davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
Two Sonnets.
SORROW.


A gray and leaden sky, without break,
Shuts in the narrow world whereon look,
And day by day, mine ears almost forget
To miss the babbling of the ice-bound brook.
The woods stand rigid, ghostlike, draped in snow
Life is no longer there, nor pleasant sound,
No breath is stirring in the bitter air,
ITO bid them drop their burden to the ground.
The drift lies deeply piled before my door,
My little garden, touched by winters breath
Laid cold and smooth beneath his icy hand
Looks stark and changeless as the bed of death.
IT'S thus my Heart, thy desolation chill,
Holds me, like cruel Winter, dumb and still.
u.-sPRING SORROW.
Spare me that clear, triumphant song of praise,
Sweet thrush, with which thou welcomest the
morn;
1t wakes too keen a sorrow in my heart,
Who sigh to think another day is born.
re opening buds, We sounds and scents of Spring,
SO deeply interviewer with the past
,Ye touch the lnmost fibre of my grief
And bring the bitter memories thronging fast.
Not less the lilac crowns herself with bloom,
And bright 1aburnums shake their tasseled
gold,-
Nor does the violet breathe one odOr less
Because my life is left me dark and cold;
Only while earth and sky such joy express,
fain would turn me from their loneliness.
Spectator. A. E. ].
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
Intelligent Horses.

From our English exchange, Land
and Water, we clip the following in
teresting scrap. It is not at all an 'un-
common thing for horses to "draw
their racks" to make their beds. I
have known it in many instances, one
of the most remarkable being that of a
chestnut three-quarter-b horse that
at one time was Uttered with heather
This horse was awfully 'cute; he would
get his head out of any gear. He was
also great feeder, and would eat at
any time and any quantity. If in open
stalls with other horses he would go and
eat their oats first, before he attacked
his own; this horse, when Uttered with
heather, used to eat the heather in
preference to his hay, and when the
heather was all gone he pulled out the
hay, made bed and lay down to sleep
on it. Many horses in a loose stall
never lie down until they have made
their bed with mouth and feet. [
bought horse, and the man came to
me few days afterwards, to say that
it had not lain down and its feet were
getting stocked. I had itput in loose
box, and it always made its bed before
lying down; and if put in stall, it had
to be loosened and allowed to make it's
bed, otherwise it would never lie down.
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
The Work at POmpeii.

In the work of excavation steadily
progressing at Pompeii, there was re-
Gently uncovered series of wooden
tablets containing the accounts of a
banker named Lucius Eccilius Jocunda.
They were enclosed in small wooden
box which had been considerably
charred on the outer surface. The
leaves of the tablet are thin as paste
board, and are tied together in sets of
threes by cord passing through holes
IN the edges. The outer edges, serving
as covers, are clean and smooth: and
the inner ones are coated with wax, and
filled with accounts, which appear to be
mainly records of. loans. Near the
tablets was found a bronze bust of the
banker, bearing his maine. From forty
to sixty men are continually employed
in the excavations, under subsidy
from the government of $4,000 francs.
Up to date, two fifths of the area of the
city has been examined
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
Such a Hen Story.
San Francisco Chronicle

A case rivaling that Of the headless
rooster has been reported at the police
Office. The man who reported it stated
that friend of his had, some weeks
ago, chopped off the head of a large
Brahma hen half way down the neck.
Instead of lying down and giving up
the ghost, as any reasonable hen should,
the creature got up, with miraculous
cheek, ard walked off as though moth
ing had happened. Liniment was APP
piled to the wound, and it healed rapid
". The food of the hen was rammed
down every morning through the
oesophagus, and no loss of activity Or
health was noticed. The man asked
leave to exhibit the phenomenon pub
licly, AID, being informed that it is
against the law to exhibit monstrosities,
offered to bring the fowl to the office to-
prove the truth Of what he said There
is no telling what may happen in the
poultry line; turkeys on the Sunday
dinner tables may have to be chained
down to the platters to keep them from
vanishing through the doorways, or
tipping over the gravy dishes in their
dying struggles after being plucked and
roasted. f.
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
The Prince Imperial.

The Prince Imperial (says Chisel-
hurst letter to the Paris Figaro is of
average height and well-looking; his
teeth are ext e1hely fine, and his mouth
like that of the Empress, while the re-
mainder of his face resembles his
fathers. On the upper lip small
brown moustache is beginning to make
it's appearance His voice is full,
sonorous, and well fitted to command.
To sum up, the Prince has all the grace
of his age; he is gay, imaginative, and
French. Thowing me a small piece of
furniture in which all his school exer-
cises were placed, he said: 81 preserve
and regard them with pleasure; do you
know why? Because | am enchanted
at not having to do them again." His
daily labor is something extraordinary
sor one of his age. Rising at daybreak,
he sets apart all the morning for study.
His Professors are English, residing in
London. He is now of an age to be
admitted to Oxford, but it was prefer
red that he should study at Chiselhurst
the higher branches Of education.
After lunch the Prince rides out; he
has three saddle-horses, and among
them HerOs, the Well-knOWn sorrel of
the Emperor. Sometimes in fine
weather, he walks out with the Empress.
Two or three times week he goes to
London to take lessons in fencing,
which is his great amusement; he also
practices at home with Count Bassino.
Without being attached to the British
army, he occasionally takes part in the
S7.iiI Of q ba ttarxr of artil lnrxy tn yvhi oh
some of his Woolwich friends belong;
it is fete for them when he goes to.
Aldershot. If I stated that the Prince
said nothing about France no one
would believe me. But, as my instruc-
tons are not to occupy myself with
politics, I am restrained from giving an
account of our conversation, which
lasted nearly thirty five minutes; / can
only say that when / left the Prince
was absolutely charmed.
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
Duties Of a Mother,

She should be firm, gentle, kind, al
ways ready to attend to her child. She
should never laugh at him-at what he
does that is cunning -never allow him
to think of his looks, except to be neat
and cleansin all his habits. She should
teach him to obey a look-to respect
those older than himself; she should
never make command without seeing
that it is performed il the right man
ner. Never speak of the child's faults
or foibles, or repeat his remarks before
him. 1t is sure way to spoil child.
Never reprove child when excited,
nor let your tone Of voice be raised
when correcting. Strive to inspire love
not dread-respeet, not fear. Remem-
Der you are training and educating
soul for eternity. Teach your children
to wait upou themselves, to put away 3
thing when done with it. But do not
forget that you were once a child
California Far1ssef.
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
Origin of the Indians.

The long confessed question about
the origin of the American Indians, is
now, after years of hypothesis, about
to be solved. They are neither Tartars,
Japanese, lost tribes Of Israelites, or the
descendants of Welsh emigrants, but
Swiss. For this valuable discovery the
world is indebted to Private Andreas
Eisinger, of the Swiss Canton of Grau-
bunden, late of the United States army.
In the year 1874 Mr.. Eisinger was one
of a party of United States troops
which captured a band of Cheyenne
indians. To the great surprise Of
Eisinger, he found that their language
was Identical with his own, and that he
could understand Cheyenne. Having
subsequently received the appointment
of interpreter, he found that the Ara
pahoes. and the Comanches spoke the
same soft Graubudenian tongue. He
therefore believes that he has demon
strated that the Indians of the south
west are neither more or less than wan
dering children of the Swiss Republic.
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16

One of the unfortunate results of
having a jury composed Of men igno-
rant Of their duties as jurors, says a
Galveston paper and with not suffi-
cient understanding to comprehend the
oath as administered by the clerk,
was shown in the application of the
learned counsel Of one Charles
Willis for new trial for his client. At
ter alleging five grounds for granting
the motion for a new trial. he closed
with the following:
"The gross misconduct of the jury in
this, that defendant is informed and
believes, and therefore alleges, that the
members thereof, being unable to
agree upon q verdict, proceeded to
draw jack-straws or slips of paper, it
being purely question of chance as to
what verdict would thus be returned"
AFFIDAVIT OF THE FOREMAN.
Mr.. Languille then read the follow
Ing affidavit in support of his assertion:
-" Now comes David Wenar, who, af-
ter being dull sworn, deposes and says,
that he was foreman of the jury who
tried the defendant, Charles Willis, in
the criminal district court of Galveston
county, on the 22d day of January
1876, upon a charge of theft from a
house.
That after several hours consultation
the said jury being unable to agree up
on a verdict in said case, the members
thereof, not knowing that they were
acting in violation of law, agreed among
themselves that twenty-four slips of
paper, twelve of them having the word
guilty written upon them, and the
other twelve the words not guilty. be
placed together in the hand Of a mem
Der of the jury.
That each juror then drew one of the
said slips out of the twenty-four; that
it was impossible for a juror to know
whether his vote upon the verdict
would be guilty or not guilty; that each
juror drew one of the said slips of pa
per in the way before described: that a
majority of the slips so drawn having
the word guilty written upon them, it
was then that under the agreement be-
fore made, a verdict of guilty was re-
turned into court; that said verdict was
purely made up by chance; that every
allegation herein contained is true.
d. WENAR.
Sworn and subscribed before me this
Oath day of January, 1876
r. O'C. MACINERNEY, City Clerk"
Judge Cook did not require much
time to announce his decision in this
case, and Immediately granted a new
trial, stating at the same time that he
had considered the jurors of sufficient
understanding to comprehend their du-
ties, and therefore had not cautioned
them against determining the verdict
by a game of chance. A few such YER
diets will shake the faith of every in
telligent man in the whole system of
trial by Jury.
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
Strange Mirage.

The Newbern IN. C.) Times says:
Con Saturday, january %, quite a
mirage occurred over the sounds of
this State. From on board a vessel
lying at Hatteras Inlet, the following
lighthouses were visible, viz; Ocracoke
Lighthouse, distant sixteen miles; Cape
Hatteras Lighthouse, distant thirteen
miles; Long Shoal Lighthouse, distant
twenty-five miles; Royal Shoal N. w.
and S. W., distant twenty-three miles;
Harbor Island Lighthouse, distant
thirty miles; Brant Island Lighthouse
distant thirty-one miles; Neuse River
Lighthouse, distant forty-four miles.
All objects appeared inverted. While
such an unusual vision occurred
inside the coast another equally
peculiar phenomenon was appar-
ent from the ocean. Vessels in
approaching the land, would make
objects near the sea level long before
they could discover higher objects,
such as the tops of trees, lighthouses,
coast survey signals, &c. Ia one IN
stance the base of the lighthouse at
Cape Hatteras, with the dwellings,
were first seen, then the painted strips
above on the. tower, and subsequently
the top of the tower came in view. The
weather was cloudy, wind light from
the east or calm, barometer 3O.49,
thermometer Sc degrees. There was
also an unusually low run Of tide, and
flats seldom seen were left bare"
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
Wit and Wisdom.

IHE average boy carries eighteen feet
OF string and three old spools in his
pocket.
OUT in Nevada, two wives lay claim
to Mr.. Besthof, and it remains for the
courts to decide which of them shall
be considered the Best-hoff of the two.
-Ne1o York Commercial advertiser.
AN exchange remarks that "some
people are wholly unable to appreciate
delicate irony" We have observed
this ourselves, particularly in the case
OF WasherWomen and shirt bosoms.-
NorWich Bulletin.
A PHILosoPHER-Some robber having
broken into gentleman's house, went
to the bed of the servant, and told him
II he moved he was a dead man.
" That's falsehood," said he, for if
| move I'm sure that I'm alive"
The editor of the Chinese paper in
San Francisco has an easy time of it.
If the forms are knocked into pi it
makes no difference with the paper.
The types are bounced together, locked
up, and it's just as good Chinese as be-
fore.
AN Irish dramatic critic of New
7 ork, recently invited brother Jour-
nalist to'take a pint bottle of Cham
payne. But" said the journalist, "I
am in company with twenty or thirty
friends and can't leave them" 90,
pshawp' said the critic, "bring yer
thirty friends along, and we'll hev the
pint bottle anyhow"
A PAwNEE aboriginal presented his
big and stalwart form one December
day at the house of a we'll to do family
in Lincoln. The hostess pitied the saw
age, he being SO poorly clad, and so
said: Are you not cold this 'wintry
day" He in turn inquired if her face
was cold. She replied in the negative,
whereupon he said: "Ingin is face all
over"
The other day a minister offered
prayer at the laying of the corner stone.
A brisk young reporter hustled up and
said: II wish you would give me the
manuscript of that prayer "I never
write out my prayers" said the preach
er. "Wen,a said the reporter, II
couldn't hear word said" "I wasn't
praying to you," quickly responded the
parsOn.
He was an old bachelor, and she
widow of means and good looks. AS
they sat in the back parlor, the other
evening, he noticed a new picture hang
ing up, and he adjusted his glasses and
remarked "A new picture, Ell %
Yes my'husband's monument, she
replied as she laid her hand on his
arm. "Don't you think [ was liberal?
And if only had another painting like
it to balance this big chrome in the
center it would just finish out my
groupp' He thinks he will marry a
maiden when he marries.
A MAN from the far interior went to
Washington to see the sights. A mem
Der of the House, whose constituent he
was, said, "Come up tomorrow, and [
will give you a seat on the floor of
the House" No, you don't p replied
Jonathan; g [ always manage to havea
cheer to set on at home, and [ haven't
come to Wash 'n'ton to set on the floor
Injuns may do it when they come, if
they like, but don't do it"-Adams
Transcript. !w
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
Foreign Items.

NORFOLK street, London, has room
which has been unopened for fifty
years. In it are all the appointments
of an elegant marriage feast, prepared
for a wedding which did not take place
The disappointed bridegroom has paid
5000 per annum rental $40, 900 in all, to
have it kept closed.
A FRENCH clerical journal, quoted by
the Reueu Scie,atiifqate, maintains that the
tolling of the church bell is of much
greater efficacy than the use of light
ming rods in warding off the effects of
thunder storm, and advises the faithful
to resort to former means in prefer
ence to the latter.
STEAM has been introduced on the
street railroads in Birmingham with
great success. A speed Of about ten or
twelve miles an hour is attained with
perfect safety and convenience.
THERE was last year in Montreal
6,311 deaths, including 784 from small
pox, owing mainly to the antipathy of
the French Canadian population to vac
cination. The population in 1871 was
lO7, 225 and is now In excess of 10000
so that the annual death rate is SO IL
per 1000.
The Egyptian Institute has publish
ed a report on the state of public in
struction in that country, from which
it appears that the civil and primary
Arab schools number 1914, directed by
Alp teachers, and attended by 1922
407 pupils. There is an average of
one scholar to every forty-three inhab-
itants.
The Emperor of Brazil has leased a
white marble front house in west Phil
adelphia for the summer, and the
frugal Quaker owning it charges him
only $4,000.
PARIS pickpocket complain of cold
weather. They say when it is cold men
keep their hands in their pockets, and
leave no room for the ight-fnger-
ed gentlemen to work.
They do some things better in
France; mde the following neat way of
putting it, from a Partisan paper
: !" The Princess de M is about to retire
from society for q little while, and is
buying edgings, insertions, muslins,
and so on, which she is making up into
little garments, too large for doll, and
too small for herself"
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
THE WHALE FISHERY,
Product of the Industry Last Year---The
Supply of Oil Equal to the Demand---
The Divisions of the Fleet.

The Divisions of the Fleet.
The annual review of the whale
fishery for 1875 has just been published
by J. III. Bartlett & Sons of New Bed
ford, being the thirty-second issue of
the kind by the firm. They announce
that the year just closed has been free
from records of disasters to the fleet,
and that no great changes have taken
place IN the business. Of the arrivals
at New Bedford during the year,
eighteen voyages were fairly profitable,
and sixteen resulted in large loss
The present whaling fleet consists of
1859 vessels, against 163 on january /,
1875, and 2O3 in 1873. The number at
present engaged is about equal to the
tsssk Of meeting the demand for the oil
snd bone, and any increase in the fleet
must necessarily result in lower and
unsatisfactory prices.
= The average catch of the vessels en-
gagged in the pursuit Of right whales in
the Arctic sea amounted to 1884 bar
rels of whale and walrus oil, and 1890
pounds of whalebone- the largest
average Of any season since, 1850.
Bartlett & Sons do not believe that the
fleet will be given up, as the whales
have never been more plentiful on
those grounds than during the past
season. A few vessels in Hudson Bay
and Cumberland Inlet have had fair
success, while the pursuit of right
whales in the Southern Ocean has been
neglected The pursuit of sperm
whales has been moderately successful
few large catches having been made
during the year. Seventeen vessels
were engaged cruising off the shores of
Chill, seventeen off New Zealand, thir-
teen in the Indian Ocean. and in New
Holland; and in the North and South
Atlantic, eighty-seven.
The distribution of the whale fleet for
1876 is estimated as follows: North
and South Atlantic, II vessels; Indian
Ocean and New Holland, Is vessels;
New Zealand 10; Pacific coast and off
shore ground; %; North Pacific IS, and
Cumberland Inlet, vessels. The de-
mand for oil and bone has BEEN fair
during the year, the sperm oil opening
in January at $40 and closing at 81. go;
whale oil opened at SO IL cents for
Arctic, and closed at $1.70; whalebone
opened at ST 90 per pound and closed at
$1.3O. The entire imports of whale oil
during the year amounted to 42,617
barrels; of sperm oil, to 1854; and of
whalebone, to 372,3O3 pounds; the i'm
ports for the District of New Bedford
being far in excess of those at Prov
incetown, Boston, Edgartown, New
London, New York and San Francisco.
The estimated imports for 1876 are: Of
sperm oil, from 10000 to $4,000 bar
rels; of whale oil, from $4,000 to 40, 1000;
and from 10000 to 100000 pounds Of
whalebone
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
No Use for Wood.
Detroit Free Press.

The other afternoon sharp-featured
woman, nearly six feet high, came into
the city on the Grand River road with
about three-eighths of cord of red
oak stove-wood piled On a one-horse
sap exuded and froze to ice, and those
in search of wood gave her load looks
of contempt and scorn. She halted
near the Cass Market, and waited there
more than an hour. She seemed to be
getting discouraged, when along came
a little resident of the Cass farm and
asked her the price of wood. She said
she'd take SO.
"Three dollars for less'n half cord
of green oak wood" he exclaimed.
"Is this green wood? ?" she asked as
she threw the blanket off her feet
!" Green as water" he replied. aa
!" It is your opinion that | lie about
this wood, is it? she asked ss she let
herself down to the ground.
"I don't say that" he answered, as
he looked up. at her, but I do say"
"You do say that this is green wood,
do you?" she interrupted, letting the
old bedquilt drop from her shoulders.
"I say madam, that-that-
"You say what ?"
She was a head the tallest. She
didn't look harmonious out.of her eyes.
Fifty wears of battling with the world
might have rendered her desperate.
The little man thought Of all these
things as a crowd began to gather, and
he softly replied
MADAM, I am no judge of wood
Nv people for three generations past
have used nothing but coal, and l
thought this was load of anthracite or
I wouldn't have stopped !"
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16
The Next Generation ---Wlat Are We
Coming TO2
From the New York Express.

FROM the new iOIK Express.
The Newburyport Herald says that
fully three quarters of all the children
born in Massachusetts, are of immedi-
ate foreign extraction. There is some
thing startling in fact like this, as it
involves not only the alleged crime of
destroying children and the fear of
bringing them into the world, but shows
the great change between the present
and the past. In the past the mot1. IS
of New England gave birth to their ten
or twelve children, and thought it no
great hardship to rear and educate
them. In the present the average
number of children in each family.
with American parents, is but two or
three.
A few days since we copied the OBJ
servations of Elihu Burritt upon the
great change going on in all New Eng
land. Very many Of the old families
are becoming extinct, and more are
moving from the state. The old-time
farms have lost both their ownership
and proportions. The star of empire
is not only westward, but the sceptre
has gone. Plymouth Rock is historical;
Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill
are historical; Cambridge and its grand
Universities are both historical; and to-
day no state can compete with Massa-
chusetts in history, unless it may be
Old Virginia, and she alone in the great
and brilliant names of the past. But
from these states seem to have gone
much of the old life which sprung in
one direction from the Puritans and
in another from the Caviliers.
Surely, there must be something radi-
cally wrong when in a progressive age
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16

like this the changes in domestic life
are OF the character we have suggested
Ii the old sin was of bigotry and super
stition, it at least had the virtue of de-
votion, sincerity and success. The new
departure may be more scholastic, sci
entific and independent-but what is
science worth that is not born of virtue,
or independence wor n that is not SUBJ
ordinate to the religious development
OF our nature. Innovation is net al
ways improvement, nor what is called
progress an advancement to a higher
Or better life.
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-02-16

RusK1N says: There is that in every
animals eye, a dim image and gleam
of humanity, a flash of strange light
through which their life looks out and
up to our great mystery of control over
them, and claims the fellowship of the
creature if not of the soul. Then re-
member that, boys and girls, and treat
the dumb creatures around you as
friends.