davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19

munion with them for TIN end. Then
the question as to how I should be
found set me again to trouble.
was lying on place seldom seen
by any hunter on the mountain. II |
should remain there my bones would
bleach perhaps for years nntound'
Only the foxes and the carrion birds
would visit them. They might in
season be evergrown by the bushes,
and hidden forever from mortal eye.
pictured the agony OF my wife
waiting in uncertainty. The shock
ing thought that some wicked person
might persuade her that | had de-
serted her came into my brain.
Would it not be merciful to her to
rush through or to one side of the
bushes and fall over the precipice? ?
Below there on the boulders my body
might soon he seen by some hunter,
and certainly my clothing and bones
would be found in the spring or
sooner. But what of God? In His
sight should be guilty of suicide if |
anticipated by but II little what seemed
my doom?
| half-rose in this new agony and
put my right hand among the bushes,
meaning to lean and peer over the
cliff. Now the moon was clear. My
hand struck something hard. With
loud cry of joy found it was clutch
ing my huntinS-knife! This had
slipped out of its sheath during my
sliding, and lodged among the bushes.
"Praise God from Whom all bles.
sings how!" My heart was mighty
cheered with the sense that He had
not forsaken me- AS I turned to the
steep slide, and began hacking out
holes for climbing had little thought
of how small was still my chance of
escape.
But was very careful, working
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19
Not Quite Ready

At Sunday school Christmas ell.
tertainment one of the speakers de-
picted the beauties of heaven in lam
guage suitable to be digested by the
infantile heads around him. "And
now," he asked, show many little
boys and girls in the infant class want
to go to heaven?"
All hands went skyward but one.
"Why, little boy, don't you want
to go?"
"Yeth, thin" as ne glanced at the
pile of candy yet undistributed "yeth
sir, but not for few minutes yeti
Argosy,
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19
The Christmas "POund."

TWJ old Christmas customs that are
still Observed to considerable extent
in certain parts of England are those
of the "yule dow," or in modern par
lance "dough,' and the christmas
pound. The former is u small cake
bakelin the form of little baby and
intended to represent the infant Jesus
1t was customary n century ago for
English bakers to present one of these
''yu!e dows" to every customer, but
this gift is now made only to children.
The christmas pound" consists of
a pound or half pound of raisins or
curralts which grocers present to
their regular patrons for Christmas
pudding. The latter custom is now
principally confined to the town of
Ripon, in Yorkshire.
Though the term christmas box
is not applied in America as it is in
England to the gratuities which are
expected and even demanded at the
Christmas season by the letter carrier,
the mikman, the butchers boy, the
district messenger and other equally
useful and indispensable members Of
society, yet the custom of giving them
has come to be nearly as general in
the one country as in the other.
With rs these donations are usually
expected before Christmas, or on the
morning of that day at the latest, but
IN E,~fanS th.y not ie~iea until
the following day-December 26.
Then all who expected them go about
and collect them in person, and from
this collection of "Christmas boxes
the day after Christmas is known as
boxing day" and its night as "box-
ing night.
The origin OF the term "Christmas
box" as applied to donations of Christ
mas spending money is uncertain,
though antiquarians generally seem
to think that it was derived from the
custom of placing money for masses to
be said or sung on Christmas Day
therefore "Christ- -masses" in box,
which from this Use was called Christ,
mass box, a term gradually corrupted
to Christmas box, and finally applied
to all money given as a Christmas gra.
tuity
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19

there in the moonlight. Should my
knife slip from my hand it would
hardly be stopped again by the fringe
OF bushes. Should hands and feet
fail of their hold on the slope might
slide aside from the fringe, and 90
over to death.
Ipicked and dug till l had three
pairs of holes extending as far up as I
could reach. Then, when / had
moved my feet into the lowest of these
holes, and was cutting fourth pair
at my full reach, my new strength left
me suddenly. There | rested, face
down, for many moments.
Again I set to work; again I drew
myself up; on | went far as my
st."' ~th would allow; and again ex.
hausted forced me to rest. But now
| was up twenty-five or thirty feet
from the clump Of bushes, and the
fear that l might slip, slide down and
miss them in sliding became extreme
horror, could rot endure this.
Very cautiously | let myself down
again till I lay o.-ce more among the
friendly bushes.
lie tale would be long to tell how
| went up again and again, each time
gaining q short distance and each time
compelled to descend by the fear of
losing my grip or fainting and sliding
aside from the bushes. My weakness,
probably from loss of blood, was such
as / cannot describe to the under.
stan ling of one who has never felt
like this My limbs trembled as with
an ague. And all this time | had to
work with and place my main depend
ence on my awkward, unwounded left
hand and arm.
After n long time 1 reached the
stunted pine against which my Win
chester had been exploded in my de-
scent. Then ] rested, straddling the
tree, holding my arms around it and
toward the cliff. Now the moon was
often obscured by clouds, strong
wind had risen, and expected regu-
lar Montana blizzard. But it proved
to be only Il squall, and again l turned
to my work.
To let go of tie tree and turn round
safely put me TO agony of doubt, but
did it and lay trembling, face down,
with my feet against the tree, till l
found strength to hack and dig again.
can remember little of what | did
after that, till at last | drew myself
up and lay on top of the mountain.
For some time / coull not move,
and whenl did stand up doubted
whether ! had strength to escape, af-
ter all. My steps were feeble and my
brain reeled. But still I staggered on
toward Nelly and the baby. It was
not till | had passed almost te the
foot of the mountain, keeping always
in my morning tracks. that sank
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19
Christmas Celery.

On Christmas Day, though the tur-
keys tender, the eaters stuff.
Christmas dinner at home, no mat
ter how meagre, is preferable to
Christmas lunch in the bar-room.
A nice easy exercise for Christmas
Day is that of counting the change
YOU have left. 1t can be done gen.
orally with one hand.
II the "heft' of the pocketbook
was, in every instance, commensurate
with the promptings OF the heart, what
Il glorious Christmas 1t would be fol
the poor.
Now is the accepted time ior the re.
launching of that cldyule-tide "chest'
nut, "What is the difference between
this umbrella and the 25th of last De.
cember?' Zone is Christmas pres
ent and the other is a Christmas past
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19
%JOB WORKS
SUCH As----
POSTERS, HANDBILLs,
BILL HEADS, LETTER HEADS,
CIRCULARS, ENVELOPES,
CARDS, ETC., ETC., ETC.
Done at This Office
with Neainess and Despatch.
Prices Away Down.
EDWARD G. DANA,
Chinese SWciis IN Winter Costume.

Chinese S,Ceiis In Winter Costume.
Leaving the Hotel Des Colonies, ip
the foreign quarter of Shanghai,
writes Frank q. Carpenter, ! rode in
jinriksha, pulled by two men, far
ont into the country. The day wa.
cold, raw and rainy, but decided to
risk arrest by taking my camera with
me, and, wrapped in oiled silk, it lay
between my legs as we dashed through
the muddy streets crowded with bare.
legged coolies IN hats as big as um.
brcllas and rain coats of reddish
brown jute, who were carrying heavy
loads swung On poles from their shout
ders. We passed many women in
blue gowns of wadded cotton, who
hobbled along on the sides Of their
little feet through the mud with a
knock-kneed gait, and met at every
turn the 'rikshas and sedan chairs OF
swell Cinnamon, whose eyes were SO
shrouded by their big black spectacles
that they looked like Gargantuan
brownies rather than scholarly Chi
nese. Many of these swells had on
their winter bonnets of wadded silk
and their clothes were of the bright
est of reds, blues and green's Their bon
nets covered the entire head and were
fastened under the chin in a wadded
cloth which protected the neck and
throat. They were SO made that only
the front of the face was exposed to
the weather and they extended out be-
hind into a sort of cape which fell
to the waist and concealed their cues.
The gowns of many of them were fur
lined and the silk brocade OF which
they We're made seemed more fit for a
ball room than rainy, muddy Chinese
country ride. Beside these rich
worked the poorest of the poor. We
passed scores of sweating men push
ing freight wheelbarrows, each con-
tanning a load for horse, and were
jostled by the hundreds of other
queer working characters who fill the
country roads of China with as many
travellers as you will find on the roads
of one of our little cities on circus
day.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19

The old "Shepherd's Kalendar" has
this much to say about Christmas
weather: 'If the sun shine clear and
bright on Christmas Day it promiseth
II peaceable year from clamors and
strife, and fortells much plenty to en-
sue but if the wind blow stormy to-
ward sunset, it betokeneth sickness in
the spring and autumn quarters.
Two French proverbs may fifty close
this bundle of weather sayings:
Christmas on the balcony
Easter near the fire brands.
At Christmas, the gnats
AT Easter, the icebergs.
The popular mind could not fail to
fix upon this day some predictions
concerning births;
Commencing with Sunday, We are
told:
What child that day born may be,
A great lord he shall live to be.
With Christmas on Monday:
They that be born that day mean,
They shall be strong each one and keen,
OF Tuesday it is said:
They shall be strong and covetous
Wednesday is a lucky day:
Whatever child that day born is,
He shall be doughty and gay, I wis,
And wise and crafty also OF deed,
And find many in clothes and bread.
Not less fortunate is the child who is
born on Christmas when it falls upon
Thursday:
Ii a child that day born shall be,
1t shall happen right well tor thee
Of deeds he shall be good and stable
Wise of speech and reasonable.
The influence OF Venus or Freya is
seen to extend to the infant who first
sees the light on Fridays Christmas:
The child that is born that day
Shall live long and lecherous be Away.
Saturday, again, is malignant:
And children born that day by faith,
In half a year shall meet with death.
At present it is said in Lincolnshire,
England, that the child born on Christ
mas will be able to see spirits, an as
sertion elsewhere made on Sunday.
Deaths on this day are sometimes
thought to be ominous. InSomerset-
shire, England. it is said that death
during Christmastide is a token of
many deaths throughout that year in
the parish,
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19

81 am very much impressed with
the great improvement in the material
condition of the South since the war,
said Cardinal Gibbons in speaking OF
his recent visit to New Orleans.
"Everywhere in that section things
have been much changed forthe bet
ter. went direct through to New
Orleans without stopping off, but l
could not help noticing from the car
windows that the cultivation OF the
South had been much improved. The
railroads have grown wonderfully and
have developed the country in pro.
portion to their own growth. The
busy centres OF commerce, trade and
domestic industry which have sprung
mp in the South in late years have also
attracted my attention. Roanoke,
Va, is one Of these cities of rapid
growth, and Birmingham, Ala, is an
other. The city OF New Orleans shows
signs Of improvement in spite of the
heavy municipal debt under which it
is struggling, due to corruption and
mismanagement. The abolition of
the Louisiana lottery seems to be re-
garded by all parties as blessing to
the city. People there recognize that
the income which the State of Louisi-
ana received from the lottery was in
the end paid by its citizens. The
sugar industry has been materially
advanced in many places by the intro
duction of costly machinery for hand
ling sugar cane upon the plantations
and even for making it into sugar.
In some cases one plantation has an
entire plant, in others the product of
half dozen plantations goes to one
common refinery. The kindly feeling
of the South for the North was appar-
ent everywhere. Northern capital and
Southern enterprise are accomplish.
ing great things side by side. State
lines never amounted to anything in
the North, and in the South they are
being rapidly obliterated."
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19
The Childish Toice Too Much.

A good story is told of Signor Foil,
the famous basso. Once upon time
he was singing "The Raft" when =
childish voice from somewhere in the
stalls suddenly piped in and attempted
to organize an impromptu duet. I'm.
fortunately the next line of the song
was, clark What sound is that which
breaks upon mine ear?' This SO
tickled the fancy of the great vocalist
that he burst into hearty fit of laugh
ter and left the platform, followed by
the pianist. Twice they came back
and attempted the song and finally
they had to give it up in despair, much
to the amusement of the audience. -
Detroit Free Press.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19
lCHRlST MAS.

Here comes old Father Christmas,
With sound OF fife and drums:
with mistletoe about his brows,
SO merrily he comes
His arms ara full OF al! gool cheer,
His face with laughter gows;
He shin?s like any household hro
Amid the cruel snow..
He is the old folks Christmas.
He warns their hearts like VIM,
He thaws their winter into sprn3
And makes their fnces shine.
Hnrrah for Father Christmas!
ling all the merry bells
And bring the grandsires all arounl
70 hear the tale he tells.
Here comes the Christmas Gns'l,
SO gentle and so calm.
A sotlyas the failing flakes,
He comes with flute and psalm,
All in Il clou Of glory,
As once upon the pain.
10 shepherd boys in Jewry
He brings goo news again
He is the young folks Christmas:
He makes their eyes grow bright
With words of hope and tender Thought
And visions of delight.
Hail TO the Christmas angel!
All peace on earth he brings:
He gathers all the youths and maids
Reneath his shining wings.
Here comes the little Chr!s:-chil,
All innocence and Joy.
An bearing gifts in either han
For every girl and boy.
lie tells the tender story
About the Holy Maid
And Jesus in the manser,
Before the oxen laid.
Like any little winter bird.
He sings this sweetest song,
Till all the "herubs in the sky
To hear His carol throng:
He is the children's Christmas;
They come without call
10 gather round the gracious Child
Who brlngeth JOY TO ALL,
But who shall bring their Christmas
Who wres,le still with life?
No grandsires, youths. nor little folks,
But they who wage the strife;
The fathers AMI tine mothers
Who Aght for homes and breal,
Who watch and ward the living,
And bury all the dead.
All by their side at Christmas-tide
The Lord of Christmas stands
lie smooths the furrows from the brows
With strong and tender hands
81 take my Christmas gift" he saith,
From thee, tired soul, ana thee:
Who giveth TO My little ones
Giveth unto Ne.
Philadelphia Ledger.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19

straight wall began. 1t was about four
hundred feet high. slowed round
somehow, and went heels first then
head first, flat on my back.
You may suppose had not time to
think mach on the way down; but /
saw great deal. saw Nelly and the
baby all alone in the house waiting for
me. ! saw what | should look like
after falling four hundred feet on
boulders. | saw Nelly's people thou
sand miles away and more, and she
with the baby in her arms and with
ont ten dollars III the bureau drawer
hoping many II day and night for the
bundle at the cliffs foot to walk in
alive. It was had to see all that and
feel myself sliding to destruction.
AS | slowed round second time,
and found myself going down on my
back, feet first, lifted my head and
saw II stunted pine close ahead. My
Winchester was still in my right hand;
somehow ] had clutched it by the
muz2lc. In flash threw ont my
hand, hoping to fling the gun around
the little pine and stop myself; but
the hammer of the gun struck the
pine, and the charge was fired into
me.
The bullet plowed through the mus
cles of my forearm, made q flesh
wound in my right side, and cut away
my cartridge belt.
had slid about one hundred and
fifty feet when this happened The
shock of the noise and the bullet
stunned me, | suppose, for the next
thing | knew was that lay in clump
of small bushes.
The sun had gone down, but there
was still clear afterglow when | came
to my full wits, in surprise to find
myself alive. For an instant | won
dered if had dropped over the cliff.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19

I tried to rise, and in doing so looked
through the bushes,
There was nothing just III front Of
them. They grew on the cliffs top
for about twelve feet wide along its
very edge. l had nothing but these
frail bushes between me and the
boulders far below.
Seeing this, trembIed and crouched
down. Then | noticel the blood
from my wounded arm. 1t was drip
ping to the snow at the roots of the
bushes, and my movements had already
sprinkled many red spots around.
lay long time in the snow, keep
ing my right side to the bushes, for |
feared that | should go through if |
lay uphill and pressed againet them
with only the breadth of my feet.
Then I lifted up my wounded arm,
hoping to stop the flow of red. Per-
haps the loss of blood had helped to
break down my nerves. At any rate,
| shuddered and SHOOK, and thought ]
was about to fain;, 1t seemed great
time before | could control myself
sufficiently to seek for some means of
escape.
But did not look down over the
cliff. It seemed that one more sight
of that abyss would lure ne to jump
! over in despair. | looked up the
slope.
The track had made was as il n
very wide broom had swept snow off
hard, white ice But | reflected that
! this was only thin sheet of ice cover
| ing deep snow. | could not break
through the slippery crust with hand
or FOOT but | might cut holes in it
with my pocketknifc, and climb by
| these.
SO | put my hand in my pocket to
search for the knife. 1t was not there
1t was not in any OF my pockets. |
suppose it had slipped ont during my
head-frst sliding.
For moment hope went out OF me.
Then it sprang up fresh. Ny hunt
ing knife How could have forgot.
ten it? | put my hand to the
sheath. The sheath was empty!
Now it seemed certain that | must
die; SO certain that the raving spirit
of protest was stilled in my heart.
resigned myself to God. There was
nothing to do except go mad or accept
my fate, and to accept Is to be calm.
l think I then had the very feeling
with which so many of the dying turn
their faces silently to the wall when
told that death is near. Evening had
new come on.
To the bushes ] turned my face, let
ting my wonderful arm which panied
melittle, come to the snow. With that
movement of resignation my thoughts
flew again distinctly to my wife ant
child: it was as if my soul sought com
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19
An EXhausting Task.

Alpha "a see that your friend
Bondsby has sailed for Europe. What
is the object of his visit?'
Omega-"He goes to recuperate his
health. which is broken down by over
work"
Alpha-"Overwork? Why, l never
knew him to do days work in his
life.
Omega "You don't know all. One
day last week he went out to select q
Christmas present for his wife, and he
came home suffering from nervous
prostration.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19
On Christmas Eve.

"Darling!' exclaimed Algernon
Thinshanks, as they sat in the soft
freight glow on Christmas Eve, 81
sometimes wish l had lived in the dis
tant past, in the days of baronial
halls, and feudal castles, and armored
knights. There is romance about
the delightful past which the prosaic
present cannot awaken. Which do you
like best, dearest, the past o; the pres
ent?"
"At this time of the year, Algernon,
the present, by all means !" responded
Mabel, promptly.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19

my wife said to me-
Charley, wouldn't it be nice if We
had venison steak, too"
The "too" meant in addition to r.
turkey, u pair of chickens, Il boiled
ham, plum pudding, and l don't
know how many kinds of cakes and
pies that she had planned for our
Christmas dinner.
"Well, Nelly, as there's only your.
self and the baby and me to be at
dinner, don't suppose we'd starve
without venison steak" l said,
laughing. "But there'll be some fun
getting black tailed deer.
So | took my Winchester late in the
forenoon and started for the mountain,
after kissing my young wife and the
baby-our first. If Nelly had asked
for an elephant steak, | dare say I'd
have tried to get one.
She had come out to the far West
with me after ] had visited home in
Michigan only two years before, and
my pride was that she should want for
nothing. We had done we'll from the
start, and so We do yet, thanks be to
God and steady work in season.
The night before l started up the
canon with my rife and hunting knife
there had been fall OF about six
inches OF snow. This would make it
easy to track game. So | went along
IN good spirits, struck the foot Of the
mountain two miles from home, and
decided to go up an immense gulch
straight in front of me-
soon reached the head of the
9ulch and the top of the mountain.
Then | turned around on the back.
bone OF the mountain, and went back
nearly in the same direction [ had
come, only about a thousand feet
higher 1t was here | sighted my
game, fnt doe, on the west side of
the backbone, Just on the edge of u
gulch. This was about three o'clock
IN the afternoon, and the sun was al.
ready low.
The doe had not seen me, and | did
not mean she should till / could get
close enough to make sure Of that
steak. So ] worked over on the east
side of the backbone, and went along
till got right Oh top of slope di-
rectly above great wall of mountain
that | had admired on the way up.
was then watching for the doe
more than for my steps, aud that
carelessress nearly finished me. Sud
denly my feet slipped. and / went
sliding down the steep mountain side.
| was not more than fairly on my
back when | understood what had
happened. [ had trod ON the old
drifts of snow which had been melted
on the surface by the Chinook winds
n few days previously, and had then
frozen again into hard slope of ice.
This was covered by the fresh snow OF
the night, and so ! had not noticed
the danger.
! The fresh snow went with me.
could not hold on by it at all and ]
wss making quick trip down. The
] slope was about two hundred and
fifty feet long, Who're it stopped the
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19
A COItDIe of Sueers,

Cutter, the Tailor, (sneeringl as
he sees a former customer going in
misft shop)-Ah! this is where you
buy your clothes now, is it?
Former Customer (who has dis
agreed with Gutter on the question of
fit-No; it is where 1 sell yours. -
Puck.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19

There is a movement in London to
provide help for the less fortunate
members of the legal profession and
their widows and children. Existing
law charities provide small pensions
and gifts of money, and there are also
homes where annuitants with q small
income can be received. The aim is
to supplement these agencies and to
grant relief in cases where they do
not touch.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-19
The Festlyity Not Yet Complete.

Tile FGStVIty NUI TIT OUHIpIetUs
Tommy--"Come on out an play"
Eddy-"1 can't
Tommy-"Why not?'
Eddy-Tgot some Christmas things
wot I amt broke yet"