davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
Diamond GOssip.

The glowing subject of diamonds is
fruitful with inexhaustible reminiscent
ces. heard of a man who was once
breakfasting with Lord Macaulay, when
the conversation turned on the subject
of the regalia of different thrones, and
Macaulay went from diamond to dia-
mond with his marvellous memory. He
would, of course, speak of the famous
Pitt diamond, which was brought by
an Englishman into Europe and placed
by Napoleon in the hilt of the state
sword of France; of the great Austrian
diamond; the great Russian diamond,
and of perfect mountain belonging to
the crown of Portugal, which is said to
be worth nearly six millions. There is
counter-statement that this is merely
fine colorless topaz; and the Portu-
guese- sovereign does not submit the
case to any scientific arbitration. No
diamond has more marvellous history
attached to it than the Keh-i-noor,
which has been recut, with increased
effect, since the time of the Exhibition.
dare say many diamond hunter WON
ders whether his rare happy lot will
ever alight upon a gem that shall be re-
nowned as the great gem of the regalias.
Almost countless are the stories that
might be told about diamonds. The
Diamond Necklace belongs both to his
tory and romance. In the "Moonstone"
a popular novelist has apparently made
some use of the history attached to the
diamond purchased by the Empress
Catherine. 1t was like a pigeons egg,
and formed the eye of an Indian idol.
1t was pillaged by deserter from the
French service, who had managed to
get himself installed as priest in the
idol-service. The empress gave him
nearly hundred thousand pounds
down, and large annual income. The
famous Austrian diamond, once belong
ing to the Grand Duke Of Tuscany, was
long Thought a bit of rock-crystal, being
of beautiful lemon-yellow color. 1t
was sold from stall in the market-place
of Florence, and fetched few pence.
Then there are stories about the cutting
of diamonds. An infinite deal depends
on the cutting. The Koh-i-noor is said
to have lost three-fourths of it's weight
in the cutting. A late philosopher wan
ted piece of diamond for philosophi-
cal purpose. He saw large mass in
the hands of a jeweler, which seemed
hopeles.ly deteriorated by large flaw
which occupied nearly the whole of the
interior. He paid large sum, himself
superintended the cutting, took as
much as he wanted, and having the rest
properly cut and polished, sold it back
to the jeweler for double the price he
paid for it. .....
And yet one might well moralise or
the diamond. 1t is only carbon, after
all. 1t is soon calcined to ashes. 1t is
simply bit of charcoal, which vii
yield to the rays of the sun and pass
away in a noxious vapor. 1t was long
suspected that the diamond was in
fammable; and the philosopher Boyle
showed that, under great heat, it wal
dissipated in acrid vapor. 1t mus
have shown a considerable amount o
philosophy when people sacrificed thei
diamonds for the cause Of science.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
A Dead Hand.

One of our Western contemporaries
contained, short time ago, the details
of singular case of paralysis or some
thing similar. 1t seems that.a young
man by way of exhibiting his muscular
power struck his fist through a heavy
panneiled door, and from that time for
ward the hand has been numb. The
account says ,..-
"In few weeks the,hand began to
wither and the fingers to shrink up, and
now they present curious appearance.
The hand is wholly useless, and OF
dead-looking gray color, as if no blood
circulated in it, and has shrunk to
nearly one-half the size of the other
hand. The nails are black, but still re-
tain their hold upon the flesh. They
have not grown any since the blow was
giyen Upon cutting the hand little
blood will stand in the wound, but 1t
does not bleed like fresh cut There
is no sign of modification in the hand.
| The dead feeling reaches only few
inches up the arm. He has no power
over the hand, and cannot close it. The
bones of the fingers seemto have shrunk
with the flesh, and have softened to
substance resembling gristle. Several
surgeons have examined the hand, and
declare that they never saw or heard ot
a case similar to this. ..r. ..t-.. ....f d,
| We remember o circumstance some
what analogous to this, which occurred
some thirty years ago. A number OF
boys had been annoying neighbor-6ya
throwing stones against his door. he
rushed out and dealt one of them blow
on the arm between the elbow and wrist.
The blow slightly discolored the skin,
but from that night the arm, was useless
and assumed the appearance OF dead
limb. We knew the young man tor
more than ten years after the occurrence,
but no change ever took place in the
condition of the arm. 1t remained IN IN
size boys arm, and in appearance ana
feeling dead. d.. ogt ro or..-g.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
Tropical Life.

While reading o recently published
biography of that celebrated English
divine, wit, and humorist, Rev. Sydney
Smith, we came across a graphic lit Q
picture of tropical life. Though it may
be familiar to many of our readers, n
fresh reading just at this season may
reconcile some grumblers to the biting
frost and heavy SHOWS of the temperate
zone, which keep in check some annoy
ances which never cease in hot climates.
Read, and laugh, and be contented:
Insects are the curse of tropical
climates. Flies get entry into your
mouth, into your eyes, into your nose ;
you eat flies, drink flies, and breathe
flies. Lizards, cockroaches, and snakes
get intoyour bed ants eatup the books;
scorpions sting you on the foot. Every
thing bites, stings, or bruises A.; every
second of your existence you are wound
ed by some piece of animal life that
nobody has ever seen before, except
Swammerdam and Merriam. An insect
with eleven legs is swimming in. your
teacup, nondescript with nine wings
is struggling in the small beer, or q
caterpillar with several dozen eyes in
his belly is fastening over the bread
and -butterl All nature is alive, and
seems to be gathering all her entomo-
logical hosts to eat you up, as you are
standing, out of your coat, waistcoat,
and breeches. Such are the tropics.
And if the choice lies between cent?
pedes and banks, we prefer. the
latter-in moderate doses ID Liia l2 %
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
The Price of Type.

Messrs. George P. Rowell & Go. an
nounce that they have at their ware
house, in New York, an assortment of
type from one of the most celebrated
foundries in the world, that of Higgins,
of London, England, which they will
sell at 20 per cent. discount from the
American scale, when ordered in fonts
of 100 pounds and upwards. They also
offer to import large fonts on special
orders at a greater discount from the
American scale, and profess to be able
to fill the largest order in eight weeks
from the date of its receipt in New
York. They supply sorts in large or
small quantities from their stock on
hand in New York at the American scale
rate. They assert that if the present
duty on type shall beremoved, the price
of the article, both of home and foreign
manufacture, will Immediately fall 40
per cent. below the present scale. Messrs.
George P. Rowen & Co. are known as
conducting the largest advertising bust
ness ever secured by one house, and are
also extensive dealers in printing ma
terial. They are compelled to import
foreign goods because American found
ers, governed by close corporation or
ring, keep the price vastly too high, and
at the same time make it an exception
to every other species of merchandise
by recognizing no wholesale price; the
same amount per pound being charged
to the purchasero five thousand pounds
as would be paid by him who wants but
fifty.-=-Erchange
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
Keep Your Girls Home Nights.

1 have word to say to good hard
working mothers who don't know half
that goes on in this world-mothers
who bake, boil, wash, iron, sweep, and
scrub all day, and go to bed dead tired,
glad that their daughters are young yet,
and can enjoy themselves.
Do you know where your girls go in
the evening? I
"Oh, yes" you say "to see some
young friends; to spend the evening
with Betsy and Jane and Fanny" You
think SO but are you Sure3 Other
people are as sure of their daughters,
and if you take the trouble to investi-
gate, you will find, perhaps, that Sally
spends her time after dark in running
the streets.
1t is a fact, as any one with the ordi-
nary power of observation csm discover,
that the daughters of respectable parents
in ordinary ranks of life, who are not
properly watched by their elders, flock
the streets after dark nowadays, and
are discreditably bold in their manners.
That they even "firt," as it is called,
and allow strange young men to speak
to them and offer them refreshments,
and that each girl keeps the secret of
the other, that she in turn may keep
hers. In this country, the poor mans
daughter should be as much a lady as
the daughter of the millionaire. At
least she should be well hammered, pure
and honest, as, we are proud to say,
most of them are.
The mere contact with boldness sui
lies purity. A bad companion has more
influence than a good one, and boldness
and bad company throng the city
streets at eventide. Keep your girl out
of them.
If she has legitimate invitation out,
know all about her escort, or make her
father or brother take care of her on the
way to and from the house to which she
is to go. If she has no escort and no
male relative, it might be best to do as
an English mother would-go and fetch
her yourself.
Never let her contract a habit of stay
ing all night with her girl friends. It
is an idle sort of way any how, and takes
her out of your control.
If you have been lax in your disci-
pline, your girl may pout little at first,
and find home somewhat dull; but il
she lives to be woman, and to marry,
she will thank you at last-thank you
from the bottom of her soul, as she
looks back on the sad fate of some oi
those girls whose mothers had not pru.
dence or authority enough to keep them
home Of nights. Au'at POIly," in The
LedQer.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
Facts and Fancies.

The Sutro tunnel in Nevada has
reached distance of 1868 feet into the
bowels of the mountain.
A man has been sent to the Michigan
State prison for three years for burning
his barn to get the insurance.
Resolution and steadiness are excel
lent qualities, but it is the application
of them upon which their value de-
pends. .'....
Wolves are very plenty in Iowa, and
the farmers can't step out of their back
doors after dark without falling over
these animals. ....f
Popular glory is perfect coquette
her lovers must toll, feel every inquie-
tude, indulge every caprice, and per-
haps at last be Tilted for their pains.
Geo. Driver, of Chicago, who has just
been sentenced to be hanged for the
murder of his wife, was convicted on
the evidence of his two children-one
fourteen, the other nine.
"Why do you spend so much money
on your wife's funeral ?" asked a man
of neighbor. "Ah, sir" was the re.
ply, "she would have done as much fol
me, and more too, with pleasure.
Memphis mules appear to have keer
sense of humor and to be fond of play
ing practical jokes on their fellow be,
ings. One of them attached to a street
car lately refused to bulge an inch un
til all the men in the car got out to pusl
behind, whenhe dashed off at full speed
leaving them sprawling on the ground.
"Oh, General Sherman !" exclaimed {
lady bent upon exacting admiration
even of that outspoken hero, "tell me
whom did you see in your travels in Eu.
rope you liked better than me?" and she
rolled up her eyes at him. GA grea
many people, madam, brusquely pnt
candidly replied the chief officer of tht
|
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
NO. g..
Arabs Of the Desert.

The inhabitants of Arabia are closely
associated with the earlier ages of the
world, and on that account, probably
we are apt to invest them with a certain
halo of romance, which fades away on
close acquaintance. They are q singu-
lar race, probably the most conserva-
tive-the Chinese excepted-on the face
of the earth In appearance they are
of middle height, and sparely built, but
with prepossessing countenances, and
eyes dark as night, deep as the sea,
sparkling as the stars, eyes which are
the admiration of all travellers. The ;
men of middle age are the least en-
gaging; they seem to have shriveled
under the desert sun their eye-sockets
are cavernous, hidden under the shadow
of beetling brows, and their eyes glow y
like fire. The youths and the aged are
the most interesting. The boys are
fine, athletic fellows, and the men ven
cradle, with their snowy boards and
frosty brows. The beauty of the wo- a
men is of course perfectly Oriental;
they are shorter than the men, and
ssme of them well looking. They are y
more respected than is the case usually
in the East. As robbery is the legiti-
mate calling of the Arab, thieving is a
considered no disgrace. They regard Il
the desert as their own, and demand a
toll of all travellers crossing its sands.
Bloodshed is seldom resorted to, If the
traveller recognizes the right of these
wandering people as simply levying
of tribute. But the Arab can shed
blood, he can pursue with relentless
hate, he can leave to after generations
the legacy of a family quarrel, and the
feuds burn longer and more deadly
than those of medieval Italy. Let one
Arab tell another that he is the child Of
bulrush, that his trlrban is filthy, that
he is dog and the son Of a dog, let
him hint that a jackass sat on his
| fathers grave-and the feud begins
which may last as long as the war OF
the roses, and reduce one or both OF
the families connected with these men
to absolute beggary. The Arabs live
almost entirely on dates, and q coarse
kind of bread, and they drink little else
than water. 1t is seldom that they par
take of animal food. If stranger of
any Importance pays them a visit, q
kid is killed and cakes are baked.
Sometimes on grand occasions a camel
is slain, and the whole family or tribe
assemble to partake of the dainty.
Knives and forks are never used. The
men generally feed apart from the
women. They take two meals only
breakfast at ten in the morning, and
| dinner at sunset
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
New Dwelling Rooms.

The dampness of newly-fnished
rooms is not due so much to the water
used in mixing the plaster, as to the
water of hydration of the, lime, lib
Grated by the action of carbonic acid.
The action of the small quantity present
in the nominal atmosphere, would, how
ever, be so slow, and the water liberated
so gradually, that no injurious effects
would result. But as soon as the rooms
become tenanted, the large amount of
carbonic acid given off in respiration,
causes such rapid displacement of water,
and with it other matters indicated by
the peculiar odor, that unpleasant and
injurious results may follow. Treat
ment of the rooms with carbonic acid,
before occupying them, suggests itself,
at once, as a means of rendering them
rapidly tenantable. Although, by cal
culation, it would require the carbenic
acid from the combustion of 800 pounds
of coal, to displace the hydrate in water
in the walls of room of 800 square
feet of surface, in practice the consump-
ton, in suitable way, of about five
pounds of charcoal per day, for five
days, in the room, would answer, be-
cause the interior portions are protected
from rapid action of carbonic acid, as
soon as layer of about one-tenth of an
incl has been acted on. This i 3 proved
by the fact that Prof Fuchs has detect
ed caustic lime in walls centuries old.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
Lord LyttOn's Funeral.

In compliance with q generally-ex-
pressed desire, the mortal remains of
the poet-novelist, instead of being car
ried to Knebworth, were buried in
Westminster Abbey, the grave being
ding in st. Edmund's Chapel, small
inclosure on the west side of the south
transept, few yards beyond Poets
Corner. The high arcades of the Abbey
were dim with fog, the gas had to be lit
in the choir, lamps were set on Planta-
genet tombs, and candles in tin sconces
were fixed against the walls. The floor
and raised tombs of st. Edmund s
Chapel were carpeted with black, the
open grave, which was seven feet deep,
being also lined with black cloth. Long
before half-past twelve, the hour fixed
for the funeral, the choir began to fill
with mourners. There were men of
letters and politicians, not few ladies,
and many friends and tenants from the
neighborhood of Knebworth. At
length the organ began to play Croft's
setting of Il am the Resurrection and
the Life, i" and then the funeral process
sion appeared, the coffin being borne by
Knebworth laborers. The chief mourner
was Lord Lytton's son, the present pos
SCISSOR of the title, we'll known as poet
under the pseudonym of Owen Mere
dith. Those passages which in a choral
funeral service have still to be read by
the grave were impressively delivered
by Dean Stanley. AS the mourners
quilted the grave the organ pealed forth
the" Dead March in Saul y the mighty,
wonderful music of that wondrous dirge
filed the Abbey, and when it had ended
the solemnity was complete.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
ID Effects of Opium.

.s Unless taken for the relief OF disease,
and even then administered with the
greatest caution, the continued actlon1
of opium, as sensual stimulant, tends
rapidly to the wasting Of youth, health, nj
strength, and beauty. Those who begin
its use at twenty; may expect to "a Due . OF at b
thirty years of age; the countenanGe
becomes pallid the eyes assume Wild
brightness, the memory failss the gait
totters, mental exertion and moral cour-'
age sink, and terrible atrophy reduces
the victim to horrible spectacle, who
has ceased to live before he has ceased
to exist. There is no slavery so, great,
as that of the opium once habit
uated to his dose as a afactitlous stln1ll-
liant, everything will be endured rather
than the privation, and the unhappy
being endures all the modification of q
consciousness of his own degradedstate,V V
while ready to sell his wife and child
ren, body and soul, for the continuance
of his wretched and transient delight =
transient, indeed-for at length the llt1n
most effect produced is a temporary
suspension of agony and, finally, no
dose of the drug will remove or relieve
state of suffering which, it is, utterly
impossible to describe. The pleasure
able sensations and Imaginative ideas
arising at first soon pass away ! they
become fainter and fainter, and at last
entirely give place to horrid dreams
and appalling pictures of death. YSpaest
tres Of fearful visage haunt the mind
the light which once seemed to enanate
from heaven is converted into the gloom
of hell-sleep, balmy sleep, hasb fled
forever-night succeeds day, only to be
clothed with neyer-ending horrors ; In
cessant sickness, vomiting, and total
cessation of the digestive functions, en-
sue; and death, as length, brings, with
its annihilation of the corporeal struc-
ture, the sole relief to the victim OF
sensual and criminal indulgence.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
Cut Them Off.

An experiment recently tried by a
party Of excursionists in Illinois, to in
duce a railroad conductor to accept the
legal fare for conveying them from q
place called Ludlow to Champaign, was
not attended with a very encouraging
degree of success. The conductor re-
fused to accept the amount offered, and
the party continued under the impress
sion that "it was to be free ride un-
til the train reached a point where it
was necessary to change cars. For this
purpose a general rush was made, but
all the doors were found to be locked,
with the exception of those belonging
to the rear car. Into that they CT ushed
themselves as speedily as possible, and
had just found seats when the forward
part of the train moved off, leaving
them alone on the track. The conduc-
tor had evidently adopted this plan to
"get square" with the party, who were
sufficiently punished by having to pro-
cure tickets and finish their journey on
freight trains. Backed up by the COM
panies, conductors, as q rule, care very
little about laws that have for their
purpose the protection Of the travelling
public,
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
A Mirage.

The st. Louis Globe of Wednesday
says: "Night before last there was much
excitement on the levee. Some gentle
men standing near the river looked up
stream and saw what they thought was
a great ice gorge coming down, slowly
but surely toward the city. They gave
the alarm, and many interested parties
came down to the levee to witness the
grand spectacle. The more they looked
up stream the more they saw the won
derful sight. 1t looked like ice-like
broken cakes of ice. It seemed to be
moving, and there appeared to be q
great commotion of the current, as if
the river was on rise. But the spec
tators, after gazing an hour or so began
to get tired, and thought the gorge was
a long time coming All at once, and
while their straining eyeballs were
about to burst, the fog lifted from the
river, and the light of the stars revealed
the water, hnobstructed and moving on
toward the Gulf. ....-..-r .-.-.
The sightseeing citizens had beheld
mirage. What such phenomenon is
the reader can learn by referring to a
copy of Webster's Dictionary. A mir
age is beautiful thing to look at, but
"you can't most always tell' whether
it will amount to anything or not,
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-08
Growth of American Journalism.

On American soil, journalism has
been plant of swift and lusty growth.
On the 25th of September 1890, appear
ed paper, published by one Benjamin
Harris, an English printer and Boston
coffee-house keeper. This was sup
pressed after one issue, as subversive
of authority, the colony having Salem
witchcraft on the one hand to deal with,
an Indian war on the other, and much
theological disquiet in high and low
places. In the London State Paper
Office is preserved a copy of this in
cendiary publication, tiny quarto
with one page blank. It contains a
summary of domestic intelligence, of
foreign news musty with age, and of
observations" of milky mildness,
wherein microscope could not detect
q wiggle of life. Nevertheless, the
General Court found it guilty of re
fections of very high nature" and
bade the too curiously considering
Benjamin to stick to his coffee vending.
Next came the Boston Newsletter, a
single sheet, twelve inches by eight,
with two columns on each page, John
Campbell, thrifty Scot, uniting in his
sinewy person the functions of publish
er, postmaster and bookseller. The
Boston Gazette followed; then Frank
Inns obnoxious Co,rant; and then the
American Mercurie, of Philadelphia; A.;
and, in 1925, Bradford's New YORK
Gazette.
So the long roll unfolds, displaying
ever an abler and more conscientious
supply, more enacting and intelligent
demand, until, to-day, journalism is
them important, the most influential,
and the most honored of the professions.
Indeed, in a degree, it absorbs all
others. 1t expounds the law, the gos-
pei, ethics, physics, and even the phar-
macopeia. 1t is, as we said, the great
moral and social force of this century
The quality of our journals is the meas
ure of our civilization. What attain
ments, then, are too lofty for the editor
and what caution is too great for the
citizen, that he choose wisely what
sheet he shall read Honorable is thai
journal which will not print one un
worthy line for gain. OF it may bt
quoted Defoe's saying of his own paper
'But our reputation is established upor
doing much good with little reward.
Let the best of you all show us better
character if you can.