AustLit

A widow in Detroit is hoaxed into letting her dog take part in a fight by the suggestion that its opponent's owner had insulted her. (PB)

Domestic romance. An old maid in Melbourne watches the progress of a young married couple whose love seems to founder upon alcohol for a time - but a quarrel and the fear of his death in a railway accident reunite them and he starts afresh ... Predictable plot; competent only. The old maid actually intervenes to comfort the wife in her husband's absence. (PB)

Domestic dispute over a bonnet is settled after a cooking strike. Humour. (PB)

A hunter's encounter with a tiger during a night spent lost in the Himalayan jungle. Man outstares beast. Descriptive. (PB)

Romance of Americans in Europe. A 36-year-old bachelor holidaying in Germany assists an orphaned penniless girl to bury her mother and takes her back to his sister in Paris. His sister's plans for his money are upset when he marries the girl ... Light. (PB)

Humorous US romance. A stage coach journey, a forgotten trunk, and a period locked in a hotel room's private closet without clothes and with two young ladies changing theirs constituted the trying time. Light. (PB)

Captain's reminiscence of a 'lucky' ship in the China trade in the 1860s. Protected by a Chinese luck taper and altar the ship survives many tight corners and sinks only when the captain mistakenly blows it out. He comes to think the ship's lucky reputation caused more foolhardiness than necessary, and quarrels with his former friend, a Chinese merchant, over its efficacy. Well written and paced. (PB)

A thief attempts to rob a house when a jeweller's invalid sister is working at home - but she won't betray the hiding place of the gems and he is trapped by a broken window sash. Slight; light tone. (PB)

Tale of a Frenchman, Jean Mistral, condemned to a madhouse for 47 years by a father opposed to his marriage. Factually based. (PB)

A child dying in a city is comforted by the growth of simple runner beans - and dies as they blossom. Her mother washes ceaselessly and finally uselessly to keep her alive. Pathos. (PB)

Reminiscence of a flirtation which nearly ended a romance; set in Brighton in the 1830s. Wearing an admirer's shoes to a ball instead of those brought by an accepted lover precipitates a quarrel which nearly results in the fiancées trial for murder. The admirer - a handsome officer - disappears, and only the fortuitous discovery of his clothes explains his drowning. Tale told to her granddaughter as a lesson against flirting. Light. (PB)

Set in a farming settlement in the Victorian ranges, Hester Lillie shoots her secret fiancee for jilting her for a friend lately become an heiress, and enters the convent to repent. She dies a month later. (PB)

A travelling salesman for a publishing firm extolls the virtues of his books without making a sale. Over-extended humour. (PB)

Narrative version of the 'May Queen' - with commentary - by sensible Mrs G. Humour. Concludes with passing comment on lectures on women's rights. (PB)

Explanation of the saying; from the annals of the Irish Parliament and a crucial vote where a member appeared without court dress. (PB)

Romance begun on holiday ends when Girard Hollister discovers Miriam Strickland is an actress and he has vowed he could never love one. He becomes engaged to a widow but a chance visit to the theatre and the widow's common sense renew his hopes. (PB)

A country judge tries his last case - a woman arrested for disturbing the peace who dies in court - his own daughter. Remote justice etc. (PB)

A negress sings a hymn from her cabin during a snowstorm while outside, within hearing, a 'fallen' girl hears her and is comforted. Dying during the night she is taken to the heavenly fold ... Pathos. Peculiar sort of comfort, death, etc. (PB)

A Confederate soldier captured in Washington pretends to be a deaf-mute to escape the charge of spying - and is well tested. Slight; interesting. (PB)

US Western sketch. A dumpy little woman on the stage from Austin to Eureka, Nevada shoots a hold-up agent and saves her five male fellow passengers £4000. (PB)