How Did Smith Brothers Cough Drops Get Its Name?

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Regina Jeffers

William (Trade) and Andrew (Mark) were the sons of James Smith, who moved his family from St. Armand, Quebec, to Poughkeepsie, New York in 1847. A carpenter by trade, Smith meant to open a restaurant, Smith’s Dining Saloon, in his new home. He was also known for his candy making.

Shortly after Smith’s moving to New York, a journeyman shared the formula for an effective cough candy with the elder Smith. Being an astute businessman, Smith saw an opportunity to expand his calling. He mixed up a batch of the cough drops upon his kitchen stove. He sold them from his dining saloon, and the word soon spread of the effects of the medication among those in the Poughkeepsie area. A newspaper of the time displays an advertisement for the cough drops, saying “all afflicted with hoarseness, coughs, or colds should test its virtues.”

Soon William and Andrew sold the drops upon the streets of Poughkeepsie. “The Smith Brothers” were often sought out for the “cough candy.” The operation moved from the Smith’s kitchen to the restaurant and later to a loft building. When the elder Smith died in 1866, his sons carried on the business under the name Smith Brothers.

When imitators started flooding the market with similar names, the Smith Brothers decided to trademark their product with their own images. The drops were originally sold from large glass bowls place on store counters. Customers put the drops in envelopes to be taken home. The word “Trade” was under William’s picture, and the word “Mark” under Andrew’s. Therefore, the two men were often referred to as “Trade” and “Mark,” rather than by their real names.

In 1872, Smith Brothers developed one of the first factory-filled packages on the market. They trademarked images of the two men was transferred to the individual packages. Surprisingly, production increased from 5 pounds to 5 tons per day.

Trade and Mark hold the world record for the number of times their likenesses have been reproduced.

Posted in American History, business, medicine, science | Tagged American history, business, medical, science, Smith Brothers cough drops, trademark | 2 Comments

Oh, What Tangled Webs We Weave: The Complicated Banbury Peerage Case

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Regina Jeffers

In writing historicals set in England in the early 1800s, it is necessary for me to possess more than a working knowledge of primogeniture, which is both the custom and the law of inheritance in practice at that time. In primogeniture, it is the right of the first born legitimate son to inherit the real property of his father, in preference to daughters, younger sons, elder illegitimate sons, and other relations in the male line. The son of the deceased eldest brother inherits before a living younger brother by right of substitution for the deceased heir. Estates were entailed, not upon the eldest son, but upon the eldest son’s first born son. By constantly extending the entail to the “grandson,” they became perpetual in nature.

But what if there are no sons? Then the family tree is searched for the nearest male blood relative, all the way back to the original holder of the estate. But things become even more convoluted when the heir goes missing before he has an apparent heir. Let us say the heir goes missing at sea. Believe it or not, the House of Lords would not automatically name the next in line as the new title owner. There is always the chance that the current lord survived the catastrophe he encountered. What would happen if he returned, say in 5 or 10 years? The ruling is that the title and the real estate would revert to the original owner, but not necessarily the personal property. The ruling is that the title and the real estate would revert back to original landowner, but not necessarily the personal property. It must not be forgotten that, by English law, ordinary leaseholds, whether they consist of lands or houses, count as personalty and are distributed as such on intestacy. Money in trust for investment in land is distributed as realty under the same rule of inheritance. What a legal mess! This little twerk of the law of inheritance is enough to set brother against brother in my latest romantic suspense, Angel Comes to the Devil’s Keep.

But was there a precedence for this type of ruling from the House of Lords? In fact, as a fundamental law, primogeniture is a practice of the landed aristocracy, rather than the general populace. Among the “upper crust” of society, generally, hereditary estates are entailed and not at the free disposal of individual landowners. There are few wealthy or noble families that have not employed the practice of primogeniture somewhere in their histories.

51CKzXQ2BsL._SX382_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg Occasionally, those histories become so complicated that it takes centuries for the peerage to be defined. For example, during the reign of Edward III, one of the companions of the Black Prince was Sir Robert Knollys, who earned the Blue Ribbon of the Garter for his valor. The Knolls’s family continued to receive the favor of successive reigns. One such person was Sir Francis Knollys, who married Catherine Gray, grand-niece of Queen Anne Boleyn. They produced two sons: Henry and William. According to Kidd and Williamson, editors of George Edward Cockayne’s The Complete Baronetage, Henry did not survive his father, and so William claimed the baronetcy in 1596. In 1603, King James presented William an additional title beyond the baronetcy, making William Baron Knollys of Grays, in Oxfordshire. In 1619, King James further favored William with an another barony, by naming him Baron Wallingford; later, in 1626, King Charles presented him as the Earl of Banbury.

William’s first wife Dorothy did not provide William an heir. Upon Dorothy’s death, he married Lady Elizabeth Howard. William was nearing sixty years at the time of the marriage, and Lady Elizabeth was but twenty. Yet, keep in mind, William did not pass until the age of eighty-five.

After Banbury’s death, in April 1633, an inquisition occurred, stating that Elizabeth was Banbury’s wife at the time of his death and that the earl died without a male heir. However, records show that Elizabeth delivered two sons before her husband’s death: Edward on 10 April 1627 (Banbury was 80 and Elizabeth 41 at the time) and Nicholas on 3 January 1631 (Banbury was 84 and Elizabeth 45). Generally speaking, common practice said if Banbury accepted the children as his and/or acknowledged them in some manner such as baptism or speaking of them as such to trustworthy witnesses, the boys would be considered his. Yet, the official investigation in 1633 skewed that ruling for it was written evidence to the contrary. Complicating the situation of whether the children were legitimate, after only five weeks of mourning Banbury, Elizabeth married Lord Vaux of Harrowden, a family friend. It was said the boys favored Vaux in countenance. Lady Elizabeth adopted Roman Catholicism, the religion of Lord Vaux. She, therefore, came under the scrutiny of the Long parliament, which was previously skeptical of her relationship with Vaux. Eventually, on 19 August 1643, the speaker issued a pass enabling her to remove to France, and on 13 June 1644 the House of Commons resolved that should she return she should be seized and kept under restraint. She died on 17 April 1658, and was buried at Dorking, Surrey, near the residence of her second husband. Vaux passed on 8 April 1661, and is said to have died without issue. (Lee, Sidney, ed. Dictionary of National Biography: Vol XXXI Kennett – Lambart: [London, Smith, Elder & Co., 1892. 287-288], accessed January 22, 2017. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Cal.+State+Papers%2C+Dom.+1654-5%2C+p.+55), page 287)

William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury via Wikipedia

In 1640, William, Earl of Salisbury, guardian of the eldest boy Edward, filed in Chancery upon Edward’s behalf for a claim to the earldom. Witnesses and evidence were presented to substantiate the filing, but on 1809 (nearly 170 years later) the House of Lords rejected the claim. How did that come about?

A hearing in 1641 dealt with the question of Edward’s legitimacy; it found that Edward, Earl of Banbury, was the deceased earl’s son and heir because of the legal doctrine, Pater est quem nuptiæ demonstrant, which assumes in all cases of children born in wedlock that the husband is the children’s father. And although there was some debate as to whether Banbury recognized the child as his during the earl’s marriage to Elizabeth, a legal decision in favor of the claim to legitimacy was made. “Edward, the elder of the countess’s two sons, was styled ‘Earl of Banbury’ in a chancery suit to which in February 1640-1 he was party as an infant, for the purpose of establishing his right to a plot of land at Henley, styled the Bowling Place, and to other property left by his father. Under orders of the court of wards an inquiry into the late earl’s property was held at Abingdon on 1 April 1641, and the court found that ‘Edward, now Earl of Banbury, is, and at the time of the earl’s decease was, his son and next heir.’” (Lee, 287)

Unfortunately, another complication occurred after Edward’s being named earl for he was killed in a quarrel upon the road to Calais in 1645. Edward’s brother, Nicholas, naturally made a claim to the title, but he was a minor at the time and could not inherit. Nicholas then travelled to France with his mother in 1644, but in October 1646, he returned to England, for Lord Vaux settled all his lands at Harrowden on Lady Elizabeth, with the remainder to Knollys himself, who was styled “Earl of Banbury” in the deed. When Nicholas reached his majority, he moved to prove his right to the peerage and, thus, petitioned the Crown for his writ of summons to assume his seat in the House of Lords. The Committee of Privileges heard the petition, which granted the writ for Nicholas, Earl of Banbury.

Nicholas married Isabella, daughter of Mountjoy Blount, earl of Newport, and the pair soon fell into pecuniary difficulties. In February 1654, Nicholas, earl of Banbury, the Countess of Banbury, Lady Elizabeth Vaux and Lord Vaux petitioned Cromwell to remove the sequestration on Lord Vaux’s estate so they might compound or sell some of the land to pay their debts of some 10,000l. The earl had been confined at the time at the Upper Bench prison because of the debt. Isabella died soon afterwards, and Nicholas married Anne, daughter of William, Lord Sherard of Leitrim. “In June 1660 he attended the Convention parliament in the House of Lords, but it was not until 13 July 1660 that the first attempt was made to dispute his right to his seat there. It was then moved that ‘there being a person that now sits in this house as a peer of the realm, viz. the Earl of Banbury, it is ordered that this business shall be heard at the bar by counsel’ on the 23rd. Knollys attended the house daily in the week preceding that appointed for the hearing, and was present on the day itself. But no proceedings were taken, and on 24 July he was nominated, under the style of Earl of Banbury, to sit on the committee on the Excise Bill. On 21 Nov. it was ordered that the earl ‘hath leave to be absent for some time.’ On 29 Dec. the Convention parliament was dissolved. No writ of summons was sent to Knollys for the new parliament, meeting 8 May 1661. He therefore petitioned the king for the issue of the writ and for all the old earl’s rights of precedency. His petition, when forwarded to the House of Lords, was referred to a committee of privileges. This committee examined the servants who were at Harrowden at the time of his birth. The attorney-general argued on behalf of the king that the old earl had died childless, but the committee reported on 1 July 1661 that ‘Nicholas, Earl of Banbury, is a legitimate person.’” (Lee, 288)

His son Charles assumed the title upon Nicholas’s death. Likewise, Charles petitioned for his writ of summons, and the committee of privileges reported the history of the case, and the House of Lords agreed to hear counsel for and against the claim, but a delay occurred, one lasting some thirty years. During the delay, Charles had the misfortune of killing his brother-in-law, Captain Philip Lawson, in a duel. In November 1692, he was indicted and ultimately requested a trial by his peers before the House of Lords. This brought about another hearing upon whether Charles held a legitimate claim to the earldom. His petition to the House of Lords was dismissed with a ruling denying his right to be styled Banbury. He was removed to Newgate Prison.

According to “The Banbury Peerage Case” on the Bennet Dictionary: The Bennet Dictionary: Celebrated Claimants from Perkin Warbeck to Arthur Orton [(1874). accessed December 13, 2016. http://bennetdictionary.com/banbury-peerage-case/], the trial and the various pleas took more than a year, during which Charles was presented bail to move about in society. At length, the Lords intervened, and Parliament took up his case again, but the session was discontinued indefinitely, and no decision was forthcoming. The trial also quashed the indictment against him for the duel for the prisoner was styled in the charges as “Charles Knollys, esq.” instead of “the Earl of Banbury.”

Nothing more was heard upon the legitimacy of Charles’s claims until four years later when in 1698, Charles Banbury again petitioned the King for the writ of summons. The House of Lords accepted the case again, but it went from continuance to continuance, passing through the end of the reign of William III and into that of Anne. There was hope for a resolution in late 1713, but the sudden death of Queen Anne in August 1714 once more delayed the proceedings.

Charles next petitioned George I, but no definite decision was given. Charles, Earl of Banbury, died in 1740. During his lifetime, to no avail, he presented five petitions to the Crown. However, not being officially recognized as the Earl of Banbury did not prevent him and his family from enjoying their position in Society.

Charles was followed by another two Charleses and a William, who died in 1776. William’s brother Thomas held the title until his death in 1793, when his son William Knollys, then called Viscount Wallingford, sent a formal petition in 1806 to the Crown for the Banbury earldom, the question of which was again returned to the House of Lords. By 1806, there had been an “Earl of Banbury” for 180 years. Yet, William’s father, Thomas, had held a commission in the Third Regiment of Foot as a “Lieutenant-General.” As such, Thomas was styled by his military rank and not Banbury, causing William’s claim to be denied. Needless to say, primogeniture is not a clearly defined practice.

Angel Comes to the Devil’s Keep [Romantic Suspense]

Huntington McLaughlin, the Marquess of Malvern, wakes in a farmhouse, after a head injury, being tended by an ethereal “angel,” who claims to be his wife. However, reality is often deceptive, and Angelica Lovelace is far from innocent in Hunt’s difficulties. Yet, there is something about the woman that calls to him as no other ever has. When she attends his mother’s annual summer house party, their lives are intertwined in a series of mistaken identities, assaults, kidnappings, overlapping relations, and murders, which will either bring them together forever or tear them irretrievably apart. As Hunt attempts to right his world from problems caused by the head injury that has robbed him of parts of his memory, his best friend, the Earl of Remmington, makes it clear that he intends to claim Angelica as his wife. Hunt must decide whether to permit her to align herself with the earldom or claim the only woman who stirs his heart–and if he does the latter, can he still serve the dukedom with a hoydenish American heiress at his side?

Posted in British history, Church of England, historical fiction, history, Inheritance, Jane Austen, marriage, primogenture, titles of aristocracy | Tagged Banbury Peerage Case, British history, entailments, inheritiance, primogeniture, William Knollys | 2 Comments

Jane Austen Adaptations: Film, TV, Web, and Stage

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Regina Jeffers

Realizing that many of my readers are unfamiliar with how the media has seen fit to adapt Jane Austen’s many novels, below you will find a list of the majority of them. We who write Austen adaptations know that our readers see the movie/TV adaptation and become hooked on the story lines.

Austen on Stage: The Complete Works of Jane Austen Adapted for the Stage (2019) – by Jon Jory [Note: Jory previously created 3-act plays of Pride and Prejudice, as well as Sense and Sensibility.]

A Modern Persuasion (2019)

Sandition (2019) – PBS

Christmas at Pemberley Manor (2018) – a Hallmark channel modern Pride and Prejudice

Marrying Mr. Darcy (2018) – a Hallmark channel sequel to Unleashing Mr. Darcy

Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe (2018) – a Hallmark channel modern story loosely based on Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice (2017) – a Kate Hamil adaptation for the stage

The Cate Morland Chronicles (2016) – an adaptive web series

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) – a movie based on the novel of the same name

Pride and Prejudice (2016) – described as a “fresh and sexy” adaptation

Love and Freindship (2016) – a film version of Lady Susan

Unleashing Mr. Darcy (2016) – a Hallmark channel modern version of Pride and Prejudice

Austenatious (2015) – TV series

Jane by the Sea (2015) – film, turns Austen’s real life into a romantic comedy

Northbound (2015) – modern TV series based on Northanger Abbey

From Mansfield with Love (2014) – a YouTube vlog adaptation of Mansfield Park by Foot in the Door Theatre

The Jane Games (2014) – TV Series

Kumkum Bhagya (2014) – an Indian television serial based on Sense and Sensibility

Sandition (2014) – film adaptation

Sense and Sensibility (2014) – a Kate Hamil adaptation for the stage

Emma Approved (2013-2014) – an Emmy-winning YouTube adaptation in which Emma Woodhouse is a matchmaker

Death Comes to Pemberley (2013) – a 3-part murder mystery television drama

Welcome to Sandition (2013) – a web series spin off of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries – (2012 – 2013) – an Emmy winning YouTube adaption

Mansfield Park (2012) – stage adaptation by Tim Luscombe, produced by the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds

Jane Austen Hand Held (2011) – film based on Pride and Prejudice, as told through the lens of a documentary film crew

Mansfield Park (2011) – a chamber opera

Pride and Prejudice: A Modern Day Tale of First Impressions (2011) – film

Prada to Nada (2011) – Film – modern day Sense and Sensibility with a Spanish “flavor”
Aisha (2010) – an Indie film version of Emma

Emma (2009) a BBC TV mini-series

Darcy and Elizabeth (2008) – a one-act play by Jon Jory

Sense and Sensibilidad (2008) – Film
Lost in Austen (2008) – TV mini-series that takes the main character into the novel’s pages
Sense and Sensibility (2008) – TV mini-series
Jane Austen Trilogy (2008) – a documentary with bibliographic intentions
Miss Austen Regrets (2008) – a made-for-TV show based on Austen’s letters
The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) – film based on the popular best-selling book
Mansfield Park (2007) – TV movie
Northanger Abbey (2007) – TV movie
Persuasion (2007) – TV movie
Becoming Jane (2007) – popular film based on Austen’s letters

I Love You Because (2006) – a modern play based on Pride and Prejudice

JANE, the musical (2006) – a West-End style musical theatre production based on the life of Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice (2005) – Film
Bride and Prejudice (2004) – Indie film
Pride and Prejudice (2003) -modern adaptation film
The Real Jane Austen (2002) TV movie based on Jane Austen’s letters
Kandukondain, Kandukondain (2000) Film based on Sense and Sensibility
Mansfield Park (1998) – Film
“Wishbone”- “Pup Fiction” (1998) -an episode of the popular TV show based on Northanger Abbey
“Wishbone”- “Furst Impressions” (1997) – an episode of the popular TV show
Emma (1996) – TV movie
Emma (1996) – Film

Sense and Sensibility (1995) – Film
Persuasion (1995) – TV movie
Pride and Prejudice (1995) – TV mini-series

Pride and Prejudice (1995) – a musical by Bernard J. Taylor

Ruby in Paradise (1993) – an homage
Sensibility and Sense (1990) – TV movie

Metropolitan (1990) – (originally titled “Manhattan”) – directed by Whit Stillman, was a loose adaptation of Mansfield Park set in modern time – the film tracks “the Austen phenomenon beyond Austen, into what (is called) the ‘post-heritage’ film, a kind of historical costume drama that uses the past in a deliberate or explicit way to explore current issues in cultural politics

Northanger Abbey (1987) -TV movie
Mansfield Park (1983) – TV mini-series
Sense and Sensibility (1981) – TV movie
Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980) – Film
Pride and Prejudice (1980) – TV mini-series
Emma (1972) – TV mini-series novel
“Novela” – “Persuasión” (1972) -TV series episode
Sense and Sensibility (1971) – TV movie
Persuasion (1971) -TV mini-series
“Novela” – “La abadía de Northanger” (1968) -TV series episode
Pride and Prejudice (1967) – TV series
“Novela” – “Emma” (1967) – TV series episode
“Novela” – “Orgullo y prejuicio” (1966) -TV series episode
“Vier dochters Bennet, De” (1961) – TV mini-series based on Pride and Prejudice
Emma (1960) – TV movie
Camera Three (1960) – TV series based on Emma
Persuasion (1960) – TV mini-series

First Impressions (1959) – Broadway musical version of Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice (1958) – TV series
Pride and Prejudice (1958) – TV film
“General Motors Presents: Pride and Prejudice” (1958) – TV series episode
“Orgoglio e pregiudizio” (1957) – TV mini-series
“Matinee Theater: Pride and Prejudice” (1956) _ TV series episode
“Kraft Television Theatre: Emma” (1954) – TV series episode
Pride and Prejudice (1952) – TV mini-series
“The Philco Television Playhouse: Sense and Sensibility” (1950) – TV series episode
“The Philco Television Playhouse: Pride and Prejudice” (1949) – TV series episode
Emma (1948) -TV film
Pride and Prejudice (1940) – Film
Pride and Prejudice (1938) -TV

Pride and Prejudice (1935) – Helen Jerome’s Broadway play (basis for the 1940 film)

“The Bennets: A Play Without a Plot, Adapted from Jane Austen’s Novel ‘ Pride and Prejudice,” (1901)

Jane Austen’s novels have never been out of print. It would seem that we might say the same thing of cinematic adaptations.

Posted in Austen actors, Austen Authors, contemporary romance, film adaptations, holidays, JASNA, Mansfield Park, Persuasion, playwrights, Pride and Prejudice, romance, Vagary | Tagged Austen characters, film, Jane Austen film adaptations, modern adaptations, movie adaptations, stage, television, web | 7 Comments

The Tradition of “Christmas Carols”

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Regina Jeffers

Parts of this post were originally featured on Austen Authors, brought to us from Rebecca Jamison. I have added to what she shared and offer more of the history of the Christmas Carols than she did in her original post, but have kept some of her YOUTUBE examples.

“Christmas Carols” were originally called so because they were a piece of vocal music in what is known as “carol form.” The word “carol” comes to us from the Old French word carole, which means a circular dance accompanied by singers. These were popular dance songs from as early as the 1150s. They became processional songs in the 14th Century and were sung at festivals. Other such “carols” were written specifically to accompany the mystery plays, for example the Coventry Carol, written some time before 1534. [W. J. Phillips, Carols; Their Origin, Music, and Connection with Mystery-Plays (Routledge, 1921, Read Books, 2008), p. 24.]

The “Coventry Carol” dates from the 16th Century. It was originally performed in Coventry, England as part of the mystery play entitled, The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts what is known as the Massacre of the Innocents, in which Herod orders all male infants under the age of two in Bethlehem to be killed, as told in Chapter Two of the Gospel of Matthew. The song takes the form of a lullaby sung by the mothers of the targeted children. The author is unknown; the oldest known text was written down by Robert Croo in 1534, and the oldest known setting of the melody dates from 1591. [Studwell, W. E. (1995). The Christmas Carol Reader. Haworth Press. pp. 15 ]

Before the Protestant Reformation, carols were performed in Latin by the clergy of the Catholic church. With the Reformation, the carols were brought “back to the people.” Music was translated into the native language of those who spoke it. The Protestant church also made a concerted effort to break the hold the Catholic Church had on what we would term “sacred music.” Composers such as William Bryd composed motet-like [a mainly vocal musical composition, of highly varied form and style, from the late medieval era to the present] works for Christmas that they termed carols; and folk-carols continued to be sung in rural areas. Nonetheless, some famous carols were written in this period, and they were more strongly revived from the nineteenth century and began to be written and adapted by eminent composers.

“Musically speaking, carol has a very specific definition: a song, characteristically of religious joy, associated with a given season, especially Christmas; in which uniform stanzas, or verses (V), alternate with a refrain, or burden (B), in the pattern B, V1, B, V2 . . . B. A great deal of traditional and popular Christmas music does not actually meet the strict definition of “carol”, and the term Christmas carol has come, in modern times, to colloquially refer to any song, in any of a variety of styles, which references Christmas, the Christmas season, or events in proximity to that season.

Laws restricted festivities at Christmastime, and Christmas carols were not as common in the Regency Era as they are now. However, country people continued to sing carols in their homes and sometimes in churches. In 1822, shortly after Jane Austen’s death, Davies Gilbert, a native of Cornwall, published a collection of carols from his childhood, entitled, Some Ancient Christmas Carols…Formerly Sung in the West of England, which was not too far from where the Austens lived. (You can find the entire volume here.)

The first in the volume is entitled “The Lord at First Did Adam Make.” Wikipedia tells us, “The Lord at first did Adam make, alternatively The Lord at first had Adam made relates the events of Genesis, Chapter 3, relating the evils that have befallen humanity since the first fall and humanity’s subsequent redemption; during Advent, a traditional theme is of the birth of Jesus being the coming of the “Second Adam.”

“In Davies Gilbert’s preface to his 1822 publication, he writes “The following Carols or Christmas Songs were chanted to the Tunes accompanying them, in Churches on Christmas Day, and in private houses on Christmas Eve, throughout the West of England, up to the latter part of the late century… The Editor is desirous of preserving them in their actual forms, however distorted by false grammar or by obscurities, as specimens of times now passed away, and of religious feelings superseded by others of a different cast…on account of the delight they afforded him in his childhood; when the festivities of Christmas Eve were anticipated by many days of preparation and prolonged through several weeks by repetitions and remembrances.

“Christmas Day, like every other great festival, has prefixed to it in the calendar a Vigil or Fast; and in Catholic countries Mass is still celebrated at midnight after Christmas eve, when austerities cease, and rejoicings of all kinds succeed. Shadows of these customs were, till very lately, preserved in the Protestant West of England. The day of Christmas Eve was passed in an ordinary manner; but at seven or eight o’clock in the evening, cakes were drawn hot from the oven; cyder or beer exhilarated the spirits in every house; and the singing of Carols took the place of Psalms in all the Churches, especially at afternoon service, the whole congregation joining; and at the end it was usual for the Parish Clerk to declare, in a loud voice, his wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy new year to all the Parishioners.

“It was popularised by its inclusion in John Stainer and Henry Ramsden Bramley’s Christmas Carols, New an dOld of 1877, albeit in a Victorianised non-modal form, with a grammatically corrected text. In addition to Gilbert Davies’ collected version, another tune also exists and there are numerous textual variations, including additional verses.”

Check out these versions on You Tube

The old English carol “The Lord At First Did Adam Make” as arranged for pipe organ and performed by composer Lewis A. Kocher.

The Choir of St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh, under the direction of Timothy Byram-Wigfield, perform a bouncy setting of the traditional text ‘The Lord at First Did Adam Make,’ arranged for SATB choir by St Mary’s organist Peter Backhouse.

The choir of St Patrick’s Donaghmore & St Michael’s Castlecaulfield, accompanied by Helen Hall, sing the traditional English carol “The Lord at first did Adam make” live at the annual service of Nine Lessons and Carols in St Patrick’s on Sunday 11th December 2011

Here is another of these carols adapted for modern choirs. It is called “A Virgin Most Pure”:

In all, the carols he shared were as follows (click on each title to link to the words to each carol):

In 1823, Gilbert published a second volume, which included the words to “The First Noel” as well as eleven other carols.

Posted in British history, Christmas, music, tradtions | Tagged carols, Christmas, England, music, tradition | 4 Comments

Exquisite Excerpt from “Christmas at Pemberley”

Posted on December 14, 2018 by Regina Jeffers

Preview of Christmas at Pemberley

My “Christmas at Pemberley” has won several awards as an inspirational romance. It is an Austen-inspired piece. The sequel is a cozy mystery, entitled The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy. The third book in the series is entitled The Prosecution of the Darcy Cousin. It is also a cozy mystery. Both of those mysteries have been garnered as award-winners.

I set this Christmas tale two years into the Darcys’ marriage. Elizabeth has been plagued by several miscarriages, and she is haunted with the idea that the “shades of Pemberley had been thus polluted” by her inability to present Darcy an heir. She is struggling with whether she is worthy of her husband’s devotion. Encouraged by her physician to bring some joy into his wife’s life, Darcy has invited the Bennets and the Bingleys to spend Christmastide at Pemberley. To that effect, to allow time for his guests’ arrival, Darcy has taken Elizabeth with him on a business journey. Upon their return to Pemberley, the Darcys are, unfortunately, unable to outmaneuver a blizzard-type storm, and Darcy and Elizabeth are stranded at a small inn, along with a young couple, whose last name ironically is “Joseph” and whose first child is likely to be born during the night.

Meanwhile, Georgiana attempts desperately to manage the chaos surrounding her brother’s six invited guests (Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Kitty, Mary, Jane, and Bingley) and the eleven unscheduled arrivals, including Mary Bennet’s betrothed Mr. Grange (who Mrs. Bennet invited without asking the Darcys), Lady Catherine (who has not been at Pemberley since that infamous argument with Elizabeth and whose sudden presence will only confirm Elizabeth’s feeling of inadequacy), Anne De Bourgh (who can no longer be her mother’s pawn), Mrs. Jenkinson (who staunchly guards against Anne’s heart being broken), Mr. and Mrs. Collins (who Lady Catherine invited without anyone’s knowledge), Caroline Bingley (who decided to spend the holidays with the Bingleys rather than the Hursts), Mr. Winkler (the local minister who, during the storm, escorts the Collinses to Pemberley, but who is really there to woo Kitty Bennet), Colonel Fitzwilliam (who has returned from the American front), his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Southland (whose cousin once held the living at Rosings Park and who is “fascinated” with the De Bourgh family), and an American, Beaufort Manneville (who the colonel has been ordered to escort to London, but of whom he is suspicious).

This first excerpt brings the last of the “uninvited guests” to Pemberley. Expecting Darcy and Elizabeth, Georgiana is both disappointed and elated that her cousin, Colonel Edward Fitzwilliam, has returned from his duty on the American front.

Georgiana and Kitty raced along the passage and down the main staircase. “We’ll tell Elizabeth that your parents allowed you to return to Pemberley because you were lonely now that Miss Bennet is engaged.”

“Elizabeth will never believe I miss Mary’s company,” Kitty objected.

Georgiana tutted her disagreement. “We simply need for our sister to believe us long enough for her to reach the drawing room to greet your family.”

They waited impatiently for the Darcys’ arrival, each girl fidgeting with her dress. Then Mr. Nathan opened the door, and instead of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, three winter-cloaked gentlemen strode through the opening. Both girls stood in awe of the men—all fine specimens of maleness. “Oh, my,” Kitty swallowed her words. She clawed at Georgiana’s arm.

But Georgiana stood frozen in disbelief. The man in front held her mesmerized. A year—more than a year had passed since she had last seen him, but he remained as before. Solid. Raven haired. Smoky blue eyes. Eyes that appeared to look through her. See me. Georgiana willed herself not to say the words. Not quite as tall as Fitzwilliam, the man’s broad shoulders filled Georgiana’s gaze. “Edward!” she called and launched herself into his waiting arms. In his embrace, Georgiana inhaled him deeply. He smelled of cold and leather and sweat and the spicy cologne he always had worn. “Thank God, you’ve returned to us.”

Her cousin picked her up, clutching Georgiana to his chest, and swung her around in a circle. “My, goodness!” he laughed easily. “What happened to my little Georgie?”

“You’ve been away for a year, Edward,” she protested.“So, I have.” He laughed again as he set her on her feet. “Where’s that rascally brother of yours?” He glanced toward the main stairs.

“Fitzwilliam and Mrs. Darcy are on their way from Northumberland,” she explained.

Edward frowned. “Well, Fitz will be delayed. We barely made it from Liverpool on horseback. Darcy won’t chance it in a carriage.” The colonel gestured to the men waiting behind him. “Do you have rooms available, Cousin? I don’t wish to attempt riding to Matlock.”

Of course.” Georgiana nodded to Mr. Nathan, and the man ducked into a servant’s passageway to do her bidding.

Edward spotted Kitty waiting patiently. “And is this who I believe it to be?” he asked teasingly.

“You remember Mrs. Darcy’s sister Catherine from the wedding, do you not, Edward?”

The colonel bowed to Kitty. “Absolutely. I am pleased to find you at Pemberley, Miss Catherine.”

Kitty curtsied to the group. “I’m certain Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth shall be thrilled for your return, Colonel.” Edward placed Georgiana’s hand on his arm. “Allow we to introduce my traveling companions, my dear. Miss Darcy. Miss Catherine. May I present Lieutenant Roman Southland? The lieutenant is my assistant.”

The officer bowed formally. “Miss Darcy, the colonel has spoken often of his cousin, but his words did not do you justice.” He kissed Georgiana’s outstretched hand. “Thank you for accepting our intrusion upon your hospitality.”

“Pemberley would never turn away the colonel’s associates,” Georgiana responded.

“Edward is family.” She wanted to ask what her cousin had said of her and how often the colonel spoke of her, but instead, Georgiana smiled welcomingly at the man.

“And this gentleman,” the colonel indicated the man not wearing a uniform. “This is Mr. Beauford Manneville. Mr. Manneville is from South Carolina in the Americas, but he’s come to our ‘enemy’ shores to do business with our government and to renew his acquaintance with his distant cousin Lord Shelton.”

“Welcome to England, Mr. Manneville.” Georgiana curtsied and again extended her hand.

“I am sorry your first experience on British shores brings you icy roads.”The colonel laughed softly.

“You do not understand, Georgie. In South Carolina, snow rarely falls. Cold weather doesn’t tarry either. Is that not correct, Manneville?”

The man openly shivered. “I’ve never been so cold, Colonel, and you may leave your levity out of it, sir.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam bowed stiffly. “As you wish, Manneville.”

He turned to Georgiana with a touch of lightheartedness. “And from what did we pull you ladies?”

Georgiana suddenly remembered the others waiting in the drawing room for her return. “Oh, Edward,” she gushed. “I am doubly happy to see you, especially in Fitzwilliam’s absence. We’ve a houseful of guests, including Lady Catherine and Anne.”

“Darcy invited our aunt for Christmas?” he asked incredulously.

“No. Her ladyship invited herself, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Collins. Lady Catherine visited the earl, but his lordship and the countess have traveled east to welcome the arrival of Lord Lindale’s first child.”

Edward beamed with the news. “Did you hear, Southland? I’m to be an uncle. My brother Rowland’s wife is in her confinement.”

The lieutenant removed his gloves and laid them nearby. “Then it is fortuitous we did not seek Matlock. It appears your family is scattered between here and Lincolnshire, sir.”

“They are. That they are.” He smiled genuinely at Georgiana. “Come, gentlemen. I’ll introduce you to Lady Catherine De Bourgh, my family’s paragon of virtue,” he said teasingly.

Georgiana fell into step beside him as they climbed the stairs. “In addition to her ladyship and Anne, the Bingleys and the Bennets are in residence,” she said softly.

“My, you do have a houseful. I thought you exaggerated, Cousin. How many await me in the drawing room?” he directed Georgiana toward the open door. Kitty and the lieutenant followed, and Mr. Manneville brought up the rear.

“Counting you three, we number nineteen,” she responded. “Fitzwilliam invited the Bennets and Mr. and Mrs. Bingley as a surprise for Mrs. Darcy, but others have sought shelter at Pemberley.” Georgiana leaned against him. “Handling so many distinct personalities has been challenging.”

His finger stroked her arm. “You’ve performed well, Georgie. I’m proud of you.”

They had reached the open door. Taking a deep breath, Georgiana glided into the room. “Look who’s joined us,” she announced.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, Georgiana and Kitty climbed the main stairs together. “When had you planned to tell me of Mr. Winkler?” Georgiana teased.

“As I did not know myself until this evening, how could I tell anyone?” Kitty’s eyebrow kicked up.

Georgiana giggled. “What do you think of the possibilities?”

Kitty clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Delicious. At least, in some ways. Mr. Winkler is a fine-looking man. But then again, so are Mr. Manneville, Lieutenant Southland, and your cousin.”

Georgiana jerked to a stop, her mind rebelling at her friend’s words. “Kitty, you’re welcome to choose among our guests. Look to Mr. Winkler, to Mr. Manneville, or to the lieutenant. Look to any of them except the colonel.”

Kitty wrapped her hand around Georgiana’s elbow and smiled sweetly. “Exactly as I supposed. So, that’s how the land lies?”

“That’s exactly how it is.”

**************************************

This second excerpt appears a bit later in the book. Colonel Fitzwilliam is attempting to discover Lady Catherine’s true reasons for coming to Pemberley.

Edward tapped softly on Lady Catherine’s door and a maid admitted him immediately. Her ladyship lounged on a chaise. She held toast in one hand and a teacup in the other. He bowed and then motioned the maid’s departure. “Thank you for agreeing to see me, your ladyship.”

“Why would I not, Edward? You’re a most beloved nephew. You’ve brought honor to the Fitzwilliam name.” She gestured him to a chair.

Edward took the seat, but he remained alert. Years of dealing with his aunt had taught him to never underestimate the woman. Dressed in a dark purple velvet gown, his aunt was a paragon of determination, and many shrank from her renowned inflexibility. She was dark of eye and hair, much darker than her brother, Edward’s father, and the complete opposite of the fair-haired Lady Anne, Darcy’s mother. She could convey her arrogance with a lift of her square chin or a glare along her straight, high-bridged nose. “My choice of military service came as the lesser of two evils, but I’m content with my time. I believe God has placed me in this role to save men from death’s grip. I’m thankful for that position.”

“As you well should be.” Lady Catherine pushed her way to a seated position. “Of what did you wish to speak, Colonel?”

Edward frowned deeply. “I’d like to know your true reason for coming to Pemberley uninvited.”

“You came to Pemberley uninvited,” she accused.

His eyes forcefully demanded that his aunt not fence verbally. “True. However, I’ve never expressed indignation regarding Darcy’s marriage. Neither did I send him language so very abusive, especially of Mrs. Darcy, when he announced his engagement. You’ve not spoken to Darcy or his wife for over two years, and then suddenly you appear on my cousin’s doorstep. I ask myself why, but I cannot decipher your way, Aunt.”

“Possibly, I had no other recourse,” she said slyly.

Edward forced himself to hold her gaze. Years had taught him Lady Catherine used her dominating stare to quell her dissenters. “I might believe you sought Pemberley’s safety if you hadn’t sent word to Mr. Collins before you left Matlock.”

“Georgiana told you that, did she?” Lady Catherine accused.

Edward struggled for an obliging response. “I’m Georgiana’s guardian. It would be natural for her to seek my advice. And I would warn your ladyship not to think that I’ll fall for your diversionary tactics. Georgiana isn’t the issue. Now, let’s revisit your motive for returning to Pemberley.”

Lady Catherine’s mouth tightened in a furious line. “In reality, I have no response.” She waited for his retort, but Edward’s silence demanded a longer explanation. “Matlock left for Lincolnshire. I’d already promised Collins a means to Kent.” She ticked off her reasons on her fingers. “The road conditions deteriorated before I could make other arrangements. I saw my niece in your family home some days prior, and I realized I missed my sister’s offspring.”

Edward’s eyebrow rose in disbelief. “Do you mean to say, Aunt, that you wished for a reconciliation with Darcy?”

“Marriage is forever. I cannot change what’s been done. Although I vehemently disagree with Darcy’s choice, I’ve come to realize my objections are also keeping me from Georgiana. In order for my niece to have a successful Season, Georgiana requires the weight of her connections. Darcy’s position provides Georgiana impetus, but Matlock and Lindale’s names lend credence to her consequence.” His aunt’s words didn’t sit well with Edward, but he couldn’t identify what it was about the image of his cousin’s Society Come Out that bothered him most. It was certainly not Georgiana’s appearance; his cousin’s beauty would awe even the most hardened heart. Possibly, that was it: He could not imagine Georgiana in another man’s embrace. “The De Bourgh connection shall strengthen my niece’s suit.”

“So, for Georgiana’s sake, you’ll swallow your distress regarding Darcy’s marriage?” he said incredulously.

“Darcy has thrice sent correspondence offering an appeasement. Admittedly, I’ve ignored his olive branch, but Christmastide seemed a time for forgiveness.”

Edward certainly did not believe her reasons, but he knew from experience that his aunt believed what she said. Therefore, Lady Catherine’s frankness penetrated his reserve. “You are an intelligent woman, your ladyship, so I’ll forego the customary warning. You’re aware of Darcy’s nature. My cousin will never tolerate your condemnation of his wife or his guests.” Surprised, he watched as Lady Catherine swallowed her temptation to criticize.

“I am appalled by the people with whom Darcy surrounds himself, but I can tolerate his acquaintances without considering them my intimates.”

“I pray you can, Aunt.” Her sincerity rang of possibilities. “It’s comforting to think you’ve considered Georgiana’s future, but you should also make room for Mrs. Darcy’s role in your life. You must maintain no delusions of Elizabeth ever being replaced in Darcy’s estimation. The man loves his wife, very much in the manner the late Mr. Darcy loved Lady Anne. You must accept it, or Darcy will limit your access to Georgiana.” He hoped his aunt didn’t practice some sort of chicanery.

Their conversation at an end, Edward prepared to leave her; however, Lady Catherine reached out to stay him.

“Tell me what has transpired with Mrs. Darcy.”

“I don’t understand, Aunt.”

Lady Catherine sighed deeply in exasperation. “As you said, Colonel, I’m far from lacking my wits. I have overheard bits and pieces of information. Why has Mrs. Darcy not given her husband an heir?”

Edward’s suspicions returned. “If you mean to insinuate that Mrs. Darcy hasn’t presented my cousin with his first child because of her low connections, I’ll warn you of the danger of doing so. Darcy will bring his ire to your doorstep, ma’am.”

“That wouldn’t stop me, Edward,” she declared. “I have faced a man’s dudgeon before. Give me the facts, and I shall decide my actions.”

Edward growled. “I will not be a part of your venomous ways, your ladyship. A moment ago, you spoke of harmony. You cannot have it both ways, Aunt.”

“You make the assumption I mean Mrs. Darcy harm. I never said I would openly criticize the chit. I simply said Darcy’s ire wouldn’t deter me. Would you prefer I ask Mrs. Darcy’s witless mother?”

Edward felt his cheeks flush. “Mrs. Darcy hasn’t carried to term previously,” he said through gritted teeth. “But the lady’s with child. Darcy hopes the pleasure of seeing her family for Christmastide will provide Mrs. Darcy comfort. Darcy has surrounded his wife with those who love her.”

“Except for uninvited guests,” she observed.

“That’s more than half of those in attendance,” Edward responded. “Darcy is not likely to be happy with the alteration in his plans.”

“I suppose that means me.”

Dismay tightened Edward’s jaw. “Your presence will truly be a Christmastide surprise, your ladyship.”

Kindle https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Pemberley-Prejudice-Holiday-Through-ebook/dp/B07L9G7YTV/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1544626483&sr=8-7&keywords=christmas+at+Pemberley

Nook https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/christmas-at-pemberley-regina-jeffers/1101005215?ean=2940161697221

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/christmas-at-pemberley-2

Posted in book excerpts, British history, excerpt, holidays, Jane Austen, Ulysses Press | Tagged Christmas at Pemberley, excerpt, Jane Austen, Regina Jeffers, The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy, Ulysses Press | Comments Off

Roderick Maclean’s Attempt to Kill Queen Victoria

Posted on December 7, 2018 by Regina Jeffers

The last of the attempts on Queen Victoria’s life came on March 2, 1882. Unlike the previous attempts, this one was dangerous because by that date, weapons were well beyond the single shot volley stage. Roderick Maclean’s gun held six bullets, and he did fire at Victoria’s passing coach. If Maclean had had time for a second shot before he was beset upon by two Eton school boys, he might have actually hit the queen.

The incident occurred at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. The Queen had departed Buckingham Palace, her carriage passing through Hyde Park on its way to Paddington station to board her special train bound for Windsor. The train arrived at Windsor, but as she left the station to enter her carriage, Maclean, who stood in the station yard, fired upon her. The Social Historian website says several police caught him up and took Maclean to the Windsor police station. Raymond Lamont Brown, in How Fat Was Henry VIII and 101 Questions on Royal History [The History Press, ©2008, 149-150), tells us two Eton school boys accosted Maclean with an umbrella until Superintendent George Hayes of the Windsor Police could take control of the situation. Mr. Brown goes on to tell us that Queen Victoria visited Eton several days later to thank the boys personally before 900 Eton boys in the Quadrangle of the school.

“At the same time,” the queen wrote later, “there was the sound of what I thought was an explosion from the engine, but in another moment, I saw people rushing about and a man being violently hustled, rushing down the street.” (History.com)

“The following telegram was sent from the Queen at Windsor Castle to the Prince of Wales at Marlborough House:

“In case an exaggerated report should reach you, I telegraph to say that, as I drove from the station here a man shot at the carriage, but fortunately hit no one. He was instantly arrested. I am nothing the worse.Belfast News-Letter – Friday 03 March 1882

“The prisoner’s name was Roderick Maclean. About 30-years-old, he was 5 feet 7 inches tall and was shabbily dressed. He told the police that he was a clerk out of employment and had been born in Oxford street in London and had only been in Windsor a few days, but it was later determined that he was a native of Ireland.

Kill the Queen!: The Eight Assassination Attempts on Queen Victoria by Barrie Charles

“The revolver was of German manufacture, with six chambers. Two chambers were loaded with empty cartridges, and two with loaded cartridges. One chamber had been discharged. No trace of a bullet has as yet been found. – from Belfast News-Letter – Friday 03 March 1882

“Maclean was tried on 19 April 1882 at Reading for high treason. Mr. Montague Williams presented overwhelming evidence that the prisoner was a lunatic and Maclean was acquitted on the ground of insanity. He was ordered to be detained during her Majesty’s pleasure.” The Social Historian [Note: At Her Majesty’s pleasure (sometimes abbreviated to Queen’s pleasure or, when appropriate, at His Majesty’s pleasure or King’s pleasure) is a legal term of art referring to the indeterminate or undetermined length of service of certain appointed officials or the indeterminate sentences of some prisoners. It is based on the concept that all legitimate authority for government comes from the Crown.]

Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy by Paul Thomas Murphy

The jury’s deliberation lasted but five minutes. Maclean lived out the remainder of his days at Broadmoor Asylum. He died 9 June 1921. This last attempt on her life prompted the Queen to ask for a change in English law. All of those who attempted to kill Victoria showed signs of mental illness. Maclean, Robert Pate, and Edward Oxford were considered mentally deranged. The others were more of the “lone wolf” nature we see in modern times at mass shootings. Queen Victoria pushed for those accused to be named “guilty, but insane,” rather than “not guilty, but insane,” as had Maclean been found. This led to the Trial of Lunatics Act of 1883. This Act of Parliament permitted the jury to return aa verdict that the defendant was guilty, but insane at the time of the crime. The accused would be kept in custody as a “criminal lunatic.” It was to act as a deterrent to other lunatics, but one must wonder if someone was mentally ill whether a “deterrent” would make much difference. The phrasing was changed to “guilty of the act or omission charged, but insane so as not to be responsible, according to law, for his actions.” This act was eventually replaced by the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act of 1964.

Other Sources:

Posted in Act of Parliament, British history, England, history, kings and queens, research, royalty, Victorian era | Tagged Act of Parliament, assassination, British history, Lunatic Act, Queen Victoria, Roderick Maclean, Victorian era | Comments Off

Albert Young’s Threat Toward and Arthur O’Connor’s Attempt to Kill Queen Victoria

Posted on November 30, 2018 by Regina Jeffers

It was twenty-two years after Robert Pate’s ill-fated attempt to kill Queen Victoria before another attempt was made against her. According to Raymond Lamont-Brown in How Fat Was Henry VIII (The History Press, 2009, page 149) Albert Young’s threat against the Crown was not like the previous ones. Young sent a letter threatening the life of the queen unless she lent £40 to each of some 50 Irish tenants of a landlord, who had recently turned them out. Unlike the other “assassins,” Young’s crime was one of intimidation. On May 26, 1872, Young was brought before High Court Judge Henry Charles Lopes. Lopes sentenced Young to ten years’ penal servitude on charges of intimidation.

However, earlier that same year (February 28, 1872), one Arthur O’Connor pointed at gun at the Queen when her carriage paused before the Garden Gate of Buckingham Palace. Prince Arthur jumped from the carriage to accost the man, but the Queen’s Scottish servant John Brown handled the situation.

Charles Bradlaugh ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bradlaugh

Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 2nd Baronet ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Charles_Dilke,_2nd_Baronet

What led to this unrest in the Kingdom? Between 1871 and 1874, growing unrest marked Victoria’s reign. During the later years of Queen Victoria’s reign, there was considerable criticism of her decision to withdraw from public life following the death of her husband, Prince Albert. This resulted in a “significant incarnation” of republicanism. During the 1870s, calls for Britain to become a republic on the American or French model were made by the politicians Charles Dilke and Charles Brdlaugh, as well as journalist George W. M. Reynolds. (Republicanism in the United Kingdom) However, “[A]fter a royal wedding and the recovery of the Prince of Wales from the brink of death, another assassination attempt [by Arthur O’Connor] on the queen secured her position and quelled anti-monarchy sentiment for the rest of her reign.” (Culture Trip)

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/articles/there-were-eight-assassination-attempts-on-queen-victoria/ ~ Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll and daughter of Queen Victoria, married the Marquis of Lorne, an Englishman called John Campbell. This marriage helped revive the waning popularity of the British monarchy.

The Queen had gone out for a Leap Day drive around Hyde and Regent’s Park. O’Connor, the nephew of the late Chartist leader Fergus O’Connor, was able to scale the Palace fence and hide near the courtyard, without anyone taking notice. He managed to come within a foot of the Queen’s carriage. He carried a flintlock pistol, which he attempted to fire, although some reports say the gun was broken and unusable. John Brown wrestled the seventeen-year-old O’Connor to the ground. At his hearing, O’Connor claimed he had no desire to bring harm upon the Queen: He simply wished to frighten her into signing a document that would release Irish political prisoners being held in British jails.

John Brown received a gold medal and a £25 annuity for his efforts to protect the Queen. Prince Arthur received a gold pin from his mother as a show of her gratitude.

Although originally sentenced to a year in prison and 20 strokes with a birch rod, after the Queen petitioned for him to be departed, O’Connor was exiled to Australia,

The Social Historian provides us this account of the events: “On Thursday, 29 February 1872, Earl Granville interrupted a discussion at the Houses of Parliament and made the following announcement to the House of Lords:

Your lordships will excuse my interruption of this discussion. I have just been informed that a boy of eighteen or nineteen ran into the garden of Buckingham Palace as the Queen entered, followed the carriage to the door, which is at a short distance, and presented an old-fashioned pistol within a foot of her Majesty’s head. The Queen bowed her head, and the boy was seized. I am informed that the pistol was not loaded, and it is believed that the object of the boy was to compel her Majesty by fear to sign a Fenian document which he had in his hand. The Queen showed the greatest courage and composure, and immediately commanded Colonel Hardinge to come down to the Houses of Parliament in order to prevent exaggerated rumours and alarm being spread. Pall Mall Gazette – Friday 01 March 1872

John Brown ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(servant)

“The boy was seized immediately and disarmed. He was taken to the King-street police-station in Westminster and readily gave his name of Arthur O’Connor. He said that he was 17-years-old and a clerk to Messrs. Livett and Franks, oil and colour manufacturers, and said that he lived with his father and mother at 4 Church-row in Houndsditch.

“Arthur O’Connor was brought to trial for treason on 8 April 1872 and was indicted for unlawfully presenting a pistol to the person of Our Lady the Queen, with intent to alarm her. To this charge, the prisoner pleaded guilty.

“On hearing the plea, Mr. Hume Williams who was instructed by the prisoner’s friends asked that the plea be withdrawn since he was prepared to show evidence that the prisoner was of unsound mind. After some discussion, his evidence was allowed. The prisoner’s parents, George and Catherine O’Connor along with three doctors from Kings College Hospital were called but it was to no avail. The jury found that the prisoner was perfectly sane when he pleaded guilty to the indictment.”

Posted in British history, England, Great Britain, history, real life tales, research, royalty, Victorian era | Tagged Albert Young, Arthur O'Connor, assassination attempt, British history, Chartist, intimidation, Ireland, Irish, John Brown, Prince Arthur, Queen Victoria, real life tales, Republicanism | Comments Off

Robert Pate Strikes Queen Victoria with His Cane, but Does Not Kill Her

Posted on November 23, 2018 by Regina Jeffers

Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy by Paul Thomas Murphy

A little over two years passed after William Hamilton’s attempt to assassinate Queen Victoria on 19 June 1849, before Robert Pate made his attempt on 27 June 1850.

Born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on Christmas Day 1819, Pate came from a relatively wealthy family. His father had worked his way, first in trade as a corn dealer, eventually to be Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire and High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire. Pate received his education in Norwich, and his father purchased him a Cornetcy in the 10th Light Dragoons. His Lieutenancy was purchased shortly afterward. Pate’s lunacy was suspected as early as 1844. He resigned his commission and moved to Piccadilly in 1846, living very much as an eccentric recluse.

During his trial, his defense team asked for a lenient sentence based on the idea he simply had a lapse caused by a weak mind. Seven years of penal transportation was his punishment. Pate’s social class, thanks to his father, permitted him more kindness during his imprisonment than he might have received otherwise. He arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now known as Tasmania) in November 1850. However, on arrival he was consigned to the Cascades penal settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, like a common criminal. He served less than a year under what for him must have been an especially hard regime, and was then transferred to more amenable work in the community until the end of his sentence. [Charles, Barrie (2012). Kill the Queen! The Eight Assassination Attempts on Queen Victoria, Amberley Publishing, pages 80-82]

“Pate’s father died in 1856, but most of his money passed to other relations and Pate only received an annuity of £300 and a share of his personal possessions. However, his money problems were solved the following year when Pate married Mary Elizabeth Brown, a rich heiress. They lived in Hobart for eight years before selling up and returning to London. Robert Pate lived a quiet life in the capital until his death in 1895. Under the terms of his will, he left £22,464 to his wife. He is buried in Beckenham Crematorium and Cemetery.” [Charles, Barrie (2012). Kill the Queen! The Eight Assassination Attempts on Queen Victoria, Amberley Publishing, pages 82-85] Wikipedia

Kill the Queen!: The Eight Assassination Attempts on Queen Victoria by Barrie Charles

Now to the assassination attempt. There are several versions of the events. These are the facts with which each account of the event agree:

Pate, an ex-soldier (retired lieutenant of the 10th Hussars), had descended into some form of lunacy.

Pate had the habit of goose-stepping about Hyde Park

Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, Princess Alice and lady-in-waiting Fanny Jocelyn had visited the Queen’s dying uncle Prince Adolphus of Cambridge.

The Queen’s carriage slowed to enter a gate. Her escorting equerry were pushed aside by the crowd, permitting Pate his chance.

Smithsonian.com tells us this of the event: “Only one attempt on Victoria’s life actually injured her, and it was the only one not made with a gun. In 1850 an ex-soldier named Robert Pate hit her over the head with an iron-tipped cane while she was in the courtyard of her home, [Paul Thomas] Murphy writes. “It left the Queen with a black eye, a welt and a scar that lasted for years,” he writes. She appeared two hours later in Covent Garden to prove that she was well and that her injury wouldn’t stop her from seeing her subjects.

Meanwhile, Sunday Express gives a bit more information. “Victoria’s fifth assailant, Robert Pate was the only one of the seven to harm the Queen. Well-known in London for his manic perambulations about Hyde Park, he interrupted one of these when he came upon the Queen’s carriage inside the gates of her uncle’s mansion on Piccadilly.

“He pushed himself to the front of the crowd, knowing that when the Queen’s carriage emerged he would find himself inches from her, and slashed his cane down upon the royal forehead, blackening Victoria’s eye and leaving a welt. Victoria had intended to go to the opera that night. When her ladies-in-waiting begged her to stay home, she replied “Certainly not: if I do not go, it will be thought I am seriously hurt and people will be distressed and alarmed.”

“But you are hurt, ma’am,” her lady replied.

“Then everyone shall see how little I mind it,” the Queen said.

Pate was sentenced to seven years’ transportation.”

The Social Historian provides us even more detail of the event. “About twenty minutes past six o’clock on the evening of Thursday, 27 June 1850, Queen Victoria along with three of the royal children and Viscountess Jocelyn, lady-in-waiting, left Cambridge House in Piccadilly to return to Buckingham Palace. As the royal carriage passed through the gates, a respectably dressed man ran forward two or three paces and struck the Queen a sharp blow on the head with a small black cane. Several persons in the crowd rushed forward and seized the man and for a moment it seemed likely he might be lynched by the mob until the timely arrival of Sergeant Silver who took the prisoner to the Vine-street police station. The Royal Carriage proceeded onwards to Buckingham Palace.

“At the police station, the prisoner gave his name as Robert Pate, a retired lieutenant of the 10th Hussars and gave his address as 27, Duke-street in St. James. The stick with which he had struck the blow was not thicker than an ordinary goose quill and just over 2 feet in length. It weighed less than three ounces.

“After being examined several times by doctors to determine whether he was insane, Pate was committed to Newgate to await a hearing.

“On 8 July 1850, 30-year-old Robert Pate stood trial at the Old Bailey. He was indicted for unlawfully assaulting the Queen, with intent to injure her, a second count of assault with intent to alarm her and a third count of intent to break the public peace. Many witnesses were called an all testified that Robert Pate was not of sound mind.

EDWARD THOMAS MONRO, ESQ ., M.D. I have had five interviews with Mr. Pate since this occurrence—I saw him first on the 2nd of the month at Clerkenwell, and again on the 3rd; and I saw him afterwards in Newgate on the 5th, 8th, and 10th—from my own observation, and from what I have heard to-day, I believe him to be of unsound mind.Old Bailey Trial of Robert Pate

MR. COCKBURN. Q. You gather that [he is well aware that he has done wrong in this matter], from what he has said to you on the subject? JOHN CONOLLY, ESQ ., M.D. A. I do—he seems quite unable to give any account why he did it, or any account of the act at all, any more than it was not done by another person—he does not deny having done it, but he expresses himself very sorry for it—I asked him a great many questions on the subject; he had no motive whatever in committing such an action, no premeditation, no powers of deliberation or reason at the time; but he acted under some strange morbid impulse, which he had no power apparently of resisting. Old Bailey Trial of Robert Pate

At the conclusion of the trial, it was found that although of unsound mind, Robert Pate was capable of distinguishing between right and wrong and he was accordingly found guilty and sentenced to be transported for seven years.

Check out Paul Thomas Murphy’s account HERE.

Posted in British history, real life tales, research, Victorian era | Tagged assassination, British history, lunacy, Queen Vistoria, real life tales, Robert Pate, Victoria Era | Comments Off

Announcing the Winners of Jennifer Redlarczyk’s “A Holiday to Remember” Giveaway

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Regina Jeffers

Jennifer and I are happy to announce that Mary Olson and Laura Capio are the recipients of an eBook copy of Ms. Redlarczyk’s A Holiday to Remember. Congratulations, Ladies. Jen will be in contact to deliver the eBook. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Posted in giveaway, Guest Post | Tagged giveaway, Jennifer Redlarczyk | 2 Comments

Celebrating the Release of “Follow Your Star Home” with Jude Knight and the Bluestocking Belles

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Regina Jeffers

To be a Princess

Have you heard the joke about the girl who wanted to be treated like a princess? So her father married her off to a stranger to cement his trade alliance.

That’s not the modern view of a princess, but it’s certainly the lived experience of real life princesses throughout history. From ancient Egypt and Babylonia through to more recent history in Britain and Europe, few princesses have been free to choose a life mate, and for those who did, the marriage was often their second and more likely to be a political choice than a romantic one.

Cleopatra, for example, was first married to her younger brother Ptolemy, as the custom was in Egypt at that time. The pharaoh, being a god, could have god children only with another god, which meant a sister or a cousin. The physical deformities associated with inbreeding were controlled by dedicating such children to Sobek, the Nile crocodile god.

The affair between the young Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, who was in his 50s, was almost certainly an astute decision to help her win a civil war. She required Roman support against her brother. The affair with Mark Antony might also have been political – he was now one of the most powerful men in the Roman Empire, but certainly the myth of their love affair has been enduring.

Catherine of Aragon was sent to England as a teenager to marry Arthur, heir to the throne. When he died shortly after their marriage, her brother-in-law had the marriage annulled so he could marry her himself. By all accounts, she loved her husband, Henry VIII, despite his roving eye. But when she failed to give him a living son, he set the marriage aside (even splitting with the Pope and setting up his own church when the obstinate man refused to un-annul Catherine’s first marriage so that Henry could marry his pregnant mistress).

Henry himself was descended from another royal mistress, later the wife of John of Gaunt, the third son of Edward III.

Amonute, known to history as Pocahontas, learnt a little English when she was a child and the leader of the English colonists was a prisoner of her people for a few months. John Smith was 27 and she was probably around 10. John Smith later told stories about her saving his life and defying her father to bring food to Jamestown. Not true.

She married a young warrior of her people and became pregnant, but when the English threatened violence against her village, she was forced to give up her baby and go with the troops. Oral history in her tribe tells that she was raped while a prisoner, and she gave birth to a child, Thomas, before being married to John Rolfe, who later took her to England where she died.

Being a princess isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Follow Your Star Home

Divided sweethearts seek love and forgiveness in this collection of eight seasonal novellas.

Forged for lovers, the Viking star ring is said to bring lovers together, no matter how far, no matter how hard.

In eight stories, covering more than half the world and a thousand years, our heroes and heroines put the legend to the test. Watch the star work its magic, as prodigals return home in the season of good will, uncertain of their welcome.

Follow Your Star Home

25% of proceeds benefit the Malala Fund.

Follow Your Star Home, the Bluestocking Belles’ latest holiday box set, features eight stories set across time. In my story, Paradise Regained, the heroine is a princess who has run away from the fate of princesses, as the excerpt below shows.

Buy links and more blurb at: https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/follow-your-star-home/

Paradise Regained

In discovering the mysteries of the East, James has built a new life. Will unveiling the secrets in his wife’s heart destroy it?

James Winderfield yearns to end a long journey in the arms of his loving family. But his father’s agents offer the exiled prodigal forgiveness and a place in Society — if he abandons his foreign-born wife and children to return to England.

With her husband away, Mahzad faces revolt, invasion and betrayal in the mountain kingdom they built together. A queen without her king, she will not allow their dream and their family to be destroyed.

But the greatest threats to their marriage and their lives together is the widening distance between them. To win Paradise, they must face the truths in their hearts.

Paradise Regained is a novella in Follow Your Star Home. For information about the other novellas and buy links, see the Bluestocking Belles’ website. https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/follow-your-star-home/

Excerpt

“You will be destined for the Emperor’s own women’s quarters, Mahzad,” Mamani said. “As a wife, no less. Just imagine! Your son could be Emperor.”

Only, Mahzad wanted to say, if they could successfully avoid trouble in the broken lands that had once been the Uzbek empire. Only if she had sons. Only if one of those sons survived the machinations of the zenana and then of the divan, the government bureaucracy, to become ruler. She had no intention of putting all her faith in a child as yet not even conceived, but she could clearly expect no support from her grandmother, so she said nothing.

She was not the only high-ranking trophy bride in the caravan. They would negotiate their way East, giving gifts to the rulers of kingdoms and cities along the way, and most of the other girls felt as she did.

“But what can we do?” asked Fatimah, daughter of a satrap and his Uzbekistan concubine and therefore probably the first to be traded for the safety of the caravan. “That Englishman of your grandmother’s has us closely watched.”

Fatimah was another favored daughter, allowed freedoms and training beyond the feminine arts, petted and praised by her father, and then sent to be used with as little compunction as if she were a pawn of ivory or jet, rather than flesh and blood.

“How much do you wish to escape?” Mahzad asked.

In the end, nine of them made the attempt, including Mahzad’s maid. The other three promised to cover for them and helped them gather the men’s clothes they would wear to avoid the risks of women travelling without a male escort.

Their chance came after a bandit attack in the mountains. The would-be robbers were killed or driven off, and the triumphant guard relaxed around their fires, celebrating their success, while Mahzad and her friends followed the English serveries’ instructions to stay in their tent. “Drunk men may forget themselves, princess,” he told her. “And I would not wish to have to cut off a man’s hand because one of you failed to hide when I told you to.”

After midnight, as the noise around the men’s fires died down, the runaway brides kissed their friends goodbye. They had long since sent their maids off to bed, and now, they helped one another into their new clothes, shushing one another’s giggles as they struck male poses.

They were nine slim lads, gliding through the shadows to the horse pickets, where the guards, praise be to all the saints, nodded over a jug of wine.

Each woman saddled and bridled her own horse, and Mahzad breathed another prayer of thanks. Some of them had never waited on themselves in their whole pampered lives. The travel and the English serkerde’s insistence that they each learn to do some of the daily tasks, such as looking after their own horses, had hardened them and readied them for this adventure.

Mahzad was about to give the order to mount when one of the guards lifted his head and spoke.

“Going somewhere, princess?”

Startled, she could do nothing but stare into the face of the Englishman who commanded the caravan. Jakob. James, as his own people said it. In that frozen moment, the other three guards moved, standing and raising their weapons.

The other brides looked to Mahzad. For orders or for inspiration? She raised her chin. She was descended from royal houses in China, Persia, Turkmenistan, and England, and would not give up.

“You are four, and we are nine,” she pointed out. “We are leaving, James Beg.”

“I am impressed,” he replied, and his eyes gleamed. “I would not have thought of men’s clothes.”

“We are leaving,” she repeated, clutching at her mare’s reins until the horse sidled.

“Princess, I made a promise to your grandmother that I would defend you against all dangers. How can I do that if I let you leave?”

“You are four, and we are nine,” she repeated, but even she was unconvinced. Nine pampered ladies who had never used their weapons in earnest against four hardened warriors?

“Forgive me. I have not made myself clear. If I let you leave without me, I should have said. But I have no more desire than you ladies,” he bowed to include them all, “to continue with this mission now it has brought us within reach of our freedom. Will you consent to take us as partners in your escape?”

Meet Jude Knight

Jude Knight wants to transport you to another time, another place, to enjoy adventure and romance, thrill to trials and challenges, uncover secrets and solve mysteries, and delight in a happy ending.

She writes everything from Hallmark to Regency Noir, in different eras and diverse places, short, medium and extra-long. Expect decent men with wounded hearts, women who are stronger than they think, and villains you’ll want to smack or worse. and all with a leavening of humour.

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Late 18th century, Georgian, #Englishexplorer, #ducalson, #Persianprincess, #mountainbandits, #explorersinIran, #Englishadventurers, #historicalromance, #friendstolovers, #secondchanceromance #ParadiseRegained #FollowYourStarHome @BellesInBlue @judeknightbooks

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Posted in book excerpts, book release, Guest Post, historical fiction, history, holidays, marriage, reading, reading habits, romance, world history | Tagged anthology, Bluestocking Belles, book excerpt, book release, Christmas, Follow Your Star Home, Jude Knight, novellas, princesses | 4 Comments

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