davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26

his own self pity. The Old gentlcman'S 5
eyes were bright with the giving pleas
ure His face was getting more lined
each year, but his little black necktie
was In as jaunty bow as ever, and
his linen was beautiful and white, and
his gray muStaChe was Curled care
fully at the ends. And then Stury
made 4 noise that sounded like peas
bubbling in pot Speech was intend
ed, and as the old gentleman had
heard the sounds nine times before he
rightly construed them into Stuffy's old
formula of acceptance.
"Thankee, sir I'll go with ye, anJ
much obliged. I'm very hungry, sir"
The coma of rcpletion had not pre-
vented from entering Stunys mind
the conviction that he was the basis
of an institution. His Thanksgiving
appetite was not his own. 1t belonged
by all the sacred rights of established
custom, if not by the actual statute Of
limitations, to this kind old gentleman
who had pre-empted ii. True, America
Is free. But in order to establish ira
dition some one must be a rcpetcnl-
a repeating decimal. The heroes are
not all heroes of steel and gold See
one here that welded only weapons of
iron, badly silvcred, and tin.
The old gentleman led his annual
protcgc southwark to the restaurant
and to the table where the feast had
always occurred. They were recog
niZcd
'IIcrc comes de Old guy" said a
waiter, dat blows dat same bum to
meal every Thanksgiving"
The old gentleman sat across the ta-
bic glowing like a smoked pearl at his
cornerstone of future ancient tradi-
ton. The walters heapcd the table
with holiday food and Stuffy, with Il
sigh that was mistaken for hungcrs
expression, raised knife and fork and
carved for himself crown of impcr-
ishable bay
No more valiant hero ever fought his
way through the ranks of an enemy.
Turkey, chops, soups, vegetables, pies
disappeared before him Il" fast as they
could be served. GOrged nearly to the
uttermost when he entered the restau-
rant, the smell of food had almost
caused him to lose his honor as IL gen
tleman. But he rallied like true
knight. He saw the look of hcncti-
cent happiness on the Old gentlrm0ns
face-a happier look than even the
fuchsias and the Ornithoptera amphri
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26

to make more use of hi, biz linonby
cane with the crooked handle
As his established bcLcfartor came
up Stuffy whcczcd and shudtIrrcd like
some woman's overfat pug when Il
street dog hriStlcs up at him He
would have flown. hut all the skill Of
Santos Dumont could not nave Srpl
rated him from his bench Well had
the myrmldons of the two old ladies
done their work
Good morning" said the old gentle
man. II am glad to perceive that the
viCisSitudcS of another year have
spared you to move In health about the
beautiful world. for that bic sin" alone
this day of thanksgiving is we'll pro
claimed to each of us. If You viii
come with me- my man, | will provide
you with dinner that should make
your physical being accord with the
mental"
That is what the Old gentleman sail
every time every THANKSGIVING d1y
for nine years. The words Themselves
almost formed an institution. Nothing
could be compared with them except
the Declaration of Independence. Al
ways before they had been music in
Stuffy's cars But now he looked up
al the old gentlenan's face with tclrfUl
agony in his own. The fine snow al
most sizzled when it fell upon his per
spring brow. But the Old gentleman
shivcred a little and turned his back
to the wind.
otufy had always wondered why the
old gentleman spoke his speech rather
sadly. He did not know that it WAS be
cause he was wishing every tim" that
he had IA son to succeed hisn IL son who
would come there after hr was gone, Il
son who would stand proud and strong
before some subsequent Stutfy, and
say, In memory of my father" Then
1t would be an institution.
But the old gentleman had no rrla-
tiveS. He lived in rented rooms in one
of the dccaycd old family hroWnStonr
mansions in one of tn" quiet streets
east of the park. In the winter he
raised fuchsiaS in a little conservatory
the size of a steamer trunk. In the
spring he walked in the Easter parade
In the summer he livel at Il farmhou'H
In the New Jersey hills and sat in a
wicker armchair, speaking of Il butter
fly the Drnithoptcra amphrisius. that
he hoped to find some day In tn"
autumn he fed Stuffy dinner These
We're the Old grmtlcman'S occupations.
Stuffy Pete looked up ut him for il
half minute, stcwing and helpless In
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26
A CHEMICAL FURY.
FIuorine Is a Rabd Gas That Nothing
Can Resist

The fury of the chemical world is
the element fluorinc, although, strange
ly enough, it exists peacefully in com
pany with calcium in tluorspar and
also in few other compounds.
Although this element was known
and named a good while ago, it long
resisted the efforts of chemists to iso-
late it-that is, prepare it in pure
state, unmiXcd chemically with other
substanccs-for the instant the COM
pound containing it was torn apart
the free tluorine attacked and combined
with whatever substance composed the
vessel containing it. 1t was finally
isolated by the great French chemist
MOiSSan.
Fluorinc is a rabid gas that nothing
can resist. 1t combines with all met
ais, cXploSivcly with some, or if they
are already combined with some other
nonmctaIlic element it merclcSSly
tears them away from it and takes
them to itself.
In uniting with sodium, potassium,
calcium, magnesium and aluminium
the metals become heated, even to red
ness by the fcrvOr of its embrace.
Iron filings slightly warm burst into
brilliant scintiIlations when exposed to
it. Manganese does the same. Even
the noble metals, which at melting
heat proudly resist the destinations of
oxygen. succumb to this chemical siren
at moderate temperatures
Glass is devourcd at once and water
ceases to be water by contact with this
gas. which. combined with its hydro
gen, at the same moment forms the
acrid. glass dissOlving hydrohuoriC acid
and libcratcs ozone.
Even hydrotluorc acid eats into and
destroys every known substance ex-
cept platinum and lead Exchange.
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26
What the Press Can Do.

one of the most powerful influences
in the upbuilding or Improvement of
city or town is the public press. Many
instances are on record where highly
effective work has been accomplished
In Il very short time. 1t Is but re-
Gently that Il Seattle editor, who had
long and persistently advocated a mu-
nicipal cleanup. decided to take moro
drastic action SO he sent forth his
photographer to take pictures of refuse
dumps close to residences OF prominent
people, of filthy corners and byplaCes
close in and of the dcplorable COndi-
ton Of tiny brook which runs
through the city These and scores of
tther unkcmpt spots were photographed,
and each day two or three were shown
in the paper. with the result that
general rush was made to clean up
before the photographs showed too
many residences Of wealthy people
close By filthy refuse dumps. Some in
Of what use is it to scrap" when alto
gcthcr to blame? The controversy was
too one sided. and much cleaner Seat
tie resulted in n very short time.
Doubtless much could be done along
this line by scores of periodicals In
southern California. especially in small
Ccnters where no systematic colleC-
lion IS made of garbage or other ref
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26
KOREAN ETIQUETTE.
A Natives New Years Call Upon an
American Lady.

The native Koreans, who have be-
come familiar with foreigners and
their ways, take very readily to the
custom of calling-and cating-on New
Years day, and one American lady
had a very peculiar experience with Il
native official in Seoul on New Years
day She was keeping open house
and had made preparations for re
ccivins her guests in the proper man
ner.
Among other things she had made il
very excellent and rather large cake,
which she expected to distribute in
small slices to her callers. \ party of
native gentlemen arrived, and. having
given one of them a cup of tea, she
placed this fine cake before him, with
an invitation to help himself
She then went with the others to an
other room and was gone some time
When she returned she saw, to her
horror, that her cake had all but dis
appeared. The native. according to
his IDEAS of etiquette. had done his best
not to leave any of the catabIcs set
before him.
The lady's veXation was banished
by a feeling of pity for the poor fel-
low, who was quite sick from over
feeding. 1t is said that this call was
his first and last that day. He de
clarcd to his friends that Foreigners
must be "all stomach" if they could
go from house to house and 'cat that
much every time. ."-London Mail.
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26

discarded machinery, ties and the like
The original beauty of the country is
preserved.
The same nice sense of public obliga-
ton is displayed even moro cmphatical-
ly by the BlAckwcllS, father and son,
when their road gets into town. one
can read in their engineering and con
struCtion performances the very char
actcr of the men. The right Of way in
this valley is Il vcritahlc park. Said
the elder blackwell recently when
thanked for the splendid depot at this
point. We build our road to stay and
our drpotS for comfort and beauty"
In striking contrast with the North
crn pacific'S possessions in ElthIrum,
the blackwell depot is indeed Il beau
tiful creation 1t is built in he cen
ter Of an cstirC block bought and
cleared of expensive dwellings, in or
der that park might be made around
It. 1t is modern in all It's appoint
mcntS and is permanent and valna-
BILE adjunct to the village of which ev-
cry citizen is justly proud.
llS tAlSltll't HIS SlllluIdlt'l 'lll dIil-
bition on the part of the people to i'm
prov" and bcautify their homes. 1t af-
fords daily intense satisfaction to the
eye, and instead of giving forth the
idea of cold commcrcialism there Is
involved the sense of HltruiStic consid-
crationS.
The BlackwrllS fully understand the
rights belonging to the public and have
a very much noblcr form of worship
than that of the dollar. All this you
may see in the comforts, safety and
cmbclIiShm"nt of tins road and its
equipments
The Black wells have proved that the
presence of Il railroad is not ncceS-
Sarily pathological or scenic nui-
sancc. III taking into account the
needs and wishes of the villages
through which their road runs they
have done much to modify prevailing
iuStifiablc hoStility-to aCcu-
mulatCd railroad wealth. They have
given additional value to vested inter
eSts and augmented immensely the
comforts of all having dealings with
the road.
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26
A WALPOLE ANECDOTE.
To Save the Woman's Life She
Couldn't Recall Who Told It,

Il heard very funny story the other
night about Horace Walpole," said
Mrs Blake. Il wish could remember
who told it. Henry. can you rcmcm-
berE Was it Mr. SclrrsI"
"No,' said Blake stitily; 1T wasn't
Sellers
Il wonder if ii could have been Mr..
Windsor!"
NO" repeated Blake; "it wasn't
Windsor"
Before Mr. Blake had Il chance to ex-
press an affirmative or negative opin-
ion of that hazard as to the source of
the WalpoIe anccdote Mr.. Barton came
in. Mrs. Blake. being by that time
sure of herself. tried on him her rec
ipc for winning universal affection
"Oh, Mr. Barton" she said, Il am
very glad to see you. | have hardly
stopped laughing since | saw you the
last time
Mr.. Barton. il Cadaverous man with
solemn eyes looked rather foolish
"Indccd?" he said. MAY | ask what
about
over that funny story you told
about Horace Walpolc," said Mrs.
Blake.
MIN Horace Walpole?" stam-
mCrcd Mr. Barton. Il am afraid you
must have got me mixed up with some
body else. | don't know the first thing
about Horace Walpolc, and if | did
know anything funny about him |
couldn't tell it. To tell funny story
is beyond my powers. Even if 1t was
funny to start with it wouldn't be by
the time | got through with it"
Mrs Blake's spirits were somewhat
dashed by her tiasco in finding an
owner for the Walpolc story, but she
bore up rourageously, and later when
Mr. Mark ham came in she drew him
out of earShot Of Mr.. Barton and dilat-
ed on the pleasure his story of Horace
Walpole had given her Mr.. Markham
was not cast in the funeral mold that
gave to Mr. Barton his grave aspect,
but he protested himself totally inca
pabIe of telling funny story about
Horace Walpolc or anything else
Presently Mrs. Blake left the room
to prepare the sandwiches. Mr. Blake
followed her
For the love of the Lord" he said,
don't make a fool of yourself again
by trying to get some other idiot in
there to father that Walpole story. |
told You that yarn myself"
Mrs. Blake stood still with carving
knife poised in air.
"YouT she said incredulously. And
it was so clever too."-New York
Times. vt, '.
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26
Getting Back at EncIand.

"The English will ridicule us for say
ing 'vury' and 'turrble and 'momma'
when we 90 abroad" said a school
ma'am, but we will have our answer
ready.
We'll ask them why, when they
want to know if we desire a cab, they
say:
"'Fo Wella, SAP
"We'll ask them why they say paw
tah and 'waitah' and Indiar' and
'idcar,'
"And, not forgetting the H.. we'll
quote at them the dialogue between
the mistress and the new maid:
is your name Anna or IIannahT
"'IIannah num-
"'Oh, HannahE
"'No, mum; Hannah
"'Hannah, you said
"'No, Hannah
"'Spell it,
Hay, hen, hen, hay" New Orleans
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26
GRIDLEYS LEAVE.
Touching Scene When the Brave Cap
tain Left the Olympia.

Touching Scene When the Brave Cap
tain Left the Olympia.
On the morning of the battle of Ma
Mia Bay Captain Gridley was so i'll
that the little commodore offered to
excuse him from duty, but gallantly,
as is characteristic of the man. he re-
piled, Thank you, Commodore Dewey,
but she is my ship. and | will fight
her" And he did, although, tiguratvc.
ly speaking, he was Il dead man before
he went on the bridge. and days had
strung them"elveS into but few weeks
when he was ordered home on sick
leave. lie came up out of his cabin
dressed in civilian clothes and was met
by the rear admiral, who extended him
most cordial hand. \ look of trOu-
bled disappointment fitted across the
captains brow. but vanished when he
stepped to the head of the gangway
and, looking over, saw, not the launch,
but twelve Dared cutter manned en-
tireIy 10y officers of the olympia. There
were men i'm that boat who had not
pulled Il stroke for a quarter of a cen
tury. The stars and stripes were at
the stern and captains silken coach
whip at the bow, and when Captain
Gridley, beloved alike by officers and
men, entered the boat it was up
oars!' and all that just as though they
were common sailors that were to row
him over to the XafirO. When he sat
down upon the handsome boat cloth
that was spread for him he bowed his
head, and his hands hid his face rs
First Lieutenant Reese, acting cock
swain, ordered: "Shove off! out oars!
Give awayr'-St. Nicholas.
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26
TOWN cow" CIVIC PROBLEM.


Active Fer Improvement.
What can be done In the way Of
civic improvement in the smaller mu-
inequalities has been demonstrated by
the Civic Improvement club of Hunt
ington. Tenn. Organized IN August,
1906 with thirty members, the club
now numbers fifty. InaSmuch as the
clubs membership is limited to wom-
en-, that part of the work for Il more
beautiful city which requires the serv
ices of tie men is left to the Hunting
ton Commercial club, and in many
things the two organizations cooper
ate to advantages.
Interest in the work for which the
Improvement club was formed was
great from the beginning. Some of the
questions to he considered We're linn
iting the range of "thc town cow" re
pairing the streets and sidewalks, the
suppression of weeds along the side
walks and thc removal of waste paper
and sweeping; from the streets
BY the cattle quarantine the town
COW soon was kept in proper bounds.
Councils wore moved by public senti-
mcnt TO rc.air unsightly sidewalks
and cut down tall weeds. The club
bought n dozen garbage cans and dis
tributcd them In various parts Of the
town 50 that ShopkccpcrS and house
holders could put their waste paper
and trash IN them.
Through the efforts of the club the
barren square at the railroad station
was Transformed into Il park The
railroad company fenced the park, set
out the trees ana furnished the gravel
for Sidewalks The Commercial club
paid for the work of grading, graveling
the walks and Il supply of grass seed
Tho womcn'S organization planned the
tended the planting. Much of that
work was done by members.
Two flower parks were placed in the
town square under the sole care Of the
Civic Improvement club. These for
mcrly We're vacant lots, adorned only
with hitchlng posts, weeds and sun
dry collection of tin cans. All the
plants, flower seeds and shrubbery
were supplied by friends of the club.
In addition the club was active in
getting seventy-tive trees planted In
the highways and now Is urging the
planting of 800 more. For the benefit
of the boys and girls of the town the
club IS planning for the establishment
of n public library.
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26
Glaciers.

1t has been demonstrated that the
glacier does not move in one block,
but flows, accommodating itself to the
channel IN which it moves. Professor
Tyndall planted Il row of sticks in a
straight line across Il glacier, and after
few days the line had become a
crescent, with the concavity upward,
showing that the middle of the glacier
moved faster than the sides, just as in
river the stream is stronger in the
center
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26
Her Mild Ambition.

you expect your boy to become
good man."
The mothers face fell
lie is not brilliant child" she
made answer doubtfully mo, think
| shall have to be content if he attains
only Il moderate success becomes
very rich man, say, or something like
that."-puCk
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26

Some people only believe half Of
what they hear, and then invariably
select the wrong half.-Ncw York Tel
egram.
Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-26
A Scratch.

How does Mrs. Sleigh get on in the
club"
"Oh, she always comes up to the
scratch"
"Of course she does-thc cat!'-Kan-
sas City Newsbook.
Blue-grass blade., 1908-02-09
BLADE PUBLICATIONS.

We desire to direct the attention of
our readers to the Blade Publications,
advertisements of which appear else
where in the paper. In addition to
these we purpose, from time to time,
to utilize any good article appearing
in the columns of the Blade for mis-
sionary work and will cause number
of leaflets to be printed for distribu-
ton which may be had at the actual
cost Of publishing the same. This we
take it is a splendid work as it fur
nishes many with an argument which
they might not be able to offer other
wise.
DR.. Wilson s Trip to Rome ought to
have an extensive circulation and
should not be confined to FreethOught
readers. A copy of this book placed
in the hands of Christian believer
who is inclined to think will go far
toward convincing him of the fallaces
Blue-grass blade., 1908-02-09
PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

To-Morrow, Chicago, Ill.
Truthseeker, New York City.
Sunhower, Hamburg, n. Y.
The Clarion, London, Eng.
The Freethinker, London, Eng.
Richard III. Menifee, by John w. Town
send.
The Red Flag, Abbeville, La.
Magical Moses, by Ernest Pack, Brad
ford, Eng
Demi- Gods, Demi-Damned, by Malfew
Seklew, Bradford, Eng.
Peoples Press, Chicago, Ill.
journal of Man, Chicago, ILL.,
Universalist Herald, Canon, Ga.
The Truth About God, Great Bend,
Kansas.
llolcombe journal, Holcombe, Wis.
Press, Cleveland, Ohio.
Here and Now, Kansas City, Mo.
Literary Digest, New York
Appeal to Reason, Girard, Kansas.
Daily Journal, Marietta, o.
True Word, Bryn Mawr, Wash.
Blue-grass blade., 1908-02-09

Why should future life be the sole
desire of man? The mere thought of
meeting again after death could never
console for the loss of a dear friend
now. We want our friends now. We
want them with us just as they are
and just as we have learned to love
them. There can be no great JOY in
the belief that some time, in the here
after, we may meet with only q part
of our friends, under different condi-
tons and circumstances. If the life to
come is unlike the life that is and our
friends are not to be the same as they
are now, there is small consolation in
the Christian dream of Immortality.
The god-idea is merely savage
concept and has never served a really
useful purpose. 1t has been utilized
as means of trading upon the fears
and passions of mankind to the profit
of some and to the detriment of many.
Ere long it will pass away as a fic-
ton of mans mental babyhood. The
universe will then appear to man as
it is unpeopled by ghosts and COLLINS
Every new fact displaces god Such
creation is not essential in any part
of the economy of Nature.
We wish to let our readers know
that w. III. Cox, of Marietta, Ohio, was
the author of that Paine poem pub
lished in tho issue dedicated to the
memory of that sterling patriot We
had unintentionally omitted his name
therefrom
Blue-grass blade., 1908-02-09

vent them getting away. In other
words, this sect proposes to strengthen
itself from within rather than from
without which is a practical surrender
of the entire position. Missionary eff
fort has failed The art of PROSECUTING
has not proven success. From cam
paign of offensive aggression they turn
to natural defense of those supports
hey have already got. These are to
be kept closely housed up in the stove
warmth of the church and not per-
mitted 10 sniff the bracing morning
air. This is the last stand of militant
orthodoxy, but in the repression limited
at is inherent weakness is exposed.
From another viewpoint, the Homi-
lectic Review of New York, processes
to find a satisfaction in the belief that
this loss is not vital one to the church
and that the Indifference of the masses
is amply cOmpensa, ed for by the stead
fast faith and meaning of those who
do attend.
Poor consolation, no doubt, when the
great boast of Christendom has been in
the number of it's followers, and yet
FreethOught is willing to accord these
few crumbs of comfort to console it
in its dying days.
Blue-grass blade., 1908-02-09

All Of our readers have been afford
ed an ample opportunity to judge of
the Blade in its new dress and under
its new arrangement. Many have
written to us concerning it. These are
good signs as they show an interest
in its welfare. This interest ought to
be catching for the more universal it
becomes the more successfully can the
slumboring elements of Freethought
be reused to greater and more useful
activity.