davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-11-07
The Old Stage Times.

Who does not remember the good old
stage times of years ago? The preparation,
the reality, the trip. With what delight
one mounted the rocking vehicle? With
what ecstacy he snuffed the morning air.
With what joy he hailed the country and
its beautiful scenery. With what pride he
.gazed upon the leaders as they lifted their
proud heads and capered on their way!
And then the driver!-hOw he held the
ribbons. and cracked the whip, and grew
big with importance, and Dragged of his
team, and came in ahead of time! The
landlord of the little country inn shook his
sides with extreme pleasure as he saw the
crowded stage CALAMITY making its way to
his door. And then such meals of salt pork
and fried potatoes, and boiled ham, and
fried eggs, and stale bread, and pea coffee!
Nobody grumbled. the charges were mod
crate. and even if the passenger did not
sleep the night before he could doze away
lin the good old stage as it went rafting
;alOng to its destination. The song, the
Joke. the story the new acQuaintance-all
gOne-h0W they come back to memory!
And that good, dear. old stage. and the
.garrulOus driver. and those glorious lead
,ers, the blue ribbons in their headgear. and
the lovely country. and the running streams.
and the crude bridges, and the blue-eyed
girl, so angelic in the eyes of youth. and
wayside stopping places. and the early
morning start, and the break down in mud,
and the delay. and the midnight meal, and
the sound sleep; aye, even the hour which
announces our coming. have all passed from
our gaze forever. and i'm their places have
come the huge steam engine. the dusty fire.
man. the active brakeman. the polite con-
ductOr, the Pullman sleepers. the palace
dining cars. and whiz. whz. whiz. away
we go, amid smoke, and cinderS and dust,
to battle again with the material and bnsi
mess elements of life! So, goodbye. old
stage, old times. old associations, old and
delightful memories of a by gone age!
Goodbye leaders, and drivers. and land
lords, and country, and nature. and happi-
ness. and joy, and girl and fresh air, and
good appetites, and health-inspiring vigOr
goodbye! Like the old man who has
carried many burden. the old stage has
been showed out on to the frontier by newer
and fresher blood. there to finally leave its
bones amid the soil of new people. Good.
bye.-T. M. NewsOn. in Midway News.
The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-11-07
For The Mirror.

For The Mirror
Drift Wood.
When two men quarrel, he who raises
his voice first is the one in the wrong.
One of the most effectual ways of making
ones self loved and pleasing others is to be
cheerful. Joy sOftens more hearts than
tears.
The handwriting of man bears an anal
Ogy to his character, as all voluntary &C.
tiOnS are characteristics.
Selfishness is a compound of sensitive
ness. self-consciousness. self-righteousness,
self-pity and self-thought.
1t is the part of troublesome ambition to
care too much about fame-about what the
world says of us; to be always looking into
the face of others for approval; to be al
ways anxious for the effect of what we do
or say; to be always shouting to hear the
echo of our own voices.
When poor fellow has been arraigned
for stealing sheep, the world looks at him
with pitiful glance and says philOsophic
ally: You ought to have known that to
steal sheep is great crime which there
is no earthly necessity to perpetrate. Why
don't you just buy the sheep and not pay
for it? That would have simplified mat
tiers and saved you from prison."
The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-11-07
Carl Pretzel,s Philosophy.

Dhere vas something in efery feller's heart dot
pleads for religion und virtue
Der worlt vas great school house, und it vos
dhere dot deceit of all kinds vas foorst shtuffed
mans frame works dherein.
Nature vas gweer Teller. He sumdimes puts
der Sweetest disposition. conshidootion bye laws
und amendments in der fhrame works of der
homeliest gal NIT freckles.
The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-11-07
Cheerfulness.

There is no one quality that so much at
taches man to his fellowmen as cheerful
ness. Talents may excite more respect,
and virtue more esteem, but the respect is
apt to be distant and the esteem cold. 1t
is far otherwise with cheerfulness. 1t en-
dears man to the heart. not the intellect
or the imagination. There is kind of re-
cprOcal diffuSiveneSs about this quality
that recommends its pOssesSOr by the very
effects it produces. There is mellow ra-
dance i'm the light it sheds on all social in
tercOurSe which pervades the soul to a
depth that the blaze of intellect can never
reach.
The cheerful man is double blessing-a
blessing to himself and to the world about
him. In his own character his good nature
is the clear blue sky of his own heart. on
which every star of talent shines out more
clearly TO others he carries an atmos-
phere of joy and hope and encouragement
wherever he moves. His own cheerfulness
their moroseness and their gloom in the
amber cOlOred light of the benevOlence he
casts around him.
1t is true that cheerfuneSS is not always
happiness. The face may glow in smiles
while the heart runs in GOODNESS and dark
ness below" but cheerfulness is the best
external indication of happiness that we
have, and it enjoys this advantage over al
most every other good quality, that the
counterfeit is as valuable to society as the
reality. 1t answers as we'll as the true
coin.
A man is worthy of all praise. whatever
may be his private griefs, who does not in
trude them on the happiness of his friends.
hpf o,,f1 ;h,,<oc g
cheerfulness to the general enjoyment.
Every heart knows it's own bitterness"
but let the pOssessor of that heart take heed
that he does not distill it into his neighbours
cup and thus poison his felicity.
There is no sight more cOmmendable and
more agreeable than man whom we know
fortune has dealt with badly smOthering his
peculiar griefs in his own bosom. and doing
his duty in society with an unruffled brow
and cheerful mien. 1t is duty which
society has right to- demand-a portion of
that great chain which binds humanity to-
gether. the links of which every one should
preserve bright and unsulied.
| 1t may be asked. what shall that man do
whose burdens of grief are heavy, and made
still heavier by the tears he has shed over
tainly. until he has learned to bear his own
burdens. Shall he not seek the sympathy
of his friends? He had better not Sym,
pathy would only weaken the masculine
strength of mind which enables us to en-
dure. Besides, sympathy unsought for is
mnch more readily given. and sinks deeper
in its healing effects into the heart. No, no,
cheerfulness is duty which every man
owes. Let him faithfully discharge his
debt.-Glencoe Enterprise.
mans own pOOd hreedjnp ia hs hoct
The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-11-07

j. Is. SMILEY.
Last Sunday. at some church
Was taken as dat
To speak of prison convicts
And for their good 10 pray.
They prayed for all the convicts
That all these wicked men.
rOn serving out their sentence
Might lead good lives again.
One min ster exhorted
That all sh ,uld right advance
by being kind to convict'
And givgng them chance.
He said it wasn't justice
The way some people raved,
And seemed t. think all convicts
Were totally depraved.
Now we admire this teaching,
Aud we would like to add
Our echo to that statement
That convicts amt ALL bad,
And then little farther
We'd take it. if we could.
And say those out of prison
Are not all of them good.
We like this day for risOns
And, farther, we suggest,
In fixing SPECIAL prayers
Perhaps it might be best,
TO have a day of praying
BY special church decree,
For some who're not in prison
And maybe ought to be.
In praying for the convicts
Let's all raise a prayer
For uncorvicted scoundrels
Around us everywhere.
Let's have a day Of fasting
BY SPECIAL church decree
For scamps who're not in prison
But surely ought to be.
Joliet News.
The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-11-07

1t only seems to harden George Francis
Train to lock him up in Jail. The miser-
able man now spends his whole time writ
ing poetry.-Chicago Tribune.
The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-11-07

A mans own good breeding is his best
security against other peoples i'll manners.
-StoughtOn Hub.
The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-15
Women in Europe.

A travelled Chinese mandarin who
has lately communicated his impress
sions of the west to his countrymen,
deals with great particularly with the
position and treatment of women in
Europe. These surprise him beyond
measure. Thus the notion of husband
and wife walk ing arm in arm in public
places fills him with amusement ono
body smiles at it," he says, land even
a husband may perform any mental
task in his wife's presence, yet no one
will laugh at him" Then, again, the
notion of men standing aside to let a
woman pass, and the code of politeness
which requires men to make way for a
woman, are to him incomprehensible.
In China, when the men are gorged,
the women dine off the scraps, but in
the west Eat meal time the men must
wait until the women are seated, and
then take one after another their
places, and the same rule must be OBJ
served when the meal is finished. ~
Exchange.
The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-15

sumed you had forgotten me, and wrote no
more. Thus were we separated. Though,
being unaware of Miss Nilburne's perfidy,
and grateful for her kindness to me, yet,
though she tried every way out to win my
affections, my heart was ever true to its
first and only love, though deemed the OBJ
ject of it false. But now all is made clear.
Are you still free! If So and your feelings
remain the same as ever, write to me
come and 1 will come. Better late than
never. Ihave riches now to offer my bride.
I have chosen St. Valentines Day to write
this, just for the fun of the thing. My ad.
dress is same as ever. Yours,
WILL WOOD"
"Kitty, Will is faithful" said Aunt
Betsey a new tenderness coming into
her face, as she spoke, and she handed
the letter to her sister to read.
''Oh, l am so gladr' exclaimed
Aunt Kitty, as she finished reading it,
and then springing up. she threw her
arms about her sisters neck, and they
both wept for joy.
Dear reader, a few words will suffice
to finish this sketch. Aunt Betsey and
Aunt Kitty were soon united to their
faithful lovers. Yankee Blade.
The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-15
Another Child Wife.

Quite a sensation was caused here
when it became known that Maggie
May Isett-a pretty little girl of IA
was married to William Robert Burnie,
IS years old. The child was attending
school and was persuaded by Burnie,
who is boarder at the house of her
parents, to marry him under promise
OF making her presents of dresses.
Burnie is brakeman on the Pittsburg
road, and has been married twice be-
fore. The couple were discovered at
an obscure boarding house, and the
girl-wife was taken home by her dis
tracted mother. Proceedings for di-
vorce will be begun at once. Burnie
may be prosecuted for perjury for CIV
ing the age of the girl as 10 years in
order to secure a marriage license.
The girl was married in short dresses,
and Rev. Northrup, of the First Bap-
fist Church, who performed the mar
rage ceremony, is severely criticised
for not making inquiries and saving
the girl.-Fort Wayne Dispatch in To-
ledo Blade.
The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-15
A Fair Understanding.

A woman in the near vicinity of As,
and weighing within a pound of $50,
occupied a seat on the train from To-
ledo the other day in company with a
scared-looking young man who proba-
bly, voted last fall for the first time.
AS they mentioned Detroit and the
fact that they we going to stop here,
citizen who had a seat ahead turned
around and said he would be glad to
give them any information he possess
ed.
'Look -a-here," said the woman in
answer, Il want fair unders landing
with you at the outset. Who do you
suppose this young man is?"
"Your-your grandson, perhaps"
mo, sir.''
"Your nephew, Them
"No, SIR"
"Your own son."
mo, sir.''
''Perhaps he is an acquaintance"
''He is my husband, Summarized
yesterday-and don't want any mis-
takes made. A dozen different people
have taken him for my grandson or
nephew, and I'm getting tired of it.
He's my husband, r-h-u-s-b-a-n-d,
and now go ahead and tell us where we
can..find hotel with family comforts
for about 81 a day. detroit Free
Press.
The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-15
After Church.

Under lattice, arch, and gable,
Up and down the Sunday street
Where the congregations meet,
Much I love to follow Mabel.
Much I love the sunlight glancing
On the ranks of new top hats,
And upon figure that's
Close In front OF me advancing.
From the columns of ST. Peter,
From the arches of ST. Mark,
One would say each city spark
Had run headlong here to meet her.
Can you count how many roses
She has fastened in her dresss
Of the beaux that round her press
You may count as many noses.
Each succeeding congregations
Way does she in turn obstruct;
There should be viaduct
Over Mabel on occasions.
All the new top hats arc doffing,
All the bonnets toss again;
They are always tossing when
Mabel's sighted in the offing.
Yes, an easy first she still is,
Still the girl to make stir.
Much I love to follow her
And to walk, myself, with Phyllis.
Thomas Wharton in Puck.
The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-15
Modjeska ApologiZed.

l think Nine. Modjeska is the most
genuinely religious woman ever met.
She is the truest kind of christian.
A woman of singularly gentle DISPOSE
ton, she never has word of harsh
comment or criticism for anybody.
was in her rooms one Sunday evening
and we were waiting for Mr.. Henley.
Mr.. Henley was late.
THAT is just like him." Nine. Mod
jeska said; ''he promised to be here at
a quarter to 6, and now it is 6 o'clock. :"
Then she paused a moment and
added:
There, have been abusing him,
and I've just come from listening to a
sermon on charity, too. I must apollo
gize to him when he comes"
And she did.-San Francisco Call.
The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-15
The Era of the AZtocs.

The period of fifty years formed
complete era for the Aztecs, and they
questioned whether at the end of that
period the great heavenly clock, hav-
ing performed it's revolution, might
not stop forever. This era menaced a
considerable number of the population
once in their lives and some of them
perhaps twice. The night on which
the fifty-second year would expire was
solemn moment to them and was
signalized by extinguishing the sacred
fires in the temples and those on priv
ate hearth stones, and by breaking all
vessels that had contained provisions;
and the evening was passed in dark
ness, with trembling and fear. The
day was in November, when the Plei-
AIDES would eliminate at midnight, and
this moment was the termination of
the century. As the hour appeared
the human victim was sacrificed, and
the sticks were rubbed over his still
quick body for striking the fire for his
funeral pile and the Inauguration of
the new era. Men we're waiting with
torches ready to be lighted, with which
the new fire was to be distributed to
ill the provinces. The moment of
midnight was hailed with shouts of
JOY. The world had not come to an
end and men could hope that it would
last at least through another era
Those who could not attend the public
ceremonies watched kneeling on the
roofs of their houses. The secular
festival was suppressed by the Span
iards, the last human victim having
been sacrificed on the pyramid of
Tlaloc in 1507.-Popular Science
Monthly.
The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-15
The Country Bow.

A country boy is apt to sigh for the
grand opportunities of the children of
the metropolis. Yet if he is possessed
of intellect, and ambition and industry
he suffers mistaken grief. His seclu-
sion and loneliness prove positive ad-
vantage. Deprived of the privilege of
seeing and hearing the things that
transpire in the cities, he falls to read
ing and thinking. Year after year he
absorbs books and newspapers, and be-
comes so we'll informed about matters
in general that little travel m axes
him quite man of the world.
Nothing will surprise him so much
as the ignorance that prevails in the
cities. He will find himself frequently
informing his associates about matters
that have been under their noses since
childhood, but which they have never
heard of. A visitor to New York
made six inquiries before he found an
individual who knew of the Astor
Library. He expressed surprise to an
old New Yorker, who replied that
there was nothing strange about it, as
it was the habit of city people to at
tend only to matters that personally
concerned them. It may be after all
that the poor city boy gets narrower
view of life than the poor country
youth. Texas Siftings.
The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-15
"Helen's Babies. !"

Mr.. Eugene Field, the author OF the
''Sharps and Flats column OF the
Chicago News, has three boys who, II
they do pretty nearly as they please
and do it in a highly original manner,
are only chips of the old block. One
day in mid-winter, when Chicago far
famed lake breeze had driven the Their
mometrical mercury down into the
bulb and was sitting on it to keep it
down. the three Field boys did not
come home at the usual hour for re-
turning from school, Dinner was held
off for them until almost o'clock, and
then, as the rest of the family sat at
the table, one of the boys came softly
in, wearing on his face and all over his
manner the most positive evidence that
he had been up to mischief.
"Where are your trothers?" asked
the father.
They're down STAIRS said Pinney,
'bringing up the fish,"
what fish,"
s'Ihe fish we caught"
"Where have you been fishing?"
''Down to the lake. You see it was
this way. papa. We was awful cold
and we saw smoke coming up from the
lake and we went down there to get
warm"
They had seen the steam rising
from the watar and had gone out
about mile over the ice to ''get
warm"
Presently, when it was thought Pin
ney had satisfactorily explained their
absence from home and established
peace, the other two boys, Melvin and
Eugene, jr., came in looking as blue
as whetstones and as stiff as frozen
mackerel. Melvin held in his hand
about two yards of tow string, the end
OF which was tied around the body of
a solitary smoked herring.
''See," said Pinney, lifting the fish
from the floor, where Melvin was
dragging it in shame faced manner
-"See, papa, we thought we'd like to
bring something nice for your supper,
so we caught this fish; and it's all for
you, papa. "-Washington Post.
The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-15
In Case of War.

For many years past the United
States navy has not been of much ben
eft to anybody except the newspaper
photographers. To them it has been a
merciful boon. With the mother-in-
law, the young man who reposes Ian
guidly in the bosom of the custard pie
at the picnic, the old man who comes
home late and scared, the hair in the
butter and the lonesome oyster in the
church fair soup, the United States
navy has done wonders in imparting
spice and vivacity to the American
press, but as a terror to hostile foreign
nations, it has not been very effective.
1t is not safe for any nation to be de-
void of an effective navy, and a sham
navy is actually worse than none. The
status Of the navyless nation is some
what similar to a tenderfoot on the
frontier who does not carry a pistol.
He may worry along for some time
without having any occasion to use fire.
arms, but, nevertheless, he is liable at
any time to need a pistol, and then he
wants it very much indeed. In such
case, to pull out an old-fashioned pep
per-box is more dangerous than to be
totally unarmed.
During the last twenty years Uncle
Sam has had to quietly submit to many
indignities at the hands of the big DULLES
of Europe, who are always armed to
the teeth, and also from the little black
guard South American republics, who
have presumed on the fact that Uncle
Sans naval pepper-box was not to be
relied on for offensive or defensive
purpose.
At present we are much better fixed.
The new ships of war are very fast
and effective. In case of war the for
eign commerce of Germany, for in
stance, would be entirely destroyed.
1t hurts the commerce of country to
entirely destroy it.
As far as our so-called unprotected
harbors are concerned, they could in a
short time be protected very effectually
by torpedoes. And then we have the
dynamite gun, which could be useful
in many ways. Hundreds of ferry
boats in New York could be utilized,
and, while many OF them might be
sunk, there would be enough left to
attend to the immediate wants of the
hostile leviathans. One shot from a
dynamite gun, exploding the equiv a.
lent of thousand pounds OF that ex-
plosive, would cause the heaviest iron
clad in the world to Immediately sus-
pend publication.
Foreign nations will do we'll not to
crowd Uncle Samuel because they may
think he is not able to look out for
himself, otherwise they may experience
som e painful surprises. Siftings
The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-15
Eccentric Rosanna Mccormick

eccentric RIOS anna Mccormick.
Rosanna Mccormick, aged IS, an &C.
centric character, who has resided by
herself near Jordans, White Sulphur
Springs, in this county, for many
years, and who was well-known by
thousands of people from the north and
south who have been patrons of these
springs, was found dead at home yes
terday. lying on fertilizer sacks and
sheep skins. She had a number of
feather beds. but never slept on them.
She always wore long heavy boots,
with pistols in them for protection,
rarely ever taking them off, and died
in her boots. At the coroner's inquest
verdict of ''died of pneumonia was
rendered. She was a great reader,
very intelligent, fine historian and
owner of two farms and number of
cattle and sheep, which she amassed
by her industry. She told the fortunes
Of many fair maiden and old time
lady in the United States. She was
d great pedestrian, always walking to
the city clad in the toughest material.
accompanied by her faithful dog and
carrying long staff. A number of
handsome uncut silk dress patterns
were found among her effects. She
never took, medicine and would not
have a PHYSICIAN in her last Illness
winchester (Va.) Special.