The Ring of Paste Diamonds and a Clever Swindle
A young Londoner travels to Paris with a priceless ring misdescribed by his father as real. On a Dover to Calais crossing he falls for a widow in Paris, hides the ring in his finger, and is duped by the con woman who disappears with the box. The twist reveals the diamonds are paste and the ring is recovered by his father.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Paris
London
Ned
Dover Harbor
Monsieur
Mademoiselle
Madame
Monseiur
Spain
Ehibien
Mal-De-Mer
Dover
Nincompoop
Society and fashion in moral critique and wit
The passage contrasts society's approval of others with self interest and the value of experience. Hazlitt and Johnson frame fashion as gentility fleeing vulgarity and public scrutiny as advertising, noting that abuse may promote a work rather than spoil it.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hazlitt
Johnson
Helps Quote: A Kind Word in Mourning Rooms
A reflective aphorism by Arthur Helps urges offering a kind word to a grieving person. The image likens the act to a gentle firefly lighting a sorrowful space, briefly brightening a somber room.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Arthur
Ambition and the path to eternal welfare
The quote cautions that unchecked ambition leads to fear, while true pursuit should center on eternal welfare. It urges keeping ambition within judgment and seeking a stable, lasting good beyond material desires.
Group sense and good nature in Dryden’s view
The quote argues that benevolence and candor stem from right reason. It says the ignorant world misjudges this bond, and true beneficence allows for others’ failings since no one is perfect. It frames good nature as rooted in rational judgment and tolerance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dryden
Religion and the bond between man and Creator
A quotation attributed to Daniel Webster defines religion as the tie uniting man with God. It warns that severing this tie leaves a man adrift with no purpose, destiny darkened, and life emptied of meaning.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Daniel Webster
The Turning of a Screw in Moral Worlds
A concise view compares a ship’s engine to ethics. Small actions steer outcomes, as admitting steam to cylinders moves paddles forward or backward. The author notes that moral turning points hinge on tiny choices that redirect life’s direction.
Where Men Find Their Wives in Quiet Homes
The article argues that men of sense rarely meet future wives in public venues and instead seek partners in the quiet homes of their parents or homes where domestic virtue and affection are shown. It emphasizes that a good daughter or sister is likely to become a good wife.
Time Well Spent: On diligence and punctuality
Lord Chesterfield notes the Duke of Newcastle wasted half an hour in the morning and spent the day chasing it. The piece argues that a busy, hurried, and late person fails, while society works best when time is valued in proper season and place, planning for contingencies and distributing the day accordingly. It cites Jacob Biglow on efficiency and time management.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lord Chesterfield
Duke of Newcastle
Jacob Biglow
Way Lay up Ridges for Your Boys
A Missouri penitentiary inmate is said to inherit fifty thousand dollars from deceased parents. The piece argues such wealth prompts vice and idleness, suggesting a dog and its destruction would better serve a youth than a hefty inheritance, warning parents against a “through-ticket to the devil.”
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Missouri
Local papers offer local news and progress, not just more pages
A critique argues city papers lack home news and local notices. It asks readers to value local schools churches meetings and town improvements. The piece compares paper value to a man choosing oversized boots for the same price, urging readers to consider relevance over sheer inches.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Waaat
Luxury on the Rail The Pullman hotel car vs dining car
An old debate explains how a Pullman Hotel car differs from a dining car. The hotel car offers a full kitchen, private sleeping compartments, a drawing room, lavatories, and a la carte meals, with passengers enjoying seclusion and orderly service on long journeys.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
San Francisco
Jarrett & Palmer
California
Chicago
Omaha
Cariaco & North-Western Railway
Cuiiaco & North-Western Railway
the Tribune
Peculiarities of Animals On Railways and Steamers
A German engineering journal notes oxen stand calm on rails unaware of danger while dogs roam among departing wheels. Birds show strange affection for steam engines with larks nesting under railway switches and swallows inhabiting engineer houses and a steamer’s paddle box near Pesth and Senin.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pesth
Senin
Lobsters An Odd Ballad Of The Sea And Its Creatures
A humorous sketch on lobster habits and anatomy describing the crustacean as watcher of October, with fanciful notes on its shell, limbs, movements, and culinary uses. It details catching methods, a kencoop bait system, and claims boiled lobster aids colic.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Allout
Europe
Walking Proportion Warns Of Asymmetric Gait
A Screnrmvic lecturer declares experiments show one side of the body tends to out walk the other. The writer quips that such a split gait would be embarrassing if it occurred in public with half the body striding ahead, while onlookers mock the liver and anatomy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Screnrmvic
Enduring Poor Woman Threatens Grim End Over Hardship
A worn elderly woman recalls decades of toil and contemplates a drastic act if rest in the next world cannot be found. She speaks of tying a millstone and leaping into the river to end her suffering.
Noted Love of God Ties Duty to Future Reward
A reflection on divine benevolence where God links present obedience to eternal happiness. The author asserts that living honorably fulfills religious obligations and also secures future rewards. The text emphasizes harmony between duty and personal happiness through virtuous conduct.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Melmoth
Amendment to Statutes on Petroleum Inspector Vacancies
Public Law from the May session 1877 chapter 636 amends Chapter 112 to require town or city councils to fill any vacancy in the office of Inspector of Petroleum Kerosene and Coal Oil by a new election for the remainder of the year. The act takes effect upon passage.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
General Assembly
Reform School
City of
Providence
Statewide public celebration funds act of 1877 approved
An act authorizes towns to appropriate and expend money for Independence Day and other public occasions. Grants vary by town population from five thousand dollars in large towns to five hundred dollars in towns under five thousand. Population basis follows last census. existing laws repealed. act takes effect immediately.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
General Assembly
Amendment to Voter Registry Laws Advances in Public Session
The act amends Chapter 533 and Chapter 633 of the Public Laws governing voter lists and registration. It removes thresholds on town voter counts and requires annual registration by residents, with penalties for false registry entries, and sets a December deadline for registration. The measure stipulates procedures for the registrar and the preparation of the registry book.
Act preserves Chapter 482 despite Chapter 533
The act states that nothing in Chapter 533 shall be construed to repeal any part of Chapter 482 and its provisions. It also declares the act takes effect upon passage.
Oyster planting and water protection act of 1877
The text limits mud and other materials in Narragansett Bay within one mile of Bristol county shores or Hog Island, allows oyster planting and wharf construction authorized by the General Assembly, with a fine up to 100 dollars for violations. It also covers hotel dining fraud penalties up to twenty dollars or thirty days in jail and repeals conflicting acts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Narragansett Bay
Bristol County
Hog Island
General Assembly
Chapter 646 Punishes Tramps With Hard Labor on Highways
Historic act enforces misdemeanor for able bodied beggars with up to ten days of hard labor on town highways under highway surveyors. Overseers of the poor may assign work and provide support, with repeat violations escalating to thirty days in the state workhouse. Official certificate by Secretary of State Joshua M. Addeman.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
House of Correction
Joshua M. Addeman
Also Mentioned on This Page
The
Bristol Bbhewiz
Phennix
Hope of Co
A. Greene
Flint & CO
Emporium
Broad and
Eddy Streets
Rhode
Ers
Nish
DR. Flints
Quaker Bitters
Dighton
Mass
M. M. Braley
Williston
H.S. Frist & Co
Gents
Marsden
Maredyn
Rev
James Marsd
George E. Hamlen
Taunton
George Burr
Friendship Street Baptist Church
Madam
Sir Henry Fitz Evans
England
Calais
Hotel Dessin
London Graphic
Sandwich Island
Sandwich Islands
Honolulu
China
Hawaii
San Franzisco
Kalakaua
San Francisco Post
Laws OF
Rhode Island
Secretary of State
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