A Lively Time at Sea with a Huge Orangutang on Board
Sailors recount a voyage from Singapore to Borneo where a six foot orangutan broke loose during a hurricane. The ape attacked the galley, dragged the keeper, and fought the crew on a swaying deck until a wave swept it overboard. The narrator survived with a shaken nerve and a vow not to sail with such beasts again.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
H. L
McKay
Singapore
Hongkong
San Fumben
Borneo
Lowrie
Clouded the Wedding by Misnamed Guest
At a wedding reception a man pays respect to the bride saying he feels acquainted with his partner’s wife. The bride, Helen, sharply corrects him revealing her identity as the bride and denying the speaker’s insinuation. The moment unfolds with embarrassment for the husband and guest.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Susie
Helen
A Life Saver For Some One
A Philadelphia cartoon caption recounts a couple’s first quarrel with a twist. The wife questions the husband’s deeds to help others, and he responds that marrying her saved at least one man from a terrible fate.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia
Street Musician Arrest After Permit Refusal
A street musician is taken into custody after the police insist on a permit for busking. The musician admits no permit exists and agrees to accompany the officer. The brief exchange ends with a mention of New York Imes as the singer.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Imes
Silk of the Spider in Silk Production Ideas
Harper's Weekly reports on a French inventor Cachot who used a spider driven by a machine to spin silk. The process claimed to yield thread tougher than iron and reusable after the spider is fed again, though dresses of spider silk remain luxury.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cachot
Cacot
Harper’s Weekly
Humorous Riot in Canadas Tale From Hums of 37
In rebellion times between French Canadians and Loyalists the book Humors of 37 recalls a county member of parliament at a chateau who, craving ice cream, exclaimed to the waiter that the dish was insultingly withheld, saying you abominable rascal if it were for an Englishman you would have taken the chill off.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Canadas
Mesdames Lizars
In the Twilight of Life Reflects on Elder Youth Bonds
Excerpt from Mon scripts by William Dillman muses on aging observers forming friendships with youth. Old women woo children with sweets and stories while old men trade counsel and gifts for companionship. The passage laments dying without lasting ties.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Monuscripts
William Dillman
Clerical Luxury Debate at Bloomfield Bishop Presides
A debating society session at Bloomfield features a sharp student question on apostolic views of lavish church living. The bishop answers in a mild tone that Paul would say things in the church must be looking up.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. James
Whistle for your dog and lobster
A Scotchman and his dog pass a fish market when a lobster leaps from a basket and seizes the dog's tail. They run off as the fishmonger shouts to whistle for the dog. The Scotchman retorts with a pun about whistling for the lobster.
Power of Vibration and Its Effect on Mosquitoes and Structures
The article recounts experiments on sound and vibration using violin and flute to attract and kill mosquitoes in a southern swamp district. It also describes a French tower study where musicians on multiple floors produced a rotating upward resonance without horizontal sway, noting organ and trumpet sounds as especially disruptive to structures.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ene Tee
Harper’s Weekly
Genesis of Men of Straw
An English author recounts a Westminster tale where men wore straw in their boots to signal false witness status. Advertisers could buy testimonies by offering money, raising the fee until memory could be relied on, giving rise to the term Men of Straw.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Englebach
Westminster Hall
At Home in Yorkshire Dinner Courtesy Curious Exchange
A Yorkshire gentleman’s wife hosts an at home where an outside manservant, instead of a butler, serves guests. He is surprised by the thin bread and butter portions and tells an ancient dowager, in a whispered yet audible remark, that she could get a bite by slapping slices together.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London Telegraph
Welcome Addition Marriage Consent Dialogue
A brief, old style exchange as the Youth asks the Old Man for permission to marry his daughter. The Old Man questions income, then approves, blessing the union and humorously noting support for occasional touches from the father. Kansas City Times style.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Kansas City Times
Bridge Challenge in the Pullman
A polite man asks a fellow traveler to join a bridge game in a Pullman car. The other declines, citing distrust of strangers and a joke about possible cheating.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lenco
Harper’s Weekly
Landseer Tales of Art and Ambition from a London Studio
Alan Montgomery recalls stories of Sir Edwin Landseer a London resident for decades. The painter prized portraits yet hid from exhibition and famously altered a royal group painting sparing fur and feathers over flesh. G D Leslie notes Landseer’s constant scraping from 1854 to 1870 and suggests the strain hastened his death according to the Westminster Gazette.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. J Wood
Alan Montgomery
Edwin Landseer
London
Landseer
Toney Smith
Smith
St. Paul’s
Edwin
G. D. Leslie
Leslie
Westminster Gazette
Sundial as Garden Ornament and Memory Maker
The sundial stands as an interesting lawn or garden ornament with antiquity and novelty. It should be placed at the garden center or a sunlit lawn spot free from shade, and can be moved when plowing. It recalls sunny memories of a friend or maker who has passed on.
Dusting Orders For Dining Guests In The Library
A Philadelphia Telegraph item recounts a home scene where a mistress informs her maid Jane that Mr and Mrs Smith will visit for dinner. She notes Mr Smith is six feet tall and instructs dusting the ornaments on the top shelf. The moment highlights polite domestic humor and social proprieties.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jane
Mrs. Smith
His Cast Off Suit
A bachelor in a hotel cleans out his wardrobe and a suit ends up with the maid. She says her brother would wear it, and later asks for $2.50 to fix it. The bachelor refuses to pay, planning to sell discarded clothes to the old clo’ man.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Sun
Traveling men greet stranger at hotel lobby encounter
A jovial group of traveling men sit in a hotel lobby when a new arrival greets them warmly while another man dismissively withholds welcome. The scene unfolds as the Kansas City Times notes the exchange.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
P. H
Kansas City Times
Also Mentioned on This Page
Bartron
Stories
It Walsh Co. Incorporated
Oil Springs
William Aul
Ae Tate
Clark
Electric Dry Cleaning Co
Maysville Street
MT. Sterling, KY
Sutton-Eastin Co
Ambulance Service
Wight
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!