Mournful Traveler Skirts Western Rails and Fifth Avenue Hotel
The narrator and James Whitcomb Riley narrate a travelogue from a remote junction town praising two railroads and detailing a visit to a shabby “Fifth Avenue Hotel.” Humorous anecdotes follow about the codfish ball floor manager, a busy chambermaid, and the room’s holes and dust, ending with plans to move on at 2:30 pm amid lingering wit.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
James Whitcomb Riley
Fifth Avenue
Gem City House
Palace
Nat Joves
Napoleon
Illinois
Perdition
Elm Court
Buu
The Old Fashioned Mint Julep in Southern Gardens
A nostalgic look at the old fashioned mint julep as a living tradition. The piece notes that Southern gardens still cultivate mint and households preserve the art, with grandchildren preparing juleps for elderly relatives on the veranda, capturing a fading cultural memory.
Fragmented prose on mint juleps and bad drink ideas
A rough, unfinished passage dwells on youth, a man with a gay noseg in a nosegay at midday, sipping a quart drink, then dreams as a bell rings. It mocks the mint julep trend of mixing mint with water and whisky, calling it a poor idea that harms the drink’s reputation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jef
Sach
The Drummer Banquet Speech by J. M. Greer
A Memphis Avalanche report covers J M Greer at a commercial travellers banquet who delivers a humorous, history laden tribute to the drummer figure. He traces origins from Herodotus to modern merchants, notes the drummer as an English born symbol of enterprise, and ends by praising industry and push.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dudge
J. M. Greer
Herodotus
Josephus
Taritus
Hell
Homer
America
Germany
Jane Grey
Janus
Rome
John Smith
George Washington
Globe
Faderland
Enterrise
Not in Pole A Few Rules for Playing Whist Life Nonsense
A playful list offers humorous and exaggerated maxims for whist play. It mocks solemnity, silence, and memory demands while noting rules about behavior in public rooms. It references penalizing interruptions and teaching the game to ignorant players.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eascot
Texas Father Sets Out to Kill In Parlor Confrontation
Detroit Free Press reports a tense family scene in Texas where a father vows to kill a man named George after a daughter pleads for restraint. The exchange reveals intensifying personal conflict and potential violence within the household.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
George
Texas
John
Thin
Quakes Prompt Laughing Pair Share Ceiling Shock
Humorous dialogue frames a comical earthquake moment as a couple misreads a wall shake from a painting and a passing joke about sleeping. The scene captures a playful domestic exchange with a reference to a stage performer nicknamed The Judge.
The Fight at Franklin Battle Narrative by Hood and Schofield
The Philadelphia Times recounts Hood and Schofield leading forces at Franklin on November 30, 1864. Veterans march under heavy fire across Carter's Hill and the open ground, engaging near Fort Granger and the cotton press, with intense casualties on both sides. The engagement ends at dawn with Schofield withdrawing and nearly 2000 dead or dying on the field and 6000 wounded or unaccounted for across gray and blue lines.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Daniel T. Smith
Philadelphia Times
Hood
Franklin
Harpeth River
Nashville, Tenn
Carter’s Hill
Windstead
Fort Granger
Lewisburg
Carter's Creek
Mother Earth
Walthall
French
Cheatham
Stewart
Bradley
Lane
Schofield
Casement
Orymes
Gordon
Strickland
Opdycke
Strahl
Carter
Brown
Carter’s Creek
Bates
Kimball
Moore
Rogers
Finney
Jackson
Missouri
Cockrell
Loring
Lorin
Cleburne
Gist
John Adams
Granverry
Quarles
Scott
Ering
Johnson
Alabama and
Soutes
Maniga Alt Mell Stee
Shaw
Davis
Expression in Dancing From Ancient Ritual to Ballet
A compact study traces dancing from primitive ritual and war dances through Greek and Roman examples to medieval pantomime ballet. It highlights dancing as a language of emotion and religion, notes key figures like Pylades, Bathylius, and Noverre, and ends with a view of ballet as complete pantomime speaking to the spectator’s soul.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
England
Ionysius
Adam Smith
Eumenides
Augustus
Pylades
Bathylius
Hylas
Agamemnon
Babylius
Italy
Louis XLV
Nouverre
Europe
Two Paths In Life A Story For Children And Youth
A humorous moral tale from Pack about two boys James and Henry. James, studious and helpful, becomes a wealthy merchant and church deacon, while Henry scorns teachers, shirks chores, and ends up a stranded advance agent in Manila. The piece lampoons vice and rewards honesty.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
A. Stearns
James
Henry
Puck
Manila
Vice
The World’s End Predictions Then And Now
A historical survey reviews recurrent doomsday predictions from ancient times to the 19th century. It traces millennial hopes, prophetic misfires, and public panic sparked by earthquakes and comets, noting scientists’ and clergy’s varied theories and the failure of any forecast to come true. It highlights Miller’s 1840s movement and the enduring uncertainty about Earth’s fate.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Elijah
Carm
Paul
the Thessalonians
Lake of
Roman Empire
Justin Martyr
Luctantius
Antioch
Salome
St. Augustine
Stoettler
France
Charles V
Toulouse
Eugene Huger
High Seas
San Francisco
William Miller
New York
Miller
Fromondi
Mallet
Humboldt
Buffon
Beccaria
Priestly
Herschel
Darwin
Babbage
Danbree
Davy
Danverry
Lyell
Maliet
Naples
Pacific
Japan
California
le Conte
University of California
Humbolt
Hutton
Something More to Satisfy Him
A distressed couple argues over a crying child. The husband accuses the child of wanting Draven, while the wife says she has given everything possible. She urges lending the child something else to soothe him.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fogg
Draven
A Good Book-Keeper Joke From Detroit Free Press
A short humorous exchange features Smith and Fogg debating young Jones's bookkeeping. Smith recalls praise, but Fogg mocks the assertion by noting Jones never returned half of his borrowed library, suggesting he is not a good book keeper.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
Smith
Young Jones
Fogg
Blessed Hours Parlor Makeover by Sisters
In a thrift inspired project, Bessie and I transform a bare parlor into a cozy room using an ash barrel centerpiece, homemade chairs from soap boxes, and clever reuse of old items. Aunt Nabby blesses the effort as our frugal, joyful furnishing proceeds, costing only seventeen and a half cents.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Puel
Bessie
Papa
Canada
Nabby
Aunt Nabby
Managing Servants and a Colorful Tale of Albert
A Brooklyn Eagle column shares a satirical tale about handling servants. The narrator recounts shedding a troublesome helper named Albert Wilson later revealed as James Sinclair, who returns under new names with kin in tow. The piece ends noting Albert was the richest man the author ever worked for.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Burdette
Brooklyn Eagle
American Missionary Union
Congo
Albert
Albert Wilson
Jake
Thompson Easley
Sam Norton
James Sinclair
Walter Taylor
Charles Martin
Perilous Mer de Glace trek by two tourists without guide
A Detroit Free Press narrative recounts Luke Sharp and Sam Parterage attempting the Mer de Glace in Chamonix without a guide. They misroute, face slippery ice, and rely on a beer girl and a questionable guide, paying higher fares and enduring rain and near danger before retreating to Chamonix. The tale highlights the risks of climbing without guidance and the local guide economy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Luke Sharp
Detroit Free Press
Sam Parterage
Mer de Glace
Chamonix
Mont Blanc
Switzerland
Montanvert
Chapeau
Walled-Ugy Chamonix
Glacier
Sam
Alpenstock
Crystal
Chamoix
Montanver
Pa. Chicago Herald anecdote on a dispute about a child’s bedtime
A Vinegary mother confronts her son and overhears him recounting his father’s plans. The boy explains his father told Brown he sat up late playing bank and wouldn’t return home until he got a stake, prompting the mother to fear deprivation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago Herald
Johnnie
Brown
After the Marriage Ceremony
A comic anecdote unfolds as a friend reveals the son-in-law is deeply in debt. The father of the bride learns he has married to gain access to his daughter’s fortune to pay creditors. The shocked father discovers he himself is among the husband’s biggest creditors.
Nomination of Adolph Gutenschweitzer for Alderman
A Chicago Rambler report notes a nominating speech proposing Adolph Gutenschweitzer for the alderman post. The speaker references political process and mentionsGutenschweitzer’s forthcoming arrival in America next month.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
iChicago Rambler
Wienerschnitzelk
Adolph Gutenschweitzer
Shela Pe
America
Unclear Riddle on Help and Certification
A man asks a woman about being helped to answer questions for a certificate. She recalls telling officials she had not been helped after being questioned. The gentleman notes she gave several answers but she claimed none of them.
Tid Bits From A Distant Page Of Verse And Prose
A collage of humorous verses, rhymes, and light sketches from a 19th century style periodical. It blends wry social commentary on tavern jug culture with sentimental poems and vignette scenes of crossing guards, trains, and street life.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Bill Nye
Indiana
Macon
Shaky Ndpa
Drummer
Chickamauga
Memphis Avalanche
Wiggins
Goosey
Pasnering
the World's End
Chamonix Valley
Iowa
New York Graphic
Lucy Larcom
Wavice
de Hansh
Cully
Pack
Bertha
Rambler
Harper’s Weekly
Texas Siftings
Hickory—Dickory
Kittie K
Hickory
Hickory Dock
Millicent
Dickory
Thomas
Farmer Jane
Cassell’s Magazine
A. E. Treat
Siftings
Wayward Little Boyz
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