smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1876

THE AUNr's REMEDY.-The Dubuqe
Herald says of a resident of that city:
He and his new wife visited his good
old aunt, and she asked hundred ques-
tons on the all-important subject to her.
he was profuse in his answers, being
only too happy to extol the good quail
ties of his young wife. He concluded
the eulogy by telling the old lady that
his wife had wonderful sweet voice,
and 'mezzo soprano of extraordinary
compass The good aunt looked over
her spectacles with concern in her eyes
and said; 'Hez she2 Well, now, your
Aunt Lucy used to be troubled with
Jest such complaint, long while ago,
and she used to put a mustard plaster to
the soles of her feet and take catnip tea,
and it gave her a sight of easiness. Jest
have your wife try that and I'm sure she
will git better"
Year: 1876

1t IS a nice question, in many cases.
which has done the more hurt. the dis.
case or the remedy; whether, for in
stance, the child's health suffers more
from the intestinal parasites which vex
him, or from the destructive purgatives
employed as anthelmintics; whether the
cancer or the knife produces death more
speedily; whether calomel and auinine
be not pretty much such friends to the
sick man, as La Fontaine' s good d-natured
bear was to the gardener, whose mouth
he crushed while trying to brush off the
flies as he slept. 1t is an equally nice
question to determine whether there
ever really does occur q critical period
IN any disease, when the direct action of
actual medicine, per Sc, can turn back
the wavering life from the jaws of death
to the t1owery meads of re-established
health; or, granting the possibility of
such a rare occurrence, do we not run
too great risk, as a rule to profit by it?
These are nice questions, as 1 have
called them, nor does the present con-
dition of medicine entitle us to expect
to see them answered. For these rea-
sons, among many others, medicine can
not be called science.


1t must not be supposed, however,
that the doctors Office is to become a
slnecure because his drugs are voted
rubbish and his methods false. On the
contrary, we shall need him quite as
much, and his advice will be more valu-
able to us than ever. He will not have
it in his power to do harm, and conse-
quently can give his undivided energies
to the pursuit of good. 1t shall be his
office to teach us the fallacy of physic.
He shall present to our minds in all its
horrld array the atrocious enormity of
medicine as once it was practiced, and
shall save many a poor sufferer amongst
us from unconscious suicide. He shall
be our perpetual beacon-light against
the iron-bound, immitigable load-stone
rock of quackery, where so many fair
keels lie untimely wrecked. In fine, he
shall become to us the counterpart Of
that invaluable member of another pro-
fession, known as the chamber lawyer,
quiet man of skill and experience, who
abounds with all the wisdom and unc-
ton Of pertinent counsel, and who
never takes his client into court, where
he is bound to lose, no matter how his
case is decided. Edtoa,'d Spencer, IN the
Atlantic
Year: 1876

Mango in cattle is produced by the
presence of a minute insect, or acdIus,
which has its habitation in the skin, and
burrows its way from the surface under
meath the cuticle. The symptoms of
this disease are a constant rubbing and
itchiness of the animal, which, when
examined, will be found to have the
skin denuded of hair in places, and hav-
ing a sort of dry scurf. When this is
removed by the finger, there are found
small, raw-looking pimples, discharging
a yellowish serous fluid. On examin-
ins the scab under q microscope, acari
may be distinctly seen. The parts more
especially affected are the skin about the
neck, breast and thighs, where it hangs
loose and in folds. In the treatment of
mango, two things have to be accom-
pished- the destruction of the insect
and ova, and the restoration of the
healthy action of the skin. For the
former purpose, almost all the various
poisonous compounds of the PharmacO-
ped have been recommended and en-
ployed, often efecting more harm than
good. Arsenical compounds, although
destructive to the acdri, are often de-
structive to the animal too, and should
be avoided as much as possible. Mer-
curial compounds are equally effective,
and should be used with extreme eau
ton, as pytalism, or salvation, will
often ensue when these compounds
are brought into requisition, especial
care should be taken to keep the ami
NAL from cold and wet. The following
treatment may be pursued Soft soap,
one pound mercurial ointment, four
ounces. Let these be well rubbed into
the affected places, and remain for day
or two, when the mixture should be re-
moved by means of warm water and
brush. Oils of all descriptions, espe-
cially animal oils, are destructive to in
sect life, and having the recommenda-
ton of being safe, they may be used in
all cases when the disease has not got too
firm hold on the system. Sulphur is
also a very valuable medicine in the
treatment of skin diseases, and like oil
has the recommendation of safety. 1t
may be used in the form of an ointment,
but as greasy applications are objection
able, probable the best form of employ
ing sulphur is that of the sulphurate of
potassium, or liver of sulphur, dissolved
in water. Take liver of sulphur, one
ounce; water, eight ounces; to form
lotion to be applied twice a day. In
the Outstanding and chronic cases, the
skin will require more stimulating
treatment than any of the forms recon-,
mended, and for this purpose the follow
ing liniment may be applied, Oil of
tar, oil of turpentine, linseed oil, equal
parts. Rub well into the skin with a
brush every day. 1t must be borne in
mind, in making choice of a remedy,
that no one agent can be deemed spe-
cifc, and that, to insure success, a
change is often requisite, as after GER
tain number of applications even the
most potent remedy will appear to lose
its effect. In all cases, however, con-
slant cleanliness is requisite. The skin
should be we'll washed with soft soap
and water after each. dressing. A mild
laxative may now and then be given, and
small doses of -four of sulphur as an al
Tentative.
Year: 1876




SIMPLY sNKEHNG.-An action was
tried recently before the Lambeth
County Court, in England, which grew
out of a simple sneeze. The plaintiff
was in the army and navy cooperative
stores, Westminster, In the drapery
department, of which defendant was
manager. About ten o'clock at night,
when assisting to take stock. having a
cold In his head, he was compelled to
sneeze. He sneezed rather loudly, for
defendant came up to where the plain
tiff and others were at work and de-
manded to know who sneezed. The
plaintiff at once admitted that he was
the sneezer, upon which the defendant
told him that the next time he wanted
to sneeze he must go outside and do il.
Shortly afterward the plaintiff felt him
self compelled to sneeze again, and put
ting on his overcoat, said to defendant,
Z" Please sir, I am going out TO sneeze.
He was then told by the defendant that
if he went outside he must go alto
gether, and upon his proceeding 10 do
so, the defendant insisted on his return
ing the weeks wages he had received q
few hours previously, the weeks work
not expiring until the afternoon Of the
next day. As he declined to comply
with this demand, the defendant took
him by the collar and pushed him down
q spiral staircase fight at time. He
was subsequently marched of the prem
ises between a policeman and door
keeper. Reclaimed damages for the in
iuries he had received by his rapid de-
scent down stairs. After several Wit
nesses had been examined, and the de-
fendant had given evidence, the jury
rendered a verdict in favor of the
sneezer for e20 damages.
Year: 1876

A BOOK agent who has retired from
active labor, says the EastOn Free Press,
upon the hard-earned accumulation of
life of industrious cheek, says that
the great secret of his success was when
he went to a house where the female
head of the family presented herself, be
always opened saying, I" I beg your par
don, miss, but it was your mother I
wanted to see." That always used to
get 'em. They not only subscribed for
my books themselves, but told me
where could find more customers.
Year: 1876

The race of,mankind would perish did
they cease to aid each other. From the
time that the mother binds the child's
head till the moment that some kind as
sistant wipes the death-damp from the
brow of the dying, we cannot exist with.
out mutual help. ALI, therefore, that
need aid have right to ask it from their
fellow-mortals; no one who holds the
power of granting can refuse it without
guilt Walter Scot.
Year: 1876

A GREEN BAY man, when praised for
having lived with his wife for twenty
three years without a cross word be-
tween them, dryly replied And yet,
if she wanted a velvet cloak, and l
wouldn't get it, she might poison me y
Year: 1876

A USEFUL ARTIoLE.-Ammonia per-
forms wonders in the hands of a skilled
housewife, if we may Judge of her tes-
timony: 81 knew ammonia, diluted in
water, could restore rusty silks and
clean coat collars, but when I got green
spot on the carpet, tried half dozen
things before 1 thought Of that, and
that was just what did the work efectu-
ally. put teaspoonful into about a
teacupful of hot water, and took cloth
and wet the spot thoroughly, Just rub
bing it slightly, and the ugly spot was
gone. For cleaning silver it is invalua-
bic; it makes things as bright as new
without any expenditure Of strength;
and for looking glasses and windows it
is best of all. One day when was
tired, and my dishcloths looked rather
gr1J, 1 turned few drops into the wa
ter and rubbed them out, and I shall be
sure to do so again some day. 1 advise
all housekeepers to invest dime in the
purchase of ammonia, and commence a
series of chemical experiments, and see
what they can accomplish with it."
Year: 1876

COOKING MEAT BY Cold. - Those
who have handled piece of CONCEALED
mercury, which freezes at tempera-
ture of forty degrees below zero, will
know that the sensation is similar to
that produced by holding coal of fire
in the hand. In other words, intense
heat and intense cold bear striking re-
semblance to each other in their effects.
A Hungarian chemist, whose speciality
consists of finding out the best meth
DDS of preserving meats, has made
practical use of this analogy in the
action of heat and cold, and partially
cooks his meats by subjecting them to
the action of intense cold. Strange to
say, the meat subjected to this low tenn
perature is reduced to condition SINH
lar to that produced by heat. The
material must be perfectly fresh, and,
after being exposed to temperature of
thirty degrees below zero, must be care
fully sealed in tins. 1t is found when
opened to preserve a remarkable fresh
ness, and to be in a more satisfactory
condition for use than has hitherto
been attained by any method for the
same purpose. A large mandatory is
being built in Hungary for preparing
meat on this novel principle.
Year: 1876

BABIES LEGs.-Bow-legs and knock
knees are among the common deformi-
ties of humanity; and wise mothers as
sert that the crookedness in either case
arises from the afflicted one having been
put upon his or her feet too early in
babyhood. But Massachusetts, physi-
clan who has watched for the true cause
thinks differently. He attributes the
aforementioned DISTORTION to q habit
some youngsters delight in of rubbing
the sole of one foot against that of the
other; some will go to sleep with their
soles pressed together. They appear to
enjoy the contact only when the feet are
naked; they do not attempt to make it
when they are socked or slippered. Sothe
remedy is obvious; keep the baby's sole
covered. Knock-knees the doctor as
cribes to different childish habit, that
of sleeping on one side, with one knee
tucked into the hollow behind the other.
He has found that where one leg has
bowed inward more than another, the
patient has always slept on one side, and
the upper member has always been
that which has besn most deformed.
Here the preventive is to pad the inside
of the knees so as to keep them apart,
and let the limbs grow freely their own
way. All of which is commended to
mothers who desire the physical up
rightness of their progeny.


MENTAL IMAGES OF EXECUTIONS
A New York reporter who has reported
many hangings, believes that they are
self-perpetuating, and he is himself
haunted by one Of them which he wit
messed. He says: "No matter where I
am, or in what agreeable society, with
any sudden darkening of the atmos-
phere, as of the sun passing behind
cloud, see two black figures swing
ing under black cross beam few feet
from my eyes. 1t is not mere recol-
lection of the thing, with its attendant
mental specter, but a vivid reproduc-
ton external to myself, such that the
gallows and the figures swinging to and
fro in the rain are actually before me
as they were that day."
Year: 1876

On Monday next the bust of Mr.. Greeley,
contributed by practical American printers,
will be placed, with appropriate exercises,
above his tomb. Such testimony of respect,
pride. and affection would be extremely con-
genial TO his taste and sentiments If he were
vet with us, and the honor had been deSeTv


cdly accorded to another No man could he
prouder of his original profession. Long after
he had abandoned its active exercise he
showed in hundred familiar ways
his attachment and his abiding sense
of It's importance, dignity, and usefulness.
He was fastidlOus i'll his idea Of good
work. and never very tolerant Of bOtchers
or of blundereTs. Any grave mistake III
typographical composition or arrangement


any tlagrantly bad prOOf-reading or press
work, any inferiOrity OF the materials used,
ALWAYS sorely tried his patience and not seldom
got the better of it. He had his own opinion
of the shape in which matter should be set,
and expected his wOrkmen to conform TO it.
1t has been said of punctuation that its main
service is clearly to present the thought of the
writer, but Mr. Greeley insisted upon such an
arrangement of all the types as would most
strikingly present opinions, and especially the
facts upon which they were based. He never
managed any journal upon the physiognomy
of which he did not impress visible tokens
of his typographical taste. These are
most remarkable in the paper which he first
printed - The NetC- Yorker then in The Log
Cabin subsequently in The Tribune Almanac;
while The TRIBUNE itself still preserves many
peculiarities of arrangement which it received
from its founder. The practical printer, about
whose shabby coat his rivals could never be
sufficiently merry, was almost foppish in his
captions, his distribution of paragraphs, his use
of numerical figures and Of capitals his EN-
Year: 1876

national politics 1t is not at all


astonishing that men whose annual pre-
miums of life insurance are coming que
are penetrated with unusual anxiety on tne
subject; are debating whether 1t ls worth
while TO make the effort needed for the pay
ment; are doubtful-no matter how high may
be the reputation of the company III WHICH
they are insured-as to whether q renewal Oh
their policies may not be throwing good money
after bad. ,,s-


A large proportion of the premiums on Ire
insurances fall due during the present mon'l,,
The annual statements of the companies VIII
not appear till January. Whatever tnerc may
be of comfort or encouragement Ill 'no'0
statements will come too late 10 CON
sole the pOlicy-holders who yield 10 their
fright in December and let ther poii-
cies lapse. Perhaps some portion Vi
this danger might be avoided if it were posi-
BILE for the companies to give in advance Drier'
informal sketches of their condition. some
such measure is evidently needed to stem the
tide if the lapsed policies of the present season
are not TO outnumber those of previous years.


To men who are doubtful about renewing
their uolicies. a word of advice seems neediul.
If the insurance is in an old company Oh sOou
repute, by all means renew. II II Is III con-
cern of slender resources ana WIN "hosc
name rjlmor is busy, be careful on one point
do not let the existing policy lapse until new
one has been obtained in another company
II is far better to have weak insurance than
none. Even in case of such a failure as that
of the Continental, some portion OF the money
invested in insurance will eventually be paid
to the claimants by the receiver. And ID the
great majority of instances the money winch
has been invested in premiums on LIE
insurance would not, if it had not
been so laid aside, have been saved
at all by it's pOssesSor On the other
hand there is no occasion for general anxiety
respecting our life insurance companies. Even
though there should prove to be one or two
more unfortunates in their ranks, the leading
concerns are sound beyond all doubt, and
there is nothing even in the present troubles
which can impair their sOlytncy.
Year: 1876

Whether Mrs. Gleason, whose case Is now
under investigation by the commissioners,
really suffered the Outrages of which she com
plains in the insane wards of BlackwelPs
Island or Bellevue Hospital is not, after all, OF
so much Importance to the public as whether
such outrages are possible or not. Hers is but
an individual case, dragged into notice be
cause of personal peculiarities. But the question
is whether. being woman, rich or poor, there
is a chance that she should bs arrested while
sane, confined for weeks or months without
propcr examination, strapped down in a straight
Jacket thrown into a cold bath, subjected to
indecent exposure, and left to die from neglect.
All these accusations and many others against
the management of insane wards may be but
the fancies of the disOrdered brains of pa
tients when released but the public has
right to know positively whether they are or
not. 1t is a matter of sheer justice to the in
stitutions attacked that these charges should
be thoroughly investigated, TO say nothing of
the justice due to the helpless patients.


The fact is that iI-treatment is made, by
the force of circumstances, too easy posi-
bility. A vast number of patients are gath
cred into mammoth building under the su-
pervisiOn Of one or two physicians. No matter
how skillful they are, or how good their in
tentions, it is simply impossible for them to
give to each case watchful oversight They
pass through the wards once day: the pre-
sumption of madness is against the patients;
their complaints or assertions OF sanity are
naturally ascribed to their madness; in short,
nothing can be easier than for IN honest ply
sician to detain ienoranty patient after the
time he is fit for discharge Nor does the evil
stop here The attendants on the insane are
not skillful physicians, not men and women
chosen for their humanity or their ability to
minister to a mind diseased. They are such
material as can be had for the Office-rough,
unculured, proud Of their authority and
easily tempted to exercise it brutally. When
this is too often the case in costly private
asylums what are we to expect when the
patients are paupersY


Now it Is the people who support these
gigantic institutions, not the few scientific
gentlemen or politicians VINO control them.
The people support them that justice may be
done TO helpless wards of the State, not in
justice. They have right to know therefore
that injustice is impossible, and the only way
to insure this is to open such asylums TO legal
lied inspection of a much strcter character
and more frequent repetition than is at present
possible The detection of wrOng-dOing, if
there be ong-dOing, should not be left to
such exceptional investigations as the present,
but made the authorized duty of uninterested
officials.
Year: 1876

The distractions of politics do not prevent
some of the business opportunities of the year
from receiving the attention they deserve.
Owing to changes which have taken place in
the world of trade and manufacture. the time
is full of such opportunities One of them re-
fers to our foreign commerce. Speaking of the
shipping interests of the United States, Mr.
Greeley once said that no country could hope
to transact a large commerce until 1t found
itself with a large surplus of manufactures
and under the necessity OF exploring the
world for places to sell them. 1t is one
of the changes of the present period that the
United States finds itself not only under the
necessity of hunting up foreign markets for
its manufactures, but able, at the same time,
70 place n variety of its goods in those mar
zets in competition with the English and
French, who have so long mOnOpOlized thcm
For the last year or two experiments have
been tried in this direction. These having met
with some success, and the balance of trade hav
ing turned in our favor it would seem as if
The conditions laid down by Mr.. Greeley had
been complied with, and that an opportunity
was presenting itself for the enlargement Of
American commerce.


Many CAREFUL InHhelS Sllll uOuoO
the time has really come for the effort,
and in respect to transatlantic commerce
there is reason for a suspension of judg-
ment at present. 1t is the fact that practi-
cal men have hesitatcd to act with regard to
if. In the trade with South America
there is perhaps a different field. Here
there is greater hope Of success. Not only has
the trade of the United States with that re-
gion already reached very respectable proper
tions but it now only needs direct COM
munication to expand it to an extent
which will probably enable steamers engaged
IN the trade to live. The news columns of
The TRIBUNE to-day show that the subject is
ot any rate under consideration, and that ne
cotiltions are taking place for the establish
ment Of lines of steamers to that continent.
A practical outcome of the efforts Of those en-
gagged will be of benefit to the business inter-
ests of the country.
Year: 1876

the discharge of duty left by the law to
its discretion and judgment but insists that
the court has a right to decide whether the
board had any right sf discretion. Mr.. Bene-
dict sustains the Presidents action, as patriotic
and within the law.
Year: 1876




As was naturally to have been expected, the
failure of the Continental Life Insurance Com
pany has created widespread anxiety, if not
distrust, among the holders of policies in other
companies While it was known in insurance
circles that there was trouble in that company
months before it succumbed, and that projects
for reinsuring its risks were under considera-
ton, the great mass of its pOlicy-hOlders
had full confidence in its sovency, and
the disaster came upon them quite uneX-
pectedly. There are many people who
never insure their lives, and who profess an
utter want of faith in all life insurance
companies such people are now very wise
after the event, and are ready with 81 told
"you So to hghten the discontinue of the
Continental's victims. To add to the uneasi-
ness produced by all this In the public mind,
there are the effects of the long-cOntinued
"hard times" and the new depression in busi-
ness caused by the complications in