davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20
Anne met the young master of the

Anne met the young master of the
house.
"The tempting reward offered for
the recovery of Mrs. Dorman's Dis-
monds induced me to come here as her
housekeeper," she explained. 81 had
an inexplicable feeling that 1 might
find tine missing jewels. l consulted
no memo n advised me. L was
really ashamed of my project that L
knew was quixotic, If not impractics
bic, and q failure would have made me
ridiculous. Shortly after coming to
Mrs. Horman, / heard that she had
latterly been haunted by an excessive
and increasing fear of being robbed I;
1 learned, too, that she had only re-
Gently manifested somnambulic snyp-
toms. The truth came to me as an in
~spiration, but only by merest accident,
and only this morning, while | was
EXPLORING for gentian that l did not
find, did 1 espy the tiny, suggestive
mound of loose, dying moss through
which | saw a single spark of some
thing shining ike a glowworm. so l
waited and watched. hoping she would
visit her buried treasure just as did.
The discovery was very simple, and
is now clear to you all.n
"And 10Y you have won the re
ward you will leave US, 1 suppose?"
he observed, soberly.
Eyes" she bravely assented.
"Oh, Anne, if 1 could only persuade
you to stayp' he responded quickly
and imploringly. "Do you feel 1 a n
not make you happy wife?"
ut is not that" she said, with the
frank, serious manner that had always
SO pleased him. at is that l could not
make you a happy husband. Do he
reasonable, Mr.. DoTman, for you must
be well aware that | am not at ELL the
sort of person whom you ought to
marry. And, beside" she added,
with a quaint little laugh, ~ have a
profession now, AMI 1 must not wed
one whoknowsn3 thing of the Instincts
and requirements Of my calling"
The handsome young fellow was
someehat agitated by her speech
which he considered dar Dg and sig
nificant.
"Slreiy, my dear Anue,p he faltrr-
ed. "yon do not v ish to be roma q pro-
fessional detective? nor would youth
innate that you have an sff ction for
Louis D'Razeliy who so uniustly
accused you, and who would willingly
have.plsced you in custody"
my friend" she replied, sweetly, a
tear sparkling in each large eye, and
a lovely new color on each soft cheek,
1--WE have just now had an understand
ing-Mr. D Razely andJ.s Heregrets
his mistake, and certainly he is not SO
blameaple when he would only have
acted conscientiously.u
"Yours is the logic of love, Anna"
the yeupg man answered dryly. "And
who may understand the heart Of q,
woman? You will be Louis's wife one
of these days" 400
His prediction was verified. And SO
it happened that a very happy and
satisfactory marriage was affected by
the incident of Mrs. Dorman's Miss
ing Jewels.
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20
The Little One's Grave.

In the spring of 1869, a little girl
died of consumption in Frederick City,
Md, see1 s years and 8 months. A
few days before she died she called her
father to her bedside and said "papa,
when 1 die don't bury me deep-not
more than 70 Deep" holding out her
tender and emanciated arm and
measuring from her shoulder out,
Oh, it's so hard to be put do Sn 81 deep
in the cold, damp ground, and please
don't place sny marble slab on my
grave, 1t Will lie so dark under it;
and il will press SO heavily upon my
little breast. Sod my grave nicely,
plant a tree at its head, SO hat the
wild birds can gather in its branches
and sing for me-" After a pause she
continued, 'Buti it seems TO me that l
W, uld rather have our " birds sing
for me than the wild birds. Couldn't
you let brother Willie and sister
Emma bring our cage of little birds
out to the cemetery every Sunday
morning and leave them TO sing for
nue. all day? When you are all at
church in town it won't seem so lone
some out by myself" A few days
after this Anna died, and her atfec-
tionate parents did everything as she
requested. She was buried shallow,
the grave nicely sodded and q tree
planted at its head. And still every
Sunday morning Willie and Emma
can be seen going out To the cemetery
with a cage of little birds to sing ut
Annals grave.
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20
Personal and Literary.

There are said to be seventy-nine
American composers at work on comic
operas.
Mr.. Whittier, the poet, says he re-
ceives 200 applications for his auto
graph in the course of year.
It is said that no writer save Shake
speare has furnished so much work for
critics and commentators as Cor
vantes.
A hook of Autographed autumn
leaves is on its way through the press
in England, a thing when it is said
has never occurred before.
DR.. Oliver Wendell Holmes is Of the
same age as Me-. Tennyson-seventy-
two. Like the poet laureate, DIR
Holmes bears his age wonderfully
well.
A recent visitor at Liberty Hal
Ga, found Alexander II. Stephens ii
almost perfect health for one so deli
cate. and hard at work upon his new
book.
The Schiller prize Is one that /
offered in Germany for the best new
drama in the language of that countr.
A commission Of prominent literary
men, that assembled in Berlin for tn,
consideration of productions compel
ing for the prize, has decided tina
nonei is good enough this year to de
serve 1t,
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20
"Digitated Stockings" are Dis
cussed in England.

They occupy a conspicuous place in
''the clothes of the future,n and the
innovation has been cordially well
coined in many quarters. A medical
contemporary thus gravely pro-
nounces in their favor: They would
be more comfortable, more healthy
giving better play to the foot and Sc
curing increased breadth and space
for expansion across the base of the
toes" All this is very well, but the
universal undigitated stocking need
not fear its rival. 1t has long since
driven out of the field the ancient
stocking with a stall for the big toe (;
and if a two-toed stocking could not
hold its own, what chance Is there
that a five-toed innovation will make
much way? The toes are already
cramped in the modern boot, and
they would be squeezed still tighter if
d~igitation is to prevail, for there is no
hope that fashion will prescribe broad
toed boots merely to make room for
the stocking of the future. Besides,
busy people perhaps find life short
enough already without adding to the
demands upon their time that of in
sorting each toe in a separate stall.
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20
Greek Fire.

Z To- .NLNNNI~I
Greek fire''-or, u 1t is sometimes
called "Saracen fire was the most
important war material men had be-
fore the invention of gunpowder.
Twice the city of Constantinople was
saved by the use of 1t. IT is said to
have been invented by a Syrian, who,
deserving from the service Of the
ealiph, revealed his secret to the en-
peror. The ingredients, if not also
the mode of dsrting the fire, were
kept a secret for upwards of 400 years,
and 1t is quite uncertain now what
were actually the component parts of
that which, Joinville says, ''came
flying through the air like a winged
longtailed dragon. about the thickness
Of a hogshead, with the report of thun-
der and the velocity of lightning and
the darkness of the night was dis
PEELED by this deadly illumination"
1t Is generally considered, however,
that 1.-THE fire. was composed of
naptha, mingled. in certain proper
lions, now unknown, with sulphur,
and with pitch obtained from ever
tgreen fir. This mixture, ignited and
blown or pumped through long tubes
of copper, which were mounted in
the prows of galleys, and fancifally
Shaped into the form of monsters,
produced a thick smoke with a loud
ex plosion, and a flame, fierce and OBJ
stinate, which no amount of water
could extinguish. When used for the
defense of walls, it was poured in large
boilers from the ramparts, or was
hurled on javelirs by means of tow
which had previously been stepped in
ipfiammable material. Against it the
bravest soldiers went in vain their i'm
ANIMATION recoiled from a thing 80
subtle and terrible. Horses fled from
1t in dire fright; ships were burnt by
1t; there was no way of standing
against it.
The Greek emperors, sensible OF thu
enormous advantage which an of
fensive weapon of such a kind eavt
them, invested it with a m~ysterioui
history, and appealed TO the supersti
ton OF their subjects for the pres
ervation of the secret of the man
ufacture. They said that an ange
had revealed the composition of Greel
fire to the first Constantine, for tn
II
express purpose of maintaining tn
superiority of the empire over III
bar bariAns; and that whoever be
trayed the secret to foreigners woul'
incur not only the penalty of treasol
and sacrilege, but the special ven
geance of the Almighty. In tn
twelfth century, however, we find
used by the Mahcmstans in thei
wars with the Christians, and from
that time it came into pretty geners
use, until the invention of gunpowde
put 1t out of date, and caused AN entir
! revolution in the art of war.
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20
Aunt Anarky on Manners"

"Lawsy mussy! pears to me like all
de nice ole fo'-de-wah manners is done
died out! Chillun nowadays amt got
no mannuz, an bout haaf de grown
cullud folkses dat ONE long looks
like dey's clean furgot what little
mannuz dey ever knowed. En- since
dat ole new railroads com long things
is got wuss IN wuss ev'body goes
tearin' long fasser'n a harrykin, Std
der stoppin' to say howdy IAN change
satellites. Even ole Uncle Je'y's
Abe's got 80 now he can't stop like
he use ter an ak bout my roomytiz
nor tell how his pappy's boss dat fell
in de gully an got cruppled's foot's
Citing on, nor talk bout 'spennces
an ~confunce an de salvation of his
soul an de pleadin' tums er mussy.
de very spit of his pappy, but he's
got mo- fool notions in his haid dan
two years ham runnin's piowin' III
git out. 'Stidder stoppiE' to talk when
[ M, ct him, he ups his fust fingers an
pints to his cap, an den on he goes
feaser'n if de ole tAbssseer was after
him AM me use ter gin him catnip
tea fur de liver, am he pintin' ct dat
ole cap er his'n like nobody eve had
a seccun'-han' collidge cap befo' :"
Law" chimed in Miss Phrony,
who rightly thought the bright young
messenger quite a "likely" fellow,
ABE was makin',t OF the militerry
salute. He learnt town manners from
them kiddettes from Baton Ruche."
"Militery s'lute? Well he neen't
come miltery s'lutin' 'roun' mel" 1
like rele myself"
"What you call rele manners? Stop
PIN i'll de road on de way from de
spring, baluncin' a piggin of water
on yo' head an lettin' de grass grow
inner yo' foots while youse talkin
bout so 'ligion an yo' culluds an
yo' possums an yo' misty in de
ches' ?''
mo; what I call rele mannuz-de
kline er mannuz 'spectable culIud
folks on big plantations TO- de war
use ter have-is, when you sees
'nuther cullud pusson you amt see
lately, is to make a nice, p'lite curchy,
an say, Good mawnin' Brur Book
er'-or Sis Tidy 'chever it is-'how
does yo' seem to sagasbiate?' Den, il
she's got any p'liteness bout her,
she'll 'spon' back an say, 'l'm very
serrennibIe 'cording to my consillsri-
ties, Sister Jyars.' OATS what 1 calls
mannuz as is mannuH! But de ole
timey darkeys Is gittin' mighty scace;
an 'twon't be long-'twon't be long
TO dem an DER fine mannuz is all
passed away"
A favorite plantation expression meaning
exact image.
t"Adversary, - i. e., his Satanic highness.
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20
"wEAvIEG TIL WEB"

II t8 us #tfH
"rbis morn 1 win weave my web" she said
And she stood by her loom In the rosy light
And her young eyes, hopefully glad and clear
Followed sfsr, the swallows iii hit.
".ss soon as the days nrst tasks are done;
While yet I am fresh and strong" said she
II Will hasten TO weave the beautsfulweb
Whose pattern is known TO none bat mel
~ vii weave it nre, { will weave it fair,
And ALL how the coiofs VIII glovl' shs
said;
$50 fadeless and strong will i weave my weor
That perhaps 1t will live after | am dead"
But the morning hours sped on apace,
The air grew sweet with the breath of June,
And young Love hid by the waiting loom,
Tsngling the threads as she hummed y tune.
"Ahi life is SO rich and full, she cried,
And morn Ia short, though the days are
long
This noon I will weave my beautiful web;
will weave IL carefully. nns and strong"
But the sun rode high in the cloudless sky;
The burden and heat Of the day she bore;
And hither and thither she came and went,
While the loom stood still as IT stood befor Q.
A I life is too busy at noon, ;, shes said:
my web must wait TIL the evsntide,
Till the common work of day is done,
And my heart grows calm in the silence
wide"
So one by one the hours passed on,
Till the creepi1 & shadows had longer grown
TIL the house was still, and the breezes slept.
And the singing birds TO their nests had
flown.
"And now I win weave my web" she said,
AS she turned to her loom ere set of sum-,
And laid her hand on the shining threads
TO set them in order, one by one.
But bard was tired and heart was weak;
az am not as strong as I was" sigheo she,
sAnd the pattern Is blurred, and the colors
rare,
And not so bright or 30 fair to seel
81 must wait, L think, TIL another morn;
l must go to my rest with my work undone,
1t is growing too dark to weave she cried,
As lower and lower sank the sun,
She dropped the shuttle, the loom stood still;
The weaver slept in the twilight gray.
Dear heartl will she weave her beautiful web
In the golden Light ola longer dayf
JULIA c. DoRR.
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20
A Melodic Cat.

I knew a cat, many years ago-a
black Tom-rather heavy and dull in
his way, for the most part, but with
two qualities very strongly marked
love for music and affectionateness.
He knew good music from bad per-
fectly well, would sit on the step of q
piano with great content and puIrinp,
so long as a capable performer was
playing, and if the execution were
very good indeed would testify his
delight by Hrching his tail, walking
across the keys, and sitting down in
the performers LAP. On the other
hand, bad playing always drove him
away, and | remember there was n
member of the family whose perfor-
manc sent him off in disgust. So
much for the artistic side of his tenn
permanent. Now for the affections.
His mother was always very fond Of
her kittens, and used to sit owe them
very closely during the first early
weeks of their lives-too closely, her
son thought, afterhe grew old enough
to consider about things. So | have
more than once seen him go up to her,
as she nestled ovtr the young ones in
the basket, and al psrently whisper
something whereupon she would
get up, stretch herself, and go into the
garden for a little fresh air, while he
got into her pace ana lay over the
kittens to keep them warm till che
came back, when he resigned his
charge to her again. We regret to
say that he died still a comparatively
young cat of distemper.
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20
Anecdotes of Dunn As.

A Partisan bailif dying in extreme
poverty, some of his friends organized
a subscription to defray the expenses
of his interment, and one of them,
who knew Dumas intimately, solicit
ed a contribution. The novelist, with
out questioning the applicant as tothe
destination of the money, Immediately
gave him a louis on which the other
observed that the sum collected would
now be sufficient to insure poor F
a decent burial. "Ah," said Dumas,
lis that what you want it for, to bury
q bailiff? Why didn't you say so
before? Take another louis while
you are about it, and bury two"
When his drama Of "Keann was pro-
duced at the Varieties it was specially
agreed between him and the manager,
Dartois, that if the receipts of the first
thirty performances should attain a
total of go, 000f. Dumas was TO have
2000f. for his share; but that If even Ii
sou were wanting to complete the
sum he should receive nothing. As,
however, the first Twenty-Five nights
bad brought In no less thsn 81, 999f.,
the dramatist felt tolerably sure OF
touching the promised ''gratif cation,'
and toward 9c'clock on the following
evening strolled into the managers
private 20 at the theatre, where, to
-
his infinite surprise ana disappoint-
ment, he learned that between the
actual ~totality of the receipts and the
ence, not in his favor, of 7 francs. lex
tremely sorry, my dear Dumas said,
Dartois, but you know our agreement,
and" "Nota word more y interrupt
ed the author of "Kean - st can't
be helped. only" he continued,
"it rather Inconvenience me just now
for I had counted on the 1000 francs,
and not an hour ago lent a friend the
last louis / had in my pocket" as
that all p" said The manager, opening
his cash-box stake what you want"
Twenty francs viii be quite enough"
replied Dumss, and, helping himself
to the sum in question, strolled out of
the room as leisuTely as he had enteled
it, A quarter of an hour later three
more stalls bad been taken, and the
receipts of the thirty nights thereby
raised to 80, 1905 francs, the authors
ingenuity having hit upon the very
original plan of securing his prime
with the managers own money.
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20
A Haunted Express Car.

Express managers say that Wells,
Fargo & Co.'s express a No. 5,
which runs between San Francisco
and Ogden, is haunted. They have
been so much annoyed by the pranks
Of a malignant ghost that they were
greatly relieved when the car was re-
Gently sent to Sacramento to be rebuilt,
making no doubt that the evil spirit
would be exercised. In this they are
disappointed, for the messenger who
accompanied the car upen its first run
after the repairs were completed, was
put to a deal of trouble by the invisi-
BILE tormentor. The ghost came in
and tumbled the boxes of freight
about, tolled bells, and made sweet
music, and called the messenger by
name. The last trip the "a made
before it was taken from the track,
the messenger heard strange noises on
the roof. His thoughts were Oh his
duty, and he came to the conclusion
that robbers were awaiting an oppor-
tunity to enter the Cal. He cautiously
opened the door and took a look at
both ends, but found everything
quiet. He could see nothing unusual,
and returned, closed the door, and
was walking back to the mailing table,
when down came a box of cooked
shrimps aud q band box. The freight
was ratified about, and finally left
where it was originally. The mysteri-
Gus din was continued until the train
was nearing Terrace STATEN, in the
eastern part of the state, and the mes
senger had about made up his mind
to take to the ssge brush, when all
was still again. On one occasion,
when a corpse was in transit, the head
and trunk of a mans body was seen
to rise up from the coffin, take good
look around the car, calling the mes
senger by name, and then vanish.
The car was in the train several years
ago when an accident occurred, Just
west of Trpckee, killing Conductor
Marshall and an express messenger.
aud since that time these mysterious
noises have been frequent.
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20
Why the Prairies are Treeiess.

MI. L. f. Ward gives in the Kan
sos city RevieW some reason why the
Western plains are destitute of forests.
Where the annual rainfall exceeds.
twenty-f9ur inches, the absence of for
ests is undoubtedly due to the repeated
burnines which take place on the
prairies from human agency. Where
the annual rainfall is below twenty, or
perhaps twenty-four, inches, there
can be no growth of forests, and this is
the true cause of the absence of trees
on the great plains. But this does
not prevent the existence in arid re-
gions of certain specialized types of
al borescept vegetation. The sage
brush that covers the dreary wastes of
the Rocky Mountain region, the
Laramie plains, the Bitter Creek
valley, and such vast areas of the
| West, while in its botanical characters
it Is little more than an overgrown
weed is to all intents and purposes a
tree, and often attaios a great age. The
| region IL occupies is even more grid
than the great plains, yet no fires &C.
eur and no forests grow. In the
nearly ~rainless areas of Arizona,
Southern Utah ard New Mexico, and
stretching eastward into Texas. there
occur a humber Of al barescent forms,
the creosote bush IL area Msxicana),
the mesquit (Prosopis julihors), vari-
GUS acscias and mimosas, and one
yucca ~. brevifolis). together with
the tree cactus (Cereus gigsnteus),
These grow scattered at great distan'
ces from each other and rarely from
thickets Or groves. Why no such
characteristic species are found occu'
pyIng the great plains is not known
and it is probably a mere accident thai
none happen to exist, adapted both t
their tenn peratures and their arid con
dition. Did any such exist, Their,
seems no reaso why they might no
thrive as well as the sage brush furthel
west or the mesquit of the South.
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20

mented, and his millionaire body has
not found a resting place known to
the public.
Judge Hilton, who was his legal ad.
wiser and friend, succeed to a large
portion of his princely fortune and
business, and Notwithstanding his
handsome remembrance of Hilton in
his will, he never had the soul to give
his patron and friends bones a rest
ing place. To-day the great house Of
Stewart & Co. retires from business for
the want of patronage.
If Edwin Forrest, the great actor,
and his friend, Colonel Forney, were
alive to-day, with what a shout Of de-
light they would receive the news of
II lton's failure.
The Penn's Grove record., 1882-05-20
The Cross Mark.

The mark which persons who are
unable to write are required to make
instead of their signature is in the
form of a cross, and this practice
having formerly been followed by
kings and mobiles, is Constantly re-
ferred to as an instance of the deplor-
able ignorance of ancient times, This
signature is not, however, inyariable
proof Of such ignorance. Anciently,
the use of this mark was not confined
TO illiterate persons; for among the
Saxons the mark of the cross, as an
~attestation of, the good faith of the
person signing, was required TO be at
tached to the signature of those who
could write, as well as to stand in the
signature of those who could mot
write. In those times, if a man could
write, or even read, his knowledge
was considered proof positive that he
was in holy orders. The word clericus,
or clerk, was Synonymous with pen
man, and the laity, or people who
were not clerks, did not feel any ur-
gent necessity for the use of letters.
The ancient vuse of the ross was,
therefore, universal alike by those
who could and by those who could
not write. 1t was, indeed, the symbol
of an oath from its early associations
and generally the mark. On this
account MI. Charles Knight, in his
notes in the pictorial Shakespeare"
explains the expression of sGod save
the markw a a form Of ejaculation
approaching TO the character of an
oath. The. phrase occurs three or
more times in the plays of Shake
speare, but, for a long time was left by
the commentators in its original OBJ
scurity, m