Cirrus@Austlit

A wife is finally controlled when her husband discovers her plot to substitute a pregnant servant's child for the one she is not having (being only fat, not pregnant). Savage humour in parts. (PB)

Reflections on their worth. (PB)

Beauty in the serenity of old age. (PB)

A Scotswoman nearly kills herself in her husband's place because of her superstitious beliefs. Introduction states the tale is based on fact. (PB)

Tale of the author's acquaintance with an unemployed shepherd who makes a fortune from quack-doctoring and remedies advertised through a newspaper. Introduction and post-script indicate that the AJ published it is as part of its campaign against false remedies, quacks, impostures etc. (PB)

A newly-married bride discovers her husband has been married before and resolves to leave him. She is dissuaded by the first wife herself - who dies tragically soon after. Neat though slight, tired tale. (PB)

A stepmother forgets to buy the doll she has promised and the child catches a fever waiting for it while her father and stepmother are at a ball. Moral tale; never deceive a child. Predictable. (PB)

Ironic reflections of a self-made man on his rise and on the reasons not to assist strugglers.

A company-loving husband persuades his wife to visit some friends on a cold winter's night and through a series of delays and mistakes they do not return til 3 a.m. Quietly humorous domestic tale. (PB)

How a resourceful English captain captures a French corvette by deception near Plymouth Harbour. An example of 'bounce'. (PB)

Two new chums arrive in Dunedin, NZ in December 1862 and soon make their way to the Molyneux River where they commence cradling for gold. The harsh treatment endured by the local store-keeper's wife attracts their attention, until one night she is pushed off a cliff-top into the river. Well-told with solid landscape descriptions. (PB)

Set in Missouri, an incorruptible judge oversees the pugilistic settlement of a dispute between opposing counsel within a closed court. (PB)

The captain of a trading ship bound for India cleverly captures the crew of a mutinous ship transporting convicts to Sydney. Set in the Indian Ocean past Africa. Well paced. (PB)

Observation, its uses, and the importance of a standpoint. Includes brief glances at Melbourne's streets. (PB)

Its relationship to intelligence, and its relativity. (PB)

A series of daring and clever robberies in the US in 1866 prove to be the work of a clever Frenchwoman working as his wife's maid. She had taken the role of various servants in each house robbed - as male and female, French and Italian. Her gang is captured through the work of detective Betts - but she escapes. (PB)

Set in the US, a father describes the manufacture of Valentine cards to his daughter. Dull. (PB)

A missing £10 note and some idle gossip ruin a young dressmaker's name and force her to find work in a factory. Romance and social comment. Slight. (PB)

Set around a boarding house, a divorcee temporarily separates a pair of lovers - until her rescue from a blazing nightgown prompts a confession of letters interchanged. (PB)

Set in the village of Merton, Nelson Barry the dissipated young lawyer loves beautiful Katharine Hinton but her father will not consent to their marriage. A carriage accident and a pledge to cease drinking change his mind ... Argues that virtue alone is not sufficient for love. Well written; light. (PB)