davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17

distance he talked of home, and of the
time when he was going there.
ait will not be long" he said, when
l will go back to my home where the
flowers bloomed in the meadow down
by the orchard. and where the birds
used to sing in the woodland pasture
down by the big spring. Tomorrow,
perhaps, or the next day. or the day
after, / shall go back 1t IS a long time
since | was there and since | saw it all,
but / know it is just as it was when /
came away, for every night have seen
/ in my dreams, and it all looks just as
it did that day when left il to wander
over the world.
The people said the old man was
queer, and many of them were so
shoughtless as to laugh at his eccen-
tricity. Sometimes he did little errands
about town, and sometimes he begged
from house To house, for he was too
feeble to work much and he could no
longer wander from place to place as he
had done for so many years.
He lived in little abandoned cabin
and there was no one but his faithful old
dog to keep him company. He did not
Cars Tor those about him, and when they
s<ied to learn something of his past life
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17
THE MOCK IMPROMPTU.
The BE Way to Extemporize Is to Pre-
pare Carefully Beforehand.

The BE Way to Extemporize Is to Pre-
pare Carefully Beforehand.
OF all impromptu speeches the one
that is prepared beforehand is likely to
be the best. There are good reasons for
this. An alligator, tired of basking in
the sun, will slide off into the bayou
with considerable ease and some ele-
gance if allowed to perform the ma
neuver.in his own time. If the alligator
is hurried, however, by unfriendly man,
the descent into the water becomes
panicky scramble ending in a splash.
Orators are like alligators in this. They
can not tumble with grace into eloquence
unless they have time to consider the
operation. The best impromptu speak
ers in all ages have made it rule never
to speak without preparation. From
Demosthenes down to Chaupcey Depew
the private motto of the eXtemporaneous
speaker has been "Semper paratus,"
which, freely translated, means with
speech on hand" Perhaps Demosthenes
went to extreme in anticipation. He
grudged no labor to make the least part
of his orations perfect, and it is improb-
able that he always tried to make his
Athenian audiences believe that his
speeches were Gptempore. Those who have
succeeded him in the rostrum have not
always been so candid. Parliamentary
debate often demands the appearance of
spontaneous utterance, and it has
greater weight than speech which is
evidently tho result of antecedent study.
The charms of the impromptu are not
confined to the political grafton or the
after dinner speech. The divine in the
pulpit who can simulate, if not actually
practice, extemporaneous preaching has
the advantage of him who reads from
manuscript, or refers occasionally to
notes. On the stage nothing is so
likely to make a hit as action or word
that appears to be born of the occasion.
Actors are we'll aware of this and not
seldom prepare impromptus, usually in
the shape of topical illusions. Mr.. JEFF
ferson, although above the use of mere
local gags" is one of the great actors
who knows how to simulate spontaneity
in expression of voice and face, so that
the audience is brought to believe that
piece of carefully conceived and prac-
ticed by-play is the result of the mo-
ment's suggestion. In short, there is no
limit to the value of extemporizing,
whether it be practiced in Congress, in
church, at the dinner-table or on the
stage. And the best way to extempo-
rize is, as we have said, to prepare care
fully beforehand. or course there is
such a thing as the genuine impromptu
but it is very rare thing indeed, and
as compared with the mock article, its
success is rarer still.-Pittsburgh Dis
patch.
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17

and its fields are green and its waters
clear and soft. Its gardens are all
abloom with beautiful flowers and the
air is filled with their rich perfume. |
see it all clearly now, and l hear the
softest, sweetest music, and there are
angels coming, and as they float down
through the air they sing of the land so
bright and fair. BE still, now, and let
me hear them before we go on. ! will
rest little longer here and listen to
the songs of the angels before l go
home"
The old man closed his eyes and ono
hand rested in that of his son while the.
other lay affectionately on the little
dog that had been his only friend and
companion through all the years of
his wanderings in search of his
home. Twas thus he waited for tho
coming of the angels, and in little
while he was at last sat home."-
Thomas p. Montfort, in Detroit FREQ
Press
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17

ne wonld only speak of his old home,
and of its beauties and end By saying
that ne was going back soon.
Often when the days were clear and
warm he roamed in the woods and gath
cred wild flowers, or wandered along the
banhs of the little river picking up
shells and pebbles. On such occasions
his little cog trotted by his side, and
sometimes the old man would stop and
talk TO him about the flowers and shells,
a5ad the dog would look up as though he
understood 1t all
The summer waned and the beautiful
-autnmn days came on. The people no
cieed that the old man appeared on the
sstresSs less frequently, and it was sell
dom lie and his dog went out to roam as
sis2ssd. They noticed, too, that he was
growipg thinner and his step was be-
coming feebler
Then there came time when he did
not appear at all, and when two days
hsad passed, the little dog came TO a
ihUtsfs where they had always been kind
SB this master, and in his way begged
fhelD TO come with him to the cabin.
Something has happened" some one
s=zid. land the dog wants us to go.
Perhaps the old man is sick, or dead"
They RENE embered then that he had
nuL been seen, and they followed the
dog home, there TO find it was as they
feared. and that the old man was sick.
ue Lay on poor bed of straw and leaves
and tossed about with fever.
Irbey entered very quietly and talked
an 1Dw whispers 80 as mol 10 disturb him,
bat his quick ears caught the sound of
their 10 ,tsteps, and attempting 70 shrink
away from them, he put out his wasted
band as IL to stay their approach.
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17
COLLECTING BAD DEBTS.
A Chicago Man Has n New Scheme Which
Works Every Time.

A Chicago Man Has n New Scheme Which
Works Every Time.
Away out where Blue Island avenue
intersect3 the prairie there lives bad
debt collector named John Smiley, whose
ingenuity deserves better recompense
than it obtains.
When all other means of collecting
debt have failed recourse is had to
Smiley. Only the desperate cases are
given to him, as he charges so per cent
commission on his collection. The other
day he went into downtown Office to
collect bill of $50. His dress was
funereal, his face sanctimonious, his
eyes beatific in their upward roll. In
one hand he carried small vial, in the
other the bill which he was trying 70
collect.
This is the fourth time have called"
said he, in sepulchral tones. 81 am a
poor man; l am desperate. 1t is not
worth the throw of die to me whether
live or die. My inability to collect
this bill has almost driven me out of my
mind. See this" holding out a vial,
''and see this" holding out the paper.
zone is bottle of strychnine and the
other is bill against you for $50.
Either you pay the bill or l take the
strychnine."
"Better take the strychnine," was the
suggestion.
"All right, but if take the poison I'll
take it here. / have friend outside
who has my dying statement in his
pocket. In that say that i was driven
to suicide because you refused to pay
this bill. That will be in all the news
papers tomorrow morning. The pub
licity won't hurt me then, because I'll
be dead; but you can judge of the effect
such statement will have upon you"
Smiley's aspect grew still more
funeral as he stopped talking, and his
hand fumbled nervously at the stopper
of the bottle.
"Well, here's your $50. Now get out.
didn't give it to him because thought
he would commit suicide" explained
the debtor, "but because he's got new
scheme for collecting bad debts. I'm
pretty hard man to collect from, but
this chap carries too many guns for me-"
Chicago News,
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17
MEN WHO FASCINATE.
Female Views on the Fellows Who Have
Winning Ways.

Female Views on the Fellows Who Have
Winning Ways.
Sand would you marry the sort of
man who fascinates you?"
"Yes, indeed. don't think there are
any of them good enough, so there's not
much choice, and you are more apt to be
happy with the man who fascinates you
to the extent of making you forget his
faults than with the one who has so few
faults and is so moral he just isn't any
thing else"
"I'll tell you the kind Of man / call
fascinating" said right chatty married
lady with well-established opinions SIT
is the one who always says the courte-
Gus, agreeable thing, whether he means
it or not. The one who helps you out OF
street Car as II you were princess
royal. The one who continually piques
your curiosity by making you feel that
he is keeping something back, and that
never really allows you to believe that
you know all about him. / like him to
be cultured in the broadcast sense, to
have travelled and read and thought 80
much that he has something to say, and
with authority, on all subjects, and yet
who pays yoa the most subtle OF all
compliments by occasionally referring
to your opinion or asking your indorse-
ment Of his views"
"The man call fascinating" said a
girl with a reputation. for possessing all
the destinations belonging to women, as
well as understanding those peculiar to
men, 'is the big, manly, strong, gentle
one. don't admire that detestable
creature known as the male fiirt, but
one who, when thrown with person of
the opposite sex, makes her. feel, for
the time being at least, that she is the
only woman in the world worth talking
to."-'N. Y. Eyening suns
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17
TOO MUCH SYMPATHY.
something About the Real Tendency al o
Highly Sympathetic Ago.


People who do not see the dangers
which beset society on every side, but
who do feel very keenly their own
needs, are far less likely to sympathize
with those who see the perils around
us, and who are not so penetrated with
want, than the latter are likely to SYM
pathize with them. The consequence is
that there is marked drift in the ocean
of public sympathy toward the mood OF
the most ignorant and most needy; and,
as there is no clear standard by which
to measure, the tendency certainly is
for public sympathy to favor the desires
of those who are at once the blindest
and the most destitute. If we hear of q
particular guilty parricide, public sym
pathy is much more inclined to pity him
than to blame him. If we hear of a
strike that is undertaken in the dark
without any clear principle, and that is
willing to plunge the rest of the COM
munity into serious trouble in order to
win its way to success, public sympathy
at once prepares to go long way with
it, finding the sense of grievance on
that side very persistent and angry, an6
the sense of duty on the other side at
best only clear and calm.
Once let the claims of sympathy be-
come those which appeal most strongly
to public feeling, and it is evident that
no class will profit so much by it as the
class which feels all the more strongly,
because SO ignorantly and with so little
power to care what will be the conse-
quence of the proposed revolution to
others, the depth and intensity of its
own cravings to be better treated and
better fed. The real tendency of
highly-sympathetic age is toward un-
certainty of feeling, pendulous vibra-
tion, now TO this state, now to that, but
with very decided leaning toward the
feeling Of that class which is least en-.
lightened and least disinterested, be.
cause it has the advantage over the
feelings OF other classes of being most
persistent and more vehement. To
public opinion which veers about with
every strong expression Of liking or dis
liking, hoping to find some practical
compromise among those bewildering
fluctuations OF hearts, tho most useful
advice Is TO find fixed standard OF
right and wrong feeling, and toendeavor
to sympathize only with the right feel
ing, and steadily to harden itself, not
only against the wrong, but against
mere vacillation, whore neither right
nor wrong is clearly visible.-Spectator
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17
THE DYING wIFE's FAREWELL.

Esaise my pillow, husband, dearest.
Faint and fainter comes my breath,
And these shadows stealing slowly
Must. know, be those of death
silt down close beside me, darling,
Let me clasp your warm, strong hand,
Yours that ever has sustained me
To the borders OF this land.
Hor your God and mine, our Father,
Thence shall ever lead me on
Where upon a throne eternal
sits his love and only Som
I've had visions and been dreaming
o'cr the past, of Joy and pain;
Year by year wandered backward,
Till was child again.
Dreams OF girlhood, and the moment
When stood your wife and bride.
How my heart filed with loves triumph
In the hour of woman's pride.
Dreams of thee and all the earth cords
Firmly twined about my heart
Oh the bitter burning anguish,
When knew that we must part
II has passed and God has promised
All my footsteps to attend;
Hc that's more than friend or brother
Hen be with you to the end.
There's no shadow DER the portal
Leading to my heavenly home
Christ has promised life immortal,
Aud tis He that bids me come
When lifes trials wait around thee
And It's chilling bllows swell,
Thou'lt thank Heaven that I'm spared, then
Thou'lt feel that "all is well"
bring our boys unto my bedside
My last blessing let them keep
Nut they're sleeping do not wake them,
They'll learn soon enough to weep.
Tell tlr,t,, nftcu nj their ,nothcr
Kiss them for me when they wake;
Lead them gently in life's pathway.
Love them doubly for my sake.
Clasp my hands still closer, darling,
This. the last last night of life.
For tomorrow shall never
Answer when you call me wife"
Fare thee WE'LL my noble husband
Faint not meath the chast'ning rod
Throw your strong arm round our children,
Keep them close to thCe-and God.
Memphis Bulletin.
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17
RIPENING BANANAS.
Gas Makes the Only Heat That VIII Take
the Place of Nature.

the Place OF Nature.
Few people outside of those directly
interested in the fruit business know
exactly how the large quantities of
bananas which come to Boston are cared
for by the dealers. Two or three large
steamer loads Of the yellow fruit come
to Boston weekly. When they arrive
about nine-tenths of the punches are
perfectly green. In fact, all of them
were green when they lef' Jamaica the
yellow ones having ripened on the pas
sage up.
The green punches have to be handled
and ripened with great care, and it was
for the purpos of seeing this done that
the writer visited one of the Oldest
fruit and produce commission houses in
the city.
''You see," said q member of the firm,
"bananas are divided into four classes
or grades, the finest punches being
known to the trade as golden veils'
These are the very best fruit grown,
and in cargo of say $4,000 punches
there will be only from 200 to 400
punches of golden veils.' Next to these
come No. 1, then come eight hands, and
the small lunches are styled No. 2's
and are the cheapest. These are the
kind that are sold by street hawkers.
"The moment we receive out fruit we
hang the punches up in our hot room"
He then led the way to his fruit ripen-
ing room, which is double-decker, and
Is built into the left wall of the store.
"These two rooms are heated by gas"
he continued, and the temperature is
kept at about seventy. There is no heat
that will perfectly ripen bananas or
other fruit but that from gas. We have
tried every thing else, and we found
that all but the gas shriveled the fruit,
ripened it too quickly, or ripened it un-
evenly; therefore, everybody in the
business now uses gas"
'"This heat-ripening process is, of
course, only for the winter time, for as
soon as the weather begins to get mild
we take away the gas heat, allowing the
fruit to ripen in a natural manner, and
when the hotter months arc reached we
are obliged to hang up our fruit in the
cellar. "--Boston Globe.
"A Knoxville Tenn. barber shaved
q man recently who resides in the Smoky
Mountains, and whose beard had been
growing since the battle OF Chicamauga.
The man, whose name Is Hammer, was
In the Confederate army, and shaved
the day before the battle, and had not
shaved since. He said no had got tired
VI wearing 80 much hair and wanted II
removed.
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17
is THE SUN PEopLED7
A New Theory of the Univasse Founded
on the Law of "Actfen."


on the Law of "Actien."
A recent number OF tho Arena con.
tains an interesting article by Stephen
M. Allen, A. NJ, upon the newly dis
covered law of "Actien," which, If the
theories concerning 1t are correct, will
deal a severe blow to the preconceived
ideas concerning the formation Of worlds.
The writer explains that actien is
supposed to To surplus energy or fluid
thrown off fiom central suns toward
their planets, having direct and posi-
tive agency 10 the original creation of
tho universe. The new law supposes
that our sun, through its axial revolu-
ton, is constantly throwing off actienic
force, which Ia primarily neither heated
nor luminous, but which passes through
etheric space iuto the atmosphere of
the earth, whure, through combustion,
light, heat, electricity and magnetism.
are produced. In corroboration of the
theory, it is asserted that, If the sun
were the incandescent mass it has been
held to be, the heat radiated from it
would in passing through the is, 900, 600
degrees of cold which are known to
exist in the space separating our sun
from the earth, cease long before it
reached our atmosphere. That darkness
also reigns in the regions of the sun is
likewise incontestible. At seven miles,
the highest point reached by man, the
sky is found to be dark and somber, and
the rays of the sun are SO dim that it re-
sembles copper-colored moon.
The theory makes provision for the
light and heat of our solar orb. This is
supplied to it in the form of actienic
force from the parent sun. Lastly, the
conclusions reached are that the sun is
not an intensely heated body. that it
possesses an atmosphere and that it is
provided with moderate amount of
light and heat. For these reasons there
is no longer any reason, says che writer.
for believing it uninhabitable, The ac-
tienic process of world formation is thus
described: The surplus force thrown off
from the sun at once aggressively enters
etheriG space with q positiveness that
overcomes all resistance. A conflict en-
sues between action, the positive, md
ether, the negative principle, resulting
in the birth and construction of automic
and molecular substances, both ponder
able and imponderable, which fly off into
space, but which are used in the con-
struction of globe"
These substances are finally aggre-
gated and held by attraction. They are
formed into a nucleus, which, still un-
der the influence of original actienic and
etheric decompositions, in time forms a
globe. From this point, the theory CO.
incides with the principles generally re-
ceived concerning cosmic forces and in
fluencos, and the work of formation is
supposed to be continued according 70
the principles already known.
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17
GOING HOME.
The Old Man Reaches the Fair
Place Of His Dreams at Last.

Il WAS an old
man and his
b o a d w q S
whitened by
the frosts of
many winters.
His form was
bent and his
step was totter-
ing. His eyes
had long since
grown dim and
his hands were
t @ @ b lie and
wrinkled.
Often and
often of even
ings he sat in
the twilight,
and as he
gazed up and
away in the
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17
The Largest Cake Ever Made.

The ''iubilee cake" presented to
Queen Victoria by the Messrs. Gunter,
the famous London purveyors, in June,
1887, was triumph of the bakers and
confectioners' art. 1t was feet 6 inches
in circumference, 10 feet high, and
weighed over 600 pounds without the
decorations, which alone were over 300
pounds. The design was that of crown,
guarded by lions and surmounted by a
temple bearing figures of Fame and
Glory, each holding trumpets in their
hands, heralding the jubilee to the four
quarters of the world. These, again,
were surmounted by temples with min
gled figures of Peace. The panels OF
the base we're embroidered in gold on
white satin, bearing the royal mono
gram, while between them were figures
in relief representing the four quarters
of the world. Between the lions which
guarded the crown we're medalliona
bearing portraits of her Majesty and tho
prince consort as they appeared on the
wedding day in 184O. Other portraits
represented her Majesty at various ages,
the last being from the photograph
taken in May, 1887 Notes and Queries.
Mr.. Tootles (who has been scolded
by his wife for being out late).-'If you
don't like 1T, my dear, why don't you
strike, as factory employees some times
do?" Mrs. Tootles mo; ] won't strike,
but you'll find there'll be lock- out
some night."-Munsey's Weekly.
The woman who never said II told
you So IN entitled to monument
Minneapolis journal.
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17
He Had No Words.

Foreign Prince--My dear Mees, haf
no words TO tell you how mooch lofe
|. American Heiress--Put it is in
figures, then. my dear Prince. Put IT,
in tlgrres. How would $4,000 year
do:
The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-05-17

The woman who never said II told
you So IN entitled to monument
Minneapolis journal.
Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1890-05-29

Leave him to me, papa. / must see him
alone" Tom pulled himself together
with jerk, opened his heavy eyes, and
found himself confronted by Miss Alice
Heathcote, who stood with flushed cheeks
and indignant expression at the door of
the drag.
Are you awake, SIR" she inquired,
with elaborate sternness.
"Awake yes, why not, dear?" stam-
mered Mr.. Baxter.
Then what is the meaning of this?
You leave me hours ago and say you
don't feel well, and here l find you sound
asleep when the play is over for the day,
and We have been sending all over the
ground for you. And in your shirt
sleeves, too"
Good gracious! 1 beg your pardon. I
forgot" And, blushing scarlet, the Gu
rate huddled on his coat.
And they all say that you are drunk, !"
she continued, with a half sob. "Oh,
Tom, it's shameful"
Drunk" cried Mr.. Baxter Indignantly
Il should like TO meet anybody who sayi
that I'm drunk! Let me explain, darling
I'll come out now"
And then he caught sight of his vical
again and sbrank back, saying:
is that man never going2"
What MANI" asked Miss Alice, with
impatience. Really, Tom, you must be
mad day."
why, the clergyman, Alice, dear; dc
you know who he is?"
"Of course 1 do It's Mr.. Graysor, q
vicar somewhere in Yorkshire, an old col.
lege friend of papas; they haven't met
for twenty years. I'm sure he's not ar
alarming person-in fact, the only strange
thing about him is that about twenty peo.
pie have mistaken him for your man
Mr. Straightway, you know. Are they al
oil alike?"
"les, they are-rather," gasped Tom
scarcely knowing whether he stood or
his head or heels Come and introduce
him to me, darling I'll make it all right
with your father"
And he did; but it will be some time
before he hears the last of that cricket