davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22
LIEUT.. ZALINSKTS BIG POPcUN.
1t Drops an Unexploded Nitro-Gelatine
Shell in the Water Near Coney Island.

Lieut.. Zalinski's pneumatic dynamite
gun was tested at Fort Lafayette, in
the Narrows, in the presence of a Board
of naval officers, who were appointed by
Secretary Whitney for the purpose. A
target, consisting of a few sails spread
above a small scow, was anchored about
a mile away, and in a line with the
point of Coney Island. A number of
barrels were anchored in a small circle
around it and at known distances from
it. Then ten blank projectiles were
fired at the target. One passed through
a sail, and all struck so near that the
Board agreed that if they had been
loaded with one hundred pound charges
of dynamite any n of them would
nave knocked the bottom out of the big
gest ironclad atloat if anchored where
the target was. Capt. Howell said that
the accuracy of the gun was established,
but he was of the opinion that it could
be still further improved.
A shell with 100 pounds of nitro-gela-
tine was fired, but it failed to explode,
and is now lying on the bottom await
ing the graphing hook or the anchor of
a stray schooner. 1t will be picked up
to-day. A shell with 581 pounds of the
explosive burst just beneath the surface
and threw a towering cloud of spray
with a smoky centre 200 feet into the
air. A blank shot fired at an elevation
of 80 degrees and with a pressure of air
of 1000 pounds to the square inch drop
ped % miles away. The time of flight
was 22.7 second.
The experiments recently made by
Lieut.. Zalinski have been devoted to
perfecting the form of projectile, the
arrangement and proportions of dyna-
mite and gelatine in the shell to obtain
the greatest results, and the proper
point at which to fire the charge. The
latest form of a shell is a.three-foot cyl
inder of the full size of the bore with a
wooden tail piece several feet long,
around which are spiral flanges of thin
metal. These give the projectile a ro-
tarv motion like a rife ball. Greater
accuracy and increased range have been
obtained. They were not used, how
ever.
1t is a curious fact that the best re-
suits are obtained by locating the min
ute wet battery, which fires the charge
at one-third of the length of the shell
from the forward end. When fired at
the extreme forward end the gas of the
explosive at that end seems to form a
cushion which holds the rest of the ex-
plosion back.
The tests of the gun will be continued
by the Board from day to day until they
are thoroughly acquainted with its
merits.-N. Y. Sun.
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22
A Six-Year-OId Murderer.

I'm going to shoot ycu," cried little
six-year-old Howard Rampies, of Akron,
Ohio, as he held a 22-calibre revolver
close to the breast of his playmate, Ar
thur Adcock, aged four years. The
boys lived in adjoining houses, and
their play had ended in a boys quarrel.
Young Rampies ran into the house and
got his fathers revolver, which Mr..
Rampies had hid away because of the
little fellows frequent requests to use it
and his apparent fondness for explosives.
The words had scarcely been spoken
when the weapon was discharged twice
in quick succession. The first shot
seems to have been at random, but the
second took effect in the region of the
heart and the little follow fell bleeding,
and In a few moments was a corpse.
The fathers of both boys are employed
in Akron shops.
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22
The Seventeen Year Locust.

The sev~enteen-year locust isn't q 10.
Gust at all. This may seem a strange
thing to say, but it is true, neverthe,
less. The locust looks very much like
a grasshopper, while the seventeen-year
cicada, which is the insects proper
name, looks a good deal more like a
gigantic fly than anything else.
Just fancy spending the best part OF
your life prowling about in the dark
ness underground and then co ming up
into the sunlight with a gorgeous pair
of wings, only to die in a short time!
That is what the seventeen-year
cicada does. In the very first place, it
is an egg which its mother deposits in a
tiny hole in a twig. In a few weeks it
makes its way out of the egg and drops
to the ground, into which it burrows,
and in which it remains for nearly sew
enteen years before it is prepared Tor
life above ground.
When, at last, it is ready for the
bright sunlight, it may be one foot from
the surface or it may be ten feet deep in
the ground. In either case it begins to
dig upward until it finds its way out,
when it climbs up the nearest tree and
fastens itself by its sharp claws to a leaf
or twig. There it waits until its back
splits open, and behold! it Immediately
crawls out of itself, so to speak.
The new insect is a soft, dull fellow
at first, but he grows as if he had been
storing up energy for seventeen years
for Just that one purpose. Within an
hour, two pairs of most beautiful wings
have grown, and in a few hours more it
hos hoooma horH opH ootiya
The female cicadas are quiet enough,
but the males are as noisy as so many
little boys with new drums. Indeed,
they do have drums themselves. Just
under their wings are drums made of
shiny membrane as beautiful as white
silk, and these are kept rafting almost
all the time.
One cicada can make noise enough;
but imagine the din of millions of them
all going at the same time. 1t sounds
as if all the frogs in the country had
come together to try to drown the noise
of a sawmill. Now it is the sawmill
you hear, and To- the frogs.
1t sounds like q big story to say mil
lions, but if you could go into the
woods where they are, you might be
willing to say billions. l have counted
over a thousand cast-off shells on one
small tree, and on one birch leaf 1 have
seen twelve shells. And the earth in
some places is like a sieve from the
holes made by the cicadas.
But within a few weeks from the in
sects' first appearance their eggs have
been laid and the cicadas have all died.
A great many of them are eaten by the
birds and chickens, but most of them
cannot live any longer.-St.
Nicholas.
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22

Nor long ago a sweet-faced girl OF
six presented herself at the bureau OF
the Mont de Piete, IN the Rue Bondy,
and, handing something to the official,
with childlike signs of invalid strug-
Cling, said :-tsYou must lend me a
great deal of money on my doll; mother
is very ILL.," The pawnbroker was I'M
equal to the occasion. He gave the
child five francs, handed her back her
doll, and called for the next customer.
Mrs. WILLIAM MoNYPENNY, of Col
umbus, Ohio, was awakened early in
the morning by sounds in her room On
opening her eyes she beheld a man
standing over her bed. Instead of faint
ing or screaming, she snatched a revoi-
yer from under her pillow and fred two
shots at him as he disappeared through
the second story window. The burglar
had secured nothing of value.
THE skilled operator who runs the
vacuum kettles in which milk is con-
densed is governed entirely by sound,
and although to inexperienced ears the
pan and its contents are noiseless. the
operator can tell the exact state of the
milk at any moment.
THE four most important towns of
Australasia are now Melbourne, popula-
ton 2S2, 947; Sydney, 224, AIDE
laide, 1903, S64, and Auckland, 10000.
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22
The Power of Music.

During his second visit to St. Peters
burg, Tsar Nicholas invited List to a
soiree at the Winter Palace, and in the
course of the evening personally asked
him to play An Imperial request be
ing equivalent to a command, List sat
down to the piano and commenced one
of bis brilliant Hungarian Rhapsodies.
The Tsar, instead of b~estowing that ex-
elusive attention upon the performance
to which List was accustomed, and
which, in fact, he exacted from his
audiences In private as we'll as in pub
lic-no matter of what exalted elements
they might happen to be composed
entered into IN animated conversation
with one of his generals, talking in his
usual and by no means subdued tone of
voice. List went on playing for a
minute or so, at the expiration of which
time, seeing that the Emperor was not
listening to him, he suddenly came to a
full stop, and rose from his seat at the
instrument. Tableau! Although he
had paid nc heed to LISTS performance,
Nicholas Alexandreivich missed the
sound of the piano, and sent one of his
chamberlains to ask the artist why he
had ceased playing whether he was
indisposed or the piano had not been
properly tuned. LISTS steely gray
eyes flashed with righteous indignation
as he replied: The Tsar well knows
that whilst he is speaking every other
v~oice-even that of music-is bound to
be mutep So saying he turned his
back to the astonished official, and alb
ruptly left the room. Tsar Nicholas
took in good part the severe reproof
administered to him by the fearless
pianist, to whom he sent a costly gift
the next day; and ever after, when
Liszt's name was mentioned in his
presence, spoke of him with cordial ad-
miration as a musician who not only re
spected hims If, but had the courage to
insist upon respect being paid to his
art, even (as the Tsar was wont to OBJ
serve) by Ignorant person. like myself,
who knows so little about music that
they do not deserve that great artists
should waste their time and talents in
irving to amuse them.
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22
The Passage Of the Forts.

Captain Beverley Kennon, who COM
handed the Confederate gunboat Gov
ernor Moore, and helped in fighting
Farragut below New Orleans, has a
paper in the July Century, from which
we quote as follows:
1.-The evening previous to the battle
1 reported to General Duncan, the COM
mander of the two forts, my observa-
tions on the enemy's movements as seen
by myself from the masthead. Yet to
my knowledge no picket boat was sent
down by us, or any means adopted to
watch the enemy and guard against sur
prise. The result was they were
abreast of the forts before some of our
vessels fred a shot. In q few moments
this space was filed with smoke from
the guns and exploded shells, %intensi-
flying the darkness of the night. A
slackening of the fire on both sides was
necessary, since neither could distin-
guish friend from foe. In some places
nc object was distinguishable until di-
rectly upon it, when it was as soon lost
to view, vet the United States squadron
steamed ahead, blindfolded, as it were,
through the darkness and confusion,
soon to find themselves in places of alb
solute safety and with comparatively
few casualties.
'.At about $3.50 a. m. april "a, 1862
an unusual noise down the river attract
ed my attention. As we expected to be
attacked at any moment, / descended
the, ladder to near the water, where |
distfnctlyheard the paddles of a steamer
the Mississippi. | saw nothing ON
reaching the deck, bnt instantly fred
the after gun, the one forward being
fired by the sentry there; at the same
moment the water batteries of Fort
Jackson and Fort st. Philip let drive.
followed in an instant by a general dis
,harge from all the available guns in the
forts, and both batteries of the advanc-
ing feet, mounting two hundred and
forty two guns, and Commander Por-
ter's squadron of eve vessels mounting
se~venty-two guns, which attacked Fort
Jackson's flank below the distractions.
There was also a splendid practice from
nineteen Federal mortars, which fred
their 13-inch shells at intervals between
the v~essels) of ten seconds.
1.-THE bursting of every description of
shells quickly following their discharge
increased a hundred-fold the terrific
noise and fearfully grand and maenif-
cent pyrotechnic display which conferred
in a space of about twelve hundred
Yards in width. The ball had not more
than fairly opened before the enemy's
ships were between the forts, and the
Uncle Sam of my earlier days had the
key to the valley of the Mississippi
again in his brooches -pocket, for which
he had to thank his gallant navy and
the stupidity, hardness, ignorance and
neglect of the authorities in Richmond"
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22
1t was BiIly's WAY.

IT don't see any use of n follow wash
ing his face and combing his hair when
he's got to put on old clothes, Just ready
to drop to pieces, oven if that man at
the club said so. Hook so ragged no
n will trust me to carry a bundle, and
no one wants M in their office. I'm
tired tryin' to get something to do"
"Hullo, Guile! what's up You look
as glum as if you'd been fed on vinegar"
81 amt fed on anything-that's one
thing is the matter, " said Toby.
"Well, l wish l could help you, but
1 amt had any breakfast meself," said
Billy. 81 warn't in luck yesterday"
"Where did you sleep 2"
'Over there" and Billy pointed to
the hallway of house opposite. ''Where
did you g"
Sin that cart" and Toby showed
Billy his shelter.
How did you get washed and
fixed 2"
81 carried out a pail of ashes to the
ash-box for a woman She wanted to
give me a cent, and l said, No, ma'am,
but let me wash my face at the hydrant
in the yard She said, Yes and then
/ combed my hair with this" and Billy
PullCb OuG d D1OhCA COIuD 1GileT y
more likely to get work if he looks fixed
up" said Billy.
Eye amt much fixed up," said Toby,
looking earnestly at the stumpy figure
covered with odd garments either too
large or too small.
mo, that's a fact, but I look as good
as I can, and you don't"
"Here, you, don't you want a job"
said a young man carrying two large
valises. Both boys started, but one va
lise wa handed to Billy, with the re-
mark, "Come along"
Toby looked after them, and muttered,
"Billy's right. If a Teller amt clean
nobody wan him about" He stood
still, but finally started at a brisk run
down the street, and stopped before a
fire hydrant that leaked. Soon his face
and hands were as clean as water would
make them. He brushed his hair with
his fingers, sat down OF the curb, and
laced his shoes as far as the strings
would go, her took off his jacket and
shook it. When his toilet was COM
pleted he went back to the old corner to
wait for Billy.
"Ah, see the dude!' was the first
word Billy said. An angry flush crept
into Toby's face, but there was such
honest admiration in Billy's eyes that
Toby could not be angry.
'Here, boys, I'm tired. Will you
each take a valise 2" And the same
young man that had employed Billy
stood before them.
"You just better believe we will,
mister" said Billy, as they each took
ono RiIIv looked at Toby as much as
to say, "You see I'm right"
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22
1t Was Engaged.

"Is this seat engaged a. asked one
man of another, pointing to a vacant
seat in the Academy of Music duringthe
Commencement exercises of the Unlver-
sity of Pennsylvania. at is" replied
the person addressed. "The gentleman
who occupies it has just gone into the
lobby to get a programme" The man
departed, and soon a woman came up
and asked the same question. The re-
ply was similar to that given to the
man, but the finale was different, for
the woman sat down with a remark to
the effect that she would get up when
the man came back. She didn't intend
to do it, and had no idea the man
would be "ungallant" enough to ask
her to arise. She simply took advan-
tage of her sex, and this is, perhaps,
one of the reasons women are not shown
more courtesie5 in public places han
they now eceive.-PhitadelphiG Bu1te-
tim
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22
Kept from Doing Duty.

1t is the same old story. The Lewis
ton Me.) Journal says some Of the boys
who want to go to the Bangor muster
complain that they cannot get leave of
absence from employers. A fragrant
case of the same sort in Worcester was
given in the Boston Herat', and the
Herald says of the matter: ''These men
who will not let their employees go to
muster are the kind of men who would
be the first to cry out for military pro-
lection in time of trouble, or to criticise
the men for faults which four days in
camp might remedy. In Manchester,
H., it is pleasant to see a different
spirit shown. There the employers ask
and expect their men 10 attend to their
military duties"
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22
COLLECTING A BILL.
From n Debtor Who Wanted a Reasonable
Discount.

Not a hundred miles from the Boot and
Shoe Recorder office, SAYS that paper, is
located the establishment of a popular
boot and shoe jobber. He is n of the
best men in the trade, and will treat any
of his customers who are in distress like
a gentleman, provided he believes them
honest, but if a rogue, woe to him. A
good story is told Of how he collected a
bill from one of these last-named midi
viduals, who formerly operated a shoe
store in a Massachusetts, town.
One day Mr.. Jobber was seated in his
office, when the dealer entered and
asked how much he owed the firm.
The bookkeeper gave the desired infor-
nation, when, turning to the proprietor,
the dealer asked:
"How much discount will you give
me on this bill to settle it now2"
"What do you mean2" was the reply.
81 mean just this. 1 have sold out
my store for clean, solid cash. / have
got the money in my pocket, and am
settling up my accounts. / want a dis
count, or you can get the money the best
way you can"
81 don't understand you," said the
JOODC1. 10 lu1S q RdLlkC Va bIuA, VI al
you playing the rogue?"
81 don't want any such insinuatiou9, "
replied the dealer. $50 and so has CIV
en- me $500 discount, and so and SO 800.
What will you give?"
''Ili tell you what PHI do" said Mr..
Jobber, rising. eff you will settle that
account right here I will take 100 cents
on the dollar, but if you cross that
threshold l won't accept any settlement
short of interest and expenses. I mean
what I say"
Here the dealer must have felt faint,
for he sat down IN a chair.
Il an now going to dinner, and you
can can sit here and wait until | return"
said the jobber, as he put on his hat and
coat and departed.
once In the street he went for his law
yer, and after a short consultation was
told that he could do nothing beyond a
suit, and that if the party offered any
reasonable figures, to take the money
and settle the case. The jobber returned,
but determined to get the whole amount
if possible. On entering his store there
up to him he said:
MY lTlenu, you evidently tnlnk /
have been to dinner. not so. Inow ask
you to pay me my account in full. If
you do, you can leave here unmolested.
l will see you to the sidewalk. If not,
you won't pass many feet alone after
you go down those stairs"
The dealer grew white in the face.
He sat for a moment in thought, then,
getting up, he put his hand in his peck
ct, took out a roll of bills, and paid the
bill in full. The jobber passed out with
him to the sidewalk. Standing up
against the door was a policeman, who
accidentally passed at that time. The
dealer gave him one glance and rapidly
passed out of sight. The jobber returned
to his store, and in the silence of the
packing room, he punched his ribs and
merrily.
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22

THE FIRST TIME.--It might have
been a South birmingham man, possibly
a Natick man, but probably a MARI
borough man, who, having accumulated
a fortune of $50, 600 by selling liquor,
and who had frequently boosted that he
never drank a drop himself, on watch
ing the funeral of II of his victims
pass his door, said in a heartless way:
That's the first time he ever passed
.ny place without coming in to lake u
drink. "-Naticb CMass,) Citizen.
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22
Hang It

"If I pick out some wall paper right
away can you send a man to my house to
hang it this forenoon 2" she asked in q
paper store three or four days ago.
"Yes'm" every well; you may show
me some samples" She sat in u chair
before the sample rack until 11.45, and
then went to dinner. She was back at
n and remained until almost five,
when she finally heaved a long sigh and
said to the patient clerk: Dear me,
but 1t is such a task and so late in the
season that guess l won't get any at
all. Much obliged, and I'll probably
buy OF you next spring. "-Detroit Free
Press.
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22
Hints to ~Consumptives.

3onsumptives should use food as nourishine
As can be had, and in a shape that will best
agree with the stomach and taste Of the pa.
tent.
Outdoor exercise is earnestly recommended.
RI YOU are unable to take such exercise on
horseback or on foot, that should furnish no
excuse for shutting yourself indoors, but you
shoHid take exercise in a carriage. or in some
other way bring yourself In contact with tins
open air.
Medicines which cause expectoration mus
be avoided. For five hundred years ply
sicians have tried to cure Consumption b!
using them, and lave failed. Where there Il
great arrangement of the secretions, will
engagement Of air-cells, there is Away
profuse expectoration. Now Piso's Cure re
moves the engagement and the derangemen
of the secretions, and consequently land IL
this way only diminishes the amount of mat
ter expectorated. This medicine does not dry
up a cough, but removes the cause of it.
When it is impossible from debility or Other
causes to exercise freely in the open air, apart.
ments occupied by the patient should be sc
ventilated as to ensure the constant accession
of fresh air in
The surface of the body should be .sponged
as often as every third day with tepid water
and a little soft-soap. This is preferable to
any other.) After thoroughly drying, use
friction with the hand m~oistened with oil
Cod-Liver or Olive is the best. This keeps the
pores of the skin in a soft, pliable condition
which contributes materially to the unloading
of waste matter from the system through this
organ. You will please recollect we cure this
d sease by enabling the organs of the system
to perform their functions in a normal way,
or, in other words, we remove distractions
while the ~recuperative powers of the system
cure the disease. &,
We will here say a word in regard to a cough
n the forming stage, where there Is no con-
stitutional or noticeable disease. A cough
NAV or may not foreshadow serious evil; take
it in its miidest form, to say the least, it is a
nu and should be abated.
A cough is unlike any other symptom OF dis
ease. 1t stands a conspirator, with threaten
ing voice, menacing the health and existence
Of a vital organ. Its first approach is in whts-
pers unintelligiblo, and at first too often un:
needed, but in time it never fails to maze itself
anderstood-neve fails to claim the attention
of those on whom it calls.
If you have a cough without disease of the
lungs or serious constitutional distur bance, so
much the better, as a few do es of Piso's Cure
will be all you may need, while If you 70 far
adyanced in CONSUMPTION, several bottles may
no required to effect a permanent cure
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22

always write to the little children l
am very strong, but it would wear out
my strength to answer all the letters
that come to me. .
"Have you seen the new pictures Of
me-those with the 'kerchief crossed
over my shoulders and fastened with a
college society pin, which is the most
prominent part of it2 The face is
blurred and indistinct, but it is taken
from a photograph of me that is very
good. You would think, though, that
the person-the original-was dead. 1t
has that look of being copied. So, as
they must have pictures of me, l have
consented to let them be correct"
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22

Too THIN.-Durlng the Mexican war
ating" whisky with water. Gen. Scott
discharged the prisoner on the ground
that collaborating" whisky with water
was no crime, since if the whisky had
been all water it would have been so
much better for the health of the officers
and soldiers who drank It'll