smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1875

nection with the Union and Central
Pacific roads; but her fair prospects
were ruined by the construction Of the
Utah Central, and she now lies at the
wharf, her only value being her aid in
making our imaginary ocean seem more
real. How this great basin of salt
water came to be deposited in the inte-
iror of the continent has been a study
for geographers and naturalists. The
water is so densely saline that it is i'm.
possible for body to find the bottom.
1t is capital place 10 acquire the art of
swimming with perfect safety. In
former times three barrels of water left
to evaporate would produce one barrel
Of salt; but the freshening within the
last twenty years has so weakened it
that now four barrels Of it are required
to obtain that quantity. It has become
fresh, therefore, in proportion of some
what more than one per cent. yearly.
Hence it follows that in less than one
hundred years the name of Great Salt
Lake should be changed; for by this
time it will, like Mormonism, be cleared
Of all its Impurities.


/ have previously noticed the regular
water lines, called benches, which are so
distinctly defined on all the mountain
ranges surrounding these various valleys,
and which afford such unmistakable evil
dence that in former days they enclosed
vast inland seas. The deep alkaline soil
Of the bottoms has led to the supposition
that these seas we're of salt water, and
that all of them, excepting this, have
been completely evaporated, Salt Lake
being the sole survivor, and that being
destined TO dwindle to puddle and then
to dry up forever. But the last part of
this theory is negatived by the evident
intention of the lake to assume some
what of its original proportions; while
it is becoming fresher it is growing
larger. Within the twenty.seven years
that the country around it has been set
tied it has encroached all along its low
banks nearly a mile upon the land and
deepened five feet. Several fine farms
are now permanently under water, aad
the road on which we travelled has been
moved far inward to accommodate its
aggressiveness. At the same time that
this change is going on atmospheric
causes for a part OF it are apparent.
The climate is becoming more mild,
although it is still excessively dry. But
each succeeding season brings a greater
rainfall. This has doubled within twelve
years"
Year: 1875

The Boston Courier, in an article on
the pinned and pull-back style Of dress,
would not make Greek slaves and Lady
Godivas of the wives and daughters Of
the land, but neither would it have them
so swathed in clothes as to refute to the
eye all the anatomy of the books and
raise suspicion that these lovely visions
are constructed like mermads. 1t is
reasonable to presume, says the Courier,
that God knows how to build woman,
and that having finished piece of work
of that kind and pronounced it very
good, he does not require or desire it to
be so adorned that it can only be recog-
nized in its structural grace and beauty
by an act Of blind and laundering faith
Hence, after these many years of multi.
farious and unserviceabie wrapping, we
are inclined to regard the pinned.baek
skirt as revelation, with the finger of
Providence in it, intended to revive con-
fidence in the first chapter of Genesis,
and to restore to a cheating and doubt
ing world the old conceptions of the
female form divine, which the ancents
made classic in their history, their poetry
and their sculpture. 1t does not follow
that all display should be sacrificed in
this reformatory Tightening of the front
breadths of skirts. On the contrary,
there is still room, and to spare, for all
the richness of texture and color that
the most aifluent can afford. The simple
dress in which Homer enfolded Helen,
the same that Aspasia and Cleopatra
wore, wanted nothing in magnifeence
by reason of being so fitted as to reveal
the outlines of the limbs. Petrarchs s
Laura he'd only two dresses for state oc-
casions, but cut to fit the figure almost
like a glove; but the plainness did not
prevent their being splendid with gay,
and costly charms of hue and trimming.
There is no limit, and there should be
none, to the possibilities of brilliancy in
woman's attire; only let the spectacle be
honest, consistent and harmonious. To
quote from M. Blancs studies in this
branch of art-for art it is, of persua-
sive and fascinating interest" the pic.
ture should not be lost in the frame. p"
The face alone is not all OF feminine
beauty; and it is net too much to say,
with one Of our greatest latter day phi
losophers, that the woman who but casts
a shadow Of graceful figure on the wall
confers favor on the world. Good
luck, then, to the pinned-back skirt,
which suggests more in the way Of whele-
some and felicitous reform than all the
woman suffrage schemes that uneasy
brains have ever concocted.
Year: 1875

and trying to look as If we admired it.
NJ. Valaire rubbed his bristly chin,
stopped chewing a few moMents and
said he did not see enough to mention; /
was forced to agree with him. The
Able, like all polite Frenchmen, re-
marked that the exhibition was very
ereditable, and that he felt certain it
would receive a medal, When he as
serted his opinion as above his little
black eyes fairly rolled in their sockets,
and he had every symptom OF person
taken with apoplexy. ! saw plainly that
he was in possession of a big laugh
which was worrying him immensely; but
as he did not let it out, conceived a
great admiration for him, for | have
fancy for men who can exercise great
Self.restraint. He looked all the time as
if he was about to break loose, but he
never did. l began to count and said to
myself that he would commence before
| reached fifty, but suppose he changed
his mind, for he never laughed.


M. Farrenc said he felt very keen dis.
appointment on account of the way in
which he had been treated by the Mem
phis Chamber Of Commerce. He had
been authorized, in conjunction with Mr.
Bayliss, Of Memphis, to erect a stand
and had taken every precaution to OBJ
tain an honorable mention on the part
of the examining jury, but at the last
moment the promised articles failed to
arrive, and the jury passed by with the
decision, that o medal would have been
awarded the exposition if it had been
complete. All, we'll This is one of


TENNEssEE's LOST OPPORTUNITIES,


one of the "might-haye-beens" in the
history of the State. The milk is split
and there is no use crying, but just CON
slider moment what we might have had
in this regard. Tennessee was the only
State in the American Union that had
even an attempt at an exhibition; the
only State in the Union enterprising
enough TO wish to show to the world that
it has valuable resources; the only State
in the Union that desired TO pay this
compliment to the opinion OF the scien-
tiGc world in Congress assembled, and
all, or as good as all, lost on account OF
some ones negligence; whose | do not
know, but ! hope he will read this and
feel very mean and contemplate.
Year: 1875

A writer in the Galaxy says: I'VE
drove for an hour along the southern
bank of Salt Lake, famed by the breath
of its sea air, and looking over its waste
of waters dotted with mountain islands.
1t required but little Imagination to
transport ourselves to the shores Of the
Atlantic, for extending as it does ninety
miles to the north, no land could be seen
beyond the line Of the clearly defined
horizon. Some years agoa steamboat
Of three hundred tons was built for
freight and passenger traffic in con.
Year: 1875

Republicans of Wapello county. YOU
will. as certain as election day comes,
gain a glorious victory if YOU poll
full vote. We have the numerical
strength that will give us victory. but
il is patent fact that we do not. as II
party, poll so nearly all our vote as
our opponents do. This comes from
the fact that Republicans. as rule.
do not have so much leisure as Dem
ocrats do, or rather. Republican, do
not take as much leisure. With De-
mocracy, election day is made. day
of frolic, and they turn ont with alac-
rity. The same old Democratic party
that held the rcigns of government in
the days of secession. and made ii
possible. are now laboring day and
night to place the government back
into their handsa@ain-into the hands
of the reunited Democraeyn north and
south. Republicans are asleep upon
the field of duty who do not attend
the elections. Nothing but absolute
necessity is any excuse for Republi-
cans failing to vote. We urge our
Republican friends in each township
OF this county To organize for action.
Each township should have town.
ship ticket and Il central committee.
and they should meet and arrange
plans, first, to ascertain just what their
vote is in the township. and then Sc
cure the casting of every single vote.
Record the name fevery single voter.
and see all those who are liable to fail
to come out. This is the only way 10
secure n full vote, and certainly there
are enough Republicans in each
township who feel deep enough in
trrest in the result in their own pre-
cinct, TO work. to devote a few hours
now and then to securing a good.
strong vote of the party. BE pleased
10 act on this hint at once.
Year: 1875

DE- NOTICE TO CAPTAINS OF VESSELS ENTERING
THE PORT OF NEW YORK AT NIGHT.-The NEW YORK
HERALD adopted distinguishing Coston night signal for
use the HERALD yacht showing while burn
ing the red green red changing from the other
in succession and miles distant Cap
vessels upon seeing this signal will obge by
pairing any they may have for the Ship News
Department OF the HERALD.


RPersons desrous of communicating with vessels arriv
ing New addressing to such vessels
OF HERALD news yacht, pier No ! East River New York
Letters from all of the world and promptly do
livered Duplicates required.
Year: 1875

sand many feet from tho earth), but, look
ing a moment, saw the grasshoppers going
up in cloud-like masses, and they passed
off SOUTH"


"AhI that was the grasshoppers, and we
thought II smoker we exclaimed and
Immediately the weight was lifted from
our hearts. Some grasshoppers were left
near our buildings, but they were merely
going TO rest for the night, and by noon
next day very few were TO be seen. In
just one week from the day of their first
arrival, a great shower of grasshoppers fell
again, and began TO devour what the others
had left. One corn field which the others
had len in part, and which still promised
a small harvest, was attacked by these lat
err marauders, and our last hope for corn
that season soon vanished.


Our sbade-trees were entirely stripped OF
their leaves, the netting screens in our
doors and windows hung in tatlers, and
the greedy millions made their way into
our houses to devour plants which we
thought hidden from their insatiate little
jaws. They ate holes in clothing, in cur
tains and in pin-cushions, and l heard OF
one woman who found the draught of her
stove clogged with grasshoppers, they hav-
ing fallen down the pipe in such numbers
as 10 ill it.


The houses and fences were soon black
with the millions of these insects. We
could not even see the bark on the trees
because Of the myriads Of wings, and we
haha11 ba rocuII Of no labor pf NO
hands blank before us. We sat in awed
silence, feeling we were in the presence OF
that Power which can bar the raging waves
Of the sea with little grains of sand and
send an army of little insects to bring to
naught the boasted work OF man.


The third day afler their arrival, clouds
fitted across the sun at intervals, SCREEN
ing us from its intense heat, and toward
night company OF Us, daughters of these
prairies, dragged our really exhausted
selves 10 the river, hoping to find little
refrcshment by bath. We were scarcely
in the water before we were startled by a
crash, peal, and then a rushing wind.
Peering over the high northern bank, we
saw black cloud driven furiously up to-
ward the zenith, and at the same Time the
sun burst from under a dark veil in the
west, revealing to our eyes scene Of won
der. Myriads upon myriads of little wings
were flashing like specks OF silver in the
sunlight, not only as far as the eye could
reach, east, west, and south, but as far as
we could see into the air above us, and we
knew the grasshoppers were driven again
before the north wind.


Wher our bath was finished, very few Of
them were left 10 annoy us as we returned
home, and great was our relief and joy to
have them gone. But We did not look for
ward to the want which has oppressed so
many hearts, and to the relief Of which so
many of the readers Of st. Nicholas have,
no doubt, contributed. ST. Nicholas for
July.
Year: 1875

Strawberry and ice scream festivals are
now in order. No village with any pre-
tentions at all 10 share in the civilization


of the present day can we'll afford to disre-
gard what custom has prescribed in this
matter. Accordingly, an epidemic OF such


festivals is sweeping over the country, TAX
ing a course from South TO North, with a
rapidity that is naturally regulated by the
condition of the strawberry beds. More
over it is quite evident to everybody who
has exercised a little observation that these
festivals enjoy great degree Of popularity.
They are we'll patronized, and apparently
very well enjoyed. This shows at least
that the people are quite ready to enter
into anything of the kind which promises


intercourse, since a craving for the straw
berries and the cream is not the only i'm
pulse that draws them together. 1t seems
to be pity that such festivals frequently
have one feature which renders them less
popular than they might be. We allude TO
their seetarian character. We have Bap-
tbs. festivals, Protestant Episcopal festi-
walls, Presbyterian festivals, and so on
through the whole list OF the denominations
which happen to have an organization In
any particular village. So long as the fes-
tlvals are to be regarded simply as means
of raising money, this is all very we'll.
But they have their social aspect as we'll :
and then follows the conjecture whether
something could not be devised which
Year: 1875

should be FREQ from sectarianism, and Of
fer common point of interest to the whole
of each neighborhood. .


Such an object would be attained by the
Introduction Of horticultural shows. There
is scarcely village, in the Eastern States
at any rate, so small that the establishment
OF society for the purpose would not be
possible. Florists and professional horti-
culturists would lind 1t TO their advantage
TO have them, and amateurs would find it
the agreeable rivalries that would be in
dueed among their neighbors and them
selves source of pleasant excitement for
the greater part of the year. With a COM
paratively small expenditure two shows
might be held in each village or cluster of
villages every year, and with proper man
agement they should be made nearly If not
quite TO pay their own expenses. Such ex-
hibitiOns would afford a delightful recrea-
tion in themselves, and they would be the
means of:promoling that social genialiiy
which is always desirable.


This is Of no small moment; but their
Indirect influence would be far greater.
There should he no reason why tue poorest
man in a country village who has control
over plot OF ground should not send in
something 10 the shows for exhibition,
Encouragement should especially be given
to such persons. Prizes should be award
ed rather to the results of labor and indus
Try than 10 those of mere money purchase.
In this way not only is taste for the beau
iiful promoted among all but IL is brought
home 10 many who might, without such in
direct education, be led to tastes OF very
different and of prejudicial kind.


Prizes for collections of wild flowers
would stimulate love for these beautiful
objects, and create an interest in the orks
of nature in the minds OF children and
taste in the arrangement of flowers and the
admixture of colors might be cultivated in
like manner by instituting competition for
the best prepared bouquets or for floral de-
vices of any kind. Our long winters sug-
gest also that prizes should be offered for
window gardening, thus keeping up the
interest through all seasons; and competi-
tion in general garden culture would pro-
mote industry and perhaps lessen The re-
ceipts Of the village bar-room.


But ii is not necessary TO enumerate all
the advantages which would aeerue from
the adoption of this method OF promoting
emulation in a direction where nothing but
the most elevating influences can prevail.
The suggestion presents few difficulties Of
any kind. There is ample time now to ar
range the necessary preiiminaries for the
autumn shows, ifa few people in each local
ity she uld take up The subject in the right
spirit. That would make the start for more
complete arrangements 10 be made next
year, aud the good effects of the movement
would, we believe, be Immediately felt
N. Y. Times. .....
Year: 1875

out Of the water first, and then pull Tom
out.


But now there was no longer any COM
mun;cation with the shore, and the saliva
tion OF the two boys seemed out Of the
question. They drfled along upon a cake
of ice, which ever grew smaller by the
wearing away Of its edges. The boys and
the schoolmaster ran down the shore, help
less TO do anything for the lads who were
aflOat.


Then there was sound below them of
the cracking OF ice cakes, such as they had
not heard before. 1t came nearer.


The ice before the two boys seemed TO be
running back upon their own piece, which
reared up in front, broke in two in the
middle, and was overwhelmed and sunk
by great piece from above.


Fiulay and Tom managed TO extricate
themselves from the ruin of the ice-raft on
which they had stood, and to get upon the
piece which had been forced above it. Then
they saw what ii meant. The leo was gorg-
ed at the bepd of the river. For minute
the great mass was locked in.


Quick It is already trembling, aud
about TO move. Only swim and agile feet
can save them.


They climb along the ridge, and over the
hummocks. They are safe ashore at the
very instant when the dull roar and smash
sets in again, and the great, grinding mass
is on the move.


The master had fully intended TO punish
Dick Corson. But he couldn't. The events
of the morning had punished him. His
disgrace was so complete that a whipping
would almost have been a mercy. Bu. the
teacher did write upon the black board,
"Bullies are not generally brave" And
Dick Corson left school. - Youths C5mpdn-
inn
Year: 1875

THE POWER OF TRUE PRAYER on the
heart and the life is unquestionable. Math-
ematics are controlled by their own laws;
but the moral power and worth of heing
are determined by the qualities of the soul
Of which spiritual prayer is the life and
breath. To pray in spirit is TO have spirit
ual life, nobility and peace. This is expe-
rience. There we're no heaven or angels or
God OF justice If such results did not sure
ly follow all noble action, all sacrifices for
truth and right, all aspiring of the soul to
the Infinite. Each aspiring sigh for strength
and holiness, each heart-throb for the good
and true, does receive ful6lment in added
power 10 do and bear. And this is true
prayer-the earnest yearning of our weak
ness for strength the signing of our spir-
its for communion with the Eternal the
calling down of heavens beneticent forces
TO aid our sympathies and multiply our
generosity, is never in vain. Those who
pray for silks and bank stock and offices
may be disappointed but those who seek
the kingdom and righteousness of God
never seek in vain. II is here that faith is
invulnerable. 1t is human nature that prays
10 Him who made it. Man has the su-
preme right TO ask, and the Father who put
the asking in the constitution of the soul is
ever waiting TO answer every true request.
True praying is not thing of the lips but
of the life,-not asking in words merely,
but in deeds that are lhanksgivings aud
petitions The soul must carry the body
and the life to the Eternal by the force of
its trustful outreach to find satisfaction and
peace. The truly spiritual ask no earthly
trinkeis they want purity, peace, and
power, and, seeking these, God continual
ly fills their souls with spiritual blessings
and joys the world knows not of-The
Golden 11e
Year: 1875

now glad to sell at a reduction on cost, il
despair Of ever again seeing a rise.


The whole stock list at New York ieels
the influence Of this bitter and long con
tinusd war. Almost all roads that CON
meet with the four trunk lines have been
made to share in their unremuneratiyg
rates for passengers and freight. The
consequence Is that they are all depre.
cialed in price. Between these low rates
for business and the panic in regard to
Grasshoppers, they have declined very
decidedly Of late, What new turn the
general situation will now take, in view
of Tom Scots latest drive at the Balti.
more 4 Ohio, remains to be seen. : .''v
Year: 1875

THERE Is A TREE in Ashland,
this state, which illustrates the fact


that the life of a plant is in, and
perhaps confined to, the cabium re-
gion (the growing part). A stroke
of lightning, many years ago, split
the tree open, down one side, the
whole length of the main stem.
The trunk now is fiat eXpanse,
ten feet high, over two feet across,
and not more than four inches thick
in any part, at some points much
less. and with bark only on one side,
the entire heart wood having de-
cayed and fallen off. From the top
of this deformed body the limbs
branch in quite natural manner.
but present curious appearance
because of the malformed trunk.
The old tree at last accounts, still
bravely withstood wind aud wealth
er; it continues to bear fruit, al
though of poor quality; its foli-
age though fresh and green, is rath-
er scanty, the lingering tenacity of
a vigorous life giving way to age
and deformity.-Scientitic Farmer.
Year: 1875

SANTA ANNA, once a power in
Mexico, still lives in the capital city
though comparatively recluse. A
Mobile gentleman who recently Wis
tied him in his retirement says this
of the old veteran:


Incredible as it may seem, San.
tn Annals hair has not yet turned
gray, and his face has kindly,
hopeful expression, strangely at
variance with the widespread ideas
of his character. He wears no
beard Of any kind and is as smooth
faced as a woman. In talking he
is much troubled with a badly fit.
ting set Of false teeth, which fall
from the plate, and Ee is slightly
deaf. 1t was in moving across the
room and seating himself on the
sofa, however, the infirmities of his
age showed themselves most con.
spicuously. His false leg troubled
him aid l thought he showed dis
position to hide it, for after seating
himself very carefully, he threw t
directly before him and covered it
with the left. He sat upright, nor
did he lean back or change his po
sitiOn the whole hour that we were
with him. Santa Anna is slim
built, about five feet ten nches in
height, and in his younger days
must have been hand some man,
as he is at present fine-lOOoking
old gentleman. He is talkative and
social, loves to recount his exploits,
and seems to live at present alto
gethsr in the past. He knows that
the future holds nothing for him,
consequently he takes little inter
est in the passing events of the
day."