davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The record-union., 1897-12-01
FESTIVITIES APPROACHING.
Revenge Planned by the Father on
His Intended Son-in-Law.

A man with his hat pulled down over
his eyes stood, stroking his sparse
whskers, waiting for the grocer to get
through with another customer, says
the washington Star"
Got any rice?" he asked, when the
grocer got around to him.
Yes
"Ts 1t good, solid rice?"
LAS good as grows
well, gimme a couple of pounds
Its remarkable" the merchant said
as he adjusted the scales that this
grain is not more freely used in this
country. 1t is palatable and nutritious
and ought to take rank among the lead
ing articles of diet"
Did you think 1 want to eat that
rice?'
''Of course
well 1 don't. There's going to be
a wedding at our house"
"Ah, 1 see. It's an old custom. and
a pretty one. Who is to be married ."
My daughter and a young man who
has been hanging around the house
against my wishes for years. I don't
want you to imagine for an instant
that this is any joyous occasion for
me-
Why didn't you tell him to keep
away?"
My daughter and her mother would
not let me. They both think ne is the
finest specimen that ever grew. He
never does any work worth mentioning.
owing to the fact that his people have
a little money He wears cross barred
u hir.tc xr-l,%
But he proposed to my daughter and
she and her mother accepted him. and
there's no use of my saying anything
I've got to shake hands with him and
do what I'm told while the ceremony
is going on. They'll both of them have
their eyes on me every minute of the
time. You see, my wife OWNS the house
and all the furniture. If / had it to
do over again l don't know as I'd marry
for riches. 1 suppose I'll have to call
him My son. and pour honeyed SEN
tences into his ears" And then he
added grimly: But actions speak
louder than words
fYou mean to throw this rice just
as conventional compliment, then.
Your heart won't be in it at alp" said
the grocer, sympathetically
Yes, it WILL" was the emphatic re-
joinder. There is nothing in which I
could feel more enthusiasm. That's a
nice, neat package you've made.' he
went on, as he picked it up. Now,
I'm not going to litter the sidewalk up
and make trouble for the servant Just
as the bride and groom start for the
carriage I'm going to throw this rice.
I'm going to throw it just as il is
paper. string and all, and if it hits him
behind the ear and makes him dizzy.
they'll have to set it down to my not
knowing any better. That's the onIv
fun I expect to get out of the entire
wedding
The record-union., 1897-12-01
roundings, where everything looks
Ill, Il

roundings, where everything looks
clean, inviting and CHEEKY
Then the poor wife sighs bitterly and
remembers the time when he used to
come TO see her when she was a laun-
dress in an uptown private house in the
bright days of her courtship, and she
says to herself that marriage makes a
great difference" No one would know
her husband for the nice. weIl-dressed
young man who used to come once
week and sit in the kitchen and tell
her how happy they would be when she
was his wife and they had a couple of
little rooms of their own for a home
She forgets sometimes that when she
kept company with her big, fine-look-
ing sweetheart she was always neatly
dressed. and on Thursday nights how
pretty she looked and how tidy the kit
chen was. Sometimes. just by chance
word or possibly by a line read in
great paper, she may realize that she is
not making home or herself attractive
TO her husband.
Then she Will perhaps determine to see
whether the fault is hers. and her hus-
band Will return to his home some even
ing to find it spick and span. The floor
and windows are clean, the stove is
blacked and the tins are shining. A
cloth is spread upon the table and the
simple meal is decently laid. The wife
with her hair neatly brushed. clean
dress and apron and her sleeves drawn
down, will greet him with an old-time
smile, and she will say to him:
Dear, you used to love me better than
the friends you meet outside. I've been
thinking that it was because was more
attractive than any place to you in those
days, and that | haven't treated you
right in neglecting myself and the little
home. SO I've made up my mind to
have everything nice and tidy for you
and to try to be somebody in the world
for you and the children
In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred
the husband of such wife will fall into
line with delight, and you will see him
with clean face and hands, his coat on
and bright smile, seated at his honest
table. Nothing SO pleases the self-re
specting man as to live decently.
Once these people, who are really the
strength and hope of the country's fu-
ture, have determined to be somebody
they will make long strides in the right
direction, and from just such begin
nings we may look with certainty for
the true gentleman and lady of the fu-
ture.-New York World.
The record-union., 1897-12-01
Summer Theaters in Athens.

The luxurious modern Athenian, not
withstanding his great love Of music
and amusement. could never endure to
remain pent UP in a sitting theater,
however great might be the attraction
offered. 1t has been found necessary
therefore, to adopt something which
combines the two essentials, comfort
with amusement. Useful suggestions
from the past are not wanting in Ath-
ems Cne has only to go round the
Acropolis to see how the ancient inhab-
itants solved a similar difficulty; the
theater of Dionysius, or that of He
rodes on the southern side of the Acrop-
oils, and the Stadium further east, fur
nish excellent examples to the modern
Athenian. A theater, then, consisting
of a wooden stage and temporary wood
en- seats, is erected inside a yard or
inclosure, with no high walls to keep
out the welcome cool breeZes and no
roof to obstruct the view of the beauti-
ful starry sky. Such a theater on a
clear, quiet night, pleasantly cool after
the intense heat of the day, is always
well patronized by Athenian playgoers.
One such theater, standing hard by
the historic IlysSuS and the fountain
of Callirrhoe, bears the name of Para
discs, and bears it with good reason. for
beautiful gardens of sweet-scented or
ange trees lie around about it. Oranges
one remembers, are the favorite susie
nance of the gods of Drury Lane,
but the gods" of Greece, if one may
use the phrase, are more highly favored
beings. To them it is given to pluck
their fruit from the parent stem (pro-
vided the eye of the law be not upon
them), instead of having it doled forth
from the basket of a dingy and rau-
cous dame of forbidding aspect. A
quarter of a mile nearer the city one
comes on another summer theater, also
embowered among foliage, in this case
Of pines and pepper trees, called the
Garden of Orphanides. which is gener-
ally used as a cafe chantant: while a
third, the Olympia, is to be found near
the columns of Olympeion- The last
has for some time past been used as
a circus, but the traveller will visit it
in vain for any trace of the ancient
Olympic games or the medieval hip
podrome of Constantinople. He will
find only a modern circus of the type
familiar to western Europe, lightly clad
ladies. affable ringmaster, clown and
an.-Macmillan's Magazine.
The record-union., 1897-12-01
PEACHES KEPT rs YEARS.
Found Buried in an Abandoned
Cellar Near Philadelphia.

Canned peaches at least seventy-five
years old, which, like wine, seemed to
have improved with long standing, were
a feast a few days ago for the family of
Charles Zellman of Haddington. 1t
was While digging with fellow work
men for the cellars of row of new
houses on ground that was once part
of the old Dalton farm that Zellman
struck his pick into a cavity. Inyesti
CATION revealed a sort of stonelined
well, not more than six feet deep, which
had been covered over and concealed.
There was a foot of clean. cold water
at the bottom in which stood an old
fashioned glazed earthenware jar, with
the lid sealed tightly on with wax
1t was not without some difficulty
that the Jar was opened, but it was
finally done by forcing it with the edge
of a spade. The men had expected to
see treasure of some kind and were
surprised. not to say disappointed. when
only bright, yellow peaches met their
gaze. The fruit was perfectly pre-
served. Zellman claimed the prize by
right of discovery. and his family de-
voured the contents Of the jar. about
two quarts. without regard to historic
value Close by the covered we'll is
the now leveled site of the old Dalton
farmhouse, abandoned early in the
present century. How the good Wife who
put up the peaches happened to forget
them In the spring is more than can be
told nor does Zellman greatly care
Philadelphia Record.
The record-union., 1897-12-01
MAKING THE HOME.
Reason Why So Many Men Become
Careless.

If man but knew it one of the most
fiattering signs in his household is the
outward evidence, which his wife and
daughter are usually the first to exhibit,
of desire to be somebody. 1t takes
three generations, it is said, to produce
a gentleman or lady.
Three generations of men and women
determined to advance in life will ac-
cCmplish wonders.
There is no reason why the honest
man of humble circumstances, even
though he be a day laborer. should live
in his home without an attempt at de-
cency and sclf-res3ect at least The
wife of the day laborer wonders vainly
why she cannot keep her husband at
home. She is always there herself, and
she is usually pretty tired and careworn
when night comes. She gets the even
ing meal ready the way she thinks the
easiest.
It's only my husband" she says, as
she prepares the unattractive food and
sets a lot of cracked and broken dishes
upon one end of a greasy, stained table.
She herself is neither tidy nor pleas
ant-looking. When a woman lives in
three rooms on SO or S12 a week, and
when all the family work-washing iron
ing and cooklng-muSt be done in the
same three rooms, which often also ac-
cCmmodate growing family, she is to
be forgiven for much
The husband comes home from his
days work tired and dirty He throws
himself into the nearest chair, asks for
a bit of supper. eats it ravenously with
out the slightest regard for real COM
fort, or even decency. and as soon as
he has bolted his food he picks his hat
UP from the floor and sets out for a
walk, where he may enjoy brighter sur
The record-union., 1897-12-01
INTERNATIONAL COURTESY.
An American Took the Lead OF a
British Cantain

| Not often does United States man
| of-war pass the Fourth of July in a
| British harbor." said one Of the older
naval officers on reading about the
| Brooklyn's stay in Southampton water.
| 1T is our practice TO save the Britishers
| the necessity of firing three twenty
one-gun salutes on that day. as. neces-
| sarily they remember what happened
] on the glorious Fourth and naturally
they don't feel like celebrating the an
| nivarSary. So before the Fourth Of
July our men-of-war almost never fail
| to leave port where the British bave
| jurisdiction.
But. speaking of national HOLIDAYS
and saiutes. l recall an amusing Incl
dent that happened in 1870. The United
States flagship Franklin was at anchor
in the hrabor of Malaga, Spain, in COM
pany with a large British ironclad.
Captain Carp Rodgers commanded the
Franklin. and 1 will call the ironclad's
commander Captain Dun. When one
man-of-war in a harbor celebrates
national holiday it is customary for all
other warships in the same harbor To
celebrate it also. Consequently. early
in the morning of May 24th the Frank
lin was prepared to dress ship in honor
of Queen Victoria's birthday. and at
dayb~eak our quartermasters We're
watching the British ship ready to fol-
low her notions as we say in the navy.
Presently a puff of smoke belched
out from the Briton's sarboard bow.
and. Supposing it to be the first gun of
the national salute, the executive officer
of the Franklin cracked off twenty-one
guns from her nine-inch maindeck bat
terry, ard broke all his flags IN yard
arms and rainbow dress. but when the
salute was over and the smoke was
lazily drifting away. it was seen that
the British ship was not dressed and
had not fired a salute.
"A few minutes later gig came
alongside the Franklin, and an English
Lieutenant came on board with this
message:
Captain Dun presents his compli-
ments to Captain Rodgers, and begs
leave to inform him that If he had
known that this was an American an
niversary he would have been ready TO
salute and dress ship. AS it is he will
do so at s o'clock
Captain Rodgers, on receiving this
| message, saw that Captain Dun had
forgotten that May 9th was the
Queens birthday. and he so worded his
reply as TO save Captain Dun's feel
ings as much as possible.
:" Present my compliments to Captain
Dun he said and tell him that if
had known that he did not intend to
dress ship and salute for her mai
esty's birthday until s o'clock / would
have delayed my own salute until that
hour. Your morning gun was taken for
the first gun of your salute, and the
Franklin went ahead without YOU
by s o'clock the British ship banged
away twenty-one times and the
Franklin did likewise. But didn't the
| other English Captains in the Mediter-
| ranean roast poor Dun when they
| learned that he had to be reminded of
| the Queens birthday by an American
| believe he had to give up his SHY and
go me."-Herald
The record-union., 1897-12-01

manufacture and care of powder and
high explosives and the preservation OF
the battery will be made plain. The
equipment Of men for landing drill, for
battalion formation and parade, for
cutting out and distant service, will be
thoroughly gone into, and it is expected
the thoroughness of the system will
turn out gun captains who will be as
familiar with technical requirements as
are the on-commissioned officers of the
smartest marine guards serving afloat.
The morale will not be neglected, and
principles of subordination discipline so
inculcated that when these scholars re-
turn to their ships and are assigned to
the charge of sectional and even high
er drills, they will know how to secure
and retain the official respect of the
bluejackets put under them. 1t is, in
deed, in this particular that very great
good is sought and expected. 1t is
much to have weH-trained men, but
when the navy is supplied with chief
and other petty officers whose status,
already similar TO that of non-commis-
STONED officers ashore will be recognized
by Junior rates with equal respect, then
will one of the most important factors
in discipline and efficiency be secured.
FUTURE PLANS.
Three rates of gun captains, receiving
pay commensurate with that of other
petty officers of similar grade, have
been established by the department,
and appointments to these will almost
vigorously be confined to those men
who have passed through the gunnery
training ship. But beyond this opens
promise of advancement to even
higher grades, and undoubtedly from
the most capable, experienced, subordi-
nate and self-restrained will be selected
the gunners of the future. The wis
dom of combining appointments in this
grade of warrant officer to eX-appren-
tices distinguished for their exceptional
qualities has been approved, and the
extension of the principle to the enlist
ed men who qualify ashore and afoat
in gunnery and ordnance will enhance
the good already achieved. In the rea
sonably' long but sure test that will be
made Of these gunnery instructors
aboard the cruising ships ample oppor
tunities Will offer for learning their
physical, mental and moral fitness for
advancement, and as the promotion
opens path for the self-respecung and
capable man the Government and the
service must profit equally.-Lieuten-
ant-Commander J. d. Jerrold Kelley in
New York Herald.
The record-union., 1897-12-01
TORTOISES TORTURED.
Methods of the Unskillful in Re-
moving Their Shells.

One of the most recent objects of in
terest on the part of sympathizers with
societies for the amelioration of the
condition of dumb animals is the tor
toise. The general impression prevails
that the procuring of tortoise shell is at
tended with a great deal of torture. and
that combs, hairpins, cigar and cigar
ette cases and other dainty articles are
manufactured from the mOttled shell
after the tortoise has been induced by
warm persuasive measures to get out
of it, An effort has been made in
London to persuade those who feel for
the suering animal to discountenance
! the use of all articles made of this ma
teriaI until more merciful measures for
| its production prevail.
DR. Albert Gunther, formerly of the
British Museum, however, says that the
practice of detaching tortoise shell from
the living animal by means of dry heat
is not SO general as is popularity sup
posed. Marketable tortoise shell. he
states is procured from one kind of
marine turtle only, the so-called haw-
bill turtle. This, like the other kinds of
turtle. has its body incased in a hard,
bony shell or carapace, which, again,
is covered on the back by large, thin,
horny plates, arranged like tiles. These
alone yield the tortoise she'll" and in
detaching them care has to be taken
not to injure them or to interfere with
their transparency
1T is only the unskillful," DR.. Gun
ther says, who resort to the method
of suspending the animal over a fire,
the heat of which causes the plates to
start from the underlying hard, bony
shell-a method whereby the value of
the marketable tortoise she'll is much
impaired. Sef-intereSt, therefore, has
long taught tortoise she'll hunters to
adopt a different mode. The animals
are killed or stunned by a blow on the
head, and then immersed in hot water.
The plates then come off easily without
having their surface burned or cloud
ed. New York Herald.
The record-union., 1897-12-01

.duced in this country, as tin, for in
stance Among the great changes are
those of manufactured iron or steel. In
which We are selling to the same coun-
tries from which but few years ago
we were forced to purchase. Under tne
protection afforded by the present tariff
laws these conditions will rapidly inn
prove.
TAKING ADVANTAGE.
Oakland Tribune: The British poets
are all taking advantage of the storm
ing of Dargai ridge by the Gordon
Highlanders to burst into song. Sir
Edwin Arnold is among the contribu-
tors to the event, but the Tommy At
kins jingler Rudyard Kipling, who
should be thoroughly at home with The
subject, has not yet been heard from.
Perhaps he cannot get the price he
wants, for Rudyard does not work FOR
glory and more, and he charges as
high as a dollar a word for his poetic
productions.
POSTAL. SAVINGS BANKS.
Alameda Encinal: OF all the newspa-
pers of the State which have discussed
the postal savings bank proposition we
have noticed but one which is opposed
to it. and the ground of that opposi-
ton is unique, to say the least 1t is
that such a system would put the Gov
ernment in the banking business. Wen,
what of it? 1t is already in the busl-
ness to the extent of issuing the bulk
of the money used in the country. and
it ought to have monopoly OF that
business What objection is there II
it? What better foundation is there
for paper money than the credit ana
good faith of the country? So with the
postal savings system. 1t affords peo-
pie with moderate means an absolutely
safe method of saving.
A HARD BLOW.
The Mail of Woodlands: One of the
strongest evidences of Republican
prosperity is the raising of the wages OF
ID, 600 employees of the Missouri racine
Railroad. owned by the Gould estate,
from ; to 20 per cent. This is nara
blow to the calamityites.
SHALLOW OBJECTION TO ANNEX
ALTON.
Los Angeles Record: AS an oratorlcal
effort. Senator Whites speech last night
against Hawaiian annexation may
have been entertaining and creditabie.
but il was a humiliating exhibition of
narrowness in one of whom the people
of California have a right to expect
broader views.
There was nothing more vital in his
argument against annexation than the
same shallow objections raised against
the proposition by the voice of some la
Dor organizations, to the effect that a
halt should be called in a great la
tional policy, merely because few
thousand cheap and unintelligent Ia
borers will be brought into competition
more directly. perhaps, than at pres
ent. through annexation.
The effect upon the labor market or
the sudden introduction of the feeble
and mixed dependents in the islands
would certainly be utterly lnappre-
ciable.
If the United States can assimilate
two or three hundred thousand Poles.
Hungarians. Russians and other Eu-
ropean nondescript annually, there IS
no force in Senator's Whites and the
labor unions objection to the intaklnS
| of the Hawaiians.
The record-union., 1897-12-01
Origin of the Steam Engine.

Various countries claim the credit of
having made the earliest practical ap-
phcation of steam power, but, judging
by facts gathered from the most au-
thentic sources, it was in Spain that
the movement of machinery by steam
was first brought under public notice.
At Barcelona, in the year 1543, a me-
chanic named Blasco de Garay after
many persistent efforts, succeeded in
impresSdng the Emperor Charles V of
Austria and l. of Spain with the value
Of his new invention for driving ships
by steam. The trial which took place
was considered a success by the pub
lie, but the chief of the royal COM
missioners-Ravago the treasure keep
er of the kingdom-for certain sinister
reasons persuaded the Emperor that
the discovery was of no practical value.
and so ruined the hopes of Blasco de
Garay.
Later on, about the beginning of the
seventeenth century. Giovanni Branca,
an Italian, invented a steam engine
and his machine is the first of which
we have any description or pictorial
record. About this same period, too,
France produced a claimant for the
glory of having invented the steam en-
gine, and Marion Delorme. in a letter
TO NJ. de Cinq Mars, dated Paris. 1641
gives an account of him in a visit to
the Bicetre with the Marquis of Wor-
cestar: we We're crossing the court
of the madhouse. and /, more dead than
alive with fright, kept close to my
companions side, when a frightful face
appeared behind some immense bars,
and hoarse voice exclaimed, I am not
madt l am not mad, I have made a
discovery which would enrich the
country which adopted it What has
he discovered?' p / asked of our guide.
Oh he answered, Struggling his Shout
ders, something trifling enough; you
would never guess it; it is the use OF
the steam of boiling water l began
to laugh This man. continued the
keeper is Solomon de Caus; he came
from Normandy four years ago to
present to the King a statement of
the wonderful effects that might be
produced from his invention. The Car
dinal sent the madman away without
listening to him. Salomon de Caus, far
from being discouraged, followed the
Cardinal wherever he went with the
most Determined perseverance, Nlio'
tired to death with his folly, ordered
him to be shut up in the Bicetre, where
he has been for three years and a half /.
Lord Worcester was conducted to
his (De CAUSE cell; and came back,
sad and thoughtful. He is indeed mad
now said he Misfortune and cap
tivity have ahenated his reason, but
it is you who have to answer for his
madness. When you cast him into that
cell you confined the greatest genius
of the age. :" Twenty-Five years after
the above incident. in a work of his
called Century of Inventions" the
Marquis of Worcester described a
steam apparatus of his own. Papin
followed with his in 16S1. Captain
Savery's engine for water raising was
made in 1898 and in 1112 Thomas
Newcomer constructed the first self
acting steam engine (Which worked
successfully for over a century,, and
with 1t the age of steam may be said
TO have been inaugurated.-Lloyd s
Weekly Newspaper.