davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-12
VIII or an Irish Mlser.

An Irishman named Dennis Tolan,
who died at Cork, possessed of con.
siderable wealth, In the year 1706,
left singular will, containing the
following testamentary disposition
"I leave to my sister-in-law four old
stockings, which will be found under
my mattress to the right. Item-To
my nephew, Michael Tarles, two old
socks and green nightcap. Item
To Lieutenant John Stein, blue
stocking, with red cloak. Item
to my cousin Barbara Dolan, my old
boot with red flannel pocket. Item
To Hannah, my house keeper, my
broken water Jug" After the death
of the testatof, the legatees having
been convened by the notary to be
present at the reading of the will,
each, as he or she was named, shrugg-
ed their shoulders and otherwise
expressed a contemptuous disapp0int-
ment, while parties uninterested In
the succession could not refrain from
laughing at these ridiculous, not to
say insulting, legacies. All were
their requests, when the last named,
Hannah, having testified her indigna-
ton by kicking away the broken
pitcher, a number Of coins rolled out
Of Il; the other individuals astonished
at the unexpected incident, began to
think better of their determination,
and requested permission to examine
the articles devised to them. It Is need
less to say that, on proceeding to the
search, the stockings, socks, pocket,
etc., soon betrayed by their weight
the value of their contents, and the
hoard of the testor, thus fairly dis
tributed, left on the minds of the
legatees very different impression
of his worth.
The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-12
Directions for Building a Smoke
House.

A correspondent inquiries for direc-
tiOns for building q smOke-hOuse. 1t
should always be built of stone or
brick, If possible; ut least the first
four or five feet from the ground
should be so, especially If wood be
burned for the household fires, since
then there Is almost absolute safety
from fire, and the bottom may be
used for storing ashes. 1t will re-
quire about six square feet to hang an
average ham. The crOss-bars, into
which arc driven the hooks for hang
ing the hams, should be about eight
cen inches apart, and the hooks about
the same distance apart thereon, or
say seven hooks to each bar. A house
ten feet square will therefore hang
about fifty hams in each tier the up
per tier should be two and One-half
feet above the lower. The lower tier
of hams should be not less than six
feet from the ground. Your lower
crOss-bars will be eight and One-half
feet from the ground, the upper one,
eleven feet, and, If you choose to put
in a third tier, this one will be
thirteen and half feet from the bot
iOhi, WHiSu Will SiNO yOu tHC hSiSHO
of your building. This will be good
proportion, and if only one hundred
hams are required. the lower tiers of
crOss-bars may be omitted, which
will give a greater distance from the
fire to the meat.
Projections must be left in the wall
as supports to the cross.bars, and the
hooks should be similar to those used
by butchers, so they may be moved
at will. Ventilation must be prOvid-
ed at the top to allow the escape of the
smoke; the ventilatOr to be so pro-
tected to exclude light and flies. 1t
1t is also far better if the fireplace
lie disconnected from the house and
smoke carried thence through suit
able flue or pipe. BY this means you
always have your meat secure from
flies.
In hanging the hams, the top tier is
first filled, an assistant handing the
meat as fast as wanted. Commence
at one side, fill one bar, then place
another, and so proceed until the
whole Is finished, using a proper step
ladder to enable the work to be done
easily Western R,0ul.
The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-12
A Californian Wonder.

The tract of country known as the
Slate Range Valley Is probably one of
the most curious that southern CalifOr-
mense deposits of bOraX were discov-
cred something like year ago, and
at that time the whole lower or CEN
trail part Of the basin was covered
with a white deposit, breaking away
in some places in large soda reefs in
others resembling the waves OF the
ocean, and In still others stretching
out for miles in one unbrOken level,
from which the sun reflected its rays
with glare almost uncomfortable.
But one of the most singular features
in connection with this section was
the absence of rain or moisture; the
days were ever sunny and hot, the
nights without dew,e and generally
warm. For more than Ave years It
Is said by those who claim to know
there had been no rain there, until
some three months since the spell
was broken. Suddenly, and with
scarcely any warning, rain COM
menced to fall, and for nearly thirty
hours came down steadily and un-
ceaslngly, unaccompanied by wind,
but vet q thorough drenching rain.
For two or three days it remained
pleasant, when suddenly water
spout was seen winding Its way
through the valley. 1t cage In zig
gag course across the upper end of
the lake, striking the range Of hills
and coursing rapidly along them.
The canyons and gorges were soon
filed with water, which poured from
them I'm fearful volume, and spread
itself out upon the bottom. In a
short time it was over, and denizens
of the place now look for another
dry season of Ave years.
The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-12
About the SIM.

If this earth was represented by a
globe one inch in diameter, then the
suns globe would be three yards in
diameter; and IL the suns globe were
represented by one inch, the suns
distance would be three yards. That
proportion was always maintained.
1t has been calculated that bullet
fired from an Armstrong gun, travel
ed at the rate of four hundred yards
a second, and If the rate were MAIN
tanned for the entire distance between
the earth and sun, the bullet would
take thirteen years to traverse that
space, while the sound of the explo-
sion would reach the sun half q year
later. Thus the prayers of those per-
sons who wOrshipped the sun, ifthere
were some intermediate means of
communication to carry on the sound,
would take thirteen and half years
to reach their god.
AS another instance OF the great
distance of the sun from the earth,
the lecturer mentioned that If a steel
rod connected the sun and the earth,
the pull Of the sun on that would
take three hundred days before the
strain reached the earth. There was
vet, he said, another consideration to
illustrate the vastness of the distance.
It had been ascertained that feeling
was conveyed along the verves much
more slowly than the passage of light
or sound, and under such a condition
of things the following illustration
would be more readily understood
If an infant were born having an arm
the rather inconvenient length of o.
600, 900 miles, and were to burn the
tips of its fingers In the sun, the infant
might die and never know that the
tips of its fingers had been burned
In fact, 1t was necessary that 1t should
live to one hundred and thirty-five
years before the sensation of burning
at the tip of the finger could be con-
veyed along the arm. Even light,
which Travelled $4,000 in a single
second of time, took eight minutes in
reaching us from the sun. Thus we
never saw the sun In the place which
Il actually occupied In the eclipse, but
in the place it occupied eight min
utes before. The force of gravity was
the only power which appeared to
overcome the vast distance, and acted,
as was known, instantaneously.
IL was for along time, however, de-
MED, and even Newton said that the
man must be mad who asserted that
any force could 50 act otherwise than
by direct contact. The lecturer next
invited the audience to the consider
alton of the question how large the
SUMS. When informing audiences In
England on this subject, he was In
the habit of saying TO them that they
knew how large England was, and
yet that, upon the suns disc, IL would
be n small triangular spot which
The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-12
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
Buying Cheap Things.

- -
Only the rich can afford to buy poor
articles. Solomon says, ~ the de-
struction of the poor Is their power
ty,n and thus il comes about. In the
matter of shoes, for instance, a poor
man thinks he can not afford to pay
six dolla5s for q pair of good shoes, SO
he buys FOR three dollars, and In three
months he must buy again four
pairs year amount to twelve dollars,
whereas the six-dOllar pair made to
order, with fresh sole, perhaps,
would have lasted q twelve-month.
Just % In muslins. The hard-wOrk-
ing farmers wife will purchase mus
lin at twelve or fifteen cents per yard,
when by giving twenty or twenty
two she would have got fabric that
would wear third longer, and give
double the satisfaction, beside max
ing immense saving in stitches. In
dress goods the same rule applies, un-
less one intends to buy at every
change of style and variety, When
we buy q dress the purchase is for q
lifetime, and always of the best quail
ity, not the most expensive, but such
as will wear and look we'll as long as
a thread Is left. If one can't afford
to buy the best let her 60 without un-
til she can save enough to do so then
when she does buy she will have
what will suit her. 1t is because so
many hOusekeepers buy poor eaficOes,
poor muslins, table linen of inferior
quality, cheap clothes for suits, that
they are always hurried to death with
sewing. Children's clothes wear out
so soon that they must evermore be
making new, whereas, ii the fabric
in the first place, Is of excellent quail
ity and well made up, 1t will last two
or three children and look well all
time" Won'tyou buy somestOckings?
real nice, only thirteen cents pair!"
said n peddler the other day. 81
never dream of paying less than half
dollar" was the prompt reply
Just to think of darning thirteen
cent stockings! A real good pair of
stockings will need scarce any darn
ing for a year, will wear two or three
years, and then cut over nicely for
the children. Is there any economy
in buying cheap stockings? Only
the rich can afford to buy poor ar
ticles.
The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-12

The siamese Twins, Eng and
Chang, lately deceased In North Caro-
lima, were afflicted with Illness In the
year 1871. They were born In a little
village on the coast of Slam, in the
year 1911. Their parents got their
living by fishing, and until 1920,
to the United States, they made their
living by selling shell6sh. Their
mother bore seventeen children. AT
one time she gave birth to three, and
never less than two. But none Of
these children We're def0rmed. The
twins were united at the anterior
part of the chest bya prolongatior of
a kind. of fleshly band the size of the
hand. This band of flesh Is about
two inches broad and four inches
thick. The whole mass Is tough and
capable OF being considerably extend.
ed. One could whisper In the ear of
one of them without the other hear
ing, while volatile salts applied to
the nastrils of one had no effect ON
the other; and while pinching the
arm of one excited no sensation In
the other, still If you but stick a pin
In the exact vertical centre OF this
connecting link both would finch
from the hurt. The twins were
seldom observed to converse with
each other. They played q good
| game of 6raughts, made pretty rouch
the same moves, and ct the same
time, and frequently played against
each other.
After attracting vast amount OF
attention among scientists the physi.
OlOgists In the old world, they mar.
ried two sisters, settled down near
Salisbury, N. c., on a well-stocked
plantation. In addition they had al
one period ample funds Invested
through their agent in New York
During the war they continued to re.
side on their plantation and lived In
the same quiet and harmony as ever,
until some few years afterward. o.
course, no one ever thought of draft
Ing them, and their negroes prosper.
ed, except when out of temper from
any cause, it was apt to work itself of
In striking the first one that came t.
hand, from which the best escape
was to keep out of the way. The
brothers probably never would have
had any difficulty, but that their
wives, though sisters, turned away
their hearts, and children were the
cause of this arrangement. Up to
the period that each had five children
all prospered well enough, but one Of
them had a sixth, and this awOke
envy and jealousy to such degree
that the twin sisters, not being bound
together like the twin brothers would
no longer live under the same roof
The brothers were, it seems, about 81
years of age, but one, we believe, the
smaller and feebler of the two, look.
ed, it is said, ten years older than the
other. They could turn either back
to back or face to face, that is as far rs
the remarkable bond that united
them permitted. Since the breaking
out of the rebellion the twins both
dressed In the Confederate gray, and
were both members of the same
church, having united with Baptist
Church in their neighborhOod, OF
which they were considered very
worthy members. though born Siam
ese.-N Y. Herald.
The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-12
FACTS AND FANcrEs.

The child who cried, for an hoar
did not get II.
When is q young lady like a
whale? When she's p0uting.
Breach of good manners-F
uin to stare you In the face.
No other living thing can go 80
slow as boy on an errand.
Why Is the, person who never
lays q wager as bad rs regular
gamblers Because he Is no better.
1T is apparentto parent that
great many children get on the wrong
track because the switch Is misplaced.
1t Is remarked that wood will
last much longer If left for the wO-
men folks to saw and split.
Love Is thing In four letters,
yet sometimes In q breech of promise
case hundreds are produced.
=" Felt slippers" advertised In the
shoe stores, are thought to be those
felt by boys In their rude young days.
-Schoolmaster-" What Is no
thing ?" Boy" It Is when q man
asks you to hold his horse, and just
says, Thank YOU"
AT what time of life may a man
be said to belong to the vegetable
kingdom? When long experience
has made him sage.
Some thoughtful person says
1T Is unkind to ridicule those items
in the papers about centenarian ;
several have have tried 1t and failed"
An Indiana paper says girls
should be taught that God made them
in His own image, and that nc
amount Of tight-lacing will improve
the model,
The most disappointed woman
In New York Is the lady who had q
lot of sarcasm for her son-in-law elect
and couldn't use 1t because the match
was broken on the day before that
appointed for the wedding.
"A Pennsylvania manufacturing
establishment has been dischargine
men for telling falsehoods. The plan,
If properly carried out, would be apt
to paralyze the industry of the
country,
l'Good morning." said a com.
position to the head of a f1eurishinQ
family. Have you any daughters
who would make good tye-setters p
"No but, / have wife that would
make very good devil"
"A telegraph messenger boy got
his dispatches mixed the other day
and handed jockey telegram which
read: Can you supply our pulpit
next Sunday?" and to a well-known
clergyman a dispach which read
The race Is postponed till Monday,
Can't you come down and spend
Sunday"
-" What Is love, Nancy?" asked q
Scotch minister of one of his parish.
toner's, abiding, of course, to the
word I'm its scriptural sense. "Hoot,
Eye, SIR" answered Nanny, blushing,
"dina ask me sic daft-like question.
Pm sure you ken ask weel as me that
loves next to cholera. Love IL just
the worst inside complaint for lad
or lassie to have"
The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-12
The Land OF the Midnight sun.

AT last got to the land of the
midnight sun. watched through
the first night, and remained there
nearly seven weeks. 1t bothered me
to know when to go to bed, my
watch being out of repair. 1 discover
ed the birds retired ut eleven a. m
and got up at two a. IN. Still further
north, and then mosquitoes Talk
about your New Jersey specimens,
pshaw Why, they were so thick
that you cOuldn,t see man three feet
off. / saw long houses one hundred
and fifty feet long, some of them
seven hundred years old. To heat
them wood fires are built in huge fire.
places having very thick walls.
These are kept up two or three days,
and then they haveno fire for II week.
Some of the farms have as many as
fOrty-five houses. There are houses
for cheese, and for butter, and this
thing and that thing--I don't know
what all. Each farm has two dwell
ing houses, one for winter and an
other for summer. Houses can be
rented for 50 year. Carpenters
wages are forty-five cents day, and
yet they strike. Everybody works.
Each house has its loom they weave
cloth and make their own garments.
There are no markets; nothing Is
sold. Whoever has more than he
wants for himself he gives 1t to who
ever needs 1t. The people are healthy.
They do not have consumption, and
YOU never see an emaciated form.
You never sec a beggar either. If
too poor to live they are too proud to
beg, and not mean enough to steal.
The subsistence Is sour milk, coarse,
bread, meat twice week, and fish.
Nearer yet to the cape, and the
horses and the cows and the reindeer
live on fish, eaten raw. Still nearer,
and the cows have nothing but boiled
seaweed to eat. In degreesixty-eight,
farm horses are scarce, tie travelling
unpleasant, and done on foot or by
boat. In the summer 1t Is wet, and
the mosquitoes leave no peace.
At length / reached seventy-one
degrees fifty minutes, the cape, the
northern end of Europe. The coast OF
Norway Is magnificent, its harbors
lined with steamboats,; Its mountains,
high and grand, are covered with
GLACIERS, Its waters so clear that tho
bottom of the sea Is discernible.
Sweden bears no comparison to IL.
In going from the city of T0njin, to-
ward Sweden, don't sleep under the
skins they offer. Such fieas, and such
numbersl Grog shops are one hum
dred miles apart up there. They buy
whisky bv the quantity, and keep
drunk while IL lasts. Paul de Ch0ittu.
The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-12
Steam on the Canals.

The feasibility of steam for canal
navigation, though it has been de
MED in the most positive terms by a
contemporary which assumes to criti-
else an article of ours, and which de.
MES the soundness of our hitherto
expressed opinions upon the subject,
is, however, asserted In equal strong
terms by no less an authority than
Mr.. A. j. Whitney, resident engineer
on the Pennsylvania Canal. This
gentleman, in a letter to the Eagi-
neering and Mining Journal states,
that outright, direct-acting engines,
with properly constructed boilers, are
no doubt the best suited for the pur-
pose of prOpelling boats" Mr.. w.
also maintains that to make steam
perfect success the canals must be
adopted to its use. Such adaptation
would consist solely in the enlarge
ment of locking capacity. On the
Erie Canal there are seventy-One locks
Is by 100 feet, Mr.. Whitney would
have enlarged to SO by 800 feet, which
can be done at cost, according to
his estimate, of $3,000,00O. These en-
larged locks would allow steam
boat with train of three barges to
pass, in little more time than Is now
consumed in locking single boat
Mr.. Whitney closes his letter by the
emphatic statement that there Is no
practical difficulty in the way of the
Immediate adoption of steam as
motive power for canal purposes
We believe that four locks abreast,
of the present size, should be all that
is needed, and we do not believe in
the policy Of making boats up in
lows, as spoken of by Mr.. Whitney.
Reasons for this opinion are deferred
for a future article. The article in
the Iron Age, above alluded to which
the possible success of steam Is de-
MED, in such a mere tissue of bold,
ignorant assertion, without even the
shadow of argument, as to be utterly
unworthy of elaborate notice.
The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-12
London FOgs.

"London fogs' have world-wide-
reputation. During the month of
December the darkest fog ever known
for several years settled down upon
the great city, for three days para
Lying the trades Of the metropolis,
and Indirectly affecting that of the
whole country. The drenched air
was poisoned with a horrible mixture
of gas and cOal-dust which was suf-
locating to men and animals. Navi-
cation was entirely stopped on the
Thames and the canals, i'm the docks
many fatal accidents occurred. Om-
nibus drivers strayed from regular
into unfamiliar streets, and cabs could
only make their way through town
by the help of a tOrch-bearer at the
horses head. At mid day it was
scarcely possible to zee the faintest
glimmer of a lamp at half dozen
PAGES distant. In offices and ware
houses writing was a difficult art, even
with gas and candles. People who
had come into town on business found
themselves forced to remain at such
quarters as they could obtain, rather
than endure the perils of the street.
The imagination may picture the
gloom and direful confusion of a
great city thus shrouded in impefie-
trable mist-the darkness and op-
preston, the constant collisions, the
perpetual defamation OF the fog-sig-
nails. One incident-nOt unlike many
Others-shows the denseness of the
atmosphere. One night q cab driver
left his rank In the Borough Road to
return home. Half an hour after
ward some laborers stumbled over q
horse lying across the pavement In
Lower Remington Lane. They sue
ceeded in getting the animal upon his
feet, but the cab was completely shat
tered, and the driver missing. 1t
seemed wholly useless to look for him
amid the thick gloom, but not long
after they fell over his dead body
lying long distance from where the
horse had been found. This extra
ordinary fog, after resting upon Lon
don for three days, began to travel
into the country, and enveloped the
midland districts.
The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-12

DIR. Hayes, an eminent surgeon
dentist residing I'm London, gives the
following useful hints about the care
of teeth:
In the first place, the teeth should
be fairly used. BY this lmean not
made to perform the duties Of crack
ers for nuts, experimental on to
ascertain their strength, or by. ladies
10 rival scissors In cutting thread |;
for rest assured-in every case, more
particularly the last-the party hav-
ing recourse to such practices will
surely some day rue them the teeth
90 unwittingly injured being always
The first to part company rom their
fellows. Those who indulge In such
or similar habits may truly be called
the dentists friends. Cleanliness Is
absolutely essential for the preserva-
ton of the teeth, and they should be
well brushed at least morning and
evening, that any feculence which
may be attached to them, either dur
ing sleep, from the stomach, or by day
from meals, may not be allowed per
manently to adhere, causing, firstly,
discoloratiOn, then tartar, and sub
sequently, If / may so express my
self, undermining the constitution OF
one or more, as from their position
they may be more or less liable to
corrosion.
In order that the teeth should look
natural-that Is to retain their natural
color dentifrice free from the
smallest particle should he used at the
matin hour, and the mouth rinsed
with tepid water, for extremes Of
heat and cold are most highly preju.
dicial, not only to their color, but
also to their durability; and l know
no method 80 simple of converting
a really useful and ornamental sci
into one of pain and subsequent ex.
tinction, than the habit of washing
I'm either one or the other. The per.
son who habituates him or herself, tC
any extent, to hot soup, tea, or Other
drinks, assuredly rivals the friend tC
the dentist just named. Brushes 70,
the teeth should be of medium sub
stance, of bristle, and those made on
what is called the penetrating prin'
ciple, are best. / would also observe
that children at an early age should
be instructed In the use of the tooth
brush, and taught the value and I'M
portance to the teeth, in order to in
culcate habits of cleanliness and Q
due appreciation of these ornaments
of the mouth. A brush properly Sc
lected (not too hard) may be used by
children of five years of age, every
morning and by being part and
parcel of the general ablution and
thus directing habitual attention to
the teeth, a useful and clearly habit
will be engendered which will en-
sure for them proper care through
life