davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
Freaks of the Telegram.


Namef 1e always great stumbling
block 10 ie clerks, and addresses are
compose. Of names. Most of us have
tricks OF fTuting names in any but a
distinct fashion; and although the Post
office peHlstently reminds us, on the
forms giyn to us to write our kilograms
on, that the writing should be plain,
this adyles ike n@pst other advice, is
but too q1A neglected. Hence, many
telegram2g get altogether astray, some
times to BE not slight discontinue of
those lnt9Ehose hands they fall, and
who, un Wiling that any error has been
made, foMhwith act upon them. 1t is
related tuba woman residing IN some
small stree In Manchester once received
what apIsared to be a summons from
her husband to come up to him IN Lon
don. = n1uchralarmed, she at once
started On her way she got into con-
versation with another woman who was
in the same carriage, and who she found
was also going up to see her husband,
who was in London i'll. This woman
had been expecting to receive telegram
from her husband, and, not hearing,
had grown anxious and had finally set
off withoutthe telegram. Further par
lev REVEALED the fact that their names
were the ,ame; that their husbands
names werI the same; that they both
lived in the same quarter In Manchester;
and IT finally transpired that the tele-
gram which had been delivered to the
first woman was the very one which the
second hadbeen waiting for-the error
in delivery having been caused by some
such mistake as Hamilton street for
s'Henrietta stree" - q mistake very
likely attributable to want of distinct
ness in the writing Another curious
case of coincidence of which we have
heard was tiat of telegram addressed,
ssJohn Stllingwise, Brookdean, mr..
Kirkbv I ,onsdale, " from Robert Stilling-
wise. his brother, begging him to come
at once to him mt hotel, which he lndl-
Gated. in Leeds. The address Brook
dean" was II some way altered, and the
telegram was delivered to another John
Stillingwise. living somewhere IN the
neiohborhood of Kirlby Lonsdale. This
unfortunate man, who had not heard
ANYTHING Of his brother Robert for some
twenty years. at once started off in
stormy. wntry weather, reached Leeds
in the evening. and was told by the
landlord that he could not see his.
brother that night, as he was very far
from well, and had gone to bed. The
next morning, he was ushered into Rob
ert Stillingwises room, expecting to see
his long lost brother, when, to his ex-
treme establishment and disgust, he
found himself confronted by an utter
stranger! er!-BLdck7OOOd's Magazine.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
stenogranhH in Ola Times.

Stenography is on the eve of being SUI
perceded by the invention of the piano
tachygraph We may first remark that
modern nations are mach behindhand In
the practice of stenography. David, in
fact, says in one of his psalms: Ling1d
111en cdLanlus scribe Uetoeiter scribeptis
("AIy tongue is the pen of ready
writer'). The Hebrews, therefore, knew
the art of writing as rapidly as one could
speak. But it was at Athens and Rome
especially that stenography was prac-
ticed. -aahoue employed an abbre-
,xrlfF the speeches of
Socrates, Sc works he edited This
was 168 yeas before Jesus Christ. The
Romans, whQ, with the spoils of Greece,
carried the arts and usages of the Greeks
into Italy, brought back that kind of
writing and vulgarized it among all
classes of the population. Under the
Consulate of Cicero may be seen the
first traces of stenography. The great
orator was himself very expert IN the
art, and took pleasure III teaching 1t to
q freed slave named Tiron, who wrote
down his pleadings. Tiron acquired a
celebrity in the practice, and gave his
name to the method he employed, his
reports being called Tironian Notes.
Soon telegraphic signs We're alone
used in writing in Rome. Senecus,
Brutus, Julius Cesar, and many other
ilustrious men employed it. One day
Cicero wrote from habit in Tironian
signs to his friend Atticus, who could
not understand the letter. The great
orator then Offered to teach him steno-
graphy, and he learnedit IN very short
time Augustus gave lessons in steno-
graphy to his grandsons. The old stem
ographic method was preserved in
France until the eleventh century, and
letters from Louis le Debonnaire, son of
Charlemagne, in Tironian characters
still exist. In TAT Benedictine, named
Pierre Carpentier, reformed the Tiron-
ian alphabet and published in Latin
volume on his new method. At present
stenography, which is only practlced by
a few writer's, has been modified and
improved; but it does not appear to be
shorter or more simple than that used in
antiquity. GaLionG:li.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
A NOVEL DEFENSE.
securing M. ~.ssay :, ne.r', laughter,


On the fifth day of our march from
Iendwe, | was, as usual, considerably in
front of my men, who, with their loads,
were not able to walk as fast as myself
The sky threatened storm, which made
me hasten to reach Pamlio. On ap-
preaching the village nobody was to be
seen, the natives being either out in the
fields, or IN their houses out of the rain.
The stoekade presented rather unin-
yiting appearance, being ornamented
with few hundred human skulls in all.
directions, from the freshly stuck-up
head to the bleached Uranium, and all
apparently swapping their jaws at the
thought of n new companion as the wind
wheeled them backward and forward
However, the ram was falling fast, and
there was no use of being squeamish. So
into the village j marched unnoticed,
and finding out a hut with broad,
overhanging cave, i took refuge out of
sight, waiting till my men came forward,
in order that / might appear with appro-
pirate pomp L had been thus enscOnced
nearly ten minutes, when suddenly the
stiffness of the village was broken by
loud, peculiar shout. This was almost
immediately taken up from every quar-
ter of the village, until every stone
seemed to yell out the strange cry.
Drums added to the uproar, while wo-
men screamed, and the men We're seen to
hurry toward the gates. shouting and
brandishing their spears. I was very
much astonished at shis;- but, supposing
it was simply the fashionable mode of
receiving caravan, / remained still, ex-
pecting my men every minute How
ever, the uproar continued without
abatement, and my men did not appear.
Thinking there must be something
wrong, / emerged from my cover
To my surprise L found the gates
closed, and the stoekades and crows
nests manned by an excited multitude
brandlshlng their spears at some APP
parent enemy outside. 1t instantly
flashed upon me that was a prisoner
and cut off from my men. My presence
in the village was evidently unknown.
For, on my appearance among them,
every voice was silent, and the once ex-
cited multitude seemed paralyzed with
fear. l was supposed to be a ghost.
Seeing this, I recovered my presence of b.
mind, and striking an attitude like Ham
let's ghost, | moved forward with slow,
deliberate steps, and severe expression
of face. At each step the warriors re-
coiled Struck with awe, they looked
at me with staring eyes and open
mouths, in breathless silence This was
too much for me, and unable to keep up
the character, L burst out with an irre-
pressible roar of laughter The effect
OF that laugh was tremendous The
amazed savages recOiled still further.
leaving the gate free. With bound /
reached 1t, and before they could recover
their senses 1T was open, and l was out
side, to the unbounded JOY of my men,
who were trembling for my safety.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
The Village Postmistress.

The son of this Postmistress says of
his mother:
..Shes gettin' little hard a. hearin'. !.
though; but [ tell her that amt strange.
seein' she's heard so much in her day.
Ears can't last forever, you know, Mis-
Linton, an for fifty years there amt
been nothin' goin' on among the negh-
bors that mamma amt heard. Bein' in
the Postoffis is wearin' to the hearin' ez
we'll as the eyes. Folks comm an goin'
for their letters generally leave as much
news ez they take away BY the way.
Mis- Linton, yer sister, Miss Bradleieh's.
cornin' back tomorrow. Mamma was
Ireadin' the postal cards last night, an
hshe came across one from her"
'sReading my postal cardsl' exclaimed
Mrs. Linton.
"Why, yes. Mamma always reads 'em
leastways she reads such as isn't took
Eight off She says it's her duty. Might
be news of sickness or death, ur suthin'
, else. that we'd ought to send right along:
they are dreadful aggravatin' readin'
though. People don't write ez well as
they used TO, an don't make things
clear, nuther. When anybody writes jes
/ Yes or No on postal, no Postmaster
in creation can make anything out of it.
But your sisters postal is plain enough.
| Mis- Linton; thar amt nothin' indefinit'
about her. She says, 'Comin's Thurs
day. 5 o'clock train. Have Factotum
meet me- Mamma puzzled good deal
over that word 'factotum, an we both
Concluded that it was the name of your
help. Furrin' name amt it +? / told
mamma twas new, anyhow, an ez we
| had a young calf t we was goin' to raise,
an hadn'tnamed it, we concluded we'd
call her Factotum, like that furrin'
! kitchen girl o. yourn. Mis- Linton
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
Don't Do 1t.

Don't gamble. It's a sin to bet on the
wrong horse.
Don't boast of your little vices. They
will advertise themselves.
Don't worship wealth. 1t is better to
bend the knee to obtain it.
Don't let your dog sit in front OF a
saloon door. He may annoy the bar
tender
Don't ask your milkman why the
lacteal fluid is, blue. He may not be a
scientist.
Don't spend your life in reproving the
sins of your friends. Try the beam
business awhile.
Don't trust your minister too far.
Better keep awake and see that he
breaches no false doctrine.
Don't imagine you are fitted for no
profession. Everybody knows how to
edit newspaper.
Don't ask your butcher what his sau-
sages are made Of Everybody knows
that they are made of meat.
Don't trouble yourselves about your
neighbor's affairs. If he can't attend to
his own business let him hire boy
CatskiU Recorder.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
PARAGRAPHIC POINTS.

AN EXCHANGE says that the coming
girl is to be more generally pretty than
the kind we have heretofore had.
LIZ WE could see others as we see our
selves there would be more good looking
people in the world. Buffalo Express.
A LADY who has returned from Rome
says the principal attractions are feas,
beggars, dirt, and the ill-smelling Tiber.
WIDOWS over fifty can not marry again
In Portugal, but this doesn't trouble
them any, for who ever knew woman
TO acknowledge being over forty?
THREE Newport bellies, now married,
were once known in society as Battle,
Murder" and Sudden Death"-their
names indicating their style Of con-
quest.
PAPER dinner plates are now in use
sfBy and by" says the Syracuse Herald,
''they will print the news of the day
around the rim and serve them fresh at
every meal.
THE English gulp down $50, 900 worth
of drinks per year, and are no better
off than if they had used the money
in sending out missionaries. Detroit
Free Press.
Or ALL things that man possesses,
women alone take pleasure in being pos
sessed. .-JlaLherbe. They do seem to
take pleasure attimes in being possessed,
or acting as if they were.
TEXANS now take their whisky from an
ox-horn fitted with brass bottom and
holding an even quart. They are handy
to carry, can not be told from powder
horn, and sure to kill at forty rods.
ADVICE to girls: Remember, also, that
a a-pretty hand IS one. of w0men's chiefest
charms. Never assist your mother In
her household duties. 1t doesn't matter
so much how her hand is sprawled out
by hard work. She is out of the mar
ket.-BostOn Transcript.
THE original of ''Mary had little
lamb" was written by Mr.. John Roul-
stone, of Boston, son of Colonel John
ing school sixty years ago. MARY"
Tyler, of Somerville, Mass.
THE Philadelphia Times is constrained
to give this information to an inquirtng
correspondent: ''It is not customary in
this country for "a young man, when in
troduced to a young lady, and she ex-
tends her hand, to kiss it.. The young
lady would be very likely to respond by
boxing the young mans ears.
RUSSIAN ladies, it is said, always wear
in winter time fur next to the skin, as in
consequence of the intense cold, no ordi-
nary merino or flannel is sufficient.
Lynx is most frequently used, and every
young Russian bride has one or two
undergarments in this fur, and then she
is considered set up in life.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
Movements OF the Stars.

Modern observations have shown that
the stars are not really fixed, but have
actual motions of their own through
space. This motion is SO slow that 1T
would require thousands of years to pro-
duce change perceptible to the naked
eye. AS general rule, the brightest
stars have the greatest proper motion.
As far as has vet been observed, these
motions take place in perfectly straight
lines; so that if the stars are moving IN
orbits they must be SO great that, with
one or two exceptions, no curvature has
been detected. Most astronomers think
that, from mere observation, there Is no
reason to believe that the stars are re-
volving in orbits around a common CEN
ter Dr. Madler, however, through an
examination of the proper motion Of
certain stars, came to the conclusion
that there was center around which
the stars revolved, and fixed upon Alcy-
one, the brightest star of the Pleiades,
as most probably that center. Others
have suggested the constellation of Per-
seus. Mr.. Hall, who has lately exam
ined this subject, holds that neither of
these positions will satisfy the necessary
conditions. After a consideration of
conditions dependent upon proper mo-
tions alone, he claims to have found two
points that give satisfactory results; one
in Andromeda, the other Numerically
opposite, in Hydra. Several circum-
stances were used by him for deciding
in which direction the center lies; one
of which was that if it be in the
direction of Hydra, there would have to
be great central mass around which
the stars revolved. As there is no WIS.,
ible center, and no clustering of stars
around it, he inferred that the center is
toward Andromeda, and finally fixed its
position at one degree south of the sixth
magnitude Star 65, Piscium. There are
three small nebnl@ in the neighbor-
hood, but nothing to indicate the pres
ence of q great controlling mass Gin
cinndtj Commercial.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
A W5 fal window.

,r.s s.ainxa -, rv;nd,,.,,. - ,.,.
III :, cbrr3s6es. nd renresent;ne, t a A.
uSeu - f1,;aoe or n;ctnr.s srlT,, al al
Sls, S,t,r@s =, are usually mod. of co,oraJ I
eIass ,,,,f together IN lead sasbes and
6less The GLASS gives tha coIe,.s ..,I,' and
owes the dro.,;,,e- a,,d sla5 81,
.io eoTne of soiir native a,.+;sts % I. bava
ins. AZ tried 70 make ;,s,,ray,ne,ts m mn a. ~
Iece4'ay ;f,,I art a3d t Al
.is "od cam,iicated ncturee rec ore a,- ode o9I
i,trv entfrelr o',t f [rlsss a,,d
- tba 30 81 ns;rt rTr ~, L. L.
Eie1guI ,,,,,+ - -,so,'Io,e,,l
seaiiu 9a.sH - yaad9 = New Y yor, "Ti ar he 80
| Mllu2g oo
ei9en tor i church and "a =, +I,roa
= ee7,,asf II v;eSv &c G tl,a COO ~
Il =. .s.,' "a t6ro,,-.h tj,e w ,S;nd|,v
- Z; -,,resented as e hang
mo m, beforays. The center
cnrtain has fallen down. but those on the
side shnt ont tbe view save az the top.
where the rosv skv and the clouds NAV
he seen
The colors of the curtains are made nv
the hits of colored O,lass. and the figured
pattern is marked bv the leads or sash.
AT the bottom Is heavy frizstudded with
precious stones
In the center. where the curtain is
down. is the uicture. In the foreground
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
Second Life.

Men may inquire solemnly and with
many a doubt whether any other world
than this awaits the human race but,
once admitting a second life, the dark
cloud of punishment must be seen on
that remote horizon. There can be no
second life without n memory of the
events of this career. 1t Is the chain of
memory which makes a resurrection from
the dead possible. If person should
arise from the grave and have no con-
sciousness of ever having lived before,
that would be no second life only in
most trifiing and unjust sense. DIR. Ed
ward Beecher once published quite
volume to show that man is now in his
second world, and at death will pass to
his third and last. But if we have most
utterly forgotten any such first life this
is made our first existence by the very
fact of such forgetfulness. If we did all
live once before In this planet or In some
other planet, that fact has been forgot
ten with an amazing uniformity and
thoroughness. Memory makes this our
first life. A thousand volumes from all
the wise men of all nations could not IN
tervene, with their learning and elo-
quence, and oppose the simple evidence
of memory in this strange case. 1t is
your first world. Your memory can
pick up its twenty or thirty or forty its
sixty years, and can hold them all in or
grasp and say once lived one of those
summers and winters. We can all look
at that bunch of faded flowers and say l
saw them when they were fresh and
beautiful. This recollection IS, there
fore, that mental attribute which alone
Will make possible resurrection from
the dead. The only Immortality that
can be thought of IS. therefore, one
which can look back upon this first ex,
perience of being. Unless friends shall
know each other, there will be no meet
ing of friends, for take away the recognl-
ton and all else is empty. Thus the
future world awaits wholly upon mem
ory-the creator of Immortality. Prof.
DoUid sSsCin0.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
A Moorish Dust-Man,

Two things are 1e riqueir In all books
Of Eastern travel; first, the witty disser-
tations on small vernin, without which
no regular book of travels in any latitude
can be considered complete; second,
loathsome pictures of the general filth
ness of Eistern towns, where we are led
TO believe that sanitary precautions are
..hzclntes< unknown. VIII 4 be credited
that one & the first things TO catch my
eye. as / boxed down into the narrow
street of 1etuan from my bedroom win
dow that morning was a downright
Moorish cnst-man? There he was, i'll
flowing rbes and white turban, driving
his mule tefore him, with its capacious
basket paEiers. He lifts mp his voice in
dismal hoEls, till the maid-of-all-w
comes forh, bearing the daily ashes of
her housen q large wooden box, which
the Moor mpties into his mule paniers
with lofty dignity, and passes on to the
next door In fact, that peculiarly
excellent system known to modern Eng
lish sanitanans, if my memory serves
me rightly, as the Preston Pail Systems
is in full swing in Tetuan, and has been,
no doubt. for centuries. The dead dog,
and fostering vegetable refuse (in the
sacred interests of truth, l am forced to
make these unsavOry alluslOns), winch,
according to the best authorities, ought
to litter the narrow slit of street below,
are as non-existent as the sickening
odors which ought to, and undoubtedly
would, accompany them if there; and to
sum up. this most thoroughly Eastern
town of Tetuan is positively a place to
live and flourish IN, not merely hotbed
of plague and typhoid. Full of satisfac-
ton at this interesting discovery of the
Moorish dust-man, L was composing
myself to await further revelations of
Eastern life, when a heavy bundle of
fire-wood projected from the housetop
directly above me came whizzing past
my nose, and induced me to withdraw
hastily from the window. It was the
Jewish handmaiden sending down a
mornings supply of fuel to Juanita, the
cook, who stood expectant below at the
house door. Temple Bar.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
an incident of The blockade.

a correspondent OF tLc DOStOu @1pttf-
tiSer, discussing the subject of color
blindness. relates the following as coming
under his own experience when en-
ployed in the blockade of the port of
Wilmington. North Carolina, during the
war of the rebellion: "The ships on
blockade duty got under way at sunset,
and at dark moved to their regular sta
tions. some going well in toward Fort
Caswel and others further off, keeping
under low steam and in a specified beat
To prevent as far as possible our own
ships from mistaking and firing into each
other, each supposing the other block
ade runner, as did happen more than
once, my own ship getting three 24-pound
shells from .one of our own vessels,
system of challenging and answering sig
nails by showing or flashing ared or white
light was established. As we all knew
the station or beat of each ship, we could
usually tell with tolerable certainty what
vessel was sighted. But, to prevent ac-
cidents. it was the rule for any ship
doubling to challenge by showing the
challenging signal for that particular
night. If no answering light was shown,
or an incorrect one, the challenger had a
right to FIRE One night my own ship
was challenged. We were so near that
all hands on my vessel knew well what
ship made the challenge. We answered
by showing red light for three or four
seconds. Again we were challenged and
again we answered as before. All hands
were at quarters Almost Immediately
after our second answer the lock-string
of the 100-pounder rifle on board the
challenger. was pulled, the gun, pointed
directly at my ship. happily missing fire.
Before the gun could be reprimed we
were made out, and no harm done. The
next day an interview was had with the
commander of the challenging ship, and
he was informed by me that his chal-
lenges were correctly answered, my.
self seeing it done Why our answers
were not seen by his ship could not be
made out. He informed me, however,
that he had been many months in com
mand of his ship, and never before had
that gun missed fire. "
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-03
Sending Sound by Light.

We stated recently that Prof. Loomis
has been experimenting with encourg-
ing success on the feasibility of dispens-
ing with wires in telegraphing by bringing
into service an electric current which,
he assumes. circulates constantly In the
upper air, and making it the agency for
transmitting messages from one point to
another. 1t seems, now, that telegraph
ing is not the only business that asplres
TO get rid of the cost and lncumbrance OF
wires. DIR. Graham Bell, inventor OF
the Bell telephone, proposes to dispense
with them also, and use light lnstead,
claiming that a strong ray OF light
between stations will do the work quite
as well, and carry the sound from point
to point with perfect accuracy. There
is n thin mirror called transmitter,
which, when spoken against, by its dis
turbance. causes variation in the beams
of light which it reflects, and these rays,
collected in a parabolic reflector, have
the strange power of reproducing the
words spoken against the mirror. Words
have been accurately transmitted dis
tance of 700 feet, and it is believed that
when the process shall have been per-
/ fected. this distance will be greatly pro-
/ loneed. so as to make the photophone,
4 as It is called, a serviceable, practical
instrument. 4 curious fact in connec-
tion with these experiments for making
rays of light swift-winged messengers for
bearing words from a speaker to hearer
SO far apart as to be invisible, is that
/ some substances interposed between the
points intercept the ray, while others DO
not The human hand ef1ectuaily cuts
off communication, but the ray by some
means manages to trasmit its power and
the words with it through Opaque dead
substances. If these experiments shall
result in complete success, we shall have
new wonders in the art OF transmitting
sound and signs. Light Is cheap, ana
the upper air electric current, whose
existence is assumed, will cost only the
means of reaching it; and if these two
agents shall prove as available as the
experiments promise, three-fourths the
expense of telegraphing and telephoning
will be saved.-.N Louis hepuotscdn.