Deacon Bancroft Marries Widow Wells After a Plan
In Centerville the widowed Widow Wells schemes to improve her fortune by courting Deacon Bancroft, a well to do neighbor. She engineers signals of hidden treasure to probe his intentions, winning his interest with clever wit and fine mince pies, and they wed.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Deacon Bancroft
Centerville
Centreville
Wells
Mr. Wells
Bancroft
Weiss
Henry
Deacon
Libel Suit Aimed at Spy Editor In Columbia
Lar Samuel Wrrth editor of the Spy at Columbia Pennsylvania faces a libel action for publishing a report that the pestilence psora or itch was killing inhabitants of the city. The plaintiff is not named but likely the city’s body corporate.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lar
Samuel Wrrth
Columbia
Growth of Methodists in New England Reaches One Hundred Thousand
From conference minutes in New England it is reported there are about 100000Methodist Church members in the region with an increase of roughly 10000 over the past year including probationers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New England
Methodist Church
Queer Divorce Case in Ohio Courts
A divorce suit in Ohio follows a year of happiness and a child birth. The dispute centers on naming the infant Athol. The wife urges a name, the husband resists citing a past liaison. She hints at a remedy, he remains firm, and the petition moves toward separation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ohio
Athol
Ghostly haunting ends in famine death in Markeville parish
The Central Organ reports a wife driven by a purported ghost and the Devil to refuse food after her husband’s suicide. She claimed choking visions began after the encounter and, after twenty seven days of starvation, she died. A local gentleman vouched for the tale.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Markeville
Negro Woman Turns White Says Letter From Newton
A Newton Maryland letter notes a negro woman about fifty named Heonsh Smith who allegedly shows the rare transformation of turning white due to absorption of skin coloring matter. The text claims her body is nearly white with scattered dark spots on limbs and torso.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Newton
Maryland
Heonsh Smith
Magnetic communication hinted by 18th century tale
Addison's Spectator recounts Strada's Profusions describing two friends using a loadstone to move needles on linked dials. They each hold a needle guiding a plate with 24 letters, enabling instantaneous distant communication across a hundred miles or more as letters align. The tale blends myth with early proto-telegraphic ideas.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Addison
Spectator
Strada
Specie Totals in the United States and World Mines
An 1849 end figure estimates 114 million dollars in country specie, 480 million from mint coinage since 1849, 120 million from immigration bullion, and 94 million on hand bullion, totaling 880 million. Exports since 1846 left 500 million in the U.S. gold and silver. California mines produced 713 million, Australia mines 615 million, with at least 1.46 billion added to world precious metals in the last decade.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
United States
California
Australia
Capacity Asked for by Wealthy Mother at School
A wealthy councilman's wife visits her daughter’s school and questions the Governess about the girl’s progress. The Governess replies the girl is attentive but lacks capacity. The mother insists the father can afford it and requests immediate provision of capacity regardless of cost.
Transcendental Proposal Across the Arm
A fragment depicts a formal, old fashioned request for social courtesy urging a young woman to link arms through a closed crook in the elbow. The diction mirrors 19th century etiquette and social expectations in courtship discourse.
Gentleman asks bound book bound in Russia in Boston shop
A man presenting a volume of Gibbon’s Rome to a Boston bookseller was asked about binding it in Russia. He replied no, sin is too far off, and said he would have it dope.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gibbon
Rome
Boston
Russia
Tact and Talent Contrast in a Capital Essay Portrait
A verbose essay praises tact as the higher form of ability, defining tact as instinctive, adaptable, and worldly useful, while defining talent as serious, logical, and weighty. It argues tact outperforms talent in practical life, commerce, and popularity by its immediacy, flexibility, and marketability.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
England
Newfound land dog inspires unlikely marriage boast
A romantic girl nearly drowns after falling into the river. Rescued and revived at home she proclaims she must marry her noble rescuer. Her father objects asking if the man is already married, and she reveals it was not a suitor but the Newfound land dog she meant.
Jerrold’s Witty Interjection About Trousers
A lady teases her husband in Jerrold's presence saying he needs new trousers. The husband declines, but Jerrold remarks that the lady who wears them ought to know.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jerrold
Keeper beats elephant for dust mischief at tent
A bystander questioned a menagerie keeper who admits whipping an elephant with a large club to stop the animal from flinging dust around the tent. He says the elephant is old enough to know better.
Irishwoman pleads for leniency in pirite case as widow seeks help
A distressed Irishwoman convicted of illegally selling pirite pleads for mercy while describing her hardship as a poor widow who must sell rum to support her child and asks what his Honor might grant to be her wife.
Extraordinary Character: Baron Von Ocertel of Saxony
The St Louis Republican recalls Baron Frederick Von Ocertel once disinherited by his wealthy father for an elopement plan with a poor girl. He served ten years in the U S Army in Mexico, learned his estate was shared by siblings, and returned to St Louis to live in destitution. He sold Bretzels for sixteen years, earned $900, married, and later lost that wife to a seducer, continuing his modest breadwinning until he saved $400 more over three years.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Frederick von Ocertel
Saxony
U.S. Army
Mexico
Germany
Biatuin
von Cortel
United States
St. Louis
Bretsel Frits
von Oertel
Bretzel Fritz
How a Man Feels Ween Ne Is Daune Recalled
The narrator recalls his first elegant intoxication with foggy streets rising like a hill. He describes staggered steps, shifting perceptions, and a hill that seems to topple as the town appears to spin. The scene ends with a memory of a brick house approaching and the inability to recall the rest.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
D. Tight
Monkey Menagerie Mischief Told in Odd Tale
A bizarre scene unfolds as a visitor with a cigar enters a menagerie. The proprietor urges him to remove the weed from his mouth to avoid frightening the monkeys and upsetting the exhibit.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ara Datdy
Joara
Labita
Also Mentioned on This Page
Minny
Wella
Hal
Decon Bancroft
The
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