davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
Nj MILITARY PUNIIIsSlH+MIENrs.
Times When Rsbsilious Soldiers Gam
bIsd For Their Lives.

Times When Rebsllious Soldiers GAM
bIsd For Their Lives.
In times past the military code in
England was no less stern and uncom-
promising than the civil Sentence Of
death was readily decreed and as
promptly executed. Where offenses
multiplied and wholesale executions
would have. weakened the army nu-
mefically decimation-the slaughter of
every tenth man-was the rule. or the
troops ganbled for their lives by cast
ing dice upon drumhead or drawing
lots under the gallows tree.
Lesser penalties-not capital, but
physical. and causing pain with per-
maneni degradation-were manning,
branding the cheek or forehead. Dor
ing the tongue or cutting the nose and
ears. These last named were retained
upon the military statute book until
the reign of Queen Anne. The trap
pado" was fiendish device by which
a delinquent was hoisted on high by a
rope fastened to his arms and then
dropped down by, sudden jerk that
often dislocated his shoulders. Hang
ing by the thumbs, sometimes called
''picketing," was also practiced, while
the body was raised to such a height
that its whole weight rested on one
toe, and that again on sharp pointed
spike.
To .ride the wooden horse was to
be mounted on a razor edge, with
weights fastened to the extremities.
Running the gauntlet, or "gante-
lope," was as old as the Cromwellian
army, and it is thus described in an
army order about 1919: The culprits
(who had been guilty of blasphemy as
well as deer stealing) were to be
stripped naked from the waist up
ward and lane made by half the
lord generals regiment of foot and
half Colonel Pride's, with every man
a cudgel in his hand. They were to
be run through in this posture so that
every soldier might have stroke at
their naked backs. breasts or arms
wherever it might alight." -Pearson's.
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
SCIENTIFIC MYSTERIES.


The Problems Of Mind, Life, Gravits-
Z ton and Electricity. 20,
A most remarkable state, condition
or point In nature, the absolute zero
of temperature. has been reached to
within three degrees. This Is con-
sidered to he great scientific achieve
ment. Hydrogen gas was solidified
. into pure white Ice, and this was en-
ployed In the process Of cooling he
lium, and all works of the hand Of
man were surpassed The temperature
sank lower and lower until a point
only three degrees from absolute was
reached, but the obdurate helium did
not even hquefy.
The Imagination, however vivid, cam
not encompass what this intense cold
implies. 1t may be the death Of the
activity of matter-that is, state. of
rest so far as chemical reaction is con-
cerned. Thus If the true zero Of ma
ture can be reached it may obtain that
matter will put on new aspects and
! hitherto unknown properties. or 1t may
expire, become chemically inert, total
~ devoid of heat and lifeiess.
Still even then the standing mystery
ever confronting man. always await
ing explanation, gravitation, will act
Nothing known can affect the uni
versal attraction, forever directly as to
mass, whether hot or cold.
However, the three degrees may
never be overcome. or, indeed. they
may, for it is now thought that science
has no limits, the scientific mind being
capable OF solving all problems-so
saith some mentologists
The capital problem is first to dis
cover what mind is, then life, next
grayitation, intellectually, and reach
climax in finding how it is that CASE
GUS masses glow and issue light when
existing in frigid voids at zero abso-
lutte
There is noM olution in sight for any
of these perplexing problems and har-
assing No progress whatever has been
made in finding what mind is. the rea-
son being doubtless that mind is I'M
able to think of itself On trial it will
be soon discovered that one is unable
to set up a train of reasoning regard
ing his own or another's mind. His
own" implies an owner, but no fact as
to who this owner is has ever been
discovered. Humans are not perfect.
Edgar Lucien Larkin In New York
American
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
Where Waiting Is Barred

German court regulations forbid
Waiting. This veto dates back to 1859,
when the Empress Frederick, then
crown princess, was tripped up by her
of her mother7in-law. The Empress
Augusta, a despot on the score of ETH
quette. forbade the inclusion Of values
thenceforth in all balls at the New
palace. So far the kaiser has resisted
the pressure brought to bear on him
to revive the waltz. Dancing at the
Berlin court always opens with polo
naise, andAthe rest of the program is
filled with quadrilles and polkas, the
schottishes aud the mazurkas :
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
WORKING WITH GOLD.
Factories In Which DARK. ceIsr.,
Clofhes Must Be Warn

Factories In Which Dark cpIored
Clothes Must Be Worn,
Light suits Of clothes are not favored
In factories where work Is dHne Or
gold. In fact, in many such factories
q dark suit Of clothes is absolutely NJ
quired, and even a light waistcoat may
lose q man job. The reason for this
Ii that any stray grains of gold that
may get on the clothing can easily be
caught on a dark suit, while they
might get away from the establish
ment II light clothes were worn
That such a rule was enforced
among gold workers one man learned
recently when a Bohemian gold beaten
applied to him for helping hand. The
Bohemian said that he had only re-
Gently come to this country, that he
had had-a chance to obtain a good job
at his trade, but that the place had
been refused him because he turned
up with light coat and waistcoat on,
and they were the only clothes he had.
The man whom he approached was
struck by the story and offered to siielp
him out If it proved true. He went to
a., downtown factory with him and
found out that the man could have the
job If he presented himself within an
hour with the proper clothes on. Two
dollars enabled the man to rig himself
out in the dark coat and wafstcoat to
go with his dark trousers, and, sure
enough, he got the job.
You may think this strange" said
the man at the factory, but it means
quite little to us. Every mans cloth
ing is carefully examined when he
leaves here at night and the gold
brushed off whenever we see any on
his clothing.
at is impossible to hide even tiny
grains on dark background, but take
a mixed or light suit and we might
easily lose quite an amount Of gold,
and gold isn't anything you want to
lose even in small quantities. New
York Sun
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
Curious Anticipations.

Many peculiar anticipations have
been cited against patent applications.
At one time a congressman took to
the patent office a lock invented by
one of his rural constituents. The
lock was ar exact copy Of lock fig
ured in Prize on Locks" showing the
lock used on gate of ancient Thebes
thousands of years before Christ. The
congressman after examining the Illus
tration. which was shown him by one
Of the officers. exclaimed that he didn't
care who that fellow from Thebes
was. he certainly stole it from his con-
stituent On another occasion an ap,
pl1cation for d patent was filed for a
flower basket whose construction cor
responded in detail with the Scrip
tural description of the ark in which
Moses was placed in the bulrushes,
which. we are told in the second chap
ter of Exodus. was an ark of bull
rushes daG'ipd with slime and pitch.
This is also probably the first record
ed instance of REINFORCED concrete
structure. Scientific American.
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
Modern Kitchens At Sea.

The term son Of a sea spoi' is ne
Longer ti''e oi ytlroAch. The highly
paid SIZE .lti<' M ~ presides over thu
kitchens IL a. hNi with an internal
ztionaI r5:zllt, t76.i5.--- 'rhe menu at III
end of tlrs"et'':4s'sst sea voyage gives Ne
Indication 'tat The ship has not ben
supplied :21s4 ilnd. IEEianse stores
of fresh meats, y2getables4fruits and
even Towers uutst he carried The
kitchens Fre incredibly clean: with
their flied doors. glass tables and
shelves. as arc also The cold storage
rooms. 10 Acop a Kitchen in order is
a far more djAicult problem at sea than
on land Gasiief,s Magazine.
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
What lfTannht Hsr.

To top off an expensive education a
young married woman of no particular
liability In any one line took course at
dramatic school. She never attempt
ed to secure an engagement, so one
day a close and candid friend of her
husband asked what good all that
training had done. anyhow.
I $50 far as | can see." the friend
said. ''that $500 you spent on Ethers
education has been practically thrown
away
.-Oh. no. ii hasn't" returned the hus
band mildly. "Oh. no. it hasn't. Her
stage experience has taught her to
dress in hurry. Nowadays when
ask her to go TO any place with me she
can change heF- clothes In ten minutes.
1t used to take over an hour."-New
York Sun.
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
REFUSED TO OBEY.

Major Butler Carried His obstinaey
... Right Into His Coffin.
Many amusing stories are told Of
the great fermality blended with a
humorous brusqueness and independ
ence which-characterized early Revo
lutionary days. An incident of camp
life is related by the author of "Ro
nance and Realism Of the Southern
Gulf Coast"
In 1913 the first United States
troops that came down the mississippi
were quartered at Fort Adams. Gen
eral Wilkinson, Colonel Hamtramck,
Major Butler, Captain Green and 9th
er officers were merry over their
punch one night, and the general by
some accident got his cue burned Off
Angry Mt the laugh which followed his
mishap, he next day issued an order
forbidding any officer to appear with
a cue Obedient to orders, all the off,.
GERS but Major Butler cut Off their
cues
'The vain old ..prigy said the major.
"I'll see him hanged before I cut OF
my cue to rgrat1fy hlmE And he bold.
ly appeared without changing the style
Of his hairdressing.
The major was put under arrest, but
he declared obstinately that he would
spend the rest of his life in prison be
fore he would comply with such silly
command Soon afterward he was
taken very i'll, and, realizing that he
was at the point Of death, he gave In
structions for his burial, which he
knew would be witnessed by the whole
command.
'sBore hole" said he, through the
bottom of my coffin, right under my
head, and let my cue come through it,
that the oldageneral may see that even
when dead refuse tosobey his order"
And these directions were literally
carried out.
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
GETTING TIRED.
Fatigue That Follows Monotony Of
Work or Exercise.

Fatigue That Follows Monotony Of
Workaor Exercise.
1t is said that for horses the hardest
road out of London is the most level
one. There are no hills to climb and
descend, and the tired horse has no
chance to rest one set Of muscles
while another works Monotony pro-
duces fatigue, and because this par
ticular road is one dead. monotonous
level more horses die on it than on
any other Leading out of London.
We can even take charitable view
of the time taken daily by the type
writer girl for the arrangement of her
hair Her fingers are congested by
the work of writing and tired by CON
tact with the hard keys of her ma
chine. and the different feeling of her
h;I and the little plays and move
ments of her fingers in adjusting it
are u distinct stimulation and relief.
Fatigue following long continued cx-
ercise is really mild form of illness
which arises from oyerexerting some
one part of the body. In writing. for
instance, the fingers move up and
down hardly more than quarter of
an inch as they travel across the page.
Yet this is hard work for their little
muscles and burns up tissue in the
fingers very fast. II rest intervals are
too short and infrequent, there is not
time for the removal of the waste
products Of this destruction through
the normal channels of the body and
congestion results The feeling of
fatigue or pain that follows long con-
tinued use of any of the muscles is
due to the influence Of such poisonous
material, as~well as to the stretching
of the tissues caused by the pressure
Of the blood which settles there. Paul
W. Goldsbury in Atlantic.
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
sinn a snnn OF slxnence.

The London Globe attempts an ex-
PLANTATION of the rhyme Sing a Song
of Sixpence.' Here it IS. The four
and twenty blackbirds represent the
four and twenty hours The bottom
of the pie is the wal,ld The top crust
represents the sky, The opening of
the pie is the darwin Of the day, when
the birds begin t6%singseand surel9
such sight, is lit for a king. The
king III his counting house counting
out his money is the sun. The money
the, king .is,.lcountins= represents the
golden sunshine. The queen, who sits
in The parlor is the moon The. honey
she is-eating Is the moonlight, The
Industrious maid who is working in
The garden before the sun-has risen
Is the day dawn, and the clothes she
hangs out are clouds The bird that
So tragically ends the song by nipping
Off her nose is tie hour Of sunset
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
Tho Word "Chao,'

@Chap" is simply an abbreyiation of
chapman, the merchant OF former days,
AMI is derived from-the Anglo-Saxon
''ceap," bargain. The word almost
brings before us the loud voiced
cheap Jack" as he cries his wares in
the .cheaping or market Chap seems
to have come into common use at the
end of the sixteenth century and is
rarely mentioned in books before 100.
Johnson does not recognize it, though
Steele uses it in 1712 in the Spectator
elf you want to sell. here is your
chap''l, and it is found in Bailey's Die
tionary, ISL, It's original meaning of
= buyer or seller still fingers in The
9iliaiects of many @eeuntfes5- Coupled
with the adiectives old. young, little,
poor. it was and Is used in familiar
language. as is its relative, queer
customer" Todd. 1918. aeGs:rms that a
good chap meant one to whom credit
might he given. whereas not qualified
by good 1t was a term OF contempt.
London Standard.
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
TIPPING IN FRANCE.
" One Doesn't Pay Up. Then LIE Il
Made Burden.

Made Burden.
Why do we pay pourboires In
France7 Simply because II we didn't
life wouldn't be worth living. Here
Is what happens to the man who gives
20 tip to the waiter: After a cognac
and eau-de-seltz be summoned the
garcon and gave him the exact price
Of his contamination Then he rose
to 90, but before be had time to leave
the cafe the waiter tripped over
stool and emptied on to the nontippers
handsome fur coat a glass of sticky
strip which be was carrying to an
other customer The clumsy waiter
begged thousand pardons and Inn
medlately made things worse by seiz-
ing greasy cfsfh and rubbing the
sirupy substance into the coat. Sup
pose tenant does not tip his con-
cierge. What is the result7 This-that
be or she brings up the letters at all
hours except when they arrive; that
callers are told you are not at home
when as matter Of fact you are
waiting for them. II you grease the
pOIteI udHQ ITOn tltuc u llLue VueE6
will never he any difficulty In allow
ing the tradpsman to 20 up to your
fat But rs soon as the tips are stop.
ped host Of irritating regulations
you never heard Of will be enforced
TO prevent he grocer's and the butch
er's boys taking up your orders. and
everything will be done to make your
life burden.
Your servants may go out every
night in the week and all night. but
If they tip the concierge with your
own coal or wine you will never know
1t. When II is not the concierge or
the servants that make your existence
unbearabe II is the blanchisseuse who
brings home collars that~don't belong
to You. somebody else's palamas and
ragged edged handkerchiefs. But the
tip makes all these annoyances van
ish.-Lenden Globe.
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
cREKTMelsA VIOLIN.
Ne Hard and Fs.t KdIsa - Guide ~
Ark;nx Mnehnnin i

Artfot Moeh1nto>- q
Victims are, the most. delicate ana
uncertain OF, musical Instruments T.
make. There are. no hard ana fat
rules to follow. 1t is IKE emakihS q
human voice The quaMtye dlR4s 49,
cording to the wood, the seasoning and
the construction Of the few parts in it
The violin contains the fewest parts
Of any musical instrument invented,
and it seems like the simplest Of them
all to make. But, alas. 1t def1es the
expert, the practical mechanic and the
musicianl Anybody can make viO-
lin, but few can make a good one.
So. with the exception Of compare
lively few factory violins, most Of
them are produced by Individual YIN,
strument makers, who spend more
loving care over, them. than a mother
does over her first child.
violin maker Is an artist me
chanic. sort of anomaly IN this age
Of machinery. With pot of glue. q
few sharp tools. a cabinetmaker,e
bench and few sticks of wood he
willslabor diligently IN the creation Of
an instrument that MY give forth tie
sweetest, the widest, the weirdest and
the strangest musical notes. He VIII
glue his instrument together and then
take 1t apart twenty times to adjust,
the fraction OF an inch, the bass bar
Or the sounding post A creator of q
violin may spend weeks on a single
instrument and then find, to his dis
gust, that it does not satisfy. The ex-
act point where the sounding post-a
stick of wood only a. little larger than
a match-should be placed can never
be determined in advance. It is
mystery that ever recurs in each new
violin
Then the wood is Of so much impor
lance to the violin maKer-none Of
your fresh timber nor kiln dried stuff!
1t must be seasoned by years, even by
decades and centuries Every time
century old house Is demolished some
musical maker is likely to appear on
the scene and make quiet bid for
some of the thin old rafters. :, To the,
novice they may seem worthless, but
the violin maker may and in this cen
fury old timber Just the wood for his
beloved Observation-Disclosures Record
Herald 95-=
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
Traditions Of. Mother shipton.

OF all British prophets Mother Ship
ton is beyond doubt the most ceIe,
brated She was. in fact, all that n
prophet and witch should be, in
strange contrast to the serious and
scientific nostradamus. The day she
was born the sky became dark and
gloomy and. acc ordlng to her biogra'
pher. "bclcht out nothing for an hour
but flames. laundering after most
hideous manner. Her personal mp
pearance. described by her admirins
biographer in 1862, is scarcely fatter
ing: "Her physiognomy was so mis- 5
shapen that 1t is altogether impossible
to express fully in words nr for the
most ingenious TO line her in cnlo@s.
though many persons Of eminent quali5y
f1cations In that line have often at
tempted it, but without success. s.
Metropolitan Magazine.
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
ReIIed the Boundary,

Artificial boundaries" are generally
invisible. But a highly artificial one
forces itself upon the notice of the
traveller by rail between the Lake of
Lugano, and Lake Maggiore. The from
tier between Italy Switzerland is
followed for considerable portion Of
the journey and it is marked by a
lofty barrier of wire netting hungwith
bells for the purpose of preyeAting
smugglers from getting into Italy
without attracting the attentiop OF
armed defenders of italian revenue.
In extreme contrast with this is the
natural boundary between Italy and
France provided by Mont Blanc, which
in spite of its naturalness is so vague
that it is still undetermined, though
scarcely worth disputing, whether the
summit of the mountain is Franco
Italian or all French.-London Chron-
=
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
: PATRICK HENRY.
Thomas Jefferson'. Opinion of the Ora

Thomas Jeffef7on's Opinion Of the Ora
Rand Patriot.
When William Writ was engaged in
writing the memoirs of Patrick Henry
he turned f3r information to Thomas
Jefferson who had been associated
with the orator for many years, ask
ing his aid in furnishing biographical
material for The Wort; Tie correspond
ence between Writ and Jefferson pub
lishcd in the PENNSYLVANIA Magazine
Of History and Biography from athe
manuscript collection of John Gribbel
has ii decidedly Interesting passage
showing the opinion Jefferson held
about his famous colleague. In alls~er
to Wirt's first request jefferson re-.
plies with IN assent and adds a gen.
eral ard unfayorabfe, summary Of
Henry's character:
"He was certainly the man who gave
the first impulse to the ball of revolu
ton were to give his character in
general terms. it would be 1of mixed
aspect think he was the-b best
humorefi 1I1'tn III society | almost evel.
knew, and the greatest orator that
ever lived. he had a consunlate knoll
edge of tho human heart, which di
recting be efforts of his eloquencc
enabled him toenttain degree of pop
ularitr with the people at large never
perhaps e;tualled. his Judgment in
other matters was inaccurate.-in mat
tiers of lawit was not worth u copper;
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
The only way to have friend is to
be one Emerson
Hospital Fighters:

Hospital Fighters.
Into hospital came two men with
battered faces.
street fght?'' said the surgeon in
charge
1t vas. Under the Doctors directions
orderiies moved beds ard patients
around until the newcomers were
separated the length OF the ward.
"In this case that precaution may not
be necessary" he saids but after a
street brawl it very often Is Before
we learned the peculiarities OF those
people it happened more than onee
that two mep who were mortal enc
mics we're brouehtoiRpnd laid out side
by side. Each saw Iris advantage and
WAS foxy enough to =keepal still until
both were left alone in adjoining cots;
them they sailed into each other tooth
and nail, trying 70 finish the job that
had been interrupted in the street
Once or twice they nearly succeeded.
Now chance patients with <pugilist1c
tendencies are placed so far apart that
a neighborly interchange of uppercuts
is out of the question.-New York
Press.
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06

NeM cop N. Q. Molasses, Porto Rice
- ofasss at Lands s
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06

Platinum was so named by the Span
iaFds on account of it's silvery color
plata" signifvins silver 1t was dis
covered in the sand of the River Pinto
in South America, and was unknown
In Europe until l741. when it was n
nounced in tTlloa's narrative OF ais
voyage TO Peru In 1927 DIR. William
Hyde Wollaston rendered it maIleabte
and ductile
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
LARGEST Ice River.

The great antarctic river discovered
by LieutenaIft-Shaekleto is the largest
ice river known and represents the
only visible outflow from the vast ice
sheet of the, Southern continent This
the Beardmore glacier descends 5000
feet between sandstone hills and is
100 miles long by 80 vide The Nal
aspina glacier in Alaska covers nearly
600 square miles, Himalayan glaciers
reach a length of twenty miles, and
the longest Alpine glacier is sixteen
miles.
Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-04-06
Up-to-date Store.

We're proud of our service at this
s.err. We've worke w diligently
tp have our statesmen become proficient
in tbs art of selling goods.
We lave purchased the kind of mer-
chandise that we were positive would
give the greatest amount OF satisfac-
ton,
We've studied the dress needs Of the
eommnnity1 To add still more strength
to eur establishment, we have purchass
ca Critic Clothes. In style, they
as. all That the most critical man could
ask form quality, they are unusual.
It's surprising how much true value
has been put into these clothes to sell
for from SO TO $1,000. You'll have to
see to believe.
VIM KAHN