"It is a practice on some New Zealand railways to allow church men to ride fare, and one of the cloth the other day wrote to the manager asking, 'if he could embrace his wife also.' The manager replied that he thought he could, but he did not want to say positively until he had seen the parson's wife, as he was a little fastidious in his tastes."
"The Glass Blowers gave their farewell exhibition at the Princess Theatre last night. A committee of ladies awarded the prize pipe to a well-known businessman as being, 'the plainest man in the hall.'"
"A valuable draught horse fell into the open drain in Glasgow Street on Saturday night last and was killed."
"Nocturnal peregrinations in the vicinity of the Harrison Street drain are attended with danger to a greater or lesser extent. On Thursday night, two gentlemen unexpectedly found themselves struggling at the bottom of its slimy depths, much in the same predicament as Jack and Jill, except that the pail of water was not the end and object of their research. In other respects, the history as told in the old familiar ballad repeated itself. Pedestrians should exercise due care when promenading thereabouts, especially at night."
"Even Councillor Nathan is not a bad fellow, though he did make a mess of the Harrison Street drain."
"A number of leading residents including a doctor, a bank manager and the editor of one of the local papers have been fined in the Magistrate's Court for riding their bicycles on the footpath."
"The Borough Council is evidently determined that the Opera House shall be up-to-date. Last evening it was decided to have the building connected by telephone, an innovation which will no doubt add to the convenience of the building."
"We are requested to state that tickets for the Opera House cannot be booked by telephone. This rule will be strictly adhered to at the box office."
"Monday next is Whit Monday and the banks in Wanganui will close their doors all day. There is no class of the community equal to the banking people in strict observance of ecclesiastical times and seasons."
"An argument has been made for Supreme Court sittings to be held in Wanganui. It is said, 'It will give a tone to society.'"
"Larrikinism breaks out in some peculiar forms. At a dance a live pig was introduced through the window. It is hard to say which squealed the most - the ladies or the pig."
"Could not more assistance be given to the warders who have the care of the prisoners now engaged on the grounds of the Girls' High School. Surely these gentlemen are heavily handicapped, as there are three prisoners and only two guardians, who are armed in the most primitive fashion - with guns and fixed bayonets."
"It is said there are more editors unmarried than any other class of professional men. For this reason, we suppose, the majority of them are men of fine sentiment, and do not wish to starve anybody's sister."
"At the Police Court last week a good deal of amusement was caused by a constable producing a sixpenny toy revolver which he had drawn on a recent occasion to intimidate a man who was inciting a prisoner."
■Murray Crawford is a Whanganui author with an interest in local history. Newspaper references sourced from Papers Past: National Library of New Zealand.