smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1877

BURLINGTON Haaokeye: An intel
lectusl young man, promising student
Just back from Brown University, was
met at the Union Depot by an elderly
man who made grasp at the young
mans hands, and even essayed to clasp
him in his arms. The young man shook
hands with the enthusiastic native in a
noncommittal sort of way, and said, in
not unfriendly tones, Well, indeed, my
dear fellah-I really-your face is rather
familiar; it seems to me l have met
with you somewhere, and yet can't ex-
actly place you" And as the father
gazed at his distinguished son in dumb
amazement, and thought how only five
years ago he had distributed thorough
bred welts and orthodox blisters all
around his youthful back with a piece
of lath, for taking the old mans razor to
trim off shinny club, he sighed and
went back to the Office with an unaltera-
BILE determination to bind out his other
sons to shoemakers and blacksmiths.
Year: 1877

Mr.. Clarence Cook, writing on house.
furnishing in the April number of Serb
rer, makes some suggestions in regard to
American decoration of China. We
quote the paragraph entire:


Since writing about china in the JAN
uary number of Scribner. it has occurred
to me to say word about the home
decoration of porcelain, which is at las.
getting started after having been for
years discouraged by the Indifference or
mild hostility of the dealers. 1t has long
been plain that it was idle to hope for
help from the importers and decorators
of porcelain and earthenware, because
they could not be made to see that their
interest lay in getting to be independent
of the foreign workmen. The decora-
tive arts are in rather a despairing state
in this country because the dealers in
wallpapers, chins, furniture, and printed
and woven stuffs, find it cheaper to
"convey foreign designs than to en-
ploy men who could invent fresh de-
signs and patterns. The only way ap-
parently in which these arts can be given
an American impulse is by people out
side these decorative trades making their
own designs and getting them executed
Perhaps the easiest of the arts to make a
beginning with will be the decoration of
porcelain, and as one of the main diff
culties, the getting it baked namely, is
now put out of the way, there is no
reason why everybody who has any
liking for dabbling in colors should not
buy few earthenware plates and some
colors and begin to decorate china. Oh
course, many of those who make the ex-
pertinent will fail and give up trying,
and many of those who fail at first will
up and at it again, and will succeed at
last. But if the occupation can be fairly
set on foot, and enough people can be
induced to give up working in worsteds
and painting wall-mottoes, and to try
their hands at decorating china for thei1
friends or for the public, beginning
may be made of waking up the dealer.
to some interest in supplying the homs
market with home work.
Year: 1877

COLONEL JOHN W. DIX, son of Ex-
Governor Dix, died at the home of his
father in New York city recently. He
was Secretary of Legation with his
father in Paris, and Private Secretary at
Albany while his father was Governor
OF the State. He had for several years
been his fathers Private Secretary, and
had the sole management of valuable
trust estate,
Year: 1877

Nearly q century ago there lived in
the Town of Charlottesville young
man who played a prominent part in
society circles. He was an accomplished
dancer, dressed in fashionable style,
and was the central figure at balls and
parties. Upon one of these festive oc-
casions a wag, who was present, at
tached bundle of rags to the coat-tail
of the youth, and with this absurd APP
pendage to his otherwise faultless APP
parel he went through the mazes of the
dance with the beautiful bellies of the
day. When he discovered the trick
that had been played upon him the
young man was SO deeply mortified
that he ever afterward eschewed society,
and lived the life of hermit. Aban-
doning the gay world, he betook him
self to small building which stood on
the site of the present residence of Mr..
James Dolin, and commenced the sale.
of whisky. The door of his den was
fastened with a log chain, and was
never opened wider than was necessary
to admit the quart bottle of a thirsty
customer. At first he bought the liquor
by the jug and retailed it by the pint,
but as business grew brisk he purchased
barrel, and finally, when the price of
whisky got down to twenty cents per
gallon, he was enabled by his rapid ac-
cumulations to fill his cellar. He lived
thus for many years, never leaving the
premises in daylight except at the May
term Of the County Court, when he
would emerge from his den clothed in a
drab swallow-tailed coat, reaching
nearly to the ground, and pair of
leather breeches. walk to the Court
House, procure his license, and return
to his hole. After night he would visit
pump near the Courthouse. and
some people said that on dark nights he
would extend his walks into the
country.


About forty years ago, one rainy
morning, when a customer knocked at
the door of this singular individual,
then an old man, there was no response.
The door was forced open, and the sol
itary occupant was found to be dead.
A committee of citizens was appointed
to examine the premises. The cellar
was found well stored with liquor mel
lowed by age, and beneath the ground,
buried in earthen crooks, $4,000 in
specie were brought to the surface.
Probably, with a prophetic vision of
broken Charlottesville banks, he was a
hard-money man in the strictest sense
of the words. A log Of wood, upon
which the head of the miser rested, and
blanket, covering his stiffened limbs,
constituted the furniture of the miser's s
home. His only ledger was a slate.
upon which was found statement of
the amount of cash on hand, which tall
lied with the contents of the earthen
Jars. The name of this old man was
John Yeargen. There are many OF our
citizens who remember him well. :
Charlottesville (Hn.j Chronicle.
Year: 1877

Every parent knows how to sympa-
thize with the parents of Edith Bentley,
of Paterson, New Jersey, in the sorrow
which that misguided schoolgirl has
brought upon them, and we do heartily
respect their grief At the same time
it is impossible to overlook the fact
that these sorrowing parents seem to be
in some measure responsible for their
own i'll fortune, and their case points a
moral which it is the duty of the news
papers to enforce.


Edith Bentley, we are told in the dis
patches, is well-grown girl, fourteen
years of age, who appears to be sew
eral years older. She was pupil in
the Paterson High School, and, we are
informed, was given to the reading of
literature of the kind commonly called
sensational felton, Last Friday she
disappeared from home, and the anx-
ious inquiries made for her reveal the
fact that she has found, in a travelling
minstrel band, man who fills her ideal
of a hero of romance, and has left
home to meet him in New York.


The terrible nature of her act needs
no setting forth, but back of it lies a
cause which is at work in thousands of
other households. This girl has been
permitted to fill her young Imagination
with false, delusive and unwholesome
notions of human nature and human
life, by reading the feverish stories that
come from the Minerva press, and her
flight from home and its consequences
are the direct and legitimate results of
the training she has been permitted to
receive from books of that pernicious
sort. Who is responsiblep Plainly
her parents, who should have taken
both negative and positive measures of
prevention; who should have taken
pains to keep unwholesome books out
of their young daughters hands, and
equal pains to place wholesome ones
within her reach, that her taste for
reading might be so profitably culti-
waited as to be a source of moral strength
rather than of moral weakness.


That which is true in this case is true
also in the case of all families in which
there are children. Ours is reading
age, and our children will read some
thing; it is for parents to take care that
the things read shall be wholesome
things. 1t is not enough that bad books
shall be kept out of their hands; unless
good books, entertaining books, which
are at the same time free from all man
ner of taint, are bought and kept with
in the reach of the youth of our time,
access to bad books cannot be prevent
ed by merely repressive measures. Our
large liberty of the .press amounts
books by the score are published, cir
culated and read which are as posi-
lively pernicious to young readers as
are the books which the law prohibits.
Books of this unwholesome sort are
sold on railway trains, kept in circulat-
ting libraries. sometimes even in SIM
Year: 1877

by clustering the extravaganza o. the
rich, is incalculable. In the great null
titude of smaller communities this is a
method, when fully in operation, that
may wisely supersede all official relief.


1t requires sacrifice of time, of money
and Of personal ease upon the part Of
those who undertake it. But its re-
suits are so beneficient that they are a
rich compensation. Harper's Weekly.
Year: 1877

Jonah was but one man, and be
preached but one sermon, and it was
but a short sermon as touching the
number Of words, and yet be turned the
whole city, great and small, rich and
poor, king and all We may be preach
ers here in England, and we preach
many long sermons. and yet the people
will not repent and convert. This was
the first fruit, the effect. and the good
that his sermon did, that the whole
city, at his preaching, converted, and
mended their evil living, and did pen
ance in sackcloth And yet here in
this sermon of Jonah's is no great curl
BUSINESS, no great clerkliness, no great
affectation of words, nor Of painted elo-
quence it was none other but, ''yet
forty days and Ninevah shall be des-
troyed ' 1t was no more This was
no great curious sermon, biting SER
mon it had a full bite; it was a rough
sermon, and sharp, biting sermon
Do you not here marvel these Ninevites
cast not Jonah into prison ? that they
did not revile him nor rebuke him ?
They did not revile him nor rebuke
him. but God gave them grace to hear
him, and to convert and amend at his
preaching A strange matter, SO noble
a city to give place to one mans SER
mon Bishop Latimer.
Year: 1877

This is my birthday, and am sixty
years old. Sooner than expected, l
am an old man. | do not realize that
I am But the family record tells me
so; and my looks in the glass accord.
Some years ago gave notice from the
pulpit one Sabbath that on a certain
evening of the week l would address
the young men Of my congregation. In
preparing for the service, the question
arose "Who arc the men 2" | placed
the limits at 1876. And then, for the
first time the thought occurred to me
that | was not young man, and that
I never should be again. Before was
aware, had passed beyond thirty-fve,
and was in the midst of my days. 1t
was to me an affecting thought.


And now I find that I have passed
out of middle life, and that my place is
amongst the aged. What remains to
me of life is crowded into a narrow
space. cannot reasonably expect to
live beyond three-score years and ten.
And how soon will that limit be reach
ed, if my life shall be spared till then :?
look back to some event that occurred
ten years ago, and the time looks very
short ; but as yesterday. Nor will the
ten years to come pass less rapidly
They will fly away as the swift ships,
and bear me across the ocean Of time,
and land me on the shores of eternity.
All that can do for my own soul, for
my fellow travellers, or for the kingdom
of Christ here, must be done soon l
shall soon have become an inhabitant
of the unseen world familiar with its
great realities. If I am indeed Cbrist's,
| shall be with him in heaven | shall
see the blessed Saviour face to face,
and be like Him My voice will be
heard in that new song, which none but
the redeemed can learn. l shall forever
be done with sin and sorrow, and l
shall know by precious experience the
blessedness of that rest which remaineth
for the people of God
Year: 1877

Earnestness does not always move
with clatter Have you never known
a man bustling and oficious, clamorous
and loud, but who did not weigh heavy
after all "a thing very well under
stood by every one except just the man
who might have profted by that piece
Of information And have you never
known a man quiet, unostentatious and
faithful, and who was perpetual bless
ing, a man deep-souled and true, whose
memory fingered long after he was
gone, like light upon the hills after a
gorgeous sunset =?


The shallow stream rattles along its
course but when it is met and drowned
by the majestic tides rolling from the
sea, there is silence on the hills. In
the great tide there is more than hun
dred rivulets, yet its coming is almost
as quiet as the celestial forces that bring
it, The tide flows down stream, grows
shallow, and again the empty chatter
ing goes on. Things most potent, al
though demonStratiVe, as indeed they
must be from their effects, are not neces-
sarily noisy A strong, earnest life
need not make what some people are in
the habit of calling "a fuss" 1t is bet
ter known by the lead that strikes, than
by the bang Of the gun which sends it.
Golden Rule.
Year: 1877

New York, Feb. 2l.-A cable dispatch
states that thirty vessels, many with their
entire crews, have been lost in gale off
the English coast on the night of the 10Th.
The area of the storm was exceptionally
extensive and embraced the greater part
of tle British Islands and the whole
of northern and central France The
violence Of the storm was extraordinary;
the force of the gale has been only equaled
during recent years by that of the one a
few weeks ago.
Year: 1877

our citizens to allow the present state of
things to exist In the coming election 10
one should be elected alderman who will
not use bis influence to secure the early
passage of measure looking to the better
protection of property against fire.
Year: 1877

Hermit-crabs are the most invariably
entertaining creatures to be found on
the sea-shore The fierceness with
which they quarrel with each other for
the possession of snail shell, and the
cruelty with which they treat an unfor-
tunate brother who has not found shell
in which to ensconse his soft hinder
parts, have often been commented upon.
A correspondent of Forest and Stream, re-
lates anincidentwhich gives anew notion
of the formidable capacities of this crab.
At the Aquarium in this city Lafayette
fish was noticed one day as behaving
strangely. A hermit-crab, scarcely a
tenth the size of the fish, had seized it
by the gills. After gasping and strug-
Cling awhile the fish at last died. On
examination it was found that the crab
killed the fish by pinching its gill-eovers
SO as to close them. AS the fish could
not open its gills, it was suffocated. Oh
course the circumstance that the crat
made the seizure just as to shut the gill
covers, may have been an accident; but
if another occurrence of the kind should
be witnessed, it must be admitted tha
the hermit-crab has developed splendid
ingenuity in its method of attack.
Year: 1877

A German paper gives some details of
the extraordinary development of the
breeding and training of carrier-pigeons
in Germany since the late war. During
the siege of Paris, pigeons afforded the
only means of communication between
the outside world and the inhabitants of
the beleagured city. M order that SIM
liar messengers might be available in
the hour of need, pigeon-houses were
established after the conclusion of the
war in most of the larger garrison towns
of North and South Germany, and now
pigeon-fiying is rapidly becoming a IA
vorite pastime and sport throughout the
country. The increased attention thus
given to the subject has resulted in the
observation of many peculiarities in the
birds. Carrier-pigeons of good breed,
although they may be started in compa-
ny and bound for the same place, fly
quite Independently of one another.
Each one selects its own course, some
taking q higher, others lower fight,
and speeds on its way without taking
any heed of its neighbors.. The birds
seem to know that they are racing, and
each one exerts itself to the utmost to
arrive first at the goal. In the neigh
borhood of every pigeon-house there are
always certain places, trees, ETC., which
are usually favorite resorts of the birds,
but when coming in in race the we'll
bred pigeon never stops for moment
at any of these haunts, but flies straight
to his own particular house, frequently
arriving there in so exhausted a state as
to be unable even to eat the food it is
most fond of. Birds which are sitting,
or which have lately Matched young, are
generally taken in preference to others
for racing; but instances have been
known in which carrier-pigeons of good
breed which have been taken to fresh
home, and which have hatched young
there, have deserted their brood and
flown away to their original home at the
first opportunity they had Of escaping.
Year: 1877




Condensed beer, prepare d according to
a new process patented in England, ap-
pears likely to become of commercial i'm
portance. The liquid may be taken at
any stage of fermentation, although pre-
ferable at the time when 1t is fit for drink
ing. 1t is evaporated in vacuum, until
large part of the water and alcohol is
distilled away, and the beer is reduced
to thick, viscid fluid, of about the con-
sistency of molasses. The alcohol and
water pass off in vapor. which is conden-
sed, and the alcohol subsequently, OBJ
tanned by redistillation is mixed with the
condensed beer, either before bottliug or
at any time afterward. In this way beer
may be reduced to one-eighth or ore
twelfth its original bulk, and, it is said,
will keep for any length of time. To re-
stor,- the beer to its first consistency it is
only necessary to add the bulk of water
distilled off, with small quantity of
yeast or other ferment, and in forty
eight hours the beer is ready for bottling
If charged with carbonic acid in a re-
ceiver, renewed fermentation is obviat
ed.
Year: 1877

EVANSVILLE, Aug. 27.-The expert
ment OF arresting tramps and compelling
them to work on the streets is being
tried here with great success. When first
arrested some are little fractions and
refuse to work, but when put in dark
cell and I'D on bread and waJer, they
soon yield. One Of the prisoners who
was sentenced to pay fine of $25 or
forty days in Jail, after one days work
ing breaking stone on the street was so
opposed to working for board that he
paid the fine. The plan is good in two
ways-the streets are improving and
thereSare fewer arrests.
Year: 1877

AN order has at last been issued from the


post Office department that unsealed pack


ages from Europe, arriving in New York


by mail, which contain dutiable goods


shall be returned TO the foreign forwarding


postotce, marked Subject to custom
duties" and suspected sealed packages
shall only be delivered when the receiver
consents to the opening of the package in
the presence of q customs officer. Millions
of dollars worth of gloves, jewelry, laces,
and costly trinkets and goods Of every dis
cription have been smuggled into this
country through the mails, and heretofore


nothing has been done to check it. Th.
practice of getting friends in Europe to
send dutiable goods of the smaller sort
through the mails ia universal, and gift
from abroad are almost always sent in thai
way. So successful has this sort of traf4ic
been that tradesman are now smugglin,
large varieties and quantities Of goods in
this W y, and hence the order. If customs
are t. lie collect ted, there should he n,


possible way Of avoiding them successfully
Year: 1877

The people before long will find out t.
their sorrow, and when it is too late to re
pair the error, that they have given coun
tenance to the establishment of titlef
and privileged aristocracy by increasing
the army, that years Of future Legislation,
will not enable them to gel rid Of. Every
member of Congress who helped to faster
a military aristocracy on the people should
be allowed to retire into private life wher
his present term of Office expires.
Year: 1877

The Utah court in which Brigham
Young's nineteenth wife sued him for ali.
mony, has decided that she was not his
legal wife, because the laws of the United
States distinctly forbid poIygamy, and that
his only lawful wife is the woman to whom
he was first married. In permitting this
case to go against him under such deci.
sion Brig ham virtually admits that the
remainder of his wives are not living with
him in the bonds Of holy wedlock; but per-
haps he is Indifferent to the legal aspect Of
The matter if he believes that the laws of
his church are superior to The laws of the
country. There isiapparently another I'M
pleasant result of this decision. Iflhe law
against polygamy is strong enough to
refuse this woman alimony upon such a
ground, it ought to be strong enough to
punish Brigham Young for living in
polygamy. This statute is not worth much
if it can be used et1ectually only for smit-
ing one Of the prophets victims.
Year: 1877

The postponement Of tho meeting of
Congress until the month of October, NAV
be wise in one respect, but it will certainly
work serious trouble to great number O,
people. There are about 5000 enlisted
men entitled to their discharge from the
army during the coming summer, all Of
whom are entitled to have their pay how
to get it without an appropriation is a
mystery. There is a smack of despo,ism
about the determination of the Prcsidsu,
to govern the country, without the usual
grants Of money by Congress, it recalls to
mind, the worst periods of English history.
lis wisdom is doubtful.
Year: 1877

The commission appointed to examine
the foundations Of the Washington Monu-
ment has submitted an opinion. 1t has
been patent to every one that there was
something wrong about that monument.
For long years the unfinished structure has
stood a reproach to the people who pro-
less q special regard for the man who Is
revered the world over. Before the late
war this reproach was felt, and spasmodlc
but unfruitful efforts were made to take il
away. In the "Aush times" since the war,
the matter has been often brought up with
better prospects, apparently, than before.
But something has always occurred to
hinder the completion Of the task. AT last
people got out Of concsit with the design
and still later with the very foundation.
The commissions report just made seems
to justify the last mentioned dissatisfaction
and to show that it is perhaps as we'll that
thu monument has not been completed.
The examination Of the foundation reveals
the fact that the shaft is sensibly out ci
plumb, and that its completion according
to the original plan would lead the founda-
ton beyond the limits Of safety.


1t may be difficult to say which would
be most discreditable-an unfinished mon.
ument, or finished monument that would
look like half uprooted tree stem, if ii
did not fall over. But there can be nc
question upon one point. II. is much easier
to begin anew and make proper monument
now, than it would be after attempting to
complete the old shaft and expending
much more money upon it,. 1t may be a.
well, therefore, that the opinion of the ex
perts has been obtained at this time. II
the enterprise does not now suffer the usual
relapse, there is perhaps chance Of getting
it properly started at least.