davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24
kETER RIDDLE ACE.
1'he Things That Should Be Done 10
PrO!Ong Life.

The causes that prolong life beyond mid,
die age are some of them beyond the con,
troll of the individual The inheritance OF
sound Organs frnma rugged ancestry is an
example OF this kind.
Yet it Is easy for one of middle age to
precipitatC prcmaturely the season of old
age, while, on the other hand, Il reasonable
modification of the habits of life may long
extend the period of active usefulness
The man of advancing years should con-
tinue to indulge in bodily exercise, but i'll
moderation and not Immediately after
meals.
Less food should be eaten as the fire.
more slowly burn" if one would avoic
premature old age. The act of eating
should be more slowly performed, and
even an occasional indulgence TO excess in
the pleasures of the table should be avoid
ed
The sage of Concord, whose philosophy
was practical as well as 'tTansccndcntal,
found in late life little food and often"
to be the safe rule. A well known Amer
lean physician considers it of benefit to
miss meal occasionally. The number Of
meals should be less rather than greater,
he believes and red meat should be
eaten in great moderation-not more than
once day. 1t will be seen that the phi
losopher and the physician are at one in
this-that less food is needed after middle
age. At any age incorporate eating rath-
er than incorporate drinking is the conf
mon sin against bodily health.
In regard to the use of alcoholic stimu-
lants as conservators of vitality, it must
be said that they have no value as such
If used at all, it must be III small quanti-
ties and well diluted with hot water, and
even so they generally do harm rather
than good. Hot water is in itself slim
ulant of no mean value, and to those ad-
dictcd to the practice of slowly slipping Il
glassful once or twice Il day it has proved
to be in every respect beneficial.
1t may be said that the watcry element
/ of hot tea, which few condemn if properly
made, commonly receives too little share
of credit
Unnecessary worry is sometimes in
dulged in because but few hours of sleep
are possible in later life. Less work re-
quires less sleep, and physical labor re-
quires more sleep than mental work. On
the other hand, long hours of sleep, COM
bined with heavy eating, directly promote
early old age.
Sensible rules of hygiene and temperate
living in its broad sense tend to increase
the enjoyments Of life as well as the length
of it. The cultivation of the habit OF
avoiding worry, while not usually includ
ed among hyeicnic rules, is hardly exceed
ed in Importance by any other
CheerfulncSs and hopefulncss are among
the physicians most valuable allies. Not
only arc they sometimes decisive in crit
ical stages of disease, but they have a di-
rect and constant influence i'll poaponing
the weakness and decay which come with
advancing years-Youth's Companion.
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24
Snakes Do Swallow Their Ysune,

l met with u curious incident some
years ago while hunting snakes in the
swamps at Melrose 1 came across a male
and female, striped, with numerous young
ones. The parents were near each other
the family crawling over and around
them. was going for them, when Oh
second thought 1 concluded to watch
them. They did not appear frightened
but went on gamboling about for some
time. l went Il little nearer, when botf
snakes turned toward me, making faint
noise, and placed their heads flat on the
round. 1t was curious sight to see these
young snakes, not long born, some OF
them foot or two away, turn at the noise
and instantly seek refuge in their par
ents' wide open mouths. 1 am certain it
was note of warning of danger /
caught both snakes and put them in sep,
arate bags. The female had ten young,
and the male had swallowed five. This is
the first instance of any notice of a male
snake performing this afrectionate duty
for its young. l placed the whole family
in n box, where they lived peaceably u long
time.-ForeSt and Stream.
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24
JAP ,NESE SWORDS.
The Method by Which These superb
WsaDt ms Arc Produced.

An interesting paper on Japanese swords
by Mr. Gilber son appears in the "Trans-
actions" of he Japanese society. The
blades are nj de from metal chiefly the
deposits of magnetic iron ore and ferru-
Ginous sand, and, in the opinion Of many
experts, no weapons are superior to those
produced by the Japanese. The art Of
making the blades was at one time Sc
sret, handed down from father to son and
master to pupil. The mode of manufac
ture is as follows: A strip of steel is weld
ed to a rod of iron, which serves as a han
die. A number of strips of steel are then
welded on the first until the mass meas
ures inches or inches in length, / Il to
2A inches wide by one-quarter to three
quarters of an inch thick
When raised to a suitable heat, this bar
is doubled in half and then beaten out to
the original dimensions. This process is
repeated 10 times. Four such bars are
made, welded together, then doubled over
again welded and forged as before five
times. So thin are the original strips of
steel and SO often are they doubled over
that it is estimated that a Japanese SWORD,
blade consists of l, 1914, 304 layers of metal.
The bar is then beaten out from the six
inch or eight inch to the required length.
Sometimes In the forging process the
metal is hammered on the edge, and the
instruments, instead Of being all steel, arc
alternately layer of steel and one of iron,
q combination which produces beautiful
markings representing fine wood grain or
wavy lines
When the blade is complete, it IL scraped
with knife, and the tang-that part in
serted in the hilt-is shaped The blade
is then roughly ground, and if the smith
is satisfied with it he generally signs his
name upon the tang Now it is orna-
mented, and the process is interesting.
Tho blade is thickly coated with mixture
Of clay, fine river sand and finely powder
ed charcoal. When this coating is nearly
dry, design is traced upon it, cutting
through to the blade The weapon, when
the coating is properly set, is plunged into
a specially prepared fire, and when suffi
GENTLY heatcd-only by long experience
can q man judge this-it is dipped into
water or oil. The operation of sharpening
in the case of u very fine blade sometimes
requires so days to finish, the surface be-
ing gone over as many as 90 times. FL
nally the blade is most infinitely examined
by the owner or by an expert.
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24
SQuarfnE the Circle.

One day 1 happened to be looking at q
pamphlet on the value of Pi, says Er.
John Fiske in The Atlantic, and should
any Of my readers ask what that might
MEAN should answer that Pi is the Greek
letter which geometers use to denote the
ratio of the circumference of circle to its
diameter. Its value, expressed in figures,
is 8.1415926536 and SO ON in an endless
fraction. Is it not hard to see what there
can be in such an innocent decimal to irri-
tate human beings and destroy their peace
of mindf
Yet SO 1t is Many human life has
been wrecked upon IL 80 certain class
Of our fellow creatures its existence is
maddening. 1t inter;cres v it'll the success
Of little scheme upon which they have
set their hearts-nothing less than to con-
struct a square which shall be exactly
equivalent in dimensions to a given circle.
Nobody has over done such thing, for it
cannot be done. But when mathemati-
clans tell these poor people that such is
the case they howl with rage and, dipping
their pens in gall, write book after book
bristling with figures to prove that they
have squared the circle.
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24
BaIIfield Absurditiea.

"a game of baseball was once inter-
rupted in Lincoln, Ncb., says an old fol-
lower of the game, "by q chase of rabbit
by Charlie Farrell while playing left field
Another laughable incident happened
in Philadelphia, when Tom Mccarthy
was playing with the Bostons A rat ran
into his territory, and Mac ran after it,
Norman Long happened to have new
ball in his hands, and as tho rat was
running by the fielder took such coed aim
that he killed it.
George Wright told of rabbit incident
that took place while he was playing with
tho Cincinnati Reds years ago. Asa
Brainerd was pitching, and three men
were on tho bases The rabbit ran across
the infield, and Waterman, the third base
man, made grab for it. but it jumped
clean over his shoulder Brainerd threw
the ball at it, and the base runners took
the opportunity to gain the extra base,
while the spectators were convulsed with
laughter"
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24
A JOKE ON THE PROFESSOR.
Conspiracy of Silence That Threw
Loo.niB Into II Panic.

Loo1nis Into II Panic.
The late Professor Elias Loomis for
many years occupied the chair of astrono
my at Yale and was the author of the wei:
known series of mathematical textbooks
Tho truth of the following story on Tho
professor can bo vuuched for by number
Of Yale men:
Professor Loomis repeated each year to
tho junior cllss course Of lectures on
physics The lectures We're illustrated hy
experiments, and in one on compressed.
air he explained the principle of tho wei.
known airgun.
Tho students of each succeeding class IL
they entered the room for this particulas
lecture found ON the side of the room re
mote FROM the platform small target
After explaining the operation of the 2ui!
Professor Coinis WIS in the habit of lard
ing three Of its projcctilcs with m"thc
NAUTICAL accuracy in tho center Of the
bullseye.
The professor was always applaudcd for
this feat, but his grim face, covered by I.
tightly drawn skin Of parchment hue
never showed the slightest sign of gratifi-
cation or recognition of any kind. 10
him it was apparently only scientific OK
pertinent to be exactly demonstrated.
One class of juniors, however, who had
learned of the immemorial incident from
tho then Seniors attempted little expert
mcnt of their own, the subject being
mathematical and scientific human ma
ture.
Three puffs from the airgun, and al
though the students saw that the bullseye
was perforated as usual there was not IL
sound of applause Professor Loomis
looked a moment at the class in . startled
way, then at the target, and then, with q
degree of emotion he had never before
shown, exclaimed:
Didn't it hit? Didn't it hit? Didn t
it hitg"
A roar of laughter, followed by even
more than the usual applause, showed the
professor that he had not lost his mathe-
NAUTICAL accuracy.
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24
HE oBEYED ORDERS.
A Young Recruits Rapid Rise to II
tie and Power.

a 1ouuB ENAbc ~ Az
tie and Power.
One day young recruit was standing
guard before the door of the entrance to
Peter the Greats private chambers in the
Palace of st. Petersburg. He had received
orders to admit no one.
As he was passing slowly up and down
before the door, Prince Mcnschikoff, tho
favorite minister of the car, approached
and attempted to enter. He was stopped by
the recruit.
The prince, who had the fullest liberty
nf calling upon his master ut any time,
sought to push the guard and pass him
Yet the young man would not move, bu;
ordered his highncss to stand'hack.
You IDIOT" shouted the prince. Don't
you know me? You'll be punished for
thiSl"
Tho recruit smiled and said:
VERY well, your highncss, but my or
dcrs arc perrnPtory to let nobody pass.
The prince, cxaspcr;!tCd at the fellow :
impudence, struck him Il blow in the face
with his riding whip.
"Strike away, your highness, " said the
soldier, but cannot let you go in. "
Peter in tho room, "caring the noise
UUUSluc, OI)cIlCll lIlc uOOf, tlu lIlVIlr
what it meant. and the prince told him.
The ear appeared amused, but sal.
nothing at the time.
In the evening, however, he sent for the
prince and tie soldier. AS they both up
pcarcd Peter gave his own cane to the sol
dicr, saying:
THAT man struck you in tho morning:
now you must return the blow to that fcl.
low with my stick"
The prince WIS amazed Your majcs
ty," he said, this common soldier is to
strike mc?'
~ mako him captain, said Peter.
but I'm IN officer of your majesty s
household" objected the prince.
Il make him Il colonel of my Life
Guards and an officer of the household,
said Peter again.
My rank, your majesty knows, is that
of general" again protested McnschikoG
Then l make him II general, so tina,
the beating you get may come from maj.
of your rank. "
The prince got a sound thrashing in the
presence of the car, and the recruit, wEu
was next day commissioned q general with
title, was the founder of IL powerful fam
lily whose descendants are still high in thu
immortal service of Russia.
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24

Hc was very wealthy landlord and .
descendant of the old sultans OF Marash
and Albistan. He would ask us every
question under the sun-from the history
OF the royal family to the views of tho
English on matrimony; whether England
was smaller than London, and which be-
longed to France; how much bigger the
Turkish fleet was than the combined
armaments of England, France and Rus
sil and what was the fashionable costume
ct home. We drew elaborate maps of the
world for his benefit on paper inches by
inches and the most artistic and faith
full portraits of trains, steamers and han.
som cabs And l think | may say with
perfect confidence that, after g"lrcly dis
cussing our statements with his servants
and ncighbors, he disbclicvcl them all
with perfect imnartialitv -
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24

The Medical Press and Circular seems
10 hint that the latest fashionable wicked
ness is to take ones tea in the form Of
cigarettes. Judging, however, from what
our medical contemporary says OF the vice.
it hardly seems likely to become general
Tho first sensation, it appears, though pc
culiar, is not us unpleasant rs might DO
supposed, but this condition Of qualified
beatitudc does not last long. Then comes
"a thickcnint; of the heal and DISPOSE
ton to take hold of something or to sit
down" If the novice pcrscvcrcs, he or
she may be next rewarded with a feeling
OF collaboration. intense, but of very brief
duration.
But the after effects our contemporary
solcmnly AYERS, are too dreadful for con-
temptation even by I. medical commentn-
tor, ard it takes many hours before the
beginner even begins to revive. a dust
pan ard broom seem to be the Only
things then required for removing the
a1nnl-nr
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24
Our Lips.

DR.. A. Bloch, the French anthroPologist,
attacks the theory that thick lips are a de-
notement Of sensuality, while thin and
delicate lips denote spirituality, frmness
and elevated character. In recent paper
the scientist claims that the shape, size
and color Of the lips are purely race char
acteristics, and that in tho hybrid peoples
Of Europe and America, where there has
been such general intermingling Of races,
Q child may well inherit from not very re-
mote ancestors lip forms that completely
belle the actual character of the child, as
indicated by the lip theory Dr. Bloch s
Investigations satisfy him that really thick
fps in the white races are always anoma-
lies or freaks of nature.
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24

The author wanted some reading. and
he sought out an unfamiliar shop. I'm
fort unatrly he WIS Il facctious author
There were people who thought him rather
proud of himself. At any rate, he Thought
he would be recognized anywhere, because
his portrait had appeared with some fire.
qucncy in the periodical press. So when.
after he had chosen several works of fic-
ton by other writers, the salesman handed
him copy IF his own latest book he
winEed drolly ut the man behind the
counter and pushed the hook away from
him in mock disgust
For heavens sake. MOI" he cried II
can't read that man S stulT. "
We'll, to tell you the truth, " said the
salesman solrnnly, Il can t either"
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24

In 1860 the Dutch city of HARLEM was
devastated by the hubonic plague. Whole
families persisted, among them family
by the name of Cloux, whose various
members were buried in the HARLEM
church yard. Thirty or 40 years ago it was
found that the masonry of the tomb was
out of repair, and the vault was entirely
rebuilt. The masons in charge of the
work descended into the vault and re-
manned there during more than a day.
Now, although more than two centuries
have passed since the epidemic, all these
workmen were attacked with the infec
tious bubo characteristic glandular swell
ing) of tho plague and had to undergo
long treatment ut the hospital. Nevcrthe
less, there were no symptoms of the plague
Dropcr and all recovered
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24
HE WAS A BLUFFER.
Wow n Maine Man Got Money For
College Expcnacs.

A successful Auburn man tells the fol-
lowing story of his own experiences: Il
wanted to get some money to go to col
lege," suys he, and the only way was to
earn it. l had no trade, which made it
bad. l resolved that l would try what
bluiling would do. l went to Boston, and
after awhile l struck u job rs a meat cut
ter. When went into the store, the pro-
prietor asked mo what l could do, and !
told him l could cut meat. He wanted a
good meat cutter, and l hired out with
him. l had seen men cut meat, but had
never cut any myself
$50 when 1 took up knife and went to
work it was not to be wondered at that
my employer called me to account. He
was on his ear, rs they say, and l can't
say that blame him. Look here, young
man., he said, that AIM the way to cut
meat. Well, said l, that's the way they
cut meat up in Vermont Il don't care,
he replied, this is not Vermont. l want
you to understand that if you are going
to cut meat in Boston you've got to cut it
the way we cut it And with this he
took the knife and the saw and showed
me how they cut meat in Boston. de-
tanned him as long as I could, and never
tried to remember anything half SO hard.
81 guess l grasped the situation, for l
remained there as meat cutter several
months. When / struck Auburn, had
an idea would go to work in the shoe
factories. went to every factory save one
and stated my desire. didn't know any
part of the business, and I got the cold
shoulder. Many of the forcmen took my
name and address and said when they
wanted man they would send for me. /
guess they haven't wanted Il man since; at
any rate they haven't sent for me. When
entered the last shop, was desperate, and
l resolved to try my old game of bluff.
"Thcy asked mo what could do, and
told them was q cutter, adding that
was very sure l could please them. They
set me to work. l went slow at first for
l was watching to see how the fellows did
it. BY good luck got ON to- the cutting
without spelling much leather, and before
many days 1 could cut uppcrs with the
best of them. worked there two years,
and when l left to enter college they seemed
sorry to have me 60 Since then have
graduated from college, and here l am fol-
lowing lily profession, able to hoe my row
with my livcliest competitor. Lewiston
(Me) journal.
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24
TIE PERSIAN KAGA5.
How This DelIcncy of the PoOr Is
| Obtained and Eaten.

Obtained and Eaten.
The food Of the Pcrsians is very varied.
AS rule the very poor do not get meat
moro than once week, while villagers
and the Eo:i.ldic tribes sec it very rarely
and only on great occasions, as at mar
rage feastS The ordinary diet of labor
ing maa is bread and cheese in winter,
bread and fruit in summer. But even the
laborers manage to secure an occasional
bowl of strong soup and then vary their
diet with conscrves, dried fruits, basins of
curds and hard boiled eggs. The actual
weight OF bread that q muleteer or laborcr
can consume daily is very great, seven
pounds not Icing an extraordinary allow
arcr In the south of Persia dates are the
staple food. They are very cheap and sat
isfying. During the summer lettucCs,
grapes, apricots, onions and cucumbers
form the dainties of the villagers, and
these with bread, cheese and curds, are
their only food. In every large town
cookshops abound. Sheep are roasted
whole in ovens and sold hot by the slice.
The sleeps head and feet are boiled sep
aratCly, and their preparation and sale are
a trade in themselves.
Bat the edible most in favor among all
classes III Persia is the kabab. There are
two varieties of kabab. One is made from
mincc mutton, which is chopped with Il
few onions into IL paste fine rs sausage
meat, carefully nodded over Il skewer,
toasted over fierce charcoal fire and sold
and eaten hot. This Is the kabab of the
bazaar, the dclicacy of the lower classes.
At the dinner hour (sunset) and at the
breakfast hour (noon) crowds surround
the shops of the kabab sellers Each man
carries his bread, which is usually IL ficxi-
BILE loaf two feet long, one foot wide and
half an inch thick The customer wraps
his lasabs, hot from the fire, in his bread
and either sits down and eats it then and
there or takes the meal home to his family
In any case u hot dinner of roast meat
can b. obtained at from cents to l.
cents, for the price of single skewer OF
the stcaming lelicacy is but II cent. Jars
containing about half u pint of hot, strong
and s,tvory meat soup are sold for cent
These form the invariable meal of the
Persian soldier if he can afford it. The
meat is pounded and served with the souI
or eaten aftcrward as a separate plate
New York journal.
The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24
COUNTY BOUNDARIES.
Che Peculiar ZiEznE Lines Between
TvyO States and the Cause.

If you will look on the map of New
England, you will see two curious irregu-
laritics i'll the dividing line between Mas
sachusetts and Connecticut. One of them
is in CRANKY township, little northwest
Ut Hartford, and the other in Enfield
township, on the Connecticut river, south
of Springfield. 1t is Il standing conun-
drum why, so lons as the boundary is
imaginary, ohey did not make it straight
instead Of crooked But thereby hangs q
tale.
Those two little joys on the map are
monuments to human obstinacy and to
the rCrsistcncy which is one of the chief
traits of the Yankee character The an
cestorS of the farmers who own those little
spots of ground preferred to live in Massa-
chusetts rather than in Connecticut and
fought for their preference until they had
their way.
The controversy began in 1713 and con-
tinucd for 112 years before it was finally
decided. In 1924 the question was appeal
ed to England, but the government was so
much engrosscd in the Seven Years war
that it was never brought to the attention
of the crown. Up to the outbreak of the
Revolution both states continued to levy
taxes and send notices of fast day and cleo
tions to the farmers who occupied the
Land, and there is no record of how they
avoided ono or whether they paid both
Later, however they voted and paid taxes
in Massachusetts only. notwithstanding
the protest Of the county authorities in
Connecticut In 1888 after peace was re
stored, both states appointed commission.
crS, but lhc dispute WAS carried on until
1904, when a compromise was reached
There We're several similar disputes lie.
tween the two states besides those which
ROW appear urOn the map, ard an agree
mcntwaS reached by which Massachusetts
consented to surrender her claim to IL STRIP
of territory in Woodstock ard SUGicld
townships provided Connecticut would
yield her claims to the other tracts in dis
putc. No action however, was taken upon
the report.
In 1910 the controversy was revived by
some legal proceeding. and another com
mission was appointed, but if it ever
reached conclusion thorc is no record to
he found. In 1920 third commission WIS
intrustcd with the settlement, and after
two years they decided upon the present
boundary line, which was adopted by the
legislature of both states.-Chicago Rec
ord