davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08
The Prayer Of Agassiz.

The Christian Union (H. W. Beecher),
speaking of the speech by Professor
Agassiz, at the opening of the Anderson
School of Natural History, says Afte-
few opening words, felicitously suited
to put all their minds into fellowship,
Agassiz said, tenderly, and with touch
ing frankress, 81 think we have need
of help. 1 do not feel that I can call
on any one here to ask blessing for
Us. l know I would not have anybody
pray for us at this moment. I ask You
for a moment to pray for yourselves, P"
Upon this, the great scientist-in an
age in which so many other great scien-
fists have concluded that praying is
quite an unscientific and very useless
proceeding-bowed his head reverently;
his pupils and friends did the same ;
and, there, in silence that was very
beautiful, each spirit was free to crave
of the Great Spirit the blessing that
was needed. For our own part, 1t seems
to us that this scene of Agassiz and his
pupils with heads bowed in silent prayer
for the blessing of the God of Nature to
be given to that school then opened for
study of Nature, is spectacle for some
great artist to spread out worthily upon
canvas, and to be kept alive in the
memory of mankind. What are corona
tions, royal pageants, the parade of ar
mics, to Q scene like this ? It heralda
the coming of the new heavens and the
new earth-the golden age when Ma
ture and Man shall be reconciled, and
the eonquests Of truth shall supersede
the conqussts Of brute force.
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08
Growing Old in One Night. i.

The sexton of st. Joseph's Cathedral,
Vienna, being man of extraordinary
nerve and boldness, was accustomed to
stand on the pinnacle of the tower when
ever the emperor made grand entry to
the city, and wave flag as the pageant
passed by. When, however, Leopold,
who had Just been chosen emperor at
Frankfort, was about to enter the city,
the loyal sexton. still anxious to be true
to the old custom, but finding that years
had told against his nerve, declared that
any one who would take his place sue
cessfully should win his daughter.
Gabriel Petersheim, who was disliked
by the sexton, but loved his daughter,
at once accepted the offer, to the dis
gust of the sexton, who then arranged
with two villains to close the trap-door
of the upper stairway, while Gabriel
was above, thinking that as the emperor
was to enter toward evening, no one
need be the wiser, and the lad must
certainly fall before morning. The two
accomplices did their foul work, and
their intended victim, finding his way
down again barred, was confronted with
the alternative of clinging to the spire
through cold, wintry night, with his
feet resting on surface hardly ten
inches in circumference or of precipi-
tating himself to the pavement at once,
and thus ending the matter. Gabriel
was a youth of firm will and hardy con-
stitution he clung to the cold column
till morning. But the story goes that
his rescuers were amazed to observe
that his curling locks were white as
snow his wonted rosy cheeks were yel-
low and wrinkled and his eyes, before
SO bright, were now sunken and dim.
One night Of horror had placed him
forty years nearer his grave.
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08

Angels are our constant attendants
and intimate associates they enter into
and foster all our good affections. and
labor to repress or to moderate our evil
propensities. There is not holy feeling
or an upright thought in human minds,
which they do not inspire /; in short, the
channels through which the Divine
mercy and grace are conveyed to man
kind, who, in their fallen state, could
not, without tteir means, be kept in
connection with the fountain Of infinite
purity and inaccessible delight. Indeed,
the life Of man is supported by spiritual
association, for he could neither think
nor will without the agency of congo
nial spirits. Man is, therefore, not
only attended by angels from Heaven,
but also by spirits from hell and, as
those from above give the power of
thinking and willing what is true and
good, SO those from beneath give the
power Of thinking and willing what is
evil and false. As q man Of himself is
mere evil, in his unregenerate state he
draws into connection with himself such
spirits only as a.e OF q similar nature
and were these allowed to obtain entire
possession of the human faculties, their
unhappy subject must inevitably perish.
1t is only, the-efore. to the providence
of the Lord that we are indebted for
that angelic protection and influence
which we enjoy, which raises us, as it
were, out of hell into the midst between
the kingdom of light and the kingdom
of darkness, and preserves us in the
perfect liberty of turning to the one or
to the other. The vision which was
made to pass before the mental eyes of
Jacob, when reposing on his stony pill
low. is at once clear proof and beauti-
full representation of angelic ministra-
ton. A ladder is presented that reaches
from earth to Heaven, by which the
word is to be understood; and while
God is above and man below it, the in
termediate steps are occupied by angels,
not in state Of rest, but of activity,
ascending and descending. raising the
thoughts and affections of man to God,
and bringing down the gifts of God to
man,
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08
Legend of the Clock Of Strasburg
Cathedral.

Many years ago there lived in Stras-
burg an aged and experienced mechanic.
Buried in his arts, he forgot the ways
of the world, and promised his daughter
to his gallant young apprentice, instead
of to the hideous old magistrate, who
approached the maiden with offers Of
gold and dignity. One day the youth
and damsel found the unworldly artist
weeping for joy before his completed
clock, the wonder of the earth. Every
body came to see it, and the corporation
bought it for the cathedral The city
of Basel bespoke another just like it.
This order aroused the jealousy Of the
authorities, who tried to make the
mechanic promise that he would never
repeat his masterpiece for another
town. Heaven gave me not my talents
to feed your vain ambition" said the
man of craft ''the men of Basel were
quicker to recognize my skill than you
were. I will make no such promise. :"
Upon that the rejected suitor, who was
among the magistrates, persuaded his
colleagues to put out the artists eyes.
The old man heard his fate with lofty
fortitude, and only asked that he might
suffer the sentence in the presence Of
his darling work, to which he wished
to give few final strokes. His request
was granted. and he gazed long at the
splendid clock, setting its wonders in
motion to count off the last-remaining
moments Of. his sight. "Come, laggard, ;"
said the prosecuting magistrate, who
had brought crowd Of spectators, .'you
are taxing the patience of this kind
audience" "But one touch remains, I"
said the old mechanic, "to complete my
work ;" and he busted himself q moment
among the wheels. While he suffered
the agonies of his torture fearful whir
was heard from the clock; the weights
tumbled crashing to the floor as his
eyes fell from their sockets. He had
removed the master-spring, and his
revenge was complete. The lovers
devoted their lives to the comfort of the
blind clockmaker, and the wicked magis-
trate was hooted from society. The
clock remained ruin until 1S42, when
parts of it were used in the new one
constructed by SchwiIgue. .-Lippincotfs
M1O1zine
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08

Three years passed. I had never
heard word of Guy Sedley when one
day the Bromleys, of New York, who
were coming to visit me, asked leave to
bring friend. extended the solicited
invitation. and GUY Sedley came.
It was a shock, but he gave no token
of the past. Reclaimed from his errors
he was SO refined and manly that he
was the most distinguished of my guests.
] loved him, but / thought "He must
hate me, the usurper of his rights. He
is poor because i have his patrimony.
have no right to Redburn, and l will
not keep it. 1 will give it back to him
again.
An opportunity came. He was sitting
on the terrace one bright evening. l
went and took seat near him.
"How lovely this view is" he ex-
claimed, pointing towards the distant
hills.
"Yes, and you shall wish for your
right any longer, Mr.. Sedley. Redburn
is yours. I have no claim upon it."
He did not speak, and l went on,
saying: =,
"Your sister was just, and she would
have made you the heir had she lived
to see what you are to-day" ...
"But it was your mercy, and not your
Justice, Miss Violet, that saved me.
Violet, love you, and 1 will take Red
burn with your hand, not else.
1 put my hand in his, trusting him,
loving him utterly, and proud, very
proud, to make him master of Redburn.
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08

Wisdom will never let us stand with
any man or men on an unfriendly foot
ing. We refuse sympathy and intimacy
with people, as if we waited for some
better sympathy and intimacy to come.
But whence and when? Tomorrow
will be like to day. Life wastes itself
while we are preparing to live. Let us
suck the sweetness of those affections
and consuetudes that grow near us.
Undoubtedly, we can easily pick faults
in our company, can easily whisper
names prouder and that tickle the fancy
more. Every mans Imagination hath
its friends; and pleasant would life be
with such companions. But if you
cannot have them on good, mutual
terms, you cannot have them. If not
the Deity, but our ambition, hews and
shapes the new relations, their virtue
escapes, as Strawberries lose their flavor
in garden beds.-Enaerson.
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08
A Pinch of Salt.

George went to the meadow to carry
a bucket of salt for the cattle. "HOw
odd," said George, ''that nothing can
live without salt What Is salt ?" "Why,
salt is salt to be sure," said the Plow-
man. That is SO, but the answer did not
quite satisfy George.
There is metal called sodium, which
looks like little silvery globes, and it is
a sort of cousin to gold and silver. If
these little globes in their way over the
world meet and are breathed upon by a
yellowish-green vfpor, called chlorine,
they varnish in an instant and in place
of the two sodium and chlorine, there
is grain of salt. It is happy thing
in nature that these do come together
very often, otherwise we should have no
salt, and salt is necessary for all sorts
of life.
1t is found almost everywhere. 1t is
in the great oceans there are also salt
lakes, and salt springs, and salt noun
tains, and salt fields. Spain has great
mountain of salt; and Poland has some
wonderful mines, where you are let down
into pit, and come to workshops where
hundreds of men are hewing out blocks
of pure white salt, which shine and
sparkle in the lamplight like diamonds.
In America there is Q famous lake.
Silt springs are very common. The sea
water is pumped into broad fiat pans,
and left in the sun to be dried up.
When it is dried up the salt is left in q
crust on the bottom of the pans. There
are also great salt works in England.
If water gives us salt, so also does
fire. After an eruption, the cracks and
crevices of Mount Vesuvious are often
covered with thick coat of salt. Huge
blocks of it were once found very near
its burning mouth. The people of Ice
land, too, often carry whole wagon loads
Of salt from their burning Mount Hecla.
There are plants likewise which can
yield small supply. By the seashore
grows gray, prickly, homely plant,
called saltwort. Our soda mostly comes
from the ashes of this very plant. Do
you know the curious and pretty ice
plant It sometimes Grows in gardens !;
oftener in green houses. This is great
treasure to the people Of the Canary
Islands, who raise It in large fields, pull
it up, burn it, and drive good trade
with the soda which they get from its
ashes. What stores of useful things
are to be found in nature.
Animals which live ON vegetation e.
pecially delight in salt. Wild beasts
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08
Poetry.
Work and Wait.

A husbandmsn, who many years
nsd ploughed his fields and sown in tears,
Crew weary with his doubts and fears.
II toll in vain These rocks and ssuds
WI yield no harvest to my hands;
The best seeds rot 10 barren lands.
My dropping vine is withering,
No promised grapes its blossoms bring;
No birds among Its branches sing.
My flock is dying on the plain,
The heavens are brass-they yield no rain
The earth is irou-I toll In vain"
While yet he spske breath had stirred
His dropping vine. like wing Of bird,
And from Its leaves a voice he heard
The germs and fruits OF life must be
Forever hid In mystery;
Yet none can toll In vain for me.
"a mightier hand, more skilled than thine,
Must hang the clusters on the vine.
Aud make the fields and harvest shine.
Men can but work God can create;
But they who work, and watch, and walt,
Have their reward, though It come late.
Look up to Heaven behold and hear
The clouds and laundering in thy ear
Au answer to thy doubts and fear"
He looked, and lol cloud-draped car.
With trailing smoke and names afar,
Was rushing from distant stsr.
And every thirsty fock and plain
Was rising up to meet the rain
That came to clothe the field with grain.
And on the clouds he saw again
The covenant Of God with men,
Rewritten with his rainbow pen:
Seed time and harvest shall not fail.
And though the gates of hell assail,
My truth and promise shall prevail"
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08
How 10 Discover Ones Station.

Though it may be granted that the
words of the catechism, which require
a man to do his duty in the station to
which it has pleased God to call him,
to give an admirable definition of our
obligation to ourselves and 10 society I;
yet the question remains, How is any
given person to find out what is the
particular station to which it has pleased
God to call him2 A newborn infant
does not come into the world labeled
scavenger, shopkeeper. bishop, or duke.
One mass of red pulp is just like an
other, to all outward appearance. And
it is only by finding out what his facul-
ties are good for, and seeking, not for
the sake of gratifying a paltry vanity,
but as the highest duty to himself and
to his fellow men, to put himself in the
position in which they can attain their
full development, that the man discov-
ers his true station. That which is to
be lamented, / fancy, is not that society
should do its utmost to help its capa-
city to ascend from the lower strata to
the higher, but that it has no machinery
by which to facilitate the descent Of
incapacity from the higher strata to the
lower
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08

on the plains, and deer, as we'll - cat
tie in onr barnyards, are fond Of it. In
deed, life would perish without salt.
A man weighing one hundred and fifty
pounds has in him . pound Of salt ct
least. His body needs it in order to be
strong and healthy. If this is no longer
to be had, his flesh falls away, he loses
his hair, his eyes grow dim, his bones
become soft, and his whole system
breaks down.
Long ago, even among the Arabs of
to-day, bargains are made binding by
the use of salt. A tray of salt is put be-
tween the two contracting parties, each
take piece, and that means good faith
forever. .....
You remember the Lord Jesus tells
his people to be the "salt of the earth, !"
that is, to live so as to shed q pure and
wholesoms influence around where no.
thinR:corrupt Can live. And st. Paul
says our words must be seasoned with
salt"
A pinch Of salt is q very common
thing, We see it every day on the table,
and never think of it, much less think
how curiously God has made the world
one great salt-cellar for our use and en-
joyment
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08
Miscellany.
A Strange History.

A curious case, says the Pail Mall
Gazette, was lately brought before one
of the French tribunals. Eighteen years
ago young man named Eripe was con-
demned an cOIltltDldcidm to ten years
penal servitude for forgery and embez-
element committed in Paris. He had
misappropriated some four thousand
francs, but he voluntarily confessed his
guilt few days afterwards, making re-
stitution, at the same time, of the sum
which still remained in his hands. The
manager of the office in which he was
employed, who entertained an excellent
opinion of him, was anxious to hush
the matter up, but the police insisted
upon his prosecution. Eripe avoided
arrest, and enlisted in a cavalry regi-
ment under the name of Lemaitre, a
former school-fellow. He served for
three years, and bore the best of char
acters, but being offered clerkshlp In
the Aisne, he deserted. The real
Lemaitre was arrested on this charge.
but he had no difficulty in proving his
innocence, and Eripe was again con-
demned an cO;it,tDldcidm to ten years
hard labor for usurping name which
did not belong to him. He, in the mean
while, had been gaining the esteem Of
his employer, at whose instance he con-
tracted a marriage under the name of
Lamaitre, by which he was still known.
His wife died soon after their marriage,
but her parents were so much attached
TO him that they bequeathed him some
property, and obtained for him a more
valuable appointment in a manufactory
at Fismes. Here he made second mar
riage, which also proved happy one,
and he seemed on the high road to for
tune. One day, while he was talking
with the station master on the platform,
q train arrived, the engine-driver of
which happened to be the real lanai
tire, who recognized Eripe and de-
nounced him to the police. He was at
once arrested, and it is needless to say
that the matter created immense ex-
eitement in the district. He was ar
raigued upon the charge of forgery, but
he did not attempt to deny his identity,
and he very wisely based his defense on
the ground that he had lived honestly
since the commission of his first fault,
eighteen years ago, asserting what was
the literal truth that he could not have
discontinued the use of the name under
which he had enlisted without betraying
himself. He moreover begged the
Court to remember that in two years
time he would have been able to plead
the statue of limitations and his case
was strengthened by the presence OF his
second wife and her family, who en-
treated the Court to take lenient view
of his conduct. A petition was signed
by more than 1,2OO inhabitants Of
Fismes, who bore testimony to his e1-
cellent character, and the jury returned
a verdict of acquittal, which was re-
ceived with loud and unchecked ap-
plause.
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08
Paying Off the Indians.

Each one brings his little bundle OF
sticks and presents it to the agent to
register. Sometimes a dialogue like
the following occurs "How many have
you in your lodge?" The Indian care
fully and with great ceremony counts
his bundle of Fifteen. "How
many men ?" 1.-TWO" The agent lays
aside two sticks. "How many women?''
Three" Three more sticks are sepa-
rated. "How many children ?" Eight
Eight more sticks are added to the
heap. "What is the meaning OF these
two sticks that remain ?" The culprit,
whose arithmetic had not served him to
carry out his deception, disappeara
amid the shouts and jeers of his COM
panions, who are always well pleased at
the detection of any roguery in which
they have had no share.
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08
The Fetch. or the Doppelxanger.

1 have known several instances oi
persons who have seen the ''fetch," OF
apparition of living person, called in
Germany the "Doppelganger;" yet,
though such appearances are usually
supposed to portend the death or illness
of the person thus strangely doubled, u
I have never yet heard of case where
any unpleasant consequences followed.
For instance, an old friend of mine, q
gentleman of undoubted veracity, once
told me that on one occasion he entered
his house about five o'clock in the after
noon, and ran upstairs to his mothers
bed-chamber, where he saw her stand
ing near the centre of the room, clad in
loose white gown and engaged in
combing out her long black hair. He
remained looking at her for some mo-
ments, expecting that she would speak
to him, but she did not take any notice
in any way of his presence, and neither
spoke nor looked at him. He then ad-
dressed her, but, receiving no reply,
became indignant and went down stairs,
where, to his amazement, he found his
mother seated by the parlor window,
dressed and coffee as usual. 1t was
some years before he would trust him
self to tell her of what he had seen,
fearing that she might consider it an
omen of approaching death, and indeed,
though not a superstitious man, he was
inclined so to view it himself but his
mother lived for many years after the
appearance of her wrath. I also knew
young gentleman to whom the un-
pleasant experience of beholding his
own double was once vouchsafed. He
had been spending quiet evening with
some young ladies', and returned home
about eleven o'clock, let himself into
the house with his latch key, and pro-
ceeded to his own room, where he found
the gas already lighted, though turned
down to mere blue spark. He turned
it up, and the full light of the jet shone
on his bed, which stood just beside the
burner, and there, extended at full
length, lay-himself. His first idea was
of burglar or some such intruder. But
his second glance dispelled that impress
sion. He stood for some moments gaz-
ing at the PROSTATE figure with feelings
which must have been anything but
agreeable he noticed little peculiari-
ties of his own dress and features, and
marked the closed eyelids and easy
respiration of slumber. At length,
plucking up courage, he attempted to
pass his hand under the pillow to draw
out small revolver which he usually
kept there, and as he did so he felt the
pressure of the pillow, as though
weighed down by reclining head.
This completely unnerved him. He
went out of the room, locking the door
on the outside, and spent the remainder
of the night on a sofa in the parlor. He
did not re-enter his chamber till broad
daylight, when, to his delight, he found
that his ghostly visitor had vanished
Lippincotfs Magazine.
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08
Italy in Summer.

Most American travellers think that
Italy should be avoided in the summer
They make great mistake. They for
get that . large part of it is in . higher
latitude than our chief Atlantic cities,
and that westerly breezes, which in the
United States blow over . hot conti-
nent, are here cooled by the Mediter-
ranean. Rarely il the heat 80 insuffer-
able here q in those cities.
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-10-08

II we are cheerful and contented, al
nature smiles with us; the air seems
more balrny, the sky clearer, the ground
has brighter green, the trees have q
richer foliage, the flowers . moro fra
grant smell, the birds sing moro sweetly,
and the sun, moon and stars I'll appsal
more beautiful