davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

/ MADE A CUT.

roll after roll Of parchment-like SUBJ
stance shaped like a toe. 1 awoke in
terrible fright and felt a strange
lishness in that toe. Unable to go
asleep again rose, under the pretense
Of cutting the nail and found"-he
dropped his voice to whisper-"that
the dream was quite true. l tried to
cut the nail and discovered. as you will,
chat could have clipped on the whole
thing without feeling 1t, as 1t was
really nothing but parchment"
He flung himself back in his chair
as II to say: Il have told you all and
you must help me-"
81 will help you, old fellow" said.
aloud, then for one moment covered
my face with my hands and In that
brief time mapped out the course to
follow. / could see that the horror of
his dream had 80 wrought upon his
fancy that II had become a reality
which could not be dispelled by
laughter or scorn. Going to the door
| locked 1t as IL to secure the great
est privacy.
Remove your shoe and let me make
an examination" commanded.
He did so and found the toe in per-
feet condition, except that the nail had
been trimmed a little too short had
no doubt that this was the cause of
the dream which had produced such
an effect His brain, for some reason
not clear to me, was In such a condi-
ton as to render this dream 30 vivid
that he had accepted II as reality. As
l knew from my experiences in deal
ing with patients laboring under hallu-
einations in the asylum, nothing could
say would convince him that Il was
only the fancy Of an idle brain. II
was best, then decided. not to waste
time In vainly trying to show him his
error.
/ had known OF q somewhat similar
case ut the insane asylum. A patient
conceived the idea that his head was
turned backward and insisted upon re-
yersing his clothing. buttoning every
thing In the back. and even walking
backward. The physician was finally
obliged to humor him by giving his
head O severe wrench ito turn II
around to It's proper position" before
he was satisfied to don his apparel In
the customary way.
yam" said. yours Is an unusual
case and unusual means must be used
for its cure Are you brave enough to
submit to heroic measures to save your
toe. perhaps. indeed. your life event.
for this mysterious change may affect
the whole system IL not checked at the |
beginning"
He shuddered. but answered firmly:
4 consent to whatever you think beat.
II am crippled my career Is ruined.
Imagine my limping on the stage to do
love parts." and he laughed bitterly.
He knew the nckle public 50 wen that
h realized Il he disappointed It in any
gEy 4 would without compunctson de-
t>rrpe IN and put another ldol = his
The broad ax., 1896-11-28
sumatra's Marveiou. volcaua.

There are Asany mud volcanoes
scattered throughout the world, but
there are few whose action is so rega-
lar and so characteristic as that Of
Dempo, in the island Of Sumatra. This
marvellous volcano, about 10000 feet
in height, was visited recently by Q
correspondent, who thus describes It.:
All was quiet and placid and I sat
down a while to take in the details Of
a scene so novel; a vast circular basin,
half a mile in diameter. with rocky
sides Of sheer precipices, displaying at
places horizontal strata, and at the bot
tom Of this another smaller basin, some
200 feet in diameter, filed to within
about thirty or forty feet Of its rim,
with a smoking substance, like bur-
nished silver, which reflected the blue
sky and every passing cloud. We had
sat thus for about ten or twelve min
utes when / noticed that the center Of
the white basin had become intensely
black, and was scored with dark
streaks. This area gradually increased.
BY steady scrutiny with my glass, for II
was difficult to make out what was
silently and slowly taking place, / at
last discovered that the blackness
marked the sides of a chasm that had
formed in-what l now perceived the
white Furnished mirror to be-a lake of
seething mud. The blackness increased.
The lake was being engulfed. A few
minutes later a dull, sullen roar was
heard, and had just time to conjecture
within myself whence 1t proceeded
when the whole lake heaved and rose
In the air for some hundreds Of feet,
not as IL violently elected, but with a
calm, majestic upheaval, and then fell
back upon itself with an awesome roar
which reyerberated round and round
the vast cauldron and echoed from
rocky wall to rocky wall like the surge
of an angry sea; and the immense VOL
ume of steam let loose from its prison
house dissipated itself in the air. The
wave circles died away on the margin
OF the lake. which resumed its bur-
nished face and again reflected the blue
sky and silence reigned again until
another geyser had gathered force for
another expiration. Thus, all day long,
the lake was swallowed up and vomited
forth once in every fifteen or twenty
minutes.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28
. onnxEn1 OF coLoRsD NUNS
r.,.s.a Loas Ago sys wealthy csl-
cred Lady.

4 ofed Lady.
A sight which Invariably attracts the
attention Of strangers in New Orleans
Ia the colored sisters. One 50 seldom
hears of negroes processing the Roman
Catholic faith that when he meets
eolored nun for the first time he car
but gaze after her In open-mouthed
wonder. Accustomed as we are, more
over, to associate the black robes Of the
nun with white, pale faces, the effect
Is a little startling when a nearer view
Of sister of charity diseloses the meek
brown face Of a mulatto. This little
band in New Orleans Is known as the
Holy Family of Sisters. II was founded
- far back as 1912 by four free colored
women, who. educated and wealthy. re-
solved to devote their time and money
to those Of their race so much less for
tunate. The oldest Of the four became
Mother Juliette, who continued at the
head Of the sisterhood till her death,
eight years ago. The convent Is what
was once the famous 0rleans-street
ballroom, and many are the tales which
are told Of the dancing and reVelry
which for years held sway within its
walls. The building is an immense
brown structure fronting directly on
the narrow French street. The great
windows have shutters, always closed,
and there was such an air Of quietude
when l visited the place that quite
started when the bell gave a loud
clang. as pulled IT, felt that had
aroused unwilling echoes perhaps
awakened the ghosts Of long ago and
was almost tempted to run away when
heard footsteps within coming to-
ward the door. But instead OF meeting
a frown Of disapproval. as half ex-
pected, was admitted by a dark-faced
nun, who appeared to consider 1t no
unusual occurrence that a stranger de-
sired permission to enter. The hall
was dim and wide, with a gray stone
floor and white pillars at the farther
end. While l was inwardly comment
ing upon it's severity and scrupulous
neatness, Sister Frances came to show
me about She was rather a small
mulatto, with a slender, interesting
face, black eyes demurely lowered, and
long brown hands meekly folded. Her
uniform was Of black serge, with
wide white linen guimpe. a white lin
en- bonnet, the customary black veil,
and the inevitable black beads and
cross. We assembled the wide, easy
staircase. and on the first landing / |
was confronted with the words: 81
have chosen rather to be an abject in |
the house Of my God than to dwell iT
the Tabernacle Of Sinners"
The broad ax., 1896-11-28
MONKEY. at WORK In the rr.n.v..l

Captain z. Moss, who recently re-
turned to London from the Transvaal,
tells this story OF the monkeys who
work for him in the mines: Il have
twenty-four monkeys" said he, "em-
ployed about my mines. They do the
work Of seven able-bodied men, and it
is no reflection upon the human Ia
oorsrs to say that they do a class of
work man cannot de as well as thcy,
In many instances they lend Value.
aid where a man Is useless. They
gather up the small pieces Of quartz
that would be passed unnoticed by the
Workingman, and pile them up in little
heaps that can easily be gathered up
In q shovel and be thrown in the mill.
They are exceedingly adept at catching
he little particles, and their sharp eyes
never escape the very things that the
human eye would pass over. When /
went digging gold l had two monkeys
that were exceedingly interesting pets.
They were constantly following me
about the mines, and one day I noticed
ering up little bits Of quartz and put
ting them In piles. They seemed to en-
Joy the labor very much, and would go
to the mines every morning, and work
there during the day. 1t DID not take
me long to learn their value as laborers
and / decided to procure more. So ]
Immediately procured a number, and
now have two dozen working daily in
and about the mines. It is exceedingly
interesting to watch my two pet mon
keys teach the new ones how to work,
and still stranger to see how the new
corners take to It. They work just as
they please, sometimes going down in
to the mines when they have clearedup
al the debris on the outside. They live
and work together without quarrelling
any more than men do. They are quite
methodical in their habits, and 90 to
work and finish up in the same manner
as human beings would do under sim
liar circumstances.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28
LIoAr FoR TRAVELLERS
How the English Railroads Have soly.d n
Problem


while Americans pride themselves IN ~
rapidIty with which they recognize ~
ADOPT improvements, England has rnsH
lately taken q certain amount OF pride In H.
surIy suspicion OF novelties. This f-.iin 'ss
however, Is now In great measure givjSs.,
way to the realization Of the necpss7rv y
being up with the times. and espe,isIiy ~
electrical Developments An evidep > ~ m
II seen In the new system OF lighting Is
electricity the cars that run between ~
don and Tilbury, the sailing port Of man.
OF the eastern lines OF steamers
The system consisted In providing o.,s
car with a small dynamo, placed beneath h
and worked directly by a belt passing ovs '
the axle. When In motion the ear summit.
sufficient power TO drive the dynamo 5Dd :,
the same time to store electric energy i'm q.
accumulation ready to supply light when ~
train II standing. II would naturally seen
that at q higher rate OF speed an exceSs :,
current would be generated and the onno
site result would follow when the lin
went slowly. '@iu
This difficulty was overcome by an ingep.
ious arrangement which secured a prarficsi
" uniform velocity for the dynamo at vvbSt
ever rate the car was travelling The trial
was successful. Each compartment was a.
ted with two high candle-pOwer Incsndss
cent lamps which gave a clear, steady Uyb,
for all purposes.-Pittsburg Dispatch
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

stephen Crane. the novelist, appears
q witness In q New York police court
70 testify to the orderly conduct OF
Dora Clark, who was arrested as g
street walker. His evidence secured
her discharge, but she protested tina
me police were persecuting her. Cranes
friends state that in riskipg his owr
reputation BY thus appearing he was
performing what he considers to be :
mighty act Of justice to an Cd.
pressed woman.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28
A PuMlcE.sroNE sARRreR.
oss Of ths Rssuis. Of fAs Kr.ksse'
Eruptioa-

Eruption
A floating barrier Of pumice stone Is
miles long, over 1000 yards wide and
Is feet deep. closing Q seaport to all
vessels rs effectually as boom could
do. In not the sort Of thing one is likely
to forget and yet that was one OF the
results of the Krakotoa eruption, the
port being Telok Retoung. In Sunda
straits, says Leisure Hours Formed
In q few hours, IL would almost seem
10 be the supreme effort Of nature In
the pumice-making line were II not
tkat such immense quantities are FOUND
at the bottom OF the sea- queer place
for pumice stone. But pumice, when
produced, Is really heavy. It is only tie
air cavities :. f. that make 1t light and
a. It d. Is =. Lecomes water logged
ana dowr T. Most Of the pumice
we use rope comes from the
Lipari isis, north Of Sicily, the
home Of Vulcan" whence Vulcano Is
the name Of one Of them and cur
volcano" Is descriptive Of the natural
feature Of which 1t is the type. Here
are the pumice quarries-at Monte
Chirica and its craters Monte Pelata
and Forgia Vecchia-where over l,O9O
men are at work In the narrow tun-
nels and galleries, lighted by clay
lamps OF antique form. The whole
hillside is perforated with groups ~
these tunnels, which number between
200 and 800 and are so narrow that the
men can hardly pass each other In
them. And Just as coal Is found In
beds alternated with sandstone and
shale, so the pumice is in layers be-
tween harder lavas and ashes
The broad ax., 1896-11-28
Everything w.- Girls. for preL.u.

OF the making Of new books during
our walks there was no end. Every
thing suggested copy" to Dickens.
either as author or editor. He was a
persistent pedestrian, having acquired
the habit Of prowling around London
at night when he was suffering from
insomnia One afternoon we inspected
the picture gallery Of Lord Darnley's
residence near "Gadis HILL" A long
line Of family portraits extended back
to the Crusaders. Among the Court
ladies. the grim warriors and stern
judges, a golden-headed boy stood oct
as IL painted with sunshine. A noise
attracted our attention at the other
end Of the room, and there was a boy
the exar. duplicate Of the picture, the
likeness having been reproduced after
many generations. THAT will make
. good story" said Dickens, as We
strolled through the park. Take tho
boy Of the picture and put him through
mis- adventures In olden times- First
volume Then take the modern 10y.
identical with his ancestor In appear
apce, mind. tastes and morals. and de.
scribe his adventures in our times ana
show how environment Affects The
same type Of man. I must talk this
matter over with Charles Read: be
rsald DO II gioriousIy. Ladies Hons
HnnL
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

There Is a terrific scandal in New
YORK At present over the manner IL
which certain hospitals are run. II I,
openly claimed that certain well known
hospitals frequently refuse to receiy,
eediy injured patients-that Is. such
whose eases appear desperate-becaust
tney Wish to keep their death-rate a,
low as possible An investigation will,
probably take place, and It is believe
that ssvicas Encouragement n mo-
worse, win be developed.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28
Peculiar M.rr,.r. c.r.n.,,.

When two NegritOs. a people Of the
philippine Islands. are to be welded
the whole tribe Is assembled, and the
amanced pair climb two trees growing
near to each other. The elders then
bend the branches until the heads OF
the couple meet. When the heads hays
thus come into contact the marriage 4
legally accomplished, and great reioic-
inss take place. fantastic dance com
1leting the ceremony.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

When Cen Scott was asked his an.
tncrity for spelling wagon with TN,
IS. he said that the spelling was an N
authority OF Winfield Scott. command.
er o. the armies Of the United state
Of America When the ofacials of n
bureau OF engraving and printing a
Siticized for spelling tranquility W.
one ], on the face OF the recently issns
'one-dollar silver certificates. they rent
that In quoting from the constitute,
they followed the spelling Of the orisir.
81 document: and in view OF this On
thority It Is not worth while TO hosrl
Tor future premiums one dollar eilve,
certificates Of the issue Of 1886.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

ray Templeton is again before III,
peDne-as least she personally has dis
appeared. but her affairs are again be.
,o.e me public. She was playing in
hces new buriesQue, Excelsior Jr
n Montreal. Can, and it Is suppose
thst she has gone to Europe. her com.
panion being q man named Brown Nh,
Is said to be a nephew of John wan
nakers Rice Is making every en-.
oe1sor 70 discover her Whereabouts a,
e also her aunt Mrs. Adams Of New
Iork. but not the slightest clue Ia,
seen found. "'
The broad ax., 1896-11-28
Druasart. n Turk.,.

This reminds Us that the Turks, who
are mentioned occasionally In the
newspapers, have a singular manner Of
regulating drunkenness. II a Turk,
osertaken with wine, falls down In the
street and Il arrested by the guard,
he Is sentenced TO the bastinado; Ills
punishment Is repeated as far as the
third offense, after which he Is regard
ed as incorrigible and called simper-
ial drunkard.s or privileged drunk
ard" II he Is then arrested. he has
only 20 name himself. mention his
lodging. say he Is privileged drunk
ard he Is released and sent to sIsep
upon the hot ashes OF the baths. Thus
does POuQueyille instruct Us. But sun
pose that the privileged drunkard Il
suffering from still or numb ana
cannot give his name. address or STA
tio1f What theng OF what zyail his
ho1Drzry title7- Boston Journal.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

sistant physician In an insane asylum
before going abroad for study in Ger
many.
On my return to New York I soon
buiit up q fine practice which repaid
me for all my work Of preparation.
A physician has, necessarily, all
sorts Of people among his patients. but
II n not often that a man like my
friend Alfred Van Bruler goes to one
for advice. However, he was ushered
into my private once ope morning and
he came on professional business. Van
Bruler had a splendid physique, was
handsome as Montague, and like him
an actor; adored by the women, praised
BY the critics and lionized generally.
His strong, healthy appearance gave
one the impression that here was a man
who possessed a sound mind in sound
body. Judge then Of my surprise when,
greetings over, he leaned forward in
his chair and said In excited tones:
'Dalrymple, the great toe on my
right foot has turned to parchment"
10 was with a herculean effort that
I restrained from hilarious mirth at
these absurd words. / thought at first
thar II was q bit Of fine acting, but
3 quick glance at his face checked my
laughter and convinced me that no
matter how irrational his speech he
firmly believed what he stated.
You astonish me, Alfred" / said,
quietly enough. for, although 1 have
known several cases Of flesh ossifying
I have never before heard Of its chang
ing to parchment. This is something
new"
Yet" he broke In, triumphantly, eff
fesh can become bone, why cannot II
IS easily change to parchment"
/ remained silent, for / knew no an
swer to make except the childish one
that eft never had"
You see," he continued, eagerly, cit
came about this way. Last night
dreamed that tried to cut the nail
Of the great toe Of my right foot and
found that / was simply cutting into
The broad ax., 1896-11-28
cATIN THE PULPIT.

Q - tor Caught It b. the Neck and the
Usher Took It Away.
inquisitive black cat strayed into
the Bristol Methodist Episcopal church
on q recent Sunday evening just before
The services began, says the Pittsburg
Chronicle-Telegraph.
There were very few people In the
church at the time, but the loud and
plaintive mewing Of the stranger at
iracted their attention and they watch
ed its movements with interest.
The animal climbed up into the choir
loft, perched upon the railing and look
ed down upon the congregation. After
time several members OF the choir
arrived and the cat scampered away,
finally climbing down one Of the wood
en- pillars which supported the choir
loft and walked down into the aisle.
Several of the congregation endeav-
ored to coax the cat into their pews,
but the proud pussy ignored them and
with stately dignity climbed up into
the pulpit and sat on the bible. When
the pastor came in q moment later he
found the cat in possession of the pull
pit, but the animal took kindly to the
preacher and began to purr and arch
his back at the latter's approach.
The pastor took the cat by the back
Of the neck and handed it down to an
usher, who carried puss out of the
church. This is good omen, breth-
rem" said the pastor and then he went
on and preached his sermon.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

The Chicago police have raided a cer-
tain gambling house in which they
found a wheel 30 cleyerly controlled
oy compressed air device that there
was not the slightest chance Of a play
ers winning, as the man in control of
the wheel could stop it on any number
ne desired Doubtless there are plenty
more such sure thing" wheels In
guileless Chicago.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

The arrest in New York Of counter-
fsiters Knapp and Scott has lead 10 =
Sery Interesting and important discov-
ery on the part Of the United States
secret serTics officials. II appears thai
this gang had In their employ large
aamber Of their spurious half and quar-
Ter dollars II Is believed that this dis
cogery win lead to the unearthing of a
very elaborate system in which q nrra-
Der Of street car men have bssn mized
Up Tor years II Is a very clever
scheme for few Dsrz1Es Nenld erer
link Of examining 3 coin gizen IN
is.ses en ca. s % Is gszpineness.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

Among tbs common offenders In the
cell At Jefferson market police court il
New York, Albert Weber, the former
millionaire piano-forte manufacturer
spent several hours waiting for some
one to come and pay a s. fine. He
was nned for assaulting a workman
IN his factory, and by some accident
none OF his friends were at hand wher
hls case came up and he himself had
not the required sum in his pocket.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

Three Cubans are to be garroted BY
erder Of Gen. Weyler, and the COM
mander's private secretary is doubtless
preparing glowing description Of this
great Spanish victory, in which the
enemy win be totally exterminated
with small loss to the Spanish troops
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

The total area OF land surface of the
earth ID calculated to be ass per cent
and that OF sea III Of the earth,s sur
taee. eertain assumptions being made
Tor the unknown polar regions. The
Fsh0 Of land 70 water Is thus ! 70 a.sl.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28
Reform Needs More Than

To bring them about, and are slvsvs po-.
complete and lasting when they prnrasI
with steady regularity TO a cunSllmmaflos,
failed 10 notice that permanently basrtbt,I
changes In the human >vS-en sra ~ =.
wrought by abrupt and violsu, mems sni
that those are the most Salu'4rv ma1i,sros
which are progressive. Hp>-e,'.r'S S;0ln-
ach Bitters Il the chief 81 -l.->a. DySnensf,
q disease Of obstinate character. i obliter-
ated by It
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

There is man In Memphis with
enough charges against him to pul
him In Jail for 1,425 years. He Is evil
aentiy one Of those individuals with
mania for telling every one he meets
Why the country Is going to the dogz
II 1t doesn't fall in line with his
views.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

The Engiewood, Ill, policeman who
killed mad dog with q shovel is prob
ably q graduate from the Holmes cas-
lie school for sleuths.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

A Chicago man h said to have died
Of JOY, but the health authorities are
not fearing an epidemic on that &C
count
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

Osman Pasha, the hero Of Plpvna during
all the turmoil and disorder Of the TurkiS5
empire, Is holding the essential oriental M.
sitiOn OF "sealer" In the kitchen II the sui.
tan. His duty is to seal an dishes intended
for his masters table after Il ey are pre-
pered.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

"Great excitement In that big department
store" "What was itY' IAN elephant fen
out of the zoo department through seven
skylights and ruined the ice IN the base
ment skating rink department"
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

Queen Victoria's breaking Of records
In the matter Of reigning Is also break
ing her sons creditors.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

Expect not. so send a twO-1ent stamp 10
the General Passenger Agent Colorado Md
land railroad. Denver. and he will send you
O fine cOlored picture q one.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

CDR Portly seems to be rolling in prosper
ity." ayes; his speciality Is chronic nervous
people, who can't get well and who never
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

Just try q Zoe box Of CaScarets. the ines
liver and bowel regulator ever made.
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

''They say an hour early in the morning (
worth two In the afternoon" $50 IL isl
you can have II in bed"
The broad ax., 1896-11-28
TO CURE A COLD IN ONE DAY.

Take Laxative BromO Quinine Tablets AL
Druggists refund the money il /; fails tOcure Sc
The broad ax., 1896-11-28
THE PARCHMENT TOE.

T was before -
day Of speciaAA
that / began H.
study Of medic Eli
trying to perry
myself In eWS
branch Of the heal
ing art. To that
end / served as in
terne in q New
York hospital and
spent q year a. as
The broad ax., 1896-11-28

as It true that Pidger Is financially en-
barrassedr' "He Is awfully In debt, but II
doesn't seem to embarrass him any"