smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1875

The Yokohama (Japan) Herald re-
.Iates a remarkable occurrence which
shows that some of the Japanese have
an extraordinary capacity for withstand
ing the effects of fiery potations. An
Osaka man offered prize to any one
who would drink one sho-one quart,
one pint, and one-half gill-of certain
native liquor about as strong as spirits
of wine. A coolie performed the feat,
but died the same day from the effects
of it. They buried him in shallow
grave, and about midnight the next day
the earth absorbed the liquor from his
well soaked body, and he woke up from
his debauch. Pushing off the light soil
that covered him, he rose from his grave
in q white shroud, and startled some
robbers near by who were counting
and dividing their money. They
took the strange apparition for q
ghost, and ran off in dismay. The
coolie picked up the cash, and reported
to his wife the same night, sadder but
richer man than be was before the spree.
Year: 1875

In breach of promise case tried in
Iowa the other day the Judge SAID tnas
once in four weeks was often enough tor
lovers to sit up and SPAR.


The Sandusky Register has decided
that writing two poems per year ana
catching fish the rest OF the time can
not Justly be called literary pursuit.


Kansas has still another castor OIL
factory-still another inducements for
children to be good.


The New York Tines has struck
another libel suif, They make good
overcoats to keep paper warm through
cold weather.


China is getting ready for war. Her
preparations consist in marching soldiers
around the towns and blowing horns.


Liars do abound in Arizona, or else
that is heap of q country. 1t seems
impossible that one man killed ninety
wild geese at one shot, but an Arizona
paper says so in good black ink.


The vital statistics oil this country
prove that q woman will spend more
time to hide plmpie on her iofene"u
than she will to take care OF seven
children.


The man who doesn't read the adver-
tisements in newspaper is like travel
or who passes along strange road with
out consulting the guide-boards.


An apple tree grows on the line diyid-
ing two lots on Elizabeth street, and the
lot owners can never divide the fruit
satisfactorily. At mass convention OF
the two men held at the tree one OF
them remarked


"It's a good thing for you that they
have abolished the tax on dogs ]!


And the other hotly replied


"And it's well for you that they have
discovered remedy foi' hog cholera r


Then the angel of peace had to get out
of the way of the flying apples.
Year: 1875

The work of the Grand Jury
in Cincinnati includes indictments
against seven Democratic officials.


The Nation draws a comparison be-
tween the Republican and Democrat
ie platforms in Ohio and says, "un-
der those circumstances we have no
hesitaney in advising anyone who
thinks our advice worth taking 10
vote the Republican ticket" Taking
the Democratic platform and candi-
dates together, he thinks ''the work
OF the convention is about as rascally
a piece of politics as we have seen in
good long time"


From quite mass of characters
tic ntterances in the first number of
the Central Catholic, published in
this city, we take the following: I'VE
do not even ask you to diride The
school fund, but simply not to tax us
in this behalf We educate, feed and
clothe our own children, and impIore
the government not to tax us for
natioRal hotel, taller shop on school"
The italics are those of the Central
Catholic. The extract is taken from
an editorial article on the common
school question, and is probably in
tended to define the papers position
on this question, as further along in
the same article the editor says:
Either do not tGT Us, or if gOu do.
then gice as our proportion Of the
money TO educate our children We
could not ask anything more out
spoken than this.-IndidR0pOliS Jour
nal.
Year: 1875

A PRISONER in Paris lately received
a letter containing merely lock of
hair wrapped in the leaf of a small
book. The jailor did not consider
the souvenir important enough to be
delivered, but few days after came
a similar enclosure, and then another.
This aroused suspicion, and the Gov
ernOr took the matter in hand. He
examined the leaf of the book. 1t
was only that of common novel,
twenty-six lines on page. Then he
studied the hair and noticed the small
quantity of the gift. Counting the
hair he found them of unequal length,
and twenty-six in number, the same
as the lines of the page. Struck-with
the coincidence, he laid the hairs
along the line of the page which they


respectively reached, beginning as
the top with the smallest hair. Al
ter some trouble he found that the


end of each hair pointed to differ
ent letter, and that these letters com
hined formed a slang sentence, which
informed the prisoner that ms friends
were on the watch, and that the next


time he left the prison to be examined


an attempt would be made to rescue


him The Governor laid his plans
accordingly, the attempt at rescue


was made, but the rescuers fell iIto
] their own trap.
Year: 1875

About month ago friend of Mrs.


Harmon Jones read in an English pa
per the account of some British yes


sci having been driven out of her


course in storm and sighted an nm


known island. Much to the surprise


of the crew the island turned out to


he inhabited. and still more astonish-
ing, by men who spoke the English


language. The rest of the story as
given in the paper referred to is that
the castaways told the ships compa-
nv that they were the Florinda party
who had sailed from New Orleans in
1S49, bound for California; that they
had been wrecked on the island. and
had dwelt there ever since. 1t being
then more than twenty-five years
since they have seen human face
or a sign of the world from which
they were so utterly eliminated. The
paper gave the names of several, all
of whom are known to have been of
the Florinda's crew, and in many
other ways, according to the version
of Mrs. Jones' friend. the identity of
the party was established, as none
but themselves could have establish
ed it. 1t was further stated that the
British vessel offered to take the men
on board, but they declined, saying
that they had been lost for a quarter
of century; that they knew not in
what situation they would find the
families they had left, and they pre-
ferred staying and ending their days
there rather than venture back to
such doubtful and uncertain future.
This paper was four months old
when Mrs. Jones friend saw it one
month ago and the events as narrated
were described rs having occurred
four months previous to the issue of
the paper. 1t is just nine months
then since the island was discovered
by the British vessel, and at the time
all or nearly all the FlOrinda party
appears to have been alive. 1t need
not he said that this news has
aroused the deepest interest. To
the community at large it recalls the
familiar occurrence of the Florinda's
sailing from New Orleans with its adj
venturous company. To the fami
lies of the i'll l-fated men it comes like
a message from another world, and
is as though it were an announce
ment of a resurrection. Within the
past few DAYS the families have been
living in a state of constant excite
ment, and many of them, especially
the sons of Harmon Jones, John A.
Sidney and Captain Kenmure, the
skipper of the Florinda, have devoted
themselves to the task of following
the clue given by the friend who saw
the English paper. Extensive in
quiries are now on foot, and the
British consul has kindly interested
himself in tn affair so far as to
agree to forward to the war office in
London a statement of the circum
stances, so that the name of the yes
sci which touched at the castaways'
home can be ascertained and the
hearings of the island taken from her
log.


The episode has created a profound
impression in New Orleans, and, Ger
tainly, appearances justify the be-
lief that the history of the Florinda
company is destined to be enrolled
high among the wild and wonderful
romances of human vicisitudes and
human sufiering.-Ne,c Orleans Pic
Gypne.
Year: 1875

From the Norwich Bulletin.l


The fishing smack Sylvan Glen,
Keeney, master, captured a monster
animal resembling a turtle, off Mon
tauk Point, and brought it into the
harbor. The animal is seven feet
long and two feet through. Unlike
the ordinary turtle this animal has no
feet, but large fins projecting ON
either side which measure eight feet
and six inches across. The head is
unquestionably that of a turtle, but
is crowded with teeth which are OF
an elastic texture. The animal Is
incapable of drawing in its head. Its
neck Is about foot long. The back
is Jet black, and ridges run horizon
tally at equal distances apart. Its
shell is not thick and resembles gut
tn percha; and one could get perch
on the hack and have a good ride,
provided the animal was alive, as it
was few days ago 1t is estimated
that it weighed from eight hundred
to one thousand pounds. Old sea
captains who have traversed the seas
for life shook their heads and declar-
ed they had never seen its like be-
fore. In the evening it was put on
exhibition at the Pequot House, and
will soon be preserved for the bene-
fit of science.
Year: 1875

A good story is told of how a GER
tain French Colonel put stop to
duelling on the part of officers in his
regiment. This regiment was IA
nous for the duels its officers fought
among themselves and with other
parties. The matter, however, grew
to be such an annoyance that at last
the authorities appointed new
Colonel, q man who, it was expected,
would stamp out all nonsense. Very
soon two officers applied for permis-
sion to fight duel, and to the sur
prise of everybody it was granted.
The men went out, slightly wound
ed each other, declared honor salts
fed, and returned. The Colonel
sent for them to come to him as soon
as they had recovered. "When Off
GERS fight" said he, ''in the regiment
have the honor To command, they
kill. Cor The men went out
again, wounded each other severely
and were six months recovering.
Still again and again they were sent
out, till at last they killed each other,
and the practice of dueling disap-
peared from that and from many
other regiments. The story is told
as suggestion that many of the
European duels Of the day are not
mortal in intention. If the code in
sisted upon death in ever instance
dueIs would be of extreme rare oc-
curence, even in France.
Year: 1875

In Scotland they have narrow,
open bitches, which they call sheep
drains. A man was riding donkey
across sheep pasture, but when the
animal came to sheep drain he
would not go over it. So the man
rode him back a short distance,
turned him round and applied the
whip, thinking, of course, that the
donkey when going at the top of his
speed would jump the drain before he
knew it. But not so. When the
donkey got to the drain he stopped
all of a sudden, and the man went
over Mr.. Neddy's head. No sooner
had he touched the ground than he
got up, and looking the beast straight
in the face he said, "Verra weel
pitched; but then hoo are We gaun
tae get over yersePy"
Year: 1875

IT was in the 'reform" interest
that the Democrats secured control
of Cincinnati's Board of Education.
And now it appears that one of the
loudest refermers in the party sold
the old furniture of the schools, got
the check cashed in a liquor saloon,
and neglected to render to the city
an account of the sale, or to make an
entry of it, or to hand over the funds.
Year: 1875

From the New 1OTK HtTdIu.


The Democratic party will be weak
-ened by the Ohio election, let it go
which way it will. They can not lose it
without great loss of prestige, nor can
they gain it but at the expense of a
great internal feud which will expose
their National Convention of 1876 to the
same perils on which that of 1868 made
shipwreck of the party. The smaller OF
the two evils is defeat this year in
Ohio.
Year: 1875

A LADY who was about to start for
Quincy, the other day, stepped by
mistake into the smoking car, and, 4,
as she was about beating a hasty
retreat, was hailed by gentleman
in flannel shirt and seedy silk hat
with the apt remark, "Sa-ay! eff you
want to have weed, there's plenty
of room" The noblest gallantry is
sometimes concealed under a red
flannel bosom.
Year: 1875

A CORRESPONDENT has left a res
pectable caterpillar, found on his
steps this morning, alive and
crawling. The creature may or
may not have been an exceptional
lunatic, but he can be taken as a
creeping harbinger Of spring, for
want of more lively and fascin-
ating herald of ETHEREAL mildness
in an incipient snow-storm.
Year: 1875

Tour OF INSPECTION. - The
Board of Prison Commissioners
were in town yesterday, on bust
ness connected with the new prison
building. From all we know OF
their views, it may be possible that
they will fence the grounds this
summer, and plant some trees.
But that will be about all the work
done this year. Next year when
the Presidential contest comes on
there will be lots of men at work. -
Journal.
Year: 1875

An attempt was made on Saturday night
last to wreck the train on the Delaware


Railroad, due at Middletown at 7.45, be-
tween Armstrong and Middlctown. A cor
respondent oil the Commercial from Middle
town states that the train first struck a half
dozen old crosstcs. Samuel Barnes, the
engineer, reversed his engine, md put on
the air brakes in moment, and when the
train stopped, a bar of railroad iron was
discovered lying across the track just in
front of the engine, showing that the ma
licious parsons were determined to throw
The train from the track by one of these
two distractions. Nothing about the engine
was broken except the pump, and 1t was
continued on the trip. The Del. r. +. Co.
it is expected, will offer reward for the ar
rest of the party or parties who perpetrated
this outrageous but fortunately unsuccess-
full attempt at wholesale murder. People
hereabouts express no surprise at the bold
ness of the villains, as we consider that the
punishments of the law are altogether un-
certain of indiction--in fact our experience
is that the guilty 60 free.
Year: 1875

In consequences Of the recent decision OF
he Supreme Court relative to the evidence
necessary to sustain the charge Of eztortion,
Atty.-Gan. EDsAL1. has written letter to the
RaiIroad and Warehouse Commission to dis.
MISS the suit against the Chicago i North.
western Railroad Company now pending in
BtaplleuQon County.
Year: 1875

Prayer at the State Institutions at Au-
Eusta.


A river and the distance of mile separate the
Insane Hospital and the State House, and, as the
little son of member of the legislature in


answer to the question of what he saw at the


asylum, replied ooh, they talk over there just


they do here" we thought it no bad description
But in one thing we noticed the inmates of the
two institutions differ. Both classes l saw at
worship. On a Sunday the chaplain goes over


to the little low provided for divine service
a room crowded full and into which not half who
wish to attend can be admitted, though DIR. Har-
low is decided in his expression Of the benefit the
! service is to them. These people are as devout
in appearance as any worshippers you can see
And especially in prayer time they set with bent


heads and closed eyes. Monday we were in at


the Senate of the State to see the opening. Here


was no lack of room, for the walls were high and


the seats far enough between. Here was abund-
ancc of reason for thankfulness, for were not


these men supposed to be of sound mind, were


they not selected for ability, and were they not


held in high honor and did they not enjoy the


best privileges and immunties of the State And
yet, though the prayer was one in which not one
need be ashamed to join-one practical, and faith
full and earnest-only two or three Of the members
Year: 1875

Major shorey having visited Augusta during
"he busy week." looks in upon the legislature,
and thus speaks Of the members from Bridgton


"And we may well say just here that Bridgton
has reason to be proud Of the standing and intiu-
ence of the gentlemen whom she contributes this
year to the membership of the General Court.
Senator Cross has been peculiarly fortunate in TAX
ing position this year certain questions of inn
portance which has made it apparent that he pos
ses goodly share Of what too many members
ness Of his views on general questions, and his
genial manners has made him man of mark in
the Senate Chamber. Representative Stone,
takes leading position in the House, and is
about as highly appreciated at Augusta as he IS
When the work of the Legislature is transferred
from the committee ee-rooms to the legislative halls,
we shall find that we are represented by men
who are competent to look after our interests in
their respective branches as in the committee
ROOM
Year: 1875

Of the Senate had the moral courage and good
sense to bow the head. Think Of it Thankful
ness over there where reason is dethroned. Thank
lessness here where is every reason for gratitude.
Desire over there, where there is no personal free
dom, for the leading of God. Here, where our
laws are made, no earnest care for divine direc-
ton. PRoFECTO.
Year: 1875

Thomas Pennel Esq, late Treasurer OF Cum
berland county, who was knocked down in his
office and robbed is in the city. He is still suffer-
ing from the effects Of the terrible shock his ner-
vous system received at the time. His side is
still lame on which one of the villains put his
foot and held him down.
Year: 1875

The Judiciary committee will report bill abol-
ishing capital punishment. 1t is understood that
the committee stand to 8 on the question.


The committee on towns hold hearing to-day
on the MontviIle division case. Those who are
here from the two towns, interested in the case,
are l6 for division and l5 against.


The election case, Reed vs. Montgomery will
come up in the House to-day.


The committee on education yesterday voted to
report adversely on the proposition to repeal the
free high school act. A sub committee was ap-
pointed to prepare bill providing for election of
school committees in cities.
Year: 1875

The legislative boardcrs at the Mansion House
are enjoying themselves TO the fullest extent this
winter and are making themselves at home in
most every respect. On Saturday evening they
had social dance and on Sunday evening
praise meeting was held.
Year: 1875




The train that carried the New York and New
England merchants to Philadelphia, to see how
the Centennial preparations were progressing,
made the run between the two citi es in one hour
and forty-eght minutes. The distance is nine
ty-six miles, and the average rate of speed near
ly a mile minute. 1t is said that the Pennsylva-
MIA Railroad Company design running express
trains at this speed between the two cities dur
ing the Centennial, but less rapid rate would
doubtless accomplish the object in yiew-name-
ly, to make it practicable for the people of New
York city to visit the Exposition and return the
same day. Another result, too, OF such quick
trains, the suggestion Of which has been freely
made to bring the cash out of New York's pock-
ets will be that many foreign visitors will doubt
less stay at the New York hotels, and make oc-
cssional excursions over to the Exposition. This
will not benefit Philadelphia great deal, but as
1t is evident that the hotel space in that
city is unequal to the accommodation of any great
number of visitors, and is not now likely to be
much increased, the relief from the dilemma
afforded by New Yorks contiguity will be well
come rather than otherwise


The rapid speed proposed seems at first view
somewhat dangerous, yet trains in England reg
ularly run as fast as forty to fifty miles hour,
and some faster. The railroads there, however,
have one great advantage ovar ours. in not
crossing wagon roads at grade. They thus
avoid risks which We take, and their swift trains
ave oafar
Year: 1875




The New Haven Palladium says that a
mechanic in that city named Jardine has
invented method of propelling boats by
atmospheric pressure, by which he claims
to be able TO attain q speed of five miles
an hour. The boat which he has taken
for his experiment was a two-masted
sharpie. Two keels have been placed on
the bottom parallel with each other. The
motive power lies in a small engine, run
by small boiler. This engine runs q
blower, which forces the air into an air
tight box built in the bottom of the boat a
little toward the stern. Three iron tubes
lead from the box through the bottom OF
the boat, being flush with the outside.
These tubes are inclined to the stern and
convey the compressed air to the top OF
the water. This air, pressed against the
surface of the water, forces the boat for.
ward without any swell. The keels keeT
the air from spreading before il does It's
work. The inventor claims to have very
valuable invention and something tha
might be used to advantage, especially in
canals. Mr.. Jardine has been experiment
ing with the boat for the last three weeks
Its first trip was for distance of several
miles. The horsepower needed as pro
pelling power is very small indeed.
Year: 1875

A sketch of the late ex-President John
son in the Memphis appeal gives us the
following account of his early life:


He never attended school day in his
life. While Learning his trade, however,
he resolved TO make an effort to educate
himself. His anxiety to be able to read
was particularly exhibited by an incident
worthy of mention. A gentleman Of
Raleigh was in the habit Of going into the
tailor shop and reading while the appren-
tice and journeymen were at work. He
was an excellent reader, and his favorite
book was volume of speeches, principal
ly of British statesmen. johnson became
interested, and his first ambition was 20
equal him as a reader and become famil-
lar with those speeches. He took up the
alphabet without an instructor; but by
! applying 10 the jour neyman with whom
he worked he obtained a little assistance.
Having acquired knowledge of the let
tiers he applied for loan ofthe book which
he had so often heard read. The owner
made him present OF it, and gave him
some Instructions on the use ofletters in the
formation of words. Thus his first exercises
in spelling were in that book. BY perseveI~
ance he soon learned to read, and the
| hours which he devoted TO his education
were at night after he was through his
daily labor upon the shop board. He now
applied himself to books from two to
three hours of the night, after working
from ten TO twelve hours at his trade.