smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1863

bravest and best soldiers of the army.


If you walk through the camp at
night you may hear soldiers praying,
not merely for themselves or those
at home from whom they have so long
been absent. but for their country, for
the Union, for that flag which is so dear
to them. Ihave often beard them, Of
ten. There is a deep feeling among
the men that the hand Of Providence
is leading them on; that God is their
great General, and that He watches
over the country, and means, in His
good time, to restore it to higher and
nObler life, to peace which shall be
lasting and honorable. Americans of
the free States at least-are curiously
thoughtful race, fond Of Studying out
and reasoning upon the mysterious
course by which Providence leads ma
tons and men. This army life has de-
velopcd this spirit, and our soldiers
seek for the finger Of Providence in all
that bcfalIs them or their country
They let neither defeat dishearten nor
victory unduly cXalt them, but say in
their hearts 'In Gods good time all
will be well"


Strange feelings come over the men
when they have been 50 long away
from home, in the midst Of dangers and
privations as this army has. Their
hearts are softened they have seen,
how often! the hand Of Providence
stretched out to save them from death;
they have lived near to Nature; they
have suffered in many ways, but most
of all they have suffered through their
absence from home and kindred They
are like seamen long stormtossed on a
tedious voyage.
Year: 1863

DEATH TO DoGs.-A law was passed
at the recent session of the Legislature
levying tax of one dollar upon every dog,
of whatever sizeor pretensions, in the State
This will be death blow to many of the
useless whflets now seen on every street
corner, and will be an act that will doubt
less work much good to the farming COM
munity, and we hope it may be faithfully
executed.
Year: 1863

AN Irishman lost his hat in a well,
and was let down in bucket to recover
it; the well being deep, and extremely
dark withal, his courage failed him, be-
fore he reached the water. In vain did
he call for those above him to pull him
up; they lent deaf ear TO all he said
till at last, quite in despair be beloved
out: BE st. Patrick, if ye don't draw
me up, shure III cut the rope!
Year: 1863

AN cid maid, who has her eye little
sideways on matrimony, says that the
curse of the war is, that it will make so
many widows, that will be so fierce 10
get married, and who know how to do
it, that the modest girls will stand o
chance at all
Year: 1863

A MAN hired an over cute fellow TO
saw load of wood, agreeing to pay him
sixpcnce an hour. He showed him a spe-
cimen of the shortest stove-wood; but
the fellow turned on his heel, declaring
" he was not so green as to saw wood as
short as that for sixpence an hour"
Year: 1863

The day after the battle of Antietam the
9th New Hampshire formed the picket line
| along the edge of the cOrniied where Rich.
ardson's Division fought, The resorve was
IN one edge of the corn, and the picliots
about middle way of the field, concealed in
tho corn, as the sharpshootcrs of the enemy
fired on all who undertook 10 walk around
on the battle field at that locality. Early
in the morning, one of the wounded rebels
who laid just outside tho picllcts, called one
Of the New hampshire men and handed him
little slip of paper on which he hud, cv-
idently with great difficulty, succeeded in
making sO,ae mystic signs IN circle with a
hit at stick wet in blood. The soldier was
begged to give it to some Free Mason as
soon AS possible, and he took it to Col.
Cross, OF his regiment The Colonel was
Master Mason, but could not read the
mystic token, it belon"ing 10 n higher do
gree. lie therefore sent for Captain j. b.
Perry Of tho 9Th, who was a member Of the
32d degree of Free Masonry, and showed
him the letter. Capt. Perry at once said
there was brother Mason in great peril
and must be rescued. Col. Cross instantly
sent for several other brother Masons in
the regiment, told the story, and in few
moments four "br0thers Of the mystic tye"
"clo craving stc-llhlly through the corn
to find the brother in distress He was
found, placed on a blanket, and at great
risk drawn out of range OF the rebel rifles,
and then carried to the 9th New Hamp-
shire hospital. He proved TO be First Lieu
tenant Edon, Of tho Alabama volunteers,
Gadiy wounded in the thigh and breast
few hours and he would have persisted
Lieutenant Edon informed, his brethren of
another wounded Mason who, whom brought
ont, proved to be Lieutenant Colonel of
Georgia regiment, These two wounded
rebel oifoers received the same attention
as the wounded officers of the 9th, and
warm friendship was established between
men who few hours before were in mortal
combat. This is one of the thousand in
stances in which the masonic bond has
proved blessing to mankind, Falmouth
Cor. Boston Journal.
Year: 1863

LUCKY DAYs.--The Anglo Saxons deemed
it highly important that child should bo
born on lncky day, on which the whole
tenor of his life was supposed to depend
for in their opinion. each day had its pc
culiar influence upon the destiny of the
newly born. Thus the first day of the
moon was preferred to all others for the
arrival Of the little stranger, for they said,
"A child born on that day is sure to live
and prosper" The second day was not so
fortunate as the first, as the child born on
that day would grow fast but not live
loGg." If he was born on the fourth day
of the moon he was destined TO be great
politcian if on the tenth, a great traveller
and If on the twenty first, bold marauder.
But Of all the days in the week on which
to be born, Sunday was by far the most
lucky, and if it fell in the new of the moon
the child's prosperity was destined to be
unbounded. Friday was an unucky birth
Gay, not only because it was the day of the
crucifxion OF our Lord and Savior, but be-
cause, according to Anglo-Saxon calcula-
tions, Adam ate the forbidden fruit on a
Friday, and was alsC expelled from Para
disc, and died and descended into hell on
that day.-AngLo Saxon Home.
Year: 1863

On reading a rsc,,,t editorial in ,ciich scurriiom


attach on myself and Others rds prstaced Jy It LrU-


tR fling at the memory Of my rather.
thought of the old Arabian tale .... ..#
Where the sheeted Ghoul, so lank and pale.
Prowed through the graveyard with cat-lke tread,
RiHed the graves Of the sleeping dead,
With her greedy fingers tore apart


The clay. and clutched at the pulseless heart,
Fed and gloated, and smacked her lips.
Sucked the slime from her fngcr-tips,
Then wiped her mouth, and slunk away,
horrid spccter, at break OF day.
The Ghoul made her meal alone, in the nights
Here sits vampire in broad daylight,
Jeering and grinning DEVILS grin
At his feast Of the dead, and beckoning in
The passers-by from the public street
Selling his shame at three pence n sheet!
What wonder, | thought, if he breaks his fast
AT the fathers grave, the foul repast
And the glOatng laugh are no sooner done,
Than he belehes up ISLANDERS against the SON.
o, men Of the Press with lightning power,
To stamp your words ON each rapid hour,
Keep, keep your ISLANDERS for living men,
Who can fling them back in your teeth again,
Or brush them off, as your fingers brush
Tho crawling insect we scorn to crush
For lie is lie, no matter how glib
The tongue that tells it, how fine the nib
OF the psn that writes, or how fair and white
The page which blurs it into light;
And never man, be he prince or clown,
Is hurt by lie, if he lives it down,
If his hands are clean and he goes his way,
In the face of men and the light of day -
But beware how your venOmOus grudgc is fed
With the nare and fame Of the hOnored dead.
The bolts of scorn and the fires of wrath
Shall blast YOU there in your Shiny path
And the hand of every man stamp your brow
With the brand Of shame, as | do now
Your ieers and iibes are easily tOst
Into the limbo of things that lost,
But the word that righteous anger gives
Is a sacred thing, and lasts and lives,
And when you and ! are under the ground,
Forgotten and gone, may it keep its sound
Then, if these lines of mine are read,
The man who reads them will say, Well said
Well, if always heel like this


Smote the serpent whose venal hiss
Out of the mre and filth is thrust
At the blessed in Heaven, the pure and just !"
Mock the departed blacken their fame .
Season Jest with dead mans name!
Better your hand were stiff and cold
Better your fingers were church-yard mold,
Lest haply the mockery, unrevoked,
Revisit the mocker when stifed and choked
With the lurid smoke and the poisoned breath
Circling the cup of the Jester Death,
He gropes in vain at the bitter end
For the warm, strong grasp of q living friend "


New York, March 70, 1863
Year: 1863

The most important item of news this
morning, is the loss of the fine propeller
steamer Georgiana from Nassau. She
was driven ashore on Long Island beach,
about ten miles outside the bar out of
range of our guns and in easy range of
the blockaders. Singular to say, like the
Princess Royal, she had valuable car
90 for the Government, comprising two
Year: 1863

Since "the government" was attacked
with small pox, that inimitable disease
is said to be all the rage among the
Washington ton. Those who don't
take it are suspected of disloyalty"
Year: 1863

From the Washington Correspondent The Chicago Times


Months ago I sounded the note cf
alarm in regard t. the atrocious de :igos
Of the administration in reg,rd to the
next Presidential election; and askel:
Does any one really believe that we
will ever be allowed to haze another
Presidential election? Every week
since then the designs Of the Adminis-
tration on that subject have been as
suming more definite shape and com.
p|exion, until now it is plainly evident
that it has been determined by Abra-
ham Lincoln that he will retain his
present position for another term Of
four years; that he will permit the FORMS
Of presidential election to ba
gone through with as usual:
but that he will take such measures
that no one vii! be allowed to vote ex-
cept thos: who will vote for him. T.
have no election at all, and to proclaim
himself perpetual dictator, would be a
simple process. But he does not dare
to take that step yet. The mode that
I have indicated, while 1t will preserve
IT, shadow of free election, will be
b, a mockery, but it will be equally
sure to caray the pretended election in
his favor.


Let it be remembered that although
candidate for President of the United
States will be voted for, yet really that
candidate will only be voted for in the
Northern States. This, at once, great
ly .impli6es matters, and takes off the
immense vote that would be cast against
him at the South. Then all that will
be necessary will he to pursue, in all
the doubtful States, the same course
that was recently pursued in Maryland
and Delaware. In States that are
known to be safe for the Republicans
even, this will not be necessary. But
in all the States where heavy Demo
cratic vote would otherwise be cast, the
army will he present as it was present
in Maryland. 1t was illegal to pre-
scribe a test oath to the voters Of Mary
land. 1t will be no more illegal to ex
act a test oath of the voters Of Illinois,
of New York, of Ohio, of Pennsylvania.
In this way, and by other means, the
Democratic vote of the North will be
smothered. and Abraham.Lincoln be de
clared elected for another term. Such
is the programme which has been
agreed on by the leaders of the Repub-
lican party, in order to perretuntc their
sway to prolong the wsr, and to over
throw the Constitution and the liberties
Of the country.
Year: 1863

tithe law, which we have shown is not Unequal
or unjust. Especially is it the interest of che pro.
ducer, whose remaining niRetenths will be worth
more to him than the whole would be if further
issues should further depreciate the currency in
which he ispaid, and those issues would be neces-
sary if the Government paid for provisions After
all, conceding, as doubtless the Standard will, that
the expense of carrying on the war must be paid,
and that portion at least of it ought to be paid
BY taxation, We would like to know what advantage
the farmers would derive from paying in money
the value OF the produce which they are required
by the tithe law to pay? Since no unequal pro.
portion of the general tax is required of them it
seems to US, as Congress undoubtedly thought that
1t would be more agreeable to pay in produce it.
sell rather than to take the trouble to sell the pro-


duce and then pay over the cash realized from IT,


But perhaps the strongest consideration of ail.is


that the securing of so much food will put it in
the power OF the government to feed its armies
and prosecute this righteous war into which the
Editor of the Standard with the hearty approval of
the whole State, voted us on the goth Of Nav 1861
Year: 1863

WHY METHUsELAH GOT so OLD.-We were
upon the streets few evenings since, and heard a
most novel explanation of the astounding great age
Of the above named character. A number OF men
talking of the recent conscript call and its
effect upon the people, when an old worthy re-
marked s


"Well, Mr., have studied long while
about it, and just now determined why Methuse-
lab got to be so old You see, in his day there
was conscript law, and every time new call was
made old Methuselah run his age up hundred
years-just enough to keep him out of the con-
script. A heap Of men in these days are playing
the same dodge"


We could not help thinking TO ourselves that
the old gentleman was quite right, and that men
in these days grow old alarmingly fast. One or
two of cur aequaintances that were only 30 two
years ago, are now 46-grown ten years in two
Verify, the war has wrought out great wonders,
such as were not seen under the sun before. We
are very much afraid some of these gentlemen will
die of old age before they have q turn at second
wife
Year: 1863

OUR SEAcOAsT Cities During the Revolu.
tionary war there was not single seaboard city
which was rot in possession of the enemy. Some
Of them, New York for example, they took aud
held during the whole seven years. And they
might have held them for seventy without affect
ing the vitality of the cause of independence. The
British themselves were aware of this, and, when
the war of 1912 began, the Duke of Wellington
advised the British Cabinet that it useless to
attempt the conquest of America, that nothing
could be done beyond capturing few scaboard or
river cities, and that beyond the Immediate neigh
borhood Of the great rivers no permanent foothold
could be gained in the extensive and sparsely set
tied territory of the interior. The progress of the
war of 1872 proved the accuracy of the Dukes
counsel and the same is true COW Of the South. It
would have been better for US, in our opinion, if
we had never attempted to hold Vicksburg, or any
of our Mississippi or seaboard cities. We are not
certain but it would be true wisdom at once to
evacuate those which remain, and at least save
our soldiers and munitions of war Some of these
cities have been positive injury TO the Confed-
crate cause, with their blockade running and Yam
kee trade. But we must economize our soldiers
Weimust not suffer any more of them to fall into
Yankee traps and pitfalls.
Year: 1863

. ARTIFICIAL "SIAMEsE. TwINs"-A curious
experiment was lately made at SEasburg to effect
the union of two animals, so that they might, to a
certain degree, have life in common 1t was.
indeed, producing artifcially what nature produc-
ed spontaneously in those phenomena, the Siamese
twins. Two white rats of the Albino species were
selected for the experiment. An incision was
made In the right side of the one, and on the left
of the other, engaging the skin and the cellular
tissue under it. The surfaces Of the Two wounds
were. kept closely together by sutures and 6anda-
tentfon was found TO have taken place. They
then walked side by side, being united by Aeshy
band An attempt to posion both BY the mouth
of one did not succeed, but an injection thrown
into the jugular vein of one animal was found to
have entered the superficial femoral veins of the
other, showing clearly that an intimate vascular
union had already taken place between them.
Year: 1863

The NEXT CONGRESS- DENocRATIc,-The y.
Y, Herald figures out that there will be in the
next Congress an opposition majority to the
Administration Of from SIX to ten votes This
will be gratifying intelligence to the great
mass of the people of the United States. The
measures Of the last Congress were the most
odiOus and Infamous known to the history of
legislation since the world began. They have
caused more real damage and disaster to the
loyal States than the rebellion. 1t is well that
the people have returned conservative Cnion
majority 10 the next popular branch of Con-
gress. 1t leaves reasonable hope with the
patriotic for the Union.
Year: 1863

What have the Democracy to do with
such a position as that! Shall they
abandon the Union because the rebel
and republican parties have done so
Reverse the present position of affairs,
and place the republicans instead of the
rebels in armed rebellion, and would the
Express refuse another man or dollar to
prevent them from destroying the IN
ion! Democracy is principle, not a
distinguishing feature between men and
sections, and should bear against all
opposition and rise superior to the OBJ
stacles to be overcome. Everything
that is opposed to the unity, peace or
prosperity of the nation is the enemy of
Democracy.


We care nothing for Governor Bran
lette's inaugural address. We choose
rather to be governed Ly the principles
laid down by his party, than by the ar
guments with which he sees proper to
sustain those principles. They may be
right and the argument wrong.


AS dlfnition of the present attitude
OF democracy, We adopt paragraph
from the New York Argus: The
Democratic party is for peace. 1t viii
hail with satisfaction the ending of the
war, whenever that can be done upon a
basis Of a restoration of the Union.
But it will not consent to separation
of the States. Upon this platform ii
stands, to resist every assault and te
advocate peace with restored Union. =
Year: 1863

I have been appointed by the Secretary of the
Treasury Chief Agent for the purchase of Cotton for
the Confederate Government within the State af North
Carolina and will pay for the in per cent Bonds
or Cash.


SUB Agents visiting the different parts of the State
buying in my Eame will have written certificates of
appointment.


BY order of the Secretary of the Treasury, all Cot
ton purchased by myself or my agents. on and after
the 18th day of March, 1862 will be paid for in per
Bonds Cash and per cent BONDS as stated
in former advertisement. Up 10 that time, however
Patriotic citizens now offered an opportunity to
aid the Conveniently selling it their Cotton rather
than to private capitalists


LEWIS S. WILLIAMS.
Charlotte, March "a, 1868 If
Year: 1863

THE UNITED STATES AND RUssIA.-The
particulars of the great alliance proposed to be
formed by Russia with the United States have
leaked out in Federal6om. According to state
ments of the matter now made, it appears that the
Gar of Russia proposed to furnish the Federal
Government men and money to crush the rebell-
ion with. provided she would mortgage all lands
North of the Ohio River to him, assigning for his
reason for not taking the territory of the South,
that the people Of the South would suffer total an
Inhalation before they would submit, and there
would be nothing to gain by the conquest; THAT
the Federal Government would be exhausted, and
her bonds would be worth nothing. This PROPOSE.
ton did not meet with any favor with Old Abe
and his advisers; and Mr. Clay for entertaining it
has been sent to a new Aeld to exercise his great
persuasive powers A complete history of the
diplomatic schemes of Lincolns administration
would make decidedly spicy book.
Year: 1863

NEW MoDE OF CHOOSING A PREsDEST.-A
writer in the Augusta "Constitutonlist" makes
the following suggestion:


When the war iS-over and we remodel our Con
sitution, let us provide that the election Of Pres-
dent shall be conducted after this manner: Let
the electors unpledged to any man party select
from their own State citizen worthy Of filing
the Executive office. Let the names Of the candi-
dates Zone from every State) be put into bag,
aud then, all precautions against fraud having
been taken, and prayer put up by some minister
Of the gospel for Gods direction, let little child
draw out two ballots. The first drawn out 10 be
that of President, the second chat of the Vice
President
= BY this, we viii 6rst acknowledge God as our
King, we will give our ambitious men 4 higher
aim than Ihat Of the mere depagogue localiEioe'
it, we will remove from the people all motive fot
partizanship, We viii strengthen the States BY
rendering Capitalization more difficult togothel
with other effects which will suggest themselvei
to all couyersant with the history Of Republics.
Year: 1863

THE RIGHT SPIRIT.-The Government agent
in Darlington District, s. Co. reports that he found
men in that District who refused to accept IS cts
for their bacon but sold it to him for the army at
so cents per pound, and they said they even felt
ashamed to take that. Those men certainly have
souls and hearts
Year: 1863

GEN GUsrAvUs W. sMIrH.-This gentleman
has gone into the Iron business The Savannah
Republican says: Weare grati6ed to learn that
this distinguished gentleman has been assigned to
the control of an important interest He has been
chosen President of the Etowah Iron Mining
Company, in Barlow county, Ga, who have one
among the finest works Of the kind in the country
1t is said, and believe correctly, that, in order
to secure his voluable services, the Company has
transferred to him stock to the amount of S25 900,
besides voting him annual salary Of ST ,OOO


We do not think Gen. Smith is deserving of
much praise, for he got mad and resigned his COM
mission in the army account Of some. little
difficulty with the President No man is justified
in quitting the army because he is not promoted
or placed in commands to please him. Suppose
the prvates permitted to resign and leave the
army because of some action on the part of their
superiors which they did not like, what would be-
come of our armies and the country? This is no
time to stand on etiquette and red-tape rules.
Year: 1863

JAMES @. wELLIEa, ASSOCIATE EDITOR.


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