davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
White House Wear and Tear.

Many people wonder why it costs so
much to keep the executive mansion in
good order, says Washington letter.
Colonel Rockwell says the "wear and
tear" of the furniture exceeds that of any
hotel in the country. The "dear public, {"
to the average of 500 day, insist upon
seeing the White House. They must tread
upon the carpets and rest themselves in
the tempting chairs. They must exam
inc, with their eyes and fingers, all the
upholstery and drapery. When it is re-
membercd that this is repeated every day
in the year it will cease to be a matter Of
wonder that the wear is so rapid. Of
course, the people of this country would
live and die just .as happy if they were
excluded from the White House, but what
tempest of Indignation such high
handed measure would provoke! Those
things were paid for by the people and
the people are going to see them. All
that can be done is to let the people
wear 'cm out, and then they can pay for
more
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20


Black hare is the popular fur of the
winter.
Velvet flowers are worn on Partisan
bonnets.
"London smoke" is o fashionable color
for cloth ulsters.
Valenciennes is the fashionable lace
for young ladies.
Slender lace pins are still the favorite
form for brooches.
The Newmarket coat is the fashiona-
BILE travelling wrap.
Tailor-made cloth dresses are the height
of style for the street.
The leading sleeve is the coat-shape
fullcd in on the shoulder.
Pigeon gray and pheasant brown are
leading shades this season.
Basques, as rule, are short and are
pointed both back and front.
White and ecru leather vests are worn
under velvet and plush jackets.
A clever Paris correspondent calls vel
veteen ''the velvet of the street."
It is again fashionable to wear q fancy
pin in the bonnet bow under the chin.
All sorts of fanciful figured pieces and
heads in steel, gilt, silver and other met
ais ornament both hats and bonnets.
Clover-leaf bracelets, with diamond
or two on each leaf TO simulate dew
drops, are among the newest designs in
jewelry.
A very pretty gold lace-pin is in de-
sign of horseshoe, with spiders web
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
eoa {; ;rloc,v,EH.s !, asArgn.
Son,stires I am tsmvtea % nmmw
fyr 7. I, iia.. L. 41f44i,,n. a -.rnsp

Soustimes Lam tempted % nammur /.
That life IS fitting awaH
with only d round Of trRes
Fiillng each busy day;
Dusting noolo and corners, (,
Making the house looS fats
And patiently taking upon 1ae
The burden Of 6 wonan,s care.
Comforting childish sorrows,
And charming the childish heart
With the simple song and story,
Told with a mothers art;
sstting the dear home table,
And clearing the meal away,
And gai5g on little errands
Inths twilight of the day.
ons day Is just like saotheri
Sewing ard piecing wsn
Little jackets and trowsers
So neatly that none can tell
Where are the seams and joinings-
An! the searny side of life
q kept out of sight by the magic
OF many o mother and wifel
and ott-whs6 / am ready to murmur
life is fitting away,
With the elf.same round Of duties
Filling each busy day,
Is comes TO my spirit sweetly,
E With the grace Of q thought divine:
You are living, toiling for loves sake,
And the loving should never repina.'
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
FOR FEMININE READERS.
Petor CGoper's Sympathy With
Women.

Mrs. Susan N. Carter, the head of the
Woman's Art school of the Cooper Iustl-
tute, contributes an anecdotal paper to
the Century, in which she says of Mr..
Cooper's aims "sAll I want he said,
is, that these poor women shall earn de-
cent and respectable livings, and espec-
tally that they shall be kept from mar
rying bad husbands.
"This subject of unhappy marriages
seemed to be very prominent one IN
Mr.. Cooper's mind. That women were
often imposed upon, were ill-used and
broken down, he had lively conviction;
and all his chivalry and sense of fatherly
protection were enlisted to save them, 50
far as he could, from these ordinary mis-
fortunes. While the world is now occu-
pied with th >stion of what women
can be taugnJ; rrer higher education,
and many kindred subjects, MIR.
Cooper's acute genius discov-
cred, as by Intuition, many
years ago, the relation of women of the
middle class of society, to industries, and
the family. He saw that many of them
could not marry, and he realized what
must be the forlorn position of number
of elderly daughters of o poor man. He
had noted the dangerous likelihood of
giddy, ignorant young girls marrying
anybody for home, even if the men they
married were dissipated or inefficient:
and he had the tenderest pity for poor
widows or deserted wives. He talked
many times, and at great length, on
these subjects, and all circumstances and
any sort of incident brought up this de-
sire of his heart, to help women to be
happy, independent, and virtuous.
siOne of the last times he was at the
school, and while celebrated New York
clergyman was giving course of Lenten
lectures to women, Mr.. Cooper, his face
all animated with his feelings about it,
said: DR.. is of the wealthy class,
and he has been used to deal with
wealthy women. The world does not
look like the same place to him that it
does to me. If he could be in my place
for month, and read the letters 1 get
from poor and suffering women, he would
think that it would be best to have them
taught anything which they could learn
TO enable them to lessen all this trouble. "
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
woven over it, and diamond spider in
the center.

the center.
Three French twists to the back of the
hair and loosely curled bang is one OF
the latest and prettiest cciffures for
young lady.
Daggers and swords are fashionable
stuck through the back hair. They
should be of silver or gold. Some have
tiny bells attached.
Lace pins of guitars, violins, banJos
and other musical instruments are unique
and fashionable. They are perfect copies
of the instruments, having strings and
keys.
There is rage for Indian brass work,
not only in vases and perfume jars and
lamps, but in hammered plates, entirely
covering the woodwork Of bedsteads and
making them look as if composed Of
solid metal.
A bonnet worn at the New York acad-
envy of music was of soft cream white
plush, bordered with row of tiny silver
and gold leaves, and fastened under the
chin with duchesse lace strings, held by
diamond and emerald beetle.
Redfern, the London tailor, who
makes the swell cloth dresses, is using
dark cloth and vicugna for walking cos
TUNES and trimming them either with
gold braid or astrachan. The skirts are
Hlted and the tunics ornamented.
Many of the imported opera cloaks
worn in New York are of Persian or pea
cock velvet. The former shows all
colors in soft, heavy pile, and the lat
ter the feathers of the peacock in the
natural tints, one placed on the other
in fantastic design.
Some of the imported wool costumes
are embroidered in q chain-stitched vine
pattern of floselle or undivided wood,
and the flowers or grapes OF this vine are
formed by punches of tiny elk or wool
pompons and tassels, which are fastened
on in the desired form, making an ex-
ceedingly pretty and effective decoration.
White silk stockings embroidered with
white are worn either with white satin
slippers or boots, as the bride may prefer.
Cant de Suede gloves, long enough to
meet the elbow sleeve and wrinkle at the
wrist, are in style. The conventional
orange blossoms have yielded to the
greater claims of white ilacs, daisies,
snowdrops and roses.
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
Petrifled Pumpkins.

The California papers "a telling %
story about petrifed pumpkins in Men.
docino county. The report is that "a
farmer, some years ago, had 9 lot OF
pumpkins washed away by a fresheS
down ravipe, and for number of
years the pumpkins were observed where
the water had lodged them, but no one
had ever thought they had turned to
stone, until the other day man at
tempted to pick one of them up, when
he discovered that it was very heavy and
had turned to stone. About fifty more
were in the same condition. The story
may be true, but it offers no special in
ducement for agriculturists to raise paw
ing stones ON pumpkin vines. Some pump
kins are of no special good, except to
sling at cats, but as the supply is toe
small to be used with advantage, they
will not be used. If California will find
a process for making pies out of her
petrifed pumpkins, the clearinghouse
keepers of the country will rise up and
cali her blessed.-Boston Globe.
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
POPULAR SCIENCE.

A canoe, partly imbedded under the
river Arun, has been found in the parish
of Pulborough, Sussex, England. 1t is
fifteen feet long by four feet broad. and
had been cut out of single massive oak
tree in the stone age.
The dfyest flour contains from-six to
seven per cent. of water, and the average
percentage would be-ffom seventeen to
eighteen, as from eleven to twelve per
cent. can-be driven out by heat of about
ac1 degrees Fahrenheit.
Z The speed at which explosions can
travel has been looked into by NJ. Berthe
lot. he took for the gases carbonic
oxide and oxygen, and these he exploded
in a tube sixteen inches long and one
third inch in diameter, by means of cleo
tricity. The rate observed was the un-
expectedly high one of 1850 metres q Q!
second -, =. :
A Frenchman who has patented ma
chine for the use of concentrated solar
rays as general motive power has set up
three of his machines in Algeria for the
French government. He is carrying on
experiments at the island of Porquerolles,
near Hyeres, where he is threshing Indian
corn and raising water by the action of
the suns rays. Sir Charles Dixie has also
lent him part of his land at Cape Brun,
near Toulon, for his experiments; and he
proposes to utilize the sun in boring the
holes for blasting, for tree-planting in
the hard rocks. as we'll as in pumping
water from the winter wells into the sum-
mer cisterns.
Professor Colladon, of Geneva, has
ascertained that when lightning strikes a
tree it leaves very few marks of its pas
sage on the upper part and middle of the
trunk, but as it descends to the neigh
borhood of the heavier branches it tears
open the bark and in many stances
shivers the tree. He ascribes this pecul-
iarity to the fact that the upper portion of
the tree are more highly charged with
sugar-a good ell tric conductor-than
the lower parts. An exception to the
rule seems to be found in oaks, which
are often seen with tops quite blasted
and the passage of the lightning lower
down marked by gouge-like furrow.
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
PersimmOnS.

"What's them things, mister7" asked
man of Fulton market fruit dealer,
pointing to peculiar looking fruit about
two inches in diameter, of, a terra-cotta
color, closely resembling an apple In
shape and having a needfe-like point at
one end and something like. an acorn cup
at the other. There was a malicious
twinkle in tina dealers eye as he said:
'tWhy, these are the celebrated Ten
nessee persimmons! Haven't you ever
tasted them2 Try one"
It was not mellow, but it looked tempt
ing, and the mans teeth met beyond
piece the size of silver dollar. The
one piece satisfied him, evidently, for
all the astringent qualities of
green persimmon began to
take Immediate effect upon his tongue,
his teeth and his lips. His mouth was
growing smaller by degrees, he could
not ,aug gh with grace, he could not be
angry, he could not articulate; yet all
the time he had the modification of see
ing the dealer and his neighbors we'll
nigh convulsed with laughter. With o
smothered oath he went away.
"These persimmons, said the dealer,
&C came from a farmer near Nashville,
Tennessee, who makes a speciality of
growing them. He finds it profitable
business and has brought the heretofore
almost worthless fruit to high state OF
perfection. These specimens are green,
of course, and were sent to me for COM
parison with the Japanese persimmon.
I find them larger, but cannot judge OF
their flavor till they are ripe, which they
are not till bitten by the frost. Frost
mellows them and removes all their
astringency, makes them as sweet as
sugar and of delicious flavor.
1.-THE persimmon, indigenous to the
South, grows upon small trees seldom ex-
ceeding fifty feet in height, and in wild
state the fruit is small and unattractive,
though extremely sweet after frost.
Children are fond of the persim1ncn, but
they are most popular with the 'possum,
who walks forth nightly to regale himself
and become victim of the boys and dogs
who know just where to find him. A
persimmon tree is 'possum's Delmonico.
Some people have experimental with per-
simmons in various ways, and I have
known them to be dried and pressed, in
which condition they eat as well as the
dates of Arabia. The farmer from whom
these came has realized ss much as $40 q
bushel for his cultivated variety, and, I
understand, he has developed goodfy
portion of his land to persimmon or
chard with the intention of showing the
American people just what can be done
with product which grows in every old
field in the Southern and Central States,
and has heretofore been looked upon as
little less than nuisance. .-Ne0 York
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
Diamonds for Drills.

Diamonds are comparatively cheap
nowadays" o rock drill manufacturer
said, "and the diamond set bits used in
the diamond drills do not cost as much
as they did"
care genuine diamonds used in these
drills, or are they called diamond drills
because the steel has an extremely hard
temper ?" the reporter asked.
Diamonds are used in the drills.
They are chiefly one and two carat stones.
At present they cost about $40 carat.
They are in the rough. The diamond
set bit is hollow. 1t is steel thimble,
having three rows of diamonds embedded
in it, so that the edges of those in one
row project from its face, while the
edges of those in the other two rows pro-
ject from the outer and inner periphery
respectively. The diamonds of the first
mentioned row cut the path Of the drill
in its forward progress, while those on
the outer and inner periphery of the tool
enlarge the cavity"
"How are the diamonds set in the
bit 2"
"The bit is of soft steel, in which holes
are drilled. After the diamonds are
fitted the metal is hammered against
them so that they remain firm"
"Do the diamonds wear out ?"
"Thcir edges which come in contact
with the rock get Il little smooth, and
then they are taken out and reset, so that
q fresh edge is presented"
Have all tho. hollow drills three rows
of diamonds?"
"No. Some have only one row, but
these arc not very large. The diamonds
stand out from the steel setting, so that
the steel does not come in contact with
the rock"
"How are the diamond drills worked?"
"By q rapid rotation, varying any
where from 400 to 1000 revolutions q
minute. There are different machines
used for different kinds of drilling"
"Where do you get the diamonds for
the bits?" the reporter asked.
"They come principally from Brazil.
Some come from Siberia and some from
the south of Africa; the latter, however,
are more CLASSY and not so tough as the
Brazilian diamonds, and are much more
likely to crush under pressure.-Neo
York Sun.
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
Quite n Different nIn1le

Materfamilias Who was that man
you were walking with this afternoon,
Edith2"
Edith -"That was Alfred Eastlake,
one of the most charming young gentle
men ever met"
And who is he, praya"
"He is studying law"
"The law is overcrowded, and it may
be ten years before he can earn his
living. Besides, I don't like his looks.
He has red nose all full of carbuncles,
his clothes don't fit him, bis linen is not
white by good deal. and, in fact, don't
believe he can walk straight half the
time. Please don't associate"
"Ohl it is not Mr.. Eastlake you are
describing. You must have seen me
with Lord Topnoddy, who came up just
as Mr.. Eastlake left"
"Lord Topnoddy! Well, I declare;
O real live lord, and I never knew it.
Don't fail to ask him to call the very
first chance you get. I hope he isn't
married yet. ."-Phila0elphia Call.
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
ON MOUNTAIN HEIGHTS.
As travellers on the mountain heights,
Where wintry winds forever blow,
rr,u, t.,fl, %y,o 5;,,,, 1,f-rres

.AS uISVSieIS Ou Guo lAlOuiAoeI4AA ASAsA~-J
Where wintry winds forever blow,
VIII pause beside the dizzy verge
To look on tropic wales below,
And feel again the balmy breeze,
Unconscious Of benumbilg cold,
And hear in fancy summer-songs,
That ripple through the sunlights gold;
So oft upon some ledge of Time q
That overhangs the gorgs Of years,
stand entranced with Joy to see
How fair the vail of Youth appears
With hearing deaf to surging winds,
With vision blind to hostile skies,
I only know bask once more
Within that distant paradise.
1t seemed so long, SO long ago,
Since from that climate warm and swess
I wandered into fading Light,
Unmindful of my straying feet,
Till harsher airs assailed my face,
And emerald ways grew bare and brown,
Till shrouded in a world of mist,
And lost, at times, I sank me down.
know I now breathe purer air
And tread the frruer ground Of rock,
Ger many wild impulsive storms,
With binding flash and Ghunder-shock;
And yet upon these snowy heights
My homesick heart so often turns
To gaze upon that lovely vale
On which the deathless sunlight burns
Julia II. Thdyer, IL, the Continent
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
CIaildreIl's Chatter

Mother Ito five-year-old, who has sat
very still for five minutes)- "What are
you thinking of, Georgia." Georgia
"Oh! bout old times, l dess."
A wee one in this place who was be-
ing trotted on her grandmother's knee
suddenly discovering the wrinkles on the
good DANES face, exclaimed: ooh !
, gamma see lot O. little tucks on 90
facep'
An old gentleman, who had a wooden
leg terminating in knob, called to see
a lady. The lady's little son, after look
ing at the wooden leg several minutes,
said to the old gentleman: 'Monsieur,
have you put your cane in the leg OF
your pantaloons2 s2"-Phaladelphia Call.
Little Eddie Bonner and Sammy Rose
Yesterday saw worm crawling on the
sidewalk in front OF the latter's home.
Sammy was going to mash it with o
stone, when Eddie said: "Don't mash
it, Sammy If you do bod might mash
you; fur I heard mother say we amt more
than worms to bod" d."-Kent,tcky Journal.
sPapa," said Marathon boy, "do
goats give milk2" "Yes, Tommy"
1And a goat is butter. isn't it2" ''Yes,
nv son." "Well, then, isn't goats milk
butter milk2"-Independent.
Brother Gardner ON Transmigrotion.
IT understan'," began Brother Gard
ner, 81 aI-understan' dat sartin pussons In
dis club am all broke up ober de theory
of transmigrashun. It has bin reported
to me dat Samuel Shin am shakin' in his
butes fur fear dat he will be turned into
q dog and have to foller brick wagon.
larn dat Elder Toots am almos' sick
abed bellase he expects to be transformed
into an old white hoss an be used on
delivery wagin, airly an late. It am said
dat Whalebone Howker had fit when
his wife ute two hull pies an went to
bed an dreamed dat it had died an bin
transformed into hyena. Eben Judge
Cadaver turns pale at de ideah OF his
ever becomin' 3 giraffe an havin' to hold
his head too high to eber see lost cent
on de sidewalk.
"Gem'len, dar' may be sunthin' in de
theory, bat see no occasion fur worry.
If Samuel Shin am turned into a dog let
him conduct hissclf in an honorable, gen
tlemanly manner an he will not lack fur
friends nor bones. None of you will
remember dat you once iibed on airth as
men an were members of dc Lime-kiln
club. If Slapjack Jackson am turned
into coon it will come perfectly material
to have him take to a tree when he hears
dog BARK. If Sunset Parker leaves his
present shape to become an OK dc yoke
will come perfeckly material to him, an
he will submit to be pounded an cussed
widout thought of usin' his horns or
hoofs. Dar' am no occashun to feel bad
in de daytime nor lose any sleep at night.
let us now purceed."
The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-20
Christmas RHYMES.

Again, and yet again, Christmas Gre
turns with the revolving year." and, as it
has been for so many centuries, will be
again cclcbrat, with the advent of frost
and ice amid the depths Of winter-at
least in the northern half of the world !;
for in the southern hemisphere Christmas
comes hand in hand with midsummer,
and is welcomed, not by blazing logs,
but with picnics under the cool shade Of
trees, though even here the old associa-
tions hold their sway and roast beef and
Christmas puddings appear upon the
board.
To the poets Christmas has always
been DEAR and has been celebrated by
them in some of the finest poetry in our
language. One of the finest Christmas
carols ever written is that of Milton,
which was written when he was very
young. 1t is descriptive of the first
Christmas day, when there was san uni
versal peace through sea and land"
Nor war nor battles sound
Was heard the world around;
The idle spear and shield were high up
hung;
The hooked chariot stood
Unstained with battle blood;
The trumpet spake not to the armed
throng;
And kings sat still with awful eye,
AS if they surely knew their sovr i Lord
was nigh.
Leigh Hunt in strain of most pleas
ant banter writes of Christmas as the
Glorious time of great Too Much.
Too much fire and too much noise,
Too much babblement Of boys;
Too much eating, TOO much drinking,
Too much ev'rything but thinking;
Solely bent to laugh and stuff,
And tramp!e upon base Enough.
This is truly seasonable poetic license
running over, as it were, of animal
spirits, which was characteristic of the
man, even under the most severe depres-
sion. For no one advocated more strong
ly than he did the restriction of enjoy-
.ment of what he here terms base
Enough" and the distribution of the
surplus of the great Too Much amongst
those who unfortunately are innocent Of
all familiarity with Enough.