davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Burning Diamonds.

You often hear Of people with money
to burn, but so far none has ever at.
tempted to burn his diamonds. The
reason why perhaps is because they
will burn beautifully. "a great many
people imagine that diamonds are in
destructible." said jeweler, who was
placing a load Of gems in his safe for
the night. "but as a matter Of fact, a
fire of diamonds would be the briskest,
prettiest thing in the world Diamonds
are nothing but coal carbon. Put a
handful of diamonds on a plate and
set light to them. They will burn
with hard. gemlike fame till nothing
Is left There will be no smoke, no
SCOT, and at the end the plate will be
as clear as though just washed. Not
the slightest particle, even of ash. will
remain. Press:
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
The MISSING Chapter.

The new pastor of a certain country
parish is likely to lose the confidence
of his flock unless he changes his ways
During his sermon one Sunday morn
ing not long back he stopped abruptly
and asked:
"How many Of those here are dill
gent students of their BibleT'
Fifty hands went up.
"Goodw said the pastor. Now, how
many of you have read the second
chapter of JudeT'
twenty-five hands went up.
A wan smile overspread the divine's
face.
THAT'S also good. but when you go
home read that chapter again, and you
will doubtless learn something to your
interest"
Reader. the. point Of this story Hes
In the fact that the book Of Jude con-
sists of one chapter only.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Soma Exercise

Walking is the best exercise Do
some of IL every day Next to walk.
ing comes bowling You can't throw
a bowling ball without STOPPING clear
to the floor. and every stoOp stimulates
the liver and exercises the intestines
Fifty per cent of the sickness In the
world would be eliminated If eyery.
body bowled Walk or bowl eyery
day. And at night lie fiat on your
back and raise your legs above your
head slowly AZ many times as you can
without fatigue Then. anchoring your
toes under a weight Of some sort, raise
and lower the body These two exer.
cises repeated fifteen or twenty times
night and morning will do a lot for
you. And you'll be surprised to find
how quickly You develop endurance.
Start with fire times and increase
each day or two until you reach TWEEN.
y.-Woman's Home Companion.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
a sh.bbx. Royal PaIaee.

The Persian royal palace Is a most
unattractiye place. The courts are ILL
cd with painted figures of cast iron In
kind of operate Romeos costume. and
with boys of gilt iron offering vermilion
cups to gilt eagles. The tanks are stag
nant and shabby, the gardens neglect
ed. The rooms are horrible even for
one of those monuments Of bad taste
called royal palaces; the walls are COW
cred with mirrors. and decoration
made of small pieces Of mirror set IN
elaborate patterns, the effect remind
ing one of a wedding cake. The FUR
niture is without exception European.
of poor quality and worse taste; there
Is not a single one of those exquisite
works of Persian art which In the col
lections of Europe arouse enthusiasm
mot so much as fine carpet Neither
the famous peacock throne-so long er'
roneously thought to be the one built
for the great moghal and looted by
Nadir Shah-nor any Of the jewels are
now exhibited. Local gossip believes
them to have been broken up and sold
in Europe by the present government
From Moscow to the Persian Gulf.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Construction of Bio Guns.

The making of big gun involves as
much intricate work as the putting to
gether of q locomotive or a giant crane
A twelve inch gun on board a battle
ship is fifty feet in length and has an
extreme range of twenty-five miles and
an effective range of twelve miles.
There is a vast amount of intricate
and delicate. trained workmanship
wanted I'm the finish Of giant cannon
For example. says a writer in the Mill
gate Monthly. the breech block has to
undergo eighteen or twenty machin-
ings. And all the medley Of mechan-
ism necessary to enable the ponderous
mass Of ordnance to move to the right
or left or up or down at a touch from
the naval gunners is being built up to
gether at the same time as the work
proceeds on the gun itself. For some
Of the smaller guns no fewer than $50
machinings on go parts are necessary
before the weapon is ready for use.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
ingersoll's Elouuenca

In his book. Notes Of Busy IY.s
Joseph BENSON Foraker. writins 80
Republican national convention or ,O-s e
says: The intellectual feature e
the famous speech Of Robert O. ~
soil nominating Mr.. Blaine hs
many times seen popular orot."
arouse great enthusiasm, bur -"
never seen before or since anv.Sa'
equal to the effect of his eloouent a-s
telling sentences. Some one precod,-1
him had said to make sure Of the al
tion we must nominate a man AGO..
able to Massachusetts. This nott,e,
Ingersoll. He rebuked it in his Ar.
sentences, saying If any man who boS
been mentioned at that convention :.
a possible candidate should be noni
mated and could not carry that state \,
$4,000 majority, Massachusetts sbonlS
tear down Bunker Hill monument onS
sell Faneuil Hall for Democratic hood
quarters. His speech throughout foi,
ly bristled with sharp. jagged noin+,
and smashing. bludgeon-like blows tba,
thrilled his audience. aroused their on
thusiasm and brought forth round afr.
er round of applause. and the china,
was reached when he likened Rlsino
to a plumed knight with shining lance
shifting traitors in congress full in tbo
face"
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Washington at Night.

Night life comes on swiftly when Ii
gets really started. Night In Washing
ton is a beautiful girl drawing a black
velvet, jewel bespangled cloak over
white shoulders. The streets are light
ed with dull bronze, rather low lamps;
artistically perfect lamps that hold dull
white, glowing globes. The lamps are
very close together. They are the
pearls that the girl winds about her
throat and in her dusky hair.
The White House stands out, glim-
mering boldly against the black Of the
foliage, its lighted windows dimmed
with tightly drawn curtains. What of
national portent may not have hap
pened behind those same curtained
windows! Perhaps fear has grappled
with bravery behind the shelter Of the
friendly walls; perhaps hatred and love
have clashed. Perhaps towards have
become strong, and surely strong men
have wept Characters and homes and
nations have been nodded behind those
friendly blinds.-Margaret q. Sang.
ster, Jr., in Christian Herald.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
r.nny,on,s Birds.

OF all the poets Tennyson was the
most exact In his rendering of the
songs or calls Of birds. A young lady
was present when he was reading
Maud" When he came to the pas
sage which says, Birds In the high
hall garden cry, Maud, Maud, Maud! 4"
he suddenly ceased reading and asked
her abruptly what the birds were.
She blushed and hesitated and then
said:
"Nightingales, suppose"
The poet turned away with the one
word "RooksP
He always made the sound right
What could be better than ''the moan
of doves" and "'Whit, whit, whitP
chirruped the nightingale
Then, linnets, robins and thrushes
pipe" in his pages, the woodpecker
laughs" and "mocks," the lark and
the plover whistle" the Jay "scritch-
es," the parrot screams" the peacock
squalls" the blackbird MARBLES" the
ocean fowl Shrek" and the eagle
"yelps." He may well ask In one of
the daintiest of his lullabies, what
does little birdie sayT He knows, and
he lets his readers know too.-London
Answers
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
DANGEROUS Learning.

A little learning is dangerous thing,
but a little too much learning Is still
more dangerous. To have too much
learning sets you so far above your
fellow mortals and fills you with such
contempt for them that you cannot be
comfortable in their presence nor they
In yours. Beyond a certain point
learning ceases to be Of use and be-
comes a burden, because nobody can
comprehend what you are talking
about Thus it happens that men are
so learned sometimes that the only
way society can live with them is to
shut them away in some asylum.
So, then. follow Pope's advice,
Drink deep or taste not the Pierian
spring." but don't drink too deep.
Which is much the same as saying
that happy medium in the matter OF
learning is just as happy as any other
happy medium.-Efe.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Fish Exhibit Emotions.

We are accustomed to think that
ONLY we humans become palid with
fear or agitated with Joy, but some e1-
periments with perch in the arunclai
pond show that when their repose Is
suddenly disturbed by tapping on the
glass the fish visibly tremble, and the
bars which are characteristic OF this
species actually disappear for the time
being, only to reappear when the dis
turbance is removed and the equanim-
ity of the fish is restored.
Sometimes a pike that Is rapidly ad-
vancing on his prey becomes suspicious
about the latter's character. The pur-
suer will suddenly stop in an attitude
of doubt, his back will arch, and ne
will remain suspended as though
studying the cause Of his suspicious.
Only when he is thoroughly treasured
does he become rigid, to advance to the
final attack; if his suspicion is not al
layed he drops to the bottom OF the
pond or swims of In disappointment
Popular Science Monthly.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
The Jumpinu FROG Story.

It was in the Angel Camp bar that
Mark Twain heard from an exploit
called Ben Coon the jumping frog
story. Clemens related it to Artemus
Ward, who urged him to write 1t, to be
included in book that Ward was pub.
fishing. Clemens dallied and sent II
TO the publishers too late, but they
handed it over to dying paper called
the Saturday Press, which gladly gave
It pride of place In its columns on
Nov. IS, 1866. Professor Sidgwick
synopsized it In Greek form for his
book "Greek Prose Composition" and
thus arose the legend that the Jump
ing frog story originated In ancient
Greece, legend In which Clemens him.
self believed till Professor Sidgwick
undeceived him in 1899 by telling him
that the Greek version was merely q
translation of Clemens own work.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
49,, ;, sn,k.sp.ars,s Time.

shaLosnaore's time was an age OF
mnsic Catches were sung BY gen.
lies as well as by weavers and unkers'
Lute, cithern or virginals were In ev.
ery BARRIERS shop for the diversion u
c,,stomers 49, Thomas Morley may
be using the blessed argument OF q
music teacher when he tells US tnat .
gentleman was counted but a ooor II
he could not play the lutte or sing q
mart in a madrigal, but there Is no get
ting over the craggy fact that over
eighty collections of madrigals, ayres
and songs were printed and puolisneo
between 1887 and 1880, In addition 60
which vast collections Of early music
still remain in manuscript. With an
aristocracy fond Of music and accus.
toned to play and listen to music anu
song. music in the theater was almost
as inevitable in England as In ltaly,
saws the London Musical Record II
was considered a manly accomplish
ment to play the hunting horn every
gentleman who kept hounds could WIND
It. A punctinous etiquette fixed the
correct set of notes for each operation
of the chase. Usually q play nao al
least one song.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Something to Step On.

We don't get very high in this world
unless we have something to step on
That Is why we put risers In stairs
and rounds In ladders.
. When we were boys if we could
stick our toenails into a creyice In the
bark CT a tree. be it ever so shallow
we could shin up to the top all right
When we got to the lowest branch we
were all right After that we could
pull ourselves up easier. But It did
seem a long ways to the lower limbs
sometimes.
That is the story Of all life-getting
the feet on something and then spring
ing up
Life is fine. or it Is a tragedy, just
according to whether we see the mean
ing of the experiences which come to
us and use them to climb up by
Farm Life.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Pure Drinking wstsr.

The geologic resource OF greatest
value to the health of communities IL Q
supply Of pure drinking water. 1t is
generally recognized that number Of
diseases, prominent among which are
typhoid fever and amoebic dysentery-
a disease more common In tropical eli
mates, but found also In the United
States-are contracted through contain
mated water or contaminated food
Therefore a supply Of pure water viii
eliminate one Of the sources Of such
Infection.
It is highly desirable to obtain sup
plies of domestic water from sources
other than the shallow wells, some OF
them open, that are found near many
houses. The water obtained from deep
wells has percolated through sands and
other material for SO great a distance
that its impurities have been removed
by filtration, and it possesses a sani-
tary value that cannot well be overes-
timated, for such water is free from
the bacteria causing typhoid fever and
the protocol causing amoebic dysen-
terry, and its use obviates the necessity
for shallow wells that may serve as a
breeding place for Anopheles, the mos
quito to which malarial infections Is
archaeological Survey Bulletin.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
= ;. = - > =.
Crafty Red SQUIRRELS,

The red squirrel is as crafty as ne
b quick. He'll select three or four
places to store nuts, so If one is dis
covered he has reserve supplies. And
he never makes a mistake and put
away worm eaten nuts. The red
squirrel knows a wormy nut as soon
as he picks it up and revolves it in his
paws.
Ever see him eat a hickory nut?
He sits up on his hind legs with his
tail curved over his back. holding the
nut in his forepaws. First he drills a
little hole in the shell with his sharp
teeth, breaking away the shell little
at time until he can get at the ker-
mel.
If the red squirrel limited his diet
to nuts he would have more friends.
But sometimes he adds store Of the
farmers corn to his underground nest.
He's a robber Of birds nests, too, and
you'll see him perched on limb eating
an egg as innocently as though he
were cracking a walnut-Philadelphia
North American.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
How jefferson Dressed.

In dress President Jefferson was gov.
erned by comfort rather than by ele-
gance. pride costs more than hun
ger, thirst and cold" he used to say,
and as he lived in an epoch that wit.
messed a mighty revolution In mems
clothing as well as In mems govern
ment. monarchy's queues and velvets
giving way to short hair and the useful
ungainly pantaloon, only the watchful-
ness of his body servant saved him
from unbelievable anachronisms Of cos
tune. Indeed. in later life at Month
cello. where this democrat ruled abso-
lutte king, he often wore the garments
Of several different periods together,
like superimposed geological strata or
the historic remains in the Roman
forum.-Century.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Success.

zone night at Lady Jeune's house
Joseph Chamberlain said to me that
he believed any man Of even moderate
endowment could attain any given aim
which he set before him with unre-
uniting effort and enduring to the
end To my question. why, then, do
so many men fall short Of their ambi-
tionsY he answered: They come to the
place where they turn back. They
may have killed the dragon at the first
bridge and at the second, perhaps even
at the third. But the dragons are al
ways more formidable the farther we
go. Many turn back disheartened, and
very few will meet the monsters to
the end. Almost none Is willing to
have a try with the demon at the last
bridge, but if he does he has won for
ever "-Princess Lazaroyich In Cen
fury.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
A Lost Book.

Among the Somalis of Africa there
is legend that when God first made
them, a man and a woman, he wrote
down in a book the law they were to
follow. They were promised that as
long as they carefully preserved this
book they should continue great and
powerful. but If they lost It their
greatness would depart from them.
One day the book was carelessly left
lying outside a tent, where bullock
found and devoured it From that ia
tai day their decadence set in. and to
the present time whenever an OK dies
Of disease or is killed his entrails are
religiously examined to see If any
trace of the book can be found If
found they believe they should recover
their lost power.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Thackeray and Dickens.

Thackeray was much taller than
Dickens. His form, indeed, approach
ed the gigantic in its proportions. He
looked far older. although the two men
were much about the same age. His
immense head, his broad forehead and
his prematurely white hair gave him
an appearance Of authority and even
Of severity, which one might have
thought would prove intimidating to a
stranger. Yet | at least never felt it
so. He seemed to me to be less self
assertive. less conscious Of his superb
ority, than Dickens appeared to be-
Justin McCarthy's "reminiscences.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Our Debt to the Pioneers.

/ love to. think of the bold, adven-
turous men who blazed the pathway
Of civilization across the continent to
the shores of the peaceful ocean. They,
and not the politicians Of this era,
made this a world power. We owe
them a debt of gratitude which we can
never repay except by being model cit
liens. They had none Of the ordinary
incentives to high endeavor. They act
ed their parts in a rude age, upon an
obscure stage, far from the teeming
centers Of population and publicity.
with no Boswell to follow at their
heels to record their words, with no
newspaper correspondents to blazon
their deeds. No trumpet Of fame
sounded In their ears, cheering them
on in their onerous, hazardous, self ap-
pointed task, but they wrought nobly
for their country and their kind
Champ Clark.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
The Finest Street In the World.

Truly. New York is the unbelieva-
BILE city, as | have called it." said JOS
eph Pencil. the famous etcher. Down
Broadway there are endless new sub
Jects. Stand, for instance. at the up
per side Of City Hall square on Broad
way and look south Now, I know all
Of old Europe. the parts that are left
and the parts that are gone, and there
is nothing. there was nothing, to com
pare in grandeur and majesty with
this vista down Broadway. Were it
somewhere in Europe every one would
be staring at it. ogling it, patronizing
it, saying the correct things In the
guidebook about it. Here the guide
book says nothing. Broadway. to those
who can see. is the finest street in the
world" York World
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
81 ove Houb

Very interesting are the phrases used
by the various people Of the world to
express 81 love you" Wherever there
are human beings declarations Of love
are made. and there are a thousand
languages in which the tender passion
may be expressed. The Chinese say
"Uo ugai nj" the Armenian expresses
his love with ''Se siren as hez," the
Arab is content with the short me
habbek," while the Turk murmurs
"Sidi seveiorum." In India "Main
syne ka pisar KARIN" is the declara-
ton. But the Greenlander holds the
palm for the word love. When he does
not stammer 1t has fifteen syllables and
has been recorded Theoretically thus:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
uiakp
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
A Case of Identification.

sTs that the officer who arrested
your his honor inquired Of Nose Han
libel, an old negro whitewash artist. ar
rested for assault
81 can't rekerlect." answered the pris-
oner.
"Sure. | arrested him, judge" put In
the policeman. with Indignation HE
knows 1t too"
Take a good look at him, Moses,
insisted the judge. isn't that face ia
miliarT
The darky squinted long and scowl-
ingly at his accuser.
Now dat | uses mo- keer, jedge," be
said, "'peers like dey is somethin' ia
milyus erbout dat face. but dis yere
worP is so full OBJ nacherally ugly
folks jes' an ordinary man KANT al
ways tell de diffunce betwix EN- OATS
him, ledge. OATS him. But be
ez easy ez yo' kin on him, kaze he got
a wife and TO- chillun. Case and
Comment.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Her Lost Chance.

Mrs. B.-I wonder why Miss Single
ton refused the curate when he pro
posed to her? Mrs Dali a mistake.
my dear. a sad mistake. You know,
she has grown a little deaf. and she did
not suspect he was at all gone" on
her. She actually thought he was
asking her to subscribe to the new or
gan fund. so she told him she was sor.
~, but she had promised all her money
In another direction Mrs. B.-Then
what happened? Mrs. D.-The curats
felt himself insuIted and departed in
dudgeon, and she's lost the only chance
she ever had.-LOndOn Telegraph.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
An Ancient Guild.

The Cutters company had probably
existed long before the grant Of the
first charter by Henry V. Early In the
previous century a fierce quarrel is re-
corded between the Cutters and the
Sheathers. who were accused Of hav
ing discredited the Cutters by supply
ing them with unworkmanlike sheaths
for knives. daggers and swords, to
which the Sheathers cruelty retorted
that the Cutters disgraced the sheaths
by selling inferior foreign blades for
English.-London Spectator.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Alone In a Great City.

"Alone-alone in great cityT
The words burst like heart tearing
sobs from the lips Of the wretched
looking man at the street corner, and
passersby eyed him in silent sympathy.
"Alone in a great cityT' he sobbed
again. Then over his careworn face
flashed a sudden look of hope as he
added, "Ah, that gives me an idea"
Taking from the pocket Of his shah
by waistcoat his real silver watch, he
turned quickly into a side alley over
which hung the sign Of the three gold
en- balls. A few minutes later he re-
turned, pushing a little ticket into his
now empty pocket and jingling some
coins gayly.
"a loan" he muttered in happy, care
free tones-"a loan in a great city,
London Mail
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Bazaars In Asia.

Streets in the bazaar districts Of
Asiatic cities are only eight to ten feet
wide. The larger shops are eight by
ten and the smaller ones five by six
feet. with one side giving directly on
the street In each bazaar is a khan
for every ten or twelve shops. These
khans are two stories high, with an
open court in the center and rooms on
the four sides. all opening into the
court. A door leads from the open
court into the street. Rooms are let to
different storekeepers for storage pur
poses
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
The Two Nersions.

The editor was trying to placate an
indignant statesman.
Gall we said about you In the paper,
Mr.. Krakajack," he assured him, was
that you seemed to have an inadequate
sense of proportion"
mot by blamed sightT roared the
caller. What you said about me was
that | seemed to have an inadequate
proportion Of senser'-Chicago Trib-
une.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Sandy Was Willing.

An old farmer and his wife were
paying a visit to an exhibition in Glas-
gov and were deeply interested in the
wonders which they saw. Overcome
at the sights. the old woman dropped
into a chair and exclaimed:
"Oh. Sandy. this is just splendid /
could sit here a me days"
"Aweel." said the farmer, list sit
still. Jeanne. wumman III no grudge
the shilling"
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
A Country of Earthquakes.

japan is peculiarly the victim of ele-
mental forces. The only satisfaction
its people can derive from living in a
country which contains fifty-one active
volcanoes and has an average of about
500 earthquake shocks yearly is that
in all probability Japan would never
have existed but for the seismic and
volcanic agency which has elevated
whole districts above the ocean by
means of repeated eruptions.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Ceres.

In the classic mythology Ceres is
the goddess Of the harvest, or, to be
more specific, of the cereals. Accord
ing to Ovid, Meta, book 8, Ceres first
taught men to pillow the fields and also
to have fixed laws, the meaning Of
which Is that laws originated with the
settled state known as agriculture.
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Cyprus,

Cyprus was an extremely popular re-
sort for Britishers for a year or so aft
ter the announcement, in 1878, that It
had become British protectorate. but
as the coast could not provide harbors
to compete with those Of Malta the
vogue Of the island receded as quick
" as 1t had sprung up.-London Globe
The broad ax., 1916-03-18
Encouraa ement.

Collector (warmly)-Pve been here a
dozen times. sir. and positively won't
call again.
Mr.. Poorpay (cheerfully)-Oh, come
now, my man. Don't be so superst-
tious about making the thirteenth call.
Nothing will happen, I assure you.