smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1877

The anniversary exercises OF
schools and colleges now transpir-
ing call the attention of the public
prominently to our educational in
terests. But these public exercises
are a very poor criterion of the
work done in our schools, or of the
benefits conferred by them either
upon the pupils or the public.
Many pupils, many parents and
many teachers are satisfied with the
appearance and reputation of know
ing, without real definite knowl-
edge. Oftentimes pupils and classes
are specially prepared for eXamina-
tion and recite glibly from memory,
when they know not the meaning os
the words they utter. A man with
tact and without honesty can make
poor scholars appear much better
than a thoroughly honest man can
much better pupils. If the pupil
has mastered the subject, algebra
for instance, instead of having only
memorized many things about it,
he can pass as good an examination
conducted by a stranger as by his
teacher. Compositions are often
read, written wholly, or in a large
part, by another than the apparent
author. The ordinary preparation
for the examination or exhibition,
is simply to make a show. The
pupils study for this and not for
improvement. The sacrifice of prIn-
ciple in teachers and pupils, the
holding up of false appearances to
the public, what price to pay for
the applause of few visitors, or
for a newspaper puff, even if some
zeal in the cause of popular educa
tion is enkindled thereby! School
exhibitions, too, are gotten up,
whose exercises lie wholly outside
of all ordinary school work. But
examinations which sift the teach
ings that have been given, which
test the accuracy and thoroughness
of the instructions and acquisitions
of the past term or year, are desira-

BILE and useful. They thus become
fair representations of the actual
condition of the schools and a pow
erful stimulus to faithful work.
This is substantially the practice in
Germany, and in many other coun-
tries, and where snowy, public per-
formances as school exercises are
quite rare.


Examinations and exhibitions are
desirable if they are thoroughly
honest and confined rigidly to
actual school work, and presented
to the public without special prepa-
ration; but in so far as they depart
from this standard they are a sham
and a delusion, and turn the atten-
tion of both pupils and the public
from the great ends of school train
ing and education. TEACHER.
Year: 1877

Knoxville Chronicle: Last Fri
day evening a negro man came run
nIng burriedly into the house of
Mr.. Donovan, the section boss OF
the East Tennessee, Virginia and
Georgia railroad, who lives in north
west Knoxville, and told Donno-
vans wife that her husband wanted
his coat and a clean shirt, as he
was ordered down the road some
where to put in switch, and the
train he was to go on was about
leaving. She hurriedly put up his
best coat and a clean shirt into q
small covered basket and handed 1t
to him, not suspecting anything,
but was ulprised to see her hus-
band come home at night and to
find that he knew nothing about the
transaction. The negro has not
been heard of since.
Year: 1877

An exchange says; We have been
informed that a German chemist
has succeeded in making first-class
brandy out of sawdust. While ac-
knowledging ourselves to be friends
of true temperance, we would like
to know what chance the Red Rib
bonites will have when a man can
take buck-saw and 90 and get
drunk with a fence rail, make
a brandy cocktail out of the shin
giles on his roof, or get the de.irium
tremens by the leg of his kitchen
chair. The fanatics may close the
front doors of few of the saloons
on Sundays, but their efforts at a
prohibition may be fairly consid-
cred a failure if men can become
"muddled" on boiled sawdust or
desiccated window -sills.
Year: 1877

Said one fellow to another, "If l
was as flat-footed as you are, 1
would not be afraid of slipping on
the pavement" YES" was the re.
sponse, "some people are fiat on one
end and some on the other" and
the first chap went on down the
street
Year: 1877

A great many young men persist
70 decline matrimony on account of
the expenses of housekeeping. They
don't understand the subject All
that is needed to commence house
keeping with is a table, three chairs
zone for company" J, cheap bed.
stead, a cradle, young woman and
spring mattress. With these and
a stout heart TO cheer him onward,
no young man of good character can
enter into matrimony TOO soon.
Year: 1877

The pencil marks You see around thi
paragraph (thus) mean that your


scription is out or unpaid, and that you
are requested 70 pay up az once. We
would take great pleasure in extending
credit to our friends and patrons, but
cash alone will way our expenses, and
we are forced to adhere 20 strict cash
rule. We hope you win comprehend
and appreciate the necessity Of such
course, and renew your subscription
without delay. We solicit your favor.


tS- We enter no new names on our
books without the money in advance.
Year: 1877

On very rainy day, a man en-
tering his house, was accosted by
his wife in the following manner:
"Now, my dear, while you are wet
90 and fetch me a bucket of water"
He obeyed, brought the water and
threw it all over her, saying at the
same time, "Now, my dear, while
you are wet go and fetch another"
Year: 1877

When you see a man who has
been owing you So for year past
skipping home with a bran new
shiny plug hat on, and big basket
of berries, it does indeed make you
feel that there are cases which the
law doesn't reach, or where a man
is fully justified in being his own
avenger.
Year: 1877

Those who attended the two trials
in the u. ). Court at this place, of
the two Meals. Gordon ard Ed
wards, charged with issuing coun-
terfeit money, will remember well
the witness Maxwell, from Tusca-
loosa, whose testimony tended to
identify the younger Neal as the
one who passed a counterfeit $3.50
bill on him. Mr.. Maxwell was a
man probably fifty five years of age,
of very quiet, dignifed and gentle
manly bearing, and he made a good
impression upon those who noted
his manner upon the witness stand.


He is said to have recently be-
come embarrassed in money mat
tiers, and this is assigned as the
cause for his taking a heavy dose
of strychnine a week ago last Sun
day, which resulted in his death.
He took the dose and locked him.
self up in the store honse, where he
had been doing a large mercantile
business for many years. When
found, life was extinct. He was a
prominent member of the Church,
and stood high with all classes of
people. The deed was done with
decided deliberation. He w~ote
will, wrote a farewell letter to his
wife, and settled up many matters,
just before taking the poison


Huntsville Ala. Independent.
Year: 1877

BEAUTIFYINa FINaER-NAILs.-The hn-
ger-nails of fashionable French women
are professionally attended, and this is
a description of the method of opera
ton: First, a sharp instrument cut the
nails and slope them on the side with
point in the centre; then tiny pair Of
pincers were used to pull off all the
pieces of dry skin around the nails,
commonly called by us hangnails; then
a steel file was used to raise up the skin
and push it back so as to show the half
moon on the nail, which is considereda q
part of its beauty; then liquid was
poured over it to bathe it; then dried;
then a red pomade was spread thin and
rubbed off with fine yellow powder,
which caused them to shine. 1t took
about half an hour, and cost the maSni-
fcent sum Of sixty cents. There are
woman nail-doctors in Paris who obtain
as high as 80 visit.
Year: 1877

How TO KILL MIcE.-The best way
to reduce the number of field mice is to
place few shocks of corn-stalks in diff
ferent parts of the field, and in each
sheaf put few nubbins of corn. After
a few days turn the shocks over, or take
the sheaves apart, and let cats or dogs
kill the little marauders, or dispatch
them with brush whips. A successful
farmer in the West, when relating his
mode of destroying these field pests,
says: II go through my orchard and
nursery and throw down on the ground
some three or four piles of brush to the
100 trees. This I cover with some hay
or straw; place on the brush a few
ears of corn. In few weeks the mice
will gather in the piles of hay and make
their nests and rear their young. Then
if you have good dog take fork and
lift the pile to one side and destroy all
you can. If you have no dog, take
some corn meal and crackers and mix a
little strychnine with it, and inclose
this in q small box with few augur
holes bored in, and bury this beneath
the brush. The mice will eat it and all
die. This is an effectual remedy, but
care must be taken in using the strych-
nine"
Year: 1877

The KINDS OF POULTRY TO KEEP
There are two productions for which
fowls are always in demand-laying
eggs and for poultry-so it is well TO
keep the breed in the best condition
possible for one or both of these
branches of business. And if you can
at the same time have them please the
fancy of the fancier, so much the better.
as they make better customers usually
for the surplus stock than the butcher.
In some localities eggs are worth more
than poultry and it is desirable to nave
them at a particular time Of the year;
For egg production the non-sitter should
be chosen, and they will produce eggs
when wanted, and in quantities to suiI'
if properly fed and otherwise cared feI'
If early poultry is wanted, the nou-si.,,
ters Of good size are the best TO breeo
from, but If you want to raise IN lass
Fall or Winter choose the short-leggea
Asiatics.
Year: 1877

A REMARKABLE instance of the preser-
vation Of dead body is mentioned in
the Richmond Dispatch. A Mr.. Dues
berry died in March, 1857, and the
body was buried in a metallic coffin.
Recently it was removed to another
cemetery. The wooden box was de-
cayed, and the coffin was found sub
merged in water. A thick coating Of
rust covered the case, and when the
heavy metallic plate was removed from
the upper part, and the body exposed
through the glass, it was found to Oe in
state Of perfect preservation. The
clothing, also, was just as when the
burial took place, and even the flowers
around the dead mans face looked
fresh.
Year: 1877

The following remarkable prophecy Ina;

 been going the rounds of the press in {

 mutilated form for some time past. We

 here reproduce it complete, as published

 in the Belfast, Ireland, Weekly News o l November 3. AS all the events herein pre-

 dicted except the last and most i'm mportant

 have already come to pass we had better begin to make our peace with all mankind preparatory to shuff1ing off this mortal coil, or having it shuffled off for us, in 1881: Carriages without horses shall go,

 And accident fill the world with woe; Primrose Hill in London shall be,

 And in its center Bishops See;

 Around the world thoughts shall fly

 In the twinkling of an eve;

 Water shall yet more wonders do

 How strange, yet shall be true The world upside down shall be,

 And gold be found at the root of tree; Through hills men shall ride,

 And no horse or ass be by their side; Under W iter men shall walk,

 Shall ride, shall sleep, shall talk; In me alr men shall be seen

 In white, in black and in green; A great man shall come and go; Three times shall lovely France Be led to play a bloody dance; Before her people shall be free Three tyrant rulers shall she see; Three rulers in succession sec, Each sprnging from different dynasty; Then shall the worSer fight be done, England ard France shall be as one; The British olive next shall twinc In marriage with German vine; Men shall walk over rivers and und'r rivers; Iron ill the water shall float As easy as a wooden boat; Gold shal. he found and shown In a land that's not now known; Fire and water shall more wonders do; England shall at last admit Jew; The Jew that was held in scorn, Shall of a Christian be born and born; A house of glass shall come to pass In England, but alas! War will follow with the work, In the land of the Pagan and Turk; And State aud State in fierce strife Will seek each others life; But when the North shall divide the South An eagle shall build in the lions mouth; Taxes for blood and for war Will come to every door; All England's sons that blow the land Shall be seen book in hand; Learning shall so ebb and flow The poor shall most wisdom know; Waters shall flow where corn shall grow; Corn shall grow where water doth flow; Houses shall appear in the wales below, And covered by hail and snow. The world then to an end shall come In eighteen hundred and eighty-one.

 These prophecies, which require no ex- planation, were found recently in the Bri- ish museum, written in an old manuscript dated A. D. 14fS.
Year: 1877

On a certain occasion during Yelling
tons campaign in the Pyrenees, that
q great captain" being displeased with
the dispositions Gen. Picton had made
for receiving the assault of Marshal
Soult, who had menacea him in front,
ordered tho plan to be entirely changed.
But the difficulty was to delay the at
tack of the French until the change
could be effected. This the Iron Duke"
accomplished in person in the follow
ing manner: Dofing his cooked hat and
waving it in the air, he rode furiously to
the head of a regiment, as if to order a
charge Thereupon rose tremendous
cheer from the men, which Was tai zen up
by corps after corps until it reverherat,
ed along the whole extent OF Picton Is
line.


As the roar died away, Wellington
was heard to remark, musingly, as it ad:
dressing himself. "Soult is a skillful
but cautious commander, and will not
attack in force until he has ascertained
the meaning of these cheers. This will
give time for the sixth division to come
up, and we shall beat him" 1t turned
out as anticipated. Soult very naturally
supposed that those tremendous shouts
announced the arrival of large rein
forcements, and did not attack until toe
late. Had he struck at the right mo-
ment, he would have won an easy yicto-
ry; as it was, he met with a bloody re-
pulse. This was strategy. 1t was not
the stratgy of books, but the strategy OF
genius, conceived and executed in the
same moment. The idea was born OF
the occasion, and carried out on the in
slant
Year: 1877

A hotel-keeper who has no more sense
or courtesy than to snub a guest because
of his poor clothes, deserves to lose his
custom. In the instance related below
the modification Of the offender was
doubtless increased by letting him of
mercifully


Our host of the P House was Col
Trover How he came to be Colonel
never knew; l only know that, for the
life of him, he could not have told the
flank of a regiment from it's center; still
he always wrote his name Colonel,
and had "Colonel' in big letters on his
sign board.


Trover was a sycOphant, and bowed
low to men of wealth. Once wealthy
old farmer from Lincoln county went
with his light rockaway and span Of
horses, to the college where his two sons
had just graduated with honor, for the
purpose of taking them home.


The party stopped for dinner at the
P House The older son did the
ordering. He ordered the taking care
of the horses, and ordered the dinner
for the party. The young men were
handsome aad dashing, and were their
fathers pride. The landlord bowed to
them extremely low; and in relief of the
obsequiousness he paid to them, he was
correspondingly brusque and churlish
to the old gentleman, their driver"


While Col. Trover was ordering his
very best for the two dashing guests, a
middle e-aged gentleman in the yard had
recognized in our sturdy, plainly y-clad
old farmer, no less parsonage than eX-
Gov. Hubbard, one of the grandest men
in the State, and this gontleman-Judge
Kent-and the Governor had social
chat before dinner.


The father observed the landlord S
manner and so did the sons. The latter
would have resented it, but the old gen
tleman restrained them.


''No, no, he said. He takes me for
a poor man, and so treats me roughly.
Let him have the full enjoyment of his
mistake at the proper time.


When the Colonel saw Judge Kent,
he almost went to the ground with his
bow. This was truly an honor. He
found the young graduates, and inform
ed them that his friend, Judge Kent, of
tho Supreme Court, had arrived: ut
course they would have no objections
to his sitting at table with them?
Of course not.


By-and-by dinner was announced, and
the Governor led the way into the din
Ing room, followed by his sons and the
Judge. The landlord saw and was dis
gusted. The man whom he had snub-
bed was going to dine with his honored
guests.


Sir" he said to the eldest of the
sons, will you have your driver sit at
the table with you? Will the Judge
like it?'


We'll, replied the young man with a
merry twinkle of the eye, since the
Governor is to pay all the bills, | guess
we'll allow him to sit at the table with
us.


Why, Colonel" cried Kent, with a
laugh, don't you know Governor Hub
bard?"


Our father Colonel" added one Of
the song;


Poor 1'rover couldn't say a word. He
bowed his head and fed and sent in his
wife to wait upon the table.
Year: 1877

Why should we have not have some skating
races? mile course can be readily made
on the reservoir at the Park by simply
turning one flag Let some vigor-
Gus and prosperous club like the
New York Athletic take the matter
in hand and offer suitable prizes for the
fastest amateur half-mile, mile and five-mile
skaters in the city or the State; or better
yet, throw it open to the country, charging,
if necessary, small entrance fee. The
facilities for viewing the contest from the
shore and the ice would be excellent. Years
ago similar contests were held on the track
at the South End, in Boston, and the sport
was wondrously keen and exciting. The
different universities might unite in q
match such as we have suggested, each
sending its feetest skater. A more mex
pensive aud healthful way of spending an
hour could hardly be devised.
Year: 1877

England-or rather the London Daily
7elegraph-is recovering from the prostra-
ton and dismay that was produced by the
fall of Kars. That startling event, SO
clearly indicative of Moslem exhaustion and
Russian strength, was altogether too much
for the happiness of the men who had per-
suaded themselves that Russia could not
possibly recover the ground she had lost in
Asia Minor, and that the year, in that part
OF the world, at least, must close hand
somely for the Turks. 1t crushed them
and they have just now recovered con-
sciousness enough to endeavor to wriggle
from under it. There was needed some
solution of that event which should put it
in light less unfavorable to Turkish
prowess, and the solution is forthcoming
and assumes the ancient and familiar
load OF gold that Philip of Macedon sent to
the assault of fortresses impregnable to
every other advance was sent to Kars by the
Russians and hungry pacha was bought
up and betrayed the place. This may be
true and if it is it somewhat saves the
honor of the army for valor at the expense
of it's honor in the more delicate point of
fidelity to It's colors. But if the English
journalists could only save the honor OF
their Turkish friends with a story made up
of these ancient and familiar elements why
did they wit SO long to present il? Why
not have given this explanation with the
news and not let this awful burden rest on
- MT e e


Naturally there is great difference of
opinion between English newspapers as to
the credit due to Lord Derby for having
assured portion Of the British people for
the ninetieth time that England could only
undertake to guarantee that Constantinople
should not fall into Russian hands; and
therefore could take no action till that
fact seemed inevitable. The Times and Ne,cs
are satisfied with this, and the Standard is
crusty, and, in the word Of the late Arte-
mus Ward, ''sarcastical." The Standard is
sorry that the Earl 'cannot give anything
more comforting than that well worn assur-
ance." It is little tedious for Derby to
keep on repeating the same speech. AS he
observes himself he made it first at the be-
ginning of the war; He has made it since
on an average Of once week, and, as Curl
GUS effect Of this iteration, he seems at last
to have come to believe it. It has
thus come to be part of the tradition of
British politics that England will interfere
in the war between Turkey and Russia at
the precise moment when such interference
may become absurd and inconsequent. If
England had single case of merchandise
in vessel of some belligerent Power, and
that vessel were attacked by frigate of the
other beiligerent, she might say to the cap
tain of the belligerent frigate, II recognize
your right to fire into this ship and tear her
to pieces with shot, but if one of your shot
touches my case I shall interfere" This
would scarcely be more absurd than what
she now says to Russia, for the cases would
precisely agree in the essential point that
it could only be known that the occasion
for interference had arisen by the fact that
interference was too late.
Year: 1877

Now that the Mayor has called together
the heads Of departments and the presidents
Of the street railroad companies to consult
and especially of preventing q snow block
ade this winter, we may hope at least to es-
cape the serious inconv enience and damage
to business occasioned last winter by the
entire abandonment of all street cleaning
work for many weeks. Some Of the railroad
officials who were present at Wednesdays
conference in the Mayors Office expressed
their readiness to cooperate with the city
authorities in any plan that might be
adopted to prevent an accumulation of
snow, and were requested to attend q meet
ing at the same place on Tuesday next.
The Board of Health was unrepresented,
as it usually is when there is any work
to do, and the discussion of the subject was
therefore postponed. The railroads have
hitherto disregarded all interests but their
own, and made the condition Of the streets
more uncomfortable and the removal of the
blockade more difficult by piling up the
snow in miniature mountains on both sides
OF the road Tor the sake OF clearing their
tracks. They should be notified that this
will not be permitted in the future.


But we must insist that the duty Of tho
Mayor is not thoroughly performed in
simply inviting these conferences in regard
to the future cleaning Of the streets. 1t is
incumbent on him to find out why it is that,
while the liberal amount appropriated for
street cleaning is regularly drawn and ap-
parently expended month after month, no
work is done and the streets are left foul
and filthy with garbage, ashes and sweep
ings. Where does the money go? The lists
Of men employed are full and there is a
large monthly charge for carts, horses and
dumping ground expenses, while very little
cleaning is done, very few loads moved and
scarcely any dumped 1t is bad enough to
be ompelled to submit to the unpleasant
ness and danger of uncleaned streets with
out being called upon to pay over to a
department which neglects its duty as
much money rs would keep the whole city
clean and healthful. Let the Mayor find
out where the abuse lies hidden and then
he may hope to apply sufficient remedy.