davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

was abandoned by Napoleon. and fell victim to Mexican bullets hy public ex- ecution. The grief of Francis Joseph over the untimely loss of his favorite brother was deepened by the piercing cries of the crazed Corlotta, the wife Of Maxi milan. This was followed by the assassi- nation of the Empress of Francis Joseph. the beautiful Elizabeth, on the shore of Lake Geneva. Then came the discovery of tire dead body Of his son the crown prince. most absolute youth, in a hunt ing lodge. under conditions the most shameful and shocking. Now comes the murder of his nephew, heir apparent to the throne of the Hapsburgs. Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, in the streets of the Bosnian capital
 The troubles of the monarch of the
 House of Hapsburg have never ceased. but have accumulated with terrible weight as his years have dragged to the period of octogenarianism. Nor are lis troubles yet done In the desperation of his ad-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

kans How he could have counted with out his host in overlooking Russia in the international scuffle 1t is hard to sec.
 His chief reliance is doubtless Germany. whose cratic monarch. long chafine for war. was ready to respond. much to the disaster to both Austria and Germany. Should the present conflict prove disas- trous to Austrian arms which now seenis inevitable. Hungary will doubtless come to her own. the Balkans will become Il more formidable buffer than ever. and new plates for the map of Europe will have 10 be east.
 As to the foolhardness of Emperor Will liam. there is but one general opinion. He has no Bismarck to guide the affairs of state, and no elde~ Non Molke to lead his armies afield. That he will fight with desperation and to exhaustion all be- lieVe. but that he will be soreiy worsted there seems little doubt. Meanwhile the curse of Karolyi Is still suspended over the gray monarch at Vienna.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16
A FIy-Swatting Hornet

In New Mexico is a species of hy-de- stroying hornet. says the Kansas City Star. He looks much like any other hor- net. has slender body and three stripes of brilliant yellow around a black body. His chief pursuit in life is the house fly.
 A Kansas City family, spending their first summer in New Mexico, occupied an open and unscreened camp at an al- titude of 7500 feet The flies were very bad as a consequence of the numerous range cattle that fed nearby. There were literally millions of flies. At dinner time 1t was difficult to avoid them in eating and the family was seriously considering the advisa abilty of running away from their pests before their mission had been completed, when it was noticed that the army of flies was diminishing.
 For several days two or three hornets had been seen snapping the heads off luckless flies, and every day saw access sions to the group of hornets and per ceptible lessening of the number of flies
 For nearly two weeks the destruction went on. At the end of fortnight not a ly remained on the premises. The hor- nets had routed them.
 ne Hesnou or kliliny was not pretty, but 1t was better than swatting Mir fiofnet located his fly, preferably on a light or white background. sHe flew straight at the fly and held him with his legs while he tore off his lead. That was all there was to it, just the killing of the fly. Perhaps the hornet got the fly's lifeblood in that one swift, tearing mite Or it might have bee.i insect war fare that drove the otherwise peaceful hornets to such wholesale destruction. After an hour or two of good fyhunting a half dozen hornets would leave per certible pile of bodies and heads all around the edge of the room or on the table.
 They were watched and timed. with the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

uST at this time special interest at
 taehes to an eventsin the eariy life A> of Francis Joseph, the venerable Emperor of Austria, who is one of the central figures in the present European war He is now s4 years old having be- gun to reign 66 years ago, when he was only stripping of IS. It has fallen to the lot of few men to live lives so sad and tragic as has been that of Francis Jo- seph. Ii is not matter of wonder that the frame of the old monarch shook with emotion when he learned of the murder Of his nephew, and heir to the throne, in the streets of the Bosnian capital. He was seated in his palace when he Earned of the fate of his successor, and under deep emotion he said: Terrible! Terri ble. l am spared nothingl''
 Francis Joseph entered on his mon
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

nate monarch, she could not have more exactly done than she did in the furious curse pronounced. For full es years fol- lowing that horrible malediction. Francis Joseph has been the victim of a sad Nemesis. and has drunk to tho dregs the bitterest sorrow
 Even during the years immediately fol- lowing this event. he was fopced to re- turn to his capital more than once van quished after disastrous wars There has never been day of his eventful career that he has not been harrassed in seeking to hold intact the heterogeneous and conglomerate masses over which he has held sway. Not a day of happiness has been his. Troubles began early in lis career and today he faces the sorest trial of his life His youngest brother, Maximilian, was wheedled into a compact with the weak Napoleon III, and under took to found an empire in Mexico. but
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

corruption are to be found there. as well as in the state capitals.
 But at heart the government, whatever be it's politics, is sound and honest.
 Washington is not the only place in which democracy may be studied. It has It's home in Chicago and New York and Boston and the other big cities and in the small towns and villages and country districts. It peryades the land with it's influence.
 It may be studied. but not in books, since it Is too big and grand thing to be confined in page or a volume.
 Wherever men and women are work ing together for their own advancement and that of their country there are class and school and college and university of democracy. The teaching staff is made
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

NOMETIMES a good instinct of the
 human heart may be so perverted 0 by wrong thinking and applica- tion that it results in evil. In that case the element of intention. so inn course, but the evil is none the less real
 s Among some savage tribes. for in leHance. there is custom of killing rich mans slaves at his grave In order that his spirit may have attendance in the other world The slaves are not consulted in the matter. Since their de- sires do net count
 The intention in such cases is the wish to honor the spirit of the dead and to show the high regard in which he was held when living. It is akin to our custom of holding memorial services for the departed in Congress and elsewhere.
 Sometimes the desire to honor the dead leads to wrong practices.
 For instance-
 There is the case of the young New York man who held up the cashier of a store and took S140O from him. He was traced 10 SOstoH anu then eo Shi-' cago, where he was arrested When brought bcfore a magistrate he said:
 "I used part of the stolen money to buy tombstones for the graves of my father and mother. gave more than i, S10O to my brother and sister and spent the rest on myself. Granting that his story of the use of ,fA money is true 'k> We have here strange, unusual Mixture of motives and perversion of right feelings No one will deny that this young mans holoing the memory of his parents in grateful remembrance is worthy of praise. His desire to help criticism.
 But to gratify these natural and laudable desire he stole money. In other wordr he made others pay for the qualification of his desires. And that z, always wvenE. How muc:. better had .:,is young man decided to live honestly and earn the money wherewith to erect grave stones in memory of his parents and for the assistance of his brother and .tster! The graves would not then Isks beer watered with the tears of fG6Zntance w:,ch he shed when the Efon gfulness of his act was broug ht Home to him.
 It is to be hoped. however. that the judge in passing sentence on him took into account his motives. for there is good in him.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

There l lay, not knowing what to do. l could not move hand or foot" How did they find out you were alive?" he was asked 'I just smiled"
 If he could s'just smile when life was nearly extinct in his fever wasted body
 We can smile In happier circum- stances, can we not? There's st much virtue in an if" said Shakespeare. There's still more virtue in smile--not the silly. vacuous grim ace which twists the face into a per petual grin or the shallow smile of in sincerity, but the helpful, hopeful smile of interest in the worlds doing and the belief that, after all. this world is not so very bad place to live in.
 Physiognomists say that only good person can smile a really truly smile. On the face of another the smile is merely twisting of the mouth. The real smile shows in the eyes as well as in the rest of the face. The mouth smile may be well counterfeited by ex- ceptionally clever persons, but the eye smile never.
 You smile and then someone else smiles, and pretty soon there are miles and miles of smiles" Like many an- other good thing, smiling is contagious and infectious.
 Most anyone is able to sit down so berly with his mind and his conscience and, thinking over his present state, learn that he has more things to smile about than to frown over.
 Why, even in business, in which there seems to be no place for sentiment. the smiles wave of optimism sweeps ever the land and the result is good times.
 Every city and town and village and country district ought to have at feast one official or unofficial smiler to set the thing going.
 The world has not yet come around to the idea that crime is disease and criminals are persons who are i'll. The old notion of natural depravity'' uas had too firm a hold to let go easily even when assailed by the newer ideas of |cr!min olosy.
 Yet many centuries ago Plato said:
 Virtue is a sort of health and beauty and good habit of the soul and vice the disease and deformity of infirmity." When person offends against the lcurrent manners or morals of the age he is adjudged guilty of a crime. To pi otect society from him he is segre- gated, or, if his offense be heinous enough, he is put to death.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16
TO HEART TALKS-By Charles N Lurie

you lose your opportunity of knowing what the others are doing. It may be that they are not fooling you actively. but by their passive observation of what you are doing they are preparing to call the "check," that will stop your operations in time.
 Pooling others is serious business, not to be undertaken in lightness of heart It requires genius, and there are not many geniuses. Even fooling one man is hard job if he has any in- telligence at all. And if he is lacking in brains there is. of course, not much glory to be won in fooling him.
 Why try to fool him at all?
 Why not rest your claims to recogni- tion on solid worth? It Is a much bet ter foundation for the buildin gof your life than the quicksand of ability to fool others.
 An edifice so founded cannot last It's material is too faulty.
 Many a man thinks he is getting away with something when he is ob- taining a living on false pretenses. So he is. but the thing he is getting, the living lie. is not worth the effort he Is making.
 And always, of course. there are the several others who are watching him. They outnumber the few he can fool of course. since it is true that no one can fool all of the people all of the time"
 An honest man can keep his eye on several rogues. all at the same time, if he wishes to. It is not so very difficult since the man who Is trying to get something for nothing or is otherwise engaged in living under false pre- lenses, is generally so much occupied with his own game that he does not see the moves of his neighbors.
 It remains true. of course. that the majority of nen and women are hon lest and do not need watching. Other wise life on any scale now known to civilized man would be impossible.
 
 It was tiile of plagus in Calcutta the capital oi India. Natives and Eu- ropeans were stricken 'with the plague, and they died quickly. Among the sufferers was an E1glishman, an em- ploye of the government, He lay in hospital. so Aear death tsat he was unable to move. and when the at- tendants came around 10 remove the dead from the living they prepared to take him up and cast him out.
 He kneW .heir errand, but could not warn them that he had still chance ,of life He lived. howev CT, for many years afterward. In tel..ng later Cf hts terrible experience he said:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

even the bicycle are all playing an inn portant part in the operations going on They will prove of the greatest service in solving the problems of com Imunication and transportation. The horse is not to be cast aside. how ever. He is part and parcel in the utility as well as the panoply of war. The Missouri mule beat the Dutch for the English in South Africa, and he will have his place now in the plans of every military staff in Europe.
 The aeroplane and the dirigible are being put to the test. It is improbable that in themselves they will prove inn plements of great destruction to life and property. They are, however, of the utmost importance as gatherers of information regarding the movements of hostile troops and numerous heroes of the war will be found in the roster of the airmen.
 Bulgaria took the lead recently in whipping the Turk, and then in turn was whipped by her allies. Now she hates her former allies more than she does the Turk Czar Ferdinand would be glad of a chance to deal Servia a body blow and to accomplish this end might even go to the extent of acting with the Moslem. This feeling Is not unanimous among the Bulgars, how ever. Gen. Radko Dimitrieff, com mander in chief of the Bulgarian army in its war with Turkey. has been serv- ing as ambassador of his country at the court of St. Petersburg. Now he has resigned to serve with the Rus sians as a volunteer. Roumania, the largest of the Balkan states. took no part in the war with Turkey, nor in the strife following the conclusion Of that conflict. She grew stronger in peace while her neighbors grew weak CT in war. She stands ready to hurl her troops across the Bulgarian from tier the moment Czar Ferdinand at tempts the chastisement of Servia.
 An American military attache serv- ing with the French on the frontier has been compelled to doff his uniform in order to maintain his reputation for sobriety. Every French officer he met, so the story goes, wanted to know
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

Now it must be clear to students or the New Testament that no other im- mortality Is there contemplated. Noth- ing can survive but that essential seed Of immortality which is God. And the Book gives us the name of that seed. It is tho Divine Love love interpreted by Jesus.
 But Love Is precisely the link be- tween man and the community. It resolves the discord between the Greek and Hebrew conceptions of immortal- ity. Do we survive only in the surviv- ing nation. as the Hebrew thought? Do we all survive as the Greek ap- parently argued? or do we survive in the measure of our hospitality to that spirit of Love that links us with God on the one hand and with tho sorrow ing. needy world on the other? If so. 1t is still true that we arc saved by grace"--.not of works lest any man should boast: for we are His workman ship"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16
ME SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR-By Harry J.

firmly as he would a runaway lion The Bobby is the chief prop of law and order.
 A new enlistment has been ordered in London. Thirty thousand additional guardians of the peace are needed in the existing stress. These recruits will come from the higher walks of life Lords and knights will be among their number Viscount Goschen engaged to bring a number of his fellow bankers into the force. Cyril Maude, Sir Herbert Beer bohm Tree and Sir George Alexander or ganized the actors. These new police men volunteer to serve four hours a day, and will be used for the guarding of wa ter supplies, patrolling the Thames. watching tunnels and railways, and do- ing all they can to relieve the terri torials for other work that must be per formed in times of war. The English nation has not gone into battle in a frenzy of excitement. There have been no wildly cheering mobs, no ''Mafekins. a The spirit is one of sober seriousness. but below-surface indications all go to show that the nation will present united front
 
 Never before was such war The powers engaged have colonies in every cline. These are showing a disposition to do all they can to help their home governments. Battles may be going on at the same time all over the world It is good time to learn the art of map making. The demand for experts in this line should soon be enormous. For many years the nations of Europe have been seeking footholds in other lands where they might plant their surplus populations and sell to the natives their excess products Asia, Africa and the isles of the sea have been invaded. Many million of benighted savages may suddenly change masters and never know it.
 Rome hears that cholera has broken out in the armies of both Servia and Austria. It Is not propable. however, that men will die by thousands from disease as they did in former wars. The medical department of an army is now one of the most important. Every dis covery of science for the preservation of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

It is not necessary. probably, to tell the majority of readers that Joan of Arc, the famous Maid of Orleans, who delivered her country, France from the hands of the English invaders-for a time at least-was captured and burned at the stake as a witch.
 For centuries the memory of Joan of Are remained dim in the minds of the people of France. although the educated knew of her and extolled her Her name is now often on the tongues of men and women in France and abroad and the French delight in paying shon- ors to their national heroine. The Ro- man Catholic church. has asserted her right to a place among the holy wom- en of the Christian. era.
 Throughout France there are now many monuments to the memory of the Maid"
 But most interesting of all-
 In recent celebration of her fame Englishmen united with Frenchmen to pay due honors to her memory. "The descendants of those who betrayed the warrior maid Into the hands of her murdefers aiid the descendants of those "ho tortured her and were responsible TOT her death are now competitors in the devotion which they pay to her memory" says one account.
 In her lifetime they burned to death the poor young girl tshe was only 19 when she suffered martryrdom) on faise' atrocious charges Now the mon- uments rise in her own flair land of France, and her name is revered in the households of her enemies descend : ants.
 So rings the value of true work. even after many years.
 If but the work be worthy 1t will be crowned in time.
 The judgment of contemporaries is often false, as in the cases of Joan of Are and of many others who, con- temned in their own ages, live to win the bright light of historical fame. They died, in many instances, knowing in their own souls that they were right lut feeling the anguish of misunder standing and neglect
 To those who are living and know tha the work of their hands and brains is good
 Keep on working. The fire was never kindled that could burn up truth.
 "In fooling one man you are usually unconscious of several others who al e watching you says Ed Howe, the fs.- nous Kansas editor. in his Travel Notes
 By concentrating your attention on tne }QolinE of the one man. of course.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

many have seen fit to denounce 1t.
 even to the extent of braving charges
 of unpatriotism as a consequence. NJ.
 Juares, socialist leader of France, was
 assassnated because he believed that
 peace should be maintained at any cost.
 The socialists miss the counsel Of Herr
 Bebe the famous leader of the party in Germany, in this emergency. 1t is estimated that 2,000,0 ,000 avowed
 socialists are employed in Europe. 1t
 has been suggested that they go on
 strike as a protest against bloodshed. Should such a plan be carried out it would create chaos. It Is probable.
 however. that love of the flag will l outweigh the love of party and that
 the socialists will offer up their lives
 along with the rest of their country
 men.
 f"what Is contraband?" promises to
 be as vexatious a question in this war as it has been in those of the past.
 Many rules have been laid down, but they are subject to constant antend-
 ment. Sifted down, it might be said that contraband is just what each country chooses to declare us such htnN years aRO an fhRllSn WdfSnlp seized Dutch vessel carrying a cargo of tobacco. Claim was made that to- bacco had nothing whatsoever to do with war The English set up the con tention that a besieged garrison, sup- piled with tobacco. could prolong it's. defense because the use of tobacco would enable it to do without food. i,,
 war zone have been compelled to un-
 dergo numerous hardships, but there has been no intentional mistreatment ] on the part of the officials of the vari-
 ous countries. The moment the orders for mobilization were issued in the various countries every effort was put forth to carry those orders out with all possible speed and precision. it was necessary to commandeer every available locomotive, passenger and freight car, and those persons just running around for pleasure had to get off the track. None of the countries involved has a grudge against the Uni--s. ted States and would not gratuitous- ly modest any of its citizens. -
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

health and the curing of the sick has
 been seized upon The sanitary con ditions probably will be far superior to those existing among the poorer classes of the large cities of the world.
 Dispatches a few days ago told of the placing by Austria of an order in New York for an immense amount of serum to prevent the development of tetanus from gunshot wounds. Always quite an important factor in war. the private soldier is receiving more con s1deration than ever before If he is sick or wounded, he cannot fight. Therefore 1t behooves his august master to see that he gets well just as soon as possible and resume his place where the bullets are flying thick.
 Emperor William of Germany and King George of England are first cousins being grandsons of Victoria. This hasn't kept them from fighting however History is filled with the machinations of statesmen to strength en the thrones of their masters by mar ital alliances, but often they have ut terly failed as preventative of war  The people of the old world usually have reverence for their nobility. however, and now the cablegrams say that many Bavarians are deserting be- cause they believe that Germany's war against Belgium is unjust, and because King Alberts Queen is a beloved Ba- varian princess. Bavaria has often fought on the side of France, and in the war of 1S70-71 Louis Napoleon did not believe its troops would march against him. The French Emperor was cruelty undeceived. however, and there is no doubt that Bavaria, as a state, will keep it's engagement with the other portions of the German empire in the present war.
 When hosthities began, France im- seized upon all the automo- piles available. The machines of for eigners then sojourning in the republic were not exempt. Now, however. the war department has gotten hold of more automobiles than 1t can use, and Americans are being allowed to keep their cars.
 The automobile, the motorcycle and