The collection consists of anecdotes and verses, both original and excerpted from various authors, including: biographical anecdotes on Alexander the Great, Voltaire, Sir Walter Raleigh, Philip of Macedon, Socrates, British sailors, Turks, Russians, American Indians, and other individuals and groups; epistolary poetry and extracts from letters, most of which are signed William Thomspon; one letter from a British soldier at the Battle of Bunker Hill to his wife in England; elegiac and farewell poems; poems on nature, plants, and animals; hymns and prayers; religious and moral poems and fables; from speeches, and from religious texts, lectures, and sermons; recipes for burn and lip ointments, stain remover, flea repellent, and other home remedies. Excerpts attributed to Rousseau, Cowper, Goldsmith, and others. Indexed by category.