davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-09-14
A Dogs Experience.

The story of the Newfoundland dog be-
longing to Charles Topper, a restaurant
proprietor in New York, is one that will
startle a great many persons who are
studying the mysterious forces and powers
of the electrical current, which human in
genuity has so far only partially harnessed
and controlled, but scarcely yet under
stands. The dog ran against dangling
'ive" wire of an electric illuminating
company. A Western Union Telegraph
lineman had only moment before picked
up the wire and been knocked down by
the shock of electricity passing through
it. The dog fell on the wire and lay there
motionless. With due precaution the body
was presently pulled off and every effort
made TO resuscitate the animal viii h was
q great pet. A veterinary surgeon was
called in, who pronounced the dog dead.
Two or three hours afterward an electri-
Zeal expert suggested making pit in the
earth and placing the dogs body in it, to
see if the forces of nature might not carry
away the electricity from the body. The
plan was tried. ALI mig hit and all the next
day the supposed corpse was motionless,
but on the second day there were signs of
life, and on the fourth the animal revived
and struggled to his feet a live dog once
more, weak and stiff, but very much bet
ter than dead dog. 1t has since been
carefully nursed and now shows no signs
of the disaster. The dog is two and half
years old and weighs ty-eight pounds.
The incident may well suggest inquiry
whether persons receiving electrical shocks
have not been buried before they were
really dead, and it is sufficient to raise
serious doubt whether the death punish
ment of murderers by electricity is suti-
Gent Watchm0n.
St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-09-14

There are three trades or avocations that
afford those engaged in them opportun ty
to travel and see the world, and these three
are printers, the coopers and the BARRIERS.
In either case a man, master thereof, can
visit any portion of this country and al
ways be certain of work. The typo can
walk into any English printing Office in the
country, or the world, for that matter, and
earn his supper. He can shift from Maine
to California, from Manitoba to Florida,
and, wherever, he goes, find work. He
needs DO letters of credit, none of recon-
mendation, for he has all available knowl-
edge. The same is true of the cooper
Where barrels are to be put together,
there can he find employment. And what
with beer barrels, flour barrels, whisky
barrels, aud sugar barrels, there are
always barrels to make. Likewise the
barber Let him walk into a shop in
Portland, Ore, or Portland, Me-; into one
at New Orleans or Duluth, it matters not,
a good barber can as easily shave the at
tenuated cheek of the Yankee, as the dark
visage of the Creole, and need never want
employment.
The clerk, the cashier, the salesman,
the book keeper, the writer, all must have
longer time to manifest their capabilities,
must have q measure of acquaintance,
must have that which we know as conf
dence but these three, the printer, the
barber, and the cooper, need no character
from their last employer.-Io1edo Jour-
unL
St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-09-14
Life in Christ.

This spiritual life is progression, not
away from, but toward given standard;
not beyond, but always in the line of first
principles. Principles are eternal as to
their nature, and vary only in respect of
the forms which are the outgrowth of
their different stages of development We
may in individual growth leave behind US
the elementary form of religion, but can
not clay aside" strictly speaking, "frst
principles. First the blade, then the
ear, and then the full corn in the ear"
The principle of life in the grain is not
always manifest in the tender ''olade"
which first appears This gives place in
due time to more specific expression OF
that life that appears in the newly formed
'sear," and this finally to the perfect de-
velopment of that life which we find in
s.the full corn in the ear" So the history
of Christianity in the experience of the
individual is this Christ implanted in our
hearts the evidence of the presence of this
divine life, appearing in the first form of
religion Christ developing in our souls,
giving such specific expression to our
lives that the identity of the child of God
appears in his being separate" from the
world, and finally Christ taking such COM
plete possession of the soul that the per-
feet principle along which and by the force
of which we have progressed appears in
the perfect man. Beginning with Christ
formed in us, it ends with our being made
"perfect in Christ Jesus" - Christian
Oracle.
St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-09-14
Addressing Sinners.

Spurgeon says, 81 do think that
minister who can preach sermon without
addressing sinners does not know how TO
preach" That the preachers great work
in the pulpit and out of it is to address
Sinners" and clearly and fully present
Gods way of peace" through the atone
ment Of Christ, and urge its acceptance
upon them will, perhaps be generally
admitted. Sturgeon himself practices his
own doctrine. He addresses sinners. One
can hardly take up a sermon of his and not
see that his great aim is to reach sinners
with the gospel. He breaches as if he be-
lieved there were sinners before him whom
he desired above all things to turn from
their sins to Christ.
We all know that his ministry has been
greatly blessed. Through his instrument
tality many souls have been saved. The
results of his preaching have been just
what every earnest minister desires. Paul
to the Jews became Jew, that he might
gain the Jews and was willing to be made
all things to all men, that he might by all
means save some" Not simply instruct
them, improve them. help them, but 'by
all means save some"
The converted are already safe. They
need to be "rooted and built up in Christ,
and established in the faith" The weary
need word in season. Gods people need
to be comforted. And yet there can be
something in every sermon for the soul
that in deep distress is asking, "What
must do to be saved 2" and this, too, with
out at all marring its unity. - United
PRESBYTERIAN
St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-09-14
Self-Praise.

An ancient writer says: "When was
young, | used to rise in the night to watch,
pray and study the most learned books.
One night, when SO engaged, my father,
who was wise man, awoke while l was
at my studies, Behold said | to him,
your other children are idly asleep, while
l alone am awake to praise God Son of
my SOUL he replied, 1T is better to sleep
than to continue awake to remark The
faults of thy brethren.
Forwardness of conduct and conceit are
offensive whatever be our age, and are very
unlovely in the young. Do not let us seek
after praise at the expense of others. "Be
not wise in your own conceits. "-(Rom.
xii 16) -CanGdinn Presbyterian.
St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-09-14
A Loss to Womanly Culture.

Seldom has any event of a personal kind
occurred to be more deplored than the
sudden death, ON the railroad near New
Haven, of Miss Mary A. Brigham, the re-
cord of which has been placed before our
readers, Of her great loss within wide
sphere, the Tribune justly remarks:
Tire death of Miss Mary A Brigham,
the president elect of Mount Holyoke Col
lege, removes one of the leading teachers
of the country, aud carries the sense OF
personal loss into hundreds of homes in
Brooklyn, where Miss Brigham's active
life had been spent. In its outward cir
cumstances her career was quiet one.
For twenty eight yesrs she was associate
principal of great girls school in great
city. That was all She had not written
widely upon educational or other topics;
she had not formed societies, or delivered
lectures, or promoted reforms OF any sort:
she had not done any of the things which
make woman's name widely known out
side the circle of her personal acquaintance
Yet she was recognized as one OF the chief
forces standing for a nobler life and
higher womaIhooi in her city. And when,
last spring, it was announced that she was
to leave Brooklyn for Mount Rolyoke, the
united voice Of the leading nlon and women
OF that city went up in protest and In pc
tition that the decision be changed
This was not because Miss Brig ham
taught literature, mental science or philos
ophy better than other women. The secret
of her influence was that she was woman
with broad views of life with the highest
ideals of womanhood, and that she had the
purpose and the power to impress those
ideals upon the girls who came under her
Il
Brigham value the mere knowledge which
they acquired in school as among the least
of their possessions. She had put new
meaning into their life. 1t had broader,
nober, higher possibilities for them when
they left her than they had ever dreamed of.
What Miss Brigham would have made
of Mount Holy oke must now remain con-
lecture but her purposes were clear. She
felt that there was room TOR great wo-
mans college, where women should be as
we'll trained for the work Of the world as
E1en are, and at the same time should be
inspired with the Christian spirit of love
for their fellows as the guide in the use of
the greater power which their education
would give them. She also felt that this
college should be open to the poorest girl
anxious to profit by its opportunities. For
that reason she valued the household man
agement which is the peculiar feature of
Mount Holyoke life.
Perhaps it was chiefly love for her own
alma mater that took this teacher to the
Massachusetts, mountain top, but with it
must have been all ambition to mould the
fresh enthusiasm and unjaded spirits of
girls whose lives were not too full for the
best work The loss of a teacher animated
by such spirit, and with training and
capacity like Miss Brighams. will be
serious, not only to the college with which
she was to identify herself, but to the
higher education of women throughout
the LAND. Waterman.
St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-09-14
The Largest Tree in the World.

Garden and Forest gives some account
of the largest tree now existing in great
Britain, 1t is the Cowthorp Oak, in
Yorkshire. It's circumference at the
ground was at one time rs feet, but later
earth was banked around the base, which
covered up several protuberances and re-
duced the girth. 1t is believed to be some
where about 1900 years old and has not
yet seen it's last summer. In the last CEN
fury one of the main branches was blown
down and proved to be 80 feet in length,
and yielded five tons of timber. The top
or leading branch has fallen at some I'M
known date and curiously slipped down
into the hollow trunk where it has re-
manned. An idea of the size is given when
it is known that the tree overshadows half
an acre and that forty persons can stand
together within the cavity. It is now a
venerable ruin, it's limbs supported on all
sides by props, and carefully protected in
other ways.-IHe Canadian Adoance.
St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-09-14
Answered by the men :
Puppyism.

Too many men carry pistols. IT a man
says or does something you do not like,
shoot him. The time was when it was
thought honorable for comba' ants to settle
their differences with deadly weapons.
Daniel OConnell killed D'Esterre James
Stuart killed Alexander Bos we'll; Andrew
Jackson killed Charles Dickinson John
q. Benton killed Mr. Lucos; Mr.. Graves
killed Mr. Cilley; Aaron Burr killed Alex
ander Hamilton, and even Dewitt Clinton
exchanged FIVE shots with John Swarthart.
But those Gays are far gone by, and any
attempt to revive them ought to meet with
the anathema of all decent society. But
they were not So bad as this frequent
shooting in our time without any intro
ductory civilities, which would give a man
chance 10 make his will and say good bye
to his family. There is evidently, among
certain educated and well to do men, an
impression that they can hit their wrongs
by manslaughter. There are those who
think it looks brave to carry a pistol.
Now, will undertake to say that any man
who lives in well defended city and is
afraid to 60 ont and come in without FIRE
arms has not the courage of sheep If
called to go ont on the borders of civiliZa
ton, or as officer of The law to explore the
haunts of a great city, deadly weapons
may be an appropriate accompaniment ;
but he who in peaceful times and in well
governed neighbolhoods carries drink or
pistol has the spirit of murder, whether or
not be commit the crime. In all the his,
tory of the world SANDER was never baf-
fled, nor was honor vindicated by taking
the life of another. Do not think that by
violence you can adjust anything. Keep
your heart right and your life right, and
you are independent of the worlds bonn
bardment. Snap your sword-cane and
throw your derripger into the river. What
chicken liver instead of heart you must
have that You must be armed to walk the
streets. If you are afraid to go down the
road harmed, better get your grandmother
to go along and defend you with her knit
ting needles. There is certain kind of
man who ought never to have pistol in
his pocket or under his pillow or anywhere
in the house, from garnet to cellar, and
that is the young man, or old, who has a
violent temper. To say nothing of re-
volver, it is dangerous for you to have SO
much as a percussion cap or a ramrod.
You carry a pistol, when suddenly, in a
moment of insane fury, you may do some
thing you may be sorry for through time
and through eternity. With such tem-
per as you have, to carry weapon of
death is as unwise as to put gunpowdes
and lucifer matches in the same box. The
orderly citizen in our orderly neighbor-
hoods in the next hundred years will need
no firearms. Ten lives are lost every year
through the accidental discharge of fire
arms where there is one life saved by be-
ing armed. This complete puppyism that
cannot live without being armed with
deadly weapons ought to be spanked and
put to bed before sundown.-De Witt 1ut-
mage, IN New York Observer.
St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-09-14
Didn't Have a Ticket.

A funny incident happened recently on
the Providence division of the Old Colony
railroad. A large. raw boned good natured
man entered the car as the train held up
at the RoxbuFy station, The car was
crowded, and people were standing. The
new conner stopped suddenly beside seat
which was occupied by young lady, who
was buried in novel, and beside her re
posed pet pug dog. The other passen-
gers had stood from Boston to this point
without protesting, but the latest arrival
took in the situation at glance, and said
mildly:
81 would like to sit down, if you
please"
The young woman looked up dreamuy
from the book and replied, with dignity :.
"The seat is engaged.
''Bv the dog ?"
eyes"
ssHas.the dog ticket p
No answer.
esOh, Pm sorry he hasn't ticket be-
cause I'll have to bounce him Oft the
train. !"
And without moments hesitation the
dog was lifted by the nap of the neck to
the window and dropped to the ground,
and the vacant seat was taken by the
stranger.
moment.
The train was only moving slowly as it
left Boxbury, and the pug was not harmed,
scampering off for dear life. His mistress,
as soon as she grasped the situation,
screamed to the approaching conductor to
stop the engine so that she might recover
her pet The conductor was soon informed
as to the cause of the sensation, and quiet
" told the young woman that she might
get off at the next station if she wished TO
and hunt for the dog. She did SO. to the
delight of the crowded car.-Boston Cor.
Neo York Tribune.
St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-09-14
PLEASAN RIES.

Stern Parent Ito young applicant for
his daughters handy Dung man, can you
support family?" Young NJ an (meekly)
ID only wanted Sarah. ''-Boston Post.
g'I've been stru ggling here for an hour"
said newspaper scribbler. What for :"
s'For an idea Lend me fifteen cents"
"What for?' To go out and get an idea
with"
Good bye, wiley; if I'm detained by
business and not able to come home to
dinner III send you telegram" Wife
(frigidly)-''Y GU needn't take that trouble.
Here it is. | took it out of your pocket
while ago."
Mr.. Spurgeon was consulted by scru-
ouloas brother, who inquired, "Can man
who plays the trombone, be a Chris tian 2"
Mr.. Sturgeon replied. ''Well, think he
might be q good Christian, but | don't
think his next door neighbor could easily
be one"
Il think that musicians must he an
awfully eonceited class of people: what
makes you think so p ''Why, their
writings. Every once in while you will
see a portion of q musical composition
marked fine / think they ought to let
other people be the judges Of that don't
you 2"
~ never take a sleeper when travel, +"
said Fakir to Footlights, as they strolled
along the Raito There's such danger
of FIRE from the bangings and in case of
crash just think of the immense weight of
the cars - Eyes, replied Footlights, half
musingly, 81 suppose it really is much
safer to-walk v'-LJe.
Newspaper Man-''Did you see that
clever little puff | gave you this morning
about your recent success in business and
how we'll you are doing % Potts (gloomily)
Yes saw it." Newspaper MAXWELL,
weren't you pleased p Potts Earnestly
'Shears, there were seven creditors at my
house this morning before breakfast. -
SJtings.
'The other day l rowed down the river
said an old Texas granger, "and saw some
cowboys stalking off claim in the richest
bottom land on my place. They were
ARM with Winchester rifles, and were
DESPERATELY imprudent," s"Did you pull up
their stakes ?" asked his neighbor. "Not
much !" was the reply. Il pulled up the
stream. life.
Skinner Weetpit Ito art dealerl-"An'
how much dye say this ERE pictur's
worth ?" Art Dealer-"Eght hundred dol
lars, sir; and you can, of course, select
any style of frame you may think appropri-
ate" Weetpit-"Eig hundred dollars
Why, man alive, at that rate o fggerin'
any decent kind o. frame wonld cost fifteen
hundred !! Come on, Marian; can't stand
| this foolin'" -L6fe.
St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-09-14
One Hour.

A few years ago gentleman met a rich
merchant, Mr.. Bowen, who was leaving
his office at one O'Clock in the morning.
"Why, Bowen, what are you doing here
SO lateY he exclaimed.
ooh, have habit of stealing an hour
from sleep every night to give to my &C
counts. 1t is great gain on the weeks
work"
In less than year the merchant was
ordered by his physicians to give up bust
ness altogether, if he would preserve his
life. The continuous strain of years, and
the time stolen from sleep, had broken him
down; he was an old man at forty eight.
He had become wealthy, but, as the event
proved, had greatly shortened his life by
his devotion to money making.
A man, well known in this country and
Europe as a profound scholar and linguist,
made resolution, in the first years of his
married life, to give one hour each day
absolutely to his children. During that
time his whole thoughts and attention
were devoted to understanding their char
acters, and influencing them in the right
direction. Business, invitations, visitors,
whatever would have interfered with that
hour, were all put aside. 81 have an en-
gagement, was the memorable answer.
His daughters grew to maidenhood.
Their mother was dead, and they had no
friend so near as their father. All their
little school troubles, their plans and
pleasures, they brought eagerly to him,
and were always sure of his sympathy.
His boys became young men they, too,
had their ambitions, their downfalls, their
successes-most of all, their temptations
They were never afraid to go to him with
old
A friend met him walking down street
one day with one of his boys. Father and
son were joking and laughing together.
Glow do you become so intimate with
your sons % inquired the friend afterward;
II used to see mine as babies about the
house, and presto ! they are men-but al
most strangers to me p
81 gave them little time each day, got
down to their level rs children, and SO
grew up with them"
"Pah | am too busy grubbing all day
to earn something to leave them. | have
no time for such idleness p
The two men separated. One bequathed
to his undisciplined children wealth, which
they speedily squandered; the other gave
to his not so much money, to be sure, but
film, controlled characters, every point OF
which had been Influenced by his eXpe-
rience, his Christian faith and love.
Diane de Poitiers, famous beauty of
the French court in the sixteenth century,
is said to have spent an hour every day in
hot milk bath to preserve her complex
ion, which was of dazzling fairness.
How many women are willing to give so
much time daily to solitude and prayer in
order that their souls may be kept pure
and untainted7
Each of US can steal one hour from the
twentyfour to promote our fondest wish
or ambition. To what shall the hour be
given?
The answer which each reader wishes
involuntarily to make to this question, will
afford him key to his own character and
the present condition of the mind and soul.
The Companion.
St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-09-14
Floods in Rivers.

1t has been noticed that the mountain
rivers of the highest ATTITUDES are espec-
tally liable to inundation but there is no
doubt that the destructiveness of such
floods is enormously increased by the dis
appearance of arboreal vegetation. In the
densely wooded uplands of Eastern South
America the rainy season hardly discolors
the waters of the hill rivers, the network
of roots and moss acting as a filter in alb
sorbing the surplus of moisture and re-
tanning it's impurities. The sediment of
cur swollen streams mostly comes from
tre-less mountain slopes, and there is
abundant evidence that many of the worst
flood rivers of the Eastern continent were
once noted for the placid regularity of
their current, like the river Pc (the an
Gent Padanus) which now threatens it's
lower valley with the perils of a yearly
deluge The Emperor Julian, who passed
several years in Northern Gaul, mentions
that the depth of the Seine varied only a
few feet and seemed almost unaffected by
any but the most violent rains. The diff
ference of minimum and maximum water
marks of the same river now amounts to
more than forty feet.
The horrors of the Johnstown disaster
have more than once been paralleled in
the valley of the Ardeche, not more than
a hundred years ago one of the most pro-
ductive regions of Southern France, but
now almost worthless for agricultural
purposes on account of the frequency of
devastating floods In 1916 the waters of
that little highland stream rose sixty feet
in few hours, and some women who
were busy washing at the brink of the
lower river had no timeto save their linen
and barely escaped with their lives,
though they fed instantly on hearing the
roar of the approaching torrent. When
ever that torrent descended in the night,
the defile of the Point FARO was checked
with corpses and debris, and the geologist,
Defontaine, estimates that on two different
occasions the Ardeche discharged more
water than the river Nile does at the end
of the rainy season. The floods of the
Adige, in Northern Austria, and of the
Martha, in the Eastern Balkans, have al
most depopulated certain districts of their
| lower valleys.
But the worst flood river on earth is the
Yang tse Kiang, "the curse of China" as
it has Justly been called. The loss of life
during it's last inund alton has been moder-
ately estimated at 750, 000-even after de-
Quoting several hundred thousand victims
of the subsequent famine and the thous-
ands slain by marauders and hunger
crazed cannibals. There is no doubt but
it's foods have done to the Chinese nation
more harm than all their wars, rebellions
and epidemics taken together.-Ogerland
M0uthLu.