# Catalog Note
Old Humility's Hard Road to Travel, by Wm. H. Manning, is a Western mining-town narrative serialized in this issue of Beadle & Adams' publication (August 7, 1889). The story features Madame Mystery (also called Nell or Spitfire Nell), a fortune-teller and woman of ambiguous background who has recently arrived in Honeysuckle, a mining town built around the operations of Eliphalet Hodge—a wealthy, philanthropic mine-owner nicknamed "Old Humility." Cole Boylston, a stranger to the town, meets with Madame Mystery seeking her assistance in undermining Hodge's influence in a county-seat competition between Honeysuckle and rival Cottoncliff. The narrative introduces supporting characters including Wyoming Zeke (a reckless adventurer), schoolmaster Childeric Hall, Hodge's virtuous daughter Agnes, and visiting lawyer Eben Wilberley with his niece Lorraine. Madame Mystery attends Hodge's evening reception armed with a loaded revolver, her intentions obscure.
📖 This public-domain issue is being restored page-by-page for our free reader — check back soon.
About this artifact
- Date
- August 7, 1889
- Rights
- Public domain — free to view, share, and reuse.
- Restoration
- Digitally restored and hosted by ComicBooks.com.
Part of our mission to preserve and restore the public-domain heritage of the medium.