Bassetts Scrap Book, Vol 4, No 2
Articles in this issue
- p. 2
A meditative poem by an unnamed author who winds his watch by lamplight and reflects that the little mechanism of pins, wheels, and screws bearing his name will outlast the life it was made to measure.
- p. 1
An April 1906 miscellany including the observation that a million dollars' worth of gold is annually hammered into American teeth, the best after-dinner speech being the cheques, and a Boston physician's cure for insomnia — placing a warm hand over the pit of the stomach.
- p. 5
A comic poem by Nixon Waterman in which a man sits accidentally in the pew of a beautiful girl, determines to look away, succeeds until she sings 'I want to be an angel', at which point he leans over and tells her she already is one.
- p. 4
A news note about a 782-acre tract of land near Bedford, Indiana, donated by Dr. Joseph Gardner to Clara Barton for the Red Cross, protected by international treaty and ratified by 42 nations as permanently exempt from war and invasion.
- p. 5
A poem in which a nightingale, mortified by singing one note out of tune, hides her head under her wing in shame, until a kind dove coaxes her out with the reminder that a false note from such a bird is merely a charming eccentricity, whereupon she sings magnificently.
- p. 7
An anecdote of a woman famous for her gentle temper who reveals her secret: whenever she is furious with someone she writes them a scathing letter, reads it back with satisfaction, and then tears it up — keeping the peace while relieving her feelings entirely.
- p. 7
An extract from a poem attributed to Pythagoras urging the reader not to let soft slumber close the eyes without reviewing the day's actions and asking three times what was done wrong, what was left undone, and what was done well.