davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
WHY Oil STILLS OCEAN WAVES.
The Wind Passes Aiona; the Oily Surface
 ,s,ia;, Ec.i.ica,i PuYer.

The Wind Passes Along the Oily Surkace
 w5fi. Reduced Power.
 4 great deal las been written about the influence Of oil on waves at sea, and Of the practically useful action of oil in many eases there is abundant testimony. but little has been heard of the reason for the results obtained, says the Chicago Tribune. Experi- meats made in shallow. broken water on the coast, where the wind and tide eonl;icte<i, have shown that little or no advantage can be traced from the use of oil under such conditions; that is to say. the wave motion being disturbed and under forces not wholly those of wind action. the oily film becomes broken up. h deep water, however, where ale waves may be considered as wholly formed by the wind, their forms are more regular, and it is in such cir cumstances that the recorded exam pies show to the best effect. These eff fects suggest the real action of the oil. According to some theories the oil acts as 1t does when applied to bearings in machinery, and thus the wind glides more easily over the oiled surface than it does over the water surface. It is difficult to see. however, that the fric- tjonal resistance between air and oil should be less than between air and water. as the oil is a less mobile fluid that the water. Again, when we con side4' the surface tension Of fluids, and can often observe their restraining ac- ton on ascending air bubbles or small floating objects in glasses of water, we might suppose that by the addition of the film of oil sufficient resistance was offered to the uprise of the upper part of the wave. and thus the tendency to break would be restrained. The ac- ton Of the Il1n of oil is one of separa- ti0n. When we consider the tendency of air to become saturated with watery vapor due to evaporation and of water to retain air by absorption, we may readily conceive that the impact of air On watery surface will tend to cause Q coErlingling at the surface of air and water which will thus offer sufficient resistance to the motion of the wind to throw the water and mixture in- to an undulItory movement and, there fore, whom this forward movement has exceeded the speed due to the periodic motion ia the wave itself, the upper part in falling forward from the effects of the push of air from behind shows foaming rush of broken water; that is, the air incorporated with the water and the water itself Arguing on this basis there i3 10 difficulty in accepting the theory that the film of oil spread over the surface of the water effect
 ually prevents the formation of broken water; as the air and water arc kept separate the tendency to mutual ab- sorption at the surface is checked and the wind passes 2loag the oily surface with reduced power Of wave making.
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
NORWEGIAN suPERsuTIoNs.
Men of Strong Nerves and the Beings of
 tue Spirit World.


 The simple faith of the Norwegian peasants is that the seeing or not see ing of beings of the other world is a mere question of strong or weak nervcS Only reversing, says All the Year Round, the generally accepted belief, it is the Northman of strong nerves who has power to see the un- seen. And he who sees it fears it not. "If you have the gift" says my in- formant, '.you may see dozens and scores of forms pass your door, bat you know not what it is to feel alarm.
 There's ghost on every ship" says the same authority. My own uncle. who saw the unseen plain from his childhood, was married to a woman who could not believe in spirits. He had fishing smack of his own, and saw strange things of nights. One night he asked her to go out with him, and she went. If. 1 see anything will cali for you,' he said, and she agreed to 1t. Tn the dark middle of the night he could see three men come walking on the water toward the little vessel. He went and called his wife, saying:
 Look out now; do you see noth- ing@
 "'No,' said the wife. T see nothing but the water and the darkness
 We'll said he, there are three men there, plain to be seen, and now I'll go and get up the nets, for storm is surely coming
 1.-TWO o'clock was the wonted hour for getting up the nets, but wait ho would not, in spite of all his wife could say to him.
 When two o'clock came the nets ot all the other fishermen were lost and their boats nearly wrecked in sudden great storm that rose. but my uncle was well out of it, and anchored in safety, because he could read the signs they were all blind to-. t"
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
AN UNSTABLE BOUNDARY LINE.
How Some GuiIeless Tillers of the Soil
 Move It.


 'sYou have heard of smuggling, l pre- sume," remarked a guest at one of the hotels to a Cleveland Leader man. We'll he continued, ''I ran against the most stupendous scheme in that line last summer I ever heard of. You are doubtless aware that ordinary everyday s1nugglers are content to transport their goods over the line from one country to another, the ob- ject being, Of course, to evade the pay ment Of the customs duties. The peo- pie with whom I came in contact were superior to such common methods, which might do for low pirates and outlawed brigands but not for live, wide-awake Yankee, and especially a Canadian Yankee. They didn't move the goods. They moved the line.
 Up in the farthest easterly part of Maine there comes a place where Maine stops and New Brunswick be- gins. That is the boundary line be- tween the two countries. That is also where the< Canadian Yankees spoken of have their homes They are natur- ally given to farming, some of these people, and even if Mckinley did put Q duty on grain, poultry and other things it didn't make any difference with some of the sturdy yoelnan who live alongside the line. The publication of the news of the passage of the tariff bill didn't cause them a moments un- easiness.
 They simply went on raising their Canadian wheat and their Canadian oats. At the same time they kept their eyes on the boundary line-what they could see of it. The visible portion of this remarkable boundary consisted of upright iron posts, set at intervals of one mile through the land Not being clinched on the other side of the earth, these posts are responsive to influence placed on them on the Canadian side. Tn other words, they can be taken up and reset.
 About the time these upright and honest farmers over the line have their crops in condition to harvest peculiar thing happens. Some dark night a half dozen of them go 'coon-hunting, and when they return to their fire sides they are on American soil, they and their grounds and with them the crops. The boundary line has moved and is located half-1nile or so farther toward the Arctic ocean. These guile less tillers of the soil then dispose of their products at United States prices, and some time during the winter, in some unknown manner, the boundary line takes a backward leap, leaving them again on Canadian sol.'
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
GEAR PETERS JOKES.

A Great Monarch ygho Was Decidedly
 Drut n Ills Sense of E<ucaor.
 At one of the grand dinners given by the Czar Peter, says the London Tele- graph, . hugh pie was placed in the center of the gent3s2E1cn $ table, out of which, when the carver broke the crust, beautiful dwarf lady, in puris naturaGbus, all except head-dress, stepped ont, proposed in a set speech ard drank in Q glass of wine the health Of the company, and then retired to her snug retreat and was carried from the table. A man dwarf was substi- tuted at the ladies' table. Did not Peter say he could reform his people, but not himself? A dinner party at the czar's must indeed have been sight not concaiva ble out of Bedlam, and could only have been planned in the maddest brain on earth, if a manu- script among the Sloan papers in the British museum is belicvable. Such practical jokes! such wild gfotesque gambling! the frolics of leviathan! the laughter of Titan, as frightful in his fun as in his fury! There was ac- commodation at the czar's table for about one hundred, but the grim hu morist always issued invitations to twice or thrice that number, and left his guests to elbow, jostie and fight for chairs and places, and retain them against all corners and claimants if they could. Not unfrequently a free fight was extemporized and noses tapped, and even the sacred persons of ambassadors have been profanely touched and trihed with. The czar sat at the head of the table, broad grin on his face, rolling the spectacle like a sweet morsel under his tongue. The guests are so closely packed that feed ing room is not to be thought of, and ribs are often blackencd and almost driven in by active and vigorous el- bows, provoking fierce recriminations and quarels. The kitchen is so near the dining g-haI that there floats through the latter a fragrance of onions, garlic and train-oil, mellowed and tempered by the more delicious aroma of the roast. The more knowing and initiated guests wave away soups and such like edibles, and manifest a special appetite for hams, tongues and viands that cannot be tempered with, or made the vehicle of practical joking, for as often as not it happens that a bunch Of dead mice will be drawn out of the soup or discovered snugly i'm bedded in dish of green peas, and sometimes, when his guests have well partalzen of certain pastries, the czar will courtoously inquire if the cat, wolf, raven or other unclcan animal proved a savory or delicious E3orscl, with what result let the imaginative guess. The approach toa regular Donnybrook was hastened on by liberal supplies of brandies, strong alcs and wines so adroitly served out as to expedite the grand climacteric of drunkenness.
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
MADE FOR A KING.
A Turnip-Sizcd Timopiece That Weighs
 Two and a Half Pounds.

A Turnip-Sizcd Timcpiece That Weighs
 Two and Half Pounds.
 A ponderous watch of antique pat tern displayed in the window of San Francisco jewclry establishment on Montgomcf,y street, attracts the at tention of the curious. The timepiece is four inches in diameter and is de- clarcd by the Bulletin to weigh two end half pounds. It's case looks like old gold, but is a composition of base metal. The chain attached to this watch is. proportionately ponderous and bears 9 seal ring large enough for the finger of a giant. The watch was made by John Bittleson, of London, two centuries ago. It was, no doubt, a marvel of workmanship in those days, and is still a timekeepcr. It probably cost about one hundred pounds sterling, or five hundred dol lars in our money. The hands upon its ample dial mark seconds and fifths of seconds, as well as hours and min utes. The dial also shows the phases of the moon. This remarla ble relic is not for sale. It is owned by a gentle uldl oI IlliS CiOy, NhV Aeo u SOlASSOlOA of such cu'iosities.
 The old watch has history of some interest. About two hundred years ago an English sea captain obtained from the king of tribe of savages in the south seas some valuable trading privileges, The king showed him many favors, and one day the captain asked tho insular monarch to say what most he would like to have sent to him from London. It pleased his royal highness to intimate that a big watch would suit him well. Accord ingly a watch was made to order on scale befitting his royal parsonage. And great was his pride therein. Hav- ing no pocket, he appointed a youth watch bearer extraordinary to the sov ereign. Wherever the king went the watch bearer followed, carrying the precious royal timepiece in his hands, When the king died his sons succeeded to the ownership of the watch. They sold it to the captain of an American ship. and he disposed of it in Phila- delphia. Some time ago it fell into the hands of it's present owner, who prizes it highly. This is no doubt one of the oldest repeating watches in ex- istence. Its ring is very musical.
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
His RnaIness. Exactly.

It was on quiet street in Washing ton. and the only sound that broke the stiffness was the cry of an old coiored man who was peddling bi7alves from a push-cart. His noise evidently dis turbed somebody, for @ window opened and a woman thrust out her head to say: Dear me! what great cIamorr' The man stopped his cart, took off his hat and said, with bow: ''Thanly. lady, thanlzyl Bats what l is. Is de greatest clammer in de whole Districk of Columbia!"
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
ONLY A FEW OF I'll EM LEFT.
Xiphloid Whales Which Belong to Long
 Past Geological Ages.

Prior to 1883 tho naturalists of Amer ica knew nothing of xiphioid whales except from comparisons and the fossil records of the geological ages. During the year mentioned, however, one of these queer cretaceans was stranded upon the sands at Barnegat City, N. J. J. II. Ridgeway and his assistants managed to save the specimen, and i'm mediately telegraphed for the officials of the National museum of Washing ton. They went, Of course, and took all the apparatus necessary for prescrv- ing such a unique curiosity. Among these Smithsonian worthies were sci entists of international reputation, yet the creature before them could not be assigned to its proper class until after the brain was critically and scientific ally examined-this on account of it's great rarity. Before removing the flesh preparatory to making slzele- ton" of the great creatures bones a plaster cast of the exterior was made. After this operation had been finished in all it's minute details the meat was cut away and the bones carefully artic- ulated. A scientific report of the incl dent, quoted by the St. Louis Republic, closes as follows: ''The xiphioid whales have a most interesting his tory. x They really belong to the geological ages, and perhaps only Q few stragglers are now lefUin remote quarters of the globe. It would seem that they are but the surviving relies of 6 great race, which declined long ages before man appeared upon the
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
LANGUAGE MADE BY WOMEN
Their Influence Much Greater Than Is
 Ordinarily Thought.

Their Influence Mucn GFe&ter 1ff3n IS
 Ordinarily Thought.
 The influence of woman on the lan- guage of cachs generation is much greater than that of men, says Max Muller in Science of Language.
 We very properly call our language in Germany our mother tongue, with all its peculiarities, faults, idioms, ac- cents. Cicero said:
 t'It makes a great difference whom we hear at home every day and with whom we speak as boys, and how our fathers, our tutors and our mothers speak. We read the letters of Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, and it is clear from them that her sons were brought upnot in the lap, but. so tosay, in the very breath and speech of their mother"
 But this is not all. Dante ascribes the frs attempts at using the vulgar tongue in Italy for literary compost tions to he silent influence of ladies who did not understand the Latin lam guage.
 Now this vulgar Italian, before it became the literary language of Italy, held very much the same position there as the so-called Pralrit dialects in In- dia; and these Prakrit dialects first as- sumed literary position in the Sans knit plays where female characters, both high and low, are introduced as Pralxrit, instead of the Sanslzrit em- ployed by kings, noblemen and priests.
 Here, then, we see the language of women, or, if not of women exclusive ", at all events of women and domes- tic servants, gradually entering into the literary idiom, and in later times even supplanting it altogether; for it is from the Pralzrit, and not from the literary Sanskrit, that the modern vernaculars of India branched off in course of time.
 Through a thousand smaller chan nels the idioms of women everywhere find admission into the domestic con versation of the whole family and into the public speeches of their assem- plies. The greater the ascendency of the female element in society the greater the influence of their language on the language of family or clan, a village or a town.
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
HURTING UP LURES.
Why verdEcts in District Courts Are Ren-
 dered Without Delay.

dered Without Delay.
 Give jury of six or twelve restfil men q comfortable, we'll lighted and cool room, plenty of tobacco and ice water, and there IS nothing by which the judge or the counsel on either side can guage the time of deliberatiOn. Under such circumstances, says the Newark Sunday Call. juries have been known to remain out twelve hours on q case involving one dollar and forty nine cents, and then come in with a disagreement There is such thing, however, as forcing a speedy verdict by making the retiring room uncom- fortable. Freezing the jury is said to have been practieed with success in Minnesota, where the counsel for the defense ''saw" the janitor, and it is just possible that windows have been nailed down to stew jury into nasty action in warmer climates.
 No such precaution is necessary in the new quarters of the district courts in this city. The jury-room is a mar row apartment, situated directly over the boiler room, with one window opening upon narrow and breath less alley, fanled by the dead wall of the next building. It has not been in- sinuated that any lawyer has encour- aged the engineer to put on extra steam when jury was deliberating over case, but it is said that of late no jury has taken more than five minutes to fry the fat out of any case which has required discussion in this room.
 It is used by both courts, and is the only apartment accessible. Of course, the doors must be shut when the jury is deliberating, and then the window does not admit the smallest of the zephyrs which may by accident have found a playground in the alleyway
 It is said that one lawyer announced his intention of appealing a ease be cause the jury found verdict four minutes after the doors were closed One of the jurors says, however, that there was a heated discussion over the case during the short time the jury was mt
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
Apply for Information About THE GREAT
 SOUTHWEST

NAELoro last year farmers netted s100 to $20C EsilCl C per acre for fruit, grown on land that can be duplicated today for $50 per acre. NAEI,oro five tons of alfalfa hay, worth $12peI ssEACi C ton, was grown on land the like of which can be bought for $l5 per acre. IAghoro many other products such as sweet EsIiCi Q potatoes tomatoes and early vegeta- bles netted as large and larger profits than fruit. lAFL.o~o the summers are cool. the winters ssuCl Q warm, cyclones unknown and mala- ria uGheard of.
 tAFhoro there is the best opening in the world ESaICI C for honest industry.
 To ". F. WHITE, Passenger Traffic Manager, A. I: s; F. R. R.
 Or, HENRY F. GRIERSON,
 Immigration gent, A., T. & s F. R. R.
 623 Rialto Building, Chicago, III. This railway passes through twelve states and territories, and having no lands of it's own sell has no object in advancing the interests of any speci al locality, or in giving any other than ab- sOlut ely reliable information. It realizes that the prosperity of the farmers of the great south west means prosperity to itself also, and is thus naturally willing to aid the immigrant as much as possible.
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
ALL soRTs oF sERMoNs.
Bishop of WakefeId's Classification of
 Pulpit Eloquence.

Pulpit Eloquence.
 One does not look to a prelate for frank fun, but the bishop of Wake field, unasked. has vouchsafed some genuine humor on the subject of preaching, says London Black and White. Ee has clearly made study of the art, and he divides the modern sermon into seven species. Thus we have:
 s.Thc Sesquipedalian-Big words hid ing little thoughts
 1.-The Wishy-Washy-No explanation required.
 ''The Pyrotechnie - Blazing with brilliant metaphors and illustrations, and finishing with faint odor of gun powder.
 1.-The necdotic-Tceming with sto- rics-some of them good enough once, but gone bad by keeping.
 1.-The Flowery-In which rhyme is of more importance than reason.
 ssThe Melliiuous-With calm, un- broken flow.
 .The Paregoric-Against which the powers of wakefulness fail; like roll of ribbon, so much alike at all points that yard can be cut off anywhere Who does not know each and all of these? This is form of pastoral which congregations, as rule, do not disap- prove.
 In connection with this severe epis- copal utterance there is a story on the other side going the ecclesiastical round. A clergyman prepared to preach few Sundays since, and gave out as his text: The devil, like . roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour In the same breath, before beginning hls dis course, he continued: My friends, you will probably have heard that the bishop of Manchester has announced his intention of visiting every church n his diocese, and consequently we may very shortly expect to see him among us"
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
McNKeYs Do TALK.
Prof. Garner Returns Well Satisfied from
 a Residence with Chinlpanzees.

Prof. Garner Returns Well Satisfied from
 a Residence with Chimpanzees.
 Prof. Garner, who went from Amer ica into the interior of Africa for the purpose of studying the methods of communication between the monkey tribes-in other words, to learn the monkey language arrived at Liver pool on his return recently.
 He claims that he has established beyond doubt that there is 6 monkey language, and that it can be learned by man. He brought with him from Africa two Kulu Kamba chimpan2ees, with which he is able to communicate.
 Prof. Garner says that he stayed for one hundred and one days in his cage, which he had carried into the heart of a forest two hundred and fifty miles inland. This cage w2s a massive af- fair that was chained to trees. In it Prof. Garner would lock himself and then await the coming of the members of the ape family, when he would try to communicate with them by means of the sounds he had learned from mon keys in America and elsewhere.
 He had with him photograph, with which he kept a record of the sounds made by his visitors
 He claims that his visit to Africa was a great success in t2blishirg his the ory that the monkey family has Ian, guage, --
The St. Johns herald., 1894-07-05
s DOLLARS 70 PER DAY 20 Easily Made.

We want many men, women, boys, and girls to work for us few hours daily, right in and around their own homes The business is easy, pleasant strictly honorable aud pays better than any other offered agents. You have clear field and no competition. Experience and special ability un- necessary. No capital required. We equip you with everything that you need, treat YOU well, and help you to earn ten times ordinary wages. Women do as we'll as men, and boys and girls make good pay. Any one, anywhere, can oo the work. All succeed who follow our plain ana slIn- pie directions. Earnest work will surely bring vou 2 great deal of money Everything is new and in great demand. Write for our pamphIet circular, and receive full information. No harm done if you conclude not to go on with the business.
 GEORGE STINsoN & Co.,,
 Box 488,
 PORTLAND, MAiNEs