Trial at Old Pop Castle Court in War's Aftermath
A vivid postwar scene unfolds as Uncle Cephas, now Squire Bolden, presides over the first court under a great oak at Old Pop Castle. A mulatto prosecutor rails against Nickydemus with forged legal language while the magistrate mulls the grapevine as a crowd of colored people watches a rope-bound vagabond await judgment. The piece captures tense, lingering social power, regional dialect, and the spectacle of early Black governance in a fractured era.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pop Castle
Aarge
Cephas
Bolden
Thaourt
Bizness
Uncle Cephas
de Gan
Gentermans
Hyere
Nickydemus
Nickydemus Wagstaff
Elmighty
Roanoke
Tar
Crick
United States
Daniel Webster
Hisself
Nicodemus
Uncle Ceph
Gontermiis and the jury foil hanging on grapevine
In a rural courtroom scene Squire Bolden tries Nicodemus Wagstaff for murder. The condemned man is strung up on a grapevine noose but the rope breaks and he escapes as Uncle Cephas quietly sabotages the hangman plan, sparking a wild chase and unlikely reprieve.
A Dahlia Garden Poison For Bees And Wasps
A Detroit Free Press notice describes a dahlia garden where cut flowers leaking noon juice intoxicate bees wasps and bumblebees. Insects stagger drag themselves home then recover or resume work, illustrating how even industrious bees fall to the deadly nectar and offer excuses for lost time.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
A Hot Bath as Sleep Aid and Tim Dexter Tale
A guide claims a three minute hot bath followed by tepid water and drying rub can cure sleeplessness and headaches. It mentions Timothy Dexter, Salem merchant, author of A Pickle For the Knowing Ones, known for punctationless text and a tale about warming pans misused in the West Indies.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Timothy Dexter
Salem
Mass
West India Islands
Bride requests more affection from husband in humorous exchange
A bride tells her father she never doubts Henry’s affection but wishes for more demonstration. The old man jokes about the sore eyed poodle in the house, and the bride asks what other demonstration she should expect, prompting a light exchange quoted from the Chicago Tribune.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago Tribune
Fate of the Flies Demands Answer From Entomologist
A Louisville Courier Journal note cites an entomologist claiming a single female house fly could lay 120 eggs in ten to fifteen days with 90 to 100 producing offspring. Over twelve generations in a summer, a single fly’s lineage could reach into quintillions, prompting a reflection on how such an explosion in numbers could be managed and where all the flies would go.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Earth
Louisville Courier-Journal
May the Lord Pickle You and Your Family
A French visitor in London helping his English host, in a letter of thanks, misremembered a word meaning preserve. He ends with the line May the Lord pickle you and your family to all eternity, unaware the term pickle means preserve.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Paris
London
Oranges and Lemons Through an Old Newspaper Ad
The Reminiscence club president recalls abundant cheap oranges and scarce past prices in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. He notes how a boy’s first orange felt precious, and recalls spinsters buying halves for civic hospitality. An 1853 Detroit Tree Press ad echoes the era.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Reminiscence Club
Pennsylvania
Florida
Philadelphia
Detroit Tree Press
Salt saves dishes and homes in old kitchen lore
Common salt dampened removes tea and coffee stains from cups and saucers and prevents fading colors in wash. It brightens silver eggs stains and can scrub China matting willow furniture. It serves as a dentifrice and can smother chimney flames or fat-dripping fires with salt.
Warring Birds and Unwritten Laws of Bird Warfare
A Country Life correspondent notes how birds retreat from more earnest opponents, with examples like missel thrush chased by sparrow, rook pursued by missel thrush, and sparrowhawk driven by rook, illustrating illogic in wild bird wars and a chain of pursuing and retreating behaviors.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Missel Thrush
Sparrow
Rook
Sparrowhawk
Wren
Bible student asks questions to Sunday school class
A Sunday school member quizzes children on Bible knowledge. When asked where the word holy first appears, the class is stumped for a minute until a sharp urchin volunteers that it is on the cover.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sar
Work Of Necessity In A Sunday Hare Shooting
A Scottish rural parish minister questions a flock member about a work of necessity. The man replies that shooting a hare on Sunday could be justified if it might be needed the following Monday, delivering a canny, humorous legal quip.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Scotland
John
Gloucester mayor on portrait likeness head on view
A Gloucester Massachusetts mayor compared a predecessor’s portrait to a strong profile remarking a head on view would be more effective. The comment marries nautical terms with art criticism, noting how certain features suit a frontal representation better.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gloucester
Mass
A Protest Against the Ancient Nation of Rising Early
A historical piece argues for later rising times and longer morning naps. It cites shifts toward shorter workdays, sociological claims that more sleep lowers crime, and energy savings from reduced lighting. The author advocates a morning nap to boost health and productivity amid changing work schedules.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia
Turtles Attack Vineyard Prompt Wall Around Property
An Algiers observer notes vines gnawed at roots by a turtle army that quietly moved from the river to a vineyard at night. After the owner lit a lamp and heard an eerie sound he found the slow march of turtles ravaging the vines. Laborers freed the vines and a wall was erected for protection.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Algiers
Man fights paper over taxes and Sunday hunting incident
A man angered at his editor stopped his newspaper, sold his coin for four cents below market, had property sold for taxes for missing treasurer notices, was fined eight dollars for hunting on Sunday, paid three hundred dollars for forged notes, and later paid a large American with a hammer foot to assault the editor and force a four year prepaid subscription with a threat to be robbed if the paper stopped again.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Fate OF the Flies
Fidelity & Deposit Co
Maryland
N. W. Cor. Charles and Lexington &Tr
BalTimorne, Mo
Edwin Warfield
Harry Nicodemus
Sec
Treas
Bond
Asa
U.S
Asan
Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland
Deweese & Owens
Denton, MD
G. K. Ebling
Ridgely, MD
WM. T. Jones
Als
Queen Anne, Md
J. R. Wooters
Nain
Dover Street
Hotel Avon
Easton
Preston
Denton
Harvey M. Thawley
Contractor
Carpenter, &c
Henry BR. Lewis
Alan Goldsborough
Lewis & Goldsborough, Attorneys-At-Law
Caroline
Counties
Tr Pliny Fisher
Qsear Clark
Denton, Mil
J Fletcher Clark
Y Baston
I. O Deen
Fowling Creek, MD
Caroline County
Ames T. Sylvester
Red R. Owens
R. Cochran, OR
Wilmington
Del
Mason
GHN
Dungan Justice OF the Peace
Hillaboro
F P. Covey
Agner
Journal
Harderill River
Frederica
Nathan H. Maxson
Webbs Landing
Bowers
Mber
Vhura
Too A
Werh's Bower's
Fier
Chestnut
Chester
Philadelm
Grentlemen
Ids
Frengnt
Frederica & Phila. Nay, CO
Frederica del
W. J. Blackiston
Enger
Azrymene
Speedy
S. Noweke, & Son
Denton, Maryland
Allbuilders
Etropia
Pia
Smith & Wright
Anklam Mfg CO
Optician
Hyes
Ridgely
James TT. Cooper
Undertaker
R. ¢. Garrett & CO
Pine St
W. T. Hignutt
Smithville
John W. Causby
Pres
WM. Denney
Sec’y and Treas
Kent County Mutual Insurance
Dover
Delaware
Cohn T. Carter, Jr
L. Irving Jones
Greensboro
Alex, Noble
Preston, Md
T. H. Evans & Company, Frumann Produce Commission
Meerrchan
Light Street
Baltimore, Maryland
Aphiyve
Jewepaper
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