davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
A Msl,inaton Rus..

Once during fba Iron Dukes cam.
palgn In the ryre.lees 1t happened TINT
General Piclon's disposition for receiy.
ing the assault f Marshal soult dis
pleased hin. Tie danger threatened
from in front, aId the difficulty lay In
delaying tie attack until Wellington
:ouIi effect the change be wished. He
vas. rs usual, equal to the occasion.
Waving his hat In the air, he galloped
to the front of the regiment as II be
meant to order charge The whole OF
Picton's line cheered tremendously, md
ns the roar died away Wellington was
beard 10 remark half to himself:
"Soult is A cautious commander and
xill not attack in force without nscer-
tanning the meaning OF these cheers.
That Will leave tlmefor the Sixth dlvl-
sion to come up, and we SHAH beat
him." This was exactly what happen
ed. and Soult sustained q bloody re-
pulse where he might have won On
easy victory.
--zper
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
THE PRIME MINISTER.
He is the Real Ruler of the Great Brit.
ish Empire.

/
The real ruler of the British EN-.
pire is not the titular sovereign nor
the hereditary nobility. 1t is the
leader of the political majority, who
derives his power solely from the di-
rect vote of the people. The prime
minister of England is subordinate
neither to the king nor the house
of peers. Every man who shares
with him in the work of the gov
srnment is his subordinate.
Following a general election the
sovereign sends for a member of the
majority party and instructs him to
form a government. This is one OF
those fictions of the constitutional
authority of the sovereign to which
the English people cling as to the
heritage of tradition. The sum
mons is delivered, but it is merely g
form. The party leader is such moi
by the grace of the sovereign, bui
by the choice of the majority; mol
by election, but because he has the
qualities of leadership.
The leader, having received the
Iovereign's instructions to form 8
government, becomes by that man.
date the autocrat of the empire
His power is absolute. Like the
president, he may appoint whomso-
ever he pleases a member of his cab
met, but, unlike the president, he
is not influenced by geographical
considerations, nor does he have to
submit his nominations to the sen.
ate. In both countries the mem.
bers of the cabinet hold office at the
will of the appointing power, but
the tenure of office is even more
precarious in England than it is in
the United States. Here administer
may differ from the president on q
matter of policy and not feel it in.
cmnbent upon him to resign. In
England there can be no differences
Either minister agrees with hi:
chief or he resigns.
In England the cabinet is an ex.
ira legal creation. Nominally it is
one Of the committees of the PRIV
council, whose functions are to ad.
wise the sovereign, but this is sim.
ply a survival of mediaevalism. The
cabinet is under the sole control Of
the premier, unhampered by roya
Or other interference. But-anoth.
or survival-no member of the cab,
met may make public any matter
discussed by the cabinet without the
express sanction of the sovereign
and when the premier issues a sum.
mons to a cabinet council, which
meets at irregular intervals, accord.
ing to the exigency of public busi.
ness, the minister is requested tt
attend a meeting of his maiesty'i
servants" "a. Maurice Low in Ap.
pleton's Magazine.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
CONCERNING OPIUM.
The Drug Exsrts a Varying Effect or
Different Races.

Comparatively few persons know
what opium really is. When they
turn to a dictionary and CLEAN there
from that II is the "lnspissated juice OF
the somniferous poppy" they are still
likely, says Chambers Journal, to be
III the dark.
The process Of obtaining it is to
score the pods at fixed intervals dur
ing a certain period. The milky liquid
which comes out soon turns to a darker
hue and thickens and is then scraped
off and nodded Into cakes, with poppy
leaves for an outside covering.
1t was nscertained from evidence af-
Iorded to the Indian opium commission
IN 1896 that In some states of India
not few Of the natives took as much
as forty to eighty grains Of opium
1nily and that consumption of forty
grains was common.
The article has a varying effect on
different races and constitutions, ex-
citing some and stupefying others. 1t
reduces the average Chinaman to a
state of torpor If he takes 1t plentiful
ly and not lnfrequently causes the
Malay to run amuck. 1t has been re-
corded that the Javanese regularly
took it before going to fight, so as to
work themselves up to a pitch of ex-
eltement.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
MuddIed Memorlan.

Among the gems of a collection
of schoolboy 'howlers" are the fol-
lowing:
Charon was a man who fried soles
over the sticks.
The heart is over the ribs in the
midst of the borax.
A thermometer is air instrument
for measuring temperance.
The snow line stretches from the
north pole to the south pole, and
where it crosses the Alps and the
Himalayas it is many thousand fee!
high in the air.
"Honi soft qui nal y pense" CLet
him BE honored who thinks evil").
A toga is IA sort of naval officer
usually found in China and Japan.
Contralto is low sort of music
which only ladies sing. = Kansas
City Jourre'
Mutua! DiEtruSt.
"a genius" said the young man with
long hair and eyeglasses, usually rr
CARDS the world Us balky mui>."
Yes" answered Miss Cayenne, land
the world usually regards genius as g
horse that is trying to run away.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
Down Grade In the Army.


Uncle Sans military establishment
has come in for a good deal of home
criticism of late. Foreigners profess
TO admire 1t, but perhaps their good
opinions are insincere. The worse our
army is the better for another army
that might go up against 1t The Ar
my and Navy Journal recently can
yassed the subject and argued that
the current notion about low pay for
officers and men being at the bottom
of the deterioration which is alleged
is wrong. 1t also declares that the no,
ton that West Point ideas are HARM
full to the rank and file is without
foundation. About half of the CON-
pany officers, this paper asserts, are
promotions from the ranks or outsiders
who have never been to West Point.
Commenting upon this line of
thought, the New York Tribune thinks
that, while the army pay is fair, yet it
should be increased. But the trouble
lies in the "undemocratic constitution
and methods of the establishment. ac-
cording to this paper. 1t says, "If the
public could be convinced that there
were as free career open in the army
to talent and application as there is in
Industrial and commercial pursuits
there would be no avoidance of service
by youths of ambition and energy"
Now, the Army and Navy Journal,
which champions the military side,
boldly asserts that democracy is at the
base of the evils which are being crlti-
cised. The ambition to get some
thing by fair means or foul" invades
the ranks of the officers as we'll as of
the enlisted men. While the enlisted
man seeks "to get out of doing things
that become n soldier" the officer goes
one better and depends upon pull"
to escape being disciplined. One rad
lcal trouble, says the Journal, is that
the army is full of boys. 1t would
place the age minimum at twenty-five
years instead of eighteen, as at pres
ent.
1t is matter of official admission
that the recruits who offer themselves
today are inferior to those of few
years past. Perhaps the Tribune's ex-
PLANTATION that an army career is mar
row one is correct. For hustling
young American to shelve himself in
an army garrison is to cause wonder
among his fellow men. Chances for
promotion to the lower grade commits
sions is less than one in hundred
and for high command not one in ten
thousand. As for adventure in time of
peace. there is more OF that in running
cross country trolley car than in
wearing the uniform of Uncle Sam.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
NO. l2
DRINK EVIL IN ENGLAND.
Rum. FrishtfuI Ravaues In the capItaI
of Great Britain.

NUNS TFt9utIul NaNd9c9 IN Sno Copttal
of Great Britain.
There are not quite 100000 per-
sons In the United Kingdom, but they
annually spend for spirituous liquors
sum equal to one and half times
the national revenue, or to all the
rents of all the homes and farms In
the country. The public house, the.
English name for the saloon, with its.
barmaid, is as much national institu-
ton us the houses of parliament. There,
is one public house to every 800 In
habitants in England and Weles; in
Scotland, one to every 500 persons; In
Ireland, one TO every 271.
Whereas in the days OF our forefa-
theirs the worst drinking was among
the nobility and gentry, today the poor
and working classes are by far the
most Incorporate. The fact that drink
ing is habitual among the women OF
this grade as well as the men Is the
most serious feature, for when women
do so to the dogs the very uttermost
depths of degradation are usually,
reached before the end comes.
AT mealtimes throughout the United
Kingdom procession OF women with
pitchers, buckets or cans may be seen
going to some one Of the many public
houses, never more than a stones
throw from their homes All often not
so far. As rule, the omnibus, the
favorlte British mode of local trans
portation. has stopping places in front
of public houses. From an outside
seat on the bus top. especially in Lon-
don and other cities, full view mny
be had of the interior of the public
day nights jammed to the point OF
suffocadon. Old women, young wom-
en- and girls are there. Mothers with
infants In arms and not uncommonly.
with other children tugging at their
skirts-llttle ones whose fretful cries
are stilled by sips from mothers glass
of gin.
Workingmen drink Just as much as
working women. A manufacturer, an
employer OF hundreds OF men, was
asked II English manufacturers ever.
made any restrictions about drinking
when taking on new men. His reply,
was, mo. for 1t would be impossible
to carry on business If such conditions
were imposed" he was almost In
credulous when told OF the strict regu-
lations in regard to drinking that OBJ
tanned in some of Americas largest
business establishments. = Mary Ran4
kin Cranston In Craftsman. =
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
CAUSE AND RESULT.
Sad Fate of Workman Who Toek an
Oeeasional Glnan.

Sad Fate of Workman Who Toek an
Occasional Glass,
About half century ago there lived
in quiet glen in PerthshIre, Scotland,
John r., first class mechanic, handy
at any kind of work, either In wood
or iron. He was regular church,
goer, a great controversialist on knotty
points of theology and, on the whole, a
man much respected In the communi.
ty.
The market town was about three or
four miles away, and 1t was common
thing for him to leave his work and,
from sheer force of habit, even when
he had nothing special calling him
there, to go to market every Thursday.
In his workshop ]. R. had turning
lathe, which was driven by water
power, and he was known to be an
expert at the art OF turning. Usually
he worked in his factory all alone.
One day, getting home from market
about midaftenoon, he took of some
of his good clothes, but did not ex-
change all, nor did he take OF his tie
and collar, but went to his shop, turn
ed on the water and started tho lathe.
The older people who read this Will
remember when 1t was all the fashion
to wear black silk tie OF exquisite
quality with long ends hanging down
In front. Such tie my friend wore
on that day. Unfortunately It was
common for almost all who went to
market to visit the tavern and partalre
more or less Of liquor. So J. r. had
done that day, and. although he was
not intoxicated, he had been drinking
and WINS not so clear IN his head nor
so steady on his feet as he should have
been. What was the result2 STOPPING
forward and pressing the turning
chisel up against the wood which he
was fashionlng while 1t was rapidly
revolving in the lathe. the long ends Of
his silken tie were caught, and some
time afterward he was found, the ma
chine still going, and he was drawn
up close to the revolving wheel and
strangled, his eyes starting almost
from their gockets.-Home Herald. =
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
BOWSER SEEKS FAME
Writes Himself Up For the Uni
versaI Biography of Americans.
READS 1T TO THE DRUGGIST.
That Individual Puts a Decided crimp
In His Customers Ambitious Design.
Shock Was More Than He Could
Stand.
Icopyright. 1901, by E. c. parcells.I

copyright, 1907. by E. C. Parcells.l
Instead of sitting down to his cigar
and newspaper after dinner the other
evening Mr.. Bowser entered the libra
ry and closed the door, and it was a
quarter Of an hour before Mrs. Bowser
Awoke to the fact that there was some
thing mysterious going on. Then it oc.
CURED to her that Mr.. Bowser had
seemed uneasy and nervous and had
little to say. She gave him five min
utes more and then raped on the door
and said:
You didn't tell me that you had
writing to do. Is 1t something spe-
cial2"
Very special, my DEAR" he answer
ed. 81 may be writing here until day.
light. You can go to bed whenever you
get ready"
But what is 1t that you are going to
write about until daylight? Don't you
have time to write your business let
ters at the office? If it's anything out
side Of business perhaps 1 can help
you"
Mr.. Bowser looked at her longingly,
but doubtfully, and finally replied:
"Give me fifteen minutes more, and
perhaps 1 will consult with you"
1t was nearly half an hour before he
appeared In the sitting room with three
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23

Astronomers long since camu TO the
conclusion that the moons surface is
very hot during the height Of the lunar
day, which. as will be remembered,
lasts two weeks. and very cold during
the lunar night. which is equally long.
These extremes OF temperature reach
their height at the lunar noon and
midnight and are greater than any
natural temperatures on the earth
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
Japan, Annisn. Civilization.

Arthur NJ. Knapp in his 'Feudal
and Modern Japan" points out, as
other observing historians have
done before him, that the apparent
ly miraculous conversion Of Japan
to modern civilization is not so
strange once it is realized that ia.
pan was already in a high state of
civilization at the opening of the
present modern era. Some time be-
fore America was discovered the
Japanese had their banks, clearing
house and Europe's supposedly mod
ern system of bank checks, drafts,
letters of credit and notes of hand.
A thorough rural delivery postal
system also was in vogue among the
japanese in the days when painted
Indians still roamed the shores 81
New England and the Atlantic
coast.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
A Story of Whswell.

Sydney Smith said of the great DR..
Whewell, master of Trinity college,
that Science was his forte and ON
niscience his foible." On one occa-
sion two fellows of the college, think
ing to get beyond his range, read up
the subject of Chinese metaphysics and
then disputed about it in the doctors
presence. He listened in silence for a
time and then observed, "Ah, l see
you have been reading paper which
1 wrote for an encyclopedia of sci.
ence."
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
Pat Was surnr;,.d.


Two Irishmen got the contract 70
clean a well. Pat tied a rope around
his middle. and Mike lowered him into
the we'll. When Pat was through
cleaning, Mike began to hoist him up.
but when he was halfway up he called
to his companion in the wei:
Hou;d on a mtnnit Pat till spit
on me hands" and let go Of the rope.
Naturally Pat descended again a little
too rapidly for comfort. When NIKE
realized his blunder, he ran to the well
and called down:
Pat Pat are ye deadr"
And his partner replied:
mo. ye brainless spaIpeen; oFm not
dead, begorry. but oFm spachIess wiz
surprise ct ye!"-Judge's LIBRARY,
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23

Il can't tell you," said the erpe-
rienced suburbanite in reply to the
question of his new neighbor,
when the next train goes, but I can
tell you what your chances of catch
ing it are"
7'What are they?" inquired the
new neighbor eagerly.
'Well, if you run as hard as you
can," said the experienced resident,
you have fifteen minutes to wait,
and If you merely walk you'll find
the train just pulling out"
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
Government and Waterwazs.

commercial, have united TO fasten pub
lie attention upon the need of some
broad and systematic development of
the inland waterways of the country
for transportation. Government own,
ership of railroads seems to be long
way of in the future, but the govern,
ment ownership and control of water
ways is present and permanent fact,
Perhaps If private Initiative had had
full sway in the past upon all our riv
ers and canals the same as on the rail-
roads the present relation of the two
means of communication would have
been reversed If the. .audacity, initla-
tive and organizing genius that have
been devoted to railroads had been
turned upon the development of In
land water transportation the wealth
of the country might have been greater
than it is and its distribution more
even.
Much of the heavy freight traffic of
Germany is handled by canals and
"canalized rivers A considerable yols
ume of this class of business in this
country might be so carried, and the
present congestion on the railroads is
an argument that 1t should be so car
ried Before the coming of the rail-
roads the air was filled with the cry
for canals, and the promotion of in
ternal improvements, which included
water transportation, was a fixed arti-
Gle in the creed of intelligent public
men. When the railroads got to work
the demand for waterways was side
tracked. The roads got there first, and
hour.
Some minds have foreseen the pres
ent situation. The late Senator Nor
gan predicted ship canal from Chi,
cago to the Mississippi and deep
channel down that river to the gulf.
He dreamed of a ship canal across
Florida to shorten the trip between
Atlantic and gulf ports and also Sc
ries of canals to connect lakes and
bays lying along the Atlantic coast
and provide an inland water route
from North Carolina to Maine. The
spirit of public enterprise will no doubt
be able to make this dream n realiZa-
ton without waiting for private initia-
tive and capital to blaze the way. They
are matters for public action. The
public controls the watersheds. which
are the life of the rivers and the ca
nails. Our inland waterways, both the
natural and the artificial, can be made
to play n most important part in the
future prosperity of the land We
have tried the railroads under private
management, and we know about what
to expect of our waterways. Their
thorough development as public insti-
tutions can but prove beneficial. Per
haps the turbine engine or something
better will give an approach to rail-
road speed for passenger boats, but
the main utility of deep waterways
will be to handle ore, grain, coal and
bulky and heavy manufactures.
If the country continues to enjoy the
remarkable prosperity that has blessed
1t for n decade 1t is extremely proba-
BILE that the people will not only ac-
quiesce In large expenditures of public
money on internal improvements, but
will put such pressure upon congress
that it cannot resist making such ap-
preparations.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
A kiss That Drought Death.

Courtship in Spain is regulated BY
the strictest etiquette. AS is well
known, a young man Is never left
alone with his fiancee. Near Malaga
a beautiful young girl Of twenty com.
mitted suicide by drinking a cup Of
coffee in which phosphorus had been
dissolved. 1t appears that the girl had
been driven to the deed by the adverse
comments Of neighbOrs who became
aware that she had given her sweet.
heart ! kIss.-London Mail.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
A Mean ADVANTAGE.

you say he accused you of being
untruthful?"
That's what happened" answered
Piute Pete, with much embarrassment
"And lives to tell the tale?"
"Well, you see he used long words
In such a roundabout way that he was
out o town before l had figgered out
exactly what he meant."-Washington
Star.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
rhs worst rhina In Mhi.kx.

Julius Hortvet. Minnesota's state
chemist. has recently completed an ex
animation of a miscellaneous collec
lion Of liquors which have been sent in
for analysis on the ground that they
contained many adulterations more
harmful than the alcohol itself. Mr..
Hortyet's report declares that alcohol
IS the worst poison in whisky, whether
pure" or offended"
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23

II "a an ancient belief that map'I
name has some mysterious sympathy
With his nature. whence arise such
stories as that OF Rumpelstiltskio q.
whose power over human being van.
Ishes the moment that his name is pro
nounced aloud. 1t has been suggested
with some show Of reason that the
modern practice Of naming" refrac.
tory member Of the British house OF
commons Is merely a survival of this
belief. which the Norsemen brought
into England.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23

1t is stated that Great Britain will
send feet of five warships to Esqul-
malt early next spring. 1t is not known
whether they will remain on the coast
for long period, but they probably
will. The British, too, have just dis
covered that the Pacific is a big ocean
and that things may be doing on 1t
some day.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
ErlendIhlp.

Friendship IS vase which when II
IS iawed by heat or violence or acci.
dent may as we'll be broken at once.
1t never can be trusted after. The
more graceful and ornamental 1t was
the more clearly do we discern the
hopeIessnesg OF restoring 1t to Its
former state Coarse stones, If they
are fractured, may be cemented again;
precious ones, IRver.-Landor.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23

Mother Coming into the children's
room)-Ros.c, what are you making
such a terrible noise over? Look at
Hugo. See how quiet he sits there
Rosle-Yes IT'S easy for him to sit
quiet in the game we are playing. Re
is papa, who has come home late, an6
I am-you.-Wiener SalonwitZblatt
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
What We Really N..d

Each of Us in our own small organ
Ism possesses Il germ or whatever you
like TO call it which, properly develop
cd, should eventually lead US to the
realization of all our ambitions All
ihat is wanted are energy and concen-
trati9n.-London Ladies' Field.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23

The stories which the late Mary }.
Holmes wrote fifty years or 30 ago
were filed with gtereotyped phrases
which would damn a twentieth cen
tury novel, and their motive power
was suffering, tears and death, bat
they were serious, and they live. -.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23
Accounting For II.

Mamma" asked little EmersapIs
osgoodson. "who translated the b.
hleT
"The accepted version of It, my
dear" answered her mother, "ls tie
work Of learned Engllshmen.p
"Englishmeni Then that is why
there Is no EpIstle to the Bostoniansr'
Exchange.
The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-10-23

The Dealer-What's that you sayi
That stamp dear at f5? My good sir,
it's positively worth its weight in gold.
There are only two more like 1t in my
shop.
Hon. Percy Green = Haw, weally
Worth its weight in gold? Let NE
have the three.