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This newspaper page contains 20 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Brimfield Gazette
Location
Brimfield, Illinois, United States of America
Date
Dec 26, 1877
Page
3
Fragmentary reminiscences trace a life from infancy to old age through December memories. The speaker recalls misty visions, holiday songs, school days, and a journey toward aging with images of trees, tides, and a river.
Reinette, shunned by her world, plans a Christmas tree for the almshouse children. She discovers Mr. Theodore secretly loves her and she learns of his proposal to her stepmother the rector. In a night of revelation they agree to marry, turning a charity concert into a shared future under Theodores roof.
A writer critiques English as rule prohibitive, asking why spellings vary. He muses on quirks such as why one pin copy and two in sloppy, why the owl of one's thumb, and why many letters map to a single sound. The passage notes abundant exceptions and ends with a playful jab at spelling reform.
A detailed description of Stewart's Working-Woman's Hotel in New York, founded for women by Alexander T. Stewart, with 602 rooms, private baths, connected rooms, a large dining room, library, art, and low weekly rates. The plan includes strict guest rules, management by a supervising staff, and amenities aimed at providing first-class comfort at cost.
A Chicago Times correspondent asks which nation held the largest national debt. The article cites March 1875 British debt at 4.476 billion pounds and January 1877 French debt around 3.774 billion dollars, noting discrepancies and floating debt, with estimates up to 4.6 billion including local obligations.
The piece traces Christmas reforms from Germany to Europe and England, noting the Knecht Rupert Santa figure, and contrasts it with Santa Claus. It discusses the Anglo-Saxon conqueror myth of global dominance and expansion of British influence across continents within fifty years per V. Edgar Chamberlain in December Galaxy.
Readable lines suggest a dispute where parties left in anger and expect to miss terms. The source references Chicago Journal and implies a disruption in negotiations or publication timing. The text is fragmentary and lacks concrete names or dates.
A woodman works in the Amazon to extract caoutchouc sap from rubber trees. He collects sap in bamboo and turtle shells, then smokes it using Urucury nuts to cure the rubber into planchas. The process yields thin sheets at a rate of five to six pounds per hour with quality rising with evenness and lack of bubbles.
The document details exports and imports by category for 1877 with monthly breakdowns and totals for domestic and foreign trade, plus gold and silver movements and excess of exports. It also lists pension claims closed or reopened, origins of invalids and widows, and the year’s total pensions paid. An anecdote about Napoleon follows, then notes on pin manufacture and wire consumption in the UK and US.
A humorous exchange features a Universalist and a thriftless aunt as they debate hell, brimstone, and who carries the fire. The aunt asserts that all who go to bad places are burned in brimstone, while the theologian counters questioning the sufficiency of brimstone. The aunt then quips that everyone carries their own brimstone with them.
The speaker reflects on the small footprint of a folded letter and its importance as a keepsake. His only surviving son now leads a quiet life in Greenville, away from public view.
The article traces the Yule log custom from early Christian feast traditions for light and the Feast of Lights to its spread in England Scotland and parts of Virginia. It notes the decline of church candles and the use of massive logs or coal in rural celebrations, with slaves and plantation communities modeled by the back eg. It describes the midnight Christmas Eve firing and the ensuing raucous noise.
The article warns that rapid timber removal risks depleting U S supplies within twenty years. It argues forest loss disrupts river flow, causes floods, and harms farming. It calls for government measures to curb public land logging and to manage remaining forests for renewal.
A column offers eye care guidance urging proper posture lighting and rest for readers. It then reports a Rochester incident where Maggie Connors pilfered rubber overshoes to threaten punishment of her husband, receiving a ten dollar fine or sixty days. motive linked to marital quarrel. A Troy Times brief adds dog aging tips based on dental wear and eye appearance.
The McGlothlin family left a 3 or 4 year old alone in a house with an outward swinging door latched by a long string. While the child played near the door, it became entangled and was pulled out as the door swung open, the child hanging by the string. The incident occurred in Ky. Revieir reports.
The late President Johnson preserved all his papers and left them in the upper area of a Greenville shop. He gathered and hid files from three daily New York newspapers covering his presidency and kept telegrams in compact form. He valued every item, none deemed unimportant.
France mobilizes financial and military watchers with 1,788,000 men and 209,400 horses listed as part of war footing measures.
Chinese patrons gathered in a 36 Mott Street dining room for a simple Thanksgiving meal described with seven bare tables, china utensils, dried ducks, a stew from duck pieces, rice, and dried greens. The scene notes lack of sugar or milk, tea served in small cups, and opium odor nearby in the building.
Eli Perkins writes from Cerro Gordo County reporting a massive wheat crop potential with yields surpassing one million bushels in the county and across Iowa. He notes rising land values, abundant farm lands, and large shipments from Iowa stations to St Louis and river routes, highlighting a booming agricultural market.
An American consul warns U S workers of a surge of men seeking toil in Britain risking hunger and hardship without contracts. In a separate incident William Cushman deranged on a westbound Pennsylvanian train leapt from a fast moving coach and fired at officials before taking a telegraph tower to escape.
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