davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20
SET TWAIN AT WORK
aow GEN. SHERMAN MADE siu'
MORlsT PAY FARE.
Author Compelled to Pose as Famous
Soldier While the Latter Smoked
ContentedIy in His Private
Car.
Car.

Albert Bigelow Paine tells OF the
time when Mark Twain on his way
to West Point to deliver an ADDRESS
found himself in the same train with
General Sherman, who had been at
tending a dinner In Hartford.
"a pleasant incident followed, which
Clemens himself used to relate. Gen.
Sherman attended the banquet ana
Secretary of War Robert Lincoln.
Next morning Clemens and TWlcheh
were leaving for West Point, where
they we're to address the military stu
dents, guests on the same speclaI
train on which Lincoln and sherman
had their private car. This car was
at the end of the train, and when the
two passengers reached the station
Sherman and Lincoln were out on the
rear platform addressing the multi
tude. Clemens and Twichell went IN
and, taking seats, waited for them.
CAS- the speakers finished the train
started, but they still remained out
side, bowling and waving to the as
sembled citizens, so that it was under
good Roadway before they came in.
Sherman came up to Clemens, who
sat smoking unconcernedly.
"Well,' he said, who told you you
could so in this carp
Nobody said Clemens.
"'Do you expect to pay extra farce?
asked Sherman.
NO said Clemens; ] don't expect
to pay any fare
40, you don't! Theh you'll work
your way
Sherman took off his coat and mill
tary hat and made Clemens put them
on.
Now said he, whenever the train
stops you get out on the platform
and represent me and make a speech
ut was not long before the train
stopped and Clemens, according to or
ders, stepped out on the rear platform
and bowed to the crowd. There was
cheer at the sight of his military
Uniform Then the cheer waned, be-
came a murmur of uncertainty, fol-
lowed by an undertone of discussion.
Presently somebody said:
"'Say, that amt Sherman; that's
Mark TWAIN which brought another
cheer.
Then Sherman had to come out,
too, and the result was that both
spoke. They kept this up at the diff
ferent stations and sometimes Robert
Lincoln came out with them, and when
there was time all three spoke, much
to the satisfaction Of their audiences"
-~Harper's Weekly
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20
Climate of California.

CAS- each man steps his foot on
Shore" wrote one adventurer of the
period Of the "Forty-Niners," che
SENS to have entered a magic circle in
which he is under the influence of new
impulses" And, as additional testi-
tlony to the extraordinarily stimulat-
ing quality of the Californian air, Mr..
Henry Childs Merwin tells this de-
lightful tale in his Life Of Bret
Harte:"
A popular figure in the streets Of
San Francisco was a black pony, the
property of a constable, that stood
most of the day, saddled and bridled,
In front of his masters office.
The pony's favorite diversion was to
have his hoofs BACKED and polished.
Whenever a coin was placed between
bis lips he would carry it to a neigh
boring bootblack, put first one foot
and then the other on the foot rest,
and, after receiving satisfactory
"shine," walk gravely back to his
usual station.
Even the dumb animals felt that
something unusual was expected OF
them in California.-Youth's Compan'
ion.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20
HEace VaIue.U

Do you ever figure out what you
would bring in money if sold at face
value" that is, :f the component parts
of your body were weighed and mea-
sured by a purchaser as "raw mate
rial?' Well, a patient German SCH
enlist has figured it all out, and here
is the result:
"a man weighing $50 pounds comes
to about $3.50. He finds in his body
about two and half dollars worth
of fat; while of iron, so essential to
health and vigor, he discovers hardly
enough to make a nail an inch long.
But there is plenty of lime, enough to
Whitewash good-sized chicken
house. OF phosphorus he finds enough
to put the heads on two thousand
two hundred matches, and there is
magnesia enough to make good fire.
works piece for the Fourth of July.
There is enough albumen for one hun
dred hens eggs, and small teaspoon
full of sugar and goodly sized pinch
of salt"
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Christian customs adhered to by the Austrian
German peasant can be traced back to heather"
ish Germanen rites some dispute the use of
tree at the Jul festivities; nevertheless, it is
tain that in Sweden needle pines and frs were
set up at this time before the houses" Teutzel
Of Saxony, antiquarian authority these
subjects, says: The ancient heather sat before
their houses between two crossed pine trees and
ate and drank at the turn of the year for nine
teen days.
The Christmas tree introduced into Aus
tria some eighty years ago by Duchess of
Wurtemberg and spread throughout Germany
About 1910 1t is supposed to have taken fresh
root In England, and became highly popular
Both Thackeray and Dickens seized hold of the
idea Of happiness begot of Christmas gatherings
and the Christmas tree, and Charles Dickens in
1850 used "The Christmas Tree" as title for
Of his annual stories
Although Christmas not celebrated in the
first centuries of the Christian era there
indications In the records Of early Roman his
tory Of the setting up Of decorated tree at
Christmas time and the presentation Of gifts Of
fruit and toys. The Romans are supposed to
have taken the idea from the early Egyptians.
Centuries old. the customs of Christmas OBJ
servance have taken myriad forms In the various
countries Of the world In many cases they per-
petuate ancient custom which long ante
dates the advent of Christianity. Such the
customs which have grown up around the mis-
ain sacred and magical plant. An old Eng
lish writer speaking of the Druids celebration of
the winter solstice, Christmas, says:
This the most respectable festival of
our Druids, called Yuletide; when the mistletoe,
which they called all-heal, was carried in their
hands and laid on their affairs as an emblem of
the salutiferous advent of Messiah. This miste-
toe they cut off, the trees with their upright
hatchets of brass, called celts, put upon ends of
their staffs which they carried in their hands.
Innumerable these instruments found all
over the British isles The custom is still pre-
served, and lately at York on the eve of Christ
day they carry mistietoe to the high altar
of the cathedral and proclaim public and uni
versal liberty, pardon and freedom to all sorts
of inferior and wicked people, at the gates
Of the city towards their four quarters OF
heaven"
The lore of the strange plant is prominently
in evidence in the Vouspa and other Scandina-
Wan Sagas. 1t was with mistletoe branch-or
an arrow prepared therefrom-that the blind
and heavy-headed deity Holder aimer his deadly
blow at Balder, the god of light or benevolent
principle Of northern mythology. The inspira-
ton of the of the mistetoe was of course, due
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

all over Germany. Three
trees in great pots were put
on a long table covered with
linen; each tree was illumi-
mated with three circular
tiers of colored wax candles
blue, green, red and white.
Before each was displayed a
quantity of toys, gloves,
handkerchiefs, workboxes,
books and various articles,
presents made to the owner
of the tree" This princess
was a Russian, and in her
later days lived mostly in
Paris. Then again Prof.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Ditchfeld in his "Old English Customs" says
that the Christmas tree first imported into
England by German merchants who lived
at Manchester in the first years of the nineteenth
century.
In 1900 writer on folklore said: although
we are accustomed to consider Germany the
home Of the Christmas tree, it has not been gen.
eral there for more than couple of centuries.
Old people are still living whose parents never
cue in Germany The decoration of houses
with olive leaves and green branches, as in Eng
land Gt Christmas is far ancient custom.
and can be noticed in Bottcelli's picture of THE
Alteration of the Shepherds" in the National Gal
lery in London. 1t is, as Fritz Ortwein observes,
a distinct remnant of ancient heather custom,
as at the turn of the year during the twelve
days os the Jul festival in honor of Wooden green
cry cruld be fetched by all from the woods
without punishment and every hall was deco
rated with green leaves and branches.
Again, In old works on English customs
find many references to the decorating OF the
interior Of the dwellings, as we'll as the pious
acornment Of the churches with greenery, and
the Introduction Of a Ar tree as symbolcal of
the palm In the halls of the barons and the
squires and in the gigantic kitchens of the
farmers fir tree ever held prominent place.
but whether ordinarily decorated or not is not
specifically recorded Here we are In doubt
In all probability the remaining fruits of the
orchards of the year were hung upon the
branches as a Precipitation to the gods of the
fruits of the earth to insure good harvests
Going abroad get fuller knowledge of these
things. The custom Of carrying away branches
and trees from the woods at Christmas time in
various parts of Austria became so extensive on
account of the superstitions of the peasantry
that at Salzburg, in 1855, and at Nuremberg in
1868, severe bylaws were issued against persons
puroining from the forests. In some regions of
Hungary solemn procession with a decorated
tree takes place through each village before the
shepheld play begins. ut is adorned with rib
bons and fruit and Is supposed to symbolic
the tree OF knowledge Although most of the
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

fruition still carry with them
the tenderest of Christian
faiths, as they carry, too, the
story of humanity's most far
reaching disaster. 1t is one
of the Christmas green's
which has the warrant Of re-
ligious associations dating
back to the very beginnings
of mans creation, even as 1t
is accorded the sublime
honor of typifying the ances-
trail origins of the Redeemer
of Man himself.
But what about the mistle-
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

not given definite promise to Freya to prove
harmless If used against the person OF her son
Balder Thus Scandinavian mythical lore &C
counts for the death of the latter. And accord
ingly traditional idea of the poisonous proper
ties or the mistetoe is found to persist in re-
mote regions of the north and west of Europe,
even to the present day. In Great Britain lin
the Forest of DEAN it has been used down to
recent date as a popular remedy in the treatment
of cardiac troubles. Like the strophanthus OF
African arrow poison fame 1t proved reliable
substitute for digitalis
kissing under the mistletoe Ia all that now re-
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

HIM! To tell the truth, If we want to be con-
sistently Christian In our Christmas green's and
the purposes to which they should be put there
isn't anything about it, at least of any records
which such careful investigators as Alfred E. P.
Raymond Bowling have dug up while studying
the general subject. None will deny that the
most consistent Christians have taken to the
mstletoe kiss with abundant enthusiasm and
faith in it's excellent results that has never been
surpassed But that doesn't make the mistetoe
kiss any more Christian than it ever was.
Isn't the excellent story Of foolish Mother Eve
and the original mistletoe apple enough for any
reasonable Christmas decorator who wants to
justify it's employment? And if it isn't, haven't
we the legend of the Rod of Jesse to make it
distinctly one of the Christmas greens? AS for
the kisses that supposed to go with it-well,
if you insist on knowing about them, you'll
simply have to take the consequences, same
| as Eve did when she insisted on tasting OF
that COMPOUNDED tree of knowledge.
The mistletoe kiss seems not to be Chris
tian at all Druidical. probably, and therefore
heathenish, and therefore very, very wrong
So all young men who encounter it. artfully
suspended where pair Of ripe, red lips must
pass, do you piously refrain or, piously,
tear down the hoary old temptation and fee
the accursed roof as II 1t were the house Of
ARIA Marcella and you were not Gautier's
young Frenchman. And you, maidens give
leave to no pagan rites; remember the fate of
your poor Grandmother Eve and beware les4
the fruit Of the mistletoe, accursed tree Of
knowledge prove more bitter in the mouth
than it did in Eden.
But IL you have Ivy wreathe 1t generously for
the French know 1t as the herb of St John tho
disciple whom the Savior loved, the emblem of
pure friendship. the vine that heeds not decay
and death of its beloved but clings ever more
closely as the fall impends and bears up its fall
ing ally against all adversely. Learned students
of these legends have surmised too, that 1t may
be the herb Of st. John the Baptist, who is usual
ly pictured as the boy In his camePshair coat
--ainx at his cousin, the infant Jesus.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20
Love and the Liner.

A sentimental young lady from town
was on the steamship quay, where she
saw young girl sitting on trunk in
an attitude of utter detection and de-
spair.
Poor thing" thought the romantic
young lady, "she is probably alone and
a stranger! Her pale cheeks and
great, sad eyes tell of a broken heart
and yearning for sympathy"
She went over to the traveller to win
her confidence.
Crossed in lover" she asked sympa,
thetically.
Nc replied the girl with sigh.
crossed in the 'Frolic, and an awful
q rough passage, tool"
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Christian lore, if 1t were still hedged about
with vestige of the glory that arrayed it in
Paradise.
Time was, and time is now, when epilepsy is
one Of the scourges of mankind; only now we
look for it's cure, we look for its cause, in
quite natural means and conditions. The notion
that some poor devil with the falling sickness
has been cursed from on high is held scarcely
compatible in popular science, with the nrinci-
pies of eternal Justice with cold observation
of cause and effect
But In times that were in Wales, when an
epileptic developed the symptoms characteristic
of the disorder, it commonly believed that
he was being scourged with the rod Of Christ"
and that was the by which the disease
went, although it had another designation as
well-St Valentines sickness. The cure for 1t
was believed to lie in the Rod Of jesse The
Of the mstletoe the Rod Of Jesse in epilepsy
was general and, If faith can work wonders, per
haps the miracle of cure did sometimes attend
it's employment
Perhaps it didn't, If hard headed science
choose to take shy at that gracious addition to
the list of miracleworking agents. But whether
it did or didn't the mistletoes rare birth and
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

10 the OppOS-
ing principle
of darkness
or evil. The
La ut which
furnished the
deadly d a r t
grew on the
slope of AS
gard, and was
the sole agent
K n D W n [ o
gods or men
a m o n g pol
sonous plants
which b a d
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Woman experts" who tell how to
prepare a meal for six persons for AZ
cents are bringing unhappiness to
many a poor housewife who is doing
the best she can on the money her
husband hands to her.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

A New York woman wants a divorce
because her husband drinks cologne.
She can't be blamed, considering the
odor of some of the concoctions
classed under that name
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Now a teorist thinks small girls
amusements tend to make them neu.
rotfc. But the cold materialism of the
DRY is going little too far when 1t
attempts to make little girls stop play
ing mother with their dolls.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Some scientists in New York can
now keep headless cats alive IL hours
IF necessary" But if put to refer
endum of normal cats it would never
be necessary.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Twenty-three hundred love letters
were found among the effects of an
Australian bachelor. Evidently he
either had to die or marry to stop
them.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

mains Of a once horrible Druid rite.
The ceremonies which the mistle-
toe figured in among the ancient
Druids always accorded te place
of honor. The myths that chung
around 1t in their wondering, puz-
zling minds were many more than
the few that have come to us IN
these later years But, old as they
are, those hoary, heather myths
lack the true flavor Of antiquity
when 1t comes to measuring tradi-
lions by the centuries.
Oh, we do not by any means owe
our mistletoe to the Drufds. We
can 60 back so much further for the
first adventures of the mistletoe
that the Druids become merely
modern innovators. 1t was one or
the noblest Of the trees in Paradise,
the lordly tree of good and evil;
and on its twig hung the apple
which Mother Eve plucked with
such disastrous consequences. Alas
for Mother Eve and Father Adam!
~
heirs-at-law divine! But alas, too,
for the wicked, handsome, tempting
tree of knowledge which put human
ity in such graceless plight! Upon
its lofty crown, it's massive trunk,
it's delicious fruit, descended the
universal curse. It shriveled away
from the Mortified earth; it dwin-
died to the meanest smallness; 1t
was cast out into the bitter cold;
it became a parasite and beggar,
existing by the bounty Of vulgar
neighbors. Only in the pearly
translucence Of it's shrunken fruit,
the most trivial Of berries, did 1t
preserve some semblance of its
once radiant splendor.
And it has preserved some of It's
pristine virtues, too, in traditional
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Statistics prove that bachelors &C
insane oftener than married men, but
any married man knows that bachel-
ors have more time for such activ-
tiles.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

In a New York speed contest typists
were writing from H. to lit words
minute. Since we have observed that
people who wrote as fast as that don't
say much, the news excites no envy.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

10 invented the
Christmas tree?
Whence does 1t
come? 1t is a
C u r / o u 8 fact
that most of the
old chroniclers
have thrown a
veil Of mystery
a r o u n d t b Q
Christmas tree
and make no at
tempt to ex-
plain its origin.
1t has been
stated that the
tree came to US
o.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Dynamiters bought alarm clocks by
the dozen for their Internal machines.
but you cannot make commuter be-
lieve that dynamiting was a bit too
good for an alarm clock.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

A Pittsburg woman wants a divorce
because her husband was sober twice
in twelve years. We take II that they
were not successive occasions.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

The candy trust has been attacked
in the courts. Gladstone tidings for
the young man who starts his court.
ship this winter.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Pierre Lott announces that he ad.
mires the freshness of the American
girl. He is reticent, however, concern.
ing the freshness of the American
boy.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Not only do transatlantic wireless
messages promise to be much cheap
er, but they may relieve us of the
hybrid word "cablegram."
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

'Ths Blind Banker Of Paris" who
was able to set away with s2,oo0,0O0
belonging to his clients seems to have
had an eye for the main chance.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

A st. Louis woman threw clocks at
her husband. probably with the inten-
ton Of lmpressing upon him the fact
that time flies.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

The Illinois supreme court wants to
know whether poker Is work. Too deep
for US, but it's evident that the play.
ers aren't union men.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Keeping "a headless cat alive II
hours" may be triumph of medical or
surgical science, but 1t is awfully
hard on the cat.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Tortoises are cultivated in the Sey-
chelles island for their shell. And lob
sters are cultivated on Broadway for
their money.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Now the young man who took his
girl out in a canoe during the sum-
mer, Is taking her out on a motor
cycle.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

The corset is of some real use to
mankind after ALL A female imper-
senator has died because Of tight lac.
ing.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Statistics show that more bachelors
than married men become insane.
Why say more?
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Our only fear of a woman in the
presidents cabinet is that she would
put scalloped paper on it's shelves.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Money that Europe does not spend
on a general war it can invest nice
1y in buying shoes for the baby.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

That town which seeks to bear the
name 1912" can never hope to be up
to date next January.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Skirts slashed at the knee are the
latest fashion. Handy to get at the
money
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Army aviators have invented a
noiseless aeroplane. The harmless
one. however, is still uninvented.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Jamaica's torrential rains ought to
mo]lify the ginger.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Cuba certainly is learning the game.
1t is now crying fraud over the cleo
ton and demanding a recount.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Youth has been defined as just one
darned blunder after another.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

without servants. Also without
guests.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

A New York paper advises its read
ers to start a pearl farm. Still seed
pearls are expensive.
Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-12-20

Prophets are bum leaders. II you
don't believe it, look at Turkey