davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-11

stead Of doing so, she chose q point Of
view which included the spectators,
probably thinking that q historical
American picture which did not give
the public and the reporters gallery
would be very incomplete.
Mrs. Gaines blue bonnet is a posi-
tive benefaction, and Mrs. Angus
Osmeron's-well, ifI were Miss Phelps
and had not the fear ofGail Hamilton
before my eyes, l should call it a mel
ody in green aud gold. Each Of the
200 faces on the canvas is a portrait.
At the left of her husband is the wife
Of General Gordon.
There is Mrs. Carlile Patterson. a
representative Of Washington women,
noted for her broad sympathy and
practical philanthropy. There is the
clear-cut, intellectual face of Mrs.
Waite, and what can be seen of Mrs.
Angus Cameron beyond the bonnet
above mentioned.
The picture is full of keen contrasts.
AS, for instance, Mrs. Bryan, who is
related to the Lees and the Curtises,
a woman ofthe army and oftheS South,
is sitting by Mrs, John Sherman, and
evidently in the picture, as | am told
they are in real life, warm friends.
A prominent figure is Mrs. Belva
Lockwood, who certainly deserves a
special paragraph. She is the woman
lawyer who is now admitted to all ex-
cept the Supreme Court, When she
found she could not 90 there through
the wicket gate of professional cour-
tesy, she made up her mind to come
over the wall by some other way.
In the front row of the reporters
gallery are the writing women, And
last-and looking so manly that |
failed at first glance to count her
among the women at all-is Mrs.
.Swisshelm, hateless and hygienic.
When the picture is finished it is to
be mounted a la Dubufe's "Prodigal
Son. with panels at either end con-
tanning full length portraits of Hayes
and Tilden. Then whoever cares to
may look on this picture and then on
that"
Mrs. Fassett has not yet had a sit
ting from Mr., Tilden but the picture
of President Hayes, nearly finished,
stood on an adjacent easel the other
morning when | was in her studio.
The President was to give a sit
ting this morning" said Mrs. Fassett,
" but he has disappointed me-"
To which the lady who was sitting
by having her portrait put into the
reporters gallery replied
Never mind, Mrs. Fassett the
President has disappointed a great
many people. It's a way he has"
have not enumerated one-third of
the women in this picture, but have
only touched for you some of the rep
resentstiye characters.
Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-11

crossed our path, returning from his
nightly saarch.
Not far out from Miamber our
course lay across a deep ravine and
gorge, which was spanned by a nat
ural bridge, upon which we crossed.
A noisy little brook rippled beneath
il, and We stopped for a short inspec-
ton. From the bed Of the stream to
the top of the bridge is about 100
feet, and the cavity through which
the brook runs was quite small. The
place is marked as one of the widest
points in the mountains. You look
before you and behold a mountain
rising to a perpendicular highth of
500 feet, as the road turns abruptly to
the left, after you cross the bridge
and on your right is this perpendicu-
lar ascent. Huge bOulders of rock
are jutting out from its sides and
swinging menacingly above you, and
all about the place is the wild luxu-
rance Of nature.
During the middle of this day we
stopped at Los Cuayos (the caves, a
delightful little village = so called
from the numerous su%bterranean pas
cages in and about it. We reached
Comayagua, the nominal capital of
Honduras, on Saturday evening,
where we were to make a %soiourn of
two days. A. j. MILLER.
Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-11
kiss OF DEATH.
An Eloquent Speech to the Peers by
Lord Beaconsfeld.

A subject hal might be called 1.-THE
Kiss of Death has been suggested BY
Lord Beaconsfeld to the painters and
sculptors. Before moving in the house
of lords that an humble address be
presented to her majesty to express
the deep concern of this house at the
great loss which her majesty has sus.
tanned by the death of her royal high
ness, the grand duchess of Hesse.
Princess Alice of Great Britain and
Ireland, second daughter Of her mai
esty the queen, and to condole with
her on this melancholy occasion" the
noble earl made, as, in the circum-
stances might have been expected
from a master Of the English Ian
guage, a really touching speech on the
princess who afforded n of the
most striking contrasts that | can re-
member Of richness of culture COM
blned with the most pure and refined
domestic sentiments. My lords"
be continued, there is something
wonderfully piteOus in the immediate
cause Of her dehth. The physicians
who permitted her to watch over
her suffering family enjoined her un-
der no circumstances whatever to be
tempted into an embrace. Her adj
mlrable self-restraint guarded her
through the crisis of this terrible com
plant in safety. She remembered and
observed the injunctions of her phys.
lcians. But it became her lot to
break to her son, quite a youth, the
death Of his youngest sister, to whom
he was devotedly attached. The boy
was so overcome with misery that the
agitated mother clasped him in her
arms-and thus she received the kiss
Of death. My lords, | hardly know
an incident more pathetic. 1t Is n
by which poets might be inspired, and
which the professors of the fine arts,
whether in painting, sculpture or gems,
might find a fitting subject of com.
memoration. A suggestion so oppo-
site to the artistic sense, so distin.
gulshed in its source, and so royal in
IT'S surroundings is not likely to die of
hamilton, either in England or on tho
continent. 1t would scarcely be rash
to predict that both at the next Salon
in Paris, and the next Academy exhi.
bltlon in London there will be accepted
aud hung at least several pictures en-
titled The kiss of Death
Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-11
The Most Curious win on Record.

The London Examiner says: A
ell-known barrister who makes q
point of keeping the conceit of his
pupils down by language more forcible
than elegant recently came into his
pupil room with a " case for opinion
which had given him much trouble
and occupied much Of his valuable
time. He proceeded to. read il out in
order that such of the young gentle
men as we're not too lazy might look
up precedents in point. The case, he
said, came from a solicitor whose name
was unknown to him, but it was in
d0rsed with a respectfully fat fee, and
dispatch was requested. Ii ran as
follows A seaman in the merchant
service, who had long suffered from q
severe complaint, finding himself in d
great state of weakness at a time whel
his ship was a great many hundred
miles from land, requested the captain
to provide him with pen, ink and pa
per, in order that he might make Z
will disposing Of his savings, which
amounted to about 600. The cap
tain. who is allowed to have been
brutal fellow and under the influences
of liquor, refused the request anc
ordered the poor man back to hi
berth. There he was surrounded b.
hisshipmates, who took counsel togeth
or as to the best means of gratifyin
the desire of their fast sinking com
rade. In the end they turned th.
sick man gently on his face as he Ia,
in his berth, and one of the numbe
tatooed the dying mans intentions o.
his back, in a manner common to th,
scattering men, by a few words rubbe'
in with gunpoWder. This will was at
tested in the same fashion, and soor
after the testator died. By sscrifc
ing their allowance of spirits the mel
managed to preserve the remains o
their messmate in an improvIsed coffin
and they have 0 been LANDED
in England. Counsel is requested L
advise as to the proper method of oh.
tanning probate of the above men
toned instrument, and his attention
is particularly directed to the fact
which must be admitted-that the viii.
was made behind the mans back. The
pupils grayely promised to search thu
authorities on the subject; but hardly
had the learned counsel left the room
when the peals of laughter which
arose informed him that he had beer
hOaxed.
Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-11

Saturday Boview.
The modern famed or notorious
person who wishes his note to rule
high in the market should write very
few of them. He will do well to
keep a secretary and an amanuensis.
1t is quite plain that Mr.. Gladstone $
autographs will not begin to be worth
quoting till a century or two have
passed and his signatures, letters and
postcards have become comparative
ly rare. Time and the waste-paper
basket make wonderfully quick. work,
and in the year 2078 Mr.. Gladstone's
autographs may be as rare as Shelley's
are now. Of all great men, next to
Shakspere, Moliere has left the least
numerous examples of his fine bold
hand. The longest is but three lines
long and contains some very queer
specimens of the poets spelling. 1t
is a legal act acknowledging the re-
ceipt of a considerable sum Of money.
Men Of lettors are obliged to
write so much in the exercise of
their profession that one might
expect them to detest the soribbling
of private letters and notes. Yetmen
of letters have left enormous masses of
such scraps from the time of that in
satiate scribbler Cicero to that of
Byron and Balzac, Genius seems
never to find enough outlets, safety
valves, modes of expression. Between
speeches, essays, philosophical trea-
tises and terribly bad verse Cicero
might have discharged his soul of all
he had to say. Yet no one was a
more energetic letter writer. Byron,
too, was always relieving his mind in
song, yet it never demanded more re-
lief. He could not unpack all his
heart even in Manfred" "Childe
Harold and Don Juan The
passion of writing compelled him to
cover endless realms of paper with let
ters to Moore, Murray and the rest of
his friends or allies. When Balzac
was working fourteen hours a day he
was keeping up a vast, vOluminous
correspondence with who knows how
many ladies, in how m~anylandS. Nine
de Surville's two stout volumes do not
represent a 1.-THE of his industry in
underwriting. Thus the genius of
Balzac does not make his autograph
sell well; it is not valued at more
than a poor three francs.
Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-11
CALEB CUSHING.
One Of " the Most Amlabls and Gener.
Gus Hearted"

New York Sun.l
In the death ofGeneral Caleb Cush
ing there closed the long and useful
life Of one Of the most amiable, gen
erous aud kindhearted men in the
world.
General Cushing's heightened and
various public services are matters ui
history while his almost innumerable
personal kiRdnesses we're seldom made
known, save to those who were direct
ly benefited by them In the midstof
the most pressing Official duties be
found time 10 attend TO the little cares
Of others and teRderly TO lend a help-
ing hand when he was needed.
When he was attorney general 81
the United States. after .he close o.
the days labors, he was found in hi
Office between | and 2 o'clock in ID,
morning hard at work correcting thf
proofs Of Il Latin book which som,
scholar among his old acquaintance
who happened to be poor. had sub
mitted for his supervision. He wa.
doing this as a mere labor of love, ana
we only speak Of the incident as illus
trative Of the spirit Of kindness auC
friendship which animated bis whol,
life.
He was certainly one Of the mos
learned men in this couatry. His In.
formation was wonderful ia its ex.
tent. Indeed it seemed TO cover eVerg
variety Of subject.
General Cushing was on most init.
mate terms Of friendship with DAME
Webster, John Quincy A9sms, ane
nearly all the men who belonged Il
the generation next preceding biz
own. He used to tell ofmeeting John
Quincy Adams coming up sll alone
at 4 o'clock one morning, from tbe
banks Of fhe Potomac, where he had
been 10 bathe. Mr.. Adams said "a
him that be had been in the habit OF
going to the river about that hour, in
the summer season, ever since no oe.
cupied the White House as President
Of the United States.
He was a thorough scholar, yersed
il many tongues, and the mau did not
live whose fund of anecdote was more
entertaining or whose conversation
was more instructive.
IL Is melancholy 70 reflect that The
sreseureg Of his mind, which if writ.
tan out would haye been a most yalu.
~ heritage, must for the most part
perish with him.
Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-11

mythology. LoH hated Belder, the
northern Apollo, aud as everything
that springs from the four elements
had been sworn not to harm the d.
vine favorite. the spirit of syil made
an arrow Of mistletoe and gave it to
blind Holder to test. Holder shot the
arrow and killed Bladder. Having been.
restored to life at the earnest petition
of all the ~celestials, the mistletoe was
consigned to the custody of the god
desses Of love, and all who might pass
under it received a kiss to show that
the plant was the emblem Of love, not
of death.
Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-11

New York Timees,l
A good deal of mistlctoe is brought
here from England about Christmas
time, and sold at high prices. Why
it should be brought across the sea
when 1t is quite common in this coun
try, it is hard 10 understand. Itnows
tho native species, of which there are
IS, is Phoradendron Aavescens OF
Mutually not much south Of this, from
New Jersey far westward and south
west to Mississippi and Florida. Its
generally found on the branches OF
elms and hickories-a acknowledgment
woody temmed parasite, with a joint
ed stalk, having opposite and wherled
branches, thick, obovate leaves, small
lowers in axillary spikes, shorter than
the leaves, and fruit of white glutinou,
berries. The American mistlotoo i,
prettier, and could be got much easier
and cheaper than the English mistle-
toe. The association Of the mistletoe
with the Druids is probably ! l-found.
cd. Only that was held sacred which
grew on the oak, and it so very rarely
grows there that it is quite likely the
Celtic priests mistook another plant
for il. According to tradition, it was
cut from the oak with great ceromo
MES on the first day of the new year.
and c%onsecrated to their chief deity on
account of its presumed extraordinary
virtues, There are so many poetic
superstitions and myths connected
with it that We wonder il is not sent
here in quantities from South New
Jersey, from Maryland and Delaware.
IL might be made so much a fashion
that all the women who receive New
Years Day would think their draw
ing.rooms incomplete unless gsruished
with mistletoe. kissing under the
mistlotoa Is a relic VI Scandinavian
Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-11
THE CURSE OF THE COUNT.
What TerrOrs a Pretty Artist Is Prepar,
Ing for the Yet Unborn.
Na.hinrIon Cor. ChIengo TrIbnnn-

Washington Cor. Chicago Tribune.
One noticeable feature in Mrs. Fas-
sett's picture Of The Electoral Com
mission is tho presence Of women. II
is quite evident that when our ship of
state weathered that stormy month of
February the American woman was
on deck. There are representative
society women both of the North and
the South. lfone were going to cata.
logue the women in the picture with
any regard for precedence there would
be a certain fitness in heading the lat
with tho name Of Mrs. Fish. 1t is a
noticeable patrioiaH face, with soft.
whita ourls, and it was the first put on
the canvas. Near by Is the bright,
blond countenance Of Myra Clark
Gaines, whose story is too we'll known
to bear repetition. There is Mrs.
John Tyler, who came a bride 10
Washington so many years ago, and
toward whom Mrs. Hayes exercised
a graceful courtesy in inviting
her to assist at her first recep.
ton. How grateful you must have
been" said to Mrs. Fassett, the
other day in all that wilderness OF
black broadcloth for any warmth Of
color. No wondor you wanted 10 bring
~ the spectators. swell ! was
glad she said. -" was particularly
grateful 10 Mrs. Randall Gibson for
wearing that garnet silk when she gave
mo a sitting" / looked at the garnet
bonnet II wal back -goundod by
0eneral Logan's brunette beauty. II
was very becoming. General Lsgan
should always wear a garnet bonnet.
Mrs. Fassett has been criticised for
not giTiag a full front view Of the ff.
teen men on the judges bench. In
Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-11

The components Of DR.. Bulls
Cough Syrup are daily prescribed By
the ablest physicians, whose success is
due to the specific influence of these
components. DR.. Bulls Cough Syrup,
skillfully prepared for immediate use,
is for sale by all druggists.
Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-11

AT an early hour next morning we
were in the saddle, intending 10 make
Comayagua by 10 o'clock if possible
as we seldom travelled after that hour,
il being 80 hot. The bird tribe were
ny before US, and the screams Of thou.
sands Of parrots and macaws grated
upon our ears with q deafening sound,
and now and then the hideous voice Of
the baboon would drown ali othsr
noises, even ~deaSening himself Flocks
Of parroquets chartered around aud
above us. and an occasional armadiIlo
Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-11

| dislike an eye that wrinkles like a
star. Those are only beautiful which,
like planets, have a steady, lambent
Lighter luminous, not sparkling
[LongfelloW.
The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1879-03-27
A Suicides Letter.

The dead body Of an unfortunate
man, Hood Alston by name, was found
on the Sd of March under tree at Bay
st. Louis, Miss. It was discovered
that he had destroyed himself by NOR
phine, and that he left behind him a
pitiful ard deeply interesting letter
He was evidently man Of culture, and
the letter said he had once been jour-
nalist. On the 2d of July, 1863, he was
struck on the head by piece of shell at
the battle of Gettysburg. He recovered
to all appearances and was thought to
be quite we'll. In his letter, however,
Aston declares that he has since been
conscious that he has always been
lowering on the dangerous edge of in
sanity. He has felt on particular and
frequent occasions an almost irresistible
impulse to kill people, and always pre-.
ferentislly those who were most dear to
him. To avoid this he has fled often
from the presence of wife and chill
dren, living in California, whom he
tenderly loved; but has never had the
moral strength to confess his fears and
cause himself to be placed under re-
straint. At last the accumulated
agonies of his apprehension, and the
horror OF his secret was too much for
him and he slew himself. The case is
singular and suggestive. How far Al.
ston's madness was as represented by
himself To himself, real and how far
feigned we shall probably never know.
Perhaps, as some writer's would have US
think of Hamlet, he was sometimes sane
and sometimes otherwise. But were
his fears lest he should take the life of
others incident to his lucid intervals, or
did they only present themselves when
his mind was off it's balance and 30 con
stitute the characteristic and proof Of
his Insanity The question is puz:
cling one, and, like the problem OF
Hamlet's lunacy and the inquiry whether
it is genuine OF simulated, may invite
endless discussion while leaving the
issue forever in the sequel to be
"smothered by surmise. ."-New York
Evening Post.
The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1879-03-27
A Custom OF the Country.

The massacre recently perpetrated by
the king OF Burnah, at which over
eighty of his relatives lost their lives,
frightful as it appears, is merely one
more example of custom. 30 universal
in the East that it may almost claim
rank as a recognized institution. The
natural commencement of every Oriental
reign is the slaughter or disablement OF
all possible pretenders to the throne;
and the annals, not merely of Burmah,
but OF Persia, Turkey, Afghanistan and
Bomara TEEN of instances too frightful
for quotation. As recently as the close
of the last century, Western traveller
found one of the royal princes of Persia
going about with bandage over his
eyes, ard on questioning him was told /,
in matter -of-course air which made the
statement doubly horrible, that "as his
eldest brother would certainly put out
his eyes on mounting the throne, he was
teaching himself to dispense with the
use of them" The Turkish sultan,
Mahmoud, famous for his destruction
of the Janissaries in 1926, owed his
elevation to the fact of his being the
only member OF the royal family left un-
slaughtered; and the multiplied butcher
les Of Mehemet Ali are still fresh in
every ones recollection.
The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1879-03-27
A New Astronomical Wonder.

At the last total eclipse of the sun,
many astronomers ousied themselves
chiefly with observing the corona which
had excited 80 much interest and specu-
lation OF previous eclipses. This is the
name given to the bright light seen out
side of the moons disk when the body
of the sun III completely hidden by it.
Opinions were divided as to it's cause;
some observers thinking it proceeded
from the suns atmosphere, or from lu-
minous gases which shot far above it's
surface; while others imagined it sepa-
rated from The sun altogether, and due
to other causes in tho depths of space.
From the observations made, and
from photographs taken, it is now be.
lieved to be simply the reflected light OF
the sun. This reflection is supposed to
be due to immense numbers of meteor
ties, or possibly, systems OF meteorites,
like the rings OF Saturn, revolving about
the sun. The existence OF such meteor
ties has long been suspected, and OBJ
servations now seem to justify belief
in their existence. Their constant fall.
ing into tho sun is thought to be one Of
the methods by whi,h its heat is main
tanned without loss.
The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1879-03-27
Relief From q Corn.

Soak the foot in warm water for g.
quarter OF an hour every night; after
each soaking, rub on the corn patiently,
with the ,inger, half dozen drops OF
sweet oil; wear around the toe during
the day two thicknesses of buckskin,
with hcle in it to receive the corn,
and continue this treatment until the
corn falls out. If you wear moderately
loose shoes, it will be months, and even
years, before the corn returns, when the
same treatment will be efficient in few
days. PAIRING cor1ls is always danger
ous, beside making them take deeper
root, as does a weed cut of near the
ground; but the plan advised is safe,
painless, and costs nothing but little
attention. .-Erchaage.