davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28
0Hr Mothers.

In the formation of our characters we
owe to our mothers more than to any
other human agency, for it is their
hands that first twine the tendrils of our
hearts, guide our footsteps Alright, lead
us in the path of virtue, and in the
dark, dreary night of pain, their watch
full vigils keep beside the couch Of their
dear ones. Whose but the al-seeing
eye of Jehovah can fathom the depths
of anxiety they feel, and who can tell
of the ceaseless prayers which they offer
for their sin-stricken children?
Their influence ever shines with an
unsullied light which softens and purifies
the wayward impulses of the youthful
mind, and guides it onward in its course
toward heaven. How, then, can we pay
just tribute to our mothers-with what
measures of gratitude and affection shall
we requite them for their maternal care
To those who have lost their mothers
in early life there is hallowed spot,
sacred to memory, where they retrospect
the past-recall days and nights when
when their mothers kept watch over
their sinless years, and where they may
look forward, with faith and hope, to the
blessed reunions of the everlasting fu-
ture.
Friends may be torn from our hearts,
hopes may be blasted, and our love for
others may grow cold, yet every princi-
pie of gratitude and every feeling of
virtuous sensibility requires that we
should cling to our mothers and love
them still.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28
Some Mems Luck.

Gen. Gordon was severely wounded
four times in one battle and within an
hour, and lived to fight again and this
is only specimen of the singular good
luck that attended some men. In 1864
Michigan cavalryman named Drake
was out foraging in the Shenandoah val
ley in company with a comrade named
Cooper. Cooper was in smoke-house
after meat and Drake was on guard at
the door when thirteen Confederates
suddenly appeared. They were mount
ed, and advanced at gallop, part of
them firing as they rode up. One bullet
found suitable opening in the stone
wall of the smoke-house, and flew in and
killed Cooper dead in his tracks. Drake
was standing beside his horse, and his
saddle was hit by three bullets, one of
which glanced through his hat.
AS soon as the trooper could realize
what had happened he swung himself
into saddle and dashed at the circle
around him. The moment he happened
in view he was target for carbine and
pistol. His horse made rush at the
line, but was driven back. Followed by
Cooper's horse he galloped around and
across circle not over 100 feet across,
all the time under a steady fire by the
Confederates. This fire was soon re-
turned by Drake, who fred away seven
cartridges and then drew his saber. His
seven bullets, as afterward vouched for,
killed two men, wounded two more, and
killed one horse. His fire broke the
circle, and he got out of it, but for thirty
rods, as he made off, he was exposed to
the fire of nine or ten men. Cooper's
horse was killed in the circle, while
brakes was hit no less than nine times
and yet not disabled. As for the rider,
his comrades, on his return to camp,
counted up a record of truly-miracu
lous escape. Three bullets struck his
scabbard, two his hat, four went through
his clothing, one burned his cheek, one
raked his knee, and two hit his left
boot. While one single bullet killed the
one trooper, the other had sixteen fired
point blank at him and yet did not lose
a drop of blood. Cooper's horse was
killed by one bullet, while nine failed to
disable the larger and more-exposed ami
mal.-Detro5t Free Press.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28
Testing in Letters.

Many an otherwise pleasant letter has
been spoiled by words which the writer
meant as Jest, but which the reader
took in earnest. A pleasantly depends
on other things besides the words ut
tered. Along with it go the manner of
the speaker, the tone of his voice and the
expression of his face. None of these
can be put on cold sheet of paper, and
SO the letter of the sort I here complain
of gives pain instead Of the pleasure in
tended.
1t can not be read with the emphasis
with which the writer would read it.
The reader catches no half-blown smile,
no suppressed merriment on its cold, i'm
movable face, as he might if he could
have looked on that of his correspondent
when the epistle was penned. The ex-
pertinent is thus dangerous one to try,
if we value the feelings of others and
care to retain our correspondents.
We can hardly blame others if they
misconstrue our words. We are liable
to do the same with the words of others.
ALI the punctuation of exclamation
points will not make up for just one
twinkle of the eye in conversation.
I would say to young folks (and others,
too, for that matter), don't joke on
paper. You may be sorry for it. A
sheet of paper can't smile, or modulate
the tone, or shrug the shoulders, or con-
vey the delicate emphasis that indicates
that fun is meant and not seriousness.
Many misunderstanding have risen
from the habit of using playful sarcasm
in friendly correspondence. Prolonged
alienation of warm friends has often
times resulted from the most uninten-
tianal attempt at humorous satire OF
some innocent Jest in letter.
IF you have not the habit, don't get
into it; if you have, do get out of it.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28
German Emigration to America.

The growth of the stream of emigration
from Germany to the United States has
attracted even more attention in Ger
many than here, and the government
there is at its wits end to stop it without
striking at the root of the matter -the
heavy burdens imposed on the people by
the large standing armies. M. Wrandl,
who is described as an American citizen
Of Hungarian birth, tried to get permis-
sion to lecture on emigration in Berlin,
but his application was sternly refused,
the authorities evidently fearing that any
agitation of the subject will increase the
exodus still furthur. In Schleswig,
Prussia proper, and Posen, whole vii
lagos are described as having been aban-
doned, the inhabitants going chiefly to
Illinois and Nebraska. According to the
Berlin correspondent of the London
Times, new experiment is the founding
of q German Socialist colony in Texas,
where the great problem of how to keep
everybody as poor as everybody else is
to be worked out once more.-NeW York
Graphic.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28
A Plucky Daughter.

A queer case comes from Steubenville,
Ohio. A pretty damsel is the heroine.
The parties concerned all belong to the
aristocracy and are well known in Steu-
benville. The tale runs thus: Some
gentlemen of families were accustomed
to spending their evenings in the rear of
q first-class saloon, and to make the time
pass more pleasantly. they introduced
the exciting game of 'poker," which
they occasionally enlivened by the aid of
social glass. In this manner they
passed their evenings till the small hours,
when they wended their way homeward
to their families, some richer and some
depressed in spirits. To make the place
more attractive, pretty waiter girls, who
do not mind kiss from man of fam
lily, were in attendance on these gentle
men of the upper circles Things went
on smoothly for q while, but presently
notes began to arrive at their residences,
addressed to their wives, detailing the
state. of affairs. The notes came quite
frequently, and were quickly burned.
1t was on-one Sunday The good people
were all at church, and the three gentle
men were at their favorite haunt A
daughter of one of the misguided men,
ascertaing the whereabouts Of her parent,
resolved that she would find him and
bring him home. On reaching the tab
ernacle of sin and three aces she, sent
word up to the private apartment that
she desired to see her father and wanted
him to come down. The message fell
like thunderbolt upon the men, but
father refused to answer the summons.
Pushing the messenger boy roughly
aside, she bounded up the stairway, and
opening the door of the room, boldly
confronted the guilty trio. The knights
of the pasteboard trembled in their
shoes. Had bombshell exploded it
could have had a better effect On the
table was large pile of money Snatch
ing up the money, tie alm0st infuriated
girl accused the others of robbing her
father, whom they at frst usually made
drunk. All three men were more or less
under the influence OF liquor, and for a
time some very high words were in
dulged in, but the plucky gid came of
first best. She Jpocketed the money
and marched her disgraced parent of
home
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28
BITS OF IMPORTATION.
Sum dials were invented $50 B. G.

6UN d1als were invented 65O b. y.
TIE sextant was invented in 1850.
THE first locomotive built in this
country was at West Point in 1880. It
was named the Phoenix.
CALICO received its name from Cali
cut, city of India, which was discov-
cred by the Portuguese in 1893.
The English is the most difficult of all
modern languages for foreigner to learn
with accuracy. The German comes
next. The French is easier to acquire,
and the italian easier still.
FOG is caused by the union of two
masses of vapor of different tempera-
ture. The sun heats the earth in
much shorter time than it does the
ocean, and when the warm air of the
land unites with the colder air of the
sea the vapor is condensed and rendered
visible.
DURING time of scarcity the ancient
Lydians invented several games, among
others that of dice. One day they would
engage in games so entirely as not to
feel any craving for food the next day
they ate and abstained from games. In
this way, according to an old historian,
they passed eighteen years.
THE following thirteen States formed
the Union at the time of the Declaration
Of Independence New Hampshire,
Massachusetts,, Rhode Island, Connecti-
cut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl-
vania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina and
Georgia. The last six were slavehold-
ing States.
The gift of a red rosebud means,
"Thou hast stolen my affections ;" of
white rosebud, Sc am to be won," OF
81 shall win you if I can." Both are
declarations of love, differing only in
intensity. "One is hint, the other a
dead give-away, said recent writer.
The moss rose means, "Thou art one of
thousand ;" the white rose, "My
heart is free;" the damask rose, "Blushes
augment thy beauty" the cinnamon
rose, "Without pretension;" the wild
rose, Simplicity )" a withered white
rose, Transient impression;" with
cred red rose, "Our Irritation has
ended"
TIE average daily temperature or
daily mean temperature Is found by add
ing the temperature at a. M, 2 p. m.
and twice the temperature at 9 p. m.
and dividing this sum by four; to find
the monthly mean temperature, the
daily mean temperatures of each day are
added and divided by the number Of
DAYS of the month. The annual mean
temperature is found by taking the sum
of the twelve monthly mean tempera-
lures divided by twelve, and the mean
temperature of place is ascertained by
adding the annual mean temperatures
and dividing by the number of years.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28
The Craze for Relics.

Relics and autographs! It is often
said that this age and this country are
given to materialism and skepticism
Yet how much of faith there is left! It
is not faith that changes; only the OBJ
ject of its attention is changed from
time to time. Some pious Catholics
and other Christians believe in the bones
of martyrs and apostles; SO these bones
are manufactured in Rome to suit all
wants, and whole boxes of psychological
remains" are shipped to America. They
are usually certified to as genuine, al
though the Pope now declares that most
of them are frauds. The museums of
Europe arestocked with South American
antiquities, many Of the latter coming
from well-known factories and shops in
Peru and elsewhere. In China and
Japan 'old porcelain and bronze are
manufactured to supply the demands of
European collectors. And autographs!
Many an American Collector is proud of
his volume in which some great man or
grand dame has written oropria manu-,
unless the signature emanates from the
skill of an adroit Partisan or London
bookseller. It is science and religion
alike which suffer from these frauds, and
the frauds themselves are encouraged by
humble ignorance as much as by the
opulent purses of the proud. 1t should
90 to the Pope's credit that he has or
dered an inquiry into the pious bone
trade conducted in the Eternal City, and
that he is grieved at the impious frauds
by which it has been not so much desc
Grated as derided.-Boston AdUertiser.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28
Imitation Precious STONES.

The really beautiful imitation stones
made in Paris consists of very pure,
transparent, and 1ustrous glass, called
Strass, after its inventor, which is fire.
Aquently colored with the same metallic
oxides as real precious stones Thus the
color of the topaz is obtained from anti
mony and gold; that of the ruby from
purple of Cassius "a stannate of tin with
stannate or oxide Of gold), or from So
luton of gold in aqua regia (nitro-
muriatic acid). The well-known Bo-
hemian ruby glass is produced by cop
per, and a commoner kind byron. Some
of the finest yellow glass is colored with
silver. The first precious stone to be
successfully produced by artificial means
was the lapis lazuli, the sapphire of classi-
cal times, but by no means to be con-
founded with the sapphire of the modern
jeweler, though closely related to it.
Lapis lazui is an Opaque stone of an ex-
quisite corn-fower blue, and was highly
priced by the ancient Indians, Assyrians,
Persians, Jews, Egyptians and Greeks.
Freed from impurities and rubbed down,
it gives the ultramarine used by medie-
val artists for the robes of the Madonnas;
and in their day it was worth its weight
in gold, the purchaser of picture hav-
ing always to pay extra for its use. Its
rarity and the cost of preparation make
the true ultramarine still worth from ten
shillings to fifty shillings the ounce.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28
COIor.BlindueSs.

There is no human mfrmity more Gu
rious than is blindness; and scarce
ly any other about which so little is
known. The oldest thing about it, per-
haps, is that it is not certain, or even
likely, that the person who is afflicted
with this color blindness is aware of the
defect
olor-blindness is an inability to dis
tinguish colors. Those who are wholly
color-blind can see no more than the
forms of things, but cases of total alb
sence of the power to perceive color are
very rare. In most persons who are
lacking in this respect, the infirmity ex-
tends only to certain colors. One man
cannot perceive a red color; another
green: another blue, and SO on.
This partial color-blindness is not un-
common. Examinations by experts
seem to show that about one in every
twenty men is defective in the perception
of color; and it is asserted that the defect
is not so common in women assi in men.
Probably not many readers of this pa
per are conscious that they are color
blind. Yet, if occulists are correct, and
four or five in every one hundred per-
sons are deficient in this respect, the de-
fects assume proportions that command
attention, for the reason that there are
many occupations in which quick and
accurate perception of color is necessary.
The lack of it may render success impos-
sible.
There are many ways of testing the
eye, to find out if it is color blind. The
best is to put into the hands of person
worsted of various colors, and ask him to
separate the pieces into red, blue, green
and other colors; and then to shade them
from light to dark. A man who is color
blind will usually make mistake in as
sorting the colors, in the first four or five
pieces given him for examination.
Another test is to see if q person can
read red letters printed on a black
ground. A third is to cover blue sheet,
printed with black letters, with thin
white tissue paper. To the perfect
vision, the letters will appear yellowish
brown. If they are black letters printed
on red sheet, they will appear green
under the paper.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28

THE productiveness of the apple,
pear, peach, and pun trees, and of
gooseberry and currant bushes, etc may
Be increased and the size of the fruit con-
siderably enlarged by pruning-that is,
by shortening in the shoots Of the last
years growth, leaving only spurs a few
inches in length. Failures in tree
planting too often arise from the mis-
taken notion that when the roots of a
tree are once in the ground, the work is
done. After tree s carefully planted
it should be mulched with leaves, straw,
tan, or any similar material, not SO
thick as to exclude the air, but suffi
cient to retain the moisture in the soil !;
for although there may be plenty of rain
early in the season, the chances are
that drought more or less severe will
follow
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28

William J. Coughn, OF Somerville, Mass, says: In
the fall of 1876 taken with beedngs of the lungs,
followed by q severe cough. lost my appetite and
flesh, and confined to my bed. In 1877 1 ad-
mitted to the hospital. The doctors said had hole in
my lung big half dollar. Al one time a report
went around that was dead. gave up hope, but a
friend told me of Dr. WILLIAM HALLS BALsAM THE
LUNGS. got a bottle, when, to my surprise, COM
menced to feel BETTER and to-day feel better than for
three years past write this hoping every afflicted
with diseased lungs will take Dr. WILLIAM HALLS BAL
SAM and be convinced that CONSUMPTION CURED.
positively say has done good than all tn
other medicines have taken since my sickness"
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28

Br = Il

TT. only . package Of letters,
All faded and yellow With age,
But their lines I always viii cherish,
Though famine and war may wage.
For q friend has kindly spoken
The words that they contain,
And our ties-they are nov broken;-
But, perhaps We will meet again.
And nov for yeanS have kept them
They have always been dear TO my heart;
Som times think I'll destroy them
So memories from neil depart
'Tis then am cruelty reminded,
10 after years 10 come,
glad,
To read the old letters again.
when my cour-e In life has run,
And from Mother Earth hiss fed.
The friend who vrvte those lines 70 me,
hope-vil think Of me when I'm dead.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28

INDIGESTION, dyspepsia, nervous prostration
and all forms of general debility relieved by
taking MENsA1AN's s PEPToNIzED BEEF Tonic, the
only preparation of beef containing its entire
nutritious properties. 1t contains blood-mak-
ing, force-generating and life-sustaining prop
critics; is invaluable in all enfeebled conditions,
whether the result of exhaustion, nervous pros
tration, overwork, or acute disease, particularly
if resulting from pulmonary complaints, Cas-
well, Hazard & Co., proprietors, New York.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28

Mess. J. r. BENNETT & Co., Muske-
gon, Mich, thus speak: ''St. Jacobs Oil
is the best iniment around here. We
sell more of it than of any other proprie-
tary medicine we have in our store. Our
customers are continually praising its
effective qualities; and we think that it
is the best remedy for rheumatism, neu-
ralgia, etc., we have ever had in stock. I"
-M,lscatine (Io,0a) Daily Journal.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28

PROFESSOR SToCKBRIDGE before the
State Board of Agriculture of Connecti-
cut: "The soil is best plowed when it
is most thoroughly crushed, twisted and
broken, with the sod well covered. On
some kinds of land 1 would have fur
rows Tapped an inch, as the Canadian
farmers plow. Let the air and water
have a chance to circulate underneath
the surface. Light lands, however,
should have fat furrow if we wish to
make such lands more compact"
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28

No man can do good job of work. preach
good sermon, try law suit well, doctor a pa
tient, or write good article when he foels mis-
cradle and dull, with sluggish brain and un-
steady nerves, and none should make the at
tempt in such a condition when it can be so
easily and cheaply removed by n little Hop Bit
ters. See "Truths" and Proverbs, other col
umn.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28

ARTHUR is good at singing rousing
song. Well, Wheeler and Wilson have
both been Vice-Presidents, and it is right
to give Singer chance.-DetroH Free
Press Yes; but we're tired of machine
men in the office.-Boston Post A-hem!
Is that sew? What feller you are!-
Syracuse Standard. Basic you all.
You are too funny for any use.- Wash
inQtOn Gazette.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28

If you will stop all your extravagant and wrong
notions in doctoring yourself and families with
expensive doctors or humbug cure-alls, that do
harm always, and use only natures simple REM
edies for all your ailments-you will be wise,
well and happy, and save great expense. The
greatest remedy for this, the great wise and
good will tell you, is Hop Btters- believe it.
See proverbs" in another column.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28

They had been at the masquerade,
where she recognized him at once. "Was
it the loud beating of your heart, my
darling, that told you was near ?" muir
INJURED he. "Oh, no, she replied, 81
recognized your crooked legs"
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28

The city government serves the city
much as the shrewd old shoemaker did
his impatient customer. t'Der poots ish
not guide done, but der beel ish made
out. ."-PrOUidence Journal.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-04-28

vine" And I, as his cherished wife, can
honorably assert never loved any one
half or quarter as much as I love my
Cousin Jack.