AustLit

A country doctor in a small Victorian town rescues a young man from suicide after his release from gaol for an assault he committed defending his innocence of a crime. Questions the legal system and its administration which causes such suffering - the young man eventually dying of brain fever. Lightly but competently told. (PB)

Shipboard romance receives a set-back when a valentine is refused but a slower courtship repairs the damage and the sender eventually confesses his deed. Light - set in England and Europe. (PB)

A spoiled young heiress sends a valentine to an acquaintance she and her orphan cousin made on a summer vacation - and kindles a romance. Light, US tale. (PB)

A new minister pays a visit, and discusses the death of a horse, but his hostess thinks he is referring to her recently dead husband. US humour. (PB)

A coquette separates an engaged couple but her true nature is revealed and after several years they are reunited through a portrait. Slight, probably US. (PB)

Anecdote of a druggist who shares his hotel room with a drunken journalist who mistakenly clothes himself in the druggist's suit and spends his money. Humour - probably US. (PB)

The fortitude of a Polish lancer in the service of the French Marshal Murat when captured by the Spanish in Russian uniform. Stresses mainly his determination to hide his knowledge of French. (PB)

A cockney swell courts an engaging young lady at Ramsgate without response - until he is punished by her newly arrived protector. First person narrative; humour. (PB)

A fashionable city bride persuades her country doctor husband to sell his humble cottage, leave his aunt and buy a big new house. Bankruptcy and Aunt Anne's generosity restore them to their previous home, now beautiful to the eyes of the young wife. (PB)

A good samaritan is poorly repaid for seeing a drunk man home. Humour. (PB)

Prolonged farewells between two married women. Humour (!). (PB)

On the costs of living a lifestyle and character that is not one's own; part essay, part exemplary sketch of a couple who married without knowing their true situation. (PB)

Presidential advice to his brother members on the uncertainties of wealth and health. US humour; partially phonetic. (PB)

The tale of Fisher's Ghost's originally from John Lang's Botany Bay, or, True Stories of the Early Days of Australia . Penrith, NSW, was the scene of Edward Smith's murder of his neighbouring farmer John Fisher, both of them ex-convicts. Smith's plan is foiled by suspicions aroused by Fisher's apparition, the skills of a black tracker, and the sagacious magistrate, Mr Cox. Smith is hanged. (PB)

Example of the calumnies made against actors and actresses by those who don't even know them - and a plea for better treatment. (PB).

Retells the story of an old French actor and a pretty young peasant girl who meet and marry in Paris in 1780 through a shoe left for repair at a street cobbler's store. (PB)

A practical joke played by telegraphers in the far north on one of their fellows. Slightly tedious. (PB)

Tale of the events in the lives of Staffordshire potters in 1833 which give a John Wesley tea pot more than monetary value; of two suitors for their employer's daughter, of the murder of the father by a sacked workman, his fellow's wrongful conviction for the crime and his eventual release. Ring of authenticity with Methodist references. (PB)