smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1874

In the course of his address ut Cooper
Institute, an effort which from first to last
was well sustained, and exceptionally
thoughtful and forcible. Rev. DR.. McGIvm
remarked


g The line that separates the lawful from
the unlawful, the line of demarkation be-
tween what we may do and what We must
not do, is after all 6A q line it is Il geo
metric;ll line, rs it We're, and it is almost
impossible to toe that line, and not to run
the risk of going beyond it, And so the
wise man is he, who having said in his
heart that he will not sin, is wise enough
to not 90 50 near to that line that it would
be almost Il miracle, if at some time or
another, in some unguarded moment he
should not Overstep it. He is a wise man
then who saws, Il hate so much to trans
gress that line. that | shall give it wide
berth; fear so much that terrible preci-
pice that is worse than death-the mere
approach to which makes me dizzv-that
| shall take great care never to come near
it" Travellers in the Western Territories.
when they approach those wonderful IA
vines that are dug out by the course of
rivers, thousands of feet below the level OF
the plains, even while yet Il considerable
distance off, already begin to dread be-
cause of this immense depth. They fear
us if some strange fascination would drive
them to throw themselves over, and they
shrink far from that terrible precipice
TApplause1 So should it be with us in the
matter of the use of Intoxicating drink.
Because of the hOrrid character of the
abuse, we should be exceedingly charv OF
the use; we should dread the use where
such abuse is so easy. 1t is a mathemati-
cal conclusion, that where the abuse pre-
cipitates us into IN abyss, which is literally
q pit aoittoW bottom, the proper proportion
of n0u-usc should be n0n-atse aCith0W end
and that is no use Ut aI. 1t is then vir-
tue not to use it, unless there be a positive
necessity Does the law of God com.
mand us to Use it? And if God does not
command, where is the necessity? 1t may
perhaps, exist, but it!will be very rarely tc
save life or preserve health Yet | an
sure that in most cases even the physician
who prescribes that remedy could, if he
would, prescribe some other equally effect
ual If he cannot, it might be well worth
yonr while to 90 to one who can. / would
here advert, in passing, to the terrible re
sponsibility Of the physician, who presents
the free use of Il remedy that SO often turn.
out far worse than the original disease"
Year: 1874

Some curious customs observed in the
bringing up.of children in China are de
scribed in IN article in AL the Year Round
When son is born n milk name " is
given him in connection with the rejoic-
ings of the family This corresponds with
our pet names. The important ceremony
of binding the wrists is observed in con-
nection with the thank-otferings to the
goddess mother. 1t varies in details. A
common plan is to tie II piece of red cot
ton loosely around the wrists; another is
to fasten some ancient copper coins on the
wrists for several days by means of red
cotton. In some families this is not finally
removed from the infants wrist for sew
eral months, though it is more usual to
take it off after fourteen days The idea
is that this binding of the wrists together
will prevent the baby from being wicked
and disobedient, not only in childhood, but
also in after life. In allusion to this sin
gular custom, when children are trouble
some and naughty, they are asked if their
mothers neglected to bind their wrists.


When the baby is a month old the head
is shaved for the first time and in the case
of Il boy this ceremony is performed before
the ancestral tablets. A feast is also given,
to which the relatives and intimate friends
are invited, and it is customary for them
to bring presents of toys, food, money.
etc. they also frequently club together
and send the infant a silver plate, on which
they inscribe three characters, meaning
longevity, honor. and happiness. Shortly
after this, the parents make their acknowl-
edgments to their friends for their con-
gratulations, and for the presents which
they have sent; this is commonly done bv
sending II small present of cakes in return
At a subsequent entertainment, which
sometimes takes place when the child is
four months old, the happy father,'' it is
said, bows down before the goddess
(mother), and begs that the child may be
good-natured and easy to take care of,
that it may grow fat, that it may sleep
we'll at night, that it may not be given to
crying" etc.


The maternal grandmother, when a boy
is IL year old, sends him present of Il
cap and pair of shoes, as well rs some
other garments, and on this occasion an
other family feast is held to celebrate the
birthday.


Our mothers, whose children are back
ward in walking, will be amused at the
following Chinese nursery superstition
- 1t is the custom in many families, when
the child is just beginning to walk alone
for a member of the family to take a large
knife, often such as is used in the kitchen
to cut up vegetables, and. approaching
him from behind as he is toddling along
to put it between his legs. or hold it a little
way off him. with the edge downwards
and then to bring it to the ground, rs if ir
the act of cutting something. This i:
called cutting the cords of his feet ant
the motion is repeated two or three times
1t is done in order to facilitate his learn
ing to walk, and is supposed to be of grea
use in keeping the child from stumbling
and falling down"


After the shaving of the head at the ent
of the first month, it is common practice
Year: 1874

A MINISTER WHO WASN'T 4 PUDDING
HEAD.-An anecdote is told of Parson
Shute, the first minister settled at South
bingham, which for ready wit ought not
to pass unrecorded. 1t appears that the
reverend gentleman was very fond of pud-
ding. so at a ministerial meeting cne day.
the hostess, in order to crafty the taste of
her guest. had pudding for dinner. I'm
fortunately, it came very near the fire
while it was cooking, so that when it was
served it was extremely hot. The parson,
without allowing it time to cool, placed "A
piece at once in his mouth. and then fol-
lowed the usual contortions incident to
such an occasion, but all to no purpose
The pudding would not 60, SO the parson,
who was a polite man. quietly slipped it
out of his mouth and into his coat pocket,
which was observed by one of his brother
ministers, who, for the sake ola Joke, said,
L" So you are putting the pudding in your
pocket, are you?" "Oh yes said the
parson, all unmove1, 81 put a little piece
in there merely to light my pipe with
after dinner'' The explanation, it is
needless to add. was sufficient.
Year: 1874

A Menasha farmer who was in town
with his wife, left her shopping, and when
he got through his business he started for
home, having forgotten all about her. She
found that he had gone, and SO she hired a
livery team and was driven home. He
was in the back yard doing his chores
when she arrived. She took press board
and went out there. Just as he was seat
ing himself on milking stool, and had
conversed with old brirdle a little on the
subject of " histing,'' SO he could reach
her fountain filled with milk, he heard
something drop on the opposite side of him
from the cow. 1t was the press-board,
and it struck on the elbow Of his pants.
His wife was at the other end of the press
board. The cow became frightened and
kicked him in the vital part, and goat
that had been watching affairs, butted him
opposite to where the cow left her tracks.
His wife asked him if he would ever forget
her again. and he said he never would, as
long as his back ached.-GLd Crosse DEM
ocr0t.
Year: 1874

A striking and novel annexation on the
holy Scriptures was made in NeU York
Herald leader, the other day. in these
words: '' None of the pigeons are more
thoroughly symbolical than the cock which
crew thrice in the night, and whose crow
ing was of the most significance to a per-
son whose character no one admires. Ju-
das went and hanged himself when he had
heard the cock crow three times" No
previous commentator. we believe, has
stated that it was cock pigeon that crew,
and it has not been customary to connect
Judas with the occurrence. But the relig-
ious character of the Herald settles these
points.
Year: 1874

grass and flowers refuse to grow. ANY
time through the winter, harness the old
horse, and start for the woods to hunt for
what our English friends term "a pleasing
bit of rock-wOrk" An unusually rough
tions, is a prize; let such form load to
begin with. Next collect supply of the
unctuous leaf mold, which has laid buried
beneath its covering for many years, until
it has become as dark and firm us the most
f;astidious plant can require. These things,
with the addition of some good sharp
sand from the creeks margin supply the
groundwork for the structure. In arrang-
ing the stones upon the heap. do not at
tempt any mathematical precision; endeav-
or to initiate some shelving mass of rock,
such as may be found in nature, the wilder
and more irregular in outline, the more
effective and appropriate it will prove.
With the advent of spring, repair to the
woods again, and wherever the little
curling frouds of the ferns are just peeping
above the leaves, with the aid of good
trowel carefully pry ont a good ball of
earth, roots and all, and transfer them to
their artificial home. There are also many
other pretty and modest native plants
which will thrive luxuriantly amid Just
such surroundings; watch for these during
summer and mark them, so that when the
dormant season arrives they may be re-
moved with safety. An occasional trailing
vine, clambering over and festooning the
surrounding shrubs, will add dainty
grace to the hitherto unattractive corner
The appropriateness of rockeries has
been frequently called in question. but this
we presume, is an allusion to the practice
of placing them upon the open well kept
lawn-a custom which would seem to be in
direct opposition to all the acknowledged
rules of taste; but in such out-of-the-way
hooks as we have suggested, nothing could
be more appropriate or attractive.-Ne1C
York Tribune
Year: 1874

STORM SIGNALs.-It is announced that
the Meteorological Committee of the
Board of Trade of London have decided
to return to the use of the storm signals of
Admiral Fitzroy. These signals, which
have Tor some years past, since the death
of that eminent meteorologist. been dis
continued, gave formerly great satisfac-
ton to those directly interested in the
navigation of the sea: although many
landsmen We're found who harped upon
the occasional mistakes that occurred.
The success of Admiral Fitzrov and the
necessity of u similar work to secure the
safety of the shipping in American ports,
had great weight with Congress in the
deliberations incident to the estal lish-
ment of the system of storm warnings of
the Army Weather Bureau. Indeed. the
system of Admiral Fitzroy has been so far
followed that there is not now throughout
the civilized world Il single seaport of any
Importance that does not provide for the
prediction of approaching storms as care
fully as it provides for the preservation of
its channels or the maintenance of efficient
lighthouses. In Great Britain the plan
adopted is to let the Government provide
the meteorological observers, the tele-
graphy and the storm predictions while the
individual seaports provide for the display
of the warning signals. By this arrange
ment the expense of the system is very
uniformly distributed. In this country
the army provides for all the expenses, in
Guiding the signals: an arrangement that
increases very materially the necessary
appropriations made by Congress: but
that is said to ensure more perfect per-
formance of the work In one point,
however, the English system is manifestly
superior to our own, viz. !: in that the sig
nal adopted in that country indicates the
direction from which the approaching gale
is expected to blow. 1t is well known
that the signal displayed at New York
tells us merely that high winds are ex-
pected, but gives us no further hint rs tc
their character, whether they are to come
/ from the north, south, east or west
Many a vessel is consequently detained fol
fear lest northeast wind is approaching
only to find that the gale is westerly one
and would have been helpful had she
put out to sea. 1t surely cannot be thai
the Signal Office has not the information
necessary to justify the display of sucl
signals rs are used in England Would il
not be an improvement if throughout the
world a uniform system of storm signal


should be adopted such as the English sys
tenn, which is already well known ant
highly appreciated?
Year: 1874

The SPOKEN WORD.-The Arabs, who
have many good proverbs, have one which
is found true and truer the more expert
cnce we have of life. While the word
is vet unspoken," they say, ..vou are
master of it; when once it is spoken, it is
master of you III luck and good luck
both know this proverb by heart, and,
though both quarrel with it, they know
well that their quarrel is hopeless. The
"Oh, stranger. what a word has escaped
the fence of my teeth" so often repeated
in Homer, has a familiar sound as we read
it; for our hearts say it to our hearts life
long, from the day when the heart has
first a voice. An amusing story is told of
Campbell, apOcrvphal no doubt. how the
expression, the author of The Pleasures of
Hope. forever tagged to his name, whether
written or spoken, became at last a weari-
ness to the flesh and to the spirit. and how
he sighed out, one day. that his spirit
would dread to return to earth again lest
it should read on his tombstone. Here
lies the author of The Pleasures of Hope. >
So we have heard of distinguished travel
cr whose literary work is far from being
contemplate, but whom it vexes to be
denied the style of poet, by world that
knew him first rs a narrator of travelling
adventures, when travellers were rarer
among us than they are to-day. Even so
great poet as Goethe would have given
some of his immortal laurels if he could
have been reckoned among the men of
science, and John Ruskin, who is pure
poet, without trace of the scientific
faculty. insists that science is his field, and
that the world misnames him critic and
prose-poet. Doubtless. the list is a large
one of the unhappy happy men whom
Fame has taken by the hand. and who
quarrel with that spoken word of theirs
which caught her ear, and made her love
them. and which her love repeats for
ever.-Scribncr's Monthly.
Year: 1874

CREMATION.-AT Troy cremationist asks.
wouldn't it be pleasant to receive a des-
patch something like this some day:
DEAR MoTHER.-William died at noon TO day
Ashesby mail. Yours in sorrow,


JOHN SMITH.
With the adoption of cremation there
will also have to be a change of obituary
verse to something like the following:


The boast of heraliry,


The pOmp of power,


And all that beauty,


And all that wealth e'cr knew


Await alike the inevitable hour


The path of gloy leads out 10 the lue.


"And this is all that's left of thee,


Thou faircst of earth's daughters;


Only four pounds of ashes white


out of one hundred and fourteen and


three quarters"


The Chicago Trib,nc illustrates as fol-
lows the connection between the urn and
the bottle: Alcoholism and cremation
are fast becoming cosmopolitan questions.
People are waking up to the conviction
that it is a sanitary necessity they should
be burned; but then. they favor postpon-
ing the process until the mortal coil has
been shuffled off Cremation internally
during life, practised as it is every day in
the liquor saloons of Chicago, New York,
London and other places. is by competent
authorities declared to be as unwholesome
as post-mortem cremation in a Siamese
furnace is salutary.n
Year: 1874

DEAD BUT NOT BURIED. When a friend
dies and is buried. there's an end of him.
We miss him for space out of our daily
existence; we mourn for him by degrees
that become mercifullv less; we cling to a
blessed hope that we shall be reunited in
some more perfect sphere; but, so far as
this earth is concerned, there's an end of
him. However near and dear he was, the
time arrives when he does not form part
of our daily thought; he ceases to be even
an abstraction. We 90 no more with
flowers and tears into the quiet cemetery
only the rain and the snow-fiakes fall
there; we leave it for the fingers Of spring
to deck the neglected mound. But when
our friend vanishes unaccountably in the
midst of a crowded city, or goes off on a
sea-voyage and is never heard of again,
his memory has a singular tenacity. He
may be to all mtcnts and purposes dead to
us, but we have not lost him. The ring of
the door-bell at midnight may be his ring
the approaching footstep may be his foot
step; the unexpected letter with foreign
postmarks may be from his hand. He
haunts us as the dead never can. The wo-
man whose husband died, last night, may
marry again within Il luster of months.
Do you suppose Il week passes by when
the woman whose husband disappeared
mysteriOusly ten years ago does not think
of him? There are moments when the
opening of a door must startle her. There
is no real absence but death.-T B. H
drich in atlantic.
Year: 1874

At the earliest practicable moment the
revenue of the country should be increased
so as to pay the current expenses, provide
for the sinking fund required by law, and
also a surplus to be retained in the treas
ury in gold. | am not n believer in anv
artificial method of making paper money
equal to coin, when coin is not owned or
held ready to redeem the promises to pay,
for paper mOneyis nothing more than prom
ises to pay and is valuable exactly in pro-
portion to the amount of coin that it can
be converted into. While coin is not used
as a circulating medium, or the currency
of the comi is not convertible into par,
it becomes an


ARTICLE OF COMMERCE,


rs much,as any other product. The sur
plus will seek the foreign market as well
has nothing to do with the question Du-
creates limited demand for gold and
about enough to satisfy the demand re-
mains in the country. To increase this
supply, l see no way open but by the gov
ernment hoarding through the means
above given, and possibly by requiring the
national banks to aid.


UNEtlUA AL DlSIKlBJ lion OF BANNING


CAPITAL.


1t is claimed by the advocates of the
measures herewith returned that there is
an unequal distribution of the banking
capital of the country. | was disposed to
give great weight to this view of the ques-
tion at first, but on reflection it will be re-
membered that there still remains four
millions of dollars of authorized bank note
circulation assigned to states having less
than the quota taken. In addition to this,
states having less than the quota of bank
circulation have the option of twenty five
millions more to be taken from those states
having more than their proportion. When
this is all taken up. or when specie pay
ments are fully restored OF are in rapid
progress of restoration, it will be time to
consider the question of more currency.


Signed L. S. GRANT.


Executive Mansion, April %, 1874
Year: 1874

She was very still, and appeared to be asleep, when suddenly she sprang into the middle of the room, where she fixed her feet on limited spot on the floor, to which also her nose was ap- piled, as if closely grasping something which she held in her claws. This continued for short time, when the nose was gently raised, and the visible attention was directed to the feet, which still continued their grasp but after time one of them was gradually removed, and then the other, on which puss appeared greatly at 8 loss to inn agine whither the imaginary object could have gone so as to escape her grasp. She looked in various direc- tions along the floor with foolish face of confusion and then again her atten- tion was directed to the spot on which her feet were closely pressed, as if to examine closely whether the presumed escape had been sinking through the floor and when this seemed unsatis- factory the disappointed animal, now widely awake, retired once more to re- examine the place, as if she found it impossible to comprehend how an ob- ject she had so plainly seen and grasped should have sunk into nothing. Many minutes elapsed before this cat appeared to be reconcilcd to the con- viction that what had been dream was not in truth reality.-Land and Water.
Year: 1874

The other day Colorado miner from Fairplay came to the valley for sup plies. He carried his right arm in 8 sling one eye was twisted ; face scratched, torn and indented with ridges, and head as guiltless of hair as a billiard ball, and looked as if he had been invited by some of the Indians to scalping picnic; but it turned out that he had received all these wounds from the claws of grizzly. The griz- zly obtains full growth in four years. At six he is in his prime, and able to cope with any animal in existence. The lion would stand very poor show in the hug of a grizzly. The average weight is 1 200 pounds, but number have been killed in Colorado who kick ed the beam at 800. Old man Griffin, of Canon, an early settler, and reputed to be sharp bear hunter, knocked over grizzly last fall that weighed 1,600 pounds after being dressed. The claws were long enough to anchor good sized sloop, being nine inches in length. He fought to the last, and, with three balls square through the heart, charged upon the enemy, and dropped down stone dead so close to the old man that he could touch him with his paw. They tell story of a foolish young fellow, residing on Current Creek, who made bet that he would lasso griz- zly and bring him into camp. He made the experiment., and slipped a good moose over Bruin but the latter sat down upon his launches coolly, and commenced hauling in on the line. In vain the horse struggled-the power at the other end was irresistible but, fortunately, the lariat broke and the rash young man escaped.
Year: 1874

A story is told of Governor Chilten. don, who was one of the early Govern ors of Vermont. He was quite an ex- tensive farmer, and in those days to be a Governor did not greatly interfere with the incumbent's ordinary vocation. He had two sons. One of them was boy of bright intellect and the other de- cidedly dull. The old gentleman thought that nature had done enough for the youngest and that he would make his way in the world without more than common-school education, but that the elder one would need all the aid of liberal education to make up the natural deficiency, and he was accordingly sent to college, while his brother was kept on the farm. It hap pened one spring that among the fruit of the Governors herd was very stupid calf. It would not suck or drink, and no amount of effort on the part of the father, son, or hired man, could in- duce him to take his s1lstenance. After repeated trials the good mans patience gave out, and he said to his son, Freeman, what on earth shall We do with this stupid fool ?" II don't know, father" was the ready response, "un- less we send him to college with Mar tin"