davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10
A Valuable Possession.

We never hear of an instance of
presence of mind without thinking of
story once heard. Two gentlemen,
neither of whom could swim, went on a
fishing expedition together; on the boat
we're, beside themselves, two essential
things: box of cigars and case of
brandy. Time passed away in a very
harmless manner to the little fishes
but at last something occurred owing
to the influence of the-well, probably
cigarS-one gentleman lost his balance
and attempted to fall overheard; where
upon the other Justify shouted, GA
shark q shark |" The intelligence was
so unexpected to the terrified listener,
that by a superhuman effort of strength
he fell inside the craft instead of out
side. Instantly realizing the situation,
and not being devoid of wit, he said,
gravely, "Well done, Jones; your
presence of mind saved my absence of
body" That's very good-isn't it, for
a story? However, there is no doubt
that many people are peculiarly gifted
with this invaluable quality which is
called presence of mind-a quality
which should be assiduously cultivated
by all. Were parents and teachers ac-
customed to show their young ones how
self-command in some unexpected
emergency, as in an outbreak of fire at
midnight, would not only save them
selves, but rescue a whole company of
friends or fellow pupils, were the various
means of escape shown, and the neces-
sity of instant decision enforced, many
valuable life Ito say nothing of prop
erty) would be saved So intelligent
community as ours ought not, in this
advanced period of thought, to be so
easily overwhelmed by calamity, when
one woman's prompt and resolute aid
would stop the stream at its fountain
head. By constant training the nerves
may be brought under perfect control,
and self-command under dangerous cir
cumstances be more readily retained
than lost; and surely such result is
worth striving for. Maria Edgeworh
tells story bearing on this subject {:
In the house of her great grandmother,
powder was stored in the upper rooms
of the mansion, according to the then
prevalent custom. One day stupid
servant-girl was sent to procure some
thing in the garret : when the maid
came back and was asked for her candle,
which she had carried without any
candlestick, she answered cit was
sticking in the cask of black dirt up
there" Not moment was to be lost
Mrs. Edgeworth flew upstairs, dashed
the candle upon the floor, and fell her.
self, overcome by nervous excitement
She had saved the house and all within
it's walls. Remarkable courage of this
kind was displayed by Eli Breem. A
railroad bridge had just been destroyed
by fire. An express train was approach
ing. Eli was determined to hazard his
life to save others. He ran to meet the
advancing engine, spread his little arms
as widely as possible, and succeeded in
gaining the engineers attention-who
stopped the train just in time to prevent
terrible disaster.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10
Thoughts for Saturday Night.

The sting of a reproach is the truth
of il. '
II is higher exhibition of Christian
manliness to be able to bear trouble
than to get rid of it. -..-.- r., ,--,..l
Gods blessing is on work. And ac-
tivity, systematic and faithful, is the
ordained law of health, of growth, and
of this worlds advancement. ... ... 4.
Generosity during life is a very diff
ferent thing from generosity in the hour
of death; the one proceeds from lib
erality and benevolence, the other from
pride or fear. a..
Those things that are not practicable
are not desirable. There is nothing in
the world really beneficial that does not
lie within the reach of an informed un-
derstanding and well directed pur-
suit. . ,..i
What are crosses to thy comforts, thy
miseries to thy mercies, thy days of
sickness to thy days of health, thy days
of weakness to thy days of strength,
thy days of scarcity to thy days %
plenty?
He that, by giving q draught of water
to thirsty person should expect to be
paid with a good plantation, would be
modest in his demands compared with
those who think they deserve heaven
for the little good they do on earth.-
Franklin.
How watchful we must be to keep the
crystal well clear, that it be not made
turbid by our contact with the world,
so that it will not reflect objects, If L
would preserve my relation to Nature,
I must make my life more moral, moro
pure and innocent. The problem is as
precise and simple as a mathematical
one. 1 must not live loosely, but more
and more consistently. How can we
expect harvest of thought who have
not had seed time of character P
IrnrcnL
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10
Origin Of the Yosemite.

Prof. Joseph lie Conte of the Uni
versity of California differs from Prof,
Whitney in his ideas of the origin of the
Yosemite valley. The latter attributes
the formation of this wonderful valley
to the sudden engulfment of portion
of the Sierras but Professor LIE Conte
is of the opinion that this, as well as
other deep perpendicular slots of the
kind that abound on a smaller scale,
have been sawed out by the action of
glaciers. Prof. lie Conte observes that
glaciated forms are Enthusiastically OBJ
servable at many points on the walls OF
the valley, and in some places even to
the brim. In the contour of the walls
of the valley-their rounded form,
where the rock is hard, standing un-
broken and without debris at the base
he finds proof of glacial erosion. On
the north side of the valley, every pro-
iecting shoulder is thus rounded, and in
some cases the smoothness is so COM
plete, even at considerable height,
that the rocks glisten in the sunshine.
The wonderful, dome-like form of near
ly all the prominent points about this
valley, and their striking resemblance
to glaciated forms, cannot, he says, be
overlooked. The whole surface of the
country is n1oattonne on huge scale. If
so, then the greater domes about the Yo-
semitic have been formed in similar
manner. If so, thea the whole surface
of this region, with its greater and
smaller domes, has been moulded be-
tween universal ice-sheet, which
moved on with steady current, careless
of domes.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10
Waiting for a Dinner.

When the Union Pacific Railroad was
finished and the cars commenced run
ming, there was lofty feeling among
the people of Omaha. 1t was to be the
biggest city outside of the planet Nep-
tune, and they wanted everything
theatres, operas, circuses, dog fights,
and bull rings. There were restaurants
at various corners, but Gle Grand Res
taurants" was on the "Euro-pea-an''
plan, and conducted in high style. The
best walters at hand were procured, not
all from la belle France, but there was
mixture of red, black, and 'yaller
border ruffian.
A good-looking stranger, with stamps
to invest, stopped over at Omaha one
night. He went to the "grande" eat
ing-house. "Can you bring me a good
dinner ?"
Waiter-"Yaas, sir; what lee have p
Guest" Have you roast beef ?"
"Yaas."
"Bring me q roast for one, with
boiled potatoes, caulifiower, cold baked
beans, and pint of claret."
"Yaas, sir all right"
The guest waited twenty minutes, and
became impatient. He cried out
"Waiter, where's my dinner"
"On zee stove, a babin'."
"What's on the stove, baking ?"
"Roas' beef, sar; finest beef ever see
sixteen-pound piece, out of that ar tear
riffick bull"
What ?"
"Out of eer great Texas bull, what
cum down roarin', Tuesday, an was
shot. Thaim's his harms p
The stranger looked up, and over the
doorway. sure enough, were a pair of
stubbed horns, on which he counted
thirteen rings.
"Oh p said he, "yes got it on, eh
all roasting, nice ?"
Yaas," said the stranger.
"Then, said the stranger, "I'll take
the train for Chicago, and return next
week, Thursday. L am going over to
get my teeth set-have it all ready and
hot when I return"
"Waiter-" Yaas, sir; I'll be ready
and hot"
Farewell, and forever farewell p
said the stranger, grating his teeth, and
casting hasty glance at the stubbed
horns of the "tearriffick bull" He
didn't locate any lots in Omaha.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10

blow of an axe was heard-then another
and another. The ship heaved
heavily over-then cracking then
came the crash. The heavy topmast
had gone clean over the side Frag-
ments of the trestle and crosstrees
came rattling upon the deck, but all
eyes were strained painfully towards
the masthead. The dim outline of the
heroic man could be seen safely hang
ing by the mizzen topmast stay
The ship was once more got before
the wind, and ere long Baker came
safely to the deck. He staggered aft
to the pinnacle, and there he sank,
fainting and bruised, upon the deck
but he was quickly conveyed to the
cabin, and his wants were all met.
Caleb's bruises were none of them
bad, and in a few days he was again at
his duty. The men eyed him anxious
ly, and they seemed uneasy as they
met his smiles. The captain, too.
changed color when he met the kind,
noble look of the young man, but he
soon overcame the false pride that
actuated him, and stepping to the
noble fellows side, he took him by the
hand.
"Caleb," said he, eff have done
wrong, 1 freely ask you to forgive me.
I have called you coward, but 1 did
not know you"
"Think no more of it," said Caleb
with beaming eye. 81 once promised
to one whom loved better than life
my mother-that 1 would never do a
deed of which 1 might afterwards be
ashamed"
Bunkton pressed forward. "Caleb, !"
he said, seizing the hand of the young
man in his hard fist" you must for
give me for what's passed. Well be
friends after this
"Bless you, Bunkton, and friends
we will be-" returned Caleb.
eyes," added Bunkton, San if you
won't fight for yourself, I'll fight for
you, if you ever stand in need of it,"
81 tell you my men," said the Cap
tain, "there's certainly teOo kinds Of
courage; and, after all, I don't know
but that Caleb Bakers kind is the best.
1t takes a stronger and bigger heart to
hold it, at all events"
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10
Mothers, Speak Kindly.

Children catch cross tones quicker
than parrots, and they often become
permanent habits in them. When
mother sets the example, you will
scarcely hear a pleasant word among the
children in their plays with each other.
Yet the discipline of such family is
always weak and irregular. The chill
dren expect just 50 much scolding be-
fore they. do anything they are bid,
while in many home where the low,
firm tone of mother, or the decided
look of her steady eye, is law, they al
ways think of obedience, either in or
out of sight. Oh, mother it is worth
great deal to cultivate that excellent
thing in woman, low, sweet voice. If
you are ever so much tried by the mis-
chievous or willful pranks of the little
one, speak low. 1t will be great help
to you to even try to be patient and
cheerful, if you cannot succeed. Anger
makes you wretched, and your children
also. Impatient, angry tones never did
the heart good, but plenty of evil. You
cannot have the excuse for them that
they tighten your burdens at all they
make them only ten times heavier.
For your own, as well as your children's
sake, learn to speak low. They will re-
member that tone when your head is
under the turf. So, too, will they re-
member harsh and angry tone. Which
legacy will you leave to your children
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10
His Identity Discovered.

A wealthy widow, of Paris or vicinity,
had wild and dissipated son, who dis
appeared in 1870, and was supposed for
two years to be dead. At the end of
that time his mother received q letter
from an army officer, stating that a SOL
dier, severely wounded in the Franco
Prussian war, had been taken prisoner
to Prussia, and had papers on his per-
son that indicated him to be her son.
He had been wounded in the head,
which produced insanity, but he was
slowly recovering. She had no doubt
that the man was her son, but when he
was brought into her presence with his
face disfgured by frightful scars, she
could not accept him as the son she had
lost, and believing that the papers
which he carried had been obtained in
some lawless manner, had him arrested
as an adventurer, her nephews, who ex-
pected to be her heirs, encouraging this
step. AS his mind and body were both
unsound, he was removed to an insane
asylum, where health and reason came
back to him. He then wrote letter to
his mother touching so minutely upon
matters known only to themselves, that
she was convinced, and acknowledged
him as her child. Still the suit against
him is being conducted by his cousins,
who will not allow the lady to reclaim
her son if they can prove break in the
chain of identity, and the case promises
to have many interesting as we'll as
wearisome features before it is con-
cluded. In comment upon this case
comes the remark, ga successful vii
lain is by no means to be despised ; the
knave has material in him which is
worth having" A, fallacy Wicked,
ness is O weed early cultivated, and by
its very luxuriance finally destroys it.
self, thus making room for more useful
growths.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10
VOL. Ii.
Practieing the Anthem.

A summer wind blows through the open porch.
And meath the rustling caves;
A summer light of moonrise, calm and pale,
Shines through a veil Of leaves.
lovely highland yet so sad and strange!
My fingers touch the key
And down the empty church my Christmas
song
Goes ringing, glad and free.
Each sweet note knocks at dreaming memory's
door, ....
And memory wakes in pain;
The spectral faces she had turned away
Come crowding in again.
The air seems full of music all around
know not what hear,
The multitudinous echoes of the past,
Or those few voices near.
All me! the dim aisle vaguely widens out,
see me stand therein;
Iof gray sculpture takes the light
Wa ter morn brings in.
No more smell tho fragrant iessamine flowers
That flake moonlit hoor
The rustling night breeze and the open porch
II hear and see no more.
Great solemn windows, with long, long nave.
Their shadowed rainbows fling;
Dark purbeck shafts, with hoary capitals.
In carven archways spring.
Dear hands touch mine beneath the open book,
Sweet eyes look in my face
They smile-they melt in darkness 1 am
snatched
From my familiar place.
The summer night wind blows upon nv tears
Its tiowery scent is pain
cold white day o noble minster-when
May come back again?
To hear the angels anthem shake the air,
Where never discord jars
The Christmas carols in the windy street.
Under the frosty stars.
The dreamlke falling, from the still, gray skies
With falling flakes of snow.
VI mellow chimes from old cathedral bells,
Solemn, and sweet, and slow.
10 hear loved footsteps beating time with
mine .
Along the church-yard lane;
hound the old blazing hearth to see
Loved faces once again.
When may come? o Lord. when NAV 90
Nay, must wait Thy will.
Give patience, Lord and in Thine own best
way
My hopes and prayers fulfill.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10
TWO KINDS OF COURAGE.

Not many years since the good ship
Ponto sailed from Boston, bound to
Sumatra. She was commanded by
Capt. Isaac Jacobs, good seaman,
. and naturally good-hearted man, but
In his long career beneath the trident
of Neptune he had imbibed many of
the false ideas prevalent among his sea-
men, and he had come to look upon
the sailors life as one which necessarily
did away with those finer and warmer
traits of character that mark the
humane and generous landsman. In
this wise Isaac Jacobs sometimes lost
sight of true merit where it actually
existed.
Among the crew of the Ponto, on her
present voyage, was young man
named Caleb Baker. He had shipped
only three days before the ship sailed.
He was slender-framed man, with q
fair, prepossessing countenance, light
blue eyes, and light brown hair.
Though light in his build, he was yet
well stocked with muscle, and his
motions were quick and energetic. His
appearance was calculated to predis-
pose beholders in his favor.
One day, shortly after the ship had
left the port, as Baker was busy abotft
some matters of his own in one of the
gangways, one of the men, rough,
uncouth fellow, by the name of Bunk
ton, came along and gave the clothes
bag of Baker a kick out of his way,
thereby scattering q number of things
about the deck.
:" wish you'd be careful" said
Baker, as he moved to gather up his
things.
"Then keep your things out O. my
way" gruffiy returned Bunkton.
"They were not in your way"
DO you mean to tell me I lie?" ..
81 said the things were not in your
way"
"And say they were. Now don't
you dispute me again"
every vel, have ityour own way"
calmly returned Baker, as he drew his
bag closer in towards the bulkwarks.
"And don't you be impudent, neith-
er, provokingly added Bunkton.
"Look ye, Bunkton, if you've any
business of your own you'd better mind
it."
"Eh, lubber? I'll show ye my bust
ness. Take that p
AS Bunkton spoke, he struck the
young man upon the face. The crew
had most of them gathered about the
place, and arrangements were quickly
made for fight.
"Just come forward, come forward,
and Ill show ye my business" cried
Bunkton, bristling about with his fists
doubled up.
ga fight fight p cried half dozen
of the men. Don't stand that Baker. 4"
The young mans eyes had flashed as
he received the blow, and there was q
quick quivering of the muscles in his
hands, but he made no motion to strike.
"Aint you goin' to take it up?" asked
Bunkton.
"No. want nothing to do with you,"
returned Caleb.
"Then you are coward - uttered
Bunkton, with contemptuous tone and
look.
Young Baker calmly replied to the
taunt, and Bunkton became still more
savage. Those who know anything
about ocean life, will understand the
sentiments of the rough crew upon
such matters as the present. They
could comprehend but one kind of
courage, and the moment that Baker
refused to fight they set him down as an
arrant coward. AT first they had been
prepossessed in his favor, for Bunkton
was O quarrelsome fellow, and they
hoped Caleb would fog him /; but when
they saw him quietly turn away and re-
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10
A New Confidence Dodge,

Strange as it may seem, new conf
dence dodge has been developed. Early
in the afternoon two well-dressed men
entered the house of Sophia Heheman,
a widow living on LIE Grand Pike, near
Bonaventura Church. One of them
represented himself to be Mr.. Adae,
Consul from Germany for this city, and
the other a gentleman just from the
FaderIand. Both professed to have
known the husband of the lady, and in
the course of few moments converse
ton talked themselves into her good
graces. An hour after another man en-
tered and inquired where one Mr.. Wei
der lived. The widow told him it was
some two miles off. Upon receiving
this information, he said it was too bad.
He was going to his friends house to
collect q bill with which to pay his
taxes, and that now he would be too
late, and have tc pay the penalty. He
pulled out and studied his watch as he
spoke. Consul Adae (O thereupon sud
denly recognized him, and said that he
was welcome to what he had, about $50.
This would not do, however, he needed
5000. Suddenly he bethought himself
of some watches which he had pur-
chased to send as presents to the old
country. He would leave them with the
widow if she could let him have the
additional $3.50. Mrs. Heheman, en-
couraged by the pretended Consul's
confidence in the borrower, agreed to
let him have the amount and handed it
over, taking the watches as security.
He went off to pay his taxes. The Con-
sui and her husbands friend fingered
to arrange for visit of the lady to the
Consulate to sign papers for legacy,
of which "Adae" had told her ON first
entering, and then departed to divide
the booty with their confederate. OF
course the watches proved worthless -
Cincinnati Enquirer.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10

The English colony at Pitcairn's
Island, composed of descendants of the
mutineers of the ship Bounty, now con-
sists of seventy-six persons, who are
very poor and lack many requisites of
civilized life. Recently they have re-
ceived supplies of food, &c, from San
Francisco upon the representation of a
captain in the merchant marine, who
reported the pressing necessities Of the
people and made a publicappeal in their
behalf. The people maintain school,
and are very religious.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10

You can guess how cold it is around
st. Paul by the fact that a young lady
froze to death in a sleigh while riding
four miles, and young man had his
arm around her all the time.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10

A request made by Prince Arthur to
be allowed to volunteer for service on
the Gold Coast has been refused.
Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-10

A summer wind blows through the open porch,
And meath the rustling caves
A summer light of moonrise, calm and pale,
Shines through veil of leaves.
New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-04-21

ap2l 1t Up
New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-04-21

The jury commissioners under the new
law appear to have been slightly deceived
by false appearances. They have been
lately in search Of good citizens, men Of
substance, intelligence and respectfully.
In looking over the files Of the papers
they found several lists of names of those
purporting to be citizens signed to poIiti-
cal manifestoes urging upon Congress the
necessity of installing the McEnery gov
vernment, and making other suggestions
which none but citizen has any right to
make. These gentlemen seemed to be the
right sort of stuff, and SO they were
chosen By Messrs. Smallwood and Case
nave. Their surprise was great therefore
to hear some Of these gentlemen stand up
in court and declare they are not citizens
Of the United States Their names were
ordered to be spread upon the minutes of
the court as those Of aliens, and the
owners permitted to return to their
money-making. TIE moral of this little
incident is that We sometimes see men
mixing among citizens as such when they
think their interest calls them that way
and suddenly recollecting their allegiance
to foreign power when they suffer the
attendant upon citizen
ship.
New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-04-21
APPROXIMATE DAMAGE BY THE FLoo1

APPROXIMATE DAMAGE BY TIE FLOOD
The inquiry addressed by the mayor o,
Boston to Governor Kellogg as to the ex-
tent OF damage inflicted by the food has
induced US to present some coniectural
estimate. 1t may be remarked that the
injury as to the proportionate or actual
area overfowed would give very vague
idea Of the damage.
The whole area of Louisiana is &C. O94
square miles, or about twenty millions of
acres; OF these about one-tenth or 1000, 900
is improved, that is, has been cleared for
cultivation. We shall estimate the sugar
parishes subject to overflow at less than
half a million of acres, or one-fourth Of
the land in cultivation. 1t will be seen.
therefore, that the area submerged bears
small proportion to the whole surface fit
for cultivation, while the product of the
alluvial lands cultivated in sugar. rice
and cotton is worth much more tEan that
of the rest Of the State; our crop of rice.
sugar and molasses of last year Excluding
cotton), having been worth in round esti-
mate nearly s25,OO0,OO0.
In place, therefore, Of relying on the
submerged area as bearing fixed pro-
portion to the whole agreeable product of
the State, we have preferred to prepare
table of the agricultural products of the
parishes which have been more or less in
jured by the crevasses. This is as fol-