Random Notes and Anecdotes From The Register
A miscellany of short items covers European warfare lessons on artillery at distance, a Tennessee widow buying a burial robe, a Philadelphia mayoral complaint about clean streets, Suemipsy visiting Chicago, cremation stats by country, a legible London manuscript tale, Oregon salmon fishing by horse, a Tempe ad dispute, Beecher on Oliver Johnson, journalism in China, a police officer’s prayer excuse, proposal to use lady readers in Congress, a New York church scarf incident, and King Alfonso’s latest Spanish dignity gains.
Fraudulent Marble Man Trick Foiled in Australia
A clever Italian staged a fake fossil of a “marble man” idea and, with two confederates, buried a carved marble slab to fool locals. The ruse collapsed when a confederate confessed the fraud, exposing the hoax and sparking regional incredulity.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Australia
Extraordinary vision feats and Okefinokee wilds feature in old Cul.
An 1879 case tells of Jolly Thomas Hestor of Birmingham whose eye disease rewired his vision, yielding instant enhanced sight and unique corneal changes. The article then surveys the Okefinokee Swamp region in Georgia and Florida as a rich game habitat, urging sturdy boots to thwart moccasins and rattlesnakes. It closes with a note on the aging Prince of Wales growing stern on morality after personal betrayals.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jolly Thomas Hestor
Birmingham
Eng
Rocky Mountains
Okitinokee Swamp
Charlton
Ware
Clinch
Georgia
Baker County
Florida
Okifinokee
Prince of Wales
London
Phonograph Solution for a Lonely Husband
A merchant traveler tells of seeking a talking phonograph to ease nightly loneliness after his wife leaves town. He wants a machine that can speak nightly to comfort him and help him sleep, noting how people neglect great services once they are gone. The piece ends by remarking that the world quickly forgets great deeds.
Twilight reflections on marriage and vanished youth
A speaker in a quiet chamber recalls a lost youth and a cherished love, Ayraree, now bound to a difficult marriage. He laments isolation, hears a snoring spouse, and wanders through memories of Fifth Avenue festivities and a fading dream.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fern
Fifth Avenue
Arhansme Praveier
Dolly and the Gypsy Fortune Tellings Turn to Riches
Dolly, a hopeful farm girl, trusts a gypsy’s prophecy after stealing a jewel heirloom. The omen predicts marriage to a nobleman and wealth, altering her love for Fritz. A farm accident binds them. Fritz is maimed, Dolly vows to work. Fritz later inherits wealth and becomes Count Muhlenbach with Dolly as countess and seven sons.
Watch Pictures Photograph on Watch Faces
A Philadelphia Press note describes a watch case with a tiny portrait sealed inside. Three men discuss the trick, where a jeweler explains the method and a young man recalls seeing such watches in New York. The scheme lets a wearer glimpse the photo only if the girl has given her picture.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Philadelphia Press
Precaution Caution Over Cake At The Door
A kitchen encounter recalls a warning about tempting cake smells. A cook jokes about treats baked by students in a cooking school. The speaker urges eating outdoors to avoid danger inside the house.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Weekly
From Brevier to Senate Gil Pierce’s unlikely rise
A veteran newspaper man recounts Gil Pierce’s ascent from Inter Ocean and News editorials to United States Senator. He credits Mel Stone’s influence with Arthur for Pierce’s Dakota governor appointment, and notes Pierce’s savvy politics and popularity. The speaker quips that other editors may follow to new western posts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Brother Harvey
The
Richelieu
Gil Pierce
Inter- Ocean
United States
Senator Pierce
Gil
Mel Stone
Pierce
Stone
Arthur
Dakota
General Plumb
Prof
Upton
Tribune
Brother Busbey
Inier-Ocean
Col. Russell
Sea Birds Endure Storms and Sailor Pranks
A historical article describes sea birds especially gulls as enduring teams of endurance. It notes their flight mechanics bones muscles and lack of sleep and mentions sailors using sail twine and blubber to tease gulls for amusement aboard ships.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ocer
Origins of Fabric Names Traced to Cities and Cultures
A Trade Journal explainer surveys how common fabric names arise from places and peoples. Damask from Damascus and calico from Calicut appear alongside satin from Zay town, and many others like alpaca from Peru, velvet from velluto, and chintz from Chett illuminate the global loom of commerce.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Damascus
Zaytown
China
Calicut
India
Dimity
Damietta
Jean
Ireland
Drogheda
Duel
Torque
Normandy
Thomas Blanket
England
Extravagant Funeral Funds Amid Well Cave-In
Minnesota man John Forth is buried when a well caves in. Two men offer to fill the well for eight dollars and a widow, seeing funeral costs at fourteen, approves to save six. Neighbors later intervene, deterring the plan to exhume the body. The Free Press quotes a moral on diligence and self-command.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John Forth
Minnesota
Detroit Free Press
Selecting the Dancers in a Ballet Master’s Tryout
The ballet master advertising for forty dancers conducts a lengthy audition before a crowd of 453 hopefuls. He methodically lines and scores candidates, picking seven then reducing the group to forty as emotions run high among disappointed applicants. Miss Avoirdupois presses for fairness while others lament their closure.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Theater Ballet
M. Pirouet
Dees
Miss Avoirdupo
Ladees
Miss Avoirdupois
Leesten
Mademoiselle de
Blanche
Mademoiselle
Mademoisselle
Milk tampering tale sparks a skeptical servant
A Indian master uses a lactometer to test milk and finds twenty five percent water. The servant claims honest milking occurred in the master's presence and doubts the instrument’s accuracy with buffalo milk. The exchange ends with uncertainty over the milk’s origin and content.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
India
Possessors of the Golden Rose and a Royal Lineage
A churchman notes that since the Empress of Brazil fled to Europe the only known holder of the golden rose in the Western hemisphere is Miss Owendo line Caldwell. He cites misfortune befalling recent holders Therese of Brazil Isabella of Spain and the present Queen of Spain, while the rose dates to the 12th century and now honors women.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Brazil
Europe
Owendoline Caldwell
Therese
Miss Caldwell
Isabella
Spain
New York World
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