davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04
The Latest Fish Story.

In the past three months whales have
often been seen spouting off our coast,
and the scarcity OF small fish has been
attributed to their presence. Recently
three large ones were seen three or four
miles out. Captain Wise, of the Amer
lean Hotel, Samuel Maclain, Daniel
Wright and Martin Dangler-the three
latter old ishermen-started out fishing
in boat about twenty feet long. They
had arrived on the fishing grounds
about three miles from the shore, had all
their lines out, and were having splen-
did luck hauling in Goldfish. Then
Wright saw the fin of a monstrous fish,
and Immediately the boat began to
swing around. Wright shouted to the
men in another boat, about one hundred
yards distant: Look out, there is
whale hold of u.s." but before the men
could move from their seats they were
being lowed out to sea at the rate OF
twenty-three miles an hour. The mon
ster had become entangled in the long
anchor-rope of the boat The pull on
the boat was SO strong the men thought
the boat must go over every second.
The men say they were very much
| anu buC bChSdbiOh Vuo uhC
queerest they had ever known. All they
could do was to hold on, and let her go
for few minutes. Then they crept for
ward and cut the rope. They were
mile further out to sea. The fish kept
right on, and they could see the wake he
made for some distance, as he kept very
near the surface. The rope was stout
half-inch manila one, and attached to it
was an anchor of about twenty pounds
weight. The fishermen here think the
monster was after the Goldfish, and that
he came up to the anchor-line with his
mouth open, and got the rope in his
mouth. As soon as he felt it he closed
his mouth and swan of, towing the boat
after him SO fast that the Goldfish lines
that were hanging over the boat pulled
straight out on the surface, and the
sinkers, weighing pound or more
apiece, were on the top of the water.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04
A Dumb Dog.

A story is told in the German papers
about the manner in which an intelligent
dog adapted himself to his condition
A deaf and dumb lady had as compan-
ion younger woman also deaf and
dumb. They lived in a small set of
rooms opening on the public corridor of
the house. Somebody gave the elder
lady little dog as present. For some
time, whenever any body rang the bell
at the door, the dog barked to call the
attention of his mistress. The dog soon
discovered. however, that neither the
bell nor the barking made any impression
on the women, and he took to the prac-
tice of merely pulling one of them by
the dress with his teeth, in order to ex-
plain that some one was at the door.
Gradually the dog ceased to bark alto
gether, and for more than seven years
before his death he remained as mute as
his two companions. When express
sion by sound was useless, it fell with
him into absolute disuse.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04

Ireland, the place became forbidden to
other tenants, but after the lapse of
some months a young man named Cahill
was found courageous enough to make
the venture. He was not long in occu-
patton when he was shot dead, in day.
light, at the door of his mill. The muir
derer was not found Alonger interval
then occurred, during which the place
remained absolutely waste, but tenant
was eventually found, named Peter
Langton. He was duly served with a
notice of death, but was more fortunate
than his predecessor. An iron hut,
which is kept for such uses, was erected
on the land, close to the mill, by the
censtabular authorities, and two armed
constables were put in it to watch over
Langton's life. This was nearly two
years ago. Langton has at length left
the locality, and the miniature fort has
been removed and the constables have
been called to ordinary duty. The hut,
however, has been sent to another part
of the country.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04
Humboldt's Loquacity.

In DIR. Busch's new book on Bismarck,
the great Chancellor's "reminiscences of
Humboldt as a talker are given in his
own language. He says; In the days
of Frederick William Nv Humboldt
used TO favor the court by scientific lee-
lures, to which no one listened, |, be-
ing good natured, was the only victim
of his loquacity. For hours together he
would favor us with the biography of
some French scholar or architect, in
which no one took the slightest interest.
He lectured standing close TO the lamp,
dropping his notes from time to time
and extemporizing some profound re-
marks. Though no one paid attention
he was visibly elated at hearing himself
speak. The Queen sat industriousiy at
her embroidery, entirely absorbed by
that. The King looked at engravings
noisily turning over the leaves 80 rs to
drown the voice. The young people in
the background laughed, whispered and
paid no heed Yet the scholar went on,
murmuring monotonously like sleepy
brook. General Gerlach, who was of
ten present, sat on little round stool,
preposterously unequal to his proper
tions, and snored. Gerlach," said the
King, ON one memorable evening,
"sleep, but do not snore." / was the
only one who appeared to be listening.
Yet even chewed the cud of my own
thoughts until at last cold meat and
white wine were handed round. Yes.
Humboldt was talker. Nothing dis
pleased him more than to have to listen
to another. On one occasion somebody
monopolized the conversation at court
by relating something interesting to oil,
Humboldt was perfectly beside himself.
Grumbling morosely, he piled up his
plate with pate de foie gras, lobster,
cells, and other indigestibles--a perfect
mountain of comestibles | shudder
when | think what the old man could
swallow He ate rs long and as fast as
he could. When he found the gastrono>
mic powers exhausted, no longer master
of himself, be made a desperate attempt
to get the ear of the company. On
the summit of the Popocatapetl," he
commenced; but he did not get any
further, the more popular speaker quiz
city continuing his tale. On the sum
NIT of the Popocatapetl, seven thousand
feet above the level of the sea-" he be-
gan again, with loud and excited voice.
But he failed this time, too. The other
narrator would not be interrupted, nor
would the company. This was unprece-
denied What scandalous shame
Humboldt sat down in n rage, and
modify meditated upon the ingrati-
tude of the human race, particularly at
court The Liberals have been
pleased to regard Humboldt as one of
their own set. But he was man who
could not live except basking in the sun
shine of the court The favor of his
sovereign was indispensable to him. But
this did not prevent his creeping away
from the palace to Varnbagen, to gossip
and SANDER with his trusty mate. Warm
hagen has put it all into books, which, /
regret to say, are very expensive. The
detail in these books is worth nothing.
They are important, however, as a
whole, illustrating a time when there
was nothing but criticism, skepticism
and malicious impotence at Berlin--a
world impossible to realize, except by
reading these volumes.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04
A Blind Lovers Zeal.

Last summer the public school teach
ers of Rochester made an excursion to
Chautauqua Lake. Among the party
were two sisters, one of whom, while at
the lake, bestowed her charity ON a
young man who was blind and who lived
at jamestown. The blind youth fell in
love with the girl before she left, but
she was not aware of that fact. Some
months passed away and the excursion
had been forgotten by all, it seems, but
the blind youth. One day last week he
reached Rochester and was taken into
custody as pickpocket. The officer
soon learned his mistake and gave the
young man a seat in the waiting room.
There he remained all the afternoon,
when the officer thought it about time
to inquire where he wanted to go. He
told the officer without any hesitation,
that he had come up to see a girl he had
met at Chautauqua Lake last summer,
and desired to be at once shown her resi-
dence The official concluded first to
interview the young lady, which he did.
She was indignant that her kindness
had been so misinterpreted, and declined
to see the sightless Cupid, who having
not cent of money, was shipped back
home on pass.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04
GRAVE ROBBTVG.

The recent robberies of the grave have
brought up some curious anecdotes of
the state of affairs which existed in
England about fifty years ago, when
body-snatching" was regular trade.
SO skilful We're the robbers, that they
required but fifteen minutes to draw
a body from the grave. No trace was
left of their work.
One of these men, Burke, being in
church one day, heard that passage OF
Scripture read which describes how
Hazael killed the king by smothering
him with wet cloth. This method
struck Burke as sure and safe from de-
lection, and by it he committed many
murders for the sake of the profit he
reaped from the sale of the dead bodies.
The devil can be found even behind a
text of Scripture by those who want to
find him.
When Burke's murders were discov-
cred, the English public were seized
with panic. One of the oldest mani
festations of this craze was the queer
devices of dying persons to protect their
bodies from the resurrectionists. In
Buckinghamshire Major Backhouse,
an old East India officer, was buried by
his own orders in front of his house, on
solid pyramid of flint, twelve feet
square at the base, in which he was
placed upright, drawn sword in his
hand.
A baronet of Yorkshire was buried at
night ten feet deep in level potato
field, the ground being plowed up at
once to remove all chance of discovery.
Another country gentleman's coffin was
swung to the branches of an oak tree in
front of his hall door Another was
covered with twenty tons of stone, and
still another eased in lead and hung to
beam of his own barn.
The terror extended even to this
country, and precautions against grave
robbery we're more common fifty years
ago than now, when there is more dan.
ger.
There is yet standing near. one of the
iron furnaces Of Kentucky square
brick building, in the upper room of
which the body of a former owner, by
his own request, remained for twenty
years unburled, the lower apartment
being furnished and occupied by his
wife and family as an arbor.
Cremation is just now strongly urged
by its advocates as the only certain pro-
lection for the dead. There is, how
ever, as yet but one cremation furnace
in the country, aprivate one in West
ern Pennsylvania, built by Dr.
LeMoyne, of old Abolition notoriety.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04

IT is interesting to note the number
of important inventions due to the in
genuity of persons whose occupation
lay entirely out of the line of mechanical
pursuits. Whitney, who invented the
cotton-gin, was school teacher, and
Fulton, of steamboat fame was an artist
painter, as was also Morse, discoverer of
the telegraph. Brindley, the greatest
civil engineer in England before the
present century, was totally deficient in
scientific training. Arkwright, the in
ventor of the spinning machine, was a
barber; and Cartwright, the inventor of
the power loom, was a clergyman, who
had never even seen weaver at work.
Roebuk, the originator of the modern
iron manufacture of England, was
physician-and so the list might be
much extended.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04

Mr.. GEORGE DARWIN, after search
ing investigation, concludes that the
"widely different habits of life of men
and women of civilized nations, espe-
cially among the upper classes, tend to
counterbalance any evil from marriage,
between healthy, closely-related per-
sons" DIR. Darwin's views are in a
measure sustained by DIR. Vorni's in
quiry into the Commune of BATE. BATE
is a rocky, secluded, ocean-washed pen
Ursula of the Loire Inferieure, France,
containing over three thousand people
of simple habits, who don't drink and
commit no crime. For generations they
have intermarried but no cases have
occurred of deaf-muteism, albinism,
blindness, or malformation, and the
number of children born is considerably
above the average.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04

Mr.. JOHN S. Wn.Es, surgeon of
Thorncombe, Dorset, writes to the Lon
don Times that after two cases of
malignant diphtheria out of some nine
or ten he had been called to attend had
proved fatal, the mother of sick child
showed him an extract from an Ameri-
can paper concerning practitioner who
used sulphur to cure the disease. Ac-
cordingly, he used milk of sulphur for
infants and flowers of sulphur for older
children and adults, brought to a
creamy consistence with glycerine; dose
Ia teaspoonful or more, according to
age, three or four times a day, swal-
lowed slowly, and application of the
same to the nostrils with sponge. Re-
sult-he did not lose case there or else
where, and he succeeded in saving life
when the affection had almost blocked
the throat.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04

THE Mikado of Japan having decreed
that all his subjects holding official stu
ations shall dress like Europeans, they
and their wives, the japanese milliners,
who had not seen the fashions change for
thousand years, have consigned to
Paris the thousands and thousands Of
native dresses which they had in stock,
and Partisan ladies are now wearing
them as dressing gowns. They are said
to be very becoming, and the bright dyes
in them-a secret we ought to learn
will stand. any amount of washing
Chinese silken skirts, so fine that you
can pass them through wedding ring
are also being sold in quantities; but the
attempts to introduce Chinese peaked
straw hats into fashion has failed
hithereto.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04

WAsHINGToN's body servants, like
the uneasy ghosts in Macbeth, will not
down. One of them has turned up in
Sarah Ann street, Baltimore, and admits
the soft impeachment of having waited
upon the Father of his Country. Uncle
William affirms that he was once the
property of Miss Priscilla Lawrence, of
Calvert County; that he remained with
her until he was forty-eight years of
age, when she gave him his freedom /;
that Washington frequently visited at
Miss Lawrence's when a young man,
and that he often waited upon him. He
states that he was in the service of
Colonel Hosmer hundred years ago,
was captured by indians and was kept
about three months and then released.
After the Revolution, furthermore, he
went to England in the service of Lord
Howe, and was with that family for
thirty-two years. His present age, as
well as he can make out is one hundred
and forty-nine. Connecticut, where
there are five centenarians to the square
acre, will find it hard to beat that.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04
1t Was the Boss.

He was an asthestic young man from
the city. The floor manager had intro
duded him to divine young creature
in blue, and they stood in the SET wait
ing for the prompter's call.
"What charming assembly"
remarked the young man of the city,
gazing around upon the array of beauti-
full faces and costumes.
There is something so captivating,
etherealizing, in these gatherings of cul-
ture and refinement, that / am always
charmed when l can mingle with such
a joyous throng. Do you notpronounce
this fashionable and intellectual soiree
"a superior gathering Of beauty and
gentility?"
G It's the boss" replied the creature
in blue, as she arranged the fastening
Of neat little glovef
The young man from the city had e
be assisted out of the hall.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04

IT seems almost incredible that Eu-
rope is now paying to North Italy ten
millions of francs annually for its eggs.
The firm Of francesca Cirio, in Turin, in
one single year has dispatched 1883
wagon loads of eggs across the frontier
to Germany, Holland, Belgium, France
and England. Each wagon is reputed
to contain about 100, 900 eggs. No less
than 1871 of these egg wagons during
the past twelve months have passed the
transit station, Peri, for England and
Belgium. Each egg is valued by the firm
of Giro at 8 lilo cents; the total annual
cost of packing is reckoned at 100000
lire or francs, and the expense of transit
at 100000 lire. Before the year 1875,
the firm never employed in the best sea-
sons more than two hundred wagons,
while they are now obliged to use nearly
1,4O0. The Industrious hens of North
ern Italy are at present laying an aver
age of 500, 900 eggs every day, solely to
supply the International traffic carried
on by Signor Cirio, while other firms are
employing 91S egg wagons in the same
traffic.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04

A SCENE OF very disagreeabe nature
is said to have. occurred recently at
funeral in Pittsburg. It seems that
young married lady who died had, pre-
vious to her marriage, received the atten-
lions of a gentleman who afterwards
married another lady. AT the funeral
of the former lady the wife of the gen.
tleman, who is practicing his profession
in Pittsburg, repaired to the house
where the last sad rites were being per-
formed, and when the minister of the
gospel had finished his eulogy of the de-
ceased, she approached the coffin and be-
gan to address the assembled friends
and relatives in an excited manner.
From what could be gathered from her
excited utterances, it would seem that
she was jealous of the deceased, and she
announced that, should her husband ap-
proach the coffin and even SO much as
look at the corpse, she would tear out
his eyes. The woman became excited
and violent in her demonstration, and
considerable confusion resulted among
the astonished persons present. She
was finally elected from the room, and
for fear another scene should occur,
gentleman was dispatched to the pave
ment outside, where the husband was,
and requested him not to enter the
house.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04

SEAsoNABLE advice with regard to
taking care of turkey feathers is given
by Robert Skene, of Louisville, KY,
which, as there is demand for the
feathers for making brushes and dust
ers, is called to the attention of those
who have heretofore allowed them to
go to waste. In saving the feathers of
turkeys it is recommended that they
be taken in bags like geese feathers,
those from the body, wing and tail be-
ing kept separate, and each kind packed
in box by itself. For tail and Wing
feathers the boxes should be a little
wider than the feather is long, and the
feathers laid in the boxes straight, care
being observed that the sides and ends
of the feathers do not curl up, as this
spoils them for making busters, and
thereby impairs the sale of them. In
selecting the wing feathers leave out
the third joint, or that part commonly
used as a fan, as the feathers on that
part of the wing are useless in the manu-
facture of busters. Body feathers
should be kept as straight as possible,
and also packed in boxes Keep all
feathers perfectly dry, as wet feathers
are unstable; for this reason turkeys
should be dry-picked.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04
" BAT SCHOOLS SHOULD TEACH

W bAI SCHCOLS SHOULD TEACH
1t is a serious fact, says the Boston
Transcript, that the more branches"
our schools teach, the less the pupils
learn. Not only is the time SO cut up
that but little is devoted to any one
study, but the constant shifting from
one to another SO distracts and confuses
the pupil that the impression which he
receives are apt to be vague and feet
ing. 1t is very certain that the more
pupil knows the better it is for him pro-
vided he knows it " certain" Our pre-
sent system of education has many warm
and earnest defenders, persons whose
opinionsare entitled to the highest pos
sible regard; but it is neverless true that
a tree is best judged by its fruit, and it
is very certain that the annual crop of
graduates" is not what might reason
ably be expected, considering the
money spent upon our schools and our
boastful claims concerning them. True,
the pupils have a superficial and
" snowy" knowledge of many things, but
thorough knowledge of any one branch
is hard to find. Now, the chief object
of schooling, the rudiments having been
mastered, is to learn how to learn; but
our schools, too many of them, are
teaching how not to learn. The arts of
drawing and music are taught to a GER
tain extent, but the greater art of study,
the art which enables the pupil to con-
centrate the energies or his mind and
master the subjects in hand, is shame
fully neglected. The fact is that study,
real study, is hard, tiresome, exhaust
ing work, and no new-fangled system"
or method" will ever make it anything
else. The boy that is going to learn
algebra, geomentry or trigonometry has
to think--think for himself and that's
just what the schools rarely teach him
to do. 1t is not enough that he should
understand the solution Of problem,
the demonstration of proposition, or
the derivation of formula. That is
superficial. If he is ready to learn, he
must think out the solution for himself,
demonstrate the proposition, and have
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04
The Death Of a Lake.

John Muir, in Scribner for January,
thus describes the sudden death of a
California Mountain Lake:
A few lakes unfortunately situated
are extinguished suddenly by single
swoop of an avalanche, carrying down
immense numbers of trees together with
the soil they were growing upon. Others
are oblitsrated by land-slips, earthquake
talnses, etc, but these lake-deaths com
pared with those resulting from the
deliberate and incessant deposition Of
sediments, may be termed accidental.
Their fate is like that Of trees struck by
lightning.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04
Scottish Pearls.

The west coast of Scotland, which is
almost proverbial for its rainy weather,
was exceptionally favored in the sum-
mer of 1878 with a very hot and dry
season. So severe, indeed, was the
drought that the upper waters of the
Clyde and other streams were reduced
to remarkably low condition, and this
state Of the rivers brought into easy
access the pearl bearing mussel. The
number of shells found was large, and
for the better sort (Which are of pink
ish color) there was a ready market. A
few years ago the beauty and value of
Scottish pearls created quite an excite
ment. Some of the gems obtained at
that time fetched over f25, few sold
at from f3 to f10, but the generality of
them were inferior, being worth half
clown piece. Queen Vicorria and the
then Empress of the French were among
the purchasers of the pearls, Her Majesty
having paid f40 pounds for very fine
specimen. 1t is stated that one pearl is
ound, on an average, in every thirty
shells, but that only one gem in twelve
is worth any thing. The " fishers" have
learnt by experience that young and
smooth she'll contains no pearls, and
" molluscs" of that nature should be at
once returned to the river, on the chance
of their being more productive when
they get older. Mussels gathered off the
sandy bed hardly ever repay the trouble
of their search, while those which are
taken from stony places are the most
likely to have and to hold" pearls of
some value. The fishery has been prose
cuted with great diligence, but the re-
suits are of too uncertain a character to
present any great inducement for enter
prise on large scale.
The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-01-04

IN paper recently prepared upon
starch reasons are expressed for beliey-
ing that the constitution of this sub
stance is much more complicated than
is generally supposed. On treating it
with diluted acid the starch splits into
maltese and soluble starch. This last,
by similar treatment, yields maltese
and still another body. The treat
ment is continued till a body is pro-
duced yielding solely maltese, which,
the process being continued, Sits into
dextrosA