Scout’s daring Civil War infiltration tale by Davy Crockert
In West Virginia and Tennessee, Captain Charley Carpenter and Davy recount a daring Confederate spy mission. Disguised in civilian clothes, he gained trust, delivered letters, and moved deep into the rebel camp. He describes securing a position with Johnston’s council, then escaping after a bold abduction of a market worker and a race to a river steamer to rejoin Union lines.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
West Virginia
Charley Carpenter
Johnnie Rebs
Carpenter
Harrisonburg
Tyrol
Davy
Brila
Memphis
North
Ohio
Leroy Spec Ett
Pittsburg
Tvo
General Price
Missouri
Charley
Jeff Davis
Counterfeiting Gang Captured Near Sandusky
In 1863 a federal undercover action tracked a counterfeiters ring tied to $1 and $2 bills. A key capture occurred at a Sandusky drugstore, where a sharp-eyed clerk aided by a wary crook yielded a counterfeit bill and the ranger forced the gang to scatter. A follow up led to Rocky River, where Sam Dixon alias Sly Sam was arrested in a barn with counterfeit plates. Dixon, imprisoned for 12 years, forecast the gang’s persistence in their illicit trade.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit
Sandusky
Cleveland
Rocky River
Signer
Sam Dixon
Sam
The Duke of Mendelfi Life of Luxury in Paris
A London Telegraph portrait describes the Duke of Mendelfi, a rich Paris resident with about £150,000 yearly, living grandly with his mother Princess Woronzoff. He hosts lavish salons with jewels, singing bands, Neapolitan and Gypsy musicians, and scenes of opulent cafe life amid a cosmopolitan palace existence.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London Telegraph
Duke of
Count Woronzoff
Alexander
Mendelfi
Italy
Louis
Insurance Poker Introduces Vicious Feature Elimination
A group of St Louis business men propose a revised draw poker variant called insurance poker. It keeps card ranks and wagering order but caps losses by a fixed evening limit, with table stakes betting and chip-based buy-ins. Players can replenish chips, cancel memorandums, and the outcome favors balance. the game aims to reduce risk for all participants while preserving bluff and luck elements.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Louis Republic
St. Louis
Republic
Anyayer
Anker
Made to Hug Clara Belle Observes Fashionable Hug Habit
A descriptive sketch notes women at a concert hugging themselves with cloaks and shawls. The observer describes wraps drawn tight around the waist and shoulders and hands resting on opposite forearms, suggesting an unconscious desire to be petted as they hold themselves. The piece adds that such self-hugging signs appeared broadly among arriving ladies.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Clara Belle
He Met His Fate Camely. Tid. Bits.
A fragmentary scene shows a young wife sobbing at dinner accusing her husband of cruelty over an apple dumpling surprise. The husband pleads astonishment and exasperation, saying the tension mirrors a deadly resolve. The dialogue hints at a grave, melodramatic domestic conflict.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Camely
Maria
A Singer's Story From a Poor Beginning to Opera Fame
In her autobiography the singer recalls early poverty and scorn at school in 1852 Dauninger House where she learned French from hardship. A weekly singing lesson sparked talent, aided by a sympathetic catechist, and at 12 she joined the Karlskirene choirmaster Boenrecat to perform mass solos, marking the start of a singing career.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sheffield Eng
Dauniger
Lucca
Erl
Karlskirene
Josef Boenrecat
Tietjens
Nicknames as Fame Worthy Funny Stories from Baltimore
Effective nicknames are rare and memorable. The piece cites examples such as Namby Pamby and Pulchrae for three ugly sisters nicknamed Battle Murder and Sudden Death. It notes Cryder triplets Kate Duplicate and Triplicate and Epps daughters dubbed Cherubim Seraphim.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Baltimore Sun
Fpope
Ambrose Phillips
Namby Pamby
Fifth Avenue
Cryder
Kate
Epps
London
Alma-[adema
An Alaskan Glacier at Innis Glacier Gorge
A New Orleans Times-Democrat reporter describes Alaska scenery seen by Miss Field. The Innis glacier is three miles wide and 300 feet high at its mouth with a frozen Niagara Falls-like terminus. Mountains tower 16,000 feet as sun lights the ice. the glacier advances 969 feet daily, plunging into the sea with submarine thunder and posing danger to viewing boats.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Orleans Times-Democrat
Miss Field
Alaska
Innis
Niagara Falls
Innis Glacier
Queen Mother of Greece keeps lace gifts and blue attire
The Queen of Greece is described as a handsome, industrious figure who crochets lace tidies for honors from a balcony chair. She wears blue and white, oversees royal housekeeping and education, and supports national blue and white silk while emulating Penelope in industry. She is by birth a princess of Russia.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Troy Times
Greece
Penelope
Fmeet
Ussia
All About The Dog. Strange Beliefs And Whip Day
A long exploration of dogs in myth and history from ancient Egypt to medieval Europe. It notes Anubis and Cerberus, canine roles in battle and hunting, and legends of Odin and the Wild Hunt. It describes Welsh Annwn hounds and Gabriel hounds, plus two English towns Hull and York with Whip Day dog whipping customs tied to October fairs.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Marcus Lane
Chicago Globe
Baron Cuvier
Anubis
Nile
Sirus
Sirius
Holmes
Egypt
Herodotus
Corinth
Cerberus
Pluto
Hades
Hesiod
Orpheus
Hercules
Orion
Hunter
Arctophones
Ptoophagos
Odin
Germany
Europe
Hackelbaund
France
Hugh Capet
Herodias
Herod
England
Wales
Gabriel
Charles Ade
Pgland
Hull
York
St. Luke's Day
Theory Against Practice in a Jersey Ferry Tale
A red haired speaker recounts a bruising incident at Cortlandt Street while awaiting the Jersey ferry. He cites a gymnasium book that warned against fat and weak winds, claims a fight with a policeman, and describes his injuries and attempted self-education in physical development. He vows to recover and resume work.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Tribune
Cortlandt Street
Jersey
Gymnazorum
Pracer
Morneelin
O. K
Bkeecker Street
Actor borrows luck to ferry home with ham bet
An Albany Journal tale recounts an actor visiting Cohoes with only three dollars. He bets a saloonkeeper he cannot carry a ham across the street and back without setting it down. After losing, a friend bets and hangs the ham on a hook, winning the stakes as the actor presumably continues toward home.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Albany
Cohoes
Absent-Minded Man in a Theatrical Tale
A Washington Post humorous anecdote describes a man so absent minded that he leaves his companion during a theatre intermission cryptically claiming he has forgotten something. He returns later, professing worry over what he forgot, while the scene ends with affectionate yet playful reproach.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington Post
A Point in His Favor
Mrs Lushly confronts her husband in a morning hall scene accusing him of scandal while he denies the charge and mutters about shelter and dignity. A humorous exchange centers on alleged door key antics witnessed from upstairs.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mrs. Lushly
Mr. L
Drunk Man Challenged by Merchant in Texas Siftings
A man lay in front of a store door when the merchant stepped out and kicked him with his boot asking if he was drunk. The man replied yes and asked if the merchant was drunk. A back and forth ensued with the merchant insisting the man move on. The drunk man quipped that moving off would be easier for him than for the merchant.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eral Johnston
Virginia
Jon
Expert Advice from a Texas Clergyman Amid Service
An Austin clergyman, unnamed for his sacred calling, pondered before a Sunday service when the organist asked what to play for the opening hymn. He replied by inquiring about the organist’s hand, leaving the question hanging in humorous mystery.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Austin
Unexpected Compliment in a Siftings Translation
A humorous exchange between a judge and a cabby unfolds over a supposed fine for rapid driving. The cabby quips that his boss would be flattered by such praise, noting the boss is not accustomed to that kind of flattering talk.
An Interesting Decision Judge
A court scene turns comic as Billy proposes a grand plan while Johnny, just whipped, suggests a playful challenge to climb a flat-pole, reflecting a tense yet light mood.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Billy
Little Johnny
Authors' Wives and the Literary Life Across Time
In this discussion of writers and marriage, Balzac's claim that great men need no wife is challenged. The piece surveys figures from Milton to Dickens and Byron, noting how domestic life often troubled authors, while praising wives who aided creativity as well as those who suffered in silence.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eugene L. Didier
Balzac
Annals of Literature
Socrates
Xantippe
César
Cicero
Milton
Shakespeare
Addison
Warwick
Will
Holland House
Pope
Swift
Steele
Queen Anne
de Quincey
Surns
Aphonse Daudet
Daudet
Mme. Daudet
Bulwer
Aretty
Dickens
Charles Dickens
Lady Blessington
Walter Savage
Landor
Tennyson
Byron
Manfred
Lady Byron
Paul H. Hayne
Good and Bad Taste. A guide to tasteful decorating
Advice on marking possessions, avoiding showy monograms, and balancing beauty with practicality. Emphasizes small marks on backs, moderation at table settings, and placing flowers to showcase rather than conceal them. Warns against overdecorated walls and gaudy frames.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John Brown
The Kind She Liked The Philadelphia Record Item
A fragment from a Philadelphia Record column shows a cultured dame and her husband debating paper reading habits and public interest. The dialogue parodies attentiveness to campaigns, science, and fashion as they discuss headlines and the progress of the hour.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Record
Probiom
Colonel Dupree's Campaign Etiquette Noted by County Folk
In Montezuma Georgia the record notes a story from the late senator race. Colonel Dupree canvassed the county and bowed to passers-by so often that his horse imitated the habit, bowing whenever meeting someone on the road. The tale continues as the horse glimpses Slaughter Hill's ploughing field.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Montezuma
Colonel Dupree
Slaughter Hill
Hill
Slaughter
Bric a Brac and a Parlor Prayer Scene
Ed Matt and Cornelia Redmand present verse fragments about nude woods and a lover’s prayerful pose. Through a doorway a reader observes a woman kneeling by a register in the parlor warming her hands, offering a tender domestic moment.
Is Marriage a Failure in a Columbus Dispatch item
A column fragment ponders whether marriage can truly fail and questions why people wed. It presents verses on love’s promise, the value of a kiss, and cautions that single affectionate moments do not guarantee lasting commitment. It includes quoted lines from Annie C. McQueen and James Whitcomb Riley.
Madame Strictand Seeks Seminary Honor With Humble Kiss
A poemic fragment depicts Madame Strictand living a plaster parist life. She plans to attend a field of honorable action, but a criticising mindset complicates her endeavor. The speaker jokes about a kiss offered if permitted, navigating a seminary’s figurative hand.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Ter
Orse
Pene
E. Crockert
Secret Service
Pauline Lucca
Theory
Texas Siftings
Ed Matt
Orn
Cornelia Redmand
Judge
Coluambus
Annie C. McQueen
New York World
J. Herbert Phillips
American Magazine
Abe
James Whitcomb Riley
Margaret Andrews Oldham
Bon Hackley
Chicago Journal
Robin
Walla
Madame Strictand
Gertrude Hall
Stern
Valse
Miss Blanche
Miss Rose
Mademoiselles
Goodby