smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1867

CRAwFoRDsvIALE, Dec. 80, 1860.


DEAR SIR: Yours of the 22d instant
was received two days ago. ! hold il
and appreciate it as you intended
Personally am not your enemy-fal
from it; and however widely we may
differ politically, yet | trust we both
have an earnest desire to preserve and
maintain the Union of the States, il
it can be done upon the principles and
furtherance of the objects upon which
it was formed 1t was with such feel
ings on my part that l suggested to
you in my former note the heavy re
sponsibility now resting on you, and
with the same feelings | will now take
the liberty of saying, in all frankness
and earnestness, that this great object
can never be attained by force. This
is my settled conviction. Consider
the opinion, weigh it, and pass upon
it for yourself An error on this point
may lead to the most disastrous con-
sequences. | will also add, that in
my judgment the people of the South
do not entertain any fears that Re
publican Administration, or at least
the one about to be inaugurated, would
attempt to interfere, directly or i'm
mediately, with slavery in the States


Their apprehension and disquietude
do not spring from that source They
do not arise from the fact Of the known
anti-slavery opinion of the President
elect Washington, Jefferson, and
other Presidents are generally ad.
mitted to have been ant.sIavery in
sentiment. But in those days anti
slavery did not enter as an element
into party organizations. Question Of
other kinds-rclating to the foreign
policy, commerce, finance, and other
legitimate objects of the General Gov
ernment-were the basis of such asso-
Citations in thei- day. The private
opinions of individuals upon the sub
ject of African slavery, or the status
of the negro with US, were not looked
TO in the choice of Federal officers any
more than their views upon matters
Of religion, or any other subject over
which the Government under the
Constitution had no control But now
this subject, which is confessedly on
oil sides outside of the constitutional
action of the Government, so far as
the States are concerned, is made the
central idea" in the platform of prin-
oiples announced by the triumphant
party. The leading objects seems to
be, simply and wantonly if you please,
to put the institutions Of nearly half
the States under the ban of public
opinion and national condemnation.
This, upon general principles, is quite
enough of itself to arouse a spirit not
only Of general indignation, but of re-
volt, ON the part Of the prescribed.


Let me illustrate. Ii is generally
conceded, by the Republicans even,
tnat Congress cannot interfere with
slavery in the States. 1t is equally
conceded that Congress cannot estab. |
lish any form Of religious worship.
Now, suppose tina, any one Of the
Year: 1867

A BEAUTIFUL LEGEND.-They tell a
story, that one day Rabbi Judah and
bis brethren sat in the court on a fast
day, disputing about rest One said
il was to have attained sufficient
wealth, yet without sin The second
said IL was fame and the praise of all
men. The third said it was the pos
session Of power to rule the Senate
The fourth, that it must be only in
the old age of one who is rich, power
full, famous, and surrounded by child
rcns children. The fifth said all were
in vain unless man kept all the ritual
Of Moses And Rabbi Judah, the ven
cradle, the tallcst of the brothers,
said aye have spoken wisely, but one
thing more is necessary. He only can
find rest who to all things addeth this
that he keep the traditions Of the
elders" There sat fair-hairod boy,
playing with lilies in his lap, and
hearing the talk, dropped them in as
tonishmcnt from his hands and looked
up--that boy of twelve-and said
"Nay, nay, fathers, he only can find
rest who loves his brother as himself,
and God with his whole heart and
soul. Hcisgreatcr than fame, wealth
and power; happier than a happy
home without it better than honored
age; he is law himself above all ira
ditions"
Year: 1867

prompted peep into the tool house Il
see what had made him so busy. Hi;
wife, accompanied by one of her daugh-
ters, accordingly forced open the door


when they found the husband and father
stone dead, and laid out in coffin! The
mother fell to the floor in swoon, and
the daughter ran terrified from the spot.
A speedy Investigation brought to light a
note on the shop bench, which stated that
the deceased had taken his own life by
swallowing prussic acid, and that the cof-
fin was the work of his own hands.
Trouble had rendered his life uncomfortable
and hence the rash act. Death must have
b. en- very speedy, for the body could har-
dly have been "laid out" with more pre-
cision. Such methodical GOODNESS in the
work of stlf-destruction was never before
recorded-a man constructing his own
coffin, and dressing himself for the grave
Year: 1867

The NrwsrApER.-Ach child beginning
to read becomes delighted with newspapers,
because he reads of names and things which
are very familiar. and he will make q
progress accordingly. A newspaper in
one year, Is worth quarters schooling
to child, and every father must consider
that substantial information is conn scted
with this advancement. The mother of
family being one of it's heads, and hav-
ing more immediate charge of children,
should herself be instructed. A mind oc-
cupied becomes fortified against the ills
Of life, and is braced for any emergency.
Children amused by reading or study are.
Of cource, confederate and more easily
governed. How many thoughtless young
men have spent their earnings in tavern
or grog shop, who ought to have been
reading? ? How many parents who never
spent twenty dollars for books for their
families would gladly have given thou
sands TO reclaim son or daughter who
had ignorantly and thoughtlessly fallen
into temptation!
Year: 1867

A REMARKABLE SUICIDE.-A Cleve-
land (Ohio) paper tells strange story to
the following effect:


A man whose name and residence is
suppressed out of delicacy toward his
family, became reduced in circumstances,
owing TO indorsing note for a brother,
who became bankrupt, and the misfortune
preyed upon his mind, and he became
gloomy and apparently threatened TO be-
come insane. About month since, his
family became aware that some myster-
ious task was claiming bis attention in a
tool and work-house near one of his barns.
To all inquiries as TO the nature of his
work he returned an evasive answer. but
kept steadily on. Sometimes he would
allow two or three days to pass without
visiting the shop; but during such times
he would be more than usually vacant and
cast down. One day last week he sud-
denly appeared before his family, dressed
with more than usual care and stated that
he intended paying business visit to his
brother-to be absent two or three days.
He would listen to no suggestions that
some of the family should accompany him,
and went away. Next morning curiosity
Year: 1867

How RAIN FALLs.-Where does the
rain come from You answer, 8 From the
Clouds" But where do the clouds come
from You may think the wind blows
them over you. But if it blows clouds
over you from somewhere else, it also
blows them from over you to other places.
The fact is, the water of the clouds is just
as much over you on clear day as on
cloudy or rainy day. On fair day when
no clouds are seen, the water is divided up
into such small particles, that it does not
obstruct the suns light, SO you see no
clouds or water. A change of temperature
in the atmosphere, as VIXEN warmer and
colder current of air meet, causes the small
particles of water to unite in pairs, and
the pairs unite, and these quadruple drops
unite, and SO on until hundreds or thous-
ands of the small invisible particles unite
in one, and even then that one may be
many hundred times smaller than pins
mead. a mass OF these combined drops
which are still small enough TO float in the
air, refracts, or bend out of their course
so many of the suns rays tLat they stop
and often darken its light. 1t is thus that
clouds gather in clear sky. When
enough drops unite to make one 100 heavy
to float in the air, it begins 10 fall. 1t
meets and unites with many others in fall
ing, and often SO many uni'e that great
rain drops are formed by the time they
get to the ground. Each large drop is
made up of thousands, perhaps millions
of the small drops that float in the unseen
air in clear sky.-American Agricultr-
fa
Year: 1867

sickness through whole household.


Hence, everything of the kind should be
studiously obviated, so that there be no
spot about farmhouse which can receive
and hold standing water, whether it he
the pure rain from the sky, the contents
of wash-basin, the slop-bowl, or the
water-pail.
Year: 1867

WATERFALL.


DEATH -Multitudes of per-
sons have great horror Of going out Of
doors for fear of taking cold. If it is a
little damp, or little windy, or little
cold, they wait, and wait !; meanwhile
weeks and even months pass away, and
they never during that whole time, breathe
single breath of pure air. The result il,
they become so enfeebled that their const-
tutions have no power of resistance the
least thing in the world gives them a cold,
even going from one room to another, and
before they are aware of it, they .have a
cold all the time, and this is nothing more
or less than consumption whereas, if an
opposite practice has been followed Of GO
ing out of doors for an hour or two every
day, regardless of the weather, so it is not
actually falling rain, very different result
would have taken place. The truth is, the
more a person is out of doors, the less
easily does he take cold. 1t is widely
known fact that persons who camp out
every night, or sleep under a tree for
weeks together, seldom take col at all.


The truth is, many Of our ailments, and
those of most fatal form, are taken in
the house, and not out of doors, by remov-
ing parts of the clothing too soon after
q


coming into the house. or lying down on a
bel or sofa when in tired or exhausted
condition from having engaged too vigor-
ously in domestic employments. Many a
pie has cost a vigorous man hundred
dollars. A human life has many time
paid for an apple dumpling. When our
wives get to work they become so interest,"
| ed in it that they find themselves in an ut
terly exhausted condition; their ambition
TO complete thing. to do some work well,
sussains them until its completion, and the
moment it is completed the mental and
| physical condition is one of exhaustion
when breath of air will give a cold, ia
settle in the joints to wake up next day
with inflammatory rheumatism, or with a
feeling of stiffness and soreness, as if they
had been pounded in a bag or sore
throat to worry and trouble them fol
months or lung fever to put them in the
grave in a few weeks.


Our wives should work by the day. il
they must work at all, and not by the job
it is more economical in the end to sec
how little they can do in an hour, instead
of how much. 1t is slow, steady con-
thu us labor which brings health and
strength and good digestion. FiHul labor
is ruinous to all.-HalPs Journal of Health.
Year: 1867

1T seems to me that the old house
never looked quite so pleasant as
it does tonight, in this still harvest
moonlight. asf a.F


Iknow it's a dreadful old house,
brown and low, and weather beat
en-not much to boast of in its
best days, and now it shrinks and
quivers and can't, hold its own
against a gale, and its roof leaks
with every cup.full of shower,
but it's my dear old home for all
that; and now that this is the last
night, and Pm going away to the
great, vast, noisy city tomorrow, a
strange sadness comes over me,
standing here by the little brown
gate, and looking at the old place,
and wondering what will happeD
before / stand here again. - -


ia There are the two great cherry
Year: 1867

A New Yorker, who says he has paid
a large house rent for smalIinconveni-
eut house quite long enough" adver-
tises for about twenty-five persons who
are willing to unite into a company
and put up enough houses for all at
some distance in the country, and thus,
by owning their own residences, be able
to avoid an enormous rent. Co-opera-
tive house-building may be very good
thing, but in view of the trials and dis
agreements which are sure to occur
when twenty-five persons unite In such
enterprises, and considering that one
house can be put up by one owner quite
as cheaply in proportion As twenty y-fiye
can be erected by twenty-five owners,
it seems to us far better for each indi-
vidual to do this for himself. He can
build then to suit his wants and means,
and avoid all risk of the quarreis which
the system above indicated would be
sure TO cause.
Year: 1867

A Government employe made a mis-
take in the measurement of q barge of
coal which he received from contrac-
tor, by which the Government lest
about four hundred bushels of coal.
The error SO preyed upon his mind that
he committed suicide by shooting him
self through the head.
Year: 1867

ANDREW Johnson, who is now Presi-
dent of the United States, was very
foolish when he went to New York and
out West, in talking to them about the
He has done something wrong a5ainst
some of the noblest men in our country,
and ought to be impeached for doing so,
and kicked out Of Office
Year: 1867

General Butler is not and was not
on very friendly terms with General
Grant. The cause of the ill-feeling
which exists between them, / am unable
to tell. General Butler was brave
soldier who used to fight the rebels.
don't know where he is now, and have
not heard from him lately. should
like very much to see hem. c."
Year: 1867

The MEssAGE.-Congress appears to have
been greatly excited because the message
was allowed to be published in several
large cities before it was communicated to
the two houses. 1t was looked on as an
act of discourtesy. 1t was published in
Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and
other cities early in the morning of Mon
day, and was not sent to Congress until
noon. This does seem little out of Or
der, and was no doubt without the know
ledge or consent of the President. Under
Mr.. PIERCE, and DIR. BUCHANAN, the mes
sage was transmitted to the postmasters Of
certain large cities to be given to the press.
Sometimes the copies were distributed
early in the morning, with the injunction
not to use or print it Until a telegram an
nouncC1 its communication to Congress ::
and at others it was ordered not to be
given to editors until it was sent to Con-
gress.


So sharp and permeiiting are the hunters
after news and documents for publication,
| that it is next to impossible to shut them
out. The Congressional committees find
it impossible to keep things from the
knowledge OF men who seem capable of
passing doors and locks, and Of knowing
everything that is going on. Congress
knowing this, and how impossible it is for
them to Illustrate these men, certainly
ought not to blame the President.
Year: 1867

RADICALS IN CAUCUS on LINDSEY. WHO,
HAVING KICKED OVER THE FAT, NEGRO
MEMBERS ARE ORDERED Nor TO ARGUFY
AND SPUTE PINT o. Law" UNTIL FURTHER
1SsTRUCTED.-The contest for the Chair be-
ing decided, it was generally conceded that
caucusses were at an end for the present.
But no! And why? The model speech
of Lewis Lindsey on Wednesday, made
under the influence of q mistaken spirit Of
Republicanism, afforded the white patrons
of his party the long desired pretext
for procuring the silence of the colored
members during the Convention. Ac-
cordingly, caucus was held night before
last, at which it was kindly explained to
the negro members that they were en-
tirely unacquainted with the proceedings
of legislative bodies, and that they had
much to learn in connection Herewith. 1t
would, therefore, be eminently proper for
them to keep quiet until they should ac-
quire the necessary information both as to
the mode of procedure and the cause of
their being sent here. The negro mem
bers generally accepted this, and it was
decided that they should remain silent, at
least for the present. Whether or not
they will-contrary to all precedent-be
able to keep or be kept silent, remains to
be seen +; but certainly thus far they have
been quieter than could ever have been
expected.


Lindsey is very great fool, but if ali
the negroes who are sent here are to be
put into leading strings, the inquiry arises
what the devil did Radicalism send them
here for? This is rather an invasio~ of
their constitutional rights on the legisla-
tive floor. They may not all be Solo
mons, but their white colleagues certainly
do not monopolize all the wisdom in the
world. There are shortcomings on their
part which much more need restrictions
and restraints than the fcllies Of Lindsey,
or the. supposed Legislative incapacity OF
his black brothers. Take them in mass,
the last mentioned are probably equal in
capacity to the same number of white
Radicals, taken promiscuously.
Year: 1867

CIRCUIT CoUgT OF RICuMOSD.-TElsc court
adjourned yesterday to meet again on the
first Monday in February. Judge Mere
dith leaves the city for williamsburg this
morning to attend the District Court which
meets at that place to-day. The same court
meets at Fredericksburg on the 18th In
slant.


The docket of this court was larger than
ever before since the organization of the
court. A large amount of business has
been transacted during the term, and the
docket greatly reduced.
Year: 1867

REMEMBER THE ORPHAS.-This evening,
al the FIRST Baptist church, the Rev: DR..
McCabe will deliver the second of the
course OF lectures which he, without pay,
is generously giving for the benefit OF the
educational fund of the Masonic Academy
We trust that 10 will have large audi
Year: 1867

The Buffalo Express, a Radical paper, thus
sets forth what the Baltimore American, an
other Radical paper, believes TO be the general
opinion of Republicans with regard to the
terms of reconstruction:


1--WE notice recent letter published over
the signature of Thaddeus Stevens, which, in
our judgment, is fraught with mischief to the
future of the Republican party We protest
against the right of Thaddeus Stevens to
speak for that party, though he may be a
member of IL. We protest against any COM
mtments adverse TO reconstruction under the
late law of Congress, even to the admission OF
senator's and representatives to seats If elected
in accordance with the spirit and letter OF that
enactment. The attempt now to push other
and more severe measures upon the South,
pending this work of reconstruction, would
be n measure of such palpable bad faith and
hardship that the party, If IL should espouse
it, could not successfully defend itself against
a popular sentiment and prejudice that
would weaken it if it did not overthrow it,
When Congress passed the reconstruction
bill over the veto of the President 1t faith
fully represented the principles and purposes
of the Republican party, and virtually. made
n tender of that measure to the late insurgent /
States as the Republican ultimatum. A fair
and honest acceptance of that law, and recon-
struction under it, by the South will entitle
the seeded States to representation in Con-
gress, and an attempt on the part of the Re
puDllcan party W prevent tueih "ouiu oe III
act of bad faith that would rive the party
asunder and lay it in ruins This is no idle
threat, but the utterance of n solemn truth
that will be verified whenever such test
shall come. If the Republican party would
live in the future in the full enjoyment of
popular respect, it must not dim its laurels
now by acts of marked injustice or question
able faith. At some period in our history we
must reach the point of forgiveness for the
South, and when we dictate terms of restora-
tion land they accept them, it occurs TO us
that that is the fitting time for the introduc-
ton of that virtue. The radicalism OF the
Republican party never counsels persecution
or revenge, but insists upon the right, and
would enforce strict justice tempered with
Christian mercy"
Year: 1867

This establishment Is now
COMpLETE IN ALL ITS APPOINTMENTS,
having been newly and elegantly furnished


Throughout.
tits acknowledged to have no superior in the
southern States, and to be equal to any in the
North.


The owner has spared no expense to make 1t
equal in every respect to any hotel in this country
and pledges his best efforts to MAKE HIS GUESTS
IN EVERY WAY COMFORTABLE.
His long and successful experience justiass him
in saving that the accommodations Of no hotel
shall be superior TO his.


He asks the support of his friends and the public
generally.
ap2-ts JOHN P. BALLARD, Proprietor.
Year: 1867

Can CONSUMPTION IN CuRTp This is one Of
the mo9i momentous questions Of the day. and
Ivy mast persons not easily answered. Every


invalid more OF less interested in its solution.
and 10 that end We advise a perasal of DR..
Hunters letter on Consumption. which We pub
ish elsewhere We have read all the letters
which have emanated from han very stteutiVe-
ly. and have found IN them much that Is novel
IA relation to pulmonary diseases. Being fully


impressed with the force Of many Of his propo-
sitions aud the nationality Of his treatmeut,
we deem Il our duty 10 direct attention to the
subject If only the remotezt probability OF
relief to suffering humanity presented itself. OF
the progress Of these insidious diseases could be
but temporarily checked, Dr. Hunter should be
considered public benefactori but VIXEN they
oaer reasonable hone Of cure, The subject de-
serves to be considered with care and attention
Year: 1867

"Ihe saying OF Senator Yates is
then, in no respect exaggerated. The
triumph of the Democratic party would
be the reopening of every question set
tied by the war; And, though we are
not apprehensive of such result,
though we do not believe that any trt-
umph is probable which would enable
of tie National Government, the ten
dency of the party effort is sufficiently
marked to reveal the real issue which
underlies the contest now in progress.
The merits of the struggle in thissre-
spect are too well defined to admit OF
extended misconception- Shall the
States which preserved the Union, alc-
tate and enforce the conditions on
which the excluded States are 10 be re-
Year: 1867

TIE CExESr MILL. spoken of : week or so since
~ in process Of construction at the steam mill
has been in operation since Wednesday, with what
success We have not learned as at the present WI
ting, the parties engaged in the experiment have
made no general clean up. We witnessed the pro
cess Of working Wednesday. and shoEld judge
tha, it was pretty thorough, thoroughly dissolving
The cement, and extracting the gold if the conent
contains any. The nil consists Of two large bar
rels of boiler iron erected frame. while nnder
meath is huge rocker that would carry JOY TO the
heart of . 49-er, and the rheumatism to his back.
if be had to carry it over the mountains The
entire thing is by steam, to the rocking of
the huge cradle. The barrels first charged with
the cement, when they are set 10 revolving and
steam is turned into them. This is continued for
about one hour. when their contents are dumped
into the cradle and washed out. The process seems
effective. cheap and simple, and If located immed-
asey at the mine we should suppose would pay tor
working any dirt that would afford prospect to q
bucket.