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This newspaper page contains 31 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Covington Republican
Location
Covington, Indiana, United States of America
Date
Dec 28, 1906
Page
2
The Philadelphia Record surveys how European courts value finger loss. It cites France Austria Germany Italy in percentages of hand value and notes the thumb’s pivotal role, differences by finger, and that artists are rarely considered in these rulings.
The article surveys beliefs about insects in various cultures. It notes flies as omens in the Koran and German lore, crickets signaling nights, Tapuya devil shapes, grasshoppers foretelling visitors, Spaniards linking spiders to gold, beetles as sacred yet unlucky to kill, bees and the soul, and Welsh tradition of bees from paradise aiding Mass wax.
A Cleveland Plain Dealer quote describes varied clock reactions. Some clock lovers find ticking comforting and sleep aids, while others fear it and would stop a clock in a strange room. The jeweler notes habit and personal fancies shape such reactions.
The three travelers at a French inn chose Margaux Pontet Canet and Haut Brion from the menu. The host departed with the dinner crowd, then slipped back to whisper their exact order as Baptiste, three bottles of the red, to the inn staff.
The London Guardian notes a street child who rarely feels pity from others, possessing bright spirits and humor. Despite grim prospects, he finds enjoyment in unlikely materials and remains hopeful about his future.
In a Washington Star excerpt, an unhappy employer asks, “Is that all the work you can do in a day?” and Erastus Pinkley replies, “I s’pose I could do me’, but I never was much of a hand for showin’ off.”
A fragment from the New York Times quotes George Washington discussing a proposed marriage to a widow. His father responds that the match would not benefit him if he could marry the widow anyway, prompting a terse family exchange.
Olive oil forms a cornerstone of beauty and nourishment. It has been valued since ancient times by Greeks, Romans, and Eastern beauties for internal and external use. It aids digestion, builds flesh, softens skin, and is gentle yet nourishing with many applications.
The alfalfa plant originated in southwestern Asia and reached southern Europe five centuries before Christ. Romans valued it for horses, and from Italy it spread to Spain and France. Spaniards carried it to the Americas, and by the mid-1800s it entered the United States via California. Now widely grown across the nation, alfalfa is also known as lucerne when sourced from other European countries.
A list of curious early English book titles from Cromwell's time includes A Most Delectable Sweet Perfumed Nosegay For God's Saints to Smell At and Biscuit Baked In the Oven of Charity For the Chickens of the Church. Also A Sigh of Sorrow For the Sinners of Zion by Samuel Fish, a Quaker imprisoned, and The Spiritual Mustard Pot to Make the Soul Sneeze With Devotion. Many appeared during Cromwell’s era.
The Strand Magazine notes that lawyers have long dominated the house among professions though they faced early opposition. James I advised against electing wrangling lawyers in 1624-25, yet legal minds continued to flood into Parliament with each election.
A concise aphorism from William Henry Channing encourages contentment with small means and elegance over luxury. It urges peers to be worthy rather than respectable, to study, think, speak kindly, act frankly, listen openly, and let inner spiritual growth unfold through daily life.
A lighthearted quip from the Indianapolis Star recalls old days and shirts with buttons. A witty exchange turns on who buttons shirts, contrasting past and present manners in a playful, nostalgic tone.
The Washington Star records a terse exchange where a discontented employer questions throughput and Erastus Pink responds with a curt reply, illustrating workplace tension in a concise quotation.
A brief quotation notes that an idle mind brings distress rather than rest, attributed to Cowper, highlighting the value of purposeful activity for mental well being. The line cautions against letting the mind drift into vacancy and unease.
John Burroughs argues in Outing Magazine that birds show no true sympathy for others’ suffering. Birds mourn mates via breeding instinct alarms, which spur other species to join cries, not an empathetic understanding of distress.
Over forty years of observation show courtships in Baltimore begin around mid October as nights cool. Many pauses occur before Christmas due to gift costs, then a late January tentative engagement. February to March brings engagement chatter, planning of bridesmaids and trousseau, with June to May spent on funds for the honeymoon.
Edwin Booth once immersed himself wholly in a role in The King's Fool and, after the curtain fell, believed he had surpassed all prior work. His daughter Edwina Booth, seated in a stage box, insisted she had never seen him act so poorly, noting he chose to be the man rather than the artist for that performance.
The article notes twelfth and thirteenth century monks copied the Bible slowly, with none finished in under 35 years. Guido de Jars produced illuminated manuscripts, including a copy sold with Sir W. Burrell’s books in 1790. Jars began in 1244 and finished in 1294.
The passage credits Van Ceuten of the Netherlands with determining pi to thirty-six decimal places by repeatedly bisecting an arc. He showed that for a circle with diameter 1 the circumference is approximately 3.1415026 and noted the extreme labor required for this method.
A single grain of the resin of Indian hemp will produce catalepsy in a man. A few hours are required for the effects to reach a climax. When limbs may be placed in any position and remain there indefinitely, with the body insensible to impressions during the catalepsy.
The article notes New Guinea natives use spider web nets to catch fish up to a pound. They set bamboo frames and watch for passing fish to dip and land them. A miscaptioned quip about a country store asking for black hose ends with a clerk saying no hoes available.
A light salon exchange in a London shop abounds with requests for Brussels goods and lace as a clerk guides the customer through carpet and lace options in a bustling department store setting.
A young man recalls leaving a job after a tyrannical superintendent. He finds truth in the grocery boss’s line that he will “find a hole” for him and learns to look before leaping, a cautionary lesson from New York Press.
A physiologist discusses daily weight changes from meals and sleep. He cites meals adding about four pounds fourteen ounces total and nightly losses of the same amount, arguing constant net weight amid fluctuations may influence bodily work and brain function, while noting humans still eat beyond need.
The skeptic David Hume fell into a bog near Edinburgh and was saved only after he declared his belief. An old woman refused aid until he recited the Apostles' Creed, affirming he was not an atheist. Her strict condition saved him from the bog.
Exhibits in London law cases vary from papers to boilers with the judge and jury inspecting large items outside the witness box. A notable exhibit was a ship's boiler furnace conveyed from Swansea for inspection by the court.
The warden calls the inmate the coolest and most thoughtful convict to have broken jail. An amused visitor recalls a parting note to the governor stating a hope for pardon for the liberty taken, as reported by the Catholic Standard and Times.
The Punch cartoon depicts Christabel denying kicking her cousin while the governess claims she saw several kicks. Christabel insists she missed each time, prompting humorous dialogue about blame and perception.
Genealogical whimsy from the Cleveland Plain Dealer describes a man nicknamed the human ostrich who supposedly swallowed nails hatpins and even chewed glass. The column notes the danger and absurdity of such feats and adds a quip about his pain from extensive glass chewing.
A man laments higher living costs while another defends modern conveniences, arguing they add value and worth. The exchange highlights the trade off between expense and utility as society advances.
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