How a Reading, PA., merchant, broke open his wife’s chamber and discovered a supposed lover to be a harmless female cousin. [more]

Mr. Jacob Snyder, a prosperous merchant of Reading, Pa., lately made a fool of himself. He has a young and pretty wife, of whom he is extremely jealous. He was about to depart for Philadelphia on a business trip, when eh accidently fond in his wife’s writing desk a note signed “Will,” which read as follows:

“Dear Kate – I have just received your not. I will come up and spend a couple of days with you and try to make you forget the absence of your hubby.”

“Trifles light as air, are to the jealous confirmation strong as proof of holy writ,” and this brief note was sufficient to set the suspicious man all aglow. He resolved to dissemble, and instead of leaving town laid low until evening. After he had watched the shadows of tow figures upon the blinds of his wife’s bedroom, he quietly entered the house , and stealing up stairs was prepared to burst in upon the gulty pair. He demanded admittance the the champer. There was a shriek. His persistent demands met with a vigorous protest form his wife. This incensed him still more, and seemed to confirm his suspicions. At last the wife unbolted the door to make an explanation. The infuriated man would to listen to nothing, but pushing his wife aside rushed into the room. Instead of the trembling lover he expected to find, a blushing female, in very scant clothing, was hiding behind the door, who his wife introduced as “my cousin, Miss Wilhelmina Wilson.” You bet that husband will have to buy a new fall bonnet.

Reprinted from National Police Gazette, November 17, 1883.

Buffalo, New York, May 1893 – Though it would seem to be a conflict of interest, The Christian Homestead Association produced this map of the Canal District in 1893, showing the locations of 75 houses of ill-fame, 108 saloons, 19 “free theatre saloons” and 76 more mundane retail establishments. The Erie Canal, which brought growth and prosperity to Buffalo, also brought neighborhoods like this one, and the clientele to keep them thriving. It is uncertain exactly why the CHA would create a map like this, but it must have been helpful to someone.

Source:

Grosvenor Rare Book Room