Bassetts Scrap Book, Vol 2, No 9
Articles in this issue
- p. 1
A historical survey of American Thanksgiving, tracing it back not to the Pilgrims but to a 1607 English Church ceremony at Monhegan, Maine, before the Mayflower's arrival, and following the custom's gradual evolution into an annual New England institution.
- p. 2
The Scrap Book's own ranked list of the ten best novels ever read, favouring Les Misérables, Lorna Doone, and David Copperfield, with commentary defending omissions and acknowledging other strong candidates.
- p. 2
A ranked list of the best short stories including Dickens's Christmas Carol, Irving's Rip Van Winkle, Bret Harte's Luck of Roaring Camp, and stories by Poe, Hale, Stockton, Kipling, Barrie, Hawthorne, and Bulwer-Lytton.
- p. 2
A historical account of the turkey's origins in the New World, first reported by explorers off North Carolina in 1584, and quickly adopted into the cuisine of Europe after appearing on the tables of early Virginian adventurers.
- p. 2
An opening verse for November 1904 personifying 'I Can' and 'I Can't' on a walk together, with the former explaining that his success comes simply from substituting 'I will' for 'I wish'.
- p. 8
A schoolmaster's anecdote about a class vote for a national flower, disrupted by a young Italian boy who refuses to vote until he has been told how much he will be paid for doing so.
- p. 11
An editorial invitation to readers to send in lists of the ten books outside religion and professional works that have been most helpful to them personally, promising to publish all responses received.