davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08
Proposing Marriage.

The custom which reserves the right
of proposing to the stronger sex is not
so universal as many suppose. An Is
raelitish widow had, by law, power of
claiming in marriage the brother of
her deceased husband; in which case.
as the privilege of the male was trans
ferred to the female, that of the female
wa, likewise transferred to the male.
he had the power of refusing; the re-
fusal, however, was attended with
some mortifying circumstances the
woman whom he had thus sighted was
to come unto him in the presence ofthe
elders of the city and to loose the shoe
from his foot and spit in his face. A
custom somewhat similar to this re-
mains at present among some of the
Indian tribes. When a wife dies, the
husband is obliged to marry the sister,
or in her stead the woman whom the
family of the deceased wife shall choose
for him. A widow is also obliged to
marry one of the brothers of of the de-
ceased husband, if he had died without
children and she is still of age to have
any. Exactly the same thing takes
place in the Caroline Islands; and
there the woman may demand such
brother to marry her. In one State of
New Grenada the right of asking is pro-
miscuously exerted by both sexes; who,
when they feel the passion of love, de-
clare it without the least embarrass-
ment; and among the Cossacks the
same thing is said to be carried still fur
ther, and the women more generally
court than the men, When young
lady falls in love with a man, she is not
in the least ashamed to go to his IA
TIERS house and reveal her passion in
the most pathetic manner, and to prom
ise submissive obedience if he will
accept of her for wife. Should the
insensible man pretend any excuse, she
tells him she is resolved never to 90 ont
of the house until he gives his consent;
and accordingly, taking upherlodgiLg'
remains there. If he still obstlnatcly
refuses her, his case becomes exceed
ingly distressing; the church is COM
monty on her side, and to turn her out
would provoke all her kindred to re-
venge her honor; so that he has no
method left but to betake himself to
flight till she is otherwise disposed Of.
As the two sexes in Greece had but lit
tic intercourse with each other, and
lover was seldom favored with an op-
portunity Of telling his passion to his
mistress, he used to discover 1t by in
scribing her name on the walls Of his
house, OH the bark Of the trees of
The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08
The Cost OF Dying.

The population of the world at the
close of the year 1876 is estimated at
,423, ,9l7, 900. Admitting that the aver
age duration of human life is 33 years,
the deaths will be 42,455, ,0G0 a year.
According to the most reliable data, it
costs about an average of 500 to defray
the expenses of Christian funeral. If,
therefore all the nations of the earth
were Christians, the funeral bills would
amount to "a, ,3i5, 500, 900 annually. The
question that will at an early day con-
front economists will be- Cannot some
way be devised to die cheaper? Evil
IDENTIFY 1t costs too much to get decently
under the sOd-toO much for rosewood
cotiins, plumed hearses, monumental
marble. fashionable cemetery lots and
mourning costumes. Fashion is too
supreme at funerals. The fiCkel god
dess is too potential in debating the fit
and fabric of shrOud and winding
sheet, and the style of silver plates and
nails. Mourning goods are manufac-
tured and graded to order first, second,
and third; every sigh has its peculiar
tint, till at last the world observes that
the "dear departed" are forgotten.
The poor can hardly afford to die;
the rude country coffin no longer an
swers the purpose. The style Of a
burial case is u matter of deep concern,
and in many cases the living are robbed
of the absolute neCessaries of life that
the dead may have q fashionable fu-
neral. Speculation in cemetery lots is
now feature I'm real estate transac-
tions, and there are aristocratic avenues
In the cities of the dead rs well as in the
cities of the living. Pride ereCts its
monuments on the grand thorough
fares, and the gaping multitude dis
cuss the former opulence of those who
lie under sculptured marble. The pop
ulation of the United States is estimated
at 10000, 900, which give, according to
accepted death-rates, about l,l5O,000
death annually. Estimating the aver
age cost at 800, we have q death tax of
about 25,OOO,OOO annually or some
thing over S3 per capita for every man,
woman and child in the country. Mani
festly this is too large. Common sense
demands that it should be reduced.
The discussion will hardly be under
taken by the undertakers, and the
livery men may regard it as somewhat
hackneyed, nevertheless the fact stands
that il costs too much to die.
The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08
Traits OF q Gentleman.

Why does every traveller feel that an
Arab is gentleman, or that Turk is
a gentleman? Because both the Turk
and the Arab manifest certain self
possession, without touch Of self-as-
sertiOn, have an air of command devoid
of arrogance, are tranquil amid riot, and
composed amid difficulty and disturb
ance. These qualities seem to us to
spring from habits of command, and
from an inherent sense of superiority,
and the observation will apply with
equal force to English gentlemen. A
gentleman is gentleman, and there's
an end ont. lie does not want to be
anybody else, because he does not recOg-
nize any superior, save Of the titular
or disciplinary sort. Your vulgar per-
son, or even your person who, with
out being vulgar, is nota gentleman, is
conscious of his inferiority, and periodi-
cally labors to conceal or cloud it.
There is no concealing it, and the at
tempt only exposes the fact more glar-
ingly to view. This sort of person, too,
is not calm, not self-possessed; he is
fussy, sOlicitous, domineered by circum-
stances, ,instead of quietly settling down
to level with them. This by no means
implies that gentleman must not cope
with circumstances when they are inn
portant enough to demand the exercise
of his energy. But when he comes out
of the battle, or the senate or the hunt
ing field, no matter what he has gone
through, he is composed and quiet once
more. lie never swaggers; he never
makes unnecessary apologies or eXpla-
nations. He takes things as he finds
them. Now and then no doubt the
idiOsyncracies Of genius will lend an
exceptional fervOr to the manners of
gentleman; and Lady Blessington was
so unaware of this that she expressed
herself surprised that Byron's manner
in conversation was not as quiet as she
would have expected from person Of
his rank. The observation was at once
stupid and snobbish. There is no cut
and-dry receipt for a gentleman; but he
is as unmistakable to those who know
one, as the color of flower, or the
scent of leaf.
The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08
Moon Madness.

The popular belief that the moons
rays will cause madness in any person
who sleeps exposed to them, has long
been felt to be absurd, and yet it has
appeared to have its source in un-
doubted fact. Some deleteriOus influ-
ence is experienced by those who
rashly court slumber In full moOnshine,
and probably there is no superstition TO
which the well.to-dO pay more atten-
tion. Windows are often carefully
covered to keep the moonbeams from
entering the sleeping rooms. A gentle
man living in India furnishes Nature
with an explanation of this phenome-
non, which is at least plausible. He
says: at has often been observed that
when the moon is full, or nearly its
full time, there are rarely any clouds
about; but if there be clouds before the
full moon rises, they are soon dissipated !;
and therefore a perfectly clear sky with
a bright full moon is frequently OBJ
served. A clear sky admits of rapid
radiation of heat from the earth, and
any person exposed to such radiation
sure to be chilled by the rapid loss of
heat. There is reason to believe that,
under the circumstance, paralysis in
one side of the face is sometimes likely
to occur from chill, as one side of the
face is more likely to be exposed to
rapid radiation, and consequent loss of
its heat. The chill is more likely to
occur when the sky is perfectly clear.
| have often slept in the open air in
India on a clear summer night, when
there was no moon, and although the
first part of the night may have been
hot, yet toward two or three O'Clock In
the morning the chill has been so great
that have often been wakened by an
ache in my forehead, which | as often
have counteracted by wrapping a hand
kerchief around my head, and drawing
the blanket over my face. AS the chill
is likely to be greatest on very clear
night, and the clearest nights are likely
to be those on which there is bright
moonshine, it is very possible that neu-
relgia, paralysis, or other similar in
jury, caused by sleeping in the open air,
has been attributed to the moon, when
the prOximate cause may really have
been the chill, and the moon only re-
mote cause acting by dissipating the
clouds and haze (if it do SOY, and leav-
ing perfectly clear sky for the play of
radiation into space. ."-GalG1y.
The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08

Hold on to your tongue when you
just ready to swear, lie or speak harshly,
or to use an improper word,
Hold on to your hand when you are
about to pinch, strike, scratch or do any
improper act.
Hold on to your foot when you are
on the point of kicking, running away
from study, or pursuing the path of
error, shame or crime.
Hold on to your temper when you
are angry, excited or imposed upon, or
Others are angry with you.
Hold on to your heart when evil as
sociates seek your company, and invite
you to join IN their games, mirth and
revelry.
Hold on to your good name atall time
for it is Of more value than gold, high
position, or fashionable attire.
Hold on to truth, for 1t will serve
you well, and do you through all time.
Hold on to virtue-it is above all price
to you, under all circumstances.
Hold on to your good character, for IL
is, and ever will be the best wealth,
The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08
Odd of a Japanese Garden,

Japanese are fond of fanciful methods
of adding to the curious interest of theil
homes and gardens. The quaint land
scapes which adOrn almost every subur
ban villa, of however limited dimen
sions, are familiar to everybody. one
of the most eccentric efforts at embel
lishment We have seen is connected
with the country house of wealthy
citizen of Yokohama. Ii is situated in
Totsuka, on the TO Kai DO, and from
the road presents no very exceptional
appearance, but as soon as the visitor
passes the arch way Of the building tC
the space at the rear he finds himself IN
view of as remarkable a specimen OF
decoration as can be anywhere wit.
messed in so limited a space. A steep
hill rises abruptly from the mansion,
which is threaded by intricate paths,
and profusely covered with every va
riety of adornment that Imagination
could conceive or industry gather to-
gether. Stone images, strangely
carved rocks, twisted roots of trees
dainty works of bronze and porcelain
are crowded in ga mighty maze but not
without plan" Flowers and shrub
berry are not entirely displaced, and
thick clusters of foliage surround pic
turesque arbOr as the summit of the de-
clivity. But the most remarkable fea-
ture of the place, and the one upon
which most care and cost seem to have
been lavished, is deep cavern, or
series of subterranean passages cut into
the hill, through which those who OBJ
tain admission may walk for some hun
dreds of yards. These galleries are en-
livened with lines of carving i'm bass
relief representing flowers, fruits,
family crests and a perfect menagerie
of real and mythical animals. The
walls and ceiling form an almost un-
broken panorama. A little stream runs
by one of the foot paths, and in it
crawls mammoth tortoise, accom-
panied by its young. The figures have
been cut with very little difficulty from
the soft clay, and it is expected that
they will harden with time. Many
of them are gaudily COlOred, rejecting
a Kaleidoscope radiation from the glare
of the torches. The enterprising owner
has evidently determined to leave none
of the possible advantages Of his prop
erty unimprOven. His house is one of
the finest in the neighborhood, every
inch of his hillside garden shows the
mark of his attention, and he has even
penetrated the bowels of the earth to
secure novelty and ingenious variety in
the development of his estate e.-Tokio
(,JdpdU) Times.
The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08

public walk, or the leaves of his book ;
il was customary for him also TO deck
the door of the house where his fair one
lived, with flowers and garlands, to
make libations of wine before II, In the
manner that was practiced at the tenn
pie of Cupid. When a love affair did
not prosper in the hands Of Greek, he
did not endcavOr to become more en-
gaging in his manner and person; he
did not lavish his fortune in presents,
or become more obliging and assiduous
in his addresses, but Immediately had
recourse to incantatiOn and philters in
composing and dispensing of which the
women Of Thessaiy were reckOncd the
most famous, aud drove a traffic in them
Of considerable advantage. These po-
tions were given by the women to the
men, AS well as by the men to the
women, were generally so violent in
their operations as for some time to
deprive the person who took them of
sense, and not uncOmmonly of life.
The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08
The Human Facei

The countenance of every nation de-
fines the characteristics of its people
Every human face indicates the moral
training as well as the temperament
and the ruling traits of its owner, just
as every human form indicates the
quality and amount of its physical exer-
else. This is proven by the variety of
human faces everywhere visible. Those
whose lives have been given to physi-
cal labor, unbrightened by an educa-
cation of ideas, have always a stolid,
stnpid impression, even while their
limbs and muscles are splendidly de-
veloped. The more savage the people,
the uglier they are in facial develop
ment. The very features of their faces
are disfgured by violent and ungov-
crned passions. People whose employ
ments are intellectual, have invariably
large, clear gaze, a bright, outraying
expression, rs II from an inward light
shining through vase, When fine
organization and deep scnsibilty ac-
company the practice of Intellectual
pursuits, often the features take on a
transparent, luminous look. Persons
endowed with powerful sensibility,
however plain their features, always
have moments of absolute beauty.
The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08
A LAMENT.

30, it is time to tire Of youth
And my sweet mirror, where see
The beaut ful and bitter truth,
Myself, reproach and pity me.
Wrong somehow, have not my wrongsl
Better i we're IL left alone.
One snAres me in net OF songs,
Another changes me to stone
Another steals my colors rare
And gives them TO some doubtful faint
Almost wish were not fair,
. Spite Of their sonnets, marble, paint.
NV beauty stirs within the strife.
For men TO see-am for this1
Where others suffer death and life,
Shall have just look, kiss
Why, any clown may wear ring
OF gold my head cannot outshine;
The widest bird in the air can sing
With far diviner voice than mine.
What is my little sweetness WORTH
Here lies violet at my feet
The sweetest woman upon earth
Was never half 30 sweetly sweet.
For men TO see? II this be all,
Yon lily, sirs, shows whittier grace,
The rose that climbs your garden wall
Looks at you with lovlier face.
The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08
The Present state of the Garden of Eden.

The Present State of the Garden Of Eden.
Prince de Ligne, cOuntryman and
contemporary of Maria Theresa, wrote
an essay "On the Location of the
Earthly Paradise" and after some re-
Elections on the hygienic influences of
different climates, calls attention to the
fact that ''paradise traditions, in locat-
ing the Garden of Eden, differ only i'm
regard TO longitude, but not to latitude.
The latitude keeps always near the snow
boundary, a line just south of the re-
gions where snow may fall, but will
not stay on the ground. 1t passes
through Thibet, Cashmere, Northern
Persia and Asia Minor, and reaches the
meridian of Europe near the centre Of
the Mediterranean. The nation that
celebrated life as festival" have
lived along this line, and we may doubt
if in the most favored regions of the
New World human industry, with all
the aids Of modern science, will never
reunite the opportunities of happiness
which nature once lavishcd on lands
that now entail only misery on their
cultivators. All over Spain and POrtu-
gal, Southern Italy, Greece, Turkey,
Asia Minor, Persia, and Western AZ
ghanistan, and throughout Northern
Africa, from. Morocco to the valley of
the Nile, the aridity Of the soil makes
the struggle for existence so hard that to
the vast majority Ofinhabitants life from
blessing has been converted into
curse. Southern Spain, from Gibraltar
to the head waters of the Tagus, main
tains now only about one-tenth of its
former population, Greece about one
twentieth. As late as A. ID. go, a
good while after the rise of the Moham-
medan power, the country now known
as TripOli and distinct from the Sahara
only through the elevation of its noun
tain, was the seat of eighty-fve Chris
tian bishops and had a population of
100000, of which number three
quarters of one per cent. are now left
The climate which, according to au-
thentic description, must once have re-
sembled that of our Southern Alleghan-
les, is now so nearly intOlerable that
even the inhumanity of an African de-
spot forbears to exact open air labor
from nine A. NJ. to five p. NJ. Steam
boats that pass near the TripOlitan coast
in summer, on their way from Genoa to
Cairo, have to keep up continual
shower of artificial rain to save their
deck hands from being overcome by |
the furnace air that breathes from the
barren hills of the opposite coast. The |
rivers of some of these countries have |
shrunk to the size of their former tribu- |
taries, and from Gibraltar to Samarcand |
the annual rainfall has decreased until |
the failure of crops has become chronic |
complaint. And all this change is due |
to the insane destruction Of forests.
The great Caucasian Sylrdnia that once
adorned the birth place of the white
race, from the Western Pyrenees TO the
foot hills Of the Himalayas has disap-
peared of the forest area of Italy and
Spain, in the days Of the elder Pliny,
about two acres in hundred are left;
in Greece, hardly one. But even the
nakedness of the most sterile tracts of
Southern Europe is exceeded by the
utter desolation of the Ottoman pro-
vinces.-Populdr Science Monthly.
The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08

The New Bedford, Mass, Standard
says that Mrs. Abraham Butts, aged rs
years, residing In Dartmouth, walked
from her home to the Standard Office and
back the other day, distance of four
teen miles. The woman took the walk
to pay her subscription.
The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-08
RATES OF ADVERTISING.

Regular rates Of advertising, al per square
INST insertion, and 90 cents each Subsequent
insertion
Special contracts will be made for all adYsr-
hsements for four insertions or over
Transient advertisements always payable
quarterly in advance.
Marriages and obituary notices, over oas
square, charged for at half regular rates.
All local notices 10 oents line for each in
serton.
No notices inserted for less than nfty
eents
The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1877-03-16


ra,s.sa .. P ,sss., rs!asS Powell Pratt.
Hoss iusk. sampson Sck1slcicr.' sssiy S' Sin.
gleten. sinnickson. snlalls, Saith ira). strait.
stevenson, stowell. swami, Thornburgh /.
Ihrockmorton. Townsend IN. w, Townsend
uA.). Tufts, Van voorhes, Waldron. Wallace
~. ..s.l. Wallace (Pa.), Ward, Watierson
Mills W. miss; White, Mhitchopse. Whiting
t ~sr Ma%' N H; f Wi, M!iaR s; Mi
liams W. u. (Mlch.). Willis. Wiltshire. ~iIson
qaD, Wood Ira !. Wood N. Y.), Woodburn.
Woodwork. featcs--iis.
Various amendments. substitutes. notions 70
reconsider, ETC.. were In turn rejected. when az
v;ivhn amendment 10 the effect that the vote OF
.olace be not counted WAS vo ed on and carried
ny the decisive vote of--ycas, 2uJ. nays 49, Tno
speaker now announced, In tie face of nnmer-
Gus objections. that tho senate would be notified
20 attend the Joint session, and ~ II O'Clock the
senators nkain entered TIE hail. The
senate having withdrawn, Mr.. Mills introduced
a resolution that the House now proceed 10
choose President. in obcdicnce 70 the pro-
visions OF the Constitution. At this point
ui.iu) a message from the Senate annotnced
that the objections had mot been sustained The
announcement was greeted with very Roucrnl
clappinK OF hands ON the Republican side
Of the House and In the GaIierics.
and the Speaker ordered that The Hobbies be
cleared. Mr.. Lynde then moved recess till 10
o'clock to.morrow morning. Rejected--99l to
Of the Wisconsin vote commenced, and nj 80 a
resolution was carried that the vote Of Downs be
not counted. The senate was again notified.
and at D0 a. m. entered TO participate In the
llnal Joint session, which being cencludea the
House adjourned NJ 20 q. m.
The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1877-03-16

The Dayton Soldiers Home had an
inmate with wonderful history in Will
liam A. j. Mcclure, now in his one
hundred and seventh year. He was
born ip New Jersey, and from his fif-
teenth to thirtis th year was in the mer-
chant service, visiting nearly every port
in the world. In 1904, he turned trap
per on the Ohio River, and finally en-
listed in the army, being captured at
Hull's surrender and taken To Dartmoor
prison, but was freed in time TO fight
at Lundy's Lane, under General Scott,
and get seven wounds. When AZ he
saved a woman from drowning at
Charleston, s. c., and married her, but
she died at New Orleans, three years
after, when he served as scout for Gen.
eral jackson in Florida. Then he went
to sea again, was wrecked in the Med
iterranean and, with seven others, was
and enslaved by the Arabs, but
was bought and freed by the American
consul. Byron died, about this time,
and the rowing 70 be centenarian entered
the Greek service, after q little into tle
marine under Admiral Rogers, then
served in the Seminole war, then in the
Mexican war under Rogers, going to
sea again was wrecked in the Albion on
the Irish coast, and was one Of the nine
saved from that Inflated crew. He
naturally tired of the sea, went Wes,,
and was, for many years, mail-carrier
between Cincinnati and Lexington, KY,
narrowly escaping death from cholera.r
For the past 20 years he has lived in
Missouri, where he married three more
wives, having p children, only three of
whom survive. His last wife, who was
go years his junior, died in 1871, aged
40. The old gentleman is still active,
and talks Of going back to Missouri, in
the summer, in skiff. He has been at
Dayton since October, and the officers
believe the strange story Of his wander
ings, and papers at Washington au-
thenticste his age and American service.