smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1872

The arrangements which are being
perfected for the speedy laying of one
or more additional cables between the
United States and the countries Of
Europe, bave had the natural effect
of causing the present companies to
Introduce a radical revision of their
entire tariff rates. The reductions
which have been made are of quite an
important character. On and after
the first Of May the ten word mini
mum, as applied 10 cable messages be-
tween this country and Great Britain
will be abolished, and single word
tariff substituted by which a message
which under the present rates costs
eight or ten dollars, will under the
new rule cost only two or three. The
reduction will be of special advantage
to that large and constantly increasing
class of customers whose message can
be embrsced in two or three words as
well as ten. Cable messages can he
sent from any point in Pennsylvania
after thst date, at the rate of 8 dollar
and five cents per word. It is not
improbable that when the new cables
are laid there will be yet further re-
dnetions.
Year: 1872

During the recent furry over the
Alabama claims we have really been
disappointed, for there has been alto
gether less threat and bluster on our
part than was to be expected. Are
we really getting sensible and leaving
our childish spite behind?


1t has long seemed to us a wicked
thing that American children should
be taught TO hate so unreasonably the
common motherland of US all.


England did grind hard in 'T6, but
are we blind to the fact that our
fathers had hot blood? It is well to
feel the heroic death of Nathan Hale,
but may not British children mourn
as deeply q Major Andre? ? 1t was a
bIoodthirsty act 10 hang Col. Hayne,
but was it not quite as devilish for
Partisan Rangers tn murder British
again and again?


We have made our history too much
a lie, and then have thrown ourselves
into a patriotic fury that i'll becomes
u.s. A party of English Tories abused
US during the Great Rebellion; shall
we crafty them by pushing English
Liberals beyond reason, and then call
for the bloody sword?


1t is hard to get over the Revolu-
ton, for it surely was bitter thing,
but we ought to know thatge got on as
well as we did only because tine better
part of Ehgland's heart was with us
all the while. Why cannot we be as
much Influenced by the sad words of
an Englishman like Goldwin Smith,
as we are by the bombast of our
Fourth of July orations? From the
last page of lecture on the "FOunda-
ton of the American colonies" I
read:


at was not the loss of the colonies,
but the quarrel, that was one of the
greatest, perhaps the greatest disaster
that ever befell the English race.
Who would not give up Blenheim
and Waterloo if only the two Eng
aDds could have parted from each
lther in kindness and in peace If
our statesmen could have had the
wisdom to say to the Americans
generously and at the night season,
You are Englishmen like ourselves; /;
be, for your own happiness and our
honor, like ourselves, nation


Time Will neal lnlsi IKE Otnef
wounds. In signing away his own
empire over America, George III.
did not sign away the empire Of
English liberty, of English law, Of
English literature, of English religion,
of English blood, or of the English
tongue. But though the wound will
heaI-and that it may heal ought to
be the earnest desire of the whole
English name-history can never can
eel the fatal psge which robs England
of half the glory and half the happi-
ness of being the mother of great
nation.n


Let US get little more of the spirit
of a man who prayed on a cross
eighteen centuries ago, and hate this
thing called hate. CLEMENT.
Year: 1872

An instructive illustration Of the
severity of the pressure to which rocks
are subjected in their beds and OF the
prodigious force Of compression which
the lower strata must sustain, Is given
by the fact, reported by Prof. Niles.
that block Of gneiss, 394 feet long,
when forced from its quarrybed by
wedges, expanded an Inch and halt
in length.
Year: 1872

A Kentucky entomologist has Kept
two vigorous musketoes under an in
verted tumbler for six months with
out food, and they remain ina heal
thy condition. This clearly proves
that their annoyance Of mankind IS
entirely uncalled for, and not at all
necessary to their sustenance.
Year: 1872

1t is as much the true province
education to avoid error as to learn
wisdom. Any effort that strips US of
imperfect conclusions, belongs truly
to s better education. Discussion may
not always settle and solve the truth
but if it unsettle the grip of error, i
has amounted to much.
Year: 1872

Every time we lay down the Inde-
pendent it is with a prayer that
something will some time induce the
publishers TO print it in readable
shape. To handle it with any con-
venience or preserve it with any
satisfaction is out of the question.
Unless we mistake there will be ten
deney IN newspapers toward shorter
columns and more pages. And our
home papers, with our home news
carefully recorded, we shall rejoice to
keep.
Year: 1872

One of the most extraordinary facts
revealed to us by Mr. Livingstone s
explorations in Africa is that the high
table land of the interior, with its rich
agricultural resources, its noble flora,
its fine temperature, broad inland
seas, and mexhaustable stores OF min
eral wealth, is rendered all but i'm
pentrable to civilized man, certainly
beyond all reach of colonization, by
one OF the most apparently insiguif-
cant of causes-a fly. This terrible
insect is a little, brown, yellow-stfiP
ed hy, called the tsetze, scarcely lar
ger than our household pests
but whose sting is absolutely fatal
So deadly is its poison that it IS said
three or four flies will kill the largest
OK Soon after the bite, which give
little or no pam, staggering and blinds
ness come on, the body swells 10 an
enormous size; the coat turns rough,
end in few hours follow commissions
and death. And yet this deadly poi
son, under the effect OF which the
horse and OK, the sheep and the dog,
fall as if plague stricken, is perfectly
harmless to man, to wild animals, to
the pig, mule, ass, and goat. Here is
an achievement tor science that would
bring glory to the discoverer--the
discovery OF some antidote to the
sting of this veDemous fy which would
open the treasures of Central Africa to
the use OF The world.
Year: 1872

The EICr0R AND THE SLAIN.-lle hal taken
a human life; and. however the circumstsu-


ces might excuse him,-might make the
thing even something praiseworthy. and that
would be called patriotie,-still, itwas not
at once that q fresh country youth could see
ANYTHING but horror iu the blood with which
his hand was stained. Ii seemed 50 dreadful
to have reduced this gay, animated, bcauti-
ful being to a lump of dead flesh for the files
u settle upon, and which in few hours
would begin to decay; which must be put
forthwith into the earth, lest it should be a
horror 70 meme eyes; that delicious beauty
for woman 10 love; that strength and courage
% make him famous among men,-all come
to nothing. all probabilities Of life in one
so gifted: the Ten0wn, the position, the
measures, the profits, the keen ccstatic JOY,
-this never could be made up.-all ended


quite; for the dark doubt descended upon
Septimius, that, because of the very fitness
that was in this youth to enjoy this world,


50 much the less chance was there Of his be-


ipr fit for any other world. What could it
do for him there this beautiful grace and


elerance Of feature, where there was no
form. nothing tangible nor visible? what
good that readiness and aptnoss for as5ocia-
ting with all created things. doing bis part,


acting, enjoying, when, under the changed
conditions OF another state Of being, all this


adaptodness would fail? Had he been gifted
with permanence on earth, there could not
have been a more admirable creature than
this Young man: but as his fate had turned
out, he was a mere grub, an illusion, some
thing that nature had held cut in mOckory,
and then Withdrawn. 4 weed might grow
from his dust now; that little spot on the
barren hilltop, where he had desired to be
buried, would be greener for some years to
come, and that was all the difference. Sep
timius could not get beyond the earthiness;
his feeling was as if, by an act Of violence,
be had forever cut of a happy human exist
erce. And such was his own love Of life and
clinging to it, peculiar to dark, sombre
natnree, nd which lighter and gayer ones
can never know, that he shuddered at his
deed. and at himself, and could with difficult
ty bear to be alone with the corpse Of his
Year: 1872

Of the Japanese at Washington the
Capital says: "They have a promlscu-
Gus way of mixing up their rooms, and
the only place they can positively be
found IS in the elevator. Whenever a
Jap is missed at the Arlington or
Wormley's he is sure to be found in
the elevator And then the registering
of their names makes Mills fairly yell
with rage and anguish when he comes
to make out their bills. One has to
remember that these names are trans
lated, or rather the sound is caught
and transferred to our letters, SO that
every ear gives different name. After
the Jap is registered he takes a copy
of the name and puts it in his pocket;
when, therefore, his bill is presented
he gets out a search warrant on himself
to find that written name, because the
pockets of the ancient civilization diff
fered entirely from those of the more
modern, so that the poor Jap has first
to find his pocket, and generally begins
down about the heels, feeling his way
up, and exploring all sorts of openings
until he hits the recess, which he ex--
amines and then goes in search OF
another. When at last, the slip of pa
per is found, he falls into a brown
study-that looks very much Like laun-
dice-to know whether he really did get
the article charged against him. The
clerks, however, have simpllfed the
matter. When any one of the Embassy
at hotel takes drink it is charged to
each one of them; sometimes all OF
them pay for that one drink, some
times only half, but generally the
drink is paid for"
Year: 1872

Consumers at the north have been
promised, from time to time, that
methods were under way in Texas to
furnish such bountiful supplies of beef
as to produce a revolution in the almost
prohibitive rates demanded by our
butchers. The promises have, however,
not been realized, the conventional
roast has become a luxury with large
number of working people, and an i'm
possibility with many. The plains of
Texas produce swarms of cattle, sufi
cient to bring the cost of joint of
beef within the means of every family
in the country, were not the cost of
transportation so heavy. AS it is,
Texts cattle dealers sometimes sell
their beasts at loss, while here the
price of joint is so high as to place
it among the luxuries. The
Texas papers informed us some time
ago that meat-packing establishments
were being erected there for exporting
canned and dressed beef, and last sum-
mer ship arrived thence at Philadel-
phia with fresh dressed meat, packed
in ice, where 1t is said to have been
sold considerably below the general


udIhcG Iduo, anu W udfo proven puy :
ing speculation for the projectors. A
profitable employment to ships ap-
peared to be opened, and at the same
time large saving made in the cost of
transporting meat. The ships could
carry the ice required for packing as
outward cargos, and as there would be
no offal to carry in the return cargoes
of dressed meat, the deterioration
and loss of cattle by overdriving and by
the crowded railroad pens would be
avoided. 1t was anticipated that the
extra expense for the ice required to
keep the meat fresh GA the voyage
would be thus more than counterbal-
anced, and that great reduction in
the cost to the consumer would be the
result. It would appear, however, that
these nice little plans had been some
what disturbed, as the promised dressed
meats has not arrived, at least not in
sufficient quantity to affect the market.
AS the project appears to have fallen
through, the experiment probably
proved less remunerative than the old
system of transport, and the question
of cheap beef is still an unsolved prob
Iam
Year: 1872

From McAlpine's Life and Times of James Fisk, Jr


One of his copy books, used when he
was about twelve years of age, is still
preserved by his stepmother at her
home in Brattleboro, Vermont, and to
say that it is literary curiosity is to
do meagre justice to one of the most
original of all the written results of
school boy labor ever examined by the
critic. Hardly page but shows the
antipathy of the boy to everything like
set forms, and hardly line but bears
evidence of his natural contempt for
uniformity. The little book contains
three or four composltors, one Of which,
entitled, "A Piece about the Dog" is
as unique as anything ever penned by
Artemus Ward. The young writer says
in his "Piece (Which had evidently
been originally written "Peace n):


A Dog is an animal with fore legs
because he is a quadrooped. I like
large dogs best because they can run
further and fight better, than little dogs
and they can cetch rabbits. A big dog
amt worth much without hes got good
breed into him. Then [ had drather
hev little one. They can also drag
sleds some has been learned to cary
sticks and baskets and seterer. The
bulldog is the best fighting dog because
most likely he was made for that pur-
pus. A terrier goes mostly for rats,
but they caL also fight. I think the
newfoundland is the noblist dog he
saves children from drownd1ng, and
they are sagasious. This is all for the
present
Year: 1872

It is terrible to think of the agonies
of woman of cultivation and refine
ment when suffering under an attack
of that dread of disease, kleptomania.
An instance of heart rending intensity
took place the other day in Boston,
An eiegantly-dressed woman was detect
ed in the very act of plagiarizing a
pair of silk stockings. She started,
turned pale, suddenly conscious of her
guilt, and then in the most agonized
manner besought the proprietor to re-
lease her, and offered him a twenty
dollar note for the estockings. The gen.
tleman kindly reasoned with the af-
flicted woman, and then, taking the
price of the stockings, returned her the
change from the twenty-dollar note
The poor woman then disappeared and
was heard of no more, although her
bank note was, as it was proved, a we'll
executed counterfeit.
Year: 1872

It is a fact worthy OF general notice
that wood may be rendered, without
great labor or expense, nearly as capa,
Bile of resisting fire as brick or stone.
This is done by soaking the dried lum


ber q short time in solution OF soluble
glass, sllicate Of soda or potash, after
which it is immersed in imc-water, by
which the silicate of soda is decomposed
and the pores of the wood filed with
silicate Of lime. The substance is fire
proof and cannot be dissolved in water,
and its presence and effect in the fibre
of the wood are, therefore, permanent
Soluble glass is readily obtained, be
ing already largely usedfor various pur
poses in this country There is O pa
tent upon the process, and it can there
fore be used by any builder or lumbe1
6oalap
Year: 1872

The freshet fish story comes f1om
Charleston S. G.. They claim to have
a great curiosity on exhibition in the
window OF fruit store, i'll the shape of
a fish with head like a horses, and a
tail like an alligater's, and fms on IT'S
back and the sides of it's head.
Year: 1872

The public officers in the State, whose duty
it is to collect the revenue of the State or coun-
ty, will find chapter 329 of the Acts passed
by the Legislature at its recent session one of
more than ordinary interest to them. 1t is a
re-enactment Of the defaulters' law of 1870,
providing the machinery for its enforcement
and increasing the penalty for neglect of duty.


Section two provides that if any officer
whose duty it is to collect money for the State
or county, shall refuse or neglect to pay to
the proper officer authorized to receive the
same any public monies in his possession for
more than sixty days after the day upon which
it is made by law his duty to- pay the same,
he shall be deemed deaulter. and upon in
dctment and conviction thereof shall for each
offence be imprisoned in the State penitenti-
AIRY for from one to five years unless the a


mount for wiIich he is defanlter be sooner paid.


This law is now in force.
Year: 1872

1t is q sad thing to pass through life only
half alive. Yet there are thousands whose hab-
itual condition is one of languor and debility.
They complain of no specific disease they suf-
fer no positive pain; but they have no relish
for any thing which affords mental or sensuous
pleasure. In nine cases out OF ten this state OF
lassitude and torpor arises from morbid stom-
ach. Indigestion destroys the energy of both
mind and body. gWhen the waste of nature is
not supplied by due and regular assimilation
of the food, every organ is starved, every func-
ton interrupted.


Now, what does common sense suggest under
these circumstances of depression? The sys-
tenn needs rousing and strengthening; not
merely for an hour or two, to sink afterward
into more pitable condition than ever las it
assuredly would do if an ordinary alcoholic
stimulant were resorted to- but radically and
permanently.


How is this desirable object to be accomplish
ed? The answer to this question, founded on
the unvarying experience of quarter of a CEN
tury, is easily given. Infuse new vigor into
the digestive organs by course of Hostetter' S
Stomach Bitters. Do not waste time by ad-
ministering temporary remedies, but wake the
system up by recuperating the fOuntain-head of
physical strength and energy, the great organ
upon which all the other organs depend for
their nurture and support.


By the time that dozen doses of the great
vegetable tonic and invigorant have been taken,
the feeble frame of the dyspeptic will begin to
feel it's benign influence. Appetite will be
created, and with appetite the capacity to di-
gest what it Graves. Persevere until the cure
is complete-until healthful blood, ftto be the
material of flesh and muscle, bone and nerve
and brain, flows through the channels of circu-
lation, instead of the watery pabulum with
which they have heretofore been imrerfectly
nourishCd.
Year: 1872

The, new law as to the relation of husband
and wife" passed by the Maryland Legislature


at its recent session makes important changes
Ein the statute as it existed prior to April LIST
|of this year. By the new law the power of
married women with reference to the DISPOSE
Ffion Of their seperatel property is enlarged,
and their liabilities are Increased at the same


time 1.-The practical effect ofthe changes being,


10 the first place, that married woman hav-


ing O separate estate may convey the same by


ber separate deed. either absolutely or by way
Of mortgage 10. the event that her husband


may have been found, upon inquisition, to be
a lunatic or insane. In the next place, mar
'fied woman may be proceeded against in a
court lGsc for the enforcement of contracts
which she amayvsxecute jointly with her bus


band she may employ counsel and defend
actions or quits against her. either separately
or joiptly with her husband; and judgments


recovered in cases against husband Shd wife
upon their joint contracts shall be liens on
the property Of both husband and wife, and
may bs collected by execution or attachment
against the wife's separate estate in the same
maBneras.if she were a. femme sole. a1,,- .
Year: 1872

We copy from the Eupaula, Ala, Daily
Times, of late date, the following communi-
cation. Capt S. FL. Dent, so highly spoken
of as suitable candidate to represent Alabama,
the State of his adoption, in Congress, is a
native of Charles county. and the eldest son of
DR.. S. W. Dent. 1t affords US great pleasure
to receive favorable reports from those who
have left us and sought homes among other
friends. Capt. Dent has distinguished him
self at the Bar of Barbour county, and should
he enter the arena of politics and be returned
to Congress, we feel confident, that with his
high moral and intellectual qualities, he would
make shining light at the Capitol, and do
honor to the State Of his adoption. Here is
| the communication referred to above:


CANDIDATE FOR CoNGREss-Mr. Editor:
| The names of two Of our prominent citizens
have been suggested as suitable candidate for
Congress for the State at large in next Falls
elections


THAT is matter in which we feel but
little interest, and care but little about; still
while the names of some are being suggested,
we beg to suggest a third. We would detract
nothing from the merit or claims of either of
those already mentioned, but we think the
claims of the gentleman whose name we are
about to suggest, are secondary to those of no
other person. Indeed we consider them, if
not superior, at least equal to those of any one
else. If unsurpassed gallantry on unnum-
bered battle fields in defense of the South if
unspotted integrity in all the relations of life;
if fine ability, rare prudence aud undoubted
moral courage, can lend any hing to the claims
of any one for that position, then his do not
pale in comparison with those of either of the
distinguished gentlemen whose names have
already been brought forward. We allude
to Capt. S. Fl. Dent, the junior partner of the
we'll known and able law firm of Messrs Bu-
ford & Dent.


"We write this without any knowledge in
timation, suggestion or even suspicion, on his
part Of such a thing and if he can be prevail
ed on to allow his name to 60 before nom
mating convention, none more worthy of con.
sideration can be found in this section of the
State. BARBOUR"


In the editorial column of the Times, We
find the following endorsement of the above
communication:


"What the writer says OF him we can hearth
y endorse and more, as from our persona
association with him at home and in the army
we think we know him as we'll, or better thar
any one else."
Year: 1872

Clap trap and Cant.-Invalid reader, If
you are unwise enough to put yourself outside
of any of the mock tonics guaranteed to con-
tain 'no difusive stimulant," you will newt
ably come to grief. Ask your physician if any
liquid preparation, destitute Of stimulating
properties, is worthy of the name of a tonic
He will tell you no. Shun all such nauseous
catchpennies. Plantation Bitters, the most
wholesome invigorant in the world, owes the
rapidity with which it relieves the disordered
stomach and the shattered nerves to the dittN-
sive agent which conveys its medicinal ingre-
dients to the seat of the complaint That a.
gent is the spirit of the sugar cane the most
nutritious and agreeable of all the varieties Of
alcohol. The medicinal ingredients Of the Rit-
ters, valuable as they are, would be compara-
lively useless without this distribative basis.
They would ferment and sour. Beware, as
you hope for health, of the horrible compounds
of refuse drugs in a state of fermentation which
humbugs are endeayoring to foist upon the
public as medicines.