In the fall of 1888 the steamship Sunda, from Southampton, was running along the southern coast of Long Island, not many hours from port, when she was passed by one of the great British liners, outward bound. The tide was high, and the course of both vessels was nearer the coast than is usual–that of […]

The pretty little theatre attached to the building of the Unicorn Club had been hired for a certain January afternoon by Mr. Herbert Loring, who wished to give therein a somewhat novel performance, to which he had invited a small audience consisting entirely of friends and acquaintances. Loring was a handsome fellow about thirty years […]

It is now five years since an event occurred which so colored my life, or rather so changed some of its original colors, that I have thought it well to write an account of it, deeming that its lessons may be of advantage to persons whose situations in life are similar to my own. When […]

The negro church which stood in the pine woods near the little village of Oxford Cross Roads, in one of the lower counties of Virginia, was presided over by an elderly individual, known to the community in general as Uncle Pete; but on Sundays the members of his congregation addressed him as Brudder Pete. He […]

THIS STORY IS TOLD BY JOHN GAYTHER AND IS CALLED WHAT I FOUND IN THE SEA It was on a morning in June that John Gayther was hoeing peas, drawing the fine earth up about their tender little stems as a mother would tuck the clothes about her little sleeping baby, when, happening to glance […]

THIS STORY IS TOLD BY THE DAUGHTER OF THE HOUSE AND IS CALLED THE BUSHWHACKER NURSE The Daughter of the House, her fair cheeks a little flushed, walked rapidly down the broad centre path of the garden, looking for John Gayther, the gardener. She soon saw him at work in a bed of tomato-plants. “John,” […]

THIS STORY IS TOLD BY JOHN GAYTHER AND IS CALLED THE LADY IN THE BOX John Gayther was busy putting the finishing touches to a bed in which he intended to sow his latest planting of bush-beans, or string-beans, or snaps, as they are called in different parts of the country. These were very choice […]

THIS STORY IS TOLD BY THE MISTRESS OF THE HOUSE AND IS CALLED THE COT AND THE RILL A week or so later the Daughter of the House came skipping down one of the broad paths. John Gayther stood still and looked at her, glad to see her coming, as he always was, no matter […]

THIS STORY IS TOLD BY THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE AND IS CALLED THE GILDED IDOL AND THE KING CONCH-SHELL The rose-vines were running riot over the old garden wall, and as it was now midsummer and the season of their full bloom had passed, John Gayther set to work one morning to prune and […]

THIS STORY IS TOLD BY THE FRENCHMAN AND IS CALLED MY BALLOON HUNT The next morning, after breakfast, the Mistress of the House and John Gayther were walking through the garden together, for her quick eye had detected much that needed attention. Some things she had already decided upon, but there were others in which […]

THIS STORY IS TOLD BY POMONA AND JONAS AND IS CALLED THE FOREIGN PRINCE AND THE HERMIT’S DAUGHTER The Frenchman went away; and after him there was a succession of visitors to the house who were not interested in gardens and were therefore not introduced within the sacred precincts of the summer-house on the upper […]

THIS STORY IS TOLD BY THE DAUGHTER OF THE HOUSE AND IS CALLED THE CONSCIOUS AMANDA One morning, as John Gayther was working in the melon-bed, the Daughter of the House came to him, and greeted him with such a glow on her face that John knew she had something pleasant to tell him. “Yes, […]

THIS STORY IS TOLD BY THE OLD PROFESSOR AND IS CALLED MY TRANSLATOPHONE The Professor was very old, but he was well preserved–always spoken of as “hale and hearty.” He still held his position in his college, and still took a good part in teaching mathematics, but he had an assistant who did the heavy […]

THIS STORY IS TOLD BY THE NEXT NEIGHBOR AND IS CALLED THE VICE-CONSORT The red thrush seemed now to be part of the pleasantness of the garden. Whether he was drawn to the lilac-bushes by the sweet memory of his former home, or whether he was keeping a tryst with his mate of the nesting […]

THIS STORY IS TOLD BY JOHN GAYTHER AND IS CALLED BLACKGUM AG’IN’ THUNDER BLACKGUM AG’IN’ THUNDER John Gayther and the Daughter of the House walked in the garden. The melons were ripe now, and it was a pleasure to push aside the coarse leaves and find beneath them the tropical-looking fruit with the pretty network […]

At the time when the American colonists began to be restless under the rule of Great Britain, the people of New Jersey showed as strong a desire for independence as those of any other Colony, and they were by no means backward in submitting to any privations which might be necessary in order to assert […]

When a nation goes to war with another, it is often necessary for the armies on each side to leave behind some of the high and noble principles which may have governed them at home. Of course, war is bloody and cruel, and it almost always happens that the officers and soldiers are obliged to […]

The person whose story we are now about to tell was not a Jerseyman; but, as most of the incidents which make him interesting to us occurred in this State, we will give him the benefit of a few years’ residence here. This was General Charles Lee, who might well have been called a soldier […]

When we consider the American Revolution, we are apt to think of it as a great war in which all the inhabitants of the Colonies rose up against Great Britain, determined, no matter what might be the hardships and privations, no matter what the cost in blood and money, to achieve their independence and the […]

There are so many curious and unexpected things which may happen in time of war, especially to people who live in parts of a country where the enemy may be expected to come, or where the friendly army is already encamped, that it is impossible to guard against unpleasant occurrences; and it often happens that […]