smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1876

This little sentence should be written
on every heart and stamped on every
memory. 1t should be the golden rule
practiced not only in every household,
but throughout the world. By helping
one another We not only remove thOrns
from the pathway and anxiety from the
mind, but we feel sense of pleasure in
our own hearts. knowing We are doing
a duty to fellow creature. A helping
hand, or an encouraging word, is no
loss to us, yet it is a benefit to others.
Who has not felt the power of this lit
tie sentence? Who has not needed the
encouragement and aid of kind friend
How soothing, when perplexed with
some task that is mysterious and bur-
densome, to feel gentle hand on the
shoulder and to hear a kind voice whis-
pering, "Do not feel discouraged.
see your trouble-let me help you.
What strength is inspired, what hope
created, what sweet gratitude is felt,
and the great difficulty is dissolved as
dew beneath the sunshine. Yet, let us
help one another by endeavoring to
strengthen and encourage the weak
and lifting the burden of care from the
weary and oppressed, that life may
glide smoothly on and the fOunt Of Bit
terness yield sweet water; and He,
whose willing hand is ever ready to aid
us, will reward our humble endeavOrs,
and every good deed will be as ''bread
cast upon the waters to return after
many days." if not to us, to those we
love.
Year: 1876

The character of mans life affects
thousands besides himself. Wickedness
cannot be kept inside of mans heart
any more than stencil can be kept in
the gutter where it is generated. 1t
spreads abroad and mingles with the
air of the whole street, and all who
pass the spot must breathe of its tainted
odor. There is moral atmosphere in
which we all live and to which We all
contribute some ingredient. We spread
contagion through it or we make it
pure and healthy. We cannot remain
by ourselves any more than the drop of
water can remain by itself when it is
fallen into the stream. We become a
part of the whole and the whole is af-
fected by the part. Sin is contagious,
and therefore we have no right to har
Dor il in our hearts. ImprOpriety is a
crime not alone against ourselves, not
alone against God, but also against
mankind. The voice of the entire race
is lifted in protest against the crime
and the criminal. Every day is day
of judgment, and the moral sense of the
whole world pronounces condemnation
upon every man that doeth evil.-GOlden
Rule
Year: 1876

The Lowell Mass Courier says: "One
day last week a party in wholesale
country produce store in this city pro-
posed a guessing match in regard to
the number of pea beans i'll barrel of
that vegetable. There were several
grocers in the store and their estimates
varied from 10000 to 1000, 900, all
giving wild guesses. 1t was ascertained
that there are about 566, 900 pea-beans in
full barrel; this result being obtained
bv counting the number of beans i'm a
pound weight, and multiplying that by
the number of pounds in the barrel.
This of course would give only an ap-
proximate number, as the figures for
each pound will very probably vary
slightly, and the stated number of
pounds in barrel may also vary. A
gentleman of an advanced mathematical
education who happened in was asked
to guess the number of beans. He
reached result by measuring one bean,
and then figuring how many of the
beans could be put in the barrel. He
placed the number in the barrel at z, 900
less than the result obtained by the
easier method of calculation, and his
figures may be even more correct than
those by the loose method"
Year: 1876

Words are sometimes wounds. Not
very deep wounds always, and yet they
irritate. Speech is unkind sometimes
when there is no unkindness i'm the
heart; so much the worse that needless
wounds are inflicted; so much the
worse that unintentionally pain is
caused. Keep it from falsehood. 1t is
so easy to give false colOring; to so
make a statement that it may convey a
meaning different from the truth,
while yet there is an appearance of
truth, that we need to be on our guard.
There are very many who would shrink
from telling lie, who yet indulge them
selves in such inaccurate or exaggera-
ted or one sided statements, that they
really come under the condemnation
of those whose "lying lips are an abom-
inatiOn to the Lord" Keep it from
slander. The good reputation of others
should be dear to us. Sin should not
be suffered to go unrebuked; but il
should be i'm accordance with the Scrip
ture method, $50 and tell him of his
fault twixt thee and him alone" And
it should be borne in mind that what is
too often considered as merely harm-
less gossip runs dangerously near, If 1t
does not pass. the confines of SANDER.
A reputation is too sacred to be made
plaything of, even If the intent be not
maiicious.-Rural Ne,o Yorker.
Year: 1876

Collectors must be curiOusly-minded
people. One can understand a man
collecting pictures or jewels which are
really beautiful in themselves. Old
armOr and old weapons are interesting.
and so, to a certain extent, is any old
relic. But the passion for old china
and old books, and other such things,
is irrational and perfectly inexplicable.
The edifiO princeps of Aristotle is worth
any price almost that its fortunate
pOssessOr may choose to ask for it, but
it is no better for any practical purpose
than the second or Basle edition of
1850, which can be bought anywhere
for a few shlllings. This being SO, the
only possible value of an editiO princeps
can have must be due to the fact that
very few other collectors have it; and
the man who buys anything, whether
it be a book or teacup or Chinese
monster, simply because other people
have not got it, must have more money
than he well knows what to do with.


In a rich country, however, there
will always be such people, and a pro-
fessional dealer and collector can cas-
lily make fortune out of them. jew
ellers, it is said, do this to very great
extent, for people have already begun
to put artificial prices upon precious
stones with reference to their rarity
and not to their intrinsic beauty. A
diamond with fly in it, if there was
such thing, would be of great interest
10 the chemist, as settling the question
of the circumstances under which the
diamond originally crystallized. But,
apart from this, it would fetch literally
any price as a curiosity. Fashion, too.
has a good deal to do with these
things.


Some few years ago the Princess
of Wales took to wearing sapphires,
and a demand for sapphire pdrwes
sprang up at once. Sapphlres, OF
course, rose enormously in value, but
they have since. We believe, fallen al
most to their old price. 1t is said that
the next stone likely to come into
fashion will be the jacinth. and that,
forseeing the probability of this, the
leading London jewellers are making
a corner" as Americans call it, in ia
cinths, by buying them up and putting
them by, in the serene assurance that
the money thus laying idle will ulti-
mately earn its interest and a good
deal more. When the time com es at
last jacinths will be no prettier than
they are at present, but their valne
will, for the time being, be doubled or
Quadrupled.-LOn Examiner.
Year: 1876

Only A F1y.-Has any ever told you
of the wonders of a fiy's bOdyf l sup
pose not, else you would never think
of finding pleasure in hurting me.


God has given me wings, which are
SO light, and nicely fitted to my body,
that / can fly or walk about just as l
please.


l can spread them out, and fly away
like little bird or can fold them up,
and take a walk wherever / choose.


/ can walk with my feet up, and my
head down, Just as well as on the table
or on the floor. 1t is all the same to
me.


Perhaps you wonder why I do not
fall. My feet are so formed, that l can
press them firmly 10 the ceiling, and
walk about there without any fear.


But you are too young yet to know
how | do that. only tell you of it
now, that you may begin to know how
much there IS to learn in all the things
that God has made.


Have you ever noticed how quickly /
fly away when you try to catch me.


L can see you, little boy or girl, even
when you try to hide your hand behind
me. Perhaps you would like to know
how this can be. Let me tell you.


You think that have only two eyes,
like you but l have a great many,
though they do not move about like
yours.


Each of the eyes that you see in my
head is made up of great many little
eyes. There are several hundred of
them, though each of them is only
little point.


With some of them look out before
me, and with others look behind. 1t
is with those that l look behind that /
see you when you put your hand be-
hind me.


hope that | have told you enough
to make you feel that you should not
try to hurt little fly.
Year: 1876

fastened it on the breast of Heinz. At
that instant the clock struck one and he
was left alone. Who can describe the
rage and despair of Heinz? He added
also to his misfortune by fOolishly tell
ing the story, and thus became the
laughing-stock of the whole city. Only
Friedel felt sorry for him, and he, out
of his goodness of heart, maintained
Heinz comfortably all the rest of his
days
Year: 1876

The Company Ptdn.-Here's some
thing, my dears, that the editor of st.
Nicholas said long ago to a crowd of
youngsters. AS L never heard of its
doing them any special harm, it occurs
to me that it will not hurt my little
folks to hear it:


Did you ever notice what an amiable,
pleasant feeling steals over you when
you are visiting and on your good be-
haviOrf'-how willing you are to over
look anything that interferes with
your comfort f-how anxious to please,
and how ready to take an interest in
all that is going ont At these times
your face lights up, your voice grows
sweet and cheerful, your very move
ments become graceful. ''What plea
SAINT persons these friends arem you
say to yourself; and they very natu-
rally consider you quite winning and
delightful. So far, so good. 1t is Just
as it should be.


OF course, when you go home you
take all your pleasant ways with you.
If these friends who have known you
but little while, and who care for you
merely as friends, have power to
brighten and sweeten you, certainly
Wien you return to your own relatives,
who love you so much more, you'll be
brighter and sweeter than ever.


Is it sOf Perhaps it is. But if, by
any chance, 1t should not be-if, for
instance, you choose to let yourself be
sour or Indifferent at home, thinking
any tone of voice, any glum look, and
any careless word good enough for
''the folks"-Tm sorry for you, that's
all You lose great deal OF comfort,
and you miss great opportunity of
making others happy. But it is never
too late to improve. Suppose you try
the company plan. Be polite, sunny,
and charming at home. Commence to-
morrow-no, to-day. The home life is
only visit, after all, for no family can
remain together always.-St Nicholas.
Year: 1876

We are pleased to announce that the
report to the effect that Parson Scarlet
had been killed some time during the
past summer, is not true. We saw him
yesterday, and save his being somewhat
thinner in flesh, he is the same Scarlet'
that held forth here last winter. May
he live long and prosper.
Year: 1876

Mr.. John II. Hazard shot himself
with pistol last Thursday night
while under the influence Of liquor, to
which he was sadly addicted Of
late. The ball penetrated the left side
below the heart, and passed out through
the spine. There is little hope of his
recovery.
Year: 1876

We neglected to notice, in cur
last issue, the arrival of Miss Srla, the
beautiful and accomplished daughter
of Judge l.. l.. Mack, who accompa-
nies him on his circuit. Although, as
we understand, she was somewhat dis
appointed on her arrival, in not getting
"bus." we hope her stay in our vii
lage will be so pleasant and agreeable
as to induce many return of her visit
to Osceola. and that when she finally
embarks on the voyage of life, in the
matrimonial craft, her weary form may
oft be relieved by bus, furnished by
true guide and able protector.
Year: 1876

do so, for the little ones were unusually
good, and Mary, after all her kindness,
had taken her departure. But the good
she had done remained behind her. Its
healthy influence was at work in the cot
tage home that November evening


Guardian angels must have drawn near
and brought holy power with theml


Jane Parkins was beginning to see her
faults more clearly; and as the new light
dawned upon her she resolved to guard
against them.


There should be no more gossiping with
neighbors This, she saw, was the foun-
Gation OF her untidy home, and also the
cause of the many quarrels that had taken
bad habit, given up, would leave plenty
of time for keeping her house in order,
and for attending to her duties as wife
and mother.


But where is Tom?" she asks herself
after long and thoughtful pause; "he
certainly ought to be home by this time"


With look of anxiety on her face she
glanced at the large Dutch clock, and saw
that it was half an hour over his time al
ready.


She went to the door and tried to look
down the Row, but the fog that had been
gathering when she let Mary out had be-
come so dense that she could only see a
few yards before her.


Yes, the fog had increased, and walk
ing was most uncomfortable. Along the
crowded thoroughfares people were hast
ening home, cheered by the memory of
the loving faces which would welcome
them at the end of their journey, and
which made home home to them.
Year: 1876

EVERYBODY laughs at bashful man.


Nobody seems TO realize that bashful-
ness is misfortune, and no more to be
criticised than a bald head or bad
cough, or a squint eye.


A man cannot help being bashful.
Nothing will cure him OF it but time and
the constant friction of society, and in
some cases nothing will effect radical
cure.


A bashful man is forever in the way of
somebody. He cannot walk the street
without running against every fifth per-
son he meets. He will be so anxious to
get out of the way that he will dodge the
same way the other man is dodging, and
the result will be a collision.


He will tread on the dress of every lady
who ventures into his immediate vicinity;
and if he can manage to cross room
without turning up most of the rugs, and
tripping over an ottoman, or hassock,
he may consider himself fortunate.


The tides will leave the chair backs to
cling to has back, and then when some
body suppresses a giggle, he will feel as
hot as burnt potato, and regret that he
was ever born.


He has the unhappy faculty of sitting
down on pet kittens, reposlng in feline
placidity on chair cushions, and he steps
on dogs tails, and upsets card receivers,
and drops photograph albums, and breaks
Sevres knick- -knacks, and gets into mess
generally.


When some lady friend asks him TO but
ton her glove, or put her shawl over her
shoulders, he will flush to the roots of
his hair, and seize the glove in such fran
tic haste that the button-hole will tear out
and the button pull off, and the lady,
though she says it is not of the slightest
consequence" will be mad enough to box
his ears soundly.


And he will wish the earth would open
and swallow him up bodily.
AT dinner, though a man of the very
best intentions, he will invariably spill
the gravy, and deluge his potatoes with
pudding sauce, and drop his knife in some
lady's lap among her silk flounces; and
he is liable to pocket his napkin, and
produce it in the drawing-room in the
place of handkerchief.


Nothing so completely upsets him as to
be obliged to introduce somebody to
somebody else. lie will call the lady Miss
Capt. Brown, and the gentleman Miss
Maria Smith, and then discovering his
mistake, he will reverse the order of
things, and beg to be allowed to present
Miss Maria Brown to Mr.. Capt Smith.
The bashful man is at an utter loss to
know what to do with his hands and feet
They are continually in his way, and theil
proper disposal is a perpetual puzzle tc
him.


He will sit and compare his two thumbs,
! and put his two forefngers together-as il
not quite sure that they are mates; and
his feet are open to the same careful
! scrutiny.


He is laughed at, as we said, by every
body; and he knows it, and is miserable
But after all, in this age of cheek (pardon
the slang), it is refreshing to meet, occa
sional.y, bashful man.-Rate Thorn, IN
N. Y WeeklV.
Year: 1876

The best quality of mucilage in the
market is said to be made by dissolving
clear glue In equal volumes of water and
strong vinegar, and adding one-fourth OF
an equal volume of alcohol and small
quantity of solution of alum in water.
The action of the vinegar is due to the
acetic acid which it contains. This pre-
vents the gelatinizing by cooling; but the
same results may be accomplished by
adding a small quantity Of nitric acid.
Some of the preparations offered for sale
are mere boiled starch, or flour, with
nitric acid to prevent gelatinizing. These
preparations are very inferior in quality
to that made from glue.-Chicago Inter-
Dream
Year: 1876

in them, upon the opening opposite.


What gay, grand place this is, with
lights like suns and stars upon the cell
ing. so far up, so very, very far up
Why. the church at home is not nearly
so high as this room. But why is it
lighted yet? The June sunshine is ly-
ing brightly now upon the sea at home,
and it must be light as day in the cot
tage rooms. What thousands of faces
are gathered here-all looking one way,
too, all looking at that door which she
has been hidden to watch. Are they
waiting for David. too !?


Suddenly band begins to play; and
puzzled more and more-Mary turns
her eyes from the spot she is watching
so intently, David has never told her
about this music, aud these lights, and
the watching crowd. What does it
mean? And why is Dayy coming here


A prompt, tumultuous sound of clap
ping in the crowd; and Mary turns her
puzzled eyes back again to the doorway
she had been hidden to watch. No one
is there, save the few idle figures which
have stood there all the time. But now,
in the cleared space in the center of the
building, man (who must have passed
through while she was gazing at the
band, and whose face is turned from
herr is climbing single rope suspended
from the roof.


Wonderingly, Mary watches the light
and active fgure-tightly clad in white
and crimson-springing upward with
the speed and the agility of a squirrel.
Why should he do this daring, foolish
thing? Is mans life so valueless that
he should risk it thus to provoke mo-
ment's passing wonder? Is death SC
trivial thing that he should brave il
recklessly thus, to win moments ap,
plause All! to think of this mans life
and then of Davy's


Another minute, and the man she
watches springs to double rope which
hangs from the lofty ceiling, and, sit
ting there at ease, looks down upon th'
crowd. Then Mary's eyes look full int
, his face.
Year: 1876

A ROMANTIC WILL CAsE.-About
rich merchant of New York, was thrown
from his carriage and killed. He left
will, drawn up by himself without the
assistance of any lawyer, in which he
left the bulk Of his fortune of $250,000 to
a Miss Taylor, and to her children after
her in case she married and had offspring


If she died single, the money was to be
spent in decorating the pIatin Greenwood
where he and she were to be buried
Little or nothing was known of Lewis
history. He had no relatives in New
York, and was very incommunicative in
regard to his antecedents. The will was
thought to ba worthless, as we'll as eccen-
trio, and "A lawyer formerly employed by
Lewis, who had heard him say that he
came from near Toronto, Canada, adver-
tised for next Of kin in one of the Toronto
papers. This was read by an old man
named Findlay, living in Sincoe. who
remembered that Lewis had gone from
that vicinity to New York, where he
heard he had become rich. 1t was then
discovered that he had half brother and
sister, persons of color, living in Sincoe.
It turned out on further inquiry that
Lewis, mother was n slave near Wheel
ing, and, while such, became the mother
of two children now living in Canada.
Their father, though nominally, at best,
n freeman, was carried to Kentucky as a
fugitive, and appears never to have seen
his wife again. She then ran away to
Canada, where she married Lewis father,
II white man. Lewis always passed as a
full white man, though he is said to have
borne traces Of his African extraction.
He died bachelor, and, by the laws Of
New York, his mother could be his heir.
She being dead her children, his half
brother and sister, occupying her place,
should the slave marriage be recognized
and the will broken. The case is II ro-
mantle one, and its incidents might be
effectively worked into novel.
Year: 1876

Savages make droll work Of adopting
civilized inventions and using them for
the first time. Their proceedings are
usually the more funny in proportion as
they are pleased at the foreign novelty.
When Rev. James Williams, the Eng
lish missionary, was laboring in Rara
tonga, one Of the South Sea Islands, he
taught the natives how to % white-w wash"
The following describes his instruction of
the art, and how the islanders took it."


Mr. Williams had observed that the
fine white mud, which came from the
decomposition of the coral which abound
ed in that locality, exactly resembled
the finest sediments of Stacked lime or
chalk. This led him to experiments.
He gathered lot Of the coral and sub
jected it to the fire. The result was a lime,
from which he gained, by a solution in
water, a most brilliant white wash.


When he had satisfied himself that the
whiteness was there, he constructed a
kiln, and called upon the islanders to
come and help him. He told them how
to build the fires, and how to subject the
coral to the heat. The result our mission
airy may describe in his own words:


After having laughed at the process
of burning, which they believe to be to
cook the coral for their food, what was
their astonishment, when, in the morning,
they found his cottage glitterng in the ris-
ing sun, white as snow; they danced,
they sung, they shouted and screamed
with joy.


"The whole island was in a commo-
ton, given up to wonder and curiosity {;
and the laughable scenes which ensued
after they got possession of the brush and
tub, battle description. The BON ton i'm
mediately voted ita cosmetic and kaydor,
and superlatively happy did many a
swarthy coquette consider herself, could
she but enhance her charms by dab of
the white brush.


"And now party spirit ran bigh, as it
will do in more civilized countries, as to
who was, or was not, best entitled to pref
erence. One party urged their superior
rank one had got the brush and was
determined at all events to keep it, and
third tried to overturn the whole, that
they might obtain some Of the sweepings.


They did not even scruple to rob each
other Of the little share that some had
been so happy as to secure.


But soon new lime was prepared,
and in a week, not a hut, domestic uten-
sill, a war-club or a garment, but what
was white as snow not an inhabitant
but had skin painted with the most
grotesque figures not pig but was sim
ilarly whtened and even mothers might
be seen in every direction, capering with
extravagant gestures, and yelling with
delight at the superior beauty at their
whitewashed infants. ~. y. Ledger.