davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1896-12-10
IMAGINATION.

No delusion can possibly be greater
than that persons are neither the bet
ter nor the worse for their imagina-
tions. There are few more potent
forces in character, or in life, than that
of the imagination. 1t has, in fact,
life of it's own underlying; it has sins
and virtues, it's strength and weakness,
its development and repressiOn-all of
which tell upon the desires, affect the
disposition, and to some extent, deter
mine the actions of men. Whoever
wishes to become the controller and
director of his actions must discipline
his imagination. 1t is before the hand
is stretched forth to do the unjust
deed, before the lips are opened to
speak the cruel word, that the sin of
injustice or cruelty begins. 1t is the
indulgence of the fancy which pictures
the coveted gain and dictates the bit
ter word. If this be not checked and
resisted, there is little hope that the
evil will be avoided. Among the many
desires that sway the hearts and actu-
ate the lips of men there is none more
universal than the desire for good
name While some are anxious for
wealth and some for fame; while some
crave knowledge and others affection,
all unite in hoping that among their
various possessions that of a good name
may be prominent. If this desire could
utterly die out of any mans breast, we
should rightly conclude that he had
sunk into the most hopeless depths of
degradation. Life is like beautiful
and winding lane, on either side bright
flowers and beautiful butterflies and
tempting fruits, which we scarcely
pause to admire and to taste, so eager
are we to hasten to an opening which
we imagine will be more beautiful still.
But, by degrees, as we advance, the
trees grow bleak, the flowers and but
! terfiies fail, the fruits disappear, and
we find we have arrived-tO reach a
desert waste. There are many who
spurn the idea of contentment as in
, volving an idle and aimless condition
of mind that is satisfied with things as
they are, because it has no inspiration
, for ANYTHING better. r. M.
The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1896-12-10
x>spoEFRkc
Z7PS%zzzs1GzSSS~ f.

WHAT IS LIFE?
sssssssssssssssss
All, what is life? A bubble blown
Across Times mystic stream;
It's secret source. alas! unknown;
Its future-still dream:
All, what is life? A selfish hour.
A thrill of thought and breath,
A bud which blossoms to flower
That withers soon to death?
All, what is life? An echO's sound.
A passing sunbeam's glow,
A search for something found.
pilgrimage of woe?
All, what is life? A ShOrelesS sea
That's swept by gales of sorrow.
"A tear, perhaps, today for thee.
oblivion for tomorrow:
No! lifes a river deep
That flows to fairer seas
Through pale. mysterious realms of sleep
To Gods eternitieS.
The herald., 1896-05-31
Ellen Terry's Nerves

Comparatively few people know that
Ellen Terry Is great sufferer from neu-
ralgia. Her intense nervousness, how
ever, must be apparent to every one who
sees her on the stage. Miss Terry feels
the effects of 1t and has to claim certain
privileges which are not accorded to the
common run Of people.
A well known Newport woman was
telling the other day of dining in Lon
don with a certain publisher. Miss Terry
was present. When the dinner was about
half over she left the table and was es-
cOrted upstairs to a darkened room,
where she lay down on a couch and
rested for fifteen or twenty minutes.
At the end of that time she reappeared
at the dinner table and went on with
the feast
The little London anecdote was evil
IDENTIFY supposed by the woman who told
1t to be an exceptional circumstance. 1t
Is not, however, for Miss Terry has a
chronic dislike for sitting through long
dinners. Not long ago she was dining
at the house of Mr.. Lawrence Hutton
when the same thing happened. At
about the middle OF the dinner Miss Ter
ry excused herself and went upstairs. A
room was darkened, and here the ac-
tress had quarter of an hours quiet rest
before she again appeared at the table.
Somewhat later in the evening she took
another fifteen minutes repose. Her
extreme nervousness makes 1t almost
impossible for her to sit through any
long affairs, a popularity which plenty
of lesser people can appreciate.
The herald., 1896-05-31

How much? Oh, jes' a bale-dat on de
wagon in de street
Dis heah's de sample-dis cotton's mighty
hard to beat!
You'll fln' it on de paper. what de offers is
Deys all de same seditions-half in cash,
half in trade.
Deys mighty low, sab; come now, can't
you prove upon de rates
Dat Barrot Brothers offers-only twelb an
seben-eights?
Lord, Mahsr Johnny. raise 1t! Don't you
know dat Use frien'
An when has de money is willin for to
spen'?
My customs wuff heap. sab; jes' you buy
de bale an see.
Dere didn't nebber nobody lose muffin Off
of me.
Now. what's de use OBJ gwine dere an a
Zamnlnin' OBJ de bale?
When people trades wild me dey alluz gets
I amt no han for cheatin'; beliebes in
An ebrybody'll tell you dey alluz foun' me
Squar.
I isn't like some niggers; declar' 1t is a
De way some OBJ dem swin'les-What! de
cotton amt de same
AS dat's in de sample! Well. I'm blest, sab,
Dis heah mus be my brudders sample
Yes. sab, dis is his.
II dat don't beat creation! Heah, I've done
been totin' roun'
A sample different from de cotton! Twill
-be-consound!
Mahsr Johnny. you mus scuse me. Take
de cotton as 1t stans,
An tell me If you'se willn' for to take it Off
my hans.
sho! Nebber win de auger! tain't bit O.
use to bore.
De bale Is all de same's dis heah place de
baggin'S tore;
You oughtn't to go pulin' out de cotton
1t spoiis de beauty OBJ de-what sab! rocks
in dar, you say
Rocks in dat ar cotton! How de debbil
I picked dat bale myse'f-hor on minute,
le me see
My stars. mus be crazy! Mahsr Johnny,
rs gone an hauled my brudder's cotton in.
instead of mine!
IRWIN RUSSELL.
NORvERN PEOPLE.
Dem folks in de Norf is de beatin' est lot!
Wild all de brass buttons an fixin's dey
You needn't tole me!-dey all dresses in
I seed EN- de time at Grants army came
froo.
Dey Ibis UP de country, whar ellyphunts
somewhar bout de head OBJ de ribber, 1
spoSe
whar snow keeps a-drappin' Spring Win
An Summer time don't nebber git dar at
all.
Up dar in dey town dar's mighty great
hole
Dey dug for to git at de silher an gor:
i reckon heah lately it mus ha cabed in
1 wish l cu'd see good two-bits ag'in.
Dey puts up Supplies for us Christuns to
De whisky, de fiouah. de meal an de meat:
Dey's. dreffie big-feelin', an makes a great
fuss,
But dey KANT get along widout workin'
for us.
I wouldn't be dem, not for all you c'ud
gill.
Dey never tase possum as long as dey lib!
Dey wu'dn't know gumbo. eff put in dey
Why don't dey all sell out an come to de
Souf?
But lawsy! dey's ign'ant as ign ant kin be;
An amt got de presence OBJ min for to see
Dat oil Marsissippi's jes ober de fence
Dat runs aroun Hebbens sarcumfery-
mence!
Now, us dat is fabored wild wisdom an
An had de fus' pick for a 'sirable place.
To sheer wild our brudders as fur as 1t goes
So sometimes in chu'ch rs a-gwine to SER
jes'
Dat som-un be sent what kin talk to 'em
bes'-
The herald., 1896-05-31
SETTLING THE QUESTION

I've long since knowed the war Is over
An that the world is rollin' right
No red dews fall upon the clover,
An every lily's spotless white.
But what didn't know for certain
Was this: If England crost the sea,
And foreign flags wos round us flirtin',
Where would the boys of Dixie be.
But yesterday-the sunshine streamin'
Upon their curls so soft an sweet.
(Me settin In my doorway dreamino,
The children played around my feet.
"An' come!" says Jim. my gun is readyv'
An there's my sword!' says little Jack;
"Now. march away there--steady-stead
We're goin' to beat the British back!'
"Oh. waltz" says little blue-eyed Sally,
An handed them a fiuttering rag;
tIeres somepin makes the soldiers rally
Flow can you fight-without a flag?"
An then got to ruminatin'.
An all was plain as day to me,
An II it's war I'm clear In Stain
know just where the South would be!
Atlanta Constitution.
The herald., 1896-05-31

AN mebbe dats me) for to open deir eyes.
to rise.
Well fotch ,em down heah. de las one OBJ
An treat. 'em like gemmen, an rent 'em
patch
Why dats de Merlennium! OATS what 1t
am:
An us is de lion, an dey Is de lamb!
IRWIN RUSSELL.
This volume Is full of beautiful po-
ems, but these quoted are only gimpses
of the genuine gold to be found in the
small volume. The reader of this day,
whose ideals are on the loftiest stand
ards of literary excellence. will not, per-
haps. unbend to read these small po-
ems. Irwin Russell never wrote in HON.
eric numbers, nor does he breathe his
poetic fancies in Virgilian measure, vet
he puts into verse many of the quaint
longlngs and every day aspirations of
the negro. This was what Burns did
when he wrote of his common people
and country. There is not spot today
on this earth, whether in Siberia, Aus
tralia Or In the farthest verge of Africa
where a Scotchman lives, that song of
Burns does not unlock his door and
heart. and for the time old Scotland is
all the world to him. 1t is this truth
to nature that will make the poems of
Irwin Russell part of the refrain of the
negro. on the loneliest bayous of the
south, as well as the literary mention
of the more cultured eastern reader
The mother. sisters and brother of Ir-
win Russell live in Los Angeles.
The herald., 1896-05-31

and SO true to life, we must print in full
some Of the poems, knowing from long
acquaintance with the family of Irwin
Russell that each poem is founded on
fact and represents some actual occur
renee. For the amusement of our read
ers We give Mahsr John. Norvern Peo-
pie and Business in Mississippi.
MAHsR JOHN.
I heahs heap o people talkin'. eberywhar
Bout Mashintum an Franklum. an sech
I s'pose dey's mighty fine. but heah's de
pint rs bettin' on:
Dere wuzn't mar a one OBJ 'em come up to
Mahsr John.
He shorely wuz de creates man de country
ebber growed-
You better had git out de way when he come
long de road!
He hel his head up dis way. like he 'spised
TO see de groun':
An ntggers had to toe de mark when
Mahsr John was 'roun'.
I only has to shet my eyes, an den it seems
I sees him right afore me now. jes' like he
A-settin' cn de garry. lookin' awful big
Wild little niggers fannin him to keep
away de flies.
He alluz wore de berry bes' OBJ planters
linen suits.
An KEEP a Niger busy jes' a-blackin' OBJ
De buckles on his galluses wuz made of
An diamon's S -dey wuz in his shut as
thick as 1t w'u'd hor.
You heered me! twas a caution. when he
went to take ride,
To see him n de kerridge. wild Oh Mist's
Mulatter Bill a-dribin'. an a niger on be-
An two Kaintucky hosses TUX 'em tearin'
whar dey gwine.
or Mahsr John wuz pow'ful rich-he owned
Fibe cotton places. sides sugar place in
Loozyan'
He had a thousan' niggers-an he worked
EN-, shores you born!
OBJ de morn.
I reckon dere WIZ forty OBJ de niggers.
Dat stayed, about de big house, jes' to do
what dey wuZ top:
Dey had z. easy time wild skacely any work
But dey had to come a-runnin' when OF
Mahsr John 'ud call!
Sometimes he'd glib a frolic-dat's de time
you seed de fun:
De 'ristocratic families. dey 'ud be dar.
Dey'd hab band from New Orleans to
play for 'em to dance.
An tell you what de supper wuz a 'tickler
circumstance.
Well, times is changed. De war It come
an sot de niggers free
An now OIL Mahsr John amt hardly wuf
as much as me:
He had to pay his debts, an SO his Ian is
mostly gone
An / declar' rs sorry for my pore OIL
Mahsr John.
But when I heahs 'em talsin' bout some
sullybrated man,
listens to 'em quiet, till dey done said all
dey can,
An den lows dot in dem days at re-
members OH,
Dat gemman warn't patchin' onto my OIL
Mahsr John!
IRWIN RUSSELL. s.
BUSINESS IN MISSISSIPPI.
Why, howdy. Mahsr Johnny! Is you gone
Well, sab, is susprised! Inebber heard OBJ
dat afore.
good tobacco, please?
Is long wild you in Georgia, time we all
wuz refugees.
Iknow'd you would; alluz tells the people.
white an black.
Dat youss a raj gen'rman. an dat's de
libin' fac
Yes, sah dats $ what tells 'em an it's nuf-
fin else but true
An all de culled people thinks a mighty
heap OBJ you.
Look heah, sab. don't you want to buy some
cotton? Yes. you do;
Dere's odder people wants 1t, but I'd rad
der sell to you.
The herald., 1896-05-31

Not so many years ago It was consfd-
cred scandalous for a woman to wear
raise hair, and there are still people allve
VINO thlnk 1t wicked to arrest decaying
teeth / know an old man who deolsres
ne wonders the Lord doesn't strike peo-
pie with some awful punishment when
ne sees them spending money In put
ting gold in their teeth that might be
sent to the heather. "Altrl tempt altri
ihuorl. There is an excuse for cos
neticS; there are even occasions when
their use becomes virtue.-Harriet
Hubbard Aver in New York Journal.
The herald., 1896-05-31
FIRST COrlE BEST SERVED
COrsets

For reasons of our own we will mark
down several we'll known makes of Cor
sets that we have been selling for years,
to prices never equaled by any store
wholesale or retail.
Lot No. 1, Corsets formerly sold at 75c.
81, S1.25 and $3.50. Sale AQc
Lot No. ., best Summer Cor AOc
sets; always 75c. Sale price,. fCI
Lot No. 3, large and varied assortment
of corsetS of all styles in white, drab
and black, all sizes; regular prices $3.50
and S1.75. Sale price, 0Ec
The herald., 1896-05-31
A Long Building Three Feet Wide

A Springfield, Mass, man Is erecting a
brick business block 80 feet long, 4 feet
deep, including the walls, and feet
high. The strip of land which it will oc :
cupy has been lying idle for nearly twen-
ty years, and was a source Of some ex-
pense to it's owner 1t was recently ac-
quired by its present owner, who is de-
termined to derive a revenue from it. He
intends to devote the building he Is
erecting to offices, shoemakers' shops
and bicycle repository. There will be
a space of less than three feet between
the front and back walls. BY letting the
doors open outward and having his ten
ants sit parallel with the street, he
thinks he can accommodate enough Of
them to insure a profit on his invest
ment But they will have to be small
men to be entirely comfortable in the
narrow quarters he Is providing.
The herald., 1896-05-31
Woman's Suffrage In Practice

Women have school suffrage In a ma
5ority Of our states, and in Norway. In
France the women teachers elect women
members Of all boards Of education.
The women Of Kansas have both
school and municipal suffrage; munich
pal woman suffrage is also in force in
Canada, in Belfast, in Tasmania. in Cape
Colony. Africa, in Russian colonies in
Siberia; women Taxpayers of India in
rural districts of British Burmah. and
the municipalities in the presidencies Of
Madras and Bombay have also munich
pal suffrage.
Full suffrage for women exists in
Wyoming. Colorado. Utah, New Zea-
land, South Australia, Finland, Iceland,
Isle Of Man. Pitcairn Islands and Guern-
sey. In England. Scotland and
Wales women vote for all elective Of
ficers except members of parliament In
Ireland they vote for poor-law guar
dams and harbor boards. In Russia
female householders vote on all
local matters and for elective
officers. In the Canton of Berne, Swift
xerland, women real estate owners exer-
else local suffrage. In Sweden men
vote for all elective officers except rep
resentatives and indirectly for members
Of the house Of lords. BEN 8. MAY.
The herald., 1896-05-31
IntelIlpence From cuha

Yesterday General Gomez was killed
and telegraphed for more arms and am
munition. Owing to the frequency of his
death. order In which these events occur
ysd Is immaterial.-New York Journal
The herald., 1896-05-31

In 1887 General Sherman predicted
that 1.-The most terrible war ever known
will take place in America before the
end of the century,"
The herald., 1896-05-31
Notions

Even the most staple goods share in this
grand bargain giving sale.
All Fancy Buttons, large and small,
at half price.
I2Hc' Binding Ribbons now. ......... yC
Isc Binding Ribbons now ......... l0c
De Long Hooks and Eyes, regular Sc
price Ioc a cayd Sale price. .......a.. w
Ioc Curling Irons now .......... CC
Fair Fssu,r and nSa. Square Dsfs li sai:lds 2c
Regular price zoe; Sale price ........ lJC
Regular price 2sc; Sale price ..... nc
These Shields by the box at greater reduo-
tons.
The herald., 1896-05-31

Vvoroen are intelligent. and intelligence
sro,,id be the foundation for the right
of suffraTe. A.. v. MOREHOUSE,
San Jose.
The extension Of the suffrage to wom-
an has the same 5ustincation as its
extension to man.. 1t will not secure
better government. at least not for a
generation or two. But 1t will help the
intelIectual growth OF the mothers of
their country, give them clearer views
of lifo, broader sympathies. and higher
wisdom. Then its purpose will be ac-
complished.
DAVID STAR JORDAN,
President Stanford University, CAL
I advocate woman suffrage because
It is founded on the eternal principle of
right and Justice. as embodied in the
immortal Declaration, and the theory
and spirit of our representative govern
ment. A disenfranchised citizen gives
the lie to our national creed and to our
profession of equality and justice.
JAMES G. INQUIRE,
Member Of Congress from California.
At the last woman's congress advo-
Gated the political education of young
women, whether or not they are to have
equality of suffrage. This is a theory
to work upon, but no doubt the actual
possession Of the suffrage would be In
comparably the greatest incentive to
such an education. A vote in the hand
would be worth much more than two In
the hands of husband and brother.
MARTIN KELLOGG.
President State University, Cal.
The Monitor-register., 1896-10-16

more valuable to us if it is good not
somewhere only, but everywhere-not in
one place. but in every place. (Applause.>
''It is a very comforting thing to any.
body who has money, much or little, to
feel all the time that its value cannot be
affected by hard times or deprecated in
his hands by panic, but that rests all
the while upon solid and Interchangeable
value recognized the world over. (Great
a%pplause.) Money does not depend upon
what we call it; it depends upon its
value. (Great cheering aud cries of
"That's right.')
"When you have earned 800 you want
to feel that you are worth 800 and tina.
1t. will not be diminished In a day or q
week or q month or depreciate while it is
in your hands or when it goes out of your
hands. That is the kind of money we
have in this country now-the best money
known to the civ ilized countries of thu
world. 1t is to the interest Of every
citizen of the country, no matter what
may be his business, to maintain thai
! money at its present standard" Gap
plause.)
The Monitor-register., 1896-10-16
Cuba,s Discouraging experiment,

Cuba is furnishing a nearby example
of the beauties of government regulation
Of the value of money ON the Bryan
plan. Captain General Weyler had a
deficient supply of cash, and so he had
the Banco Espanol put out a lot of pa
per money and issued a stringent edict
that everybody should take it at par
with gold. AS the island is practically
under martial law, here was govern
ment control of the currency at its best.
If you didn't take the bank bills at PAL,
you were liable to be shot. Even Bryan
couldn't do more for silver than that.
But did the edict keep the bank notes at
par? Not for a day. Almost instantly
they were at a discount, which soon
amounted to 30 per cent. Even with
guns and bayonets you cannot make 80
cents equal a dollar. Weyler has had to
give up trying. He has finally allowed
the Havana Stock Exchange to quote the
value Of the bank bills in gold. We
were going to say that this proves the
powerlessness of law to establish the
value of money, but we remember in
time that Cuba has less than 2, 900, 900
population to our 70, 600, 900; that she
never put down the greatest rebellion Of
modern times that her inhabitants are
not the richest, proudest, most intelli-
gent people on earth, and SO we are not
so sure. Her ase is only a part of uni
versal experience, but we have changed
all that. NEW York Post.
The Monitor-register., 1896-10-16
NOTES AND

George Du Maurier, the author of
"Trilby," is dead. He was an artist of
ackno wledged merit.
The silver men regard the Palmer and
Buckner ticket as a mere decoy to attract
gold Democrats. Most likely.
Contrary to precedent, the Republicans
of Philadelphia are asked to take a dish
of Grow in advance of the election.
A couple out West have announced that
they will not get married until after
Bryan's election. What a slender thread
to hang matrimony on.
Mckinley and Bryan are running neck
and neck as to speech making, but at
this distance it looks as if the Ohioap
would leave the Nebraskan on the home
stretch.
The steady advance in the price OF
wheat may yet prove that the Democrats
missed the mark of dollar wheat by only
four years, when they promised it with
Cleveland's election.
A big Republican parade took place in
Chicago on Friday. Major Mckinley al
Canton and Mr.. Hobart in Paterson put
their ear to the phone and listened te
the music and the cheers of the crowd
We are living in a wonderful age.
A vote for Mckinley and Louderslagel
is a vote for tan honest dollar and 6
chance to earn it," They both have tx
do with national policies and measures
that are related to the employment anG
payment of the ~wage-earner.
The Monitor-register., 1896-10-16
Silver Question In a Nutshell.

In every rural town of the country
farmers that 16 to / would raise the
price of grain and meat and thus re-
duce the proportions of the produce Of
the farm that goes to pay the labor en-
ployed. OF all brazen performances of
the century, the most impudent is that
by which at the same time the wage
earners are invited to assist in a cam-
them and to reduce the wages of the
most numerous class of wage earners in
the country.
There is the silver question in q nut
shell. 1t is simply a question as to
whether our wage earners are getting
too high wages. They may as well face
the question. If u wage arne be-
lieve they are getting too high wages
and that this country is suffering in
consequence, all they have to do is to
take lower wages. If they prefer a
roundabout way. they can favor free
coinage of silver, and they will get their
wages cut down half without any fur
Their trouble on their part.
In the light Of u experience with
fat money legislation. from tie green
back to the Sherman pig silver certif-
Gates, this long suffering country will
finally learn that wealth is not created
by fiat, but is made by labor; that the
law can put no dollar into any mans
pocket unless it first takes it from the
pocket of some other man, and that
wage arner are first and most inter-
ested in opposing interference by law.
There has never yet been made a law to
put into any laboring mans pocket a
single dollar that he did not earn. He
of all men. therefore, has the best right
to insist that there shall be nc law passed
that will raise the price of what he has
to buy, and thus take from him any
| portion of what he has earned Hon.
| John De Witt Warner in Present "Prob'
lems."
The Monitor-register., 1896-10-16
To Unite Against the Saloon.

An appeal to voters has been issued,
under the caption of "Voices from the
Outside" by persons not heretofore
identified with tie Prohibition party. 1t
is signed by Rev. &C. Dixon, o. Oxford
street. Brooklyn, N. Y; Rev. James W.
Putnam, 525 Park avenue, New York
City; A. W. bennett, 25 Park Row, New
York City; James H. Wardhoop, II
Trinity Place. New Rochelle, N. Y.
Having referred 10 the Pittsburg plat
form, they proceed to say:
"On that single deliveranoe all good
temperance men, in the churches and out
of them, can take their stand. 1t is
strong in the justice of its purpose,
beautiful in the simplicity of its aim and
inspiring in its hopes for results.
Thousands of temperance people will
avail themselves of this opportunity.
They have been waiting for this day.
And now, that prohibition is the only
rallying CRY, we a touch shoulders with
all lovers of the cause and deal more
effective blows against a common enemy.
believing that the liquor traffic will
never be suppressed until there can be a
concerted action on the part Of all
persons interested, VIZ, the undersigned,
having never been identified with the
Prohibition party movement. without
committing ourselves permanently to the
fortunes Of the Prohibition party, do