davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-06-09
A Bit of Astronomy.

| l SUSPECT that not one child in fiftY,
under twelve years of age, could tell me
exastly how any one knows that the moon
is really larger than a soup plate, or
whether it is as far or farther away than
Boston.
Now don't shrug your pretty shoulders,
and laugh, and say l must be crazy to
think you don't know that. 1t is not so
easy matter to know many things Just
right; and hope you will not say one
boastful word about your knowledge of
the subject, until you have thought it over
carefully, and seen how much you really
know certainly. Wise men are very eau
tiOus indeed, and know what they say, and
the reason for it.
No one ever comes from the moon coun-
try, to give US descriptions of it. and one
has great deal of trouble in studying it,
since he cannot go there. The imam in
the moon" is not at all social, either, in his
ways, as you know, and l never heard of
anyone getting any sort of information
out of his ugly mouth. We have to learn
things the best way we can, all by our
selves, one thing at time, and that often
very long time. will tell you to-day
about the size of the moon, and how men
are able to find out exactly what its size
is.
The moon is a globe, whose diameter is
that of the earth.
Now, how" do you ask, can know
that?"
There Is a method something like this;
Let US take, for example, cent piece,
which measures about an inch in diameter,
and let it be placed between the eye and
the moon, at any distance from the eye. 1t
will be found on the first trial, that the
coin will appear larger than the moon; it
will, in fact, completely conceal the moon
from the eye, and produce what we may
call total eclipse of the moon. Let the
coin be moved farther from the eye, and it
will then appear smaller, and will seem to
grow less in size as its distance from the
eye is increased. Let it be removed until
it seems exactly to cover the moon, and
neither more nor less.
II the distance from the coin to the eye
be measured, it will be found to be about
ten feet, or one hundred an twenty inches,
or, what is the same, two hundred and
forty half inches. But it is known that
the distance from the moon to the earth is
about two hundred and forty thousand
miles; so that it follows in this case that |
one thousand miles in the moons distance |
is exactly what half an inch is in the coins |
Now you all understand, I suppose, how,
in geography, you measure a country on |
map, when you know the scale of the |
map; if, for instance, you have the map of |
Illinois before you, made on a scale of
fifty miles to an inch, and find, by measur-
ing, that there are about two inches of the
map from Chicago westward to the limits
of the State, you would at once be able to
say that the real distance between those
points must be about two times fifty, or
about one hundred miles.
Now, in the case of measuring the dis
lance across the moons disc with the coin,
we have found the scale to be half an inch
TO one thousand miles; since, then. the
coin measures two half inches in dame
ter, the moon must measure two times one
miles, or two thousand miles in
Corporal.
South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-06-09
Youths Department.
TIE MOE LITTLE PRESENT.

CAN you des what my papa did brin me tonight ?
You might dess yots Of thins, but you wouldn't
dess right.
OF do not believe dat you could dess,
Now, if was a derl, you would say a new dess,
But as l am boy, and dust four years old.
Do you think You could dess, II you never was
toldi
Dey are not velly lon and not velly short,
But dey are the incest dat ever was bought,
Dey are black as can be, have yittle yed tops.
And the yed begins just where the black stops.
Dey have two little heels. and two funny ears,
And sometimes dey squeaks so that all the folks
hears.
Dey were de incest my papa could det me.
I would seep in them if mamma would yet me,
/ s'pOse she yud say twas a velly bad plan,
So I'll teep my eyes open s'lOng as can,
And OF all my presents tits dis one dat suits,
These dear yfttle sgueakY, yittle red-top boots.
I'll help my dear mamma. and I'll rock de baby
III be ever so dOod, and den some time, may be-
If he makes yots o. money, my dear papa might
Det some squeakier boots dan he dot me tonight
For of all de music, It's dis kind that suits,
De bid squeak dat comes out OF de new pair OF
boots. -BOStOa journal.
South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-06-09

would be the best off, and begin to be
dishonest too"
Ada is right" said her mamma, COM
INTO the room; be honest because it is
right, my son; that is the only safe rea-
SON. Try to please God, whether any
gain comes from it or not; you will not be
able to see how doing the right thing is
profitable in 9 temporal point of view;
but it will matter little, when you come to
die, whether you have been bestof in this
world or not" .
"I thank you, mamma" said Harry.
" In future l will endeavor to do right be-
cause it is right, and is pleasing to God,
whether it seems to my advantage or not"
South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-06-09
True Reason for Being Honest.

"HONEsTY is the best policy" said Har-
ry aloud; "and mean always to be hon
est"
"What does policy mean?" asked his
sister Ada, looking up from her book.
"Why this" replied the boy, that if
you are always honest, even though it may
not seem the wisest thing for yourself at
the time, you will get best off in the
end"
Z" / don't think" replied his sister, that
is a good reason; because if you saw dis
honest people getting on better for long
time, you would, perhaps, get tired of
waiting for the time to come when you
South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-06-09

MILKING TUBEs.-A writer in the
Prairie Farmer cautions all persons
against using quills for drawing milk from
cows: Forty or more years ago boy,
said to have been below par in intellect,
made the wonderful discovery that the
milk would run out of cows udder by
inserting straws in the teats. The discoV-
cry went the rounds of the papers, and
the result was that many of the lazy boys
and some others were sitting on their
stools and seeing the milk run into the
pals through straws, quills and tin tubes.
in about two months the papers had to
chronicle facts like these: Mr. A. has had
his valuable cow ruined by having been
milked with straws;' MIR. B. has had
good cow nearly spoiled by having been
milked with tin tubes ETC., etc"
South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-06-09
RIVER OF LIFE.

BY S. r.
THERE is stream whose waters lave
In gentle now, or swelling wave,
The face Of every land,
ana tiny boatlets hither 90,
And thither, mid the ceaseless flow
That eddys DER the strand.
Not ocean depth, nor mountain height,
nor silent vale, nor desert blight,
Excludes its fiery beat;
Whcre'er the blessed sunlight falls,
Or eve TO deeper nightshade calls,
Its countless currents meet.
The peasant hamlet-'neath the brow
or Alpine cliff, mid crad'ling snow,
LIS sparkling waters bless;
The Arab tent, within the shade
OI tow 'ying palm; the everglade,
Ali feel its loveliness.
River OF Lifei Thy pulses sound
With measured throb, on either bound
OF ever-moving Time.
In Paradise thy utmost vergel
And ever since thy rolling surge
Hath sought a heavenly cline.
Oi River, sweetl on thy dear breast
Bear thou thy children home to rest
From ev'ry earthly ill;
That on the banks of heavenly streams,
Where Life and Love give fuller CLEANS,
They drink eternal fill.
South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-06-09

THE following is from the will of mar
iner of Bristol, England, proved 1875;
My executors to pay, out of the first
moneys collected, to my beloved wife, if
living, one shilling, which / give as token
of my love, that she may buy hazel nuts,
as know she is better pleased with crack
ing them than she is with mendiHg the
holes IN her stockings.
South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-06-09

A CITIZEN of a Western State was
boasting that in his town there wasn't
either a doctor, a lawyer, or town clergy
man, and only one rum seller. How
many inhabitants are there altogether?"
asked a bystander Well" was the re-
ply, "there's only my family and brother
Jal1e's and Jake is the rum-seller
South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-06-09
Poetry.
TIE EHEN1NG HEARTHsT0NE

0!zADLT now we gather round IL.
For the toiIing day is done
and the gray and solemn TWILIGHT
FOLLOWS down the golden sun
oecao0Ws lengthen on the pavement,
SlalA IKE giants through the gloom,
enaer past the dusky easement,
creep around the fire-lit room
Draw the curtain, close the shutters,
= flace the slippers by the fire;
Inongh the rude wind loudly mutters,
What care We for windsprite's irey
What care we for outward seemingY
flckle tortune's frown or SMILEY
Ii around us love is beaming,
Love can human ills beguilei
Meath the cottage roof and palace,
from the peasant to the king,
All are quaffing from life's chalice
Bubbles that enchantment bring.
crates are glowing. music flowing
From the lips we love the best;
On, the joy, the bliss of knowing
There are hearts whereon to restI
Hearts that throb with eager gladness-
Hearts thst echo to our own
While grim care and haunting sadness
MIngle ne'er in look or tone
Care may tread the halls of daylight
Sadness haunt the midnight hour,
but the weird and wi tching twilight
Brings the glowing hearfhstone's dover.
Altar Of our holiest feelingsl
Chlldhood's well-remembered shrine,
Splrlt-yearnings- s-soul-revealings-
hreaths immortal round thee twine.
South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-06-09

WHEN making playful contracts, adjust
able many years ahead, with very young
ladies, gentlemen will do well to call in a
Competent arithmetician before closing the
bargain, and have the possible results
properly figured up. Here, for illustration,
is Miss Susie Evans, of Bainbridge, who
sues Curtis Cooper, of Guilford, Conn, on
a contract made fifteen years ago, by which
Mr.. Cooper agreed to give Miss Evans
one eve lamb and its increase until she
was twenty y-one years of age, in consider
alton of gold watch-key. The suit is
brought to recover the sheep or its equiv
alent. The evidence showed that the in
crease was to besin eve lambs, and that
the natural increase of flock of sheep
would double every year. According to
this estimate, Miss Susie would have at
the end of fifteen years 16,064 eve lambs.
The justice declined to give judgment for
so large number, because, he said, he
was afraid Miss Evans wouldn't be able to
find pasturage for so many.
South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-06-09

A RELIGIOUS fanatic in Germany has
willed that his body be embalmed and
nailed to a cross, and placed in the organ
loft of the church. This done the church
receives sixty eight thousand guldens.
The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-10-05

JENNY LIND AND THE BIRDs--I re-
member hearing the stage drivers story
of Jenny Lind when she was riding in
the country. A bird of brilliant Dlu-
mage perched on the tree near by as they
drove slowly along, and trllled out such a
complication of sweet notes as perfectly
astonished her. The coach stopped, and
reaching out, she gave one of her finest
roulades The beautiful bird arched his
head on one side, and listened deferen-
TALLY; then, as if determined to excel
his famous rival, raised his graceful throat
and sang a song OF ripping melody that
made Jenny rapturpusly clap her hands
IN exstacy, and quickly, as though she
was before q severely critical audience IN
Castle Garden, delivered some Tyrolean
mountain strains that set the echoes fly
ing Whereupon the little bird took it
up, and sang and trilled, till Jenny in
happy delight, acknowledged that the
pretty woodland warbler decidedly out
carrolled the great Swedish nightingale.
Our Dumb An5mdts.
The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-10-05
FARMERS COLUMN.
FROM GRASS TO HAY.
Cor. Western Rural.

COEs WCpOCAA NOA"A'
There is no part of the year, or portion
IF the life of horses, cattle, and sheep
esnecially store stock, IN which they Sc
often suffer for lack of care, food, and
shelter. as during the season from the
failure of grass o the time when they are
regularly Installed in Winter quarters,and
are receiving their Winter daily ratlons-
The bleak winds, chilling Storm long
nights, cold ground, and trostbitten grass
of Novemb Der, have very different effect
upon all farm stock, from the warm
stables, soft bedding, early cut hay APP
petizing Swedes, and daily nursing OF
January and February
OF the many excuses offered by farmers
for negecting their stock at the season
scarceI " one of them is worth the hear
ing; but still they are made understand
inglv if not orally, and have the effect to
stultify and quiet the cons fence OF the
herdsman, to the great detriment of his
stock.
Ifeverv ock-holder would receive as
truth, embrace It as such, fully compre'
hending It's importance ana various
bearings, that any and everything that
much or little inter eres with the comfort
of animals, lessons their thrift and costs
him dollars and cents, there would be
much less in the weeks Intervening
Summer and Winter quarters. There Is
such reluctance to commence 1eeo1ng
out the grain, hay, coarse feed IN the Darn
and roots in the cellar, that the STOCK is
often left to browse and grub Oh the hills,
= "a hos on tho meadows
the w0ods,as long and late in the Autumn
as they continue to fill" themselves to-
erably full, with the mistaken idea that
until they begin to look lank and sharky
they are "getting along" and the Winter
feed in the barn is saved
But stock may look full without
hunger being satisfied; yes, and they may
be full constantly, and all the time being
poor, as it matters little whether they are
full of bleachrd stubbles, grass, bushes
leaves, or wind.
And if they have DO place to feed day
times away from the bleak and chilling
Autumn winds. or to lie nights except on
the cold and wet earth and unprotected
from wind and storm, they will be. I'm
comfortable, and necessarily deterlorate
IN consequence.
A fat animal keeps warm easier, and
of course requires less food for fuel, than
a lean one ard it is far better that stoch
should come 10 Writer quarters extra fal
than otherwise.
The Winter quarters should be SO con
8tructed as to exclude frost at pinch Of
Winter" and all other times, and yet 81
as to have good air-especiaIly for milct
cows,-whicE may be done and allow tiVt
times the cubic size Of eacn animal, fol
each to occupy.
The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-10-05

Scenes of very grotesque nature are
constantly occurring in Paris, before the
special tribunals appointed to dec de be-
tween landlord and tenant. What is
your trader" said a justice of the peace to
tenant in the Seventeenth arrondlsse
ment, who pleaded inability to pay his
rent. "Perfumer," was the answer "and
a bad trade it is" "Bad trade, indeed y
exclaimed the landlord " his pieces of
soap cost him two sous, and he sells
tn, N for fifteen. He is well able to pay"
"That's false" roared the tenant; " the
trade is bad and who ever thought Of
washing under the commune ?" The
Judges only remit rent in cases where IL
can be shown that the tenant was heavy
loser through cessation of business"
The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-10-05
AFFAIRS.

POSTAL AFFA1Rs.-This is the
year for re-adJusting the salaries of
Postmasters. The adjustment is
based upon postage received and stamps
cancelled during the six months from Ju-
ly 1st, to January 1st, next. 1t is not the
stamps SOLD nor the stamps bought but
the amount of stamps cancelled which is
made the basis of this adjustment. Hence
every patron of his home post office shod
see to it that all his letters are deposited
at his own Post Office, and not sent away
by private hands, nor dropped into rail
way mail cars. Railway clerks salaries
are fixed and in no way affected by the
stamps cancelled All the legitimate
postal business of any community, town,
or city, should be done through the home
Post Office, as the more the business the
higher the salary, and the salary should
be proportional to the rightful business
of the office.
The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-10-05
ARE SUNDAY WEDDINGS VoD ?-I

ARE SUNDAY WEDDINGS VoD p
There is, we heard an eminent lawyer
allege few days since, no marriage
legal which is celebrated on the Sabbath
dav. There are, no doubt, twenty thou
sand couples in this State alone,for whom
the marriage ceremony was performed
on the Sabbath--many IF them on the
evening of that day. A note drawn and
signed on the Sabbath day is illegal, or
any other legal agreement between par
ties. Marriage isa legal contract, which,
| if performed out of legal time, necessari
ly must be void and, claiming this, the
sons and daughters of a recently deceased
millionaire mean to contest his Will, be
cause in that a large portion Of his. es-
tate was willed to the c5ildre1 of their
stepmother, who was welded to their
father on a Sabbath, in church in the
city of Rochester, in this State. If the
question is to be decided that such mar
riages are illegal, another long catalogue
Of vexatious suits will be brought into
our courts by parties similarly related as
the one above mentioned.
The decision lately rendered by a
learned Judge of our courts, that mar
riages Of minors are illegal, and a divorce
for such not necessary in order that they
can separate and remarry legally. since it
was carried into immediate practice by
the parties for whom the decision was
rendered, is proving baneful to society
The harm that This decision does to our
social system is temporary only, and it
the entire marrying population but learn
of this decision, the future will witness
less elopements of young couples, and a
less number of cases where guileful and
designing men entice young ladies from
home to wed them. That the ceremony
of marriage performed for minors on any
and all days Of the week, or for a couple
where one is a minor and other an adult
should be pronounced illegal ana nom
effective, is not STANCE. But IN the lace
of long practiced customs, that Sabbath
day weddings are illegal, will strike
thousands with feelings akin to conster.
nation. With all our laws and codes,
it is indeed, strange that hose legal en-
actments which most concern our person
al welfare and happiness, ale least known
and least understood by the general pub
lie, including our most intelligent pco
| ple.-An1ericCn Society,"
The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-10-05

A MAN Dies OF GLANDERs.--A Hagers-
town special to the Baltimore Sun says /:
farmer. whose name [ have forgotten,
residing near Weverton on the Potomac,
died to day from having been poisoned
IN consequence of getting the virus OF
glandered horse into small sore on DIS
finger. He survived only SIX or sever
days, breaking out in the meantime all
over with putrid sores, suffering intense
agony until modification supervened
His attending physician had no doubt o.
the malady being contracted as above
stated. So offensive, fearful and repul
sive was the corpse that with grea'
difficulty could any one be induced to g
near it to aid in it's lnterment.
The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-10-05

An anecdote of Lord Chief Justice Holt is
as follows A poor woman was arraigned for
witchcraft. The witness deposed that she
used "spell." The 'spel'-produeedsi sin
evidence-was line from one Of the classic
poets, written on parchment. The Justice
demanded to see it, apd it was handed to him.
"How came you by this?'' he asked of the
prisoner. "a young gentleman, my Lord,
gave it to me to cure my daughters ague."
" Did it cure her ?" "Oh yes, my Lord, and
many Others" Il am glad of it," said the
Justice. 'Gentlemen of the jury, when ]
was young and thoughtless, went to this
woman's house with some companions, had
no money to pay the reckoning, and pretend
ed that by ''spell' l could cure her daugh-
ter's ague. She accepted the proposition,
and let us off scott free. If anyone is punish
able it is the Lord Chief Justice, and not this
poor woman" Ofcourse she was acquitted.
but the credulcus multitude affirmed that the
judge and jury were all brlbed.
The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-10-05

Some three years ago girl who is now
seventeen located a farm in Kansas. The
land was perfectly wild, and she employed
no male help; bat her success has been
such that on Tuesday Of last week, she
was offered for Der farm a sum ten times
the amount she paid for IT, She refused
the offer, and says thai, in five years more,
she will retire to the East and live on the
interest of her property.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-08-02
WHO WiS TO BL4VE'


The inquiry into the cause of the explosion
on the Westield has brought to light so far
these significant facts: 1. The boiler was un-
sound, though it had only recently been in
spected and pronounced perfectly SAFE 2. The
safety valve was out Of order. 3. The pressure
of steam was in excess of the amount allowed
by law. a. The engineer was not at his post.
The fragment of the boiler thrown upon the
wharf has been examined by several experts,
who all agree that the rupture followed the
line of an old crack. This flaw writes an
engineer, " is not less than four feet six inches
/" in length by actual measurement" and he
adds that it must have existed for a long time.
That is to say we suppose il must have
been in existence when the boiler was in
spected on the 12h of June and yet it was
not discovered Mr. Matthews, the Government
Inspector testifes that he subjected the boiler at
that time to a hydrOstatic pressure of 40
pounds to the square inch, and found "no
leaks or deviations OF the surface" Yet here
is crack which seems to have been previ-
ously produced probably by unequal expansion
and contraction, and which such pressure
would have been likely to aggravate, and the
inspector does not see il. If Mr.. Matthews
did his duty faithfully-and it is only just to
remark that he has long borne n high charac-
ter-does it not seem that the present system
of testing boilers il not only imperfect but
positively mischieyous! that conscientious
inspection by means of the pressure test in
creases the very dangers ii is intended TO pre-
venta Whether the defect could have been
detected by greater care in carrying out this
system OF inspection is point yet 20 be set
lied and will doubtless receive due attention
az the inquest
The responsibility for the other facts we have
mentioned will be easier 10 fix. IL is well
known that safety-valves are liable TO cOrro-
son and when they have been for some time
unused much higher pressure is needed to
raise them than their weights Indicate Mr..
Whitney, the engineer whom we have already
quoted, examined the safety-valve of the
Westield, and found it rusty and neglected.
81 am strongly disposed to believe" he says,
that the apparatus would require m ch more
pressure to lift the valve than when it was
Originally fitted for use.n But this is not
mere matter of conjecture. The engineer of
the boat testities that just before the explosion
the locked safety gauge was blowing of at a
pressure of 81 pounds. The common safety
valve was weighted at % pounds, yet 81
pounds did not raise lit. How much would
have raised it, we sllall never learn. We only
know that it had /been allowed to grow stiil
with rrs. until 1T ceased to be safeguard,