smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1874

When night fell on jerusalem, and
the tide and hum of business had ceased
and one after another the lights were
extinguished, and all fires quenched in
the sleeping city, one was kept alive
the fire that burned on Gods holy
altar. 1T shall not be put out" Fed
by such logs as blazed on the hearths
and roared in the chimnevs of Olden
times, yet this had not been kindled by
mans hands, or blown into flame by
his breath. Like Gods love in lost
world, or His wrath on the head of His
dying Son, it had descended from the
skies. There came it Is said, when
Aaron and his sons were offering their
first sacrifice, fire out from before the
Lord and consumed the burnt-otfering
and the fat, which, when the people
saw they shouted and fell on their
faces" Whether slumbering in its
ashes or flaming with the fat of sacrifi-
ces, the fire burned up night and day
on the altar, nor was it till after the
lease of nearly thousand years that it
went out-quenched, kissing in the
blood of priests who fell in defence of
the temple at the first captivity. Now
in that old altar on which the sacred
fire was always burning, but where
sacrifices were not always offering, we
see the heart of a devout believer. He
is not always praying; but within His
bosom there is heaven-kindled love,
fires of desire, fervent lOngings, which
make Him always ready to pray and
often engage Him in prayer. And thus
he who engages in devOut meditations,
and holds communion with God through
His word and also through His works,
may, in respect of his habitual prevail
ing frame of mind, as well as of his
frequent prayers be said to pray with
out ceasing," always to pray" he is
like an Eolian harp, on whose strings,
by night or day, the wind has but to
breathe to wake up sweet and plaintive
muSic
Year: 1874

A correspondent of the Providence
Journal thinks that in the present state
of business it may be q relief to the
community to know what the Supreme
Court of the United States has decided
the bankrupt law to mean with refer
ence to sales and mortgages made by a
person who, within six months after,
goes into voluntary or involuntary
bankruptcy. In the case OF Tiffany
against Lucas, the court says that ''all
sales are not forbidden. The interdic-
ton applies to sales with a fraudulent
object, not to those with an honest pur-
pose. 1t is for the interest of the COM
munity that every one should continue
his business, and avoid, if possible,
going into bankruptcy; and yet how
could this result be obtained if the
privilege we're denied person who was
unable to command ready money to
meet his debts as they fell due, by
making fair disposition of his prop
erty in order to accomplish this object.
1t is true he may fail, Notwithstanding
all his efforts, in keeping out of bank
ruptcy, and in that case any sale he has
made within six months of that event is
subject to examination.
Two things must concur to bring the
sale within the prohibition of the law
The fraudulent design of the bankrupt
and the knowledge of it on the part of
the vendee, or reasonable cause to be-
lieve that it existed"
Year: 1874

The London Mining Journal of late
date speaks highly of an apparatus re-
Gently devised and tested in London for
the manufacture of Illuminating gas.
1t is devised as simple in construction,
yet of extraordinary efficacy in accom-
plishing its work of doubling the volume
of gas now obtained from given amount
of coal, rendering the gas of much
higher Illuminating power, while Its
purity is increased, the process also
etfecting a great saving in labor. The
virtue of the process Is In saving much
of the refuse which now goes to waste,
decOmpOsing it and uniting the cOnsti-
tuents with the gas given off by the
usual process of roasting the coal in the
retOrt. Three retOrts of iron or clay,
though greater number may be en-
ployed if required, are placed in the
ordinary manner in a setting, and coal
is charged in to the bottom one, the
next retort being filled with chalk, and
the upper one with coke. The three are
connected, so that the gas eliminated in
the lower one is made to pass through
the chalk and coke retOrts and finally
after leaving the coke into the hydraulic
main. The gas as it issues from the
bottom retOrt, coming through the incan-
descent chalk in the intermediate retOrt,
has its constituents, tar and ammOnical
water, lost in its usual process, converted
into illuminating gas. A steam boiler
heated by the same furnace which Is
used for the retorts (and the fuel for
which may he said TO cost nothing) Is
placed alongside, and is conveyed from
it into the intermediate retOrt through
a pipe placed i'll the fire and of sufficient
length to thoroughly decomp0se the
steam, resolving il into its gaseous con-
stituents, which act as carrying gases.
This drives the tar and liquor out of the
chalk, the carrying gases and the dry
steam reabsorbing them and carrying
forward the highly illuminating proper
ties they are known to possess. The
coal-gas and water-gas combined then
pass through the incandescent coke in
the top retort, where the steam, having
facilitated the union of all the illumi-
mating elements eliminated from the
coal, passes on. Tests made at tempo
rary works show that the Illuminating
power is greatly increased, while the
gas is almost wholly free from sulphur
and without ammonia. The labor is
diminished One-half, and part of the
plant and apparatus is dispensed with,
so that the cost of works is essentially
cheapened, and the wearand tear greatly
reduced. Coal gas consumers will re-
joice that they are to be freed from the
chronic evil of poor gas, and have a
material Tightening of gas bills.
Year: 1874

A South Sea Islander, the monarch
of all he SURVEYED" was recently found
on the small island of Bellinghausen.
in the South Pacific. The man could
not speak word of English, and was,
therefore, perfectly unabletO explain to
his rescuers how or in what way he had
become Robinson Crusoe. He had
received some injuries, which tend to
the supposition that he had been
brought from one of the cluster of the
Polynesian Islands, and left to famish
after being first maltreated. He had
lived by eating cocOanuts and oysters,
and but for his discovery would proba-
bly, have been able to sustain nature
some time. He was taken to London
and thence transferred to Liverpool,
where he is now working a. labOrer
at the docks.
Year: 1874

How WOULD you have liked being a
guest at feast in Pompeii, eighteen
centuries ago? Let me see The hour
would have been about four in the
afternoon, ard, if you we're a lady, you
would have passed the whole morning
at your toilet, assisted by retinue of
slaves, each of whom had a separate
duty to perform. If you were a gentle
man, less time would have been neces-
sary but even then you must have
slaves to wash you, rub you, scrape you
with little curry-comb, and perfume
you with unguents the barber to shave
you, clip and brush your hair, and,
above all, to attend to your nails with
pincers and penknife for no Roman
with the least self-respect would have
trimmed his own nails. The dignified
Horace condescends to make sport of
an eccentric fellow who used to pare his
own nails. When you reached your
friends house, you would have left your
shoes at the door, had your feet and
hands washed by servant, and taken
your place upon an elegant couch, be-
fore which was a table, upon which the
slaves placed one dainty after another,
and served each guest a portion, laid
upon piece of bread. Put it in your
mouth with your fingers, and then
throw the plate upon the floor, where a
slave waits to gather it up. So the
feast goes on; and, after each course,
the slaves bring you a bowl of water,
into which you dip your fingers, and
then wipe them on a napkin which you
. - e Z L
dainty, on the haIr of your cup-bearer.
When the feast is over, all the guests
strip off the wreaths from their heads,
throw the leaves into a goblet of wine,
and pass it around for all to taste.
Year: 1874

A LITTLE MUSICIAN. hundred years
ago it was that an old wheelwright In
Bohemia used to play his harp on holi-
day evenings while his wife sang the
songs of her girlhood, and both of them
watched with wonder and delight to see
their little five-year-old Joe run for a
stick and a bit of board, and fiddle
away in time with the music. The
father and mother laughed sometimes.
| in spite of themselves but the little
musician was solemn and earnest, and
never made the smallest mistake in time
or cadence


"Wonderful !" said his cousin, the
old schoolmaster and organist. "Give
the boy to me and / will make him a
great musician"


The parents were glad of the chance
and poor little Joe was given over to
schoolmaster, who gave him plenty of
hoggings, but very little to eat or wear.
He would have run away, but for the
music he loved so well.


The Dean noticed his clear voice, and
when his friend Won Renter, the musical
director of st. Stephens Cathedral
came from Vienna to visit him, he sent
for little Joe to sing before him. The
hungry little fellow cast such longing
looks at plate of cherries upon the
Deans table, that Won Renters heart
was touched with pity; and, emptying
them all into his hat, he bade him sing
his best. which you may be sure he did
in a voice sO clear and sweet that Won
Renter cried, "Well done -


1t all ended in Joe's going to Vienna
to sing in the choir of st. Stephens,
and receiving the best of instruction in
violin and piano-forte playing. With
plenty to eat, no more hoggings, and
his beloved music from morning till
night, he was as happy as a boy could
be until, at sixteen years of age, his
voice suddenly failed him, and he was
sent from the choir in tears and Distress
But his courage did not fail him. He
managed TO earn little by giving music
lessons and while he lodged in a gar
ret, and lived upon bread and water, he
faithfully studied the works OF the great
masters, and practiced composing melo-
dies, which made him forget cold and
hunger. He made himself master of
the Italian aud Latin languages and at
last the path of fame aud honor was
fairly open to him. His reputation be-
came worldwide and his wonderful
oratories seem divinely inspired.


So the little boy who was starved and
hogged at Hamburg, and won by gift
of cherries, who struggled through diff
culties and mlsfortunes without losing
his trust in God, Is known all over the
world as Joseph Hadyn.
Year: 1874

DoS'T be grumbler. Some people
contrive to get hold of the prickly side
of everything, to run against all the
sharp corners, and find out all the
disagreeable things. Half the strength
spent in growing would often set
things right. You may as well make
up your mind, to begin with, that no
one ever found the world quite as he
would like it; but you are to take
your share OF the troubles, and bear
1t bravely. You will be very sure to
have burdens laid upon you that belong
to other people, unless you are shirK
yourself; but do MT grumble. Ii the
work needs doing, and you can do it,
never mind about the other boy who
ought to have done it and did Ia L.
Those workers who fill up the gaps,
and smooth away the rough spots, and
finish up the jobs that others leave
undone, they are the true peace-mak-
ers, and worth whole regiment oi
GROWERS.
Year: 1874

A New York Tribune We ,hington special
says tnat persons in positions TO be we'll
informed say there is no longer any doubt
that the Sanborn contract exposures will
lead to a change both in the Secretary and
Assistant Secretary of the TREASURY.
Year: 1874

There soliloquized an old topper in Daven-
mort Iowa see what all this temperance crusade pray
ipg has done first busted the Lindell Hotel IN st
mis- ana now overiowed whole South with water.


IN the women Keep oD We have another Hood certain %
Year: 1874

ures employed-but that we are to hold our
selves in a readiness to take the blessing, no
matter in what way the Lord chooses to send
it; and that we are not to be surprised when
he uses those agencies which are not relied
upon, and does not use those which are
This is his usual course, and is most glOrify-
ing TO himself. w. E. B.
Year: 1874

CoNvERsATIoN.-Good, kind, true, holy
words dropped in conversation may be little
thought of, but they are like seeds of flowers
or fruitful trees falling by the wayside, borne
by some bird afar, haply thereafter to fringe
with beauty some barren mountain side, or
to make glad some lone wilderness
Year: 1874

If, now, we would learn the attitude of
the Church toward false religions and Pa
ganism, and see where the work Of conversion
and restoration is to be done, we must look
to another table, showing, as near as we can,
the distribution of these bodies. This is, in
general terms. as follows:
Year: 1874

The following letter was recently address
ed by Mark Twain to the London Morning
Post, and that paper publishes it as "curi-
GUS specimen Of transatlantic puffery:'


SIR:-Now that my lecturipg engagement
is drawing to its close, l find that there i;
one attraction which forgot to provide, and
that is the attendance of some great member
of the Government to give distinction to my
entertainments. Strickly speaking, I did
not really forget this or underrate its impor-
tance, but the truth was l was afraid Of it..
was afraid of it for the reason that those
great personages have so many calls upon
their time that they cannot well spare the
time to sit out an entertainment, and knew
retire while was lecturing it would seriously
embarrass me. find, however, that many
people think l ought not to allow this lack
to exist any longer: therefore ! feel compelled
to reveal a thing which had intended to
keep secret. l early applied to party at
the East End who is in the same line of
business as Madame Tussand, and he agreed
to lend me couple of Kings and some no.
bility, and he said they would sit it out but
that they wouldn't even leave the place when
it was done, but would just stay where they
were, perfectly infatuated, and wait for
more. So made bargain with him at
once, and was going to ask the newspapers
to mention, in the usual column, that on
such and such an evening His Majesty
King Henry VIII. would honor my enter
tainment with bis presence, and that on such
and such an evening His Majesty William
the Conqueror would be present, and that
on the succeeding evening Moses and Aaron
would be there, and SO on. felt encour-
aged now, an attendance like that would
make my entertainment all that could be de-
sired, and, besides, would not be embar-
rassed by their going away before my lecture
was over. But now misfortune came. In
attempting to move Henry VIII. to my lec-
ture hall the porter fell down stairs and ut
terly smashed him to pieces; in the course Of
moving William the Conqueror, something
let go, and all the sawdust burst out Of him,
and he collapsed and withered away to moth
ing before my eyes. Then we collared some
Dukes, but they were 80 seedy and decayed
that nobody would ever have believed in
their rank, and go gave them up with al
most a broken heart. In my troubles had
nothing in the world left to depend on now
but just Moses and Aaron, and confess to
you that it was all could do to keep the
tears back when l came to examine those
two images, and found that man, in his un-
approachable ignorance, had been exhibit
ing in Whitechapel for Moses and Aaron
what any educated person could see at a
glance, by the ligature, were only the Siam
ese Twins.


You see now, sir, that I have done all
that man could do to supply complaint
of lack, and if have failed think ought
to be pitied, not blamed. l wish could
get King somewhere, just only for little
while, and ] would take good care of him,
and send him home, and pay the cab my
SELF


London, Dec. 10th. MARK TWAIN.
Year: 1874

! am thinking of the time, darling,


That night of grief and shame,
When with cursed whisky on my lips,
To our happy home came.
The tear was in your mild blue eye,


And your bosom mildly heaved,
Yet smile OF love was on your cheek,
But your heart was sorely grieved.
My words were harsh TO thee, darling,
For the whisky made me wild,
cursed you whe.l your eyes were sad,
And l cursed you when you smiled.
But God knows / loved you even then,
But the fire was in my brain,
And the curse of drink was in my heart
To mako my lovo hama
have raised the wine cup in my hand
And the gayest songs I've sung.
And with my laugh of drunken mirth
The echOing air has rung
And thy pale, sad face has looked


From out the cup on me,
And trembling whispers have heard.
That fancied came from thee.
Would to God was sleeping in my grave
That my sleep was dreamless now,
That the seal Of never dying grief


Was off my mourning brow.
For my heart is cold as thine, darling,
And the joys of earth have fed,
And long to lay my aching heart


With thee and the silent dead.
Year: 1874




INTERESTING TO MINERs-We learn that
patent has been granted to Henry M.
Boies, Scranton, Pa, for Improved Pack
ages of Powder Charges for Blasting. This
invention consists i'll packing the powder, in
convenient quantities, in long tubes Of pa
per or any fabric or material Of sufficient
strength. rendered waterproof if necessary,
Of proper shape and size to be used as a
cartridge, and Of such length in excess Of
the powder inside as shall allow of its being
folded into a compact form, and divided for
use into cartridges of any desired length or
weight. Each cartridge tube or package
may be easily marked with the size, and
quantity. and brand Of its contents; and
when it comes to the consumer, he can meas
ure from either end the quantity desired for
blast, slide the powder away from this
point, divide the tube, fold back the ends.
and the cartridge is ready for use, proceed
ing in the same way until the whole pack
age has been used Thus the danger of
preparing the cartridge over the open keg
and the liability to damage Of the exposed
powder are avoided, and the time and labor
Of making the cartridge, as well as the ma
terials of which it is composed, are saved.
Coal Trade Circular. h
Year: 1874

The merry birds are singing,


And from the fragrant sod
The spirit Of a thousand flowers


Go sweetly up to God;
While in His holy temple


We meet to praise and pray,
With cheerful voice and grateful lay,


This Summer Sabbath day.
We thank Thee, Lord, for one day


To look Heaven in the facei
The poor have only Sunday;


The sweeter is the grace.
'Tis then they make the music


That sings their week away;
0, there's sweetness infinite


In the Poor Mans Sabbath day.
'Tis as burst of sunshine,


A tender fall of rain,
That sets the barest life abloom,


Makes old hearts young again.
The dry and dusty roadside


With smiling flowers is gay;
"Tis open one day in seven


The Poor Mans Sabbath day.
IT'S here the weary pilgrim


Doth reach his Home of Ease!
That blessed house called Beautiful
And that soft chamber, f" Peace"
AAc AsAScI VI Allo Iuu6 tuTOuku us uTeA1u.
And the leaves of heaven are at play!
He sees the Golden City, gleam,


This shining Sabbath day
Take heart, We faint and fearful;


Your cross with courage bear,
So many face now fearful


Shall shine in glory there,
Where all the sorrow is banished,
The tears are washed away;
And all eternity shall be


An endless Sabbath day.
All! there are empty places


Since last We mingled here;
There will be missing faces


When we meet another year!
But heart to heart before we part,
Now all together pray
That we may meet in heaven to spend
The etc nal Sabbath day.
Year: 1874

Miss ADA GRAY.-The announcement of
the arrival of the talented actress Miss Ada
Clay in this city will be received with plea
sure by her many admirers. IL will be re-
membered that Miss Gray played an engage
ment at the Theatre in this city last winter,
and by her charming acting in Article A I"
and in the other plays in which sine was the
leading character won many friends. She ap-
pears again tonight, when " Article Il !"
will be repeated. Of course Miss Gray will
have fine audience.
Year: 1874

New STEAMER on THE New YORK LINE
The Old Dominion Steamship Company IS
splendid new steamer George W. Elder las
been placed upon the line between Rich
mond and New York city, and will arrive
at this Fort to-day and sail on her return
trip to.mnrrnw
Year: 1874

Even in Lapland the sermons are
sometimes dull, and listeners are occa-
sionally sleepy, but the Laps have way
of getting around the difficulty which
may be recommended even among us to
all whom it may concern. IL Lapland,,
it appears, the preacher is armed with
a large baton, and with this he beats a
sort OF hermeneutical tattoo upon me
pulpit whenever he catches any OF HI:
CONGREGATION in the act of noddirg.
But, lest some slumbering delinquent
should fail to attract the attention OF
the preacher, the sexton is uti ICED as
co-worker in the gospel. and keeps HIM
self awake by meandering about the
church, WELDING long stick, mitigated
bv a cushion at one end. With this
stick he diligently pokes sleepers in the
ribs, ana goads on their faculties to The
sad duty OF attention. Thus the Laps
have an arrangement for punching the
congregation when they get sleepy
They do not seem TO have devised any
method for punching the preacher whoi
| he makes them SO.
Year: 1874

A healthful, grown persons pulse
Laats seventy times in minute there
may be good health down to sixty but
il the pulse always exceeds seventy there
is a disease machine is working
too fast; it is wearing itself ont there
i, fever or inflammation somewhere,
aud the body is feeding on itself, as IN
consumption, when the pulse is quick
that is, over seventy-8radually In


creasing with decreased chances OF cure
until it reaches one hundred and ten or
one hundred and twenty, when death
comes before many days. When the
pulse is over seventy for months, and
there is a slight cough, the lungs are
affected. Every intelligent person owes
it to himself to learn from his family
physician how to ascertain the pulse IN
health then, by comparing it with
what 1t was when ailing, he may have
some idea Of the urgency OF his case,
and it will be an important guide to the
physician. Parents should know the
healthy pulse of each child, a9 now and
then person is born with a peculiarly
slow or fast pulse, and the very case IN
hand may be that psculiarity. An IN
fant's pulse is one hundrei and forty :;
a child Of seven about eighty; and from
twenty to sixty years it is seventy beats
a minute, declining to sixty at four
score. There are pulses all over the
body, but where there are only skin and
bone, as at the temples, it is most easily