smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1874

z The fact is, that as life be-
comes concentrated, and its
pursuits mere eager short
sleep becomes impossible. We
take more sleep than our an
cestors, and We take more be-
cause we want more. Six hours
sleep will do very well for a
mason or brrckiayeL or any
other man who has no exhaust
ion but that produced by man


ual labOS the sooner he takes
1t after his labor is over, Nhe
better. But for the man whose
labor is mental, the stress OF
work is on his brain and ner-
vous system, and Tor him who
is tired In the evening with a
day of mental application,
neither "early to bed nor early
to rise" is wholesome. He
needs letting down to the lev
el of repose. ,.-,


: The longer The interval be-
tween the active use of the
braiG and his retirement to
bed, the better his chance for
sleep and refreshment. To
him an hour after midnight is
probably as good as two hours
before il, and even thea his
sleep will not so completely
and quickly restore him as it
Will his neighbOr who is phys
ically tired. He must not only
60 to bed later but he longer.
His best sleep probably lies in
the early morning hours, when
all the nervous excitement has
passed away, and he IS in alb
solute rest.
Year: 1874

A New Orleans paper tells us
of q printer who, when his fell
lOwrworkmen went out to drink
beer, put in the bank the exact
amount he would have spent if
he had gone with them to drink.


He did this tor FIVE years. .a


He then looked at his bank
account, and found that he had
laid up five hundred and twenty
one dollars and eigL ty. six cents


In FIVE years he had not lost q
day because Of sickness. Three
out Of FIVE of his fellow -workmen
had become drunkards.


The -drinker then bought
out the printing Office; and in
twenty years from the time he
began to put by his money he
had laid aside good many thou.
sands OF dollars. The story
teaches a lesson which every lit
tie boy should lay to heart
Yoatks Companion.
Year: 1874

r STYLE IN WRTTfEG.-The best


writer is he who can convey
the clearest thoughts in the
shortest space. Some writer's
so hide their thoughts in USE
less words that it becomes q
task after you have read a col.
umn to comprehend IFS mean.
ihg. Ornament in style is
good when it beauties the
thoughts advanced ; il IS mex
cusable when it covers from
sight. A writer, before he
touches a pen, should first get
a clear idea of the subject no
Is to handle this we'll under
stood, his next effort should be
to say what he has to say in
the fewest words possible. We
would not have a single
thought dwarfed by a stingy
use Of language; but even
this would be better than to
see it choked out OF existeD ce
by a suPerabundance Of words.


Write to the point, and when
you have reached 1t, stop. 1t
requires severe mental training e
to acquire that simplicity of
expression which conveys to
US the grandest thoughts IN the
fewest words, yet it is within
the province of all to approach
II not TO equal it. 1t has been
said that 1t IS more difficult to
abridge an article than to
write one, that it requires more
time to write a short article
well than to present the sam Q
thoughts in double the space.


When Queen Anne told DR..
South that his sermon had on | y
One tault--that ot being too
'shorl--he replied thath he should
have made it shorter If he had
had more time. Let,our wri.
ters-especrally those OF the
press-boil down their efforts
before they present them to
the public. In this fast age
the man who csn say the best
things in the shortest space is
not far removed from a public
benefactor. ai lsa
Year: 1874

lrontop Hegister.


SOME people don't know all
the Influences growing out Of the
woman's temperance movement.
Many a poor drunkard in this
town has been incited to try
again to save himself, and, If it
were not for the aaloonist's
temptations on every square,
much substantial good could be
guarsnteed. The other day a
man spoke at the morning pray
er meeting, said he had been a
drinking man, had signed the
pledgethree weeks ago, and was
trying to keep it. He said that
while he drank, he earned ten or





twelve dollars a week but hardly
ever more than two or three dol
lars of that went to his family.
Since he signed the pledge, how
ever, his earnings went to bis



family, and if he could only save
himself from the saloons. his
family would live we'll and him
self be q better man. He asked
the ladies to remember him in
their prayers.
Year: 1874

her dress, and the happy
couple mai ched out with their
carpet sack, highly elated. Z 81
Galhpolis Journal.i thtbHs


Liberty vs. Licanti0usness.


The repeal of the Sunday
Ordinances in certain cines
suggests the thought that the
tendency of the times is to-
ward contest between law
and order, on the one side, and
on the other RIGHTEOUSNESS,
under the plea OF personal lib
erty. This seems to be the
contest that Is rapidly ap-
proachinG Itls to be a cons
test between light and dark
ness--a contest between Re-
publicanism or true Democ-
racy, and Communism, or The
rule of the mob. II mems ap-
petiies and passions, instead of
law. are 10 become the govern


ing principle of action, then in
deed have we fallen on evil
times, and may we'll despair of
republican institutions. Tho
this conflict seems likely 10
arise; though the mob rule of
appetite and passion, under
the specious pleading of per-
sonal liberty, seems disposed
to precipitate the battle, still
we apprehend Tor law and or
der a decisive and permanent
victory. We are too near the
days of our Nations birth to
have forgotten the LESSONS OF
those perilous times, when
true liberty under The name OF
law, was inauguraled. Every
man having in his soul a spark
of The fire OF those patriotic
times will rally on The side of
law and order, and deal such
deaIhly blows to this new Idea
OF liberiy-an idea which had
its birth in ancient days, when
power made right-as 10 send
II back TO the darkness from
which it sprang. The mob OF
The clIies-Ihe goddess throng
which seeks pleasure only |
through the APP tite--may and
probably will rally under the
new banner of licentiousness,
but they will be but as the
leather in the whirlwind com
pared with the hosts that the
pure lie OF the country will
marshal in behalf of law and
order. This is a land of la,o
liberty, not one of licentiOus
libertv-a land where mems
-appetites and passions, to the
extent that the public good
may require, must be governed
and controlled by law-and
v hen the contest comes it will
result, as the late cIvil'war did,
IN favor of law and order-in
favor of that liberty which is
the corner stone OF our institu-
lions-liberly governed by law.
Year: 1874




In a letter to = London pa
per, Mark Twain says: a-t


The present crusade will
doubtless do but little work
against intemperance that will
be really permanent, but it
Will do what Is as much, or
even more, to the purpose, l
think. | think it will suggest
to more than one man that if
women could vote, they would
vote on the side of morality.
Year: 1874




| don't like that red nose, and those
boar eyes, and that stupid downcast look.
You are a drunkard. Another pint, and
one pint more a glass Of giu and water,
rum and milk, cider and pepper, glass OF
peppermint, aud all the beastly fluids which
drunkards pour down their throats. 1t ia
very possible to conquer it, if you will but
be resolutc. | remember a man in Staf-
fordshire who was drunk every day Of bis
life. Every farthing he earned went to the
ale house. One evening he staggered home,
and fouud, at late hour, his wife sitting
alone and drowned in tears. lie was a
man not deficient in natural affections be
appeared to be struck with the wretohed.
ness Of the woman, and with some eager
ness asked her why she was crying al
don't like to tell you, James, she said,
d" but if | must | must /; the truth is, my
children have pot touched a morse of any
thing this blessed day As for me, never
mind me | must leave you to guess how
it has Jared with me- But not one morscl
Of food could beg or buy for those chill
dren that lie on that bed before you aud
am sure, James, it is better for us all we
should die, and to my soul | wish we were
dead" Dead said James, darting up
as if a flash Of lightning had darted upon
him dead, Sally You and Mary, and
the two young ones dead Look at me,
my lass, you sec what | am now-like a
brute. have wasted your substauce-the
curse Of God is upon mel am drawing
near to the pit of destruction-but there's
an end. Give me that glass, wife" She
gave it to him with astonishment and fear.
He turned it topsy turyy and, striking it
with great violence, and flinging himself on
his knees, made a most solemn and affect
ing vow to God of repentance and sobriety.
From that moment to the day Of his death
he drank no fermented liquor, but confined
himself entirely to tea and water never
saw so sudden and astonishing change.
His looks became healthy, his cottage neat,
his children we're clad, his wife was happy
and twenty times the poor man and his
wife with tears in their eyes, have told me
the story, and blessed the evening of the
fourteenth Of March, the day Of James's
restoration, and have shown me the glass
he held in his hand when he made the vow
of sobriety. 1t is all nonsense about not
being able to work without ale, and
gin, and fermented liquors. Do lions and
cart horses drink ale It is mere habit


If you have good nourishing food you can
do very well without ale. Nobody works
harder than the Yorkshire people, and for
years together there are many Yorkshire la
borers who never taste ale.
Year: 1874




TnE GENTLENEss OF PowER.-There is
no gentleness in the world like that which
is manifest by power To sec strong,
giant-built man meet in the way little
child, and raise it up, and say to it, "bless,
you, my darlingi" to sec his great, coarse
hands, and his arms that are like bears
paws, go down, and accompanying the act
with some sweet words, lift the child up to
his bosom--that is most beautiful sight
There never was a brcast-pin in mans
bosom to be compared with sweet little
child. To see a slender pale-faced woman
and mother take up child is beautiful
we expect that but to see a great, brawny
man take up child, with tenderness and
gentleness, is beautiful indeed. Everybody
mayes at that. A little child shall lead
them"
Year: 1874

Have the courage to face a difficulty,
lest it kick you harder than you bargained
for. Difficulties, like thieves, often disap-
pear at a glance. Have the courage to
leave n convival party at the proper hour
for doing so, however great the sacrifice /;
and to stay away from one upon the
slightest grounds of objection, however
great the temptation to 60. Have the
courage to do without that which you
do not need, however much you may
admire it. Have the courage to speak
your mind when it is necessary that you
should do so, and hold your tongue
when it is better you should be silent.
Have the courage to speak to poor friend
in seedy coat, even in the street, and
when a rich man is nigh. The effort is less
than many people take it to be, and the act
is worthy Of king, Have the courage to
admit that you have been in the wrong, and
you will remove the fact in the minds of
others, putting desirable impression in
the place of an unfavorable enc. Have the
courage to adhere to the first resolution,
when you cannot change 1t for better one,
and to abandon it at the eleventh hour,
upon conviction.
Year: 1874

When / soc little children Of four and
five years Of age sent to school, to be shut
up six hours a day, on bard seats, wish it
were possible to have them taught the ru.
dimenis Of science after the manner in
which our boy learned arithmetic when six
years old, aud supposed it was only play all
the time. Not being strong, we decided he
should not go to school before six or seven
years Of age, at least, but to teach him at
home enough to keep him well up with
those Of his oge. He learned to read at
the age Of three years, in Mother Goose,
Melodies, and If he couldn't make out the
right ending for line he would invent
something to rhyme His father works
at surveying sometimes, and the boy de-
lighted to 60 With him and watch bis pro-
ccedings, aud be soon became a surveyor.
He had a strip Of cloth, pieced out to the
proper length, and marked of into feet, for
a chain, and q variety Of curious and sur
prising inventions served him for com.
pass aud then such times as he would
have when his playmaios came to see him
Our grounds were surveyed and plated
the buildings were measured, aud the wood
pile, and there were squares, aud trianges.
and shapes never heard Of in every place
about us and all this time be was learning
the first rules of arithmetic


About this time an uncle from the West
came to see US, who was a banker. The
boy heard eagerly his account Of bis bust.
ness-how Bis notes were issued, etc.. and
straigh,way our boy became banker lie
was supplied with quantity Of thin paper,
cut into sizes 10 match real paper money, Of
different denominations, and he made all
the necessary figures aud pictures; aud
such heaps upon heaps of paper money as
cur house contained must have affected the
bulls and bear. could it have been thrown
into circulation. All the little boys had
bank books aud bank accounts, and made
deposits, and drew them again, to buy and
sell with aud we sometimes sold our house
and grounds, and bought them again sey.
eral times a day. OF all this our boy
kept an account, and pretty correct one
too, and be learned more Of figures and Of
doing business in those few months than
some children DO in as many years at school


He had the whooping cough the summer
he was six years years old, and so his les
sons were omitted, and his time was de,
voted to surveying and banking, except
when he practiced medicine; for his father
Is doctor Of medicine by profession, and
most children practice their fathers busi
ness, whatever it Is. Such doses as were
mixed for our cat and the pet rooster W,
expected would be the death Of them, bu
so long as he didn't take any Of it himself
we aid not interfere. The practice Of med
iciue did not seem to be Of any benefit
any way, but love for figures and keeping
accounts, and exacincss in those things
was the result Of the banking and survey
ing and ia after years at school, his teach
ers were often surprised at the extent o
his resources in solving mathematica
problem


We often hear the quotation, Just a
the tgig is bent the trees inclined, but
believe few are aware how early it may b,
bent, or how small an accident may inclin,
! the tree Tor Iile.
Year: 1874

A nut dropped by a squirrel fell through
the opening in the middle of an old mill.
stone which lay upon the ground, and being
thus protected, grew into a thrifty saplng
that shot up through the opening. In few
years it had incseased so that it filed the
space, and was firmly wodgod to the sides Of
the heavy stone. Still it grew, and in a
few years more, little by little, it lifted the
entire weight clear from the earth, so that
a man could sit beneath it. All was done
by atom after atom, borne by the sap to the
growing trunk. Think of this, my little
man, puzzling over long division in arith-
metic little by little of thinking and work
ing will take you through fractions, rule Of
three, and those terrible problems at the
end of the book, by-and.by; but be sure
that little by little is not neglected. And
you, hard.working lad on the farm, or in
the shops, look at Franklin, Watts, Morse,
Field and thousands more who have lifted
the weight of circumstances that would hold
them down like mill-stones, aud who have
by their steady perseverance risen above
their fellows, easily bearing their burdens,
and keep peggiug away"
Year: 1874




He who has no home has not the sweetest
pleasure of life he feels not the thousand
endearments that cluster round the hal.
lowed spot to fill the void Of his aching
heart, and while away his leisure moments
in the sweetest Of ife's joys Is misfortune
your lot? You will find friendly well
come from hearts beating true to your own


The chosen partner Of your toll has smile
of appreciation when others have deserted


a hand Of hope when all others refuse, and
a heart to feel your sorrows as if they were
her own Perhaps a smiling cherub, with
prattling glee and joyous laugh, will drive
sorrow from your care-worn brow, and en-.
close it in the wreaths of domestic bliss


No matter how humble that home may be-


how destitute its stores or how poorly its
inmates are clad, if true hearts dwell there
it is yet a home A cheerful, prudent
wife, obedient and aifectionato children, will


give their possessors more real JOY than
bags of gold and worldly honors. The
home of a temperate, industrious and honest
man, will be his greatest Joy. He comes to
it weary and worn, but the music of the
merry laugh and the happy voices of the
children cheer. A plain, but healthy
meal awaits him. Envy, ambition and
strife, have no place there, and with clear
conscience he lays his weary limbs down to
rest in the bosom of his family, and under
the protecting care Of the poor mans Friend
Year: 1874

But il was not long time the rich man
knew the comforts Of a home that was a
home indeed. One day a sudden illness
overpowered him, and as he lay almost
helpless upon his bed he called Jacob and
Martha to his side, and joining their hands
together he said, e" / now give you to each
other, and all have is yours, for | am
going home"


In time Martha and Jacob were married,
and so it happened after all that she for
whom the great house had been built be-
camo its mistress, and as Stephen Dinghy
had desired, she was the finest lady in town,
aud not only that but the poor people said
she was the richest, grandest and best.
Year: 1874

Rats are very plenty in the Hoosac
tunnel and according to the Adams Tran
script they seem to have been the means of
saving the lives of several miners, who were
sitting on the platform when large drove
of the rats rushed by, to which the miners
gave chase. They had gone but a short
distance when the roofing fell down over the
platform where they had been sitting
Year: 1874

1t is said that Daniel Pratt has writ
ten to President Grant that if he does not
resign in bis favor he shall oppose his cleo.
tion for a third term. There are a good
many others who are opposed to the Prcsi-
dent for about as good a reason,
Year: 1874

TIE HIoHEsT Coon. Holiness is the
highest good of life, and, in order to i'm
press us most deeply with this fact, God
never bestows any richer blessing on faith,
fu hearts than their own holiness. lie
never draws any nearer to the spirit, or by
any other medium than in and through its
holiness. lie has appointed 80 that good
ness shall be our joy in cloudless times,
and our strength and comfort when the sky
is dark and there are no other resources
to uphold wrongcd and prosecuted good
man in his seeming desertion by Providence
itself,--a he needs no other,--than the
good treasure Of his heart.
Year: 1874

The little village of Climax, Mich, has
had sensation. A charming little drug
Sist became enamOred of q rich widows
daughter, and pressed his attentions ar
IDENTIFY and persistently upon her, which
she as earnestly repelled, and finally he was
driven from the house. But he. eveD then.
was not willing to give her up; ne made
nightly visits TO the yard and peered
through the windows where his fair
dulcinea was supposed to be innocently re-
posing in the arms Of Morpheus, or some
other fellow. This trick was soon found
out, and he was expelled from the ward in
a manner that made him revOlve like a
fly-wheel. But not willing to give I'D
without at least relic of remembrance Of
the fair one, he visited the clothes
line the night after wash-dav,
and purlOined a chemise and pair of
drawers belonging to her, which he stuffed
aud hung up in his bedroom, making full
efigial representation of his adored BY add
ing a stuffed head and feet. He showed
considerable skill in his charcoal features
of the face, but if a person was going TO
ride OsIt with this feminine figure he would
lave no need of dashboard, for, like the
beiIeof Detroit, her feet would answer
every purpose. 1t is supposed from theap-
pearaqce of this nude figure, its demOral-
lied and disheveled condition, that it Occu-
pied a share of the yonng mans couch dur
ing the silent watches of the night, and
was hid away during the daytime to pre-
vent its discovery by the chambermaid. 1t
was found by officers who were searching
for the lost wearing apparel, who, after
showing the imitation mummy 10 a few
friends near by, heartlessly disembOweled
it, and carried home the stolen garments.
Year: 1874

Has the UNION AND AMERICAN got
backbone enough to come ont and tell
the people who, of all the aspirants for
United States Senator, it prefers? A
paper professedly central organ of
the Democratic party ought tolead, in
stead of follow or occupy an uncertain
position.-SheI6yUilIe Commercial.


There are two reasons why We can
not take the "lead'' thus kindly offered.
First, as an impartial Democratic Jour-
nal at the State capital, we have no
preference whatever until the Will of
the people and party be manifested in
some unmistakable way, which is sell
dom or never the case with such an
Office. ---.-....


Secondly in the name of harmony
and peace, we have no heart for adding
fuel to the flames that have been lighted
this week. We think the Senatorial
struggle is bitter enough already. We
earnestly deprecate the tone it has
assumed, satisfied that the people at
large can gain nothing from this clash
of personal ambitions, while many im-
portant public interests may be lost to
view In the melee.
Year: 1874

There is no more beautiful thing in
social intercourse than the courtesy of
son whose demeanoF to his mother
shows that he holds her to be as fully
entitled to the little kindnesses of life
as any: othef woman. Reciprocal acts of
attention between young people are
sort of genteel comedy but the polite
attention of SON to his mother comes
within the title to reward under 'the
first commandment with promise" 1t
is more than beautiful-it is useful.
The father may have reached the age
when the courtesies of life and the de-
mands of society are something of a
burden. But the woman never grows
too old to appreciate the attention aud
the mother values more highly than
the courtesy of any other the attentions
of her son. Her husbands attention
she, of course, expects; but sometimes
he may need her attentions. But here
is fine, manly, strong young fellow
all her own-whom she has watched
fr0Rl his long froeks all the way up to
the adult coat of the latest fashion. He
is abundantly able to defend her
against all Corners, to give her eonfi-
dence in his protection. and sure
step in her promenade. Heis hers by
a claim that no human being can dis
pute. The young man wo appreciates
this relation, and who recognizes his
mothers friends as his friends, who
pays to them as ladies superior atten-
lion because of the age, is passing
through s'finishing school" which
cannot fail to make a gentleman of
him.
Year: 1874




Society is full of failures that need
never have been made; full of men
who have never succeeded when they
might have and should have succeed
ed full of women who, in the first
of their days did nothing but eat and
sleep and simper, and in the last half
have done nothing but perpetuate
their fellies and weaknesses. The
world is full, we say, of such people.
full of men in every trade and profess
sion who do not amount to any,
thing. and of girls and women with
out any trade or profession who have
no desire to amount to anything and
do not speak irreverentIy, and we
trust not without due charity without
making due allowance to the ineYita-
bic in life, when we say that God and
thoughtful men are weary of their
presence, Every body ought to i'm
prove on his father: every girl grew
into nobler, gentler, more self-deny-
ing womanho0d than the mother. No
reproduction of former type will give
the world the perfect type. We know
not where the millennium is, as meas
ured by distance of time, but we do
know, and SO do you all, that it is
great way off as measured by human
growth and expansion. We have no
such men and women yet-no age has
had any-as shall stand on earth in
that age of peace that will not come
until men are worthy of it.