Norfolk Navy Yard Destruction and the Bull Run Impact
The Detroit Free Press recounts the 1861 Norfolk navy yard abandonment and burning before Confederates seized it. McCauley ordered scorched earth, scuttling ships like the Pawnee and Cumberland, while powder stored under guard was seized by Norfolk volunteers. The fire destroyed ships and buildings, fueling later Confederate ironclad developments and shaping Bull Run outcomes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Norfolk Navy Yard
Virginia
South
Confederacy
New York
Boston
Philadelphia
Leung Teto
Army
Davy
Norfolk
Pensacola
Portsmouth
Navy Yard
Beauregard
Bull Run
Richmond
Jesui
Pawnee
Cumberland
McCauley
Heyne
Fortress Monroe
Bay
Genner
Merrimac
Garden Comedy of a Husband and Wife Misadventure
A husband plans a quiet garden, but his wife insists on helping. The pair clash as she tramples, seeds mix, and chaos spreads from the seed pan to the cucumber hills. A closing scene finds him detaining a salesman while his wife negotiates garden gear at the gate.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cormsheller
Spirit Service Ghosts as House Servants in Tennessee Homes
A humorous piece imagines a ghost from Hamilton County taking a steady job as a house servant in a quiet family. It extols a ghost’s invisibility no-light room, punctual nightly rocking of a baby, and trouble-free service, while joking about ridding neighbors and boosting property value. It ends by urging readers to send any unemployed ghosts to the office.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tennessee
Hamilton County
Burdette
Love Letters Across Ages From Men of Different Lands
The article surveys how male lovers compose letters by age group and nationality. It notes mature men write deeper yet cautious notes, 25 to 40-year-olds show restrained sentiment, 18 to 25 express ardent protestations, and over 60 often abandon the practice though some persist with paternal touches. It compares German and French styles, calling German letters personal yet dreary and French declarations expansive yet insincere.
Mrs Vanderbilt's Chamber in New York Palace Scene
A Providence Star report recalls Mrs Vanderbilt in a luxuriously adorned New York chamber. A visitor, seated at the bed’s foot, compares the setting to palatial spaces seen in Paes while noting the room’s rose pink silk and lace, perfumed censer, and ornate surroundings.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Providence Star
New York
Paes
Sacred Buddhist temple in Siam resembles Catholic church
A French traveler reports a newly built temple near Bangkok that imitates Catholic worship with an altar Buddha image stained glass and prie-dieu. The priest boasts of a self playing organ made by Bird & Co of London and notes it plays fine sacred music including Madame Angot.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Siam
Bangkok
Groeey
France
Messrs. Bird & Co
London
Two Styles of Modern Boston Girls in City Life
A Boston correspondent contrasts two modern Boston styles, praising a refined, independent matronly youth and a luxurious damsel while critiquing a lingering feudal type. The piece notes Boston as a city of independent women, fashion, and social ease, with vivid portraits of manners, dress, and attitudes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Salem
Boston
South
The Conductors Rules for Success in Collecting Fares
A satirical guide for railway conductors advises harsh, cynical tactics to maximize profits and control passengers. It endorses snubbing timid travelers and flirting with schoolgirls, while promoting aggressive ticket enforcement and self protection over passenger rights. The piece lampoons the profession with belligerent humor from a Drake's Traveller's Magazine perspective.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Drake's Traveller’s Magazine
Live Church Principles From Talmage Sermon Anniversary
On the Brooklyn Tabernacle fourteenth anniversary Rev. Dr. Talmage outlined live church traits. He urged prompt financial payment, timely services, full congregational participation, robust Sabbath school, strong architecture, and warned a church fades without Christ as its core.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Talmage
Brooklyn Tabernacle
Quaret
Boston
Jesus Christ
Fisherman’s Poetic Clues on Squeteague and Seasonal Catches
In Notes and Queries Mr Frederick W True records a Narragansett Pier fisherman’s verse about the squeteague arrival near Point Judith, tied to nature cues. He notes February expectations, March presence, dandelions and blossoms signaling soup season, and bass sizes tied to blackberry and violet blooms, a tradition handed down by elders.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Frederick W. True
Narransett Pier
United States Fish Commission
Baird
Judith
Maren
How a Starving Pig Spent the Winter
A farmer near Turbutville Pennsylvania built a straw stack last fall. A missing young pig emerged from under it in a shockingly thin, feeble state, its frame grown but flesh nearly gone, sparking neighborly interest.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
iNew York Tribune
Raup
Turbutville
Penn
Counterfeiting Then and Now at Uncle Sam's Money Factory
A detailed exposé on counterfeit technology from pre Civil War to modern times. It explains paper, inks, design methods, and the engraving processes used by the government and by forgers, with notes on the Brockway case and a key counterfeiters’ network.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
United States
American Bank Note Company
Treasury Department
Washington
Felix C. C. Darley
India
Charles H. Smith
Brockway
United States Treasury Department
Smith
Echo
Signs of Spring As Recorded by Pucks Observers
A playful catalog of seasonal and social signals as spring arrives. Vignettes include changing fashions, promises of warmer days, and humorous foibles from workers, merchants, and households as life shifts with the season.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Puck
Strange Color Blindness Tales and Odd Personal Notes
A speaker recounts humorous and curious misperceptions from color blindness. He describes clothing misjudgments, visual effects of color limits, heightened music sensitivity, and odd physical sensations including sparks from his hat and a toe injury felt only when seen. He ends with a departure at a depot as a stranger vanishes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Henry
Smiles as Universal Good Says Golden Rule Column
The Golden Rule urges smiles to ease the era of harsh business, social, and political life. It argues smiles cost nothing, yield friendship and growth, and brighten humanity more than force or fear.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Belng
Bric a Brac and Whimsical Verse From April Insights
A humorous sketch persona named April, narrator Mrs Z B Gustafson, reflects on alternating moods and tears amid laughter and inner nature. A separate note describes an Albany widow who attended over 100 funerals last year and, in Lent, chooses hunger over frequent dinners, preferring to skip even one funeral weekly.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Albany
Smiling Wish for Affection in a Quirky Verse
A playful poem of unrequited affection and coy hopes. The speaker imagines a woman accepting friendship and warmth, expressing longing through whimsical imagery. The speaker envisions tenderness and shared companionship as a path to happiness, ending with a hopeful if humorous tone.
Notable Depo Banter Between Two Commercial Tourists
In a casual depot exchange two travelers dubbed commercial tourists greet each other. No. 1 notes not seeing No. 2 in years and asks about current work. No. 2 replies he remains in the line with the same house but has taken an interest since the first of the month. The pair discuss an expected shift in responsibility and commitment.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Konlacker
Brockway
Anage
Taking Toll (SHIB) Poem Fragment
Fragmentary verse about a hat and tolls, alternating lines of dialogue and exclamations. Mentions a kiss and a playful exchange, with disrupted punctuation and stray symbols. The piece centers on social whimsy and affectionate cost.
Tommy's Uncle a Very Wicked Man
A Syracuse Herald item notes a child’s misread Sunday school verse mischief. The scene shows Tommy reciting a card verse aloud to an audience, with the adult audience and minister present, highlighting a moral lapse.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tommy
Syracuse Herald
Fenee Don
Modest priced timepiece advertised for $275
An ad touts a watch at 275 dollars described as a good time-piece. It claims it tells train departures and visit timing with a detachable cord acting as a wrist exerciser, noting two minutes to wind and gymnasium style benefits for wrists.
By Neighbor's Well Poem Fragment
The speaker recalls days with a companion by the neighbor's well and the quiet beauty of youth. He describes moonlit skies, deep wells, and distant songs as memories fade to longing. He ends with feeling alone and crying, unable to recapture those moments.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
J. W. Crombie
John
Anarchy and Harmony In a Texas Drug Store
An Austin drug clerk treats a comical scene where an old Black man explains a quarrel at home with bandaged head and asks for amica. He jokes that their fight was over lack of harmony and no hominy in the house, prompting a lighthearted exchange.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Boston
Denver
Athenaum Art Gallery
Point Bbirigy
San Francisco
Hominy
Amica
Darky
Austin
The Little Roundhead Maid
A wonky verse scene in a London window shows a maid amid urban wealth and crowds. A cavalier on the street gazes upward. she worries over stockings and broods on love and shock while London roars below. In the end the gallant wooer wins her, and she leaves her stocking.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
How to Spend Sunday Afternoons
A humorous look at the many ways people spend Sunday afternoons as the season nears. The passage contrasts churchgoing, shooting, reading papers, duck hunting, croquet, and quiet leisure, noting the variety of personal Sunday rituals.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Peck
Sun
Spicet
Bashir
Also Mentioned on This Page
Detroit Free Press
Taliaferro
Uncle Sam
Cumberand
Dupont
Dahlgren
Porter
Anderson
Aero
Pennsylvania
Columbus
Raritan
Delaware
Dolphin
Oliver
United States Service
Norfolk Fire Department
Finke
Ichmond
Lere
Spirit Service
Boston Women
Athens
New England
Shett
Liberty
Jen Wright
Florida
Chicago
Kingdom of Bliss
Comptroller's Office
Andes
Jack Razeez
Maud
April
Z. B. Gustafson
Fenny
Ella Wheeler
Kel
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