davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22
"ONLY A BOY" STORIES
True Narratives Of Fine Deeds
Done by Brave Boys.
No. 6-The Boy Emperor Gratian.
BY H. IRVING KING
mo. 8-The Boy Emperor Gratian.
BY H. IRVING KING

In those years when the great Ro-
man Empire was fastening to its fall
there occasionally appeared "a ruler
who checked the decline of the nation
and restored to the throne something
OF the virtue, bravery and wisdom
which had been displayed by the early
Caesars.
such a ruler was the boy Emperor
Gratian. In his time the Roman EN-
pire was so big that it required two
emperors to rule it, and they did not,
as a rule, make a great success of the
job.
Gratian's father, Valentinian, ruled
over the western part of the vast en-
pire, and had under his control Eng
land, France, Spain, Italy, part of
what is now Germany, and that part
Of Africa now known as the Barbary
States.
When Gratian was II years old his
father died and he became emperor.
Gratian had an infant half brother
named Valentinian, after his father:
snd a large body of the soldiers of
the great army which had been assem-
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22
ANIMALS THAT SWIM.

There is hardly an animal known
that cannot swim. Most animals are
perfectly ready to swim whenever
ne cessary, and will cross deep water
by swimming rather than to go around
it. Some animals swim only when
the greatest necessity drives them to
1t.
Birds, on the other hand, cannot
swim unless they are water fowl.
Every one knows how miserably
chickens perish in water. Song birds
are equally helpless. Even the waders
drown in deep water.
1t is common belief that pigs cam
not swim, or, rather, that although
they cannot swim, they will cut their
Threats" with their front hoofs in the
struggle.
AS matter of fact. the domestic pig
is not a willing swimmer, and will
take to the water only In the most
serious emergency. But the wild boar
swims readily, and takes to the water
invariably II hunted in a direction that
leads to It, In the Pacific Ocean.
where the domestic pig has been in
troduced on the South Sea Islands. 1t
has been found that pigs have swum
long distances from inhabited islands
to unnhabted ones.
OF the familiar animals, the cat is
the least water-loVing of beats. In
deed almost all cats are filled with an
intense hatred of water. Yet this ap-
pears to be an acquired trait produced
by domesticity and not by nature, for
the larger cat animals are decidedly
not opposed to taking to water.
There is a variety of jaguar in Brazil
and along the Amazon that is known
locally as the water leopard, owing to
its habit of watching for it's prey in
the underbrush overhanging the wa
ter This creature will lie almost sub
merged, with little but it's nostrils ex-
posed, waiting for victims to trot to
the water side to feed.
Tigers have been known to swim
enormous distances, crossing not only
wide rivers, but actually swimming
across arms of the sea. Lions will
leap into the water without hesitation
when being pursued, although they do
not appear to take to 1t as voluntarily
as do the tigers, panthers and Loop
ards
The domestic cat is a very good and
swift swimmer, despite her objection
to water. In an experiment made by
the writer, cat beat a water spaniel.
Both were thrown overheard a meas
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22

come close to me the captain would
have insisted on my coming aboard.
| ate my breakfast and whistled and
sang and laughed, and the boat sailed
on at a good pace for four or five hours
Then the wind died away and l was
left becalmed.
Thinking | might catch nap be-
fore the breeze came again l lay down
in the bottom of the boat and closed
nv eyes. l did sleep for a couple of
hours, and my awakening was any
thing but pleasant. The first thing /
knew the boat was being lifted out of
the water and jostled about in the
stranRest manner, and when l leaped
TO my feet it was to find that whale
had come under my craft and bounced
her about until It was almost a miracle
she was not upset.
The boat and the whale. rested on
the water side by side, and although
/ had had a narrow escape from being
thrown into the sea and drowned. ana
was still in peril, l had to indulge in
a hearty laugh.
BY and by the whale began lashing
the water with his tail, and the waves
he kicked up were likely to swamp
INV boat, but ! could do nothing but
hang on and hope for the best. When
I was about ready to give up I'm despair
the monster suddenly sank out OF sight
and in a little time the sea grew quiet
again. was very thankful, as you
must understand, and had some Of
YOU been in my place ] think you
would have turned back and made the
best Of your way home.
The calm continued. and when the
sun went down he was Ike a great
ball Of gold. I had finished my sup
Der. and vas softly singing 10 my-
self as darkness came down. when all
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22

straight part as shown IN Figure B.
can be either round or square as the
owner prefers.
Cut the legs Of the stills from any
sort of tough wood. Be careful to
have them the same length, thickness
and weight.
The boy who is making stills must
measure his own leg from the instep
to the knee. Measure off the same
distance on the leg of each silt and
fasten a brace there such as the one
shown in Figure 5.
Figure shows the brace fastened
to the leg of the silt.
Now saw a piece of board about
four inches square, as shown in Fig
ure 1.
Fasten it to the trianglar brace to
be seen In Figure 6.
Fasten leather straps or strips of
canvas to the end of the leg of the
silt, as illustrated in Figure 3.
These are to be bound about the
calf of the leg. Straps must also be
fastened to the foot rest, as shown In
Figure Z.
To prevent the end of the silt from
chipping off and wearing away il is
well to tack piece of leather or tin
on the bottom, as illustrated I'm Fig
ure 2.
In certain parts of the old country
stills are put to very particular use.
Shepherds wear them while tending
their fiocks. The stills enable the
shepherds to look far out over their
droves OF sheep. II also enables the
shepherds to run with great swiftness.
There is an American clown touring
with certain big circus, who at every
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22
A MATHEMATICAL RHYME
BY G. NJ. L. BROWN.

In the following verses you must sup
ply numbers where the dashes occur.
In one case, you will find, Roman
mineral is needed. Be sure not to
place a figure that will injure either
the rhyme or the meter. When you
have finished add your numbers they
should amount to 1856. This includes
the numbers twelve and fifty.
When Jimmie ID was twelve years
old
He showed no -dency
work:
His father. kind bore - solids
TIL Jim, he says, would be a shirk.
See here, my boy" said he - day,
"A Jim a hearty breakfast -,
81 der who the bills would pay,
If no - worked from morn till
Your tune will not come unless
You strive, and = told you
once.
I've told you fifty times. success
WIN ne'er at---d the lazy Ounce"
so quicken your g.. my lad:
Be. they pass you in the race;
--hibit character: be glad
It's not - l. take your
place"
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22

fairs which astonished everybody
When his soldiers climbed mountains
or scaled the sides of defenses the
imperial boy and his bodyguard, all
wearing splendid armor plated with
gold, and helmets shining with gems,
were always in the front ranks.
When he had finished the Alemanni
war he proceeded toward the east to
assist his uncle who now was sorely
beset by a fierce race of people called
Goths.
Before he reached the scene of the
disorders, however, he received word
that his uncle had been killed in bat
tie, and that, having no sons, there
was no one to succeed him as en-
peror of the East. The boy was asked
to name an emperor. Gratian was
now getting to be ABOUT nineteen
years old.
For a youth of that age to have
fought two successful wars and es-
tablished his rule through half the
civilized world, and now to have with
in his gift the sovereignty of the other
half, was a remarkable thing. No
other boy of the same age in, either
ancient or modern times, has had so
great a responsibility thrust upon him.
But Gratian proved equal to the task.
and the man he chose for the ruler of
. the eastern part of the empire proved
so good that his choice added to the
fame of the young emperor who had
. selected him.
Gratian refused to consider. in his
choice of an emperor, either the rank,
the military services or the wealth of
the various candidates, and declared
/ he would give the crown only to the
most virtuous man he could find. He
i selected one Theodosius, the son of
a general who had been put to death
for revolving against Gratian.
Theodosius had been living, since
his fathers death, on his farm in
Spain. Gra.ian had kept watch of
him and was satisfied that he was the
best man who could be selected for
the place.
Gratian lived four or five years after
this and finally was killed in a rebel
lion which was raised against him by
one of his generals. He grew lazy in
the latter part of his life and so lost
much of the respect in which he was
held at first
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22

railroad men who tell of the stocks of
cotton that they are preparing to ship
Almost all of this work is done for
the government without pay. The
correspondents know how valuable il
is for them all. so they pitch in and
that have been handled in Washington
in one year has been as high as two
and one-half millions.
The government reports now cover
the acreage, production and farm
value of corn, wheats, oats, barley,
rye. buckwheat, cotton, potatoes. to-
bacco. fax and hay. and the number
and value of farm animals.
Cotton is reported on seven times
each year, wheat eight times, corn and
oats each six times. and other pro-
ducts from two to eight times each.
After all these figures, are in the
hands of the government, the most
important work remains to be done.
1t is to figure out the true meaning
of the mass of statistics. Crops may
be wonderfully good in one state
and miserably poor in another. How
will this affect the crop of the whole
country?
And this must not only be done ac-
curately, but it must be done prompt
ly. Banks. stock exchanges, and all
the intricate and immense machinery
of finance of all the world may be
accepted by the report and are waiting
for il.
And since the reports are so inn
portant, it is equally vital that they
be kept secret till the day on which
everybody may know them. 1t would
never do to let any one person OF
combination of persons know of them
in advance.
Therefore, elaborate means are
taken to preserve absolute secrecy
Only one man is entrusted with the
particular reports that furnish the
key to an understanding of the whole
The special agents in the various states
mail their reports direct to the chief
| of the Bureau of Statistics, and he
| locks them up with their seals un-
| broken till the day on which the re-
| port is to be issued
| Other state agents telegraph theil
reports in cipher When all is ready
! for the final working out of the an
nouncement, the chief calls a staff OF
! clerks into his room and sets them tC
work on the tables.
Then the chief himself takes their
calculations and works out the fina,
tables himself.
| He does not begin to do this until
! two or three hours before the time
! for publication. When he is doing
| it, all the doors are locked and no one
| is permitted either to leave or enter
| the room.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22
UTENSILS OF
MOLTEN QUARTZ.

A German technical factory, which
has been making expensive experiments
with high temperatures, has produced
utensils made of molten quartz.
After the melting was done, the
manufacture of bottles, glasses and
other articles was not much different
in method from that used for max
ing glass articles.
The objects made from molten
quartz are flashing and clear. with
the effect of diamonds. They are not
brittle as glass and have the farther
advantage Of not being affected easily
by heat or cold.
Glass articles. as everybody knows
from sad experience. will crack II hot
liquids are poured into them when
they are cold. or vice versa. Quartz
articles, however, can be heated to
cherry red and then ice cold water
can be squirted on them without af-
fecting them IN the least.
This n due 10 the fact that quartz
neither expands or shrlnks much UNI
der changes Of temperature.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22
ARE PEARLS
MADE BY WORMS?

For many years the world has be-
lieved that pearls are the result of a
mechanical injury to the shellfish in
whose shells they are found. The
theory has been that a grain of sand,
or something irritating like it, gets
into the she'll and that the mollusc
throws off a secretion to cover it,
which finally becomes the pearl.
The world has accepted this ex-
PLANTATION and practically all the text
books describe the formation of the
pearl in that way Yet everybody
who handles pearls knows that there
is no grain of sand or any similar
body in them.
Now Prof. Fl. l.. Jameson. of the
Geological Society of London, asserts
that the theory is all wrong. He says
that both his studies and his expert
ments prove that the pearl is formed,
not because of an injury from inor-
ganic substances. but because of ir-
ritation caused by a worm.
This worm. according to Prof.
Jameson, is not a sea worm, but
parasite of the cider duck. When the
ducks swim in the sea, the eggs of the
parasite are deposited in the ocean
of them drift with other food into the
currents that flow over the pearl mus
sci and pearl oyster beds and so they
get into the shells.
Here they are Matched out. The
young of the parasites then surround
themselves with a curious, transpar-
ent. almost invisible, sac and other
parasites are born i'm turn. They
crawl around the sea bottom till they
finally enter the pearl shells and bore
themselves into the mantle, which Is
the skin between the shell and the
body of the shell fish.
In this place the parasites discharge
small lime kernels, which irritate the
mantle of the shellfish until it, too, be-
! gins to discharge a similar lime for
| nation.
Sometimes the parasite escapes be-
| fore the lime wall has been built COM
| pletely around ii. Then the pearl
forms itself around the little kernels
discharged by 1t. Sometimes the worm
is imprisoned and dies. and Jameson
says that he has been able to find the
remains of such worms In pearls.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22

To move the crops of the country each
year is one of the most important Of
the national problems, although the
work is done by private individuals.
The owners and breeders of live
stock want to know how big the crops
of food for cattle are, for if the crops
are small, the price may be expected
to become high, and then it might pay
them better to slaughter hundreds of
thousands of cattle and sell their meat
rather than to keep and feed them.
The manufacturers of clothing want
to know what the cotton crop is going
to be. All the people of all the world
want to know what our wheat crop is
to be like. Every steamship in the
world is interested in one way or an
other in our crops. for any one of Them
even ships away off on the Ganges
river and in the Yellow Sea may get
some to carry.
Now all this information about all
the crops of that immense country
of Uncle Sam must be collected be-
tween the time that it is ripe and the
time that IL is gathered. The coun-
try cannot wait until after it has been
gathered for that would be too late
The railroads and the foreign dealers
and thousands of other people would
not be ready for il then, and every
dav is precious after the crops are i'm.
Neither would IL do to count the
crop before II is ripe. All kinds Of
things might happen TO II and all the
figures might turn out wrong II they
we're prepared too soon.
'The consequence is that Uncle
Sims annual crop figuring Is work
mat makes thousands Of his en-
,Ioves work feverishly In order 10 do
an Immense work In a short time.
OF course he cannot send out men 70
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22

count the crops in each form in the
country. That would require armies
or men and even then the figures
would not be ready in time
Uncle Sam has a different system.
lie has on his list more than $780,
600 persons throughout the United
States who are in a position to know
thoroughly well what the crops are
going to be in their various sections.
They are farmers, who know because
ii is their business: bankers, who
know because they often lend money
on standing crops: merchants who deal
directly in some way with crops; and
cotton ginners, millers, grain eleva-
tor owners and railroad men.
These persons all report to Wash
ington. each one telling what he
knows about the crop that year and
what he thinks it will be like in his
section.
But Uncle Sam does not depend on
these men alone. Some of them might
make mistakes, others might not be
willing &c tell everything they know
and so on.
So Uncle Sam has thirty-eight men
stationed in the most important agri-
cultural states of the Union. Each
of these men studies the crops of his
own state and has on his list another
set of correspondents, entirely differ
ent from those who report to Uncle
Sam. There are about 10000 of these
special correspondents and every one
of them sends in his own independent
figures.
Then, in each agricultural county.
the government has still another crop
correspondent and he in turn has
three or four correspondents in that
particular county These people re-
port everything they know about their
special counties. There are 10000 of
these, too.
Not content with this, the govern
ment has still another staff of CORE
spondents in each township and voting
precinct in the United States where
there is any farming. There are 10000
of these men and each tells only about
his particular township.
Each one of this immense army re-
ports eleven times a year.
Still this is not all. For instance
to find out about the cotton crop, the
figures sent in by the correspondence
mentioned. are revised and compared
with the figures sent in separately by
$4,000 cotton gin owners and Is, 000
bankers and other business men.
To compare the figures for the pro-
duction of grains and cereals, Uncle
Sam gets separate reports from s.,
900 farmers, each of whom tells about
his own crop only, and from $4,000
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22

graduate of this school from his feet
He who learns to be firm on stills
learns to be doubly firm without
them.
1t is a comparatively simple mat
ter to put together pair of stilts
such as a clown uses.
In describing the construction of
the stills 1t is impossible to give ex-
act measurement, because the length
and thickness must be governed by
the size of the boy who is to use
them.
boy who can walk on stills at all
should not be too small to use stills
that are two feet long. Few boys, /
believe, Will care to walk on stills that
are longer than four feet.
The length OF the stills then will
be somewhere between two and four
feet. The thickness should be a lit
tie greater than that of an ordinary
broom-stick.
The leg of the stilt--i. e.. the long
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22

of a sudden another voice reached my
ears. 1t was that of a woman, and
she seemed to be humming a tune.
There was no ship in sight, and the
shore was at least fifty miles away,
and l was both puzzled and alarmed.
l hadk been looking about me for fully
five minutes when l made out the
head and shoulders of a woman who
was clinging to the stern of my boat.
She had a fair face, long hair and a
string of pearls around her neck, and
l took notice how white her teeth
were.
1 was a bit afraid for a moment, but
then 1 remembered hearing the fisher
men talk of mermaids, and l felt sure
that this must be one. 1 beckoned
to her and called her my dear and
said that 1 was lonesome for com
pany, but she shook her head and
smiled. Then 1 began softly creep
ing aft, thinking to make a sudden
grab and capture her, but she sus-
pected my intentions and swan away
from the boat and hummed a merry
air and smiled archly.
II have heard of mermaids," I said
to her. You live in a coral cave al
the bottom of the sea, and must meet
with many wonderful sights. Won't
you come and talk with me? Do not
fear that I will hurt you. When / &C
home I should like to tell the fisher
men and others that l have not only
seen, but talked with real mermaid
1t was no use, however. Boy that
l was, she was afraid of me-, and while
l was speaking to her she suddenly
sank away into the sea, and l did not
get another sight of her, although it
was long two hours more before the
wind came and l resumed my voyage
This mermaid lived so far from the
shore that probably she had never
seen a human being before, and she
was therefore afraid of me.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22

bed for d war with the German tribes
proclaimed this baby Emperor.
Instead of getting angry and start
ing civil war, the boy emperor said:
All right certainly the baby is en-
peror-just the same as l am; but as
he is too young to reign yet. he would
better be sent with his mother to
Milan" "a city in italy, land I will
act as his guardian"
The soldiers could not refuse to
agree to this. So Gratain reigned both
in his own right and in the name of
his half-brother
The men who had hoped that they
could rule the empire in the name of
the boy and baby emperors soon
found that they were mistaken. Ora
tan at once took charge of things
himself and appointed as his advisors
the teachers who had been his IN
structorS.
Gratian had been educated by the
he st teachers that the empire of Rome
could furnish, and so great had been
his application to his lessons that he
was we'll informed in all branches of
science art and other learning which
We're studied in those days.
He had studied military affairs also
was a fine horseman, and could throw
a lance or draw bow with the best
soldier in his army.
No sooner had young Gratlan as
sumed the government than his uncle
who reigned over the eastern part OF
the empire and had his capital at Con-
stantinople, asked him to go to his
assistance with all the soldiers he
could muster as he was having HARD
war with some northern tribes.
Hearing of this. the Alemanni, g
warlike people who lived in what is
now Germany, thought it would be g
good time to break across the Rhine
and attack Gaul, as France then was
called.
A great army of Alemanni crossed
into Gaul and expected to have ar
easy conquest of the country, as they
believed that Gratian had sent away
most of his troops to his uncle's as
sistance.
But the boy was too smart for them
On the first intimation of what was
about to happen he had recalled al
the troops which he had started TO-
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22
HOW TO DO
CIRCUS TRICKS
How a Clown Does stunts" With
Stills.
LESSON No. 7.
BY ]. c. BEARD.
LESSON No. 7.
BY ]. C. BEARD.

No boy can say why he finds stills
so fascinating, yet all boys do find
them fascinating.
They spend hours on stills trying
to walk up and down steps, to walk a
chalk line and to walk in many other
ways which are more or less difIicult.
At first sight it seems more reason
able for boy to take off his stills If
he wishes to go up and down steps.
because he can accomplish the act so
much more easily with his limbs free;
but there really is very excellent rea-
son why a boy should put on stills.
1t is one of mother natures ways
of teaching boy perfect balance.
She had used the method with great
success for many genera lions.
1t is difficult, indeed, to throw a