davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23
At the Gates of Russia

The main body of tine army moved over the wide level fields by the river Pregel. upon which the traveller to St. Petersburg today looks from the car win dow of his Berlin train while he ap- proaches the portals of the strange land of Muscovy. Although it is only an im- aginary line, other frontier in the world round stirs the imaginings. One looks in vain for visible signs of it. No great military Notifications are to be seen drowning across the chalk line that demarks the empire of the Ksisers from the empire of the Czars. Only little equad of German cavalry is disclosed to view as it gallops along like a frleze on the horizon.
 The Occident does visibly thin out and taper off through the closing hour of the trip, but the last town in Germany h as resolutely Gerrranic as any place between the Rhine and the Niemen. Ger man faces and German mustaches. Ger man caps and a German brewery still boldly assert their nationality Bat the German stationmaster ngs the warn- ing bill and inc ,traif has hardly more than pulled out of that German station than little brook is crcTsed-and all things change in a twInI'iirT
 That little brook is the noat between Germany and Russsa between the Teu- ion and the Museositc. tetveen the west and the esstf By its farther bank man. standing to his knees in a pair of big boots, stares vacantly up at the train. His shaggy. tawny hair. scrain- bles out from beneath a high peakel rap and his long, yellow. unkept beard struggles over the collar of robe that e drawn In by cord at the waist. There
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23
"The word impossible is found only in the dictionary of fools."

steep, round hill, and the townspeople still call it the Hill of Napoleon, since from it's crown he looked across the river one morning in the fourth week Of June. He had discarded the too well known three-cornered black hat and great coat and disguised himself in the cap and cloak of a Polish soldier of his guard Standing there at the top with his hundreds of thousands of sol d1ers swarming the forests behind him and Russia lying only over beyond the narrow stream, he hummed his war song while he spied out the best place for throwing his bridges.
 The Russians have saying, 'The gates of Russia are wide to those who enter. but narrow to those who go out That would be a fitting inscrip- tion for the pedestal of monument which stands in the square before the Hotel de Vile at Kovno. Fof the Hill of Napoleon is not the only souvenir of it's immortal but uninvited guest which the town cherishes. On that shaft in the square, which was set up by the Czar Alexander, this grim tale is carved:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23
The Invisible Foe

The Russian commanders, as Napoleon inteded they should had divided their army when they saw his multtudes flow ing upon them from every direction. Thus separated it was impossible for them to make stand. While the two Russian armies, therefore, fell back in. an effort to get together and present solid front. Napoleon moved forward between them in an effort to keep them apart and de- stroy them singly.
 The familiar legend of deep-laid scheme on the part of the Russians to retire before Napoleon for the crafty purpose of turing him on and on to his destruction is only a melodramatic inven- ton. made to fit what happened. The ginning to unite and stop him, while he strove to catch them dntil he sank eY hausted from the chase.
 He was disappointed at the outset of the campaign, when, arter making prep arations to fight for foothold on the banks of the Niemen. he was permitted to cross unmolested and was welcomed to desolate shore.
 Dashing off to yilisa the next day with the guard, he marched for three days through terrible tempest of rain and sleet and wind. unchallenged except by roaring and flashing thunderbolts, the Russian outposts everywhere vanishing like deer into the delths of the forests. Already the climate, with its sudden and fierce variations. was collecting It's toll, and l0oco horses had perished frozen to death in June.
 As Napoleon neared Wilma he advanced cautiously over the plan lying before cautiously over the plain lying before make a stand to hold the capital city of Lithuania.} But not a oavonet remained to defend 1t. Surprise and anger c',,ided the Fmnerors brow as he entered the gate of vilRa Weary. baffled, disguised, he went tol the palace from which the Czar had soAlately flea and threw him. self upon a bed.
 He con'p'ained of the Russian military commanders, They arc afraid of Alex
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23
A Bluff That Was Called

Not from idle vanity did Napoleon stage at Dresden that last spectacle of pomp and splendor in the drama of his reign. As he had gathered the Czar and his other al- lies at Erfurt in 1908 to overawe Austria. he assembled the Emperor of Austria and to let the Czar see that the monarchs of to let the Czar SC that the monarchs of Europe were enlisted for the war as well as their contingents of soldiers in the ;sreat army which was already moving to- war dthe Russian frontier.
 He was leaning strongly on the hope that a demonstration in force would bring Alexander to terms and that the Russian sovereign would not wait for him to in wade the soil of his realm. Alexander ara 7 he said in his review of the cam
 were in the position of two boast
 O. without wishing to fight. were
 ,ring to frighten each other." But
 1e Czar had disappointed him by
 ving any sign of finchng, he dis
 Is satellites and proceeded to Po- st East Prussia to place himself
 ad of his army.
 bottle is open" he said, land the wine must be drunk" How bitter its dregs were to be no foretaste warned him as he left the beautiful city by the Elbe, into which, after seven months, he should silently steal back at night in a sleigh, his army lost and with not even a troop CT for his escort.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23
The 600 900

The bayonets of more than 6000O0 men, drawn from 20 nations ran like a hedge from the feet of the Carpathian noun tains to the shores of the Baltic. Coming from the dunes by that northern sea, from the polders of the Netherlands, from the plains of Lombardy and from the shores of Calabria, they formed the greatest army Europe ever had seen. All the races of the Caucasian world were in it's ranks, and all the tongues of Christendom were heard in its camps Perhaps no more than a third were French. Certainly more than fourth were Germans from the Rhine states. There were 30,O00 Austrians, un- der Prince Schwarzenburg, and the Prus- sians numbered 10000 Prince Eugene, Niceroy of Italy, brought S0000 Italians; Prince Poniatowscki had 60000 Poles, and ahere-.were cohorts of Swiss, Dutch, Cro- tians, Spaniards and Portuguese.
 No ties of blood or language or na- tionality, no sentiment of patriotism united them. No conscious purpose api- mated them. They had not even been told whom they were to hate and why they were to slay; and less than 10 in loo could read a line of print. They only knew they had been called out to fight for Napoleon. His sword had drawn them together mad it alone must hold them together.
 Never had the master mind shown more care and forethought in equipping and provisioning an army. He had seen personally even to the shirts the 6OOO00 wore. These cost only S7 cents. he said of the samples They seem much finer than those of the Dutch, which cost s13o." He bought 2000,00O pairs of boots and, by his orders, the soldiers who had to walk across Europe to join his eagles received four or five pairs each, ''so that they will arrive on the Vistula with two pairs in the knapsack and one pair on tEeir feet"
 Enormous supplies had been collected " him at the headwaters of the rivers flowing into the theatre of the war. His wagon trains numbered thousands of ve- ticles and he had 1So,o0O horses, having ell but emptied the stables of Europe and deprived the farmers blow of its motive power.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23
RUSSIA Surprised in 1912 by an Army of
 100000 Men Only 10000 Repassed Her Frontier"

That monumental stone was yet un- quarred when the Czar was at Wilma, 60 miles away, when at midnight three pontoons being completed, the men of 20 nations began to pour out of the forest and flow in torrents upon the undefended Russian shore. And that bank of the Niemen at Kovno well may be called the highwater mark of the red tide of the French revolution. It was there that the mighty force which took it's rise when the French people burst the old Bourbon dam broke and spent itself on the sandy wastes.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23

The opening scene in the greatest calamity in military history and the greatest tragedy in biography is pre- sented today, with Napoleon and his GOO .000 plunging into Russia and floundering in the barren Russian wastes.
 Mir. Morgan fits the moving tale into it's true background as he saw II in his journey 'In the Path of Napo- leon" to Moscow.
 DATES AND EvENTS-AGE 42-4s May g, 1S12-Napoleon left Paris
 May ee, 1S12-Left Dresden.
 June 21, 1S12-Entered Russia.
 ssune 2S to July l6, 1Sl2--At Nilna'
 Julv 2s to August 19, 1s12-At Vitebsk. August 1e to August 24 1s12-At Smol- ensk. ,, September z. 1s12-Battle at Borodino'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23

opened his disastrous N Russian campaign in 1912 with f--7=s=sa brilliant pageant. With the Elm ffS press seated boaido him and hls fr1mDSIers before him, with his court md his servants following him in long procession of coaches, he left Paris on beautiful May morning as If for fete Crossing France and the Rhine he en- tered Germany, where the princes of his led states humby stood by the road I'd waited to make their ooeisance
 king of the kings of the earth q by.
 ,e King of Saxony came out to greet master from whom he had received h.s lingly title and escort him to Ores den, wte.re the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia, the King of Bavaria and the rest of the satraps of Europe gathered to pay court to the sovereign of them all.
 It was Napoleons first appearance among them since he had married into the family of Kings. and he proudly dis played Marie Louise loaded down with
 nat dazzled and excited the envy
 ueens and princesses of the sub impoverished states. Some, in- It that the young Empress was
 ud and too naughty toward her
 mate rela tions; but with the Elm
 tanners no fault was found When
 er-in-law, the Emperor Francis
 ste to tell him the happy news
 antiquarian had discovered that
 Ipartes of old were a royal fam
 eleon did not laugh in his face.
 re permit the glnt of unconceal-
 ed in the eye of his stepmother-
 e Empress Marie, to discourage
 attention to her, and he inter-
 objections to her stripping Ma
 IS rich wardrobe and jewel case
 ling she coveted.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23
Kept Them Away

From the Boston Evening Transcript.
 s'he--So you attended the outdoor performance last night. Didn't the mos- quitoes bother you frightfully?
 He-Not bit: you zee. the show woe
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23
A Terrible March

Week after week the marshals of France ranged the Lithuanian wilder ness without running down the foe and lost men and horses faster than they ever had seen them fall on the battle field. Torrential downrours washed away the cart tracks which served as roads and the supply trains were stalled. With nothing to eat but green rye and the thatch torn from the roofs of the peoples huts, the horses siclSened and died by the thousands on every march. Already the cavalry was being dis mounted. On the other hand, the Cos sack horse of the Russian cavalry was inured to privation and had the tastes and digestion of the goat.
 The soldiers were on short ratiohs and had passed in a rapid descent from wine and brandy to beer, and then to the stupefying, brutalizng intoxicant, vodka, or to muddy swamp water. For aging in a land grubbeu by the retreat ing Russians, was miseraoly poor. with the houses mile apart and mostly wretched dens more fit for bears than human beings. The invaders could well starve on what sufficed the troops of the Czar, who drew his soldiers from the estates of the uobles, the landlords naturally sending their poorest serfs. The strangers could not swallow the native bread. and some grenadiers happening
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23

ander and me meeting and coming to terms" His sole plan of campaign had been to frighten the Czar, if not by mere show of force then by a sudden Austerlitz or Jena victory, after which he confidently counted upon another se- ductive meeting with him on the banks of the Niemen. But ,he fly declined to walk into his parlor Again, as at Tilsit
 Gone Stale
 The Napoleon of Riyon, of Egypt, of Marengo, of AusterliIz, would have left the abandoned town or Wilma as quickly as he entered it and raced after the re- treating foe. Alas, the Napoleon who sat down in Wilma IF days was no longer the eagle that once sped over mountains and deserts. At Austerlitz he had foretold the change: T shall be good for only six years more of war" Those six years and more had now rofied over his care burdened head, leaving in his face two creases, which extended from the base of the nose to the brow" while soft in dulgences had turned his muscles of steel to fat and inclined him to the couch rather than the saddle.
 The swift Napoleonio fashion of war fare was as athletic as the sports of the ring or the diamond and the Elm peror's 42 years weighed upon him as heavily as upon a pugilst or a ball player. So the warrior, Nmous for fight, tarried at Wilma almost as long as it took him to finish his Marengo Ulm, Auster- ltz or Jena campaigns, busying himself the while with the tasks of chief of staff or cabinet minister or amusing himself with daily reports from Paris of Marie Louise's drives, walks or callers.
 While he lay on the floor with his head close to such maps as he could get-for like Alexander of Macedon and Frederick the Great, he was nearsighted he scolded Prince Eugene, Marshal Da- vout and King Jerome for not rounding up the enemy. That he should be leaning on the poor stick of Jerome was an- other symptom of decadence. He had boasted as he marched to Austerlitz. there are no princes in this great arIhy.' But now as trivial prince as ever there could be was entrusted with the com mand of great division merely by vir- tue of being Bonaparte.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-19
THE ROSE MAIDEN
 AT ENSLEY HIGH SCHOOL

The Lyric club of the Ensley High
 school will present the cantata 'The Rose
 Maiden in their fourth annual concert,
 in the High school auditorium, Tuesday
 evening, May S. at s;16 o'clock.
 This club is composed of loo voices, and
 their annual concerts at the Ensley High
 school ranks foremost among the leading
 musical events of the season. The pro- gramme follows:
 PART I.
 Come Where the Fields Are Beaming' (kinke)--Lyric club. Maiden and Nightingale" Renard)- Girls chorus. Solo (Selected)-Mis Margaret Travers. Sweet Miss Mary (Neidlinger)-Boy chorus.
 Glad Postal Daya (Bizet)-Lyric club. PART IT. Cantata, ''The Rose Maiden F. H. Cowen)--Lyric club. Soloists-" "Rosebioom.' Miss Margaret Travers The Spring. MT. Erin Farley; ''rhe Forester Mir. B. M. Eastburn. Argument-Queen of Flower Fairies, weary of life Of unbroken calm, prays Of the newly returned surfing that he will bestow upon her also the gift of love that he bestows upon man. He warns her of the risk she runs. but finally yields to her entreatIes by changing her while she sleeps, into the form of . beautiful
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-19
MRS. GARRETTS PUPILS IN PIANO RECITAL,

The pupils of Mrs. w. J. Garretts music class were heard Saturday afternoon In, a recital at her home in West End. The programme included the following num-
 bers:
 Idle Moments-Iichner by Hope Kel- lcgg. Cypress Waltz-Streabbag, by Grace Hall. Showers of Roses Streabbag, by Bertha Weaver Little Fairy bbag, by Mary Greene and Mildred Mims.
 Echo Waltz-Streabbag by Nell Town
 send.
 Meadow Pink Clsy--by Thelma Edmund. son.
 Mary's Pet waltz-Mack, by Mildred AIms. Dolls Dream-Desten, by Leurlean oli. yer. On the Meadow--Lichner, by Rosalie Weaver. Vigilance Polka -Bellals py Miriam Thornton and Thelma Edmundson. March from Tannhauser-Lange, by Viola Waddy. Little Wanderer-Lange, by Margaret Greene. l Tulps-Lichner by Miriam Thornton Harriet March-Sorrentino by Mrs. Gar. rett and Viola Waddy. MT. Roy Turtle played two violin solos | which were very much enjoyed.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-19
Acquiring a Vocabulary

T am a high school graduate, having stood al the head of my classes during the four years at school. It Is three years since | have been graduated. During that time l have been hampered and held back oE account of>ny limited vocabulary. I have tried several ways of acquiring a larger vocabulary. but all seem to fail me. I never can express my thoughts nor say what I want to say in just the way I wish. Other girls of my age. with my education can talk volubly while l have to stand by and listen. Sometimes l do not even know the meaning of some of the words they use and try to remember them until 1 can reach dictionary. but usually forget what the words were when go to look them up. English and rheto- rc l rather neglected in school. only studying hard enough to keep even with or ahead of the rest of the class. Now I see my mistake in sighting these studies in my devotion to other branches, which have done me no good whatever. If you could only suggest some plan for me to follow in order that l may learn the Eng fish language better and not be forced
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-19
MRS. R. D. JOHNSTON
 ATTENDS BOARD MEETING

The Washington Post of Sunday states that four new vice regents were elected to office at yesterdays session of the mem bers of the Mount Vernon Ladies Asso- citation of the Union, now holding their annual council at Mount Vernon The new members are Mrs. Fruness of Michigan, Mrs. Walcott of Indiana, Mrs. Hanks of Wisconsin, and Miss Harriet Huntress of New Hampshire. The council, which will be in session for 10 days deliberations, convenes Thursday morning. Those who have already arrived and are in attend ance are Miss Harriet Clayton Comegys of Delaware, regent, and the following vice regents: Mrs. Charles B. Hall, Vir- ginia; Mrs. Eligabeth B. A. Rathbone
 Michigan: Mrs. J. J. Wilder, Georgia
 Mrs. Christine Blair Graham, Missouri Miss Amy Townsend. New York; Mrs
 Charles Custin Harrison, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Thomas S. Maxey. Texas; Mrs. Rob-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-19

to use so much repetition in my speech, Would you advise me to study English by attending some night school?
 ANXIOUS
 Do not think me crank upon the mat ter of learning to express ones thoughts and feeling in correct, nervous English, when l counsel you. SIS l have advised others, to get the best selections of Eng fish prose written in easy. colloduial style and copy pages of them every day. When you have done the day 'sstask read aloud what you have written and study the forms of expression of the author Make practice of this until you find that your vocabulary is improving. All the time seek the society of educated peo- pie who converse easily and agreeably and force yourself to join in the conver- sation. The one and only way to learn to talk well is to do it. It will not be an easy task, but persevere and you will be amply rewardel. Write out conversations from the best stories by fine writers. Studying rhetoric is too often done as the Irishman studied Latin--without knowing the meaning of the words Entirely as dead language. Familiarity with excel lent English is best acquired by such methods as l have here indicated.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-19
Saw q Meteoric Shower

Please tell me through your valuable Corner if there was a meteoric shower in October or November of l9Ol, visible in
 middle Tennessee l happened to be there
 at that time and saw the shower, but as no one else seems to have seen it, l
 should like some one to corroborate my statement. 5. c. II. Referred. If there was such an exhi- bition of meteoric glories somebody who reads the Corner should be able to cor rcborate your evidence. The whole world could not have been asleep when you saw the stars.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-19
THE SERVANT
 QUESTION SOLVED
So Far as This Lady is Con- cerned-She Doesn't Seem
 to Need One

Pollock, La.-Mrs. T. S. Blair of this town, has the following to say, generally: For months, my health was very bad. and the medicines I took did not seem to do me any good.
 vxs very weak and nervous, and some days. could not be up.
 asked my husband to get me a bottle of Cardui. the woman's tonic, to try. and before I had taken one bot tie was up and doing my work Be- fore I commenced taking Cardui, had such spells I was not able to do any. thing. Now. have only taken three bottles of Cardui in all. and I fee fine.
 few months ago I weighed 1si pounds- Now I weigh 1858. and I ds all my own work. cook. wash and milk-and feel like I did when wal sweet sixteen.
 Taking Cardui has cured me-"
 Al relief from the distressing syuptoms of womanly ailments, noth. ine hos been found during the past bt years that would take the place ot c9s1ui.
 Its superiority is still unquestionet aa mild. building tonic for cases oi wenenly weakness where tired nature nesds help. Made from purely vege. teble Ingredients. cardui has no bad after effects and can do you nothing tnt ssoA
 2 Try caraus
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-19
Meaning of Names

'Will you kindly let me know the meaning of the following names: Margue- rite, Marjorie, Lisette, Edward, Edwin, ncunced Adalia. not Adelia. 1 suppose the meaning of the names Marguerite and Marjorie are alike; also Edward and Ed win, and Adelia and Adele. But l want to be sure, so come to you and your su- perior knowledge. LEAH"
 Marguerite, pearl; Marjorie, 1iminu- tive of Margaret and Marguerite, same meaning; I.isette, derived from Louise, a bold warrior; Edward, guardian of prop erty Edwin, gainer of property: Adele. n variation of Adeline, of noble birth, a princess; Adeia, variation of Adela, same meaning; Leah wild COW.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-19

The dearth Of social activity is some what unusual for this season Of the year May is never popular month for we'd dings perhaps because of a superstition but each year when the Dorothy Per kins rose Is in full flower, and the crim- son rambler makes a big splash Of red on many Birmingham lawns, when the nasturtiums and sweet peas are plentltul they create a veritable party gerhl- Lawn parties are arranged, and informal teas. hostesses arising in every quarter where garden dens are prosperins' 10 claim their friends for one afternoon or evening while homes are in their fullest beauty.
 The usual rule, however. has not pre- vailed this season and except for scores of small parties limited to few couples invited for a dance-the small and early sort in vogue everywhere at present-so- cial affairs are more or less at stand still.
 Philanthropic work, however, Is SUI nopular. This afternoon large tea IS to be given by Mrs. Samuel D. weak ley-not tea of the benefit sort-put to interest people in the work at the Irain- ing Schools for girls out at East Lake She is one of the executive officers lh- terested in the institution and has asked a number of people who are assoclateo with philanthropies, to come to her nome and hear Mrs. Amigh of the training eschool deliver an address
 vThen tomorrow afternoon at the South- erh, club Mrs. Beecher will give her reau- ing. sThe Golden Age" to aid Nelsh- borhood House, and judging rom '"e number of tickets sold, and the general interest in the prospective entertainment there will be a splendid audience.
 After that, on the day following the members of the Equal Suffrage assoela- ton will present a double bill at Caoe hall with the view to swelling the cor fers of their organization and also as bit of propaganda work. The same day begins the Birmingham engagement or the Redpath chautauQua, which is to pfins some most excellent attractions 10 the city and will engross polite attention throughout the last of the week.