sce Is characterized by tho grandes'
devoIopeu,ent of, necbsnical power evei
known in iIio history Of the human raee
The machine power or England and Wales
II competent to perform tho labor Of nearly
six hundred millions OF mon and p Pruha'
bly, greater in productive capacity than the
Iai,or power Of all the worli besides. The
machine power or the United States, though
growing with amazing rspidiiy, does not
moro than equal the labor power OF two
hundred millions Of men. il 10 owned, OF
course, almost exclusively BY the North.
This mechanical power, wherever devel.
oped. and wherever posressed, 10 placing
me communities employing Il lar in oil.
financial power. This form OF industrial
energy began to take growth In England
about a century ago. when that countr,
was yet almost exclusively agricultural |;
when II exported largely Of grain, and I'm.
ported largely Of manufactures; when its
industrial interests were all In languishIng
condition and when. consequently, u val Q
too feeble 10 suppress "rebellion" repro.
scented Ivy fifteen OF twenty thousand sol.
diers under tho command Of George Wash.
ington. Abundant statistics arc available
to show that the agricultural communities
OF England have advanced since that time
very slowly and inconsiderably, except 90
far ~ they have been stimulated by the
presence OF manufactures and that the de.
velopment OF the lslan,l. in the intervening
period, has occurred exclusively In It's
mining and manufacturing population.
So vast Is the present capacity Of Great
Britain for protection anil for the execution
OF labor that 1t can underl'id the whole
world in tho sale Of merchandise and even
the enierprising Northern Stntes of Amer.
icn, Notwithstanding tho anl derived from
tho highest tariff ever enforce'i, nre about
to experience financial collapse, In con-
sequence Of an excess OF iniports over ex.
ports In their foreign trnde; an excess
amounting to severnl hundred millions of
dollars per annun. So completely does
this tremendous machinery power secure tn
Great Britain the command OF trade and oi
the tribute OF the world, that other co,in.
tries will have to reverse their previously
annexed sxioms Of political economy, In
order to protect their industrial interests
from tho crushing competition Of 90 col.
os@l q poweL-Hsai's MeyehGnis Mcgu.
zine.
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

Forward. THg SNrH BRioApE 20
the whole number Of men furnished by the
Stnte Of Maine, to put down the rebellion
] III bore the name OF Smith. or these
81 answered to The name OF John F; 40 be.
Ing John simply, and IS were John with on
addition. The country owes debt Of
gratitude TO Mr.. Smith, and the rebels have
rcuson to remember tho name Of John
Smith. Yet the Smiths were not alone In
the war. Seven hundred and seventy.seven
good and true citizens Of this State, mem.
bcrs Of the Brown family, marched boldly
10 their support; and these again were sup.
ported by three hundred and sixty.fve gal
liant reE resentaiives Of the Jones family.
Tie names Of Smith, i'rown and Jones will
hereafter rank high among tho nobility Of
our Stn,e.-Both Times. ..
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30
s,Irsr Mrr.-wa,biueton never made

SILENT MEN.-Washington never made
speech. In the zenith OF his fame ho
once attempted It, failed, and gave Il up
Constitution OF the United States, the labor
was wholly performed in committee ofihe
whole, OF which George Washington was
day after day the chairman, but he made
but two speeches during the convention, OF
avery few words each. The convention,
however, acknowledged the master spirit,
and historians affirm that had Il not been
for his personal popularity and the thirty
wor,ls OF his first speech, Vronouncing It the
hest that could bo united upon, the Consti.
tuition would have been rejected by tho peo'
pie. Thomas jefferson never made Q
speech. tie couldn't do 1t. .r
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

The Kilkenny cats have passed into ,
proycrb. Even that tale Ii almost matched
by one more recent, Of hen which wen
to lay In new patent hens nest, IN which
The eggs drop through trap door and 81
dcceives Biddy that she keeps on laying
This particular hen went on the persuader
as tie invention 10 called, and never came
of agnin. The owner visited the persund
er al night. In the upper compartment
he found handful Of feathers, few toe
nails, and bill. In the lower co'npart'
mcnt wers three dozen and eleven eggs:
Tho delicate constitution Of tho hen had
been unequal TO the effort, and, 6red ny
young ambition, she had laid herself all
aWav.
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

A correspondent ofthe New York Even-
ing Post, writing from Seymour. Con-
ncct;cut, gives the following account Of
how pins are manufactured: ~, ,.i re-
The pin machine Is one of tho closest
approaches that mechanics have made TO
the dexteri.y Of the human hand. A
small machine, about the height and sire
Ofa ladies' sewing machine, only strong
or. stands before You. On tho back aide
q light belt descends nom the long shaft
at the ceiling that drives all the machines,
ranged in rows on the floor. On the LEFT
side Of our machine hangs on peg o
small real Of wire, that has been straight
ened by running through compound
system Of small rollers.
This wire descends and the end Of 1t en-
ters the machine. This Is the food con-
sumed by this snappish, voraclous littlc
dwarf. lie pulls Il In and bites II of by
inches, necessarily, one hundred and forty
bites to the minute. Just as he selzes
each bite saucy little hammer, with q
three taps and ''upsets" Il to head, while
he Rrips Il In a cOunter-sunk hole between
his teeth. With an outward thrust Of his
tongue he then lays the pin side wise In q
little grove across the rim OF small
wheel that slowly revolves just under his
nose. By the external pressure Of q sta
tionary hoop these pins roll In their places,
rs they are carried under two series or
small files, three In each. These files
grow finer towards the end OF the series.
They lie ut q slight INCLINATION or tho
points Of the pins, and by series OF
cams, levers and springs are made to
play "like lightning" Thus, the pins
are pointed and dropped In little box.
Twenty-elght pounds OF pins Is days
work for one or these jerking little anto-
nations. Forty machines on this floor
make five hundred and sixty pounds OF
pins daily. These arc then polished.
Two very intelligent machines reject every
crooked pin. even the slightest Irregular
ity Of form being detected.
Another antomation nSsorts half
dozen lengths In as many different boxes,
all at once and unerringly, when care
less operator has mixed the contents OF
boxes from various machines. Lastly, .
perfect genus of machine hangs the
pins by the head In an inclined platform
through as many "slots" as there arc
pins In row OH the papers. These slots
converge Into the exact space spanning the
length Of u row. Under them runs the
strip of pln-paper. A hand-llke part Of
the machine catches one pin from each on
the slots rs Il falls, and by one move
ment sticks them all through two corrug-
ated ridges In the paper, from which they
are to be picked by taper fingers In boli-
dOirs, and all sorts of human fingers In
all sorts Of human circumstances.
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

a jovial artist was painting so,no divine,
who ieit Il incumbent upon him to eivo
tho painter moral lesson during ono of
his siiiings. Somewhat In awe of the artis,
he began rather nervously but q the
knight Of the brush painted away without
any sign OF annoyance, hs gathered cour.
ago % be procee'isd, and finally admins.
tered P!otiy good sermon. lie paused
Cor q reply. and confessed afterwards tha,
he never felt % insisui6ean, in his lie o.
when the anis', with the urbane bot posi-.
live authority OF hiA profession. merely
said, sTurn your head littIe to tho night,
and shut your mouth" - =
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30
NUMBER 45.


There is," says Humboldi, "no Other
outvard manifestation or force known TO
u-'hs murl.ruus inventions Of our own
race 'ncl,nled-ihrough which, In the bsief
Penoh OF lev seconds or minutes, larger
numoer OF human beings have been do.
stroyed than Ivy earthquakes" Lightning
and storm, wnr and plague, arc but weak
aud inefficient agents of Destruction In
comparison with tho earh's internal forces.
And ~ earthquakes srrpan sll other phe.
noincna - agents Of sudden destruction.
% the impression which they produce oo
those who, for tho first time, experience
their effects. b peculiarly and indeseribly
awful. Men of reputed oourass speak Of .
feeling Of "intolemble dread" produced ly
the shock OF an earthquake, seven when
'nnsccompanied by subtersneen noises.
Tho impression 10 not that Of simple Seaf,
hut feeling Of absolote pain. The reason
seems for . whilo % have lost the power q
separating resi from imaginary causes q
terror. The lower animals also are thrown
into state OF terror and distress. "Swioe
and doys" says Husnbojdt, "srs particu-
larly affected bv tho phenou,sna OF eafsh-
quakcs." And hs sdds that "the very
CEuCoNtbC8 kUo StuSlUCOs OsssSt
dumb a. our little lizards, leave the shaken
bed Of tho stream and run bsllowiog into
the woods" Humboldt's explanation Of
tho peculiar sensations Of alarm and awe
produced by an earthquake upon thoss who
for the first time experience the efects OF
tho phenomenon, 10 In al probability the
correct one. s'f'bo inpression hero b not"
he says. .the consequences OF Tho rcoolIec.
ton OF destructive cstastrophes presented
TO our Imagination by narratives OF h'sso.,.
cal events what seiies us 20 wonderfully
Is The disabuse Of that innate faith IN the
fxidity Of the solid and surest foundations
Of tho earth. From early ehidbood We
arc habituaied to the contrast betwcea tne
mobile element water, and the imn'oohty
OF the soil OF which we stand. Al Tho ev:
licences Of our senses confirm this belief.
but when suddenly the ground begins TO
rock beneath us, the feeling OF an unknown
mysterious power in nature coming into oP-
Grafton and shaking the solid globo,. arises
In tho mind. TIE illusion Of the whole OF
our earlier life II annihiluted 10 an Instant.
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

A lew days ago school mistress 10 the
country wss taxing down tho names and
uscs oi her scholars, at tho commencement
Of The term She asked littlo whiio
beaded boy: .Bub. how old arc you ?"
he said, .my name ain't Bub, its John" "
"WeiL" sail the schoolmistrcss, "what 10
the rest OF your namer .Why, that's oil
the name Two got-just John, "WelL
what . your fathers name r "You need
not put psp's name down, he aint coming
to school any he's too bigi 70 to SCHOOL,
"Well, how old arc you:" Il aint old q,
I'll, I'm young" a. .f,a g,.r
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

A Dodge township, Wis, Democrat was
waited ON the other day by colporteur.
The colportcur asked him if ho did no,
want TO purchase Bible. mo. her didn'l
want any, "Well,' said the colporteur.
"ir give you one will you receive and
read Il ?" aNo, be didn't want to read u,
for !, was full Of Ryublieaa ted'iss. and
he didn't want any book oi that kind In h's
Gs,piIy ~
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

We all rocollect tho anccdoto OF tho pom.
pous rebel general, who, At ccria'n Tune
when no enemy was 10 sight, announced
to his captain Of artillery that the er'ss ,s .so
como and commanded him 70 fre. ino
CAPTAIN orlered his men TO sc,iou, wnen
they wished TO know whist they should ,l',
att, sVhy," said be- aiho crisis d'dn,;
YOU hear the General Say that Il had come!
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

A man was dying. lie had fr;end-sn
author. Tho friend csme to him. To
comfort him ! no 10 read . manuscript.
He produced . packet, and drew biz chair
TO tho hedssds Of The dying man. "Only
few chspten," be cried, ,nsinustingiy.
"But my dear frisWd, urged the fai.s voios
Of The departing ooe, 'd've only % boar to
live What wss the replyf "Yss, yes, ]
know all that. but this will ooly saks swso'
~ minutoe.D 81
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

Jusr LIKE HIM.-Gen. Grant has issued
fewer proclamations and manifestoes thnn
any other American who ever filed 40
large space in the public eye; yet each
casual revelation Of his character increases
the respect and confidence OF his fellow.
citizens. He never volunteered any ad.
vice to his countrymen with reguri to their
political duties and perils; and we owe
mainly to the fact thar Committee Of Con.
gress summoned him before 1t as a witness
and sharply catechised him, our knowledge
that his comprehension Of the whole subject
Of Reconstruction was clearer, and hIs grasp
Of the whole matter frmer and stronger
than that Of any of our vaunted statesmen.
lie could not have known beforehand what
questions would be asked him; for his an.
swer to one question often suggested the
next; und if tho former were asked by
Republican, the latter often emanated from
a Democrat; and the two querists certainly
had no mutual understanding as to the driit
Of their several inquiries. We doubt wheth.
er ,hero is another man In the country
whose ideas as to the proper treatment Of
the late rebel communities would command
such wide acccptance-now that tho pas.
sions evoked by the war have meas,lnbIy
coole,l-as would those casually developed,
man,festly without premeditation, by U. ..
Grant.
The Evening Brlidin (Philadelphia)
gives the following characteristic anecdote
Of the great Union soldier:
At one OF the Cabinet meetings (while
Grant wus Secretary Of War, Mr.. John.
son wns intl,,lpiIy in some of his charac
tcristic self Qualifications over the "sacri.
fees" he had male for the country, and one
or moro Of his Cabinet joined in the same
stnin OF sslCpraise. Gen. Grnnt said :
"Well. gentlemen, % far as am concern.
ell. have never made any sacrifices for
the country. The country has always
done nore for me than have done for L..
. suppose I would be ready to make sacri-
fees, hut have never had the opporluni.
ty l think that, As general rule, our pub.
lie ,nen get moro from the country than
they give to it,"
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

A gossip wen, to condoIe with woman
whose husband had been lost at sea, and
among other things said to Tho widow that
sho would bc ta,IIcr poorly of she feared.
Tie mourner admitted that this would bc
The case, but yet she Ind no good cause
orco,npIain,, ss her husband had saved her
the expense Of his burial. ..
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

SINGULAR FAcrs.-You may pass wet
stick, or your naked hand, previously dip.
ped in waicr, through running stream Of
molten iron, cutting il to and iro as you do
80, without the slishtes; injury to either.
Water, or even Mercury. which freezes al
~ degrees below the freezing point Of
waier. may be frozen into solid mass ut
the bottom Of platinum cricible at white
heat Tho explanation is that the hand
and The sick do not really touch the iron,
nor the mercury or water the botiom oftho
cruciblc, cushion Of steam being instnn.
taneously formed around them which pro-
vents contact with this extreme heat, much
in the sane wsy rs sheet OF snow viii
protect tho ground from extreme cold.
l.annlresses Try their irons in this way.
lf the water on them rolls of without boil
ing, they arc too hot hat if il sputters and
boiis, they arc just ready for use. The rea-
con OF this h that this cushion Of vapor ID
inssan,aneously formed, aud prevents the
extreme surrounding heat from reaching
beyoud tho surface Of tho water. IL The
,e,npen,urs is reduced by cooling OIL the
furnace by the addition Of moro fuel, the
ws,er almoss expiosively takes the form oI
s,esm. and in this way without doubt, many
boilers, whici, have been proved equal "a
any other test have collapsed.
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

A Paris newspaper contains the follow.
ing interesting advertisement ~ father
wants to find Tor his son school Where he
could get healthy and manly instruction.
md where tlIe teachers do not Oil the
heads OF the boys with humbus stories
abo Ut nations which died and wers buried
thousands Of centuries ago."
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

wirginsss 10 . teacher, and oos nigh,
drank too much ltsnonsde-or something.
iis eamo into tho room among his wifs and
daughters, and tumhled over tho cradle
and fsli whop on The foor. After while
be rose and said:-"wifs, nre you hun ~
No" Daughters, arc vos hurt I" "ANo. F"
"Terrible clap, wasn't itr'
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

Deacon Brown lately took occasion To- ID.
uinis,er 9 rsproof to oId Joe for swearing.
In. I;sseocd susntivsly TO hs woris, seem
ID TO appreciate tho eahortatioc. snd when
- Ind concluded, replied - follows :"Ths
Sct h. deacon. that may swear . grsas
deal, and you may prsya q grcat deal, but
neither Of 10 mean anything b t." Tia
deacon slludos 10 Joe ~ IN iussanos a 70
raj deprsviiy.
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

when tho Pacific Railroad : opsu %
Ban francisco, i , p'opsssd 2 Pases spea
the line "a ho0symoon car." boe !hs g.
prrss uso Of bridal parties. A. whole srsla
ofthem vii b wantesl II BridShem feeeg
should take h Into his hesd TO msny 9 NV
latch. 80.
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

Thcs.tour.hs OF the difficulty and mis-.
er;es of men come from the fact that mos
Of them want wealth without deserving u,
popul, ,ri,y without paying the price, neann
without temperance, respect wsthout VIZ
tue. and happincss without holiness.
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

Scholars arc msu Of peace; tbsy hesr
no unns, bat their tongues ara. snsIe'
than Actus' psos; their pens cary Isnne';
and siye q report louder th:n ,hinosa: -.
I,.d r.,hsr stsnd IN the shock OF, besss'sS' ;
than in the fury OF . merciIs@ Pen.
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

On a shelf arc IL books-if person
.bould remove them wiihout noticing their
orior, what would DC tho probability cfh's
replacing then, ~ they were. 'sI-- =
The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-10-30

How rHsr VOTE IN GREEcE.-Vo,ing in
Greece is somewhat different from voting
in America. The polling places ARE church.
es. Thirty ballot boxes arc placed ON tho
floor. each oi them bearing the name Of a
candidate. Upon one lalfof the hox, paint.
ell whiic,is written EYES," and OF the other
half, painted black, is written "No." A
clerk attends the voter, with thirty bullets,
and, when opposite tho box, pronounccs
tho name or the candidate, AMI hands the
voter bullet. Passing his arm up fun
mel about foot in length, the voters han,l
arrives unseen ut a division in the box, aud
he drops the hall right or lch," Eyes or "no," "
as the case may bc, AMI 80 on thrOugh hout
the whole thirty. The system is said to
insure secrecy and perfect order.