davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
The Earl and the Highwayman.
one night when the Earl of stanhor

S One night when the Earl of Stanhope
2tvas walking alone in the Kentish lanes
ya man j,lmped out Of the hedge. leveled
4 pistol and demanded his purse.
IN 3 good map. haye no money with
Ihe. " said Lord Stanhope in his remark
ably slow tones. The robber laid hands
on his watch.
Z. No" Lord Stanhope went on, that
Stch you must not have 1t was Civ
eSSSto me by one / love. 1t Is worth
ECO. If you will trust me, will go
back to Chevening and bring a f1OO
note and place 1t in the hollow Of that
tree cannot lose my watch"
The man did trust him. The earl did
bring the note. Years after Lord Stan
hope was al a city dinner. and next to
rhim sat London alderman of great
wealth. a man widely respected. He
and the earl talked of many things and
found each other mutually entertain
ing. Next day Lord Stanhope received
a letter. out of which dropped f1OO
note. 1T was your lordship's kind loan
of this sum- said the note, that start
ed me in life and enabled me to have
the honor of sitting next to your lord
ship at dinner" a strange story; but
the Stanhopes are a strange race. and
things happen to them that never did
or could occur to other people.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
Chinese Points For Hosts,

"Don't eat with your ears" says
Yuan Mel, Chinese writer, "by which
mean do not aim at having extraor-
binary out@of the way foods, just to
astonish your guests. for that is to
eat with your ears, not with your
mouth. Bean curd, if good, is actually
nicer than birds nest. And better than
sea slugs, which are not first rate, is a
dish of bamboo shoots.
'sThe chicken, the pig, the fish and
the duck these are the four heroes Of
the table, Sea slugs and birds nest
have no q aracteristic fayors of their
own. They are but usurpers in the
house. 1 once dined with friend who
gave us birds nests in bowls like watts,
holding each about four ounces Of the
plain boiled article. The other guests
applauded vigorously. but smiled and
said | came here to eat birds nest, not
to take delivery Of it wholesale"
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
Crabs In Disguise.

Human beings are not the only crea-
Ares that have discovered the ap-
Ytizing, though indigestible, qualities
Y crabs, and some of these animals
ave been compelled to resort to vari-
rs defensive measures Disguise is
3e Of these and is practiced with
Weat effect by spider crabs.
lArhese deliberately bite up seaweeds
Sid plant them on their backs. very
Hon establishing q growth which har-
sHonizes perfectly with the surround
skgs and deceives many an enemy.
hould the weeds grow too vigorously,
fac crab industriously prunes them
with his claws and every now and then
scI4pes the whole lot off and starts q
fresh garden on his roof. so to speak
The sponge crab behaves in similar
manner, nipping of little bits of living
sponge and sticking them on his back,
where they grow vigorously. The
same end is served as In the other case.
1t is very amusing to keep crabs of
one or other Of these kinds in an aqua
rum and deprive them of the usual
means of concealment.
They get very nervous and agitated
and try to cover themselves with bits
OF paper or anything else that may be
provided. One such captive is said to
have lad a little greatcoat made for
him, which he put on in hurry as
soon as 1T was handed to him.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
sports Of the Crusaders.

In their amusements Christians and
infdels mingled very readily. During
the truces the two frequently engaged
in jousts and proved one another's skill
in Craftsmanship, in the use of the
lance, in the welding of the sword
and In the hurting of the spear. All,
even the knights of the religious orders,
entered with zest into these friendly
rivalries. Both Christian and infidel
were extremely fond Of hunting and
falconry. A long section in the assizes
is devoted to the laws concerning the
latter subject. Ousama in his autobi-
.ography devoted many pages to ac-
counts of hunting experiences and to
the art of falconry. The crusading
leaders took their hunting dogs and fall
cons with them as a matter of course
when they set out on the holy war.
AS the close proximity of the enemy
exposed both parties to constant at
tack, hunting agreements were made
by which each might hunt in security
on disputed territory. Gifts of dogs
and hawks were interchanged, and
friendships were sometimes formed be-
cause of the mutual interest in breed
ing hunting animals. - international
Magazine.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
Torne Mountain Legend.

There is Washington legend con-
nected with Tome mountain which is
always told to those who visit the
Ramapo country. The mountain is the
highest in the range, and on clear
day, It is said, one can see Sandy
Hook from the summit. Half way up
the mountain there is deep cleft in
the rocks, at the bottom of which is a
spring. From some hidden point water
falls into the spring with steady
dropping not unlike the ticking Of a
watch.
Listen and you will hear George
Washington's watch" say the old set
tiers. 'He dropped it into the spring
when he came up the mountain to
watch the British leave New York"
'Tick-tick-tic k-tick" is the sound
which comes out of the rocks.
1T is going yet" says the guide.
Must have been good watch, don't
you think so?"-New York Tribune.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
Sense In Proverbs

There is a deal of sound sense in the
proverbs of a nation. Earl Russell de-
fined proyerb as being the wit Of one
man and the wisdom of many, and the
aptness of this is well shown in the
following from the Spanish, "Since we
cannot get what we like, let us like
what we get" The thought is as old
as the race of mankind, but ages pass
ed before one man hit upon the happy
expression Of it. This saying from the
Chinese is a whole homily on pride in
one sentence, when a tree is blown
down, it shows that the branches are
longer than the roots"
For concise expression of the lofty
aspirations of youth and the sober
achievements of ripper years take this
sentence from Henry D. Thoreau, "The
youth gets together his materials to
build bridge to the moon, or per-
chance palace or temple on the earth,
and at length the middle aged man con-
cludes to build a woodshed with them"
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
Mirrors of the IsraeIitex.

The earliest mirrors OF which men
ton is made in history were in use
among the Israelites in the time Of
Moses. That gentleman, as recorded
i'll the Bible. commanded in certain
emergency that these articles should
be transformed into wash basins for
the priests. They We're made of brass.
Doubtless similar utensils of this and
other materials We're in use long before
that. At that same period black glass
was employed for the purpose, as well
as transparent glass with black foil on
the back. 1t is related that the Span
iards found mirrors of polished black
stone, both convex and concaye, among
the natives of South America.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
Where He Belonged.

A clergyman observed horse jockey
trying to take in simple gentleman
by imposing upon him broken wind
ed horse for a sound one. The parson,
taking the gentleman aside, told him
to be cautious of the person he was
dealing with. The gentleman declined
the purchase, and the Jockey, quite
nettled, observed, "Parson, had much
rather hear you preach than to see
you privately interfere in bargains be-
tween man and man in this way"
Well" replied the parson, ''if you
had been where you ought to have
been last Sunday you might have
heard me preach
'.Where was that?" inquired the
jockey.
I'm the state prison" returned the
clergyman Standard
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
Getting In Society.

Several young men in our smartest
set were asked by an inquisitive genius
how they managed to get in high socie-
ty. 81 danced my way in," said one.
who frequently leads cotillon Anoth-
err said: 81 was too ungraceful for that.
But had serious way with me, and
got into the sacred circle by means of
the Sunday school. taught Bible
class, made acquaintance of the best
young men, met their mothers, fathers
and finally their sisters" A third: II
got in by being a stranger in New
York. While on q hunting expedition
in the west was able, through hap
Ply circumstance, to be of assistance to
very prominent leader of New York
society. In gratitude, suppose, he ex-
acted promise that would visit him
If ever came east. l came, called,
conquered. He dined me at his club,
then at his home, where I met his fam
lily. His daughter is now my wife,
New York Press.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
A Pretty Big Tiger.

Old Dickey s., very wealthy but
very illiterate East India merchant in
London, took pair of compasses and
set about examining large map Of
India, the margin of which was illus
trated with drawings of the wild and
domestic animals of the country.
Suddenly Dickey dropped the COM
pass in amazement. 1T can't be! 1t
amt in the horder of nature that it
should be! Impossible! Ridiculous!"
why. Dickey. what's the matter?"
'Wot's the matter? Wy, this Bengal
tiger is ninety miles long,"
Dickey had measured the tiger by the
scale OF the map.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
what the TruGie Is.

The ancient Romans, at whose sump-
tuous banquets trufIles played an inn
portant role, supposed that their ex-
istence was one of the material results
of thunder. More modern botanists
have classed it as species of mush-
room. but it can scarcely be termed
such. To be exact, the truftle is tu-
,berculous fungus, a sort of morbid ex-
travasation of vegetable sugars anal
ogous to oak balls or nutgalls and
doubtless originating. as these latter
from the sting of an insect.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30

Mr.. Cecil Adm, an authority, gives 1t
as his opinion that dogs as a rule are
devoid of conscious humor. '4The
clown dog in troupe of performing
dogs, for instance, is not really funny
when he burlesques the performances
of other dogs, but he seems to be fun
ny to the spectators. Il am afraid that
the people who credit dogs with being
Intentionally funny are deceiving them
selves. A dog likes fun-a good romp
and game with children-but his sense
of humor has not been developed, and
it is not subtle" A dogs best sense
at humor, Mr.. Adm thinks, is when
he is being tickled. "He opens his
mouth, then screws his face into what
people are pleased to call a laugh
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
He Understand

Anton Rubinstein, the Russian COM
poser. in his autobiography tells of the
confusion which overcame certain
architect of his acquaintance who had
a habit of interlarding all his remarks
with the phrase. You understand"
On one occasion he was explaining
certain architectural matters to the
emperor, and, according to custom.
made free use of his favorite express
sion.
Good heavens!' exclaimed Emperor
Nicholas at last irritably. "Of course /
understand! My dear fellow, how
could 1 help it?''
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
ITALIAN VlOLlNS.
The First "strnd, Sent to London
Could Find No Purchaser.


Italian yiolins have not always held
the supremacy they now enjoy. 1t was
not indeed till the beginning of the
nineteenth century that they came into
vogue to any extent outside their ma
tive land. Previously Jacob Steiner
q621-sS9 was the favorite maker, and
his high model had been almost exclu-
sively copied by his fellow Germans
and the different makers i'm France and
England. When the elder Corvette,
who had been merchant before enter
ing the musical profession, came to
London, in 1888, he brought with him
some instruments by Stradivari. The
result of this endeavor to introduce
Italian work into England fills one with
pathetic wonder. 1t is almost beyond
belief. AS he could not get as much as
f5 $3.50 for a violoncello he was obliged
to send the instrument back to Italy
for bad speculation. Five pounds for
4 "Strad, and not a single purchaser
to be found!
This incident in itself furnishes suffi-
cient testimony to the slavish following
Of the great German maker and the
strong prejudice of the yiolinists Of
that period in favor of the high model.
1t is indeed the players who are most
to blame for the slow adoption Of the
fiat model, for the creator must make
what is necessitated by the demand;
but the eighteenth century fiddlers, at
any rate in England, France and Ger
many, seem for the most part to have
been content that their violins should
possess a small sweet tone. never real
izing the lack of power and sorority
Connoisseur.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
some Famous Echoes.

There is a famous echo on the Rhine
between Coblentz and Bingen which
repeats a word seventeen times, while
in the sepulcher of Metella, the wife
of Sulla, in the Roman Campo gna. there
is an echo which repeats five times in
different keys and will also give back
with disunctness a hexameter line,
which requires two and a half seconds
to utter. Brewster mentions an echo
on the north side of Shipley church, in
Sussex, England, which repeats TWEEN
ty-one sylables
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
She Soon Altered II.

Many young ladies have found it
necessary to improve, or rather to alter,
the spelling of the names with which
they were originally blessed Mabel
becomes Mabelle, Jessie becomes Jes-
sica, Mary becomes Marie. and 81
forth. A brother lately received let
ter from his young sister at fashion.
able boarding school. 1t was signed
Jessica. He answered:
Dear Sister Jessica-Your welcome let
ter received. Papaica and mammaica are
well. Aunt Maryca and Uncle Georgia.
started for Glasgowica yesterday. l have
bought a new horse. You ought to see
1T. 1t is beauty. Its name is Maudica.
Your affectionate brother. SANIICA
The sisters next letter was signed
"JesSie.''
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
A Game For Two.

Once upon time young gentleman
and a younger lady were alone in a
bright parlor in front Of cheerful
open fire, with a table between them,
playing cards. AS they continued to
play and chat the table was not so
much between them, for they both got
nearer the fire and played the game on
one corner of the table.
They had started in to play euchre,
but after an hour and half they
found that they were playing hearts.
Moral-We are not always sure what
the game is.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
Did Not know what Wa. Going On

Did Not Know What Was Going On.
There is a fact about the French rev.
olution more wonderful in its way than
any which can be discovered in old
newspapers. 1t is the fact, gathered
from private letters of the period, that
in those stirring times. when all the
world was ringing with the events in
Paris, there We're actually people in
that city living in absolute ignorance
of the horrors around them. There
was no reign of terror for them. They
lived veritable recluses in their quiet
suburban houses, hearing nothing,
reading nothing of the turmoil which
startled and terrified the nations. One
wonders much what manner of people
these cysterlike folks might be. Moth
ing sounds more incredible today. Yet
there are many things in history not
half so well authenticated, though his
tory is curiously silent on SO strange a
circumstance.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30

Natives in the countries inhabited by
great apes regard them always as hui
man beings of inferior types, and it is
for this reason that for long time it
was found impossible to get hold of
an entire gorilla skin. because the saw
ages considered it religiously neces-
sary to cut off the hands and feet of
the animals when they killed them.
just as they do with their enemies, pos
sibly for the purpose of rendering them
harmless in case they should by any
chance come to life again.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
ELECTRIC centipeds.

Least attractive among the insecrs
which give light are the so called
electric centipeds" = black crawlers
with many legs, which have been lik-
ened to serpents' skeletons in minia-
ture. They move in snakelike fash
ion, forward or backward, leaving be-
hind them bright track of phosphor-
lie light. However, they are most ac-
customed to appear in the daytime
when the illumination they afford is
not visible.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
The Largest Coin. In ctrcu1ation

The largest gold coin now in circu-
lation is the gold ingot, or "loof," of
Anam, French colony in eastern Afri-
ca. 1t is a fat, round goldpiece, and on
1t is written in india ink it's value,
which is about f65. The next sized
coin to this valuable but extremely
awkward one is the obang of Japan,
which is worth f10, and next comes the
benda of Ashanti, which represents
value of about 60. The California fifty
dollar goldpiece is worth about the
same as the benda. The heaviest sill
yer coin in the world also belongs to
Anam, where the silver ingot is worth
about f3. Then comes the Chinese
tael, equal to about shillings, and
then the Austrian double thaler.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
Accidental Discharge of a p,

NccIueHtNI DIscHHrEe OF u r UNI.
A capital pun may arise by pure &c.
cident, as recorded in Buckles Book
of Table Talk"
"A Mr.. Alexander Gun was dismiss
ed from post in the customs of Edin-
burgh for circulating some false ru-
NOR. The dismissal is said to have
been thus noted in the customs book at
the time, "a. Gun discharged for max
ing false report
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
constantinople Beggnrs, Feast Day.

Constnntinople Bcggnrs' Feast Day.
One day in the year Constantinople
is free from the beggar nuisance-on
Nov. %. This is the festival of ST.
John the Almsgiver, the patron saint
of the mendicant profession. No beg
gar of the Greek faith is on his or her
beat that day. In the forenoon all, or
nearly all, Orthodox mendicants at
tend special service in the church Of
st. Constantine, at which an archbish-
op officiates. 1t is arranged by their
corporation, for they are organized into
guild like any other trade. The
church, spacious as it is, is none too
large for the numerous congregation
of cadgers, many of whom in their
holiday garb look like respectable citi-
zens. The rest of the day is spent in
festivities, which are apt to extend SO
far into the night that many Of the
jewellers are unable to attend to bust
ness on the morrow.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
land Crabs.

4 OF the commonest and the lar.
the Christmas island land crabs
~ well known robber crab, which
I,nd in most Of the tropical islands
M3e Indian and Pacific oceans. 1t
atlmes reaches length of two feet
slnay measure seven inches across
oack. Its colors are Of a very
Ey description, the ground color be-
bright red, upon which there are
es of yellow, but in some cases a
H8lish blue is the prevailing tint.
Ne eyes are fixed on stalks which
be moved Independently Of one an
II, and there are two pairs of feel.
Zone long, the other short The lat
III pair are continually jerked up and
%wn. There is a pair of powerful
Saws, then several walking legs. In
,eneral appearance these animals are
huch more like rather stout Holsters
than crabs, and ones first encounter
18th one of these creatures in the mid
&of forest far from the sea is pro-
8tiye of much establishment on both
sss.
another species Of land crab COM
m in Christmas island is a little
@sht red animal which in general
Npe is much like the common shore
Sb. This variety makes burrows in
ground, and in some places the soil
&oneycombed with hundreds of holes.
lie crabs spend most Of their time
Mlecting dead leaves, which they car
in their claws, holding them up over
aeir heads, and drag down into their
hrrows. into which they scuttle at the
asst arm..Pearson's Magazine.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
Corn.

Corn. with its twenty-four to thirty
two rows under cultivation, was once
but a coarse grass, hiding each seed it
produced under husk, as wheat and
oats now do. Brought out to the light
and SUM- with d chance to get at
enough plant food. it has worked its
way up to eight rows of seeds. covering
these with one husk. The farmer and
nature together have added the extra
sixteen and twenty-four rows.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
American English.

: We do not speak the English Ian
guage in the way in which it is spoken
by the people of England. We have
greatly changed. enlarged and perhaps
improved it in our usual progressive
way. The wonder lies in the notion of
Englishmen that their way of speaking
the language is the only way and that
our way is wrong. New York World.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30

What Causes ~
Variety ~
a good idea of the &

a good idea of the &c
varying cloud shapes may
by watching the steam from Nv
engine under different conditions. ION )
it issues from the funnel it is trans
parent water vapor On moist, cloudy
day it will hang in thick, fleecy masses
in the track of the train. In dry, bright
weather it will rise in light, thin
wreaths, which quickly disappear, and
again when the engine is standing in
a station the steam will collect in
masses above it.
These are practically the conditions
of cloud formation. The shapes vary
according to height above the earth, to
the temperature of the particular air
current in which they are floating, to
the force and direction Of the wind at
the various attitudes and also in some
measure to the electrical condition of
the atmosphere and the amount of
dust in it.
AS a rule, the higher the clouds the
lighter they are and the more widely
spread. The SO called mares tails and
1flackerel sky are good examples of
this. Some of the former are over five
miles high and are believed to be COM
posed of minute particles of ice. The
clouds in mackerel sky are generally
about three miles high.
The heavy cumulus clouds which so
often look like vast mountain ranges
are only found in the lower and moist;
er layers of atmosphere. Their lower
surfaces are from half to three-quar-
tiers of mile above the earth, while
their higher points may range from
two to three miles in elevation. Still
lower than these come the heavy fat
masses of nimbus or rain clouds which
are seldom more than half a mile above
the earth.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
Had Been There.

"There is no doubt" said the student
of law, that many people have been
imprisoned. although innocent of any
crime"
II know that by sad experience
'You don't say SO! Let's have the
story"
There's no story to it. Imerely had
the bad luck to be drawn on several
juries that were locked up over night"
Washington Star
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
fore. .zzZ,tls.

fore, yytio-
ate, the o. 8.
warns to the
You want no one . s'
kind and gentle, whissss
work of wrinkles about iSHe
you that the old gentleman mas
ner loves his joke
Strange how quick we are to read on
neighbours face and how slow to re-
alize that our own is open for him to
read! Yet it is. The story is there.
and we are writing it every day of our
lives. Not only do smiles and frowns
leave traces, but every passion which
sways the heart stamps it's record upon
the face.
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
No Right to Live.

Beggar-W Won't you give me some
money, professor? My money is all
gone, and can't live.
Professor How old are you?
Beggar-Forty years, sir.
Professor-Forty years! Don't you
know that according to the latest NOR
tally tables the average age of the
male population of Europe reaches only
thirty-four years and five months? Sta
tistically you have no right to live any
longer anyway! : Meggendorfer Blat-
ter
Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-01-30
Doubled as AIimony

"Oh, yes. daughters fully twice as
happy as she was with her husband"
How SOP
why, he used to give her an allow
ance of only $40, and now he has to
pay her So" cleveland Plain Dealer.