davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24
ItaIy,s queen.

Marguerite has great passion for the
jewel which her name signifies. In all
her pictures she is almost covered with
pearls. The famous collier de la Refine,
which she wears on almost all occasions,
is composed of seven rows of immense
pearls, all of one size and of matchless
beauty; the clasp IS very large dia-
mond. In her ears she has pearl PEN
dants fully two inches long, with dia-
mond solitaire.
1t would take an Italians enthusiastic
pen to describe the Queen herself. 1t Is
not an exaggeratiOn to say that she IS
the idol of her subjects. There is a
pretty story ahoat, which, If we lived IN
the middle ages, would certainly become
a beautiful legend In the spring time
her subjects go to the green fields to
pluck marguerite, and pull its petals
one by one saying "Tu m'almes un
peu, boaucoup passionnement they do
not add the 81 Pas du tout for fear the
last petal will fall with those last cruel
words. She has one of the most win
ming and sympathetic OF faces. She is a
blonde, has large, blue eyes, a lovely
mouth, and, without the aid OF art, has
a fair, fresh complexion. She Is not at
all an insipId blonde she has character
in her face, tempered with n gentle and
lively expression. The Italians call her
"La Geutilezza Italiana." She is 80,
perhaps little over, but does not look
over %. Royalty does not seem to weigh
very heavy on her mind, and she seems
to have changed the traditional stately,
queenly AIR OF bygone Queens for the
happy, cordial, atfable LOOK of happy
and beautiful woman securely reposing
in the love of her subjects.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24
Almost Incredible Distance Of the
Stars.

1t would take a ray of light travelling
at the rate of 1856, 600 miles per second
three years and eight months to go TO
the nearest fixed star. In order that
the mind may be less confused IN the
midst of these thousands of sparkling
points it has been agreed from the high
est antiquity to class the stars according
to their apparent brightness. The
brightest stars have been called stars OF
the first order or magnitude, although
this term does not imply anything rela-
tive to the actual size or brightness OF
the stars; those which follow, still In
the order of their apparent brightness,
have been called stars of the second
magnitude; then comes those OF the
third, fourth, and fifth magnitude. ac-
cording as they appear smaller; stars OF
the sixth magnitude are the last stars
visible to the naked eye.
IL is generally thought that the
brightest are the nearest, though this Is
not always so. There are said TO be be-
tween 5000 and 6, 900 stars visible to the
naked eye But when our feeble sight
gives way, the telescope, that giant eye
which increases, from century to century,
piercing the depths of the heavens, con-
stantly discovers new stars. After the
sixth magnitude bn0 HI6b BidooSc CrOolON
the seventh. They then reached the
eighth, the ninth. 1t is thus that thous-
ands have increased to tens of thousands,
and that tens of thousands have become
hundreds of thousands. More perfect
instruments have cleared those distances,
and have found stars of the tenth and
eleventh magnitudes. From thus period
they began to count by millions. The
number Of the stars of the twelfth magnl-
tude is $3.50, 900; added to the eleven
preceding magnitudes, the total exceeds
fourteen millions. By the aid of still
greater magnifying power these limits
are again surpassed.
At the present time the total number
of stars. from the first to the thlr-
teenth magnitude, inclusive, is calcu-
lated at 43, 900, 600. The sky is truly
transformed. In the field of the tele
scope neither consultations nor divisions
are distinguished; but fine dust shines
/ in the place where the eye, left to ltf
own power, only sees darkness, on which
stand out two or three stars. In pro
portion as the wonderful discoveries N
optics will increase the visual power, Al
regions of the sky will be covered wltF
this fine golden sand.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24
Fun in the Senate.

The silence of the Senate Chamber
was suddenly broken by fowery Florida,
who cried out:
81 cal the Senate to order"
"Thafs Plumb good one, " remarked
bleeding Kansas.
"In enter it in my Kel logg, sang
out Louisiana, the female privateer.
That's Ferry good, responded sturdy
Michigan.
"Pii give him Garland, sang out
the Arkansas traveller.
"Oh, pull down your Vest, cried
merry Missouri.
"Halefellow well met, shake, shouted
Maine.
Lamar, aren't these folks cranky"
simpered Mississippi
Don't Teller-don't Teller :" shouted
&C s4he mountain climber.
~ eance the proposition that
Ransom is necessary" said old tar heel
North Carolina.
"A Butler is a good thing TO have in
the house, " suggested aristocratic South
Carolina.
ooh, Pugh p sneered Alabama.
81 prefer Miller" volunteered
golden-haired California
"Ive got Hill that's hard to climb,
boasted gasconading Georgia.
81 can Walker logr yelled Arkansas
the toothpick- wielder.
Il can Groome him, if am Gormanp
cried My Maryland
"If l can't Logan, or I'm a sucker,
shouted Stalwart Illinois.
Window upl Window upI" vocif-
Grated Vermont, the Green Mountain
boy.
81 Dawes-n't interfere" explained
cautious Massachusetts,.
"Oh, Frye, Frye exclaimed Maine
in deprecatory tones, that sent them into
a Brown study.
"Pll sharpen your wits on Malone, >"
said readjusted Virginia.
Just then Texas, fearing Hoar frost,
quietly put some Coke on the fire to
produce a Maxey-mum of heat, thinking
no one was looking, but Wisconsin cried
out exultingly:
''I Sawyer, L Sawyer"
That's not Fair. expostulated silver
top Nevada.
Hawley," chimed in steady going
! Connecticut.
s'If it is / don't Se-well," joined in
sandy-headed New Jersey.
! "Now you've Don it, put IN Penn
sylvania, protectingly.
'Let's all Wade in, +" shouted irascible
! South Carolina.
The confusion began to Grover-y great
when q great Blair from the White
Hills recalled them to a proper sense of
their Senatorial dignity just as Kentucky
was about to Beck-on to Rhode Island
for game of Anthony over, and silence
once more brooded over the scene
Washington Republic.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24
Had No Fun in Him,

spe of the members of the Methodist
difference held in Detroit was ont for
q sk>FA-~at an early hour one morning,
anS encountered strapping big fellow,
WHY was drawing wagon to q black
srs@ shop.
..fCatch hold here and help me down
to the shop with this wagon, and I'll
buy the whisky" called the big fellow.
g | never drink, solemnly replied the
good man.
Well, you can take cigar"
never smoke"
The man dropped the wagen-tongue,
looked hard at the member, and asked ::
Don't you chew? ?"
No, sir" was the decided reply.
You must get mighty lonesome, I"
unused the teamster.
81 guess I'm all right, I feel first
rate"
"I'll bet you even that can lay you
on your back" remarked the teamster.
never bet" replied the clergyman.
Come, now, let's warm up a. little. "
II am in hurry"
'tWen, let's take each other down for
fun, then. You are as big as / am, and
I'll give you the under hold"
81 never have fun,'' solemnly replied
themember.
"Well. I'm. going to tackle you, any
way. Here we 60"
The teamster slid up and endeavored
to get backhold, but he had only just
commenced his fun, when he was lifted
clear off the grass and slammed against
tree-box with such force that he gasped
half dozen times before he could catch
his breath.
Now, you keep away from me,
exclaimed the minister, picking up his
cane.
BUST me if 1 don't" replied the
teamster, as he edged off.
What's the use of lying and saving
that you didn't have any fun in you
when you are chuck full of it? You
wanted to break my back, didn't you"
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24
A Hnsnital for Animals.

The most curious of all the institutions
of Bombay is the hospital which the
Hindoos have established for animals.
Within the inclosure of several acres.
located in one of the densest quarters of
the CITY, the sick and manned of all do
mestic species are collected in sheds and
stables for treatment or rest. Every morn
ino early wagons are sent throughout
the city to gather the waits and outcasts,
that nothing with life may be destroyed,
in violation of the Vedic law. Birds, as
we'll as beasts, are afforded shelter, not
excluding repulsive vultures and the
scayenQer crows. Dogs in every stage
of scuryy. full of loathsome sores, barked
and howied in distracting chorus as we
passed their crowded cages. Cows and
buffaloes of all sizes, old or diseased.
and dilapidated, bony horses, stood or
law in melancholy silence. as if patiently
awaiting the relief of death. These.
with helpless, deserted kittens, that must
not be drowned chickens with spots
bare of feathers: monkeys scratching
and tearing at their troubled hides. and
perfumes not to be described, will afford
some conception of this strange asylum.
From a Bombay Letter.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24
Strong g-uinded Women Among tie
EsauimnuX.

A young woman, DIR. Dali tells us,
really quite fine looking, and of remark
ably good physique and mental capac-
ity, was observed to hold herself aloof
from the young men of the tribe IN an
unusual manner. Inquiry, first of 9th
ers, afterward of herself, brought out
the following reasons for the eccentric
ity. In effect she said she was as strong
as any of the young men; not one of
them had ever been able to conquer her
in wrestling or other athletic exercises.
though it had more than o1ce been
tried, sometimes by surprise and with
odds against her. She could shoot and
hunt deer as well as any of them, and
make and set snares and nets. She had
her own gun, bought from the pro-
ceeds of her trapping. She despised
marriage, and did not desire to do the
work of n wife; but preferred the work
which custom among the Esquimaux al
lots to .he men. In short, she was a
woman's rights female of the most
advanced type. When winter came, hav-
ing made a convert of less athletic
damsel, the two set to work with walrus
tusk picks, and dug the excavation IN
which they erected their own house,
winch was of the usual type of Esqui-
maux houses-walled and rooted with
driftwood covered with turf. 1t was,
however, as. an additional defense
against unwished-for. prowling males,
divided into two rooms with a very small
and narrow door between them, next
which lay some handy billets of wood,
to crack the sconce of a possible in
truder. Here our two amszons lived,
traded and carried on their affairs in
defiance of communal bends and public
sentiment. The latter seemed to be
composed half of disapprobation and
half of envious admiration; while all the
young fellows in the village busted
themselves in concocting plans against
the enterprising pair. These were too
fully OH the alert to be surprised, and
all efforts against their peace were fruit
less. When the deer hunting season
came, the two set of to the mountains !;
aud no sooner had they departed than
disappointed lovers, and outraged
public sentiment" exemplified in mob,
reduced their winter quarters to shape
less ruin. So far as DR.. DalPs informa-
,tion goes, the following year the ladies
returned to the ordinary ways of the
world, and gave up the unequal contest
against tyrannical public opinion. =
Chambers Journal
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24
Az THE MESS TABLE.
BY GEORGE T. LAx1sAS.

At the mess table brooded silence,
And the Gre nickered low,
And the guests seemed thinking sadly
OF home and long ago;
And the General bade the Captain,
Bearded and bronzed and hale,
sCome. give one Of your stories,
And the Captain told this tale:
1.-THE PHANTOM OF THE PEcos
IL was a sultry summer, some twenty years ago,
When the emigrant train left Texas, bound for New
strong men and gentle women threesoors were in
And nigh as many children left wee footprints in the
Northward they Travelled slowly, and bitter was the
The s1D bali Of fre, in the braEen heaven glowed
The sands were like red plowshares beneath q mar
Ana the thorny spikes of cactus droOped, shriveled
in the heat
There was no wind till evening, and then it,
Like that was Of the angel that bears the brand Of
And the moon, hery crescent, swconed N the s.
As II had been the redeemed blade of his balefui
cimetar-
"And as they travelled nOrtAwArd within its sandy
The river shrank away from them as If with guilty
And narrower grew the water, and shallower, nnnl
The river had dwindied to a creek, the creek 70
muddy rtl.
"lhen here and there lAnguid pool in thoso &c
And then the river-be,I was naught but rocks and
arid sands,
was bitter as that on seaside rocks when the tide is
at the neap.
And as into the ninty earth the treaeherous river
Fewer the following footprints upon its burning
Twenty beheld the red sun rise, fifteen tagged faint
And only ten went into camp under TIE luEid
moon.
And the ten that staggered on were eight, were ye'
One man was lett Of the engrant train that short
weeks ago
Had left the Texan valley bound for New Mexico.
q. And as he tottered northward across the endless
sands.
His biood-shot eyes zHu shading with thin and
sudden from out tie desert, up to the cloudsss
skies,
1T was the watery mirage. There simmer to his
Fleecy cascades down falling and lakes OF deepest
But though he strains to reach them, and desperate
Ever step beyond hin, the vision is withdrawn.
Ever before him hoverr and seems to bar the WY,
The Phantom of the Pecos, cloud Of dusty gray;
Its moeking eyes glare him, and through the fer
vid air
despair.
'.The dying wanderer listens the Phantom speak his
Hame, ~
And moves his cracking lips in vain piteous
PRAYER toframe; --.-----------...s.--s-e
And the awful vision mutters the salt sand he
sinks,
Don't you think that it's long time-a long time
between drinks2iH
The General started from his chair
As he had felt a wound.
"Captain,r y he said, " you're right, swear
Send the decanter round"
-HdTper's Adgdzfne
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24
Good Humor.

Surely nothing can be more unreason-
able than to lose the will to please, when
we are conscious of the power, or show
more cruelty than to choose any kind of
influence before that of kindness and
good humor.
He that regards the welfare of others
should make his virtue approachable,
that it may be loved and copied; and he
that considers the wants which every
man feels, or will feel, of external as
sistance, must rather wish to be sur
rounded by those that love him, than
those that admire his excellencies or
solicit his favors for admiration ceases
with novelty, and interest gains its end
and retires.
A man whose great qualities want the
ornament of superficial attractions, is
like naked mountain with mines OF
gold, which will be frequented only till
the treasure is exhausted. - Samuel
johnson.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24
Good Taste Among the Mighty.

The more l think about the elephants,
the more wonderful they seem to be.
The great clumsy creatures are so very
knowing, so very loving, and SO like
human beings in many of their qualities.
They know their power well, and they
also know Just when they must not use
it. Deacon Green tells me that keepers
and trainers OF elephants often lie down
on the ground and let the huge fellows
step right over them and that they feel
perfectly safe in doing SO, because they
know the elephants will pick their way
carefully over the postrate forms, never
so much as touching them, still less
treading on them. Yet the mighty crea-
lures can brush a man out OF existence
as easily as a man can brush away f1y.
And what delicate tastes they have-de-
lighted, I'm told, with strawberries,
gum drops, or any little dainty of that
kind They are fond of bright colors,
too, and travellers tell wonderful tales OF
seeing elephants gather flowers with the
greatest care, and smell them, apparently
with the keenest pleasure.
1t is true they eat the flowers after
ward, but dear mel I've seen girls do the
same thingl Many time I've watched
a little lady pluck wild rose, look at 1t
a moment, sigh chow lovelyY then
open her pretty lips and swallow the
petals one by one
Why shouldn' an elephant?-Jack-in-
the Pulpit, 81. Nicholas.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24
Corni.n xvorlsinr-women.

Picking our way through the purplish
mud and stones below KaFn, we dis
covered a little old woman laboring over
pile of unmilled copper ore. We had
to look twice before we could assure our
selves of her sex not only was her
dress perplexing, but there was an I'M
reality and weirdness In her person.
She was very small, almost dwarfish,
with bent shoulders and wrinkled hands
and face her skin had the texture OF
parchment, and was curiously mottled
with blue her hair was thin and wiry.
She seemed very old. but her eyes had a
shrewd and penetrating Quickness, and
her movements were utterly without
decrepitude. Indeed, she applied her
self to her work with the willing vigor
of a strong young man, and the work
consisted of shoveling the heavy blocks
of ore into toasmall agonresting on tenn
porary tramway. Shovelful after shovel
full was thrown in with aneasy mus
cular swing, and with much more activ-
ity than the average "navvy" ever ex-
hibits. Her petticoats ended above the
ankle, and were stained with the hue of
the copper ore; her shapeless legs were
unified up in woolen wraps, and her
feet incased in substantial brogans. She
lWaSHOb apparently uHcOInlOItdDle UOu-
Ely, but her face had look of uncom-
planning suffering, of unalterable
gravity, of habituated sorrow
which had extinguished all pos
sibility of smile. Not un-
! derstanding a question which we put
to her, she used the words, please,
sir?"-a form of Interrogation which we
often heard in the neighborhood of Red
ruth. 'You seem to be old for such
hard work, we repeated. Deed, sir,
I don't know how old / am, but I've
young any longer, that's snre," she an
swered, in a clear voice, with scarcely
any accent. "Are you married." ''No,
sir; nobody would ever have me" she
continued. without relaxing from her
gravity or delaying her work for a
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24
Christmas ON Sunday.

There was in old England weather
prophet, some of whose representations
are among the Harleian manuscripts in
the British Museum. His prophecies
were of greater scope than those of
Vennor and Devoe, both in the periods
they covered and the subjects they treat
ed; but it may be a source of pain to our
prophets to learn that his name has not
endured with his works. Here is his
conjecture about a year, in the be-
ginning of which Christmas falls upon a
Sunday: = = - - - z
Jordinges, i warne you al beforne,
Yif that day that Cryste was borne
Falle uppon a Sunday
That winter shall be good parfay,
But CRETE windes aloft shalbe,
TIE sonier shalbe fsyfeand drye.Fs ~
BY kynde skylle, wythouten esse,
Throw all iondes shalbe peas.
And good TYNE all thyngs to don,
But he that steaIeth he shallbe fownde sone.
What chylde that day borne be
great lord he shal be.
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24

moment nobody would ever have me
or go WIN me, as was always subject
to fits-terrible they are. 1 still have
'em once or. twice a week som etimes.
always with. a change IN the moon.'
"How doyou account for it?" "Why.
before my twentyfourth year 1 was in
the service OF lady, who threw me
down stays, and that changed my blood;
so, when he moon changes, I have the
fits. Llotle can be done for them when
the bloodS changed. This superstition
was masEer of profound faith with her,
but othetF7se her manner was remark
ably ntekagent. She told rs that her
wages W. fourteen pence = twenty
eight ces day; and when we un-
neces a that she must be tired
of We .ch price, she answered,
In rue, ''No use being tired;
when tired there's the work
ST. - aIled the wagon by
this tesz. Asra two younger women,
dressed as she was, but more vigorous
looking, came to help her, and after
splitting on their hands, which were as
large and as hard as any mans, they APP
piled themselves to the heap of ore, fall
ing into q machine-like swing of the
DOuy as tneY ScOOpeu up tne neaYy
rock. Two men afterward joined them,
and when the wagon was loaded they
propelled it along the track toward tho
mill, the women sharing the work
equally with the men, if indeed they did
not use even greater exerhons.
The employment of women under
ground is now forbidden by law, the
degradation resulting from it having
been perceived by English Legislators
when it had become flagihous but of
thirteen thousand persons engaged in
the mines, about two thousand are
women, who are employed in various
parts of the process of dressing the ore.
In the simpler operations very young
girls are useful, and at the mill we found
"a large number of them-the daughters
of miners usualiy-some of them pretty
and all of them neatly clothed and IN
telligent, even pert in manner. They
can all write, and they have an appetite
for literature of the Adolphus-Adelins
sort, which they devour in penny IN
stallments when their work is slack
". H. Rideing, in Hdrper's Mdgd-
zine
The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-02-24
GOSSIP FOR TIE LADIES.
Snn.e old Gane.

could not hear all that they must have said,
But as l sat beside the little stream
l watched them part, with just one angry word
She passed me quickly with down-drooped head,
Red cheeks, eyes flashing with n scornful gleaIn.
hasty step, as by deep passion stirred;
She did not turn nor look back where he stood,
Bat vanished quickly in the thick green wood.
watched him sigh, then noted how he gazed
At her retreat ng form; he whistied low
Aud softly to himself; III deepest thought
He whspere Z: "ls she vexed2' then was amazed
That twas, Ia truth, she really meant to go.
He looked once more, as If indeed he sought
To bring her back but on she went that day;
Then he went too-but twas the other way.
They never met again; but oft I
The girl, woman grown, come by this seat
And gaze into the stream with tear-yorn eyes;
And then wonder why such things should be
II she had turned her hesd stayed her feet
Life would have altered, loves bright sunny skies
Shone DER her eVerl lis but things like this
hat form our lives, and make our woe or bliss