davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27
SHE DECIDED TO LIVE.
And SIX Months After She Didn't Regret
1t the Least.


1t In the Least.
''It is always darkest before tho
dawn" is a saying aptly illustrated by
an anecdote given by Hume Nisbet. in
GA Colonial Tramp" While in Mel
bourne Mr.. Nisbet one evening stepped
under a veranda to avoid shower. A
young woman was there before him,
and from her harassed face and her
restless pacing up and down he judged
her to be in trouble. So it proved.
Suddenly the woman approached him
and said:
would you mind doing me a favor.
sir?"
mo. That is, if can. What is it?''
o. 81 want some medicine from the
chemist over there, but he will not give
it to me: perhaps he would let you
have it,
perhaps. What kind of medicine do
you want?'
"A shillings worth of laudanum.''
s.I'll try" I said, and taking the
money from her was about starting of
when thought occurred to me. and
asked:
''What do you want it for, miss?'
''Toothache. I have it frlghtfully to-
night
.'No. you haven't" I said. quietly.
SIT is hea ~tache that ails you, and you
want to kill yourself"
''You are right" she said: 81 do want
to kill myself. Now. suppose, you will
be for giving me up
mo. would rather help you die if
you are quite sure that you are done
with life. But are you sure?''
Then she told me she was a tailoress,
but most of the trade was in the hands
of the Jews, and they would not en-
ploy her, and she could not get work
elsewhere. She had tried every shop
in Melbourne.
''Then Ill get you laudanum,'' said
''What is it?''
II want you to live until tomorrow
night, and try all round once more. If
yon fail of success meet me here to-
morrow at this hour, and I'll do my
best to get you the laudanum.''
She agreed to that and Il returned
the shilling. Next night I waited in
vain for the young woman to appear.
Six months afterward l was waiting
at the post office for letters when a
pretty. laughing-faced young woman
came up the steps with a young man
beside her. AS soon as she saw me she
6larted forward and shook me warmly
by the hand. 1t was the young woma n
who had wanted the laudanum.
81 got job the next day." she said,
| $50 l did not need to come to you. Bet
: ter still. 1 got husband. say. DEAR
she cried to her companion, who had
joined us, ''this is the young man who
, made me go the rounds again"
Then turning again to me she said:
s'This is my husband. I got a place
after all, and he was the foreman there.
We have been married two months.
I'm very happy and she laughed in a
pleasant manner.-Chicago journal.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27

warmed me through all the long years
oh! SO long," she said, leach one
longer than the other. But I knew
you would come-the opal told me-"
A little later some one said:
why, there is Jach Phelps dancing
with Agnes Wilton! They quarreled
desperately three years ago and she
sent him away. But he is back, like a
moth to the candle"
1.-THE CANDLE" said another. ''is that
magnificent opal ring that she wears.
Jack gave it to her, and it has never
left her hand since he went away"
.Nevertheless,' said Miss Merton, to
whom the conversation was half adj
dressed, 1.-The opal is a stone of evil
omen. I would not wear one for the
world Ana although the night was
warm, she shivered again.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27
The Burglar Camc.

1t was an agent for a big manufac-
turing concern who was talking.
II once got out a poster" he said,
(which started in: Keep your eye on
this; Il burglar is coming This 1 dis
tributed broadcast in the towns in the
northern part of the state, Among
other places, it was hung conspicu-
ously in small grocery and dry goods
store in ono of the towns in that sec
ton.
zone morning the proprietor. when
he opened up shop, found that my no.
tice had been amended to read: Keep
your eye on this: the burglar has
come The correction was made in
pencil marks.
And. sure enough, the burglar had
come. And he carried off Six hundred
dollars in money and goods. "-N. Y.
Sun.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27

, Native Pataeonians, like other saw
age people, have very keen eyes for
certain things-things which their
modes of life have made it indispensa-
bic that they should notice. In other
words, they are specialists, and as a
matter of course they excel in their
own particular line. But it does not
follow that they have better eyes than
are possessed by men Of civilized coun-
tries. Set one of them to find IL re-
versed So in the middle of a printed
page, says Mr.. Hudson, and the tears
would run down his brown checks, and
he would give up the search with ach-
ing eyeballs. But the proofre lder ca II
find the reversed letter in n few mo
mcnts and never strain his eyes in the
least.-Youth's Companion.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27

stroll on the piazza. 1t is pleasanter
there than here in the ballroom. and
vastly better for conversation. Besides,
7 think you are tired of dancing"
mo, never tire of that: the waltz
SIS the path to paradise. for me. But 1
will go outside with you, for it is very
warm here
The long piazza faced the beach, and
the music of the tapping waves mingled
with the strains that came floating out
from where the dancers still gayly
.circlcd. The air from the sea blew
soft and warm, and the moon and the
stars shone down with a soft radiance.
Yet Miss Merton shivered a little rs the
salt wind touched her, and drew her
fimy mantle closer about her white
shoulders.
eve will go inside, if you are cold. -
said her companion, noticing the move
mcnt. Perhaps you are not used to
the night air.
mo. It always makes me cold to
think of an opal They call the light
in them fire. but it chills me instead
of warming. And they arc changing
and trcacheroEs as the sea yonder.'
1.-The sea has been my very good
FRIEND said the other; II have found
that its change rests me-
THAT is all very well, for man.
lieutenant. But a woman needs some
thing different from men. There should
be nothing in their lives to disturb its
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27
NO WONDER WOMEN ARE VAIN.
II IL Cultivated by Their Mothers from
Earliest Childhood.

Earliest Childhood.
Women generally are credited with a
wonderful amount of vanity in their
compositions. And yet when one takes
into consideration the fact that this
characteristic is instilled into their
natures from the time of their earliest
childhood the wonder is that they are
not absolutely unbearable. Mothers
naturally delight in having their little
ones dressed we'll, and among the first
attention that good clothes demand
and the amount of time and labor that
are expended upon them.
Even tiny babies realize when they
arc dressed up, and as time goes on the
love of finery grows with their growth.
and their daily actions and thoughts
are Influenced largely byit. Playmates
lected in preference to those whose gar
ments are not cut in the latest style Or
of the finest material.
More tears are shed because of the
inability to secure new bits OF hnery
than are ever caused by rebul<es or de-
mails of any sort. Clothes are made
the feature in q little girls life that
dominates all other attributes. and
when the child grows to he a woman
people condemn her for being vain and
frivolous when in reality she is but
living up to the earliest ideas that have
been sovvn in the budding mind
If parents do not wish their daugh-
tiers to be called vain and silly they
should at the beginning Undue them
with ideas that are not teemins with
the impressions OF self-adornment
Teach them that life has other aims
and better work, that the noblest ma
lures dwell in the plainest tenements,
and that though it is ones duty to look
well as possible it becomes a sin
~, III IN In
identifying Of the person at the sacri-
fee of other motives that tend to the
accomplishment of Il more gracious
purpose Times.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27
THE WAY TO SIT.

Our Grantlmot Straight rs elk Style Is
the Best One.
When our grandn others were girls
and straight-baclsed chairs instead of
cushioned divans were the usual rest
ing places. the young women held
themselves with straightncss that
it was almost stiffness. Then when
they grew old they still held them
selves like duchesseS. For it is the
way one sits rather than the exercises
one takes that determines the erect
ness of the figure.
A prominent physician says that the
proper sitting position requires that
the spine shall be kept straight and
that the support needed for the upper
part shall be felt in the right place.
Therefore it is necessary to sit as far
back in the chair as possible, SO that the
lower end of the spine shall be braced
against the back of the seat.
If this back is straight the shoulders
will also rest against it; but even if the
shoulders have no point of support, it
will be found that they do not need it
when the base of the spine is supported
properly. This position makes no strain
upon the ligaments Of the spine. Every
organ of the body is properly fixed by
this attitude.
The feet should rest souarely upon
the floor; the hands should rest lightly
in the lap and thus perfect equilibrium,
and rest is secured. The arms should
never be crossed. for that positio n
causes strain upon the spine, places
weight upon the stomach and dia-
phragm and thus increases the labor
of digestion and respiration.
Once in awhile it is a good thing to
place the arms behind the back. giving
as it does the fullest expansion to the
upper part of the body.-N. Y. World.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27
Very Sociable.

Mrs. Murphy was known as n very
sociable woman. She made it Il point
never to pass an acquaintance without
speaking.
One day she met Mrs. Casey on the
street. Good mornin', Mrs. Casey
she said. Glow do yer feel this morn
in? Not thot Oh care at all. Mrs.
Casey, but Oh jist wanted to open the
conversation. boston Budget.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27

The meek arc not those who are
never at all angry, for such are inser1si-
BILE; but those who, feeling anger, con.
troll it, and are angry only when they
Ought to be. Weakness excludes re-
venge. irritabi1ity, morbid sensitive
ness, but not self-defcnse, or o quiet
and steady mafntenancc Of rights
Ehe0phylact
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27
MISS MERToN's CONFESSION.
J BY JAMES KNAPP REEVE.
ICoryrlght. 1893, by the Author.l

} / believe the
opal is a gem of
ill-onen? Do I
believe in life,
in l o v e, in
music? Have I
any little pet
belief that is
dear to my
soul? Let me
tell you a story
for answer.
'sThen let us
go out and
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27

''TliE OPAL WAS GIVEN By 4 MAN TO
THE WOMAN HE SAID HE LOVED"
calm. That is why I hate opals-one
did that for a friend OF mine"
The young officer laughed gently.
Fancy will do much-for a woman
lie said.
eff you arc going to laugh and fling
at our sex, have done!' said Miss
Merton. II can find better amusement
than being laughed at, in the bail
ROOM
81 beg your pardon. 1 will be very
good" he answered. contritely.
For a few moments they walked on
silently, until they were at the furthest
end OF the piazza. Then Miss Merton
began her story. Her voice was low
and musical, and 1T first Lieut.. Phelps
who had long been beyond the sound
of any woman's voice whatever-was
content simply to listen to its smooth
flow. But she had only spoken few
words before he began to find her story
of absorbing interest.
'.This OPAL said Miss Merton, twas
given by man to the woman whom
he said he loved. The man believed in
the evil power of the stone. Now, sir,
you may laugh and have your fling at
us. He was afraid of it, but she was
not. When he told her to choose, she
asked for that, and he gave it to her,
with many a caution. IF any harm
comes to it, harm will come to u.s. he
told her. You must never let it be
upon the hand of another. for then that
one will come between u.s.
s'She promised, of course; but she was
young and careless. and did not much
believe IN looking at the serious side of
life when there was a brighter and bet
ter one to sec.
Tho stone was very beautiful In its
depths it held all the glowing colors of
he f,,~v, 1oa sDS he
chameleon. 1t fascinated me when
looked at it, but frightened me because
it was SO inconStant. AS told you, my
friend was young. She had not yet
learned how very serious matter life
is. The ring kept other men away
from her, curtailed her pleasures. her
p freedom. -
Her companion began some protest,
but Miss Merton stopped him.
.s'Ycs; / know what you are going to
say-that she should have reckoned
upon that-that she would not have
cared if she really loved him. But you
cannot change the nature of a girl in a
day. She found that the ring narrowed
her life, and so one day she put it
away"
.'If she was not willing to wear it,
she should have given it back to the
man who gave it to her, said the lieu
tenant.
!
saidsMiss Merton. -.Hc would have said
that she did not care for him-that she
had never loved him, that she had
played him fa1se--and all the other'nice
things men tell the women they love
whenever their point of view happens
: to be different. So the poor girl did
w hat she thought was best, and laid
the ring away and met him one night
without it upon her hand. I don't
. know what he said to her. he was
so brutal about it that the girls proud
spirit rebelled, as it should have done.
Then she brought the ring to me.
- Helen she said, Il know you love
me. can trust you. He said that II
; any other-,vore it,; that one would come
s between us. Now, want to show him
how silly his superstition is. went
y the ring; but do not want it to be my
tYFRpt Take II end weaF IL Tonight
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27

WHATS the price of an accident
ticket?'' asked the traveller. ''Wcll,'
replied the agent thoughtfully; ''if
you take the last section of the train,
we can make you one out for a quarter.
If you propose to ride in the last car of
the first section we don't want you . t
all.''-Indianapolis journal.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27
of the House

Lady of the House-.'I think You
would suit, but have you a recon-
mendation from your last placer" APP
plicant-'I lived with her two years.
but as we were never intimate she did
not feel that she could conscientiously
recommend me."-Boston Transcript.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27
Matrimonial Item.

Gus DeSmith-I hear Fewscads is 60
ing to marry. I suppose he is very
much in love.
Hostetter McGinnis-No, but he is
very much in debt He is going to
marry a rich widow up in Harlem
Texas Siftings.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27

Mr.. Huggins-''Is Miss Fosdiclx still
president of your society for the sup
preston of slang. Miss Slsidds?" Miss
Sl<idds-'No; she got too fresh and
we turned her down,"-Retailer and
YPbber.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27
Expericntia Docet.

"And you say you should always sus-
pcct a man who is extremely attentive
to his wife?''
II certainly would
'Why?"
because lie would not know how TO
do it unless he had had abundant prac,
tico with some one else. PUCK
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27

Senator White, of California. took
a train at Los Angeles. Cal, at $40 p.
m. Thursday, October 90, and entered
the senate chamber in Washington,
travel stained and weary at 1916 p m,
Thursday, October 81. He made a
quick. trip, and was relieved to find
that the vote on tho McCreary Chinese
bill had not been taken before his ar
rival.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27

-''Wonderful the muscle that Veg.
gle is developing" Using dumbbells,
eh?' ''Oh deah, no; he cawwies two
large chrysanthemums the length of
the hall three times a day,"r-Inter-
OeeAn.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27
Too Early.

s'Been fishing?'
Yes"
''Catch anything?"
Yes
s'What?"
II don't know yet. I'll have to asls
the doctor "--IndGe.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27
Not the Case.

81 am not expecting any package"
said the lady of the house
''This is the number,'' persisted the
driver of the delivery wagon, looking
at his book again. Names Higgins,
amt it?''
"Yes.''
s.No. 374?''
s.That's our number"
''Then it's for you
81 think not. 1t must be a case OF
mistaken. IDENTIFY
''No, mum. It's a case of BEER
Chicago Inter Ocean.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27

''Dey has done brul the engage
ment.''
" ''You doan say sop
'YaSsin deed
"What foh?''
'She done tas'ed persinmon dat
warn't ripe an he misconstrued de
pucker an kissed her. "--Washington
Star.
The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-27

Charlie-Invite me up to dinner to-
night.
James-What's the matter?
'tOur cook has left"
$50 has ours
eyes, but you've had wife ten years
and I've had one only six months. -
Detroit Free Press.
The Progress., 1894-03-03
HIS SPANISH.
lie Murdered the Language and Then "
Murdered Him.

lie Murdered the Language and Then II
Murdered Him.
II have just seen one tendcr!G0'
who died game, said the old miner
to q New York Tribune man, as he
(the old miner) leaned up against the
bar and poured out a couple of fingers
of liquid &destruction His sqme
was johnson and he was from NeW
Jersey He came out to Eattoon, N.
NJ. about ten years ago to start a
bank A week later VIC shipped him
back East in box. johnson would
have goue along all right if he hadn't
run up against our Spanish names out
here. He pronounced San Juan rs IL
it were spelled San Jew Ann and he
mangled San Jose into San Joes, lie
was soon the laughing stock Of the
whole town, and the Gpoor fellow didn't
seem to know what was the matter
| took pity on him and told him that
he was getting all the boys down on
him, and tho sooner he learned to
pronounce Spanish words the better 1t
would be for his health. You have
done me great service, sir " he said
squeezing my hand. i will bear your
kind advice in mind Us long as live
in New Mexico III say hi for u
if it kills me-. The next day
| met him in tho dining
room of the hotel. Hello John
son. how are you getting along
with the lingo out here" | asked.
Very well, thank you he answered
1T seems % little difficult sometimes
but think I'll learn 1t after q time.
See ii | order my dinner right
Waiter I'm in a jury and as jangry
as q hackal Bring me some Jam a~d
eggs duck and currant hclly, and q
hoint of mutton. Jump yourself,
say, and iustle that along in hli1y.
| There was dead silence, The boys
laid down their knives and forks and
stared at Johnson and then at each
other. Come of, you hare-lipped.
moss covered tenderfoot! 60 and
wash out your mouth, at last yellet
old Hank Smith AMI the next minute
the air was filed with flying plates
crusts OF bread, and vinegar cruets
One big potato hit Johnson squire il
the mouth. See jere, sputteced th'
tenderfoot as he got to his feet IN.
name is hannibal Hohnson, and In
from New Hersey. can't jandl
your New Mexico hargon very we'll
but l jain't iar-lipped. won't b
heered at and bumped on il can iel
it That room sounded like shoot
!ng gallery for while and when tn
smoke cleared away we found six me
dead in their chairs and the tender
foot lay curled up under the table a
sull Of bullets as small arsenal,
The Progress., 1894-03-03
BEING STRANCLED.


Something About the sensation OF Man
Who is Being Hanged.
One question often asked, and which
few living persons arc able to answer,
is: What are the sensations OF man
who is being strangulated with q rope?
Some of the few who have lived to
give an account Of what occurred to
them at that critical moment say that
after one instant Of pain the chief
sensation is that Of II mass Of brilliant
colors before the eyes Prof Bough-
ton who was one day testing for him
self what such an experience would
be like, lost his footing and was accl-
dentally discovered and rescued just
as the last faint spark OF lifo was about
TO leave the body. He declared after
wards that he ielt no pain, and that
his, only sensation was that OF fire
before his eyes, which finally changed
from n bright blue to q black color
He said that he had no fear Of the
cons seQuenccs, and that the colOrS
were even q source OF extreme pleas
ure. Captain Montague, who was
partially executed during the religious
wars in France but was rescued, from
the gibbet through the intercesslon OF
Marshal Turenno complained that.
having lost all pam in an instant he
had been taken from light the light
of which defcd description. Comte
la Flure who escaped death by the
breaking Of tho rope. said that after
q second or two of suffering light
composed of various colors appeared,
and across it an avenue OF trees whose
leaves had all the colors of tho rain
bow. All accounts agree that the
fear and horror of hanging Is quite
momentary; that there is little or nc
pain; that even that little is almost
Immediately succeeded by a pleasur,
able feeling and that the rest is obllv'
ious.
The Progress., 1894-03-03
THE PROGRESS.
HIS OWN INVENTION,

y
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V"o o'0 7''S' ''0,',"'''' III '''
ave ''r' o' '''''" ,'''' o''" ''o'0
''lN'"''" '''''' ''''''' ,''','
cor i,'"J 9,''9 ''''0 ''o''' "'''
o'eh Try 'nS 10 mum Uo"H '',' S'aS'
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The Progress., 1894-03-03

The function Of a negro'5 black skin
Is supposed to be the conversion OF the
suns light into heat The heat thus
generated remains in the skin and
does not penetrate to the deeper It's
sues. Being thus provided with a
yun-proof armor. the negro can stand
an amount OF heat that would be fatal
20 a white man and run little or no
risk Of sun stroke.
The Progress., 1894-03-03

The skeleton OF q whale over ioo
feet long, has been discovered buried
in the sands on the shore OF Barnhoff
island, OF Alaska far above the high
tide mark. 1t is supposed to have
been there hundreds of years
The Progress., 1894-03-03
Combination gEat aud smbrelIa.

The pocket umbrella has not yet
arrived but q Florida negro was out
in the rain o few days ago under a
combination hat and umbrella. 1t
was his own manufacture, made OF
palmetto, and it was about three feet
in diameter. He walked about in q
Florida downpour without getting wet
at all,
The Progress., 1894-03-03
Dix Why have you settled on

Hicks-'It seems to be the only
industry in which one is not expected
to begin at the bottom. "-Brooklyn
Life.
The Progress., 1894-03-03

Hicks-'I think l shall bring up
my boy to follow the sea for liveli-
II