Carlyle at Kirkcaldy School a donkey lesson remembered
An 1853 reminiscence recounts Thomas Carlyle as a stern tutor who rarely shouted yet possessed a terrifying frown and a surprising laugh. A provost pupil recalls a day a donkey entered the playground and Carlyle rewarded the prank with a roaring, transformative laugh and a peculiar lesson in discipline.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
The
Scotsman
Thomas Carlyle
Cupar Fife
Carlyle
Kirkcaldy
Hugh Miller
Jill Hood
Bill
Papas
Bill Hood
Kirkcaldy School
Doctor proposes home gatherings to aid homeless youths
A pastor urges a wealthy homeowner to open his house several evenings for homeless men to steer them away from clubs and saloons. The homeowner replies he already hosts daughters and social events, questioning the idea. Chicago Tribune notes the exchange.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago Tribune
Artist Sells Lakeside View for 1000 Dollars
A Summers ago an artist visited a Michigan inland lake region and painted a hill of rocks and jack pines. The landowner dismissed the effort, but the artist paid summer rates and returned next season. He disclosed he sold the view for 1000 dollars before framing. The landlord later boasted of being outsmarted, admitting the painter had "skinned that feller slick and clean" with that single sale.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Michigan
Allus
Picter
Hull
Detroit
Free Press
Oak tap root yields ancient horseshoe paperweight
Rider Haggard recalls a Bradenham Wood incident where a centuries old oak being felled reveals a hollow tap root containing an antique horseshoe. The shoe, once an acorn’s home, grew with the tree and became a unique paperweight in Bradenham Hall’s vestibule.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bradenham Wood
Bradenham Hall
Distilled Water Deemed Poison in Early Writings
A 19th century note argues distilled water is a dangerous protoplasmic poison. It claims taste rejection, stomach catarrh symptoms, and warns against washing stomachs with distilled water. Cited from National Druggist, reflecting concerns over pure water practices.
Lampposts for town leaders in ancient custom
The article notes lampposts placed before chief magistrates houses from sheriffs to mayors and provosts. It suggests posts originally held proclamations, later becoming ceremonial markers, reflecting a historic practice tied to public notices.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Heywood
Reginald
Forgetful Spouse leads to Wind Fault
A humorous exchange from New York Weekly features Mrs Bilkins scolding her forgetful husband for failing to wind the clock. He replies it stopped because she forgot to remind him, illustrating a light domestic vignette.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mrs. Bilkins
Mr. Bilkins
New York Weekly
Miss Singleton Thinks He Asked Her to Subscribe
In Harpers Bazaar a humorous note recalls how a young clergyman’s proposal to Miss Singleton was misheard. She, slightly deaf, thought he asked her to subscribe to the organ fund and replied she had already promised her money to another mission.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harper’s Bazar
Proud of His Descent in Humorous Exchange
O'Brien congratulates Phelim on his descent while McTurk counters with pride about his own ancestry. O'Brien boasts a past misadventure of descending four stories when the ladder broke and he did not spill a brick, highlighting rustic humor and Irish dialogue.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
O'Brien
Phelim
McTurk
O’brien
A Bill a Berry in the Market Flurry
The Yonkers Statesman quips that the new series of $1 bills arrives as the first southern strawberries hit markets. The exchange mocks government timing with a light economic jab.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Yonkers Statesman
Clergyman Takes Younger Curate On Farewell Sermon
An English paper recounts a clergyman with two curates where the elder and he clashed. On moving to a new living he brings the younger, whom he favors, and for his farewell sermon he selects as his text a line about remaining with the donkey as he and the lad go to worship.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Swords
Excited Lawyer Recalls Freehold Trial and No 6 Juror
A veteran New Jersey lawyer describes a sensational civil case in Freehold where juror No 6 heckled and mocked him through the trial. The judge pressed on, the verdict surprised all, and the mystery juror turned out to be the defendant’s hired man posing as a juror amid a chaotic courtroom scene. Another item recaps a cautious suitor seeking approval from Horatio Bullion for marriage to Gladys, highlighting his lack of vice but worry over sons-in-law and a hoped-for restriction on newspapering.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lawyers’ Club
Freehold
N. J
No. 6
Emiles
New Jersey
New York Sun
Horatio Bullion
Gladys
Reginald Biddlethwaite
Mr. Biddlethwaite
Reginald
Cleveland
Pfr. W
Hin
Richmond
Windsor
Pearson’s Weekly
New York
Flags That No Longer Wave In 1858 Supplement
A London weekly notes that 11 of 86 flags in a nations supplement have disappeared, including the East India Company, Ionian Islands, Tuscany, Naples, the States of the Church, the Russian American Company, and Sardinia.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
All Nations
London
East India Company
Ionian Islands
Tuscany
Naples
States of the Church
Russian-American Company
Sardinia
Sickly Creatures and Octogenarian Deaths in Brooklyn Life
A fragment from Brooklyn Life notes an octogenarian death and a quip about aging. The exchange suggests unusual illness and the rarity of octogenarians, highlighting a somber mood around mortality.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jennie
Herbie
Brooklyn
Pancakes A La Seminole From A Gulf Wreck
A Florida coast wreck tale recalls Vaseline Pancaker on Cesar Creek named after a pirate Ellis Cresar and the wreckers. Indians seize cargo as the steamer breaks up near Cape Florida, cooking with Vaseline mistaken for frying fat and turning wine, soap, iron, and boxes ashore.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cesar’s Creek
Florida
Ellis Cresar
H. A. Willoughby
Everglades
Cape Florida
Messages by Vibration and Odd Pasts From History
A traveler reports Indian techniques near the Embrya rivers using a sand filled drum and wood resonator for wireless like telephony over 1500 yards. The column then recounts various curiosities and anecdotes including a livery case, early colonial duels, Pompeii tumblers, Japanese student costs, and a quip from Mae.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Catuquinara
Embrya
Embyrasu
Carlyle Silencer a Watchman in Scotland Tale
Charles T. Copeland recounts Carlyle Silencer in Scotland during 1338. After returning to Scotsbrig he stayed with Mrs. Hanning in Manchester where a night watchman’s groaning noises disturbed his sleep. The watchman persisted until confronted and ceased, leaving Carlyle astonished.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Carlyle
Scotland
Scotsbrig
Charles T. Copeland
Atlantic
Manchester
Watchman
English Children and Negroes Study Brightens In Schools
The National Review notes that primary school geography and stories shape village children’s ideas of negroes. Definitions range from black foreigners to slaves and circus curiosities, with images from Uncle Tom's Cabin and missionary tales coloring opinions.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
India
America
National Review
Glycerin Men Discuss Foreordination and Safety
A Bradford Era interview with a glycerin man says many in the blasting business believe in foreordination and will die when their time comes. He notes glycerin workers feel peril yet cautious, while railroad workers face higher accidental death risk.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bradford
Singular Calculation From Power's Figures
A detailed reckoning by J A Renie suggests a 10 000 horsepower engine would require 70 billion years to lift the earth a foot and would need 10 quintillion gallons of water. coal for the task would total 4 sextillion tons, loaded in 20 ton cars that, 80 feet long and linked, would encircle the globe 45 million times and take 25 million years to run.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
J. A. Renie
His Mother's Son and a Toy Monkey Tale
A Chicago News humor item recounts an old gentleman sharing a letter from his eight year old nephew Hal. The child expresses delight with a wind up monkey, recalling past times with Uncle Ned as his mother winds the toy. The exchanged quips revolve around sentimentality versus practicality.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mary
Hal
Nev
Mamma
Ned
Origin of the Postal System
A historical note traces the birth of the postal system to M. de Velayer in 1658 Paris. He started a private penny post with street boxes and daily collections, leading to the first post office and the spread of printed business forms in major French cities. The piece cites Harper's Round Table on the venture's influence.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Louis XIV
M. de Velayer
Paris
France
Harper’s Round Table
A Boy's Recollections of the Great Chicago Fire
Charles F W Mieglatz recalls a moment during the 1871 Chicago fire when flames from Wells street lit the block between Washington and Randolph and swept through a boot and shoe shop. Boots and shoes blew into the street while a tar kettle and paver barrels caught fire, as a nearby hat factory lofted hats into the air.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Charles F. W. Mieglatz
Chicago
St. Nicholas
Mr. Mieglatz
Wells Street
Washington and
Randolph
Lake Streets
Wells and
Our Immense Railway System Magnitude in the US rail network
The United States rail system uses 36 000 locomotives 26 000 passenger cars 8000 mail and baggage cars and 1 250 000 freight cars. A passenger train weighs about 184 tons while freight trains reach 550 tons. Passenger cars cost 4000 to 5000 dollars and sleeping cars 10000 to 20000 dollars. The system’s vast equipment grew in one generation and may be outpaced by future capacity and wonder.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
United States
New York Tribune
Expert Siamese swimmers and river bathing habits
A traveler describes Siamese people as experts at swimming, spending most of their lives in water. They bathe at fixed times daily and many bathers occupy creeks, including a woman with her infant on a landing step. An English boat once collided with a native canoe, after which the mother salvaged her children and scolded the intruders.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Edward Doty
Edward Leister
New England
Hopkins
Pompeii
University of Tokyo
Mae
Ethel
New York Journal
Han
Youth's Companion
Him
Chicago News
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!