davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
Famous Stage Family

You read much in the newspapers about the great families of the stage, such as the Drews and Barrymores, but little is said of the other classes of entertainers, such as the Hanlons,'' ,'' said a man connected with theatrical enterprises.
 "The famous clowns and acrobats come of family many generations old in the world of entertainment. Their name has stood for the best in pan tomime for a century or more, and they are today recognized as the pre- mier clowns, acrobats and pantimm- ists of the world.
 "I can remember 50 years ago when the Hanlons were known as a great family of entertainers and the ones I saw then were the third and fourth generation. Now the family produces the greatest extravaganzas on the stage. They maintain a factory of their own for producing illusions, spectacular fea- lures, new tricks of stage mecha anism, etc. I suppose they understand the art of creating stage tricks and illusions, other people connected with the in- dustry. They represent the best of the olden days of this class of enter tainment and I always enjoy their number of new and clever stunts"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
UNCONVENTIONALITIES

From the Chicago Tribune.
 'Ill do the best can to make musi- elan of your boy, madam, but he'd suc- ceed better as a window washer"
 'I like the candy you bring me, MT. Squallop, but your company bores me be- yond measure"
 Maria. there's going to be trouble if you don't take your cold feet away from the small of my back!'s
 You know well enough, Uncle Jona- than, that we wouldn't entertain as dis agreeable man as you if you weren't rich and childless."
 "Rinkle, you and I would get along all right if you'd move to some neighborhood where l never could see you"
 Bobby, when you go home will you please tell your mamma that think she ought to wash your face at least once or twice a week.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
Italy's Superior Navy


 Italy is outranked in naval power by Great Britain, France, Germany, the United States and Japan. She is the sixth power in the world, pos sessing as she does seven modern and five older battleships, AS cruisers, IA gunboats, 83 destroyers, 150 torpedo boats and 19 submarines.
 Against this formidable array Turkey can muster but seven battle ships, of which one was built in 1867, two in 1869, one in 1870 and one in 1874. She also has two cast off bat tleships that Germany owned. They are 20 years old. Germany law re- quires the sale of ships that are 20 years old. Last year Turkey began to build a modern navy, but she be- gan too late to reap any advantage from the movement in the war that Italy has suddenly thrust upon her.
 As against Italy Turkey has no navy at all, and her ships will not go far beyond her shore defences. She cannot go to the aid of Tripoli at all. She would fight bravely on land but on the sea she is hopelessly out classed. And she has no ally and cannot secure one. She simply must give up Tripoli and sue for peace through the intervention of Germany or some other nation.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

nection with the pending suffrage amendment. It is by no means cer-
 tain that California will adopt it, al- though the weight of opinion is that she will. California and the rest of the Pacific coast Is inclined to re- forms and to new measures. If woman suffrage should be adopted in California the entire Pacific slope would no doubt hand the ballot to women also, and that would afford a foothold for a pretty broad and warm campaign.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Trade Improvement

"The prolonged hot weather in the south which has at last given place to pleasant temperature may have had. a tendency to retard trade, but it was fine for cotton,' said a merchant.
 'The excessive heat we have had in October has been worth a great deal to Alabama. We will probably have au- tumn weather during the next few weeks. With a cool, bracing atmosphere the shopping trade will be unusually brisk in Birmingham. There has been crop deterioration in many states, but I would be willing to wager that our Alabama cotton crop is above normal. As a gen. eral proposition 1911 will go on record as a banner crop year. As to the corn crop we have a record breaker.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
ODE TO AN EGYPTIAN MUMMY

By Horace Smith. And thou hast walked abcut-how
 strange a story In Thebes streets three thousand years
 ago. When the Memnonium was in all its
 glory.
 And Time had not begun to overthrow Those temples, palaces and piles stupen-
 dous Of which the very ruins are tremendous. Speak, for thou long enough hast acted
 dummy
 Thou hest tongue--come, let us hear
 it's tune; Thourt standing on thy legs, above
 ground, Mummy! Revisiting the glimpses of the moon, Not like thin ghosts and disembodied
 creatures. But with the bones and flesh, and limbs
 and features Tell us-for doubtless thou canst recol-
 feet
 To whom we should assign the sphinx's
 fame; Was Cheops or Cephrenes architect Of either pyramid that bears his name? Is Pompeys Pillar really misnomer? Had Thebes hundred gates, as sung by
 Homer? Perhaps thou vert Mason and forbid
 den
 By oath to tell the mysteries of thy
 trade Then say what secret melody was hidden In Memnon's statue which at sunrise
 played? Perhaps thou vert q Priest-if so, my
 struggles Are vain, for priestcraft never owns its
 iugges. Perchance that very hand. now pinioned fiat,
 Has hob-a-nobbed with Pharaoh, glass
 to glass; Or dropped half penny in Homer's hat, Or doffed thine own to let Queen Dido
 pass, VII Or held, by Solomon's own invitation, A torch at the great Temples dedca- tion. I need not ask thee if that hand. when armed, Has any Roman soldier mauled and knuckled, For thou vert dead and buried and em- balined Ere Romulus and Remus had been suckled; J Antiquity appears to have begun Long after thy primeval race was run. | Thou couldst develop. If that withered | tongue Might tell us what those sightless orbs have seen, How the world looked when it was fresh st-s1-.''-t z 11 ~r~ssessss. i>s.. ss+.s.4 s....
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

And the great Deluge still had left 1t
 green Or was 1t then so old that History's
 pages
 Contained no record of it's early ages? Still silent incommunicative elf? Art sworn to secrecy? Then keep thy
 vows;
 But prithee tell us something of myself, Reveal the secrets of thy prison house, Since in the world of spirits thou hast
 slumbered, N I What hast thou seen? What strange ad-
 ventures numbered? Since first thy form was in this box ex-
 tended,
 We have, above ground, seen some
 strange mutations; The Roman empire has begun and ended, New worlds have risen-we have lost
 old nations, And countless kings have into dust been While not fragment of thy flesh has
 crumbled. s- Wilst thou not hear the bother Der thy
 head When the great Persian conqueror,
 Cambyses, Marched armies OCT thy tomb with thun-
 derng tread. .-ess .ssss O'erthrew Osiris. Orus, Apis, Isis. And shook the Pyramids with fear and
 wonder,
 When the gigantic Memnon fell asunder? If the tomb's secrets may not be con-
 fessed
 The nature of thy private life unfold A heart hath throbbed beneath that lead
 en breast;
 And tears adown that dusty cheek
 have rolled; Have children climbed those knees, and
 kissed that face? What was thy name and station, age and
 race?
 Statue of fiesh-Immortal of the dead! Imperishable type of evanescence! Posthumous man, who quit'st thy narrow
 bed,
 And standest undecayed within Bm
 presence, Thou wilt hear nothing till the Judg-
 ment morning When the great Trump shall thrill thee
 with It's warning. Why should this worthless tegument en- dure, sf$f If its undying guest be lost forever? Oh let us keep the soul e'nbalmed and pure r- In living virtue, that both must sever, sise Although corruption ma os.. 1ysS con sIme, Tn immortal spirit ir skies may ss00m' .~..s,.,..... !. :.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
A Wall Street View

enry Clews in his Saturdays Review, after noting an improvement in the stock market, says:
 '"The efforts to trace causes for the recent financial depression still contin- ue. They are numerous enough to cause amusement were 1t not for the serious consequences involved. The ma jority of opinions are based upon condi- tions with which their authors are chief ly familiar Some blame MT. Roosevelt, some hold President Taft responsible, others MT. Wickersham. Some say poli- tics others say too n,ucn speculation is at the bottom of present difficulties. Some say high prices are responsible, others partial crop failures. A few say too many securities, many say too much imitation. At one time the Mexican diff ficulty was blamed, at another the su- preme court decisions; still later, the Moroccan crisis proved the most popular explanation for our troubles, but even that has temporarily disappeared with out leaving corresponding improvement.
 "The truth is all of these explanations have contributed to the decline in Wall street values, though after all they are but part of the phenomena connected with general trade reaction following
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
NOSE BAG FOR NOISY EATERS

 Wilke Barre Dispatch to the New
 York World.
 After making such noise while eat ing in a restaurant that he had start ed quarrel, Walter Gordon, of Duryea, was lectured severely by Alderman John F. Donohue of this city and told to return home and learn better table manners.
 There are great many fellows like you," said the alderman, "who come to this city and make themselves offensive to others by their lack of table manners in public places. They drink their coffee as if they were don- key pumps and eat their food with a noise like concrete mixer at an as- phalt plant. You ought to be sent to the county Jail. where you could eat your beans with knife and drink your soup with fork. Next time you come here bring a handout with you put it in a horses nose bag, and eat 1t on the river bank"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
Mail Sack in Aeroplanes

The carrying of mail bag, weigh ing 75 pounds, five miles on Long Island is a great event, because of the promise it holds out. The bag was taken from the aviation field near Brooklyn and was carried to Garden City, distance of five miles, where it was duly dropped at the postoffice. This was the first Ameri- can bag of mail ever carried from one office to another in an airship.
 This is but the crude beginning of what may become an established cus- tom in the next five years. Aviation is a well demonstrated method, and vet time is needed in which to fit it to the needs of man. It will cer- tainly be developed faster than steam was on either land or water. One should not expect full development this year or next year, or the year thereafter. Development by decades is more probable. Think of the years that were passed before tur- bine was placed in a steamship. So, no doubt, it will be in aviation. Years will be needed in which to adopt it to the everyday needs of mankind. It will be done. It will be rendered as useful to man as other means of locomotion are, and it may possibly exceed them all in speed, efficiency and even economy.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR

From the New York Press.
 Girls only tell fibs about their suit ors so as not to have to tell bigger ones.
 woman can make herself believe her husbands politeness to her is de- votion.
 Sometimes mans explaining prob lens to the children doesn't muddie them very much more about them
 You might impress the joys of heaven on children by making them believe it's all school in the other place.
 A woman has done a big days shop ping when she has spent tenth as much on it as on her car fare and luncheon.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
POINT TO REMEMBER

From the Tuscaloosa Times-Gazette.
 We should not like to draw invidious comparisons but the next time somebody throws up how many more students Au- burn has than Alabama just ask the per- son what are Auburn's entrance require ments and how the department of eduoa- ton at Washington classes the two instl- tutions. .554s,lt
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

Senator Stephenson spent sl07,7B to nrocure a seat in the Senate, and the in- vestigating committee says he must make plain for what the money was spent if he wants to keep that seat
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
UNCLE JERRY

From the Chicago Tribune.
 Far as I'm concerned" said Uncle Jerry Peebles, you girls can go around with your arms bare clear up to the vac- cination marl--if that's where the mark is now days--but if you've got arms that look like Esaus, as some of 'em do, you ort to wear long sleeves for your own sakes''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
A Growing Custom

"The custom of men in the same business meeting at table to discuss matters affecting their interests is growing in Birmingham" said an ob servant man.
 "The latest instance is that of the coal dealers who gathered at a little dinner a night or two ago in the pri- vate dining room of one of the lead ing hotels. About 20 were in attend ance, and the occasion is said to have been very enjoyable. The breaking Of bread tends to draw men together and make them forget the disagreeable things that occasionally arise in the competition for business.
 By the way, the coal dealers are very much gratifed by the action of the city commission in retaining the office of inspector of weights and measures. It is not generally known that the re- tail coal dealers have been paying for several years, about one-fourth of the salary of the officer"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
AFTER MANY YEARS

1 liner, growing across the room.
 Well, we've got to go down and face the mob again! Dinners ready"
 The "mob' was the term by which they designated their fellow boarders who were mainly porters and day laborers. Their food was plain and coarse, easily digested by these big, hard working feI- lows, but hard for an art student and a mental laborer to assimilate. Not for that reason alone were they reluctant to go down to the basement din- ing room. When the other boarders came to eat they came with only that object in view.
 No conversation, no social amenities. The big uncombed heads bent over the plates and the audible signs of mastica- ton went on with thoroughness that was unmistakable.
 And when the torture of the meal was over the two retreated hastily to their attic bedroom If they were prosperous there was tobacco enough to keep two pipes going. If they were down on their luck there was nothing for it but to takc refuge in work. afs
 He remembered the days when the weather was cold and a fire too costly a luxury Bili1ins used to hoist his writing cesk and chair on the bed and work there. because the air near the low ceil- ing was warmer. The painter himself had often risen from his drawing or painting, blown into his hands to warm them. and then swung his arms about a ypi dr1il1 tf rof after the accepted manner of car drivers and truckmen.
 Later, when they had.tumbled inte the Led in one corner under tho sloping roof, the painter remembered that he could put his foot against the ceiling and raise it gently sixA or eight inches Then 1t would crop back into its natural place, and he could hear the mice behind the plaster scurrying away in flight.
 Then there. were the long explanations with the landlady when she grew im- ratient for the long delayed rent. Threats of dispossession, frequently made, were never carried out. Perhaps she had a hidden sympathy for their poverty and their grim fight.
 Well, Bilkins sleeps in little church yard in Ohio, and his meagre book of verse is out of print and forgotten now.
 All this and more swept through the painters mind. His own success came late, and as a souvenir of those early struggles he is chronic dyspeptic and has the worst of eyesight.
 But it is more than weak eyes that makes his sight so misty as he feels his way out of the old house and hurries away uptown.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

The pardon of ex-Capt. Peter C. Hams hv C;overnor Dix is generally condemned One such pardon shows how the influen- tial escape punishment while the uninfiu- eutial do not.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

Sir Alfred Laurier is mentioned as pres- ident of The Hague peace tribunal. Both England and America would be glad to see this great American placed where he could nobly round out a great career.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
From the New York Telegram.

From the New York Telegram.
 T b was a famous painter, of inter national reputation, but as he
 walked through the obscure little street in the lower part of the city mo- lody paid any attention to him what ever.
 From under the soft hat, pulled down ever his forehead to keep the glare of the sun out of his nearsighted eyes, he reered through thick glasses at the tow ering business buildings. Its all changedr' he muttered. After all these years I daresay it's absurd to expect any traces of the old house as l I remember it.. | Big warehouses drowned on him from either side. Suddenly a smile lighted his pale face.
 Here it is, by all that's wonderful No. 14, still standing. It looks just the | same, but how much smallerr' 1 No. 14 was a humble little dwelling house of a fast vanishing type. In spite of its shabbiness. there was still quaint beauty in its simple brick walls, it's ar tistic iron railings, it's quaint dormer, win dows.
 The painter stared at it for long time. Coming out of his revery at last, he mo- ticed that he was attracting the atten- tion of the porters and truckmen of the adjoining warehouses. He mounted the brown stone steps and rang the old fashioned bell. From some- where in the distant recesses of the base ment hall its tinkle fioated up to him.
 The door opened at last, and an old woman stood on the threshold eyeing him suspiciously.
 Good morning." he said, q used to live here long ago. I'd like to get a glimpse of the old house. if you have no objections"
 The coin he slipped into her hand si- fenced all possible objection.
 'Yes. sir" she mumbled. There's nuth- in here but few sticks and straws o' my own in the basement. Pm takin' care O the old place fer a few weeks. 'Tis sold. They do tell me 'tis to be torn down soon"
 He thanked her, and climbed up three pairs of creaking stairs, entered the back room in the attic. lighted by two dormer windows.
 The years of labor and his glorious suc- cess of the last decade faded away as he stood there. He was again the poor art student from the middle west, living here because board and lodging could be had for $5 a week
 Across the years he could hear the voica or his chum, Bilkins, poet and penny-a-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

New YorlS's real and personal property presents a big aggregate, but only eight of it's citizens are taxed on a million or r,ronerty or over, and this leads some to say that the aggregate is still little sl1
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

The people of Tripoli may as well be- gin to study the soft Italian tongue, for it is to be their national language, and the Sultan cannot change the situation.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

quard, Carrie Kilbourne, a schoolgirl of News Brunswick, N. J., put 'em over the plate in such skillful fashion the other afternoon that the most exacting fans were satisfied. The young woman was pitching for the team of the Ger man hospital of Brooklyn against the team from the Williamsburg hospital. If she had had better support her side might have won. The score was 8 to against her team.
 The game took place at Saratoga Field, Miss Kilbourne was wild at first and passed several men; but she soon steadied. The Williamsburg doc tors, internes and ambulance men, suf- fered from anemia of the batting aver age. They showed they could handle a bandage or an instrument with more effect than they did5a baseball bat Miss Kilbourne made five doctors eamputata the air in the innings she pitched ana anowed only three hits. Her nerve was shown best in the seventh inning. She passed two men and then a hit filled the bases. But she struck out the next man and the following two were easy.
 At bat she was a good waiter and twice got to first on four wide ones.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

Between the armored automobile of the Turks and the airships of the Italians the present war has some modern feat ures that may become sensational.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
Impressions of southern Cities

'I am delighted with Birmingham, said T. D. Bonneville. press agent for Al Field, whose fine minstrel troupe ap- peared before large and appreeiative audiences the latter part of the week just passed.
 Although l had lived in Richmond nearly three years this is my first trip to the far south. l had heard great deal about the souths prosperity, and about the rapid growth of southern cit ies, but I found even more prosperity than I had expected. As for the cities they are all forging ahead. Birmingham was revelation to me. It not only has a great future, but it is already a great city. In many respects it seems more metropolitan than any city south of the Potomac"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
A CABMAN SCORED BROWNING

Mrs. Andrew Crosse. Red Letter Days
 of My Life. sfs F{sf8
 The gondoliers of Venice are supposed to know their Tasso and Ariosto; the fol- lowing little incident leads to the suppo- sition that Brownings Ride to Ghent' may possibly be found in the poetic reper- tory of the London cabman. A neighbor one day saw MT. Browning alight from a hanson, the cabby looked at the fare in his open palm with an air of dissatis- faction, and, wheeling round, delivered himself of this parting shot: You may be a d--d good poet, but you're bad yaotr acta
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

But why did Uncle Ike Stephenson pay s107,00O for senatorial seat? This ques- tion has never been answered
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

Diaz sent Madero to jail and it was this that made him popular, and finally will land him in the presidency
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

Dr. Wiley is working his way to the head of the bureau of which he is the nominal chief. The Wilson regime is weakening daily.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

Mona Lisa may be in Tripoli after all and if so she may have been shot full of holes.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

The rich have ceased to have rheuma- tism. Society calls 1t gout in their cases, and that settles it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09
DOCTOR DENNIS DEPARTURE

ion DENNf'S DEPARTURE
 From the Richmond Virginian.
 We uttered our protest against the de- parture of Dr. Denny from Virginia because we considered that such a step would mean a distinct loss to the educa- uonal forces of our state. For the same reason we speak this sincere word of re- gret that he has felt compelled to accept the presidency of the University of Ala bama. i
 None who know Dr. Denny will believe that he has been moved by any but the worthiest motives in reaching his de- cision. He sees in the Alabama field a moro inviting prospect because there he finds larger opportunity of doing con- structive work in the realm of education He sewers his connection with an institu- ton, where his work has been congenial and successful and highly appreciated, and he sunders the strongest ties of as- sociation and affection with Virginia peo- pie in order to answer what comes to him as the call of duty. Though by his decision he has brought universal regret to the people of his native state, where his life work so far has been done, yet in the very making of this choice he has commanded the confidence and respect of the whole people.
 Those who are familiar with Dr. Dem nys remarkable work at the Washington and Lee university will confidently pre- dict for him the largest success in his new field. Virginia is again lending to a larger realm the talent and power of a native son that she may contribute in the present, as she has so often done in the past, to the enrichment of the national life.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-09

The first returns from Austin, Pa, were dreadfully padded. The death list will not exceed 50