davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16
Justice In Russia.

During my four months inquiry, says
a visitor in Russia, it was revealed to me
how our Judges trample the laws under
foot; how cynical and wanton is the be-
havior of our police; how savagely brute
force is brought to bear upon the weak
and friendlcss. / lived in an atmosphere
of appalling groans and heart breaking
sighs. l liberated innocent persons who
had been kept in prison by the executive
several years after they had been publicly
acquitted in open court, and who had
been secretly tortured. x X * I con-
WINGED myself that there was absolutely
nothing in common between myself and
the local authorities. A black and bot
tomless gulf lay between US. They
traficked wantonly with u laws, con-
v~erting them into instruments of eXtor-
ton. Words fail to describe the impress
sions made upon me by my first visit to
the State prisons. Hundreds of human
beings find a premature grave in these
loathsome dens. They die lingering
deaths therein, or emerge from them
crippled for life. 1t was horrible to be
compelled to acknowledge that these
semi-animate, wasted, filthy, and dun
colorcd objects, draped in a few rotten
rags, were, after all, mcn and women.
The confined atmosphere, poisoned by
exhalations from every sort of abomina-
ton, absolutely stopped my breath, SO
rank and fetid was it.
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16
4 Maine Character.

The Lewiston. Ne. Journal say.
Miss Prescott. n Hallowell is maiden,
probably the most pronounced advocate
of "woman's rights" in Maine, and
dresses most like a man, and her odd
costume forms a figure familiar to Ken
ncbcc county people, and they long -
were done staring at her, but she makes
the eyes Of strangers open. She has
worn the ''Bloomer" rig for d quarter of
a century. When I Jaw her. q few days
ago, she had on cranberry olored calico
trousers that reached 4 her ankles, a
frock of the same stuff, that reached to
her knees, and over this a short sack of
the same material which came down as
far as her waist and was full of pockets.
On her head she had u broad brimmed
straw hat, which she took off as she
came into the car, showing that her
short hair was parted a little to one side.
Her only ornament was a short wooden
scarf, which wa attached to the back of
her neck and hung down in two straight
ends. In the winter she wears mems
wooden trousers and q mans hat. She
is very keen IN business transactions, and
has a pleasant face, indicative of much
intellectual strength. She toesn't ask
odds of anybody.
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16
LIFE AT E POINT.
Class Standing No Criterion by which to
Judge OF Military Ability.

cit is impossible to Judge of a persons
military ability by his standing at West
Point" said an old cadet yesterday. eff
q young fellow is q trife careless and
forgets to invert his wash bowl q few
dozen times a year, and go to parade
with a spot on his trousers, or with his
boots unblacked, he may pile up demer-
its that will give him a poor place in
his class, though he may have a good
standing in his studies. The boys who
avoid any kind of fun that might lead
to black marks are far from favorites at
West point.
= "One cadet, who spent the last two
months of his cadet life in light prison,
was found at graduation to have more
months. He passed his examination in
studies, but his deficiencies in disci-
pine caused his discharge. Had it not
been for them he would have stood sec
ond in q class of sixty. He managed to
civil life, and is now q Lieutenant of in
fantry.
''The opportunities for being reported
for breaches of discipline ut West Point
are very numerous. There are q dozen
chances during the day for him to get a
bad mark for being late. At the inspec-
tion of quarters the cadets gets dement's
if he is found in his room coatlcss. if the
floor Is dirty, if his overcoat hangs on
the second nail in the ~alcove, or if the
shell jacket has changed places with the
night shirt. The wash bowl must be
bottom up, the soap dish clean, the
water pail full. and towels immaculate.
"My mate and l once struggled
into the barracks a basket of fruit which
q friend had sent us. We placed the
basket upon a board wedged far up the
chimney, where it was to remain until
we had q chance to invite a few friends
to the feast. My chum was at the Sec
ton room and l working at my mathe-
mates, when n little f1axen-haired Lieu
tenant of cavalry came in and l stood at
attention during his inspection. He
found nothing out of the way and start
ed to leave, when suddenly he stopped,
shifted q little, and said:
"'There is fruit in this room is there
note
"1 decline to answer, SIR said I.
My refusal to criminate myself, a right
that I was ut perfect liberty to exercise,
made him angry. He turned everything
in the room upside down, until his at
tention was directed to the chimney,
where the fruit was found. He ordered
1t turned into the guardhouse, and the
next day, being called to the Command
ants office on business, I saw the last of
the fruit disappearing down the throat
OF the officer in charge"
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16
Great Guns
cisco Post

1t has just beea discovered that in a
number of 1H.ir"I ;nor'a's at Woolwich,
England, the ve:4!1lat been r.,lled only
to a depth of three OF four inches, leav-
ing q barrier Of solid metal about. eight
inches deep between the friction tube
and the powder charge. 1t has there
fore been concluded-probably with
sufficient reason-that they are not eft
for service" But it is, nevertheless, the
fact that they were received, inspected
and passed into store as thoroughly
serviceable." An explanation is due
from the man who says that ''they
always do these things better abroad"
"AND how does Charlie like going to
school?" kindly inquired q good man of
a six-year-old boy. 81 like goln' well
enough" replied the embryo statesman,
ingenuously; .fbut I don't like stayin'
after I get there"
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16
Great Salt Lake.

Great Salt Lake is in fact not q.
branch of the sea at all, but a mere,
shrunken remnant of n very large fresh
water lake system, like that of the still
existing St. Lawrence chain. Once
upon a time, American geologists, say,
a huge sheet of water, for which they
have even invented a definite name,
Lake Bonneville, occupied Il far larger
valley among the o~utlicrs of the Rocky
Mountains, measuring 300 miles in one
direction by 1870 in the other. Beside
this primitive Superior lay u great sec
ond shect--an early Huron-(Lake La
hontan the gcologists call i) almost as.
BID and equally of fresh water. BY and
oy-the precise dates arc necessarily in
DEFINITE some change in the rainfall,
unregistered by any contemporary, made
the waters of these big lakes shrink and
~evaporatc. Lake Lahontan shrank away
hke Alice in Wonderland, and there.
was absolutely nothing left of it; Lake.
Bonneville shrank till it attained the
diminished size of the existing Great Salt.
Lake. Terrace after terrace, running
in long parallel lines on the sides of the
Wahsatch Mountains around, mark the
various levels at which it rested for a.
while on its gradual downward course.
1t is still falling indeed, and the plain
around is being gradually uncovered,
forming the white, salt-cncrustcd shore,
with which all visitors to the Mormon
city are SO familiar. But why should
the -iater have become brinv? Why
should the evaporation of an old SUI
pcrlor produce at last a Great Salt
Lake Well, there is a small quantity
of salt in solution ever in the freshest of
lakes and ponds, brought down to them
by the streams or r~i"crs, and, as the wa
ter of the hypothetical Lake Bonneville.
slowly evaporated, the salt and other
mineral constituents remained behind.
Thu the solution grew constantly more
and more concentrated, till at the pres
ent day it is extremely saline. Prof.
Gcikic Ito whose works the present pa
per IS much indcbted) found that he
t1oated or the water in spite of himself;
and the under sides of the steps ut the
bathing places are all encrustcd with
short stalactitcs of salt, produced from
the drip of the bathers as they leave the
water. The mineral constituents. how
ever, differ considerably in their pro-
portions from those found IN true salt
lakes of marine origin, and the point at
which the salt is thrown down is still
far from having been reached. Great
Salt Lake must simmer in the sun for
many centuries yet before the point ar
rivcs at which las cooks say it begins
to settle.
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16
A Pretty Story.

A very tough story which is vouched
for, after a fashion, is going the rounds
and given for what it is worth. 1t is
related that "A Mr.. s. NJ was sit
ting in his backyard talking to some
friends, when his attention was called to
a hen with II brood Of young chickens
and a large rat that had emerged from
its hole, and was quietly regarding the
young chickens with the prospect of a
meal in view. AS the rat came from
its hole the house cat awoke from her
afternoon nap and caught sight of the
rat. Crouching low, she waited devcl-
opemcnts, and stood prepared to spring
upon his ratship. At the appearance Of
his ancient enemy, the cat, the Scotch
terrier, which had been summing itself in
the woodshed, prickcd up its ears and
quietly made for the place where the cat
stood. At this moment a boy came upon
the scene. The chickens were not cog
infant of being watched by the rat, nor
did the rat see the cat, MOI the feline the
dog, who had not noticed the coming of
the boy. A little chick wandered too
nigh and he was seized by the rat, which
was in turn bounced upon by tho cat.
and the cat was caught in the mouth by
the dog. The rat would not cease his
hold upon OF the chicken, and the cat,
in spite of the shaking she was getting
from the dog, did not let go the rat. 1t
was fun for the boy, and in high glee he
watched the contest and the struggle of
the victims. 1t seemed to him hat the
rat was about to escape after Il time, and
getting a stone he hurled it at the rodant.
The aim was not good, and the stone
struck the dog right between the eyes.
The terrier released its grip on the cat
and fell over dead. 1t had breathed its
last before the cat in turn let 60 the rat,
and turned over and died. The rat did
not long survive the enemy, and beside
the already dead chicken he laid himself
down and gave up the ghost. The owncr
of the dog was SO angry ut his death
that he is said to have come near making
the story complete by killing the boy
that killed the dog that shook the cut
that caught tho rat that bit the chicken
in the yard on - strcct.-San Fran
cisco Post.
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16
The Steeple Jack.
HOW AN EXPERT MEMBER OF THE CRAFT
TAKES DOWN A CHURCH sPlRE.
from the Chicago Tribune.]

To a reporter Mr.. Aubin confded q
few of the mysteries attending his as
cent to the top of St. Paul's Reformed
Episcopal steeple, which explains pretty
much how his work in general is accom-
plished. The total height of the steeple
from the ground was 200 feet, the
spiral portion which rose from the tower
being 1875 feet. Placing his block and
tackle and his swing stage in a conve-
nient position on the ledge of the
tower, he climbed to the highest posi-
BILE point in the inside of the spire from
which he could gain IN exit to the open
air. Emerging from the interior, he
winds a rope three times around the
spire in O mysterious and unexplained
manner, and fastens the two ends to-
gether. He then winds another rope
once around the spire, fastens its ends
together, and attaches thereto a belt
which is bound around his body. This
part of the apparatus is designed to
keep his body from falling back and
afford general steadincss in the ascent.
He then grasps the lower coil of the
triple rope with one hand and the high
er with the other, and walks along the
centre rope, changing at every step his
hand. grasps on the other ropes. He thus
winds his way around the spire, getting
higher at every step, steadied mean
while and kept in position by the rope
to which the waist belt is attached. As
he gradually gets higher the support
rope tends to get loose, and this is
remedied by drawing on it by the
buckles of the waist-bclt. When a
height is reached where the spire is suf-
ficiently narrow to permit the climber
to grasp it around with his arms he lets
90 his hold on the ropes and chambers to
the top. Once there, by means of a
small clothes-line he lets down a ham
mer, the claws of which seize the block
and tackle OF the tower below, and both
are then raised to the top. A'descentis
then made for the swing-stage, which is
attached to a hook of the block, and the
steeple-jack is now ready to begin
work. Heastarts in to remove the
boards of the wooden spire about eight
OF ten feet from the top. and then saws
of in sections the posts above The
same process is carried on in the de-
scent by block and tackle, until after q
weeks work tho steeple is a thing OF
the past
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16
London Horse Car Drivers.

Men who now a little about horses,
and of intelligence and integrity sutfi-
Gent to act as tranway guards. must be
a good deal more plentiful in the labor
market than domestic servants are, or
they would not be called upon t. slave
through such terribly long hours. 1t
seems to be a perfectly we'll authentic
Gated fact that the London tramca1
drivers are often compelled, week in, and
week out, to be on duty for sixteen
hours a day, with no interruption of the
toll on Sundays, exposed to all sorts of
weather, and allowed no regular hours
for their meals. This is white slavery.
indeed, and it is hardly wonderful that
an agitation has sprung up on the sub
ject, which, it may be hoped, will
touch the consciences if it does not melt
the hearts of the directors of the tram
way companies. AS to the neglect of
any provision for meal hours, the truth
of the charge is obvious to every passen-
ger. a car will stop a moment at a
street corner, where no passenger is to
be set down or taken ND. a bright
child who has been waiting will dart
from the pavement, needing her way
through the street traffic, and, with a
smile Of recognition, hand Il little bundle.
to the driver or guard. During the rest
of the journey the poor man will be seen
%munching the food thus provided fo1
him. The tram-car drivers arc a re.
markably patient and, considering all
they have to bear, a wonderfully good
tempered class of men. 1t is ii pity that
the market for their labor should be so
completely ovcrstockcd that the strike
which has been recommended would be
absolute folly. Domestic servants, on.
the other hand, seem to be difficult to
procure. One Of the agencies advertises
a reward of 4 gold watch to every girl;
hired through their office who can be in
duced to stay iii lcr place for two years.
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16
4 Hindu Funeral.

A bed Of straw was spread close by
the bank, ard the corpse laid upon il.
The body was wrapped from head to
foot in Il red cotton cloth. Then mort
straw was piled upon the body and {
very little wood upon :h>t. after which
one of the relatives touchc a li"hted
match to the straw. The mourl " sat
down upon their heels in II group to.
windward Of the pile, ami clat:.I So
ciably while they watched it burn. The
wind was strong. and it burned iicrccly
for about three min tics. and then very
moderately for about ten more, by the
end Of which time the fuel was all Ton
sumcd. Then the mourncrs arose,
dipped water from the river, and drown
ed out the fire; the corpse lay there 81
most intact. AMI We all saw tina. t was Il.
woman. The limbs were DIRE -. IN and
the face contortcd, the hair was burned
away, and the entire remains were black
and hideous, yet only the skin and HAIR
was burned. Presently H." mourner
put a stou: stick under the neck, an
other put another stick under the hips,
and at the word the carcass was tumbled
over the edge of the bank, and fell into
the water with a loud splash. A few
| yards further down it reappeared ut the
surface for a moment; upon which one
of the crcmators. reached out with his
stick and pushed it under, after which
we saw it no more. Not more than ten.
| yards below that we saw the heads OF
two large gavials that floated ut the sur
face, watching the proceedings With
| evident interest.
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16
The interests which are subject to dis.

The interests which are subject to dis.
aster from tornadoes are alive to the
Importance of h work in progress. In
tending purchasers of farms apply to
n Signal Office for information respect-
ing the liability OF their selected locality
to disaster. To such are sent the records
OF the past, as far as they are known.
whenever Lieut.. Finley travels in pur.
suit OF his studies, farmers and villagers
press for information. TO these he says
That nothing raised by the hand of man
above the surface of the earth can with
stand the shock of the tornado. He ad-
ylses them to seek ther. dugouts upon
the appearance Of the portontous Signs
OF disaster. and there await the passage
OF the storm. For their property he adj.
vlScs insurance., SO that the losses of the
individual may be shared by his more
fortunate neighbors. The insurance
companies, which last year .swrotc"
forty millions in tornado policies. are
eagerly awaiting the completion of a
map now IN progress of making, which
will, it is expected, greatly narrow the
~so-callcd tornado regions, and perhaps
show that large portions of them have
never experienced a disastrous storm.
Upon this map Lieut.. Finley proposes to
show from the complete records of sew
eral years, and the data as far as obtain
able formany previous years, the average
number of tornadocs for each locality
per annum Already, he thinks, the
study of the material in hand has shown
that there are comparatively narrow
belts of country which are the habitual
paths of tornadoes.
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16
MY OLD HOME

It stands upon q sunny slope,
And fronts the beechy hollow
Where glossy vines have ample scope
The wanton brook to follow;
Witch-hazels drop their magic wands
In search Of golden treasure;
And, lying in the silent ponds,
The trout find quiet pleasure.
The oxon turn their patient eyes
Upon me; the bay FLY
Neighs softly in her glad surprise;
The tender lambs are chilly,
And nestle in my apron wide;
The apple blooms are sitting
In eddies on the laughing tide,
To yonder river drifting.
The snowy dogwood stars the copse,
Ferns nod in fropded beauty,
The violet has modest hopes
To pay her fragrant duty,
The arum darts a mottled tongue
To Indian-pipe, and wing
With every flower the muse has sung
Arbutus pale is signing.
Mns. RICH
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16
Talmage in the Pulpit.
NO CHANCE IN THE NEXT WORLD.

eff the tree fall toward the south or
toward the north, in the place where
the tree falleth there it shall be-" This
was the text of Rev. DR.. Talmage Sun
day morning, and he preached to a
crowded congregation q sermon about
the question whether the wicked will
have another chance in the next world.
In the course of his sermon he said
"There is a notion in the minds of a
vast number of people that there may
be an opportunity in the next world to
! correct the mistakes of this. That, how
ever complete n shipwreck we may make
Of our earthly life, the shipwreck will
be on q beach, so that we may walk
thereon to a palace.
1.-The object of my sermon is to show
that common sense declares that by q
review of the past such expectation is
chimerical. There are those who say
that if an impenitent and unforgiven
man enters the mex world he will see
the terrible disaster of his s%infulness and
will refrain from any further sinfulness.
There are ten thousand instances around
us of disaster coming upon sinners of
this world, but still they 90 on SHINING.
This IS true of drunkenness. What is
true of one sensual indulgence is true of
all. Then the prospect of reform. in the
next world is more improbable than
here. Don't you recognize the fact that
a man starts in this world with the in
nocencc of infancy? In the other world
he starts with the bad habits of a life
time. If a man starts with comparative
innocence and does not become good, is
it possible that he can start with a load
IF CIV p~l frD~, khnk - ,,-,l 49, H.
cvolutcd? There are people who be-
llcve that a man can start in the next
world with a dead failure and make q
success of it.
But some people say We ought to
have another chance because of the
brcvity of this life. My friend, do you
know what made the ancient dcluge q
necessity? 1t was the longevity Of the
a~ntediluvians. Those men were worse
at the second century than they were at
the first, and still more at the eighth
than the first. They got so bad that the
whole world had to be sunk into the
water, to he scrapcd and cleaned, be-
fore it was made fit for decent people to
live on. CA murmur of suppressed
l%aughter.)
Il wish further to notice that another
chance In the next world means the ruiz
of this. Now, suppose a wicked man
was assured that after n lifetime of
w~ickedncss he could fix it all right in
the future; that would be to demoralize
MI society and the whole human race.
There are many men who are kept with
in the limits of sin by their fears. A
wicked nan with such a hope says, 'lnl
overtakc the righteous before long; I'll
only be in heaven a little late; I'll come
into heaven via Gehenna or via sheolI'
Another chance in the next world means
license and decentralization in this. NV
friends, why should you have another
chance in the next world when you have
declined innnmerable chances in this?
All heaven has been offered t. us for a
lifetime, and yet we importune God for
another chance. There ought not to be
another chance, and there can be no
such thing as a posthumous opportu-
nity."
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16

A GREAT GUN.-The immense gun
constructed at Elswick for the British
Government has a total weight of 200
tons, being considerably IN excess of
previous undertakings. Its length is
stated at some forty-four feet, though
with an extreme diameter at the breech of
but five feet six inches, a very elongated
chase or barrel tapering down to twenty
eight inches, with a slight swelling at
the muzzle.
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16

"MY love, said a wife, fondly; Sam
I not to have that beautiful dress pat
tern I spoke of 2" 'sBe patient, my
dear, "he replied; "Iwill only say there is.
: surprise in store for you" SIN store
for me" she snapped; ''that's where it
will stay. A real surprise would be-
something at home"
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16

A MARsEILI.Es MERCHANT who started
in business with IS, 900 and became a
millionaire, left his property to a friend
with the condition that he should be
buried with the sum of IS, 900 in his
coffin. The executor bewailed the reck-
less waste of money, and was at his wits
end to know how to defeat the whimsi-
cal clause in the will. At length a hap
Ply thought came. II will put a check"
he said. 'into the coffin for S., 900. It
will be duly honored when he presents
it,"
The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-02-16

An untried fr:1nd is Ike an uncraeked nut.
BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1886-02-12
AGUAS MIAERILES
DE BONNEFONT.
MANANTIALES De ROSSIERES,

Aguas gaseosas acdulo- sodicas cacas Iii
meas, lgeramente ferrugnosas
Esas las de todas las auas mnerales
natuaes Muy agadabes paada puedn beber puras en-
las comidas mezcadas no Los principles agua
do motive para que Academia de Medicinal de las reco
cados han Waldo meda la Exposition de Calcutta en-
18S3-84.
Muy titles en- tempo epidemco, preservatiyo de las
intermediates ocasionadas por las aguas ordinaras
Reemplazan las aguas de Vichy todas sus apica
Clones