Island Queen and Parsoned Prizes on Lake Erie by Confederates
A weathered Erie fisherman recalls the September 1864 capture of the Island Queen and the Philo Parsons by Confederate officers off Johnsons Island. The Parsons crew and passengers are confined in the cabin as rebels seize the ships and scuttle parts of their cargo to escape pursuit, while Beale and Burleizh pledge to protect women and children.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Queen
Philo Parsons
Cincinnati
Enauker
Ice Erie
Johnon
Qoeen
Toledo
Kelly’s Island
Lakenstead
Middle Kass Island
Middle Bass
Tarsons
Rew
Parsons
Kelly
Don
Didiers
Orr
Asi
Lake Rie
Captain Atwood
Clerk Ashley
Detroit
Sandwich
Windsor
Makden
Malden
Loara
North Bass
Put-in-Bay
Beale
Burleizh
Floating theatre of the Chapman gypsy family on the Mississippi
The New York Sun recalls William Chapman and his large Chapman troupe, a floating theatre on a Mississippi flatboat that seated 400, carried scenery and living quarters, had no front orchestra, and relied on backstage music. The family toured along the Mississippi and Ohio, trading performances for fish and farm goods, and split up after years of travel.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
George F. Browne
New York Sun
William Chapman
Chapman
Caroline Chapman
Burton
Harry Chapman
W. B
Julia Drake
Blanche
Eila
Chapmans
Drury Lane
London
Wey
William Hamilton
Haminiton
Old Chapman
Harlet
Orst
Harry
Francis
Mississippi
Ohio
Cincinnati
History of the Beard and the Fashion of Shaving Through Ages
Cardinal intolerance marked beard wearers from medieval clergy and barristers to rulers, as beards shifted with Romans Greeks and English eras. The piece traces shifts from sacred provision in Egypt to Julian and Restoration fashions, noting persecutions and evolving tolerance before modern acceptance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Greece
Alexander the Great
Rome
Barvers
Sicily
B.C
Cato the Elder
Scipio Africanus the Younger
Cicero
Augustus the Elder
Pliny
Julian
Harold
Senlac
Oxford
Cambridge
Doran
Lincoln’s Inn
Thomas More
Elizabeth
Origin of the Baton
The baton originated at the King's Theatre with Chelard during Monck Mason’s 1882 German company visit. Costa adopted it after observing its advantage, replacing the violin bow method. Critics in Weber and Mendelssohn era questioned its use, though Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer, and Costa once clashed over remarks from orchestra leaders. Ella recounts Mendelssohn’s reaction and Elia’s intervention.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
King’s Theatre
Chelard
Monck Mason
Costa
Weber
Mendelssohn
Philharmonic Society
Ella
Mendelssohn Retains Baton As Tradition Continues
Costa and Meyer- Leer urged leaders to accept the baton to set a good example. Mendelssohn decided to retain the baton, a practice also used by Moscheles and kept ever since.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mendelssohn
Costa
Meyer- Leer
Moscheles
Jam Pots and a Missing Deed Spark a Legal Victory
In a tale set around a £500 reward for a vital parchment, Tom Halliday uncovers a clue in jam pots that pieces together a full deed. Morpeth wins the case after Sharpe and Floyd locate the missing document, enabling Tom to marry his sweetheart.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
England
Messrs. Starpe & Fryd Wee
Morpeth
Messrs
Sharpe & Floyd
Tom Halliday
Tom
Mr. Morpeth
Horse Reels Away Smashing Coal Wagon in Detroit
A horse attached to a coal wagon ran off on Larned Street in Detroit. He toppled the wagon and created a crowded scene as onlookers watched. The owner, who had sought $10 for the animal, now demands at least $26 to $30.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
Larned Street
George
Gallantry Punished in Blue Dyer Tale
A French suitor to a dye maker's wife is thwarted when the artisan kingpins the rival with a violent fall into a vat of dye. The man ends up permanently blue, and an inventor suggests a steaming cure to shift the tint to green.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chambers
Quartz Growth Anomaly Found In Virginia City Mine
Conductor Havener displays a quartz specimen from Yellow Jacket mine dated to align with timbers laid fifteen years ago. The mass formed while plastic and oozed through a crack, yielding three clear crystals within a cauliflower shaped, soft cluster.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Carson
Virginia City
Conductor Havenor
Yellow Jacket
Havener
Stevens’ Mill
Dayton
The Drum in War and Festivity Across Ages
A sweeping meditation on drums from Bacchus to Saint Patrick. It traces the drum’s rise as the dominant war and ceremony instrument, contrasts it with earlier lyres and flutes, notes global spread from Europe to Africa and Asia, and celebrates its dignified, resounding presence in martial and ceremonial life.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Europe
England
Daniel Webster
India
Abyssinia
Theodore
America
Monboddo
The Eminent Frenas of the Little Animal and Its Language
A humorous London News essay explores cats and their supposed speech and wisdom. It cites Dupont de Nemours, Abbe Gallant, Montaigne, Chateaubriand, and Mahomet with tales of cat lore and the idea that cats possess a rich, multi‑tongued language as they dominate their world from tree tops and rooftops.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
Dupont de Nemours
Herodotus
Montaigne
Chateaubriand
Victor Hugo
Theophile Gautier
Prosper Merimee
Cardinal Wolsey
Richelieu
Mahomet
Muezza
Mnan
Champfleury
Accommodating Husband Joins Divorced Wife and Two Men
A Florida station tale describes Mrs Smith and Samuel Brown living with two grown boys in adjoining houses. Smith, once husband, follows his wife, helps raise the boys, and acts as justice of the peace during their divorce and subsequent marriage ceremony. Brown and Smith maintain a cordial relationship with shared household duties and mutual trust.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Florida
Minois
Smith
Brown
Hind
Awkward Emergency Ends in Widow Marriage Plan
A man with little money sought a dead head pass to Toledo to marry a widow said to be worth $6000. After officials skepticism and encouragement, he was passed. He later wrote that he reached Detroit and plans to seek work, the widow turning out not to be wealthy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Quad
Toledo
Detroit
May Ann the Read-nca Newsgirl at Fifteenth Street
Washington Republicans recount the bustling scene of May Ann the newsgirl near Fifteenth Street and the avenue. An elderly benevolent woman asks her name and lodging to help, but May Ann wittily replies with a Tuscan accent that she will not reveal, claiming to live in Buckingham Palace as Misthress Langiusy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Monboddo
Asia
Mery Ann
Nca
Washington
May Ann
Fifteenth Street
the Avenue
Mary Ann
Buckinghbum Palace
BRIC A BRAC A Piccura and Other Vignettes
A fragment from 19th century verse and prose mixed with comic quips. Readings range from sea imagery of a sinking ship to social whimsy and flirtatious verse. The piece showcases humorous fragments and brief poetic lines across multiple sources.
Sunday School Examiner Quips About Animals Speech
A humor note from the New York Mercury recounts a pupil answering a scripture question with a quip about a whale speaking to Moses. The exchange showcases playful classroom wit in a Sunday school setting.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Mercury
Sunday School Examiner
Moses
Tricks of Memory and Youthful Reflections
A reflective verse piece contrasts memory with life’s interval, noting how childhood days stand clear against later struggles. It ponders the fading of past exertions and the ease of forgetting, while imagining earlier days as bright and memorable.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fife
Heaven
Clothes Do Not Mate the Mans
A reflective verse passage warns against judging the poor by ragged attire. It asserts that even in tattered clothes a person may conceal great strength and potential violence, suggesting humility before humble appearances.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Aisdain
A Practical View of Elopement It Bits
An old note advises young men not to marry the woman who will elope. It suggests that a woman with the resolve to elope often has the drive to lead the family.
Street Lamps Named In Moonlit Night Verse Fragments
A fragmentary text contrasts street naming by lamp light with poems and imagery. It lists vivid lines about weather, seas, lovers, and winter scenes, ending with garbled phrases like A snowy epire and A day in Whster.
A New Complexion In A Dry Goods Store
A humorous sketch begins with a green young man asking four yards of wide ribbon and a clerk probing for color suitability. The narrative threads through flirtation, banter, and a distant Arkansas note about trapper lore and risky kisses amid small town life.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Evansville
Also Mentioned on This Page
Lake Erie Pirates
London Spectator
Leigh Hunt
Dionysius
Archbishop Tall
Knight Bruce
Egypt
Charles
Ely
West End
Beleravia
Romance OF
Drums
King Monboddo
Saint Patrick’s Drum
Bacchus
London Telegraph
Bacon
Scythia
Sigurd
Othello
Saul
St. Patrick
Ireland
Island
Lewis Morris
New York
Nevada
Lear
New York Morning Journal
Detroit Post
Walt
Ada Louise Martin
Blythe Winda
Cour
Arkansaw
Ike
Perdition
M. Peck
She
Ming
San Francisco Examiner
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