davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
About Women Clerks.

We clip the following extract from
the 30. ton 7qGceleT's Washington
letter Just now there is a war of
words raging over the relative value
of the services of men and women
clerks in the departments. There is
much to be sad on both sides. Old
General Spinner, whose curious sigma
ture used to ornament our paper
money, once said of the women OF his
division "They are quicker and
more honest than their brothers ;" but
it must b. remembered that he had
under his eye the national bank re-
demption agency, which contains a
| corps of ladies' who are the most expert
counterfeit detectors in the country.
| AS a sample Of their skill | need only
say that afew days agothe first coun-
terfeit on the new fiye-dollar notes was
detected after it had successfully
| passed the officials OF the New York
| Broadway National bank. Here some
| time ago a cabinet officer said that he
should not appoint any more women ;
| Office was not the place for them. A
Western Congressman, who was stand
ing near by, replied: IT think these
offices are only fit for women and dis
abled soldiers. A stout, able-bodied
man oughtste be. ashamed to be found
in one Of them. Let us stroll down
the corridors at a venture. / have
glanced thrs ugh the doors many a
time, and I'll bet you s. now that we
will see in every room a large proper
ton Of the men lonnging and smoking,
talking or reading the papers, and
nearly every woman's head bent down
over her work" This was q pretty
sweeping assertion, and it might have
been true in that particular depart
ment, but my observation has been
that there are drones and workers in
both sexes. Senator Morgan once re-
marked in courtthat department life
tends to take the manhood out Of men.
and the womanlood cut Of women
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
POPULAR SCIENCE.

In an address before the Munich SEQ
graphical society, DR.. Oscar LEM has
maintained that the dryness OF the
Western Sahara is quite recent, and
that it was caused by the telling OF
forests on the Ahaggar mountain
range.
Struve upholds DR.. Biedient's sug-
gestion that only cream should be used
for the earliest nourishment for young
children brought up by hand, as the
digestibility Of any milk is %inversely
as the quantity of case.ne which re-
mains in the skim-milk.
Drs. Mitchell and Reichert find that
the full-grown lizzard will bite and
cause wound that may prove fatal.
Unlike that of other reptiles, its saliva
is alkaline, not acid. A little injected
into a pigeon caused the death OF the
bird (which was long, fat and plump
in less than nine minutes.
A certain fungus produces in rodents
a fatal cutaneous disease, and DIS
Joseph and Crampe propose taking ad'
vantage of this fact as a means OF de-
stroying field mice. They would apply
the fungus to the skin of the cap
tured mice, and then turn the captlves
loose to spread the infection.
More than twenty years ago Hen
messy called attention to the superiority
of water for the absorption and dlttu'
sion of heat derived from the sun. His
conclusions have gradually commanded
increasing support. Mr.. W. Henel in
a recent publication has maintained
that the difference in temperature be
tween the Northern and Southern
hemispheres is very slight, and that
the Southern hemisphere, which has
the larger mass of water, has the
higher temperature of the two.
In a recent treatise DR.. L. Mandu
vrier, a French craniologist, states tina
the Uranium is heavier in negro races
than in any others that have beer
subjected to comparison, SO that thu
p%roverbial thickness of the negtoi
skull has a foundation in fact. Thu
skulls of Papuans and natives of New
Caledonia are heavier than those o
Par:sians, while those o. the American
aborigines and of the Bengalese ar
lighter. The weight Of the femal
Uranium is about o~ne-seventh less thai
that of the male.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
The Old Women of San Gabriel.

The people of San Gabriel go far
toward Immortality, and two venera-
BILE old ladies, aged 102 and III years,
as is proved by the church records, are
celebrities to whom the stranger pays
his respects and his silver pieces.
Diving inside an adobe hut, a buxom
and swarthy lady smiled at us from
her washtub, and advanced with the
sweet "buenos dias of those people.
Crossing under her clotheslines. we
found the ancient Laura sitting on
the ground with a faded bedquilt
wrapped about her shoulders. With
all her .102 years Sonora Laura
has not learned the ways of n atness
and sat abjectly in tn Dirt, with more
dirt and dust on her straggin black
locks. Sonora Benjamin., who owns
to III years, lay inside her miserable
hut, with a tattered bedquilJ about
her, and her head sunken in another
dirty quilt. Chickens scratched and
pecked the ground beside her, hoped
on her PROSTATE form, and made the
hut ring with their clucking and crow
ing. AT the suggestion of strangers
and silver the poor old wreck Of hui
mainly turned her Wrinkled face to.
ward us. and the skinny hands were
stretched out for coin. A more re-
voting and saddening spectacle can.
not be imagined than these two for
lorn and trembling old creatures
shriyeled, wrink1ed, and Withered al
mummies, with bleared eyes, hooked
claws, and thin, trembling voices
Ell Paso (Te1as) Times.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
They Don't Speak Now.

About two weeks ago two women
met in a Woodward avenue street.car,
and when one complained that she was
again without a cook the other replied:
.Ahl I have a jewel Of a girl !!
She's neat, prompt. respectful, and l
only pay her twelve shillings a week
rs it possible
Eyes she's from the country and
doesn't know that she can get more
wages"
The same two women met in the
same car again yesterday, but alas !
how changed the situation! They
stared frigidly at each other without
even a nod, and they would not sit on
the same side of the car. The twelve
shilling jewel of a girl is now receiving
two dollars per week in the kitchen of
the woman who was without q cook.
Hence the ruction, which will descend
to the third generation.-Free Press.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
Disease in Books.

"There is no more wonderful appa-
ratus for the conveyance of disease
than a book" says the London Lancet,
a discovery which the Pail Mall
Gazette thinks will be Immediately
popular with sehoolboys and the oppo-
nents OF free libraries. A list of The
maladies most easily conveyed by means
of books is given as follows: Measles,
scarlet fever, diphtheria, sore throat.
whooping cough. bronchitis and per-
haps phthisic.". The germs of disease
"may lie for weeks, months or perhaps
years, between the pages of a bound
book, to be dislodged at some unpro-
pitious moment when the volume
chances to be handled by a susceptible
person" The worst of the Loncet's
discovery is that no remedy apparently
can be provided for this difficulty.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
Household Hints.

Horse-radish root boiled in salt and
water, with a little vinegar, is good to
send to the table with roast meat OF
any kind /; cut it in thin slices and use
it as a garnish. 4
A good way to remove dust from a
carpet is to fa5ten a damp cloth over
the broom with this the dust may be
literally taken up. This will be found
useful in the sick-room, and also In
any room where there are many small
articles to catch dust. 1t brightens a
carpet to wipe it off in this way, even
after the usual sweeping has been
done.
Waste in little things makes away
with many a hard-to-be-accounted-for
dollar. in aryear. Do not throw away
the starch which is used in making
cold starch each week; let it stand
after using and settle in the bottom OF
a clean bowl; when the water is clear
above it, drain it off; let the starch
dry, cover the bowl to keep the dust
away, and this starch is ready for use
| next washing-day. OF course you may
need to add a little to it. ,
TO remove the unpleasant taste
which is frequently observable from
new wooden vessels is a thing difficult
Of accomplishment. The BreDtug
World says that the simplest plan, and
one that will succeed in most cases, is
to scald them thoroughly several times
in boiling water, then dissolve some
pearlash OF soda in lukewarm water,
adding a little lime to it, and wash
the inside of the vessels well
! in the solution. Afterward scald
them several times thoroughly as be-
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
How Marbles Are Made.

Almost all the "marbles' with which
boys everywhere amuss themselves in
season and out Of season, on pavement
and in shady spots, are mad aS Ober-
stein, Germany. There are large
agate quarries and mills il that neigh
borhood, and the refuse Is turned to
good account in providing the small
stone-balls for experts to .knuckle"
with. The stone is broken into small
cubes by Blows Of light hammer.
These small blocks of stone are thrown
by the shovelful into the hopper ola
small mill, formed of a bedstone,
having its surface groovedaW with cen
centrated burrows !; above this is the
.runner,n which is of some hard wood
having level IA e on its lower surface.
The upper block is made to reyolVe
rapidly, water being delivered upon
the grooves of the bedstone where the
marbles are being rounded. It takes
about fifteen minutes to finish abushel
of good marbles, r6ady for the boys
knuckles. One mill will turn out
| 10000 marbles per week. The very
hardest crackers" as tie boys call
them, are made by 8 slower process,
somewhat analogous, however, to the
| other.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
warm weather to linen collars for
noaHwpQr

warm weather to linen collars for
neckwear.
Pongee is liked for summer travel
ing dresses, and when not used Tor n
dress itself it is chosen for a long CLOAK
with plated back and square sleeves
that entirely covers the dress beneath
and makes it possible to use any dress
the wearer chooses for her journey.
Ecru is very much in fashion there
are very pretty costumes of ecru ilnen'
with the skirt trimmed all the way up
with founces of linen richly embrold-
cred in open work the lower one IS
some eight inches wide, from when
tn y gradually diminish in width 10
the top.
i. The ecru nankeen, worn a generation
ago, is seen again among the French
dresses imported for summer at the
seaside and mountain resorts. THIS
thick cotton fabric of clear buff a
is made into very stylish dresses
trimmed with China silks of dark
color and VIII te or ecru embroidery on
muslin.
A great fancy has arisen for creating
a material with alternate rows Oh
ribbon and lace insertion OF the same
breadth. A dinner dress is to be mad
with a diagonal tunic anil demi-sleeVes
of white satin ribbon and coffee co-ored
lace, the skirt and pannier5 being
wholly composed of the lac III
founces, some waved and others
plainly gathered.
The newest linen collars are merely
a straight band Of doubled fine linen
with narrow scallops and embroidery
along the upper edge. These are worn
outside the dress collar, and there are
two lengthwise buttonholes in front
through which a narrow ribbon Is
passed and tied in a bow, and below
this may he addedtwo fan plated ends
of null and wide lace.
The cotton dresses are most attract
tive, says the american queen. Inc
fact of their being made OF cotton
goods ought to suggest simplicity In
construction and an absence OF decCra-
tiyeefeatures, save those that are war
ranted to wash; but, on the contrary,
these dresses are made most deliberately
and are lavishly trimmed. The idea
of either fabric or lace5 being laun'
dered never enters the mind OF the
modiste, and indeed there is no neces'
sity that such a thought should iniu.
ence the designer of these lovely robes
for with care one Of cotton sateen OF
foulard can be actually worn cut
without needing to be done up. How
ever, when to be worn by careless
persons, such a dress should be simply
made and trimmed with wash lace o.
Hamburg.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
Nos So Funny. After ALI.

The late Charlie Backus, the min
strel, lived in Cleveland some thirty
years ago, when he was q rollicking,
notwithstanding boy. One day he
was standing on the rear platform OF
a train at the Union depot in company
with some friends. AS the train COM
menced moving out of the depot
Charlie saw a fellow staring at him.
Putting on an enraged expression OF
o%ountenance and shaking violently his
two fists at the fellow staring at him,
he yelled out to him "Oh, you scoun-
drel, you villain, if / was not going
away I would fog the life out of you.
I have a mind to get off now and slap
your mug, you old rascal! II [ only
had you on this platform I'd smash
your head, you scamp. Oh! oh
How l would like to lick YOU" All
this time Charlie valiantly shook his
two fists as the train apparently was
moving on to Chicago.
Suddenly, to Charles horror, the
train stopped with a jerk and COM
menced backing to the depot, and there
the fellow whom he had been threaten.
ing, stood waiting to e him come
back. Charlie retreated into the car.
amid the a of laughter of his
friends, and hid. AS the train came
into the depot the victim CT Charles
iokerushed aboard, yelling Where's
that dutfer who wanted to HEX me!
Pll give him a chance" And he
rushed thro rgh the train trying te
find the brave minstrel, who remained
in close quarter trembling with fright
Finally the train moved, the fellow
Jumped off, and Charlie breathed
easier
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
Dinners as HarmoIizel 8.

Philosophers claim, and not without
good reason, that the harmony OF
married lif9 depends almost entirely
upon dinners. 1t is not the state OF
the heart so much as the condition OF
the stomach which makes a mar
happy. 1t is b tier for a woman
rank heresy, we know to be able to
make d cheerful home than to talk
Greek. Before marriage, the ability
to sing divinely and to play impossible
music are very attractive !; but when
two people settle down to the steady
work of loving each other for forty or
fifty years the kitchen inevitably
emphasizes itself, and the chances OF
success are greater with a comedy
housewife than witb al accomplished
beauty, who knows everything except
how to make the house attractive.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
where diamonds Mere Plentiful.

A letter describing q ball at Paris
given by Mrs. Morton, wife OF the
American minister, says: .
The most amazing thing in the
room was, perhaps, the wondrous
wealth of diamonds that sparkled on
the necks and in the hea l-dresses of
the ladies. Many of the fair creatures
wore them so carelessly that it was al
most a temptation to stretch out your
hand and pick them .off-only for the
fun of the thing, of course. A favor
tie fashion seemed to be to have them
stitched on to a black velvet or satin
ribbon crossing over one side Of the
bare shoulder, and attached to the
lack and front of the corsage. Some
wore them in the more usual fashion
round the neck, or in the shape of
pendants, bracelets and earrings. Some
had them sewn on to their bodices.
Others affected diamond stars and ar
rows in the hair. But turn where you
would, half the ladies had the precious
stones glittering and %glistenjng about
their pretty persons in some form.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
Rebuked.

Among well-bred people it is con-
sidered a breach of good manners to
talk or giggle at a concert while a yo-
calist is singing or mu icians are play
ing. Yet at almost every >oncert some
persons are found who thoughtlessly
or indifferently annoy both musician
and audience with impuni;y.
Theodore Thomas, the eminent con-
ductor, has on several occasions re-
buked ill-mannered people by stopping
the performance and announcing that
it would not proceed until there was
silence in the audience.
Ole Bull, the great violinist, once
silenced a queen who thought that she
could talk while he was playing. The
violinist was to play before a dis
tinguished company, among whom
was the queen dowager of Naples at
the Duke of Lucca's palace. After
the introduction by the piano had been
played a buzz of conversation was
kept up, in which the queen took a
prominent part. A friend whispered
to Ole Bull not to mind it, but to be-
gin his solo. He, however, quietly
stood with his vii lin under his arm in
the attitude of waiting. The duke
asked if he desired anything.
81 am quite ready, your grace" an
swered the self-respecting musician,
"but fear to interrupt the converse.
tion. The queen has probably some
thing of Importance to impart, and /
would not disturb her"
The duke crossed over to the queen
and whispered something in her ear
Her majesty was evidently surprised,
for she surveyed the independent ar
fist through her eyeglass-butth the con,
%versation ceased.
The next morning an attendant Of
the queen met Ole Bull on the street
and proposed to present him to hel
majesty, as she desired to see him. HI
was introduced and the queen begar
the conversation by saying that sh'
supposed they had a great many bear:
in Norway.
eyes, your majesty" answered TIN
spirited musician, ironically, "and
had the good fortune to be nursed b,
one"
"But why did you not play las
EVENING"" asked the queen, seem,
that she had no ordinary man to dea
with.
81 did not wish to disturb you
ma;esty's conversation"
ooh! I understood that you wer
offended but you must overcome tina
sensitivene s. In Neapolitan societ
conversation always goes on durin.
music"
81 should not think of visiting
city so barbarous, where music is cor
sidered a mere recreation to lighte
the tedium of more important occups
ton, your majesty"
"But you must come," continue
the queen, now thoroughly intereste
in the bold Norseman 81 sent ia
you to ask you, and | assure you ths
you shall have none but silent lister
ers, for you deserve them"
Her majesty became n of til
violinist's most serviceable friends
Youths Companion.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
Fashion Notes.

Very wide brocaded satin sashes are
popular.
Crushed strawberry is no longer a
fashionable color.
White Danish kid gloves, decorated
with lilies Of the valley. are worn by
bridesmaids.
Long shell or metal hairpins take
precedence of all other ornaments for
the couture.
English turbans and Fanchons di.
vide the popular favor Of young ladies
at the moment.
Red in moderate quantities give a
fine dash Of bright color toblack. gray,
pale blue and ecru dresses.
The plaid and checks Of new ging-
hams come in admirable mixtures of
all the new colors and shades.
Pansies of all colors and sizes on
grounds of various colors appear in
chene effects on some sash ribbons and
scarfs.
Violet, lilac. pansy, heliotrope, dahlia
and many other red tints Of purple
are fashionable for silk and wool cos
tunes.
White null fchus with wrought
edges in Irish point, or trimmed with
Valenciennes lace, are preferred il
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
A Diplomat.

THAT reporter gave you a deuce Of
a racket" said an Austin gentleman to
a singer who had participated in an
amateur performance.
81 know he did, but I am going to
stop his mouth"
"Are you going to shoot himf"
mo; I'm going to invite him to
dinner."-Siftiags.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
cine, when this Is found necessary, is

cine, when this Is found necessary, is
castor-oil in a dose of one ounce, re-
peated, if needed, in doses reduced one
half each time, until only a teaspoon
full is given twice a day. This will
cure The worst cases of diarrhea. II a
stimulant is desired, a few drops of
tincture of ginger and as much infu-
sion Of Peruvian bark in sweetened
water-one- half pint-will be found
useful. AS a rule the necessity for
medicine indicates neglect or mistake
in the feeding or management, and a
dairy may be carried on under a regu-
lar system Of good management Tor
any length of time and indefinitely,
without the necessity for medicine or
the occurrence of disorder or disease,
or even accident, in any single in
stance. Trouble is simply prevented
by preoaution, instead of removed
after its %avoidable admission.-Tbs
DARN.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
4 Fffteen,Hundrel.Foot waterfall.

Al recent discovery on the head Of
the Cowlitz river establishes the fact
that. WASHINGTON Territory can now
boast of the grandest Waterfalin the
known world, its height being 1900
feet. The Noorksack Indians assert
positively that waterfalls higher than
Che tallest fir, pine or cedar tree r to
be found on the extreme headWaters
of the Nooksack river in this county.
As that section of the county has
never yet been explored by the white
man, there is no good reassn for doubt
ing the statement. From the COM
parison given by the Indians these
falls must be at least Ats feet in
height, which would lay over the
famous Sno1ualmie falls, Of Kings
county, byat least 200feet.-W hatcom
WvomfHgl RsUeiEse.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
FOR THE FAIR SEX
A comhinatIon Des,red.

Wanted-A wife who can handle a broom,
To brush down this eobwebs and sweep up
the room; IS
To make decent breadthat a fellow can eat
Not the horrible compound you everywhere
meet;
Who knows how to broil, to fry and to
roast
Make a go,d cup of tea and a platte. of
toast;
A woman who washes, cooks, irons end
stitches, =,
And sews up the rips in a fellows old
breeches So. -
And makes her own garments item that
grows
Quite highly expensive, as every one knows
A common sense creature, and still with
mind
To teach and to guide-exalted, ~reinel;
A sort of an angel and household combined
Chicago Tribune.
The Opelousas courier., 1883-08-25
News and Notes for Wonen.

It is now the correct thing for all
the leading millinery establishments in
Paris to employ man milliners.
Man milliners are on the increase in
Europe. They are employed in all
the fashionable milliner establishments
Of Paris and London.
A"grand cooking party" at which
more than u score of ladies competed
for prizes, was a feature at a Reading
penn church festival. B&E#
Miss Nellie Hunt, daughter of the
Ameri an minister to Russia, was said
to be the most beautiful of the coterie
of American ladies at the coronation.
A Paris paper describes her as "fas-
cinatingly pretty"
Miss Alice Longfellow, the poets
daughter, is the vice-regent for Massa-
chusetts of the Mount Vernon Ladies'
association, and has issued an appeal
for funds to. set the Massachusetts
room there in order.
Mrs. Humphrey Ward, who has been
active in schemes for the advanced
education of women, has been made
examiner for scholarship in Spanish,
by the curators of the Taylor institu-
ton at Oxford, England.
Miss Raumabe1, a native of India,
is said to be the most learned woman
in the W I'd. She is twenty ye trs cd,
and can read, write and speak in
twelve langu ges, beside being an ex-
cellent student in astronomy, mathe-
mates, histury, etc. She is now study.
ing to become a physician. III
Miss Cleon:ce Glenadius, whose pic
lures have won great admiration at
the international art exhibition in
Rome, has been named for member.
ship of. the Academy of Fine Arts in
Athens-an unprecedented hpnor for q
woman, and pleasant to have occur in
the cradle of the fine arts.
1t will be news to many lady reader;
to learn the value Of the Ostrich
feathers that are exported from Soutf
Africa. Last year over 253, 1000 pounds
of feathers were exported, the value
being e1,O93, 989. This is sevenfole
what it was ten years ago, SO that th'
habit of wearing feathers must hay'
grown.
Lady bank officers are getting to b,
quite numerous. A national bank a
Marion, Iowa and another at Raleigh
N. G., have lady presidents, and Mrs
Nj. ID. Galloway ~ispresident of the say
ings bank at Fon du Lac, Wis.
Sarah f. Dick, the cashier Of the Firs
National at Huntington Ind; Ami
M. King, esther of a bank at Whit
Cloud, Kan; Jennie Combs, cashier 0
a bank at n iddlesille, Mich, and Mis-
NJ. w. Bond, treasurer of the saving
bank at florence, Mass.