davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
Nickel.

We all know what nickels are, in the
! plural, for we are continually handling
the five-cent coin known by this name,
and our five senses may all take note of
it; but as to nickel in the singular, it is
singular fact that most people know
very little about it. 1t is only of late
that it has come into general use, the
Swiss government being the first to use
it for coinage, some thirty years ago.
Its recent discovery is, however, a re-
discovery.
Dr. Flight, of the British museum, il
London, found three whitish coins
there, which had the appearance of
silver. But he had his doubts as to
their genuinepess, and snbiec ed them
to tests, when they confessed them
selves to be but nickel. AS these coins
bore date two hundred years before the
Christian era, the learned doctor put TO
fight all idea of the discovery of nickel
in modern times.
It is curious circumstance that
the name ''nickel" was originally a nick
name.
The workmen in German copper
mine found reddish ore which was of
no use to them, and which they, there
lore, 1maBlA6u WIS pun tHSI5 ny budG
mythical parsonage, supposed to live in
German mountains, called cold Nick, "
in order to deceive or hinder them.
They, therefore, gave the ore the name
of Kupfer-nickel, or copper nickel.
When the metal came into use the min
er's nickname was adopted, and even
for scientific purposes turned into the.
Latin word nicOLttnl.
The same is the case with the ore
from which cobalt is made, and which
is often found in conjunction with
nickel and copper. 1t was called cobalt
from its supposed production by the
elves, who, according to German legend,
guard the treasures of the mines, and
who are known as Cobbolds.
Nickel is valuable chiefly on account
of its hardness, and its freedom from
liability to rust. In many cases it takes
the place of silver, and when brightly
polished looks almost as well. In its
common form, it is mixed with large
proportion of copper. 1t is highly mag
netic, and serves for the needles of COM
passes, but for other needles the YER
dict is, "not sew we'll"
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
Tea and Sugar in Europe.

The growth of tea and sugar in Eu-
ropean soil are perhaps branches of cul-
ture which we can scarcely expect to be
remunerative in a commercial point Of
view. Be this as it may, the sugar-cane
is now grown and sugar Manufactured to
some extent in the neighborhOod of
Malaga, Spain. Tea has also been in
troduced into the southern districts of
Sicily, and though the first attempt
made last year to raise the plants on
large scale was not successful, owing, it
is said, to the injury caused to the
plants and seeds by immersion in sea-
water on their transit from Japan, it is
confidently hoped and believed by the
promoters that another attempt with
healthy seeds and plants will prove
quite successful. Meanwhile tea is be-
ing grown at the Cinchona plantations
in Jamaica, and sample has recently
been received at the Kew Museum which
was grown and manufactured as above
from Assam tea plants received through
Kew in 1868. So far as the appearance of
the sample is concerned, it is roughly
manipulated, not being sufficiently
twisted or curled, and apparently not
sufficiently roasted. Nevertheless, its
manufacture is little inferior to that of
the earliest samples of Assam tea that
appeared in the English market. Its
quality, however, is another thing, for
it produces a very watery infusion of a
very herby flavor, and devoid of the
aroma for which tea is noted. Care,
however, in the cultivation of the plant,
as well as in the selection and manlpula-
tion of the leaves, may in time produce
a more marketable article.
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
A Funeral Extraordinary.

The Pail Mall Gazette says: GA
most successful funeral in which woman
played an important part, took place at
Padua in 1913, and, indeed, in some re-
spects, the arrangements of this funeral
were in all ways less depressing than the
run of ordinary burials. An eminent
lawyer, by name Lodovich Cartusius,
who died in July of that year, before
his death strictly forbade his relations
to shed any tears at his funeral, and
enforced this order on his heir by a
heavy penalty in case of disobedience.
He further directed that fiddlers should
take the place of mourners on the sad
occasion, and that twelve maids in green
habits should carry his remains to the
church of st. Sophia, where he was
buried, the ceremony to be enlivened
by songs from the ladies, who were to
be reccmpensed for the service by a
handsome sum of money allotted for
their marriage portions. The monks OF
the convent at Padua, who were in
vited to the funeral, were on no account
to wear black habits, lest they should
throw gloom over the cbeerfnlness of
the procession. If funerals we're con-
Quoted in this fashion, ,sthere would per-
haps be a fainter call for cremation,
and woman would have no necessity for
repressiug her natural delight at the
obsequies Of man.
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
Cutting Up a Whale.

Capt. Davis, an old whaleman, tells
us how, after whale is captured, it is
cut up, as follows:
When the whale has been killed and
is hauled alon9 side the vessel, the ''cut-
ting in" process is begun. This is sur
gerry on the largest scale known. The
immense carcass is brought underneath
some elaborate tackle rigged on board.
From the head of the mast two great
sheave blocks depend, a rope about
through them. The rope also passes
through a corresponding travelling block,
to which, in the beginning of the opera
ton, heavy iron hook is attached by a
clevis and bolt. The fall leads to the
windlass, near which a number of men
stand ready to lend hand. The rail
and side planks above the deck of the
vessel are all removed, and two plat
forms, or gangways, are erected over
the side in front of the opening thus
formed. The whale is next brought
directly unds rneath the hoisting tackle,
which swings above the platforms. On
these, secured by ropes around the
waist, the officers are stationed, and
provided with broad-edged tools called
spades, which are mounted on sixteen
foot poles. A circular flap is cut from
around the whales eve. One of the
boat-steerers now appears, dressed in a
rough woolen suit. Secured by rope
fastened around his waist, he is lowered
on to the whales back, and inserts the
hook of the tackle in the eye. This is
dangerous duty in a heavy sea, the
smooth skin of the whale affording but
poor footing, while a score of sharks
are nibbling around, and the ponderous
hook and block are swaying with the
roll of the ship.
When the hook is inserted the order
is given to "haul taut" and "heave
away" and the flap, technically the
blanket, or blubber, slowly ascends be-
yond the deck until it reaches three
fourths of the height of the mainmast.
A second boat-steerer then cuts an oval
plug from it, which is secured by other
tackle, both parts being afterward low
cred into the blubber- room. The first
cut is extended to other parts of the
body, the head excepted, which is re-
served for the last, and the windlass is
constantly working until five hundred
or more feet of the blanket have been
brought on board. When every bit of
the carcass has been stripped of blHbber,
1t is turned adrift and floats away, col
oring the water by its oozing blood, and
attracting a shoal of sharks and flock
of albatrosses, which hold carnival in
the sea and air over the fallen majesty.
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
The PulSe.

Every intellectual person should
know how to ascertain the state OF the
pulse in health then, by comparing it
with what it was when he is ailing, he
may have some idea of the urgency of
his case. Parents should know the
healthy pulse of each child, as now and
then person is born with a peculiarly
slow or fast pulse, and the very case in
hand may be that popularity. An in
fant's pulse is one hundred and forty ;
a child of seven, about eighty; and
from twenty to sixty years it is seventy
beats a minute, declining to sixty at
four-score. A healthy, grown persons
pulse beats seventy times in a minute /;
there may be good health down 10 sixty /;
but if the pulse always exceeds seventy,
there is a disease-the machine is work
ing too FAST; it is working itself out ;
there is a fever or inflammation some
where, and the body is feeding on it
self, as in consumption, when the pulse
is quick-that is, over seventy-gradu-
ally increasing with decreased chances
of cure, until it reaches one hundred
and ten or one hundred and twenty,
when death comes before many days.
When the pulse is over seventy for
months, and there is a slight cough,
the lungs are affected.
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
Tantalizing Tartars

r. M acGahan, in book on Khiva,
describes the Tartars "They live on
milk and little -four, and an occasional
piece of mutton, and those who are well
off have tea and sugar every day-not a
bad diet for the 'savages' of Central
Asia. On it they thrive and grow into
stout men and not uncomsly women.
Husbands, brothers, fathers, and lovers
are saluted in the same way by the
women, and Mr.. MacGahan, who is gal
liant as he is adventurous, finds it very
pleasant when the ceremony was per-
formed, in another kibitka early in his
journey, by two sisters, who came for.
ward with dowDcast eyes, each In turn
taking his hand between both hers and
laying it then on her heart, with a
pretty, modest meekness that was per-
feetly bewitching.' Round, fresh
faces, trqnsparently rich olive complex
ions, hair black as night, reaching TO
the feet in two neat, rich braids dark,
soft eyes fringed with long, heavy
lashes, and beautiful figures uttired in
tunics of red silk embroidered at the
sleeves and edges in various colors,
decorated with broad, thin silver but
tons and fastened at the throat with a
coral button, whence they disclosed a
chemise of white silk reaching to the
knee and open carelessly on the bosom,
and white silk trousers falling over red
boots in very piquant fashion Mr..
MacGahan callssthis a very simple and,
for the desert, very becoming cos
tun1e ;"
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
A Spider on His Head.

Old Mr.. Collamore is very deaf. The
other Sunday, in the midst of the ser.
vices, Mr.. Hoff, who was Immediately
behind Mr.. Collamore, saw a spider tray
cling over the latter's bald head. His
first impulse was to nudge him and tell
him all about it, but he remembered
that Mr.. Collamore was deaf, so he
lifted up his hand and brushed the
spider off. Hoff didn't aim quite high
enough, and consequently, in his ner-
vousness, he hit old Collamore quite n
severe blow. The old gentleman turned
round in rage to see who dared take
such liberty with him, and Hoff began
to explain, with gestures, the cause Of
the occurrence. But CollHmore, in a
loud voice, demanded what 6t meant.
1t was very painful to Hoff. The eyes
of the congregation were upon him, and
he grew red in the face, AsThere was
a spider on your head" g A white
place on my head, hey? S'posen there
is, what's that to you ?" said Oollamore:
you'll know what it is TO be bald
headed yourself some day" I" 1t wasa
spider" shrieked Hoff, while the con.
gregation smiled and the perspiration
began to roll off his face. 'TCertainly
=
it's WIDER" said Ccllamore, and got
more in it than yours. But let it alone
do you mind You may let my head
alone in church." "Mr. CollamoIe, &"
shrieked Hoff, "there was a bug on
your head, and brushed him off-this
way" and Hoff made another gesture
at Collamore's head. The old man
thought he was going to fight him then
and there, and hurting a hymnbook at
Hoff, he seized the kneeling stool on
the floor of the pew, and was about 70
bang Mr.. Hoff, when the sexton inter-
fered. An explanation was written on
the hy-leaf of the hymn-book, where
upon Mr.. CollamOre apologized in
boisterous voice, and resumed his seat.
Then the services proceeded. They
think of asking Mr.. Collamofe to wor-
ship elsewhere.
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
The New Paris Grand Opera.

Mr.. Forney thus describes the new
Paris opera house cit is world in
itself. The great pile occupies an en-
tire square, as large as that occupied by
our new public buildings. Its main
front, indeed, all its fronts, constitute
a variety of architecture and statuary
beyond desert ption. Inside all these
wonders increase. The space allotted
to the stage, the dressing rooms, rooms
or studios for the artists, reception
rooms, machine shops, with the endless
devices for scenery, seem to be more
than half the entire area and as you
gaze into this mysterious combination.
the auditorium looks comparatively
small, even with its tier after tier of
boxes and it's sweeping corridors. Some
idea of this immense edifice may be
gathered from the size of the saloon, or
foyer, a rectanp ular hall over 160 feet
long and forty feet high. 1t is lighted
in the day by five windows looking into
the boulevard, and in the night by a
bewildering array of chandeliers. In
this saloon the great artist Vaudrey
achieved his last triumphs, which are
now setting Paris wild. The panels
they were to fill, the spaces for the mir
rors, the Io1ty and Wlde-sprea ing cell
ings, the walls, the very floors, con-
veyed an idea of vastness, heightened
by the gorgeous decorations in bronzes
and gold, in mosaic and fresco, in mar
BILE and the other products of French
and foreign quarries. 1 forbear an esti-
mate of what this palace of music will
accommodate or what it costs, but its
acoustic capacity seems to have passed
Judgment. Nilsson tried it and gave it
her approval. All the seats taken for
the first representation and for six
months ahead. Work on it was arrested,
of course, during the siege and the
commune, and it was several times in
danger, but the present government
has given it an immense appropriation
to finish it by January. The new opera
house is IN the very heart of Paris, near
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
I.ondon Police Statistics.

The annual report Of the chief OF
police of London shows some interest,"
inc statistics OF that immense CITY. ~
re9uires 9.SS3 policemen 70 protect
property, life and morals. There were
E3 S57 arrests made last year. For as
saints. etc, 9,639 burglary, 828 lar
ceny (gerious offenses), 49s petty lar
ceny by servants, 1,199; beggars, 2
753. receivers Of stolen goods, Zls
prostitutes, $3.50. Dogs apprehended'
10 15O. There we're 2,5l3 persons IN
inred in the streets, l25 were killed
Five hundred and seventy-three hres
occurred within the year. Eleven
thousand and seventy seven puoilc
vehicles we're licensed l4,l36 articles
were taken TO the lost property oilloe
bv honest cab-drivers. There are 500
temperance cab-drivers in London.
Eight now police stations have been
opened. One hundred and tfty-iour
new streets and squares we're built
covering % miles and 800 yards
seven thousand six hundred and eighty.
nine houses were erected, and 55d
houses of ill-famo suppressed. IherS
has been a great decrease IN crime ana
immortality, which the report attrlo-
utes to the intoxicating liquors hcehS-
ing act.
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16

A writer says: "The ingenuity OF
French caricaturists is proverbial.
Louis Philippe forbade the publication
of caricature portraits of himself, but
he could not prevent the sale of pic
lures of pears bearing a wonderful re-
semblance to his own fegtures. M.
Theirs attempted the same game as the
Citizen King and failed. Unable TO
give his features the caricaturists hit
upon the expedient of emitting them
altogether. The effect was most ludi-
crous. The other day the Eclipse pub
lished a cartoon entitled The Gard
ner's Dog 1t represented a savage
looking mastiff guarding a bone at
which three other members of the ca
nine species, black cur, an italian
greyhound, and a French poodle, di-
rect their longing gaze. The French
poodle needed no explanation of the
cartoon. They at once perceived that
the mastiff was intended for MacMahon !;
the bone, for the supreme power; and
the three disappointed dogs for the
Bonapartist, Legitimist, and Orleanist
parties. On the same day Gtelot pub
lished a cartoon entitled Our Greet
Orators, representing Gambetta,
Theirs, and other leading political ora
tors asleep, while a donkey discoursed
most eloquently' in the tribune.
Clearly the pencil is more dangerous
than is the PENN France"
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
Fight Between a Tiger and a Grizzly.

On one occasion Lent was part
owner of a travelling circus and menag-
erie. One dsv he met man out west
who had grizzly bear for sale. As the
animal was a splendid specimen of q
young grizzly, Lent purchased him,
and after he got him he found himself
in the position of the man who drew
the elephant. There was but one cage
in the menagerie that could contain
the bear, and that already had an oc-
cupant in the shape of large and
fnely-developed Bengal tiger. Lent
told one of his partners that he was
going to quarter the grizzly with the
tiger.
'tThe devil you are, was the answer.
" Why that tiger will make q square
meal of him before you can wink. "
"All right. If he does, Tn salts
fed says Lent. "You look sitter
your tiger and I'll take care of my
bear"
The grizzly was accordingly lifted
into the cage, the tiger having pre-
viously been driven to the opposite cor
ner by the application of hot irons.
Then all the employees of the circus
gathered to witness the fight. The an
imals sighted each other at the same
instant; but, while the tigers eyes
blazed with fury and his tail lashed
the bars in his exciterlent, the grizzly
simply nodded in sleepy manner, as if
in recogn ton of the presence of the
other beast, and crouched against the
bars waiting developments. They re-
mained as far apart as the cage would
permit for at least five minutes but
every moment the rage of the tiger
seemed to increase, while the bear
seemed to be sinking into q deep slum-
Der. At last the tiger began to growl
and slide toward the bear, moving from
side to side of the cage as he did
The growing aroused the bear to life,
and he had just time to measure his
enemy, when, with the rapidity of
lightning, the tiger sprang forward and
alighted on his head and back. For
moment there was a terrible bowling
from both animals, as they rolled over
and over in the cage, and then they
separated for an instant, the bear SEEM
ing to have shaken off his antagonist.
During this brief cessation of bOstilities
it was seen that the bear had got
decidedly the worst of the combat, as
he was bleeding freely from several
gaping wounds.
The backer of the tiger was delighted,
and wanted Lent to consent to having a
stop put to the fight. "No," answered
he. "Let them fight, and I'll bet on
the bear" So at it they went again,
and there was terrible fighting for sew
eral minutes. It finally ended in the
tiger giving several mournful howls,
and, when they were separated, he
skunk away to his corner as meek and
submissive-looking as an animal could
be. After that day the bear bossed the
cage, and if the Tiger becaue unrHly
he received blow from the grizzly's
paw that set him to thinking over past
events ct once
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
Not Down on the Bills.

Rouvere, the actor, who died recently,
was distinguished on the French stage
for the admirable manner IN which he
played Shakespeare, and it is even said
that his intense study of Hamlet drove
him mad first, and then to the grave.
A few years ago, Rouvere was at Lyons,
where it was announced that he would
play King Lear. The house was full,
the piece commenced, and everything
went we'll until the moment when the
king should burst into tears over the
body of Cordelia. The public then
saw with astonishment that Rouvere's
face assumed an expression not at all in
harmony with the situation, and that
the courtiers looked as if they were
della, whose head was reclining on q
velvet cushion, opened her eyes, got up,
and rushed off the stage, holding her
sides. The audience, convinced that
they we're being made fools of, began to
hiss, and to talk of tearing up the
benches, when lad in the upper gal
lery called out, "Ah that dog" It
was then the turn of the public to roar,
for butcher who was seated in the first
rank of the stalls, and had fallen asleep,
had brought dog with him, and the
animal, being of curious disposition,
had jumped upon his masters knees,
and placed his two fore paws on the
orchestra railing. In this position he
gravely witnessed the performance,
Nor was this all, for the butcher feeling
too hot, had taken off his wig, and in
his sleep had placed it on the dogs
head. No wonder that the sight of so
lndicrous a spectator should have di-
verted the course of King Lear's tears,
and have resuscitated Cordelia.
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
A Warning Voice.

Jadge Edmonds, writing in Brittan's
Quarterly of Especial Providences, p"
says: "When my young friend DIR.
John F. Gray was lad some fourteen
or fifteen years old he was employed in
a cloth factory, where it was part of his
duty to attend to the dyeing apparatus,
which was in an adjoining building.
His particular business was to tend the
fire under the dye-kettle and to turn a
crank whereby the cloth should revolve
on wheel through the dye. One day
while thus employed he heard a voice
say to him, Go out of the building )
he answered. what shall [ go out
for? I won't do it. After little
while the voice again said to him, Go
out of this building, tell you Again
he answered, What shall lido that for !?
I tell you I'm not going to do it. Again
an interval of time passed, and the
voice said more earnestly, Go out of
this building, 1 tell you, Immediately.
Go out Go out = well, he replied,
4 won't quarrel about it, I'll go out ;
and so he stopped his work and went
out. He had to ascend few steps to
get out, and he hardly reached the up
per steps before the whole building fell,
and crushed to pieces the kettle, furn-
ace, and wheel were he had been at
work ="
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16

pleased with the account of the place,
showed it to his wife, and the two con-
cluded it was iust what they wanted,
and that they would secure it at once.
So they went to the Office of the auc.
tioneer and told him the place he had
advertised was such one as he desired,
and he would purchase it. The auc-
tioneer burst into a laugh, and told
him that it was the description of his
own house, where he was then living.
He read the advertisement again, aud
pondered over the "grassy slopes, y
"beautiful Villas" "smooth lawns, y
etc., and broke out, els it possible ?
Well, make ont out your bill for adver-
tising aud expenses, for, by George, I
wouldn't sell that place now for three
times what it cost me"
The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
Complimentary.

At Fair Oaks, while standing in very
tarnest of death, with his sword up
lifted in command, Gen. o. o. Howard
had his right arm carried away. That
night, after Howard had suffered ampu.
tation, and was lying spent and raoked
with pain in box car which was TO take
him TO Washington, Gen. Philip kear-
ney drew near, and, looking into the car,
said, Howard, old boy, am sorry, ior
you-sorry with all my heart bnt'
thing. When YOU get 20 Washington
buv 4 pair of gloves send me the right
ana keep the left for yourself, and l will
divide the cost with you and hereafter
we will get along more economically. y
And, turning away, Kearney muttered,
"That is better for him than praying
and then Howard can beat me praying,
spy way.