davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
, 1891-09-04


A well dressed man made a bold at
tempt to commit suicide at Briggs gun
store, in Chester. He asked to be shown
IA GS-caliber Smith s. Wesson revolver.
The tranger examined it intently, and
then questioned Mr.. Briggs as to the
method Of loading it. He appeared to
be ignorant of the manner of using fire.
arms. The modus operandi was ex-
planned to him.
The stranger insisted that a cartridge
be placed in the revolver, but a certain
look in the mans face excited Mr..
Briggs suspicion, and pretending to
charge a chamber he handed over the
empty revolver. In a flash the stranger
placed the muzzle to his breast and
pulled the trigger. Bitter disappoint-
ment swept over his face when there
was only a harmless click.
you cant harm yourself, friend" re-
marked Mr.. Briggs, 1.-THE revolver is
empty. Give me the pistol" The in
tended instrument of death was returned,
when the stranger said: 81 intended to
commit suicide, and my mind was fully
made up when | entered your store. l
had no revolver of my own, and / thought
| could get n chance to shoot myself by
pretending to make a purchase. have
had trouble moro than thought / could
bear, but the last straw was laid on last
night. If you had loaded that revolver
| would nave been n dead man now"
The stranger hurriedly left.-Cor. Phila-
delphia Telegraph.
, 1891-09-04

The country towns generally manage
10 make the city pay the freight" re-
marked a prominent wholesaler the other
day. When they build their churches
they often send delegations to the city
after subscriptions, and their civic and
military organizations and charitable
institutions are never backward about
striking the city business or professional
man for assistance. But the latest
scheme is to make the jobbing houses
in the city help pay for the Fourth Of
July celebrations in the various villages
where they have customers.
The jobber receives a letter from the
subscription committee to the effect that
his customers, Messrs. Doe, Roe, Jones
and Smith, will consider it a favor if he
will do. something toward the celebra-
ton. The letter says that the celebra-
tlon will call a great many people into
town, and of course the sale of his goods
will be increased, for special pains will
be taken to push the sale of the goods
purchased of those who help the celebra-
ton by subscription.
at is a species of blackmail that the
job%ers must wink at, and the result is
he sends his little check for five or ten
dollars, at the same time bottling his
wrath You car see that If he receives
similar letters from four or five towns
the draft upon him is not small, and
that he pays tribute to four or five of
them is an assured fact, as | have letters
to prove. There are very few flies on
the country subscription committees, /
can assure you."-Utica Observer.
, 1891-09-04

There were taken out of the Chicago
custom house a few days ago a lot of
queer looking packing cases, bearing
upon their exterior some peculiar hero
glyphics that were undecipherable to
Uncle Sans clerks. The boxes were
claimed by Isaac Woolf, the west side
merchant, to whom they were consigned
from Japan. They contained the parts
of two of those Japanese vehicles known
as jinrikshas, which are to be used in
the west side parks for the amusement
of the little folks. Mr.. and Mrs. Woolf
while travelling in Japan became so i'm
pressed with this kind Of vehicle that
they decided to bring two Of them to
Chicago and two Japanese runners to
draw hem.-Philadelphia Ledger.
, 1891-09-04

The director of the mint, authorized by
act of congress, has recently issued a
circular letter to artists inviting them to
submit new designs of authorized en-
blems or devices to be prepared or adopt
ed for the coins of the United States"
This on its face is highly to be COM
mended, for u coinage at present is
calculated to make the judicious weep
and the lukewarm patriot sympathize
with the structures of the foreigner on
our degree of civilization. The criti-
cisms on our coinage could indeed be ap-
piled with equal force to all our moneys,
for the treasury notes, with their wealth
of turning lathe tracery and their sign
painters lettering, are no better than
our coins. The one excuse for their ex-
istence has been the difficulty which
they were supposed to oppose to counter
feiting; but this, it appears from late de-
velopments, is largely imaginary, and
their ornate ugliness is therefore with
out extenuating circumstances .-Scrib-
per'a
, 1891-09-04

M. julie Simon recently delivered be-
fore the French chamber in favor Of
curtailing the working hours of women,
which will be considered as among his
most important utterances. he APP
pealed at the same time to the reason
and to the heart. The following are
some of the best passages:
There are good reasons then, for us
to seek to diminish the hours of women's
labor. 1t is almost impossible for a
man whose heart is in the right place to
think that these dear creatures should
be subjected to the same amount OF suf
fering as ourselves, who are much bet
ter able to bear it. But do we ask a
diminution of women's labor in order to
render their condition q little more
fortunate?
l am impelled by quite different mo
tives. When we ask for a diminution of
the days work for women we are not
thinking Of women alone, but rather OF
humanity at large, of the father of the
child, of society which we want to re-
place on its basis. The great misfortune
of the workman is the public house.
You start a factory and believe you have
done nothing else. You have done much
more. You have opened fifty public
houses. As 500 as the factory begins
to work the pu .ic houses are opened.
and the workmen flock to them.
Some of us will condemn their con-
duct, but there is an extenuating cir
cumstance. to wit, that the workman II
he returned home would not find his
wife, since she works as late as he. He
would not find a cheerful and clearly
house, nor cheerful children; he would
see tho saddest sight that can afiict a
father heart. This is an excuse for, or
at least an explanation of, his bad con
duct. But set up in opposition to the
tavern a well kept home, where the wife
and children have arrived an hour be-
fore to make things ready for the father.
and when he comes a homemade sup
per, a few good kisses and a feeling on
his part of having given a new life to
that family. viii there not be ground
for hoping hat the workman will then
detest the public house, and shat on
leaving the workshop he will go straight
home to his wife and children
, 1891-09-04

Upper Broadway presents a weird
scene these summer nights. The flare Of
torches, the chink, chink, chink of the
drill, and the swinging lanterns above
the workmen in the trenches greet re-
turning amusement seekers. This labor
goes on all night and continues all day,
the day being punctuated by dull rever-
berations of the dynamiters that make
the contiguous buildings tremble. All
this is the f%orerunner of Colonel Dan La
mont's cable railway.
In the lower city other night workmen
are sinking test holes in anticipation of
the rapid transit tunnels. There is al
ways n little knot of more or less belated
people gathered about these busy fellows
in the pits. They pause for a moment
and her trudge along homeward. Every
thing else but the streets is shut up.
Broadway is open all night-New York
Herald
, 1891-09-04

A sound scheme of philanthropy has
been carried out with good results by
NJ. Felix Deleuze, q gentleman of for
tune in Paris, who some years ago, be-
reft Of wife and children, adopted six
teen orphan girls. These he installed in
his fine but desolate house under a suita-
BILE staff of governesses, and had them
educated carefully under his own super
vision. Two of the girls, now grown to
be women. were happily married last
year, three more, attended by nine of
their companions, were welded at a
triple ceremony this spring, and two
nave taken the veil Each girl is pre-
sented with $1,000 and an excellent
trousseau on her wedding day, but as
the magnificent fortune Of their bene-
factor is not to become their property
they are brought up with no luxurious
tastes or extravagant expectations
New York Sun.
, 1891-09-04

A small party of Philadelphia and
New York newspaper men and authors
spent Sunday Mt the Delaware Water
Gap us the guest of Mr.. George w.
Childs, who entertained them with his
customary lavish hospitality. Paul b.
du Chaillu, Joseph NJ. Stoddart, II. B.
Gross, Henry G. Walsh and Melville
Philips went from this city, and Julian
Hawthorne, John Habberton and Nugent
Robinson came on from New York.
An interesting feature Of the jaunt
was a boat race late on Saturday after
noon in which all the guests participated
with a rather extraordinary result.
Julian Hawthorne, with all his biceps,
came in last, n good two lengths in the
rear of John Habberton. 1t was n neck
to-neck contest for several hundred yards
between Paul du Chaillu and Henry G.
Walsh, the African hero, however, a
conspicuous object in his white fannels,
winning by n powerful spurt.-Philadel-
phia Press.
, 1891-09-04

1t was evident that she scolded for the
pleasure of scolding; to be disagreeable,
as pretty women ind a singular, rare,
extraordinary diversion in being, once a
month or a week or a day; for his re-
plies to her %reproaches were frank, ear.
nest and ~fagrantly truthful. The ma
jority in the car was for him, although
a good advocate, who would nave whis
pered to her to undo the knot of hei
brows, might still nave made for her a
triumph similar to that Of Helena,
daughter of Leda, in the Greek council.
Surely he suffered all the fortunes of the
abandoned; but there was an old woman
in black in the car, and she must nave
been a fairy in disguise, she was so mar
velously wrinkled and ugly.
She put her shriveled hand on the lit
tie gloved hand of his companion, and
calmly, in n voice of the last century, a
voice to sing to Il c%lavichord accompani.
ment, she said: Madam, l had lovers
once; and, peeyish, | fancied | could
W lose them. Now, | would be ami
able to a man who loved me, even if he
had. like my shawl, which is made OF
more holes than stuff, more faults than
virtues. | would be amiable to him. -
New York Times.
, 1891-09-04
RATE. or aDYEHTIsING.
AN IMPORTANT SUBJECT

Judge Groesbeck's talk on the waste in
education is well worthy of consideration.
1t is a subject which public speakers
usually treat very Gingerly. A subject
upon which too much light cannot be
thrown and which tremendously affects
the present and dominates the future
seems in many communities TO be lifted
altogether beyond the pole of criticism.
Whenever anybody prcsumes to bring
into question the value of any particular
method OF education or calls attention TO
what no believes are shortcomings in edu-
cationai methods as he guages them by
results, he is completely disposed of by a
statement that people who devote a life
time to she profession of teaching should
know something about it or if all other
methods fail he is simply set down as a
crank.
There can be no doubt that vast strides
have been made in educational methods
In the past score OF years Every one is
deeply impressed with this tact when he
picks I'D the text books now in use and
compares their comprehensiveness and
~thoroughness with the unsatisfactory text
books which he himself had been doomed
to use. He sees money spent without
stint IN the construction of magnificent
school buildings and he %Rlories in them as
monuments to the cause of popular edu-
cation. He sees them fitted up with
strange and costly apparatus and when he
hears some young miss or some stripping
chilly rafting of scientific and technical
terms he is amazed at the progress Of the
new methods of impaIting knowledge.
but if he pursues his investigations
farther he too frequently finds that the
knowledge Is painfully superficial and con-
fined chiefly to phrases with no grasp of
principles.
We have heretofore expressed the
opinion that when a young man or Young
woman of is to 20 years OF age is
graduated iron a school the parents are
justified in demanding that these children
should have sufficient practical knowledge
to be at once available in the life struggle
which they are then about to begin. They
should be able to spell ordinary words
correctly; they should be able to practically
apply common rules of grammatical
construction, compose a ~presentable letter
and at once bring to bear their information
on the practical affairs of every day life.
1fthey are unable to do these things then
there is something decidedly lacking in the
educational methods being pursued that
no smattering of botany, zoology. geology
and neteorology will adequately compen-
safe.
The waste in education" is one OF the
most important problems with which edu-
Gators are forced to graphic. Is too
much attention being devoted to the mere
superficial gloss and too little to the prac-
teal training which will best fit the pu-
pill for the real labor OF his liie2 Is more
attention being paid to the cut of the
cloth than the actual texture of tho ma
terial?
We are pleased to see such problems
dwelt upon, for the more nearly are they
solved the more perfect will be the citi-
zenship of the future. and the more
surely will be realized the glorious destiny
Of the great republic in which we live.
, 1891-09-04

you can judge of the cause of a
headache in many instances by its loca-
ton" said the doctor after he had asked
his little patient where the pain was that
she complained of. A dull headache in
the front of the head. particularly above
the eyes, proceeds almost invariably
from indigestion. and can be treated ac-
cordingly. At the back Of the head,
however, just above the neck, a steady
pain betokens congestion or too much
blood in the brain. An excellent remedy
for this is to apply a mustard plaster on
the spine just below the neck. This al
most invariably draws the blood away
from the head and gives relief.
Neuralgia headache is unlnistakable
through the sudden darting character OF
its pains. Cloths wrung out of the hot
test water M can stand win help this
suffering sometimes to a great extent
New York Tribune.
, 1891-09-04

A few days ago, it is related, a gentle
man visited a large foundry in Chicago
and noticed a number of Polish girls lift
ing chunks of rosin from one barrel to
another. What is the object of that"
he asked the superintendent. sit seems
to me you might transfer that rosin
much more quickly" "Oh, that's all
right" he answered. 1--WE have them
do this work for awhile to harden their
hands before they undertake to handle
rough and heavy iron castings. The
girls themselves never suspect that the
work they are doing is not needed. They
are working here now in good faith, as
you see, and not one of them is quick
witted enough to suggest that there is a
better way to transfer several barrels of
rosin across this room than to carry the
rosin across piece by piece in their hands.
If we really wanted the rosin transferred
it would not take one man Ave minutes
to roll every barrel into place."-Phila-
delphia Ledger,
, 1891-09-04

In the autumn the society organized
for colonizing foreign song birds in this
state will commission a practical dealer
to select and purchase as many song
birds in Europe as the money at his COM
mand will permit. The money is being
secured by contributions, and is being
paid in gradually. The absence of song
birds in California is a misfortune. The
presence of song birds in California
would be an everlasting enjoyment,
Golden Gate park should be alive and
merry with them. They would be an
attraction there as beautiful as the many
hued flowers, the graceful trees and the
smiling landscape.-San Francisco Post.
, 1891-09-04
NgsRAsKA's EIGHT HOUR LAW.
A Measure Adopted by the Legislature
Which Is Creating n FURRY.

A Measure Adopted by the Legislature
which Is Creating n FURRY.
There has been considerable trouble in
industrial matters in Omaha recently
over the efforts OF the organized work
ingmen to bring about an observance Of
the eight hour law passed at the recent
session of the state legislature. Several
strikes and lockouts have resulted, the
most notable being in the smelling in
dustry and the painting trade, the EN-.
ployers in these callings being almost
unanimous against thu enforcement Of
the new law. Here is another argument
in favor OF the claim made by labor men
that the employing class has not so much
respect for the law as is s~upposable when
calls are made for police, militia and
Pinkerton thugs to bulldoze strikers.
For the benefit of those who may be
interested in the question, the Nebraska
statute is here given in full:
House Bill No. lo-An act to regulate the
hours OF labor Of mechanics, servants and
laborers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state
of Nebraska.
Sec. l. That sight hours shah constitute =
legal days work for all classes of mechanics,
servants and laborers throughout the state OF
Nebraska, excepting those engaged in farm or
domestic labor.
Sec 2 Any officer or officers, agent or agents
of the state of Nebraska or any municipality
therein who shall openly violate or otherwise
evade the provisions of this act shall be deemed
guilty of malfeasance in Office and be sus-
pended or removed accordingly by the governor
or head of the department to which such OH
Ger Is attached.
Sec 8. Any employer or corporation working
their employees over the time specified In this
act shall pay as extra compensation double
the amount per hour as paid per previous
hour.
Sec. l. Any persons or parties contracting
with the state OF Nebraska, or any such cor
p%oration or private employer, who shall fall to
comply with or secretly evhde the provisions
hereof, by exacting or requiring more hours OF
labor for the compensation agreed to be paid
per day than is herein ixed and provided for.
shall. on conviction thereof, be deemed guilty
of a misdemeanor, and be punished by a nne
OF not less than one hundred (slO0) dollars and
not more than one thousand $1,000 dollars.
And all acts and parts OF acts Inconsistent with
this act are hereby repealed.
Approved April I, 1891.
JAMES E. BOYD, Governor
, 1891-09-04
Testimony of a Painter.

T. II. Backus. lO5 Carlton n
Brooklyn, n. Y, writes:
IAilcock's Porus Plasters are undoubt-
eddy the best external remedy mauufac
cured. l make this assertion to the rub.
tic from my own personal experience OF
their wonderful virtues. Suffering from
.cvere pains IN my side and chest, con
racted through a severe cold, | applied 8
couple OF Allcock's Porus Plasters upor
,oing to bed at night. The result wa,
that in eight hours after applying them
| could get up and walk about with yer,
ittle pain or ache, when the night previ-
ms | could neither get up nor down with
out help, nor stoop to remove my shoes.
L ha Z sInce used them III my family iul
vari rus ailments, and have never know
them fail to give almost immediate re
lief"
, 1891-09-04

"Darky SAM" the county infirmary
character who has been posing as prince
of the royal blood Of Fiji with the col
lection Of freaks and curiosities in a
small travelling circus, returned to the
poorhouse recently, content to retire to
private life. To heighten the outland-
ishness of Sans natural appearance his
exhibitors had shaved his head, with the
exception of a strip extending from fore
head TO occiput, resembling the reached
name Of a mule. He was worn out by
the hard labor with the canvas gang,
md is willing to remain in the inirmary.
Warren (Pa.) Ledger.
, 1891-09-04
IN A LITTLE WHILE.

In q little while, when | shall lie
With my face upturned to the bending sky,
/ shall not hear the wind and rain
Beating against the window pane,
! shall not sit as | sit tonight;
And watch the changeful embers bright
And sigh as l think Of the fading years,
And the cherished hopes that were drowned In
tears
In n little while, when the grass shall wave
It's plumy length DER my lonely grave;
When the sun shall rise, and the sun shall set
And lone will murmur a fond regret
Then I shall not hear the wild birds song,
Nor heed the hum OF the busy throng
Who pass me by as l lie at rest,
With tired hands folded over my breast.
In a little while, when life is done.
And / stand before the great white throne,
Whose radiance blinds my poor, weak SEht
As darkness yields to the morning light
VIII rest come then to heart and brain,
And ease quick follow on haunting pain
Shall l know at last In my quiet bed
Rest only comes to the shRdowy dend1
/ shall not heed when the coffin lid
Is closed, and the form within Is hid
From the careless gaze of the careless crowd,
Who idly chatter in accents loud.
] shall not heed the sods that lie
Between my face and the summer sky;
j shall only know that tomorrow's sun
Wakes me no more. LIES work isdone.
Detroit Free Press.
, 1891-09-04

For a number of years l have been sub
iect to violent attacks OF ~inflammatory
rheumatism which generally lasted abou,
two months. On the first of this month
| was attacked in the knee and suffered
severely for two days, when | procured a
bottle of Chamberlain's Pain Balm and it
relieved me almost instantly. | therefore
most cheerfully recommend it to those
who are similarly afflicted everywhere. =
r. d. WHITLEY. Martindale, N. C.,
February, 1883. Mr.. Whitley Is a very
ease was very widely known as he suffered
such severe main. w. NJ. HoUsToN &
Co.. Martindale, N. c. Fifty cent bot
ties for sale by druggists.
, 1891-09-04

A c~abIegram from Berlin states that
Herr Lieklnecht has established in Der
lin six socialistic training schools for la
berers. He has already secured 1000
students, who attend lectures at 8 q. m.
and 10 p. IN. on week days and more fire.
quently on Sundays. All elements Of a
practical education are taught. Four
thousand w~orkingmen applied for ad-
mission on the opening day, but most of
them were turned away for want of
room. Before winter, when the num-
Der of idle laborers will increase, new
schools will be founded. These schools
are a part of Liebknechts great plan for
matchmaking the German masses even
tually with scientific socialism. The
movement has caused new alarm among
the people who saw with regret the abo-
htion of the repressive laws, under
which suen action was impossible.
Advertise in The Leader.
, 1891-09-04

~ $50 !"
Inflicted by the dread Torquemada nave
abominable prototypes In the shape OF
chronic rheumatism aud neuralgia. At
tack these agoniziug complaints before
they reach the chronic stage with the SUI
perb blood depurent, Hostetter's Stomach
Bitters, which will assuredly expel their
virus from the life stream To procrasti-
nate Is to encourage the growth of Iucipi-
ent rheumatism, which rapidly tighteus
its grip upon the system. 1t is the very
octopus of diseases, and painful indeed is
the clasp of its dreadful tentacles. Be
prompt, therefore, take time by the lore
lock. always remembering that both rheu-
mats and govt, close relatives, are dan
gerous as well as painful. Debility, chills
and fever, bilious remittent, dyspepsia.
constipation, liver complaint, nervousness
and kidney diseases succumb to the Bit
ters. Appetite and the ability to sleep
well are improved by il.