April Fool and the Doctor: A Small Town Comedy
A Practical Joker follows Benjamin Top who plays April fools on Dr. Scroggins. The doctor, finding a letter promising advantage, is invited to New York and lands a hospital post after a clever ruse. Top is later reversed by a truth-telling neighbor and a twist of fate.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York City
Benjamin Top
Mr. Top
Dr. Scroggins
Top
Scrocarss
Messrs
Wall Street
New York
Scroggins
Geome
Mel Iilonly
Emma
Mr. S
Tam
Benjamin Torp
Messrs. W. & Il’s
Dr. Scroggina
Better Late Than Never: A Moral on Perseverance
The poem extols steady effort and fair play in life as a race. It urges not to slacken when behind, to press on with noble daring, and to value honest labor over boastful victory. Readers are reminded that success may arrive late but is worth pursuing.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bob Burdette
Burlington Hawkeye
Tice
United States
George W. Washington
America
Washington
Valley Forge
The Enigma of Women and Their Won By Women
A quatrain flavored meditation on the futility of changing a woman's mind and the art of courting. The speaker argues any attempt to alter a fixed resolve fails like moving the Alps. The piece then prescribes flattery and idealization as the only path to love, urging blind praise as the key to winning affection.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Alps
Young Tennessean Seeks Easy Life as Editor
A Tennessee youth writes to a Western paper seeking an easy editor’s life. He has taught school since quitting, and dreams of wealth, leisure, and writing in a private, comfortable office. He imagines the editor’s life as free of work and full of privilege.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tennessee
Be Sensible about Work and Trades in Everyday Life
The piece argues for pride in all honest trades and warns against fear of dirt or hard effort. It emphasizes practical labor, from bakers to sailors, as worthwhile, then shifts to praise of Mr Winnecke for discovering a two tailed comet, noting the novelty of the approach.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Judge Pitman
Potter
Pitman
Max Adeler
Lucifer
Saxo
Winnecke
Juliet and Romeo Firelight Quip Noted in Soliloquy
The passage recalls Juliet lighting with coal oil and camphene, triggering Romeo’s line about torches burning bright. It muses on Juliet fainting, imagining her trying to hasten breakfast for her father by using a camphene can.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Juliet
Romeo
Socrates joked once then repented under sharp rebuke
An amusing anecdote recalls Socrates attempting a pun but facing a strong rebuke from Mrs Socrates who likened the incident to an American Eagle attacking a worm, prompting immediate regret.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
mar-Socrates
Mra
Socrates
Solon and Croesus iron stone and modern power
A moral tale contrasts Solon’s iron ore gift with Croesus wealth, noting iron as a superior enduring value. The piece traces how iron stone shaped defense and industry from ancient times to modern advances such as the patent and rail, asserting iron’s rising supremacy over precious metals.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Solon
Sardis
Lydia
Croesus
Sulon
Athens
Pather
Neptune
Wallabout Bay
Vulcan
Essen
Ile
Clergyman Hears Son Question God Speak During Sermon
A five year old son interrupts his father the clergyman as he prepares a Sunday discourse. The boy asks if God tells him what to preach, prompting a quick rebuke and reflection on divine guidance during the writing process.
Why is the letter sta lamb
A playful note explains the question why the letter sta appears as lambs, hinting at a pun where sta echoes the start of the word sheep.
Also Mentioned on This Page
the Register
Co. W. Slater
Doctor
Ohio
Jessup
Sor
Boston Commercial Bulletin
Solon Vs. Croesus
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