The Wonderful Secret Work Of Realff Under Guard at Gibraltar
Ambrose Realff, serving a life sentence on Gibraltar, secretly labored to escape. He built a hidden tunnel under his shed, hid a self crafted boat from scraps, and planned to flee by sea despite constant supervision by prison staff and guards.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ambrose Realff
Rock of Gibraltar
Realff
Rosia
Baron Trench
Mediterranean
Atlantic
Strait of Gibraltar
Remarkable Naval Work Hidden in Cave Labor
A New York Tribune quote praises a man who built and provisioned a boat while under constant supervision in a cave. The observer calls the feat little short of marvelous, highlighting ingenuity and stealth in a constrained setting.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Tribune
Men's Maids Tie Class Roles on Travel, Tips Rise
An employment agent notes maids are more common than valets among affluent travelers. In hotels from California to Florida and abroad, maids perform duties for both spouses, serving as wife’s helper and husband’s valet, drawing generous tips for simple, easy tasks.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
California
Florida
Riviera
Egypt
New York Press
The Riddle of Personality and Modern Hallucinations
In Bruce’s analysis the hypnotic treatment of irrational fears can drive to madness or death. case studies show Mrs P who consumes coffee and rolls obsessively, and a 26 year old woman Que who stocks bread and ham to cross streets. Only skilled psychiatrists can exorcise these obsessions and restore harmony.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
H. Addington Bruce
Janet
Mme. P
Que
Old World Rugs and Bowling Balls Across Time
The piece contrasts traditional hand dyed rug weaving with modern Western industrial methods and notes the labor of rug makers, village variations, and cultural influences, then shifts to bowling ball production highlighting shaping, leg waste, and a two year ball lifespan with prices from five to six dollars.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Franklin Clarkin
Everybody's Magazine
Black Coated Paupers and the Clerical Boom
London Graphic laments a crowded clerical job market with rising numbers of underpaid shopkeepers and clerks. The piece argues the nation shifts toward white collar work, leaving servants and laborers scarce as a social concern.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
Graphic
Napoleon of finance referenced in town gossip
A brief social quip compares Wiswell Charley unfavorably in money matters, calling him a dead failure who allegedly owes everyone in town while another speaker rebukes the harsh judgment and elevates him as a Napoleon of finance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Wiswell
Charley
Wrightly
Boston Transcript
Sugar as a powerful endurance food and its cautions
The London Lancet argues sugar is a potent, cheap muscle fuel that boosts endurance for laborers, soldiers, athletes, and workers. It notes benefits from a liberal sugar intake but warns excess harms digestion, while low carbohydrate protein-focused diets can dull muscular energy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London Lancet
Bowling Ball Making Steps From Log To Finished Sphere
The article traces a three day process of turning a log into a bowling ball. It describes cutting a block with two side bits, lathe turning, sanding, shellacking, drying, second sanding, oil rub, and final polish before completion.
Fresh Air Best Defense Against Pneumonia Says Delineator
The Delineator cites fresh air as the key to fighting pneumonia. In a New York hospital patients are kept on rooftops to receive sun and air daily. Move ill children to the sunniest room and ventilate thoroughly, removing furniture and hangings to aid recovery.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Sailors and the Haunted Ship Legend
A Strand Magazine note recalls a belief that ships sunk and raised become haunted by drowned sailors. A large emigrant steamer in the Mediterranean lost over 500 lives, was raised at great cost, refitted, but never used. Crew fear nightly screams from the hull as it lies sixty feet down.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mediterranean
Strand Magazine
Diogenes Seeks Honest Man in Corner Store Lamp Tale
A quip from the Philadelphia Ledger places Diogenes in a corner shop asking for a new candle for his lantern and offering to pay. The proprietor jokes that the old lantern remains on the books and wonders when Diogenes will meet his own standard of honesty.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Diogenes
Philadelphia Ledger
Frosty Reply Sparks Love Match in Chicago Tribune
In a playful aside on a frosty day, Gerald asks Dora to marry a self-reliant suitor who loves her. Dora replies she knows no such young man but notes the weather’s chill as the exchange unfolds in a light one-page humor item from the Chicago Tribune.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Frosty
Dora
Gerald
Chicago Tribune
Wise man answers questions like hole in a doughnut
A playful exchange compares a seasoned sage to a doughnut hole as a boy asks questions. The vignette uses whimsy to reflect curiosity and wisdom across a simple dialogue.
Silence Ends With Grim Police Takeaway
A man clings to Darling in a dramatic scene as he begs for a sacrifice and declares love. A gruff police officer interrupts, unfastens him from a lamp post, and leads him away in silence. The London Scraps note frames the moment as a grim, ironic intrusion.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
The Power of Mystery Declined Interview Stunt
A politician jokes about appearing ignorant to avoid questions and his wife suggests issuing a public decline to be interviewed. The Washington Star quotes the exchange, highlighting media strategy and public image concerns.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington Star
Old Man and Young Man Dialogue from Illustrated Bits
A short quip contrasts marriage motives in society. The Old Man says marrying for money opens society while the Young Man seeks escape, and the Old Man suggests marrying for love as the solution.
Not Always Well to Butt In
A doctor recalls a patient and an umbrella becomes the mistaken focus in a sly hospital anecdote. A curious medical student asks to note the accident, revealing the humor in misread injuries and the narrator’s wry exchange with the judge.
Tommy's Blunder and Pantry Key Gaffe
Mrs De Smythe laments losing the pantry key to Tommy who insists on reaching through the window to open the door from inside. The exchange ends with anticipation of her husband’s return and further revelation. Catholic Mirror reports the scene as a humorous domestic moment.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tommy
No. 4 For Women advertised by Dr. Shoop
An early 20th century promotion offers Dr Shoops Night Cure soothing anti septic suppositories. The publisher claims free confidential medical advice in a book titled No 4 For Women and directs readers to write to Dr Shoop Racine Wisconsin for the book. Joel BE Cagwin sells the item.
Reynard the Fox and Its Satire of Medieval Germany
The tale Reynard the Fox uses animal characters to symbolize medieval German institutions. Reynard stands for the church, Isengrim the Wolf for the barons, and Nodel the Lion for the emperor, with Tibert the Cat and Brain the Bear among others. The names have entered common speech.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Reynard the Fox
Renard
Reynard
Germany
Fox
Isengrim
Wolf
Nodel
Lion
Tibert
Cat
Brain
Bear
Marvelous Rocky Mountain Tea Promises Fast Cure
An advertisement touts Hol lister's Rocky Mountain Tea with curative powers for all disorders. It claims to restore health strength and flesh after use. Sold as tea or tablets for 35 cents by B L M Bosworth.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hollister
M. Bosworth
A Madman's Porage Belief Inspires Phrase
A Scottish asylum inmate, convinced each day was Christmas, imagined feasting on turkey and plum pudding while actually eating plain porridge. He described luxurious meals daily yet insisted everything tasted of porridge, giving rise to the saying as palatable as the mad man's porridge.
Some Famous Salt Lakes
The Dead Sea spans forty miles by nine miles and holds about 24 percent solids with one third salt. The Great Salt Lake measures seventy by eighty miles, large brine body and contains about 23 percent solids, mostly salt, with evidence of a once much larger extent.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dead Sea
Great Salt Lake
Death Was on His Heels in 1906 Pneumonia Escape
Jesse P. Morris of Skippers Virginia describes a near fatal pneumonia attack in spring 1906 with a severe cough. He credits Dr King's New Discovery for a rapid improvement after two and a half bottles. He proclaims it the best remedy for coughs and lung disease worldwide. Sold with guarantee at all druggists and a free $1.00 trial bottle.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jesse P. Morris
Skippers
Dr. King
Also Mentioned on This Page
Gibraltar
Oriental Rugs
Chatham
Ames
Kooser
Ghimedl
Gillette
Loughran & Bauer
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