davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-11
TREASURES UNDER THE SEA.
Fortunes Sometimes Brought Up from
Long Sunken Wrecks.

Among the ships which have sunk
with immense sums of value upon them
is Torrent, French line-of- battle shin
blown up by Nelson at the battle of the
Nile. 1t had ON board specie to the am.
CUNT of 5000, 600, besides other treasure.
the spoil of raid on "a Roman Catholic
church at Valetta, and an immense
quantity of other vaiuables The vessel
had been dispatched to Bonaparte, the
money to be used in paying the army. A
sword and other relics have been recov.
cred, but until the present date no at
tempts to recover the immense treasure
have been made.
The Lutine. a ship which sailed from
Yarmouth Roads in 1899 for the Texel.
laden with an enormous quantity of
treasure, was wrecked in gallo off Hol-
land. Salving operations during eighteen
months resulted in the recovery of about
s400, 600 After that numerous attempts
to recover more met with no success till
1857, when $3.50, 900 was brought up.
A remarkable case of recovery Of specie
is recorded in 1906, when sixty two chests
of dollars. amounting to the value of
about $3.50, 600, were fished I'D by means
of p diving bell from the A5ergavenny,
sunk some years previously at Wey-
mouth
Another very notable case not only
for the amount of treasure on board, but
also for the big "windfaIl'' for the salvors
is that Of the Thetis, British frigate,
wrecked off the coast of Brazil, in IS 80,
with 100000 in bullion on board. The
hull went to pieces, leaving the treasure
at the bottom in five or six fathoms of
water. The. admiral of the Brazil station
and the captains and crews of four sloops
pf-war were engaged for eighteen months
In recovering the treasure The service
was attended with great skill, labor and
danger and four lives were lost. A good
deal OF litigation was the result, as dis
putes arose bewteen the parties as to the
amount OF reward Ior the saIvors.
One of the most recent cases of success-
ful Saving operations is that of the
Spanish mail steamer Alfonso XII.
bound from Cadiz to Havana, in Feb
ruary. 1895, and sunk off Point Gando.
Grand Canary, in twenty-five fathoms of
water. She had on board treasure val.
ned at $500, 900. The Underwriters who
had insured the vessel organized sal.
wing expedition, which was dispatched
to the scene of the wreck in the follow
Ing May. A few months later most of the
specie was recovered.
Some Danish spectators are reaping a
harvest of golden grain from the DEPTHS
of the sea which washes the coast of Jut
land. Some years ago the British steam
ship Helen, laden with copper, foundered.
All her cargo has been recovered. The
steamer Westdale, laden with 2, 600 tons
OF iron, went down off the Danish coast
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-11

snerln, and the first year he held the office
white man was sentenced to be hanged
l knew the doomed prisoner and at his re-
quest was with him several hours day
for the last week of his life
"The sheriff came in the first time
was there, and addressing the prisoner
said: Souse me, Mars Bob. 1 hab jess
come fur jess little advice. Yo' see, we
amt neither OBJ us used ter ceremonious
occasions OBJ dis kin, an jess wants ter
knowshow yo' would like ter hab de gal
lows, facin de sun or de oder way
"The prisoner told him to have his face
away from the sun.
"'Thank yo, Mars Bob. I'll done hab
it dat way. We dom want ter make no
expositions OBJ ourselfs by not doin what
is propah on SIGH events
"Upon the next occasion the sheriff
came in:
Mars Bob, scuse me one moment,
gemmen. I jess wants ter hab yo' show me
once more how yo' done tie dat knot.
Mos curiosest knot I eper Seed
Upon the morning of the fated day, as
I went in, the sheriff had the doomed
mans foot thrown over chair and was
blacking his boot, the other one having
already been polished.
g 'Mawnin, sah!' he said to me. Mars
Bob jess gittin ready. I done borrered a
suit an neoktie from de cunnel an jess
slickin i'm up. Den gifts inter my own
dress suit dat I had made puppus an
Mars Bob an me, we gwine ter be de bes'
dressed OBJ anybody
"Arrayed in full evening dress, the con-
victed man and the sheriff mounted the
scaffold when the time came. AL right
now, Mars Bob! said the sheriff as he ad-
iusted the cap. 'Scuse me, sab, jess a
minute and he touched the fatal
spring. Washington Star.
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-11
CRICKET ON THE HEARTH.
A Christmas Incident of John Q. TooIe and
Sir Henry Irving.

In England there is one actor who has
been closely identified with Dickens parts
and who has acted in adaptations of all
OF the great novelist's principal Christ
mas books. John L. Toole, in addition
to his fine impersonation of Bob Cratohit
and Caleb Plummer, has also made sue
oesses as Trotty Week in "tThe Chimes"
pathetic and admirable performance
as the sour and disconnected Ben Britain,
in 1.-The Battle of Life" and as the news
man Tetterby in "The Haunted Man.
There are many stories, both pathtice
and humorous, told of Mr.. Toole's con-
nection with these plays, but perhaps
none show more clearly a certain phase of
stage life than one which the comedian
tells himself in his "Reminiscences"
apropos Of the charming drama of ssDot, !"
the stage version of 'fThe Cricket on the
HEARTH 1t may be noted, in passing,
as an aside, that the venerable Mrs.
Kelley, whose Goth birthday has just been
celebrated in London, was the original
Dot when the first DEMONSTRATION of the
book was produced. Mr.. Toole tells us
that once when playing Dot in he
Provinces, with Irving as John Perebin-
gle and Brough as Tackleton, he himself,
OF course, being cast as Caleb Plummer,
the actress who played Bertha, the blind
girl, was taken suddenly ILL., She lay in
her dressing room in a dead faint, two
acts of the play Lad been given, and there
was no understudy to finish her part
AT last an actress was found who con-
sented to go on and read tho part of the
blind girl. Irving, in quiet way, saying
that it would certainly be novelty.
Irving announced to the audience that
the part would be read on account of the
illness of the actress who had played the
preceding acts, and came from the front
of the curtain, remarkng that it was "a
rum go" and the play went on.
Under the doctors care the fainting lady
came round, and when she learned who
was to go on in her place, she leaped to
her feet with an emphatic Never
Neverp" So when the time came for the
pathetic entrance of the blind girl to
Caleb Plummer and Dot, who were on
the stage, there was quite disturbance
at the wing, which even the audience
could hear.
You shall not go on
81 must
"You shall not, I say
i don't care; l am better, and | am
going on
There was scuffle and the original
blind girl, for whose illness Irving had
apologized, came bounding on with
look of defiance in her widely opened
eyes.
The audience laughed heartily and ap
plauded vooferously, and when the actress
began to speak she winked at the house,
as much as to say, 'sThey don't get over
me-" and the play proceeded. Tho spirit
and intention of the scene was spoiled,
but the audience enjoyed it hugely.
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-11
THE KITCHEN HER THEATER.
Mary Anderson's Story of Where She Di,
Her First Acting.

Mary Anderson's Story of Where She Did
Her First Acting.
In the south most of the servants were
negroes. Among ours was little mulatto
girl (''nut brown maid" she called her.
self whose chief attraction to me was
her enthusiasm for the theater. One night
IN desperation / went to her while she
was washing dishes in the kitchen and
there unfolded all my hopes It was to her
l first acted, and it was she who gave me
my first applause. The olapping Of those
soapy, steaming hands seemed to me
veritable triumph. Believing that tragic
manner alone would sufficiently impress
the situation on the ''nut brown maid"
began with hollow voice and much fur
rowing of the brow, 'Juli, wilt thou fol.
low and assist me when I quit my child.
hoods home to walk in the path of Sid.
dons, Kemble and Booth?' ooh, Miss
Mamie, you kin count on dis pusson, TO-
de Lor you kinl Why my stars, what
boss actor you is! But you mus low ms
to call your maw." And in trice she was
gone.
A few moments later she re-entered the
kitchen with my mother, who was greatly
surprised by my performance in the fourth
act of The Lady of Lyons which could
not have been acted in a more appropriate
part of the house. She, in turn, called the
critic of the family, DR.. Griffin, who, like
wise, was astonished, and made my heart
beat with joy by saying: "Youll make a
good actress some day. Your scene has
thrilled me, and would rather have
rough work and a good thrill than any
amount of artistic work withou5 it,
Spurred on by such encouragement, I
worked harder than ever, often staying I'D
half the night to get some effect while try
Ing to look into the heart and mind of the
character under study. After that even
ing In the kitchen, I read scenes or acted
them nightly to our small household, usu-
ally from Hamlet, Richard" or Schil-
lers Maid Of Orleans. MARY Ander-
son IN North American Review,
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-11
sEMIcoLoN A SUPREME COURT.
A Legal Treatise on Punctuation or a
Changed Method Needed.

1t appears, that, If the matter has been
correctly reported. the force of law be-
fore the Supreme Court for construction
depends upon semioolon. That mark
Of punctuation may change the whole
tenor OF an important act in the Legisla-
ture. 1t is not the first time that the
semicolon has made trouble in laws. A
semicolon in two or three sections of tar
III laws has led to decisions hostile to
the revenue and to home industries. 1t
was some trouble Of that nature in the
Morrill, tariff act which gave the tin-plate
industry to Great Britain. 1t was a
semicolon which caused thousands to be
refunded to the importers of women's hat
trimmings, though the intent of those
who passed the law was perfectly clear.
In these instances, and probably in the
law of Indi ana, over whose semicolon the
Supreme Court is said to be cogitating.
the trouble seems to arise from an in
ability to fix the function of the semicol
on. In the rules of punctuation in the
old Webster's spelling book the comma
Indicates ga pause long enough to count
one, and the semicolon "a pause long
enough to count two," the colon
three" and the period "four," with a.
fall of the voice. If those who have been
writing rules for punotuating compost
tions had stopped there, we would not
have had all this trouble, but these
teachers have been going on making new
rules for years until no one can undertake
to follow them, but each punotuates &C.
oording to his pleasure, rather than his
familiarity with rules. Many writers
have adopted the plan of punotuating as
little as possible, leaving the reader to
gather their meaning from their clearly
constructed sentences rather than from
the interjections of commas and semi
oolons. Unfortunately, the verbosity and
intricacy of the language and construc-
ton, or lack of construction, in which
statutes are written, renders punctuation
necessary. This being the case, it seems
that so much trouble comes from the in
use of punctuation marks
that there should be legal treatise on
that subject, defining the force of the
through the statutes.
Ii this cannot be done, why should not
hose who must construe the laws con-
slder them with view to ascertaining
what was the design of the legislative
bodies which enacted themP Why not
have Judges take the laws without
punctuation mark, except periods, and
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-11

A proud mother was congratulated re-
Gently on the remarkable record of her
daughter in her Latin studies at college.
Il am glad when l see pupils prof.
cheney In Latin" the teacher who spoke
Went on, from mercenary standpoint,
IL from no other. 1T is fact there are not
SO many ready and able to teach Latin in
this country as Greek, for instance / feel
as If a girl or boy who is an adept at
that has the means Of earning livelihood,
as we'll as an elegant department. of learn.
ing thrown open in which to acquire what
cannot be gained from any other Ian.
guage, "-Philadslphia Press.
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-11
OUT IN THE OPEN SEA.
A Lighthouse To Be Erected off Cape Hat
teras.

A difficult and costly piece of engineer
ing has been undertaken by the United
States Government in the projected estab-
lishlnent of a great lighthouse in the open
ocean off Diamond Shoal, seven miles
from the present Hatteras Light and bear
ing almost due east. This is one of the
most daring schemes that army officers
have dealt with since General Casey.
chief of engineers, successfully under
mined the great Washington monument
and placed there solid foundation ex-
pected to support that structure for ages
to come. Surrounding this new plan,
however, there is foreboding of failure.
and 1t is predicted thus early that 81, 600, :
900 is to be sunk literally as we'll as meta
phorically in the sea.
If such structure is placed there and
stands without serious damage the on
slaught of the seas five years, according
to leading army enign eer, this Govern
meat will have accomplished its greatest
triumph in this branch of science.
The height of the focal plane above
water In the prospectus is given as 100
feet, and the structure is to stand in thir-
ty-three feet of water and to be supported
on disk piles sunk to depth of thirty feet
in the sand The diameter from centre
to centre of vertical members of the
foundation series is to be sixty feet, and
the height of the floor of the house above
water forty feet The main portion
OF the structure is to be constructed of
forged steel mem 5ers, with principal
joints and connections formed of steel
castings.
A special feature Of the design is to
make all essential parts below the water
line of massive dimension, as we'll as all
those parts above the water line which
will be subject to the action of wind and
waves. The use of bolts, keys. screws and
other small sections or dimensions which
would be rapidly weakened by corrosiop.
will be avoided as far as possible. Joints
and connections are to be made absolute
ly rigid to all possible strains ami to be
as strong as the members themselves.
This is to be effected by joining erds Of
members to steel cast hubs by the use of
massive steel ri ngs shrunk on in a man.
ner approximately that followed in "built.
up" gun construction.
In the foundation series. besides the
massive members necessary for the
strength of the tower when in place. there
will be certain other tie rods of liebfer
sections, which are added for greater se-
purity to stiffen the framework while it
is f1oated and while being placed and
grounded on the shoal. 1t is.proposed by
the board to construct the screw pile
structure in the harbor and float it out by
steel cylindrical caissous calculated to
give draught of thirty feet when at sea.
This part Of the light lie then to be sunk
probably fifty-feet down in the bottom by
hydraulics until firm hold IL secured.
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-11
tim ay Do as M UGH for You.

Mr. Fred Miller, of Irving, Ill, writes
that he had Severe Kidney trouble for
and also that his bladder was affected.
He tried many SO called Kidney cures but
without any good result. About a year
ago he began use of Electric Bitters and
found relief at once. Electric Bitters is
especially adapted to cure of all Kidney
and Liver troubles and often gives almost
instant relief. One trial will prove our
statement. Price only 800 for large bot
tie. At Geo NJ Young's. Drug Store, 49S
Congress ST. II. G. Starr, Westbrook.
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-11
CLOVER.

Little masters, hat in hand,
Let me in your presence stand.
Till your silence solve for me
This your threefold mystery.
Tell me-for long to know
How, In darkness there below,
Was your fairy fabric spun,
Spread and fashioned, three in one.
Did your gossips gold and blue,
Sky and sunshine, choose for YOU
Ere your triple forms were seen,
Suited liyeries of green2
Can ye-if We dwelt indeed
Captiyes of prison seed
Like the genie, once again
Get you back into the grainf
Little masters, may stand
In your presence, hat in hana
Waiting till you solve for me
This your threefold mystery?
John B. Tabb in Youths Companion.
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-11

punctuate them in manner which will
enable them to be construed so as to carry
out the intent of the Legislators who en-
acted them? "a fact which could be as
certained by inquiry it it was not de-
olared in the titles of the acts themselves.
Why make an indefinite semicolon, which
an engrossing or enrolling clerk might
have substituted for a comma or some
other punctuation mark, so important as
to annul or change the meaning of lawP
indianapolis Journal
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-11

1t is then proposed to build up from the
skeleton arrangement until the lightkeep-
er's apartments have been completed and
the height secured for the great lens
which is TO throw it's light twenty five
miles in all directions
The work is to begin this Winter, and
it is proposed to complete the light in
two or three years. Washington Times.
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-11
He Was Polite.

"The most polite man I ever knew"
said J. d. Evans of Mississippi to Star
reporter, twas colored man down in my
county. He belonged before the war to
Colonel White, one of the most cultured
and polished gentlemen in the south. Dur
ing reconstruction days Tom was elected
Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-01-11
Observation-Disclosures
DUN'S REVIEW OF TRADE.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


New York, January 10.-R G. Dun &
Co. S weekly review of trade, which is
sues tomorrow. will say:
The new year begins with such I'M
certainty that business is somewhat
retarded. The proposed sale OF bonds
offers ground for confidence in the fu-
ture. but no one is able to determine
what its earliest effects may be in the
money market, and for the time it is a
cause Of hesitation more than hopeful
ness. Speculation in products has not
been active. Wheat is about cent
higher, and corn the same, without dis
tinct reason in either case, for the gov
eminent report, tardily conforming to
commercial estimates of some months
ago, did not command great confidence.
The industrial situation has not ma
terially changed. There is much hest
taliOn in the iron business. with some
advance in Bessemer pig because Of the
expectation that COnnellsyille coke and
lake ore will both be dearer, and yet
finished products of iron and steel are
on the whole quoted a little lower, and
the nail association is still in session 20
determine whether it will abandon the
effort TO maintain q fixed price. That
branch Of business is extremely slow,
nothing is doing in rails, and while
there is a rather better demand for
sheets and plates. and several good or
derS are reported for structural work,
angles are quoted a shade lower
Everything turns on the contracts for
ore. which are still unsettled, but the
great excess in production of pig iron
over the present demand is no longer
denied, and it is expected that quite a
number Of the furnaces will presently
discontinue production. Lower prices
for Alabama iron renew competition
with Eastern furnaces Sales of wool
are large, although a large part of the
purchases is of a speculative character,
based upon the belief that prices may
be advanced if the new tariff bill goes
into effect. The opening of wooden
goods shows a further tendency toward
lower prices.
Failures for the week have been 491
in the United States against 42O last
year, and SO in Canada against "a last
year.
Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-01-11

An men who detest falsehOOd and by
pocr.sy must rejoice atthe publication of
President Clevelands letter to Senator
Caffrey. Of Louisiana. Mr.. Cleveland
with a stroke Of his pen tears the fimsy
mask from the contemplate scheme Of
a cOterie Of Republican and Populist
demagogues m the United States Sen
ate TO cast d.scredit upon the admins
tration's patient and p5triotic efforts to
maintain TO the best advantage the credit
of the nation in the absence Of any help
whatever from Congress and in the face
Of the active opposition Of the majority
in the Senate.
The Presidents clear and forc.ble
statement of the administrations action
in the matter Of the bend issue, and his
unequivocal denial of the con-
temptble and malicious charges
against the administration made by
scheming politicians and d5magOgues in
the Senate and exploited through the
buncombe resolution Of Senator Elk.ns,
who thus staked his honor in a play
for popularity and lost. must carry con-
v.c,.ol to the mind Of every honest man
and patriotic citizen In the country.
With a firm master hand. and with
his usual sound sense and excellent
Judgment, the President thoroughly
vindicates the administration and at enc
stroke tears aside the screen Of false
hood and hypocrisy, revealing the eX-
IRENE Httleness Of the political schem-
ers who have been Tampling on the ma
tons credit IN Their efforts to climb into
popularity.
Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-01-11

testimony in regard to alleged defects n
armor plate furnished by Carnegie &
Go. attracted some attention year or so
ago. It is stated that Captain Samp-
son and another officer Of the Bureau
had taken out patents for armor plate
which were subsequently sold to Car
negie & Co. and to the Bethlehem Iron
Company; that the issues of such pat
ents had been expedited at the request
OF these officers; that competitors had
not been able to bring their inventions
to a test because the Navy Department
was against them; and that navy officers
, On leave had acted as salaried agents
Of Carnegie & Co. to sell armor plate
patents to foreign Governments, after
this Government had expended many
thousands of dollars in experimenting
upon such patents at Indian Head, with
deal more Of like charges.
It is very likely that on full invest;-
gatiCn all tbese\ miscellaneous charges
VII be explained in way perfectly
consistent with the honor and integrity
Of the officers said to be implicated. If
the am Of Senator Chandler be to make
party capital out of this matter he will
not reach MS mark; for Secretary Her
bert IS as clear of all blame as was
his Republican predecessors. Secretary
Herbert in technical matters is obliged
to rely upon Chief Sampson, just as
Secretary Tracy relied upon Chief Fol-
ger.
There is one count n this indictment
by Secretary Chandler which was very
properly erased by the Senate. This
was conveyed in the Inclination that the
United States Government pays more
for armOr than Russia pays for the same
armor 10 the Bethlehem Iron Com
pany. If the Bethlehem Iron Company
sold armOr plate at a loss to Russia
in competing with English and German
bidders in order to keep its immense
works in operation, that IS its own bus
ness. The company is not obliged to sell
TO this Government on the same terms
the armor plate for the especial produc-
tion of which it has established an
enormous plant at a great outlay Of
capital. BY the law Of Congress the
armor plate furnished the United States
Government by the Bethlehem Iron Com
pany must be made exclusively out Of
American materials; while under the
Russian contract the company can buy
its materials wherever it may please
which might make some difference.