davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05
An Arctic Story.

! In the spring of the year lS4O, a whaling
vessel sailed from the port of London
| upon voyage To the Polar Seas. Moth.
ing material is said TO have occurred
until their arrival i'm those solitary
regions, when IL became the duty of the
crew to keep n perpetual look k-out upun
the horizon in search of fish. While
thus occupied, it was fanCied by one of
the seamen that sail was disCernihlc.
as Tar to the northward rs the eve could
reach. As the course of the whaler was
toward the supposed vessel, mast be-
came gradually distinguishable amid
the mountain of ice which appeared i'm
that quarter to bound the sea. IL was
now summer, and the afternoon unusu.
ally calm, while the whaler gradually
neared the object i'm view, the supposi.
tlon being that IL was vessel engaged
IN operating upon the blubbcr i'm n bay
which would open To the view upon an
preaching nearer To the ice.
Upon arriving, however, at the spot IL
became clear that the vessel was a wreck
Embedded in the ice, and could only bc
approached by boat. This having
Seen lowered, the captain and several of
the seamen landed upon the ice and pro
ceeded To the vessel, which proved To be
a brig. The sails were furled. very little
appeared upon the deck, and all the ar.
rangements were those of vessel laid
up for a long period of time.
Descending TO the cabin, the first OBJ
lect that WAS seen was large New
foundland dog coiled upon n mat. and
apparently asleep. Upon touching the
animal II was found To bc dead, and the
body frozen 10 the hardness of a stone.
Entering the cabin was next seer n
young lady seated at a table her ewes
were open, and gazing with mild and
stcadfast expression upon the new
comers TO that solitary spot She was
dead and in that apparently resigned
and religious attitude had been frozen
10 death.
Beside her was young man, who, il
appeared was the brother of the lady
and commander of the brig. He. too
was dead, but sitting at the table, and
before him lay sheet of paper. upon
which were written the following words:
" Our cook has endeavored since yestcr-
day morning To light a fire, but in vain;
all Is now over"
AT the other side of the cabin stood
the cook, with a flint and steel i'm his
hand, frozen To "A statue, in the vain en-
deavor TO procure that fire which alone
could save him and his companions from
the cold arms of death. The super
stitiOus terroTs of the seamen now
hurried the captain away from the
wreck, the log book alone being brought
away; and, from this, il appeared that
the lll-lated vessel was brig, which
had belonged to the port of London,
and had sailed for the Arctic region
more than fourteen years before.
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05
The PrOsy Lawyer.

Judges are sometimes rCstiVc under
the proliN arguments of counsel II an
/ advocate IS gifted with tact, he will
| break oh his plea when he sees that he
has lost the ear of the court. But
some lawyers are wise, and some are
| otherwise.
Mr. Riggs, who Gourishcd in New
York some fifty years ago. was learned
but tedious oXpouudcr of the law. lie
was destitute of tact, which dcstitution.
together with his proliNity, occasionally
brought him into conflict with Chan
cellor Kent.
On one occasion, MIR Riggs, while
arguing n case before the Chancellor.
was unusually tedious. At last the
patience of the court gave way. In his
oh-hand manner, the Chancellor init.
mated that his mind was made up The
hint seemed to intensity the desire of
MIR. Riggs to continue his argument.
lie had habit when arguing a case
ol pointing II pen at the court, aud
saying frequently, Now, | undertake
To say"
" Now, if your honor plcasc,' con.
tlnued the persistent Riggs, pointing his
pen at the restiVc Chancellor, "I under
take to say -
N'H I 'hlt Wutl you HUUttlNkC lO
say, Mr.. Riggs" broke out the Chan.
ccllor, my mind is made up"
But il your honor would only
hear
:" Hear, MIR. Riggs have heard YOU
fully, and don't want to hear another
word"
But if your honor please, there are
some considerations think I could adj
duCp which would -
Talk away, them" exclaimed the
Chancellor, turning his chair around
and looking out of the window; "but
there's no use of it; my mind is made
upw
Now, if your honor please" re-
Joined Riggs, " think may safely un-
dertakc to say -
Talk away, talk away, talk all day
but twill he of no use" ."
Mr. Riggs, who was IA amiablc as hc
was tedious, seeing that even the longest
argument was useless to cars which
would not hear, reluctantly, but with
out the slightest expression of chagrin,
took his seat
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05
A FOUR-LEAFED BLOSSOM.
LEAF ONE.

Mr. Frederick Woodman, aged twen-
ty-two, was the master Of the village
school of Peterborough, and one of the
hest little men, as far as temper and
looks were concerned, that you could
possibly imagine. All his scholars
and, in fact, almost everybody liked
him. Indeed, it would have been very
difficult not TO like such a well-spOken,
gentle and amiable little gentleman
On the day my STORY commences,
however, he was neither gentle nor
amiable. He treated the schoolboys
with an amount Of severity which sur
prised them greatly. .IsJ 9.'ir.Ty-
Directly he had dismissed the boys for
the day, he locked up the school, and
walked abstractedly into his own little
domicile, adjoining. NJ \i.a
Taking of his hat, he sat down upon
2 chair, looking greatly worried, and
then burst out with
What fool ] was 10 quarrel with
poor little Nell last night What does
IL matter If she does firtl ] might
know by this time that she likes me bet
ter than that other wretch"
Having thus relieved himself, he rose,
sauuteTed out, and paced up and down
the little flower garden in front Of the
cottage.
Presently he was fred with an idea.
and returned to the parlor mutterine .
know. I'll write Nell a loving
and penitent letter, asking her forgive
ness for my hastiness last night. First
Of sll, though, I'll secure a messenger" 4"
Brotting out TO the end Of his garden,
he soon sighted knot of his pupils
playing at cricket, and, selecting one,
called out,
"Hi Briggs, my boy, ] want you"
And IN another minute up came
Briggs, anxious to get in his MASTER
good books" and hot from his exer-
tiOns at cricket.
Yes, sirW painted he.
Step i'm, and sit down n minute.
Briggs. ] want you to take letter for
me"
And the little schoolmaster went in.
while Briggs sat down in the porch. fan,
ming himself with his old misshapened
hat, and wiping the perspiration from
his lace or the sleeve Of bis smoek
Mr.. WoOdman had said he would
write p letter but doing 10 he found very
different. He commenced FIVE, one al
ter the other, tearing them all up in dis
gust hen, thinking Briggs would gel
tired of waiting, he employed a little ar
tice to detain bis intended messenger
while he made an yther attempt at a Ions
and penitent letter
Briggs, my boy" said he. cominr
out with the pen in his car, would voT
like a piece Of cakeW
Oi think oi could eat ioost a littl,
crumb, and thankee, sir" said Briggs
smirking
SO our hero vepf IN e,d o,t -.
nttle crumb, weighing about half
PoSn1, Dronght it out ON n clean plate
say IN his biilet-dour.
As be sat considering. q " ham,
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05
A Quaint City.

In the old Dutch city of amsterdam,
all fashionable houses border on a canal
The streets are named from the canals
that pass through them. The houses
are not built upright, but lean toward
one another, as though very polite or
systematically drunk. Their tops often
nearly touch over the narrow streets.
This is said TO shelter them from the
storm. In gable is q large hook for
hOisting every conceivable thing into
the house clothes, which are always
sent to the country for washing, fruits,
butter coal, turf. Little mirrors iut
out from many windows, so that callers
may be seen As they approach the door.
Owing to the canals, the city is very
quiet 1t is hard to believe that nearly
three hundred thousand people are
gathered in the houses which stand
along the canals.
The streets are paved with stone, ~
IN this country, btu there is scarcely any
roar OF carts or wagons Boats do duty
IN their stead. Some Of these are pro
PEELED by steam; few flap their choco.
late-cOlOred sails, but the most are
pushed through the water by means Of
long poles These boats bear all manner
Of freight Many boats furnish the
home for the boatman and his family
They arc not simply workshops. There
Is kind of hOmely romance i'm the
boatman's life. BY the side Of the
canals there is generally narrow car
riage-rOad and two iOOtpaths. A line
Of trees on either side Of the paths furn-
ishcs pleasant shade I'm summer. The
aristocrats are careful b. walk i'm the
paths next ~ the canal, as it is a mark
of good breeding.
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05
A Friendly Father.

The stern parent, 20 much dreaded by
young and spOOny serenaders, is not
always such a ferOciOus monster as he is
generally represented. Three young
gentlemen, accompanied by n guitar,
began singing swectly under the window
of a favored one, the other evening.
when dark object WAS seen a. issue
from the corner Of the house. IL tmoved
slowly and cautiously, and seemed to be
armed They were TOO much devoted
10 the art IT, break of in the middle Of
the strain which they we're in Al the
time, so they held the fort trembling
ill it was finished, and then prepared
10 decamp hastily.
This was interrupted. however, by
the motion Of the aforesaid object who.
now being near enough 10 be seen more
clearly, beckoned 10 them frantically.
and whispered Hold on boys. don
be Trade it's me-" And sure enough IL
was him, the father Of the angel they
had called 10 serenade. lie beckOned N
the party to follow him around to The
side Of the house, where he explained
matters a. well ~ he could under the
circumstances.
I've been out n little tonight" said
he and I'm tryin' 10 get in the hous,
without bein' heard"
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05
THE PEsrrLrNcE NV ORLEANS ,sAs
Br-CIfAKLES NoRKAN pENir.

In looking over au unpu nusn.d work hv Charles
Morean peute, who died az New Orleans several
sesrs ago. md the following. which .ccms /, he
htting tribute 10 the sufferers AZ the South. Mir.
Denie wss resident Of Memphis. aud a warm
Iiend men to The Afflicted HIS last days were spent
French aod spanish correspondence
The night hath come.
And DER the trembling city, the curse
Hangs broodtrg o'er the music h hath stilled
In many hearts and homes
The sickIy moon
Hides, shudd.riog. hsr Gd and Sipnmed lace
Among the shroud-like clouds that ragged hang
Upon the limbs OF the distressed night,
As up from the devoted city there doth rise
SiNS eessel.ss % SQUAD ci one incessent prayer.
Oi childless ones and orphans.
Lone and dark.
AND siil, Tor want OF any human voice.
a thousand dwellings form against the skies,
Where once the laugh Of children aud the songs
That burst from the light hearts of mothers 6fied
Inc echotng halls with gladu,ss.
In yon poor room a light has fickorod out;
hut, ere IL hed from tao@e damp. dingy walls,
human spirit left its home Of clay,
On Its dead mothers breast the sleeping babe
Lies LES IKE blossom on blighted bough
on doth ~ dream that 10 hath lost what here
Below, can never he replaoed7
Iistl Cod
How the chilled flesh doth creep at that Wild cry
Which.leaps upon the foul AMI covering air,
Like the despair of en- o'ermastere1 heart
Upon the thing that breaks it, rTis the SHREK
Ot sick mother DER her dying child,
Mother, weep not for me--we'll meet up there -
A fearless wife Cliugs TO the stricken form
Ot him In whom h merged her very self
As III she would resist with her embrace
The fell Destroyer's grasp Poar, loving thingl
The man Is gone thou lovest--thou but clasp
The chain he wore.
The wRtcher-sta's grow pale
Prom the far East a herald, clad i'm gray
Proclaim that Morning, blushing from her bed
Like young bride, is getting timid up
10 meet the eyes that wait her. Up on high
with continuous melody from earth
10 Heaven, the awakened birds take flight
And dewy mouths Of flowers send welcomes out
Fragrant, TO greet her in.
Still the Curse,
The Yellow -Plumed Destroyer, fans his wings
And ss he wheels aud circles in the air,
thousand shadows from his pin ions fall
Upon the earth below. Harshly he screams
And likes in the heart his burning beak:
Death. with grim smile, hath cast him from
His wrist and bid him swoop.
Forever gone
The old the young the rich, the poor; grave gay.
The bad the good; the homey and the fair
Gone TO a common end.
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05
LEAF Two.

Pretty little Nellie Morris sat alone
in her mothers little parlor crying.
Her parents had gone to a neighbor
ing fair, and would not be home till late
and she was so lonely and wretched
that she felt she must cry.
Why was / 30 unkind to poor dear
old Fred last nightp' she asked herself
between her sobs. "Oh, how I wish he
would come and make il all up" she
inwardly uttered. 81 do feel so miser-
able"
At that moment there was tap ON
the door.
Nellie's heart beat wildly.
Come in, she said feebly. And, OH.
how she wished, yet scarcely dared TO
hope, that it was Fred come to make up
the quarrel, and be good friends again |
But she was disappointed.
The door opened slowly, and Briggs
entered, holding out crushed and dirty
letter, and mumbled that il was from
MIR. WpOdman, and he was 10 wait for
a reply. "a
Nellie took the soiled missive, broke
the seal with trembling fingers. and
took cont faded white rose, and n
broken straw, the definitions OF which
she knew too well-the former meaning
" i loved you once" and the latter-Oh,
cruel stab!-" Thus do | break my fet-
ters 70
Nellie, scarlet with Indignation, flung
the letter out the open door, motioned
Briggs tofollow il which he did more
amazed than eyer-and then sank upon
chair in an agony of tears.
AL this sorrow was caused by Briggs
weakness for cricket. He had stopped
TO havea game on his way, and put the
letter in his pocket, whereby the rose
was faded and the straw broken.
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05

TIE most enterprising col0nist Of the
period is the babOon of India A band
Of two hundred or three hundred ba-
bOons has suddenly appeared near the
village OF Augurpara. They are great
brutes, four feet high, and as savage az
wild beasts. They attack children, and
even iull-grOwn women, without fear.
and have SET up q reign Of terror over
the people, going in and ont Of the
houses rs they please, willing freev
upon the pantains, guavas, mangoes.
and other fruits grown in their gardens.
The people are afraid 10 shoot them A.
the whole colony would attack them in
stantly. The police do not interfere.
and the village is not merely ridden to
death by these apes, but is i'm such a
state Of insecurity from budmashcs that
the people have sent deputation To
represent their condition to the Gov.
ernment. The village Is eight miles
from Calcutta The strength and dar-
ing Of the animals are declared to ter
rify the people, the brutes selecting
girls and women as the special objects
OF their attacks
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05

AZ last our hero came to resolution.
He would go and see Nellie and explain
the whole Of the wretched blunder.
He was soon striding away over the
fields in Hutter Of hope and excite
ment.
The sun was just sinking in a daz.
cling mass Of gold as he reached his des-
tinatlOn
lie tapped gently ON the door, hut OBJ
tanned no answer, 30 he softly lifted the
latch and stepped gently inside
Nellie was sitting by the window, her
face buried in her hsnds-sitGng still
~ death
Fred advanced noiselesslv and
touched her hpOn the arm.
She sprang hastily up, and, seeing
who IL was-crimsOn with anger and
wounded pride-she ordered him 10
leave the house but the effort was too
much for her, and she sank upon her
chair again, sObbing as though her poor.
innocent little heart would break.
In an instant the little schOolmaster
was on his knees by her side, and ia less
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05
LEAF THREE.

Our hero WAS waiting impatiently in
the garden when Briggs ran up, looking
very frightened, and holding out the re-
.jected billet dOuE in his hand.
He at once broke out in string of
disjointed sentences concerning his luck
less adventure.
81 guy IL TO her" said he, " and when
she took out the brukken straw an the
faded rose, she turned me an the letter
fair out o the house"
Broken ~ echoed Fred. " Faded 20
Then light suddenly dawning upon
him" Did you get playing on your
way, sir? answer me" he added, shak-
ing the unhappy messenger violently.
go i only" commenced Briggs, fear
fully; and then he began to blubber,
and applied the sleeve of his smock to
his eyes in most woebegone manner.
g For goodness sake, run home be
fore I'm angry with you" said our
hero; and Briggs obeyed, thinking it
very strange affair altogether.
Fred ran in, thinking perhaps, he had
sent the wrong emblems, and looked
again at his " Language of Flowers"
No they were quite right.
just then his eye caught an item, AS
follows white rose (faded)- loved
you once" and he groaned. Then he
turned to another page, and had another
shock on seeing these words Straw
(broken) Thus do I break my fettersl'
That was truly the last straw which
broke the camers back. Fred leaned
back in his chair, and almost cried with
vezatiOn, TO think of the sorrow his care
less messenger had caused.
The shades of evening began to fall
still he sat there, thinking how he could
heal this fresh wound.
Meanwhile, unhappy Nellie sat cry
ing In her drcary parlor. All, mel
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05
Conclusions as To the PathOgeny Of Vel.
low Fever.

The presentation Of a paper on the
" PathOgeny Of Yellow Fever" the
other night at the Cincinnati Academy
Of Medicine, elected lengthy discus.
sion. The conclusions reached were A.
follows:
]. yellow fever has no symptoms or
lesion absolutely peculiar 10 itself or
different from other acute, infectious
diseases
2. It's distinctive characteristic il It's
confinement TO seaports and tO climates
Of A. least scventy-two degrees Fair.
3. II is q germ disease that H., IT, is
due % q microscopic parasite, which
has, however, as yet eludcd recognition.
4. The germ multiplies with charac-
teristic fecundity outside, but not In.
side, Of the body. In the body It cyokea
LESSONS, and then probably ceases TO cx-
ist as such hence 10 is not contagious
in the strict sense Of the term Not thc
person, but the properties (clotbing
bilge, water, etc.) carries the disease
.. Quarantine should hence only OK.
tend 10 goods.
9. The germ dies out with every frost
cold enough 10 kill the banana plant
and an epidemic may only rccur after
importation from places not subject to
such loss Of heat
Z. Local genesis of the disease "a i'm
I possible; II is always imported TbcaI
/ dissemination here though possible II
highly improbable, ~ the necessary con
I ditions do not exist
/ The type Of an epidemic is determine,
\ by the surrounding conditions, the spc
/ cihc cause being always the same
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05
To An ANTIQUE TEAPOT.

Reramic relic of antiquity.
In ancient days brought from a far-oh land,
1Ou look played out, pdSyc and TiCkety
A. there you stand,
with nose knocked OH and battered continuity
An ugly specimen e'er / scanned
i wonder by what strange faulty t
Men think you "grandW
IT you could speak, Of many an old tea-drinking
And scandals told by ancient spinsters gaunt,
When characters were cut up without wnking
by my old aunt,
Assisted by her witheTed female cronies
know you'd like to tell with gush and rant;
But untO me and YOU one thiug we'll known is
lis that you can't.
60, we're some crazy lover OF old china,
In potteTs' marks aud numbers an apt scholar,
o coyet you when coming here to dine, or
Sup, or call, or
Break in the house. In hopes, perh aps to rake you
Into his OVID collection, 'twould IN eholer
Not raise. I'D say TO him that he might take you
For half dollar. Puck.
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05

thought struck him. He would send
her a message in flowers
He reached to his book k-shelf. aud took
down little book called "The Ian.
guage of Flowers" which he at once
began 20 study, searching for an appro-
pirate emblem.
Union--a perfect straw, 3" he read.
All, that will do. Reunion is lust
what | want. Now for a little fstterv.
All, here it is: Delicate beauty-a
white rose Hurrah That will do
splendidly. | have heard her saw she
understands the language of flowers. II
was capital idea of mine"
He hurried out into the garden. past
the astonished Briggs, and plucked a
beautiful white rose, after which ne
came back, and asked Briggs eff he
could get him wisp of straw any
where"
oh, yes, sir answered Briggs. much
astonlshed, and away he went his
mouth full of cake, and soon returned
bearing the trophy, which he handed TO
our hero, and resumed his cake and seat
IN the porch, with serious doubts As to
his schoolmaster's sanity.
His reflections were interrupted by
Mr.. Woodman coming out, bearing an
envelope, which contained the rose and
straw, carefully wrapped i'm scented
wadding and sealed. This he handed To
Briggs, with smile and sixpouce, and
said:
Make haste and take this To Miss
Morris's, and bring me back a reply"
Briggs trotted off merrily, and Fred
stood in the garden watching his mes
senger's rttreating form, and anxiously
awaiting the answer to his floral mes
sage.
West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-10-05
NUMBER 4.
LOST VuREtlILt..

hRvo loaned thee Ca another,
In spite at many n vow
have loaned thee to another,
Aud the rain may drCnch me now
Ito remembered not who owned thee,
Tie forgot that thou vert miuc;
In fatal hour I loaned thee,
offered thee on friendships shTine.
Ol was it well to do it9
Gone forever and knew a.
Long and soroly shall rue a.,
Lost, lost UmbcrClli
have loaned thee To another,
Thou dOst shield his head fromraiuf
Had loaned thee TO his brother,
I might borrow thee again;
But with news of gold they won him
" taliiorny 30 him heguiicd
Ito rs ou and I can't dun him
Thou AIT ON the ocean Wild
OF was it well to do itf
Gone forever and knew &C.
loug aud scrcly shall | tue a..
Lost, lost umhercll'
| have loaned thee to another,
Tie viii need thee. too, they say
In Caliiorny'A weather;
., perhaps. perhaps he may;
Hut his faith with me ~ broken,
That hope hc cunt forget
Aud when my poor Jackets soakin.
shall mourn, shall mourn thee yolu
ol was " we'll to do itf
Como forever and knew ~,
long aud sorely shall rue az
inst, lOs, umhcrclll