smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1875

Ous of Pests.--Locusts are Lousy.

 A correspondent of the Chicago 1Ti- 6auae writes from Oregon, Holt county, Mo-, as follows: To give you some idea of the locust plague, let me describe briefly their flight. Eleven days ago they began to pass here overhead. They begin to rise up about nine o'clock, and by ten they are nearly all on wing. They go as the wind drives them. Ex- cepting one day, when we had wind from the north, their flight has been from the south northerly. Looking up, at any time between the hours of ten and four, towards the sun, they may be seen passing like large snowfakes rapid ly as their wings and the wind can make them. By large spy-glass, I judge the swarm to be about half mile deep. And so they go, day after day. By night they settle down. On the evening of the day before, we concluded the swarms were about exhausted, as not nearly so many had passed during that afternoon, and we congratulated our selves on possible future exemption. But yesterday the air was again full of them; and last evening, about six miles north of this, they came down in 8 line extending all across the country, in such tremendous clouds as to frighten people. Many persons that were out ran in doors, fearing lest they might be smothered. A gentleman, Judge Russel, who was riding along, said that for some time he regarded 1t as 8 vast storm cloud coming down over the whole land, and the sound was said by one to resemble that made by @ locomotive and 8 long train of cars. Now, to-day, with 8 southeast wind, the air is again filled with them, flying to the northwest.

 Just think, then, that, as they fly with an average velocity of fifteen miles per hour, and the width of the swarm is not less than thirty to seventy-f miles, and that this is now the sixtieth hour of continuous northerly flight, and that the swarm is at least half a mile deep, with the locusts not over four inches apart from each other in any direction just think, say, what numbers of them are here. They are the very same kind as described in the agricultural report for 1862, that many years ago afflicted Lancaster county, Pa. There is no mys- tery or peculiarity about these. An ac- cidental chance then favored their over production there, just as circumstances out West on these plains is always fa- voring them in some places, so that oc- casionally they are overproduced, swarm off, lay eggs, and die. These eggs, be- ing laid in the fall late, do not hatch till spring, and thus come such myriads of them as now. But one might imagiue their leader, if they have one, weeping like another Xerxes at the mortality of his followers, for those now matched and flying will deposit their eggs in such mistime that they must be all matched out in late October, and all perish dur ing the winter. This lot will come to an end soon after laying it's eggs: It seems to be an error about their being destroyed by the red parasites; as Mark Twain would say. they rather like them and are proud of them. I have tested that point thoroughly. Theyleave them on their old clothes when they shed of, and new ones come on them. In fact, locusts are lousy.
Year: 1875

An Indiana paper reports that MT. Orlean Todd, who lives five or six miles southwest of Madisonville, had an en- counter with a rattlesnake last week. He was engaged in getting some rails out of a drift, and as he stopped to pick up rail something struck at his hand, it. teeth just grazing one of his fingers. Before he could investigate or change his position it darted at him again sud denly, and to his dismay he found a huge rattlesnake hanging to his shirt sleeve, it's teeth being fastened in the goods, but fortunately not imbedded in the flesh. He says he was greatly alarmed, and excitedly shook and slung about the arm and sleeve This action was successful in ridding him of the un- welcome snake, which was shaken to the ground and there dispatched by Mir. Todd.
Year: 1875

There is a vast difference in the flavor of eggs. Hens fed on clear sound grain, and kept on a clean grass run, give much finer favored eggs than hens who have access to stable and manure heaps and eat all kinds of filthy food. Hens feed ing on fish and onions flavor their eggs accordingly, the same as COWS eating onions or cabbage, or drinking offensive water, imparts bad taste to the milk and butter. The richer the food the higher the color of the eggs. Wheat and corn give eggs the best color, while feeding on buckwheat makes them color less, rendering them unfit for some con. fectionery purposes.
Year: 1875

When the last Irish shot was fired the ropes were broken, although MT. Yale was just about to pull the trigger. The and swept up beyond the starting points. Col. Bodine had still shot. He laid down in the most characteristic manner, leveled his gun, the crowd fell back, but he was at the end of thin enough lane of human folks to make many 8 man tremble. Long and steadily did he lie, until in sheer admiration the crowd stood still and gazed on him. At last he pulled the trigger, the thud was heard, bulls eye was repeated. "Old Reliable" came in for tremendous shout of applause, and the match for 1875 was over.
Year: 1875

ADVICE. Fathers, in your efforts to secure fortunes for your families, re- member that money will not save you from many heartache if your boys go wrong, and that their only safety is in being kept close at your side, helping you from childhood in your business, you in turn sharing their fun and play.
Year: 1875

ming two hundred hardened characters
were seen climbing the mountain
steps. This movement is considered
suspicious and double pickets have
been placed on the avenue leading to
the vault.
Year: 1875

very tenderly these hard times. No.
body says word about money, if he
can possibly help it, and the amount
of forbearance that is shown by all is
truly commendable. The Winter
must be dull; few parties may be
given, and no one looks forward with
much hope to the holidays even for
recreation. How is it all to end, is
at present impossible to decide. As
soon as the mines, however, begin
again to operate, there will be some
hope, but till then there must be a
struggle.


The introduction of the English
amusement of puppy coursing is the
last new diversion. 1t is very elevat-
ing, of course, as an amusement, as
well as refining. To train a dog to
chase hare, and give ones time and





attention to it, must be productive of
great felicity, and by the time six
teen or twenty well-trained dogs are
in full pursuit Of an innocent hare,
how blissiul must be the emotion,
how enthusiastic the nature, which
has given itself up to the or nd ex-
citement. God help poor humanity.
Are we going down hill altogether,
or is there u ray of hope that some
thing more elevating than the stimu-
latiQn Of the lower faculties must
after a time be caused by effort a re-
actionl CYNTHIA ANN.
Year: 1875

Prentice Mulford introduced the
discussion at the Liberal Club recent
ly with "Some suggestions on the
underlying cause and cure of intem
perance." 1ntemperance, he said, is
induced by the exhaustion resulting
from severe mental labor After ii
DAYS toll, recreation and stimulus
can not be obtained so readily as
through liquor The children Of all
who are vexed with want one day
and are overworked the next, are un-
healthy and lack endurance, and as a
consequence turn to rum for Il stimu-
lus after the most common eXcrtion.
Mental overwork is another cause Of
intempcrance. American custom re-
quircs man to make his mark at 30
or 35 years of age, or he is consider
ed failure. Men break down at it,
and when they do not resort to liquor
narcotics are used. The division of
labor hastcns the result. A man must
be all lawyer or doctor, exhausting
one faculty of the brain, and stimu-
lants are used and abused.


Children are too much educated,
he continued, when they are edu-
Gated above a grade of society in
which they can move. The schools
turn out many scholars with large
ideas into world where bread and
wealth are all in all. Wearied with
the struggle and companionship they
find, they become drunkards in an
attempt to render themselves congo
NAL. Our sons are taught TO look
down upon certain avocations, and
society digs pit where it allows the
existence of a degraded class into
which the sons of wealth fall when
reverses come, for it requires strong
will to live without the appreciation
of the world. An excessive taste for
stimulents is, the speaker claimed,
hereditary, and he gave his own per-
sonal history in support of his theory.
He had been drunkard, and cured
himself by "rest in large doses" and
by an exercise of will, which he said
could be strengthened by exercise.
As to prohibition, he believed it
wrong in principle
Year: 1875

thing ofthe deceased was found to
be shredded, and when first dis
covered on fire, while the silver
watch he carried had been driven
into the ground, and when lifted
up, it was found that the works
had been fused into a lump of
shapeless metal. The scene at the
house of the deceased, who leaves
wife and three children to mourn
his loss, was painful beyond pow
er of words to describe, and those
who had been led to the spot
through curiosity could not re-
main. The affair has created the
profOundest sensation in the town,
where the deceased was both low
cd and rcvercd by all who knew
him either in public or private
life.
Year: 1875

While the thunder storm OF yes
terday aftcrn oon was raging at a
distance Of apparently n couple OF
miles from this place, II singular
freak Of nature took place in the
striking by lightning of the depot,
and the striking and killing Of j.
IL. Boyer the postmaster and black
smith Of this place. AT about B
o'clock in the afternoon, at which
time not a cloud obscurcd the sky
overhead or stood between the
sun and the town, a terrible flash
Of lightning, followed by a deaf
ening peal Of thunder, struck the
wires of the telegraph Office and
set il on fire. The damage done
to the telegraphic apparatus was
most complete, the wires being
torn to pieces and the different
instruments being almost without
exception distorted, broken, and
completely wrecked. Immediate
ly after the stroke John II. Boyer,
who was in his shop at the time,
ran out in the street toward the
depot, where some boys had been
playing. He approached them
rapidly and said, why boys, l
thought some Of you had been
struck, was frightened OH your
account" lie evidently had it in
his mind that the terrible shock
might have frightened his family,
az he started to his home immedi-
atcly. When within about fifty
yards Of the house, from the front
windows of which his wife was
anxiously watching his approach,
another vivid flash of lightning
dazzled the eyes Of oil, and ere the
thunder had ceased rolling the
naked body Of the unfortunate
man was seen to be lying prone


upon the ground. A number of
people, among.them his wife, rush
cd to the spot, and 80 horrible
was the situation, that it was not
until he had been carried TO the
house that q full appreciation was
had Of the terrible death which
nature had inflicted upon him.
An examination Of the body, from
which every vestige of cloth ng,
not excluding even pair Of cow
hide bopts, had been instantly
torn, showed that the subtle and
terribly fatal fluid had first struck
him OIL the top of his head, whence
though the skull was left appa-
rently intact, the hair had been
burned off for the space ofthe size
of a silver dollar. Thence the flu
id had run down the side Of the
face, as was shown by clear cut
track, to the shoulder, and thence
to the heart. where it apparently
had spread all over the body.


The terrible power Of the fluid
was shown by the presence In the
ground, on the spot where the un-
fortunate mans body had been
picked up, a hole eight feet deep
by actual measurement. The elo-
Year: 1875

In our age, full Of new logical force and OF
reliance upon reason, our young men, proud
and inpatient, deal very harshly with the
evidences Of religion, and will exact proof
long after more thoughtful age would have
sought the place of faith and hope. We who
have come TO middle life have discovered
that we cannot have everything heart can
wish. When people are young they use that
poetic formula, but we know well that man
can only find small part of his hearts de-
sire along any of earth's best paths. The
happiness, the success, the fame man longs
for will never come. 1t is just thus all along
the lines Of the souls out-reaching, and thus
young men ask for proof OF religion which
they will never fnd. They laugh at our
proofs because they do not realize that the
mighty disappointment of earth is universal,
and with its dark cloud wraps not only the
dreams Of happiness and fame and life, but
the evidences and faith Of the Christian
Ddpid Srinq.
Year: 1875

A short word shorter thing. Soon ut
tered sooner gone.


Now A grain OF sand on bouudless
plain. A tiny ripple on a measurelrss ocean
Over that ocean We are sailing but the only
part of il we possess is that on which our
vessel az this moment floats. From the stern
we look backwards and watch the ships
wake in the waters but how short dis
tance it reaches, and how soon every trace
disappears We see some landmarks farther
off, and then the horizon closes the view
but beyond, that ocean still rolls far, far
away Memory contemplates the few years
Of our individual life history shows US =
dim outline of the mountains science tells
iis that still farther back, out Of sight,
stretches that vast sea; reason assures us that,
like space, it hath no boundary but all that
we possess Of it is represented by this small
word-Now The past, for action, is ours
no longer. The future may never become
present it is not ours until it does. The
only part Cf time we can use is thi. very mo-
ment-Now


Oh, listen to the voice OF warning now
Awake, thou that sleepest " Awake NOW


Sock tho Lord while no may 10 found Z"
Seek him NOW Believein the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved " Believe





through his blood, rely on his atonement,
implore the help of his Spirit, devote your
self entirely 10 his service Do ii now
"Striye TO enter in at the straight gate ."
NOW Offer the prayer, God be mercful
to me, a sinner" Now Too much time has
been wasted already. Lose no more. This
may be your ouly opportunity. Seize it NOW


Now for time is short, and death is near,
and judgment threatens Now for in eter-
nifty il will be too late, and your very next
step may land you there The only season
of which you can be sure is NOW The only
season in which you can work is now The
purpose may not last till tomorrow fulfill
1t SOW Fresh difficulties will food the
channel to-morrow-wad il NOW The
chain Of evil habits will bind you more
tightly tomorrow; snap it now Religion
is work for every day begin it NOW Sin
exposes to present miscries escape them
Now Holiness confers present joys seize
them SOW Your Creator commands; obey
him NOW A God of love entreats be rec
onciled NOW The father from his throne
invites; return NOW The Saviour from
his cross beseeches trust him NOW The
Holy Spirit is striving in your heart yield
SOW Behold, NOW is the accepted time
behold. NOW is the day Of salvation
Year: 1875

to diminish and keep the tension ON tboso
vessels by the blood at low ratio all tho
time. A prudent frc-engineer, when his
water-hose are old aud weak, would work
them AZ low pressure. Men must carry ont
the same simple mechanical principle when
there is reason to believe that the vessels Of
the brain arc getting weak and brittle.
stroke Of apoplcxy occurs frequently after
eating full meal.


As soon as old age puts decided check on
the amount of daily exercise, IL il time 20
put a decided check on the amount Of food
daily consumed. The kind Of food best
adapted TO keep down supcrfuous blood IS
the vegetable. The true rule is not 10 eat
to entire safety. Even those Of younger
years and sedentary habits will feel lighter
and better in every way by leaving the table
little hungry. All strong liquors are un-
suited to those with an apoplectic tendency
for reasons already given.
Year: 1875

II one may judge Of opinion by practice the
idea is very generally entertained that Fast
Day was originally written Feast Day, and
that in the continual changes to which Ian
guage is subject the (e) has somehow dropped
out. This opinion, subjected to the test of
rigid historical criticism, can be shown to
have no foundation. But fortunately we do
not subject our cherished beliefs to this test.
Even Colonel Hgginson, critical as he is,
clings fondy to the appearance of COTE,
the regicide, at Hadley.


However, Fast Day is Feast Day to all in
tents and purposes, and in Maine at least the
feasting is of a peculiar kind, In every eoun-
senble on the stated Thursday in April, in
some convenient pasture or wood, under the
shelter of a huge rock, ,and there eat dozens of
eggs, boiled till as hard as the regulation ball
used in the national game. The consump-
tion is immense. No youth is held to have
discharged his duty who has not slowed
away round dozen of the oval indigestbles
under his tight little jacket.


The origin of the custom is difficult to dis
cover. Antiquarians apparently have thought
it beneath their dignity to notice it, and no
attempts at investigation have been made.
To the curious mind, however, solution pre-
sents itself which has at least the merit of
plausibiity. The Easter egg was forbidden
thing to the Puritans, as savoring of Romish
and prelatical heresies. But custom, and
tradition nd "a,
than reason and statute. The Roman pagan
when he bowed before the cross, surrendered
his faith in Olympus and its deities, but clung
to his observance of days; so the Rom
an Lupercalia became engrafted on the
Christian ritual. The converted Briton
forsook the worship of the Sun God,
but continued to deck his religious edi-
fees at Christmast tide with the mistletoe and
the holly, emblems of the ancient creed, and
to circle round the may-pole in the month
of flowers. The Scandinavian preserves a
thousand rites of the alteration of Odin and
Freya. So the power of custom with the
Puritan may have been stronger than the
power of creed, and the Easter egg have be-
come literally the piece de resistance of Fast
Day. AS he couldn't ornament his eggs he
very sensibly eat them-a proof of bis stern
practically and strong stomach. Perhaps
the practice can be traced still further back,
to the custom, wide as the world, and nearly
as old, of holding the egg in reverence as the
most obvious symbol of generation and repro
duction, custom which is formulated in the
philosophic maxim that all life springs from
the egg. The Maine practice has certainly
one antique trait about it. The banquet
under the shadow of the rock is conducted
after the Roman style, ab 900 usque ad mala,
the boys invariably following up the con-
sumption of eggs with copious draughts of
apple juice, and jumping from the beginning
of the feast to the end with disregard of the
intervening quantities which would delight
the heart of mathematician.
Year: 1875

We do not read anonymous letters and communi-
cations. The name and address of the writer are in
all cases Indispensable not necessarily tor publication
but as guaranty of good faith.


We cannot undertake to return or reserve commu-
nieAtions that are not used,
Year: 1875

The widow of the late emperor of China
seems to have an excellent excuse for not
entering into quarrel of state, and naming
a successor to the throne. She was dying al
the time. Advces from China say that she
died on the 9th of March.
Year: 1875

SOME of the New York canal ring papers
are accusing Governor Tilden of being a slave
to the desire to be president. One thing Is
EVIDENT that upright man is not slave TO
the ring, and Mr.. Jarvis Lord must play
Aladdin with the part of the genii left out so
far as the governor Of New York is con-
Year: 1875

THE London Times is discouraging English
investment in Canadian railways. A cable
despatch under the date of Thusday quotes
the Times as saying: ''No amount of argu-
ment can, we should hope, lead sensible peo-
pie in this country to put more money into
railroad projects in the Canadian Dominion,
for not only is there no traffic for such rail-
ways, but supposing there were, their owners
are exposed to the constant danger that the
Dominion Parliament may grant subsidy
for competitive railway to run half a mile
off. In this way the Canada Southern Rail-
way has been built, to the ruin of the proprie-
tors of the Canada Great Western. If the be-
lief in the value of schemes such as we have
criticised is so profound among Canadians, as
we are told, we say again, let them find the
money at home. Millions enough have been
presented to the Dominion already by this
country.'
Year: 1875

Generally. when young man leaves
school his first inquiry is, What shall
| do for a living? How can 1 make
money the fastest and the easiest :?
Just here is where SO many fail; they
want to get along too easily, and so
shirk all the hard work they can, and
of course fail.


If he is going to learn trade, he
looks around to see how his friends are
succeeding in their several vocations.
He wants to compare notes and then
select the one in Vhich he thinks he
will be the most apt to succeed. Or,
if he is really ambitious, he may have
been taking his observations while at
school, and Low, upon leaving, school,
is ready to go to work.


But some boys do not have to look
around; they have a natural taste aud
aptness for some particular business,
and sometimes require but very little
instruction to enable them to proceed
successfully. Oue, having found some
thing which he thinks he will Ike.
sets about to learn it; perhaps he fiads
it harder than he anticipated, or else
gets tired of it and changes for some.
thing else. And so he keeps changing
all through life; sometimes at one
thing, sometimes At another, and not
succeeding at any, There is still
another class, which is composed Of de-
trimmed, 60 ahead fellows. They 50.
leet their trade and then 60 to work to
learn it. If they get tired before they
get through, no matter they are not
going to give up. Give boy a trade
or profession which he really loves
aud he vii! succeed, and you canno,
prevent him. If he is faithful and 10.
dustrious be will win for himself the
respect and esteem of all with whom
he may come in contact.


BE temperate, boys. Look around
and see how many bright, intelligent
young men, men who, but for thil
cause would be an ornament to thei1
profession and to society, are going
swiftly down the road to ruin; urged
on by the demon, drink Do yor
know = physician who drinks =? and il
you do, would you employ that physi
clan if you were i'll? So it is Will
every craft, and every profession.-
Western R,srQl
Year: 1875

The Inter. Ocean gives the following
a. q good cheap paint for outbuildings:
Take three gallons Of water and one
pint Of aaxseed, boil half an hour, take
It of and add water enough to make
four gallous; let it stand to settle,
pour off the water and add Spanish
white enough to make it ~ thick -
common white wash; dsrken with
burnt lumber until the desired ohads u
produced.
Year: 1875

THE DOLLAR WEEKLY MAIL is sent
to any address for s1.15 per annum, post
age paid. The DOLLAR WEEKLY MAIL and
the GAZETTE will be sent to any address,
postage paid, one year for 1925.