davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07
A Governor and n Baby.

On the train between Atlanta and West
Point was a poor, tired mother, whose
sick and frctful infant had well nigh ex-
haustcd her strength and patience. Tho
cries of the child, with the plcadings an |
lullabics Of its mother for hours, had
driven the more thoughtlcss and unchar-
table passengers into nervousness and
despair. The fond mother noticed the
discomfort of her fcllow-passcngcrs and
rcdoubcd her efforts to quiet the child.
The good d-hcarted Governor the late Mr..
Conlcy, noticing this condition of affairs,
went over to where the mother was sit
ting, and in the most fatherly manner
and tone of voice asked to be permitted
to relieve her of the child for a little
while. Taking the baby in his arms, tho
Governor walked backward and forth
the length of the car, "talking baby
talk and in various other ways sooth-
ing and divcrting the thoughts of tho
little one for an hour or more, or until it
had Quoted down and slept quietly in
the Governors arms, who then handed it
over to its mother. This act was, OF
course, witnessed by the passengers, and
when it was known that the kind old
gentleman who was assisting the tired
mother in quicting her baby was the Gov
crnor of Georgia, it was easy to imagine
the feelings OF the porty.-Augusta (Ga)
Nems,
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07
The Inventor of the Circular Saw.

In lonely, secluded spot in the north
west corner of the cemetery, near the
cycr-bcauttul little village of Richmond,
Kalamazoo County, Mich, the reader can
find on pure white marble slab nearly
concealed from view by large cluster of
lilac bushes, engraved the simple inscrip-
ton, "Bcn jNmin Cummings, born 1772,
dead A. D. 1913" And who was Benia-
min Cummings? He was the inventor of
the circular saw now in use in this coun-
try and in Europe. Nearly sixty years
ago, at Burtonville, New York and Ans
tcrdam, this man hammered out, at his
own blacksmiths anvil, the first circular
saw known to mankind. lie was noted
pioneer in Richmond; first cousin to
one Of the Presidents of the United States;
slave owner in New York State; a lead
ing Mason in the days of Morgan, at
whose table the very elect Of the great
State Of New York fcasted and drank
freely of his choice liquors and wines; a
vessel owner on the North River before
the days of steamboats,; captain in the
war of Isle, where, after having
three horses shot under him, with
ono stroke of his sword he
brought his superior officer to the
ground for insult, and because he
was a traitor and coward; and after
having been court-martialcd, instead of
being shot, he was appointed Colonel in
his place. In this lonely grave are the
ashes of the man who nearly 70 years ago,
at Albany N. Y, took up and moved
bodily large brick buildings, and to the
wonder and establishment of the world,
constructed a milo and half of tn, Erie
Canal through a bed of rock, and, who
also built, on contract, those first low
bridges over the same. lie also aided in
the construction of the first ten miles of
railroad built in the United States, and
founded both the villages of Espcrcnce
and Bostonviilc on the Schoharic, near
Amsterdam. The study and aim of this
mans life appeared to be to do til
which none other could accomplish, and
when the object sought was secured he
passed it as quietly by as hc would tho
pebbles of the scashore. - California
drcbIsct
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07

A New York letter tc the Chicago
Uorad, says: The strangcst street per-
sons, on the whole, are to be seen in Mott
street, where the Chinese centralize, and
where all sorts of folks 90 to look at
them. Chinamcn are not numerous
enough in this city, and those we have
are too widely distributed in their laun-
dries all over town to constitute much of
Chinese quarter. The nearest approach
to it is a block or two in which their
stores, gambling houses, opium joints
and lodgings almost exclude other occu-
pancy. However, it was in the upper
story of one of these buildings, RAM
shacllle old two-and-a- hNlf-story structure
over Chinese restaurant, that the police
found and broke up sneak thieves club.
The members were Il dozen hard young
stcrs, reared in the squalor and vice of
the ncighborhood, and their highest am
biton was to become robbers. But they
had a mcthodical PRESIDENT who intend
ed that they should be instructed in the
law and ethics Of their trade; so he went
to 4 brokcn-down shystcr at the Tombs,
near by, and hired him for 81 to deliver
lecture on the dangers and safeguards
of sneakthciving. His first discourse was
on the penalties for different grades of
robbery, and especially he pointed out
the foolishncss of taking big risks for
little Doodle. "Don't break into any
house" he said "unlcss you feel sure you
can capture heavy swag, because that
is burglary, punishable with as much as
twenty years imprisonment. Don't use
force against persons, because that consti-
tutes highway robbery with the same
penalty, no matter if you only take
dime. But sneak into Railways, load
yourselves with coats from the rack and
scoot away, because a year in the poniten-
tary is the most you can get for merely
stealing less than $2j worth, and a jury
will usually scale coat down to that
figure" The cntcrprising thieves were
so well pleased with this lecture that
they applied to more conscientious cx-
pert for another, and he informed tho
nolirn
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07
Why lie Is Proud.

"Thcre is one thing in my llfe," said a
veteran, "that sends the blood through
my veins in proud eXultation to this day,
and the thought of it never comes to mo
but what / want to step outside Of myself
and pat myself on the shoulder. There
arc hundreds of things in my life that |
am ashamed of and that | would gladly
forget. There are hundreds of things
that have done which never come to
my mind without making me wish that
had the power to kick myself from ono
end of the street to the other. But the
memory Of this one thing that l did is a
compensation for all things that l am
ashamed Of
''In one of the squarest, faircst, ferccst
battles of the war, 500 men were thrown
forward to check for moment the
furious charge of twenty times as many
Corfcderatcs. OF the 500 men in line at
the beginning of the charge, five stood at
the end by the colors. l was one of the
five, and never think of the hail of bull
lets, of the hurricane swoop Of charging
thousands that swept men to sudden
death or away before it like cha1f in the
wind, but see those five sulcn, despcr-
ate, white faced, stubborn men gathered
in a startled group about the torn and
blood-staincd flag that had been down
and up good many times. Dazed they
were, half-crazed they were, by the over
whclming catastrophe, but the instinct of
clinging to the flag was there.
"My comrades were better soldiers than
|. They were men whose eyes flashed
and whose nostrils widcncl when conflict
became furious, and it was a delight to
me in that minute to know that in this
hour of trial my controlling impulse, my
instructive move had been the same as
lheirS, 10 cllnS TO the 1lAg. had no
idea, then that we would live five min
utcs, and yet | cXultcd in the thought
that when put to trial had done my full
duty. We brought the flag out of the
fight. -Four Of the men are living yet
but they have not met since the war.
They are all in humble walks of life, and
not one of them is given to scll-adulation,
but to all of them that incident of battle
is a precious memory. After that, as one
of the old codgcrs said in his own quaint
way, They were lectlc too proud ever
to do a cowardly thing again. '"-Wica.
90 Inter- De an.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07
The Evolution of States.

The curious process OF evolution by
which States in the American Union arc
made is aptly illustrated in the case OF
Dakota. 1t was originally part of the
territory claimed by France, and styled
New France, including what is now Can
ada, the entire Northwest, and all tho
territory west of tho Mississippi River,
throughout its entire extent from tho
frozen North to the Gulf of Mexico. As
consequence of tho European wars
from 1855 to 1863, and the defeat of
France, that part Of New France now
known as Canada was ccdcd to Great
Britain, and all west OF the Mississippi
was ceded to Spain. In 1900, during
the Napolconic wars and as result of
the French victories everywhere on the
Continent of Europe all Of the territory
that had been coded to Spain was rcood.
cd to France. In 1903, during the ad-
ministration of Jefferson, the louisiana
purchase" as 1T was called, was effected,
and the United States became the owner
of the territory. AT tho time when the
purcnasc of the territory was effected it
included Louisiana, Arkansas, Iowa,
Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,
the Indian territory, COLORADO, Idaho,
Wyoming, Montana and Dakota, with
shadowy claims to what is now Oregon
and Washington. The claim of the Un-
itcd States to the territory west of the
Rocky Mountains was subsequently rati-
fed by treaties with Great Britain,
which had previously claimed the entire
western slope and coast to the north line
of Mexico, now the north line of Cnlifor-
mia. Congress divided the territory into
Orleans and Louisiana in 1904. In 1912
Orleans was admitted into the Union as
the State Of Louisiana, and the name OF
Louisiana Territory was changed to Mis-
souri, Territory. In 1921 tho State of
Missouri was admitted to the Union, and
Arkansas followed. After that time the
almost boundl!ss tract remaining was
loosely styled the Northwest Territory.
In 1884 all cast Of the Missouri River was
organized into the Territory of Michigan.
In 1886 the present State of Michigan
came into the Union, leaving the balance
of the country as Wisconsin Territory, or
"Ouiskonsan," as it was then called. In
1916 and 1913 Iowa and Wisconsin were
made into States, and then the balance
of the outlying acres was called Mlnncso-
ia Territory. In 1853 Minnesota, with
its present limits, came into the Union,
and the balance of the tract was in law
namcless, but was called Minnesota Ter
ritory, to distinguish it from the State of
the same name. In 1861 the Territory of
Dakota, with its present boundaries, was
established by act of Congress. Such is
the long process by which, through tho
occupation of the country for settlement,
by pushing the frontiers farther away
into the mountains and the wilderness,
and by the progress of civilization, Amer
ican States are made. 1t is a system of
evolution and growth possessing great
interest for the student of politics and
history.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07
Why Major Went 10 Church.

] once visited pleasant country,housr,
the owner of which had powerful and
slgacious dog called Major. This dog
was highly priced by his master and by
the people Of the ncighborhood. lie had
saved many lives. Once when a swing
rope became cntanglcd around the neck
of little girl, Major held her up until
help came.
One day the butcher brought in his
bill for Majors provisions. Majors mas
ter thought it altogether too large, and
shaking the paper angrily at the dog,
he said:
"Sce here, old fellow you never ate
all that meat-did you1n
The dog looked hard at tho bill, shook
himself all over regarded the butcher
with contempt, and then went back to
his rug, where he stretched himself cut
with low growl Of dissatisfaction
The next Sunday, Just as service began
at the village church, into ny fr.enl's
pow vaultcd Major
The Major kept perfectly quiet until
we all arose for prayer; then he spraug
upon the seat, stood on his hind-lcgs
placed his forc-paw, upon the front of
the pew behind and stared gravcly and
rcproochfully into the face of the butch
CT, who looked very much confused, and
turned first rod and then pale. Tho
whole congregation smiled and Uttered.
Majors master at once took the dog
home. But the b3t.hcr was more con-
sdcratc in his charges from that time.
Evidently he felt mortified and con-
scicnce-stricken. So. NTch9!qs.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07
Life Pictures.

AiiC iStuhU Uos
A glow at morn:
The rose half tempted into blooming reda
Bright hopes just born
That ere the eve must shed
Their petals, though we never deem then
dead.
A warmth at noon,
Full-souled and odorous; and life all fair
As summer moon,
When stars lace beams as rare
AS laughter which hath not behind some care
A rest at eve:
The ardor and the heat of day is DER.
Hope can deceive
No longer life no moro
Can weave romanccs from poets lore.
A hush at night:
We fold our wings as birds that seek the nest
Earth is bedght
With rose no more. The zest
OF lifes sinks with the sunlight in the west.
e
1t is no dream,
No castle-bul ing time, that we call life;
To catch the gleam
OF heaven in the strife,
Our toll must tend to reach the better life.
There is much room
For gratitude, much room for tenderness
IN all the gloom
Oh sorrow, much to bless,
If we will labor more, and murmur less.
Let us not turn
To s,ek in clouds our happiness, but try
Each day to learn
That nenr home blessings lie
Those die to live who first have lived to die
-Ha,1ici Kendall, in the Quirer
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07

Roy loved to 60 to market with his
mamma. She let him carry her pass
book for her 1t always made Roy hap-
py to help his mamma,
Now, pass-b0ok is made Of clean
white paper. Elcl day the ore-kcepcr
writes in it the list of the things which
are ordered. At the end Of the month
he sends in his bill, and the one who
buys looks it over with the book In
this way no mistakes will be made.
One morning Roy saw at the groccr's a
fine black cat sitting on pile Of boxes.
lie gently stroked her. Tabby seemed
to like it, for she purred loudly. B.fore
summer was over she knew Roy we'll
She always ran to meet him as soon as
she saw him.
Roy's papa told him one day that they
were all to 60 across the ocean to stay
year. At first Roy was glad, His tongue
never tired with talking about it.
But by and by a terrible thought
crept into his curly head He must leave
Tabby.
That night he cried himself to sleep.
But Roy was net the boy to vast, time
in useless frctting. He soon dried his
eyes and set about thinking of some way
out Of his trouble. 1t was only when ho
saw Tabby that the tears would come,
At last Roy woke one morning with a
light heart, He had made up his mind
what to do. lie asked nurs, to take
him for walk When he was ready ne
took his mammals plss-booll and hurried
of to the place where Tabby lived. Roy
offered the book to the grocer, gs he had
seen his mamma do. Tabbv rubbed
coaxinyly against him as he sail:
please, sir I'll take Tabby. You
may put her on the book" Then he
lifted the cat in his arms.
"Not so fast, my little man" answered
the storekeepar, "Wc could not part
with Tabby at any price"
Roy's bright face cloulcd. He ut
Tabby down and his tears fell on her
pretty fur. Then he gave her on good
by hug and walked moululIy out of the
shop.
When his mamma heard about it she
kissed him and said:
"NIamma is sorry, dear. But you
must learn that money cannot buy every
thing. Besides, we do not always know
what is best for us. We could rot take
Tabby with us; 50 she is happier whore
she is
When Roy came hone again orc OF
Tabby's kittens was waiting to welcome
him. C. Emma Cheney.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07
The Wolf and the Kid,

A kid was one day browsing in val
ley, while a shepherd rccined on bank
hard by. Suddenly wolf, with hand
organ, came up aud said;
''Let lie play merry air while you
dance"
can right" replied the kid. "Firc
away"
The music began, and the shepherd,
with his fingers in his cars, disappeared; !;
and as so-a as he was out OF his sight, the
wolf seized the kid and devoured it.
Moral: This fable teaches the varied
powers of music. LIE.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07
Ruled Ont.

A witness was called in a Dakota
court.
"What is your business'' asked the
attorney.
stage driver
"Stago driver--cr-w wcll-don't believe
we want you," said the judge. GLOW
long have you been at the business2"
''Ivc drove in the west fer bout thirty
years, off m on"
"No, this court don't want you. A
man who has driven stage thirty years
can't tell the truth if he tries"
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07
Sealed,

Father-You and Kate Carter have
come to an understanding, have you,
Fred
Fred-Ycs, sir.
Fathcr-Sealcd it with n kiss-ch, my
boyl
Frcd-No, sir; with wax, she nrotc her
refusal. It'd Bits,
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07
CHILDREN'S COLUMN.
Ton Little Toes.


Baby Is clad in his nightgown whits,
Pussy cat purrs soft goo night,
And somsbody tells, for somebody knows,
The terrible tale Of ten little toes.
RIGHT FOOT.
This toe took small boy, Sam,
Into the cupboard after the jam;
This little toe said, "Oh, no, mo-"
This littla toe was anxious TO 60;
This little too said, "'Tisn't quite right"
This tiny little toe curled out of sight.
LEFT FOOT.
This big toe got suddenly snubbcd;
This little toe got ruefully rubbed
This little frightened too cried out "Bears!''
This little timid toe, Run up stairsn
Down came jar with a loud slam SLANT
This little tiny toe got all the jam
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07

Wife; Can you tell me, my dear, why
widower is like a young baby1"
Husband: TI-m-er-bccause-be-
cause"
Wife; "The first six months he cries a
great deal, the second six months he
begins to take notice, and he always cx-
pericnces great difficulty in getting
safely through his second summer. "--LVe,
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-04-07
or For Pairs.

Clara Ito friend)--liavc you heard the
good rcws3
Ethel-No, what is it,
Clara 0riumphantlyl--Papa has been
bitten by a mad dog, and we are all going
to Paris. --New York Tines.
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-21

We have had the dinners Of the "Faucheurss
and the "Braconniers." Now we have the din
of the "Paunes," of which the leading spirit
is the impressiorist painter Forain. gamin de
Paris, who might become an artist ii he would
work seriously. Forain, in the deep anguish
and despair of his dismal ennui, has invented
new sport. acknowledgements d'escamots
The race course is q smooth board. at the end of
which is lighted candle, toward which the
snails begin to creep when the room is darkened.
There are miniature hurdles on~the course and a
river, and the famous racing nails are handi-
light and intelligence paradise of art and letters,
have your sons come to thisa In the world Of
pleasure. where M. de Morny 10 king and Maurice
Bernhard potentate is life so empty that this
idlotic sport gasteropode can pass for an amuse-
ment?
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-21


The Rev. Mark Pattison, who died q few
months ago, and who was typical Euglishman
and scholar. was once appealed to by volatile
American girl. as to whether he thought she
could write a book. II had to disappoint her.
poor thing" he writes. 81 told her she was the
most ignorant woman had ever met
Another young woman who had written some
clever essays was astonished by his unasked crit
icism to the effect that he considered her con-
versation extremely feeble While he was
dying he comforted his weeping wife with the
remark
"Oh yes, my dear Ne doubt no doubt! But
you'll soon marry again. I've arranged that you
shall be comfortable until you do"
The lady soon, by the way, fulfilled his proph-
coy.
This brutal frankness is the trait which most
widely separates the English from his American
| cousin. The American is more sensitive and
quick in sympathy He is, too, taught consider
alton for his neighbors from his cradle. and how
| ever candid he may be- learns to keep silent con-
corning unpleasant truths affecting himself or
others. But if the English boy finds hole in
| his poorer schoolmates shoes, he will harry him
| necessarily with coarse chaff about it. Why
| not? He would not hide hole in his own shoe.
The same brusqueness and want of tact is ap-
| parent in every rank of life.
noted English author, while travelling
| through this country appeared at a dinner given
in his honor in a flannel shirt and business suit.
CHANGING round the table, he muttered-
"Ah, evening dress! The custom at home
Quite SO! quite SO! But did not know that you
dressed like gentlemen here.'
Canon Kingsley while in this country stunned
the chairman of literary club, who was well
coming him to reception in somewhat ford
terms, by staring at him and CURLY saying, II
consider your remarks in very bad taste" Then
turning his back on him, he walked away
In none of these instances, probably, did the
Englishman wish to offend, nor was he conscious
of offending The lack of that nervous sensi-
tiveness which he ridicules in the American,
makes him unable to see this defect in his own
good breeding
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-21
Bill Nye and the Bumpologist.

Much harm has been done by a long haired
phrenoogist In the West, who has, during his
life, felt over LOG, 600 heads. A comparison of
large number of the charts given in these eases
shows that so far. no head examined would indi-
cate anything less than member Of the lower
house Of Congress. Artists, lawyers. prirna
donnas and statesmen are plenty. but there are
no charts showing the natural-born farmer, car
penter. shoemaker or chambermaid
This is the reason butter Is so high west Of the
Mississippi river to-day, while genius actually
runs riot.
What this day and age of the world needs is q
phrenoiogist who will paw around among the
intellectual domes of freeborn American citi-
zens and search out few men who can milk
cow in q cool and unimpassioned tone of voice.
Let me say word to the bright-eyed youth of
America Let me murmur in your ear this
never-dying truth When lone-h crank
asks you one dollar to tell you that you are q
young Demosthenes. stand up and look yourself
over at distance before you swallow it all.
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-21
Family Life in France.

Henff UfeVfI!6-
must correct what seemst to be a common
misconception, namely, that there is no family
life in France. You will. perhaps, be surprised
to hear it. but one of the things which has spe-
cially struck me in America is that the ladies are
out of their homes much French woman
never goes out in the morning unless it be TO the
market, whittier even the women of wealth feel
themselves obliged to go from time to time The
husbands always breakfast at home before going
to their business. and the wives must be there
It is perhaps bore for the wives, but they are
there all the same. Then there is much less
dining ont in the evenings. except during the
short season of winter gayety. The husbands
60 less to the clubs than here. and the evenings
are usually passed cozly at home.