davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25
WASHINGTON AT PRAYERS.
Tho Father of His Country at Church
in Philadelphia.
Rec. E. D. NeiIi'a, EpiscopaI Recorder.

Rec. E. D. Neil in, Episcopal Recorder.
AS l read a few days ago of the death
of the Bev. Richard NJ. Abercrombie, rec
tor of st. Matthew's Protestant Episcopal
Church in jersey City, memories of my
bOyhOOd arose. He was born not far from
my fathers house in Philadelphia, and
was the son of the Rev. DIR. James Aber-
cr0mbie, fine scholar and preacher, who
had, in early life, cOrresponded with the
great photographer Samuel Johnson, and
in later years was the assistant minister
of Christ's and st. Peters Churches in
Philadelphia, where my maternal ances-
tors had worshiped for more than one
generation.
One day, after the father had reached
fOur-score years, the lately deceased son
took me into the study of the aged man
and showed me letter which President
George Washington had written to his
father thanking him for the loan of one of
his manuscript sermons. Washington
and his wife were regular attendants up
on his ministry while residing in Phila-
delphia.
The President was not commandment,
Notwithstanding all the pretty stories to
the contrary, and after the close of the
sermon on sacTamental Sundays had
fallen into the habit of retiring from the
church while his wife remained
DIR. AbercrOmbie alluded to the unhappy
tendency of the example of those dignilied
by age and position turning their backs
upon the celebration of the Lords Supper.
The discourse arrested the attention of
Washington, and after that he never
came TO church with his wife on commu-
Mon Sunday. DR.. AbercrOmbie, in a let
ter which appears in the fifth volume of
Spr4gue's Canals of the American Pull
To-. 10 Sd fs,,rT >
with the sermon, but respected the
preacher for his moral courage.
There is a story about Washington
being found in the woods in winter time
in prayer by the owner OF the house
which he used as' his headquarters at
Valley Forge, which / would like to
believe if it were not so improbable, and
if it had not been first put in print by the
eccentric and not very accurate EpiscO-
pal minister, Morgan /. Weems. John
Potts, of Pottsgroye, had several
studied law at the Temple, London, an
was Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas in Philadelphia at the beginning
of the war of the Revolution, and, being a
Tory, eventually went to Halifax. iona.
than, another son, studied medicine at
Edinburgh, and espoused the cause OF the
colonies and was the Medical Director
General of the Middle Department. An
other son was Quaker and neutral,
and owned the house at Valley Forge,
which is still known as WashIngton's
headquarters, and the three were broth
ers of the grandmother of the writer of
this article.
With capaciOus and comfortable house
at his disposal it is hardly possible that
the shy, silent, cautious Washington
should leave such retirement and enter
the leafess woods in the vicinity Of the
winter encampment of an army and en-
gage in audible prayer. The alleged scene
has been often produced by the painter
and engraver, but fear it is only a myth.
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25
WHATEVER Is, Is BEST.

know. as my life grows older.
Il mine eyes have clearer sight,
Tha unter each rank Wrong, somewhere
There lies the root Of Right.
That each sorrow has Its purpose.
By the sOrrOWing oft ungHessed;
But as sure as the sun brings morning,
Whatever Is. Is best.
know that each sinful action.
As sure as the night brings shade,
Is sometimes. some Wher p, punished,
Tho the hour be long delayed.
/ know that the soul Is aided
Sometimes by the hearts unrest.
And % grow means often 10 suffer:
But whatever is. is best.
] know there are no errors
In the great Eternal plan,
And all things work together
For the final good Of man.
And know when my soul speeds onward
In the grand. eternal quest,
shall say. as | look earihward,
Whatever IL. Is best.
Ella Wheeler WilcOr.
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25

unconscious when he was shot, and re-
manned so till he died. George Washing
ton was sane during his last hours, and
he spent them in calmly arranging his al
fairs. He told his wife TO bring two wills
which he had made. and TO barn one Oftnem
He then grasped his pulse with one hand
and counted the beats until he dropped
back dead. Washington died of a cold.
Polk of the cholera. Andrew JOhnt0n Of
paralysis. and Gen. Harrison of cold,
pleurisy and cholera mOrbus.
President Jackson was for thirty-One
years diseased man, and the latter part
of his lie was spent in almost cOntinu-
GUS pain. Even on his deathbed he was
tortured by Ofice-seekers. Il am dying"
said he, las fast as l can, and they all
know it; but they keep swsrming about
me in crowds, seeking for Ofice-intrign
uing for Office His deathbed scene was
a most affecting one. Hall an hour be-
fore his death his children and friends
were standing around his bedside, and his
adopted son Andrew had taken his hand
and whispered in his ear:
Father, how do you feel? Do you know
me?"
"Know you? Yes, I should know
you all if could see. Bring me my
spectacles.''
These were brought and put on him,
and lie said:
Where is my daughter and Marian?
God will take care Of you for me. L am
my Gods. l belong to Him. L go but a
snort time before you, and want to meet
YOU all, white and black. in heaven"
At this all burst into tears, and the
General said:
What is the matter with you, my dear
children. Have ! alarmed you? Oh,
don't cry. Be good children, and we will
all meet IN heaven"
.,g1~e - ,1N nrla a
short time alter this he passed peacefully
away. He died Christian and a Pres
byterlan.
Thomas Jefferson was more of a deist
than anything else, and when he died he
said he would be glad to see a preacher
who called cas- a good neighbOr," thereby
intimating that he did not care 10 see him
professionally. There was no preacher
present at Washington's deathbed. and
there is doubt as TO his belief. The two
Adamses believed in Unitarian doctrines,
and it is said that John Quincy Adams,
during his last years, never went to sleep
without repeating that little child's
prayer:
"NOW lay ME down to sleep.
/ pray the Lord my soul to keep;
II should die before / wake,
pray the Lord nv soul to take
There is considerable doubt as to Lin
coins Christianity, but his best friends
believe him to have been a believer. He
was certainly a great Bible reader, and
understood it thoroughly. Frank Pierce
was an EpiscOpalian and church men,
Der; Gen. Grant and Hayes attended the
Methodist Church while in the White
House, and Garfield spent his Sundays at
the chapel Of the Disciples. John Tyler
was, think. a Presbyterian, though his
second wife was a Catholic. Dolly Madi-
son was an EpiscOpalian, whatever her
husband may have been, and the old
church which she attended years ago still
stands, and in it President Arthur WOr-
ships to-day.
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25

in beartrending manner, and II was not
until he saw that his prayers for mercy
were useless that be braced up like
man, and quietly kneeling upon his coffin
received IN his bosom the fatal bullets. L
have ever thought, and think still. that
the execution Of this man was stain on
the court that tried him, under the cir
cumstances. He was a mOnomaniac on
the subject of home. His Captain deemed
him irresponsible, and the majority OF the
officers of the battalion were of the same
opinion. l had been transferred to this
battalion at this time, and know that l
was in favor of locking Radcliffe up in
stead Of shooting him.
Speaking OF punishments / don't know
that l WAS more forcibly struck by any
thing l witnessed during the struggle
than by the following incident;
In the autumn Of 1864 Capt. Charles A.
Davidson's company First Virginia Bat
TALON J, in which was a Lieutenant, was
detached from the command and ordered
to assist in dismOunting the heavy artil-
lery from the Hewlett House battery on
the James river, and in removing to and
remOunting them in the new batteries
which had been constructed mile or two
up stream directly opposite Dutch gap.
The company was assisted in this heavy
labor by the sailors of the gunbOats lying
below and the abIe-bOdied cOnvicts from
the Richmond penitentiary, these latter,
however. doing separate work from the
soldiers and sailors. One day Davidson
and l were passing along the rifle pits
WHERE THE CONNECTS WERE DIGGING,
when one of them raised his finger to the
penitentiary guard and requested permits
sion to speak. 1t was granted, and he
spoke to Davidson by name. The latter
stopped, and, after looking earnestly at
the man, exclaimed:
"My God What are you doing here?
l thought you had been pardoned."
The convict mournfully shook his head,
and when Davidson took his hand burst
into passion OF tears.
is there anything can do for your"
said Davidson.
mop the poor wretch replied; 81 am
dead to my family and to the world and
am in hell. Yet my body is alive and
shudder to commit suicide"
In watching the scene l confess tears
came into my eyes. AS / learned after
wards, here was a scion of one of the
most prominent and respectable families
of the Virginia valley, who had deliberate
ly flung himself to the bad. Starting out
in the war as a young Lieutenant in a
crack calvary company, he had suffered
his passion for women, liquor and gamb-
ling TO carry him from shady act to act,
until at last he committed forgery, and
wound up by stealing a span of horses
and a carriage, in the act Of selling which
he was arrested. Tried by court martial,
he was cashiered and turned over to the
civil authorities, by whom he was SEN
fenced to a five years term in the peni-
tertiary. All his family influence could
not save him or abate the rigOr Of the SEN
tence. His Offenses were too gross for
clemency. After we had lett him David
son never went near him again. 1t was
too painful. but he managed to obtain
some abatement of the labor imposed on
the wretched man while the conYicts were
stationed near our camp.
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25
''NOw / lay NE down to sleep.
/ pray the Lord my soul to keep;
If / should die before / wake.
| pray the Lord nv soul to take"
ANOTHER SORT OF PLAGIARISM
Why q Kentucky Congressman Shot
rtmssH and Died

EtmssK aDa Died.
The subject of Congressional plagiarism
has recently received considerable atten-
ton in the newspapers. Among other
statements it has beea published that
Speaker White, OF Kentucky, when about
to retire from Congress and the Speaker
ship, read beautiful address which he
had procured from a professional speech
writer. Later, he discovered that he had
been duped and had read to the House
Aaron Burr's farewell to the Senate.
Overcome with chagrin, the story goes,
that he killed himself. The Nashville
World, however, tells a different story of
his suicide, as follows:
eve doubt the above story, now, we
suppose, for the first time published, of
Speaker White. We have heard from sew
eral Old-time Kentuckians the account of
his suicide-men who resided at the time
in Madison the home of the Speaker
John l.. White J, and adjoining counties.
As the facts have been related for years
in his own Congressional district, they
are even less creditable to the memory Of
the distinguished kentuckian than the
"reminiscences as given in the GlObe-DeHl-
OcrGt.
cit is said that while Speaker Of the
House at Washington pretty woman be-
came so infatuated with the brilliant
Kentuckian that on the adjournment of
Congress he found it necessary to impOr-
tune her to remain behind during the va
cation, she having declared her purpose
to follow him to Richmond, and enjoy the
holidays in his society. 1t was said she
partially promised to bide the absence of
her lover for the time, but the Speaker
had enjoyed the society of his wife and
little ones but two or three days, when the
old stage coach drove up in front of his
law Office one afternoon, and the faithful
fair one alighted. Of course Mr.. White
was stricken dumb! To have this woman
follow him to the home and social circle
and the idol, was more than the Ken
tuckian could bear, and live. Like Gold
smiths ''lovely woman" he had ''stoeped
to folly" and knew
1.-THE only act his guilt to cover,
To hide his shame from every eye,
To bring repentance to his lover,
And wiring her boeOm-was to die
1.-The story goes that he hesitated not a
moment, but like the hero he was-who
could not abide dishonor-walked into the
back room of his Office, and, placing the
muZZle of a derringer to hisshead, atoned
for the folly of the unfortunate mesalli-
ance by suicide. Thus ended a brief but
brilliant career.
Thousands of the descendants of the
generation then living in Mr.. Whites dis
trict now represented by Phil. ThOmp-
son will read the theory of plagiarism
as the cause of the suicide for the first
time. The theory as above set forth is the
one which has prevailed for nearly fifty
years."
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25
Great CLOSING Sale Of The s
ANA ZINC BARGAIN
AMAZING BARGAD
SWEEPING REDUCTId
SWEEPING REDUCTld

IN ORDER TO REDUCE MY IMMENSE STOCK OF FALL a.
GOODS, HAVE MADE EXTRAORDINARY Aynr
PRECEDENTED REDUCTIONS IN PRICES
BLANKETS low soc. pair that 81 30 the,
prOpOrtiOnately low.
RUSSIAN CIRCULARS, WALKING COATS, CLoAks,
half their former price
CHILDREN's CIlOAKS we propose at any price
FANCY DRESS GOODS CASHNIERES, PLAIDs Lam
offer such prices will positively surprise
SHAWLS, FELT and CLOTH SKIRTS must also 60 ana
the prices such figures compel their
PLAIN and EMBROIDERED FLANNEIIS white. Scarf.
are also greatly reduced in price.
sHEETINGs, TABLE LINENS, NAPKINS, DOYIIEs Nd
QUILTS will be found be the cheapest ever I
HOSIERY.-In this department have very fun ln
markably low prices. Our zoe. and 25c. Misses Hose All
in this city soc Other styles and
UnquestiOnaby these greatest bargains Offered
In
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25
Ignorant of Art.

ar Congress pays $4,000 for Gen.
Thomas, portrait and the picture of the
Electoral Commission" remarked Au-
ger. sit will be an outrage. Tney are not
worth it."
Eyes they are" replied Gimlet.
Chow SO? They aIe very badly
painted?"
eyes, but the artists are women, and
have great influence in Congress-"
Glow does that affect their pictures 2,
EHow does itg' repeated Gimlet with
deep disgust. "Where did you study
art?"
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25

Cows will always prefer ensilage to dry
food. In fact, all animals are partial to
green, succulent matter in winter when
ever il can be procured. Even supposing
that ensilage possesses no value as fOOd,
which is not the case, the occasional
change from dry to green food promotes
thrift, and consequently increases pro-
duction OF milk, butter and beef.
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25

scribes. for he states that he has been
several times shot by the animal-at all
ages, it would seem, from boyhood, when
it entered my gaping mouth and ore Of
my eyes, to a later time in 1882, when he
received the last dose full in the right
eye.'"
RHINOCEROs STEAK.
''These are tough yarns, but use his
own words. And speaking of tough
things reminds me of dinner we had in
Troy some years ago. l belonged to the
Epicurean Club there, and we had a man
for cook that was king of his art and had
orders to put on every new dish he could
get. So this might've met every Satur-
day-we had some guests. One was a
man from the Beetsteak Club, OF London,
and when we sat down they brought in a
platter with a steak on it about three feet
long and two wide and about an inch and
three-quarters thick. And the odOr! Ye
gods and little fishes, but it was raptur-
Gus. Tom HaddOn was carver. and after
trying 1t he sent out for a knife that
looked like a razor and at last got it cut
up. And that was the last OF it. There
wasn't knife or a pair of Jaws there that
could cut into it, and there we were, like
the fellow bound to the rock surrounded
by water but dying of thirst. tried it,
but the piece bounded from one jaw to
another, like a rubber ball, so that gave
it up, but the flavor was sublime-in fact,
it was all flavor. At last we called in
Joe, the cook, and asked him what 1t was.
And what do you think?'' l gave it up.
''Well, it was rhinOcerOs. 1t seems that
some circus was gong over the bridge
and the rhinOceros had fallen through and
broken his leg and SO they had to shoot it,
and so Joe got the steak. 1t was good, but
tough. We despise horse meat; but look
at Paris. The poorer people are glad to
get it, but here our poor classes are only
satisfied with the very best. And so it
goes. Come and see me next week, Mon
day." concluded my friend ''and you
shall taste some of the famous blind fish
of Mammoth Cave and some OF the blind
catfish from the underground Conestoga."
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25
SHORTHAND IN HISTORY.
The Art of Quick Reporting Dates Back
Two Thousand Years.
Chicago Nesos.


An allusion in an article on Mr.. Irv-
ing's Hamlet to the fact that the Quarto
of 1853 was printed from a stolen short
hand report of the tragedy seems to have
provoked question as to the existence of
shorthand reporters at that day. Why
there should be any doubt on such a
matter is surprising.
Shorthand, or some method of repre-
senting spoken words as rapidly as uttered
is almost contemporaneous with the art of
writing itself. XenOphOn 444-354 B. c.
is supposed to have been the inventor of
the Greek system, which he employed in
recording the memorabilia OF Socrates.
"My tongue is the pen of a ready
writer" Psalms XIV, l } suggests the
practice of shorthand among the Is
raelltes at an early period.
A series of LOO arbitrary signs was
invented and used IN Rome by Eunius
(239-169 B. c.
Trio, the freedman of Cicero, perfected
a system for the Roman known as the
Tironian. This was used by Trio himself
to take down and preserve the great
Grafton of Cato against Cesar's proceed
ings respecting the Catilinarian con-
spiracy as well as Cicer0's own OratiOns
on the same subject.
So fast was this system that one of
MartiaPs epIgTams, addressed to a notary,
confessed that the tongue was too slow
for the hand.
Some lines by the poet Ausonius in
praise of an expert in the time Of the
Emperor Gratian haYe been translated
to read as follows:
o wondrous art though from my lips
The words like patIeriDG hailstones fall,
Thine ear hath caught them every one,
Thy nimble pen portrayed them ali.
MY words no sooner are pronounced
Than on thy tablets they appear;
NV mind cannot keep equal pace
With thy light ffngers' swift career.
The history Of shorthand in English
! dates back to the sixteenth century. How
much earlier it was practiced we have no
means Of knowing.
| In 1888 Timothy Bright published IN
London a work entitled 'ChRracterie, an
! Art Of Short, Swift and Secret Writing by
| Characters"
Two years later Peter Bales published
another work on the same subject entitled
! ''The Writing SchoOlmaster, in Three
| Parts" in the introduction 70 one Of the
| parts Of which the author says: BRA
| chygraphy, or the art of writing as fast
as man speaketh treatably, may seem
| difficult, but it is in effect very easy, con-
! tanning many commodities under few
! principles, the shOrtness whereof Is at
| tanned by memory, the swiftness by prac'
| tice, the sweetness by Industry"
This was written some ten or dozen
| years before Shakspeare's "Hamlet" was
| played. Our readers may take 1t for
| granted that In all time whenever there
| has been anything worth reporting some
/ expert writer or industrious Boswell mas
| been on hand to record the speaker
| words.
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25

Another novelty is waistcoats, buttoned
on to the front Of bodiees, made OF fur, or
a new material, fr1rged silk, Ike sIlk
EucAes
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25

The ltnings for cloaks are ofplatn eatln'
Quilting 10 no longer fasAtezable.
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25
HORsFORD's ACID PHOSPHATE
In liability frnm OYerMnrk.

DIR. G. W. Collins, Upton, Ind, says:
81 used it In nervous debility brought on
by everwork in warn weather, with gsod
regults,5
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25
NEW EM BROlDERIES|
NEW EMBROIDERIES

In this Department claim preeminence. I have oras
of Spring Importation. goods ma
and lower than common goods sold this
especially Ladies to examine a
bPOideTy before making their purchases
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25
The Celebrated Genuine LOnsdaIe Cambr
wE1sBE1N,s BLACK srLK

Have achieved reputation excellence,
justly proud The complete, prices are still
before. My 81 positively superior to am
81 90 Please remember this.
Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25
KITTEN PIE.

A KITTEN PIEs
at was kitten pie. For certain rea-
sons kept IL to myself at the time, but L
stick to it vet, it was fine. Every hunter
knsws that pumais a royal dish-and the
puma is nothing but big cat. In tact,
all these animals are good eating. Take
the skunk"
''You don't mean"
''NO, IdOn't," replied the epicure. "YOu
oyerreach me. What l was about to say
was, the skunk will eat an owl, and why
shouldn't anyone else? and when proper
" cooked owl Is fine eating, only you
don't want 1t for steady diet, you know.
1t has a staying power that rather spolls
it for some. Although l haven't tried
skunk, there is a person who has, and as
l am interested In this sort OF thing L
made a copy the other day ct some re-
marks made by the eater In the transac-
lions OF the Linnaan Society OF New
York, and here they are. The gentleman's
name Ia Merriam and he is q doctor In the
town Of Locust Grove, n. I. He says:
The flesh Of the skunk is white, tender
and sweet and 10 delicious eating. 1t is
not unlike chicken, but is more delicate
and its taste is particularly agreeable.
Being. happily, free from any OF that
9souamishness' which Audubon and
Rachman lament as preventing them from
tasting the meat Of this animal, | am
able to speak on this point from ample
personal experience, having eaten its
flesh cooked In variety of ways-bOiled,
roasted, fried and fricasseed-and am pre-
pared to assert that a more 'toOthsOme
Bit than broiled skunk is hard to get
and rarely finds it way to the epicure.' l
consider" said my friend, shat this Wrl-
ter ate skunk merely to find out what 1t
was like-not to add new dish to the
lIst-but he is a brave man and seems TO
banker after the animal In the state
Of natuIH az w5l, as In the way ~ o.
The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1885-08-11
Gone Again.

Las Vegas. New Mexico, August s.
The Monlezuma hotel, as Las Vega, Hot
Spi ings, caught fire In the kitchen in the
basement at 1850 tonight and burned
nearly TO the ground IN an hour The loss
will extend 10 100000 Eight eastern
guests perished in The flames. The hotel
was owred by the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe railway. Ii was opened in April
last. The compauy's hotel on the same
site, burned eighteen months ago.
The fire wss OF inceniiary origin. 1t
broke out in The fourth story
attic, near the main tower i'm the servants
quarters. Seventy-fv- guess were in the
house. 1t canpOI Be definitely lie earned to-
night, whether all escaped or not. TIE
building burOed like finder, and the he t
was so great that no baggage OF furniture
vas savtd. Special trains have tax, up
bO'h The Las Vegas FIRE companies. The
loss will be nearly S250OO The dispatch
reporting the loss of eight lives. came by
telephone, and has not been confirmed.
The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1885-08-11
A French scientist and skeptic

A French scientist and skeptic
named De Cardolle has taken the
trouble to investigate the records of
clergymen-s sons, with especial refer
ence to their eminence in science, and
has MADE out very strong case for
ministers boys In this country a
reference to the Beecher family and
the President of the United States l.
enough to disprove the old malignant
untruth about preachers sons turning
"ut badly, not to mention Bancroft.
Emerson, Holmes, Lowell, and the
great army of distinguished divines
VINO have followed In taeir fathers
footsteps.