davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-01-22
The Healing Power of the magina-
tiOn.

The records 81 medical practice are
full of illustrations of the influence of
the imagination, for good or evil, over
the functions of the body; and
philosophy finds in them key to the
wonderful persistence of many popular
superstitions. The firm belief that any
disastrous physiological result, even
death itself, will surely follow a given
act q. occurrence, is very. apt to bring
about the dreaded calamity; and every
repetition of the seeming sequence of
cause and effect, tends to confirm and
strengthen the mischievous belief. As
a means of counteracting this tendency
OF perverted imagination, charms often
play really beneficial part. The pro-
lection is as imaginary as the dreaded
evil ;sbut, assuminga belief in the ficti-
tious danger-a belief strongly tending
to make rthe danger real, the, charm
substitutes a more hopeful belief, and
the danger ceases.
A curious illustration of this action
of the mind is reported from San Fran
cisco, in connection with case of
transmission of blood An aged negro,
at the point of death, was saved by this
operation = the blood (about eight
ounces) being taken from his wife 's
arm. The man recovered, but the
woman went into curious decline,
against Mhicill toniesg and Enourish-
ing food were of no avail. At last the
patient confded to the doctor the secret
of her ailment, which hept her from
resting day sor night. u tell you, doc
blood of mine the old man is carrying
about insideGef him 8 and; doctos when
that old man comes back, want you to
give me my blood back. y - The doctor,
seeing that the woman would not be ap-
peased unless he complied with her re-
quest, promised to return the next day,
first informing her of the dangers Of the
Operation, and it was resorted to in the
most urgent cases. She would hear of
no explanations, but demanded that the
operation be gone through with. 1t was
done the next day, the doc
tor taking from the man about half an
ounce of blood anEt traHsfusing it into
the woman's veins. After the opera
ton the woman brig ghtened up percepti-
bly,, saying, I'll be all right now,' doc
tor. z And that the operation did prove
a success was fully demonstrated by the
sick woman, who began work few
hours afterward, declaring that the
q doctor was wonderful man, and now
that she's got her own blood back again
she was all right. .nss.,es.a.AsEeo =
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-01-22
An Improbable Customer. i.

"Are you in a hurry? '''a Brooklyn
oyster dealer inquired of a man for,
whom he was, osening his third oyster.
The man had ordered a dozen, and was
plainly in haste. but seeing that, a lady
had entered the saloon, he, said that he
had plenty of time, and began to MUNICH
ibroken crackers until the, oysterman
was again ready to wait upon him.
:. 3" What eaniI do for you, ma 'ampn
the dealer inquired, turning to the
lady.
& Are your Goldfish fresh? 1.-THE etis-
toner demanded, looking ,suspieiously
at some large ones on the board.
g Only two hours out of the WATER"
the dealer answered. g Hardly dead
yet. Only cents a pound. y
weigh that one fer me, - the lady
said. The, fish weighed five pounds;
that was. too large. Another weighed
two; but that was too snall.i A third
weighed three and a half 4 that was. Just
right; but the lady had changed her
mind, and Preferred haddock. This,
also, was 6 cents, and fish of suitable
weight was soon found; but 4 cents a
pound was all that the customer was
willing tosgive. Moreover, she had now
Sc. her heart upon smelts, and, as there
were none in the saloon, she turned her
attention to oysters. a&s vriNaisj
81 want them for, frying,f she said.
How much are they ahundred? Iisi
"a dollar and q quarter, y was the
reply; and cheaper at that thaa you
can get them anywhere else in the
city .''FsTgiG ,ls..sssAi = astou .s4seal
'sThen open fifty, for me, if you
please" the lady said. ssi'sh as<. 4 =
ssWill you allow me to attend to this
gentleman first?' the dealer asked,
pointing to the man who had been
fobliged to take "a recess after eating
three oysters.
'.Certainly not, "the lady said, snap
pishly. 'sI'm in a hurry, and as the
man had by this time finished nearly all
the crackers and, in a great measure,
.slost his appetite for oysters, he said,
politely, that he was willing to swait.ls9f
The fifty oysters were opened, and,
aftericloselyo examining them,. the lady
said sins sidt az v1Ngegsf; sAtssffii.ss
"Now, don't mind giving you fifty
cents for those, if you viii paste them
! over with flour and egg, and fix them
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-01-22
1w1ooins " and winning in Greenland.

~ ~ sft4
lhgWhen the Danish missionaries had
secured the confidence of the Green
,landers marriage was made a religious
ceremopy.s Formerly, the man. married
the woman by force. One Of the mis-
sionaries writing i1rhis journal describes
the present style. OF courtship as follows:
The suitor coming to the missionary,
said :'ssf should, like to have awife,9',
1" Whomp" asked the missionary. The
man names the woman. "Hast thou
spoken to herp'' Sometimes the man,
will answer: 6 Yesi she is not unwill-
ing, but thou knowest womankind.'
More frequently the answer is nNo. =
"Why notp'' |" 1t is difficult; girls are
epfudish. Thou must speak to her."
The missionary summonslth girl, aud.
after q little conversation, says, :. think
it is time to have thee married. '' az
won tmarry!' ssWhate q pity. I had
a. suitor for YOU = I. Whom?" The, mis-
sionary names the man who has lsodght
his aid ssHe is good for nothing 81
won't have him m?'' ssBut,' replies the
missionary, 9 he is good provider;;s he
throws his harpoon, with skill, and he
EIoves thee. Though listening to his praise
with evident pleasure the girl answers,
~ won't have shim!p "Well, Iwen'i
force thee. shall find wife for such
| q clever fellow" The missionary re.
mains silent, as though he understood
her ssN Mo- to have ended. the matter
At last, with a sigh, she whispers, ssJust
/ as thou will have it-i' "No, ~ replies
the clergyman sas thou wilt; III not
persuade thee.'' Then with a deer
groan comes {" Yes,'' and the matter il
| ooft1pd
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-01-22
The Chimara or Rat Fish.

This is one of the most singular of the
inhabitants of the seas, SO singular that
snaturalists make it a distinct order of
fishes, and SO singular that its very
st1angeness makes it common in mu-
seums, since even fishermen and Sailors
often preserve specimens on account of
their grotesque appearance. 1t is in
many parts of its structure similar to a
shark, but instead of having several gill
openings has only one, like an ordinary
fish the cartilage which serves for bone
in the head of the fish is all in one piece,
without distinetipn. between skull, upper
jaw, ETC., and there is upon the snout
curious cartila ginous projection armed
with recUrveds teeth ON its bottom like
extremity. Two kinds are known in
Che Atlantic, and one in the Pacific, but
from information received from Mr..
] loan PetroAr editor sef the Alaska Eap-.
peal, it is, not unlikely there may be a
second species on this coast. The, only
kind yet known, in these waters was de-
scribed and figured in 1889 in the go
.ology of Beechey's Voyage and has
long tslread-ike, appendage to the tail
fin; but MIR. Retroff says that one he
f9tW oAi Hic ctf0oe e1ip W hidohd udO IO
Such appendage, No work on natural
history with Which / am acquainted at
tempts to explain the use of the curious
excrescenceion the top of the head, with
its terminal armament of sharp hooks;
but the action OF the one last mentioned,
which caught a finger Of the cabin boy,
who was handling it between these
hooks and the top of,the head, and took
q piece of fiesh.clean out, would indicate
shat it is a weapon of defense, perhaps
also Of offense. The individual alluded
TO was taken in deep water, while tlsh-
ing for halibut and cod, Its stomach
was full of broken pieces of shells. Mr..
Petroff promises to endeavor to procure
specimen for our museum on his next
trip northward.-W. N. L., in Pacific
L'g@t, IL gz Esa.x aLaas Essa
aMY dear, said sentimental maiden
10 her lover, sof what do these autum-
nal tints, this glowing baldric of the skies,
/ this blazing garniture of the dying year,
remind your g Pancakes" he prompt
| ly answered. And then she realized for
the first time that the two hearts did not
| beat as one.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-01-22

asasss ss-s.s Fr-T- ssEs&a sssSsss3s
A correspondent at Strasburg states
that the new university is giving prom
Use of a very successful course during
the coming year. The number Of
matriculations at the middle of the pres
ent month showed an extraordinary in
crease in the ntilnberS Sof Students The
distinguished schelsrs who have sbedn
called to this institution exercises q great
power of attraction. Such, for Instance,
are the jurists, SCHNEIDER and Geifken
the latter of whom is favorably known
in England by the translation of his
great work on. 6 esChurch and State -
the philologist, Studemund, and the
medical scholar, kussmaul. The total
teaching force at the university is repre-
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-01-22
Death by Decapitation.

Iin.I'he Raris HtgGro recently. senta a
special reporter to witness the execu-
ton at Beauvais of an atrocious MUIR
derer named Prunier.8 The moment
that the guillotine had done it's work
the body and head were placed iii a
basket and. we've taken to the cemetery,
where Drs. Evrard, LIE Sage. Chevallier,
Lesgullion. Rocht and Decaisne were
Epresent. M. Evrard had asked for and
obtained the body of the felon for ex-
periment,,sss which - says the reporter, !
tive followed with deep interest, for,
besides their purely scientific character,
they related to a question SO often dis
cussedr7sdoesa life survive ldeeapitatien2
Five minutes had elapsed since the mo-
ments when the head was separated
from the trunk, and itiwasiplaeed on q
stone in the open air in front of the lit
tile chapel Of the cemetery. iCompara-
lively little blood had flowed, and some
drops were running from the carotid
artery. Although the neck was very
short, the cutting had~beer-very clean
Pine stuck withneedles, submitted
to- the most painful, experiments, the
head never moved; the face remained
unaltered ,snot q muscle .qnivered. The
left ear was completely calcined in the
flame Of candle without obtaining the
smallest appearances of sensibility. they
then divided the skin Of, the head into
four parts, and Using the hammer,
scalpel and saw, they took away the
upper. portion of the skull, and With
drew the brains This occupied ten
minutes. Immediately on being sub.
mitted to an electric hatterxthe remains
of the, head at once displayed nervous,
contractions-th teeth chattered, the
mouth shut, the eye and the cheekmade
those ogrimaces which are. observed in
sleeping people when tickled with q
feather.sI With the body the same result
was obtaineds It was absolutely with
toat feeling. It was opened, the heart,
lungs and intestines were removed, and
then, on being placed in contact with
the electric battery, the arms and legs
instantly moved At sthisB monentS DR..
Evra ard asked me what O'Clock it was,
and it appeared that forty. minutes had
elapsed from the time of the execution
Lastly came the concluding experimeh
Under the action of the battery a. shred
of hanging flesh, displaced by the opera
tions, stood: bfi end, oscillated and quick
lyiplaced itself, back. on the spot from,
which it had been cut The conclu-
sion of the doctors is that the move
mentsi observed in the bodies of persons
guillotined on being subjected, to the ac-
ton Of electricity are absolutely me-
Fchanical, and display neither any. re-
| mainder of life nor of sensation. The
| experiment win be the subject Of 4
snlemoir, which will shortly be presented
to the Academy OF Medicine by M
| Evrard, and in which he win demon.
| strate that death ,by decapitation, is, in
stantaneous.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-01-22

CRATE style-An open fireplace. ~
LAID on the table-The table cloth.
II one little mouse in the plural is mice, 4 +,
The plural OF house should be certainly hicc
g SLIGHT of Refusing an offer
Of marriage.
MORO Of thetiressrnhnker erl-As ye Zip,
so shall We sew.& w1s8unE .g8ieTGf
4 HoRE- E-spfiags-eteFnalia in the spiastsf's--
thought, man never is, but always to be
caught. sssNs84 81 a.
itWHEk two women with new hats on
pass essh other on the street thare is "
pair q back slres made immediate
yHIF wQlpsM haa The ballot, what swohfa
she do With itP 1t isn't long enough for
a belt Oh bigaenough for bustle-
A YouNGN lady graduate entered
large book store. and asked for4 the g Ia--.
faptile Innocentssin the Recesses OF, the
Forest" The clerk had formerly been
connected with the. Post-office Depart
ment, was use to hard ones, and at once
handed out g The Babes in the Woods.,,',
fsn A LADY was heard to ask friend in,
street-car the other day: ssAnnie, is it
proper to say this ERE that'ere a''ssWhy,.S
Kate, of course not,'' was the reply.
sstWell," said Kate, s'I don't know
whether it is propersor not, but feel .
cold in this ear from that air. The
conductor tainted. sN
i - How long has she been deadp" in
quired a bereaved husband as he quietly !,
stepped into the room. 9 About five
minutes, answered fearful bystander.x
st Well, it's all right. Isnever got a,s
chance to see any of my folks draw their
last breath. If a hundrsd of my friends
were to,die, t'would be just my. luck to-
miss it every time.n Grief will assert
itself. '''sss'aE4 3 st-sss sSssssnA osves
"I,woNDER what makes itelook SO
dark and gloomy outdoorsp,'l said Mrs,
Hick kenlooper to the next-door neighbor,
who had jnstrun in asminute to borrow Y
"a couple of fresh-laid eggs. ,sI guess :.
it's because yo1x lwiadaWs. need NASH
ing,'' gently remarked the next,dapr
neighbor, critically innning her fSsfe-
finger up and down the glass. And
then there was a sort of GOODNESS fell like !
q wet. sheet on the assembled multitude,
and the next-door neighbor's cake
wssn 't'as fichrby twos eggs as il might o
have been,-Nelpr rHaren Register. Nm Il,
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-01-22

R0SoME one says: ssAs soon as man
swears off smoking. every one he meets
offers him q cigar 1t is the same way,
with drinking. Old topers have been
known, to trayel with blue ribbons in
|.theit sbtittUn.holes, for the purpose of
getting themselves asked to take some
thing twenty times a day. ai.Sfi9 l-
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-01-22

ia THE stain of ancient barbarism that
remained in the shape of torture in ,Ja-
pan has been forever removed frcm the
code by final notification issued by the
Prime Minister.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-01-22
up forfrying just as they do in Fulton

up for frying just as they do in Fulton
markell - z,..s s.,.ss,. :,
The dealer breathed very hard as he
looked at his unpromising customer.
- :: Perhaps . he said, ,s'you, would like
me to go to your house and cook them
for you.n s11s ssa ,sEl ssssz8 Il
Without another word the lady gath
cred up her gloves, handkerchief and
reticule, restored her purse to its place
in the latter receptacle. and bestowing
upon the dealer a look of combined
scorn and siEdignation, swept out Of the
saloon. e.s......s. ,...a.4
swell, women is queer creatures, :"
the dealer muttered, ], as he looked at the
receding form. " !" Skinfints, all of 'em.
J. wouldn't trust my own wife where
bargain was to be had !" And he turned
around to find the man who. had eaten
the three oysters. But that person had
forgotten to pay forthe oysters, emptied
the bowl of broken crackers, and. gone
out,-Neao York San. y i''s's 81
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-04-15
Gazing In Of Cemetery Vaults.

A recent. dispatch from New York
says: The burial vaults behind the
Wesley Methodist Episcopal chapel, in
Attorney street, New York, fell in
Saturday morning. The chapel was
built fifty years ago, when it was Gus
tomary to bury the dead in city church.
yards. The vaults are two in nu nber,
about twenty-five feet deep and fifty
feet long, and provided with shelves
for collins. The entire roof and one
OF the side walls have given way,
leaving gap in the earth. In the
rubbish lie many collins, some broken
open, and some hundreds of cotfins
piled up in tiers from the floor are ex-
posed to view. In 1850 the vaults con-
tanned several thousand bodies, and
since that year no collins have been de.
posted there. The cholera epidemic In
1849 greatly increased the death-rate in
the east side tenement regions, and
several hundred persons who died
OF that disease were buried in the
vaults. There Is no possible chanc
OF contagion after so long burial. An
inspection of the ruin Is calculated
to make the most conservative man
think favorably of cremation. It seems
that when in the course of wears the
lower shelves rotted and fell. packing
the lower tiers Of collins more closely.
the increased space was utilized by put
ting in more shelves, and when the en-
trance was sealed up the vaults were
literally chock full. The Board of
Health will cover up the hone yard with
q trosh Aunnlv Of Aarth.u
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-04-15
Tea In Scotland.

In 1743 there was quite an anti-tea
agitation in Scotland, where it was
pronounced by the famous Duncan
Forbes to be "in many respects an inn
proper diet, expensive, wasteful OF
time, and calculated to render the
population weakly and effeminate. !"
During that time there was vigorous
movement all over Scotland for abol-
ishing the use of tea. Resolutions were
passed by town councils and the inhabit-
ants of villages condemning it and adj
vocating beer. Sir William Fullerton's
tenants in Ayrshire entered into the
following bond: 1--WE, being al farm
ers by profession, think it needless to
restrain ourselves formally from in
dulging in that foreign and consump-
tive luxury called tea; for when we
consider the slender constitutions of
many Of higher rank among whom it
is used, we conclude that it would be
but an improper diet to qualify us for
the moro robust and manly part of our
business; and therefore we shall only
give our testimony against it, and leave
the enjoyment of it altogether to thoss
who can afford to be weak, indolans
and useless"
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-04-15

peoples which have practiced it. That
for generations past women should
have been in the habit of deliberately
crushing that part of the body which
should especially be left free; contract
ting and displacing their lungs, their
heart, and all the most vital and i'm
portant organs, and entailing thereby
disease, not only ON themselves. hut on
their children after them; that for forty
years past physicians should have been
telling them Of the folly of what they
have been doing, and that they should
as yet, In the great majority Of cases,
not only turn q deaf ear to all warn
ings, but actually deny the offensc. of
which one glance of the physician or
sculptor, who knows what shape the
human body ought to be, brings them
in guilty-this, l say, il an instance of
what shall call itp which at once de-
serves the lash, not merely Of the
satirest, but of any theologian who
really believes that God made the
physical universe.
And how much work of every kind.
intellectual as we'll as physical, is
spoiled or hindered, how many deaths
occur from consumption and other
complaints which are the result of this
habit of tight lacing, is known partly
to the medical men who lift up their
voices in vain, and known fully to Him
who will not interfere with the least Of
His own physical laws to save human
beings from the consequences of their
willful folly. Christian Union.
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-04-15
The Education Of Women.

There is steady progress all over the
world in the recognition of the claims
of women to the best educational facili-
ties. France has agricultural schools
for girls. One of the chief is near
Rouen, which is said to have been be-
gun with a capital of one franc by q
Sister of Charity and two little dis
charged prison-girls, and to be now
worth $165, 900. This establishment
has 800 girls, from six to eighteen. The
farm, entirely cultivated BY them, is
over 400 acres in extent. Twenty-Five
Sisters form the staff of teachers. More
than one medal of the French Agri.
cultural Society has been awarded to
this establishment at Darnetel, and the
pupils are in great demand all over
Normandy, on account of their skill.
They go out as stewards, gardeners,
farm managers, dairy women and
laundresses. Each girl has, on leav-
ing, an outfit and a small sum of money,
earned in spare hours. If they want a
home they can always return to OAR
netel, which they are taught to regard
as home. It is noteworthy, also, that
a woman has just been placed in an I'M
pOrtant educational position in France.
It is Mile. Juliette Dodu, who has been
appointed by NJ. Jules Ferry delegate
general for the inspection of the schoolz
established for the reception of littls
children, under six years of age. Mile
Dodu last year received the ribbon o:
the Legion of Honor for splendid COLI.
duct during the war. In England many
women are now residing at Cambridge,
in attendance on lectures; and a me.
mortal addressed to the vice. chancellor
of the University of Cambridge, pray
ing that the Senate will grant to prop.
erly qualified women the right Of all
mission to the examinations for uni
versity degrees. and to the degrees,
has been widely signed. In this coun-
try the number Of colleges and uni
versities offering their lectures to women
is yearly increasing.-7he Independent.
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-04-15
The History Of Writing.

The Ashmcleap Museum at Oxford
contains one of the oldest monuments
of civilization in the world, if, indeed,
it is not the very oldest. This is the
lintel-stone of tomb which formed the
last resting place of an officer who lived
in the time Of King Sent, of the second
dynasty, whose date is placed by M.
Mariette more than 5000 years ago.
The stone is covered with that delicate
and finished sculpture which distin-
guished the earliest period of Egyptian
history, and was UNNECESSARILY superior
to the stiff and conventional art of the
later ages of Egypt which we are &C
customed to see in our European muse
ums. But it is also covered with some
thing more precious still than sculpture,
with hieroglyphics which show that
even at that remote epoch Egyptian
writing was a complete and finished
art, with long ages of previous devel-
opment lying behind it. The hero
g1yphic characters were already used not
only pictorially and geographically,
but also to express syllables and alpha
bette letters, the name of the King, for
instance, being spelled alphabetically.
In the hands Of the Egyptian scribes,
however. Egyptian writing never made
any further progress. With the fall of
what is called the Old Empire (about
B. C. $500 the freshness and expan-
sive force of the people passed away.
Egyptian life and thought became fos.
silized, and through the long series Of
centuries that followed Egypt resem-
bled one of its own mummies, faithfully
preserving the form and features of a
past age and of life which had ceased
to beat in its veins. Until the introduce
ton of Christianity the only change
undergone by Egyptian writing was the
invention of q running-hand, which in
its earlier and simpler form is called
hieratic, and in its later form demotic.
Professor Sayce, in Nature.