davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
Landor and WordsWorth.

Walter Savage Landor was an intem-
perate person in words and hated Words.
worth. Were there ever more contempt
uous words than these of Landor's IL
reference 10 Wordsworth? "Pastiness
and fatness are the qualities Of IA pan
cake, and thus far he attained his end.
- Let him place the accessories on
the table, lest what is insipid and clam
my 80. grow into duller accretion ard
moister viscidity the more / masticate
it." IN Landor's letter TO Ralph Waldo
Emerson he writes: I'VE must now de
scend to Wordsworth. he ofteu gave aI
opinion on authors which he Eever had
read. Plato for instance. He speaks con.
temptuously Of the Scotch.
praised line Of SCOTS ON the dog Of 4
traveller lest in the Snow of l remem-
berD ca Skiddaw. He said il was the
only good one in the poem and began
instantly to recite a whole poem Of hi.
own ON the same subject"
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
The Old Virginia Fiddler.

What has become Of the old Virginia
fiddler who was known and greeted by
all the young people for miles around?
OF old there could be no Christmas in
the country without him. he was as in
dispensable as the ehildTen's stockings,
the eggnOg bowl, the roasted shoat, the
mince pie or the stuffed turkey. be was
the important functionary at every
dance and called out the figures in an
Interchangeable voice, which grew fiercer
and fiercer as he warmed up TO his work.
Has our old friend disappeared! Is his
fiddle cracked and his bow unstrung?
Has he been unable to Withstand the in
vasion Of his territory by the piano and
the piano agent? We fear so. We hear
of him very seldom now, whereas in the
times bygone at Christmas his name
was ON every tongue, and his bow was
a scepter welded over many willing
subjects. Happily for him that he found
suitable eulogists before his type was
extinct. Dr. George W. Bagby, that
great humorist and player upon the
heart strings Of men, in numerous
sketches, and the founder of this paper.
in his delightful, realistic "reminiscences,
have both described and immortalized
the old Virginia fiddler. And well they
did, for he is becoming as rare as the
buffalo upon the western prairies. But
well he served his day and generation
before he laid down "de fiddle and de
bow. ."-Richmond Dispatch.
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
1her Do No, NIna the rennl..

Experience has made the men of the
fruit stands ovCrcautious IN handling
coin above the size Of a 10 cent piece
The larger pieces they viii test upon the
pavement or sink their teeth into in a
tentative fashion. II l. 20 b. noted,
however, that whenever a customer
makes a penny purchase they pocket his
change without scanning it-almost
hastily indeed There is deep reason in
this procedure.
For one thing, nobody cOunterfeits
the cent piece; it is too cheap For an
other thing, the fruit dealer knows that
no coin Of smaller denomination Is pass
ing into his hands For a third thing
and this i the most important, there Is
always a chance that the customer Is
deceived himself aud Is handing over a
nickel, dime or one Of the minor gold
pieces, under the impression that he is
naying but a penny. If he looks satisfied
and starts to 20 away, he is not likely
to be called back 20 get the change. Oc-
casionally some such involuntary wind
fall comes the way Of the fruit man.
New York Mail and Express.
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
rn-.crsa, Chart, started.

D.. Barnado, who is at the head G,
an association fer rcscuing the children
Of the criminal class in London. has told
the story Of the incident which tirs'
drew his attention TO them.
In 1886 while studying medicine, he,
with a friend, taught a night ragged
school for men in an old stable. One
bitter night when the school was over
he found a boy lying asleep close TO the
embers of the fire. he yoke him aud
told him ne must go home
Il have no home, was the reply.
"Nonsensel You must live some
where -
II don t live nowheres, the boy in
sisted
The medical student found that tho
child for three years had been sleeping
in the strec-s of London. The next night,
with this lad for guide, he found II
boys asleep i'm Houndsditch ON the root
Of one building. The neX6 night he
found at Rilhngsgate over 20 little fel-
lows stretched ON a number of barrels,
covered with tarpaulin-
The young man told these facts at a
public meeting. The Earl Of Shaftes-
bury, an eager philaDth>spist, went
with him that night TO BilliIssgate and
found the poor little gamins ON the bar
rels. An old house was taken, cleaned
and furnished with cheap, comfortable
beds. DR.. Barnado took charge Of it
The work has grown until his houses
have received tens Of thousands OF
friendless children until permanent
homes have been found for them
Turgenef, when q boy, saw one day
8 woman, q serf ON one Of his mother s
estates, brutally beaten. He never for
got the incident. The result, years aft
erward, was q volume of sketches of the
lives of serfs. II fell into the hands of
the car, and it is said was the cause of
the ukase which he issued soon after
ward, enfranchising all the serfs OF
Russia
1t was not the homeless boy nor the
serf with the blood flowing from her
stripes that wrought these good works
in the world Homeless boys had slept
in London streets and serfs had been
beaten in Russia for centuries. The help
lay III the pitying hearts of two young
men.-Youth's Companion.
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
Tres on Thoroughfare..

William a. Coffin, the landscape
painter, in a lecture ON art before a
woman's society, made an earnest plea
in the furtberance Of art for the plant
ing Of more trees ON our thorOughfares.
These play great part in breaking the
lines of our monotonous or often inoOn-
gruous architecture. He pointed out
that Paris. with a climate as rigorous as
our, owes its beauty 20 a great extent
20 the enrichment that verdure lends IL
for SIX months Of the year. He counted
On the doctors bearing him out in this
plea On account Of the sanitary proper
ties foliage Possesses. He remarked that
while we are waiting for a Baron
Haussmann % orehabilitate our thorough
fares and make them yield artistic an
giles we can at least render the vista en-
compassed by the eye more agreeable by
having il presented through horsc chest
nuts and maplos.-New York Times
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
GOLD AND SILVER PLATING.
{ Process That l. Described rs Simple by
"A Professional.

frOtee>louAA-
The following is a very simple method
for gold and silver plating: Take an
ounce of nitrate Of silver, which Is
made as follows: One ounce of fine sl-
yer. one ounce nitric acid, one-haf
ounce water. Put the silver into Flor
enee flask. then pour in the acid and
water. Place the flask ON the sand bath
I for a few moments, taking care not 10
apply too much heat, and as soon as
/ chemical action becomes violent remove
the flask to a cooler place and allow the
| action 10 90 on until it nearly stacks,
/ when. If there is amy silver still remain
ing. the flask may be placed on the bath
again until the silver disappears II the
acid employed Is weak, 1t may be neces-
sarv to add little more. The red fumes
| formed when chemical action Is going
on disappear when the acid has done ITS
work
The nitrate of silver formed during
the above operation should be poured
into porcelain capsule and heated IN
Ill a pellicie appears on the surface
when il NAV be set aside to crystalline
The uncrystallized liquor should be
poured from the crystals into another
vessel and heat APPLIED until 1t has
evaporated sufficiently 10 crystalline.
| Then you have nitrate Of silver. Take
an ounce Of nitrate Of silver, dissolve in
a quart Of distilled rainwater. When
! thoroughly dissolved, throw in few
crystals of hyposulphite of soda, which
I will at first form a brown precipitate,
but which becomes redissolved if enough
/ hvposulphite has been added There
must BE- present a slight excess Of this
salt The solution is now complete.
. Take a sponge, dip il IN the solution
Z and rub il over the work 10 Be- plated
4 solution Of gold may be made IN
the same way and applied as described
/ A concentrated solution Of either gold
OF silver may be used for work that has
I been worn OF by applying II with
camel's hair brush and touching 1t with
a strip Of zinc. The writer has used this
method with the most satisfactory sue
Co.'S. The gold CT silver used in making
must be perfectly fine. Cir
7 c,1la-
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
WHAT THE YOUTH NEEDED.
The Order wes Given by the Man Whom
lie Made Tired

He Made Tired
Now and then Chicago draws chap
pie in the great shuttle of life. The other
DAY one arrived here from an inland
town who had few points to spare in
his trunk
He took up his residence in an aristo-
cratic family hotel, where he appeared
religiously each night at a O'Clock
dinner in the evening dress of a second
class swell. This was all very commend
able and cleanly, and not as all extraor-
binary where so per cent Of the men
dil the same thing.
But the good impression awakened by
the chastity Of the newcomers appear
ance in the ineffable bosom and tie was
obscured by his attempt 10 order his
dinner in rs much French as he deem
ed would be Ineligible. The sorority
of his final order for a demitasse
was good for all the surrounding tables,
if not for the buffers pantry.
As the first week rolled ON the young
man grew more Frenchy, more mellow,
more metropolitan in spirit, and On the
occasion of his first evening at home
made his way TO the smoking room,
where he arranged himself dangerously
and picturesquely in an easy chair.
Near him was the station of a small
| colored buttons
"Garconi Garconr' called out the
oriental one, hut little William stood,
with his heavy, seallike eyes rolled up
ward and his great paws crossed sol
emnly over his brass buttoned jacket,
/ regardless and needless Of the over.
whelming honor being done him
Il say, there, garcon, won't you
bring me-ah''-
Some brains. William. for thii
chap, growled an apoplectic man ot
the other side Of the room--ChicagC
| Tribune.
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
Coal Dust Ignition.

4 proof Of the remarkable ease with
which dry coal dust may be brought &c
ignition, even by exposure to the suns
rays, ard also an explanation of many a
fire at similar surface buildings in col
lieries ard elswhere, in which timber,
etc, covered with coal dust may be in
intimate connection with heated metal
plates, has been afforded in a German
collicry. Tie surface works of the col
liery are made chiefly of iron, the gal
vanized corrugated sheets which form
the walls Of the building being supported
by strong iron girders- 1t became neces-
sary TO repair a pipe passing through
one of the sheets forming wall facing
the south. A mechanic, on going TO re-
move the layer of coal dust from a girder
close to the sheet, burned his hand. The
official inquiry showed that the layer of
coal dust, which contained large pro-
portion of puiverized rock, had become
ignited along the whole length of the
metal wall. The heat Of the sun had
struck right through and the coal dust,
as was proved by the layer Of white ash
on the top, had been burning for con-
siderable time.-St. Louis Globe-Demo-
cr.1
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
Orchard Cultivation.

An orchard well managed may be
made 20 pay several times rs much for
the land occupied and the labor spent as
the best : ed On the farm. But it will
bc poor investment If 1t is neglected
and suffered to go TO ruin Cultivation
is indispensable TO enable the soil TO
contribute It's fertility to the trees. Tie
surface must not be left untouched, to
become covered with rank weeds or
moss, to he bare and barren. There is
nothing better than a crop Of clover, and
this sheuld be permitted to die down
and decay on the surface. a plow should
never be suffered III an orchard. Only
The surface should be stirred, lest the
iine feeding roots be injured and
the trees checked in their growth. A
good narrowing in the fall and two or
three in the summer will be all the cul-
tivation an orchard requires. Cole
mans Rural World.
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
Guarding Her EMPLOYERS Secret.

A Lasalle street lawyer, who had
spent three months in securing a power
Of attorney which would enable him to
complete an important real estate deal,
gave the paper granting him the desired
authority to his stenographer
He wanted a copy Of the instrument
for reference. A few minutes after the
young lady had received the paper she
handed to her employer the copy of the
power of attorney.
Where is the original?' queried the
lawyer as he looked at the unconcerned
typewriter.
"Oh, / tore that up," said the young
woman with a smile. Il tore it into
fine pieces so that no one would get hold
of it. -
The astonished lawyer spent the next
half hour in picking bits of paper out of
the waste basket. These he pasted ON O
sheet of paper and presented the patch
work to his clients to convince them of
his good faith in their interests He is
now using the mails to secure again his
power Of attorney.-Chicago News.
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14

A debating society pursued an errafic
existence nearly a scoIe of years ago on
the North Side, and The loJs--now well
known men-bavs told many iaughable
instances Of its checkcred career.
Driven from one home to arother, the
members. on promise OF good behavior,
induced the Lincoln Park Congrega-
tional church TO allow them the pI1vi-
lege Of meeting in one of the anterooms
The first meeting, by Ill luck, feii ON
prayer meeting night.
The details Of the evening are told by
one of the members.
The prayer meeting, in the adJoln-
ing room, had Just reached Its most de-
vout stage when our boys fully woke up
TO their evenings programme. Daniel
Sullivan, now assistant state attorney,
was in the chair and called upon David
Maxwell, at present of Maxwell Bros. {,
box manufacturers, for u song.
1.-THE solemn tones Of prayer rose
from the other room, when Dave took
the rostrum and started to sing in a
loud voice the classic lines of The Hun
cry Man From Breemer Street.
Neither the song nor the prayer was
ever finished. Rev. Henry Leayitt rush
ed into cur meeting, white with anger.
acct out of herer he shouted. Don {
you ever show your saces inside Of this
room againl You are worse than the
thieves whom Christ cast cut Of the
synagoguer Chicago Record
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
Changed the Bodies.

Here is really true story: Lately an
English family had the misfortune to
lose an aged aunt, who died in st. Pc
tersburg. Arrangements were most care
fully made and directions sent that the
body should be forwarded 10 England to
be inferred in the family vault. In due
time a magnificent coffin arrived, and
before it was lowered to its last resting
place it was opened for inspection.
Much TO the dismay of the family. in
stead Of finding the features and frail
form Of their beloved aunt, the corpse
Of a Russian officer, clothed in military
garments and decorated with ribbons
and medals, was disclosed TO view. a
frantic telegram was dispatched to the
Russian capital, towhich the following
answer was received: Lady buried
yesterday with military honors. Please
keep the general London Core
spOndence.
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14

Painful EmLs-ras.ment.

Two of the smallest men in the city
were standing at the curbstone waiting
for car. Their conversation had been
about the traditional feminine tendency
to extravaganza and the difficulty they
had in keeping their domestic expendi-
tures down 20 what they considered a
reasonable limit
There they are now," exclaimed
one of them
"Whog''
Our wives. And I'll bet they've
been shopping.
They seem TO be talking very ear
nestly about spending something
IN bet can tell what my wife is
talking about
Are you a mind reader?''
mo. But can make a guess on that
subject I'll bet you q dinner can any
how
IN take it. -
"All right She's liking about
spending money. Well % up behind
them and overhear what they are say
ing to prove it A"
They crossed the street. and the origi-
nator of the idea smiled knowingly as
his wife opened her purso and peered
into it. Ny dear" she said 10 her
companion. ''have you any changer
''Yes, a little" I"
well, would you mind lending me
penny TO buy postal card:''
Certainly, if have one. Oh, yes.
Here it is
Thank you ever so much. have 8
cents, but hate TO use it A nickel al
ways seems TO go so fast after you once
break il.
The man who offered the wager had
won ii. but for some reason he didn' {
seem proud-Washington Star.
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
Lisut to Won Bulou's Mother.

Hans is evidently gifted with mu-
sical organization of the rarest kind
His executive talent will easily place
him in the front rank of the greatest
pianists, and his essays at composition
denote quite exceptional qualities of
Imagination, of individuality and of
conception. Besides, Hans has taken an
antipathy TO every career which would
sever him from art Permit me, then,
TO confide to your motherly love the
happy solution of the noble struggle be-
tween his natural vocation and that
destined for him, however bright and
alluring it might be, and in view of the
sentiments which dictate this letter pray
pardon the intercession have ventured
TO make to you today. Early Core
spondence of Hans Van Bulow"
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
English Administration of Jamaica.

The English administration of ia
maica is a thing TO be thankful for.
There are law and order. excellent
roads, comfortable houses, adequate po-
lice, lawn tennis and cricket, plenty of
manly. companionable English army
and navy officers and a governor who is
strong, able and genial. At the same
time il would be folly to maintain that
the island is producing a tenth part of
the wealth that is latent in soil and
atmosphere, or that most Of the wealth
that is beginning to make its ap-
peararce is due 10 anything so much
as 10 the American enterprise and cap
ital which are opening up railways
and cultivating fruits. Another serious
sact, though not necessarily an unwel-
tome one. is that the islands 1000
square miles contain a population of
GOO, 000 persons, %, 900 Of whom are
white Julian Hawthorne in Century.
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
The Yellow Iiatine.

Isn't it delightful" remarked thc
true woman. when you are asked tc
dinner and find that the table has rose
colored lampss"
Il don't see il" answered the true
man. what difference do the rose
lamps maker"
If that isn't just like a mani she
retorted. Rose shades make ones COM
plexion exquisite. You have never been
20 a Princeton dinner evidently. Yellow
does make a charming table-nothing
prettier, in fact. But we poor women
Under saffron lamps it is the yellow
badge Of courage. "--Philadelphia Press
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
uumorou. Aspect. Of a Police Court.

He treats me something ridicS.oss. y
was the complaint Of one much abused
wife against her husband. The man be
ing brought up to answer the charge and
perhaps explain il. answered.: This is
dead piece Of jealousy, your honor.
Don't mind her. "
An old Irish woman came before me
at the Harlem court and wanted her
boy" arrested for misbehaying himself
in her house. II came out that her boy
was IS years old, and when said 10 her
that he was pretty old boy she remark
ed, Sure, he's not gurl, and l count
boy a man only when he's married- -
A German with very much battered
head complained that the defendant had
made ''dinge" in it and described the
assault Us follows, HE do me a crack
On de kopf, like dis. and l do noddings
by him. ''-Scribner's.
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
Quite Natural.

They were bowling along the boule-
wards just after their arrival in Paris
the other day. They were Americans,
and the wife was more conyersant than
the husband with the French language
Most Of the time since their arrival had,
OF course, been spent in racing from
one hotel TO another in search Of various
fellow countrymeD. This accomplished,
the wife said that they would drive to
the Louvre, where, it so happened,
neither of them had ever been before.
They accordingly made for the big
square, with its shops on one side, the
hotel on the other and the museum in
front. As the latter burst upon the
wife's vision, bringing to mind so many
cherished associations and signifcances,
she could hardly contain herself. "Oh,
she cried, fairly jumping mp and down
Ni.h excitement, there's the Louvre!
Do you see. my dear? It's actually the
Louvre. The husband saw all right
enough, but not what the wife intended.
The big art gallery is not labeled in any
way, you know, and. moreover, the
twain had spent all their previous time
IN hunting up their friends at various
hostelries. With his eyes, therefore, fix
ed upon the sign Hotel de Louvre" the
husband calmly remarked, "Well, who's
stopgainR there:'-New York Sun.
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
Got More Than He Gave.

The London cab and omnibus mer
are noted for their smart and ofttimes
humorous retorts and repartee, Of which
the following is a good example:
One afternoon a westward going ON
nibus picked mp a lady and gentleman
right out of the hands of a cabman a;
Piccadilly. On pulling up, the omnibus
very nearly collidod with heavy van.
This was the Jehu's opportunity.
"You are nice sort of party &c
have the charge of the heads Of fami-
lies, you arer' he shouted at the omni-
bus driver why didn't you bring your
mother cat to help you old the horses
on their feet?"
Like a flash came the retort: Bring
my mother cut indeed while there's
such faces as yours knocking about the
streets! Not me! l don't want to have
the old woman scared to death. She's
been a good mother to me, she as. -
London Fun
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14

The young matrons who were taking
a course in housekeeping principally
because it was fad had been listening
more or less intently to the lecturS r,
when the latter startled them by IN
quiring:
what is the first thing 10 be done in
training waitress?"
Convince her that she is not already
trained" promptly answered the one
who had had the most experience, and
the lecturer said, Quite right. Chi
caco Post.
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14

Peanuts grow in large quantities on
the northwest coast of Africa, but are
known there as ground nuts. They are
dug up by the natives aud bartered with
the European traders for merchandise,
tobacco, etc, at many places ON the
Gambia river and afterward shipped in
steamer loads to European ports, princi-
pally to Marseilies. The nuts are not
roasted for retail sale, as i'll this coun-
try, but crushed and fine oil extracted,
which is valuable commercially.-New
York Sun
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-14
Buffers Flag.

Feb. 81, 1866, General Benjamin F.
Butler presented to congress the first
genuine American flag, made Of Amer
ican materials by American labor, ever
constructed i'll this country.
Prior to that time all American gov
ernment flags had been made Of English
bunting. Since then all our official flags
have been the Iroduct exclusively OF
American material and labor. There
were 26 stars in the flag at that time
New York Press.