smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1877

The following letter, just received, we commend to the consideration of our townsmen:

 AUGUsT 10th, 1877. ED. DEMocRAT: I saw an article copied from your paper by the Spirit of Arkansas, headed "'ro Prosper or not to Prosper" in which you say the people of the South ought to have manufactories of their own, as you say it would save them large sums in freight, profits, and com missions, which now benefit the north. Now what encouragement would man get to start mill to manufacture flax, or hemp goods? He understands the manufacturing of rope, from fish-hnes to cable rope; {; also of coarse bagging, towellng and cloth. Would your people be will ing to take stock in manufactory for hemp or flax? The gentleman can furnish good references, and testimonials as to his abilities. Will also furnish estimates of cost of machinery, stock, &c., also profits to stockholders, if desired. I hope you will excuse stranger address ing you as 1 have done, but l think it may prove to the interest of both parties. If you would talk the mat ter up among the influential men of your town, and if they are disposed to take hold let me know, and will send you the gentleman's address. The mills of the class I mention already in the South, are making good profits for their owners. There is a bagging factory at Columbus, Ga, and several in St. Louis, and Louisville. Arkansas ought to have ONE at least. and it might as we'll be at Russellvile, as another place. If you choose you may publish my letter in your paper. An answer would oblige yours truly,

 CHAs. E. WINTER.

 Kankakee, Illinois.

 We have not had time since re- ceipt of the above to talk to many of our citizens in regard to the subject proposed, but we know that our peo- pie are ready at all times to give all the aid and encouragement to new enterprises which their clrcumstanc- es will admit of. If the gentleman referred to by Mir. Winter is in earnest and is an energetic business man desiring to come here we shall cordially welcome him, but we sug- gest that it would be much better for him to come and talk the matter up, rather than depend upon some one else to do it. Let him come right here and see the situation and show that he is interested and in earnest about it. That is the way to inspire confidence and awaken enthusiasm. Meantime we ask our people to study the advanges of starting manufacturing enterprises and whenever an overture is made meet it liberally and extend cor dial invitation to all who may wish to embark in new enterprises here.
Year: 1877

and allow crime and lawlessness to find congenial home among you, don't lay the fault to your peace of ficers, for where the masses back up their officers, the officers generally do their duty.
Year: 1877

Half the fools in the United Statet think they can beat the doctors curing the sick; two-thirds of them are sure they can beat the ministers preaching the gospel; and all of them know they can beat the editors running the newspapers.
Year: 1877

TnE poetry of motion may be seer in
two ways at one aud the same time.
just watch bald beaded man ia chlnch.
10 look at him you would think hi.
whole being was absorbed in wrestling
with those great problems Of theology
THAT the preacher is rolling in upon him
like Hood, but IL is not so look closely
and you will see the set teeth, the c1eked
eye. and Vengeance staadng out upun hi.
brow. lie knows that ly has been
shining for the last five minutes bacl,
and forth aud all over his head, but can
find no resting place for the sole Of his
foot. Suddenly as the lightning's fash
his hand is describing circle in the air,
and the fly is gracefully makinga straight
line to further conquests in the other aisle.
Y0hkerS gazette.
Year: 1877

The meeting last night in the City Hall
was again we'll attended, and addresses
we're delivered by the regular speakers,
who still continue to draw many to the
army of temperance men. The number of
signers to the pledge is greatly increasing
greatly, and 1t now comes near 1,100.
Year: 1877

Washington ordnance officers are much interested in the fact that on Wednesday last there was cast at tbe South Boston Foundry 12-inch rifled gun. being the first one made for the government of the United States. The weight of this piece of ordnance, when finished, will be about 5000 pounds. and will carry proiectile weighing about 700 pounds. Tue ordinary charge of powder for firina it will be from 11o to 140 pounds. with which the projec- tile will penetrate solid mass of iron from 12 o15 inches thick, at distance of 1000 yards. The gun is made of cast iron, lined with wrought iron oored tube, and when finished will be sent to the proving ground on Sandy Hook to be tested, and If found to be satisfactory, will be mounted on one of the Qualifications in New York Harbor. General Benet, chief of the bureau of ordnance Colonel Bres- pin. the ordnance constructor, and other prominent ordnance officers witnessed the casting on Wednesday. The gun is made on system which has been thoroughly tested in this country on guns of smaller calibre, which have b en found to equal any guns made abroad. The work upou it

 was commenced nearly year ago. and the greatest care was taken to select proper metal to be usod ID its construction.
Year: 1877

All along North Main street, in Hartford. Saturday morning, people were looking at some sight alott. Far up in the air, on the spire of the Fourth Congregational church, at height of nearly POO feet from tue pavement, two men were seen-looking rather small, up there-at the top of the spire, and one of them on a ladder above the top. They were taking down the weather-vane preparatory to painting the spire and church, which sorely needs it, not having been painted for eighteen years. One of the men, painter by the name of Bullock, is said to be nearly or quite 60 years old. and is moreover a lame man {; yet not one person in ten thousand, at half his years, would be willing to ko to that dizzy height, above the highest buildings, and stand alone in the air, supported by nothing but ladder, and his feet resting on one of the upper rounds of that. The Fourth Church was erected in lS4S and 49 and was not finished before the close of the latter year. Its builder was the late New ton Moses of New Haven; the building. ol brick succeed, is of the Corinthian order, and is surmounted by circular wooden spire, shingled, and painted sort of cream-colored drab,-the general effect being perhaps uncommon, but, we think, neither unharmonious nor unpleasing. When the spire approached its completion, and the ornamental finals or hollow balls below the weather-Yane were in process of construction, certain, residents of North Main street contributed quart bottle of fine old rum, and pack of playing cards, which were placed, unknown to the church committee, in the hollow swell be- heath the vane. The bottle of liquor was duly marked with the date, 1849, but prob ably without the names of the contributors; and under these ungodly devices the relig- ous services have been carried on for near ly thirty years, without the knowledge or suspicion of the odd situation of things alott, up in the steeple. It is, for aught we know, possible that If the old gentle, man, who this morning mounted the spire, had discovered that bottle inside the sum- init ball, the church might have been dts prlved of that unsanctifed specimen of spiritual force, and he deprived of his steady head.

 As to the alleged insecurity of this stee- pie, we are assured there is no cause for alarm. Whatever swaying there may be, is not owing to weakness in the essential parts. The steeple is "keyed up," in builders language, with wooden keys, and these have probably shrunk. They can be ''driven home" and made all right, or larger ones can be used; but the man sup ports of the steeple are said to be sound and trustworthy. Times.
Year: 1877

A railroad incident occurred recently on one of the East India lines which was startling as it was singular, and may be sad to be one of the most miraculous es- capes on record. A train was approaching bridge on 8 curve. When the bridge came within sight, 8 distance of 300 or 400 yards, the engine driver was horror struck to discover that the bridge was completely in flames. Finding his brake power totally useless in the emergency. he jumped of ,as did also the fireman, just as the train en tered upon the burning bridge, over which it rushed fortunately with unabated speed through a continuous flame that rose furi ously above the height of the railroad cars, The wooden sleepers were on fire, and parts of the rails themselves were red hot. The whole train composed of number of cars, passed safely over. and not @ psssen ger was injured or scorched.
Year: 1877

Our Cemetery. CONN. WESTERN NEWS We are all grat,fied at the improvement m the appearance of the battle-ground in this village. Thanks to the lberality of our citizens, and to the energy of the con- mittee having charge of the matter, the place has been redeemed from an unsightly swamp into 8 pleasant ground. More money and more work would of course make still greater improvement, but we are all thankful for what has been done. And now we are in some danger of thinking that the place will take care of itself! A very little work done here in the Spring and Autumn will keep it in good order, but it is essential that sonething should be done every year, or it we'll soon look as badly as it did before. The place IS getting to be quite resort, and on Sunday evenings es- pecially has many visitors. Let us all try to make it as pleasant and attractive as pos sible We know of no sadder sight than an old, neglected battle-ground, where and everything wears forsaken and dis nal look. This is something we are all in terested in. for there is hardly family in the village but has some friend whose re- mains lie there. One of the dear friends who was carried there last Summer said, s'bring me flowers" Whether or not they are cognizant of our care of the place we do not know. IL may be nothing but 8 fancy, but it is certainly pleasant thing to do, to beauhfy our cemeteries in every way possible. Let us carry flowers plant trees and ornamental shrubs, keep the grass in good order, and remove from the place as far as possible all associations of gloom and sadness. A. B. c.

 Canaan, June 26.

 Weight of Ma1ls.-We have been wait ing some days for b-postmaster ''Sarh' to make good his promise to obtain for us a report of the weight of mails of stations on the Conn. Western road, and publish the report in connection with that on the Housatonic road, but he finds himself una ble to do so, and we must give the Housa- tonic report alone.

 The weight of mails received at and sent from stations on the Housatonic road for thirty days, ending May 18th, 1877, is as follows. ..f.
Year: 1877

Let It Come. The veteran iron maker, Horace Lsndo'l, says his furnace continues to How iron. and he is having sale for about all he can make. This sounds really like the approach of better times. Most people entertain the opinion that an im- provement in the business of the country is actually apparent, and that we are surely, though of course slowly, approaching an era of business prosperity ,such as will glad den the hearts and replenish the coffers of all. Let it come In the words of the inn mortal Henry, i've repeat it gentlemen, Let it Come p
Year: 1877

1t will always be nice and difficult
question to decide who are the most dis
agreeable people to4ive with. Our first
thoughts will be directed to the more
ugly and venomous passions, such as
hatred, envy, Jealousy and the like. 1t
will probably be found, however, that
those qualities which come under the
head Of foibles rather than of vices rem
der people most intolerable as compan-
ions and coadjutors. For example, it
may be observed that those people have
a more worn, jaded and dispirited look
than any others, who have to live with
people who make Diff
Year: 1877

We may venture to make lew suS-
gestions in behalf Of those who desire
to acquire the art. If you are law
yer, whenever the name of a very Gel
ebrated member Of the bar is mention
ed, you must Immediately hint that
that lawyer is overrated, and that Mr.,
So and-so, of whom you must be sure
your audience has never heard, is real
ly stronger man." lfyou are an
artist, you can say Of some other artist
that he is very good fellow, but
what a pity he can't paint or If the
other artist understands tone and you
do not, then you can say that stone


nowadays is "tobacco" or clamp
black" lfyou are poet, you can do
nothing more to the point, in the pres
ence of young persons, than to NEIL
ton in confidence, aud with depre-
catory air, that your verses on Nova
Zembla. containing that simile of the
lily and the bear, were printed SIX
months before Tennyson's famous ode
containing exactly the same simile. If
you are man of science, you will
gain great reputation by merely shrug-
ging your shoulders at the mention of
some famous specialist. This method
will work admirably in the medical, or
in fact in any Of the learned profess
sions. But If you are not a writer, or
professional man of any kind, but
merely person of taste, you can In
crease your reputation by many not
very costly devices. If an engraving
or photograph is shown you, cover a
part of the picture with two fingers OF
your right hand, and say that 1t is very
well-all but thai. Ifit is too large
to treat in this way, stand at the pro-
per distance, shut one eye and hold a
finger or two at arms length, first per-
pendicularly and then horizontally, SO
as to hide now one and now another
part of the painting-afler the manner
of some artists. When you have done
this you can either say that the pic
ture is good, or that it is bad but re-


member that you will gain most cred


it by giving an opinion opposite te


that which you suspect is held by the


persons present Ifyou go to a pub


lie entertainment, like Dickens read


ings, or Beethoven symphony, dc


not fail to report that you had tt


knock your feet against the chair t'
keep awake,-although in the case ol
the symphony be careful not to lay
, the blame upon the composer, but up
on whatever orchestra may happen tt
render the piece that night. But
you suspect that the music was partic
ularly Eell rendered it will be safe IT.
declare that it was altogether too wei
, played, and that for your part you pre-
fer to hear Beethoven given by tn
- Society, where "eyerything ism
, cut and dried, and something is let
= to the imagination. .'-"1Ae Old CaOi
5 net )" Scribner for May.
Year: 1877

bite his lips, and the tears would come
into his eyes, but he never cried, nor
begged off, as the rest of us did. He


was as brave as he was mischievous.
Even when he had to sit on the Ounce
stool tor twenty minutes with his
mouth wide open and piece OF corn,
cob set firmly between his teeth, he
never cried. This was Miss Caroline's
worst punishment I think if she
herself had tried it once, to see how
much it hurt, she never would have
had the heart to inhict it on us, At
first, when she wedged in the piece OF
cob, you felt like laughing that any
body should think such thing as
that could be much of a punishment I;
but pretty soon your jaws began to
ache, and then the back Of your neck
ached, and then the pam reached u2
into the back of your head, and into
your ears, and it became real torture ;
there vas not a single hoy in school
that could bear it without the tears
streaming down his cheeks, except
Ned Spofford. Miss Caroline very
rarely did it to girls | think no one
but Sarah Kellogg and | ever had It.
We were the worst girls in school !;
we two and Ned Spofford were the
three black sheep in Miss Caroline's
little flock .-Fron "1he First Time,


by SAGE Holm, st. Nicholas for May.
Year: 1877

When | was li,tle girl, I went to
a little school, which was kept by a
very little lady, in a very little house.
The little lady herself lived in another
little house, which was divided from
the little school.house only by a little
garden. | did not know then how
little the houses, aud the a'den, and
nv school-t teacher were. Miss Caro-
line seemed large and powerful to me !;
and as for her terule, it looked bigger
to me than the big trees of California
looked when l saw them few years
ago. But when went back, a grown
woman, to my old home, and walked
past Miss Caroline's cottage and the
little odd school-house, I hardly could
believe my eyes, everything was so
tiny and ! could have picked Miss
Caroline up under my arm.


The school-housc had been a shoe
maker's shop once, and some of the
shoe-maker's furniture had been lett
in it. There was the bench on which
he ueed to sit and work this bad a
little open box at ono end, where he
used to keep his tools; this bench
stood in the middle of the room, in
front of Miss Caroline's desk, and all
the classes sat on it to recite their les
sons. The end which had the open
box on it was called the "head" of the
class. Once I kept up eat the head,
in spelling, a whole week, and l grew
so used to having hold Of the edge o.
the box, and slipping my fingers back
and forth on it, that when lost my
place, and had a boy or girl on m,
left side, | had hard work not to keel
all the time taking hold of their arms
instead Of the box There used to b'
also a little drawer under the bench


at this end but Miss Caroline ha'


that taken off, after she found on


that it was there Ned Spotford hi'


the "spitballs' he used to fire up ant
down all the classes he reclted in. On
what bad boy Ned Spofford was
But how we all did like him Eve
Caroline herself, think, liked hin
better than any other scholar in all tn
school ard yet he gave her twice a
mnch trouble as all the other scholars pu
, together. But he was so good-natur
ed and affectionate that nobody coul


help loving him, in spite of his mis-


chief. He never resisted nor strue
gled when she had to punish him.


really think he got feruled AS often a


once week but he used to bold on
: his hand the minute she told him t
and look straight into her eyes viii


she struck him. Sometimes he woul
Year: 1877

Advertising is good thing, but
when a prominent grocer carried to a
funeral M umbrella on which was
painted conspicuously the business OF
his house, and held it over the preach
er's head while he read his prayers,
the bystauders thought he was run
uing the thing into the ground
Year: 1877

The wife of sexton belonging to
one of the churches in very healthy
locality was last week interrupted III
the middle of q harransue upon the
hardness of the times by person who
desired to sell her couple of ducks.
"Ducks !" exclaimed she, show can |
buy ducks Or anything else ? We
have not buried a living soul these SIX
months"
Year: 1877

Friendship is infinitely better than
kindness.


There have been fewer friends on earth
than kings.


Love is a flame which burns in heaven,
and whose soft reflections radiate on us.


They are generally better satisfied
whom fortune never favored than those
whom she has forsaken.


AS long as love prevails in the house
space of the breadth Of q sword is salts
factory. As soon as it disappears sixty
hand-breadths are not sufficient.


Love teaches cunning even in inno-
cence, and when he gets possession his
first work is to dig deep within heart
and there lie hid, and like miser in the
dark, to feast alone.


Life, whether in this world or any
other, is the sum of cur entertainment,
our existence, our character. The con-
ditions are secondary. In what other
world shall we be more surely than we
are here?


There is not, perhaps, more whimsi-
cal figure in nature than a man of real
modesty who assumes an air Of impu-
dence; who, while his heart beats with
anxiety studies ease and affects good
humor.


What is this life but the circulation of
little actions? We lie down and rise
again, dress and redress, feed and grow
hungry, work and play, and are weary
and then we lie down again and the
circle returns.


With virtue, capacity and good con-
duct one can still be unsupportable.
The manners, which are neglected as
small things, are often those which de.
eide men for or against you. A slight at.
tention to them would have prevented
their i'll judgment.


Manners are the shadows of virtues
the momentary display of those quail
ties which our fellow creatures love an6
respect. If we strive to become, then
what we strive to appear, manners
would often be rendered useful guides
to the performance of our duties.


That politeness which we put on, il
order to keep the presumptuous at {
proper distance, will generally succeed
But it is sometimes that these obtrusiv'
characters ar, on such excellent terms
with themselves that they put down thei
very goodness to the score of their owl
great merits and high pretensions, meet
ing the coldness of our reserve with
ridiculous condescension of familiarity
in order to set us at ease with ourselves
Year: 1877

Howe, the great Tombs lawyer, was
supposed to be doing one of the most
profitable law businesses in New York,
says q correspondent. He defended
nearly all the rogues in New York, and
his fees were supposed to be large; yet
he has been adiudged bankrupt. All
the men of this class go under. The
divorce lawyers. who are reported to
have immense fees, seldom last long.
Nine ont of ten of the liquor men fail,
though the common idea is that the pro-
fits are simply immense. [ was in a
leading restaurant recently, and was told
that the checks showed that four hun
dred and fifty dollars were taken at the
bar the day before. Yet every man who
has kept that hotel has failed except the
present proprietor, who has not bsen
there long enough to give the thing
fair trial. 1t is the same thing with the
politicians who hang around the city
hall. 1t is feast or famine with those
fellows. One of them was distinguished
for his heavy drinks of brandy and for
buying two dollars worth of cigars daily
to give to his followers. He could not
buy an oyster stew to-day. A city Off
cial told me that his Office cost him $780,
900 in clear cash, and he holds 1t only
for two years. met man the other
day whom 1 have known as buyer for
a leading stock house on the street. He
was dressed through clothing and looked
like builder who goes out to days
work. Chow is this ?" said "I am
in another business, was the reply. 81
get $500 year. have a quiet home
I sleep well nights, and have enough to
eat day by day. On the street I made
money one day and lost it the next. I
had to watch my customers nights at the
hotels. 1 had to eat as others ate,
and drank as they drank, or I could not
get any business. 1t cost me all | could
make to keep my place. I'd rather be a
scullion to scour the pantry than to do
the drudgery of the street"
Year: 1877

Lima correspondent says : A curious
instance of the manner in which justice
is exercised in the interior of Peru is
the following Exactly twenty years ago,
poor Indian in Ayacucho, crazy with
drink killed another man in street fight
According to law the penalty for such a
crime is hard labor on one of the guano
islands for five years. The offender was
Immediately seized and committed to
prison, where he has been confined ever
since-twenty years-until three weeks
ago, when his case was called in the
court for trial. Then he was sentenced
to the five years hard labor When the
President heard of this most extraordi-
nary abuse be called for all the papers
of the case. and has submitted it to the
attorney genera. The Indian can at
best get off his five years servitude after
twenty years patient waiting for that
solace.