davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11
A Tradition Of Venice.

The following singular tradition is re-
lated of key in collection of curiosities
preserved in the arsenal at Venice
About the year 1900, one Of those dan
gerous men in whom extraordinary tai
ents is only the fearful source OF crime
and wickedness beyond that Of ordinary
men, came to establish himself as n mer'
chant or trader in Venice, The stranger,
whose name was Tebaldo, became enam-
ored of the daughter of M ancient house,
already af1ianced to another. He de-
manded her hand in marriage, and was
of course refused. Enraged at this, he
studied how to he revenged. Profound
ly skilled IN mechanical arts, he allowed
himself no rest until he had invented
the most formidable weapon that could
be imagined. This was key of large
sixe, the handle of which was so con-
structed that it could be turned round
with little difficulty. When turned, it
disclosed a spring, which, on pressure,
launched from the other end needle or
lancet of such subtle fineness that it Ell
tered the flesh and buried itself there
without leaving any external trace.
Tebaldo waited in disguise at the door
of the church in which the maiden whom
he loved was about to receive the nup
tia benediction. The assassin sent the
slender steel, unperceived, into the
breast of the Bridegroom. The wounded
man had no suspicion of injury, but,
seized by sharp and sudden pain III the
midst of the ceremony, he tainted, and
was carried to his own house amid the
lamentations OF the bridal party. Vain
was all the skill of the physician, who
could not divine the cause of this strange
illness, and in few days he died.
Tebaldo again demanded the hand OF
the young maiden from her parents, and
received a second refusal ; they, too,
persisted miserably in few days
The alarm that these deaths, which
appeared miraculous, occasioped. excited
the utmost vigilance of the magistrates
and when, on close examination of the
bodies. the small instrument was found
III the gangrened flesh, terror was uni
versal every one feared for his own life.
The maiden thus cruelty orphaned had
passed the first month of her mourning
in convent, when Tebaldo, hoping tr
bend her to his will, entreated to speak
to her at the gate, Her reply was mos
decisively in the negative.
Tebaldo beside himself with rage, at
tempted to wound her through the gate
and succeeded the obscurity Of the
place prevented his actions from being
observed. On her return to her room
the maiden felt pain in her breast, anc
uncovering it, she found it spotted witt
a single drop of blood The pain in
creased; the surgeons who FASTENED tc
her assistance, taught by the past, vast
ed no time in conjecture, but cutting
deep into the wounded part, extracted
the needle before any mortal mische
had commenced, and saved the life of th'
lady. The State Inquisition used every
means to discover the hand which deal
these insidious and irresistible blows
The visit of Tebaldo to the conven
caused suspicion to fall heavily upol
him. His house was carefully searched
the infamous invention discovered, an,
be persisted on the gibbet
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

ECONOMY OF ANTs-Naturalists dwell
With admiration upon the extraordinary
habits of ants in warm countries, Even
with us these little things, hardly large
noueh to be seen with glasses, particu
llrly red ones that infest sugar bowls
and play antics in pantry, manifest IN.
teliigence that puzzles philosophers
One species in Peru is ehout an inch
long. They actually travel in snch vast
bodies as to make paths through juDgles
which travellers follow. On the veracit'
of several distinguished explorers they
have been seen on march in fearful
hot sun, each protected by a green leaf
carried by the stem, shading themselves
as a lady does with her parasol, Not
only in the construction of their domicliS
do these insects exhibit tact and skill IN
reference to comfort and security, hut
their expeditions in pursuit of favoril'
food, crossing streams and commuuca
ing good or bad news quickly through
an extensive colony, is even more a mat
ter of establishment than their architec-
tural activity. 1t is generally adm'ttcl
that anCenue or feelers protruding from
the head of insects are the Guiding organs.
Through he SENSATIONS transmitted II.
them, all their doiugs are regulated. It
is thought that the government OF q
beehive is regulated by the Vibrations
communicated through the teelers. It
cut off, all order appears to be destroyed
not one knowing what TO do. A few
experiments with pair of scissors would
settle the question respecting their Office
with termites, or indeed most insects,
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

The FLOODS. letter from Vienna
describes the effects of the recent floods
in Bohemia as most disastrous and fatal.
At Bilsa there were 70persons killed and
10 houses destroyed, at Saroch so dead
and houses, at Zelena 2S dead and 7
houses destroyed, at Holetitz A dead
and Is houses destroyed, and at Horo.
WITT 40 people killed. Several villages
are still uninhabitable, and it was found
that famine would add to the number of
victims. In many places the inhabitants
sought shelter on the roofs of the houses,
a place of refuge which often proved
treacherous. Aid committees are being
everywhere organized and subscriptions
raised on behalf of the sufferers,
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

SOAP A CAUSE OF SKIN DISEASE. -
"Prime old Brown Windsor Soap is
said to be now manufactured almost Ell
tirely from "bone grease" In the
preparation Of this material, bones OF
every description and in every stage OF
putrefactlve decomposition are ground to
a fine powder and submitted to the &c.
ton of water boiling under pressure i'll
a digpster. The resulting mixture is then
cooled, when the undissolved bone earth
settles to the bottom, while fats or oils
rise to the top, and between these rests
a solution of the bone gelatine in water,
Out of this gelatine solution by suitable
processes patent isinglass is manuiac'
tured for the preparation of the SOUPS
and jellies of the pastry cook, while the
oil or grease is saponi6ed and converted
into Zine old Brown Windsor" In
the soap thus produced there remain
fine particles of bone earth, which, when
the soap is rubbed on the face, as i'll
shaving, lacerate or scratch the skin,
and the wounds thus produced are, ac'
cording to some, poisoned by noxiou'
matters originally existing in the bones
and which all the processes of putrefac
ton, extraction at high temperature
and even saponifcation, have failed tc
destroy.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

DIED FROM THE BITE OF A SBUNK. =
Douglass. Died in Russell, Nathaniel
Douglass, aged 40 years. The singular
part of this case is in its progress of the
fatal termination. Mr.. Douglass, with
other hunters. came into Russell, as has
been their custom, buying their outfit
here. Mr.. Douglass complained OF hav'
ing a violent pain in the thumb Of his
left hand. He called at the Office of DR..
Burwell for medical advice and assist
ance, Mr.. Douglass thought he had a
felon coming. The doctor examined
his thumb thoroughly and found no ap-
pearance of felon nor the symptoms OF
one. Mr.. Douglass then told the doctor
that about five weeks ago, while camped
on the prairie on Brush creek. neal
Parks Fort, about one hundred miles
west of this place, he was bitten in the
night while asleep by skunk. The
savage animal fastened on his thumb,
and could not be made toloosen his hold
till pounded nearly to death and choked
off The pain extended up the arm
reaching the shoulder, with sharp pains
shooting through the chest, the pain in q
measure leaving the thumb Douglas
complained of choking sensation in the
throat and a difficulty OF breathing, and
could swallow only with great effort, but
appeared cheerful and hopeful, and was
about nearly all day, visiting different
business places in town. In the evening
at about seven o'clock, the doctor wa'
sent for in haste. The doctor immedi
ately visited him, and found him in
raging condition could not get any
thing down him or into his mouth, anc
found that he had eaten nothing durins
the day. Every breath stirring, or The
slightest disturbance, brought on those
paroxysms. Dr. Burwell did all tba
medical science could do to relieve hi
patient, but to no purpose, only to ALA.
momentarily. From this time on hi
continued to grow rapidly worse, tn
paroxysms more frequent, harder, ant
Of longer duration, until death came t.
his relief. Russell Kansas Pjn'nsmn".
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11
Building her Nest.

Inc construction OF une exterior INES
is the spiders first operation. She seems
careless about the shape of the area
which they lncose, but spares no pains
to strengthen and keep them in proper
degree of tension. With the former
view she composes each line of five or
six or even more threads glued together,
and with the latter she fixes TO them,
from different points, u numerous and
intricate apparatus of smaller threads.
Having thus completed the foundation,
she proceeds to fill up the outline. Al
taching thread to one Of the main lines,
she walks along it, guiding the carrying
thread with one OF her hind feet, that il
may not become permanently glued, and
crosses over to the opposite side. wh're,
by applying her spinners, she firmly
fixes it. To the middle of this diagonal
thread, which is to form the center Of
her net, she fixes second, which in like
manner she conveys and fostens TO
another part of the lines inscrihlpg the
area.
During this preliminary operation.
Nhe sometimes rests, as though her plan
required meditation but no sooner are
the marginal lines of her net firmly
stretched, and two or three radii spun
| from it's center. than she continues he,
labor 50 quickly and uuremittingly That
toe eye can scarcely follow her progress,
The radii, to the number Of about twenty
giving the net the appearance of a wheel,
are speedily finished. She then pro
ceeds to the center, quickly turns herself
round, and pulls each thread with hcl
feet, to ascertain its strength, breaking
any one that seems defective and re
placing it by another. Next, she glue,
Immediately round the center five or sly
small concentric circles, distant about
half line from each other, aud thcl
four or five larger ones, each separated
by space OF half an inch or more
These last serve as a sort Of Temporary
scafioldng to walk over, and to keep IT,,
radii properly stretched while she glaze
to them the concentric circles that are tC
remain, and which she now proceeds +,
construct Placing herself at the ciI
conference, and fastening her thread tC
the end Of one of The rAdii, she walks NJ
: that one towards the center, to such
distance rs to draw the thread from he
body of sufficient length to reach to til,
next then stepping across and conduct
ing the thread with one OF her hind feet
she glue5 it with her spinners to thu
point in the adjoining radius to which |
is to be fixed. This process she repeat
| until she has filed up nearly the who'll
space, from the circumference to TIN
| center, with concentric circles. distan
from each other about two lines. Sh
always leaves vacant intervala roun,
the center, but for what purpose it j
difficult to conjecture. Lastly, she run
to the center and bites the small cotton
like tuft that united all the radii. which
being now held together by the circula
threads, have thus, probably, their elias
f ITCHY increased, and in the circula
4 opening resulting from this procedur
she takes her station and watches 70
prey,
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

A MAN and wife living at Long Lake,
in the Adirondack region, were, nearly
two weeks since, fishing there at dusk
They were sitting on rock in the lake
the woman with handkerchief over her
head. One Palmer, a guide, with a
companion was lowing across the lake,
and noticing the white handkerchief, in,
auired what it was. The opinion was
given that it was q gull, when Palmer,
replying that no would soon decide,
drew up his rifle and fired. The dis
lance was somewhat greater than be
thought, and the ball falling struck the
woman in the breast, killing her almost
instantly. Palmer is said to have be-
come almost insane at the result of his
shot.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

How THEY SHAVE IN CHINA.-A fellow
who has been shaved in China says that
his barber first stropped the razor on
his leg and then did the shaving without
any lather. The customer demonstrated,
but was told that the lather was entirely
useless, and bad a tendency to make the
hair stiff and tough, and was, therefore,
never used by persons who had anv
knowledge of the face and It's append
ages. After the beard had been taken
off and il was done in very short
time-the barber took long, sharp,
needle-shaped spoon, and began to ex'
plore his customers ears. He brought
up from the numerous little crevices
bits of wax and dirt that had been accu'
mulating since his childhood. The bar.
her suddenly twisted his subjects neck
to one side in such manner that il
cracked as if the vertebra had been dis
located, Hold on " shouted the par.
ty, alarmed for the safety of his neck,
"All right !" replied the tonsor; "me
no hurt you :" and he continued to jerk
and twist the neck uatil it was as Timber
as an old lady's dish-rag. He then fell
to beating the back, breast, arms, and
sides with his fists, and punched the
muscles until they fairly elowed with the
beating they received. Then he dashed
bucket of cold water over his man
dried the skin with towels, and declared
that his work was done. Price, two
cents.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11
Persevere and Prosper.
AN ARABIAN rALE, by JOHN o, SAKE.

AN ARABIAN TALE, BY JOHN o, sAIL.
ITO the manly will there's ever way y
Said simple Arab youth;
"And I'm going to try, this very day,
Efmy teacher tells the truth
Hes always saying--the good old man
Now, please remember my dear.
Your sure to win, whatever you plan,
If you steadily persevereP
mean to try it,--upon my life !
III go through fire and water
and, since wish to marry wife,
I'll have the Calif's daughter ~"
70 off to the vizier straight he goes,
Who only laughed at the lad :;
And said him " Aay"--as you may suppose
For he thought the fellow was mad
And still for many and many a day
He came to plead his case,
But the Vizer only answered May
And laughed him in the face,
tlast, the Calf came across
The youth in the Vizier's hail.
And, asking what his errand was.
The vizier told him all.
Now by my head" the Calf said,
"Tis only the wise and great
Califs daughter may ask to we'd
For rank with rank must mate
Unless mayhap, some valiant deed
Nav serve for an equal claim.
For merit, own, should have its need
And princes yield to fancy
In the Tigris once gem was lost,
Twas ages ard ages since,
ruby Of wondrous size and cost,
And At for the noblest prince,
That gem, my lad, must surely be
somewhere beneath the water
60. find it, boy, ard bring it to me,
Then come and marry my daughter !"
And so Twill" the lad replied,
And off to the river he ran:
And he dips away at the foamy tide
As fast as ever he can
With little cup he dips away;
Now what's the fellow about?
Ees going to find the gem some day,
By draining the Tgris out
And still he dips by day and night.
Till the fishes begin to cry,
This fellow is such willful wight,
He'll dip the river dry"
And so they sent their monarch to saw
"a wise and reverend fish,,
Nov why are You dipping our water away
And what do you please to wish ?"
"I want the ruby, SIR" he cried;
Well-pleasc to let us alone,
And stop your dipping" the fsh-king cried
"And the gem shall be your own"
And he fetched the ruby of wondrous size
From out Of the foamy water;
And SO the lad obtained his prize,
And wed the CslFs daughter
LENvoI
This pleasant story was meant to teach
That pluck If more than skill;
And few are the ends beyond the reach
Ofs strong. untiring will
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

The COLISEUM BUILDING. In the con-
struction of the COLISEUM ut Boston,
there were used 1854, 421 feet of timber
l94,711 pounds of nails, spikes, bolts,
etc; 1,&6,000 Shingles, and between 10,
600 and 5000 panes of glass. The
plumbing consumed $3.50 feet of iron
pipe and 3,470 pounds of lead pipe, to.
gether with material used in the con.
struction OF 100 water closets, 96urinals,
20 iron sinks, 14S drinking fountains,
and IL marble washstands. To paint
the interior, or rather to color it, re-
CURED 60 barrels of glue, and the labor
of Is men for little more than week
in painting the exterior there were used
two tons of white lead and six barrels o.
linseed oil. The staining of the upper
windows cost about $500, and the paint
ing on the fenca about rs much more
A rough estimate at the cost OF the
building, as it now stands, puts the fig
ure at $3.50 600, and the item of Labor
was about $42,50O per week for six hun
dreG and fifty men.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

The New York and Brooklyn bridge,
when completed, will have total length
OF 5,862 feet, and width OF so feet; the
central span will be 1000 feet long,
with an elevation of 1870 feet above high
water; the towers will be 26S feet in
height above the surface Of high water,
and at the base will be l34 by 80 feet
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11
A Cool RObber.

Policeman Badger, of the Tenth sta
ton, had bit of experience last win
er which he is not fond of talking
about 1t was past midnight as he was
Ieisurly pushing his beat through Jes.
sup street, and as he came opposite TO
Drlyton & Fogg's ]ewelry store he OBJ
served CLEANS Of light through the
chiuks Of the shutters and raped OF the
door.
"Is that you, policeman ?" said y
voice within.
eyes, answered Badger.
"Well.-it's only me. It's all right.
Kind O. chilly out, isn't it ?"
Yes"
Thought SO. was just fixing the
fire. Goodnight"
Badger said "good- night" and pur-
sued his way.
An hour afterwsrd Badger passed
through Jessup street again, and again
he saw the light in the iewelry store. It
didn't look right. and he banged at the
door loudly.
Halloo !" cried the voice within.
is it you, policeman p
Yes"
"All right Won't you come in and
warm You? It won't hurt anything for
You to slip from your beat few min
utes."
The door was opened, and Policeman
Badger entered, and found the inmate to
he very gentlemanly looking man, in 8
linen duster.
"Come right up to the stove, police
man. Excuse me a moment"
The man took the ash-pan from the
bottom of the stove, and carried it down
cellar and emptied it, and when he ha6
returned and wiped his hands, he ssiC
with smile:
Chilly night, isn't it p
Eyes"
"Chillv outside. and dull inside
(Another SMILE. New goods for thu
spring trade, and have to keep our eye
open. Lonesome work, this watching
all night but / manage to find a bit o
comfort in his. Won't you join me in
tip2 You'll find it the pure thing"
And the man in the buster produced
black bottle and tumbler.
Policeman Badger partook, and hav
ing wiped his lips, and given his finger
a new warming, he left the store and re
sumed his beat, satisfied that all wa
right in at Dayton & Foeg's,
But the morning brought a new re
! veaIment. Doyto & Foggs store hac
been robbed, during the night Of ST
thousand dollars worth of watches ant
jewelry and though Policeman Badge
. carries in his mind an exact daguerreo
type of the robber, the adroit rascal ha
, not vet been ound,-New York Paper
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

It's costly moist
Ran down his beard
-ure-bear '-his-beard- his-shed.
Ran down his beard his--down
His robes it's costly moist--h's beard
--ure--shed-h is-cost--h robes IRE SHE'D
Its co-st-l-i-e moist ure shed
The Bishop being asked bis opinion Of
this performance, replied th&t he had
paid no attention to the music, but that
his sympath4es were so mnch excited for
poor Aaron, that he was afraid he would
not have hair left. Religions Herald
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11
The West Point Cadet.

The life of a cadet at the United States
Military School, West Point, is not a
monotonous one by any means, for he
has IA daily round of changing duties and
recreations, spiced with adventures after
"taps," when it is officially assumed
that every student is in bed. He is
aroused from sound sleep at five O'Clock
by the morning gun. and the reveill'
summoning him to early roll call. He
must be in the ranks few minutes later.
At half-past five he must have his room
in order. He is not allowed a waiter,
horse, or dog, and must perform all the
sweeping. folding of bed ling. busting,
aud work of that kind himself. This
done. he proceeds to study until the
drum tap, Tor breakfast roll. call at seven
o'cIrck. Then he marches with platoon
to the mess bail, where he is allowed to
remain twenty-five minutes. Then he
has half an hour for recreation during
guard. mounting, when at eight O'Clock
the bugle calls "to quarters" which
means five hours of rotations, class
Darades. Ell ceiero. From one to two
O'Clock is the time allowed for dinner
and recreation, At four o'clock the
work OF the Academy is over Drill
occupies an hour and half, when sea
son of recreation follows, and the pleas
ant dress parade takes place at sunset.
Supper over, he has thirty minutes for
recreation. when the bugle calls him to
quarters aud study. Tattoo beats at half,
past nine, and taps at ten. when the
lights are extinguished. This comprises
the usual daily routine of a cadets life,
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

CALIFORNIA HARVEST. The harvest
season for wheat, barley, and oats, in
California, is in the latter part of May
and in June. After the middle of April
the rains cease, and the whole harvest
season is absolutely without rain, Thus
the farmer is not hurried, and the har-
vest proceeds with none of that haste
and anxiety about the weather which
trouble the Eastern farmer. The small
grains are usually gathered by "A machine
called header" which clips off only
the heads of the grain stalk. Wheat,
oats, and barley are thrashed on the
field, put into bags, and left either on
the field or along the railroad, for weeks
often, in the open air, and until the
crop is sold and shipped. The grain
does not sweat, nor is it liable to injury
from this exposure. Hay, too, is baled
or stacked on the field, and left there
until it is wanted. Potatoes are often
left in the ground long after they are tit
for digging.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11
his robes

And DER his robes
Ran down his beard-ran down his
----.--.------ DER his robes
His robes, his robes, ran down his beard -
Ran down
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

Black walnut sap is the latest Tor SUI
gar.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

Bishop Serbury once heard an amateur
choir perpetra'eo fugue Of this verse
True love is like that precious oil
Which, poured on Aarons head,
Rar down his benrd, and DER bis robes
Its costly moisture she'd
Here is the fpgue, as SING with great
violence
Ran down his beard, and oar his hend
Ran down his beard
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-07-11

Ran down his beard