davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27
~ cA Cat Tale

IT T all occurred In the barn, way off
 in the corner where the cats like
 to play. I was peeping through a U hole in the fence, otherwise l should never have known. and that would have been sad, for then, you would never have heard.
 Tabby began 1t. He meowed:
 Let's play school. come on fel- lows"
 "Yes, let's" answered the others. So they made Tabby the Teacher, and the fun began. should have said, Fun for the pupils" for poor Miss Tabby had a busy time of it. The cats sim- ply wouldn't sit still, and then farmer Jones' big, fat, juicy chickens kept running up and down, peeping in at the barn door.
 'rUm-m! How I'd relish Chicken pie right now" whispered Ted to Malty. Shall we bag school, and help ourselves outsider"
 "Yes, after a while we can. We'll watch our chance" replied Malty.
 The lesson on the Blackboard was How to catch mice, and eat them properly All was going well until d IeOpli llCW 4iAtO eiiOf peSA II e~AAN perched itself saucily on rafter.
 "Me-ow!" cried Malty. T want it. !"
 "Me-ow. Meow, I want some too. " sighed Ted. ''I'm hungry"
 Silence" shouted Miss Tabby. Floss leave the room for miscon- duct.'
 In little while, just as Malty and Ted were planning their escape, Floss came carrying a big fat mouse in her mouth.
 Presto, change! The school-room was transformed into g. dining-room. Away went books and slates. and pen- cils! Over went benches and desks! On to the mousie went Tabby, and Ted, and Malty, and Floss, and in less time than 1t takes to say Jack Robinson," poor mousie was a thing of the past.
 Talking about Cats, take 1t for granted that you all know the story of Dick Whittington's Cat, and the for tune 1t brought to its master. It was valuable because cats were not numer- ous in that part of the country where Dick lived. Nowadays in England cats are not so scarce, but that they were not always so numerous in the Brit ish Isles is proved by curious law enacted in Wales in 938 A. D. This law fixed the price of Cats according to age and quality. beginning with the price of blind kitten. It de- creed, moreover, that anyone who should dare steal or slay the cat which guarded the Royal Granary should be punished by the forfeiture of Ia milch eve, its fleece and lamb, or as much wheat as, when poured on the body suspended by its tail, the head touching the floor, would form a heap
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27
e

| high enough to cover the tip of the tail."
 Our domestic cat, of which most children make pets, Is descendant of a very ancient family, which was held sacred in Ancient Egypt, as far back as 1900 B. c. It is even said that our word "Puss" comes from an Egyptian name for the cat. If, there fore, ancient lineage counts for any thing, Pussy is certainly entitled to re- spect. When the Egyptians went to battle in the time of King Cambyses, they placed several cats in the front row of the army, knowing the enemy ! would be afraid to kill the sacred anil mals. Wasn't that an easy way to come off victorious? I wonder how the poor cats felt pushed to the front in that way!
 An amusing anecdote is told of Dante, the Italian poet, who owned a cat of which he was very proud. He once boasted that he had trained his cat so we'll that she would always obey him sooner than follow her natural instincts. He had taught her to hold a candle in her paw for him while he read; but mischievous friend one night turned a mouse out or box onto the table. and in moment down went the candle, off jumped the cat. away scampered mousie and poor Dante found out his mistake much to his friends amusement.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27
An August Birthday Child

wedding day, whenever that would be. and she walked from the palace to the Church under . canopy.
 Three years after she married Duke Hendrix of Mecklenburg- -schwerin. It was on the seventh of February and again Holland was all excitement and rejoicing. They knew that their beloved Queen would be happy with the man of her choice. She rode in her carriage of gold to the Church in The Hague. and the people of Hol- land celebrated in festivities and H. luminations, the two weeks of her honeymoon. The Dutch flag, like ours. is made of three colors: Red, White and Blue.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27
When Johnny Rode On the Train

has remained in that section of the country.
 One day, as they were riding along by the side of these lakes, they came to beautiful park, and the party de- cided to go in. to view the various at- fractions. At one side of the park was something which caused Johnny to give little gasp of astonishment There was railway train, going mer- rily round and round a track which covered about a mile in all. Even as they sat in the machine watching, it popped in and out of sight several times. Tears of disappointment filled Johnny's eyes. There were four cars and an engine. A big boy sat at the back of the engine and pulled little cords to make it start and stop and whistle. It was only partly like the pictures he had seen and it was all so disappointingly small. Why, as the people stood up to get in by the side
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27
And Hold It Out To His Pet Duckling.

And Hold It Out To His Pet Duckling. seen duck swallow? No? We'll, it's just about the funniest thing you ever could see. Straight as ramrod, MT. Duck sticks his head up in the air; and he bends so far. back that you think surely he will overbalance him. self and break his neck.
 And right here is an amusing little story about Neddie. One day at din- ner Neddie moulded a nice little ball of mashed potatoes with his fork; then suddenly he popped it into his mouth, threw back his head and-swallowed. .
 Mercy! Neddie!" cried Mamma.
 "Are you choking!" exclaimed Papa: and he jumped up and began batting his son on the back.
 Hes having fit--he's having a fit" cried Jamie.
 Suddenly Neddie lowered his head and looked at them in surprise. "Quack-quack!" he said solemnly. And, for good measure, "Quack"
 Goodness mel" gasped Mamma. What is it?-he must be ill"
 "Naddie---what is the matter?" ex- claimed Papa.
 Jamie began to laugh-to laugh just
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27
Feeding Frisky 'Quackie ,"

as hard as ever she could. T know!
 know!" she cried. Hes making out
 he's Quackie! Don't you see" l Papa and Mamma looked at their son in amazement.
 1 Neddie nodded his head and then,
 to make 1t seem all the more real,
 added "Quack! -quackr
 | Papa took him by the shoulder.
 ''Oh, so that's it. is it?" he declared.
 Well, son. let me tell you that we
 cant let ducks eat at this table. If you want to eat like a duck, I think that
 hereafter you'd better take your meals along with Quackie--think you'd like dough- balls, eh?"
 And Neddie promised that he would never again try to eat like a duck.
 Now, QuackIe was most interest ing duckling. To begin with he was one egg in setting of nine, placed under old Biddy, the big Rhode Island Red hen, for matching. And from that very moment some kind of bad luck seemed to follow those eggs. | Biddy broke two, quite by accident, when she was climbing back into the nest one day. Three more did not
 hatch out at all--and this left only four eggs. These did hatch out. But, when the little ducks were only three days old, two of them suddenly turned
 up their web-feet and died. for no ap- l parent reason whatever.
 | And three days after that another
 was found by the end of the barn dead-something some kind of an anil
 nal, or perhaps 1t was a rat, had killed him. And so, you see, out of | the large family of nine duck eggs, l Quackie was the ''soie survivor" as
 the grown ups sometimes say Can you wonder then that Neddie
 was so fond of him7 But, more than l that, Quackie was such an interesting | fellow that you simply couldn't help liking him. Even when he was very, very little chap he'd follow Neddie around the yard as fast as his awk- ward legs would carry him. And every morning he'd be waiting on the back
 porch for Neddie to come out and feed l him.
 | More than that, Neddie used often
 to tie thin cord around Quaekie's | neck and, as he phrased 1t, take him 1 for a walk" Quackie would follow along behind him, too, evidently as
 pleased as Punch.
 Well" Papa would say sometimes when he wanted to tease, T guess Quackie will be big enough and fat
 enough to eat long about the end of November, don't you thinkl?" And Mamma would reply, "Yes, per 1 haps he will-and I dare say he will | bo nica and fAnder fna
 Then Neddie would cry. What :?
 Eat his precious Quackie? Why, he'd die If he had to see Quackie roasted
 and brought in on big dish. And
 to think of Papa sharpening his big
 carving knife and cutting Quackie up!
 Of course Papa and Mamma would immediately tell him that they were | only joking--and that they wouldn't 1 eat Quackie--no, not even if they had to starve. Neddie would be delighted,
 and dry his tears. So, as you can see,
 Quackie will most likely live to a ripe
 old age, the pet of the family and
 especially beloved by Neddie.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27

i will give you ten cents to ride on the
 miniature railway"
 Johnny climbed out slowly. for dis
 appointment tugged still at his heart. Once he was on one of the broad seats,
 he almost forgot how big the train really ought to be, for the shrill lit- tie whistle blew. and away they went
 It really was not very different from
 riding in the automobile, but Johnny
 enjoyed 1t, because for the first time
 in his life he caught sight of merry
 go-round and roller coaster and a real air-ship.
 He was quite excited when he got
 out. "I--I thought they were big
 ger," he gasped. but it's almost as nice to ride on a train as in an auto
 mobile!"
 Then for the first time, the people In the car knew that Johnny had
 never seen a really, truly train, and the lady who had given him the dime.
 explained to him very kindly that the word miniature" meant small, and that this was only small railway and
 not big one. built for the real busi-
 ness of carrying passengers from one part of the country to another. The party was soon on it's way again, when the first misfortune of the trip happened The engine began to give little, sputtering .noises, and | then it stopped and refused to work.
 They had to be lowed into garage, and the kind lady reminded the rest of the party that they were only a few miles distant from where Johnny's
 grandmother lived, and that she and he might as we'll take the real train
 and reach there that afternoon. In
 the meantime the car could be mended
 and the rest could me-along and get
 her next day.
 It was so arranged, and very hap
 py little boy accompanied by smil- ing lady with blue eyes and dimples, | mounted real train and rode away | in short time. Johnny was happy
 beyond words to express, because the
 train was much larger and went fast | enough this time to please him.
 Johnny's grandmother was surprised
 to see what a big boy he was and I everybody was happy all around.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27
Johnny thoroughly enjoyed 1t.

side of the barn and marked on the side of it with a lead pencil, the height to which he thought the top of the car would come. He measured this height carefully with his fathers yard stick, making his imaginary cars as high as the newspaper illustra- tions declared them to be.
 Johnny and his mother had planned to so to visit their grandmother all winter long, and eagerly awaited the coming of spring. When spring came, Johnny's little sister Ruth was i'll, and
 Mrs. Brown had to give up her trip. Her greatest disappointment, however.
 was on Johnny's account. He had looked forward to riding on the cars as 6 never to -be-forgotten treat.
 To Mrs. Browns joy party of old
 friends came to visit her in their new automobile. They were about to take a tour through that part of the State where her mother and Johnny's grandmother lived. When they heard of the child's disappointment, they
 kindly offered to take him along with them in their car. and to leave him with his relatives Johnny's delight was unbounded, and he was so ex-
 cited he quite forgot to be sorry to leave his own comfortable home and
 his little, ailing sister, who was now
 beginning to recover.
 It was a wonderful experience. Sometimes they would come to places
 where the driver would stop the car and they could look away over noun tain and valley. woodland and stream.
 It was not unusual to see rabbit or a pheasant dart out of the bushes.
 After . while. they came to 8 won- derful place called "The Windfall." and one of the party told of a tre-
 mendous wind which swept over the country many years before, uprooting giant trees, and laying everything flat in It's path for fifty miles in length and several miles in width.
 At last they left the mountain re- zion behind and passed swiftly through thriving towns and villages. until they came to that part of the State known as the Finger Lake coun- try, 50 called because the lakes spread out like the fingers of the two hands crossed 1t the wrists. It was the In- dians who SO named 1t. and like many other of their picturesque names 1t
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27

and festivities in Holland, for - that day will be the birthday anniversary of their beloved Queen
 Wilhelmina.
 Even when Wilhelmina was a little
 girl she was great favorite with the
 people whom she was to rule at the
 age of eighteen years.s Can you imagine a girl of IS gov-
 erning country like Holland, and doing it so well that the people call her "Blessed"?
 The child Wilhelmina was bright, | beautiful and gracious. She had many
 pets, but she loved her dogs and ! horses best. She spoke four Languages
 fuently-English. French. German
 and Dutch. so you see she was not | free from hard study even though
 she was born to be queen. Many boys and girls envy Rulers because \ they are rich and powerful and i'm. portant; and they imagine the life of king or queen must be one sweet dream.
 But even Wilhelmina, whose life
 has been fairly smooth for . sovereign,
 is kept busy with the affairs of State. oAo "oS AAouS ufdteo 0uocn On ocp- tember 6, 1898, at the Capital City
 on the "Y". Those who saw her say
 she was a vision of loveliness in her
 white dress over which hung from
 her shoulders a four-yard train of
 red velvet. embroidered in gold. She
 had a tiara of diamonds on her head
 and gorgeous jewels at her waist. | To honor their Queen, tho poor
 people of Holland contributed money
 and bought her a coach of gold. beau-
 tifully made. but Wilhelmina said she would save the gold coach until her
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27

"A UACKIE' was a duck--a little M A Indian-R -Runner-and Eeddfe G M had named him. Also, Neddie X loved Quackie, and Quaekie seemed to love Neddie. If you had any doubt of this, all you need do was to watch Quackie and Neddie at feed ing time"-that is. of course, feeding time" for Quackie.
 Goodness me, how that duckling could eat! Jamie, Neddies elder sis ter, would help him mix Quackie's dough balls" as Neddie called them They were made of middlins and corn meal and grass-cuttings and a little bit of sand. These were mixed in a bowl with water until they were firm enough to be rolled into balls. Then, with Jamie carrying the bowl, they would go to the back of the garden wall and
 "Quack-quack q Il a k - @ quackiel" the little boy would call in his high, jolly little voice.
 Presently-perhaps from way off in the far-corner of the barnyard, per haps from near at hand-would come theanswering -"Quack-quack- quack!" and Quackie would come stumbling along on his short legs al- most falling all over himself, as the saying has it, in his eagerness to get there.
 Then Neddie would take one of the dough balls" in his plump hand and hold 1t out to his pet duckling. For second or two Quackie would cock his head on one side and look at it as much as to say, "So! Are you sure it's made right today, Master Neddie? I'm very particular, you know, very particular!''
 After which, he'd bite off piece and, with his bill sticking straight up In air, swallow it. Have you ever
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27
AUGUST 20, 1909.

@ HERE was born at Cambridse, Massachusetts on August 2g, - 1909, Oliver Wendell Holrnes, the great American poet, essayist and novelist.
 Holmes writings are full of sym pathy with his fellows.
 He said of himself: T know that am like so many others of my fel- low creatures, that, when smile, ] feel as if they must when I cry, ] think their eyes fill. and 1t always seems to me that when am mos, truly myself come nearest to them and am surest of being listened tc by the brothers and sisters of tho larger family into which was borr so long ago"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27
. UTTERFLY. Butterfly. aren't

ID UTTERFLY. Butterfly. aren't I you free. ,Atilt on the branch of hazel-nut trees What a wonderful. beautiful creature
 thou bel And to think that you once were s
 fuzzy small worm. With numberless legs that would wrig-
 gle and squirm! A worm! What a very unbeautiful
 term! If you could grow up to have wings
 and to fly Till you look like picture hung up
 in the sky Oh, tell me. you beautiful creature.
 can l Grow up till they call me a noble !. young man I, too, was so small when l really be-
 gan Said the Butterfly. ''Yes Sir. indeedy
 you can!"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27
BIRD SYNONYMS.

BlhD SYNON T MS. No. IA dupe; No 2-To stoop suddenly; No. 3-A color; No. "A gold coin; No. 5-A mouth disease; No. GA tailor's implement; No. 7-- A military officer; No. 8--A simple ton; No. "A cheat; No. 10-To cover.
 CURTAILINGS.
 1. Curtail tired and get to last or endure.
 2. Curtail substance formed by combustion and get tribe of Indians.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27

of the little station. they were almost as tall as the cars themselves!
 Everybody ride" called the boy at the back of the engine. "Only ten cents trip. Ride clear around the island. A beautiful view of the lake, and all for ten cents"
 One of the good ladies in the car said to Johnny, hop out sonny. and I
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27

zion, far away from trains, steamboats and telephones. His Grandmother. who lived in the central part of the Empire State, used to send him little story papers and pictures from magazines and newspapers. Johnny spent many happy day pour ing over the pictures, cutting them out and pasting them in some blank books which his father bought for that pur- pose He had whole grocery store and drug store, arranged as he thought one would be. even to the soda fountain in the corner, but the thing which interested him most of all was the splendid pictures of the railway trains as they rounded the corner, and sent long, floating veils of smoke from their engines.
 Johnny often dreamed of the day when he would really ride in such a vehicle. He even climbed up on the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27

before Tho was"O  of Bunke
 That is know al Virginia. of 
 Is a The the tof n painted 5 call IronC sbursh, Pa. is 6 of Inns? NewH . St Louis Mo
  ton,D
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27

ANSWERS.
 BIRD SYNONYMS--No. 1--GuU: No. 2-Duck; No. 3---Condry; No. A. Eagle; No. 5-Thrnsh; No. 6--Goose; No. 7--Adjutont; No. 8--Booby; No 9--Rook; No. I0-Qnatl CURTAILINGS - Wedry-icedr. 2 Soot-soo. 3. Mete-met. 4. Fury-fur.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27

@OHNNY had lived all his life on
 big farm In the Adirondack re-
 zion, far away from trains, | steamboats and telephones. His
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-27
N OurPuZZle Corner <

8. Curtail to measure and get a verb.
 4. Curtail madness and get the coat of certain animals.
Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-08-23
READFIELD

EAST-Mrs. Edward McMorrow and
two children of East Bridgewater. Mass,
who have been visiting at the homo of.
w. T. Mace, returned to their homo
Monday.
Mr. and Mrs. l.. Barber arc visiting
friends in Massachusetts,.
Mrs. Nancy Hall and grandson Of Mt,
Vernon are guests Of Mr.. and Mrs. W. Al
Bourne.
Mrs. Thaanum and daughter Christine
OF Winthrop were dinner guests Friday
of Mrs. c. c. Morrill,.
The many friends Of Mrs. L. H. Thomas
"a former resident Of this place but now
Of Winthrop. were panied to hear Cd
her accident which occurred last week.
while on a trip up the mountains fori
blueberries. The automobile in which shel
was riding was in some way overturned Il
the rest of the party were fortunate to-
escape with no injuries.
Charles Evans of Somerville was . rel
cent guest OF his daughter. Margaret
who makes her home with her aunt, Miss
Jennie Gum. =
Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-08-23
Funeral of John Frank Arnold

The funeral services of the late John
F. Arnold took place from his late
residence on Grove street, Augusta, on
Tuesday. the 22nd inst, conducted by
Rev. Victor o. Anderson Of ST. Mark S
Episcopal church. The active bearers
were Willis E. Clough, Russell w.
Field and William r. Corbett, and in
terment was made in Forest Grove
cemetery.
The deceased was son of John Ar
mold, one of the best known business
men in the early days of Augusta, and
Almeda Butts. The deceased left a
wife. Julia Richardson Arnold, daugh
ter of Joel Richardson of Augusta, and
two children, John. employed in the
post office, Augusta, and a daughter,
Mary E. Aver, also Of Augusta. John
Frank, the deceased, served three long
years in the war of the Rebellion with
credit to himself and honor to the
State of Maine. He was member of
Captain Clark's company in the 18th
Maine, one Of the 800 fighting regi-
ments Of the Civil War.
Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-08-23
COUNTY CoMM|s-
SIONERS OF MAINE
TO MEET HERE TODAY

The 23rd annual convention Of the
county commissioners of Maine will be
held at the court house in this city on
Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
On Wednesday the address Of welcome
will be given by Hon. Charles w.
Jones. clerk u courts for Kennebec
county and clerk to the board Of
county commissioners Of that county,
while the response will be made by
Hon. Harry E. Atwood of Lisbon Falls,
the secretary Of the Maine Commits
sioners' Association.
At the forenoon session Wednesday
the report Of the secretary will be pre-
scented, the election of officers will take
place, and various topics will be dis
cussed. At noon dinner will be taken
at Hotel North and in the afternoon
the National Soldiers Home at Togus
will be visited, the party remaining un-
til after the band concert.
The convention will meet at 10 O'Clock
at the court house Thursday morning
for the completion of unfinished bust
ness and at II o'clock the State House
will be visited.
Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-08-23

Held. /. The jury found that the
road In question was a public way. and
in so finding erred. The instances OF
use Of the road from all the witnesses
during its history are confined to in
dividuals having private interests IN
adjoining lots, and by sportsmen, and
such use was not made by any OF these
as travellers as Of right. but privately;
and the contrary not appearing, pre-
sumably by permission. There Is no
evidence that ordinary travel ever
passed over the road from one end to
the other, or that it was ever dedicat-
ed to public uses, or that any owner
Of the land ever assented to its use
for public purposes, as public way.
2. Dedication exists only when SO
intended by the party, and permissible
use does not prove it.
8. Where there has been a cessation
for 20 years, unexplained, to use way
originally acquired by use, 1t is regard
ed as a presumption, either that the
former presumptive right has been ex-
tinguished in favor Of some adverse
right, or, when no such adverse right
appears, that the former has been sur
rendered, or that it never existed.
Motion sustained.
New trial granted.
Received Aug. 81, 1916.