smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1866

PROMOTIONS ON THE FIELD OF battle
The Emperor OF Austria has jest adopted n
military rule which is observed with great
advantage in the French army. Marshal Bene-
grades. on the field OF battle or during the
campaign, all officers or soldiers who NAV
distinguish themselves. Decorations and
other rewards Of honor are also to be conferred
upon them. The Emperor reserves TO himself
the ratification Of the nomination made by the
Marshal t"
Year: 1866

Great Fire in Philadelphia-Loss Two
Millions Dollars. rsr
a disastrous fTe occurred at Philadelphia
yesterday afternoon The print and d We works
OF Briggs. valued at SiOO,0C0, and EMPLOYING
several hundred hands, were totally DESTROYED
They were situated at the corner OF Orchard
and Tacony streets. II was the largest in the
Twenty third Ward. Five dwelling houses


were also consumed, together with the Trep-
ton Railroad bridge over Frankford creek
After the breaking out of the fire man was
detected setting fire 10 another mill in the


vicinity, which confirms The suspicion that il
was the WORK OF an incendiary.


Later adyices from the fire represent tha


the loss will be two million dollars-one mil


lion and a half on the buildings and machinery
and a half million on the stock The mill w as


known as the Tacony Print Works of Aaron


y l.. Llppincott. 1t covered two and half


acres of ground. and employed three hundred


hands. The bridge OF the Trenton Railroad


Company close by was only slightly injured.


Two previous attempts had been made TO fire


the Tacony Works. The establishment was


the largest south of New England. Among the


stock Were large Quantities of goods beione e
ing to New York firms, which had been sent


there TO be printed, none of which were saved.


The entire works comprised twelve to fifteen


buildings. The main building, in which the


fire originated, was three hundred and fifty


feet long by fifty feet wide. The amount OF
the insurance has not been ascertained
Year: 1866

a NE" MODE OF BETTING.-The a,game OF
CABS is annsnEced as the last invention in
European cities of young men with plentx OF
money, and a lack of brains or knowledge or
disposition how TO use 1t properly. Two play
ers SIT al club window and watch me mum =
Der OF the cabs that pass by, one betting that
more even numbers Will pass. and the other
that me odd numbers will have the majority
young duke recently lost slOOOOO in this
way by unfortunately betting on even num-
bers at Paris. fool and his money were soon
parted.
Year: 1866

The LAST AMENDMENT TO THE CIVIL
RIGHTS BILL.-In the copies of the Civil
Rights bill that have been published since
its passage over the veto, there has general.
ly been wanting the latest and most impor.
taut amendment That amendment pro-
vides that nothing in the till shall be con.
structed to interfere with the regulation of
suffrage 10 any State by tie Legislature
thereof. This is something, and shows that
all respect for the reserved rights of States
has not died out in Congress completely.
The bill leaves negro suffrage still CUES.
tiou to be dealt arith By the States, aud
that it was so left is a good indication that
even the Northern sovereigns are not ready
to share political power with the blacks
Year: 1866

NA young married woman in Cincinnati.
on Tuesday last, committed suicide while in a
state Of temporary insanity, TO which ebe was
occasionally subject She was in bed with
her husband and babe at the time of com mit
ting me deed, and her husband knew NOTHING
OF her attention until awakened by the report
OF the pistol. Recovering her senses as soon
as the shot was fired, she confessed that he fore
her marriage she had been seduced by her nm
Gle, and was never herself Afterwards. She
died in about two hours.
Year: 1866

LAWYERS Az REvIvALIsTs.-The Boston
Commercial OF Tuesday says: awe notice that
several members Of the legal fraternity are
occupying the pulpits OF the clergymen, en-
gagged in pleading the cause Of revivaIs. II
some OF them are as successful in the cause
they now advocate as they have been in those
which they were formerly engaged in pleading.
we may look for a wide spread work of grace
In this city before long" !
Year: 1866

One of the most extraordinary things to an
American Is the mystery and difficulty they
make In England about communicating between
the engineer and passengers on q railway train.
In this country, as our readers we'll know the
cars are one large apartment on wheels, but in
England they are different, being like several
stage coaches coupled together, each car con-
slstng OF three or more compartments This
affords special facilities to murderers and other
agreeable persons who arc not slow to take adj
vantage of them, as criminal records show
All sorts of ingenious and impractcable
schemes have been devised to communicate be-
tween the engineer and conductor or guard,
as he Is called but the simplest and most etfec
tive has not been tried, or if tried meets with
little favor. That Is, the plan Ill vogue here,
consisting of bell and cord which runs the
whole length of the tram and to be found ON
every railroad in our land.


1t must not be supposed that this plan is not
tried because it is unknown, but 1t is left uncs-
sayed for some reasons not stated Whether
the passengers would ring the bell :" Tor fun,
or whether the murdcrcrs if left alone, would
steal the rope, does not appear; 1t Is sufficient
| to know that British ingenuity has not as yet
solved the problem of communicating between
the engineer of train and the passengers on
! it.


The latest proposition is that the engineer
| SnOulQ De SlgHdutu ny Souhu' IL lh.AhO NV
sound the inventor uses compressed air and Il
whistle. He congresses the air with pair OF
bellows, and he places the whistle III front OF
a reflector" (which is probably defector)
to throw the sound forward the whistle ma
chinery being in the guards wan. This
van, curious mlsnOmcr, Is In the rear, beng


300 feet from the engineer.


At recent experiment with this machine


(the speed of the train was about thirty miles


an hour the engineer heard the sound with


difficulty on the foot board of the engine, al


though the whistles employed were four inches


in diameter and were heard distinctly two mile
in the rear.


OF course they were; that was the p lace t
t hear them The Eagtncer says: On the foo
t plate We heard the whistle very distinctly Will
: the speed did not exceed - miles per hour


but in the open country at higher speed 1t be
came indistinct though never totally lost. Il
e cuttings it was at all times heard plainly, bu
f the position OF the hearer cxerted considcrabl
influence; thus when standing under the lee 0
the fre-box which was large and high, it coul


be plainly heard, while it was inaudlble to tn
e engineer looking out We are also turthe
told that this apparatus is simple and not ilahl


to get out of order and it may yet take til


place of the ordinary signal cord. That Is i
g England Scientific 1mcrictn.
Year: 1866

\ Court SToRY.-Judge b, well known
throughout the State of PENNSYLVANIA. as well
for his legal lore as his utter disregard Of per-
sonal appearance when presiding Judge had
before him small boy as witness. The Judge
asked him if he knew the character Of an oath,
the Catcchism? The boy replied that the
meaning of an oath was that he should not tell
lie The Judge told the boy to look at him
carefully, and tell him whether he could recog-
nize him six months from then, and identity
him by his oath The boy eyed the Judge criti-
caly, and replied, +" | think could, if you did
not comb your hair -
Year: 1866




FAMILY CoURTEsIEs.-I the family the law
of pleasing ought to extend from the highest
to the lowest. You are bound to please your
children. and your children are bound to please
one another; and you are bound to please your
servants, if you expect them to please you,
Some men are pleased in the household and
nowhere else. Ihave known such men. They
are good fathers and kind husbands. If you
had seen them in their own house you would
have Thought them angels almost; but if you
had seen them in the street, or In the store, or
anywhere else out Of the house, you would
have thought them almost demOnlac. But the
opposite is apt to be the case. When we are
among our neighbOrs, or among strangers, we
hold ourselves with self-respect, and endeavor
to act with propriety; but when we get home
we say to ourselves, " l have played part long
enough, and am now going to be natural.
So we sit down, and we are ugly and snapplsh
and blunt and disagreeable. We lay aside
those thousand little cOurtesles that make the
roughest floor smooth, that make life pleasant
We expend all our politeness where 1T will b.


nroftable-where it will bring silver and gold


One very cold night, ID. was reused from hi


sI,mbers by a very loud knocking at his door
After some hesitation he rose and went to tn


window and asked:


"Who's there!


: GA friend !! -,


3 "What do you wantY
want to stay here all mig ght."


HStay there, then was the reply
Year: 1866

INNOCENCE FOR Two-A modest gentle
man from the rural districts, recently on a
visit to this city, was on the point ofinforming
a lady friend OF the fact that her dress was
tucked up, thereby displaying portion Of her
hose; when gentleman told him that
"hitched up dresses were the latest importa-
ton from the land of frogs. The young man
was 10th to believe that such wa, the case, and,
blushing for the order of the day concluded
that he could stand it if the ladies could.
Year: 1866

nOufS ana gladden. his heart as YOU can CON
celve IN the most aifluent station; and make
no doubt, IN general, that if the true account
OF his Joys and Sutcrings were to be balanced
with those of his bcttcrs, the upshot would
prove to be little more than this--that the n,h
man had the more meat, but the poor man the
better stomach: the one had more luxury
more able physicians to attend and set him to
rghts-the other more hnnlth aud 9o,,"dnoeo
III his bones, and less occasion Tor their help;
that, alter these two articles betwiXt them
were balanced, in all other things they stood
upon level; that the sun shines as warm, the
air blows as fresh, and the earth breathes as
fragrant upon the one as the other; and that
they have an equal share in all the beauties
and real benefits of nature Styuc


NIGHTMARE. A contributor to the Boston
41drcrttSer gives the following as his experience
with the nightmare:


In early life I'suffered much from nightmare.
At one time | had repeated dreams of falling
from the roof Of very high house to the
ground. They caused me great distress and
annoyance. | cannot tell what induced me. at
SO early period Of lite, to hit upon the eXpe-
dient, but ! tried to impress upon my mind
the conviction that this falling was but a dream
| There is no doubt that by strong exertion of
the will when awake we may modify the dreams
and conditions Of sleep. Thus, upon the re-
! turn OF my dreadful dreams IL occurred TO me
while falling that it was but dream, and
was relieved of much of the distress usually at
tending it. After one OF two reflections, when
the conviction that | was dreaming was almost
simultaneous with the first impression that
was falling, | was never more troubled with
nightmare or any dreams of a similar character


EPTTAPH-Od Tom Cat, thou art defunct.


Catelepsy ended thy day. Thy cat-head is
J broken Nomorc will YOU catamount the sheds


and outhOuscs. Thy catcallS will no more be


heard. The catastrophe was in the category of


thy life No catafalque will bear thee to the


catacombs. Cat-birdS will sing and no more


fear thee Nor catfish. They will rejoice in


thy catfall The cltenation that bound thee


to thine ilk is broken. No cataclysm will be


shed on thy demise Thou hast been the


" Catiline " of thy species. Thy head will rest


on no downy caterpillar. Nocatagraph will be


taken of thee. Thy cat-harpingS are silenced
No t-gut will be scraped in thy memory
! Thy caterwauling is hushed forever. Thou


hast gone over the cataract Of eternity. Thou


hast Supped thy last cat-sup Thou art erascC
from the catalogue of caterers. Thy catechisn
+ is closed Cats-foot will grow on thy grave
Z and catnip and catoninctails. And cats-paw
! may sigh over thy resting place tor aught W
I care Adieu, old Tom "a last adieul
Year: 1866

a Connecticut deacon was attaching a very
poor. and feeble pair of oxen to very large
load of wood A neighbor asked him how he
expected to get so large load to market with
so poor a team. The deacon replied that he
expected to have some assistance from Divine
Providence. His neighbor asked him whether
it would not be as well to dispense entirely with
] the oxen and let Providence dra,o the aohoLt
/ load
Year: 1866

I, is o gracsfGl habit for children 10 ssy
to each other, Will you have the goodness2
and thank you. we do not like to see
pIim. artificial children there arc few
things We dislike so much as q miniature
beau or belle. But the habit of good man
ners by no means implies affectation or re-
straint. II is quite as easy to say, Please
give me piece of pie, as to say, want a
piece of pie. The idea that constant po-
liteness would render social life stiff and re
strained springs from false estimate of po
liteness. True politeness is perfect ease
aud freedom 1t simply consists 10 treat
ing others just as you would like to be
treated Yourself. A person who acts from
this principle vii! always be said to have
sweet, pretty ways with her, II is Of some
consequences that your daughter should
know how to enter and leaye q roem
gracefully but it is Of prodigiously more
consequence that she should be in the
habit OF avoiding whatever is disgusting or
offensive TO others, aud OF always preferring
their pleasure to her own.
Year: 1866




AS was going up the street, saw
Mrs Petroleum with two barrels and q
half Of oil made into o cloak, which hung
10 very graceful folds from ber ample
figure; on her head was nearly a hall bar.
rel OF the same flIid, and yet she held her
head so high that Que would almost ina
glne ii was as empty as blasted head OF
wheat.


Behind her / saw a woman who wore
two moving machines iu the folds of her
dresS, and yet how gracefully it swept the
ree.e. A young girl was with her who
had around her neck ten barrels Of four =
A little further up street, saw q lady with
four r1vclvers, ten dollars piece, swing
ing from her ears


Lady number FIVE was enrobed in City
bales Of shoddy, and she marched into the
store as though she was at the head OF a
regiment, and with voice such as col
onel might use when speaking to oil bis
men, asked of the clerk, be- them the silks
you advertise for evening wear 2?


With solemn look and profound bow
he answered, them be, madam.


1t was the last named lady who asked
on acquaintance to write list Of books
With pretty bindings, that she might f
our new library in our new house.


AS turned TO go out of the store,
met an old cquaiulance. who, a few years
before, was my schoolmate, aud whose las
composition was given nae to correct, ant
the verb be was spelt bec-but she had OF
so many pairs of boots for veil, that Sh'
was afraid to bend her head, / suppose
for fear of some kind Of q downfall.


wen: home, pondering in my heart the
words of the preacher-yanity, vanity, all
is vanity.
Year: 1866

A Coon CREATURE OF Gcp.-The Rev.
DR.. Guthrie says: have heard man
with bottle Of whisky before him have the
impudence aud assurance to say Every
creature Of Gcd is good, end nothing to be
refused, if it be received with thanksgiving
aud he would persuade mo that what was
made in the s.ll.po! was a creature Of God


In one sense ii is SO; but in the same SENSE
so is arsenic, so is oil Of yitrol, SO is prussis
ned. Thipk Of fellow tossing off glaI


OF vitriol, and excusing himself by saying
that it is a creature Of God. lie would
not use many such creatures, that's oil I'll
say. Whisky is good in its own place
There is nothing like whisky for preserving
man when be is dead But it is one of
the worst things in the world for preserving
man when he is living. If you want to
kill living man. put the whisky into him.
1t was q capital thing for Preser wing the
dead admiral. when they put him in rum
puncheon But it was bad thing for the
sailors when they tapped lhe cask. and
drank the liquor till they left the admiral
as he never lef, his ship-high and dry.
Year: 1866

RAIN, Snow, &c.-Raiu is caused by q
cloud moving into O stratum of cold air, by
which its particles are condensed, aud run
into drops too heavy to float in the atmo''
phere. Snow is produced by tho cloud be-
coming frozen before its particles have col
lapsed into water Hail is caused by the
fire. zing Of the Drops after they begin 40
fall as rain. Dow is the falling of the va
pors of the day when they part With the
motion in the cool Of the evening. A fog
is a cloud floating on the surface OF the
earth, and cloud is u fog aoaling ia ths
atmosphere. 'fHIIH HtQI
Year: 1866




STRENGTH AND SAGACITY OF TIE ELEPHANT.
M PHILIPPE, an Eastern traveller, relates
that one day be went to the river at Co.,
Portuguese settlement in India, and in a
dock near TO the river side. large ship
was b ;ilding. He saw plot of ground
near, covered with heavy beams ready to
be used for this purpose. He watched.
and saw tie men fasien the ends of beam
with rope Of great strength aud thickness;
I bis rope was carried to on elephant en-
ployed 10 assist the workmsn. The animal
conveyed the rope to his mouth. and after
twisting it round his trunk, be drew the
beam without any conductor 10 the place
wbere the ship was building. Other ele.
plants were brought to assist 10 the work,
aud some Of them were able to drag beams
so large that iwenty men were unable to
move them. But what surprised the trav.
eer most was, not the amazing strength of
tie animal. but its Sagacity for whcQ
other beams obs!ructed The road, the ele-
plant would raise the end of his own beam,
that il might slide easily over those which
liy IN his way. M. Torser, another travel
CT, tells MS that he also had the opportunity
Of no icing the sagaciry of an elephant
master had let out the animal for d
certain sum per day, and lis employment
was to carry with its trunk timber for O
blilIiug from the bank Of river. This
business it carried on very clcverly under
the guidance of q boy, aud the sngacious
animal laid the pieces Of .imber one upon
another in such exact order that no men
in timber-yard could have done the work
| hettpr
Year: 1866

The last Congress passed all act regu-
lating the manner il which the States
shall hereafter choose United States
Senators. Heretofore the several Leg
islatures could at any time meet and
proceed to tho election. Now the time
and method is specifically fixed by act
of Congress.


The first section If the act approved
July IS, 1866, provides that the Legisla-
ture OF each State which shall be chosen
next preceding the expiration Of the
time for which any Senator was elected
shall, on the second Tuesday after the
meeting and organ Zation thereof, pro-
ceed to elect a Senator in Congress in
the place of such Senator whose time is
about to expire.


AS to the mode: Each house shall
openly, by rird Uoce vote of each men,
Der present, name one person for sena-
tor in Congress from said State, and the
name of the person SO voted for, who
shall have a nlajority Of the whole num-
Der Of votes cast in each house, shall be
entered on the journal Of each house by
the Clerk or Secretary thereof; but If
either house shall fail to give such ma
.jority to any person on said day, that
fact shall be entered in the journal. At
twelve o'clock meridian of the day fol-
lowing that on which proceedings are
required to take place as aforesaid, the
members of tho two houses shall con-
vene in joint assembly, and the journal
Of each house shall then be read, and If
the same person shall have received a
majority of all the votes in each house,
such person shall be declared duly elect
ed Senator to represent said State I'm the
Congress Of the United States; but if
the same person shall not have received
majority of the votes in each house, or
if either hous shall have failed to take
proceedings as required by this act, the
joint assembly shall then proceed to
choose by viva yOce vote of each men =
Der present a person for the purp ose
aforesaid, and a person having MAORI
ty Of all the votes of the said Joint as
sembly, IA majority of all the members
elected to both houses being present and
voting, shall be declared duly elected;
and in case no person shall receive such
majority on the first day, the joint as
sembly shall meet at II O'clock meridian
of each succeeding day during the ses-
sion OF the Legislature and take at least
one vote until u Senator shall be elected
The second section of the act provides
for vacancies to be filled in the same
way.
Year: 1866

meeting a crowd coming from church


my feet slid from beneath me, and, mas


sa! l was on the cold, cold ground. My


hat flew off-also my wig. The air was


keen and piercing upon my bald and
shining pate, but l felt the hot blood
mount to the very top Of II as l saw q
smile run along that long line of church.
going faces. A small boy handed me
my wig with grin, saying II say
Mister you've lost your head" l coui,l
have Hcroded the boy with fiendish sat.
istaction. l am bachelor, yet fond OF
the sex, and desirous of producing Il
good impression-hence l studiously
conceal the fact that wear another gen.
tleman's hair, once courted widow
who had mischievous boy She evil
IDENTIFY favored me until one day the lit
tie rascal climbed up the back of the So
IA on which / was sitting in a somewhat
tender way with his mother, arr -,,'l,ns'
my wig off. TOc widow lainIee sne
apparation I presented, and rushed
frantically from the house. Another
time l was seated at a card-table with
some ladies. My partner was charm
ing girl whom l fondly believe was in
love with me. We were playing whist,
which never fails to excite me great
ly, particularly If my partner makes
wrong play. As the game pro.
gressed, I noticed all eyes upon me,
some with wonder and others with i'll.
suppressed merriment. / cast a glance
into mirror opposite, and was horri-
fled to perceive that in the excitement
and abstraction of the game had push
ed my wig back until nearly the whole
my bald crown was revealed. My part
ner, the rare and bcauteous maiden ~
has looked coldly upon me ever since,
except when have caught her laughing
in her sleeve, and then I know she is
recalling the ridiculous figure I cut ut
the card-table. could I'll volume
with the story Of my miscries and an
noyances, but think l have told you
enough to satisfy you that very unhap-
py individual Is the man with bald
head who wears awig.
Year: 1866

The national convention of base ball
players, lately held at New York, was
largely attended. One hundred and ten
new clubs were admitted as members of
the association, making the whole num-
Der two hundred and seven. The rules
governing play were amended to the
following effect:


That the two lines designating the
pitchers position shall be two yards in
length and not four; that the pitcher
must deliver the bali fairly to the strik-
er; that if the pitchers arm touch his
body when delivering the ball it is un-
fair; that ii the pitchers arm is bent
when he delivers the ball it shall be a
throw; that striker shall be considered
a player running the bases as soon as he
strikes fair ball that any ball deliver
ed by the pitcher, OH which ball or a
balk has been called, shall be dead
ball, and not considered in play until it
is settled in the hands of the pitcher,
and he be within the lines of his posi-
ton; that the striker must stand on the
line Of the home base when he strikes
that any ball stopped by an adversary
shall not be deemed in play until it is
settled in the hand Of the pitcher, and
he in his position that if either club in
a match delay thirty minutes after the
time named for the game to commence,
the club SO delaying shall forfeit the
ball ; that any player receiving pecunia-
compensation for playing in any match
shall be dismissed from his club; or il
the club fail to dismiss him, then that
club be dismissed from the association.