davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11
SHOOTING STARS.

What do we know with certain facts
with regard to shooting stars? 1. They
are vastly more numerous than anyone
has an idea of who has not watched them
continuously for many nights. Astrono-
mers who have kept a record for many
years assure us that the average number
seen by one observer at one place on a
clear moonless night is fourteen per hour,
which is shown by calculation to be
equivalent to 100000 daily for the
whole earth. q They are not terrestrial
phenomena moving in the lower atmos-
phere, but celestial bodies moving in or
bits and with velocities comparable to
those of planets aud comets. Their veloc-
tiles are seldom under ten miles second
or over fifty, and average about thirty,
the velocity Of the earth in it's orbit round
the sun being eighteen. 3. They are of va
rious composition, comprising both large
majority Of smaller particles, which are
set on fire by the resistance of the earths
atmosphere and entirely burned up and
resolved into vapor long before reaching
it's surface, and few larger ones, known
as meteors, which are only partly fused
or glazed by heat, and reach the earth in
the form of stony masses. 4. They are
not uniformly distributed through space,
but collect in meteoric swarms or streams,
two at least of which revolye around the
cup II, olocod rf,,oe xpI;ot, ,a ,,4onooo3ol
by the earth's orbit, causing the magnif-
cent displays Of shooting stars which are
seen in August and November. 5. They
are connected with comets, it having
been demonstrated by Schiaparelli that
the orbit of the comet of 1865 is identical
with the August swarm OF meteors known
as the Perseids, and conn sctions between
comets and meteor streams have been
found in at least three other cases. The
fact is generally believed that comets are
nothing but condensation of meteorites
rendered incendescent by the heat gen
Grated by their mutual collision when
brought into close proximity. 6. Their
composition, as inferred from the larger
meteors which reach the earth, is iden-
tical, or nearly SO, with that of matter
brought up from great depths by vol
canic eruptions. In each case they con-
sist of two classes, one composed mainly
OF native iron alleged with nickel, the
other of stony matter, consisting mainly
OF compounds Of silicon and magnesium.
Most meteorites consist of compounds OF
the two classes, in which the stony parts
seem to have broken into fragments by
violent collision, and become imbedded
in iron which has been fused by heat
into plastic or pasty condition.
temporary ReuieaO.
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11
ghe Ho,me Bage.
THE WORLDS GOOD WOMEN.

Good women are as sentinels; in the darkest
of earth's night
They hold with stout hearts, silently, life's
outposts toward the light,
And at God Almighty's roll CALL mong the
hosts that answer Here"
The voices of good women sound strong, and
sweet, and clear.
Good women are brave soldiers; in thickest
of the fight
They stand with stout hearts patiently, en-
battled for the right,
And tho no blare of trumpet or roll of drum
is heard,
Good women, the world over, are an army of
the Lord
Good women save the nation, tho they bear
not sword nor gun;
Their panoply is righteousness; their will with
Gods as one.
Each in her single person revealing God on
earth,
Knowing that SO, and only so, is any life of
worth.
Dost talk of woman's weakness! l tell you
that this hour
The weight of this worlds future depends
upon their Power
And down the track OF ages, as times flood
tides are told,
The level of their height is marked by the
place that women hold.
Charlotte F. Daley in Woman's Tribune
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11
IRISH WIT.

A story is told of general and his
wife, resident in Ireland, who were CON
stantly pestered by beggar-woman to
whom they had been very generous.
One morning at the accustomed hour,
when the lady was getting into her car
riage, the old woman began: "Aghl me
lady, success to yer ladyship, and success
to yer honor's honor, this morning, OF all
the days in the year, for sure didn't I
drame last night that yer ladyship gave
me a pound of tay, and yer honor gave
me pound of tobacco" "But, my good
woman" said the general, "do you know
that dreams always go by the rule of con-
trary?' "Do they SO, phase yer honor?"
reioined the old woman; "then it must be
yer honor that will give the tsy and her
lsdyship that will give me the tobacco"
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11
GOOD MANN ERS.

Good manners are conspicuously
shown by attention to friends in sorrow.
Many people feel a sort of embarrassment
in the presence Of grief; they find it hard
to put their sympathy into words, and
shirk the effort by arguing that in the
circumstances visitors will be nuisance,
and far better away. But, in point of
fact, friendship is never more apprecist-
ed than at such times; the kindly feeling
shown, carries certain consolation while
neglect adds forlorn sense of desertion
to sorrow, suggesting that our acquaint-
snces are but fair weather ones, prompt
to fit away when our contributions to
their amusement are checked. Conduct
that can be interpreted in such light as
this, ie in the worst possible taste.
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11

There is such home" replied the
soldier.
"AhF' replied Emilia; "But they say
that heretics come not therel Promise me
that you will not be a hereto any longer"
The soldier smiled and sighed.
"You guess why am here tonight"
resumed the Italian girl. 81 know it by
that smile and Sigh. You think I am
come to tell you to seek your own land
end home, and therefore you smiled, and
you just breathe one little sigh because
you leave the bright sun and-me."
'Am then to leave you, perhaps to
be delivered over to your implacable
church,"
Emilia crossed herself. "No, no-go to
your own land and be happy. Here is
money; my father could not deny me
when I begged it of him with kisses and
tears. Go. and be happy and forget us."
"Neverr exclaimed the soldier, earnest
ly-"neverl and you, my kind and gentle
nurse, my good sngel-you have brought
hope to my pillow, and beguiled the sad
hours of sickness in a foreign land
words are but poor things to thank thee
with"
81 shall see you no more" said the
young italian, sand what shall make me
happy when you are gone? Who will tell
me tales of floods and fields? have been
happy while you we're here, and yet we
met very sadly. My heart stood still
when we first found you covered with
blood on our way back to Milan, after
the battle. You had crept under hedge
as we thought, to die. But took cour.
age to lay my hand upon your heart and
it still beat; and SO we brought you home.
and never has morning passed but l
have gathered the sweetest flowers to
freshen your sick pillow; and while you
were insensible in that terrible fever, 1
used to steal into your chamber and
kneel at your bed-toot and pray for the
Madonna's care. And when You revived
you smiled at my flower, and when you
had voice to speak, thanked me-"
Emilia's voice was lost IN sobS, and what
wonder if one from mans sterner allure
mingled with them?
The morrow came. The italian girl
gathered last flower, and gave it in tear
full silence to the soldier. He kissed the
fragrant gift, and then, with momentary
boldness, the fair hand that gave 1t, and
departed. The young girl watched his
footsteps till they we're lost to sight, and
then abandoned herself to weeping.
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11
WHAT BECOMES OF DEAD WILD
ANIMALS?

Anyone who has observed Nature close
ly must have remarked how exceedingly
rare it is to find the dead body of any
wild animal. Millions die every year;
yet, unless after heavy storm, or severe
frost, the sharpest-eyed ranger of the
woods and fields will seldom come upon
a corpse. The wildlings seem to creep
into holes when they feel their end sp-
prosching, or their bodies are devoured
by other animals, or concealed by their
kindred. In the first and last cases their
skeletons will, of course, be preserved in
the earth's crust all the same, as if they
had been buried in aquatic mud; but if
they are eaten, then it is only in rare in
stances that we can identify the compo-
nent portions of their bony structure.
This may be the reason why some ami
mails are never found except in the shape
of few teeth, and it may also explain
the absence of birds from formations in
which they might presumably be found.
Birds can more easily escape any terres-
trial disturbance likely to overwhelm an
imals without such capabilities of fleeing
from the mischief at hand, so that it is
by no means safe inference to consider
the spot in which a birds skeleton is
found that in or about which it's owner
was in the habit of disporting itself.
Moreover, in former ages, as in ours,
birds were no doubt migratory; indeed
there is reason to believe that the routes
at present taken by certain species, in re
moving from and TO their summer and
winter quarters, were those adopted by
them when the physical geography of the
world was very different from what it is
at present. We also know that when
birds are drowned-and after boisterous
winter the northern coasts are often
strewed with the bodies Of aquatic spe-
ciee, they invariably float on the surface
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11
CARE OF A coin

A cold is departure from health. and
should really be attended to at once. Do
not let it cure itself. Get rid of it soon.
Do not feed it, though, but starve it.
One cold after another nearly always
ends in thickening of the mucous mem
brsne OF the bronchial tubes, and before
You are aware OF it you become the VIC
tim of winter cough.
The morning tub (cold, I mean is
very sure preventive of cold. Never over
clothe nor overhead yourself. The neck
should be kept cool. Keep away from
fires indoors il you are subject to colds.
Cough, il not the result of simple
laTyngeal or bronchial catarrh, may mean
very serious departure from health;
and the sooner one sees doctor in such
case the better. Do not be afraid to
consult him. Remember, it is only those
that delay who suffer in the end. 1 do
not advise You to rush away to physi-
clan with every trifling ailment, butt
is better to be sure than sorry.
Many people would benefit much by
taking cod-liver oil for month or six
weeks about the change Of the season.
Probably the diet would have to be low
cred little, and an occasional mild ape.
rient taken.
Getting thin is another serious depart
ure from health. One generally does lose
weight in winter, and regain it in sum-
mer; but slow and steady decrease in
weight calls aloud for medical interior
ence.
Want of sleep and restless nights are
symptoms which can not be overlooked.
The cause must be found and removed.
The trouble may arise from over work
and worry combin ed, but in most cases
the stomach and digestive system are the
roots of the evil.
Nervous people worry most, bat they
also work most. Well, the question one
is inclin ed to ask himself when he feels
feels something wrong with his health is:
sam l overworking myself?' 1 would
answer thus: IL you really enjoy work.
ing, it cannot injure you very much; but
on the other hand, if it is force work, and
you find little pleasure in it, then it will
tell on your constitution.
But many people cannot afford rest.
Well, but wonders can be done by taking
exercise; by breathing only fresh air
night and day, indoors and out; and by
careful regulation OF diet. In conclusion,
let me entreat OF you, as you value your
happiness, not to neglect first departures
from health. The story of the reservoir
has really moral for every one of u.s.
Family Doctor, IN CasseTs Family Mag
azine for June.
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11

owing to their light skeletons and wafer
resisting plumage. Hence, when they
reach the strand, their carcasses are SO
macerated that their bones are scattered
far and wide, or they fall q prey to the
animals who prowl along the shore in
tent on picking up such hotsam and jet
sam of the ocean. Other large animals,
on the contrary, sink to the bottom when
they die, and if the sediment is favora BILE
for their fossiIization, they are soon
silted over, and their harder parts pre-
served more or less intact for all succeed
ing time. These facts, which to GER
tain extent apply to all animals, are in an
especial degree worthy OF consideration
when the comparative rarity Of ornithic
remains comes to be explained.
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11
GEORGE ELIOT'S GRAVE.

In a London June I stood by George
Ellot's grave when in Highgate Cemetery,
and wondered if even her genius could
have thrown any charm over the spot.
Highgate Cemetery has no beauty of it's
own-no touch of rustic grace or charm.
1t stands upon its hill hard, sharp and
glittering, marble city with scarcely a
tree to soften its pride of sculptured
stone. No wild vine scampers there, no
field flower blooms; and the ported plants
and cut flower decorations have an artifi-
cial, worldly air. George Eliot's grave is
remote from all pataralness, and the
close pressing of other graves upon it
robs it OF much of its impressiveness.
The grave is near the cemetery walls,
near the sordid and strident life outside.
Voices of men and women, screams of
children, the jingling of tram cars, and
the rattle of omnibuses fill ones eare.
Close by, workmen talk loudly among
themselvs; and dig in the mold or scrape
screeching gravel. Whittier I asked my
self has George Eiot's spirit gone-the
spirit of her idyliic Pantheism, that it
rises not from its bed to soften and re-
deem this uglines?
The grave lies high, and standing at
its foot one sees the greater part of the
city OF the dead below. A little beyond
swings blue mist over four millions of
lives. The grave is not rounded, but is
fiat space of thinly erased earth, bor-
dered with granite coping. No flowers
grow upon it, but few withered bou-
quets tell that strangers leave their pass.
ing tribute there.
The stone is perfectly simple, tall and
white, and bears her insignificant mar
ried name, "Msry Ann Cross,'' over the
illustrious one of George Eliot" Be-
meath the two names, the honored and
unhonered one, is Inscribed the world
known verse sung at her grave, when,
amidst sleet and snow, on bitter De-
cember day, she was laid to rest
ooh may join the choir invisible"
In his unfortunate "Life of George
Eliot" Mr.. Gross writes that her grave is
beside that of Mr.. Lswes. So far is this
from the fact that the grave of Lewes
can scarcely be found except by strenu-
GUS search for it. A narrow path runs
between the two graves, and the inmates
lie, not side by side, but head to head
and on different sides OF the path.
George Eliot's grave is close upon one of
the regular thoroughfares of the GENE.
terry. The head of her grave and the
headstone are at the end farthest away,
as If her feet touched upon that broad
pathway. The inscribed side of the
headstone faces the whole length of the
grave, the blank side turned toward the
obscure region; where upon the declivity
of the hill, sleeps the companion of her
life. George Lswes's grave looks much
older than George Eliot's, although made
but two years earlier. The coping is dull
and dark and the headstone already mil
dewed. A certain sadness, lacking in the
more famous grave, idealizes it. For
George Eliot's name turns it's back upon
it; no withered bouquets lie upon it, and
it looks lonely, though stranger graves
crowd it close. Margaret Bertha
Wright, in the Epoch.
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11
EXPURGATED WORDS AT WEI.
LESLEY.

The list of words, prases and express
sicns to be avoided by young ladies of
Wellesley Collee includes the following
81 guess So" for L suppose SO, or think
so.
elk things" for arrange things, CT pre-
pare things.
The use of ''ride" and drive inter-
changeably.
"Real good or "real nice" for very
good or really nice.
81 have stadied some," for studied
somewhat, or II have not studied any"
for not studied at all
"Not as know" for not that I know"
"Try an experiment" for make an ex-
pertinent.
"Had rather" for would rather, and
chad better, for would better.
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11
DISAPPOINTMENT.

When we reach our Fathers house we
shall look back and see that the rough
visaged teacher, Disappointment, was
one Of the best guides to tram us for it..
He gave hard lessons, piled the rod, and
stripped off much we valued that we
might travel freer and faster. Dear old
rough-hsnded teacher, we will build a
monument to thee yet, crown it with gar
lands, and inscribe on il: BLESSED be
the memory OF disappointment DIR.
T. L. CuyIer.
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11
SCENE III.

A faint and solitary light glanced from
a chink Of the prison walls-it came from
the narrow cell of the italian merchant
and his daughter.
The girl slept-ay, slept. Sleep does
not always leave the wretched-to light
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11

Yale College has shown its appre-
citation of Mark Twain's wit by comforting
upon him the degree of Master of Arts.
The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-08-11

The soldier sat sad and solitary, watch
ing the dying light of the sua as he
passed msisstically on to the shrine in
other lands. One ray rested on the
thoughtful brow of the lonely man as he
sat bracing up his courage to meet the
perilous future. AS he thus unused a soft
voice broke upon his reverie.
"You are thinking Of your own far-off
home" said the italian girl: Chow wish
that all 1 love had but one home it is a
grief to have SO many honest"
, 1888-11-02
High Living at Washington.

In the meantime l hear continuous
complaints about the high prices of living
in Washington, and there is no doubt
that "A radical change has gone on in this
regard. The rich men who AVE come
here entertain so grandly and dispense
their money so freely that. as Senator
Cullom told me the other day, the poor
statesman has a hard time to keep within
the limits Of his salary. Senator Cullom
said he has made nothing since he has
been in politics, and that he has lost his
money making sense by working in the
field of craftsmanship.
The days when congressman could
board on 81 n day have long since gone
10y, and the man who gets along now on
SO n week does remarkably well. If he
has his wife and children with him his
bills run well up in the hundreds per
month. and if lie has not the chances are
mat the allurcmcnts Of Washington life
Will carry him last along the road to per
dit,ou.-Carpcutcr's Letter.
, 1888-11-02
The Idols OF India

Idols usually occupy a little shedllke
structure at the entrance to the villages.
Every little village or hamlet one passes
through south of Agra seems laudably de-
termined to own a god of some sort; those
whose finances fail to Justify them in
sporting a nice red painted god with gilt
trimmings, sometimes console themselves
with an humble little two dollar soapstone
deity, that looks as if he has been rudely
Clipped into shape by some unskillful
"'prentice hand" God making is a highly
respectable and lucrative profession in In
dia, but only those able to afford it can
expect the luxury of a nice painted and
vanished deity right to their hand every
day. OF course people cannot expect a
first class deity for a couple of rupees; al
though the best of everything is generally
understood to be the cheapest in the end,
it takes money to buy marble, red paint
and gold leaf .-Thomas Stevens in Outing.
, 1888-11-02
A BlcYcLIsT IN sENAREs.

Idols and Temples, Mosques and Bathing
Ghats-Gods of the Heathen.
At length 1 reach Benares, wheeling
down the luxuriant Ganges valley. OF
all the cities of the east, Benares is per-
haps the most interesting at the present
day to the European tourist. Its 1,4OO
shivalas, or idol temples, and $50 mosques;
It's wonderful bathing CHATS, swarming
with pilgrims washing away their sins,
the burning bodies, the sacred Ganges
the hideous idols at every corner of the
streets and its strange idolatrous popula.
ton, make up a scene that awakens one
to a keen appreciation of its novelty. One
realizes fully that here the idolatry, the
blowing down before images" that in our
Sunday school days used TO seem SO unut-
terably wicked and perverse, so monstrous
and so far, far away is a tangible fact.
To keep up their outward appearance on
a par with the holiness of their city, men
streak their faces and women mark the
the parting in their hair with red. Sacred
bulls are allowed to roam the streets at
will, and the chief business of a large pro-
portion of the population seems to be the
keeping of religious o~bservances and pay
ing devotion to the multitudinous idols
scattered about the city.
Everywhere, in inches of the walls,
bhuOl bSSo, Ou ptueSldlS db TeQuen cor
ners are idols, ~hideously ugly; red idols,
idols with silver faces and stone bodies,
some with mouths from ear to ear, big
idols, little idols, the worst omnfum gath
erum imaginable. Sati, nothing visible
but her curious face, beams over a black
Mother Hubbard sort of a gown that con-
ceals whatever she may possess in the
way of a body; Jagaddatri, the Mother of
the World, with four arms, seated on a
lion; Brahma, with five eyes and four
mouths curiously made to supply quad
ripple faces; Kamadeva, the handsome
little God of Love the Hindoo Cupid,
whom the cruel silva orce slew with a
beam from his third eye-an these and
multitudinous others greet the curious
sightseer whichever way one turns. Han
uman, too, is not forgotten, the great
Monkey King who aided Rama in his ex-
petition to Ceylon; outside the city proper
is the monkey temple, where thousands of
the sacred ~anthropoids do congregate and
consider themselves at home.
Then there is the fakirs' temple, the
most beautifully carved shivala in Ben
ares; here priests distribute handfuls of
soaked gram to all mendicants who pre-
sent themselves. The gram is supplied
by wealthy Hindoos, and both priests and
patrons consider it a great sin to allow a
religious mendicant to go away from the
temple empty handed. Thomas Stevens
in Outing.
, 1888-11-02
The Boomerang,s Curious Flight.

Some German scientists, seeking to dis
cover the secret of the b~oomerang's curl
flight, caused a party of Australian
natives to give an exhibition of boom
erang throwing at Munster. The instru-
ments used were of two sizes, the larger
being a slender crescent about two feet
long, two and a quarter inches wide and
quarter of an inch thick, made of an ex-
t~raordinary heavy Australian iron wood.
This boomerang wa jerked up into the
air about 100 yards, when it flew straight
away, then turned to the left and re-
turned in a curved line back to the
thrower, whirling around constantly and
whizzing u~npleasantly. One badly di-
rected projectile fell through a spectators
hat with a cut as clean as that of a razor.
A Weimar manufacturer, who has made
some II 1000 toy boomerangs, believes that
the mystery Of shape lies in the sharper
curvature in the middle, with unequal
length of the two arms, which must be
made of equal weight by unequal thick
ness. The popularity of motion is due to
the difference in the length of the arms,
which DIVORCES the curve of rotation from
the circular.-New Orleans Picayune.