How an American girl aided England's sea canal gain
Two gentlemen at the Carleton Club hear a tale of intrigue in which an American secretary helps delay Count von Steritz to secure a British purchase of Suez Canal stock. A cab ride, a ruse with a dummy injury, and Miss Alice Stringfellow’s clever plan enable England to obtain a controlling canal interest. The story ends with the diplomat praising the American woman and revealing his career rise to her role.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Carleton Club
London
Parte Legation
Egypt
Suez Canal
Count von Stertitz
Berlin
England
von Steinitz
Janeh
Alice Stringfellow
United States
Ron
Miust
Tien
Count Peron Koew
Peere Fou
Brie
von Sterlitz
Lerlin
Count Sterlitz
Kerlin
Misa Alice Stringfellow
Canal
Washington
Eyes of a Portrait Observing Viewers in Motion
Harper's Weekly notes that eyes in a portrait appear to follow observers as they move, with realism enhanced by angle and perspective. The effect persists if the gaze initially follows the viewer, while a non looking gaze loses contact as the viewer shifts position.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harper’s Weekly
Four Soldiers Die in Boer War Hearse Incident Tale
A Canadian veteran recalls a Boer War incident near Middleburg where a hearse rolled into his scouting party. Four men dismounted to retrieve it and all four perished. two later found jobs in Cape Town and the other two married widows and settled on farms.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mounted Rifles
Middleburg
Transvaal
Cape Town
Canada
New York
One Thing He Remembered at the Post Office
A man stood by a stamp window with a flushed face tugging at a knotted handkerchief. When the knot snapped his friend asked about the knot and he replied it was to remember his wife’s umbrella mended but he forgot the umbrella on the subway.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Yorks ‘Tribune
When Solid Iron Floats
Experiments show a ball of solid iron lowered into molten iron first sinks to the fork, then rises to the surface and floats until it melts. The rise is explained by the iron ball expanding with heat, increasing its volume and reducing density compared to the molten metal.
Fragmented OCR and political talk in mid century column
The text shows garbled remarks on politics and family roles with stray phrases about farmers hemp and old masters. Names and places are unreadable, leaving only vague references to a Washington Star and Punch style content. The fragment hints at domestic politics intersecting rural life but provides no clear event or person.
A Two Legged Donkey Or How Pa Merivale Happened to Mise Hie Tram
In a light exchange from the Boston Journal style, Mrs Merivale chats about her three children as Pa Merivale arrives late for dinner. Their eldest Harry quips about waiting and Pa explains his delay was due to a donkey in the street.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Marry
Mr. Merivaie
Harry
Papa
Jack
Boston Journal
Reckless Cyclist Abandons Hill Descent After Bribery Joke
In Lancashire a cyclist plans to ride down a steep hill but is stopped by an elderly man demanding payment for the iron railings guarding a garden at the bottom. The man claims past vandals damaged the rails and refuses to take further risk, so the cyclist walks down instead.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lancashire
Mixed Metaphor Provokes English Professor Commentary
A University of Pennsylvania English professor cites Sir Ellis Ashmead Bart lett’s letter to the London Times as a stark example of mixed metaphor. The remark notes a screen that does many things yet reveals plans to foes and undermines policy, ending with a vivid imagined image.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
University of Pennsylvania
Ellis Ashmead Bartlett
Philadelphia
Ellis
London Times
China
Washington Star
Poor Girl and Broken Marriage Tale from Chicago Record
A widow recalls a troubled marriage with Charles, six months married next Thursday, and describes her husband’s disappointing behavior. She recounts a burglar alarm in their room and his use of “three simply awful swear words” as she laments ruin of her in life.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Charles
Chicago
Miserly Waiter Mirrors Strain in Pearson's Week
A humorous vignette from Pearson's Weekis depicts a miserly old man waiter reacting to a tense dining moment. The piece highlights the pressure of pennies and the prospect of paying for two meals, reflecting social snubs and comic financial anxiety.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Uere
Unclear Scribbled Note From Rattled Upset Tribune
A garbled Chicago Tribune fragment mentions Sweden, prize dogs, taxes, and Stockholm with stray phrases about a tip writer and responses. The readable bits hint at taxation and canine prizes but lack coherent events or identities.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Livers
Sweden
Argested Brooks
Stockholm
Chicaco Tribune
Money a Nation's Symbol Reflects French Finesse
James Davenport Wheipley argues in the Century that money mirrors a nation's character, praising French currency for its wallet fit, fine texture, and delicate color as a symbol of the French taste and social life. He contrasts it with other nations' notes and traits.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
James Davenport Wheipley
France
Curious epitaphs from old English tombs revealed
A Chambers Journal piece notes inscriptions in nonconformist graves in Campo Santo at Bunhill Fields. It highlights Lady Page who endured numerous medical drainings, and Vavasor Powell the Welsh preacher jailed eleven years for gospel work, portraying their deaths as spiritual liberty.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tomib
Vavasor
l’Owell
Whitefield
Wales
The Sinner From Bishop Graftons Sermon
A Fond du Lac observer recalls Bishop Grafton famed for crisp pulpit wit. During a strike a capitalist praised capitalists before the crowd. the bishop then asked, Is there any other sinner would like to say a word, in measured rebuke.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Grafton
Fond du Lac
New York Tribune
The Oldest Order In Existence
The article traces the Order of the Holy Sepulcher as the oldest order with no definite founder or date. It notes legendary Charlemagne origins, the transfer of grand mastership to the Jerusalem patriarchate by Pope Pius IX, and 1868 statutes creating grand cross, commander, and knight ranks.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Holy Sepulcher
Westwinster Gazette
Desertion sparks warrant request in local court
A large woman declares she wants a warrant after her husband deserts her. The prosecutor asks for the reason, she dismisses questions, and an official begins drawing up the warrant, as reported in the Pittsburg Past.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Feeliyan
L'Itisburga
Featon For Grief
A fragmentary Chicago News clipping notes a grieving wife asking about her son as a catalog of 20 accessories for a car is found unreadable.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dolin
A Woman's Way in the Night Time
Ella Beteore muses on the habit of recalling every unpleasant remark from the day. She remarks that thinking this way is not easy and wonders how to manage with little sleep.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ella—Beteore
Sunday stroll with Sufubix and the town station
Fragmentary note recalls a Sunday outing with the Sufubix two miles from the station and hints at a judge and Montaigne style wisdom. The text is garbled and offers no clear event, date, or verifiable details.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Judge
Awful Good Dog Described in Family Tale
Ben Strickland recalls a nomadic Florida family living with a decrepit horse and a dog that journeyed with them. The dog’s burial was marked, and Aunt Martha mourned, noting the dog had been “an awful good dog” despite the couple’s instability. The Indianapolis News record preserves the anecdote.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ben Strickland
Tadiaca State Bereac of Printing and Trading
Greenfield
Strickland
Martha
Billy
Ben
Indianapolis News
Indiscriminate Charmer in Wax Shopfront Display
A narrator notes a slim fair figure in new outfits each week, smiling enticingly in a busy shopfront. The subject is a wax model, designed to attract a giddy crowd with lavish clothes and a polished appearance. The poem laments the model’s smiles are for all passersby, not a single admirer.
Independent gent remark sparks judge’s quip in court
A courtroom exchange pivots on the word gent as a witness testifies to a defendant’s character. Justice Wightman challenges the term independent gent, prompting a witty clarification about the phrase and its social acceptability in polite society.
What Dora knows of botany and ologies
A playful verse notes Dora’s vast learning across botany Greek and many ologies yet contrasts it with her suitor Vera knows a different depth. The speaker envies the certainty Dora holds about love and courage and ponders what fate awaits the would be proposer.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dora
Vera
T. A. Daly
New York
Evening Sun
Streetcar Conductor Retorts to Farmer Question
A cranky passenger challenged a conductor about train times at North station. After the conductor admitted ignorance, the man insulted the crew and asked why the road employed so many farmers. The conductor fired back that farmers ride to tend cattle on the cars.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bustoo
A Bit Annoying. A Satirical Street Scene Parody
A witty verse mocks urban life and rude street encounters as a passer by endures a comic mishap. The speaker taunts readers with exaggerated questions about endurance and poison penish remarks while imagining a wagon splashing someone on a busy street.
Steamboat Crash Into Pier Startles Passengers
An explanation notes a steamboat slam into a pier at full speed. Passengers cry out Mercy and wonder what is wrong. Pat the deckhand jokes that nothing serious happened and the captain forgot the passengers aboard.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pat
Harper's Weekly
Cincinnati Mayhem and Mischief in Comic Notices
A fragment from Cincinnati Mercury items praises a lively girl who eats deviled ham and angel food while describing her capers and nightly curl routines. The playful quips highlight her spirited character and comic publication mentions.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cinciinati Magquirer
Definition of hand bones leads to awkward retort
A Yonkers statesman recounts a tense scene where an irate father questions a man about his daughter in a plain area. The exchange escalates as the father challenges a claim about wrist and hand bones to justify his actions.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Yonkers
Also Mentioned on This Page
Ft. Bet
Sten
von Sterlite
South Africa
Politics
Pfarmer- She
Gaius & Wau
Campo Santo
Buruillields
Bunyan
Defoe
Cromwells
Mrs. Wesley
Lady Page
Mary Page
Gregory Page
Chambers’ Journal
the Sinner
Charles C. Grafton
Ford du Lac
Montaigne
Ness
Louden Chronicle
New York Mail
Cincinnati Moquirer
Mui
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!