Beauties, ugliness, and alluring oddities in history
A collection of anecdotes on famous figures famed for extreme ugliness and surprising magnetism, from John Wilkes to Bailly and Marat. The text recounts ladies who pursued unattractive suitors, aristocrats drawn to unconventional looks, and curious courtship tales across Paris and London.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John Wilkes
London
Wilkes
Mary Mead
Beauty and the
Beast
Potter
Jean Paul Marat
Paris
Marat
Bailly
France
Mary X
Mudford
Mary
Awkward Text From London Graphic On Hog Killing Note
A London Graphic note recounts a village butcher who always replies to business letters with a text. A lady asks him to kill her pigs and he promises to visit Friday to do so without fail. He signs off with a devout Christian closing.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London Graphic
Cabman’s visit to Lord Strathcona remembered
An elderly cabman, once the driver who ferried Lord Strathcona to his ship bound for Canada years ago, visits the office to recount the journey. He laments losing a grandson and slipping into hard times, and Lord Strathcona consoles him with a small gift of money.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lord Strathcona
Scotland
Canada
Jehu
Men Who Cheat Themselves Advice From Marden
Orison Swett Marden argues in Success Magazine that workers who scheme to shirk duties end up working harder against their own interests. He says grudging effort shortchanges future earnings by stunting skill, experience, and usefulness.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Orison Swett Marden
Success Magazine
College Foolishness Barred
A farmer chides a student about education and manners in a humorous tale. The farmer insists practical Georgy dialect beats college jargon with a mule as a teaching aid. The mule’s patience is tested by multilingual advice and old country wit.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Atlanta Constitution
Judge Hoar Retorts in Motion for New Trial
Judge Hoar clashes with General Butler in a bid for a new trial. Butler quotes a biblical vengeance line, and Hoar retorts the devil spoke the same words in a prior motion.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Judge Hoar
General Butler
City of Mexico Comes Alive After Siesta
Frank H. Shaw sketches Mexico City during the heat of the afternoon and the return of activity. He notes sleeping courtyards and casemates, quiet streets, and the vivid image of a vaquero with horse, earrings, machete, and contrasting moods from merriment to violence.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mexico
Frank H. Shaw
Chambers’ Journal
Woman Forcing Boys to Wear Trousers Sparks Debate
The Providence Journal notes a social pattern where boys are dressed in dresses by women who then compel them to wear trousers later. The piece discusses peer perception and fear of making a scene if gendered clothing changes occur in childhood.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Providence Journal
Virginia Cabbage Delicacy From Chicago Record-Herald
A fine pointed cabbage is prepared as a filled head with a lid cut from the top. The center is removed leaving a wall about an inch thick. Filling includes ground ham and veal onion crackers eggs milk butter and seasonings. Cook in cheesecloth bag in salted water then slice and serve with cream sauce.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Virginia
Chicago Record-Herald
Fatherly Advice from a Country Youth on Stage
A district school graduate seeks parental permission to act on stage. The father counters with a cautionary rural plan, insisting the son work the farm and perform in a local drama titled Down on the Farm. Chicago News notes the humorous exchange between father and son.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Granver
Chicago News
Courtship In the North From Success Magazine
An Eskimo patriarch sends his daughter’s suitor away saying he is “frozen to the snow settee” after a long visit. The scene unfolds as the old man orders the match to be interrupted while the young woman confirms the man remains nearby.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Aurora
Success Magazine
Notebooks of a Sideshow Poet in Cincinnati
A brief Parisian tone lines a Cincinnati Enquirer note about a timid youth claiming poetic talent after two seasons in a sideshow. The exchange shows a magazine editor doubting the youth and the reply asserting pride in his perseverance and fasting.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cincinnati Enquirer
No Man Is Wise at All Times Pliny the Filder
A terse adage attributed to Pliny the Filder warns that wisdom fluctuates with circumstance and time. It reflects on prudence and judgment as transient traits rather than constant qualities.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pliny the Filder
Did Him a Favor: The London Bank Cashes Fraudulent Checks
A London bank customer with a four figure balance asks the manager to instruct all pay clerks to cash a £1000 check without checking the ledger to impress a friend. Clerks at five desks cash £5000 total, exceeding his balance by nearly £4000, and the man vanishes after a polite reminder note.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
Pall Mall Gazette
Why Men Wear Trousers and the Gendered Dress Shift
The piece claims men never choose trousers they are compelled by women to adopt outfits from infancy onward. It argues inverting sartorial norms shows women dictate male dress, shaping masculinity through fashion and constraint.
Fashion Garrick Kills Eighteenth Century Hat Fashion
The article notes women in eighteenth century England wore massive hats. Samuel Rogers recalls a coach scene with a woman forced to sit on the floor due to her towering headdress. Hannah More admires simplicity yet describes hats adorned with shrubs and garden greens. Garrick is credited with ending the craze by appearing on stage with vegetables and carrots on his head provoking the audience.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Garrick
England
Samuel Rogers
Ranelagh
Hannah More
Dr Johnson’s Resolutions on his fifty first birthday
Dr Johnson compiled a list of resolutions in 1760 on his fifty first birthday. The notes include aims to combat notions of obligations to apply to study reclaim imaginations and consult the resolves on Tetty's.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Johnson
Tetty
Notes on Aims for a Disciplined Life
A list emphasizes rising early to study religion and attend church, reduce strong liquors, keep a journal, oppose laziness by doing tomorrow's tasks today, rise early as possible, request history of war books, and arrange books in order as part of a personal scheme of life.
The Proper Way Card Etiquette Abroad
A visiting American woman asks if one should bend the end of a visiting card when calling. A man answers that the correct custom is to bite the card in the middle, reflecting a humorous cultural misunderstanding in a Ladies' Home Journal column.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
America
Ladies’ Home Journal
Bridled Brides in Abyssinia Describe Marriage Rituals
The Cape Colony Argus reports Abyssinian brides undergo a three month confinement to shed dark skin and acquire a lighter one. They are wrapped in wool, exposed only at the head, and treated with green fragrant bandhes whose fumes alter the skin. Elders feed the bride nutritive balls to sustain the process.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cafe Au Lait
Cape Colony
Argus
Dangerous Eggs and Ostrich Eggs Do Not Kill
A well known actor laments unappreciated risks in his trade. He recalls Wisham Brown who toured South Africa and died when pelted with eggs at Cape Town. The cousin adds the quip Ostrich eggs do, highlighting a grim joke about the peril.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Wisham Brown
South Africa
Wisham
Cape Town
Father and Son Dining Banter Highlighted by London Mail
A brief quip shows a father teaching table manners to his son John. The boy replies with a witty observation that echoes the father’s habit of leaving the table after meals. The exchange captures a humorous family moment reported by London Mail.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John
London Mail
No. 1 Focus Draws Attention In Rhetoric
A remark by Uncle Eben in the Washington Star critiques self centered behavior. The quote labels a self serving person as likely to attract attention due to minimal contribution.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Uncle Eben
Washington Star
Terror of the Jungle Mosquitoes Drunk the Hunter
An African missionary recalls Nyassa region mosquitoes that intoxicate him with poison causing drowsy confusion. He details nightly nets fires and smoke, yet 200 to 300 insects enter the net at dusk, tormenting him with feverish delirium and restless sleep. The piece cites the New Orleans Times-Democrat.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Nyassa
New Orleans Times-Democrat
Fateful Love Declares for Fair Hannah in Grimsby
Fils Lordship told Hannah of his love and offered his heart and hand. She refused, and he returned home to confess to Mrs. Garrick with regret. He apologized, saying he would have liked to teach the girl Greek.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fils
Hannah
Language Confusion and Fashion Slang in London Outlook
A London Outlook piece notes dinner table chatter in many tongues from golf to cup-tie talk. It highlights a Countess in sea green attire with marabou stole at lunch as a vivid example of evolving women’s slang and expensive fashion.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
Homemade Ink Recipe From Nutgalls to Copperas
A traditional ink recipe instructs soaking nutgalls in water for several hours then adding gum arabic and copperas. After dissolution, creosote is added to prevent mold and provide a pleasant smell, avoiding corrosion from chloride of mercury.
Preparing For A Siege
A diary-like exchange from Life features a wife and husband discussing money and illness. The wife notes a previous denial due to a sick cashier and fears the treasurer and secretary may also be affected, highlighting a anxious plot-like moment.
Methodical Burglars at the Dinner Party
An elderly gentleman recounts nightly burglaries at his suburban home as his wife Mary warns him. He notes the intruders enter via the dining room window and always lock the window behind them before leaving, saying the burglars are methodical.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mary
John
Queen of them all says truth to ambitious actress
The speaker praises a young actress describing her beauty, magnetism, and artistic genius while noting her right to unconventional love. The actress asks for more, and the speaker adds a blunt aside about clothing and figure. The exchange ends with a witty aside attributed to Puck.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Puck
Monboddo Scented as Courtly Regency Figure at Hampton Court
Disinterested portrait recalls Lord Monboddo a Scotch judge and Boswell favorite. A famed beau in youth and a learned whimsical later life, he befriended the Garricks and visited their Hampton Court villa with Hannah More as a guest. They walked in the garden together when
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lord Monboddo
Boswell
Johnson
Garricks
Hampton Court
Hannah More
Giraffes and a Curious Church Rivalry Tale
A mixed feature tale combines a New Orleans household clash of two rival servants over religion with a humorous, factually playful account of giraffes. It notes Martha the cook and Eliza the maid, church scenes, and Eliza’s obstinate faith, followed by a Collier's Weekly-style burst of giraffe lore and feathered whimsy about neck length, diet, and Boer War balloon pranks.
Wood lacquer outperforms oil for hardness and durability
The lacquered finish far surpasses boiled linseed oil in hardness and permanence. It dries quicker in damp weather than in dry. After extracting the oil, the nut residue serves as a fertilizer and has the additional property of destroying insects that feed on plant roots.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Scientific American
Scottish Miner's Wit at Ambulance Lecture
A miner in Elphinstone, East Lothia, mocked a lecturer by recalling a dangerous choking remedy. He warned that using a penknife to cut the throat could lead to murder charges if death occurred or self-prosecution if recovery followed. The exchange appeared in the Dundee Advertiser.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Elphinstone
East Lothia
Dundee Advertiser
Early limits on British Museum visits in its early days
In the museum’s early years the site operated six hours a day five days a week in summer and four hours the rest of the year. Visitors could stay at most two hours at a time and only fifteen were admitted per batch, with attendants guiding each group.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
British Museum
Ready For It Spinster Quip
A witty aside from a London Illustrated Bits piece mocks the notion of a perfect man who always says the right thing at the right time. The line imagines meeting such a man and plays on romantic clichés.
London Fun snippet with a forgotten doctor and guest
A fragment from London Fun shows a hurried exchange between a guest calling for entry and a doctor who has missed a train. The unnamed figures include Mr. Tranejan as the guest and a distracted doctor, highlighting a theater or late romal scene tone.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tian Guest
Hom Ral
Old Cha
Extracting Wood Oil From Nut of Wood Oil Tree
Chinese wood oil is obtained from the nut of the wood oil tree by pressing or extracting. The color of the oil varies with the method of extraction. In China it is usually heated strongly and is consequently very thick and black. Wood oil forms a very durable.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
China
Montagnais Indians and Their Seasonal Hunts
The Montagnais of Canada live as hunters, spending summers at Hudson Bay posts to trade and rest, then leave in August for the winter. Subtribes at Lake Mistassini, Lake St. John, and along Ashuapmonchouan, Nekonba, and Pikonagami rivers are linked to specific lakes, with several bands dispersed across Chicoutimi Tadoussac and the St. Lawrence gulf regions. The government has attempted to settle them on a reserve near Pointe Bleue to teach farming.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Canada
Hudson Bay Company
Lake Mistassini
Mistassini
Ashuapmonchouan River
Nekonba River
Lake St. John
Pointe Bleue
Gulf of St. Lawrence
Also Mentioned on This Page
LIFE
Dr. Johnson
Africa
Giraffe
Eliza
New Orleans
Martha
Liza
Miss Mary
New York Times
Animal Kingdom
Collier’s Weekly
Montagnais
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