smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1874

There are two things that puzzle


me. One is, the amount of mlsPiao-
ed virtue in the world; that is to
saw the immense quanty of down
ri9ht goodness scattered around
axong fhe commonest sort of people;
among people among whom there
are mo- social safeguards whatever,
and who would be quite up to the
moral standard of their neighbors If
thew gave loose rein to all manner
of passion. tell you, when man
who has been surrounded with pure
infuences-I do not mean with aus
terity and fanaticism, from which he
would be, likely to suffer reaction
when a man who has breathed nC
atmosphere but that of moderation
and decorum, looks back upon hi
own life, and trembles at his hun


dred hair-breadth Escapes from ute
ruin, of one kind or another, he can


not help wondering what keeps th'
unprotected classes from going alto
gether and utterly to the bad. l
was one. of the best saints out OF Tn


calender who declared himself com


petsnt to commit any crime unde


the sun of which he had ever heard


and what it is that keeps the aver
age sinner from going straAgn
aRpuigh the sriminsl lsh t y her
g VeE VS. ' Fff ~
Year: 1874

Some we'll -borers near Odell, Illinois,
are profane enough TO report that they
have tapped hell, and are getting the full
benefit of the leak. Gas was discov-
cred forty feet below the surface, and
at eighty feet a vein of water was
struck which spouted two hundred feet
in the air, carrying up gravel as big as
hens eggs, and sending everybody fly
ing hundreds of feet away. This per-
formance continued until the sand and
gravel were six inches deep within a
radius of one hundred feet of the bole.
When the Jet of water ceased, the aper-
ture was found much widened, with
quicksand at the bottom, and a stream
of gas had taken the place of water.
A match was applied to it, and flames
leRped into the air, producing a sound
like thunder. The workmen think they
have struck the gate of the evil doom,
or brought forth a young volcano, they
don't know which. The gas they are
getting now causes a blue color in the
vegetation for miles around, and the
people are focking from all quarters to
see the strange phenomenon.
Year: 1874

The differences in the ordiuary mete-
geological observations are not so much
owing to the thermometer, as a general
thing, as to the want of a proper care
in observation. To ascertain the true
temperature of the atmosphere the In
strument should never be hung against
the walls of a building, as the heat alb
sorbed and radiated will cause q change
of several degrees, depending on the
nature of the material of the walls, and
the sides exposed to sun or wind, as al
so the radiation from the internal heat
of the building. The best place is un-
der the shade of an open cover or tree,
away from any buildings, suspended q
few feet above the ground. The fact
that the air may be at rest or in motion,
will not affect the temperature. To as
certain the heat of the direct rays of
the sun, the instrument should be COW
cred with a coat of lamp-black and ex-
posed to the direct rays of the sun in q
sheltered place.
Year: 1874

Printing a book in China is. done as
follows Two pages are written by
one trained to the business, on a sheet
of thin paper, divided into columns by
black lines, and in the space between
the two pages are written the title of
the work and the number of the chap
ter and page when the sheet has
been printed it is folded down through
this space, so as to bring the title, etc.,
partly on each page. The sheet, when
ready for printing, is pasted face down
ward on a smooth block of wood, made
usually from the pear or plum tree.
AS soon as it is dry the paper is rubbed
off with great care, leaving behind an
inverted impression of the charac ers.
Another workman now cuts away the
blank space, by means of a sharp graver,
and the block, with the characters in
high relief, passes to the printer, who
performs his work by hand. The two
points that he has to be most careful
about are, to ink the characters equally
with his brush and to avoid tearing the
paper when taking the impression.
From a good wooden block some fifteen
thousand copies may be printed, and
when the characters have been shar-
pened up little it is possible TO obtain
eight or ten thousand more impressions.
Year: 1874

That strange and almost brutal SEN
timent which delights, for instance, in
watching an actor feign death by poi
son with horrible comfort ons, reached
its extremity in England the other even
ing. Atthe Theater Royal, Cambridge,
the stage was coupled by a raving sort
of tragedy, IN which murderer IS
brought to Justice. The actor tax
ing this character refused 60 do more IN
the death scene than appear on the scat
fold, and make his last confession IN
der the dangling rope. There the cur
tain dropped, but the peculiar British
audience would not be sRtis fed. 1t
roared, It hissed, it declined to leave
the thester, and the manager solemnly
came out and spolog zed for being una
BILE to crafty his patrons by actually
hanging the actor unless with his own
consent, which he was hardly likely to
give. Bring him ont with the rope
round his neck, shouted these pleasant
people, and their demand not being
granted they growlingly.and reluctantly
Year: 1874

Wrinkles are the first tell-tales Of a
lost youth, and the wrinkles make their
way IN a very stealthy manner. At first
there comes the faint marking of one
little line about the corner of the eve,
and one at each side of the mouth. As
suredIy it is the sign of approaching
age, we say complacently, looking at
ourselves in the glass, conscious of our
attractions in the perfection of their
maturity. That little line, indicative
of the furrowcd future, is no more age
than the one scarlet leaf of the maple
In the midst of the green wood is au-
tumn. 1t is the shadow of the herald,
If You will but it is not the real thing.
And so on with all the rest. But it is
not so with our friends. The gap made
between the past and present by years
of absence is abrupt, unexpected. You
left a blooming, sleek-haired, Slim
waisted girl you find faded, hollow
eyed, gray-headed woman, the mother
of children, afflicted with bad health
and tired of her life. Or you encoun-
ter a stout and forid matron whose
bulk is a burden to herself and a mat
ter not for admiration to her friends
whose early shyness has worn off and
given place to o free and-easy good
nature that may be genial but is vul-
gar whose girlish sentlmentallty has
gone with her bushes, and who now
openly prOclaims her devotion to cham
pagne and lobster salad as among the
few things in life worth taking trouble
for, and talks of the pleasures OF the
palate as superior TO every other enjoy
an1ent. To be sure, pairing away in your
minds eye those superhuous layers of
flesh, you can lhake out the nose of the
past, aud the lips have the same curve
as hers had in the days when you would
have given a months salary for kiss
the eyes are the same color, but what
has become of their sparkle Where
is that roguish twinkle that made your
heart leap when it flashed upon you,
giving point to a girlish sauclness that
was so innocent and she thought was so
naughty? Where is that dewy,
downcast look that was so con-
scious whe there was nothing
to blush for ? Is it that ugly leer
which tells of less tenderness of senti-
ment than you would like to see even IN
a man ? You must accept this as the
&" survival ;" it is all you will have of
the sweetness, the beshfulness that
once seemed to you the most exquisite
grace on earth.
Year: 1874




Taken in moderation there is no
doubt that vinegar is beneficial, but in
excess it impairs the digestive organs.
Experiments on artificial digestion show
that if the quantity of acid be dimin-
ished, digestion is retarded if incl eased
bevond a certain point, digestion is ar
rested. There is reason, therefore, in
the vulgar notion-unhappiIy too often
relied On-tbat vinegar helps to keep
down any alarming adiposity, and that
ladies who dread the disappearance of
their graceful outlines in curves of
plumpness expanding into " fat may
arrest so dreadful a result by liberal
potations of vinegar, but they can only
so arrest it at the far more dreadful ex-
pense of their health. The amount of
acid which will keep them thin will de-
stroy their digestive powers. Portal
gives case which should be warning:
90 A few years ago young lady IN easy
circumstances enjoyed good health she
was very plump, had a good appetite
and a complexion blooming with roses
and lilies. She began to look upon her
plumpness with suspicion, for her
mother was very fat, and she was afraid
Of becoming ike her. Accordingly she
consulted a woman who advised he to
drink a glass Of vinegar daily. The
Young lady followed the advice, and her
plumpness diminished. She was de-
lighted with the success of the expert
ment, and continued it for more than a
month. She began to have q cough !;
but it was dry st its commencement,
and was considered as a slight Geld
which would go of. Meantime, from
dry it became moist, slow fever came
on, and a difficulty of breathing; her
body became lean and wasted away,
Dight-sweats, swelling Of the feet and
of the legs succeeded, and q diarrhea
terminated her life. Therefors, young
ladies, be boldly fat ! Never pine for
graceful slimness and romantic pallor /;
but if nature means you to be ruddy
and rotund, accept il with a laughing
grace, which will captivate more hearts
than all the paleness Of circulating
library.
Year: 1874

An exhibition of ancient and modern
weapons has been opened at Birming-
ham. They date from the fourteenth
century. Among them is a breech load
ing air-gun, made by Nook, an English
man, somewhere about 1860, which has
seven barrels, all of which explode with
one blow of the hammer. There Is
also a beautiful breech-loader, bearing
the name of Aquafresca Borgia, 1894
There are many exquisite breech-load-
ing pistols of ancient dates, with in
genious mechanism, and the first at
tempt at the revolving principle, in the
shape of a double barreled gun, the
barrels turning on a pivot. Many of
the guns have reservoirs in the stock for
ammunition. One curiosity is a single
barreled gun to hold two charges. One
charge was rammed home and several
wads inserted, after which the second
charge was placed in the barrel. The
top charge was exploded by a hammer
about q third of the way up the barrel,
and hammer at the breech then dis
charges the second.
Year: 1874




The sperm whale is an habitue of the


deep water, seldom found on sound


iDgs, and feeding on creatures of great


size in the profoundest depths of the
ocean. The right while frequents the


bays and shoal waters of the coasts. It


feeds on minute shrimps and mollusks


which float upon the surface of the sea


or st moderate depths. In the sperm


whale the male is much larger than the


female in the right whale the female


attains the greatest bulk. In the sperm


whale the upper jaw, case and junk
form the great portion of the head, the


under jaw being furnished with ivory
teeth. In the right whale the lower
jaw. with its great lips and tongue, is
greatly disproportioned to the slender


upper Jaw, which is furnished with the
elastic slabs of whalebone. In the
sperm whale the great respiratory canal
is elongated, and terminates in a single
spout-hole little 20 one side ON the
extreme end of the head. In the right
whale this canal branches into two
channels, which terminate in two spout
holes about eighteen feet back from the
nose.


TIE sperm whale is dangerous at
either end, but the motions of its fiukes
are limited as compared with the right
whale. Its blows are delivered verti-
cally, and when it strikes right or left
the blow is performed by q rolling of
the body. TO compensate for this
rigidity of the dukes, it is possessed of
admirable skill in fencing With the Jaw.
The most fatal accidents IN boats aFlse
from this weapon. The motion of the
jaw is quick, and its sweep tremendous.
In large whale rolling, with the Jaw
distended, the sweep may include a
circle of forty feet, aud woe be TO the
boat whose bottom receives the upward
cut, while certain death follows the re-
ception of the downward blow Thus
it is possible for two boats placed forty
feet apart to be broken by the same
blow from the jaw of a rolling sperm
whale. The right whale, on the con
tray, Is comparative ly harmless with
the head but is possessed of great lat
eral reach with the fiukes, sweeping, as
whalemen express it, from eye to eye.
To judge from external evidence, the
sperm whale is much the more COM
bative of thetwo. No large bull whale of
this species is taken whose great square
head is not SCARED and furrowed with
marks of the teeth of rival bulls, and
often the shattered teeth and broken
or distorted jaws attest the herceness of
their combats. The right whale, how
ever, is incapable of more than severely
its enemy with it's tail. The
sperm whale, of the two, is more
regular and much longer in its periods
of spouting and of remaining under
water. 1t will spout sixty or seventy
times and remain under water an hour
or more, even when not pursued. The
right whale spouts twelve or fifteen
times, perhaps, and then descends for
a short period. Both turn fukes, or
lift the tail perpendicularly in the air,
when they go down. The oil Of the
one is rich in spermGceti; the other
furnishes the lnNer Inri..ad train oil
Year: 1874

For the sake Of your children, don't
do it. It is great misfortune TO have
children reared IN the presence and IN
der the influence Of a scolds The effect
Of the everlasting complaining a1d
fault-fnding of such persons is to make
the Young who hear it unamiable, MALI
cious, callous-hearted, and they often
learn to take pleasure in doing the very
things for which they receive such
tongue-lashiDgs As they are always
getting the blame of YroDgsdoiDg,
whether they deserve is or not, they
think they might as well do wrong as
right. They lose All ambition to strive
for the favorable opinion OF the fault-
finder, since they see they always strive
in vain. Thus scold is not only a
nuisance, but destroyer Of the morals
of children. II these unloved, dreaded
people could only see themselves as
others nee them they would fies to the
mountains In very shame.
Year: 1874

left the house. A curious story is this
for the student of ethics. We doubt if
the theater-goers in a Nevada mining
town would ever attain equal sublimity
of brutality.-Nes0 York Tribune
Year: 1874

A GENTLEMAN AND WIFE DECLINING HOUSE.
a keeping wish TO obtain situation IN some private
city family, for excellent servant do
general house work.; can give high recommend ton.
Address G. N. n, box Uo5 New York Post office.
Year: 1874

One day last week a farmer named
Wall, living near Saylorville, ret with
an accident that, but for his grit and
GOODNESS, might have resulted fatally.
In his field, sixty rods from his house,
was huge boulder which he wished re-
moved, and thought that the most ex.
Peditious way and the least expensive
would be to sink it. Accordingly he
commenced to dig under the rock. AT.
ter he had got we'll under the stone the
earth cavcd and the huge rock came
tumbling down upon him. 1t broke
one of his legs and savsgely bruised the
other. The spade, with which he was
digging, was broken, also, and there
Wall was caught with q ton or two of
rock above him. The wind was blow
ing fiercely, and although he made. a
loud outcry as possible he was una bic
to make any Of his family hear him.
Then the clear grit OF the man came to
the top. The spade was caught under
the rock, as well as himself. With. his
hands he dug it loose and used the i'm
plement so industriously that in due
time he had liberated himself, and then,
with one leg entirely useless and the
other seriously disabled, he crawled
'sixtyrreds to the shelter Of his own
roof. At last accounts he was con.
valescing and happy in the prospect Of
= speedy recovery from his injuries.-
l0aca State Register. ", = &c..
Year: 1874

The Mankato Reriew says that two
of the Commissioners of Cottonwood
county arrived there last week to make
the necessary preliminary arrange
ments for housing and provisioning the
large force Of wood choppers expected
there from that county to procure a
supply of wood for this winter. From
these gentleman we understand that
the county has been closely and thor.
oughly canvassed and the number Of
families requiring aid is about 200. It
is estimated that about three and
half cords will be required to
each family during the win
ter. This, it strikes us, is a
small allowance, for it is not an un-
common thing for families here to burn
cord Of wood per week, but on the
prairie where fuel is an expensive arti-
Gle, the settlers are accustomed to the
most rigid economy, and they think
they can get along with that allowance.
To indicate to our citizens the wiling
ness of these people to help each other,
We are informed that at recent meet.
ing to ascertain the real condition and
necessities Of the people, full and &C.
curate report of the amount of hay,
wheat, corn and other products in the
possession Of each settler was reported,
and where there was an excess over the
actual needs for the winter it was
kindly and generously given to
less fortunate neighbor. In some
towns the excess was found to be only
few bushels of corn, yet small as it
was, it was carried to the allowance Of
some Of the towns where defect exist
ed. That these people are ready and
willing to help themselves, the commits
sioners inform us that 100 able.bodied
men have volunteered to come down
here, some with their teams and others
as choppers, to provide the wood neces-
sary to carry the settlement Though
the winter and those who stay at
home are to take care of the families
and stock of the absent ones. These
people show themselves verify Of the
assistance Of our citizens, and We hope
that they will receive it.
Year: 1874

A very comical conclusion to very
ordinary theft took place the other day.
A sneak thief entered a gentlem an s
apartment, one afternoon, by means of
false keys, and proceeded to ransack
drawers and closets in search of valua-
bles. To his disgust he found neither
jewels, money. nor any portable valua-
bles, so he finally concluded to treat
himself to fine suit of clothes. Ac-
cordingly he selected nice outfit, in
eluding shirts, stockings and under.
wear, laid them out on the bed, and
proceeded to remove his own garments.
Just as he had got to the critical point
when his own clothes were off and the
new ones were not on, he heard some
one open the outer door Of the apart
ment. He scrambled under the bed in
all haste, and while lying perdu there
he heard the newcomer prowling round
the room, opening drawers ETC.,
and finally heard him depart. He
then crept out; but what was his hor-
ror to find that the second individual
had been brother thief, and that not
only the clothes he had been about to
put on were gone, but his own suit as
we'll! Whilst he was in the midst of a
search for some other garment, he was
again disturbed by the opening Of a
door, and this time he popped into a
closet. This last arrival proved to be
the owner Of the apartment, who, find
ing his furniture in disorder and his
wearing apparel gone, proceeded to
search for the malefactor, and soon dis.
covered the poor, shivering criminal in
the closet. He summoned the police
and gave him into custody, and the un.
fortunate fellow was conveyed to the
station house, wrapped in a blanket,and
piteously declaring that he had stolen
nothing--that on the contrary lie had
been robbed, basely robbed, Of all his
clothing.-[ Paris Letter.
Year: 1874

Far from being of the opinion of
Catharine of Aragon. that dressing
time is wasting time" the woman, we
are apt to think, who has not some
natural taste in dress, some love of
novelty, some delight in the cOmbina-
tions of colOrs, is deficient in sense of
the beautiful. As a work of art we'll
dressed woman is study. That love
of dress is natural, and that it has some
advantages, is so plain as to be scarcely
worth recording. 1t does not follow
that it should engross every other taste;
it is only the coQuette's heart which, as
Addison describes it, is stuffed with "a
flame -cOlOred hOOd.n From the days OF
Anne BOleyn, who varied her dress
every day, and who wore a small ker-
chief over her round neck to conceal a
mark thereon, and a falling sleeve TO
hide her dOubly-tipped little finger.
dress has had its place in the heart OF
an EnglishwOman. And it Is well that
it should be SO, for the dOwdy, be she
Young or be she old, is sure to hear OF
il from her husband, if she has not
already done so from brothers and
fancy cousins. Indifference, and conse :
auent inattentiOn. to dress often shows
pedantry, elf-righteousness, or indO-
fence; and, whilst extOlled by the 'uncO
guder as virtue, may be noted as a
defect. Every woman should habitually
make the best of herself. We dress 0uI
rooms with flowers and make our tables
gorgeous with silver, glass, and china
should our wives be less attractive
than all around themf Among the
rich and great the love of dress pro,
notes taste, and fosters ingenuity and
industry.
Year: 1874

A very amusing application for the
privilege of opening a saloon, or pub
iic-house as it is called in England
was made in the ancient city of York
recently. A publican, presumably a
sinner, applied to the authorities for a
license to open such place near the
cemetery. There was, he explained, at
present no place for the persons to go
for a stimulent when depressed by
grief at the gravesides of their friends.
In making his application he was
backed by the lodge-keeper and, singu-
larly enough, the chaplain. The lat
ters motive must have been pure phil
anthropy. The former had tinge of
thrift in it. cat present." he said,
"these depressed persons come to my
lodge, and have to give them my own
brandy for 1 should be fined if l sold
it to them" The logic of this is unan-
swerable. If brandy is a necessity at a
funeral, there ought to be some means
of supplying it without loss to poor
lodge-keeper. But the theory for sub
stitnting ardent for departed spirits as
means of consolation always to be ap-
pealed to did not seem properly estab-
iished and the license was refused,
Year: 1874

Against all chambermaids of whatso-
ever age or nationality, | launch the
curse of Batchelordom


Because


They always pat the pillows at the
burner, SO that while you read and
smoke before sleeping (as is the ancient
and honored custom of batchelors), you
have to hold your book aloft, in an un-
comfortable position, to keep the light
from dazzling your eyes.


If they cannot get the light in an un-
comfortable position any other way,
they move the bed.


II you pull your trunk out six inches
from the wall, so that the lid will stay
up when they open it, they always
shove that trunk back again. They do
it on purpose.


They also put your boots into inac-
cessible places. They chiefly enjoy
depositing them as far under the bed
as the wall will permit. 1t is because
this compels you to get down in an IN
dignified attitude and make wild sweeps
for them in the dark with the bootjack,
and swear.


They always put the match box in
some other place. They hunt up a new
place for it every day, and put bottle
or Other perishable glass thing, where
the box stood before. This is to cause
you to break that glass thing, cropping
about in the dark, and get yourself into
trouble.


They are forever moving the furni-
ture. When you come in, in the night,
you can calculate on finding the bureau
where the wardrobe was in the morn
ing. And when you come in at mid
night, or thereabout, you will fall over
the rocking chair. and you will proceed
toward the window and set down in the
slop tub. This will disgust you. They
like that.


No matter where you put anything,
they won't let it stay there. They will
take it and move it the first chance they
get.


They always save up the old scraps
of printed rubbish you throw on the
floor, and stack them up carefully on
the table, and then start the fire with
your valuable manuscripts.


And they use more hair oil than any
six men.


They keep always coming to make
your bed before you get up, thus de-
stroying your rest and inhicting agony
upon you, but after you get mp they
don't come any more till the next day.