davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
Careful Letter WRITING

Graceful letter-writing is an art: and
1t is an undeniable fact that, notwith
standing the superior educational advan-
t t OF the present time, comparatively
few women of the period can write a
Well-eXpressed NOTE The construction is
apt to be awkward, and the whole produc-
ton lacking in that indescrbablc stamp of
culture which the note of well-bred
woman ought to possess.
1t is hard to say just how this state of
affairs has been brought about. for Ger
talnly this most essential part of a young
woman's education has of late been an
parently neglected. Thirty or more years
ago underwriting was an accomplishment:
to be sure, the diction was then some
what labored and the style verbose. but
every well-educated woman understood
the art OF writing letters and notes 1t
may be that the higher branches of edu-
cation are today deemed of more i'm
portance, and that the students time is
too engrossed with them to attend to
what may be termed the purely womanly
accomplishments. In these days. when
two or three hastil y-written pages take
the place Of the old fashioned six or eight
pages, underwriting should reach state
OF perfection; and it is to br hoped that
teachers and parents will become con-
scious OF this need in modern education,
and that the next generation of girls will
be proficient in it.
Facility of expression and readiness of
diction should receive particular attention
i'll Il school course, and practice notes on
every conceivable subject should be fire.
quently written: Let more attention be
paid to composition and less to the modish-
ness of the handwriting. Let that be
natural: it matters little whether the
style be angular, round large or small. 50
long as 1t be legible If there are any who
doubt that underwriting is lost art let
him look over a dozen or more notes of
invitation. regrets and acceptances writ
ten by debutantes and the average society
woman. They are for the most part loose
and crude. Nerbosity is tiresonle, but it
is preferable to brevity that amounts to
curtness. An able rhetorician once said:
If you have not time enough to write
Il letter or invitation correctly, do not
write it at ALL" Higher education has
its great advantages, but young women
wrote better notes in the days of less
pretentious home training and COVER
neSSeS.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
GOSSIP FOR THE LADIES
The Punctuation Points.

Tho Punctuation Points.
Six little marks from school are we.
Very important all agree,
Filled to the brim with mystery,
III Six little marks from school.
One little mark is round and small.
but where 1t stands the voice must fall:
At the close of a sentence, all
Place this little mark from school.
One little mark with gown a-trailIng,
Holds up the voice, never failing,
Tells you not long to pause when hailinR
This little mark from school,
II out Of breath you chance to meet.
Two little dots. both round and neat,
Pause, and these tiny guardsmen greet
These little marks from school.
When shorter pauses are your pleasure,
One trails his swOrd-takes half the meas
ure,
Then speeds you on to seek new treasure,
e This little mark from school,
One little mark, ear-shaped, implies,
keep up the voicc-awalt replies"
To gather information tries.
This little mark from school,
One little mark, with an exclamation.
Presents Itself to your observation
And leaves the voice at an elevation,
This little mark from school,
Six little marks! BE sure to heed us:
Carefully study write, and read us:
For you can never cease to need us,
Six little marks from school.
st. Nicholas.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
Why He was uNarrOw {"

Capt. Chisholm was the guest of =
Highland laird during the shooting sea
son. and was very popular with the house
party. One day the laird fishing with a
gillie. asked him: how he liked the captain.
Donald replied: "Weel, sir he's very
we'll as Il shot, and guild hand ut the
sammon: but he's narrow
FLOWS that?' asked the laird, IL al
ways heard he was liberal"
''Ah. weeI. it's just this way" said
Donald 'The ither day, when l gaffed
Il thirty FOUNDER for him, he asked me
if l would tax a dram, and l said yes.
He began pourin' the whisky into the
cup. and by way O. bein' gentry, | saws,
Stop! stop! stop and dash it, he stoppit!
Az! he's rale airrow!'-Iondon Weekly
Tplerranh
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
He Returned the Signs

In his class at Yale. says Dr.. Snipe.
i'll The Bath (Me.) independent, was a
student who climbed street lanlp-posts
and removed street signs for his room or
namentation. The chief Of police at New
Haven happened by accident one day to
see the signs in his room, and after in
forming him that the fine for thus remov-
ing such articles was s. per sign. inquired
how many he had: The youth replied
Forty The chief said if he would re-
turn them the mischief would be over
looked. On hunting up the signs the stu
dent discovered that he had but thirty
two, and that night he stole eight more
in order to return, as he did next day.
precisely forty signs!
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
TERRIBLE BLACK FLY.
Tho Great Pest of Camping Parties l.
Our Forests.

Our Forests.
Summer Wardrrs who make uirnt
hoarse with excavations at the tuneful
mosquito should tackle the black fly Of
the American wilderness before so out
rageously damning the Jersey insect. Al
though it is smaller than the mosquito,
yet when u brace of black flies are about.
the mosquito isn't lin it,
In it's diet. the black fly is not fartid-
Ous 1t lunches where it lands, without
Formally or by your leave When it de-
parts the tortured flesh rises in bumps
calculated to destroy the reason of the
most level-headed phrenologist The cen
ter of the swelling is marked by IL minute
point. which. if investigated closely.
proves to be a chunk of cuticIe cut bodily
from the victim. The swelling lasts Il
day. always. Sometimes it stays a
week. and with it's departure goes the
salvation of the victim. The aftermath
Of the black fly bite is an ;l1Iery red bump
like unto the rash of measles Some
times it is situated in the middle of a
campers nose
The black fly loafs about all the great
forests of Northeast America. But it
has 10 home. it is always abroad Like
the vulture, it scars iii the crystal at
mosphere looking for whom it NAV de-
your. But unlike the carbon bird it un
fortunately does not wait for the death
or Its prey. 1t prefers 1t alive. a city
man once asked an Adirondack guide:
what the people in the woods had to keen
themselves occupied when there were no
city folks about.
''Oh, WE'LL answered the guide ''some
of us die sometimes, and we fight each
other. and some of US gets shot maybe,
and then up-''we has the
black flies. They keep us busy
And so they do. They come on SHOW
shoes and 20 away Oh skates, and while
they sneak about the woods. campers and
guides and forest-fo:k spend the days
fighting them off. and at night pour them
out of their shoes and pockets and give.
the poor mosquitoes a chance to keep
from starving.
There are three ways of obtaining in
termittent peace from the assaults Of the
b t fly. One by sitting in the sitting.
the second by painting your face with
tar oil. the third by keeping away from
the woods. The last ii really the only
successful method, for where there are
Adirondacks there are black tlies-New
York World
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
SnarrOw in a. Wheel

A sparrow flew into the bar works
factory at Anderson, Ind, and, getting
too near a small flywheel, was sucked
in. The men who noticed it thought
that the end had come for the spar
row and did not shut down the ma
chinery. They ran along until noon,
four hours after the incident, and then
shut down. They had forgotten the bird
They looked over to the pulley and the
sparrow was perched OH one of the in
side braces. He seemed little dazed,
but a moment later jumped off his perch
and flew away The wheel made 81 900
revolutions in the four hours and the
bird was carried around over 1873 miles.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
Centennial Of the House Number

Berlin is preparing to fete the Tooth
birthday of the house number. In the
London and Paris of century ago
cipherel houses did not exist. The coat
of arms, the house name, or the sign
board were the only indications to guide
our ancestors wandering feet by day or
dark. "Watchman, what of the night,
and where the deuce am I?' must often
have been the cry of these bewildered
minds: Berlin began to number houses
in l70o. Starting from the Brandenburg
Gate, the Prussian ediles counted
straight on to infnity, neither beginning
afresh with fresh streets, nor numbering
the houses by odds and evens. Vienna
adopted the latter reform in 1903. and
Paris followed in 1905. The ciphered
house came 100 years ago; the ciphered
citizen is surely coming. Already u
postal society is being formed in Vienna
to suppress all names and addresses, and
to deliver letters by Il system of private
marks ind identity tickets. Our familiar;
addresses will look 100 years hence like
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
Living in a Glass Town.

The prospects are reported bright for
the town of Glassport, Pa, projected
two years ago by the United States
Glass company The concentration of
the sixteen factories now scattered about
the country, ut this town, moving them
there one at IL time as fast as it can be
accomplished without interfering with
the company's trade, will be great I'LL
dertaking. It will require several years
time to accomplish this and upon IT'S con-
summation il community of $4,000 peo-
pie will have been built up. Arrange
ments are nov under consideration for
the erection of IL number of dwellings
for Northumberland
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
CaYuscs as q Pest.

The Indian cayuse is the worst pest
that inflicts this country. The Indian
horses spread all over the ranges, and
are not confined within the reservation
limits. 1t is estimated that $4,000 worth
less wild ponies range unrcstlmincd over
the hills Of this country and dcvour the
good bunchgrass. These cayuses each
eat enough good fodder to fattcn 4-year-
old steer, and one steer is worth more
than ten glass-cycd broncos. If we could
enact law to declare every pony of
an assessed value of less than 81 a public
nuisance. it would add materially to the
prosperity of this country.-Lewiston Tel
ler
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
Prayer Disturbed.

In one of the largest and richest
churches of B. one Sunday the minis
ter was very much disturbed during his
prayer by the untimely shaking down of
one Of the huge furnaces.
A little later both the minister and con-
gregation were very much startled by
most godly deacons coming up the reg
lister. Thomas" they heard. Thomas.
what in Il do you mean by making
such racket right in the middle of the
minister's prayer?'-Boston Budget,
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
"A Rental or One Red Rose.

year ago we gave an account of the
ceremonial payment of Il red rose to the
heirs of Baron Henry William Steigcl
for the church and cemetery in the Dor
ough of Mannheim, Pa, which the baron
gave to the congregation. Fearing that
the property might at some time be
claimed by his heirs, there was a proyiso
in the deed that an annual rental of one
red rose should be paid for il. From M
elaborate account of this ceremony In Il
recent issue Of the Mannheim Sun, this
rose festival has come to be one sc the
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
important Change.

An important change has been made at
Cambridge by the introduction of an Eng
lish essay into the Little-go. as well as
into the tripos and special examina tons
This sensible proposal was so strongly on.
posed that~t was carried in the Senate
by only Is votes. This change has been
caused by the fact that in the final ex-
amnations lately many candidates have
been found scandnlously deficient in the
power of writing clear and grammatical
English. The first years essays are to
BE- on the subject Of SCOTS Legend of
Montrose. LONDON Truth
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26

most Interesting events in that part of
Pennsylvania. The Oldest descendant of
Baron Steigel, Mrs. Rebecca Boyer of
Harrisburg, the great-grand-tla Of
the baron, who is now 81 years old, re-
ceived the tribute from the pastor of
the church. There was much music and
oratory and historical "reminiscences, with
display of old tapestry and floral dec
Grafton of the most lavish character
Garden and Forest.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
Honest Batch er.

There is an honest and jolly butcher
who does business on Sixth avenue. not
5.ar from Central park. He is a large.
heavy man. his wife is almost as heavy,
md his grown daughter weigh nearly
200 pounds. 1t is customary for this
Welghty family to take a ride in the
butchers delivery wagon every Sunday
afternoon, and the trio. dressed in holi-
day hnery. present very imposing APP
learance. The women are particularly
iond of bright colors. One or two Sun
days ago the party appeared on River
Idle drive and attracted much attention.
The complacent butcher and his female
companions seem to more than fill the
stout wagon, and doubtless they were
wholly unconscious of the reason for the
merriment caused by their appearance.
On each side of the wagon was painted
in bold, black letters the words;
Dressed Beef"'-New York Record.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
Neutrality-suspicious. NJ cant Cabbage

A vessel being ready for sailing, the
captain ordered new hand to take a
boat to shore and buy 10 shiings' worth
of vegetables. Not being certain of the
meaning of the word. the man appealed
to the first individual he met Il say,
mate. what might vegetables be?'
'Negetables:' the stranger reDlied.
why, peas are vegetables. for instance"
''That'n do said Jack.
Having got his sack filled with peas,
he pulled back to the ship, and when
alongside the captain called out, "Have
you got those vegetables?'
eyes, sir
"All right" said the captain, ''then hand
them up one by one
by Cad" said Jack. ratching his
head, II have got job now. and no mis-
take. '-IOndOn Weekly Telegraph
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
New Use for the I,asso.

A New York policeman detailed to ar
rest bicyclers who were riding at reck-
less speed in the vicinity of Gramercy
park, was reprimande1 by his superior Of
fcer for not being quick enough to catch
the offenders. The policeman. who had
lived in the West. went to the nearest
hardware store and provided himself with
thirty feet of clotbesine Within nm hour
he lassooed two riders and landed them ID
the police station.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
Four Wonderful Cats.

There lives out in Flatbush, which, as
you know, is a part of Brooklyn, a very
clever boy, who has made great success
in training cats to do odd tricks. Now, a
cat is the very worst animal in the world
to train. Tabby has short memory. and
is twice as willful as the most stubborn
dog. But Freddie Atkins-that is the
young cat trainers name-has succeeded
in teaching not one cat but four of them
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
The Bottle Of Catsup Went OF.

Mrs. Cass Bisant of GAINESVILLE went to
the refrigerator, and taking bottle of
catsup, placed it against her side and at.
tempted to pull the cork when the bottle
exploded. a piece of the glass pierced
her side and struck against rib, staying
its progress. The wound is a painful one,
and the attending physician is of the opin,
ion that the injury would have been fatal
had not the glass struck a rib.-Cleveland
IDrs,
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
A Fruit DIE,

The hygienic Importance of fruit die,
is becoming more and more recognized
If only ripe and good fruits are used. the
natural appetite for them may be trusted
almost implicitly. In many instances. n
supposed disorganization of the system
through tho generous consumption of some
favorite fruit food may be but the work
of clearing and regenerating the body
doing that which actually needed to be
done, and which is much better performed
in that way than through the agency of
drugs und dosing. The habitual eater of
fruits rarely complains Of IN torpid liver"
or sluggish action of the bodily forces.
And il Is this torpidity and sluggishness
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26

An English captain named Burke.
serving in Bengal who went bear hunt.
ing. in the mountains lately, was Mt
tackled by g beast he had wounded. His
J seryant went to his rescue, when the
.of Z precipiee 1000 feet. deep.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
Arc Wives Mendicants?


Said bright club woman recent y:
lit is an open question whether some
men regard their wives as an employee,
whose services are given without salary,
or as Il mere mendicant. That this is
not an extreme view is proven by the
fact that the marriage partnership is re-
garded in almost every instance as diff
5ferent from business partnership,
whereas there are number of reasons
why one should he regarded in much
management of the home, her care of
the house and children, her subsection
to all the trials and annoyances of daily
domestic life, her solicitude for the thou
sand and one details that come under her
attention. these and many other things
may fairly be set off as II full business
equivalent for the husbands financial
support. Yet how few, comparatively.
can see it in that light. A clever South
this subject, said: NO man can possibly
understand how Il sensitive woman
shrlnks from asking for money. The
normal condition is for the wife to be
as hard worked at home as her husband
is i'll his office, and in this case it is fair
to regard it as an equal partnership, in
which both partners have right to
share the profits, and there is no giving"
about it. If she keeps house she is at
least entitled to what you would pay a
housekeeper; if she does the duty of gov
erness let her have the compensation
of one; if she does the duty of cook
she earns cooks wages. Do not regard
all these economics simply as something
to be saved to the husbands pockets;
the saving has no place in his pocket
it belongs to that of his wife. You do
not expect anyone else to keep house or
teach for her board and lodging; then
why ask the wife to do it? If penny
saved be as good as Il penny earned. her
saving should count as earning. l am
satisfied that if there could come sud
den revelation of all hearts we should
be astOunded ut the amount of soreness,
chatting and secret unhappiness which
exists beneath multitude of roofs in
the. hearts of seemingly happy wives,
and which could be instantly removed
by the certainty of even a small income
which they could call their own Either
Il wife should be in the domestic estab-
lishment recognized partner, with all
the rights of partner, or she should
be Il salaricd officer, with the rights
which that implies. In no case should
she be mendicant. a just partner
ship between man and wife, and a recog-
milton of equal financial rights, would do
away with this continual and unjust hui
initiation endured by wives, who undergo
this perpetual ordeal of asking" their
husbands for money
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
Buried Treasure saved from a Fire

Insurance adjusters, who visited the
scene of fire ten miles south of Rich
mond, Ind, returned with tale of hid
den treasure that is remarkable and true
in every respect. Near the sleepy old
town Of Arlington there has resided for
many years family named Weber. The
father Of the household died about two
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26

the beginning of an algebraical problem,
and our personality will be reduced.
like the government majority-to a mere
expression of naughts and crosses-Pall
Mall Gazatta w..
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
The YOunr Czarina.

ola IN July, beautiful, desperately Ill love
with her husband, and that is the En-
An American lady thus describes an
audience with her lately:
First. one must be notified by the grand
mistress of the court at what hour her
majesty will receive. She is in the coun-
try now, so the lady left st. Petersburg
at the hour appointed. Arriving at the
country station, a magnificent ffootman
Nine. A. Being told Yes he escorted
her to court carriage, where driver
and footman were in brilliant liveries and
wore cooked hats.
After drive of twenty minutes
through picturesque park the chateau
was reached. At the door stood num-
Der of servants in gay liveries.
The lady was taken to room done all
in red satin, where the lady-in-w waiting,
ice from cups of the finest Sevres. A few
moments elapsed before it was announced
that the Empress was ready, so the lady
was now shown into very large room
done in blue satin. Coming to meet her
was Il girl looking very young, quite fair
and rather tall. This was the Empress
She was dressed in black chiffon. the
for the late Emperor. At her neck she
wore Il small miniature of her husband
the young Emperor. 1t was surrounded
by immense diamonds. On her fingers
were many splendid rings and on her
arms bangles of chains, each clasp a
large stone. In her ears were splendid
pearls.
She was very shy at first, but afterward
most charming, and talked entirely about
her family. whom she loves and whom
the lady knew.
The audience lasted about half an hour,
when the. young Empress withdrew. leav-
ing charming impression of youth,
beauty and simplicity. The lady was
then shown over the chateau. In one of
the great halls were the wedding presents
of the Amer of Bokhara, which had just
arrived; Il collection of costly rugs. masses
of shimmering, splendid stuffs. and a
great tea service of gold inlaid with uncut
stones.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-26
New Costume,

Among other stories told Of the late
William Travers is the following:
He one day met very bal,l-heade,l
friend, who, after some conversation.
asked TravcrS' advice in regard to
costume for an approaching fancy dress
party.
No sooner had the question been asked
than Travers replied "Wh-wh-why DID
don't you p-p-put some sh-sh-st-sugar on
your h-l,-h head. and g-g-go as Il p-p-p-
pillT'--BoSton Budget.