smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1859

PENITENT PRIsoNER.-There is a man nam
ed Dougherty, now confined in our county iail
for passing counterfeit money. At one time
in life he was regarded as an upright, moral
citizen, and no one man of his acquaintance had
finer prospects, or better encouragement to live
all honest and useful life Something like
year ago he became associated with gang of
counterfeitcrs, with whom he entered into the
usual disrcputable schemes of the profession
and was finally detected, arrested and commit
ted for trial. He now fully realizes his situa-
ton, and feeling the deepest sorrow when con-
sidering what he is and what he might have
been. He has recently written u warning letter
to friend, from which we are at liberty to make
an extract:


Flee from every appearance of evil, such as
bad company of every kind, no matter of what
description or character especially the evil
of intoXicatiOn, for when liquor is in, wit is
driven out. So you are then fit subject to be
operated upon by all those that partakc of that
abomin1ble stuff, called liquor.


can from my own experience testify to the
above that it has led men into difficulties and
troubles of different kinds and in Il very short
time too, and has been the instiSation Of
my own confinement, and has thrown me
culpable to this commonwealth, for which am
truly sorry, and have repented in tears or rsorrow
to God.


BE admonished by one that feels an interest
in your welfare here and hereafter. Consider
where you are going and what your prospects
are, as it respects your future state. Recollect
the grave is always hnrrying and death is sure
Put not Of that one thing dreadful till dying
hour, for dying work is hard work, and dying
pangS are hard pangs. Have not that to do,
when you should have nothing to do.


A F. DorGIIERTy
Year: 1859

A STRANGE CONcEIT.-The insane often enter.
tain the most ludcrous idea of their own condi.
ton. There is man in asylum in one of
the nrighboring states who became insane in
consequence of failure in business. He ex-
al am here because of mere mistake in busi-
ness. | engaged during the winter in
mosquitoes wings, which expected to sell in
the summer. l had ten thousand of them
hand when the season opened, but unfortunately
had forgotten to make them in pairs. They
we're all left hand wings, and consequently
lost the sale of them and was compelled to sus-
pend payment" Tie relates this story with
earncstness which testlies to the sincerity Of
his own belief in the explanation.-B0 Boston
Journal
Year: 1859

&


THE Book OF LIFE-It is startling idea,
that the history ofour lfe-experience is write,
legibl,t end sinefacedly @upon-oar souls, from
day to day and from year to year; and may be
read by any person whose perceptions are keen
enough TO trace the electric lines, whether such
person is in out of the physical body. These
infailible records constitute that Book of Life -
from which religionisfs expect one day to be
Judged, and this expectation is not altogether
avain one. The error is in supposing it to be
a book kept somewhere outside of themselves,
by recording angel. who notes down every
act, word and thought. The. reality is even
more impressive than this the record is with
in ourselves. it admits of neither mistake nor
evasion; and Its character imparts quality to
the emanations we are constantly giving off to
all who come in contact with us. Thus, when
we arrive at asuficient acuteness of perception
we shall "see a. We are seen, and know as we
are known, es s.4
Year: 1859




s How A SOLDIER FEELS IN BATTLE--A
young French officer thus writes of his first
experience i'm battle


Our officer kept us back. for we were not
numerous enough to charge upon the enemy.
This vas. moreover, most prudent as this muir
derous fre-so fatal TO the white coats-did
us but little harm. Our conical balls penetra-
ted their dense masses, while those of the
A,,strians whistled past our ears and respected
our persons 1t was the first time had faced
fire. nor was the only one. Well | am salts
fed with mys.lf True L lodged the first
balls. hut Henry Nv, they say, did the same at
the beginning of every battle. 1t is in fact a
phys cal effect independent of the will


But this tribute paid, if you could only feel
how each shot electriies you. 1t isf1ke whip
on racers leg. The balls whistle past you.
turn up the earth around you kill one, wound
another, and you hardly notice them. You
grow intoxicated, the smell of gunpowder
mounts to your brain. The eyes become blood
slot. and the look is fixed upon the enemy
There is something of all the passions in that
terrible passion excited in soldier by the sight
of blood ard the tuniult of battle.


Everybody who has triedit testifes to the
peculiar intoxication that is produced by being
in battle. There is an infatuating influence
about the smell of powder, the shrill whistle of
bull, t. and the sightof human blood, that in
stantly transform men from towards to heroes
from women sometimes to monsters. None
can tell of the naturelor mystery of the infu-
ence but those who have been in the fray them
selves"
Year: 1859

+ s6r Multtudes of young men are ruined by
not having courage enough to say No. Il They
know thev ought not to yield. They are aware
that those who ehtice them are as yet below
themselves in moral character, but they have
not firmnessa enough to say no. . When they ale
low themselves to be led away once, they will
again; and then they must return the compli-
.ment. This is the beginning of that course
which leads.to, tayern5suppe drink;ng-
to street smoking-to the theatre-to the
house of her which is the way to hell, and then
to the ruin, the utter ruin Of tho young man
for time and eternity Todd.
Year: 1859

TRIUMPH OVER EvIL.--We are rewarded
for every triumph we make over temptation
I suppose there are many who have struggled
against the vanity of vain pleasures: many
who have put down evil thought with strong
will; many whoi after long, and it may be az
uncertain conflict with the seduction of the
w.rld, at length have. trump ed. will put
it to them, whether they have not felt within
their bosoms seraphic influence They have
so felt; and so it will ever be. No sooner shall
they have driven from them the tempting de-
mon of pride, 5of vanity, of anger-no sooner
shall the evil have left them, than angels will
eorae and nninister unto theea.-S1c-roN 7s
Year: 1859

A California correspondent of the New
York Post has the following: @ = -


The Mammoth Pine Grove is at the
south fork of the Merced We found them
not only up the valley, but up the mountain
knowing what to look for, following our di-
rections and expecting to finding something
at every turn. We saw many trees of teii
and fifteen feet in diameter, and, though at
any other time we should have gazed in
wonder at that, we had got our ideas UP,
and that was not enough. But as we were
thus wandering along, suddenly, right In
the midst of all the other trees, appeared a
most enormous something we did
not think for minute, for though it was
tree, it was so entirely ditIercntf,om all our
notions Of trees that it for q moment wa,
unintelligible. But when we came nearer,
and getting a clearer and fuller view of It's
whole, obtained an idea Of its form, then the
wonder of its size could be seen and felt
My companion walked his mule around II,
and it took him minute, less thirteen sec
onds We soon came upon another
an old dead trunk lying along the ground
and partially burned out. Into it three
could easily ride abreast, two could go near
ly through, and one could pass out at the
farther end. But if tie bark were cleared
off the wood, or if it were more fully burn
ed out. four or five could ride throuyh With
ease. Wesaw others even larger, and stand
ing; one, the largest, was thirty-six feet in
diameter, and one hundred and eight feet in
circumference. These trees are of the ''red-
wood species--a kind of pine which is
common in California, though only three or
four of these mammoth groves have been
discovered as yet. They grow in among
the more ordinary-sized pines, which, being
all fine trees, serve to show the immensity
of the redwoods. Most Of them-are from
two hundred to three hundred feet in height,
and there are some nearly four hundred
In the Calaveras grove there is tree four
hundred and fifty feet high; and one, which
was thirty three feet in diameter, they have
sawed off and planed; over it is built pa
villion, and it is used as a dancing hall, the
floor of which is ninety nine feet in circum-
ference


Though so high, none of these trees taper
toward the top-or but very little; a tree
so feet in diameter five feet above the ground,
will be IS to 20 feet at its top. True, this
is quite difference, but in 800 feet it hard
ly shows. The bark is very thick ard
rough; the limbs. commencing 100 feet from
the ground, grow out nearly straight for
several feet and then turn suddenly up; they
are thick and stubbed; the foliage is very
mcagre, being chiefly clustered around the
ends Of the hooked boughs The lower part
of the trunks and the roots spread out on
every side, and, in consequence of the fires
every summer, there are large cavities in
nearly every tree. There is not much grace
or beauty in any of them, but they are the
"awfulest biggest things" that ever l did
see There has been another grove OF
them discovered lately on the banks Of the
Fresno '. f
Year: 1859

What's . wife3


"a wife," says Hyacinth Self.will Lofty,
"why wife is a woman that belongs to a
man. She is pretty little creature made
to tickle his fancy, his vanity, and his self
love; and to laugh, sing, and dance through
his otherwise dull habitation. But upon
her dance, mind you, she must see that the
house is kept in order that the dinner is
always well cooked; that the buttons and
the hose are all right and that nothing in
fereswith his comfort In short, wife is a
husbands will and pleasure--a most agree
rble provision made by the Creator for mans
good. She is compound Of flowers,
music, and domestic animal, very useful and
very ornamental-all the more desirable
for her Ack Of mental powers, because,
were she not in this respect so much inferi-
or to her decrecd lord and master, she might
become SO presumptuous as to think that a
shoe that fits one foot ought to fit the other;
that good rules work both ways; and that
just as much comfort and delight as she
gives she has a right to demand in return
that so much honor and respect as she pays
she should receive; in short, that she is in
numbers and importance, of rights and pri-
vileges. the peer of her husband"


Thus saith Mr.. Hyacinth Selfwill Lofty.


But james just Common Sense, esq,
answers Nay. but wife is given neither
for toy, nor for a servant, but for a stead
fast friend she is, indeed, fount Of JOY
and pleasures, such as, to a true heart
there is not elsewhere on earth; she is, in
deed, the brightener of his house, and ths
wise and careful guardian Of her family
Of her family-for whatever is his is hers
between welded hearts the words mine and
thine are impudence and absurdity. Blu
she is more than this-she is his conidant
his adviser, his ever sympathising friend
his able and most tender consoler, hi
strength ever when his courage droops; sh
is the voice of Gods love and comfort Il
him as he tolls and struggles through thi
weary world That is what wife is, j
she answers to her Masters ideal; but sh
is seldom found, alas because man is 81
unworthy"
Year: 1859

Illusions Of Life.


Man is never satisfied with his lot The
heart demands something more something
higher, something better, whatever blessings
it may already enjoy. The scriptural
Adam and Eve are typical. The garden of
Eden is ours. We bask in its sunshine, its
tragant flowers are all around us, plentiful
fruits invite us to partake of their riches.
Well were it for this ply steal frame, if we
knew of no fruit forbidden us to taste For
what is beyond our reach tempts us more
than anything else; and in obtaining it We
exile ourselves from Paradise. Remorse for
transgression is the flaming sword that pre-
vents our return.


Realities never content us. The present
is probably as tine a valley as there is in the
whole, region of life. But the woods are
nothing but woods, shady, it is true, and
green, quite ordinary. The streams are
excellent, but we would have beds of pearl.
in place of those deceitful pebbles. Ali
there must be woods and swecter streams
beyond the blue hills yonder. So we travel;
but the soft and !reamy future becomes a
piain hard reality as we proceed Theses
very rocks we now tread once looked lovely
under the warm haze of hope; SO shall the
charm of the heights before rs melt away,
and show us as we climb, Just such lodges,
gnarled oaks, chasms, morasses, wild pines
and barren slopes as we have passed


1t is not a design that nature cheats us
with those illusions. Continually striving
for more exquisite beauty and higher hap
piness, we fulfil law. 1t is well that no
material paradise is sufficient paradise for
us. In this circumstance of his being, man
differs from his animal. The lion in the
desert, the tiger in the jungle, the ape in the
woods, has no aspirations above his state.
But the tendency of the soul is upward
upward forever What mockery this life
would be, if the grave were the end of all
things Iii, after chasing golden butterflies
or illusions through all the summer days,
death only met our embrace-if the actors
IN this drama emerge not from behind the
scenes in their true character, after the
funeral curtain falls upon the last act oe
life. @
Year: 1859

,UVIE Railroad is located here, aud so is j.. A..


DOUD. We have become a fixed fact at our
old place, the "Fountain saloon ana Eating House.,
opposite the Clermont Hotel, which We still run
ming and where we are all times ready to treat our
guests with the best Of everything commonly kept in
first class eating saloon.


We would return our thanks to our friends and
avors and hopes BY close attention
to business to merit . continuance of the same.
Year: 1859

If the ghost of Thomas Jefferson does
not appear this evening to rebuke the mis-
chievous agitators, who, under the sanction
Of his great name, are met together to help
on that work of sectional agitation and geo.
graphical division which he so abhorred, we
may be assured that nothing ever can or
bring up ghost from the unknown world.
Year: 1859

NuDs ARr.-soms squeamish critic who
does not love nude Art, which we confess we
do, writes as follows: Psganism loved to wor.
ship the naked body, and to forget the soul in
horrid degradation and vice, to the blotting
ont almost, Of humanity in the ascendency Of
animality. Christianity arose that It might
effect the resurrection Of the spirit through
the proper subordination Of the flesh. It was
happy turn in the religious current Of
mans life which substituted the Christian
Madonna for the NEUROLOGICAL Venus; It was
the first successful effort to detaSh the spirit
from tho hesh-ths soul from the body. The
artist is happy and on q level with our age,
who, in the contemplation Of one Of Raphael's q
or MuriIlo's Madonnas, forgets even that
Praxiteles ever sculptursd Venus. Shall we
likewise say that the artist who first ban
ishes naked art from modern communities
will be immortal as having been the first to
effect an impossible art-gulf between pagan
and Christian art? pa1 ~ y
Year: 1859

"A young minister, in highly eisb-
crate sermon which he preached while
supplying an absent minister's pulpit. said
several times, when giving some new ex-
position on passage" The commen-
tators do not agree with me here" Next
morning, as he was running on with bis
performances, poor woman came to see
him with something in her apron: She
said her husband heard his sermon, xnd
thought it was very good one and as he
said ) "the comon taters did not agree
with him here" he had sent some Of TIE
very best Jersey blues. -
Year: 1859

IF lamp oil is spilled on dress that
will not be injured by wetting, lay tim
mediately in a tub of cold water, "A
portion of the oil will be shortly sesn TO
rise Oh the surface then pour of the
water, replace it with fresh, and still
more oil will be seen floating on the top.
Again pour off the water, and fill the tub
anew, repeating the process till no more
oil can be discovered on the surfsce.
Then take out the dress, wiring it well, dry
and iron it.
Year: 1859

This little story, copied from an ex.
change paper, is excellent. Read it, boys
and take its lessons we'll to heart -


1.-TWO country lads came at an early
hour to a market town. and arranging,
their little stands, sat down to wait for
customers. One was furnished with fruits
and vegetables of the boys own raising,
and the other supplied with clans and fish.
The market hours passed along, and each
little merchant saw with pleasure his store
steadily decreasing, and an equivalent in
silver bits shining in his little money cup.
The last melon lay on Harry's stand, when
gentleman came by, and placing his
hand upon it, said -" What fine large
melon l think l must have this for nv
dinner. What do you ask for it my boy ?o


1.-The melon is the last have sir and
though it looks very fair there is an un.
sound spot on the other side" said the boy
turning it over.


So there is" said the man | think
will not take it. But" he added, look.
ing into the boys fine open countenance,
it is very unbusiness-like to point out the
defects of your fruits to customers ?"


{" 1t is better than being dishonest, sir,
said the boy modsstly.


Z" You are right, my little fellow al.
ways remember that principle, and you
will find favor with God, and man also.
You have nothing else / wish for this
morning, but shall remember your little
stand in future. Are those clans fresh r'
he continued, turning to Ben Wilson's
stand.


"Yes, sir; fresh this morning. | caught
them myself" was the reply and pur-
chase being made, the gentleman went
away.


Harry, what fool you was to show
the gentleman that spot in the melon.
Now, you can take it home for your palms.
or throw it away. How much wiser is he
about these clans l caught yesterday
Sold them for the same price I did the
fresh ones. He would never have looked
at the melon until he had gone away"
Ben. | would not tell lie, or act one
either, for twice what l have earned this
morning. Besides l shall be better of in
the end, for have gained a customer,
and you have lost one."


And 50 it proved, for the next day the
gentleman bought nearly all his fruit and
vegetables of Harry, but never invested
another penny at the stand of his neigh.
Dor. Thus the season passed the gen.
tleman finding he could always get good
article of Harry, continually patronized
him, and sometimes talked with him few
minutes about his future hopes and pros
poets. To become merchant was his
great ambition, and when the winter came
on, the gentleman wanting trusty boy
for his store, decided on giving the place
to Harry, Steadily and surely he ad.
vanced in the confidence of his employer
until having passed through the variou:
gradations of clerkship he became al
length m honorsd partner in the firm.
Year: 1859

How TO MAKE PLEASANT SuhkEa
DR1NK.--Two gallons of ginger beer may
be made as follows Put two gallons Of
cold water into a pot upon the FIRE; add
to it two ounces Of good ginger, and two
ounces of white or brown sugar. Let all
this come to boil, and continue boiling
for an hour. Then skim the liquor and
pour it into a jar or tub, along with one
sliced lemon and half an ounce of cream
of tartar When nearly cold, put in q
teasponful Of yeast to cause the liquor to
work. The beer is now made and after
it has worked for two days, strain and
bottle for use. Tie the corks down firmly.
Year: 1859

SAVING SOAP GREASE, AND MAKING IT
UP,-In order to keep soap grease clean
and sweet during summer, run of some
lye, and boil it down until it will eat a
feather, if put into it. Then but it away
in an iron or other vessel, and throw
your meat rinds and scraps therein.
When you make your soap, boil down lye
as before, but 1t into an iron kettle, add
this grease with other, if you have it, and
let it boil, and stir occasionally. In Or
der to test the proportions of grease and
lye, take some out into dish, let it cool,
and if it does not get hard, your soap
needs more boiling and more lye; if too
much lye, It will settle to the bottom,
when add more grease and boiling. The
experienced can test the presence Of
too much lye by its keen bite, and its ab.
sence, vice versa, by touch Of the tongue.
A half day is time enough ordinarily to
make a kettle of soap, which done, should
cut out like gingerbread


Champaign Co., 4th mo-, 1856 A. W.
Year: 1859

CoNDITloNs OF HoLDING OFFICE.-Accortl-
ing to the rule recently laid down by Mr.
Buchanan, in the case OF the custom house
officer in Alexandria, TO hold Office under
the general government, a man must be not
only Democrat, but Democrat OF the Ad-
ministration stamp; must change as the
Administration changes; must .repudiate all
that the Administration repudiates, notwith-
standing in may have been elected on the
faith of the very principle last diSavowed.-
What an idea this affords of the power and
dignity of lIe government
Year: 1859

TELEGRAPH TO THE PAclFIC.-The magne-
tic telegraph has been extended to Atcifi-
on. on the Missouri River. and is still on its
way westward. From the Pacific side
the work is extending TO Salt Lake City.
1t win probably not be very long before the
two will be made to unite, and give COM
plete telegraphic connection from the Allan
tic to the Pacific The Pixies Peak settle
ment will probably hasten the work. ITS
quite possible that connection with the Old
World will he sooner made through this
route than across the Atlantic; for it does
possess the same difficulties, and nothing to
Interfere with its working after being built
matter which, in case of the Atlantic Tele.
Graph. is still..in doubt.
Year: 1859

POPULAR SovEREIGNTY.-The National
B,teiiigencer says:


We may take this occasion to state that
We propose mt an early day, SO soon as
the requisite examinations shall have been
made into our legislative history, to present
at length our own views on the question So
ably discussed 10y Mr.. Douglas


The views of the venerable Iateiiigsneer
will have an important influence in fixing
the platform of the Old Line Wings.