The Bag of Gold The Widow and the Family Secret
Mrs. Peckington suspects Cora Dallas of taking a missing bag of gold from a stash behind the chimney. George Merrilton declares his love and vows to marry Cora if she is innocent, while farmer Simkins reveals he hid the truth. The true thief is Simkins, who returns the money. The widow reconciles with Cora as wedding plans proceed.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Peckington
Gabriel
Clarissa
George Merriston
Mrs. Peckington
Mr. Merrilton
Deacon Eliab Horton
George
Merrilton
Cora
Cora Dallas
Hebe
Tyou
Michiavelli
Simkins
George Merrilton
Jehoram Simkins
Neighbor Simkins
Mr. Simkins
Clara
Allenville
Clarissy
Cora Merrilton
Humorous Misspellings Spark Laughs from Country Store
A proprietor recalls a note from a boy asking for a pair of shoes with a playful typo. A schoolmaster also receives a letter miswriting intent to bury his pupil in the scull. The comical errors reflect rural life and language quirks.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Grean
The Ring Remembrance Tale of a Miser and Friend
A traveler asks a miser for his ring to keep him near. The miser replies that recalling the refusal will remind the traveler of the request and the friend who would not part with the ring. The tale ends with a moral about memory and desire.
Miscellany on speech, secrecy and aging
Goethe reflects on speaking ill and sharing entrusted secrets as folly and treachery. He notes moderation in prosperity and patience in adversity, and observes aging does not guarantee wisdom while a person may be wiser in youth or later life.
Deceptive Bargaining Admonition from Jeremy Taylor
A moral instruction warns traders to avoid falsehood and deception in all aspects of bargaining. It stresses that truth must be understood by the other party and condemns even partial truths that mislead buyers or sellers as lies and theft.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jeremy Taylor
The Underlying Purpose
A reflection on honor found not in physical labor but in the earnest noble aims beneath strenuous work. It argues that true nobility comes from intention and well formed plans behind the toil rather than raw effort alone.
Ridicule as a Social Force
A compact meditation on how fear of laughter shapes behavior. The author argues ridicule curbs duty and noblest impulses, causing people to stifle their best feelings. It notes individuals laugh at others and are laughed at, perpetuating a cycle of conformity.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Anon
Ill Temper: A Dreadful Household Nuisance
Theodore Parker condemns sour ill temper as vulgar and damning to the home. He argues peevishness poisons domestic love as a severest form of impiety, surpassing all other sins and misfortunes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Theodore Parker
Health and temperance from divine Providence
The passage links moderation, restraint of desires, and faith in God to health and inner peace. It warns that gluttony drunkenness and excess drain vitality and undermine wellbeing, while godly living yields sound health and worldly prosperity. Beecher emphasizes harmony between health and moral conduct.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Beecher
The Morning’s Promise Brightens Daily Life
The piece extols early morning as the day’s brightest period, offering moral influence and calm renewal. It argues restful night sleep refreshes the spirit, and waking with the day brings renewed energy and hope for the hours ahead.
A Happy Home
A guide to making a home welcoming with daily warmth and shared activities. Emphasizes cheerful meals, affectionate conduct, evening companionship, and shared music to keep children from wandering.
Vigilance in Selecting Help Protects Youth and Home
A farmer should avoid employing immoral workers as their influence harms children. Emphasizes parental watchfulness, reading choices, and moral upbringing. Also reports Dr. W. St. George Elliot on Japanese dental practices, noting crude false teeth, wooden plates, and dentistry as a mechanical, low-status trade in Japan.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
W. St. George Elliot
Troy
N. Y
Yokohama
Japan
Instinct in Insects and Human Learning
The piece argues that ants and beavers act with foresight in gathering food for rain and that solitary wasps lay eggs and provision nests without being taught. It contrasts instinct with human apprenticeship, noting insects perform complex tasks without parental instruction, while humans require long training.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Moliere
Sydney Smith
Murdock the Actor Sells Calf Skins
Mr Murdock formerly farmed near Lebanon Ohio and sold calfskins to a tanner in town. After a heated Shakespeare laden tirade, the tannery owner, amused and impressed, offered a dollar a pound for the hides, and the sale was completed with a hearty laugh from both.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Murdock
Lebanon
the Tanyard
Shakspeare
Two Certainties for Worthy Work in Middlemarch
Caleb urges Fred to love and take pride in his work and avoid excuses. He insists that regardless of status from prime minister to rick-thatcher, one must excel at what they undertake and not seek easier paths or shameful shortcuts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fred
Caleb
Rick-Thatcher
Middlemarch
Minister's Wife in Tennessee Ill Amid Parishioner Sympathy
Hopes are entertained that she will recover. Let him have the sympathy and prayer of his brethren in this his hour of affliction and discouragement.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tennesee
A Dreadful Secret Comes to Light from Captain Hall
The article reveals Captain Hall hid a grim sledge journey record about Franklin’s fate, including cannibalism by his party. His notes were entrusted to Mr. Smith before the Polaris voyage and later recovered by the US expedition. Hall kept the truth to spare Lady Franklin, but now the secret is exposed after his death.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Captain Hall
Sir John Franklin
Franklin
Polaris
Greenland
Smith
Tessuisak
United States
Hall
Lady Franklin
Five Alls Sign Illustrates Farmers Burdens In Public Affairs
An old English tavern sign showing five figures governors bishops lawyers soldiers and a poor farmer carries mottos I govern all I pray for all I plead for all I fight for all I pay for all. The piece argues farmers agitation cannot be limited to party and belongs to broader politics and statesmanship.
Time and soap grease on Wall Street
A cor intrepid banker Coupon in August heat tussles with a ragged newsboy over the time. The boy taunts him with a sales line offering soap grease at three while Coupon frets at the missed moment. The comic exchange ends with the boy noting the remaining minutes until the deadline.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Couron
Wall Street
Buffer
Gamin
Coupon
Rascal
Lost Patient Pretends To Outsmart Eye Doctor
A wealthy lady feigns blindness to test a famed oculist. Disguised in old clothes on a rainy day she enters his ante room and is not recognized. The doctor dismisses her ailment as mild, provoking her to expose his mistake before fleeing in anger.
Modest Whittier Learns A Praising Joke In New York
A New York Chronicle reports poet John Greenleaf Whittier hearing Rev. E H Chapin in Manhattan. The audience quotes verses. Whittier realizes the lines are his own anti slavery ode, blushes, then remarks he now regards the moment as a humorous anecdote about his gift.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Chicago Tribune
Whittier
E. H. Chapin
Episcopalians In The Neighborhood
A tall stranger questions Mrs. Artemus about Episcopalians near her farm. She and her neighbor joke about a strange creature seen in the cornfield thinking it Episcopalians or chipmunks. The stranger warns locals will shoot such Piscopaliums to protect the community.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Farmer Hawkins
John
Deaf juror excused by judge over honesty doubt
A juror claimed deafness to avoid service. The clerk relayed the claim to the judge who asked the juror's reason. The judge dismissed him saying if deaf they do not want him, and if liar they also do not want him. Mr Badman remains at home.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Supreme Judicial Court
Badman
Manchester
Nashua
Cause of Gray Hair and a Night of Horror
A French physician notes hair whitening from extreme grief. A Vienna sexton schemes to trap a challenger by a trap door, forcing Gabriel Petersheim into peril. He clings to a spire all night, emerging aged and worn, his hair turned white and his cheeks sunken.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Moreau
St. Joseph’s Cathedral
Vienna
Leopold
Frankfort
Gabriel Petersheim
Gabriel
Longevity of Some Animals and Human Lifespans
The article surveys ancient claims of animal lifespans including Ajax the elephant of Alexander the Great and other long lived creatures. It cites Cuvier on whales, a 104 year old Vienna eagle, ravens at 100, a swan skeleton aged 290, and tortoises with 100 year marks. It discusses life limits and hopes for humans living to several centuries with sanitary progress.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Alexander the Great
Porus
Ajax
Alexander
Jupiter
Cuvier
Vienna
Hopeland
Umbrella Exchange Aboard NH Rail Car Causes Guilty Flush
A traveler leaving his umbrella on a New Market Junction seat encounters two well dressed young women. One asks for the umbrella, then offers to take charge. He retrieves it after claiming ownership values the silk piece at ten dollars and the scene ends with a blush from the polite thief.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Portsmouth Chronicle
New Hampshire
New Market Junction
Tight boots drawn by bloodless foot trick in Newcastle
A Newcastle paper describes a method to ease tight footwear. The patient lies on the floor with feet raised until blood drains, shrinking the foot by several ounces, allowing the boot to slide on easily, and only remains in that position until the boots are to be removed.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Newcastle
Water Power Described by Elisee Reclus in Deep Canyons
The writer notes Reclus comparing water’s force to vast canyons in Mexico Texas and the Rockies. He cites the Colorado Canyon as 298 miles long with sheer walls rising 5 000 to 6 600 feet, illustrating how rivers carve deep channels.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Norsine
Elisee Reclus
Mexico
Texas
Rocky Mountains
Colorado
Also Mentioned on This Page
Vickery House
Thames Street
Bristol
R. I
R. F. Joynes
Itig
Jess-Gimes C. B. Davis
Cor Cortlandt & New Church Sts
Richard P. French
Cor Richward French
City
Ladies’ & Gentlemen
Rgstadram
State Street
YUIE
Jag Tf
John A C. Gladding
Globe Bristol Bheniz
Phenix
Hope Street
Co. A. Greene
Earth
Barrington
Barrington Oysters
W. S. Dexson
Joe Sweet
DR. Job Sweets
Sweets Bitters
Ictims
Catarrh
Wadsworth
H. H. Barrington
Providence
Jdrobate
Ellery W. Rich
Isabelle R. Rich
Emilie J. Rich
Mary A. Rich
Anna M. Rich
Bristol Phenix
Peter Gladding
Wwire
J. A. Miller
Ringers. Ytniversal
Enpire
Ol” Joan B. Munro’s
John B. Munro
Goethe
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