davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
Such Bother to get Them Ready.

"If they could only dress them
selves, 1 should not mind but wha
with getting the last of them fairly
off, and picking up after they are
gone, it seems to take the best part O.
the day right Off"
Exactly. But whatif the shoes had
been blacked the night before, and
the bathroom had been made gooC
use of Saturday, rather than Sunday
What if, when the clothes of the week
were laid off, they had been placed
car refull to one side, and the Sunday
ones laid in their stead? What if the
lesson-books had been hunted up and
placed by the Sunday caps, ready tho
night before? What if cold meat had
taken place of breakfast chicken, and
the time gained given to hair brushing
and necktie tying, rather that atten'
ton to those things later?
"But they get themselves so dirty il
dressed so early"
Teach them for one day in seven tc
keep out of the dirt.
"Their father don't like to have it
all hustle and commotion Saturday
night; it's all the night he has, out Of
the week.
The Lord don't like all hustle and
commotion Sunday it's all the day he
has, out of the week.
"But if the children are to be kept
dressed up all day, what are we to do
with those who are too small to read
for themselves ?"
You are to read to them, talk to
them. You are to set their little
minds to think about the thousand
and one things they have little incli.
nation for when about their play.
The blue sky above them and green
fields near them, and God, in his great
Fatherhood, around and about them.
You are to garnish this, the best day
of the week, with the sweetest smiles
you have, the kindest words and
most loving acts, and to encourage
such things in your children. More
than any other day of the week you
are to make the Sabbath truly useful
and peaceful and enjoyable, so that
your children i'll after years shall look
back upon the Sabbath Of their child
hood as travellers look back upon the
green oasis they have passed i'll the
sandy desert. Keep that day as free as
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
Accuracy.

Sir Stafford Northcote, who of all
men was distinguished for accuracy
and precision of statement, in letter
addressed to literary society of which
he was President spoke of accuracy
in a passage which we quote. So
many of us need reminder on this
point, that we recommend to our girl
readers especially, the consideration of
the British stateman's advice:
81 need not point out to you that if
it be virtue of so great excellence as
T suppose it, we are all of US bound in
our daily life to strive to attain it.
And first I would ask you, Does not
Nature herself point out to us how
good thing it is, by the pleasure
which the consciousness of it awakens
in our minds? However we may pro-
fess to undervalue it, yet when we
have executed some work, be it of the
hand or of the brain, and find that
it fits mall its parts, and that it fits
its place, we feel a certain satisfaction,
which is nothing else than q testi-
mony borne by our inner selves to the
excellence of accuracy.
"On the other hand, consider how
an inaccurate person provokes us, how
we long to correct his mistakes, how
tiresome we think him when by some
incorrect statement he misleads us and
gives us the trouble of following up u
wild goose-chase, or of setting to work
to rectify the consequences of his
blunder. Even in trifling matters we,
upon the whole, prefer the accurate
man. The man who can tell his story
correctly with the right names and the
right facts, is a far pleasanter man to
listen to than our friend who mixes up
facts aud confuses names and forgets
the point of half his anecdotes. True,
all accurate man may bea bore if he
overdoes us with accuracy; but an
inaccurate man may he, and often is,
at least as great bore, with the ad-
ditional disadvantage of being less
useful"
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
Sunday-SchoOI Books DeteriOrating.

"That Sunday-school books have
very generally lost their distinctively
religious character. says a.secular pa,
per, "is feature Of the times" He
then says: "That it is deemed sutfi-
cient that they have moral tendency
and they mostly consist of novels"
This witness is true. And many OF
the novels are poor trash. We could
give the names of men and women
whose stories are found in most of the
Sunday-school libraries, and who have
made fortunes by writing them,
where the fact that the books are not
immoral is all that can be said in their
favor.
The free use of the books found in
many Sunday-school libraries is per-
nicious to children. One of the prom
inent members of Methodist Episco-
pal Church, to our knowledge, has
long refused to allow his children to
bring home books from the library, he
preferring to select and purchase for
them.
A boy who was punished for read
ing a flimsy novel Oh Sunday aston
ished his mother on the followsng Sab
bath by bringing home the same book
from the Sanday-school library. A
few good works of fiction worthy the
name of moral will not injure such Ii
braries-may, indeed, be an advantage
to them-but when the majority are of
that class, and when cheap wishy-
washy stories that weaken the mind
and, instead of introducing the germs
of manly virtue, perpetuate puerile
sentimentality, constitute the bulk of
such libraries, their influence becomes
more than doubtful.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
Cinders in the Eye.

Nine persons out of every ten with
a cinder or any other foreign sub
stance in the eye will instantly begin
to rub the eye with one hand while
hunting for their handkerchief with
the other. They may, and sometimes
do, remove the offending cinder, but
more frequently they rub till the
eye becomes inf1amed, bind handker.
chief around the head, and 60 to bed.
This is all wrong. The better way is
not to rub the eye with the cinder in
it all, but rub the other eye as vigor-
onsly as you like. A few years since
1 was riding on an engine of the fast
express from Binghampton to Corn
ing. The engineer, an old school
mate of mine, threw open the front
window, and l caught cinder that
gave me excruciating pain. began
to rub the eye with both hands. "Let
your eye alone, and rub the other eye''
(this from the engineer.) I thought
be was chatting me, and worked the
harder. II know you doctors think
you know it all but if you will let
that eye alone and rub the other
one the cinder will be out
two miutes," persisted the engineer.
| began to rub the other eye, and soon
I felt the cinder down near the inner
canthus, and made ready to take it
out. "Let it alone and keep ut the
well eye," shouted the doctor pro tenn.
1 did so for minute longer, and look.
ing in small glass he gave me found
the offending cinder on my cheek,
Since then I have tried it many times,
and have advised many others and
have never known it to fail in one in.
stance (unless it was. as sharp as q
piece of steel, or something that cuts
into the ball and required an opera
ton to remove it, Why it is SO I dc
not know, and that one may be saved
much suffering if one will let the in
|iured eye alone and rub the we'll eye
Try it.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
Learning to Howl.

1t is an old Spanish proverb, we be-
lieve. HE who lives with wolves will
soon learn to howl" He who lives
with the faults of his friends, and
counts them over and sorts them and
weighs them and measures them, will
soon have equality grave ones of his
own, which his friends will be sure to
see, and which will make him posi-.
lively unable to cure them. There is
nothing that SO deteriorates character
as this undue looking after faults and
blemishes in others while we are blind
to our own. We may abhor meanness
and stinginess in our neighbor, and be
able to give a hundred reasons why
he should give away more in charity,
and see thousands little things indi-
eating his smallness of soul, and at
the same time we may be so engrossed
with one phase of meanness in our
selves. We may abhor untruth 30
vehemently in some one else that we
shall forget to hate impurity in our
selves. We may dispise our neighbor
for his sharpness and trickery, and
spread over our own slackness and
idIeness and shiftlessness the coverlet
of, THANK God, Pm not sharper!"
The idle, thriftless man can never re-
form the over-shrewd speculator; the
impure man can never lift the un-
truthful man out of the bog the gos-
sip is not fit to cure the miser of his
relfishness. There is only one way,
after all, to reform the world. Not by
learning to howl at its faults, or to
bark at its mistakes, but first to begin
the work Of reformation with our
selves. We come back inevitably to
the old truth so often before stated {:
''In order to make the best of others,
we must first make the best of our
selves. ."-Goldca Rule.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
An Unfortunate Interruption.

Willie was asleep aud Dan was lone
ly. Willie is the minister's son, and
Dan is his dog. 1t was Sunday morn
ing, and every one was at church but
these two friends. 1t was warm and
sunny, and they could plainly heal
the good minister preaching, for theil
house was next door to the church.
"Dan," said Willie, lit is better here
than in the church. for you can heal
every word, and don't get prickles
down your back, as you do when you
have to sit up straight"
In some way, while Willie was
listening and watching the dusty NOTES
es riding on sunbeams, he fell asleep
Dan kissed him on the nose several
times, but when Willie went to sleep
he went to sleep to stay, and didn't
mind trifes. So Dan gave it up al
last. He sat down with the funniest
look of care on his wise, black face
and with one ear ready for outside
noises.
Now the minister had for his sub
ject this morning, Daniel" Alas,
this was the name he always gave
Dan when he was teaching him to sit
up and beg, and other tricks. While
the dog sat thinking, the name Dan.
iel" fell on his ready ear. Dan at
once jumped down and ran into the
church through the vestry door. He
stood Oh his hind legs, with his fore
paws meekly dropping, close beside
the minister, who did not see him, but
the congregation did. When the
minister shouted Daniel" again two
sharp soprano barks said eyes, sir, ,"
as plainly as Dan could answer.
The minister started back, looked
around, and saw the funny little pic
ture; then he coughed and wondered
what he should do next; but just then
through the vestry came Willie. His
face rose from sleep. and he looked a
little frightened. He walked straight
toward his father, and took Dan in his
arms, and said "Please 'scuse Dan,
papa. I went to sleep and he runned
away" Then he walked out again
with Dan, looking back at the smil-
ing congregation. The minister end
ed his serman on Daniel as best he
could, but then he made a resolve if he
ever preached about the prophet Dan
iel again he would remember to tie up
his little black-and-tan namesak.-
L. E.. Chittenoe1, IN Our Little Ones.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
sold Tom Smith,"

.'WhO was that man who called
here to-day? ?" asked gentleman of
his wife.
"Oh, that was old Tom Smith," was
the reply.
And the little boy, who was playing
in the room, caught up the words and
continued repeating, "Old Tom
Smith" He called his playthings "Old
Tom Smith," and last of all he called
his elder sister "Old Tom Smith,"
Whether "Old Tom Smith" inflict-
ed a lasting injury upon that boys
mind we have not learned, but we are
confident that MI. Thomas Smith
would not have imperilled his char
acter at all.
Why children catch up a nickname
Or low phrase so quickly we do not
know but, like the parrot who took
to swearing rather than praying, they
are sure to pick out from the family
vocabulary all of those words and
phrases which have Glow" or "collo-
quial" marked against them. We re-
member an unfortunate man who
lived, years ago, in little Vermont
town. He was suffering from defect
i've vision and curvature of the spine.
Ie should have been an object of pity,
but instead of that some thoughtless
man made him forever an object Of
ridieule by giving him the name Of
"Squint-eye FOCUS"
Every boy in the town caught up
the epithet. 1T was a talking nick
name it had sort of grotesque fit
ness about it which at once fascinated
young America.
What "Fogus" meant no one ever
knew The mans name was Pierce,
but whenever he appeared some scion
of the town would shout out, "There
goes Squint-eye Fogus," and gen.
eral laugh would follow. The result
was that in few years the poor man
was everywhere known by this oppro-
brious epithet the shame of ridicule
was added to thep pain and the ineonven-
ience of his deformity, and the rising
generation were taught to laugh at a
misfortune which should have aroused
their deenest commiseratiOn.
RuLe.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
RipcnesS in Character.

Rev. Chrles H. Spurgeon beautifully
illustrates the marks of ripeness il
Christian character somewhat as fol
lows: One mark is beauty. Ripe
fruit has its own perfect beauty. As
the fruit ripens, the sun tints it with
surprising loveliness, and the colors
deepen till the beauty of the fruit is
eqal to the beauty of the blossom, and
in some respects superior. There is
in ripe Christians the beauty OF
realized sanctification, which the
Word of God knows by the name ol
''beauty of holiness"
Another mark of ripe fruit is tender
ness. The young, green fruit is hard
and stone-like; but the ripe fruit is
soft, yields to the pressure, can al
most be moulded, retains the mark OF
the finger. So it is with the mature
Christian he is noted for tenderness
of spirit.
Another mark of ripeness is sweet
ness. The unripe fruit is sour, and
perhaps it ought to be- or else we
should eat all the fruits while they are
yet green. 1t may, therefore be in the
order of grace fit thing that in the
youthful Christian some sharpness
should be formed which will ultimate
ly be removed. AS we grow in grace
we are sure to grow in charity, sympa-
thy, and love; we shall have greater
and more intense affection for the per-
son Of Him ''whom having not seen,
we love-" we shall hsve greater de-
light in the precious things of His
gospel the doctrines which perhaps we
did not understand at first will become
marrow and fatness to us as we ad-
vance in grace. We shall feel that
there is honey dropping from the hon
eycomb in the deep things of our re-
ligion. We shall, as we ripen in grace,
have greater sweetness toward our fel-
low Christians. Bitter-spirited Chris
tians may know great deal, but they
are immature. Those who are quick
to censure may be very acute in judg-
ment, but they are as yet immature
in heart. 1 know we who are young
beginners in grace think ourselves
qualified to reform the whole Chris
tian church. We drag her before us
and condemn her straightway; but
when our virtues become more mature
I trust we shall not be more tolerant of
evil, but we shall be more people of
God, and certainly less arrogant in our
criticisms.
Another, and very sure mark of
ripeness, is a loose hold of earth.
Ripe fruit easily parts form the
bough. You shake the tree and the
ripe apples fall. If you wish to eat
fresh fruit, you put out your hand to
pluck it, and if it comes off with diff
Guilty you feel you had better leave it
alone little longer; but when it drops
into your hand, quite ready to be
withdrawn from the branch, you know
it to be in good condition.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
After the Battle.

1t was after the dt o: The battle
Had ceased in the silence and gloom.
When hushcd was the nluskctry's rattle,
And quiet the lannon's deep boom.
The smoke OF the conflict had lifted.
And drifted away from the sun,
While the soft crimson light, slowly fading
from sight,
Flashed back from each motionlesS gun.
The tremulous notes OF bugle
Rang out on the clear autumn air,
And echoes caught back from the mountains
Faint whispers, like breathings OF prayer
The arrows of sunlight that slanted
Through the trees touched IL brow White as
snow,
On the bloody sob lying mid the dead and
And it flushed in the last parting glow
The dark, crimson tide slowly ebbing,
Stained red the light jacket of gray;
But another in blue, sadly knelt by his side
And watched the life passing away,
Said the jacket in gray: '1ve brother
Joe Turner, he lives up in Maine,
Give him these, and say my last message
Was forgiveness" Here low moan OF
pain
Checked his voice. Then: "iou'Il do me
For You shot me > and his whispers sank
low.
Said the jacket in blue, "Brother Charley,
There's no need, I'm your brother, / III Joe.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12

'Alasr am not one of them, ant
never shall he, and T cannot enter
there
"By and by there came another
band, equally lovely in appearance
and equally triumphant, robed il
white. They passed within the por
tails, and again were shouts of wei
come heard.
"They are the goodly fellowship o
the apostles"
"Alas!" he said, Il belong not tc
that fellowship, and 7 cannot enter
there
He still waited and fingered in the
hope that he might yet 60 in but the
next multitude did not encourage him.
for they were the noble army of mar
tyrs. He could not 60 with them OF
wave their palm branches. He waited
still, and saw that the next was COM
pany of goodly ministers and officers
of Christian churches; but he could
not go with them. At last, as he
walked, he saw a host larger than all
the rest put together, marching and
singing most melodiously; and in
front walked the woman that was a
sinner and the thief that died upon
the cross. He looked long, and saw
there Manasseh and the like; and
when they entered, he could see who
they were, and he thought, There will
be no shouting about them But to
his astonishment it seemed as if all
heaven was rent with sevenfold shouts
as they passed in. And the angels
said to him, These are they that. are
mighty sinners, saved by mighty
grace And then he said, BLESSED be
God! can 60 in with them. And go
he awoke."
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
Open.Air Maps.

A young mother was reproved not
long ago for putting her children to
sleep in the open air when they took
their daytime maps. The little two
year-old was laid in sailors ham,
mock swung on the piazza or under
the trees, and the month-old baby was
rolled in her carriage into the shade
and there left to sleep. Both children
were amply protected by nettings
from disturbance from insects, and
their eyes were shielded from excess OF
light.
The reprover was evidently not ur
with the times. When her babies
were put to sleep, fifty or sixty years
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
Don't You Play I!

"No, / don't play Oh any instru-
ment," said onr friend, Tom Cring]e,
in answer to our question. "To tell
the truth, became discouraged by a
slight misconception when 1 was a
young man. wasn't appreciated,
you know, and all that sort of thing"
"Well, you see," said he, in reply to
another question, "it was about twenty
years ago, when I was studying law,
and my brother was medical stu
dent, and we both fancied we had a
wonderful talent for music. So John
bought aflute and fiddle, and turn
ing one of the attics into a study, we
practiced there half the night
through. We didn't want any one to
know about it, especially our father,
who had very strict notions as to the
value of time; and to make him think
US usefully employed, had quantities
of law-books heaped up, and John had
skull and all sorts of bones scattered
about. We knew that up in our study
no one could hear us but Betsey,
the housekeeper, and as she was our
old nurse we felt sure she would keep
our secret. One morning, after we
had been Willing the long hours away
to our own mutual delight, we came
down late to breakfast, looking, I sup
pose, somewhat unrefreshed.
"You mustn't study too hard, boys" I"
said our father considerably,
"Yes, sir" said I, gravely.
Just then Betsey appeared at the
door, and looked mysteriously at my
mother.
Eyes, what is it?" said mother, SUI
prised at Betsey's excited manner.
What is it, Betsey?'
"Well, ma,am,, / wish to say
ma'am, ,'-Betsey always spoke in that
short, nipping way, when she was
what she called worked up,'-1 must
leave you, ma'am.'
"Leave me !-why?' asked my
mother.
"Yes, ma'am it's twenty-five years
that I've been with you, ma'am--and
it's the boys at last, ma'am. I can't
stand it, and amt going to. It's not
Christian-like, lna'anl."
"What have the boys been doing"
asked mother
"Its Mr.. John, ma'am and some
times I think Mr.. Tom helps him.
He's got some poor cretur upstairs,
ma'am, and he torments him awful.
He shrieks and groans all the night
through. 1t is worse than the heath
en-; I've stood it for more than week.
I did't get wink of sleep last night,
and what the poor cretur went
through was dreadful. I know they
say such things must be done by doc
tors but + amt going to stay where it
is, and I never thought John was the
one to do So"
And Betsey gave my brother
look of whitening condemnation.
My mother was acute enough to see
that something unusual was going on
in our study, and telling her she would
inquire into it, she dismissed her for
the present.
"That was the end of our musical
practice, though not the end of our
story, for our father took care we
should not forget it. 1t was a long
time before we heard the last about
"that poor cretur upstairs"
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
What Others Say.
The Church Union.

"OFFEND Nor THE LITTLE On ESD
There is more danger of being dis
courteous to an inferior than to q SUI
perior. The master is more likely to.
offend servant than a servant is to
offend the master. In proportion to
ones inferiority in age, rank, or at
tainments, one is likely to be slighted,
misunderstood, and deprecated. Most
easy of all, then, ia to be discourteous
to a little child. Persons who would
not be thought impolite to an adult in
any station will thoughtlessly offend,
or even insult, little child. A little
boy who was standing innocently by
his mother while she was entertaining
a visitor, was asked by that. visitor
whether he went to Sunday-school.
Being assured that he did, she added:
"And what do you learn in Sunday:
school--to mind your mother% The
spirit of that question was one which
the questioner herself or any of her.
peers would rightly resent as unjust
and insolent, if applied to any one but
an innocent and helpless child. It is.
an unjust and harmful thing to pre-.
sumo that u child is disobedient and
rebellious simply because it is a child.
1t is pitiable thata child should be al
lowed to infer that the most natural
and most rational way for its elders to
address it, is in words which imply
that it cannot be supposed to have any
right instincts, any. right thoughts,
any right feelings, or to be ready to do;
right deeds. Take heed that We of
fend not one of these little ones lin
any such way.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12
Onions.

Boil in salted water till perfectly
done pour Off the water and pour on
milk; when it boils add flour and but
ter stirred together, sufficient to thick
en-. Or, boil in salted water ten min
utes, then put them in cold fresh wa
ter for half an hour after that place
in a stcw-pan with just enough cold
fresh water to cover them, and boil
gently till tender. Drain and serve
with melted butter. Thus cooked
onions are deprived of their strong
odor.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-12

1t is q new idea to most persons that
edge-tools not infrequently become
what artisans term "tired," and will
not hold keen edge until they have
a rest. This is the statement of car
penters, BARRIERS, and wood-choppers'
Locomotive engineers notice some
thing akin to this in their engines. Ii
is probable that constant and haro
usage causes changes in the crystilliza
ton that may account for this pecu
iarity in inanimate thin gs.