davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24

the world, the parable of the fig tree, the
warning not to suffer the thief to come,
and the promise Of reward for the faith
full and wise servant, the parable of the
ten virgins: and in all probability the
parable of the King with the talents;
and the words that might be written in
letters of fire, that tell US the final course
of all things, and the judgment of life
eternal and death everlasting. All that
was the work OF "one of the days of the
Son OF Man" OF Him it was prophesied
long ago: "For Jerusalem's sake will
not rest;' and His life on earth as we'll
as Fl is life in heaven, fulfilIs the predic>
tion-the one by the toilsomenese of His
service, the other by the unceasing en-
ergy 0! His exalted power. He tolls un~
wearied here, He works unrestipg there.
f Alexander McLaren.
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
"A Charming Legend.

There is Rsbbinical story, says the
Philadelphia Progress, which tells the
value in which pearls were held in the
early ages, only one object in nature be-
ing thought to be placed above them !:
On approaching Egypt, Abraham locked
Sarah in a chest, that none might be-
hold her dangerous beauty. But when
he was come to the place of paying GUS
toms the collector said, "Pay us the
CUSTOM and he said, ct will pay the
CUSTOM" They said to him, "Thou
carriest clothes )" and he said, 81 will
pay for clothes" Then they said to him,
Thou earliest gold - and he answered
them, "I will pay for my gold" On
this they farther said to him, Surely
thou Dearest the finest silk )" he replied,
81 will pay custom for the finest silk
Then they said, "surely itmust be pearls
that thou takest with thee;" and he on
ly answered, "1 will pay for pearls"
Seeing that they could name nothing OF
value for which the patriarch was not
willing to pay custom, they said, cit
can not be, but open thou the box and
let us see what is within" So they
opened the box, and " the whole land of
Egypt was illumined by the luster
of sarah's beauty--far exceeding even
that of pearls.
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
An Extraordinary Story.

An extraordinary story comes to us
from Russian correspondent at Odessa.
He says: "There exists under the au.
thority of Russia funeral island, situ-
ated in the neighborhood of Archangel,
on the Volga. The Kalmucks convey
their sick there, and as soon as member
of family becomes i'll he is shipped to
the island, 80 great IL the dread lest his
disease may be communicated to others
of the household. II, in an excep-
tional instance, the poor fellow gets we'll
again he ia none the less doomed, for he
is lated to die of starvation that dis
NAL island. On reaching the shores one
is oyerpowere1 by the offensive smell.
Myriads of flies are seen rising in swarms
from this charnel>place, and thousands
of birds take to flight. The ground is
strewn with corpses and skeletons. In
March, when the river throws off its
icy fetters, its waters rise and flood the
island, carrying away into the waves r
the Caspian all those human remains.
These facts are published in Panslavist
organ by a hardy correspondent who had
the courage to visit this Kalmuck necro>
po.is He asked if no authority or law
existed in the place. The law he
was told, was the nagaika, or knout,
with which fifteen or twenty strokes are
given on the backs Of the Ks lmucks
when they rebel against the will of the
men in power and as these men are, in
summer, naked to the waist, the task is
no difficult one. II it 50 happens that
some high functionary wanders so far as
Astrakhan. you may be quite sure that
il he has ever heard of the island he
will not ask TO 10 taken there"
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
Anxious Care,

What does your anxiety do? 1t does
not empty tomorrow of its sorrows;
but. ah it empties to-day of its strength.
It does not make you escape the evil, it
makes you unfit to cope with it when it
comes. 1t does not bless tomorrow, and
it robs today. For every day has its
own burden. Sufficient for each day is
the evil which properly bt longs to it.
Do not add to-morrow's to to-day's. Do
not drag the future into the present.
The present has enough to do with its
own proper concerns. We have always
strength to bear the evil when it comes.
We have not strength to bear the fore
boding of it. As thy day, thy strength
shall be. In strict proportion to the ex-
isting exigencies will be the God.given
power but if you cram and condense
to-day's SORROWS by experience. and to-
morrow's sorrows by anticipation, into
the narrow round of the one four~and~
twenty hours, there is no promise that
as that day thy strength shall be! God
gives us (His name be praised !)-God
gives us power to bear all the sorro" s of
His making; but He does not give us
power to bear the. sorrows OF our own
making, which the anticipation of sorrow
most assuredly Isl Alexander Mac
Iaren D. d.
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
A Night Incident i'm Paris.

A mysterious affair occurred few
rights back on the Boulevard Biueau,
in the Park of Neuilly. The inhabi.
tants were aroused after midnight by
screams of "Murder!" !" in a woman's
voice. Those who fastened to their win
dows saw in the street well.dressed
female struggling with two men of
respectable appearance. She continued
to call for help, excIaiming Save me y
They will murder me" She was pres
emily gagged and bound and carried
off by her aggressors in thess direc-
ton of the Seine. Many of the inhabi
tants had by this time hastily put on
their clothes and descended into the
street. AS they hurried toward the
river. they saw the two men OH the
bridge still carrying the woman the
next moment she had disappeared, and
the men were seen running away, and
they were soon lost sight OF in the dark
ness. No traces Of the female could be
found, and little doubt. exists that she
had been thrown into the Seize.
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
THE CRUEL KHEDINE.
Night Scenes ON the Ii. g of an Exyptsnn
Railroad.

Night Scenes the Ii. g of AN Egypfsan
Railroad.
Communication in Hartford Post
The accounts of the distress now ex-
listing in the valley of the Nile remind
the writer of scene he witnessed in the
winter of 1866. Starting from Cairo
for trip up the Nile, we stopped the
first night near the ruins Of ancient
Memphis, to which we walked in the
moonlight. We were surprised at seeing
on the plain mile Or two south OF US a
large gathering Of people bearing lights
Upon going to the spot we found more
than thousand men, women and chill
dren engaged in throwing up an embank>
ment for the railroad the khedive was
building from Cairo to Thebes y>forced
labor. No machinery Or tools whatever
were used except baskets. These the
poor wretches were filling with their
hands, placing them upon their heads,
and slowly and YEARLY, except when
accelerated by the voice and lash of the
overseer, dragging themselves up the
embankment and dumping them at the
end The embankment, l judged, was
about twelve or fifteen feet higher than
the plain, and perhaps forty feet wide.
The baskets of the men would contain
about three pecks OF the light, dry, allu-
vial earth; those of the women about q
half bushel, and the children pohars a
peck This was all forced labor-no
pay whatever. The khedive would
send steamer up the river to village,
and call for from fifty to two hundred
people of all ages and sexes to 60, with
out pay, and work on this railroad for
one month, at the end of which time be
would send them, or what was lett of
them, back. The bodies of those who
died from exhaustion helped to swell the
embankment No time for sentiment
What their hours of labor were | could
not find out, but I saw them at work at
10 p. m. l saw villages up the river
partly depopu]ated, because of late
visit of these steamers, and one entirely
abandoned and partly in ruins, having
been fired into, as was said by our drago
man, because the sheik could not or
would not furnish the required quota.
1t w.ls the intention to grade the entire
road of several hundred miles in this
way. Whether it has been accomplished
| am not aware. Our party chartered a
government steamer for the trip. At
the coal stations the officers impressed
the first natives they could catch and
compelled them to coal our steamer in
the same manner the railroad was being
graded, in baskets carried on the head.
l do not wonder that with this system
of unpaid labor in full force, with all
the palaces of the khedive, with his
great desire for Improvements, and his
large and disastrous attempts at cotton
growing and sugar. making, there should
finally be distress in the valley of the
Nile.
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
Old Maids and Old Bachelors.

Old maids are useful. 1hey can COOK,
sew and take care of children, nurse
sick people, and generally play the pi.
ano. Old bachelors are useless. They
do not even know how to drive nails or
split wood.
Old maids are amiable. If one wants
any thing done that requires patience
and kindness OF heart, single lady is
sure to be the one to do it.
Old bachelors are ill>natured. They
snub children, despise babies and hate
young mothers, and are always so buaily
employed in seeing that other people
take good care of them that they have
not a moment to give to any one else.
Old maids are nice locking, and "young
for their years" Old bachelors gener>
ally have red noses, rheumatism in their
knees, bald heads, and mouths that turn
down at the corners.
Old maids can make home of one
little room, and cook delicious meals for
one over the gas jet in cunning little
tin kettles, besides making all their own
wardrobes Old bachelors need an army
of tailors, walters, cooks, distant rela.
tives and hotel landlords to keep them
comfortable. When old maids are. i'll
they tie up their heads in pocket-hand-
kerchiefs, take homeopathic pellets out
of two bottles alternately, and get well
again. When old bachelors sre i'll they
90 to bed and send for four doctors
have consultation a mantle-piece full
of black bottles; all the amisble mar
ried men who belong to the club to sit
up with them at night, besides hired
nurse; they telegraph to their relations,
and do their best to impress the world
with the idea that they are dying.
When an old maid travels she takes q
sandwich, piece of pound cake, a bottle
sf lemonade in hand basket, and lunch
es comfortably in the carriage. When
an old bachelor travels he orders a din
ner in course at the station, and raves
because he has not time to eat it before
the fifteen minutes for refreshments
are over.
Old maids drink weak tea and it cures
their headaches.
Old bachelors drink strong liquor,
which give them headaches.
Old maids are modest; they think
their youth is over and their beauty
gone. If, after q while, some autumnal
love is given them, they take it ss sort
Of miracle, and hope people will not
laugh at them for " marrying so late in
life.'I
Old bachelors believe that all women
are in love with them, and they must
carefully guard themselves from traps
laid to invejgle them into matrimony.
They also fondly cherish the belief that
should they eventually become married
men the world expects them to exhibit
great taste in women by their choice,
and that the "other fellows" will laugh
if their portion be not tender youth and
beauty; also, that when they marry
many women will expire of jealousy,
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
STONE WELLS OF ARIZONA.
Remarkable Natural EoranalinGH in mn
Arid Desert.


Remarkable Natural Formations in mn
Arid Desert.
Arizona Sentinel,
A wonderful place in Tinsjas, about
thirty miles southeast of Mission Camp.
The mountains have one face OF hard,
smooth granite All the water falling
upon this basin has to flow through nine
tanks, one above the other. The lower
tanks are of easy access, and are often
drained of their contents by men and
animals travelling between Yuma and
Sonora. The upper tanks are approached
only by circuitous and diffic alt climbing
over rocks. To one standing below they
afford no indication of their existence,
nor does climbing the smooth, steep
mountain>side seem possible to one un1
acq TAINTED with the way they do it. In
the upper tanks water has never been
known to fail. To this water comes
game of all Kinds in great numbers rom
the great waterless countries around
Tinajas Antelope, mo 'ntain sheep and
deer of several kinds come in herds.
Rabbits and hares are as plenty SIS any
where, and are prey for many coyotes
and beautiful little rock foxes. One
would think that all this game would
be thinned out by the Papago Indians,
who inhabit the country. But these
Indians are superstitious, and avoid the
Tinaas with abject horror.
Within two miles of this water are
certainly one hundred and fifty graves,
and possibly more, each marked by rows
of stones laid iu the form Of CROSS,
Scores of men famished for water have
expended their last strength in reaching
Tinaas, only to find the lower tanks
dry, and, Ignorant 0 the upper ones,
have laid down in despair to die. The
remains have been buried by later trav~
elers, and the graves marked, Mexican
fashion, by a CROSS of stones. During
the rush to the gold fields of California,
cholera attacked travellers On the road
from Mexico, as it did American immi,
grants along the Platte pestilence COM
bined with thirst to produce corpses at
Tinajas. Recollections of b'eached bones
and grinning skulls protect the game
from Papago arrows and fintlocks. After
passing through the usual fermentstio
the water becomes clear and pure as
any in the world it comes from the
clouds only, and, flowing into the tanks
over insoluble granite, it carries no m:n>
eral matter. Every heavy rain pours
whirlwind torrent through the tanks,
washing them out to the very bottom;
no organic matter stays behind. The
number and variety of birds here
is wsrvelous, many Of them appearing
to be of new and undescribed species.
At morning and evening the din Of Their
song, confined by the sides of the noun
tains, is almost deafening. All around
Tinajas is the remarkab vegetation Of
the desert; near its tanks are many
plants nourished by their moisture
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
JesUs i'm the Temple,

The passion of His soul - to learn
more of His Fathers business - had led
Him naturally to the famed school in
His Fathers house, where the wisest
and most learned of His nation made the
holy books, in which that Fathers will
was revealed, their lifelong study. The
mystery of His own nature, and Of His
relations to His Father in heaven was
dawniDg on Him more and more. His
mothers words from time to time had
daily deeper and more wondrous sig
nifcance, and His sinless spirit lived
more and more in communion with un>
seen and endless realities. He had nat
urally, therefore, sought those who
could open for Him the fountains of
heavenly wisdom for which His whole
being painted, and was the keenest lis
tener, and the most eager in his ques>
tions, of all the group seated at their
feet. The days would come when no
further erowth was possible, and then He
would sit in the courts OF the same
temple, as q teacher who needed no
human help. AS yet, however, He could
not honor His Father more than by
seeking, as a child, to know His holy
word from its accredited expounders.
Enthusiasm so pure and lofty in one go
young, lighting up the beauty of such
eyes and features, may we'll have filed
the heart of the greatest rabbi with
wonder and de elight.- Geikie's Ii and
Words of Christ.
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
SUNDAY READING.
ME A CGLPA.

Forgive, . Lord, the doubts that breaks
Thy promises TO me;
Forgive me that / fail to take
Thy pardon full and fres.
al will have mercy" Thoa hast said;
"My ways are not your ways;'
Yet from Thy presence 1 have asd,
dared not trust Thy grace.
sought to put nv sins away,
l strove to do Thy will;
And yet, whene'er tiled to pray
Ny heart was doubling still.
/ thought that Thou, with jealous eye,
Vast watching me Away.
Nv deeds to mark, my Steps to spy
Whene'er went astray.
hoped that when, by days and years
OF service and Of prayer,
had besought Thy grace with tears,
Thy mercy l might share.
Forgive, o Father, this nay SIN,
This jealous doubling heart;
For when men sees Thy love to win,
And choose the better part,
knew that, switter than the light,
Lsaps earthwarh from the tun,
Thy lardoning love. thy rescuipg might
Speed down 10 every one.
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
"WAITERG FOR MOTHER.''

The old man sits In his easy y-chair,
slumbsring the moments away,
Dreaming dream that is all his own,
On this gladsome, peaceful day.
His children have gathered from far and near,
His ckildren's children beside,
And merry voices are echoing through
The Homestead's halls, so wide
BpS tar away IN the years long flown
Grandfather lives again.
And his heart forgets that 1t ever knew
shadow OF grief and pain,
For he sees his wife as he saw her then
natron comey and fair,
With her children gathered around his boerd,
And never vacant chair.
Oh! happy this dream Of the Auld Lang syne u
OF the years long slipped away
And the old mans lips have gathered q smile
And his heart grows young and gay.
But kiss falls gently upon his brow,
From his daughters lips 80 true;
"Dinner Is ready; and, Father dear,
Weare only waiting for you!''
The old man wakes at his daughters call,
And he looks at the table near.
There's cne of us missing, my child, he says;
I'VE will wait till Mother Is here
There are tears in the eyes OF his children then,
AS they gaze on an empty chair;
For many lonely year has passed
Since Mother " sat with them there.
But the old man pleads still wlstfully;
:" We must visit for Mother, you know"
And they let him rest in his old armchair
TIL the sun at last sinks low.
Then, leaving smile for the children here,
He turns from the earth away,
And has gone to Mother y" beyond the skies,
With the close of the q uet day,
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
The Worlds Verdict.

There is no higher tribute paid to
Christianity than that which comes from
its enemies. The Pharisees of a few
secular papers pick up every instance of
failure on the part of professors to walk
worthy of their high vocation, and then
tell us that Christianity is most admira-
bic in itself, but that the churches are
corrupt, because some of their members
are proven to be bad. What is this but
a confession that a consistent Christian
is the highest style of man p Christian
Intelligencer.
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
All. he ia coming ! with weary ste,

..Ah, he is coming with weary step
and to slow music. We have been ex-
pecting him along, for we knew he must
be almost ripe The man who knows
that the peach crop is ruined by the
frost, the sap being one long icicle in.the
center Of the tree, and the buds and
branches black pulp and dead sticks, is
crawling cut like the prophetic ground
hog to cast shadow over every one he
meets.
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
Mrs. Muriel took great interest in

Mrs. Muriel took great interest in
parish affairs: Last year she promised
to assist in decorating the parish church.
One Illuminated text she thought would
look well over the chancel screen, and
she requested her husband to bring it
from town. As might have been ex-
pected, he forgot the text, and wired to
his wife for. particulars. To the sur.
prise of all the telegraph clerks this
message came flashing over the wires:
Unto us q child is born, nine feet
long by two feet broad"
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
The Last Four ANA Twenty 8H0ura


Did you ever notice the large space
occupied in Matthew's Gospel by the
record of the last day of Christ public
ministry, and how much of all that we
know of His mission and message, and
the future of the world and of all men
we owe to the teaching of these four
and<twenty hours? Let me put together
in word what happened On that day.
It included the conversation with the
chief priests and elders about the baptism
of John, the parable of the householder
that planted vineyard and digged a
wine>press, the parallels of the kingdom
of heaven, the controversy with the Her
odians about the tribute money, the con.
vereatiou with the SadduceesN about the
resurrection, with the Pharisee about the
great commandment in the law, the 8
leuciDg of the Pharisees by pointing to
the 10th psalm; the warning to the mul
titude Of the scribes and Phsrisees who
were hypocrites, protracted and pro-
longed up to that wall of disappointed
love, "Behold your house is left unto
you desolate." And, as though that had
not been enough for one day, when He
is going home from the temple to find
for night in that quiet little home in
Bethany the rest that he wants, as He
rests wearily on the slopes of Olivet, the
disciples come to him "Tell us when
all these things be ? and what shall be
the sign of Thy comingr' and there fol-
lows all that wonderful prophecy of the
destruction Of Jerusalem and the end Of
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
WAITS AND WHIMs.
PHILOSOPHY

PHILOSOPHY.
WY 20 SUE bud that is near to It's breaking
'N7 S"eeter sm'l 4s than the fully y-blown rose
n "'S' inc cream on the verge of awaking
OH Neepef truths Than deeper repose?
ny 30 'he love that is broken with parting
t'l'' "'eif higher by the fullness y; pain?
ny i me incomplete rapture OF starting
NioSe on compltticn we never attain
, "ny For boundless unsatisaed longing
Lies deepest down in the warm human heart;
Ever Win this are the sympathies thronging.
Ever by this do the heaven flowers start
'to" with our spring I'VE can .ollow you wholly
Only as far IS it's instincts aye sent;
0"ni'Aers TACT that is hidden and holy
we nave not seen 1t; are not content
1T you would render your children
helpless, never compel or permit them
| to help themselves.
The young lady who thought she
could make her voice clearer by strain
Ing 1t has discovered her error.
Since waking matches have come to
be the rage, nobody will admit that
hanging is the worst use to which a
man can be put"
III you were as willing to be as pleas
ant and as anxious to please in your own
house as you are in the company of your
neighbors, you would have the happiest
home in the world.
Young lady to scientific Teuton
-" But thought you were also phys
sician, DR.. Dubelschueitzer., Scientific
Teuton-"Ah! yaw! l am medicine,
but Go not operate"
-" Jane" said he, q think if you
lifted your feet away from the FIRE we
might have come heat in the room"
And they hadn't been married two years,
either.
1t transpires that the ho5tler who
married the only daughter of an ex
governor of Connecticut, knows NOR
than any of the governors relations.
and he will probably be forgiven.
Duty is the little blue sky over
every heart and soul-over every life
| large enough for a star to look between
clouds, and for the skylark happiness to
rise heavenward through and sing in.
>" Is there any danger of the boa
constructor biting me ?" asked lady viz
itor at the biological Gardens. Not
the least, msrm," replied the Snowman
+" He never bites he swallows his witt
ties whole
Tne best religion that which will
make colored man sit down content to
eat corn bred for supper, knowing at
the same time that neighbor has fat
chickens nd no dogs in the yard New
! Orleans Picayune.
The wise man makes equity and
justice the basis of all his conduct the
right forms the rule of his behavior;
Difference and modesty mark his ex'
terror, sincerity and fidelity serve him
for accomplishments.
AT Sprlngheld, III, the otner DAY,
one of the members Of the legislature
was complaining of his room at the ho-
tel, and saying how barren it was Of the
ordinary conveniences OF lie. Why,'
said he, with indignation, there isn't
even bible to whet your razor on y
-" Ifsk1es were bluer, and frogs were
fewer, and fewer the storms on land and
sea were shiny summers perpetual
comers what Utopia this would be!
It life were longer and faith were strong
er; il pleasure would bide--it care
would fee; If each were brothers to all
the other--what sn Arcadia this would
be- So sings the English poet Leigh
St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-24
"A relative of Abernethy's, n

markable for his Hindoo ablutions, once
applied to him for remedy for sore
throat. Why" said the doctor grave
ly, "fill pail with water as warm as
you can bear it till it reaches up to
your knees; then take pint of oatmeal
and scrub your legs with it for q quarter
of an hour" "Why, hang it, man,"
interrupted the other, "thst is nothing
more than washing ones feet!' "Cer
tainly. my dear .bhn," said he, IL
admit 1t is open to that objection.