davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12
Weighing Rrnirht Carr.

The evident convenience to traffic
departments Of being able to readily
determine the weight of freight cars
lading has led TO the working out Of a
new idea in this connection An in
ventor proposes instead Of running
cars over track scale to ascertain the
weight Of their contents, to place IA
system Of scale levers beneath the floor
Of each car. When 1t Is desired to
weigh the contents Of N car the full
crunis OF the scale levers are lifted
by four hydraulic jacks. SO that tho
weight of the car body Is carried on the
scalo levers The gross weight Is then
seen on the scale beam placed at tho
center Of the car. When the scale Il
not in use the weight does not come ON
the scale levers. 40 the knife edges do
not become worn. Whatever may be
the practicability of this device its cost
may possibly initiate against its general
adoption.-New York Commercial Ad-
vertiser.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

I Irecollect little butter which once
made, as seemingly the first and last oc-
casion of my ever eating any, SO good
did it seem. An officer made me min
iature churn with a bottle and q little
wooden dasher put through cork.
We were at the time marching every
day farther and farther into the wilder
ness, but occasionally came to q ranch
where some venturesome frontiersman
had established himself. or course our
people galloped on In advance, and soon
brought out the madame. There was a
little cream among other things, and as
l sat under the tentfiy after we made
camp 1t was soon transferred into but-
ter IN the toy churn.-Mrs. Clusters
Book.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

II Is quite amusing to compare the
opinions of men and women concerning
the personal appearance of Mrs. Leslie
Carter Men generally agree in calling
her strikingly handsome, both in figure
and feature. Women consider her too
tall, and declare that her mouth is alto
gether too large to lay any claim to
beauty. This from some women who
We're enthusiastic over Mrs. Langtry
and Mrs. Potter. Mrs. Carter certainly
has a large mouth. but she has a beauti-
full set of teeth. Her hair is of the gold
en- brown which is the delight and de-
spair of artists. That she il q woman of
more intellect than either Of the other
actresses Is discernil5t at glance, and
when she speaks this suppression is great
ly intensified She doesn't attempt elab
crate street toilets, but dresses quite
simply. She therefore seldom attracts
more attention from strangers than any
wen dressed New York society woman.
This some of them can never forgive, as
they consider that actresses and literary
women are to be stared at and comment
ed upon.-New York World.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12
Killed by q Kiss.

The snow came down like q fine gauze.
The people fitted by the coroner's Office
windows with collars turned UP and
heads bowed to the storm.
"This weather reminds me-" said Coro-
ner Jenkins to the group about him, "of
such day about two years ago. Twas
requested to investigate case of sudden
death. / had often heard Of persons dy-
ing Of fright, but I was not prepared TO
believe it. Upon being conducted into
the parlor was informed by the owner,
a well known merchant, that his daugh-
ter had died under peculiar circun-
stances. She had arisen apparently in
good health and high spirits.
while she was seated at the table talk
ing with her mother, her brother, who
was about to leave for business, came up
behind her stealthily and kissed her fun
In the mouth before she was aware who
it was. The girl screamed, sank back in
dead faint and when she was brought
to went into commissions and died before
medical attendance could arrive. The
whole family were of a highly nervous
temperament, very excitable and subject
to hysteria. The autopsy showed that the
girl had been perfectly healthy. Death
was undoubtedly due to a nervous shock ("
New York World.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12
Merm aids and Mermen.

The dugong, n species Of whale found
abundantly in the waters of both the
great oceans, but especially off the coast
of Australia, in the Pacific, is believed
to have furnished the slender basis upon
which all mermaids and mermen stories
have been founded. It's average length
Is from eight to twenty feet. It has u
head much resembling that Of the hu-
man species, and breathes by means of
lungs. IL feeds upon submarine beds Of
seaweeds, and when wounded makes q
noise like mad bull. Long hair In the
female species, and hair and beard in
the male, add to the human resemblance
Of the head and neck. The flesh of this
species Of whale il used for food, and is
said to have the flavor Of bacon, mutton
or beef according to the parts of the
body from which the meat is taken
st. Louis Republic.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12
The Oldest Game of Rail-.

Court tennis Is the oldest game of
ball that we have-that Is to say, IL
goes back farther i'm its present form
than any other.
Games of ball of some kind go back
30 far that there Is no trace of their be-
ginning. In their simplest form the
ball was thrown from one man to an
other. If we carry the process one
step farther and imagine the ban, or
whatever stood in its place, to be hit
back with the hand, instead of being
caught and thrown. we have at once
hand ball, the original of all games
like tennis, rackets, etc. Indeed, the
French name for tennis remains pauine
to this day, because the ball was struck
with the palm of the hand.-James
Dwight in Scribner's.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

You ask me Why inquired your ad-
dress when writing out tho prescription
for your cough. The reason viii at once
commend itself to every sensible mind,
and In simply this: There. have been
cases innumerable where lives might
have been saved had the number Of the
residence of the party for whom the pre-
scription was put mp been known to the
druggist For, as we all know, mis-
takes are made even in the most relia-
BILE drug stores through the carelessness
of clerks. Not long ago n druggist
found. on returning from supper, that q
bottle of strychnine was ON the counter,
and asked the reason why.
The clerk replied that he had Just been
putting up q prescription, and was hor-
rified when he found that he had made
use Of strychnine instead of some less
harmful drug mentionedi in the prescrip-
ton. The frightened young fellow did
not even know the name Of the person
who had come for it, or for whom It was
intended, and after hours of search on
the part Of the distracted druggist the
unfortunate victim was at last traced to
his home, but too late, for the first dose
had killed him. That is why place the
name OF the patient both ON the prescrip-
ton for the druggist and on the stub
left in my prescription book.-Interview
in st. Louis Globe Democrat.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

Frank Gushing the other night de-
scribed a quaint poetic idea of the
Zunis il regard TO the reflection OF the
moon in the water. The reflection is
called the younger sister of the moon, I"
because she always appears at night
when the moon appears, and always
looks up to the latter. This little sister
is considered the goddess of love and
coquetry, and the tradition exists
among the women that long ago she
decreed that they should wear their
hair parted on the side. The Zuni
women, just like their higher bred sis
ters, of course religiously follow the
dictates of the goddess of love and
coquetry.-Buffalo Express.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12
A JEALOUS cenreNAalAN.
The Marital rreahies ef Two Faishfu
Ncgrees whe Asrr Over TOO.

The Martial rrsabies ef Two Faithful
Negrae@ whe Asrr Over TOO.
''i'se gwine tcr run way, Marse
Robert ! KANT stsn. liit no ioneer.
an dat's fac'.''
why, what Is the mattcrl What b
&c you cant standf" inquired the writer
Of the old negro Who stood in the Office
door, sorrowful and crushed both I'm
countenance and as to the shapcless
old beaver he wore. He peercd eau
tiously about and then, tiptoeing into
the roorL approachcd the desk and
whispered:
shes bin at Init agin, ssih; an Jest
look hyar. Amt dat second lover
He raised his HAT and pointed to q
bump as large "a goose egg ON the
fore part of his skull. which presented
q curious appearances. with . scattered
patch Of wool here and there, while
the rest was as bald rs door knob.
''Oh. you and Aunt Hannah have
had another sct-to. chr
''Naw. sab. nav dom fight VIII
Hannah Twar all she, Marse Robert
She am n awful 'ooman, and she turn
to and wallup inc Whenever she get
ready. Las time she. say wunked at
er yaller gal dat lives mex do, and dis
time she lie inter inc COS Sis May Jen-
kins come by de house an gun me or
handful o ciiinkerpins.
Now. own up. Uncle Berry. and be
ashamed of making your wife jealous"
"'Fore de Lord. honey, ! amt done
nothin'. an ef de fool wimmen keep
a-runnin' after n pusson wat he gwine
a-wallupin' me-
"You ought to be man enough not
to lot her."
''G'way. now. Marse Robert, you
knows wat desc yer South Cal'iny mig
gers In, specially wen dey is wiry an
little, like Hannah. Dere aint no
man ken stan agin 'em no more'n q
riled cat
''Why, Aant Hannah must be 90
years oldr'
''She say she oldern dat" Hc stood
scratching his head for few seconds
''She say her nanny b'long ter ole
Massa Andy Jackson and dat she was
born de night dey all start ter Tenncs-
see"
''Then she's ZOE years old, and you,
how old are you. Unclc Berry,"
II don't know. s;lh; 200. ! reciSin."
''Oh no. yon are not Anyhow. you
and Aunt Hannah should be ashamed
Of disagreeing and lighting ut your
ages
Oats 50, Marsc Robert. but I de-
clar 'taint me. You see, me and Han
nah amt bin jinct ,nore'n year, and
some no count nigger done gone an
tole her Use thinkin' o. gettin' married
agin, an hit look like she KANT bar 10
Iemme git out O. her sight"
'Well. may be shc is In a better
humor now. You'd probably find her
very sorry for whipping you II you
would go see"
''Tm willin' to give her one mo- trial,
sail, ef you thinks | ought ter. Han
nah's got some white folks that think a
heap o. her an gives her all the cole
vittels and ole clothes dey has, an I'm
gittin' mighty poly desc days to light
an hustle for myself Yes, sab; yes,
sab, yoa'se right I'll go home an try
ter rub her down and wrastle wifi her
in pra'r. But l'sc gwine ter knock
crank sided dc fnst 'ooman dat look
straight ut me, let alone smilin' at
Beriah. Cor. St Louis Globe Demo
crat
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

Here Is veritable sea yarn of a lovely
little 4-year-old girl. She was on board
a steamer. the sea was high and the
vessel rolled u good deal. "Mamma" was
sick, brother and sister were sick, the
poor nurse was thoroughly nauseated,
and the4year-old did not feel well her
self. She did not know why 1t was, but
she persisted Ia walking. and she made
the nurse walk, holding her hand until
she was ready to drop. Finally the dis
gusted little one cried ont, "Oh, Lefty,
let's go!" ''Go where, my dear?' "Oh,
go somewhere. don't care where, il
there 10 only o pavement. Buffalo Com.
mercia1.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

II you We're to see two young women
In q room, my son, one pretty and the
other plain, you would naturally kiss
the pretty one II you should kiss either;
but In SO doing you use poor Judgment.
II you kiss the pretty one she win not
appreciate the favor, while the ugly
one win b affronted. But II you kin
The plain one she win be duly grateful,
and the handsome one win look upon
the transaction as q fine bit Of sarcam,
Of which the ugly giri d the mark
Bosom TIannuipk
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12
Unpopular.


Children often use words for their
sound rather than for their sense-a
fault Of which older persons are Of
course never guilty.
Lizzie. small maiden Of years, was
not careful Of her clothes, and frequent
ly came In from play with rents In her
skirt or with the trimming hanging
from her hat.
One day her gown was torn In a par
ticulariy ugly manner, and her mother
said, Lizzie, ] shall have TO punish
You IL you are 80 careless"
"Oh, no, mammal she replied earn
estly. Indeed ! am careful, but some
things always happening to this dress,
it's 80 unpopular. YOUTHS Compan.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12
wire Nar. FROM pl.te steel.

1t has always been considered impos-
sible to cut wire nails from any material
except wire, but it is reported that an
ingenious arrangement has been intro
duced into mill in Pittsburg which en-
ables wire nails TO be made from steel
plate. This invention may be attached
to the ordinary cut nail machine, and Is
said to be capable Of producing perfectly
formed nails in greater quantity than Is
possible by the present wire nail.-Phil-
adelphia Record.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12
Ess,asd,s Riches. Church Living.

The richest living in the Church OF
England, excluding bishops, is, accord
ing to the CLERGY List" Bloxham
.yicarage, Oxford, with an Income of
"a, 40; population, 16; patron, Eton
college. The vicar, however, states that
the net income 10 only R205, and that
the population numbers 1883. Tho
Clergy Directory" gives tho two rich
est rs Neither Broughton, "a, ESQ, and
Hawarden, e, 404. II we include
bishops, the Archbishop Of Canterbury
heads the List with an income of Els
00Q-Epare Moments.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

In the United States thespeed Of trains
varies 50 much on different railways
and in different parts Of the country
that it Is practically impossible to strike
an average. Thirty to forty miles an
hour is regarded as 9 very good rate, but
a speed of from sixty 70 seventy-five
miles an hour Is often attained by fast
trains under special circumstances.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

The difference between knowing how
and not knowing how is remarkable in
the getting up Of public meetings. The
novice always makes a mess of ii. He
is not sure Of his speakers; he does no,
know how to get his audience together,
or to amuse it when he has got it. The
expert, on the other hand, has all the
points covered, and makes the thing go
of with snap.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

Queen Elizabeth started the style OF
wearing silk stockings, and when some
kind and loving husband looks over his
wife's bills mt the end of the month,
with silk stockings all the way from s.
up, he can think of Elizabeth and
swear. As a matter of fact the silk
worm began to kick mp its heels in
early Greece, and then gradually worked
its way into Italy, and in the time of
Henry III of England the silk era was
beginning to dawn. Silk stockings in
those days, however, were few and far
between, and when a pair of them
was presented to Edward vi by Sir
Thomas Gresham the king hugged
himself with joy. Queen Elizabeth got
her first pair from her silk woman, Mrs.
Montague, and after she had worn
them once she declared she never
would go back to cotton, which is all
the more extraordinary, as Elizabeth
had no husband and had to pay her
own bills.-Cloak and Suit Review.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

The energy which n current may a
any instant be said to possess b imme-
mediately transformed into heat In the
circuit, which win under certain condi-
dons produce light; into chemical en-
ergy; into motion, which may or may
not produce sound, OF into magnetic
and electrotonic conditions. The last
may either be permanent or have the
same evanescent existence as the origi-
nal current
When electricity Is employed to
charge a storage battery, only that part
which IL transformed into chemical
energy Is used. The rest is dissipated.
The battery, then. instead of being n
place where electricity Is laid away, Is
place where chemicals are left by the
current, with the expectation that they
viii In turn produce a current when
called upon This may seem . flna
distinction, bat Il isonIy apparently 90.
For instance, the current might be
produced by dynamo turned by Nj.
agara water power The chemical left
by IL might be zinc deposited from a
solution of zinc sulphate. This might
be transported, preserved, bought and
sold, and finally be employed by some
physicist to produce another current.
Were the electricity itself stored In its
original form, then the imaginative
reader can best tell what would become
of 1t and how IL must be handled. L.
Professor Samuel Sheldon in Popular
E.sonoo
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

II farmers knew as much about farm
ing as financiers do. or think they do,
and II financiers knew AZ much about
finances as farmers do. or think they do,
there would be an elysium ON earth.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

The Neck Verse" is the first verse of
the ffty-first Psalm. Have mercy
upon me, o God, according to thy
loving kindness: according to the mul-
titude of thy tender mercies blot out
my transgressions. It was so called
because when criminal under the En-
giish law claimed the benefit of clergy"
this verse was used as test. The only
evidence of the condemned being a
priest was an ability to read, and If he
could read this verse his neck was safe,
for no civil court could send him to the
gallows. The law exempting clergy
from civil penalties was established
during the reign of William Rufus, and
continued in force till about the middle
of the Seventeenth century.
1t was often abused, for kindly dis
posed clergyinen would frequently
teach persons unjustly accused the
verse in question. and even render
them assistance in repeating it in court
but the disuse of the law was the nat
ural result Of n change in public senti-
ment with regard to the responsibility
of the clergy and of the more general
diffusion of knowledge, SO that an
ability to read was mo longer regarded
as an evidence of having taken clerical
orders. Louis Globe Democrat.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12
At Old Trinity.

uttWeSu tOU ana GU students. i must
write q word about the wife Of the mas
ter Of Trinity-Mrs. Butler, formerly
Miss Ramsey. You remember perhaps
that three years ago there was so much
excitement because she was senior clas-
SIC. The queen sent for her, and she
was feted everywhere. She was the
daughter Of Sir George Ramsey, of Scot
Land, fine classical scholar, and soon
afterward married DR.. Butler. But you
can hardly know what this means till
you know the position Of the master of
Trinity. He Is king in Cambridge.
He represents the hospitality of the whole
university and has q salary commen-
surate to his duties. The queen has q
suite of apartments at Trinity. The
Prince Of Wales, the prime minister. for
eign embassadors-all are received by
the master and his wife.
You ask me about the college for wom-
en-. It started in this way: About 1870
Miss Emily Davis, daughter Of n Welsh
clergyman, took q house at Doching,
forty miles from Cambridge, and mat
ronized few young ladies. She asked
the university TO send mp teachers for in
struction. They did 50. She started
without funds, but today magnificent
building, with imposing architecture,
called "Girton college" situated at Cir
ton, half mile from Cambridge, proves
the success of her movement.
Her motto is: mo double code. Same
requirements for women as men, same
studies, same degrees. Letter.
Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-02-12

Diphtheria il n constitutional disease:
% is in the blood, but it many times man
ifests itself locally in the throat. Il
often causes white spots TO appear ON the
tonsils and even ON other parts Of the
throat But these white spots are far
different in appearance from those seen
I'm tonsilitis. A great number Of per-
sons are frightened as soon as they see
white spots on the tonsils: but IL there is
no epidemic Of diphtheria In the neigh
borhood do not, rs a general thing, Tear
that the trouble Is diphtheria- In nine
cases out Of ten it In tonsilitis.
A dangerous symptom in this case.
however. Is a bad sore throat without fe-
yer at the outset. have seen the most
fatal cases Of diphtheria start in this way,
and dread such cases most Of all. A
troublesome sore throat before the fever
comes ON Is suspicious, and needs q physi-
clan promptly. A fever. accompanied
generally with coryza, but not always,
followed by sore throat, il probably ton.
silitis. and can be treated ut home gen
orally. We may get white spots in both
cases. The white spots differ widely In
the two diseases. In tonsilitis the white
spots are merely dead cells that are
broken down, disintegrated and are
forced to the surface. They can be
brushed away, but they are trifina
thing as compared with the spots in diph.
liberia.
Without going deeply into the subject
of diphtheria at this time, shall simply
say that the spots in this disease are the
appearance at the surface of the tonsils of
a tenacious membrane. This membrane
dips down into the surface of the tonsils,
and IL removed leaves a bleeding, ugly
track behind it, which is later filed with
another membrane just as tenacious.-A
Physician in Boston Globe.
Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-10-10
AbOut CrauIIS,

Speaking of cranks," said Mr.. Nc
Millin, of Tennessee, lit would almost
seem that to accomplish anything re-
markable in this world it is necessary
to become what we call a crank. )
That is, man must become a special
ist. But does it pay2 Is it the best
use man can be put to2 Is it the
ideal of intellectual manhOod2
IL have a cousin in Tennessee who is
harmless crank. He has been fool
ing with the sun and the time O. day
until he seems to be pretty well known
by the experts even here in New York
He put his name in the light shade of
the 'V' on a watch dial so it could not
be seen with the naked eye.
''He made chronometer so perfect
that it can be put in the oven and
baked, taken out and be frozen in an
ice cream freezer, then boiled and dur
ing the entire process it would not only
keep on running, but wouldn't vary a
twentieth of second in time. New
York Herald
Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-10-10

In the reign of james " of Scotland
John O'Groat and his two brothers
Malcolm and Gavin-arrived at Cath
ness and bought the lands Of Warse
and Dugisby on the beach at the
mouth of Penland Firth, the north
eastern extremity of the mainland of
Scotland. In time their families in
creased until there were eight house
holds of the same name. They lived
as neighbors in the greatest peace and
amity, holding an annual festival in the
same house At last the question of
precedence arose among the younger
members and they disputed as to who
should sit near the head of the table or
enter the room first.
Old Johnny O'Groat was made arbi-
traitor of the dispute. He promised
that before the next meeting he would
settle the question to the satisfaction of
all concerned. Accordingly he built an
eight sided house in which to hold the
annual dinner This octagonal house
was fitted with door and a window on
each side and round table in the cen
ter of the room, so that the head of
each family Of the O'Groats might enter
by his own door and sit at a table
which was practically without
head" This famous house was situated
about mile and a half west of the
point of land called Dugisby Head.
The site of the house is now marked
only by some grass covered mounds
st. Louis Republic.