davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Portland daily press., 1891-03-20

LAST spring had scrofula punches on my
neck. and after taking Hoods Sarsaparilla was
much better. intend to continue taking it.n M
Il. HATHAWAY, Canton, Maine.
The Portland daily press., 1891-03-20
WANTED.

WANTED-All persons IN want Of trunks or
w bags TO call az Z. ID. REYNOLDS, e So and
6bS Congress street, corner OF Oak; as we manu-
facture our goods, and can therefore give you bot
tom price5i trunks repaired; open evenings till o.
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22
4 COFFEE-POT SAFE.
How Phil Arnour MIds His First Hu
 dred Dol ars.

How Phil Armour MIds His First Hun
 dFed Dol ars.
 Phil Armour, the great beef king, of Chicago, is short, stocky, far from at tractiye in any sense, but singularly happy man who has managed to make a big fortune. He cares little for money now, bat time was when the loss Of SIOO nearly drove him mad. It was a good many years ago, in the days Of gold on the Pacific slSp0. Armour was one of the numberlesa thrOng there searching for fortune.
 Fortune paid DO hocd 70 him, however, but finally he managed to get sOmo "washings" that he sold for sIOO. This sum be carefully tied up in an old cot ton handkerchief for safe keeping Then he hunted arounl for placo to put it. His eye espicd an old and dilap- dated coffee-pot in 2 corner of the cabin he occupied with three other seekers for fortune. He put the SIOO carefully in it and placed it lovingly oa a convenient shelf; then be went abOut his daily tOil. Whem he returned from work his eye in- stinctively searched for the old pot. It was gone!
 One Of his partners had tired of work and come home. He h-d nothing else to do, so he went to clean house. The old cOffee-pot went with the other rub bish, and fire wa3 made of i: all in a little elump of bushes near by. Great was the consternation when Armour told what the Pot contained. And how carefully he worked over that fire to rescue the pot. Finally be reached it. blackened and bent, but the money was intact, and no happier man slept in the diggings that night Thereafter he car ried it around with him in belt
 And that Sl99 EraS the foundation of the Armour millions
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22
CEMENT AND SUCH STUFF.

FoE waterproof cement use a mixture Of Burgundy pitch or asphalt and gutsa percba melted together.
 A PASTE made of plaster of Paris, mixed with water, Is good for closing eraslCs in stove ovens, fire bricks, coal seuJtlcs. water pots, etc
 A CEMENT for meBding glass that is not affected by hot water may be made with five parts of gelatine and one part of a solution of acid ehromate of lime. Cover edges with the cement, press to- gether and expose to sunlight
 To PREPARE excellent glue which will hold in water, powder and dissolve one part of glue in one of thick Hnsecd oil yarnish, boiling hot, and mix thorough Y. In using it heat the two planed sides of the wood, apply tbe glue warm and press the pieces together.
 VEEY thick shcllac varnisb Is an ex- ceilcGt cement for broken plaster casts or impressions. Paint the broken edges over several times wfth the varnish, holdiag them over flame to barn out the slcobOi each time. When the shell lac Is soft press the parts together and hold them tightly gntu cold. They will then adhere firmly.
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22
sraANor ANp ouRIous rREEs.

A Do BoIs man has in his yard palm tree in blossom, and a plum tree on which plums are now growing as large as nuts
 bEAR-HUSrEKs in Fresno Go1sts, Cal, penetrating thick underbrush, came upon the biggest tree yet reported in that wonderful State. The rope that giraled it four feet from the ground was Isa feet inches long.
 NEAR Clifford Station, on the Staten Island railroad, there is peculiar piece of woodland, a spot where the roots of the trees will attach themselves to the trunks at from four to six feet above the level of the ground, giving to the stuDps an odd, spldery appearance. The s0ii of the vicinity Is very porous, which banyan-hke grove has been formed by the action of frost and water.
 THE root of a California tree recently made remarkable journey for the wa ter of sewer. It followed the sewer easing until it reached a high brick wall in which, several feet up, was a very small hole leading to the other side. This hole the root made bee-line for, passed through 1t and ran down on the other side, where finally 1t found the water it sought, How did the tree know of the hole in the wall? How did 1t know that the sewer was on the other side?
 oN the plantation of John II. Roberts. near Robertyille, .. C., there is a tree, if not destroyed by the turpentine hands, that does not touch the ground by six feet A pine saPling, cut down at some period unknown to the oldest in habitant, lodged on the limb of an adja- cent tree. The growth Of the tree and limb gradually closed around 1t until it bsoATn5 completely iissSo43c5- Draw ing its life from the tree, it grows and presents a luxurious appearance. All trace Of the stump from which 1t was cut has long since disappeared.
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22

''Seiene," in She Baltimore American writing of the a5tractiyeness of women compares them to flowers. T!.ase thl have beauty and raiad, well cultivated arc like the flowers with beauty a.. fragrance -- they are never end-nE sources of delight Others are far tO look upon, but close inspection diScOv- CTS thorn. Tls third kind are Ike the boEaely walI-fower. neither hand some nor graceful, but So full Of sweet ness that to bs near them is joy mex pFessibls- So many girls, who are brought up with the knowledge that they are gifted gith forms and faces of unusual ioyeliness, depend too much upon those advantages for their success in life. Thcy never realize the neces- sity of applying themselves to the acqui- siticn of knowledge; they grow to wous- anhrod with meager educatlOa, no as- oompiishments and much exaggerated opinion of their charms The result is that they enjoy only for brief time the prestige for which they are SC am bilious.
 Some of the plainest women ever knew were the greatest fayorites. Their presence iE room was the signal for good -hnmored enjoyment Time never hagged when they were of the party. The lack Of mere facial symmetry was forgotten when under the spell Of their genial influence. 1t is not unusual to see handsome man welded Co a home iy woman. We have all hes~i and, per haps, made the remark: '.AyEy, what did such good looking man ever ss-e h that woman to lOveg. Ne are taInking of only the outward aFps.aranse, shen, fn truth, the character of such woman may be SO lovely and attractive to those who know her that none voeid have her different if they could. Itis Q great pity when a girl allows herself to gro0 dise0nteated and unhappy about Der looks. When this Is t5e case it Is time for her to heed the sairy's warning and shun the mirror by thinking less Of ap- pearAnees and more Of other things.
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22
CONCERNING RAILROADS.

METAL ties for railroads are proving very satisfactory.
 1T is reported in Germany that the Emperor is going to introduce American cars for the passenger service.
 IT is figured that the United States has mile of railroad for each 400 of population and each 22 miles of area while the balance of the world has mile for each 7,500 of population and 237 miles of area,
 THERE are many indications that be- fore loEg the electric light will be the only luminant employed on railway trains. An important step has been taken by the Bussian Government, on the state railways shall be lighted by the electric light in the future.
 KANSAS has more miles of railroad than all the New England States put together. She has l,l59 more miles chan New York, whose population and wealth surpass Kansas four to one. She has more than the great States Of Pennsyl- yania. Iowa or Texas Kansas to-day has 8, 154 miles of railroads. Illinois alone surpassCs her with S,e00 miles. Next comes Iowa with s,38f miles. Fol lowing her is Pennsylvania with s,224; then comes Texas :===sI.h :===sI.h :, ,210 miles.
 TIE track mileage of street railways in the five leading iLies of the United States is: New York, S8s; Chicago, S65: Boston, S29; Brooklyn, S24; Philadel- phia, S94 The mileage of different motive powers is: For horses, 2,S51; electric, city, 280; cable, 255: steam, ele- vated, ffty-one; surface, 22L Three cities have elevated roads: New York, thirty-tgo miles; Brooklyn, twenty-four miles, and Kansas City, five miles Bal tinsore uses nothing but horse power motors, and Scranton has none but electric roads
 QUITE a change seems to be taking place in the general opinion as to the best arrangement of smoking-room ac- commodations on some classes of pas senger trains and it is quite possible that the common smOkiRg-caT will be- fore Icng cease to form a part of the better class of trains Quite a number of railroads have constructed their chair cars with smoking-rOoms of sufR- eient capacity to provide accommods- tions for the occupants of each car. The practice of thus furnishing a smoking room for each ear is rapidly extending to the common day coaches, and mum Der of very prominent roads are putting a smoking compartment ia nearly every car they are building, some even fitting up the secoad-class day coaches in this nanEer.
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22

One notable feature Of this table is the scarcity of the signatures so wel-nigh universal century ago, such as Your obedient servant of which l found but two instances in 300 letters. Your humble servant seems 70 have departed this life. Can this be due to the dis taste Americans have for even the sem blance of servility?
 Yours truly" trite, conn Onplace, as devoid of meaning as two words can be, yet holds the lead in favor to an extent not to be wondered at in business let ters. but something surprising in let ters of friendship, where an expression of feeling is not out of place ''Very especially" and Yours respectfully" are suitable when the person to receive the letter is much older than the sender or by reason of his position deserves some marked expression of deterence, but the phrases are too often used with out regard to their significance. There is also a common habit of shortening the word respectfully" into resp" or even res" though it would seem that, if man deserves respect, dignity would call for something more than bob tailed fashion Of giving it.
 "Yoars, etc" seems a half-hearted, lazy sort of signature; a zigzag line would mean as much and be easier to
 make. It has not even the slight merit Of ''In haste" or Hastily" which at least serve as an apology for bad writ ing. As far as simplicity goes Yours" is infinitely preferable, and, indeed, is the best way to say something without meaning any thing-best because the shorter the useless formula the better. Yet perhaps these and all the rest of the phrases cited convey impressions to other minds different from those they give me. Did you ever chance to try to prove philosophically or mathematical iy, or in any other way that any given word means exactly the same thing to anybody else that it means to you? Try it, and then you will, with me, cease to prescribe how others shall sign themselves and be content with follow ing your own fancy.
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22

THE electrical instrument recently in- vented for avoiding the pain incident 70 the extraction of teeth has attracted considerable attention. Briefly, 1t con sists of adjustable prongs, carrying buttons and connected with an electrical battery. The buttons are placed on the face over the nerves leading from the teeth to the brain, and circuit is estab- hshed the moment the extracting in- strument touches the tooth.
 A NUMBER of Philadelphia physicians and surgeons have organized an electro therapeutic society for the discussion of questions of electricity combined with medicine and surgery. The main object of the society is to reduce the amount of empiricism with which the practice of electro-therRpeUtics has hitherto frequently been associated, =a3 70 in- duCe regularly certified practitioners to take up the subject on a scentific basis.
 IS tests on a number Of different per sons, an electrician k&S found the effect i've resistance Of the human body to be less to the alternating than to the direct current in the same individual with great variation in the resistance to either current in different persons In five subjects the resistance to a continuous current of 50 yolts ranged from S,32O to 10000. The tests revealed incidentally a striking difference in the strength of current different individuals can endure.
 SOME wonderful work has lately been done in the removal of diseased parts of the human body by electrolysis- Dr. Abrath, who has paid special attention to this branch of surgery, states that be has removed tumors and cancers with ease by electricity where no surgical interference with the knife was possi- ble, cases which have bafied all medical and surgical treatment, including liui- ments or injections. Grown-up people who had been under hospital treatment and dismissed as incu=able have thus escaped the horrors of suffocstion or other miserable deaths. These he has had photographed in their perfectly cured state after electrical treatment He not only finds that the electric cur rent will kill the cancer cell beyond where the knife can go, but that hem orrhage and shock are more or less pre- vented with the use of electrolysis and scepticemis or pyRmia- which so often follows removal with the knife, is nearly always avoided.
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22
POPULAR SIGNATURES.
How People siRa Their Business and SO-
 eial Corrsspondence.


 eial CorrsspoRdsnce-
 A friend of mine, says a correspondent of the Writer, always used to crowd just as much as be could on the last page of every letter hs wrote, So that at the bot ton he might have left only just room enough for his name. Thus he avoided the use of any complimentary phrase that to him was meaningless, and tO the receiver of the letter might mean moro or less than the writer would wish. l have often seen him painfully wrestling with his imagination or his memory for ideas or facts enough to make ink and paper come out even. Surely his meth cd of getting over the difficulty is awk- ward, 10 say the least. 1T the ending happened tC come naturally in the mid. de of the page 1t would be better right there to omit the distasteful phrase than tO make your own time and that of your reader with needless sentences, added merely ito fit" Custom, how ever, prescribes that all letter writers shall at the end say something polite to their correspondents, even though the body of the letter contains the most caustic sort of a Scotch blessing. No doubt, too, there are shades of meaning in the many forms that this pOliteness assumes You will seldom find a man who always signs his name with the same phrase in front of it, there being usually an attempt to make the phrase accord, at least to some extent with the nature of the rest of the epistle. It twOuld ct first seem hard, then, to learn from any given body of correspondence the comparative degrees of popularity that these phrases possess, but, curious to try 1t, examined 800 of ny old letters, i5o purely business letters and an equal number of a general nature from friends and ar9naintances, none from relatives. and all from different persons. Here are the statistics:
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22
WONDERS os HE SEA.
How CoatIRs1ts woali CbsaSs Were e
 OosIu Dry Up

aOw CoatIRslt- woaiI CRaass Were Che
 Deem [ Dry Up
 CAt the depth of sbo1t 8 aJl feet wave gre not felt Tho temporatGre is tho same, varying only tcll frJsn the ice of the poe to tA5 barnlag sun of the equator. A milS dowa tla water has a pressure of ovar ton tO tho square inch If a box six faGs wide geFo filled Wtth sea waJS. aal allOWsl t1 5Vapos- ate under the sun, tIerO WOuli be two Inches of salt left on lhc bottom. TaE- ing the average depth of tae ocean 10 be three miles. there would be a layer Ot pure salt 2S, Ieet thick on the bed of tho Atlantic Tho water is colGcr at the bottom than at tho surface. Ia many bays on the coast of Norway tho water often freezes at the bottom bCforo it does above.
 Waves are worry deceptive. To look at them in a storm ono would think the ~ater travelled The water stays in the same place, but the motion goes on. Sometimes in storms these waves are forty feet high ani travel fifty mics an hour-mOre than twice as fast as the swiftest steamship The distance from valley to valley is generally fifteen times the height hence a wave five feet high will extend over Sovcnty.aye feet of water. Tho force of the sea dashing on Bell Rock is said to bo seventeen tons for eIch square yarl
 Evaporation is a wonderful power in drawing the water from the sea. Every year layer Of the entire sea, fourteen tn1- ta N.l 5ps ,l, The winds bear their burden into the land and the water comes down in rain npon the fields, to flow back at last through rivers. The d~pth of the sea presents an interesting problem. If the Atlantic were lowered from 6, 5G4 feet the distance from shOrC to shore would be half as great, or l, 500 miles If low cred little more than three miles, say l9, 6S8 feet there would Do a road of dry land from NcwfoL ndland 70 Ireland. This is the plan on which tho great At lantic cables wore laid. Tho Mediter- ranesn is comparatively shallow A drying up of 6GJ feet woulI leave three different seas aal Africa would be joined with Italy.
 The British channel is more like a kOuNF "A4ASI esNE0AtN0 TUT AbS CuCDpE waves It has been found difficult to get the correct sonndings of the atian. tic A midshipman of the navy over came the difficulty and a shot weighing thirty pounds carries down the line. A hole Is bored through the sinker, through which a rod ct iron Is passed moving easily back and forth. In tho end of tho bar cup is dug out and the inside coated with lard. The bar is made fast to the lino and q sling holds tho shot on. When the bar, which Cx- tends below the ball, touches tho earth, the sling unhOoks and tho shot slides of. The lard in the end of the bar holds some of the sand. or whatever may be at the bottom, and 8 drop shuts over the cup to keep the saud in When tho ground is reached shock is felt, as if an electric current h-d passed through the line. Chicago Tribune.
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22
Ess.r,4s for Honey.

A sucscssfu} boring for h9n"y has been IaGLc in North Tennessee. For u=Ey years swaE9as Cf bees have been noticed y bo1:=zcR ca Fox Bla7. on the CGGJcrl=nd river, near Franklin, Ky. -4c LlzI l. Cac hundred s.sd seventy 'rcs high, alj tlc rivers cham. FuE8
 lyoC.Iy C-5c= ik. Thr bcs5 h=se b~ca
 '.gnETgl -IsJt a LiE HSsuro near tho
 satcr of t5c llgs. al tao Cpaailg .o@ll not Jo reached iron above Og bo- low withoat great dang-ro. being stHng b de@ d. A. tEo La Lad ney2F been robbed, it E.as believed G. I-.-ga azsoznt of honey vas s.orol il the cl-T. Dc ocsslY a EclI-borcr visited t!.c LluF and gas at c@so impressed with tao E.ca aas ho v-s2.l rrLsa i5c JsaicflH IOnoy stos. hJugc EilH hia G-..lL Arscr .5'lc cJ-ziag, he persualeI 2 HaarJcr lf f.r-lcrB i5 a.- ls:-s gAa cxpaass, and flsT-7-. s- aole was b5c,i 1.s-I .zs .J3 ,f tlo bIuT Atadcpth of cighty-hsc feet To d-.n at-ucls the honey. Barrels and sbs by Inc score were filled and carried T Q neighboziug farms, aal tho sya- .icate has sent to Louisville for more reeeptaclcs.
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22
A Good school Story.

The following story vas recently tolj by Galveston high school teacher: A one time there was visiting in that ci': the famous Tom Ochiltree and Air Mackay, the California millionaire, an the teacher in question gave Out0ne da; '-Our Visitors as the subject for a coU position. Among those which wcr' submitted was one by a bright girl wIicI commenced &s follows: We have ii our midst two distinguished Visit0Ea Sir. Msckay and Ton oChilt-ec, Fcpry seBting. respectively, gold from Cal. tornia and brass from Texas"
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22
At Dmn.r in cn eaEo.

The invited ministers were deploring the fact that the eatecbism is bat little studied by the children of the present day. The hostess. according to the Christian Union, differed from them, saying: ''It is not So in our house. James has just received a prize for a perfect recitation of the catcchism, and even little Johnny i5 beginning to learn it. Johnny, tell the minister 'Wbat is the chief end of aan? Tho little fel- low addressed had been too intent on the enioyrscnt of an unGsu1lly good dinner Co hear aaSht but tAe question directly addressed to hinl. and was, per hsps, ittl1 annoyed ct tae ia;errgp- tion, for he replIe1, rather Impatiently; 'sl don't know, but 1 suppose the one with the head onf'
Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22
CHOICE BITS OF HUMoR.

PROUD MorHER (piqued that her child's advances meet with no response from fair stranger)-"Why, baby, dear, that's not your grandma?'
 ''WHY 80 downcast?7 "I lost a mag nifcent umbrella yesterdayr7 Leave 1t in the train?' No: met the owner of it in the city, and he recognized it at once"
 Have you any suggest ions for the study, Mir. Quickrich?' Quickrich-'Onlyt that 1t must be brown. Great thinkers, understand, are gem erally found in a brown study"
 lSDIGSAST LANDLORD (to tenant of fiat) -"I thought you said your children were all grown up, and here you have three noisy babies iR the house." Tenant ''Yes, these are my grandchildren"
 WOMAN (to tramp who had eaten whole mince Pie)-"YOu seem to have good appetite" Tramp (with tears in his eyes)-''Yes, madam, this is all have in the world which I eau rightly call my own"
 CHoLLEY twhose legs are trife bowed, to a atailor)-"Aw-I'm very par ticular y know, about the it of my trousers" Tailor-''The fit will be all right, sir. I'll cut the cloth with pair of bent shears"
 INDIGNANT VIsTTOR-"I told you Ave or six times to wake me up this morning st seven. Here it is ten o'clock. Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" Hotel Porter-''I did wake you up sooner, sir, only you didn't hear me"
 
 presume those lovely children in the yard are yours, madam?7 Madam (frigidly)-'I have no children" Ped dier-'Pard0n me; since see you more closely I see that the brats could not possibly be yours" >H
 WANTED-reliable men," read Mrs. Bascom from the advertising columns of the paper. Then she raised her glasses upon her forehead, looked severely at her husband and remarked: And the world Il wait a considerable number Of centuries yet before it gets 'em."
 i've gota complaint to make" said an eflce boy to his employer. What is it?' The boOl-keeper kicked me, sir. I don't want no boSz-keeper to kick me" ''of course he kicked you. You don't expect me to attend to every thing, do you7 I can't look after ali the little details of the business myself" sEs
 UNCLE RAsTUs to his young hopefuIl-' ''DOlphus, yo' young rascal, yo' take dat slate pencil outeR yo' mouf an stop ehewin' it!' Dolphus-"Yes, pa" Un- cle Rsstus-"Don' yo' know it am dan gerous to de linin' ob de ssarrmaek to chew slate pencils? Some day eddica- ton will kill yo', chiie-kill yo', sho'."
 A YOUNG fellow, not quite so wise as Solomon, was eating some Cheshire cheese, full of mites. one night at tavern. Now" saiG he, ''I have done Rs much as samson, for have slain my thousands and my tens of thOusan3s.H ''Ges, answered enc Of the company, ''and with the same weapon, too the jaw bone of an ass"
 BLIND BEGeAR-"Alas! madam, au, starvingT Charitable Old Lady-"Poor creature, I am sorry to say have noth- ing smaller than ten-dollar gold piece. (She opens her purse Not a single smaller piece of money Blind Begrar --''I beg your pardon, madam. 1 see a hve-dollsr bill. (He draws his purse from his pociEet.) I can easily change that for you"
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