Violet and the Billy Goat of Lindsley's Wood
A violet grows at the foot of a big pine in Lindsley’s wood and is courted by Mickey Finn’s billy goat. The goat chews the rope, escapes, ravages the violet, is thwarted by Mrs Finn with hot water, and the boy and mother replace the bloom with another violet to save the plant and pride.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Lindsley’s
Mickey
Graybeard
Pyeld
Behin
Billy
Mickey Finn
Cape of Good Hope
Hill and Dale
Lindsley’s Wood
Violet
Mrs. Finn
Finn
Berba
Hand organ man entertains Waterville town
In Waterville this week a hand organ player halted before a residence and began a cheerful tune drawing a small girl's attention as she emerged to listen.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Waterville Mail
Fragmentary note on a deal and a returning customer
A damaged OCR fragment describes a small monetary offer, a promise to act after a delay for a girl, and a Santana mention. It notes a man considering payment and a former customer returning to play to delight a young girl. The text is unclear but hints at a conciliatory gesture and a nearby encounter.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Santana
Strange tales of Virginia City mines and moving Mount Davidson
An old resident tells how the Comstock interior stretches 252 miles of tunnels and how timbered supports deform into iron-like sticks. Mount Davidson is said to be moving eastward with Virginia on its back, while underground fires burned for years at Consolidated Virginia and California.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Butte Mining Journal
Comstock
Virginia City
San Francisco Examiner
Gold Hill
Virginia
Golden Gate
Nevada Line
New York
Washington
Baltimore
Mount Davidson
Jong
California
Oddities in Signboards from Pall Mall Gazette
A compilation of peculiar signboard names and pairings from historic Britain notes many inns and taverns naming schemes. It lists combinations like Angel and Sun, Crown and Seven, and Ship and Dolphin, reflecting varied local branding and cultural references of the era.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pall Mall Gazette
Angel
Sun
Baker and Bask Baptists
Cook
Angel (15), One and Crown
Bell
Ben Fopann
Black Bull
Black H
Black Lion
Blue Anchor
Arins
Britain
Carpenters
Coach and Horses
Crown
George IV
George and Drago Globe
Golden Lion
Grapes
Simon the Tanner
The Man Under the Bed A Playful Stereotype
A Detroit Free Press piece satirically extols women's habit of looking under the bed as an ancient and prescriptive right. It links curiosity to tradition, jokes about boots, sewing circles, and postmistresses, and mocks amateurs who doubt the behavior.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
The Refreshment from the Boston Blue-Blood Caller
A Boston socialite asks for a refreshment order from a St. Louis woman after a waltz. He offers ice cream custard pie and lemonade with polite insistence while she hesitates over the request. The light exchange highlights social manners in a ballroom scene.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit
Boston
St. Louis
Doctor Questions Patient as Thermometer Warns Relief
A judge observes a doctor examining a dispensary patient who notes sudden relief. The patient, gazing at the thermometer, exclaims how much better she feels and praises the rapid aid to her body. The scene implies a medical consultation with notable immediacy.
High Air Women Lead in Hazardous Circus Trapeze Act
A New York Sun feature traces female dominance in high air trapeze work across circuses and variety shows, detailing performers Azella Pereira Haynes Zazel and others. It notes women now attract crowds, outpay men, and train from childhood, with incidents of daring, and contrasts with male stars like Blondin and Leotard.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Sun
Holborn Amphitheatre
Azella
Mlle. Pereira
Jean Price
Haynes
Mme, Senyah
Price
Zazel
Barnum
Aving
Lulu
Fariis
Miss Young
Biondi
Thames
Niagara
Blondin
Aston Park
Birmingham
Lawrence
New York
Amng
Birsaburg
Mary
Tower of
St. Paul's
London
Philip of Spain
Tower
Edward VI
Ireland
Leotard
Toulon
Napoleon
Aris
Victor Julien
Panetereasks
Hassan
Carl
Longueman
John Bellincke
Madison Square
Lime Kiln Club Exposes Johnsons Economy Lecture
The Lime Kiln Club recounts Hon. Gange Washington Jones of Memphis visiting to lecture on economy. Gardner mocks his dress and finances, noting garish gloves, a blue handkerchief, and claims of dubious wealth. The club votes thanks to the president and sympathies to Pickles Smith for a cash loan.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gardner
Detroit Free Press
Brother Gardner
Gange
Washington Jones
Memphis
de Ribber
Canada
Webber
United States
Pickles Smith
Mean Neighbors and the Borrowed Cup of Sugar
A man recalls neighbors who overborrow cups of coffee and sugar, noting coffee was swapped for inferior brews and sugar cups returned emptied or lighter. The tale turns to a wife finally returning the cup with nothing left after repeated exchanges.
Experiences of a Lady Customer in a Store
A fragmented diary like scene shows ever shifting shop assistants and patrons. A new saleswoman asks what to show a madam and suggests lace to match. The store directs the customer to the gloves and linen counters while staff debate stock and service styles.
Coroners in County Feud Over Explosive Death
Two veteran coroners clashed over where a dynamite blast killed a man. One insisted the accident happened in his county and could be proved. the other argued the explosion occurred there but the man died in his own county. Costs
Teacher’s sharp remark sparks class satire
In a Fliegende Blaetter vignette a student recalls a moment when the teacher praised the narrator’s seatmate, then belittled the other pupil by calling him the greatest good-for-nothing in the class, adding he valued Charles more.
Little Evidences in a New Jersey Romance
A New Jersey girl tells the New York Sun that a handsome boarder across the way seems to be interested. She notes he always winks when they meet on the street, a sign she interprets as growing affection.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Sun
New Jersey
Lulu
Baby
Jack
Lydia
Queer wills and strange legacies from famous testaments
A Brooklyn Citizen account surveys bizarre bequests and odd conditions in historic wills. It highlights Joseph Cappur of London who left nearly all to relatives but eight thousand pounds, the heart burial curiosities of Kellerman and Rokeby, and quirks from Gilpin of Kittanning to a Burmese nobleman.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Brooklyn
Pittsburg
Joseph Cappur
London
Jules Verne
Phineas Fogg
Duke of
Alipy
Marshal Kellerman
St. Menchould
France
Kellerman
Matthew Robinson
Rokeby
Lord Rokeby
Marquis of
Queensbury
William Douglass, Oke
England
Count Taafe
Layer Gilpin
Kittanning
Penn
Gilpin
Venice
Kitanning
Brown
Karen de Palm
le Moyne
Meen Tounin
Paul Reidel
Turnyeren
New York
Mid-Ocean
Mandelay
Burmah
Woman on Horseback in Healthful Riding View
The Atlanta Constitution notes how a woman riding a horse transforms before and after the saddle as roses color her cheeks and eyes brighten. It ranks horseback riding as the best healthful exercise for women, surpassing dancing and other activities, given a well-trained horse and moderation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Atlanta Constitution
Man sues for breach of promise cites temporary insanity
A man defending a breach of promise suit could bolster his case by pointing to old love letters as evidence, implying temporary insanity from renewed passions.
None to Spare National Weekly Snippet
A monsterous man dismisses women as a side issue while a lady counters that the good Lord ex…
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
National Weekly
The New First Reader Lesson Notes and Tales
A Detroit Free Press excerpt presents humorous and moral vignettes from Lessons I to IV. It features John White the good boy and a grandparent, a cannibal ship tale, reflections on dew and the farm, and the misadventures of James the rich boy with Widow Gray. The piece satirizes virtue and consequences through simple stories and exaggerated morals.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John White
Sam Jackson
United States
John
James
Jesse James
Chance
Gray
Mother Hubbard
Indiana
Making a Kaleidoscope in Simple Steps
A Philadelphia Times note explains a DIY kaleidoscope. Build a triangular prism from three equal glass strips tied with string, add an opaque end with a central eye hole, cap the sides with paper, place colored pieces inside, and rotate to see shifting patterns.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Times
Goodwill dispute over a Gratiot Avenue grocery sale
A grocer sold his interest and goodwill but a lawyer was called in to determine its value. The seller explained goodwill by humorous, local observations about unlocked doors, sunless fronts, snow around the corner, and cleaning duties, suggesting the business might be worth only about 200 dollars.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Henry
Bourbon County
Detroit Free Press
Gratiot Avenue
Ten-year-old defies police on State Street cart episode
A Albany Journal account describes a ten year old boy pushing a laundry cart on State Street near Pearl when a pompous policeman orders him into the puddle and then tries to arrest him. The boy resists, threatens to cart the policeman along, and avoids being taken to the station.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Albany Journal
State Street
Pearl
Broadway
Maiden Lane
Pie Boy
Ri Val
A Scientific Marvel
The Philadelphia Times notes dust particle counts in air. John Aiken’s estimates show outside air raining 621,000 per cubic inch, outside air sat 2,119,000, room 30,441,800, room near ceilings 88,846,000, and Bunsen gas flame 489,000,000 per cubic inch. It concludes a room at night may hold as many particles as the population of Great Britain.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Times
John Aiken
Ceils
Great Britain
Well Up in Banking in Omaha World
A quirky note depicting a messenger instructed to deliver a private message to the Millionnaire Bank president. The cartoonish dialogue warns to avoid clerks and seeks the president by spotting a man in a shabby suit, mocking bank security and messenger tricks.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Omaha World
Millionnaire Bank
Howe
Survivor of the Mexican War confronts business man
An emaciated tramp pleads with a business man in Harper's Weekly dialogue. He asserts wartime veteran status and seeks aid, while the cap swift dismisses him. The exchange highlights class tension and hardship faced by veterans in printed society.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harper's Weekly
Cap’n
A Parson's Fixes on Candles and a Friendly Spaniel
A cleric recalls comic mishaps during sermons at a mission church and a town church, where candles fell, a spaniel disrupted services, and a donkey interlude sparked laughter. He recounts sneezes, a misplaced handkerchief, and a Thames steamer misadventure where he briefly steered the vessel amid a drowning rescue.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Carlo
John Gilpin
Thames
The Legend of the Water Lily
A fragment from the Atlanta Journal tells of a star above a forest and a cold heart seeking love, with distant children at play and a dusky setting as the tale unfolds in poetic prose.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tatlanta Journal
The Star’s Fall and the Water Lily Song
A night star sighs for love, sinks toward a river boat, shattering a jar into a thousand splinters. Each wave turns a shard into a glowing water lily while the star finds affection in the beautiful power.
Bric a Brac The Lady and the Conductor
A San Francisco News Letter poem recounts a passenger in a horse car who signals a reluctant conductor to halt. She loudly demands a stop as the car travels six blocks, the conductor continuing as punishment for his indifference.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
San Francisco
Love and Longing in a Late 19th Century Page
A collage of verse and vignette prose from Harper's readers includes poems on lasting love and youth, a spring shower, a bridal idyll, and a lyric about Lydia, a corridor encounter, plus a couple's journey toward a treasure of shared life, all in a period newspaper voice.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Love
Also Mentioned on This Page
Wickey Inn
Alo
Sueer
Crinder
Wild Western Tales
the Public Houses London
the Lime Kiln Club
Boing
Bettie
Harper's Bazar
Queer Joe Cappur
pAncamens
the New First Reader
Lasson
Africa
Alice Wellington Rollins
Harper's Barer
Ufay
Martin
Ativer
Miss Perrault
MM. S. Bridges
CW. J. Henderson
New York Times
Jane Atlantic
Wii
Catherine Cole
New Orleans Picayune
Baby Anarchist
Puck
Red
Tosa
Tie
Jericho
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!