davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-30
The Folklore of oaths.

During one OF the occasional out
groupings Of pure thought with which
the recent Ruef trial in Judge Caban-
iss' court was illuminated, It was stated
by a distinguished prosecutor that
perjury has become the greatest
crime of the age
Perhaps the trouble is that perjury
does not entail such dire calamities
nowadays as 1t once did. Delving into
the subject with the spur of curiosity,
we learn that two or three centuries
ago 1t cost something to swear falsely
Then it was mortal sin rather than
simple crime, and some of the do
nestle troubles which followed were a
curse running to the seventh genera
ton, death from a lingering disease
within twelve months, or being turned
into stone, swallowed up by the earth
and ever afterward crawling about as
a vampire.
Those were punishments which de-
TERED. If one believed them. AS a
matter of fact, few did, and people
committed perjury as merrily in the
good old seventeenth century as in the
twentieth. Then. as now. the moral
man spoke the truth for practical
moral reasons and the immoral man
lied for immoral reasons.
Superstition has always been the
basis of oaths, and their practical val
ne has depended on the depth of the
superstition. 1naI, Oh course, IS EVIL
dent enough, as all that differentiates
an oath from a plain statement is that
one introduces an element of religious
faith. In California taking an oath
requires simply that witness raise
his right hand while the clerk informs
him that he solemnly swears to tell
the truth, the whole truth and nothing
but the truth. so help you God" The
charm of Legendary attaches to the ex-
PLANTATION that the hand of the witness
was originally raised to show that he
had not a weapon concealed in it, but
this is apocryphal.
Touching a sacred object is a world
wide method of oath taking. In ear
lier ages one swore by the sun or by a
great river or some other awesome
thing in nature. Even now the Ganges
is the most binding oath to Hindu.
The .Tungaz witness still brandishes a
knife before the sun, saying. If 1 lie,
may the sun plunge sickness into my
entrails like this knife" The Somali,
administering an oath, declares: God
is before us and this stone is from
Amir Bur-" naming a sacred mountain.
The man to be sworn then takes the
stone and says. "I shall not lie in this
agreement" It would be pleasant to
believe that he does not.-San Fran
cisco Chronicle.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-30
HIS HELPFUL PURPOSE.

A st. Louis pastor has come to the
rescue of those young men who look
upon a proposal of marriage as SER
ious ordeal. In this age of bluff and
buster it will surprise some people to
know that there are any of these
bashful young men left. 1t seems.
however that they still exist-and in
ST. Louis, too. The pastor who is en-
deavoring to bring first aid to these
afflicted ones describes the symptoms
at some length. He finds that the ner
vous youth changes color, that his
hands are very much in the way, that
he squirms and coughs and almost
invariably stammers. In the more
serious cases the youth has been
known to lose his courage completely
and take to flight. The worthy pas
tor suggests that there are favorable
moments for propounding the fateful
query, and that the wise pepper will
watch for the coming of the psyche
logical periods. A careful obser' alton
of the moods and expressions of the
lady will also be helpful to the lHv, r,
warning him, as it were, to 6es; set, or
encouraging him to go on.-Clevt land
Plain Dealer.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-30

Mr.. Taft has certainly scored a ten
strike. He has broken away from
the traditional Misunderstanding with vet
Grams and manipulating of babies
heads that candidates have ever in
dul~ed in since the very beginning Of
things. He has singled out the odd
maids" and elevated them to a sphere
Ia the controlling Of the destinies OF
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-30

Whats the matter Mr.. Crabbe?" asked
Mrs. Starvem. THE way you sip your soup
and stare up at the ceiling in that far
away manner, it would seem it reminds
you of something" Yes replied the
sarcastic ledger, "it reminds me of soup,
family"
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-30

Tramp-Madam, / am suffering from in
digestion. Lady-Why, I'm sorry What
can do to help you? Tramp-Madam. YOU
can cure me instantly by giving me some
thing to digest.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-30

so you wouldn't take me to be 26?'
giggled the fair widow. No, indeed" re-
Joined the lnconsiderate old bachelor. But
If you had daughter 1 might take her to
be that Old
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-30

why have you taken your son out of
school without permission Father "a
grocerl-But they were running him. 1
wish to bring him up to carry on my
business. and they were teaching him that
there are sixteen ounces in q pound.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-30

MYer-There goes the widow Naggs.
They say she drove her husband to an
bad. She might have made him walk
there.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-30

A well-known philanthropist once called
on millionaire to beg a subscription
towards a charity he was much interested
in. Who was it, said the millionaire,
smiling. that said that charity begins at
homer" The caller frowned. 1T was some
one. I'll be bound" he answered, who
wanted an excuse not to contribute
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
The Herrings' Heads.

Miracles are not only Of religion.
Perhaps readers may have forgotten
the strange adventure OF the great
Johann Sebastian Bach. The story
was told by Bach himself and Is there
fore, we may be assured, substantial
" true. Bach was very young man
at the time. His chief object then was
to hear great organist OF Hamburg
named Reinken. He was very poor,
and on one Of these journeys, return
ing home, he found himself destitute
and vet far from Luneburg. So he sat
down on a bench outside an inn and
tried to dine on the smell Of the cook
ing. Suddenly window was thrown
open above and couple of behring's
heads fell at his feet. He picked them
I'D and discovered in each a piece OF
money! He could not find out who
his benefactor had been. But he made
a good use Of the gift, for he immedi-
ately tramped back to Luneburg to
hear Reinken once more. However II
happened, it was miracle. But Bach
was dwelling in the regions OF the
miracle. Academy.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
..s.hs f.,y.terioks PsssendsE.

The captain OF d vessel which wa1
bringing to America III the fall Of 1905
mysterious passenger who had come
aboard at Hamburg watched the latter
so closely that at last the passenger
said one day: "Slr this lie not the first
occasion upon which have observed
tile attentive scrutiny you bestow up
on me. May inquire the reasonY
"Sir." responded the candid captain,
"you took passage on my ship as a
Dane. | don't believe you're anything
Of the kind"
The passenger smiled. The smile
was full of perspicacity and confidence
and was followed with, "Pray tell me,
then, what you believe me to be-"
At this question Captain Ewing
fidgeted, hesitated and finally blurted
out: "Well, to be honest think you
are gambler You'ves well nigh
ruined yourself at home and are now
coming to fleece the fools you'll find on
shore"
The young mans smile broadened.
The next minute he turned grave
again. lowered his voice and replied:
captain Ewing, as you have studied
me during this voyage, SO l have
studied you. | have come TO the con-
clusion that you are a man to Dc
trusted. am Louis Philippe, due
dOrleans, eldest son Of that LouiS
Philippe d'Orleans who was slain by
the guillotine on the 7th Of Novem-
Der. almost three years ago."
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
What BARRIERS Must Know.

The barber spoke Indignantly.
"a doctor, a lawyer or divine" ne
said, "learns his business in three or
four years, and afterward he Is won
derfully looked up to. 1t takes us
BARRIERS many, many more years to
learn our business, but who is there
that looks up to us? On the contrary,
we are rather looked down on.
"Yet think of all good barber must
know today.
"He must not only shave and cut
hair and trim boards beautifully. He
must understand facial massage, sing
Ing, hairdressing, undulating, dyeing,
wigmaking and switchmaking, and ne
must also be able to compound pleas
ant washes and shampoo lotions, mas
sage creams, skin foods, eradicators
and regenerators and depilatories-if
you know what they are-tonics, OILS,
brilliantine and shaving creams.
with all this knowledge why
shouldn't the modern barber hold his
head as high as any doctor or lawyer
or preacher In the landY'-New or'
leans Times-Dem ocrat.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
TIA h;sa 81 4 Painter

Only painters looked long at the piA
ture which Eugene Carriere exhibited
at the salon of 1877, and for dozen
years afterward, while his portraits
and his studies of children and women
steadily gained In distinctive charac-
ter. they puzzled and repealed the I'M
wary, says Henry Copley Greene IN
the Century. Their merging varied
colors in single tone, their dissolving
of sharp contours in smoke hued mist,
suggested either insincerity or myopic
Vision. Yet little by little Carriere I'M
pressed first q few artists and critics
then part of the public, then even
the ministry of fine arts. In 1889 ne
was decorated, and in the next year,
when his paintings were seen at the
then new Salon du Champ de Mars
isolated in a single group, Carriere be-
gan to be more widely understood. His
fervid sincerity reverberating, as II
were, from picture to picture destroy
ed all suspicion Of pose, and as MS
technic grew familiar the sculptur-
esque solidity of his heads and figures
appeared through that mist In PROOF OF
his genius Of eye and hand.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
The Folklore of Puss.

Puss has earned the reputation OF
being weatherwise. Good weather MAY
be expected when "tabby' washes her
self, but bad when she ticks herself
against the grain or sits with her tall
to the fire..
Formerly In Scotland when family
removed from one house to another the
family cat was always taken as pro
lection against disease. 1t Is curious
to find the opposite practice obtaining
In Ireland, where it is considered high
" unlucky for family to take with
them a cat when they are Hitting,
especially so il they have to cross o
river. There is popular belief that
cat born In the month Of May is Of no
use whatever for catching rats ano
mice. but exerts an injurious influence
on the house through bringing into II
disagreeable reptiles Of various KINDS
says Woman's Life.
In Scotland black cats are supposed
to bring not only good luck, but also
lovers, In illustration of which may DC
quoted the we'll known rhyme:
Whenever the cat O. the house Is black
The lasses O. lovers will have no lack.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
Tho erimmest Epitaph.

What is the most terrible epitaph In
existence? One Of the grimmest Is
surely that on a stone which was set
up few years ago In the cemetery OF
Debrescin, eastern Hungary.
It reads as follows: Here rests In the
Lord Joseph Moritz, ST., who died in
his sixty-second year. He was shot by
his son. Frau Joseph Moritz, who died
in her forty-seventh year. She was
shot by her daughter. Elizabeth Mo-
ritz, who died by her own hand in her
seventeenth year after shooting her
mother. Joseph Moritz, who died In
prison, age twenty-seven. He had shot
his father. May eternal mercy have
pity on their poor, sinful souls!
This memorial was erected by To-
cal literary association, to which, 1t Is
said, the last of the Ill starred family
left a sum of $500 for the purpose.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
WI, Was 10 an iaiotf

There is story told of very talka'
tive lady who met with q well de-
served rcbuke at social gathering not
long ago. Her husband Is man OF
high standing in the world of science,
but the lady regards him as dreamer
of impossible dreams. do you know"
she remarked, ''that genius and imbe
cility are twin brothers? The world
regards John as genius. Now, there
are times when l believe him to be an
IDIOT"
A painful silence followed, broken
BY q blunt old doctor who had over
heard the remark.
"Are we to understand, madam" he
said, "that Professor Y, though your
husband, Is so lightly esteemed by
you"
IT say what l Think" she retorted
"At times John Is Enthusiastically an
idiot"
Merely because he is your hus
bandT
"Sirw
ooh, very WELL" was the grim re
jolnder. 1--WE will put it another way:
He is your husband because he Is an
idiot. Will that do" - Parsons
Weekly.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
Man Who Help Thieves.

The s'rechristener" Is the profession
al name of the man who alters the
names and numbers on stolen watches.
The rechristener is usually a clever
engraver who through drink or other
wise has lost the chance of obtaining
honest employment and aids the re-
ceiver Of stolen property. When a
witch has been stolen the number or
name or other indication of make OF
ownership may be forwarded to the
police and by them communicated 10
pawnbrokers. There Is consequently
an element Of risk In attempting TO
dispose of It. There are various ways
of getting over the difficulty, and re-
christening Is one that Is frequently
resorted to. The engraver adds or pre-
fixes another figure to the number OF
he turns the name -. Robins" into
"T. J. Robinson" the extra initial
serving to make the name look lever
and central on the watch case. This is
done very cleverly, and the rest OF the
letters or figures are touched up 10
make all appear to have been cut al
the same time-London Standard.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
III. pestruetiveness of Worry


As a force, worry is purely negative
and therefore destructive; 1t never IN
cites; it always discourages, because
back Of 1t is fear-fear, not Of some
thing In view, but of the terrifying I'M
seen. 1t is the nightmare Of day,
ical energies and Of all diseases the
most nerve decorating. Such a force
obviously cannot help, but must nee
essarily hinder the removal Of OBJ.
stacles since itself has already sapped
the very qualities essential to success
and broken the power of resolution.
Moreover, constant brooding often
brings to pass the very thing dreaded,
which otherwise would not have hap
pened. We all have noted instances
of the making up Of story from
nothing and its telling and retelling SO
many times that ultimately the author
himself honestly believes 1t to be true
So with worry, beginning with doubt
and mere imaginings, proceeding oy
steady stages through more definite up.
prehension to settled expectation ano
finally eliminating in actual reallza
ton. Even though this conclusion DC
not reached, it often happens that
mere fancy feeds and feeds and grows
and grows until the continuous thought
becomes SO dominant that the effect o1
the dread becomes as harmful as thai
of the unfulflled reality would have
been.-George Harvey in North Amsrt
can Review.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
When Dead Men Ate.

In the medical press Is story OF Z
man who believed that he was dead
and who for that reason refused to
take any nourishment. How can the
dead eat and drink" he asked when
food was pressed upon him.. 1t was
obvious that unless something were
done to bring him to his senses the de-
fusion must soon become actuality-he
would die of starvation. The strangest
ruse was tried. Half dozen attend
ants, draped in ghostly white, crept
silently in single file into the room ad-
Joining his and with the door open SAT
down where he could see them to a
hearty meal. "Here, who are these
peopley inquired the patient. Dead
men," answered the doctor. WHAT
said the other. "Do dead men eatY'
ITO be sure they do, as you SEE for
Yourself" was the answer. well"
said the corpse, III that Is so. I'll join
them, for Pm starving" The spell was
broken, and he sat down and ate ike
forty famished men.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
rass Winds,

The Journal Of the Meteorological
society of Japan contains an account
by DR.. Okada of the occurrence IN ho'
rea of those remarkable winds when
have been called fohn winds. Inc
winds to which this name was origi-
nallv given are warm winds blowing
down from the snowclad mountains Oh
Switzerland and producing extensive
MEETINGS of the snow. They nave
hence been called "snow eaters" Inc
fohn is essentially phenomenon OF
mountainous regions, and Wonsan, In
Korea. where they have been observed
is surrounded except on the east oy
high mountains. In this region they
are always westerly and cause amor
mally. high temperatures and dryness
OF the air. A similar wind In North
America blowing down from the
Rocky mountains has been called the
chinook. Fohn winds occur also IN tne
arctic regions. Blowing sometimes Id
midwinter they produce a remarkaDle
climatic paradox. AS a result OF the
elevation of temperature caused by
them it may happen that northern
Greenland, though in winter darkness
Is warmer than southern France.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
Why Is tho Ocean salt7

The Creator made the ocean salt TO
save the land from putrefaction. Tne
winds blow everything offensive and
residential las far as we allow them
to do the work of boards of health
out to sea, where all humors are aD'
sorbed by the hungry waters. Salt is
a purifying agent. The ocean Is a
great manufacturer 1t converts every
thing foul into health making ozone
and hands it back to us without
charge. No government label Is nee
essary. Stand on the prov OF ship
for three hours a day. deep breathing
like an athlete, and your lungs Will be
cleaned Of everything poisonous. Your
blood will leap through veins and arte-
ries. Your heart will be obliged to
thump with renewed force. The tide
is the oceans tongue. 1t comes IN
twice a day to lick up the foul things
Of the earth and convey them to the
oceans stomach, where they are d.
gested, sailed down, cured and render
ed pure again.-Marine Journal.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
WAGER of Battle.

In 1917 one Richard Thornton, called
to the bar Of the kings bench charged
with the murder of Mary Ashford, In
open court threw down his glove and
defied his accuser, whereupon there
was a pretty to do. Wager Of battle,
it was supposed, had died a natural
death in the dark ages, but Lord Ellen
borough after much consultation OF
precedent held that it was still the law
of England and ordered field to be
prepared. Thornton's accuser thereup-
on declining combat, the prisoner was
discharged. Next year parliament
passed an act abolishing this privilege
Of appeal to the strong right arm.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
Tha inonrasslon He Gave.

His honor Judge Willis, OH one coca
sion going home in all omnibus which
landed him at all inn known as the
Green Man, as usual passed the time
In friendly discourse with the passen
gers. To one housewife who had been
marketing he remarked that, owing to
free trade, she was enabled to buy
much more for her money than If sbs
lived in tariff country. To others ne
talked freely and dispensed counseI
and advice Unfortunately. Arrived
of his destination, he intimated to the
conductor, II want to get out at the
Green Man." Accordingly the omnibus
slowed down, but as he was leaving
bis seat lady touched him on the
sleeve and earnestly inquired, MY
good man, don't you think you've had
enough ?"-London Tit-Bits.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
THE CRAFTY WOLF.
stories of His Man Eating Feats SAID
to Be Untrue.

to Be Untrue.
A skeptical person calling himseii
st. Croix has been trying to find OUT
whether wolves and bears are maiign-
ed by the popular stories OF their man
eating ways and writes his cohciu'
sions for Recreation.
First he tried running down the sto'
ries told in newspaper dispatches
Fooled In this effort, he turned to the
Indians. They knew the gray VOL
having wintered and summered WITH
him. Had they ever known or an III
dian being killed by one? N-no, Du'
Mipgan was very crafty and very
much to be dreaded.
Quite so. But, once for all, had he
ever to their knowledge killed a man
No, but they had heard So 1t went
always the same intangible, uncon'
firrned rumor and the same absence OF
proof.
"Now for few facts as to the wolf,
writes st. Croix. HE can 20 eight
DAYS without food and eau then eat
forty pounds of meat at sitting. SO
the Indians say. This is pretty falr
for an animal Weighing but eighty
pounds. Yet we do not know the
length of the sitting.
"The wolf will not venture on glare
ice; he never crosses lake until there
is enough snow to hide the Ice. TIC
wetting his feet he Is as averse as the
domestic cat. He will not kill bis
game In the shelter Of the forest, al
ways driving 1t into some open place
for the kill.
when chasing a deer, he goes at q
leisurely lope, sitting down at inter
walls to give the most dolorous and
bloodcurdling bowls. This drives the
poor victim into wild gallop and soon
exhausts it, and as the wolf never tires
he is sure sooner or later to catch up
with the quarry.
"In winter the deer often makes fol-
some wild rapid, into which 1t plunges
knowing that the wolf will not follow
100 OIIeu TIC uceT uIOWuo, buI DSeeSN
such death than one by the fangs.
I'm summer a couple of wolves will
secure all the deer they need by verS
simple tactics. Having put up the
quarry, one wolf drives 1t by easy
stages to some little lake-I speak now
Of the Laurentian country-and on
reaching the shore the deer plunges
unhesitatingly in, for its instinct tells
1t the enemy will not dare to follow.
$50 on it swims. while the pursuel
sits on his launches and bowls dis
mally, no doubt because he sees his
dinner escaping. At length the tired
deer drags itself YEARLY from the
water and shakes the drops from its
coat on the sun warmed strand. Their
the companion wolf, which has way
laid its coming. springs at its throat
and when the first wolf Joins him they
have gorge that makes them indie
pendent Of fate for a whole week"
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
Rice In the Salt.

There Is no denying the fact that
salt will not run out Of d shaker IN
humid weather. 1t is a very clever
raineraI; knows enough to stay In
When 1t rains. There Is no better ba-
rvmcter. The best thing ever known
to cause the salt to run Is rice. Heat
d reaspoonful Of rice on the stove and
put it in the salt shaker with the salt.
The hot rice quickly absorbs all the
moisture and the salt issues forth az
dry as the sands of the desert Tween.
ty grains of rice are sufficient for a
small shaker Although 1t has only
pinholes in the top, the salt will not
pack in the most humid weather.-New
York Press.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-21
POINTED PARAGRAPHS.

There Is little wolf and little rab-
bit in every man.
One way to be unhappy Is to envy
the happiness of others.
A lucky man always points with
pride to his good judgment.
How many things there are In a
grocery store you never will call for!
If you want to oblige n friend, dc
something for him his way instead OF
your own way.
A great many people see themselves
as others see them, but they don't be-
lieve what they see.
Ever occur to you that many OF your
sorrows are silly sorrows-that Is. sor
rows that are not important?
Education Is great thing. no doubt
but the best housekeepers didn't gel
their knowledge ont Of books.--Atchis
son Globe.