Willie and the Whumps at Camp Adventure
Willie learns of the Whumps in a forest camp tale where Tim and Beas guide him. He confronts danger when Bess and Tim are captured by Whumps and he pleads for their safety. The brave boy offers himself in exchange, earning praise and a symbolic wristwatch prize from the Whump chief.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Beas
Mason
Beas Fairey
Wise
Thin
Bess
Willie
Sanders
Tim
Wille
Peteon
Ucks
Bin
Bens
Jim Brace
Brace
Boat Club
Dess
Bruce
A Kaffir and a Beating
A historical excerpt recounts a Kaffir child learning about a beating after misunderstanding its pain. Dudley Kidd notes the child’s initial disbelief, then swift punishment, followed by reflection on the experience and the meaning of a beating.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dudley Kidd
Very Sympathetic Wooden Leg Trick Ends In Irony
A Lewes shop doorway tale tells of a one legged man who borrows a shopkeepers wooden leg to visit a next street and mug a house. The other man at the door unknowingly returns the leg, and the trickster exits with the leg strapped on. He muses that coincidences have finally "bit him with both feet."
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lewes
Dre
London
Jamaica
Montego Bay
Haiti
Voice Culture and the Voice as a Part of Health
A female speaker notes the distinctive soft voice of a woman and argues voice care matters. Sarah Bernhardt is cited for a moment of shock at Empress Eugenie’s rough voice. The piece urges proper breathing enunciation and avoiding nasal speech, discusses adenoids, and suggests remedies such as lemon juice and apple before singing.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sarah Bernhardt
Eugenie
Small Economies in Household String Usage
A compact essay notes frugal habits amid inconsistent spending. It contrasts cutting bedspreads into wash cloths, scarce cream for oatmeal, and the persistence of string bags with their knots. It proposes affordable twine upgrades and small storage aids to cut waste, even amid seasonal excesses like out of season fruit.
Chief Justice Marshall and the rule of the house
A polf biography recounts how young guests frequented Chief Justice Marshall’s home with visits by jurists. Uncle Joseph, the major domo, enforced decorum by announcing dinner and keeping young people in bounds, reflecting strict social limits in Virginia households of the era.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Polf
Marshall
Judge Marshall
Joseph
Virginia
Gravitation and Centrifugal Motion Compared
A discussion contrasts growth directions in a revolving wheel with plant shoots bending toward the center. It explains Earth’s gravity as a dominant force that overcomes centrifugal effects. The piece calls gravity the greatest force known and envisions vast technological advances if its nature were understood.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Earth
Why clear bulbs outlast frosted bulbs in electricity
E P Hyde explains incandescent lamp life differs by bulb glass. A carbon film forms on the interior, absorbing some filament radiation. Clear glass lets light pass with less loss than frosted glass where many interior reflections increase light loss, yet filament life is the same in both bulb types.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
E. P. Hyde
Mr. Hyde
Lost Art in Richmond Housekeeper Tale
A Richmond housekeeper recalls Aunt Cecilia Cromwell, an odd local character no longer seen for some time. She meets the old woman, who explains she has lost her taste for work after being out of labor so long.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Richmond
Cecilia Cromwell
Aunt Cecilia
Annie
Lippincott's
Largest city on the Ohio River debate joke
A classroom exchange clarifies that Cincinnati is only sometimes on the Ohio River. The geography teacher presses for the correct full answer, highlighting a playful confusion about the river’s path and city locations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ohio River
Cincinnati
Cannibal Queen and Nibal King Attend Sewing Meeting
Lenion society women to receive high necked dresses crafted by the members. The exchange notes charitable work as the motive for the sewing circle and references London Tit-Bits.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lenion
London
Noosepaper Confusion Cited by Condemned Murderer
A fragmented line shows a condemned murderer asking about a death warrant while a warden’s band responds with the term noosepaper. The garbled text suggests a wartime or sensational tabloid reference. The passage preserves strong elements but lacks clear names or a full event.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pearson
Shrimp Fricassee and Creole Rice Featured in Homestyle Menu
A cookbook style guide outlines Shrimp Fricassee with lard, onions, and tomatoes then simmered with hot water before adding shrimp. Creole Rice combines rice, bacon drippings, onion, tomatoes, cayenne, and seasonings. A beef dish called griades is described with browned meat in lard, onions, tomatoes, flour and gravy. Garlic suggested for extra flavor.
Corsican Funeral Customs and Mourning Practices
Corsican funerals feature costly burial gowns for the dead, rapid interments within a day, and mourners who improvise prose poetry called improvisatori. Death hunters confront mourners, hair is torn onto the coffin, and wealthy mourners self-inflict injuries for pay. Widows wear a black veil for a week, and cemeteries house ornate tombs with hangings, flowers, poetry, and lamps.
Kitchen Wrinkles From a Historical Household Guide
Practical tips on kitchen efficiency from a vintage guide include warming knifeboard before use, sprinkling snuff to deter crickets, wrapping cheese with tissue or paraffin, beating egg whites into cream for quicker whipping, adding grated coconut to Waldorf salads, and using fine wire to hang kitchen tools. Turpentine in water starch keeps fabric from sticking. Boiling water improves shrimp flavor if poured briefly and drained immediately.
The Peculiar Religion of the Negro Natives and Obeah
In Jamaica and Haiti Obeah and Vaudoux shape beliefs among the Black population. The piece recounts encounters with obeah men and the snake stick, noting political and social influence, including cases of poisoning and public threats to suppress the cult. It contrasts Jamaican restraint under British rule with Haiti’s open rites and former presidents’ clashes with the sect.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Walter Beant
Brinjes
Mr. Brinjes
West
Jamaica
Halt
West Indian
Obeah
Vaudoux
Haiti
Papalol
Mamalol
Port Au Prince
The Shoe Rasps and Pegged Shoes Remembered
A middle aged man reflects on obsolete items such as the shoe rasp attached to counters and the pegged shoe tradition. He explains how rasping inside soles removed pegs left by hand sewn footwear, once common in shops and a father urging dealers to remove all pegs before gifting shoes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Baptist Chapel
Bust of Monti Reworks Alfieri Portrait at Pincio
Paolo Picca notes in Vita that a Monti bust at the Pincio has a curious fate. The Vittorio Alfieri bust, once offended the Vatican, was taken down and hidden in a cellar before being replaced by Berri and then Bellini. The cellar bust was revived and heavily altered into Monti’s likeness.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pincio
Paolo Picca
Vincenzo Monti
Vittorio Alfieri
Monti
Alfieri
Alfier
Vatican
Alessandro Berri
Bellini
Berri
Vincenz Monti
Also Mentioned on This Page
Willie and
the Whumps
Bryan
Copmen
Wilam
Tim Mason
Eas Farley
Burt
Wiliam
Marshalls Day
Acadly Pun
Joan
Romeo
Philter
Juliet
Hhis Place
London Globe
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!