smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1873

Those surprise parties, somehow,
nearly always turn out unpleasantly


They tell about one that came off up IN
Connecticut recently which was not
half as joyous as it should have been.
It was reported of a man and his wife,
who had been married for many years
without having any children, that they
had at last been made happy by the
birth of a daughter. Some of their
friends determined to give the man a
presentation surprise party. So aboutfor-
typersons marched up to the house, one
evening, carrying a cradle, and lots of
gum-rings, and bibs, and bottles with
gum nozzles, and a baby-carriage, and
some little night-gowns, and coral
armlet, and gross of soothing syrup,
and paregoric. And they all burst into
the parlor at once on tip-toe. And
when the man, In amazement, asked
them what they meant by such conduct,
they said they were coming quietly, so
as not to wake the baby. And when he
blushed and stammered and asked,
"What baby ?" they said his baby, and
began to hand him the things, and to
load him up with soothing syrup and
cummings, until he hoored one of the
guests with a quart bottle of paregoric,
and held him down until he expired


And then it was revealed that it was all
a mistake about that little daughter /;
that no such arrival had taken place at
all, but that the report was false. And
then the surprise party was a great
deal more surprised than the man was
and the guests gathered up that infant
furniture and tried to pretend to the
man that they never thought he had a
daughter, but that they understood he
had accepted position as director of
an orphan asylum, and that they
brought around few things for him to
distribute among the poor fatherless
children. The man said it was singu-
larly thin, and then the company went
home. The constitutional convention
ought to adopt some kind of a measure
to prevent these mistakes.-MarA AdeLer
Year: 1873


! The sanitary influence Of light can
scarcely be over-estimated. It is essen
tial to the full development of nearly
all animal and vegetable organisms.
Plants, when deprived of the influence
Of light, become blanched and stunted
in growth, the process of fixing the car
bon In their tissues is arrested, a modi-
cation of the coloring principles takes
place, and they appear white instead OF
green. This is termed etiolation, or
blanehing, and is applied by the garden
er and horticulturist, in the case of
certain kinds of vegetables, to impove
their edible qualities. Childhood be-
ing, peculiarly, a period of growth
and development, it is especially i'm
portant that children should have the
fullest possible benefit of exposure to
direct sunlight. Many of the diseases
of the weak and emaciated children who
are reared in the narrow streets and
crowded tenement-houses of our large
cities, are attributable to the deficiency
of light and air. The sad effects of the
absence of light are, unfortunately, not
confined to those who, by the pressure
of poverty, are compelled to dwell in
localities and habitations where the so
lar rays vainly strive to enter. In many
elegant mansions, whose occupants can
command every luxury within the reach
of wealth, we see the most ingenious
means adopted for effctually excluding
light, with the inevitable result of seri-
ously impairing the health of the in
mates. The nursery, where children
necessarily spend so large portion of
their time, particularly during the
colder seasons of the year, should be
plentifully supplied with windows, and
should be selected with special refer
ence to the facility for securing the
genial and cheering influence of the
sun. Greenhouses are constructed so
as to secure the greatest supply of
light, and children require as much
light as plants. Light is not only
essential to the preservation of health,
but is equally important in the treat
ment of diseases. There are a large
number of disorders which may be
greatly benefited, if not cured, by free
exposure to the light of the sun, while
it certainly exerts an influence on the
mind favorable to recovery, which can
not be wholly explained by the mere
cheerfulness and calmness it produces.
Journal Of Hygiene.
Year: 1873

CIDER VnEGAR.-We have often been
surprised at the great haste exhibited by
many orchardists to dispose of their ci-
der as soon as It comes from the mill,
when there is no product Of the farm
that 50 increases in value with age a. ca
der. In the fall Of 1870 We bought a
barrel Of cider for three dollars and put
it into q dry cellar with the bung open
There il lay q year, and on examining It.
il proved b be coed vinegar. and We
sold it to 6 trader for ten dollars. Here
was q net profit OF more than three hun
dred per cent Hundreds Of barrels Of
cider we're sold from the town shat year
at ten cents per gallon, al Of which
would have sold readily in a year at
thirty cents PeE gallon. Maine Farmer.
Year: 1873

How TO DISCOVER ONES TRUE STA
TIoN.-Though it may be granted that
the words of the catechism, which re-
quire a man to do his duty in the station
to which it has pleased God to call him,
give an admirable definition of our OBJ
legation to ourselves and to society yet
the question remains How is any given
person to find out what is the particular
station to which it has pleased God to
call him ? A newborn infant does not
come into the world labeled scavenger,
shopkeeper, bishop or duke. One mass
of red pulp is Just like another, to all
outward appearance And it is only by
finding out what his faculties are good
for, and seeking, not for the sake of
gratifying paltry vanity, but as the
highest duty to himself and to his fell
low-men, to put himself in the position
in which they can attain their full de-
velopment, that the man discovers his
true station. That which is to be la
mented, 1 fancy, IS not that society
should do its utmost to help capacity to
ascend from the lower strata to the
higher, but that it has no machinery by
which to facilitate the descent Of in
capacity from the higher strata to the
lower. r.-HlGriey.
Year: 1873

THE CIRCULATION OF WATERs.-The
principles involved in the circulation of
the waters of the sea were beautifully
shown before the Royal geographical
society recently, by a simple expert
ment. A trough, with plate-glass sides,
about six feet long and a foot deep. but
not more than an inch wide, was flied
with water. At one end a piece Of ice
was wedged in between the sides TO re-
present the polar cold, while the tropic
heat was represented at the other end
by bar of metal laid across the surface
of the water, the projecting end of
which was heated by r spirit lamp.
Red coloring matter was then put in
the warm end, so that the current could
be traced. The blue water, chilled by
contact with the ice, Immediately fell
down to the bottom, crept slowly along,
and gradually rose toward the surface,
at the equatorial end, after which it
gradually returned along the surface to
the starting point. The red water
crept first along the surface to the polar
end, then fell to the bottom just as the
blue had done, and formed another
stratum. creeping back along the bottom
and coming to the surface. Each color
made a distinct circulation during the
half hour in which the audience viewed
the experiment.
Year: 1873

PUscHRR Of NurembGrg has lately
suggested g solution of castor oil in an
absolute alcohol for the purpose Of
manufacturing a tracing paper. The
oil is to be diluted with one, two or
three times its bulk Of alcohol, according
to the thickness of the paper, and the
amount consequently required for rem
dering it transparent. This can be laid
on by means Of a sponge; and in s very
few minutes after the application the
paper viii be dry, transparent, and
ready for use. II viii readily receive
the mark Of a pencil or Indian ink, and
as by immersion IN absolute alcohol the
oil can be removed, the paper can be
restored 10 ita original condition il de-
sired.
Year: 1873

ldOlm Paul IN The New YORK Iribune.l


I met General Banks at a pleasant
picnic in Mr.. Frank Leslie's grounds on
Saturday. It was on the banks of the
Z" lonely lake, " and there were water
falls and fountains, mosses and ferns,
cold chickens and cold champagne, to
the hearts content It grieves me that
the general does not remember how we
travelled in company once; but the cir
cumstances were not very favorable for
photography, perhaps. We we're
travelling out of the Shenandoah valley,
and maneuvering very successfully to
draw Stonewau Jackson along in our
rear. Not man of us but swOre that
the rebel general should not set foot on
the frontier of our native state without
finding us sternly confronting him in
the interior. And it was only necessary
to gaze once in each soldiers face to see
that the hated enemy could not capture
us without stepping over the boundary
lines and violating the territory Of
Maine. wished several times during
kAAH ANlCAt Arl1o AA-Al nlNA AAAG KAY
mare rode through that campaign here
to enter for some of the purses. The
bursts of speed which that faithful
creature showed on several occasions,
would pass belief If you did not know
Just how near the detested foe got to as
at times. It may not be that won any
spurs in the Shenandoah, but had
pair to start IN with, and used them
we'll coming out. No, am confident
that no one won any spurs down there,
though We played straight poker for
most everything else, and lost my
blankets, once to a cavalry captain, who
subsequently had no need for them
But this is DEPRESSING. You may not
think me a hero from all this, but who
is hero to his valley?
Year: 1873

MoQocS.


Mr.. Joaquin Miller, in bis book enti-
tied Life Among the Modocs, has given
some picturesque sketches of Indian
life and traditions. Among much other
interesting matter, he tells us that the
idea of the creation of the world as it
was entertained by the Modocs, now
verging on extinction IN accordance
with the demands of modern civiliza-
ton, was this: The Great Spirit made
Mount Shasta first of all He pushed
down snow and ice from the skies
through a hole which he made IN the
blue heavens by turning a stone round
and round, till he made this great
mountain; then he stepped out of the
clouds on to the mountain top, and de-
scended and planted the trees all around
by putting his finger on the ground.
The sun melted the snow, and the water
ran down and nurtured the trees and
made the rivers After this he made
the fish for the rivers out of the small
end of his staff He made the birds by
blowing some leaves which he took up
from the ground among the trees. After
that he made the beasts out of the re-
mainder of his stick, but he made the
grizzly bear ont OF the big end, and
made him master over all the others.
Having done that, the Great Spirit con-
verted Mount Shasta into a wigwam, and
its volcanic eruptions are the outcome
of the fire that he lights in the centre of
the mountain. The development Of
man was a later occurrence. The
daughter of the Great Spirit, venturing
too far, got astray and fell into the
power Of the grizzly bears, and she was
forced to marry one of them, and the
red men were the fruit Of the marriage.
These red men were taken under the
protection of the Great Spirit but the
grizzlies were punished by being COM
PEELED to walk on four feet, whereas
before they had walked on two. To
this day the grizzly bear is never slain
by the red men, who. recognize in him
a sort of kinsman.
Year: 1873

PINE leaves are largely utilized in
Europe. They are converted into q
kind of wool or wadding. which is used
for upholstery instead of hair. A kind
Of flannel is also made from this fibre,
which is said to be very superior for
nx,ny hygienic uses, as for rheumatism
and skin diseases. Vests, drawers.
loose shirts, etc, are also made. In the
process Of the manufacture an ethereal
oil is also obtained, very useful as a
solvent, and as a curative agent. Gas is
also made from the refuse, and used
for lighting the manufactures or the
entire refuse may be pressed into the
form OF bricks, when it becomes a most
excellent substitute for coal.
Year: 1873

IT is announced that a new system of
telegraph is now finished and in sue
cessful operation. by this system it is
claimed that fifteen hundred words per
minute, In clear characters, can be sent
between Washington and New York,
a wire circuit of three hundred miles !;
and that, by the use of a certain kind of
automatic rePeaters, messages can be
sent any number Of thousands of miles
at the rate of six hundred words per
minute. The matter to be sent by this
new system is prepared by means Of
perforatiDg machines, the use of which
can be easily learned by any person Of
ordinary intelligence in ten days time.
These perforating machines can turn
out the messages, ready for automatic
transmission, ri the rate Of from one
hundred TO one hundred and forty
words a minute. If the system viii
really do what is claimed for It, it is
second only in importance 70 the tele-
graph itself.
Year: 1873

The new German tactics presen-
some noticeable features The rife int
stractions are rapid and marked by
certain vigorous severity which Is very
impressive. The soldiers are trained to
an almost mathematical precision III
their rife movements, and the process
IN gone through with promptly An
ordnance officer explains the intentions
Of the new tatics 70 be the removal Of
the German soldiers natural tendency
to slowness, q fault which the military
theories Of the nation combat with great
persistence.
Year: 1873

A MAN's purpose of life should be
like river, which was born of a thou
sand little rills In the mountains; and
when at last it has reached its manhood
in the plain, though II you watch it,
you shall see little eddies that seem as
if they had changed their minds and
were going back again to the noun
tains, yet all its mighty current flows,
changeless, to the sea- If you build a
dam across it, IN a few hours it viii go
over it with voice of victory. If tides
check it at its mouth, il is only that
when they ebb it can sweep on again to
the ocean. So goes the Amazon or the
Orinoco across a continent, never losing
its way or changing its direction for the
thousand streams that fan into it on the
right hand and on the left, but only
using them to increase its force, and
bearing them onward in its resistless
channel.-H. ". Beecher. -
Year: 1873

The necessity for immediate action
on the part Of oar people 10 insure
the success Of the Centennial Exhibi-
ton must be realized by every think
ing man. Its failure win be TO onr
lasting shame, its success must re-
dound to the honor and permanent
benefit Of the Commonwealth Lo-
Year: 1873

lis growth, upon the basis a our late
census, We can readily understand
how lighter tax imposed upon the
present taxed property will meet all
our necessities in the future, provide


an ample fand for the liquidation of
our debt, and give decided impulse
10 the useful enterprises thus relieved
Year: 1873

NEW ROLLING MML.--W orkmcn will commence
digging the foundation Of the new rolling mill at
New Castle, some time during this week. The site
for this building has been removed from its origi-
nally intended position TO the high land nearly a
mile below the town. The reason Of this is on ac-
count of the utter impossblty Of the Company
procuring ground enough for the erection nearer
the town.
Year: 1873

RUNAwAY.-A large white horse. attached
to one of Adams Express wagons, backed up
to the Office in front of the City Hall, took
fright at the street sprinkler that was passing
where he was stopped and driven back. The
usual excitement was created in the street.
but no damage resulted.
Year: 1873

MANY years ago Mr.. Miller, one of
the early settlers of neighboring town,
sold yoke of oxen for fifty dollars, and
received in payment fifty dollar bank
bill, which he carefully folded up and
deposited in his tobacco box for safe
keeping. Mr.. M. was accustomed to
make use Of the weed at any hour of the
day and night even, whenever he felt an
inclination for it. The night following
the sale of the oxen he sought his tobacco
box, and finding convenient portion he
put it into his mouth, and not really OBJ
tanning the full benefit he expected, he
chewed it up most vigorously and effect
ually, exclaiming as he did so, "No
strength to the tobacco ! no strength to
the tobacco !" when recollecting the tran
saction of the day, and the place where
he deposited his treasure, he added,
"Ohio a yoke Of oren at one chdiO!
Year: 1873

Some years ago new fire company
bers one evening thought they would
have little innocent fun at the expense
of Hopkins, their president. They decided
TO rush round with the engine to Hop
kins' house after dark, to throw up their
ladders, pull out their hose, climb on his
roof and scare him with the belief that
his dwelling was on fire. But that very
day Hopkins moved out of the house and
Presbyterian clergyman moved in,
without the company being aware of the
change. So about eight O'Clock they
dashed out, and went through all the
movements, getting on the roof and
splashing water around and creating dis
turbance generally. A rival company,
noticing what was going on, also hurried
to the scene, and without understanding
the Joke, attached their hose to a plug,
smashed in the front windows, and began
to empty two inch stream on the family
of that Presbyterian clergyman. They
kqulTIcu IllO ali lllc TOOils, SpIIt up lHe
window shutters with an ak, broke down
tho front door, ran out the furniture, tore
off the shingles, and howled through
trumpets until the hired girl had convul-
sions on the kitchen stairs. The first
company tried to explain, but the new
corners thought an effort was being made
10 get them out of the way, and fight
ensued, and presently tiremen were slid
ing off the roof, and pelting down the
chimneys, and bleeding over the entry
carpet, and having boisterous encounters
with spanners and brass horns on the
stairs. And the next morning that Pres
byterian divine and his family moved out.
They said the place seemed to be too ami
mated and sensational for quiet do
mestic circle. They wanted a house
where there was calmness and peace;
where they could have more security for
their privacy and pianos, and for their
front doors and shingles, and peace of
mind and window shades.
Year: 1873

A MISFORTUNE has lately befallen a
Chicago editor. BY An adverse and cruel
fate he has found himself far off in San
Francisco writing up the Chinese ques-
tion and the free passes are cut off. He
now writes to his wife that as his liver is
badly out of order he intends walking
home, and that he expects to arrive some
time in 1874, in time for their wooden
wedding.
Year: 1873

WILSON, the celebrated vocalist, was
upset in his carriage near Edinburgh. -
A Scotch paper, after recording the acci-
dent said I" We are happy to state that
he was able to appear on the following
evening in three pieces.
Year: 1873

From the Washington Republican Nov, rs


The Secretary of the Interior yesterday
decided the case of the Eureka Mining Com
pany versus the Jenny Lind Mining Com
pany and others, and held, in accordance
with the advice of Assistant Attorney Gen.
eral Smith:


1. That in estimating the sixty days of
publication required by the act of May 10th,
1872, the first day of publication should be
excluded and the last included.


2. That the jurat to the adverse claim re-
quired by the seventh section of said act
must be made partly by the party and cannot
be made by any attorney.


3. That where several persons unite in an
adverse claim the jurat is sufficient if made
by one of such persons.


4. That the filing of an adverse claim with
the register of the local office is sufficient
filing under said act; and


S. That the adverse claim of the Jenny
Lind Mining Company does sufficiently set
forth the ''nature" of such claim.


The decision is therefore in favor OF the
Jenny Lind Company as against all other ad-
verse claimants.
Year: 1873

A short time since two individuals were
lying in one room, very sick, one with brain
fever, and the other with an aggravated case
of the mumps. They were so low that
watchers were needed every night, and it
was thought doubtful if the one sick with
fever would recover: A gentleman was en-
gagged to watch over night, his duty being to
wake the nurse whenever it became necessary
to administer the medicine. In the course
of the night both watcher and nurse fell
asleep. The man with the mumps lay watch
ing the clock, and saw that it was time to
give the fever patient his potion. lie was
unable to speak aloud, or to move any por-
ton of his body, except his arms, but seizing
pillow, he managed TO strike the watcher
in the face with it. Thus suddenly awakened,
the watcher sprang from his seat, falling to
the floor and awakened both the nurse and the
fever patient. The incident struck the sick
men as very ludicrous, and they laughed
heartily at it for some fifteen or twenty min
utes. When the doctor came in the morning
he found his patients vastly improved; said
he never knew so sudden q turn for the bet
ter; and now both are up and well. Who
saws laughter is not the best of medicines
And this reminds the writer of another case.
A gentleman was suffering from an ulcera-
ton in the throat, which at length became SO
swollen that his life was despaired of. His
household came to his bedside to bid him
farewell. Each individual shook hands with
the diving man, and then went away weeping.
Last of all came pet ape, and shaking the
mans hand, went away also with its hand
over its ewes. 1t was SO ludicrous . sight
that the patient was forced to laugh, and
laughed so heartily that the ulcer broke, and
his life was saved.-EIchange
Year: 1873

The wedding ring is put on the fourth
finger of the woman's left hand, because, in
the original formula of marriage it was
placed on the top of the thumb, with the
words, In the name of the Father, then on
the next finger with, ''And of the Son, then
on the middle finger with, '.And of the Holy
Ghost" and finally on the fourth, with
''Amen."
Year: 1873

What the exact cost of the mill has been,
| have not been able to lealn, but have
been informed by one Of the proprietors that
the wages of three OF the mechanics who
we're engaged in constructing it, amounted
to nearly two thousand dollars and he also
informed me that since coming to this val
ley their firm had expended in land and
improvements, nearly forty thousand dol
lars. / omitted to mention modest little,
nicely painted building contiguous to the
mill, wherein Messrs. Winter & Cook keep
their books and transact business, known
as the "Captains Office"


Nor should I neglect to state that a
splendid bridge spans Fall River at the
town, and No bridge is being built
across Pit River only few hundred yards
below. This bridge is being built under
the direction of F. Rochon, and will be
three hundred feet in length by fourteen
in width, and will be abont eighteen feet
above low water mark. 1t is being built
by subscription, and at very heavy cost,
but it is hoped that the county will yet vote
a considerable amount towards paying tor
it, as it is an actual necessity to this part of
the county.


The town is we'll supplied with clear,
pure water from Fall River, raised by a
hydraulic ram of great power, capable of
raising the water over one hundred feet in
height.


1t is an important fact, that the water
power here can not be surpassed in the
world, it being sufficient to turn all the ma
chineryi in the State. The water never fails,
neither does it rise or fall, is always clear
and pure, never obstructed by drifts or
other impediments 20 its free use. The day
is not far distant, when other men of capi-
tai will see the advantages possessed by this
place, and will erect other machinery, first
amongst which will be woolen factory,
which will certainly be paying investment,
as from the best information obtainable,
there was this year shipped from these upper
valleys, about six hunderd thousand pounds
of wool, and the wool product is increasing
rapidly with each year.


In my next letter will give some more
information concerning our valley and its
resources, so that those who are hunting
homes may know what kind of 9 country we
have up here.


MUCHACHE