Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1876)
June. THE) WEST SHORE., 7 candle continued tobuni. Steadilyand without hesitation, the united hands were lowered, knuckles downward into the dangerous barrel, in such wise that the opening between the fingers was carefully passed over the wick with its dull red cap, without touching it, till the fingers rested on the gunpowder between and around it. The fingers were then softly but firmly closed upon the tallow, and with the candle thus inclosed the hands were gently with drawn. .-.(. All this was done in less time than it has taken to describe, ; whilst the mode of doing itwas i afterwards made Aut partly from Susan's .own, account con tinned by the fact that after her achiev ment she astonished the' group of still waiting, terrified frteri,' by 'appearing in the, midst df tfiqn witlj the; burning, candle end still compressed between her fingers. Before they could ask a question, poor Susan suddenly fell faint ing to the floor. ' .The strength' .of her will, and the tension of her nerves, having borne her up. till the deed was done, will excite little surprise thatBUch a collapso should follow. ' ', A NICE GIRL; ' . Somebody, who appeal's to under stand ajul appreciate thy subject, writes the following chapter on u nice girls." Though by no means extinct, still the class is not near so numerous as might be wished : ' ' " ' ' "There is nothing ' half so sweet in life,' half so beautiful or delightful, or so loveame as a nice girl.' 2iol a pretty, or a dashing of an elegant girl, but a nice girl. One of those lovely, lively, good-hearted, sweet-faced, ami able, neat, natty, domestic creatures met within the sphere of 1 home,' diffusing around the influence of her goodness, like the essence of sweet flowers. A nice girl is not the languishing beauty, dawdling on a sofa, and discuss ing the last novel oropera or the giraffe like creature sweeping majestically through a drawing-room. The nice girl may not even dance or play well, and knows nothing about using her eyes,' or coquetting with a fan. She never languishes! She is too active. She is not given to sensation novels,' she is too busy. At the opera, she is not in front, showing her shoulders, but sits quiet and unobtrusive at the back of the box, most likely. In fact, it not often in such scenes that we discover her. Home is her place. Who rises betimes, and superintends the morning meal? Who makes the toast, and the tea, and buttons the boy's shirts, and waters the flowers, and feeds the chickens, and brightens up the par lor and sitting-room Is it the languish. er, or the giraffe, or the elegante? Not a bit of it; it's the nice girl. Her unaided toilet is made in the shortest possible time, yet how charm ingly it is done, and how elegantly. her neat dress, and plain, .collar!, What kisses she distributes among the family! not presenting a check or 'a brow like 'a fine girl,' but an audible smack, which says plainly,. 1 1 love you ever so much.' . If I ever, coveted anything, it is one of the nice girls' kisses. i 1 ' Breakfast over, down in the kitchen to see about dinner; and all day long she is up and down, always cheerful and light-hearted. She never ceases to be active and useful until the day is gone, when she will polka with the buys, singing old eongs, -and play old times to ht-r father Jur s)ours together. She is a perfect treasure,' is the riice girl.' When illness comes, it is she that attcnds-wilh unwearying patience to the sick 'chamber'.' There Is no risk, ho fatigue,' that she will not undergo; no sacrifice that she will, not make. She is all love, all devotion. I have often thought it would be happiness to be ill, to be watched by such loving eyes and tended by such fair hands. One of the most strongly marked characteristics of a ' nice girl ' is tidiness and simplicity of dress. She is invari ably associated in my mind with a high frock, plain collar and the neatest of neck ribbons, bound with the most modest little brooch in the world. : I never knew a 'nice girl' who displayed a profusion of rings and bracelets, or who wore low dresses, or a splendid bonnet. -' J say tgaip, there is nutliing in the world halfio beautiful, Half so intrinsi cally good, as,a ' nice girl.' She is the sweetest (lower in the path of life. There are others far more stately, far more gorgeous; but these we merely iddiii-e as vfc goj hy J ,It is Avhere I he daisy grows that we lie down to rest." LEARN" A.', TRADE,' ",; SICK HEADACHE. I never louk at my. old steel '.'coin posing rule that I do not bless myself that, while my strength )ast'sI (unknot at the mercy of the world. If ftiy pen is not wanted I can go back to'thc type case, and be sure to find work; fbf I learned the printer's-tradcthormighly newspaper work, job work', book work, and press work. I am gltit I have a good trade. It is as a rock upon which the possessor can stand firmly. There is healthand vigor for' both body and mind in an honest trade. It is the strongest and surest part of the self-made man. Go from the academy to fhe printing office, or the artizan's bench, or, if you please, to the farm for, to be sure, true farming is a trade, and a grand one at that. Lay thus a sure foundation, and after that branch off into whatever profession you please. You have heard, perhaps, of the clerk who had faithfully served Stephen Girard from boyhood to manhood. On the twenty-first anniversary of his birth-day, he went to his master and told him his time was up, and he cer tainly expected important promotion in the merchant's service. But Stephen Girard said to him: "Very well. Now go and learn a trade." "What trade, sir?" "Good barrels and butts must be in demand while you live. Go and learn the cooper's trade; and when you have made a perfect barrel, bring it to me." The young man went away and learned the trade, and in time brought to his old master a splendid barrel of his own make. Girard examined it, and gave the maker two thousand dollars for it, and then said to him : " Now, sir, I want you in my count ing-room ; but henceforth you will not be dependent upon the whim of Stephen Girard. Let what will come, you have a good trade always in reserve." .The young man saw the wisdom, and understood. , Years ago, when the middle-aged men of to-day were boys, Horace Gree ley wrote: "1 , " It is a great source of consolation to us that when the public shall be tired of us as an editor, we can make a satisfac tory livelihood at setting type or farm ing; so that while our strength lasts, ten thousand blockheads, taking offence at sonic article they do not understand, could not drive us into the poorhousc." And so many a man become truly independent. Sick headache is sickness at the stom ach, a tendency to vomit, combined with a pain in some parts of the head, gener ally at the left side. It is caused by there beiug too much bile in the system, from the fact that this bile is manufactured too rapidly, or is not worked out of the system fast enough by steady active ex ercise. Hence sedentary persons, those who do not walk about a great deal, but are seated in the house nearly all the time, are almost exclusively the vic tims of this distressing malady. It usu ally begins soon after waking in the morning, and lasts a day or two more. There irchay" tiiscs; the must fre quent is, 'derangement of the stomach by late and hearty suppers; by eating too soon after a regular meal, five hours should at least intervene; eating with out an appetite; forcing food; eating after one is conscious of having enough; eating too 'much 'of1 any1 favorite dish; eaUngsSnietliinfAvhicb "thei stomach pcannot uigese, or sour sttmacu. Any of these things may induce . sick head- acne ; all ot them can be avoided. Over fatigue or great mental emotion of any kind, or severe mental application, have brought on sick headache, of the most distressing character, in an hour; it is caused by indulgence in spirituous -'liquors. When a person has sick head ache there is no appetite; the very sight of food ishuteful; the tongue is furred; the feet and hands arc cold, and there is a feeling of universal discomfort, with an utter indisposition ,todo anything whatever. A glass of warm water, in to which has been rapidly stirred a heaping tea-spoon each of salt and kitch en mustard, by causing instantaneous vomiting, empties the stomach of the bile or undigested sour food, and a grate ful relief is often experienced on the spot; and rest, with a few hours sound, refreshing sleep, completes the cure, especially if the principal part of the version and out-door activities, not cat inganatom of food (but drinking of cold water and hot teas) until you feel as if a plain cold piece of bread and but ter wuuld "taste really good." Nine times in ten the cause of sick headache is the fact, that the stomach was not able to digest the food last introduced into it, either from its having been unsuitable or excessive in quantity. When the stomach is weak, a spoonful of the mild est, blandest food would cause an attack of sick headache, when ten times the amount would have been taken in health, not only with impunity hut with posi tive advantage. ,r - Those who are "subject to headache" cat ton much and exercise too little, and have cold feet and constipation. A diet of cold bread and butter, and ripe fruits and berries, with moderate continuous exercise in the open air, suf ficient to keep ayerr gentle perspira tion, ot themselves, cure almost every case within thirty-six hours. Two tea- spoonfuls of 'pulverised charcoal, stir, red in half a glass of water, and drank, generally gives instunt relief. - Some indignant person wrote, to know who was the author of a sharo artiele in a Texas paper, to which we journal in question replied : "The man who wrote that artiele was in eaily life a hard-working blacksmith; later he was a deck haud on a steamboat; then he was a oow-boy on the frontier; but of late years he has followed the profession of prize-fighter. Ho only became an editor to reduce his flesh by starvation, so as to - become more successful m his peculiar line. No further inquiries were made. A reporter, being called to account for the statement that a certain meeting' "was a large and respect-j- able one, when only one oilier person besides himself was present, insisted that his report was literally true; "for," said he, "I was large, and the other man wai respectable." The latest in note paper and en velopes is unique. The form is a Continental hat in miniature, or) to be more explicit and lucid, an old-la-Monad New England bun.;'fhe paper W- heavy, uudj like JflMeph's coat, of many colon. .'.You have your monogram in the upper left hand corner, and your autograph vis-a-tis. You put it in the envelope of the same form, and then tit down and wonder where the place is for the postage stamp 1 A paper givos the following ad vice to a correspondent: " Wesha 1 hare to decline your article on tho 'Decline ot the Aristocracy. Wo have left out several of our own ar ticles this week, and yours is woreo than'any of them. Take our advico, and write a few short pieces; write only on one sine ot the siioct; writo plainly; and then take 'oiir pieces aud burn thorn iu the kitchen lire." . Nowadays, wben . statesmen put out foolers in reference to a pet and untried policy, and fiud it indig nantly aud universally repudiated, they elevate their eyebrows, thrust their bauds deep down into their trowsers' pockets, and softly ejacu late mere nowspapor rumor. .Of course the unpopular plan is shelved. The person who sent mi effusion. entitled " Nothing but Flowors,"to a paper for publication, is on the ragged edge ol mortitU'iition. The poem nppoared as "Nothing but Fleas." When the compositor was reasoned with, he said lio thought there had ought to bo something uvuiy auout mo poem. An Irishman, to whom some won derful story was told on the author ity of a cheap paper, declined to bo liovctit, saying that he distrusted nil he saw iu the "chape prints." "Why shouldn't you believe tho choap papers," he was asked, "as soon as any other?" "liecnuse," was his rondy roply, "I don't think thoy cau att'ord to speak the truth lor tlio money. Causes ot suicide aro said to be hereditary influence, education, lovo troubles, literature, domestic troub les, intoxication, financiul losses and embarrassments, occupation, habita tion, imitation, raco, nationality, and atmospheric influences. The despots of tho nineteenth century do not dread assassination half as much as they fear the influ ence of a free press. The former may deprive thorn of life, the latter annihilates thoir selfish and cruel system of government. Many a gifted man, able to con duct the movements of an army of teus of thousands, oould not, for tho lifts of him, keep a single slender column in a newspaper in decent shape. ., Newspapers pave tho way fur naturalization jmperx. Kouditig of the privileges flowing from Ameri can citizenship, ey- foreign -emigrant pf intelligence desires to avail himself of them., , ,.,. , A Detroit cockroach is not a parti cular animal. - Ifo takes in every thing from a cigar stub to roller composition, ami washes down his food with most any sort of ink ho can unci. A North Carolina editor, who had been raced down tho street by a wo man and s cowhide, found himself alluded to iu a rival paper as " our rucy contemporary." ,. . or Tho lutesf specimen of word-making is "ilist'stabltshuitiuturiuu." In course of tlmoj Inst year's dictionary will be of as little use as last year s almanac. " ' - - "' Spring brings hiy to tho heart of a Western editor, who slngt, "Soon the dusky squaw will be seen strain ing maple sugar through her Winter stockings." " A Connecticut paper otturi "a very handsome two-bladed pocket knife " at a premium to subscribers. This is rough on the chromo dealers.
