smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1879

Taking things for granted is an error


TO which people ofthis age are prone.


Pleased with theif church pastor, be-


lieving in the doctrine he teaches, and
comfortable in their supposed surety Of
salvation, they regard it as unnecessary
to do more than listen to the sermon,


leaving to opposing diyines the task Of
turning the production on every side, to
find its flaws, and argue upon its merits.
Tho vigor and exhilaration which come
from keen thinking and examination in
to the reasons for presented facts and
theories, will never fail to reward those
who are ready to fling aside their accus-
toned inertness, and gain to themselves
the freshness and sweetness which re-
ig ious truths, however opposed, finally
bring to the mind. In social life we are
slow in outgrowiug old and useless cere.
monies, which hamper and restrain that
free vitalizing spirit which should draw
us each to the other, by showing forth
individual characteristics which would
soon come to be acknowledged as COM
mon to all. We live by the rule and line
Of opinion, and fear to show the special
divine qualities which, in one shape or
another, we all possess, lest it shall meet
with surprise, discussion, and probable
condemnation, from that paradox who is
and is not-Mrs. Grundy. Those who
lift themselves from the dreary level of
general views, to the plane of their
nobler and better conceptions, will,
though perhaps tabooed as eccentric,
still breathe the pure air Of their higher
altitude, and gain that health of mind
and soul which follows moral bravery.
Year: 1879

JacksOn's Last Night as President.


The last night of Gen. Andrew Jack.


sons presidency OF the United States he
spent in his private room, in company
with friends, awaiting the breaking OF
the day which should free him from the
cares OF office. Suddenly he remarked:


Gentlemen, l think the occasion will
warrant me in breaking over one Of my
own rules. Let us drink a little Ma
deira. The wine was brought. jack
son took small glassful--it was the first
liquor he had been known to touch for
several months-and then, asking his
friends to excuse him for q few moments,
he finished writing letter upon which
he was engaged, sealed, directed it, and
lighting his cob pipe again, took a Whit
Or two, and stood silently watching the
face of great, tall, old.fashioned clock
which stood in one corner. 1t was five
minutes before midnight five minutes
before the beginning of the day upon
which Andrew Jackson would cease to
be President of the United States
Slowly the minute-hand moved round
the dial. The silence in the room be.
came almost painful. II was broken by
the clear, sharp bell Of the clock striking
the last hour of day which had gone
forever. Then Jackson, starting sud-
denly and looking toward his friends,
said, with quick, nervous laugh: 'Gen-
tlemen, 1 am no longer President of the
United States, but as gopd a citizen as
any of you.' Subsequently he expressed
to them feeling of great relief at the
prospect OF escaping from the official
cares which had begun TO weigh most
heavily upon him, saying: Il am very
glad to get away from all this excitement
and bother. That day Van Buren was
inaugurated President OF the United
States, and Jackson, at the end of his
second term, left the White House-left
it so poor that he was obliged to borrow
from his friends $1,000 with which to
rebuild Hermitage his old family man
sion, which some time before had been
burned to the ground.
Year: 1879

Engineer James Wood, of the New
York Central abroad, had singular
experience one day during his trip to
Utica on the special express. At differ
ent points two men attempted to drive
wagons across the track, and in both
instances the rash men were killed. In
each case the coroner's jury exonerated
the engineer from blame. On the same
trip, when near Syracuse, he saw man
ahead of him on the track, and woman
with o big sun bonnet on was approach
ing the man, and freight train was
running abreast Of them on the other
track. Neither heard the approaching
train. The engine was reversed, and
the whistle sounded. Just in time to
save hia life, the man heard the whistle,
turned around and cried out to the wo-
man, and both barely escaped being
run down.
Year: 1879

A little over year ago little daugh-
ter of Mr. Charles Schuyler, of Geneseo,
N. Y, swallowed an ordinary brass p in.
Her parents we're at first very much
alarmed, but time passed on, and no ILL
ness ensuing, it was supposed that the
difficulty had been removed. In Sep
tember last the child began to show in
dications of illness such as arrangement
of the stomach, and intense pains, which
in some instances almost produced con
WILSON'S. Added to these, large swell
ling came on her side, which took the
form of an abscess or tumpr, and medi-
cal advice was taken, the doctors, how
ever, not agreeing as to the nature of the
swelling. Finally, it was poulticed, and
lanced, and it has been running sore
until the present time. Two or three
weeks ago as the child was dressing, she
complained to her mother that there was
q silver in the sore, and upon examina-
tion the mother saw the point Of the pin
projecting, and pulledit out. The child
became quite sick, and kept her bed for
some time afterward, but is now better,
and it is supposed that as soon as the
virus created by the pin is expelled
from her system she will entirely recov-
or. The pin was encrusted with a coat
ing of rust to double its natural size,
and must have worked through the walls
of the stomach, and through other Or
gans in order to reach the place where it
was found.
Year: 1879

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 2.-The Military
Convention met again yesterday,
with General Beauregard, First
Vice President, in the chair. A
bill framed to meet the requirements
of the military service was taken
up and discussed. The bill now
pending before the House Committee
on Army Affairs..was discussed, and
it was the sense of the Convention
that it should not be materially
changed. The bill was submitted
to a committee for revision. The or
ganization, under the Constitution
adopted yesterday, is called Ma
tional Guard Association of the
United States, and the object was
declared to be to secure military
efficiency and united representation
before Congress.
Year: 1879

The ball given by the Rosini Club
Thursday night was grand success.
The club is composed of some of the
best men in the city, and it will be
safe to say that some of the most re-
spectacle ladies and gentlemen a.
tended this entertainment, which is q
very rare thing among the colored
people of this city. The guests were q
little fashionable and did not begin to
gather until 10 o'clock, when, in q
short time, the house was filled and
dancing was kept up until late hour,
and when day began to dawn it waa
with regret that the last couple de-
parted for home. The club intend to
give ne of these entertainments each
month, aud propose to make them
equally as Interesting as this one.


7. II. A.
Year: 1879

The body of an oyster is a poor
thing, apparently not capable Of do
ing anything at all, yet what a mar


velous house an oyster builds around
his delicate frame. When the oyster
is first born he is very simple, del
icate dot,as it were, and yet he is born
with his two shells upon him. For
some unknown reason he always fixes
himself on his round shell, never on
his fiat shell; and, being once fixed,
he begins to grow, but he only grows
in Summer. Inspect an oyster closely,
and it will be seen that it is marked
with distinct lines. AS the rings we
observe in the section of a trunk of a
tree denote years of growth, so does
the marking of an oyster tell us how
many years he has passed in his 8 bed"
at the bottom of the sea. Suppose
an oyster was born June Is, 1870, he
would 90 on growing up to the first
ring we see we'll marked and would
then stop for the Winter. In the Sum-
mer of 1871 he would more than
double his size; In 1872 he would
add to his house. In 1878 and 1874
he would again go on building, till
he was dredged up in the middle Of
his work in 1875, when he would be
five and half years old. The way
in which an oyster builds his shell is
pretty sight. l have watched it
frequently. The beard or fringe Of
an oyster is not only his breathing
organ but his feeding organ also, by
which he conveys the food to his com
plicated mouth with his four lips.


When the warm calm days of
June come, the oyster opens his shell
Year: 1879

and, by means of his fringe, begins
building an additional story to his
house. This he does by depositing
veryfne particles OF carbonate OF lime,
till tbey at last form a substance thin
as silver paper and exceedingly fragile ).
then he adds more and more, till at
last the new shell is at least as hard
as the old shell. When oysters are
growing in their shells they must be
handled very carefully, as the new
growth of shell will cut like broken
glass, and wound on the finger from
an oyster shell is often very trouble
some.-Fra,ak Batcktdn0's Letters.
Year: 1879

To industry in working out
our salvation we have the most
pressing motives. The shortnesS
and uncertainty Of life warns US
not to neglect it; for SINCE upon
our present behavior depends
our future state; since the days
of man are few-few according
to the course Of nature, and often
made fewer by a thousand un-
foreseen accidents, it behooves
us TO lose no time, but to set
about our duty instantly, to-day,
whilst it is called to-day.


The reward set before us eX-
cites us to it. We think it rea-
sonable to labor for conveR-
fences which are temporal, that
is, uncertain and transitory; and
this industry is commendable.
Much more should we exert our
utmost care and diligence in
securing to ourselves riches un-
changeable and eternal.


Gratitude moves us to ito
serve him with all our power
who has done so much for us,
with whose benefits we are en-
closed, and by whose admoni-
tons we are addressed.


The punishment allotted to
the idle and wicked servant
calls us to ito think no labor
too great by which we may
avoid the miseries Of spiritual
poverty.


Our present interest invites
us to ito be most industrious
in pursuing the welfare Of our
sonl, which will procure us
peace Of mind, and the blessing
of God even upon our worldly
undertakings; whilst a neglect
Of our duty to Him will be at
tended with fear and remOrse,
and give us an uneaSinesS
which outward circumstances,
however fourishing, will not be
able to compose.-Ex:
Year: 1879




One Of the great sins of the
day, the one which is doing the
most mischief, and unconscious
ly gets the support Of the best
and most conscientious people
in the community, is the sin of
gossip about persons, from
which deadly SANDER is only a
little step. The evil has as
sumed such a form and such
magnitude, through the medi-
umShip of that portion Of the
daily press which lends itself to
its dissemination, that it calls
fol united action, in order that
it may be put down by strong
and intelligent public opinion.


Indulgence in gossip, is like
indulgence in Intoxicating
drinks. There is no happy me-
dium, which it is safe to adopt;
the line never can be drawn at
the point where drinking or
talking can be safely done, with
in certain healthful and legiti-
mate limits. No halfway meas
ures will do. Good women every
where should frown down all
the beginnings Of personal dis
cussion, personal criticism, per-
sonal censure. There are plenty
of things to talk about that are
much more interesting, much
more instructive, as subjects of
conversation, than people. If
we must criticise persons, or
discuss them in any way, eX-
cepting that of praise, let it be
in their presence, when they
have an opportunity for defense,
or at least, of explanation.


Judgment Of one another must
always and necessarily be one
sided and incomplete. We can
not know the springs Of action
or the motives which impel to
the performance of many actions.
Our simple duty is to let those
actions and their results speak
for themselves, and neither sup
ply motives which do not exist,
nor add our condemnation to
the difficulties, which, quite un-
known to us, may obstruct a
pathway, and render the burden
Of life still heavier than it was
before.-EX.
Year: 1879

~ L! 4llAh - AIPAA AAifA+'


If education is the great buck
Ter and shield Of liberty, well
developed industry is equally
the bqckler and shield of indi-
vidual independence. AS an un-
falling source through life, give
your son, equal with good edu-
cation, a good, honest trade.
Better any trade than none,
though there is ample field for
the adoption Of every inolina-
tiOn in this respect. Learned
professions are speculative EN-,
ployments, and may fail a man,
but an honest handicraft trade
seldom or never, if its possessOr
choose to use it. Let him feel,
too, that honest labor crafts are
honorable and noble. The men
of trades, the real creators of
what is most essential to the
necessities of mankind, cannot
be dispensed with, They, above
all others, in whatever repute
they have been held by their
most fastidious fellows, must
work at the oar Of human pro-
gress, or all is lost. But few
brown-handed tradesmen think
Of this, or appreciate the real
power and position they com
pass, Give your son q trade,
no matter what fortune he may
have or is likely to inherit.
With this he can always be in
dependent.


A young man who commences
his life with not liking his bust
ness has no very promising
prospect before him. Let such
a one believe himself to be un-
der the influence Of an ''evil
eye" and set about releasing
himself at once by a reSolute
refusal to retain any thoughts
but such as appertain to duty
clearly before him, and how to
do it well and honestly. 1t is
a great mistake to be prepos-
Sessed with fanciful advantages
TO be derived from any other
calling than the one which cir
cumstances have combined to
impose, as an introduction to
the busy responsibilities Of
manhood. How many have
made shipwreck Of the fairest
hopes by feebly giving way to
the illusion of being meant for
better things than keeping shop.
TO be above ones business is a
mean pride that has its origin
in Incidence, betokens a dishon-
orable career and an end in
bankruptcy, if not in something
Worse.-EX.
Year: 1879

Christian love cannot be cult
waited or even destroyed in our
hearts, but by the power of the
Holy Spirit. We may as well
try to pull up by the roots the
oak of a century's growth, or
overturn q mountain by our own
strength, as to eradicate the vice
of envy from our own hearts,
without the aid of Gods own
spirit; that aid is promised to
fervent prayer, and if we have
if not the fault is our own.
Year: 1879

Make your life so that there
will always be a heaven around
you.


Faith that asks no questions
kills the soul and STILES the
intellect.


No one will dare maintain
that it is better to do injustice
than to bear it.
Year: 1879

The available water for irrigation is almost double that usually flowing on the surface in our streams. Bed rock dams and sheet piling" are methods now in use to bring the un. derground flow to the top. Here is an item from late Los Angeles paper right in point, and what can be done in this particular in California can be in Arizona

 Our readers will be gratified to learn that the sheet piae-driving in the bed of the river, al the covered bridge, has so far proved highly successful. AL ready the quantity of water which is there taken from the r;ver has more than doubled in volume since the com meucement of this work and appears quite likely 60 continue te increase as the piles are extended across the bed of the river
Year: 1879

Every few days somebody starts a TumOr that the Southern Pacific has changed its programme for its further extension eastward, and some men go so far as to say the road will not pass through Tucson. In the face of the acts of Chief Engineer Gray and a corps of engineers since his official visit here, relating to the location of ,he line through this town, and the letters received by our City Council from President Crocker and Col. Gray, expressing thanks for so readily afford ing the company necessary ground for their main and side tracks, depOts and other buildings, it seems the height of absurdity to credit the rumors referred to. It is also certain that high and we'll posted officials of the Southern Pacific were but few days ago anXi- Ous to invest some meney in certain Tucson real estate.

 There is, however, a change of con siderable importance decided upon by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Company. Statements to this effect have been circulating freely for a month past, and TIE CITIZEN has made reference thereto.

 The St. Louis Railway Register of a late date says it is authorized to state semi-officially that there is vast deal of truth in the announcement that in the last few weeks the whole construc- tion policy of the Santa Fe Road has been changed. Formerly it was the intention of the road to push on and 10 make as early connection with the Huntingdon party Southern Pa cific) as the progress of construction would allow, but now orders have been given to divcrge from the proposed route from Trinidad and strike down into Mexico, following the Rio Grande to Gnaymas.
Year: 1879

This subject is now receiving much attention by distinguished political economists, and it Is encouraging to observe that the causes are being more truly and clearly made prominent. The press and politicians generally have for years inculcated the idea that the business depression and want of labor could be greatly remedied by legislation, and thus badly misled those who suffered most. Ex-Secre- tarv McCulloch is featuring in various cities, and at Boston he said; Business. in cities which are in- creasing in size and commerce, Is rap idly becoming centered in few con cerns. Day labOrers have been se- verely tried for years past, but they have not been nor are they now the severest sufferers. The greatest suffer ing is to be found among those who have been unsuccessful in their busi- ness, have been thrown out of em- ployment by the losses of others or have been crowded out of business by competition.

 The San Francisco Bulletin sees the matter aright, and here is the gist of one of Its late leading articles:

 Why is it that there are SO many un- employed? Is it because they can get " nothing to dc" or because they can find nothing to suit"

 There is growing in many quarters a dislike Ot hard work, a disinclina. tiOn for manual labor. No one wants to farm any more, no one any longer cares to fish living from the sea. Everybody wants to live in city, within sight of an opera house. All seek some good position which will yield living without hard labor.

 The Mining and Scientific Press has lately been handling the subject, and here are points from one of its articles which can not be too often placed be- fore the people;

 There comes up from the million moan of want and a pleading for work; but this same million the mo- ment they have earned a dollar will rush off and spend the major part of it in some inexcusably foolish or crim- inally wasteful mauner.

 The misery and impoverishment of the masses are due mainly to their ex- cesses and fOllies But these and like follies are not confined to mountain towns and the miners. They are in dulged in by the masses everywhere. If in the city a man or woman is ad. vertised to walk on a wager, thousands flock to see them, gaping and gassing and working themselves into an ex- citement, even though the thing is a sell throughout. And so of the horse races, billiard games, boxing matches and other put-up jobs of this kind. Start anything of the sensational or der and it is easy to wiring few thou sands out of the hard fists of the work ing people.

 If an idle fellow gets him into an India rubber sack and floats down Western rivers, the people will gather in crowds and receive him with accla- nations, firing rockets and ringing bells as if some great cOnquerOr had arrived at their place.
Year: 1879




WITT TALMAeB, d. D.


Mr.. Talmage preached in the Brooklyn Tabernacle
on ''The Sweetest Sound on .Earth--The Name of
Jesus" The sermon was purely Gospel sermon.
and contained no reference the pastors troubles
with the Prcsbytery. The text was taken from
Phil. ILL.,, ga name which ia above every name."
This said Mr. Talmage. was one Of Pauls rap
turous and enthusiastic descriptions OF the name Of
Jesus. There merely human names that thrill
you through and through. By common provcrb VIC
have to believe that there isnotbng In name.
and parents sometimes present their children for
baptism regardless of the title given them, aud not
thinking that that particular title will be either
hindrance help. You havo no right to give to
your child that is lacking either in euphony
child Jehoiakim or Tiglcth-Pileser. IAughter.)
Mighty destinies have been decided by tho sig
niicance OF q name.


The name OF Jesus is an easy namc Sometimes
we are introduced to people whose names long
and unprononncesbc that we have sharply to listen
and hear the name given to us two or three t1es
before venture to speak 1t. But within the first
two years the little child clasps its hands and looks
up and says, Jesus Still further. IL Is beautiful
namc As we cannot dissociate &name from the per-
son who holds the name that consideration makes
Christs name so unspcakably beautiful. Beautiful
kindness Tor forbcarance, for selfsacrihcc for mag
nanimity. It Is sweet name spoken by the lips of
childhood spoken by the old man.


THE sAvIoURs LOVE.


1t is mighty name. Tell me any name in all the
earth SO potent to and lit aud thrill and rouse
aud agitate and bless this name of Jesus. At it's
uttcrance the last wall of sin will fall the last temple
of superstition will crash TO pieces. That will
first make all the earth treniblc and then 1t will
mako all the nations sing II 10 to be tho password
at every gate of honor the insignia every dag. tho
battle shout In every conflict. All the millions of
the earth to know It, 1t is enduring name
You chamber the fence of the graveyard and pull
aside the weeds aud you the faded inscription on
the tombstone. That the name of man who
once ruled all that town. The mightiest names of
the world have either perished or are perishing but
the name Christ In to endure forever 1t will be
perpetuatcd iu art in song. in costly and magnificent
architecture and In the literature OF tho world
above all, and more than all, that win be
balined In the memory Of all the good of earth and
oil the great OF heaven. To destroy the memory
of that name of Christ you would have to burn up
all the Bibles and all the churches ON earth. anu
then in spirit OF universal srson. go through the
gate and put torch TO the temples and the
towers and the palaces. and after all that city
wrapped In awful conagration and the citizens
out and gazcd the ruins. even then they would
hear that name the thunder OF falling tower and
the crash crumbling wall. and it inwrought In
the flying banners OF fame and the redeemed OF tho
Lord on high would be happy yet. and cry out,
LET the palaces and tho temples burn; we have
Jesus left"
Year: 1879

When Rockland man went home the
other evening, he saw his dog lying just
inside the gate, and thinking to play
Joke on the animal, he stole softly near,
and with loud whoop jumped in front
of the dogs head. The dog didn't
skurry away, yelping with alright.
Somehow he wasn't that kind of a dog.
He had been raised another way. He
merely stood up on his hind end and
simply put his teeth into the nearest part
of the man that he could reach and shut
his eyes, and sighed gently and hung on.
The startled man, with vivid impress
sion that he had inadvertently sat down
on red-hot paper of very large govern
ment tax, emitted yell like fog horn
and dashed down the street, with the
heroic dog clinging like curse. When
the procession passed the corner there
seemed to be something waving from it
behind, and as it got under the gaslight,
a policeman observed that there was a
black-and-tan train attached to it reach
ing nearly a block. When the crowd
finally caught up, after hard running,
they discovered very much exhausted
and profane man, leaning up against a
tree ard holding on to himself with his
hands, while near by was dog with a
quiet smile on his countenance, busily
engaged in pulling shreds of broad cloth
out of his teeth with his claws Rock
L1,1d GOH9'ieT