Bravery and Perils of Spies in Civil War Lines
A veteran recalls Confederate and Union secret service operatives during the Richmond Petersburg campaign. Tales cover spies, grapplers, propped lines, and notable incidents from the Crater mine to the grapevine telegraph, highlightingwomen agents, passport tricks, and bold comebacks under Lee and Grant. The piece notes executions of two spies, the use of disguises, and a West Point officer posing as a Federal colonel.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Murray
Washington Republican
Secret Service
The
Potomac
Virginia
Northern
Richmond
Petersburg
Grant
Lee
Richmont
the Crater
Mahone
South Carolina
Etersburg
Jersburg
K. E. Lee
Castle Thunder
Petersbur
Farmvile
Lisip
Sheridan
Herod
Appomattox Court House
Jessie
Custer
Upperville Military Academy
Fauquier County
Chickamauga
Bragg
Rosecrans
Orton Williams
West Point
Gibson Peter
Montemery County
Williams
Fovia
Peter
Head
Boyhood Days reminiscences of I Spy and near falls
Tender reminiscence by Bill Nye recounts school days and a daredevil boy who nearly killed himself climbing trees, falling from a barn, and escaping a dangerous mishap during I spy. He recalls friends James Bang and James Bang, a fractured bank owner, and a neighbor who rescues him, closing with a wry note on fate and virtue.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
William
James Bang
James Cicero
James C. Bang
Billy Nye
James
Europe
Mills of the Gods
Confederate officers executed after trick to avoid capture
In a Civil War tale a Confederate officer and his cousin trick a Union guard into a brief return to camp. The guard is killed or captured, and General Garfield orders the two conspirators executed. Both lie in one grave in the Congressional cemetery.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Williams
Garfield
Rosecrans
Peter
Sera
Miliny
Congressional
Thrilling Romance of Andromeda and Henrico
A dialog rich in florid verse depicts Andromeda and Henrico stirring over Beatrice Marcia engagement news. Henrico boasts of wealth and plans to seize Italia and estates, while Andromeda laments social constraints and vows resilience as their schemes unfold amid grand, melodramatic speech.
Its Sensations From the Boy’s Point of View
A Philadelphia Press piece humorously details a mother cutting her son’s hair from his perspective. The boy endures mischief and mishaps, wriggling in the street as hair falls and his nose itches, while he longs to be a man and fears the other boys’ judgments.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Press
Cincinnati Enquirer
Xenophon
Cyrus the Younger
Prometheus
Heaven
Minerva
Earth
Penelope
Ulysses
Kremachus
Africa
Ireland
Haliburton
Nova Scotia
Tydd
Seventy-sixth Regiment
Imme
Mahoney
Johnny Mahoney
Rale Johony Mahoney
Lancaster
Rowe
Famianus Strader
Gregorian College
Pistor Suburranus
Milton
Dean Swift
Gulliver
Cupid
Venus
Septimellus
A Toothache That Cost Fifty Dollars
M Corcoran a livery stable worker suffered a toothache on Monday and, after gas and pain, went on a furniture smashing spree. Police detained him at Haralson street station where John Smith beat him. Corcoran testified before Justice Foyle and was discharged. Smith faced a $50 assault suit.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago News
M. Corcoran
Thomas O’brien
Eldridge Court
Haralson Street
Corcoran
John Smith
Smith
Justice Foyle
Timekeeping Through Ages From Clepsydras to Chronometers
The article traces the evolution of timekeeping from Assyrian water clocks to medieval monasteries, clepsydras and sand glasses, and on to modern clocks and navigational chronometers. It covers roles of watchmen, bells, and monks, plus key figures and devices shaping horology in Europe and the Middle East.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Alexandria
Memphis
Christ
Egypt
Pompey
Rome
Antiochus
Mithridates
Pontus
Bagdad
Haroun-al- Rashid
Europe
Charlemagne
France
Chartres
Lultprand
Alfred Sevviea
Fire-Proof Redskins at Navajo Fire Dance in Hashkawn
John B. Sweet reports from Denver Tribune on a Navajo fire dance held in a large circular corral with cedar bark torches. About 500 spectators watched as dancers wrapped bodies in flame, sponged each other, and raced the fire, ending with ash and earth protections amid trumpeting sounds and dramatic flames.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John B. Sweet
Denver Tribune
Wives Sold for Small Sums in English History
An account traces the ancient practice of selling wives in England, noting weregeld roots and varying prices from sixpence to a pint of beer. It cites 1841 Gloucester sale, 1859 Dudley demonstrations, 1861 Sheffield purchase, 1862 Selby sale, and 1882 Alfreton case, highlighting moral decline and popular acceptance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harper's Weekly
England
Canute
Gloucester
Dudley
Hail Street
Sheffield
Selby Market Cross
South Wales Daily News
Alfreton
Apples as Moral Suasion in Genesee Valley
In a Genesee valley town a resident plagued by nightly noise from boys finds a humorous fix. She offers all the apples they can eat if they depart quietly, but the boys return with greater vigor the next night asking only for more apples.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harper's Bazar
Genesee Valley
The Effect of a Leading Question in a Texas Lift
A humorous exchange shows a woman prompting a backman with “How much did you say I have to pay” and the reply “One dollar” followed by her correction “Bifty cents, you mean, stingy old fraud.” The dialog highlights social bargaining and ambiguity in a street scene.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
Backman
A Sneezing Tale of Myth and Mythic Omens
A survey of sneezing across cultures and history, tracing superstition and ritual from Greek and Jewish lore to African, Irish, and Indian beliefs. The piece cites Xenophon, Prometheus, Penelope, and Milton while noting medical views and how sneezing shaped omens, salutations, and divine signs.
Diary of a Honeymoon in a New Flat Fails to Shine
CW R Benjamin in Life chronicles a chaotic marriage to Dolly from December 16 to 20. He details wedding gifts and a forged Tollemache check, financial strains, a move to a Nineteenth Street flat, a drunken cook, a missing dinner, and mounting debt. A police fine, jail threat, and growing regret shade a humorless diary of a fragile start.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
CW. R. Benjamin
Dolly
Klunder
Pichard
Tollemachie
Tollemache
Washington
Tablemache
Cosmopolitan Hotel
Nineteenth Street
Fourth Avenue
Highbridge
Maria
Darling
Old Tollemache
Wally
Jones
Mad
Jefferson Market
Duffy
Quarrelled Lovers and Opera Slang on a Train
Two young ladies gossip about Charley in a suburban train car a Christmas gift joke? a Newfoundland dog and a scornful reaction. The San Francisco piece laments English slang in La Traviata with a comic exchange about insults and chiding.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago Herald
Mary
Charley
Alin
BRIC A BRAC Philosophy and small anecdotes in brief
A column of light social sketches and wry humor from various papers. It collects items such as Philosophical musings from a philosopher and comic vignettes like Leo Pope and the fear of XIII at dinner. A short exchange of jokes about Edith and the elevator boy scene concludes the piece.
The Wooing and Other Pieces from Cassell
A collage of verse and prose excerpts: a courting ballad about spring marriage, a humorous school misbehavior vignette, a playful skating dialogue, and Mary’s retort to a minister’s sermon, all presented in period magazine tone with named places and people.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Army Secret Service
Halcyon
Bill Nye
the Modern Shakespeare
Andromeda
Henrico
Sonkers Gazette
Seraphim
Beatrice Marcia
Count Persimmons
Just
Italla Bie
Michael Anelo
Italia
Florence
Lombardy
Sicily
Persimmons
Como
Jean
Tower of Pisa
Utica Press
Abaces
Beleses
Phul
Ninevah
Charles V
Henri de Vic
Royal Palace
Palais de Justice
Caous
Julio de Medici
Francis I
Peter Hele Ofuremburg
Robert
Scotland
Claude
Hugens
Zurichem
Hooke
Amsterdam
Helesses
Hugensée
Geneva
America
Herobgy
Greenwhich
Redskins
Leger
Jupiter
Jacob
Speke
Equatorial Africa
de Soto
New Zealand
Italy
India
Sudenly
Barnes
Montague
Cesar
Gaul
Socrates
Diary OF
New York
San Francisco
Violetta
Flo
Alfredo
Burdette
Brooklyn Eagle
Somerville Journal
Hunter McCulloch
Leo
Pope Leo
Xiii
Charley Mackay
Louisville Courier-Journal
St. Peter
Clara
Coleridge
Grannam
Babe
Lambkin
Lance
Detroit Post
Ollendorff
Zola
Jim
Cassell
Altoona
New York Mercury
Elevated
Connecticut
Hell
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!