davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
cHIMNEYs IN ENGLAND.
They Were Not in Use There Before the
 Twelfth Century.

There does not appear to be any evi- dence of the use of chimney shafts in England prior to the twelfth century. In Rochester castle, which is in all probability the work of w. Ccrbyle, about 1130, there arc complete fire places with semicircular bacxs. and shaft in each joint supporting semi circular arch over the opening, which is enriched with a zigzag molding; some of these project slightly from the wall. The flues. however. go only few feet up in the thickness of the wall, and are turned at the back, the apertures being small oblong holes. At Castle Nottingham, Essex. which is about the same date, there are fire places and chimneys of similar kind. A few years later the improvement of carrying the fiue up through the whole height of the wall appears. as at Christ church, Hants; the keep at Newcastle; Sherborne castle, Dorsetshirc; Conis- borough castle. Yorkshire and Boothby Pagneu, Lincolnshire. The early chirn- ney shafts are of considerable height and circular. afterward they assume great variety of forms, and during the fourteenth century they are frequent ly extremely short. Previous to the sixteenth century the shaft is often short, and not unfrequently terminated by a spire or pinnacle, usually of rath- CT low proportions, having apertures of various forms, under and sometimes in it, for the escape of the smoke. There are also taller shafts of various forms-square, octangular or circular -surmounted with a cornice, forming sort of capital. the smoke issuing from the top. Clustered chimney shafts do not appear until rather late in the fifteenth century; aftcrward they be- came very common, and were frequent ly highly ornamented, especially when of brick
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
SIGNALING BY WATER
The Method of Transmitting Sounds Sue
 cessfulIy Tested in England.


 A very interesting test of a new method of signaling through water has been made in England, says the Pitts burgh Dspatch. The system is the in. vention of Capt. Neale, and is in- tended for the exchange ot messages and the carrying on of conversation between ships on the sea or on rivers. whether moving or stationary, or be- tween ships or lighthouses and har- bors, forts or piers on the shore. Com. munication is effected without any connection whatever between the two objects, except the body of water on which the ships float or the lighthouse stands the water being the sole medium through which the message is trans mitted.
 The system utilizes well known law of acoustics. If musical note in a given key be sounded an object ca pablo of emitting sound in the same key will, under certain conditions, sympathetically respond with sound similar to that which induced it, it being, of coure, a primary condition that the two objects shall be nominally tuned to unison. Capt. Neale's in vention is based on this principle, utilizing the high conductivity of water for the transmission of sound. In the recent test the apparatus was mounted on two punts, moored about -e-~e-tfIirr4s- of a mile apart, and carry ing transmitter and receiver respec- lively. The transmitter consists of a bell about sixteen inches in diameter attached to the lower end of fram. ing, which is fixed in the side of the punt, at the upper end of which is a crank handle. This handle, worked hammer, which strikes and sounds a bell submerged about six feet.
 The Morse code is employed, quar- ter turn ct the handle being given for the dots of the code and whole revo- lution for the dashes. The receiving apparatus consists of pair of metallic drums, about ten inches in diameter, open at one end and fixed mouth to mouth, upon piece of board placed between them. These drums, suspend ed in the water, are connected up with a small battery, and through it with tape-recording instrument. Messages were correctly transmitted and re- corded. The speed of operating was somewhat slow, as the signaling had to be carried on by hand instead of electricity, which will shortly be util- ized. The trial, however, was most successful and is said to have dem- onstrated the practical character of the invention and the correctness of the principles upon which it is based.
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
A DOUBLE BASS CLUB.
Scheme to Avoid Lucging the Big Bull
 Fiddlcs Around.

A gold-laced person got on crowded Brooklyn trolley car and hung bass drum over the bral1e-handle, says the New York World The car lurched and the man next to him stepped on the gold-laced persons toes, and, being thus introduced, began a conversation about the drum.
 Heap of bother carrying a drum around, isn't it?''
 "Yes, but not so much as double bass, one of these big bass fiddles, you know-bull ftldles."
 Are they much trouble?'
 "Well. they are this much trouble, that they won't let you get on a car in Brooklyn with one. In New York you have to get permit to carry one, just the same as if it was a concealed weapon. Once, here in Brooklyn, I'd have to take 9 carriage for it. But now I belong to double bass club.'
 "Have pretty good times, suppose? You get together and smoke and have some beer and play solos on your double basses."
 The gOld-laced man looked down and laughed silently. Well, it is kind of funny to think of lot of men sit ting around and playing solos about two octaves below the singing voice. Voomf! Voonf!
 "No," said he after bit. "All the fellows that play the double bass be- long to this club and pay two dollars a year dues. They have lot of instru- ments and every place they have to go to play there is a closet containing a bass, to which only members of the clubs have keys. There is book in the closet, and every time Q fellow uses the bass he marks down his name. They have them in all the halls and theaters. and in the summer time on all the barges and excursion steamers. The two dollars from each member goes for repairs"
 So that's the reason why you can't remember having seen a double bass on the street cars, no matter how hard you try.
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
THE USE OF PAPER MONEY.
Common to Nearly All Ciei,ized Countries
 Issues in Various Nations.

Common to Nearly All Ciei,ized Countries
 Issues in Various Nations.
 Almost. if not quite, all civilized countries use paper money to facilitate payments within their own jurisdic tions, says the St. Louis Globe-Demo- crat. The United States uses paper money to a greater extent than any other country, and in notes of smaller denomination than any other country of equal importance. All of our paper 6il!5 except the gold certificates are in the denominations of S1, g, s, S1O. S2O s59. Si00, s5OO and Sl,000; our gold cer- tifcates do not appear in denomina- tions less than S20. The Dominion o1 Canada issues S1 and 8 notes, and various banks issue notes varying from g to et.oo0. Mexico issues paper money of 10 pesos and upward and the South American states issue paper o1 similar denominations. The Bank oi Eneland issues all English notes in de nominations of e5. e10, e20, $50, e1OO G300. .330, G500 and q ,000. The banks of Scotland and Ireland issue notes ot e1 and upward. The Bank of France issues notes for 50 francs, 100, 200, 5OC and 1.020 francs. The Bank of Belgium issues notes of 20 francs and upward. Italian banks issue notes of 1 lire and upward to 1000 lire. The Bank of Germany puts out notes for marks and upward to 1000 marks Austria issues notes of gulden and upward. Russia is the only European country which issues government notes, its paper money being of the denomina- tion of 1 ruble and upward. Sweden. Norway and Denmark issue by their banks notes for krone, 10, 25, 50 and 100 krone. India does not issue paper moneys nor does China now. Japan provides paper money of yen, ?, 5, 10. 20 and 100 yens, and the other countries. as rule, issue paper money, the low est denomination of which is usually ten times the value of the coined unit of value
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
The Grip in Europe.

La grippe, which was so prevalent in -Europe as well as in this country two and three years ago, appears to have made its appearance again across the water with all its former virulence. A large number of cases are reported in London. In the up per Rhine and Main regions it is reported as approaching the dimen- sions of a plague, and fifth of the whole population of Hesse Darn. stadt is said to be down with it Parliamentary work at Vienna is at a standstill because all the officers ot both houses are suffering. It is noted in Berlin, where it is fiercely raging, that this time the epidemic is coupled with failure of the heart and attacks the strongest constitutions. It has not made its appearance extensively in this country as yet, and it is devoutly to be hoped that it will not. During it's for. mer visitation here it proved by far the most fatal of any of the epidemies in our recent history.
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
Made Love by Lightning.

The late Prof. Morse made love by lightning, as it were. He met his first wife during an evening call at the house of her father and proposed mar riage to her before he went away that night. After some happy years she died, leaving him with several children. He remained a widower until at the age of fifty-seven he attended the we'd ding of his eldest son. One of the younger ones was what the Scotch tendcrly call an innocent" and it was the kindness of a relative of the bride to this boy that attracted his fathers attention. He invited the lady to drive with him the following day. When they returned from the expedition they were engaged to be married.
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
NAPoLEoNs HATS.
Existing Relics of the Great French En-
 DerOr.

Existing Relics of the Great French Em-
 peror.
 Careful inquiry has jed to the discov- cry that there are no fewer than nine of Napoleon I. hats still in existence. A writer in The Vie Conternporaine gives list of them. One is in the pos session of Mime. Claitte, whose grand father, Gen. Giraud, picked it up at Marengo At critical moment Bona parte started off at a gallop, and the wind blowing off his hat he did not stop to pick it up.
 Another of the hats, says the London Daily News, is in a little crypt beside Napoleon's tomb at the Invalides. This was worn on the 7th, 8th and 9th of February, 1907, at Eylau, and it is the identical one represented in the colossal picture of the battle by Gros. to be seen in the Louvre. During the peace which succeeded the battle Gros was commissioned to paint the picture, and in order that the figure of the em- peror might be faithfully depicted the hat was given to the painter.
 At the death of Gros in 1885 it was found under a glass case upon a wooden stand, and it was sold by auc- tion among the painters effects for two thousand and forty-sevcn francs fifty centimes to Dr. Delacroix, who presented it to Louis Philippe. The latter. after the famous second funeral of Napoleon, ordered it to be placed be- side the remains with the emperor's crosses and the sword he wore at Aus terlitz. Of the remaining hats, one belongs to Prince Victor Napoleon and another to the museum at Gotha.
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
A New Cereal.

A traveller in the Himalayan noun tain region has discovered that the na- -tives of that country cultivate grain hitherto unknown in civilized agricul- tural operations, which has something the look of wheat but has very much longer ears, and which has peculiar inward curve. The shiny, brown grain, unlike wheat, is, on the other hand, much smaller than wheat grains should
 be for so large an ear. But the inter- est is that a cereal of this character should yield such heavy crops in so high an altitude, where the seasons are necessarily short and the temperature low. The natives call the grain kow-
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
GREAT AMERICAN REsIeNER.
An Expert Bank Accountant Who Takes
 Frequent Vacation Spells.

An Expert Bank Accountant Who Takes
 Frequent Vacation Spells.
 Living in fashionable town within committing distance of New York is a gentleman who invariably attracts at- tention by his long hair. Strangers al- ways conclude that he is nothing less than a great lawyer or bank president. When a reporter for the Commercial Advertiser asked his fellow-townsmen about him he was told the following story: One day the gentleman, who is one of the best accountants in the metropolis, stepped up to the president of the bank by which he is employed and said he had decided to resign, and that the resignation must go into ef- feet immediately. The president was 10th to lose so valuable man and urged him to reconsider the matter. He talked with him for an hour, but to no purpose. The employe, whose skill as a mathematician was beyond any thing ever met with by the officials of the bank, has bound to leave the in. stitution, but absolutely refused to give any reason for doing so. The ac- countant left that day and the bank was obliged to get along as best it could without him. Ten days later the cashier was astonished on entering the bank to find the accountant hard at work at his old desk. The mathema- tician said good morning, just as he had done every day for years before he resigned, but offered no explanation. The president and cashier let their strange acting employe keep at his work and ask no questions. Three months later the accountant went into the presidents office again and ten dered his resignation. 1t was accept ed and the man was absent for week or more. Then he suddenly returned. The same thing was repeated again and again. Now it is a standing joke in that bank that the accountant has resigned. It is his way of taking a vacation. He never stays away more than two weeks.
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
OLD ELIMINATES.
A Pleasing Story of Celebrated French
 Sportsman.

Sportsman.
 The author of Modern Huntints," in La Nouvelle Revue, tells a pleasing story of one of the oldest and most eel ebrated sportsmen of France, Prince de Joinville. The prince is perhaps the ''senior member of hunting soci- ety in this country. He was hunting in the Chantilly forest, as the guest of Due d'Aumale.
 His party met another party which was following deer in the same for est, and some disorder resulted. The prince lost track of the animal that he was following, but he took the disap- pointment philosopbically, and set out to find the deer again.
 On the way he was stopped by an old white-haired peasant, who told him that the deer he was following had passed by there recently. The son of Louis Philippe asked some simple question, but as the old peasant replied he looked at him keenly, seeming to pay more attention to him than to his words. Suddenly he stopped him.
 Wait! it seems to me that I know you, friendl'' he exclaimed
 ''Yes. sir" replied the peasant, in his old, cracked voice, which shook with emotion. "Oh, yes, we have often eaten cakes at 'Auntie Adelaide's.'"
 It was sixty years since they had been children together, but the varied experiences of that time had not made the prince forget his old playmate and servitor, and he delayed his quest for the lost deer to renew the acquaint-
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
The Light of the Far North.

The wonders of the aurora borealis in the British possession just over the line of Alaska cannot be told The heavens all winter long are lit up with a golden glow. Indeed the colors- the sparkles and fashes-are so many, constant and varied that no one cande- scribe them. There is practically no day during the year. For two or three months up to December 15, from nine to twelve o'clock, there is a sort of dawn, but the rest of the time it is night. It is so clear that you can go put and read newspaper anywhere.
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
A REASONABLE OBJECTION.
An English Clergyman Who Protested
 Against a Eema rIxable Name.

An English Clergyman Who Protested
 Against EeIna rISable Name.
 Sometimes in English country par ishes, where the clergyman has been accustomed to have his own way, he protests vigorously if the name pro posed for child about to be christened does not suit him. Occasionally, how ever, he does so upon false premises. James Payne writes in the Indepen- dent:
 The late Dean Burgon, when a curate in Berkshire, was requested by village couple to christen their boy ''Venus," or, as they called it, "Vanus, !"
 Are you aware" he said, that you are asking something ridiculous as well as exceedingly wicked? Do you suppose am going to give Christian child, boy, the name of woman in heathen mythology? How did such a monstrous notion get into your heads?"
 Please, sir" said the father, ''we want him called after his grandfather. |"
 And do you say his grandfather was named Venus?"
 "Yes, sir: there he is, sir"
 A poor old man, looking very unlike Venus, hobbled out of the crowd.
 Do you dare to say you were chris tened Venus?" asked the indignant clergyman.
 ''Wel, no, sir" was the respectful answer, ''I was christened Sylvanus, but they always called me Vanus."
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
Cnrinns Re,ationshins.

Thompson Chandler, Lyons Farms (N. J.) farmer, is the proud father o1 two tboys," the oldest being sixty years of age and the youngest eight. His eldest son has a son forty years old, who in turn is the father of boy six teen years old. The latter is twice the age of his grand-uncle. While Farmer Chandler's eight-year-old son is going to school ct Lyons Farms, his sixty year7old boy is a prosperous business man of Vineland. N. J., and the latter's forty-year- son is bank director
The St. Johns herald., 1894-03-29
OnychODhagy.

NJ. Berillon, a French doctor, who has been directing attention for some time past to the study of nail bit ing, or, as he calls it. onychoplagy, finds that habit or disease extremely common. In a public school in Far.,. says the London Times, out of 2G5 pa- pills examined during the month of April last, sixty-three, that is to say, nearly one-fourth. were addicted to biting their finger nails. Curiously enough, results vary greatly ia differ ent districts and in different schools in the same districts. 1t seems that girls are more given to the habit than boys. In one girls school in the department of Vonne eleven out of twenty-onc were confirmed nail biters. In anoth- CT girls school the proportion was sixty-one out of 207 pupils, and Of those sixty-one fifteen were found to be ir the habit of biting the nails of both hands, and the others of biting oDlE those of one hand. Nj. BcrilIoll reeog nizes that nervousness has much to do with the habit. and he proposes to cure it by means of 'suggcse;on."
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-09-25
A MYSTERIOUS CONVICT.
&c Conceais Ills Identity. but Not His Bril-.
liant ACCOMPLISHMENTS,

&c Conceais Ills Identity. bu. Not Ills bril-.
liam. Accomplishments.
Who is Hogan is question which
has troubled prison officers at the south
srn Illinois penitentiary for years.
Hogan is the brightest convict, intellec-
tually, in the prison and and is one Of
the most valuable because of his versa
tility. Interest in Hogan has increased
materially since Governor Altgeld, a
few days ago. committed his sentence
from rs To 81 years, and on next Christ
mas eve Hogan will transplant his tai
ents to more congenial surroundings
Thomas Hogan, Peggy" Ryan and a
man named Pritchard were beating
their way across the country in 1878,
and one day in September they boarded
a Chicago and Alton freight train in
Greene county, near Carrollton. and
found several other tramps in posses
sion 4 fight ensued During the melee
one Of the tramps was thrown from OF
fell off the train and was killed. Hogan.
Ryan and Pritchard were arrested for
murder. They Were quickly disposed of
At the rate of IS years each in the peni-
:entiary
The prison officers soon recognized
Hogan S superior talents and placed
him where he could render valuable
service. he took a deep and intelligent
interest in every duty assigned to him
and was very quiet, orderly and neat il
everything he did. He never gave up a
word as 10 his parents, relatives or
home. He never wrote letter. except
to his lawyer, or received one, hut ii Is
confidently believed that Hogan is high
ly connected. &c is college graduate.
Said Warden Baker. speaking Of Ho-
gar: do we want translation from
the Greek or Latin inscription. Hogan
does it II any piece Of copy is to be
written in 4 copper plate hand, Hogan
does it in the most elegant manner. If
we require a trial balance made, Hogan
makes it He Is filled with accurate in
formation upon all sorts of subjects and
makes all kinds of calculations with
ease, yet he never volunteers to say q
word unless asked. He appears to be
contented and applies himself diligently
to his duties. Ee is one Of the best pris-
oners we have"
A correspondent met Hogan in the
Office the other day and was greeted by
cordial handshake. 'Yes, ! am very
glad ara going out" he said Il have
been here p years and am anxious for a
change. I have had some very warm
friends here during that time among the
officers, whom ! shall be pleased to sec
again And he led the conversation
away from himself as if he wished to
avoid it-Chicago Correspondent
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-09-25
PUNISHED FOR CURIOSITY.
A Learned Chinese Doctor Pays Dearly r,
q Little Innocent Sirhtsee:nc

A Learned Chinese Doctor Pays Dearly For
Little Innocent Sightseeing.
1t is dangerous to crafty curiosity or
to violate precedent at the Chinese i'm
perial court. The empress dowager is a
great stickler for etiquette. Recently
she required the services of DR.. Ii Te-
chang, vice president of the Imperial
Academy Of Physicians, at Picking, for
one Of the members of her suit at Eho
Park palace. The learned doctor had
never been inside these famous palace
grounds, and his curiosity was fired to
see the many curious objects of which
he had heard wonderful tales. So he
bribed a palace eunuch to show him
around the grounds.
While the two were leisurely walking
about and enjoying themselves the en-
press spied them. She at once dis
patched servants to punish their effron-
terry. The eunuch was seized, thrown
on his face and accommodated with so
blows with the bamboo on the calves of
his fat legs. The doctor was docked
three months pay and received severe
reprimand, while his assistant was or
dered never to venture again into the
empress presence.
The affair created a sensation because
Of the high position of the physician
and of the humiliating punishment
dealt ont to him.-New York Sun.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-09-25
Mr.. John P. Al,reld. Democrat.

Mrs. John p. Altgeld has set at
rest all question as to political con-
victions. She is democrat, and she
is not one of the kind that shirks her
duty, either. She intends to vote at
the coming election. and vote the
straight democratic ticket-that is.
as much of it as she is permitted to
under the law. In a letter read at a
meeting of democratic voters Satur-
day, Mrs. Altgeld says:
Il hasten to say that the statement
that i intend to vote for the republi-
can candidates for trustees Of the
state university is without any foun-
dation and has amazed me. l assure
you shall vote the straight demo-
cratic ticket as far as l cam
That settles the matter finally.
The people who asserted that Mrs.
Altgeld was politically opposed to
her husband are mistaken. Now let
the campaign proceed,