davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
MOUNTAIN IDIOMS.
he Origin of Some Peculiar Expressions
Used in the South

The Origin of Some Peculiar Expressions
Used in the South.
\ correspondent of the New York
Evening Post writes: During the earlier
part of a long experience in the lnoun-
rainS of the South | found no little en-
trrtainnent in the idions used by the
native people. 1t was some months be-
fore l discovered that they were having
quite as much fun with me as | was
with them. Certain expressions hung to
my tongue as a result of 4 New England
training. ana considerable amount of
knocking about in other sections had
added to my vocabulary expressions
which were as new and amusing 20 :hem
as theirs were to me.
Some of their expressions were Purely
local and Of IL native manufacture. 9th
,rS We're general throughout the South,
and some were more distinctly national.
There were some which seemed 10 fur
nsh an opportunity for bit Of ihilo-
logical reflection. Some words were in
common use which were wholly lesiti-
mate. but almost, if not quite, obsolete
in wider circles l qneried much oy or
their common use of chit for tho pro-
noun lit 1t seemed to NE a cuckncy-
ism, but l could see no source from
which it could have come into such gen
eral use. l found it one day, accidental
ly, in the appendix to Webster's Diction-
AIRY: 1t was neither a cockneyism nor
an idiom. It was {; survival. The word
is also used in the same way in Scotland,
AMI will be found in the dialect Of some
Of the novels of George Macdonald. OF
the same order was the use of the word
"holp" where "helped" is the common
term. Il holp ter build hit" will illus
trate the use of both Of the words. Au-
thority for the word ''holp' may be
found in both the Bible and Shakes
peare. But hit was not of invariable
USE and not infrequently the same SEN
tence would include both 1T" and '')it. :"
The use Of the word "to' in combina-
ton with a verb where it is usually I'M
derstood instead of expressed, was also
noticeable to my unaccustomed lars, or,
in the idiom, years" AS an illustration
the expression would be ''Yoii needn't to
go.' II heard him to say it," Another
popularity struck me in the use of the
participle Of certain words: "IIit taken
me week to make He written me a
letter." The use of done is not lacal-
such as done gone" done did, and The
like-but think it would puzzle old An
drews and Stoddard to parse the SEN
tence, He done had him Il fight
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
Size Does Not Imply Strength,

Engineers have pointed out to builders
Of machinery. as an essential fact to be
borne in mind, that additional size in a
part of an engine or machine tool does
rot by any means necessarily imply "a
corresponding increase in strength-that
is the same metal may have strength
Of say $4,000 pounds per square inch in
a large shaft, 10000 pounds when drawn
into a one-inch rod. and 100000 pounds
in the form of Wire. the variations being
due to the manipulation which it has
undergone in manufacturing. In Illus
trating this fact, Prof. f. II. Thurston
cites the case of Il designer of rock drills
who was continually charging the size
and increasing the number of his cylin-
der-head bolts, which as steadily contin-
ued breaking under the blows of the
piston. He learned finally. however, to
lensthcn the body of the bolt and reduce
its diameter below that of the bottom of
its threads, and to understand that
strength without cxtensibility in such
places means inevitable fracture under
impact. Thus. where an exceptionally
large rod or a heavy crank is found. it
is often the case that the last of that
pattern broke through some accident. the
designer then making the next little
larger that it may stand in the same
contingency. when very likely the failure
had no relation to the proportions of the
part or of the pnrinp
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
SPIDER-WEB SILK.
The Madagascar Insect Eival of the
SilkWnl

Tie Madagascar Insect Il Eival of the
Silkwo,m.
The web of the Madagascar spider is
about to be utilized for the purposes of
silk manufacturing by a company of
FRENCH capitalists. The natives of the
island where this spider thrives know
very well the good qualities of this thread,
but their innate laziness prevents their
applying themselves to the systematic ex-
ploita ton of the webs. 1t is still re-
memDered that the creoles of A1auritius
presented Empress Eugenie with a pair
of mitts made of this spiders threads.
which were so fine that they could hardly
be noticed On her hands, for they were
almost transparent and colorless.
y French naturalist, NJ. Cambolle, has
but recently ascertained that the NADIA
gascar spider produces at the beginning
Of its work more than 100 yards of thread
per hour. increasing in quantity until it
produces more than $50 yards per hour
His experiments show that this thread
has about the consistency and strength
of the thread produced by the silk worm
fed on mulberry leaves A newly-con-
structed little machine which winds the
thread on bobbins automa tically immedi-
ately from the spider is to be employed
i'll Madagascar. The spiders themselves
are to be raised Systematically in enor-
nous numbers, and although the fabrics
made from the new material may be stu.
pcndously costly at first, it is not unlike
to see dresses made of spider web.-Ex-
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
Dressing the Children.

'For time the little ones were dressed
so much like their mothers or -up
sisters that there was little or nothing
left for them when they We're launched
into society," writes Mary Katharine
Howard in the Woman's Home Com
panion. But now we have radical
change, and the rules of fashion wisely
decree that we cannot dress our girls and
boys too simply. This is comforting
decision to the mothers who have large
families to look after, and whose many
duties will not permit their making elabo-
rate creations for the children. 1t is a
sensible fashion that proclaims the plain
~ dressed child Il stylish and we'll
dressed one. Of course, plain clothes do
not OF necessity mean severely straight
uD-and-down styles, without soft laces
and ribbons to lend childish effect. but
they mean consistency with age and oc-
caslon. with conspicuous absence of
aplng grown-up people and an appearance
OF oyerdress. The matter of dress means
much all through life, and should form IL
certain part of children's training, just
as cleanliness and good manners must be
Taught 1t the coming generation is to re-
meet credit upon its predecessors. A
enid should be made to know the reason
why frock worn to fancy-dress party
IS not suitable on" to be worn in
church, and that to be dressed above and
beyond her guests at her own birthday
party is breach of good manners and
exquisite taste.'
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12

u
to him that possibly tho same results
could be obtained by filling up the orig
inal engraving with lampblack instead
OF making an impression of it. and filling
up that. Struck with the idea, he put
it into practical use, and with q little
damp paper succeeded in getting a fair
impression from the engraving. The
discovery was communicated to other
workers in this art, and they hailed II
with joy, as it saved all the arduous trol-
bic of making sulphur casts, but they
never saw the full value of the discov-
cry, and consequently the art of plate
engraving lay for almost a century be-
fore it's true import was discovered and
brought out in all it's great and beautiful
results. To-day collectors of plate en-
cravings rave over the crude results of
earlier. times, and search the world for
examples of these early masters to add
to their collections. Many of these col
lections have been presented to museums,
where they may be seen and appreciated
by the people.-Harper's Round Table.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
BRIEF NOTES OF NoTABLEs.

The London eommittee having in
charge the memorial to Robert Louis
Stevenson has decided to raise the sum
of $4,000 with which to erect a statue
of the author.
Nine. Adam was driven into Journal
ism by the unhappiness of her first mar
ried life. Her parents married her while
she was girl Of Is to notary in a pro-
vincial town. She left her husband, and,
aided by George Sand, wrote herself into
fame in Paris.
The assertion that Frank II. Stock
ton "sometimes waits an hour for a
word has called forth the following in
teresting piece Of information: "Alphonse
Daudet has long periods of menta. ill.,
ertia in which he is willing to work, but
feels unable to frame a sentence"
When Rev. J. ]. Arnaud. the recent
~ elected department chaplain of the
Grand Army of the Republic in New
York, entered the army he was but Is
years old. We went out us drummer
boy, and studied for the ministry when
his term of service was ended.
DR.. Nansen's book. which the Con.
stables published in London last Monday,
in two sumptuous volumes, is the liter
airy sensation of the week and a great
success. 1t is heing doomed in ali the
bookstores and libraries. and papers gen
orally arc lavish in their praise of the
work.
The father of Stephen Crane wrote a
book in 1860 on Popular Amusements, :"
in which he declared that novel reading
had become one of the great vices of the
age" and advised his readers if 'you
have but little time for reading" to
spend none of it on felton, A good
many readers will regret that the opin-
ions of the "old man" We're not regarded
rs sufficiently important to prevent his
son from following fiction as profess
sion
Mrs. Harrison, who wrote THE
Csri$sima' as Louis Malet, is great
lover # the poetry of her father, the
Rev. Charles Kingsley When she is
ut home she is on ground he has made
familiar: for her husband is the rector of
Ciovelly. But Mrs. Harrison. who is
not at all robust in health. has lately
been t, Australia on visit to her broth
trS, one Of whom. Maurice. is called after
the +. u. NJ. Of Tennyson's well-knoWn
lines.
-"Pastor Tom Sturgeon of the Met
rooolitan Tabernacle. says the London
Daily News. took his little son to wit
phanase. No doubt Master Spurgeon
has Il very happy home, but when he saw
the array Of toys, Christmas trees and
the general jollity in the institution
W hirh his grandfather founded, he looked
up in his fathers face, and made the I'M
hlial remark: ''Oh. don't l wish 1 was
An orphan.
Alfred Quantin Mary. who died re-
Gently in Paris, was serving rs lieu
tenant of the National guard at the
Chamber Of Deputies in 1913. when it
was invaded by the uprising of the peo-
pie The Duke Of Charities and the
Count of Paris. both children at that
time. We're present 1T the sitting Lieut.
Mary seized the Count of Paris in his
arms, jumped out Of the window with
him and hid him at the Invalides. An
other lieutenant of the guard did sim
liar service for the Duke of Charities.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
Sleeping After Meals

While rest from accustomed exercise
after eating is important, it should hn
noted that sleep at this time is equally
as bad as vigorous exercise of either
mind or body. Good digestion cannot
take place during sleep. While it is true
that digestion is an involuntary act, it
should be recollected that it is dependent
upon the activity of the nervous system
for its proper performance. The same
nerve which secures activity of the res
plratory organs-the pneumo-gastric-
controls the muscular activity of the
stomach and the intestines. During sleen.
from the lessening of nervous activity.
both the respiration and the circulation
are greatly lessened in vigor. 1t is but
reasonable to suppose that the activity of
the digestive organs is decreased at the
same time, being controlled by the same
nerves. Actual experiment shows this to
De true Most people who lie down and
sleep an hour or two soon after taking
food. awake feeling anything but re-
freshed. The suspension of the process
to considerable degree during sleep
causes imperfect digestion, with it's nu-
merous unpleasant symptoms. In the
case of old people, it may sometimes be
beneficial or at least not harmful, to Sc
cure few minutes sleep after eating,
before digestion is well begun; but It
must not be long continued.
In order to secure the best conditions
for digestion after eating, an individual
should take gentle exercise of some kind.
as walking, or carriage or horseback rid.
ing. While violent exertion seriously in.
terrupts the digestive process, a moder-
ate degree of physical exercise facilitates
it by increasing the activity of the glands
by which the gastric Juice is formed. It
is probable that gentle exercise also en-
courages digestion by stimulating the
movements Of the stomach -Good House
keeDing. 49, : ->'o =
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
Two of Grants Anecdotes.

In his Campaigning with Grant in
the March Century, Gen. Horace Porter
gives the following anecdotes that were
related by Grant at the headquarters
mess:
II was with Gen. Taylor's command in
Mexico when he not only failed to re-
ceive reinforcements but found that near
~ all his regulars We're to be sent away
from him to join Gen. Scott. Taylor was
apt to be Il little absent-minded when alb
sorbed in any perplexing problem, and
the morning he received the discoura cling
news he sat down to breakfast in a
and instead OF putting IN the sugar, he
reached out and got hold of the mustard
pot and stirred half a dozen spoonfuls of
its contents into the coffee. He didn't
realize what he had done till he took a
:n1outhful. and then he broke out in a
towering rage.
eve learned something at Shiloh
.nbout the way in which the reports of
losses are sometimes exaggerated in bat
tie. At. the close Of the first days fight
~
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
GOSSIP FOR THE LADIES.
Too Late.

q ..t
.. how could have loved that maid.
My glft would have been too small, sa@
II on the altar Of love | laid w..
My fortune, my life, my all.
I thought I saw In the liquid eye %
! A daWning of love FOR me, 7: -" =
A gentle breathing Of sigh for sigh 49,
"From that breast Of sympathy.
How fair this dull world would have
seemed, 80
Had her love made bright the way. Il.
Had just that smile on my darkness
cleaned,
My night had then been day,
And my daily toll, by love Inspired,
Had been more sweet than play,
What heights to climb by ambition fired
Would her smile but lead the way.
Alas, 1t can never, never be!
Alone on my path creep,
That picture Of love Is not for me,
1t can only make me weep.
l never shall kiss that golden hair,
Nor whisper her soft and low.
For she's an ancestress sweet and fair
or two hundred years ago.
A. II. WOrdeu
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12

pretty ringlets fulfilling about his delicate
baby face, the clever little fellow will 20
throug h the really artistic work with
perfect self-possession
He recites How Salvador Won," in
Imitation of Miss Jennie O'Neil Potter.
He gives verse of 'Curfew Shall Not
Ring Tonight in the character of a
nervous chool girl, of Vasasr student
afflicted with an overdose of Delsarte,
and of a crushed tragedian. He initiates
Mccullough as Spartacus. Florence as
Bob Briefly, in THE Ticket of Leave
Man." and impersonates four different
chara cters in dime museum. One of his
favorite performances is Il stump speech
on oman-Her Rights" which never
fails to convulse the audience. Altogeth-
or he shows talent and versatility which
promise we'll for the time when the little
chap shall have outgrown babyhood and
can appear in public
At present his performances arc all
before private audiences, for little Wal
ter lives i'll New York. where the law
does not permit him to exhibit his gifts
OH u public stage.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
Two Classes of Readers.

"About fifteen years ago readers used
to be divided roughly into two classes
those who liked Dickens and those who
'adored Thackeray,' writes the clever
critic, Droch, in the Ladies' Home Jour-
nal. Each class used to view the other
with more or less contempt. OF the two
the Thackeray people felt themselves con-
siderably superior to the Dickens people.
There were not so many Of them, for one
thing, and this in itself gave them n
feeling of exclusiveness something like
the attitude assumed by George Mere
dith's admirers of the present day.. But
Thackeray's complete works for $500
rapidly abolished the aristocracy. Arti-
fetal barriers do not long count for much
with a great writer. You no doubt very
soon find out that in certain moods there
was nothing more satisfying to you than
'Pendennis,' and at another time the best
novel that you ever read was David
Copperfeld.' I have no doubt that in
the long run deep in your heart you
will cherish a finer affection for the one
than the other. That is a matter Of tenn
permanent and your surroundings, The
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12


Sherman met a colonel of one OF his regi-
ments with only about 100 of his sol
diers IN ranks. and said to him, why,
where are your menY The colonel cast
tear from his cheek, and replied in a
whimpering voice; I'VE went in 800
strong. aud that's all that's left of u.s.
You don't tell met exclaimed Sherman,
beginning to be deeply affected by the
fearful result of the carnage. Yes said
the colonel; the rebs appeared to have n
special spite against us Sherman
passed along some. hours afterwards,
when the commissary was issuing ra-
tons. and found that the colonel's men
were returning on the run from under
the bank of the river, where they had
taken shelter from the firing; and in a
few minutes nearly all of the lost 700
had reioined.. and were boiling coffee
and eating n hearty meal with an appc-
titc that showed they were still very
much alive"
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12

end and shaped as shown in the draw.
ing. The boards should be ronailed to
straighten it. Then obtain four hard
wood barrel slaves of uniform width.
Fasten them together in pairs, the con-
vex sides facing, thus forming two run,
and give an easy motion to the sled At
the ends where they are Joined. cross
sticks equal in length to the width of
the box should be malice; fast to unite
the runners and to strengthen their weak
point.
The runners are then to be screwed
fast to each side of the box.
Under the front and back ends of the
box. flat strip may be nailed to both
box and runners in such Il position that
the anchorage of the box to the slaves
will be tirmer than if fastened only at
the middle.
Illustration No. 2 depicts another style
same shape as before, and nailed to
strengthen it. Two side runners, from
four to six inches in width, are securely
screwed to the lower sides of tho box
in such q position that the back ends of
them will stop at the rear of the box
and the front ends will project about
twelve Or fourteen inches. This win
result in strong, simple, and serviceablc
sled. with which great deal of am,1se-
ment may be had
Illustration No. s shows drag made
Of barrel slaves which will measure
about five feet by thirty inches. Two
runners five feet long are made. each
consisting of three barrel staves-two
slaves to form the runners. and third
placed in the middle over the Joint.
10 this upper stavc the lower ones arc
nailed or screwed as firmly as possible;
this gives a curved runner five feet long
and four inches wide.
When the runners are ready, nail upon
them a number of crosspieces to form
a bridge seat; and through the middle
nail two slaves to bind these cross slaves,
and strengthen the construction. Holes
should be made at the ends of the run
ners, into which a rope may be tied.
This drag will comfortably scat two, and
is a good slider Oh ice or hard snow.
In all these sleds the bottoms of the
runners may be made more slippery by
lacking strips of thick tin upon them.
For use on ice, however, this is hardly
necessary. as the friction will be slight
compared to that OH snow.
J. Harry Adams.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
Women, Bicycles and Consumpion.
Copperplate Engraving,

Everyone has noticed on his visiting
card the extremely delicate lines of his
name, and most everyone knows that
they are produced by printing from an
engraved copperplate. Like many other
things of use and beauty, this art of cop
perplate engraving 4 was discovered
through the merest accident, by the gold
smiths of Florence, in the Fifteenth CEN
fury. 1t is an historical fact, however,
that one day an engraver on gold, wish
usual sulphur, cast, and then filled up
the lines with 1ampblack, thus enabling
him to see exactly how his work looked
While occupied in doing this it occurred
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
Queer Road-RuildinC Materials.

"They have Il novel sort Of road down
here. continued Gen. Slope. that is de
lightful to ride over. 1t is known as fiber
road. and is mad" of the rrfu>" of the
palm fiber that is used fer hrnom>.
brushes. baskets and other purposes.
They spread this waste eight or t"n
inches deep upon 4 foundation of sand.
and then spread sand over it. Whri,
moistened 10y the rain the fiber and the
sand pack closely and become Il solid sub
stance, even more elastic than tanbark.
There are seven miles of fiber read here.
The only road | ever saw like it is at No
ccdah Wis. where the shavingS from the
mills that saw shingles with the grain of
the wood are laid ON short roadway
with great success. Another good road
in Florida is made of tine fosSliZel shells
from Dc Leon county. hut it is more en-
pcnsive on account of the tranSporta-
ton. "-.Iacksonvillc tFla.l CORES. of the
Chicago Record
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
The Guinea Fowl,

1t is only here and there that the
guinea fowl is to be found nowadays
They are getting to be as scarce as the
traditional hens teeth" And yet they
are a fowl we'll worthy the farmers at
tention. According to our taste they
are the superior of any domestic fowl
for table use. Their flesh is palatablc,
having just enough 'gameness' about
it to give it a peculiar relish. They are
fairly good layers. and as burglar alarms
and scarecrows they arc hard to beat
Try few next season if you can get
hem,-Farmers' Magazine,
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-03-12
FOR BOYS AND GIRLS,
Tho Old Fogy Preacher,

Tho Old Fogy Preacher.
rs, talks to empty pews, although
He Is a learned man, ~ y
And strives In all his acts to do.
The very best he can; - =. ..
He cheers the sick and oft he knocks
Upon the Widows door;
He feeds the hungry orphan from
HIS own too meager store.
Bnt he has never paved the air
While ''glorifying Cod"
AID no one ever heard him swear
That Jonah was u fraud!
This man has never killed u cat
To emphasize II point,
Nor Is he always crying that
The times are out OF Joint.
He only breaches Love and Faith
And Hope, as best he may:
lie only seeks to follow Christ
As He has shown the way!
What though he reads his title clear
TO mansions In the sky?
The people do not flock to HEAR
They say he's dull and dry!
~. =. Kiser In Cleveland Leader