Growth of the Blue Book and Federal Civil Service
A Washington Star summary explains the biennial Blue Book census of all government workers on July 1, 1889. It traces origins to 1792, notes salaries and clerical scales, and predicts the next edition will name 15,000 to 20,000 in Washington plus over 170,000 nationwide workers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington Star
United States
Internal Revenue
Uncle Sam
Interior Department
Government Printing Office
Executive Departments
Philadelphia
Navy Department
Timothy Pickering
Congress
Jefferson
Treasury
War
Navy
Washington
New City
State Department
Treasury Department
Secretary’s Office
Commissioner of Revenue
Emigrant duped by gold dream and parrot singer tale
An old German arrives at Castle Garden after an emigrant agent promises gold wealth and golden trinkets. He spends all his money on a New York banquet and is left with seven francs, weeping at his gullibility. A Philadelphia Record item notes a parrot sings opera to attract coins, outdoing the monkey's street act.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Castle Garden
New York
Philadelphia
The Porter’s Lunch Pottery Left Pullman Job
Lambe describes leaving the Pullman Company after admitting he once hid a German passenger’s lunch basket on a Louisville and Nashville run. The tale recounts a feast of chicken sandwiches, geese, brandy, claret, and cigars, a hungry conductor, and a dramatic transfer to Chicago.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lambe
Pullman Company
Louisville & Nashville
Chicago Herald
Nashville
New Orleans
Gars
Furder
Chicago
The Folly Of Worry And Its Guide To Joy
A devotional column urges readers to avoid worry and embrace a positive outlook. It advises matching effort with patience, finding sunshine in everyday life, and using a cheerful spirit to curb nerves. The piece appeals especially to housekeepers and emphasizes practical happiness over perfection.
Homely Philosophy and Ponderings on Life’s Daily Aims
A collection of brief maxims from the Arkansaw Traveler on happiness, effort, charity, misjudgment, appearance versus substance, resilience, and the pains of fortune. It muses that fretfulness harms, effort matters, and beauty meets thorny obstacles in life.
Pious Shermanites Factories Faith and Frugality
A Birmingham correspondent describes Shermanites in Leed's Valley Alabama. They wear long hair and beards, avoid debt notes, and rely on mutual arbitration. They shun courts and politics, value temperance and hard work, and practice monthly foot washing with strong community cohesion.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Birmingham
Ala
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette
John Smith
Mr. Smith
Smith
Leed’s Valley
Christ
Alabama
South Carolina
Georgia
New England
Thoughts of the Dying Reflect Life’s Momentous Events
A text discusses that dying individuals, even when gravely ill or near unconsciousness, often recall chief life events in their last moments. It cites injections reviving cerebral activity to reveal past memories and notes Brown-Sequard’s observation of renewed sensibility and mobility at dissolution.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Brown-Sequard
Singular Appeals to Chauncey Depew Mail Letters
A St Louis Globe Democrat writer reports that Chauncey M Depew receives many Personal letters from rail magnates fans and seekers of favors. Readers include a Hudson River writer asking Depew to pay a fifty dollar tailor bill and send clothes to him with a train pass in exchange for a visit. Depew’s secretary screens these notes and often shares verbatim excerpts for amusement.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chauncey M. Depew
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
New York Central Railroad Company
Depew
Secretary du Val
Mr. Depew
Hudson
New York
Wealthy New Brunswick hermitess reportedly found with servant
A supposed 80 year old hermitess named Merritt lives in an old mansion near the Raritan River with twenty eight cats fifteen dogs and a goat. She has not left her room in thirty six years and meals are served on gold and silver dishes. An estate is managed by a lawyer and her valuables are kept in a iron bound box. Some say she is wealthy while others claim the woods near the house conceal buried riches.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Brunswick
N. J
Merritt
Mr Toads Mistake A Toad Sees Bee Drama In Hammock Tale
A Syracuse Journal correspondent recalls watching a toad in a hammock under a foliage leaf. The toad winks at a bee, swallows a burning sensation, then ejects it and naps again, clearly annoyed with the beekeeper and the bright sunlit scene.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Syracuse
N. Y
Nebuchadnezzar
Jonah
Eoon
Oldest Living Man Nagy Ferencz A Hungarian Peasant
Nagy Ferencz of Barca Hungary is reported by the New York Sun as the oldest living man at about 121 years. Born in Hebrahely he became a famed local wrestler, served in early coalitions wars, and saw Archduke Carl Napoleon Blucher. He lives penniless yet well cared for by Baros families, smoking heavily and enjoying daily meals with neighbors.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Nagy Ferencs
Barca
Hungary
Hebrahely
Nagy
Archduke Carl of Austria
Wetzlar
Marengo
Hohenlinden
Archduke
Aspera
Wagram
Leipsic
Archduke Carl
Napoleon
Blucher
New York Sun
Bates
Maria Theresa
Nagy Ferencz
Baros
Editor Dodges Names in Society Column Dispute
A heated exchange over a society item names Genial Colonel Mumblechock and his daughters. The editor defends the line as a routine note while the Colonel demands removal and orders copies for friends after the seaside trip. he later stops buying the paper. The piece ends with a local proverb about many Mumblechecks.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mumblechock
Mumbledhock
Texas
Grocer's Boy Laughs At Sugar Barrel Trick
A cartoonish exchange shows a grocer's boy asking how a father makes a locomotive pull a long train. The engineer replies he opens wide and gives it sand, joking that the sugar barrel behaves the same.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Grocer
Jerusalem
Arcola
Brains or Brawn: Uncle Charles Prefers Knowledge
In a casual chat, Beth asks which is better for a man out in the world brain or muscle. Uncle Charles argues brains win since a collegiate education helps, but real world success requires intelligence.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Brie
Uncle Charles
Wart Charm Prompts Reluctant Vow
A rustic girl asks Charley to love her forever and cling to her. He bluntly replies he will stay as tight as a wart on her chin, a line captured by the Arcola Record.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Arcola
Jefferson and Fulton Talk Over Cutlets for Supper
A playful exchange between Jefferson and Fulton centers on a rushed supper plan. Puck humorously notes cutting and cooking plans as they argue about time and meals.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jefferson
Fulton
Puck
Wilkie Collins Hard at Work Despite Paralysis
The renowned novelist Wilkie Collins, aged sixty five, faces a possible end to his writing career after a paralysis stroke. Doctors say his labor may cease, with "Blind Love" noted as his last novel though he planned another work. He remained a tireless, time efficient writer, dictated by habit, who spoke passionately about copyright and fair pay for authors.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Wilkie Collins
New York World
Lord Harry
England
World
New York
London
Kate Field
Queen Victoria
Mr. Collins
Sarony
Watt
America
Charles Dickens
Sam Johnson Visits County Jail to See Gabe Snodgrass
Sam Johnson visits the county jail and speaks with Gabe Snodgrass, asking how he ended up imprisoned and how to secure release, in a humorous rural Texas dialect. The fragment suggests a jail encounter with light tone and regional speech.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sam Jonson
Gabe Snodgrass
Gabe
Dar
Sam Johnson
Texas
Biftings
Dr Schmerz Warns Against Drinking
In a clipped dialogue, Dr Schmerz chides a friend for stomach abuse and drinking while O Hara protests life’s hardships. A political rumor and flirtation thread emerge as Bessie notes a handsome actor and Jennie questions his wealth, reflecting social chatter.
Didn't Want Company: Doctor Charges Three Dollars a Visit
Fragmentary line from a 19th century humor piece where a doctor quotes three dollars per visit and a speaker prefers a shorter stay, noting the humor in the exchange. The garbled OCR hints at a joke about visiting duration and fees.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Puck
Also Mentioned on This Page
The
Albany
God
Frank B. Welch
Arkansaw Traveler
PIOUS
Shermanites
New Jersey
MR. Toad
Beth
Forever
Bessie
Jennie
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