davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
A New Light on Esau

These Sunday school teachers get queer answers to questions sometimes, and the irreverent snicker in their sleeves when they hear of them. A very pious lady, who has a class of boys in a local church, has taken the greatest pains to instruct her charges and keep them posted with regard to biblical events and characters. One of the pupils is remarkably bright boy, raised almost entirely with grown people, and, like most children who spend their time in the society of their elders, has little of the child about his thoughts and conversation.
 Recently as the good lady chatted with her pupils she began asking them about the various characters they had read of in the Old Testament.
 Now, my dear," she remarked. turn. ing toward the sedate small boy at the head of the class, ''can you tell me about Esau? Who was Esau?"
 "Oh, I know all about him." replied the youngster, wagging his head de lightedly; "he was the man who wrote fairy tales and sold his copyright for a mess of potash"
 The history of Esau will need investi- gating if this latter version be correct. Louisville Times.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

The Jews in Palestine now number 10000, against 4,O0O twenty years ago and make up One-flfth of the entire l population. This Is one of several in
 teresting facts concerning them that are reported by G. Bic Ravndal, United States consul at Bierut. In Jerusalem alone there are 22,O0O Jews, the recent immigrants from Europe and America being called Aschkenazim, to distln- guish them from their oriental breth.
 ren, who are called Sephardists. A considerable number, some 960 fami
 lies, are distributed through the coun. try in the colonies which have been founded and subsidized by Europeans
 Of these colonies there are twenty-two
 ten having been founded by Baron Ed mOnd de Rothschild, representing the | Alliance Israelite Universelle, the Oth- CTS by the Jewish Colonization AssO- clation, and. the Odessa Company. Among the suggestive and character istic names applied to them are the ''Ja- cob Memorial" the First to Zion," the Hope of Israel" the Head Corner 1 Stone" and the Door of Hope" They all have their schoOIs and synagogues and are cultivating the soil extensive Iy. One of them has put in 1,5O0,O0 vines and 25,000 olive, almond, orange and mulberry trees. Another is expert menting in dairy farming and tea planting. Still another takes special ,ari1a Tn lie oOriouI+,roI school Tn which 100 or more pupils are taught gardening The consul says that whether the Zionists succeed or not In establishing a new Judean government they are helping in the development of the country, which is but a shadow of its former self. They have even com municated some of their energy to the old Jewish residents, who "are no longer content with studying the Tal- mud and living on charity, but are waking to the fact, as the Hebrew would put it, that to till the ground is worship of God" The principal diff culties with which the immigrants have to contend are such as are inevit- able under Turkish dominion. The taxes are very heavy and the officials are, of course, corrupt. There Is dan- ger besides, from the Bedouins. One predatory tribe attacked Jewish col ony. drove the settlers away, destroyed their gardens and crops, and partly de stroyed a road they had built to make connections with another colony. But all things considered, the prospects are bright for revival of industry in Pal. estine, of which there is good evidence in the fact that an English company has begun to construct railroad which will extend from the sea at Haifa through the heart of Samaria and Cali. lee to Damascus and on to Bagdad.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
A Convincing RetOrt.

When the enyoyS of NJ. de Rothschilt paid the war contributions of Paris al the close of the siege, an alleged coun terfeit 25-thaler bill slipped in among the 2O0,0O0OOO .francs that were brought to Versailles. The quick eye of the Prussian official at once detect. ed it and the bill was thrown out RothSchild's people insisted that it was genuine and must be accepted, other wise they would return to Paris with all their rolls of notes and sacks of coin. Prince Bismarck, who was pres. ent, said: Herr Director, accept the bill. l will myself make up the deficit A great war about nothing more tang, ible than a castle In Spain has just been concluded between two great powers; and l can't afford just on the heel of 1t to turn around and declare war on the house of ROthSchild, the sixth great European power, on ac. count of a false 25thaler note" Your eXcellency is right" returned one Of Rothschilds agent, with a smile, par ticularly as the note, whether good or bad, was made in Prussia"
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
JUST A CURTAIN FIRE.

1t Was In a Girls Boarding School
 and Did Complicated Damage. A fire in a skyscraper may be thrill ing, but for dramatic episodes and un- expected complications fire in girls boarding school surpasses it. The board ing school fire is usually what is known among insurance men as a curtain fire. but curtain fire in 8 girls school is more exciting and causes more casual ties than an ordinary blaze anywhere else.
 One evening last week two girls, who occupy a microscopic hall bedroom in 8 swell up town school, took the globes of the gas fixtures for hair curling pur- poses and left them off, because it was easier to do that than to put them on again. Then the girls raised the window a trihe in order to cool the room and dutifully sat down to write home let ters. The inevitable happened. and when girl number one poised her pen in the air and glanced around the room in search of inspiration she saw the curtains in blaze She screamed. Girl number two looked around and echoed the scream Then, with promptitude and discretion. both girls tainted The screams had attracted the attention of the other girls, who rushed to the scene and then did various and sundry stunts, according to their several dispositions. One tainted. several wept, few ran out of the house, and the rest shouted for the one man on the premises
 When he arrived, things looked rather hopeless. Curtains and woodwork were blazing finely. The floor was filtered with prostrate forms. and when three girls have tainted on the floor of hall bedroom there isn't much space in the room for promenading. The man picked his way across the prostrate forms and ordered all the girls who were not in a dead faint to leave the room, but they didn't go until he lost his temper and spoke with force which isn't common in boarding school circles Then they fled; but, unluckily. there was an ene- my in the rear. A vigorous and practi- cal woman from Texas had been inspir- ed to go after some water Returning in mad haste with a large pitcherful of water borne triumphantly aloft. she collided with the retreating forces at the door. The pitcher struck the leader of the retreat squarely in the face and knocked out two of her front teeth, whereupon the injured girl made the fainting trio quartet and the water carrier dropped her pitcher and went into violent mysteries.
 Hysteria, as boarding school teachers know to their sorrow, is contagious. and the one case touched off the crowd. By the time teachers arrived upon the scene the fire was out, but the survivors were in bad way. It was necessary to put nine-tenths of the school to bed and order wholesale doses of bromide. Even now the girls insist that they haven't recovered from the shock sufficiently to do hard studying, and the victims of the water pitcher are both under the care of trained nurses. As for the man. he gave up his place the next day and confded to the cook that he was going to look for job in lunatic asylum. where his boarding school experience would be of value to him..
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
WENT BY WIRE.
How Two Men Got Over the Great
 Snow Drifts.

How Two Men Got Over the Great Snow Drifts.
 "It is no plaything," the weather man said, ''when they have snow like this in the Rockies. had an experi. ence in going from Helena, Mont, over the divide some years ago. It was ;l beautiful day when my companion an'l myself left Helena. There was dPeD snow on the ground and in the mOnn- tains there were some immense drifts, | but the snow was packed and the sun was bright Before we got on the top of the divide it began to snow just as 1t is showing now, fine drifting snow, and the wind got up to about fifty miles an hour. Within two hours there was no sign of the trail anywhere. We were in a beating blizzard and couldn't tell which way we were going. We struggled along blindly until we got on top of the divide. All we could tell was that we were going down on the other side, and we had no idea where we would wind up.
 "The horses were afraid and did not want to face the drifts, and we were half dead with cold. In foundering through one drift we got tangled in 6 wire, and that was our salvation. 1t was the single wire on the government telegraph line.
 "The drift was clear up to the top of the telegraph pole at that point, but 1t was for the most part within three or four feet of the wire. We knew we must follow this line to find our way. We could not do so by sight. One of us had to hook his arm around the wire and hold on to 1t while the other took care of the horses. He would just slide the wire along in the bend of the elbow, letting go only to pass each pole, and in this way we got into Deer Lodge. It seems strange here to talk about walking on about the level of the tops of telegraph poles, but that's what we did from the top of the divide to Deer Lodge Star.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

Orators have many devices for en- phasizing the important points in their speeches. One of the most familiar ex- pedients is quickening of the delivery. American stump speakers, when they wish to be most effective, raise their voices, fling out their voices as if they were burning coals, and frequently make rapid gestures. There is another method which is adopted by some of the best speakers. The voice is low cred instead of being raised. The de livery is slackened in speed, and each word is slowly and distinctly uttered. There is intensity without heat. The orator exhibits self-cOntrol, and makes an impression by his evident effort to retain mastery of his emotions. MT. Gladstone's deepest tones were always reserved for his finest passages when he was summing up a great argument and making a final appeal for dispas- siOnate judgment. These were the passages which he invariably prepared in advance with painstaking care, but when he delivered them, his manner was stately in dignity, and he seemed to weigh deliberately every word. MT. Chamberlain is now the best debater and platform orator in England. He adopts a similar expedient when he considers a passage particularly i'm pOrtant. Instead of warming up to his work, he seems to cool off. His voice deepens in tone; his manner becomes deliberate in its earnestness; he seems to be holding himself back; but every word vibrates with intensity of con- victiOn or feeling. He does not use his hands at such moments. He stands erect and mOtiOnless-an impressive figure with a calm face and flashing eyes. Some of the greatest American orators have adopted the same manner. Daniel Webster, Edward Everett, Wen dell Phillips, Henry Ward Beecher and George William Curtis lowered their voices and spoke deliberately when they wished to impress thought or to produce strong effect.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

Treasury of Remedies for the Mind is the inscription In the library at Alex andria, Egypt. Well-choSen libraries are more than remedies; they are pre- ventives of moral and intellectual dis ease. Andrew Carnegie, when a boy, was invited with other working boys to spend his Saturday evenings in the private library of a rich man. They were even allowed to take books home with them. Realizing the good work this man was doing, young Carnegie resolved that if ever he were able, he would establish free libraries for work ing people. This resolve he has carried out in three cities and towns of Penn sylvania, one in Iowa, and nine in his native Scotland; and he now offers to give one to Washington. And If I live" he adds, there will be more" Such royal gifts are not within the power of many; but who has not few books which might light the fires of aspiration in some impoverished young life?
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
England Loans Most Money.

England is the great money lender of the world. A statistician estimates that she has $55O,OOO,OOO invested in land and mortgages in countries abroad. She lends to foreign govern ments and municipalities an average of $2OO,OO0,O00 annually. She finances railways in India, Canada, the United States, Australia, South Africa and South America, her investments of this class aggregating $2.1O0,OOO,OOO. Eng lish capital is invested in this country in water and gas companies, cattle and horse raising, breweries, flour mills, street railways, iron manufacturing and mining.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

cars can be placed at one time. The sta- tion has 344 clearing and 354 fouing switches, and thirty-two full-size ex- press trains can receive or discharge passengers at the same time. This mon- ster station is the first one in the world to provide for suburban surface motive power, such as electricity or compress ed air, and this provision caused the most difficult work in laying out the great train shed. On the front of the station are granite eagle carved from a twenty-ton stone, and a clock with a dial fourteen feet in diameer.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
State Officers Paid in PeIts in IFS,

Probably few people to-day know that the original name of the State of Tennessee was Franklin, or that in 1788 the salaries of the officers of this Commonwealth were paid in pelts, but the following is a correct copy of the law:
 Be 1t enacted by the General Assem- bly of the State of Franklin, and it Is hereby enacted by authority of the same, That from and after the first day of January, 17S8, the salaries of this Commonwealth be as follows, to wit:
 His Excellency, the Governor, per annum, 100 deerskins.
 His Honor, the Chief Justice, 800 deerskins.
 'The secretary to his EXcellency, the Governor, 800 raccOon skins. County clerk, 300 beaver skins.
 "Clerk of the House of Commons, POO raccoon skins.
 Members of the Assembly, per diem, three raccoon skins.
 Justices fees for serving warrant, one mink skin" n."-MurfreesborO, Tenn, Independent Banner.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

Boston has recently distinguished it. self for the second time by opening to traffic the largest railroad station in the world. The work was begun in July, 1897, and has cost about S14OO0,O0O
 To gain the space more than 200 build ings, some of them handsome business structures, were torn down. The main building. shed and yards immediately connected cover thirty-five acres of land, and the roof of the shed alone covers fourteen and a half acres. The platforms will accommodate 100000 persons at one time without crowding, and 2S,O00 persons can take seats at one time in the cars in the train shed. In the main building are fifteen miles of tracks and thirty miles Of rails. and in the train shed 404 ordinary passenger
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

The Vassar students who took an elective in the form of work to gladden. children in New York hospitals showed that the higher education of women is not training away from the practical. The members of the Young WOmen's Christian Association of the institution dressed two hundred dolls to be given to the poor children who were sick and crippled, and the joy of afflicted little ones was what children in the weH-to- do families might think entirely dispro- portionate. An East Side cripple whis- pered: Do you s'pOse heavens any where near as nice as this? Cause if 'tis I'd like to go"
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

Words of French origin now used in the German army are the subject of an imperial cabinet order. German words are to be substituted for them by the EmperOr's command. Political sanita- ton in the German Empire thus deals with the French microbe in one of its many manifestations. Microbes, how ever, are slippery things, and have an unpleasant way of escaping ordinances and officials. Despite the order, French words will be sure to cross the border and threaten the Emperor's peace.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
sIeighine in the Old Way.

Did you ever go a-sleighing in an old
 wood sleigh? I tell you when you've tried it, thar ain't
 no other way. Perhaps thar's fun in ridin' up and dOwI
 the avenoo, A-sittin' up sedately as these city people
 do, With coachman on a-forard an another
 in the rear, A-seein' what you're doin' and a'tryin' fol
 to hear If that's the fun they're choosin', I ain't
 got word to say, But I'd ruther go a-sleighin' in the old
 wood sleigh. Twas nigh on fifty years ago. if I remem-
 Der right An seems as tho the moonlight hasn't
 never been so bright AS it wuZ them winter evenin's, when we
 b'ys would get sleigh An rig it up for comfort in our own
 pa'tiklar way, With a good supply of blankets, an buf,
 falo robes an straw, An nag that knew his bizncss, without
 a gee or haw. I never hear a sleighbell, be 1t night or be
 1t day, But think O gOin' a-sleighin' in the old
 wood sleigh. About Christmas wuz the jolliest, when
 twas time to deckerate, The b'ys an gals wuz busy at the church
 till sum'at late, But when we'd worked all evenin' jest
 as lively as could be A-strinGin' ropes of evergreen an histin'
 up the tree, We thought we'd earned a frolic, and
 we'd hev it, you kin bet The kind of times feller isn't likely to
 ferget. An when l hear of sleighin' hain't got
 a word to say, But I'm dOin' pile O thinkin' of the old
 wood sleigh. Maybe I'm not as chipper as I wuz in
 them old days, Maybe my edicatiOn is a-wantin' as to
 sleighs, An maybe it's pleasure to be sittin up
 in state A-driVin' before sundOWn instid of Stayin'
 late, But somehow when 1 see 'em, my eyes
 will fill with tears, Fur hear the sleighbells jinglin' as did
 in other years, An I cannot help a-thinkin' of the dear
 ones passed away AS used to go a-sleighin' in the old wood
 sleigh.-ChicagO Chronicle.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

The Testator-To my former cashier, Schnipfer, I give and bequeath 5000 flOrinS.
 The Lawyer-What! To the man who abscOnded with 5000 fiorins of your money?
 The Testator-Oh, I'm not ungrate- spl! The fellow, you know, ran away { ith my wife at the same time!-Der ElOh
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

Truth Is as strange as horse play. it seems. Thousands of people have fHugned at seeing the late "Old Hoss'' Hoey, fin the farce comedy act of run ming away with red-hot stove. But Mrs. Fidler, who lives in New York tenement house, reports to the metro politan sleuth hounds that the other day while she was out some one broke into her room and stole her cook stove, on which pot of potatoes was boiling over hot fire
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
4 SONG.
GSA@-
CT than this, my dear.

Ah, what is better than this, my dear. What is better than this7
 The thought of a night which has lost it's way Between tomorrow and yesterday; The full of the tide and the gray of the sea, And gull that circleth endleSsly; The breath from a wind which bloweth well; A sail that hasteth new ports to tell; If aught is better than this, my dear, ] find it not here, find it not here.
 Blanche Trask in ''The Land of Snalshine.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
Safe from Drowning.

Winter Visitor Gin Florida)-I should love dearly to go sailing, but it looks very dangerous. Do not people often get drowned in this bay?
 Waterman-No, indeed, mum. The sharks never lets anybody drown.- New York Weekly.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
Her Plan.

Mir TozzletOn (with swelling muscles) What would you do if you and were all alone in the house and you should see a burglar crawling through the window?
 Miss Dazeley-Oh, I should stand right in front of the chair behind which you were hid and, if possible, argue with him until the folks came home.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
AS She Looked at 1t.

MT. Plimley-Yes, I still hope, some day, to place my name upon the scroll of fame.
 Miss Willikins-Oh, you think Fame is going to bring her scroll around and roll your cigarettes for you while you are working the chisel, do you?
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
Fonnd at Last.

Exhibitor-This, ladies and gents, this piece of straw Is that celebrated last straw that broke the camel's back
 Mrs. Hardacre-Well, we'll, Hiram, that's wonderful. I've heerd tell of that straw all my life. but little did I ever expect to see 1t!
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
RuAhed.

The Poets Wife-Algernon, I wish you would
 The Poet-Please don't break my train of thought. I am writing poem for the midsummer number of the Fid- dlesticks magazine and the editor says unless I have 1t ready by Il o'clock to- morrow he will have to close the forms without 1t.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

If Keely had had good thing in the form of an invention he would prob ably have starved or sold 1t for trife. It is deplorable but true that gold bricks find a readier market than gen uine goods.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

Now that the customs officials are so strict, the young man who wants to bring young woman box of gloves from Paris may well be excused for hesitating between love and duty.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

With an income of $15,000 a year and a self-supporting wife, Patti's new hus- band can well afford to remain com plaisant, even if the public will insist on ignoring the fact that she is the Baroness Cederstrom.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
Financial.

Mother, how big must grow to be in bank like uncie? asked the small boy.
 ''NOt very much," said his father, ''for often see in the papers that cash iers are short. t."-Spokane Spokesman Review.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

Young IkenStein-Ven I esked old Swindlebaum for his daughter he or dered me to leave der house. Rosen. heimer-Ish dot so? How did he get o1 to der fact dot you intended to take der house as we'll as der girl?-Judge.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

That man must have a wonderful love for flowers and a wonderful re- gard for his wife who pays $30,OOO for the exclusive right to propagate a flow CT which was named after her.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
For a Retreat.

He-What is that you were just try ing on the piano.
 She-Oh, that's a new march.
 He-Awfully fast time, isn't it? She-Yes; 1 think the composer wan in hurry to get through when he was writing it.-YOnkers Statesman.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

"Am too old?" asked a widow, A, refined, unencumbered, worth $S0,O00, in a personal in one of the New York papers. Of course not, madam. Think of Pattii
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

The rapid formation of trusts in all the necessities and luxuries of life shows ''the white mans burden" isn't confined to the islands of the seas by any means.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15

Jnnes-Why the deuce does thet boot black keep after me ter have my shoes polished? I'm sure they don't need 1t.
 NewsbOy-Guess he links yer feet would be good ad fer him.-Exchange.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
Exploded

''They say great geniuses are nearly always absent-minded."
 "Oh, pshaw! There's nothing in that theory. Why, I never forget things"
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
Time He Moved.

'Why do you call this the court room?" asked the man who was look ing over the house of the man who was trying to sell 1t.
 Did say courtroom? Mere force of habit. I have seven unmarried daugh- ters." ."-DetrOit Free Press.
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
Good Reason.

A Friend-If you love her, old fellow why don't you marry her?
 Bachelor DOctOr-Marry her! Why she's one of my best patients!
The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-15
Practically in Love.

What do you think? Papa asked Jack if he expected to get any money in marrying me-"
 'Was Jack insultedY
 "Insulted? He told papa that a good home was more of an object to him than wages. s."-Detroit Free Press.