Literary log rolling tales and vanity in nineteenth century life
The piece recounts authors and public figures like Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and Mme Krüdener engaging in publicity stunts. It notes rain contests, theatrical fashion ploys, celebrity sighting humor, and a famed Dumas last chapter advertisement in a shop window as examples of literary log rolling.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Francis Grille
Marizine
Rainte-Benve
Gerard de Nerval
Paris
Mme. Krudener
Valerie
Alexander I
Russia
Victor Ilugo
Alexandre Dunoas
Nous
Victor Hugo
Pelleport
Victor Mago
Garibaldi
M. Alexandre Dumas
Hanging of Pictures in Fifth Avenue Store
A New York Sun excerpt describes a woman buying three pictures and asking who should hang them. The dealer offers to send a staff member to hang the works at no extra cost, claiming trained hangers ensure the painting is displayed to best advantage and outshine untrained placement.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fifth Avenue
Shem
New York Sun
Luggage Picket at Carriage Door Causes Confusion
A London Globe snippet describes a collector inspecting a passenger’s pasteboard at a carriage door. The traveler denies another man is present and identifies two portmanteaux by pointing to items on the floor, asserting they are his.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London Globe
Well Trained Old Lady Jab My Poor Man
A London Mail snip recounts a harsh exchange between a well dressed woman and a man, with the tramp retorting that he lacks training and claiming he was in prison before fourteen. The dialogue highlights social tensions and rough edge of urban street life.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London Mail
Tactfully Put, Mle-Who is that plain lady
London Opinion notes a humorous exchange about recognition and resemblance in a garden setting. The plain lady is identified as the speaker’s mother, prompting a subtle, tactful remark on perception and family ties.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
Judge Seeks Input on Case Amid Public Discourse
A local judge invites community input as a public hearing unfolds. Citizens from the city and surrounding area voice concerns and present evidence on the matter at hand. The session aims to clarify rulings and assess potential corrective steps.
Steel Plant Perils and a Copy of Recklessness
An essay in Everybodys Magazine argues recklessness is common in steel plants, citing an Illinois Steel Joliet assistant superintendent who lost a leg after warning workers. The narrator recalls a blast furnace scare, noting safety-sign waivers and workers peering at the dangerous instrument of metal and fire.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Illinois Steel Company
Joliet
Illnois Steel Company
Blood Pressure and emotional effects on the body
The article explains involuntary bodily responses to strong emotions. It describes flushed skin perspiration tears and sighs along with heart rate changes and digestion disruption. It notes the sympathetic nerves govern blood vessel dilation and Mosso's method measures brain blood flow during emotional stimulation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mosso
Scientific American
Meeting a Crocodile and a Sleep Remedy
An explorer recounts a close encounter with a twelve foot crocodile on a trek, narrowly avoiding a bite as the animal veers toward water. A companion falls into the brush, while a drug store customer seeks sleep and a clerk suggests geography-based distraction as a cure.
The Sneeze In Past Ages Part Of Life
A Milwaukee column recalls sneezing customs from ancient Greece Hebrews and India. It notes omens and salutes such as bless you and long life, plus a tale of a schoolmaster who sneezed at a well and fell to the bottom, leaving readers with a cautionary joke.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Greece
Nenophon
India
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
Tennyson Sat For Portrait Despite Reluctance
Professor Trubert Herkomer finally obtained Tennyson's consent for a sitting. The poet entered the room looking dejected and complained he hated the process. The painter stayed, and later a knock at the door yielded the poet's remark I believe you are honest Good night.
Swede and Englishman Debate Language Accent in Colorado
In Colorado Springs a Swede and an Englishman discuss accents. The Swede claims partial fluency after two years, while the Englishman jokes that the language here is secondhand English, born from his home country’s manufacture, per a judge’s remark.
Swords Bent Double to Test Them
London Chronicle notes a brass disk welded into naval swords just below the hilt as proof of a severe bend test. Weapons that survive this test are deemed trustworthy for service.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London Chronicle
Cake in Pantry Tricks Boy Says He Is Fine
In Chicago News a mother warns Willie not to eat cake in the pantry before leaving. Three hours later the boy reports the cake did not make him sick and says his mother was mistaken.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Willie
Wille
Mami
Chicago News
Boy Hunted by Weasels in 1812 North England
An anecdote from William Henderson's 1879 A My Life as an Angler recounts three boys near Merrington to Windlestone being chased by a pack of about twenty weasels while berry picking. They fled across fields and into a village, later noting such hunts are rare.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Angier
William Henderson
London
Merrington
Windlestone
England
Shooting the Steenbuck in Transvaal Boers Use Oxen Tactics
The piece explains a hunting method where Boers in the Transvaal drive oxen to appear as grazing cattle while a hunter shoots a steenbuck from behind. The buck fears neither cattle nor movement, so precision and timing are essential as the hunter must stay hidden and ready to fire.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Transvaal
Peculiarities of Long Island Joke
A Brooklyn geography class question prompts a pupil to joke that on the south side you see the sex and on the north side you hear the sound, highlighting a humorous misinterpretation of local geography.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Long Island
Brooklyn
Fatalism Exemplified in a Wary Exchange
A clipped dialogue shows a gentle exchange about an allowance with reassurance that worry over inevitables is unnecessary. The tone reflects restrained emotion and pragmatic acceptance.
The Modern Youth
A Washington Star excerpt contrasts a severe parent recalling self sufficiency with a youth defending his grandfather amid unknown circumstances in a brief dialogue about earning a living.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sip
Washington Star
Fox and Cynology Proverb Quoted in Dutch Wisdom
An old Dutch proverb notes the fox may lose its haly but not all cynology. The line reflects traditional wit about cunning and knowledge, attributed to a classical collection.
Too Willing Old Lady to Chemist
An old woman pleads in tears for poison to end her beloved’s agony. The chemist responds politely, while the woman accuses him of being cruel and refuses his supposed help.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
The Flesh She Lost
A London Telegraph quip notes a sharp remark about Mrs Gilles claiming she has lost flesh while lamenting loss of her husband. The speaker mentions weighing nineteen stone at his death, presenting a sardonic take on grief and appearance.
No Dinner Stop Explains Fast Train Name Joke
A passenger asks if the fast train stops for dinner. The brakeman says no. The passenger responds that this reveals why the train is called fast, as noted by the judge in the anecdote.
Modern Modesty and the Cost of a Husband
A New York World quote ponders modesty by defining it through cost, stating a modest woman costs her husband less than 2,500 dollars a year. The remark frames traditional gender expectations in economic terms.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York World
Times Change, Mrs. Benham
A brief dialogue from a Baltimore World snippet shows Mrs. Benham recalling a claim of giving her life for her partner, contrasted with the partner’s remark about past illness and expected death.
The Freezing Process Explains Ice Expansion
The excerpt explains how ice forms from liquid water, with surface ice crystals thickening under extreme cold. As freezing progresses the trapped water expands downward and outward, bending the center until the surface layer bursts if the vessel yields. Tapping below would not stop the bulging ice.
Gweed Neebors Belief Survives in Scottish Folklore
A Spectator report recalls the Scottish belief in the gweed neebors or fair folk who dwell in hills and may take a nursing child. A fisherʼs baby is thought to recover after a beggar woman and a red hot peat fire are involved, restoring a normal expression and health.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Scotland
Twain quips at station about dying in unhealthy town
Mark Twain on a lecture tour waits with locals when a grim tale of dying towns is told. He quips that he lived there two years and never died, then jokes no witnesses can testify otherwise because everyone else is dead.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mark Twain
Twain
Germany’s Strict Laws on Residency and Immigration
The article describes German rules requiring foreign visitors to register at police stations, exchange passports for six months permits, and pay a sixpence. It notes that landlords and tenants must notify authorities when changing lodging and that departure is blocked without proof of completed military service or a passport declaring freedom to travel.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Germany
Meisten the Buttonhole in a Fractious Collar
A short tip explains how to fix a stubborn shirt collar buttonhole. Moisten the opening with water on the thumb and forefinger and the stud slides in easily, saving time before breakfast, travel, and appointments.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Meisten
De Style-But Call Him a Hard Red Inani Mate
A cryptic verse fragment contrasts compliments with insults to a man described as a brick versus a decreed threat, invoking slang and stylized rhythm to convey social reactions to labels. The piece hinges on tone and linguistic play rather than a narrative event.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
de Style
Gunbusta
At Midnight Paragoric Debate Splits Family Roles
Conversation reveals a family quarrel over medicine use with warnings and opinions on what is best for one member and what is best for the others. The exchange hints at concern, care, and differing approaches within the household.
Blood-jet Lizards Surprising Display From Eye Meant to Arouse Wonder
A Philadelphia North American note reports on lizards allegedly ejecting blood from their eyes as a dramatic defense. Raymond L Ditimtrs of the New York Zoological Society observed a vivid demonstration in which the lizard expelled a fine jet of blood four feet to a wall, with about a second of flow before ceasing.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Raymond Lee
New York
Zoolo
Society
Philadelphia
North Americ
The Pay Car and Its Hilarious Travels
An American Magazine excerpt recounts a pay car scene filled with yellow coin racks and a silver tray. The description notes the gleam of coins and the danger implied by revolvers, as conductors and agents monitor the crowds with wary vigilance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
CFF
Carter
American Magazine
Assis
Chen
Secret Service Partment
Linpin
Power of the Waves and Structural Impact
The article discusses wave power as the sum of dynamic and static effects, tied to water erement and the center of gravity of a mass. It notes shocks when water meets a wall, strongest at the surface and weakening with depth, with water heights spiking at contact.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
la Nature
System and Umbrella Dilemma in Londos Bits
In Londos Bits a comic sketch shows Shippen Clark chiding Mr. System for forgetting an umbrella. Mr. System says he resolved to keep one at work and one at home for emergencies, risking leaving both at home if he takes one now.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Shippen Clark
Forse of Habit and Mr Easy Cheer Up
A brief item from Earper's Weekly notes a quarrel over fishing plans between Mr Easy and a companion. The tone suggests a domestic dispute about going fishing and the reluctance to let someone go.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Forse
Mr. Easy
Earper's Weekly
Also Mentioned on This Page
Uganda
Khartum
Ile
Iime
Iis
Ile Bald
Philadelphia Record
Neebors
Mamma
Paragoric
Papa
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