davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

in every way possible, but the iron ship got the best of it in the long run. Far ragut and hosts of other officers refused outright 10 sail in an iron ship, and loaded down the records of the navy with reasons why an iron ship would not take the place of the wooden ship. It is interesting now to read these old reports in view of the fact that there are practically no wooden ships left. They argued and proved to their own satisfaction, too, that the iron ship would be too cold in winter and too warm in summer; that it would sweat and give everyone who rode in 1t rheu- matism and dozens of other diseases. Experience has shown every one of the objections to be without foundation.
 ''The people who forced the iron ship on the navy were landsharks in every instance. They knew little about the sea themselves, but just the same they thought it would be an improvement on the wooden ship, and they were right about it. The only thing that I can compare it to was the opposition to the elevated railroads in New York City. Three hundred of the physicians of the largest practice in New York City join ed in protest against the building of the elevated railroad. They insisted that if the elevated cars were run that in less than six months one-third or more of the people living along the lines of elevated railroads would be driven crazy; that the noise and the jarring would have such an effect upon the nerves of the people that they could not exist. Hundreds of famous naval sur geOns and hundreds not so famous are on record the same way against the iron skip. The long list of diseases that were to follow their introduction have not yet materialiZed, and the iron ship persistently refuses to sweat in the terrible way that was predicted for it." Washington Star.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

Some newspapers, In making a"crltl-
 cal analysis of the character of the late | Benjamin Harrison, have reached the
 conclusion that it was the quality ot
 honesty chiefly that made him great. | His purposes were honest ana ne puf- sued them with simple honesty. He
 was honest with himself and honest
 with the world. Thus there was no
 swerving from the truth for personal advantage, no compromising with false notions for political popularity, no tol- eration of falseness in any particular. And other newspapers are prone to de clare that this is a sad commentary on humanity, when an example of plain honesty and duty well done should prove such a shining mark. Yet it was ever so. The sentiment, "An honest man is the noblest work of God" was as true at the dawn of history as it is now. The earliest moral teachings of all peoples were efforts to inStill the
 value of truth and honesty. Our first legend of sin is the dishonesty of the 1 serpent in the Garden of Eden, Eyes dishonesty with Adam, and Adams dishonesty with his God. We are fond of talking of the good old times, when men were honest" but nobody knows when they were. In younger commun- ities deception is not so easy as in older ones. Possibly in Puritan New England there was once a greater pro- portion of honesty than now exists any where though that may be doubted but this was an exceptional cOmmuni- ligious impulse. When Puritanism was fiourishing most in New England, mor- als were at a mighty low ebb in most of the world. The Greeks became the most polished liars of the world long before they became its most accom- plished soldiers under Alexander. The ancient Persian did not know what the truth was, and his modern descendant, who sells us Oriental rugs, is a tower of truth in comparison. The Roman, who stood as the embodiment of cour- age in the ancient world, was a more fluent liar than the modern child of sunny Italy. Honesty in statesman ship, and even the semblance of hon. esty in diplomacy are very modern things. Thus, while it is true that the sterling honesty of this man has elicit ed wide admiration, and while it Is true that this is a sad commentary on the imperfectiOn of humanity, we find therein no cause for Encouragement. When simple honesty elicits universal admiration from the world, it is some thing gained. When men realize its value, it is something gained. And if men shall strive, however feebly, to emulate the example, much more will be gained.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15
Alhani,S Earlv SucnnsS-

As a child Mime. Albani made such a success in her first appearance on the concert platform that she was sur rounded with bouquets. That was in a convent in Montreal, where she re- ceiyed her education. At II she was first soprano in Catholic choir at AL bany, N Y., and at sudden notice be- came Organist. Then her singing abil. ity was noticed. A fund was raised. and she was sent to Europe for study in Paris apd Italy. The rest is known Mime. Alb&ni's appearance in Messina. where she was encored fifteen times; and her subsequent triumphant appear ance in London are fresh in the minds of music lovers.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15
Redeemine Waste Lands.

The magnitude of the plans which are being made for the reclamation of the arid lands of the West is astounding even to the American mind, so wide is their scope and so costly will be their carrying out. But the cost is promised to be little in comparison with the re- suits to be achieved. The plans involve
 the control of rivers and the utilization
 of the water in the irrigation of terri tory of vast extent. Storage reservoirs
 are projected of size that will make
 them equal to veritable inland seas, and
 huge dams, constructed on the most ad- vanced scientific principles, are to hold the seas ia place. Canals larger than many of the well-knOwn rivers of Flu rope will carry the water to the points where it is most needed, and a myriad of cut-offs and side-canals and ditches will finally distribute it to a multitude of farms. The conversion of several thousand square miles of desert into fertile country is promised as the result of these elaborate plans should they be carried out. That they are feasible in theory there can be no doubt but that they are practicable is open to question.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

suggested to him that one who suffer ed so much from sleeplessness and in- digestion ought not to smoke so con- stantly. Carlyle replied that he had once given up smoking for an entire year at the instance of a doctor, who assured him that his only ailment was too much tobacco. At the end of the year he was walking one evening in the country, so weak that he was hard ly able to crawl from tree to tree, when he suddenly determined that whatever was amiss with him that fellow at least did not understand it." and he re- turned to tobacco and smoked after ward without let or hindrance. In his latter days he used clay pipe made in Dublin and known as the Repeal" He was unable to renew the supply and Sir Charles Duffy assumed him that these pipes were strictly reserved for believers in Irish nationality and promised him a supply if he qualified in the ordinary manner. Carlyle never qualified.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15
ROoseveIt's ThouobtfnInose

Prior to the time that Mir. Roosevelt was made President of the New YorI, Police Board no provision had eyer been made for policemen who ruinod their uniforms in rescuing persons from drowning. MT. Roosevelt took the mat ter up before he had been in the office a week and ordered that every uniform thus unttted for use should be replaced at the cost of the city. He went still further: down on the river front was one old rOundsman who had been in the service many years, and during that time had saved twenty-nine per, sons from drowning. He was at once made a sergeant, and, as if to celebrate the promotion, he saved his thirtieth life the next week.-Ladies' Home Journal.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

| turies it was celebrated in beftting style by all classes, from the highest to the lowest. Polydore Vergil tells us Of how Henry VIII. rode to Shooters Hill
 with Queen Catharine a-Maying, anG took a vigorous part in the ceremonies
 which heralded the coming of spring ln all its loveliness. At early dawn all ranks of the people rose betimes, and went out into the fields and woods, where they gathered flowers and bOughs and had many sports and games in honor of the day. It was sort of natural craving, this desire to go into the woods and become natures children again, and it was we'll satisfied, for joy reigned supreme and songs and dances were kept up all day long. Hawthorne branches were gathered and brought back to the village and towns early in the morning, and the doorways and windows of their houses were decorated by the people, while the tabOrs and horns were vigorously played. The haw- thornes could usually be counted on to bloom at this time, and by a natural transition, the bloom was finally called May" itself, and the ceremony named ''the bringing home the May" For many days the blossoms hung about the houses, giving them a refreshing ap- pearance after the dreary aspect they had shown during the winter months.
 But prettier than the blooms, and the flowers themselves, were the Queens of the May, whom Tennyson has cele- brated in his much used (and much abused) poem. The prettiest girl of the village was chosen by exclamation to be the Queen for one day, and she was duly crowned with the richest wreath of flowers Obtainable. Then a bower of blossoms was made, and in this the pretty girl was enthroned, from which she observed the dancers who circled about her seat of state, and sang and made merry for her. And many Queen of May would doubtless have been Queen in truth had mere beauty been a passport to the reigning power, for the fresh beauty of the young girls was much enhanced by that of the early
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15
Has n Home for Stray Cats.

An uptown woman in New York, the widow of a Supreme Court Judge, has devoted her attention to the welfare of stray cats. She has had constructed q cage thirty-twO feet long and ten feet wide, where all homeless animals who are found in the vicinity receive food and shelter The neighbOrs call it the "cat mission" The cage is fitted with cushions and has a house heated with hot-water pipes in one end. A local milkman has the food contract for this asylum and leaves large can of milk daily for the inmates. Over forty cats are being cared for at present, and news of the institution is spreading.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

school, and held their brief sway amid garlands, attired in their best bib 2nC tucker. The country schools. although no regular May Day is celebrated there usually have some special program, il which speaking pieces" takes frs place, and it would take very little tC revive the old Maypole days among them, if the teachers would set their minds to doing so. Surely a prettie1 custom could not be reintrOduced or re- yived.
 Poor May Day! She was a sweet and dainty holiday as long as she lived, but she did Bot live long enough. If resur- rectiOn there is to be, the poets and the children and the people will pray that it come soon, for in the hurried race for dollars and fame nowadays it would be a national relief to go a-Maying in the fresh woods and fields on May 1 in place of telephOning the furniture van man to hurry up and not delay the household procession.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15
TURNED OFF THE WELL GAS
How the Owner of a Producer Account
 ed for Its Eo;1,,-o

How the Owner of Producer Account
 ed for It's Failure.
 Here is story of the late Paul Raj ney, the coke magnate, and his friend. the late Charles Latimer, eminent en- gineer. MT. Latimer was a firm be- liever in the peculiar virtues of tue di- vining rod. He used it with singular success. He wrote a pamphlet about it. He was widely known as a SUD- porter of the claims that were made for it. Consequently when his friend Rainey went ahead and bored for nat ural gas without consulting MT. Lati- mer and his divining rod the engineer felt hurt and little provoked.
 "Why, man," he said, "here you've gone ahead and let blind chance guide you, while I would have located the sure thing if you had only sent me word"
 But struck it." protested MT. Raj ney.
 "Struck what?" cried MT. Latimer. "Struck a pocket, that's what you've struck. You'll sec 1t can't last, tell you. You've made one of the biggest mistakes of your life"
 And thereafter every time Mir. Lati- mer met Mir Rainey he berated him for scorning the divining rod, and warned him that his gas supply would soon be exhausted.
 MT. Rainey began to expect this at tack every time Mir. Latimer came in sight. And he prepared himself to counteract it by saying: But the gas still flows, Charlie" And the diNining rods packer would walk away, shaking his head in a fOrebOding manner. And then one day MT. Latimer died very suddenly.
 Tt was only a week or two before, !" said Mr. Rainey in telling the story, that Charlie met me and told me for the fortieth time. more or less. that my we'll was no good, and by love the very day he died the flow suddenly stopped! Yes, sir stopped right short on the day that Charlie died. Confound it, if didn't believe that he went straight down and turned it off! Yes, sir, turn ed it offr'-Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

lived for life itself and its happy mo- ments. Only three days during the en- tire month were solemn ones-the 9th, 11th and 18th, during which the fes tival of Lemuria was observed with sGle mni- ty-in memory of the dead.
 The name May is of doubtful origin. as are many good things, itmay be observed in passing. Most scholars agree that it probably came from Maia, the moth CT of Mercury, to whom the Romans were accustomed to offer sacrifices on May Day. The Druids were accustomed in England to make huge bonfires on the summits of the hills on the eve of May Day, and not only were the houses adorned on the following day with flow CTS and green bOughs, but the churches as well.
 England, usually to the front with ob- servances of all kinds of holidays. took kindly to May Day, and for many cen
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

A recent importation of foreigners against which no one will be likely to take exceptions, except, perhaps, the natives they have come to destroy, has been graciOusly received and welcomed by the.quarantine officer of the Califor- mia State Board of Agriculture at San Francisco. The newcomers are a con- signment of tachina flies from South Australia, deadly enemies of the grass hopper tribe-their wholesale exter- minators,.- in fact, wherever found. They came as cold storage passengers, and with them. came a large number of ladybugs, for service in clearing the orchards of red scale-the pest of fruit growers.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15
Revenues of the Riviera.

A writer in a French paper says that every year there are 2T0,000 foreigners who pass from fortnight to whole winter on the Riviera. Every person is supposed to eXpend on an average a thousand francs, or $2OO. in the coun- try. In other words, the foreign wis itors spend in the country every winter the sum of $54.000,000 This is enor- nous. The English are put down as contributing one-third of this amount, the French themselves contribute an other third; Germans, Belgians, Dutch. and Russians do the rest. Nothing is said about the Americans. Perhaps they are Jumped up with the English. From being quite a poor country when it was annexed by France, Nice has become one of the richest departments.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

The German army has furnished an other terrible illustration of what duel ing means. An infantry captain pres ent at an officers dinner took offense at the innocent but rough horse-play of an army surgeon. and struck him. He then retired to his quarters. In a little while two officers representing the surgeon appeared with a challenge. Before they could deliver it brother of the surgeon entered and shot the captain dead. His excuse was that he sacrificed himself to save his brother, the surgeon, who had a wife and chil. dren, and could hardly hope to survive duel with the offended captain, a noted pistol-shOt. Such an incident must come home with peculiar force to the emperor, who has frankly com mended dueling in the army as the proper way for soldier to protect his ''honor."
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

flowers, the gay dress, and the happy spirits. Even Queen Elizabeth-who would not have been chosen a May Queen on account of her beauty, per maps, had she been a cOmmoner-used to keep the May Day at Greenwich, and indulge in the gay "May-games" that grew up in connection with the delight full festival.
 The MaypoIe.
 Next to the May Queen in importance was the Maypole, and a most interest ing part this pretty affair played in the observation of May Day. The lads among the early risers on May Day would repair to the forest or the neigh boring woods and groves, and there chop down the tallest and straightest young tree to be found. Securing a chain about this, teams of oxen would be hitched to it, and with their necks surrounded with garlands woven by the laSses, the patient beasts would drag the pole to the village green, where, with many a lusty shout and song, it would be raised and set in the ground. The pole, although shOrn of most of it's limbs, would be decorated with flowers and handkerchiefS of the lassies tied near the top, while long streamers of gaily cOlored ribbons hung from the apex. While the youths were cutting and preparing the pole the lassies stole away into the meadows and there bathed their pretty faces in the spark ling dew which hung upon grass and shrub-a recipe for gaining and retain ing beauty which probably had more truth in it than they knew. They gath cred flowers, too, and wOve garlands for themselves as we'll.
 The MaypOle dance is almost too well known to need further mention here, for the manner in which the young men and women circled about the pretty pole, each with a ribbon streamer in his or her hand, weaving bright covering to the pole as they narrowed the circle, is familiar to most of us. It was pret- ty ceremony and befitting the occasion. Summer houses we are told, were also built near the MaypOle, as we'll as floral
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15
In the Mexican Household.

The arrangement of furniture is much more formal than in the United States. It is a very common sight to see splendidly furnished parlOr with row of straight backed chairs all alike with their backs against the wall and as close together as they can be placed clear around the ,r0Om-
 Heavy single doors, such as are used in the United States, are practically, Un- known in Mexican houses either at en- frances or between interior rooms All doors open in the middle and are faSten- ed with bolts top and bottom Exte-- rior doors are always fitted with glass panels. for they also serve as windows. All such doors opening on the street or open, court are fitted with solid shut ters that are folded at the sides out of sight when not in use.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

Canada in south Africa, in Australia ill New Zealand and in other small places scattered around the world
 There is thus being formed. on o pi- gantic scale, a new race of men brilt on the strongest line on which it is pos slble to construct human beings. The different sections of this new race bavo common language and literature the same laws and customs, and the trend of industrial civilization gives tbop, identical political interests.-Engineer- ing Magazine.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

An Indiana jury, in its wisdom, has fixed the value of a single kiss at S1,5O0. This verdict must not be taken as establishing anything like a stand ard market price in this country for a commodity the value of which may vary infinitely, according to circum- stances and to the personal beauty of one of the parties to the bargain. A lover may swear a single kiss is worth a kings ransom and all the world be- side. On the other hand, and with no desire to be ungallant, it is easy to iT-- agine a situation in which 9 kiss might be dear at any price. Az certain church entertainments, where money was be ing rafsrd for worthy purposes, kiss has been sold at auction for as much as
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15
L.a.esa.rasa.e.evayesa.e

bowers, arbOrS and seats entWlned Wltn flowers, while cakesellers and "side shows" came into vogue at these places, much as they did at the fairs, although in less numbers. Great feasts were served, and as the day wore on the rev elry grew faster and more furious. At night huge bOnfres were lighted-the custom left by the Druids, of course and the Queen of May retired, leaving her cOnsOrt to conduct the rest of the ceremony, which was rather wild at times, as may be imagined, for not un- til daybreak again would the Morris dancers and their companions leave the now much trampled and fOwer-streWn ground.
 Sometimes the Maypole, after it was once we'll fixed on the common, was left there until nearly the end of the year. and was often resorted to at other sea- sons of festivity. It is said the last Maypole erected in London was 100 feet high, and was on the spot where the present church in the Strand now stands, near Somerset House. 1t was taken down in TIT, and was conveyed to Wansted Park, in Essex, where it was fixed as part of the support of a large telescope set up by Sir Isaac New ton. Here it saw stars for the old dis coverer of the attraction of gravity, as it had seen fun and frolics for others ir the past.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

$100, which is certainly a high figure when it is considered that the kiss was sold to raise money for the heathen. It is traditional belief that stolen kisses are the sweetest. They are the dearest also in Indiana, for the one for which the Indianian had to pay $1 1,5eO was stolen. For. several thousand years
 the value of a~kiss fas fdctuated so constantly and so widely that any mod Fern attempt te- +Ring 1tdewa to set tied figure must prove worse than idle.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

The Yankee commercial traveller is meeting difficulties in France. His breezy and free manners outrage the tendereSt feelings of the Frenchman. who shows only an agOnized desire to get rid of the sandbur that has attach ed itself to him. French business is as cOurtly and effuSively polite as a diplo- matic encounter. Customers in Paris enter a shop as if it were a drawing room. The tradesman and bis clerks are Saluted with all the ceremony of court procedure. Where this outward and ceremonial politeneSs is so general it is easy to see that the American drummer before he has struck the gait would be at a maSterful disad- vantage. His manners have been slightly neglected in the hustle to sell the goods, and his ideas of court proce- dure and diplomatic usage are at the best what you might call hazy. As the excessive politeness of a Frenchman in this country seems absurd to us, so the excessive lack of ceremony of the Yankee drummer seems particularly agoniZing in France. The commercial traveller, if he is to succeed abroad, will have to go to a commercial dancing school.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15

The appointment of: Gen. Chaffee as majorgeneral was the first instance of a private attaining that rank in the regular army of the United States. T should know that Chaffee was not edu- cated at West Point" commented a military visitor at the review of Ameri- can troops in China last summer. 'He is so unused to full-dress uniform that he has his sash over the wrong shOul- der" It was true, and all the more honor to him for his success.
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15
Taking No Chances.

"Yes; he has proposed by letter" she explained. "New do you think I ought to mail my answer immediately or keep him in suspense for a while?''
 Mail itp' exclaimed her dearest friend in a tone that had a trace of Spiteful- ness in it. ''If were you I'd telegraph it." and there was an emphasis put on eff I were yOu'' that came near breaking a friendship that had ex- tended over several Chicago Post
The St. Johns herald., 1901-06-15
Not an Inincement.

Farmer Hayrix (to hotel clerk HeOw much dew you tax a feller fer stOppin' at this here tavern?
 Clerk-Three dollars q day. We give you all the comforts of a home
 Farmer Hayrix-Gosh! git all them tew home fer nothing.