smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1879

Once upon a time there was a
woman who lived in the city of
Paris. She was the owner of a cat
which she wished to get rid of She
was so soft-hearted that she could
not bear to see anything suffer, not
even that most odious of all things,
a cat. So she set her wits to work
about three weeks ago, and they
wrought for her a plan which she
proceeded to execute. She had a
chemist to make a tempting poison
Gus cake. This she took gingerly
and placed where the cat would be
apt to find it. Then she hurried to
the bed room, locked the door, bur
led her head in pillows to keep out
any sound of suffering by which the
doomed Tom might express his re
proach for the cruel, cruel thing she
had done. After a sufficient time
had elapsed, she stole from her
room. and, with futtering heart,
looked for the body of her mur-
dered victim. Instead, she found
it sitting on the floor, gazing calm
ly at its mistress' dying boy, who
himself had found and eaten the fa-
tai cake.
Year: 1879

Fort Worth Correspondence of N. Y. Herald.


The Texas cowboy is a rare bird.
He is sort of happy jack of the
wilderness, dry land sailor, who
takes his fun in large doses when
ever he gets to port-port being to
him the nearest town with a dance
house-hIs fun pure deviltry. He
can yell louder in an unearthly key,
swagger more and swear harder
than any man of his inches on the
continent. His dress is evidently
intended to ape the Mexican coun-
-terfeit of the Spanish cavalier, with
a sneaking regard for home conven-
tionalities thrown in. Imagine the
conglomerationl Having no fixity
Of form it is wholly indescribable,
and varies with the whim of the in
dividual. Yet he is proud of his
snake up" and pays particular at
tention to the style of his hat, boots
and spurs. The hat is an elaborate
affair. Broad leafed, tasseled and
tinseled, it spreads its preaching
shadow over the form of its festive
owner few acres beyond. His only
pet is his horse; his only toy his
pistol; but he would prefer losing
his horse for day to being severed
from his siX-shooter for a moment.
All his strength is in this toy. Like
the savage Indian, when deprived of
his weapon (of offense always, never
needed for defense), his "heart is
on the ground" A small boy could
thrash him then. Give him the
pistol and "the drop" on a man and
he will rejoice in his ability to
"bore hole in him big enough for
a large sized dog to crawl through, "
as if the boring process were some
thing to be exceedingly proud of.
This is because towards are not
hung often enough in Texas, and
the reason they have not been is
because they have been employed
and protected by the cowman who
steals, just like the murderous ward
politician might sometimes be pro-
tected by the dishonest, corrupt dis
trict attorney in some Northern
cities. We have had some very dis
tinguished cowboys in this part of
the world. Bill Longley, who killed
thirty-seven men in the course of
his brief experience, was a cowboy
most of his time, as was also John
Wesley Hardin, better known as
Yves. Hardin, who has been known
to kill a mah for snoring. in his
sleep. These miscreants have had
no such word as fair play in their
lexicon. If they intended to get q
quarrel up they first ''got the drop


on their victim, then bullied HIN
into active resistance, then shot him


"in self-defense." This sort o.


cowboy has been more frequently


seen heretofore than at present, bu


we still have a few left.
Year: 1879

EDITOR CITIZEN AS it has been
some time since l wrote to you
from East Tennessee, l will give
you few items from Knoxville, the
leading city in this end of the State.
Chattanooga is the rival city, and
many cuts are thrust at each other,
but in point of location and health
this place is as free from any local
causes for sickness as anv town in
my knowledge, and it is as free
from epidemics as any city of its
size l suppose in the United States.
AS to the population, and the enter
prize of the citizens in the two
places, there is not a great deal of
difference, and both are entitled to
great praise, as two nice cities have
been built since the war out of the
ruins, we might say, of two villages.
1t only shows what capital and en-
terprise can do.


/ must speak in reference to what
the South needs and what can be
realized if all antagonism and sec
tional prejudice can be overcome.
The building up of manufactures
and the two places L have spoken
of was not done by men of the
South alone, but principally by cap
itallsts coming from other States.
They did not come as Office seekers
to stir up strife, but with an eye
single to business, and seeing the
great advantages the two points of
fered they invested their capital,
and by honest toll they have opened
out paying business and developed
the resources of the State. East
Tennessee can point with pride to
her manufactures, mines and well
cultivated fields. l hear no such
epithets as "carpet Dagger" thrown
at men engaged in honorable pur-
suits, but they are welcome and are
highly respected by all good people.
There are also Irish and German
citizens who are helping to build up
the country, and they too are
spending their time in following
their trades. Politics is a second
ary consideration.


Knoxville has river transporta
tion and is Immediately on the E.
T., V. & G.. r. r. and has two
branch roads and one of the
branches will connect with the Gin
cinnati Southern. The wholesale
trade is increasing and many mer
chants scattered over East Tennes-
see do their trading here in prefer
ence to going East. The weather is
hot and dry, and the oat crop is in
jured, but wheat is generally good
and about ready for harvesting.
Corn is small, but has been we'll cul-
tivated, as the weather has been fa-
vorable. The people generally are
in favor of the compromise of the
State debt, and would be a unit
upon the question if it was not for
some of the journals and prejudice
against the Democratic party. The
want to make it appear
they are honest and the Democrats
have sought the advantage of the
bondholders because they were prin-
cipally Northern men. j. H. E.


Knoxville, June Sth.
Year: 1879




Pills will sometimes refuse to act
on the liver, but saving wood will
never do so.


Anger always hurts US more than
the one We get mad at.


When a man amt good for moth
ing else, he's just right to sit on a
jury.


What a man gets for nothing he
is apt to value it at just what it
cost.


L don't bet on precocious chill
dren; the huckleberry that ripens
soonest is always the first to decay.


Everybody seems to consider
himself a kind of a moral half
bushel to measure the worlds frail-
ties in.


He who has nothing to do In this
world but amuse himself, has got
the hardest job on hand / know of.


l have always said, and 1 believe
it still, that the time to be care
fullest is when you have a handful
of trumps.


Next in point of meanness to do
ing a man an injury, is to do him a
favor and every now and then re-
mind him Of it.


Woman has always been more
than a match for man. Adam held
the best cards but didn't know how
to play them well.


The man who is honest from
policy needs as much watching as a
hive of bees just getting ready to
swarm.


Biographies are delightful read
ing; we compare all the virtues of
the person with our own, and his
fallings with our neighbors.


There's a lot of young men in
this world that are like a rooster;
take the cockade and spurs off
them, and you couldn't hardly tell
them from a henl
Year: 1879

called it "buddie's pistol" The
mother picked it up, and she said
it looked like it was in two pieces.
She attempted to put it back to-
gether as she thought it ought to
be, and it was discharged in her
hand, the ball striking the little
child at her side, in the centle of
the forehead, and killing him in
stantly. DIR. N. A. Mccoy was
sent for and examined the wound.
The ball went crashing through the
brain and cut the cord of life as
quick as thought. God be merci-
ful to the poor mother. The bitter
anguish OF her soul in that moment,
the terrible picture which stamped
upon her memory in that instant,
will constitute the rooted sorrow of
her life. What sad commentary
this occurrence furnishes upon tho
vicious and barbarous practice of
carrying concealed weapons. The
unfortunate brother who was the
cause of this fearful tragedy, of
course, is no more to blame for
carrying the pistol than the hun
dreds of young men who carry pis-
tolls concealed on their PERSONS
He has our sympathies. This hor-
rible catastrophe should remind
our young men generally to respect
the law Of theiland on this subject,
rather than the damnable custom
of going about armed, either against
the lives of their fellow man, or in
careless spirit of braggadocio.
Our law-oflicers should root out
this crying evil by making it odious
and disgraceful. A few incarcera-
tions in the county iails all over
the State would be a blessing to
copintv
Year: 1879

Rossiter Johnson writes: If one
book must be singled out and
doomed never to receive decent ty-
geographical treatment, it should
have been any other rather than the
Bible. l should like to see what
would be the effect of giving it a
fair chance. 1 believe it would be
read if it were made readable. We
ought to have one edition of it
without foot notes-unless in rare
cases where these are absolutely
necessary. Where the italicized
words are necessary to a complete
and ldiomatic rendering, they should
be printed in PLAIN Roman; when
Year: 1879

When you want to move that
stalwart organ, the n. Y. Tribune,
Just say "Jeff. Davis!'' as witness
the following specimen of malig
nant stupidity: jefferson Dayis
has declined large offer to make
the tour of the north and lecture
If he should attempt it, it would
kill the Democratic party even
deader than it is now, though he
chose such an innocent subject as
The Ruins of Carthage or The
Treason of Catiline.'
Year: 1879

1t is very easy to pick holes in
other peoples work, but it is far
more profitable to do better our
selves. Is there a fool in all the
world that cannot criticlse? Those
who can themselves do good SER
vice are but as one to thousand
compared to those who can see
faults in the labors of Others
T GSDurOeOn
Year: 1879

i knew two friends as much alike
As ever you saw two stumps,
And no phrenologist could find


A difference in their bumps.
One took paper, and His life


Was happier than Kings,
His children all could read and write,
And talk of men and things.
The other took no paper, and


While strolling through the wood
A tree fell upon his crown


And killed him-as it should.
Had he been reading the news,


At home like neigbbor Jim,
I'd bet a cent this accident


Had not befallen him.
Year: 1879

The pencil marks you see around thi
paragraph (thus) mean that your sub
scription is out or unpaid, and that you
are requested to pay up at once. Wc
would take egreat pleasure in extending
credit to our friends and patrons, but
cash alone will Yay our expenses, and
we are forced to adhere to a strict cash
rule. We hope you viii comprehend
and appreciate the necessity OF such q
course, and renew your su scription
without delay. We solicit your favor.


EE- We enter no new names on our
books without the money in advance.
Year: 1879

An English soldier at Brentford
recently took an organ grinders or
gan away from him and threw it off
a bridge. The soldier was. fined
$40. In this country he would
have been voted a medal and pen
sion,
Year: 1879

A pert young barrister once
bOasted to a member of the bar
that he had received twenty guin-
cas- for speaking in a certain law
suit; the other replied, 81 received
double that sum for keeping quiet
in that very case"
Year: 1879

We find the following story in Fran
els History of the Bank of England" :"


In 1870, a gentleman of eminence in
the mercantile world was grieyed by the
contents of letter which he received
from a correspondent at Hamburg, the
post-mark of which it bore. From the
statement it contained, it appeared that
person most minutely described had
defrauded the writer, under extraordi-
IaTy circumstances, of e3, 600. The let
ter continued to say information had
been obtained that the defrauder-the
dress and person of whom it described
was occasionally to be seen on the
Dutch walk of the road exchange. The
object of the writer was to induce his
correspondent to invite the party to din
ner, and by any moral force which could
be used, compel him to return the mon
eY; adding, that if he should be found
amenable to reason, and evince any
signs of repentance, he might be dis
missed with friendly caution and five
hundred pounds, as he was a near rela-
tive of the writer. As the gentleman
whose name it bore was a profitable
correspondent, the London merchant
kept q keen watch on the Dutch walk,





and being introduced to the cheat.


The invitation to dine was accepted /;
and the host, having previously given
notice to his family to quit the table
soon after dianer, acquainted his visitor
with the knowledge OF the fraud. Alarm
and horror was depicted in the counte-
nance of the young man, who with tones
apparently tremulous with emotion,
begged that his disgrace might not be
made public. To this the merchant con-
sented, provided the e2 600 was returned.
The visitor sighed deeply but said that
to return all was impossible, as he had
unfortunately spent part of the amount.
The remainder, however, he propose to
yield instantly, and the notes were hand
ed to the merchant, who, after dilating
on the goodness of the man he had
robbed, concluded his moral lesson by
handing him check for G500 as a proof
of his benefcence. The following morn
ing the gentleman went to the banker
to deposit the money he had received,
when, to his great surprise, he was told
that the notes were counterfeit. His
next inquiries were concerning the
check, but that had been cashed shortly
after the opening Of the bank. He i'm
mediately sent an express to his HAM
burg correspondent, who replied that the
letter was a forgery, and that no fraud
had been committed upon him. The
whole affair had been plotted by a gang,
some of whom were on the continent
and some in England.
Year: 1879

If hens spur is hard and the scales
of the legs are rough she is old, whether
you see her head or not; but her head
will corroborate your observation. If
the under bill is so stiff that you cannot
bend it down, and the comb thick and
rough, leave her, no matter how fat and
plump, for some one less particular
A young hen has only the rudiments of
spurs the scales on the legs are smooth,
glossy and fiesh-eolored, whatever the
color may be, the claws tender and
short, the nails sharp, the under bill soft
and the comb thin and smooth.


An old turkey has rough scales o. the
legs, Callosities on the soles of the feet,
aed long, strong claws; a young OF the
reverse of all these marks. Whe. the
feathers are on, the old turkey cock has
long tuft of beard; a young one but a
sprouting one, and when they are off
the smooth scales on the legs decide the
point, besides the difference in size on
the wattles of the neck and in the elias
tic shoot upon the neck.


An old goose when alive is known by
the rough legs, the strength of the
wings, particularly at the pinions, the
thickness and strength of the bill and
fneness of the feathers, and when
plucked, by the legs, the tenderness of
the skin under the wings, by the pinions
and the bill and the coars 9ness of the
skin.


Ducks are distinguished by the same
means, but there is the difference that a
duckling's bill is much longer in proper
ton to the breadth of the head than the


ducks,
Year: 1879

The next great step must be in aid OF
the art of cookery; and the friends of
genuine social improvement may con-
gratulate themselves that the progress
Of education is beginning to take effect
upon this most important department of
domestic Life COOking-schOols are be.
ing organized in many places in this
country and in England, and the English
are taking the lead in making them a
part Of their national and common school
system.


Of the importance, the imperative ne
Cessity Of this movement, there can not
be the slightest question. Our kitchens,
as is perfectly notorious, are the fortified
intrenChments of ignorance, prejudice,
irrational habits. ruleof-thumb, and
mental vacuity, and the consequence is
that the Americans are liable to the re-
prOach of suffering beyond any Othel
people, from wasteful, unpalatable, Un-
healthful and monOtonous cookery. Con-
sidering our resources, and the Vaunted
education and intelligence of American
women, this reproach is just. Our kit
chens are, in fact, almost abandoned to
the control of stupid creatures that pouI'
in upon US from all parts of the globe.
And, what is worse, there is a general
acquiescence in this state Of things, az if
it were something fated, and relief from
it hopeless and impossible. We profess
to believe in the potency Of education,
and are applying it to all other interests
and industries excepting only the funda-
mental preparation and use of food to
sustain life, which involves more of econ
omy, enjoyment, health, spirits and the
power of effective labor, than any other
subject that is formally studied in the
schools. We abound in female semina-
ries, and in female colleges, and high
schools, supported by burdensome taxes,
in which everything under heaven is
studied except that practical art which
is a daily and vital necessity in all the
households of the land.
Year: 1879

cheerful comfort. A bright June sun
light is cleaning through the half
Opened blinds, but it docs not seem to
give warmth or cheer. The toys are
| brought out, but the children soon tire
of them. There's something gone-they
scarce realize what. By-and-by baby
begins to fret, and nurse gets cross and
puts him in the crib to "cry It out"
Poor little darlingl mammals 1t ! how
lenderly she would have soOthed him
with her soft lullabys. And then papa
comes home, and gathers them around
his knee, and tries to tell them of the
beautiful home to which mamma has
gone, but they want her so sadly here,
they cannot think why God should want
her so much more.


By-and-bv the days glide into months,
and there is always something wanting
in their lives. Their physical needs are
cared for, but father is immersed in
business, the tender mother love is gone,
and there is none to sympathize III the
little Joys and sorrows. The proud day
comes when baby takes the first step
alone, but there's no voice to encourage
him, no mother waiting with open arms
to catch and half smother him with
kisses. Little five-year-old Alice comes
home from her first day at school, brim-
full of her new experiences the num-
Der of letters she has learned, but nobody
cares to listen to her; Charley comes
tearing into the nursery with torn
jacket and black eye, and story Of
a big boy who struck him and took his
ball away, and the little heart swells
almost to bursting, but mamma isn't
there to bathe the eye and mend the
jacket, and TO promise another ball
larger and better than the old one, and
the little fellow goes softly into her
room and lays his head down on her
pillow, and cries himself to sleep.


Then after a year or two, perhaps,
there's a confusion of painters, and pa
perers, and upholsterersin the house, and
the room whe-e the dear one died is
newly furnished, and the old things are
sent to the auction room, and it is whis-
pered that new mother is coming, and
the children listen and wonder, and
presently papa goes away for few days,
and comes home in carriage with
lady beside him and tells them he has
brought them a new mamma, whom he
hopes they will love and obey; but they
think they cannot love her at all. Their
own mamma had a sweet voice, and soft
golden hair, and blue eyes, and this one
has great bold black eyes, and she does
not kiss them as though she meant it.
Papa seems to care more for her than
for them, and they go away from the
nursery with a dim vague sense Of loss
that can never be made up to them.
God pity the motherless.
Year: 1879

Some. years ago an English officer OF
high rank, a Colonel of the Blues, was
visiting his friend, Col. -, of the
Guards who resided in Buckingham
shire. This gentleman had a very fine
bloodhound, which he kept fastened in
the yard. One morning, after the arri-
surprised at not seeing his friend as
usual at the breakfast table, and he sent
a servant to his room to ascertain what
had become of him.


The servant found the bedroom door
ajar, and, on knocking, the gentleman
cried, "Come in, and remove this beast
out of my ROOM" WhereupOn the servant
entered and was astOnished to find the
masters bloodhound in the bedroom, a
very large and fierce dog, who had brok-
en- his chain and escaped from tho yard,
and, having scented a stranger in the
house, had slipped ,intO the bedroom, as
the door had been left Enclosed by a
servant who had called the visitor in the
morning.


The dog was on his hind legs at the
foot of the bed. with his forefeet ~esting
on it, fixing his eye intently and fe-
rOciOuslY on the unfortunate gentleman,
apparently waiting for an opportunity
to spring upon him, from which he was
only restrained by his prisoner keeping
his eye steadily fixed upon the animal,
and the Colonel was detained in this
most unenviable condition for more
than half an hour. The dog must have
been very cunning, as he made his way
up stairs unobServed by the servants.
Year: 1879

Without friends, what is man2 A
solitary oak upon a sterile rock, symmet-
rical indeed in its form, beautiful and
exquisitely finished, outrivaling the most
lauded perfection of art in gracefulness
and grandeur, but over which decay has
shaken her black wing and left its leaves
blighted; its limbs contract as they die
its roots rottenness, and its bloom death ;
a scathed, lifeless monument of its pris-
tine beauty. When the rebuffs of adver-
sity are crushing us earthward-when
the clouds look black above, and the
muttering thunder of misfortune groWls
along the sky-when our frame is pal
sled by the skeleton hand of disease, or
our senses whirled in the m@lstroom
chaos of insanity-when our hearts are
torn by the recent separation of some
beloved object, while our tears are yet
flowing upon the fresh turf of departed
innocence-in that time it is the Office
of friendship to shield us from porten-
tous storms, to quicken the fainting
pulses of our siekly frame, to bring back
the wandering star of mind within the
attraction of sympathetic kindness, the
coil and palm" of peace into the yet fes-
tering wound, and deliver the aching
heart from the object of its bleeding
offapfiOU
Year: 1879

LEG OF MUTTON ROAST.-A leg of NUT
ton intended for roasting should be kept
longer than for boiling; it should be
carefully attended to during the time it
IS hung up, and constantly wiped, to
prevent any mustiness gathering on the
top or below the fiat, and in hot weather
lightly busted with flour and pepper, to
keep off the flies. The kernel of the fat
on the thick part of the leg should be
taken out by the butcher, for it taints
first there, and the bloody part of the
neck should also be cut off when first
brought in. Remove the thick skin very
carefully; trim off the flank that ad-
heres to the fat, and flatten the fat with
outlet bOater or chopper; cut off the
kuuckle and nick the cramp bone, to al
low it to become more plump, as in
haunch. Put little salt and water into
the dripping pan to baste the meat at
first; then use only its own gravy. Serve
with jelly.


A leg of mutton is easily roasted
whole, but can be divided advantageous
ly for a small family. Cut the knuckle
into a good sized joint, and boil it until
tender; but put coarse paste over the
lower part of the thick end to keep in
the gravy and roast it; or if the skin be
raised gently from the outside Of the leg
to about six or seven inches wide, two
or three good slices may be cut off for
steaks, and the skin then fastened down
with skeWers.
Year: 1879

"When q stranger treats me with want
of proper respect" said philosophic
poor man, II comfort myself with the
reflection that It is not myself he
sights but my old shabby coat, and hat,
which to say the truth has no particular
claims TO admiration. So if my hat and
coat choose to fret about it, let them, it
is nothing to me.