davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

a future race of men, and resolved into their original clements.
 Coal, wise men tell us. Is on the whole breath and sunlight the breath of living creatures who have lived in the vast swamps and forests of some primeval world, and the sunlight which transmitted that breath into the leaves and stems of trees, magically locked up for ages in that black stone. to become, when 1t is burned at last light and carbonic> acid, as it was at first. For though you must not breathe your breath again, you may at last eat your breath. if you will allow the sun to transmute 1t for you into veg etables; or you may enjoy It's fragrance and its color in the shape of a lily or a rose. When you walk in aDsunlit garden every word you speak, every breath you breathe, is feeding the plants and flowers around. The delicate surface of the green leaves absorb the carbonic acid and parts 1t into its clements, retaining the carbon to make woody fiber and courteously re- turning you the oxygen to mingle with the fresh air, and be inhaled by your lungs once more. Thus do you feed the plants, just as the plants feed you, while the great life-giving sun feeds both, and the geranium standing in the sick chid's window does not merely rejoice his eye and mind by It's beauty and fresh ness, but repays honestly the trouble spent on It. absorbing the breath which the child needs not, and giving to him the breath>which he needs. So are the services of all things constituted, accord ing to divine and wonderful order, and knit together in mutual dependence and mutual helpfulness.
 "A fact to me remembered with hope and comfort; but also with awe and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

fear. For as in that which is above nature, so ina nature itself; he that breaks one physical law is guilty of takes up arms against him; and all nature, with her numberless and un- seen powers, Is ready to avenge her self on him. and on his children after him he knows not when nor where. He on the other hand, who obeys the laws of nature wit his whole heart and mind. will find all things work ing together to him for good He Is at peace wit hthe physical universe. He is helped and befriended alike by the sun above his head and the dust be- neat his feet, because he is obeying the will and mind of Him who made sun, and dust, and all things, and who has given them law which cannot be broken"
 On the subject of novl reading we have the following (to us) original views:
 There are those who cannot read sensational novels, or, indeed, any novels at all, just because they see so many sensational novels being enacted around them in painful facts of sinfur flesh and blood. There are those, 100, who have looked in the mirror too often to wish to see their own dfsfgured visage Tn 1t any more; who are too tired of themselves and ashamed of themselves to want to hear of people like themselves; who want to hear of people utterly unlike themselves, more noble, and able. and just, and sweet, and pure; who long to hear of heroism and to converse with heroes and who if, by chance. they meet with an heroic act. bathe their spirits in that. as In
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

ship they gave mighty shout of vic- tory, which had the effect of awakening the Tripolitans from their stupor, then every battery around the harbor began to fire upon the retreating Americans. But, marvellous to relate, not a man re- ceived so much as a scratch.
 The scene, as the Americans sailed away, must have been transcendently beautiful: the ~frigate on fire and now completely enveloped in flames; the pie turesque white castles, mosques, domes and palaces of the city now reflecting the golden glow of the conflagration; the sudden bursts of smoke and fire from the surrounding forts; the little ship that caused all this consternation gracefully sailing toward the open sea, the reflected
 flames giving her white sails tinges of furnished copper and changing the sea into rippling ruby; and then, to com plete the picture, there was seen, rising by ecstatic leaps, till 1t reached the main topmost, where its heaven-dyed hues flut- stars and strikes-these all combined to make one of the most wonderfully sub lime scenes that ever challenged the ge- mus of a painter or poet.
 Later in this same year, 1894, several of our ships plunged into the harbor of Tri- poli bombarded the city, wrought much havoc, and lessened the arrogance of the Tripolitans. Treachery was the chief weapon of these people. They would make their colors lie whenever it suited them. Their flag was flag of dishonor and dishonesty. In battle they would haul down their colors to gain advantage, and then rake our ships without con science. The gallant James Decatur al
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

May dew, and feel themselves there by, if but for an hour, more fair"
 In the essay on "Heroism," we have the following healthy and sensible par agraph:
 Tt is nobler far to do the most com monplace duty in the household. or behind the counter, with a single eye to duty, simply because 1t must be done-nobler far, I say, than to go out of your way to attempt a brilliant deed. with double mind. and saying to yourself not only, This will be a brilliant deed but also-and it will pay me, or raise me, or set me off, into the bargain" Heroism knows no into the bargain" And therefore. again, must protest against applying the word heroic to any deeds. however charitable, however toilsome. however dangerous, performed for the sake of what certain French ladies. I am told call "gaire son salut'-saving one's soul fin the world to come. I do not mean to judge. Other and quite un- selfish motives may be, and doubtless often are, mixed up with that selfish one; womanly pity and tenderness; love for, and desire to initiate. a cer- tain incarnate ideal of self-sacriflce, who is at once human and divine. But that motive of saving the soul, which is too often openly proposed and prof. fered, is utterly unheroic. The de- sire to escape pains and penalties hereafter by pains and penalties here; the balance of present loss against future gain--what is this but selfsh- ness extended out of this world into eternity? Not worldliness," indeed. as a satirist once said with bitter truth, but other worldliness."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

the dangerous enterprise. Of such stuff have men of our navy been made all the way from those far off days to Santiago harbor and our gallant Hob son.
 At the time that the "infernar' was to enter the harbor of Tripoli "a thick haze spread over the sea. The men to carry her bade farewell to their fellow sailors and sent messag ges to tn cir loved ones at home in America. Not man of them expected to return. One of the officers who volunteered was an uncle of the poet Longfellow."
 The last words of affectionate fare well were said and the 'infernal" start ed, started to her death, to return no more and to add one more mystery to the thousands that have never been explained to the enquiries of the ages.
 As the death-laden Intrepid passed out of sight of her friends, she came into view from the enemy's batteries, which began at once to fire upon her Our men on their ships outside the harbor waited anxiously to hear the report of the ex- plosion of the little Intrepid. Alas, they finally heard it, but 1t was not as they had hoped
 An American officer reported that. through his strong marine glasses, after the enemy's batteries began firing, he saw a light move horizontally along the Intrepid's deck and then suddenly disap- pear The next instant there was an ex- plosion that shook earth and sea. A mighty column of green, red and blue fire shot LID into the air from the Intrepid and in every direction shells were flying and bursting. No such scene had ever be-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

smash the thing from garret to foun- dation stone.
 The game Is in the hands of the south, as it was in 1893. If the south is going to demand tariff on its raw materials, then the jig is up. The democracy's name will be Dennis for another sixteen years. But If the south shall come out for free raw ma- terials and a tariff strictly for revenue and for revenue only on finished prod ucets, most of which should also go on the free list, notably clothing, blankets and foods, then we may be assured that the lease the people have given the democratic party on power will be extended full generation.
 And why should the south contend for protection" or tariff for revenue" as they call 1t, on raw materials? Tn Texas thousand men are growing cot- ton where one is growing wool. In Mississippi, Georgia, the Carolinas and Florida, not one citizen in forty is in- terested in lumber. and the same is true of the iron and coal of Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama. If we of the south are going to lick tariff grease off our fingers, then we must make up our minds to allow the northern manufac- turer to lard his ribs off the same thing. That is fundamental.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

ditches," whatever that meant. and that they would thereafter proceed to "kick the queens crown into the Boyne." Oh, your Ulster terrorist Is very closely re- lated to Nick Bottom. whose chief humor was to play the tyrant "or a part to tear a cat in" Your Ulster terrorist is yer itable genius in playing the part of the lion, and he can aggravate his voice and roar until the audience says, Let him roar again." But this Ulster lion is also "a very fox for his valor and a goose for his discretion" He is more likely to lie In a ditch than line a ditch, and If he kicks anything at all he will kick himself
 The success of the liberals at the polls means the abolition of the veto power of the house of lords, and that means the removal of the one obstacle that stands in the way of Irish self govern ment. When the home rule bill has be- come law the English government will see to it that Ulster as well as the rest of Ireland will yield obedience to all constitutional laws. Any oppression on the part of the majority or any disobedi- ence on the part of the minority will be quickly and effectually stamped out. There is little to fear of either. but it is well for both Ulster and Munster to know that neither will be tolerated. So,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

No thoughtful observer can read such a passage as this without feeling that the writer has looked about him, and has meditated to some purpose on the phe- nomena of human life as presented in our practical" work-a-day age. It is true that many persons who boast of our Christian civilization might learn some wholesome lessons of discontent from O thoughtful study of some of the phases of the heather civilization of the old Greeks.
 What deal of suggestive reflection, as well as of valuable information, is packed up in the following paragraph on the nature and the functions of the breath:
 What becomes of this breath which passes from your lips? Is it merely harmful; merely waste? God forbid! God has forbidden that anything should be merely harmful or merely waste in this so wise and well-made world. The car bonic acid which passes from your lips at every breath-ay, even that which oozes from the volcano crater when the eruL tion is past-is a precious boon to thousands of things of which you have daily need Indeed, there Is sort of hint at physical truth in the old fairy tale of the girl from whose lips. as she spoke. fell pears and diamonds; for the carbonic acid of your breath may help hereafter to make the pure carbonate of lime of pearl, or the still purer carbon of dia- mond. Nay, 1t may go-in such world of transformations do we live-to make atoms of coal strata, which shall lie buried for ages beneath deep seas, shall be upheaved in continents which are yet unborn. and there be burnt for the use of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

fore been witnessed. The Intrepid was shattered to atoms, and some few days thereafter IS mangled bodies, beyond iden- tification, were found along the shore. This was the full humber of the Intrepid s Nofficers and crew. That the explosion was premature is certain, but the cause of it no one has ever known. A hundred years and more have passed since the unspeak- able tragedy, but the mystery of the eX- plosion is as great a mystery now as 1t has ever been. An accident of some na- ture befell, for the Intrepid was quarter of mile from the fleet of the enemy, whereas she was to go right into the heart of the hostile ships and destroy them. As 1t happened at so great a distance from the fleet of the enemy, not one of their ships was injured.
 Lord Nelson, the great English sailor, the hero of Trafalgar. of this illustration of bravery, said, 'The annals of naval warfare in all the history of the world furnishes no sublimer instance of pa triotic daring" When we consider all the facts I suppose that this estimate is judicious.
 The awful tagedy was the beginning of the end. The Americans declared the war should be terminated at once. Their blood was up to boiling heat. The flags at the gallant mastheads fairly snapped before the winds with indignant wrath. The quadron was reinforced. The enemy's ships were captured and de- stroyed to tho right and to the left, and the burning hulks of Barbary corsairs. floating hither and thther, on the sea and in the harbor of Tripoli, struck terror to the heart of the enemy.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

deep laid plot to accomplish the dis- integration or destruction of the Unit ed Kingdom. If the unionists are suc- cessful at the polls 1t Is almost as certain as is night to follow day that England will be neck deep in war with Germany In less than six months. Nor will that be all. It is almost equally as certain that there will be attempt ed legislation which will run the na- tion to the verge of civil war. Put rash man tomorrow at the helm in England and he'll steer for the mael- strom. There's no Salisbury, nor Dis raeli among the unionists today, but there's the brutal Lansdowne. the per- fumed Rosebery, the skeptical Bal four.
 Great Britain Is face to face with crisis such as seldom occurs to na- tion and never passes without leav- ing its mark in red letters on the pages of history. These pages record the result of the result. The burning of Moscow was merely the result of Ma poleon's arrival there, but Waterloo was the rsult of the result. The re- suit of the general elections will mere ly be whether Balfour or Asquith will speak for the government of England, but the result of the result is what will count.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04
0ITARY PAIN-By George Eaves, D. D.

ful administration consists first in hon. esty, and honesty is the chief aim of the commission system. Sensitiveness to popular will as it's second aim. But it's ultimate triumph Is In an orderly, clean, healthy city, the homes of the wealthy no better kept than the homes of the less fortunate, because the spirit of a genuine democracy pervades all. and be- cause the poorer districts are as well cared for as they can be-
 And this is what Is actually coming to pass. The question of franchise to be given" to a man or set of men concerns every future resident, for wh om we are trustees. Having chosen a mayor whom we believe to be honest and fearless we may well pray that he may succeed In sitting out the facts and doing the right thing, veto or no veto. The Fifth avenue residents and the present street railway company and others have an immediate per- sonal interest. But the patriotic prin- ciple is that every inch of the streets of Birmingham belongs to the people whose presence makes practically ev- cry cent of value in the district. It Is an inalienable right. and even where for feited, should be regained. the last poor remnant of that national land inher- itance which our forefathers obtained at great cost.
 In the same way the new patriotism will not saddle on the ministers, or the prohibitionists, or some self-elect- ed committee the burden of enforcing law. It will refuse to pick and select pet measures to be enforced. It will see things sanely The new patriotism Is an instinct of justice to all, to the Birmingham of the future. to our de- scendants, who have, being unborn. the best right to demand of us a record unsullied chance for them to live the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

that makes it easy for folks to believe in the devil, hard for them to believe in God
 It was my great and undeserved pleas ure, when the last reunion was held in Birmingham, to he sort of host to 8 little group of heroes, all that is left of 600 prisoners who suffered fearful hard ships through the almost unbelievable meanness of @ great public official. To those old men the years have neverthe less been kind And yet they mingle with life's new wine bitter drops from the phial of memory, the burning sense of wrong. Is that patriotic? In so far as it is spent upon the past. would it not be fairer to call their pathetic, tortured, burning sentiment by some other name?
 "The old order changeth. yielding place to new and God fulfills Himself in many ways, lest one good custom should cor rupt the world" The new order should be known as the new patriotism. Our boys and girls need to learn it In the schools, an indignation against present wrongs rather than more or less blind anger over wrongs done in the past. We need 'the new nationalism' much less than this new patriotism, a new knight errantry declaring war on all that spells or soils the fair name of this most fa- vored land It is the new patriotism that is putting better administration into the cities of the land. Galveston and other Texas cities have declared war on spoil CTS, and many other Is following their lead We in Birmingham have no doubt that our demand for a reorganization on commission lines will be granted. But there is yet danger every step of the way. This besetting danger is that instead of public welfare some private or vested in- teret may swing legislation or get pos session of the instrument, the commis- sion, when 1t becomes available. Success
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

W/HeEvER analyzes his own sen n
 A/ timents or the sentiment of his
 W age is certain to doscover that something Is missing in his most careful summary. For instance, I asked thor oughly honest and intelligent boy what he meant by patriotism" He had been deploring the unresponsiveness of the crowd the other day, when the veterans marched by and when Dixie" was play ed. The cheers were too faint to please his ardent soul, and the cold silence of the throng when the dear, familiar strains of Americas most truly nation al" anthem swept up the street, chafed him to indignant anger. He said that Birmingham lacked patriotism" What then is patriotism? Did he mean loyalty to the Host cause" a crisis of his fathers s time? Or ought that high word to be reversed for quite other uses in these days, when all rejoice under the ample folds of Old Glory?
 A few years ago the Boer republics were bravely contending for independence and for Dutch hegemony of South Af- rica. They sent out tremendously ef- ficient soldiers, and yet their defeat brought no particular credit to the straining military forces of the Empire, nor did the policy which brought on the war finally commend itself to the re- flective sanity of the British people. But finally the dreadful episode ended. and a new imperial government bent it's en- ergies to allaying the outraged sensitive ness of the Boer farmers. Their lead CTS accepted the inevitable. and they ad- mitted that it was possible to make the best even of a bad bargain with a good grace. They were feted in London and the right of self-government was return ed to them as speedily as possible. Since
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

ceeding, an enemy from behind aimed a How at Decatur's head, but sailor in terposed his arm. Decatur was saved, but the sailors arm was cut off by the savage blow"
 When the Tripolitans saw that their chief was dead. they plunged into the sea, to drown or escape. In this mem- ble fight the Americans destroyed three ships and captured three others.
 stephen Decatur, one of the bravest officers that ever commanded ship, lived till the year 1920. In that year he offended Commodore Barron. who challenged him to 8 duel. This en- counter occurred at Blandensburg, Md. Decatur was mortally wounded.
 After the battle last described four other assaults were made against Tri~ poli. but as the results were not equal to the hopes of the Americans anoth- CT method by which 1t was expected to destroy the remaining ships of the Tripolitans was chosen. Therefore. on September 4, 1894, the same gallant little ship, Intrepid, was selected for m "infernal" TWO rooms had been prepared in her hold for magazine, and there were poured into these rooms 100 barrels of loose powder and also all manner of missiles. On the deck, just above the powder, there were piled 150 shells. a mass of scrap iron and stacks of balls. Two officers and II men were to take this "infernal' into the harbor among the enemy's ships. set fire to her and escape in two small boats, if they could" That this was most haz- ardous undertaking one can see at once. But there were men ready for
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04

ta cked Tripolitan gunboat, which, after a bloody encounter. struck her flag; but ac Decatur's men boarded her deck her commander treacherously shot the Amer ican through the head. He fell lifeless to the deck
 The famous Stephen Decatur command ed another one of our gunboats and was tearing the enemys ship to pieces. The manner of his brothers death was re- ported to him, and the Tripolitan officer guilty of the gross crime was pointed cut After destroying one more ship with appalling slaughter among the enemy's forces Decatur turned his attention to the ship of his brothers murderer Stephen Decatur boarded this ship. and amidst the universal confusion and clash Of sabers, singled out her murderous commander for hand-to-hand conflict This captain was large man and de- tended himself with a long-handled pike The American struck the pike with his sword, whereupon the sword-blade snapped at the handle and fell to the deck, leaving Decatur without defense The next thrust of the pike he parried with his arm, but the blade entered his arm. Then tearing the pike from his flesh, he wrenched 1t from the Tripoll- tans hands and grappled with him, both falling to the deck. The Tripolitan tried to use his poniard. but Decatur held the uplifted arm with one hand and with the other felt in his pocket for his pistol. He could not, however, free 1t from his pock- ct, but in his pocket he cooked it and through his trousers he pointed 1t to- ward his antagonist and fired. The shot was fatal. While this combat was pro-