davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21
CHINESE OFFICIALS.
Hold Their Positions Only So Ions
a. It Suits the Pleasure OF 81
OF the Crown. .s.stz s$sss5sSS

The, principle hold which the Pc
king government has over the proyin-
cial officials is the right of appoint
ment and dismissal. All officials hold
the office during the pleasure Of the
crown, and can be dismissed at any
time with or without reason assigned.
No instance has been known of an
official, however highly placed, re-
fusing to lay down Office and hand
over the seals to his successor at the
bidding of the emperor or empress.
This power, it should seem, is Rnf-
tlcient to insure prompt obedience to
any orders from the court, but 1t
is checked by the fact that, the suc--
cessor to .viceroy or governor so
removed must be selected from among
the regular members of the civil serv-
ice, who are all imbued with the same
traditions of government and the
same bureaucratic spirit. The crown
has never ventured to put into high
Office mere creature of it's own,
or one who has not regularly entered
the service by some recognized chan
mel and risen through the ranks. Such
an attempt would undoubtedly y raise
storm of indignation throughout
the whole of the country such as no
government could face, says. the Lon
don Saturday Review.
This leads us to say q word as to
the mode in which the official ranks
are recruited-a system which has
perhaps as much as anything else
contributed to the general stability
and moderation of the government
and prevented it from degenerating
into a military dictatorship. En-
trance to Office is obtained, as is gen.
orally known, by system of public
examinations open to the humblest
as well as the highest. Within re-
cent years a certain number have
been admitted by purchase, but only
to junior rank. All practically have
to begin at the foot of the ladder
and work their way up, and all tho
high posts in the provinces and near
ly all those in Peking are filled with
men who have so risen. Admission is
free to Manchus and Chinese alike,
and until recent years there has been
no preference shown in selection.
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21

began at Mechanicsville June 26 and
Gainesville June ~, 1862; Groveton,
August 20; second Bull Run, August
80; South Mountain, September IA; An
tietam, where his saddle and bride
were removed and he was left for dead,
but on the next advance Baldy was
found browsing on the battlefield, and
after being well cared for, was used
in the pursuit and march to Falmouth
In October and November; was wound
ed in the battle Of Fredericksburg; in
the battle of Charlottesville, May 2
to 4. 1863, and in the first two days
fighting at Gettysburg; Bristow Sta
tion, October; Kelly's Ford, Rappahan-
mock Station, and Mine Run, Novem-
ber; battle of the Wilderness, May S
and 6, 1864; Spottsylvania, May to
20; North Anna, May % to 26; Tolop-
tony, May 20; Bethesda Church, May
30; Cold Harbor, June i to 8; Peters,
burg, June Is to 1s; Jerusalem Road,
June %; Mine Explosion, July 30; We'll
don Railroad, August 1s to IS, where
Gen. Meade was struck on the leg by
a 12-pound spent bali while riding
Badly, but was not seriously hurt.
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21
OUR HEROES.

Here's = hand to the boy who has couy'
age = 4
s To do what he knows to be right:
When he falls$in the way Of temptation
He has hard battletto fight
Who strives against self and his com.
. !: radeoa Fl
/ VIII cope with a powerful foe;
All honor to him II he conquers-
4 cheer for the boy who says ':No." -.
There's battles fought daily about US
That we can know nothing about: -:
There's many brave, unknown hero
Whose valor puts legions to rout. !
He who battles with wrong and DER
a comes 1t &:as.< - 3ss|s
10 more Of hero, say, q sss5s
Than he who leads soldiers to glory,
And conquers by arms in the fray.
Be steadfast. my boy. when you're tempted.
! To do what you know to be right s..*
Stand firm by your manhood, my here
And you will o'ercome in the fight. Il
e'The Right be your battle-cry ever. F
Al your share in the battle of life,
And God who knows who are the heroes,
Will strengthen your arm for the strife.
-Eben@ z. Rexford, In Golden Days.
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21

4 BROOK.

once there was standing by public street
small white cottage of the common
kind,
With yard. shed, stable. driveway. all COM
plete
A thousand such throughout the land
But at the back. through banks Of nod
ding green,
There ran a brook whose like you've never
seen!
Of crystal clear it was through all its line
This is, our line. between the neighbour .
walls
SO we could see each zone and pebble
And heaps of stones that rapids made and
Some scraps Of chlnaware were plain in
And bits of stuff that flashed with diamond
light.
It danced, laughed. babbled, sang the whole
day through.
AS II to be brook was perfect bliss,
Robins and sparrows seemed to think 50.
too,
And fingered near, none of the Joy to miss {;
They dipped with head and wing In the
clear tide
And FLASHED the drops about in circles
wide.
sometimes little fish went swimming by.
An, wasn't that sight for childish eyes!
sometimes a bug-like thing or dragon fly
Darted along to give US surprise,
And sometimes green frog let of a croak
AS 1t to frighten US and play joke.
There was little bridge where one could
plump
Face down and watch droll flies fit to
and fro.
What perfect glee to make the minrows
jump
. When they came nosing up, in schools be-
low!
And there. just there, by that deep, shad-
owed pool,
The garden toads would sit to blink and
cool.
snapweed grew rank in clumps. with
blooms like gold;
We made neat eardrops of the dangling
things!
Be sure twas hard to make the limp things
We always had to tie them on with
strings.
And then the seed pods-a prolific crop!
What fun to nip their tips and make them
pop!
Coarse, common weeds trailed In that
stream became
Silver or gold in answer to demands
Skilled alchemists were we - though
skipped by fame
With wealth uncounted passing through
our hands!
Oh. do the waters of that brook still flow
Through that old town? Pray tell me If
you know.
Laura Garland Carr, in Sacred Heart
Review.
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21
"A WHALE FOR A PET.
-s9-- =
Ii Seventy Feet Long and A6ords
Genuine Amusement to All
Who Watch His Antics.

Probably the only man in the world
who has a pet whale lives on small
island in the South Pacific. He is a
planter, and is the only white inhab-
itant of his island. He has many
brown-skinned assistants who cut and
dry the cocoanut rinds that he sells
to trading vessels. The planter
makes plenty of money in his peculiar
trade, but he used to be worried to
provide entertainment,for the visitors
who bought his product. One stormy
day, however, a small whale floated
through the narrow entrance to the
harbor, whichsis walled in by coral
reef. The whale appeared satisfied
with it's new home and remained. AS
the years passedeby the baby whale
proceeded tosgnow and Is waa fat and
become tame, for the planter fed it
occasionally with q ~bushel or. so of
chopped meat. Now the whale is 70
feet long, and is the curiosity of the
j island. When astrader'ssboat slips in
to the eharbor the planter givessthe Of
feers andscrew a banquet under the
xpalma and then takes them to see the
pet whale. At such times barrel of
chopped meat is rolled down to the
swaterside and the planter stands on
the shore and blows horn. Almost
instantly the water will begin to
schurn In the direction Of the planter,
and the huge Swhale will run it's nose
into the sand in its effort to get to
the barrel of meat in haste. After
having eaten the meat the creature
leaps and rolls about .gleefully, often
tossing its body nearly out of the
water.-Golden Days. #SsssEf
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21

Of Gettysburg was raised IN the west.
Badly, who was q bay with white face
and feet, saw his first service at the
battle of Bull Run, where he received
two wounds, one being through the
nose. He was ridden in this engage
ment of July, 1861, by David Hunter,
colonel of the Third United States cav
airy, commanding the Second divi-
sion, who was himself seriously wound
ed. It is believed that at this time,
writes Gen. James Grant Wilson, in
Ledger Monthly, Baldy was govern
ment property, for in the following
September he was purchased by Gen.
Meade from the quaftermaster's de.
partment for $3.50, the horse having en-
tirely recovered from His Injuries. He
was shot in the right hind leg at the
second battle of Bull Run, though not
badly hurt, and was wounded through
the neck at Antietam, but this also
proved to be slight, and Badly soon re-
covered. He received his last and most
serious wound on the afternoon of July
2, 1868, in the battle of Gettysburg.
Gen. Meade had just ridden to the
front of the left center of his long
battle line, as the reenforcements were
being hurried forward to the support
of that part of the army, when a bull
let passed through the right trouser
leg of Gen. Meade, as well as the flaps
of his saddle, and then into Baldy's
body between the ribs, where it re-
manned. When shot, the horse; came
to standstill and staggered a little,
but soon recovered. He could not, how
ever, be induced to go. forward, and
endeavored to turn away to the rear;
no amount of coaxing or urging on
the part of the great commander could
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21
THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE.
Its Members, Representing the Vari-
Gus States, Elect the President
and Vice President.

The electors, as the name implies,
elect the president and vice president,
and it is interesting to note how their
number has grown since the adoption
of the constitution.
When the first election was held,
the electoral college numbered 81 votes,
but New York, with eight votes, had not
completed her electoral system; North
Carolina, with seven votes, and Rhode
Island, with three, had not adopted the
constitution, and there were four va
cancies, two in Maryland and two in
Virginia. This left 60 votes, which were
all cast for George Washington. The
electoral college for 1892, which again
unanimously elected Washington, had
1872 votes.
In the table given below the strength
OF the electoral college is given from
1888 to the one which will meet at the
respective state capitals on the Sec
On6 M0ndor of Topuorx, 1On1,
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21
ARE QUEER FELLOWS.
King Crabs Have Funny Ways and
Habits, and So Have Their Wives
and Children, @2@<r@.

Rattle, clatter, clatter, sounds en-.
rious noise close by the rocks on the
beach. King Crab is scrambling round
in search of something good to eat.
He has many teeth on his legs, some
times as many as $50 of them, and his
mouth, instead of being in his head,
as yours and mine are, is in the midst
Of his legs. suppose this is so az to
make it easy for him to eat.
He is very fond of soft seaworms,
and as these wise fellows know it they
hide away under the sand. King Crab
doesn't mind that at all, but goes to
work and digs down after them. My!
how the sand and mud fly when he digs
with all his ten legs! It doesn't take
him long, can tell you.
When he has grabbed his worm he
holds it with his two him d feet and
tears it in bits with his sharp teeth,
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21
HILLS MAKE MUSIC.
Curious Phenomenon That Occurs in
the Sand Dunes Near
MafekinG.

A few miles southwest of little town
which has become famous through the
Boer war, Mafeking, lies a mountain
of white sand. Perhaps should say
stands a mountain of white sand, but
that would not be true. The sand rises,
falls and shifts about and in so doing
makes music, or sounds which seem. like
music, among surroundings SO desolate
as South African desert, says the Bos-
ton Herald. The highest hill of sand
in this locality is about 7co feet, and
there are many hillocks round about
The whole neighborhood is, however,
constantly changing it's appearance,
and where there may be considerable
hill to-day there may be fat plain
tomorrow. There seem to be periodic
sand floods like those in the Arabian
| desert. -,
Many explanations Of the cause OF
the music in the sands have been given,
but the most satisfactory is that OF
friction of the little particles of sand
upon one another. AS the sand rolls
down hum comes from the rubbing of
the particles together. One can see the
sand constantly rolling down the steep
banks. At first the sound is like a
strain of distant music coming through
one of the cliffs near by. Then it seems
like q continuous cathedral chord, very
much like solemn cathedral chant.
At times if you are standing on one
of the little hillocks the sounds seem
to come from a buried cloister under
your feet. There is a mystery and en-
chantment about it all, dead silence
save for the music of the rolling sand
is everywhere. It seems almost like sac.
ri]ege to break the spell that such con.
ditions bring.
One strange thing about the shifting
and falling of the sand is that it can
go on for years as it does. In short
time the falling of the sand should re.
duce the hills to level. No winds
could heap up the sands in the forms
in which they exist, and there seems to
be no volcanic action. Yet these hills
of sand shift about, rise and fall and
make music an accompaniment of their
queer opera tions. We are not yet able
to pluck out the heart of their mys-
| terry.
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21

journeyed across the mountains on his
old war horse, "Traveler," to pay q
visit to the authors mother. On the
night of his arrival he said:
"To-day an incident occurred which
gratified me more than anything that
has happened for q long time. As ]
was riding over the desolate noun
tain region, I was surprised to find,
on sudden turn in the road, two lit
tie girls playing on large rock.
They were poorly clad, and after
looking at me moment began to run
away.
Children said I, don't run away!
If you knew who am, you wouldn't
run away from me-
"'We do know you,' they answered.
"'You never saw me BEFORE said,
for I never passed along here
"'But we know you,' said the chill.
dren. We've got your picture in our
house. You're Gen. Lee! We ain't
dressed clean enough to see you,' and
they scampered of to hut on the
mountainside."
Then the general told Of another
adventure that he had had tho same
day. While riding through thick
woods he met a man who, recognizing
him, stopped, and throwing up his
hat in the air, exclaimed: General,
please let me cheer you!" and then he
hurrahed as loudly as he could.
Gen. Lee was too great a man to be
excited by ordinary applause. On the
contrary, he was annoyed by a COM
pliment to his valor or skill as a gen.
eral. But he was touched by the
compliment which the two little girls
of the mountain paid him: "We amt
dressed clean enough to see you'll"
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21
KEPT THE FISHERMEN BUSY.

when observed the eel had coiled him.
self round the selachian's anatomy in
an evident effort to squeeze the life out
of him, while the hammer-headed one,
by frenzied rushes back and forth
among the coral, was endeavoring to
relieve himself from the incubus who
was so pressing in his unwelcome at
tentions.
At last the shark, mortally hurt, gave
up the fight, and the eel slowly un-
wound himself from the body of his
fast-expiring antagonist.
At this juncture the two fishermen,
tempted by the prospect Of unlimited
fresh meat, decided; to make m effort
to capture the big conger::.,>
Moving the canoe as near their in
tended quarry as was possible without
frightening it, one of the men delivered
well-directed spear thrust, which
landed half pound of iron and several
inches Of seasoned wood shaft right in
the vitals of the mass of squirming
gray flesh.
The effect was magical and almost
tragical. To the great CONSERVATION
Of the fishermen. the eel, on feeling the
prick of the spear point, made light
ning-like rush to the surface, jumped
full ten feet into the air and fell back
into the canoe, the occupants Of which
were by this time thoroughly terrified.
Once in the boat, which had by this
time drifted into deep water, the infu-
rated monster kept the fishermen busy
avoiding his vicious attacks; time and
again did his bristling jaws close with
fearsome snap in unpleasant proximity
ing angrily and, name erect, emitting
the while hoarse kind of bark, the
denizen of the depths looked the incar-
nation of all that is evil and unlovely.
Just as things were looking at their
worst for the two natives help arrived
in the shape of canoe containing an
other fisherman, who, scenting the bat
tie from afar, had taken the precaution
of arming himself with meat ak.
Arrived on the scene, he made short.
work of the fighting >conger, and, put.
ting half the body in each canoe, tn.
party made for the shore.
The two pieces of the carcas, on b.,
ing placed together, measured 27 feet.
and the circumference was in places as
great as that of grown mans thigh.
Inside the belly of the fish were dis.
covered small tin of opium, some
sheIlfish and the partly digested re.
mains of large cat.
This is the largest specimen of tn.
eel genus known to have been met with
in the history of the islands.
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21

IL
dismounting, remarked:
''Baldy is finished this time, for this
is the first occasion that he ever re-
fused to go under fire."
And he was then led to the rear, the
general being promptly supplied with
another horse. In the hope that Badly
would recover, his master kept him
until the following spring, though he
was never able to use him. Just be-
fore the army crossed the Rapidan
river in May, 1864, fearing the wound
ed horse would be in. the way in the
approaching campaign, he was sent to
Philadelphia, and soon after placed in
charge of Capt. Samuel Ringwalt, of
Downington, Pa, who hadserved with
Meade in the early days of the war, who
knew all about Badly, and who, the
general was certain, would take good
care of him. He remained with the
captain until after the close of the
war, when Gen. Meade returned to
Philadelphia to find his favorite horse
fully recovered and in as good condition
as ever, constantly using him for sew
eral years, until, from long service and
old age, he became unsafe as sad
dle-horse. He was then presented to
a country friend in Montgomery coun:
ty, who took the best care of Baldy un-
til his death in December, 1882, when
he was believed to be 30 years of age.
His last service was in November, 1872,
when he was present in the hero's
funeral cortege, following the remains
of his old master to their restinp-place
in Laurel Hill cemetery, Philadelphia,
near the grave of Commodore Isaac
Hull.
After Baldy's death his head and
neck and two fore-hoofs were secured,
and are now cherished relics of the
George c. Meade post, No /, depart
ment of Pennsylvania, Grand Army of
the Republic. At it's headquarters in
Chestnut street, Philadelphia, may be
seen the head handsomely mounted on
an ebony shield, with a record of
wounds emblazoned in gold letters on
either side, also two hoofs of Badly
finished in gold and the shoes of silver,
preserved on glass-covered ebony
brackets. Writing in March, 1899, Mr..
Spencer Meade. the generals son, says:
''while the writer was too young to be in
the service during the civil war, he was fire.
quently at the headquarters of the army Of
Badly, particularly In regard to his Pc
culiar gait when on long marches, and the
staff officers complained about him on tac-
count OF the rocking gait which he had that
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21

AS the electoral vote is apportioned to
the population, this table will give a
fair idea how fast our country has
grown. In several instances there was
e. decrease in the number Of fselectors,
but that was@ due to q change IN ap-
portionment and not to . decrease in
population. ~ 81, 81 ss. 5
The electoral college which viii de-
eide the coming election is composed
as follows: y. = ~ -Saas. as. .sss4
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21
The Right Thiag to d.

The sermon was on the downward
path Of sinner. and the clergyman
used the illustration of q ship on, the
rocks, says London Spare Moments. I. !.
A jack tar who had strolled in be-
came deeply interested. l.
''The waves dash over her!" ex,
claimed the minister. '.Her sails are
split! Her yards are gonel Her
masts are shiveredl Her helm is ,lse-
less! She is driving ashore! There fl
no hope! What cen save her now?''
LET 60 the anchor. We lubberl"
yelled the excited seaman. as Il
He meant well, hat they ran him IN
for brsMl1ne sal the same. 81 g.
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21
COMPLIMENTING GEN. LEE.
Little Southern Story That Shows
How the Confederate General
Was Revered,

Few defeated generals have been so
revered as was Robert E. Lee. Every
southern man and woman admired
him. The author of "A Girls Life in
Virginia" tells little story that
shows how much he was loved by chill
dren.
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21
Philadelphia and the Caterpill.

4 1H111ue1pH1H Anu the 7C6teFp1I0F. !
The caterpillar pest, which few
years ago wrought great havoc among
shade trees in various cities, has been
almost wholly done awaywith in Phil,
adelphia. The preventives which were
applied in the shape Of cotton wound
around the trunks Of the trees, have
tended to lessen the breeding Of the
pests, 30 that now the worms are do
ing very little damage to the trees.-
Little Chronicle. =.,.. ,T'.=
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21
Wanted the Moon Blown Out.

Little Clara tossed about in her
bed, looking at the moon, which was
beaming brightly through the cur
tainless window. Finally, being unable
TO stand it any longer. she clasped
her hands in prayer and said: "Please.
Lord, blow out your lamp so I can 60
to sleep .a
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21
Electors.

The odor Of tansy i : positive pre.
=yentave Of moth invasion. -: -:
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21

damp, sunless hollow. I believe nv ia
ther would swap with the district and
give in exchange for this piece of land
site on top. of the hill. where there
is the best view III the township. Let's
go to look at it, and will say the rest
of what have to say there"
There was not a man present. who
had not driven over the hill hundre 8
of times, but somehow they had never
noticed the beauties of the view as they
did that day. The clouds of early morn
ing had broken away and the world was
bathed in sunlight. To the southe ast
they looked out over ranges of round
little hills, and beheld the gl-at white
capitol, IA miles away, cleaning IN the
blue light reflected from the lakes sur
rounding the city. A few miles to the
north were wild, irregular, hills, rising
in sheer, rocky cliffs, andin the imme-
diate foreground lay rich farm lands:
shorn grain fields alternated. d with
groves of oak, ash and maple, dull red
and dull yellow with the hues Of late
autumn; long rows of corn-shocks
marched across fields to the edges OF
pastures still clothed with green
'This is the place for the school
house," said Gregory. "And it should
be something more than the school
house. It should be the center Of our
social life, the guild-hall oraclub.
house of the district, or of the neigh.
boring districts. It should contain a
general meetiDs-room upstairs overt
schoolroom, small kitchen, a Ii.
brary-"' - s a.
Hold on!" said Iver Borglum. How
vas You goin' to pay for al that q
The Worthington advance., 1900-09-21

A year after the surrender Gen. Lee