smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1869

The TeIeRrnph monopoly ana congress-


The effort made by the telegraph rings to
prove that the national government can only
make failure if it interferes with the tele-
graphic system can be of little avail in pre-
venting the downfall of the monopoly The
people Of the United States have determined
to take possession Of the telegraph business,
attach II to the postal system and reduce the
cost Of sending our wishes and thoughts
throughout the country to the lowest possible
figure. This over the wires should not DO
more than ten cents per message to any part
OF the country, and we are certain that very
shortly we shall see this cheap rate established.
The telegraph and Post Office properly belong
together, and it is simply ridiculous to sup
pose that the government can manage one-haif
the business and q private corporation the
other. The two branches are inseparable, SO
far as public interests are concerned. Finan-
cially there can be no question but it is for the
general good to be master, owner and manager
Of that which affects directly every citizen in
the country.


Telegraphs and railroads must come under
the control Of government; for they have grown
to such gigantic proportions that they are used
to subvert the legitimate interests OF commerce
and communication, and have become the sport
Of rings organized for no other purpose but
to swindle the different communities, unscttle
values and destroy trade.
Year: 1869

STATIONS GurLLoTISE was applied to
Grant also, but did not operate well. The
people want to know the history, and we can
guarantee good fat Office to any one of the
dozen telegraph operators through whose
hands the order went from Washington to
vicksburg If he can tell the very words Of the
order.
Year: 1869

Spain and the General Situation in
All our latest news from Europe regarding
.ds situation in Spain goes to convince US that
crisis is ::nproaching. The disturbance at
Burgos, the rupture Of the relations Of the
provisional government and the Papal Nuncio
and the decree which has followed establishing
religious equality throughout the kingdom, all
point to the fact that the party Of progress
and the party Of reaction-which is mainly
ecclesiastical- working together less har-
moniously as time advances. The announce
ment which we publish to-day that the pro-
visional government are unanimously in favor
of the Duke de Montpensier as the future King
of Spain, even If it prove correct does not in
any material sense improve the situation. The
Cortes are likely soon to meet. We have
no reason to believe that they will be
agreed among themselves. We have even
less reason to take it for granted
that the choice of the government
will be their choice. There are many who
win not be taken by surprise if before the
Cortes meet coup is effected by the govern
ment in favor Of their man. In such a case
we shall have either despotism with Prim at
its head, acting, however, in the name of q
nominal sovereign, or anarchy complete.
Spain, in fact, is in a most critical condition
and so much does her future depend on acci-
dental and unforeseen circumstances that it is
much safer TO await the issue of events than to
indulge in doubtful predictions. Her destiny is
very much in her own hands. 1t will be we'll
If she is allowed to work it out alone as best
she can.


The events now taking place in Spain are the
result Of forces which are acting not upon that
country only but upon Europe and the world.
1t is impossible any longer for any government
to shut out from the people the light of the
nineteenth century. Fifteenth and sixteenth
century civilization is no longer compatible
with modern existence. The world has en-
tered upon new era. All the old nations
are feeling the new impulses and yielding to
them. The go-ahead activity of the United
States is shaking them out Of their Old World
opinions. Italy caught the new impulse and
bounded at once into respectable place in the
front rank Of the nations. Prussia caught the
impulse, and Prussia, the controller of Ger
many, has no longer superior in Europe. 1t
has infused new life into Austria; it threatens
Turkey with ruin; 1t is now convulsing Spain.
The new ideas must put down the old. A
ruler suited to the age-a man after the type
Of Julius Cesar or the first Napoleon, who
could seize and control the railroad and the
telegraph, and who could act as the exponent
Of the advanced thought Of the day-such a
man could now have no difficulty in making
Europe unit and thus put an end TO all this
prate and nonsense about boundary lines, ma
tionalities and religions. Such man might
prove more blessing than scourge.
Year: 1869

means corruption has crept in and every pos
sible abuse. Where the nation has expected
to find the will of the Chief Magistrate in the
administration of the law it has found the will
of some clique, Interested, perhaps, in the vio-


lation of the law. Where 1t has expected to
see resolute hand placed on corruption 1t
has found that the President had bartered
away his power and that roguery


was unassailable. This was one consequence
of our system. Men went into the Presidency


committed to corrupt disposition Of its powers


by the bargains of their election. But this Is


not the case with Grant. He could never


have become President in that way. He was


made by the war, and owes his elevation only
to the broad predominance Of that great party


that carried en the war-the republican party


in its simplest form of devotion to the national


safety and glory. He can not only afford to
disregard the professional politicians, but he


must do 1t or fail in his duty. He is made
President for the benefit of the nation, and as


be did not shirk the hard service Of high place


in the war we may trust that he will not now.


Accepting personal elevation from the peo-
pie, he is Of the kind of men who will feel
personal responsibility. He will be :csi :c:i


President-not the tca Of cliques-not chief
magistrate who must do this thing in the


Treasury Department! hsssS,s ssssssgSs,s tss Treasury
ring says so, and another thing in the State
Department because the jobs Of some other
ring require Il, but things will be done bs>
cause Grant is satisfied to take the responsi-
bility that they are right. .'.s -.


This is what is wanted, this is the thing the
people expect, aud this it is that the politi-
clans instinctively feel and mortally fear.
Their fears betray them into all sorts of ridicu-
lous antics, and they assume such tone that
one might suppose to neglect them could
result in nothing less than convulsion of
nature. Nevertheless we believe that Grant
will neglect them very handsomely. In tbs
early days of the war this cfear-sig6ted soldier
wrote a letter to somebody saying that all
would be well eff no political appointments
were made" Probably the hard experience Of
the war and the startling results Of the political
appointments that were made have not erased
from his mind the conviction in which that
healthy idea grew. If he acts upon it all will
be well now also. Appointments made for
political reasons are what the people do not
expect from their President. Only the politi-
clans expect these. The nation can afford to
rely on the good taste Of Grant that appoint
ments offensive to the patriotic sense will not
be made Beyond this it only cares to have
in each Office the man who is most fit to per-
form its duties honestly. Grant, If he will act
on such view in his appointments, can well
afford to scorn the snivelling impudence Of the
fellows who pretend that they made him the
Chief Magistrate Of the American people.
Year: 1869




Rev. DR.. Lamsom, Of Brookline, Mass,
enters his earnest protest through the
Boston reflector against the preyalen,
doctrine that the great majority Of mar.
riages are ill-assorted and unhappy. He
regards this opinion as not only false, but
deeply pernicious; tending to produce
the very state Of things which it asserts
to be so very common. lie SAYS that. in
the course Of his long ministry Of about
thirty years, he has been brought into
relations Of comparative intimacy with
ht least four hundred families, and among
all these he can scarcely count a dozen
lll-assorted marriages. On the contrary,
IN considering with how little care mar.
riages are often contracted, his habitual
wonder has been why there are not more
unhappy marriages than really exist. In
accounting for the prevalence of the
opinion which he condemns as false
and pernicious, DR.. Lamson suggests
that in most cases it is the result Of in
consideration, because single case Of
unhappy marriage within ones circle of
acquaintance SO oyertops and oyershad-
ows the multitude of happy unions.


Another reason might have been given
for the prevalence OF this opinion, viz.
Few people in estimating the happiness
OF married couple make due allowance
for human imperfection. No two human
beings can be brought into the intimate
relationship of husband and wife without
the occasional development of something
discordant. Only perfect, absolutely
Sinless persons, could live absolutely per
feet lives together; and such men and
women can never be found in this world
and as in another world there will be no
marrying, absolutely perfect marriages
can never be realized either in this world
or that which is to come. But, are not
the vast majority of married persons
quite as happy as an equal number OF
unmarried ones? Nay, more, are not
the great majority of married people as
happy in their married state as they
would be unmarried? And still more,
are they not as happy with each other
as they would be with anybody else
By change of partners they might get
rld OF some one or more causes OF dis
turbances between them-some constitu.
tional defects or inirmities, or some dis
agreeable cherished habits; but they
would find in other parties other causes
of disturbance quite as serious, though
of an entirely different kind; so that
after all it might be very difficult 20 say
on which side there was the greatest
amount of happiness or misery. The
fact is, that men and women are suscepti.
BILE of only given amount of content.
ment and happiness, in any condition OF
life; and marry whom they will, they
can never exceed their capacity for en-.
joyment. Many people are foolish
enough to imagine that marriage is the
sovereign cure for all the disquietudes and
miseries of lite; and when they get mar.
ried, and they find their favorite panacea
docs not work perfectly, they jump to
the conclusion that it 10 because their
marriage was not true one; that it
was ill-assorted, and therefore an unhappy
one; whereas, the only trouble is, that
both husband and wife are human
neither divine nor angelic-and have,
like all other human beings, more or less
of sinful infrmity about them.
Year: 1869

ken all che energies Of bis soul His
shop was peffect infrmary for decayed
articles of virtue from all the houses for
miles around. Cracked china, lame tea
pots, broken shoe-buckles, rickety tongs,
and decrepit fire-irons, all stood in mel.
ancholy proximity, awaiting Sans happy
hours OF inspiration; and he was always
happy 20 sit down and have long
strictly confidential conversation con,
cerning of these with the owner, cspe.
cially II Hepsy were gone out washing,
or on any other work which kept her at
n safe distance. -


Sam could shave and cut hair % neatly
as any barber, and was always in de-
mand mp and down country to render
these Offices to the sick. He was ready
to go for miles TO watch with invalids,
and very successful watcher he made.
beguiling the night hours with endless
stories and legends. He was also an
expert in psalmody, having in his youth
been the pride Of the village singing
school. In those days he could perform
reputably on the bass-viol in the choir of
Sunday, with a dolefulness and sol.
emnity of demeanor in the highest degree
edifying--t though he was equally ready
of q wcek-evening in scraping on brisk
little fiddle, If any OF the thoughtless
ones wanted performer at husking or
q quilting frolic. SANS obligingness
was many-aided, and he was equally pre-.
pared at any moment to raise a funeral
service or whistle the time of double
shuttle. ..l


But the more particular delight Of
Sans heart was in funerals. Hc would
walk miles on hearing tho news of a
dangerous illness, and cit roosting on the
fence of the premises, delighted to gossip
over the particulars, but ready 10 come
down at any moment to do any of the
odd turns which sickness in family
makes necessary; and when the last
earthlysceue was over. Sam was more
than ready to render those final offices
from which the more nervous and fasti-
dious shrink, but in which he took almost
a professional pride.
Year: 1869

In recent number Of the Plymouth
Pulpit we find these paragraphs for peo-
pie who are only half earnest in seeking
religious life:


"The kingdom of heaven sufTereth vio-
lence, and the violent taketh it by force"
DO you want to know what that means ?
Go to Washington, and you will see
When men want anything, see how they
go to get it. The Capital of Republic
"suffereth violence, and the violent take it
by force" There are men squabbling for
every single Office, every one havingarm-
ed himself with all possible influence, d.
rect and collateral, with every thing that
can come from the heart, and, every thing
else! See how night and day they plan,
and combine, and labor, and wear ont
resistance, TO get what? An Office the
liberty of exile to some foreign country.
When they mean wealth, when they
mean power, when they mean influence,
see how they seek it. When they mean
the salvation of their souls, they curl
themselves up in a sunny place, light
their cigar, and read the corner of the
newspaper, or dispute with their minis
ter Oh their neighbor in respect to some
tenet or doctrine. And they get up in
meetings and say that they are rather
thoughtful Oh the subject of religion, on
the whole. See men that are always
dreaming, floating in their notions
They go to one church. Well, they do
not like the music in that church, and so
they will not stay there. AT one church
the preacher is good but the music is
poor, and at another the opposite is true.
And so these men, as if they were in
Fulton market, go daintily about for ten
der loins, for delicacies, for nice parts,
and call that being moral, thoughtful,
earnest. Shame on you Shame on
manhood, that man should pretend that
this is having moral impulse or moral
earnestness! Where man means re-
ligion there is no reason that he should
miss religion. A man that means man.
hood has a road broad enough for fool
to find out at midnight. A man that
means regeneration, repression of pride,
mastery of selfishncss, the overflow of
filthy passions, the wearing out of those
elements which come near wearing out
his spirituality, do you suppose that such
a man takes these diitettdnt methods of
making it appear that he is seeking after
Christ?
Year: 1869

A wife may love her husband and her
children, and may perform her ordinary
duties faithfully, aud yet ruin her hus-
band by her foolish ambition. But, let a
woman's ambition turn on show and
seeming rather than on substance and
reality, and she will drive her husband
to ruin, unless he is made of ofuncommonly
good stuff She wishes to equal the best.
She is also ambitious of clothes, of fine,
but, for him, extravagant table. She en-
vies every one more prosperous than her
husband is. She wishes house little
beyond his means, she will have clothes
not consistent with his income; she de-
mands expensive pleasures, which suck
up his slender earnings; she brings him
into debt, keeps him feverish with anxi-
ETY., and finally poisons his honesty
Many man breaks down in reputation
and becomes castaway under the stim-
ulation of his wife's dishonest ambition.
For to live beyond ones means is dis
honest, and to desire to do so is to de-
sire q dishonest thing. Let woman
scatter faster than her husband can gath
err; let her notions of duty send her
gadding after eyerybody's business but
her own; let her religion be severe and
censorious, and stand along the path of
duty like thorn-locust hedge on gar
den walk, which pricks and tears every
body that goes near it, let her secure the
art of making home uncomfortable, and
of tempting her husband to prefer any
other place to it, let her use her husband
as seamstresses do pincushions, just to
stick pins in, and, with ordinary luck,
she will ruin any commonly clever fel-
low in few years. Having driven him
TO drunkard's grave, she can muffie her
martyred heart under the funeral Grape,
and walk in comely black till some new
victim helps her put on her wedding
suit. ......
Year: 1869

From the Demorest.
A Few MaXfms for Young Ladies


Never make your appearance in the
morning without first having bathed,
/ if only with a sponge and a quart of
Water, brushed and arranged your hair,
aud dressed yourself neatly and COM
pletely.


Keep your clothing, especially your
under clothing, in perfect order.
Never let pins do duty as buttons, or
strings take the place of proper bands.


Examine every garment when it
comes from the wash, and, if necessary,
mend it with neatness and precision.
Do not sew up the holes in your stock
ings, as we have seen some careless,
untidy girls do; but take in a broad
margin around the hole, be it small or
large, with fine darning needle and
darning cotton, and cover the fracture
with an interlaced stitch, SO close as to
be as strong as the body of The stock
ing, and fine enough to be ornamental.


Stockings mended in this way need
darDing Tut very few times in the
course of their existence.


Never carry coarse embroidered or
laced handkerchief. Fine plain ones
are much more lady-like.


Avoid Open-wOrked stockings and
very fancy slippers. Fine, plain,
white hose, and black kid slippers,
with only strap or rosette in front,
are more becoming.


Train yourself to some useful occu-
patton. Remember it is wicked to
waste time, and nothing gives such an
impression of vanity and absolute silli-
ness as a habit of idling and never hav-
ing anything to do.


If you are in your fathers house
take some department of household
labor upon yourself, and part of the
sewing, and make it your business TO
attend to it. Do not let a call from
this idle girl, or visit from that, or
an invitation from the other, interfere
with the performance of your duty.


Let your pleasures come in as reere-
alton, not as the business of your life.


If you want to marry, do not court
or try to attract the attention of gen
tlemen. A little wholesome indiffer-
ence, real or assumed, will be much
more likely to accomplish the object.
Consider, moreover, that it is better to
be woman than wife, and do not
degrade your sex by making your
whole existence turn on the pivot of
matrimony.


If you can, cultivate to perfection
some art by which you can gain an in
dependent livelihood. Do it whether
there is a necessity for it or not. Do
it quietly, if you will, but do it.
There is no telling when, or under
what circumstances you may need it.
Year: 1869

What il the difference between hill and pill =
One is hard to get up, and the Other is hard to get
down. -


WHY are Young ladies at the breaking up Of party
like arrows? Because they can't gOVu without Dow
and arc alI-in culver until they get one


why is the letter like dinner7 Because it comes
before .,,


Why s the letter Ikea sailor' Because u follows
the o.


Il fyllOWsit
Year: 1869

The Winchester Journal of the 18th
inst, says that "Clint. D. Smith has
been suffering ever since the battle of
Chickamauga, nearly six years, from
the periodical fre-Opening of a wound
in the arm, received at that battle,
and it has been feared that amputa-
ton would finally become necessary
to save his life. There was no appar-
ent reason for this continued infam-
nation and breaking out, until few
DAYS since, when it again broke, aud
some six inches below the old wound
there came out a piece of his blouse,
over half an inch in length, that was
carried in by the ball when the
wound was received. The wound is
now healing finely, aud it is hoped
that the arm will become permanent-
Ily well. - Liberty Herald.
Year: 1869

WIrnoUT AN ESEMY.--Heayen help
the man who imagines he can dodge
enemies by trying to please everybody.
If such an individual ever succeeded,
we should be glad of it-not that We
believe in a man going through the,
world trying to find beams tpknock
and thump his poor head against, dis
putting every mans opinion, fighting
and elbowing, and croEding all who
differ with him. That again is another
extreme. Other people have right
to their opinion, 50 have you. Don't
fall into the error of supposing they
viii respect you more for turning
your coat every day to match the col
or of theirs. Wear your own colors
in spite of winds and weather, storms
or sunshine. 1t costs the vassillating
and irresolute ten times the trouble to
wind and shuttle and twist, that it does
honest, manly independence 10 stand its
ground.
Year: 1869

From the st. Louis Republican


Snake stories, as a rule, are so uni
versally incredible, that any one who
is bold enough to relate marvellous
one, not only subjects himself to the
imputation Of untruth, but even to
public ridicule. The one that we now
present comes so well attested that its
credibility can not be successfully ques-
toned. On Saturday night, DR.. Duf-
field, of Hannibal, in this State, was
summoned to the bedside of patient,
upon whom he had been in attend
ance for several days, for measles, and
upon his arrival the lady, who was a
slender and delicate female, and who
had been in ill-health for several
years, complained of "choking in her
throat" and that she felt something
moving, and also that the throat felt
very sore. The drug store being closed,
the doctor ordered strong pepper tea
made, and some alum put in, with
which to gargle. She used this, and
the choking increased. He directed
her to swallow some, thinking it was a
worm, and having nothing at hand
better, supposed this would relieve her,
by causing it to withdraw downward
into the stomach. The feeling yet in
creased, and as placebo, until some
thing better could be obtained, she was
directed to cat sugar. In moment
or so, she said. something was crawl
ing upward, and she looked as though
she would suffocate. She coughed vi
olently, and Immediately squirming,
live reptile was elected from the mouth,
which, on examination, proved to be a
water snake, about twelve or fourteen
inches in length, and about fye-eightha
or three-quarters of an inch in diam
eter about the center of the body. II
was a yellow, mottled snake, with dark
or black eyes, and its tongue darted
out in fearfully disgusting manner
1t is supposed that at some time. when
drinking from some branch OF brook
in Michigan, whence she had lately
come, she unconsciously swallowed the
hideors reptile; whilst it was very
small The woman, as stated, had suf-
fered from ill-health for year or more
and is now rapidly recovering.
Year: 1869

H A widow in Onondaga county,
N. Y, recently cut out her own
daughter in the good graces of her low
er, and married him herself. To OBJ
tain revenge for this most unmothefly
trick, the daughter set her cap at the
young mans rich father, of whom he
was the only heir, to the infinite an
noyance Of her step-children.