davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Wonderful Feats of Memory.
Toronto Globe.


There was Corsican boy who could
rehearse 10000 words, whether sense or
nonsense, as they were dictated, and
then repeat them in the reversed order
without making single mistake A
physician, about sixty years ago, could
repeat the whole of paradise LOST
without mistake although he had not
read 1t for twenty years Euler, the
great mathematician, when he became
blind could repeat the whole of irgil's
"A.neid, and could remember tho iirst
line ana the last line in every page of
the particular edition which he had been
accustomed to read before he became
blind. One kind Of retentire memory
may be considered as the result of sheer
work, a determination toward one par
tioular achievement. without reference
either 10 cultivation or to memory on.
other subjects. This is frequently shown
by persons in humble life in regard to
the Bible
An old .beggarman at Stirling, known
about fifty years ago ts t'Blind Aliak, y
afforded an instance OF tliS. He kne w
the whole of the Bible by heart, inso-
much that if q sentence was read TO
him, he could name book, chapter and
verse; or if the book, chapter, and verse
were namcd he could give the exact
words. A gentleman, to st him, re-
peatcd a verse, purposely making one
verbal iuaccuracy. AlicE heSitated,
named the place where the passage was
to be found, but at the same time
pointed out theyerbal error. The same
gentleman asked him to repeat the
nmetieth verse Of the seventh chapter
Of the book Of Numbers Alick almost
instantly replied: There is 10 such
verse. That chapter has only eighty
nne verses. Gassondi had acquired
:. by heart 5000 Latin verses, and in
order to give his memory exercise h
was i'll the habit daily OF reciting 80l
verses from different languages. Saur-
derson, another mathematician, could
repeat all Horace's odes, and great
part of the other Latin authors.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
The Prince consort's aIau,Oleum.

The mausoleum from the outside,
though imposing gives no indication
that the large sum Of 200, 900 pounds
sterling was spent ny the queen in its
construction The ground plan is in
form of a greek Cross. The dome,
lighted by eight stained-glass windows
in the elerestory, is colored blue, with
gold stars. Lines of angels between
each window converge toward the cen
ter. From this height of seventy feet
to the exquisite floor of inlad marble
there is not an inch Of space without
the adornment of the best decorative
art. The marble paneling of the walls,
the bas-reliefs, the urns and statues,
the fresco paintings of saints and Incl
dents of scripture history the painting
in the ceiling OF the eastern transept,
The Glorideation of the Saints, was
from sketch by the princess royal OF
England-are one and all worthy of the
most careful study.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Viennn's Puillc Enths.


The public baths Of Vienna are said
to be the finest in the world. The build.
ing is situated in the heart of the city,
and inclosos basin 80 feet in length
by 1910 feet in width, and varying N
depth to II feet The enormous quant-
ity Of water contained in this basin IS
renewed three times day. The whole
establishment has commodation for
1900 persons, and is open from MAY 1
to Get. 81, and from in the morning
until dusk. There is also bath 70
stricted 10 ladies, open from in the
morning until /; and the Vienna ladies
arc especially good swimmers.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Cruelty TO Children.
rNH. Il. A.'gN NeM York Letter.l ]

II, H. "A. s. New YORK Letter
The absolutely brutal neglect of the
poor little babies in New York by their
wretchedly careless and cruel nuF-
ses is enough to break ones heart. !
expect confidently to be assaulted by
one Of these wrotehes some day, when,
as on several occasions, have remon-
strated against the apparent intention of
the becapped parcel of ignorance Of
shaking poor little creatures head oil,
or of dislocating a member in brutal
seizure of child by the hand or wrist,
and the dragging Of the little unfortu-
nate through a mass of people in q
crowded shop while it walled from the
pain of the great rough hand and its
vise-like grasp. 1t Is simply dreadful
to see the way the children are pulled
and dragged about by the creatures
hired to protect and care for them.
saw nursemaid strike a child full
in the face the other day because the
little thing rebelled against being
| dragged into that awful paudemonium
"a cry goods store. Poor little thing,
] presume she had vivid r2colloctions OF
desperate struggles to keep her wee
head on her shoulders in that fearful
crowd of pushing, and pulling, and
punching humanity. | saw another
nursemaid engaged in pointing out tC
her charge-a dear little mite Of 3 ol
4 years-"the big black bear thai ate "
naughty little girls and boys when then
nurses wrote him a letter informing
him of the wickodness of certain httll
girls or boys. The look of absolute
terror on this dear little child's face a
she chung with wide-open, horror
stricken eyes to the brute who wa
thus i'll treating her was positiyel,
pitiful
] was on the point Of following thi
creature to the child's homo, there f
acQuaint its mother with the threat
had overheard, but the memory of
similar incident and the result of my in
terference made me fear to repeat til
experience, and the little child had dis
appeared be ore | had decided. Perhap
il is well; for the last time | took th
trouble to acquaint the lady of th
nurses cruelty to her baby | was asEe
not to interfere in matters which did nc
concern me-a very wise bit of coun5e
by the way.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Childless Great Men.


Robert Stephenson left no family be-
hind. His wife died many years ago,
and he remained widower, SO that the
direct line from George Stephenson, the
eminent engineer, has died out. James
Watt, the noted inventor, left no de-
scandants, 1t appears that the men
noted for mechanical genius, like many
o. those famous in literature. science.
aad goyernment, leave no children to
perpetuate their names Shakespeare,
Milton, Bacon, Newton, Harvey, Pope,
Mansfield, Pitt, Fox, Gray, Gowper,
Collins, Goldsmith, Thompson, Con-
grove, Hume, Bishop, Butler, Locke,
Hubbs, Adam Smith, Bentham, Dayy,
Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Thomas Law
renee, Byron, Lord Clyde, and others
well known to fame have no representa-
tives now living.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Friends of the Farmer.

The French minister of finance has
issued circular to people in the com
try, in which he warns them against
destroying toads, lady bugs, and insect
ivorous birds, which he pTonouno2s tfo
friends Of the farmer. Tosds otit al
most exclusively upon the worms and
bugs they fnd feeding on useful plants.
The little spotted lady bug destroys
plant lice, scale-bug5, and many harm
ful insects. The birds that feed on in
sects cannot be too well protected The
boy who kills one of these or toad
should be whipped, and the man should
be fined and imprisoned
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
The Tobacco Cure.

That venerable politician and scientist
of South Carolina, Gen. Thomas L.
Iingman, tells me that his present
visit to New York is purely philan-
thropic, 81 am preparing" he said, to
publish work which will reduce
human suffering so per cent. It relates
to the pure dried tobacco leaf as q cura-
tive Of every disease, from a bunion on
your foot to disease of the scalp, Gen.
Carr, Of our geological survey, tells me
it cured him of gout. have known it
to cure an ulcer of twenty years run
ming A friend whose knee had been
injured by the kick 0f a horse, and who
had been on crut thcs six months, ap-
piled tobacco three nights and threw
away the sticks, Fur sore eyes, bruises,
swellingS-e everything is equally eff
cacions. You simply soak the leaf thor
oughly in water, lay it on with wet
cotton bandage over it and 90 to sleep.
The cure is marvellous"
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31

Indications are not lacking that t'o
various Photographic reproductive pro
ceSscs will soon, practically, usurp tie
province Of Wood-cngraying. Stec' Gu
craving already is virtually extinct.
The wood-engrayer of the near futulo
must be master of his art-an artist,
in fact--to obtain employment. There
will be plenty of portraiture for Cole,
and OF landscape WORK for a Kingsley;
but the days of jouneyman of tho
burin are numbered. 1t is not easy for
thoughtful person, familiar with thl
technical and commercial conditions Of
book and magazine illustrating, to
glance at some of the holiday books and
come to any other conclusion.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
A Cold-Air supply.
Popular Science 1loDthly.

-Four large cold storage warehouses
are now in operation in New York city,
and it is said that the time is not far
distant when cold air will be served in
pipes throughout the city, Just as gas
and water are now. One Of the novel
features of the new Washington market,
now being constructed, is network OF
pipes running through the building,
through which cold air will be furnished
to the different meat-stands.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
THE OUTSIDE DOG.


philadelphia Call
You may sing Of your dog, your bottom dog
Or Of any dog that you please;
| 60 for the dog, the nice old dog,
That knowingly takes his case,
And wagging his tail outside the ring,
Keeping always his bone in sight,
Cares not a pin in his sound old head
For either dog in the fight.
Not his Is the bone they are fighting for
And why should my dog sail in
With nothing TO gain but certain chance
To lose his own precious skinl
There may be few, perhaps, who fail
To see it quite in this light;
But when tie fur flies hai rather be
The outside log in the fight
l know there are dogs, injulicious do s.
That think it is quito the thing
To take the part of one of tde dogs,
And 90 yelpin1 into the ring,
But | care not pin what all may say
In regard TO the wrong or the right
My money goe as well ~ my song,
For the dog that keeps out Of the fight.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
An Engllsh Writnr,s views.

A recent English writer in Mature
says that 'the negro as long as he is in
fuenced by contact with the whites, as
in the southern portion of the United
States, gets on very well, but place him
free from such influence, as in Hayti
and he shows no improvement. On the
contrary he is retrograding to African
tribal custems,, and without exterior
pressure will fall into the state of in
habtants Of the Congo. He has yet
shown himself untitled for self-govern-
ment, and incapable of making any
progresS whatever
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
EN- MEMSpRHA7E.

1--WE shape ourselves the JOY or fear
OF which the coming life is made,
And fills the futures atmosphere
With sunshine, or with shade. ."-Whitticr.
''Then let us build, as we would dwell,
Be this each lifes endemor;
For what through time our souls uprear
win stand-inust stand-forever
Miss f. h. Stdrkey.
Mrs. Seraphina ]. King, the subject
of this brief sketch--was born in Car
ter County Tenn, Dec. 20, 1910; was
united in marriage to Mr.. John T.
King, of Washington County, on the
1lth OF September, 1866, and departed
this life on Sunday, November the
End, 1884. She was born again, in
Christ, at the age of Is years, under
the teaching Of Elder James Davis, Of
Va, and joined the Baptist Church
at Elizabethton, in 1855,
Blessed by Nature with an amiable
disposition, q warm heart, sweet,
sunny temper and tender sensibilities,
Mrs. King, in her childhood, was dis
tinguished for her loveliness of char
acter, and concentrated on herself, In
voluntarily, the affections OF the do
mestic circle, at home, and OF all her
childish companions aud associates.
When to her native virtues were
added the graces of the humble, sin
cere and devoted christian, her life
became living light and shed dl-
vine radiance around her which grew
brighter and more beautiful to its
close.
Her religion was neither spasmodiC
nor demonstrative neither noisy MOI
obtrusive; but like the warmth anC
persuasiveness Of the blood in the
body, it gave healthful vitality to hel
spirit, and impaired to all the activi
ties of her intellect and life the quie
but magnetic and vigorous glow o
that love which is the essence Of God
and the soul OF all true and genuine
religion.
She was the light of her husband
heart and her gentle, sweet and ten
der affection for him, made her home
his paradise In his affection and sui
ferings, her keen sympathy responded
to every pang and her unwearying
ever gentle and cheerful attention
We're, indeed, the magnetic touches O
ministering angels hand.
Happy was it for her that she hat
put on the robes Of welcome gucG
at the marriage feast. Through TEL
months of wasting agony, she waite
for the coming of the messenger
clothed in the garment OF sAlyatio
and when he came, at last, she hast,l
but joyfully closed her eyeg to cart
and entered upon the bliss OF eteln'
life.
Husband, in the darkness and glool
Of your bereavement, mother sister
brothers, kindred, friends, in the hus
that pals the new made grave of I'll
departed one, while your stricke
hearts vainly sigh
"Oh, for the touch OF a vanished hand
The sound OF voice that is still "
Listen, and breaking the silence
the heavens, the earth, and the tom
above the rustic of unseen wings, ]
Your Spirits ear drink in the gil
message OF the Apocalyptic Angel
"There shall be no more death, nett
or sorrow, nor crying, neither shs
there be any more pain for the fc
mer things are passed away"
rh N. G. I.
--------ta .sR. -
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Her Majesty "OIaid Servants"

In personal attendance on her majesty
are "maids of honor, nine in number,
two of them being on duty month at a
time, receiving 5000 salary, for, whilst
they are supposed to be companions
Of the queen, they are really, as a radi-
cal organ asserts, titled menials." They
certainly are of aristocratic birth. "A
salary similar in amount is paid to each
Of the "bed chamber women" many of
whom have handles to their names. They
are only expected to do duty on high
occasions, when one is required to attend
for a fortnight at time. Besides them
there are the eight ladies Of the bed
chamber" who get Sc, 500 each year
for about six weeks service, divided into
three turns. The honorary Office Of
mistress Of the robes, with like rec.
ompense attached, is held by the duch-
eSS of BoXburghe.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Receiving the 1'ip.

The competent waiter never returns
thanks for tip. He sweeps it up with
such other crumbs as happen to be on
the tablecloth, and puts it in his pocket
with nonchalance which, being inter
preted into words, says: "0h, yes, I'll
take it, as a gratuity, not as q tip; and
! take it only to please you, not that |
want it, am too much of gentleman
to offend you by refusing your tribute
to my distinguished worth. =
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Absence of Ch!ll1oud.

Lord Colerdge says that when in this
country he was struck by the absence of
childhood. We defer to our children,
ask their opinions, allow them to en-
gross the general attention, force social
obligations on them, and cut them of
from all the sweet dependence of their
years, making grown persons Of them
before English children have left the
nIlrcarv
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Metallic Paper.

Metallic paper is French invention,
and upon it chrome Autographs are rem
dered transparent by coating, and
backed with tin-foil The effect is said
to be very striking, and the possible ap-
plieations of the invention are very
numerous and useful.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31

Mrs, Garfield, widow Of the late
Is President, says that the only founda-
ton for the report that she was going
South to look altar certain valuable
gold mine, is the fact OF her owning a
piecs Of land IN North Carolina, from
which she has never heard ard il il
is producing any gold she is ignorant
Of il, She says she has no intention
of taking a Southern tip.--Ex
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Adveraising Agents.

To the man whose business requires
extensive advertising, the advertising
agent is as necessary as the attorney is
to enc who is called upon to prosecute
or defend All action at law. The sue
cessful advertising agent makes news
papers-their circulation their inhu-
enee--a study. Observation and ex-
perience have taught him that sue
cessful advertising is science; that
certain methods will produce certain
results, He knows in what class of
periodicals an advertisement should
be placed to reach the greatest NUM-
ber'of readers who would probably re-
spond proftably to the advertiser; he
will furnish estimates OF the cost OF
an advertisement in any line of peri.
odicals, and his intelligence Of the de-
tails Of display, pos ition,etc,, is an in
valuable aid to the advertiser.
In this connection we would call at
tention to N. w. Aver & Son, the pop
ular advertising agents Of Philadel'
phia. Their business is Of immense
volume, and extends over the whole
American continent The thorough.
ness OF their method, their prompt
attention to detail and withal the fair
. ness with which they deal with pub
= fishers aad advertisers hsve won the
confidence Of both, and have PLACED
Messrs Aver & Son in the front ranl
OF the advertising agents of the world
--Ercbaage.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
The Omcial Chinese pnner.

The King-Pau is the name of the
official Chinese paper. 1t was started
in the year oil as a semi occasional
journal. Then for some centuries it
was a weekly, and at the beginning of
the present century it became daily.
It publishes three editions and has six
editors, with a circulation of $4,000.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31

lNnrrIsfnMn Herald.

A boarding house cook has been
awarded $3.50 for the invention of q
new and improved chicken soup. Read
ers may smile at this idea, but the man
who inyents new soup confers a
greater benefit upon mankind than if
he we're to go on an Arctic expedition
and return with the north pole.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
India Rnhhs,.,s rlrsh Irse.


Probably one of the earl est references
to the use of India rubber for the re-
moval of pencil marks occurs in a note
to the introduction of treatise on per-
spective by DR.. Priestley, published in
l770. The author remarks at the con-
clusion of the preface: 'Since this
work was printed off | have seen sub
stance excellently adapted to the pur-
pose of wiping from paper the marks
of black lead pencil. 1t must, there
fore, be Of singular use to those who
practice drawing. 1t is sold by a
mathematical instrument maker, oppo-
site the Royal exchange. He sells q
cubical piece of about half an inch for 8
shillings and he says it will last several
yedrs
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Laws Against Adulteration.
baltimore SUM- !

In the United States so little attention
is given, until of late years, to the adul-
tcration Of food and drugs that very few
states have enacted special laws to pun
i.h these practices. The adulterations
provided against by the laws of Mary
land are those Of butter, fertilizers and
Illuminating oil. In other countries
aaulteration is strictly prohibited under
penal obligations In England the pen
alties are very severe, including both
fine and Imprisonment. In Prussia the
offender is liable to fine and imprison-
met, with confscation of goods. In
Holland and France the penalties are
fines and terms of imprisonment, ex-
tending IN some cases TO five years. Our
looser laws, or the absence of special
laws on the subject, have given free
scope to these fraudulent practices, and
owing to the increasing competition of
trade and the absence Of wholesome re-
strictions, the adulteration Of many
articles has been carried to an extent
that not unfre iuently either renders
them preiudicial TO health, or changes,
in greater or less degree, their cura-
tive or their nourisling properties.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
JolIerson's inaugural.
Chicago Journal


The iconoclast has been around again,
and smashed the beautiful fabric of
romance and imposture which fancy and
tradition had constructed around the
Inauguration OF Thomas Jefferson as
president. The story, as it has been
told, was to the elect that Jefferson
rode On horseback from his lodgings to
the capitol, hitched his animal to the
fence, entered the supreme court room
without escort, took the oath of Office,
and retired alone as lie had entered.
Some. ruthless person, however, has
been burrowing among the newspaper
files of the day, and finds that this is
an airy fiction and gment Of the brain.
March q, 1901, was tny Of univer-
sal activity in Washington The Wash
ington artillery fred repeated salutes;
he Alexandria rides paraded in the
treets, and al noon Mr.. Jefferson, ac-
companied by large number Of mem
hers of congress and personal friends,
went to the senate chamber in the
capitol There he delivered his inau-
gural address, after which the chief
justice of the supreme court admins
tered to Kim the oath of Office 1t was
a more ornate affair than any previous
inaugural ceremony.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Ane!ent Art!aeIni Incubation.


The fashion of artificial incubation,
though much OF late years has been writ
ten on the subject, is not by any means
q modern invention In one of my
morning readings at the British Museum
l learned that incubation was highly
sgcccssful among the ancient Egyptians,
and their Matching ovens often furnished
100000, 600 of chickons annually. In
fact, the incubator usually hatcbed out
more eggs than the hen mother.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Sorghum Sugar.
T,4,~ n,,,..

Professor Collier, vouched for as a
high authority, predicts that by the
new process of manufacturing sorghum
sugar it will be sold for cent a pound
in a few years, and it will be impossible
10 distinguish it from cane sugar.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Care of the Teeth.

1t is of course desirable TO brush the
teeth on rising in the morning and be
fore retiring at night, but it is Of infinite
more Importance that they should be
thoroughly cleaned after eating.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31

Paper wheel spokes are coming into
use. The paper pulp is forced into iron
melds under heavy pressure, where it
dries and hardens.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
Quiet London.

London is now one of the quietest
cities in the world in consequence of the
prevalence of wood or asphalt pavement
in all the chief thOroughfares.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31
The Electric Light.

The electric light is pronounced by an
English scientist, who claims to have
exhaustively examined into, the subject,
the only illuminant by which the sur
rounding atmosphere is not vitiated.
The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-31

Quill pens are again in fashion. They
are well adapted for the large, angular
penmanship now in favor among ladies.