The Not Guilty Hero and the Ballad of Belle
In a crowded court Herbert Howard stands accused of horse stealing amid a web of family secrets. Belle Bullit, Eric Davies and detective work reveal a plot by Henry Buford. A dramatic finale leads to Heroic salvation, revelations of kinship, and a joyful wedding.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Davies
Buford
Herbert
Herbert Howard
Bullit
Herbert Howard Bullit
Belle
Detective
Noble Bullit
Love
Silence and memory in a fool's wisdom
A Miscellany reflection on silence and memory. It argues that quiet thought preserves deeds and that recognizing enemies festers conflict. Treating everyone as a friend invites reciprocal kindness, shaping relationships and fate.
Hidden motives behind pompous public pretexts
A reflective observation compares actions to organ pipes where true motives stay concealed beneath a gilded hollow pretext presented for display. The statement emphasizes surface show versus inner intent.
Question of Beauty Or Truth in Doctrine
The text argues that truth of a doctrine matters more than its beauty and compares choosing a road to seek a destination with selecting the right road by authoritative guidance rather than pleasant scenery. It emphasizes adherence to authority in determining the correct path.
Failure as Sacred Defeat and The Cross Triumph
A religious meditation on apparent earthly defeat, linking Jesus's desertion and crucifixion to enduring spiritual victory. It argues that perceived failure can become real triumph, with the Cross propagating the world’s life and offering heaven to those who nobly fail.
Wisdom for Practical Living Says Sorrow Heals Through Work
A Victorian style collection of maxims urges practical living. It links sorrow to employment, warns against costly waste, and promotes restraint, perseverance, and discernment in dealings and speech.
Will to Resist Swearing Wins Game Refusal
A boy named James refuses to join unruly play unless companions promise not to swear. He asks for hands to be joined in a pledge and then joins the group, proving his resolve to stay on the lord's side even amid peer pressure.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
James
Amusing Prank Ends With Sleepy Drunk Tries to Leave
A Glasgow man fed up from drinking sought rest in a fish packing shop. An accomplice hid him in an empty fish box and sent it C O D to a saloon. After the box was opened the man woke and asked if he had been buried alive, vowing to avoid further tangles with liquor.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gloucester
Sensations of Starving and Mill River Hen Tale
A dramatic account describes the progression of starvation over seven days with vivid effects on body and mind, paired with a humorous digression about a Mill River flood heroine hen and her steadfast endurance. The piece closes with a lighthearted note on testing a new steam fire engine in New Castle and Parker’s comic mishap during the trial.
How Feathers Grow From Skin In Birds
A description from Popular Science Monthly explains feather formation as a skin pit with a pyramid groove pattern. As new cells push upward a horn coat forms ridges and casts become barbs and shaft, yielding feather structure and similar growth for nails and hair.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Popular Science Monthly
Harsh verdict on public schools for penmanship
An editor quotes a village paper criticizing public schools for failing to teach proper punctuation breaks and paragraphing. He cites his three children aged 12 15 and 17 and a teacher who sent a seven page manuscript with no breaks or punctuation to prove the point.
Fashionable milliner and church pew clash over bonnet
A witty exchange centers on where a bonnet flower should sit. The fashionable milliner proposes the left side, while a church pew pillar forces the lady to show only the right side. Her husband suggests changing pew or church if needed.
The Wife's Secret Opinion of Her Husband Revealed
A concise note discusses a wife's private view of her spouse and the impact of a concealed viewpoint on their marriage. The item reads like a social column brief in a period newspaper.
Robbery Decoy Unmasks Arab Thieves in Syria
A Persian pilgrim returning from the Holy Land lost £800 in Damascus after a decoy shot drew him from his tent. Suspected locals were tortured but proved innocent. Arabs eventually confessed to the theft, revealing 18,000 francs stolen from Italians years earlier. Police recovered all, including decorations, and Arab culprits face punishment.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Rossery
Holy Land
Syria
Damascus
Pall Mall Gazette
Burns and the Drowning Merchant
In Greenock a wealthy merchant fell into the harbor and nearly drowned. A passing sailor rescued him at personal risk. The merchant awarded the sailor a shilling, drawing protests from the crowd. Burns urged calm, noting the man best judges the value of his own life.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Burrns
Burns
Greenock
Word miracle discussed in Sundbay School talk
A Sundbay School inquiry features Tommy Howell answering what miracle means in the Bible. He suggests a joking plan: if he and Captain Smith, seen at the Presbyterian picnic, do not marry soon, it will be a miracle.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sundbay School
Tommy Howell
Lawyer E Cross-Examines Himself In Liquor Case
A Centerville lawyer is accused in a liquor case during a drunken episode. The judge limits the self cross examination as E admits drinking, mostly with S, at several towns, bought by express C O D with Squire P involved.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Joseph
Mich
Centerville
Esq. C
Express
Three Rivers
Sturgis
Constantine
Pigeon
Mendon
Burr Oak
Nottawa
Centreville
Squire P
Elaborate Language in Modern Writing
A critique notes that brevity often outshines ornate phrasing. It contrasts concise ancient ballad diction with contemporary prose that overstores emotion and verbosity in pursuit of dramatic effect.
Milker’s Mishap Ends in Cosmic Cow Collapse
A young man milking a cow while smoking misjudges his proximity and the cow steps on him. The heavy animal pins him, knocking him senseless as he spins wildly. He recovers and sighs that farming is the hardest work a man can undertake.
Howth Tale Links Rat and Earl in Century-Old Anecdote
Lord Howths death at Cannes is linked in a quaint family tale to a tame rat once kept as a pet. The story recalls a late 18th century visitor left alone with the Earl of Howth in his private room. A rat scurries across the rug. the visitor kills it with a poker blow. The startled nobleman then proclaims that he has died by that same blow, and expires the next day.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Herbert Howard
Noble
Howard
Bullit
Tod
Herbert
Davies
Belle Bullit
John Bullit
Henry Buford
Belle
Buford
Villian
Ballit
Becky
Darling
Harry Buford
New Castle
Bob Parker
Parker
Court House
Grant
Hopkins
Maz Adeler
Lord Howths
Cannes
Earl of Howth
Len Carpenter’s Mortification Bill Prank Backfires
A Len Carpenter joke misfires when a page seeking a copy of the mortification bill is sent back with the salary repeal bill. Senator Tipton, present during the page’s request, witnesses the swap and a ghastly smile crosses his face as the gag unfolds.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Len Carpenter
Tipton
Clergy Celibacy Debate Revisited by Rev. Morgan Dix
Trinity church rector Dr. Morgan Dix who wed on Wednesday once argued for clerical celibacy. A wealthy New York belle persuaded him to change his view, remarking that one touch of nature makes the whole world kin.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Morgan Dix
Trinity Church
New York
Ostrich riches flee with wings, a curious quip
A pithy saying notes that the wealthiest items are like ostriches that seem to fly away. The remark underscores elusive fortunes and the difficulty of keeping riches secure. The phrase evokes caution about wealth escaping through poor stewardship.
Insect Destroying Wash From Alum Solution
The Journal of Chemistry offers a home recipe to kill pests using hot alum solution. Dissolve two pounds of alum in three to four quarts of boiling water, apply while nearly boiling, and treat joints, crevices, floors, and shelves. Add alum to whitewash to repel insects and use chalk marks around sugar containers to prevent ant intrusion.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Journal of Chemistry
Without a Newspaper
A commentary on the social cost of families and communities subscribing to no paper. The piece warns of widespread ignorance of current events and the past, urging heads of families to provide means for their children to learn about the world and its dynamics.
Variations in Washinon’s confession across cities
The St. Louis Journal notes Washinon’s fatherly plea is rendered differently by locale. New York reports I cannot tell a lie. Boston questions possible concealment of facts with complex phrasing. Chicago imagines a quick confession. Cincinnati balks at alibi. St Louis suggests burying the hatchet. Denver hints at a trick.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washinon
New York
Boston
Chicago
Cincinnati
St. Louis
Denver
T. Louis
Curious Calculation on Locust Voice Power
The piece weighs the locust to hear distance and scales a man's voice by comparing locust weight to goldfinch weight. It concludes a man of average size would sound at a thousand miles if his voice matched the locust’s proportional loudness.
Indiana teacher Donald Cameron dies in Madison story
An early Indiana teacher named Donald Cameron died in Madison. He taught when war with Mexico was declared, was told by a student, and declared that no war would occur without a Cameron. He dismissed class, enlisted, and served under Col. James H. Lane for the war’s duration.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Donald Cameron
Indiana
Madison
Mexico
Cameron
James H. Lane
Cats Inspire Quiet Verse Across Histories
While most poets overlook felines, a few persistent lines honor cats and their mystique. The reflection on their grace and independence reveals how poetry borders the ordinary and elevates a common animal to emblematic companionship.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Bristol Bheniz
Pheniz
Hope Street
A. A. Greene
Sunday Magazine
Fisk & Simmons
Central Market
Hope and Wardwell Streets
Tripe
H. ¥. Simmons
Thames Street
State Street
John Wilcox
C. Jouni
WM. Fred. Fish
Fulton
Rah Street
John M. Stowe
Byfield Market
Byfield
Fred. Fish
Sristal Holal
Frederic Brown
Elnathan Warren
James Tobin
Bristol
R. I
Maburnan's
Jordan
Mar
USL
Jezi
Anarles Johnson
John Foley
BANK
Morocco
C. &Ec
Fe. A. P, Baxter
James H.gladding
High and
Burton Streets
Iron ’ &c
Join B. Munro
Ihe
Peter Hines
Henriade
Charles Lamb
Archimedes
Mr. Beecher
Syracuse
Mill River
Biddy
America
Williamssburg
Massachusetts
Barnum
California
Alta
James Lick
Lick
Pennsylvania
Pampas
Brazil
Buenos Ayres
Chili
Valparaiso
San Francisco
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!