Hey there, everyone!
I was featured in "Seattle Wrote" —have fun sharing the piece around!
http://www.seattlewrote.com/2018/06/seattle-author-sarah-chrisman.html

Read the rest of the feature here.
Then read the books!

First Wheel in Town: A Victorian Cycling Club Romance​​ Buy the book​ ​Learn more​​​​

Love Will Find A Wheel: A Victorian Cycling Club Romance Buy the book ​Learn more

A Rapping At The Door: A Victorian Cycling Club Suspense Story Buy the book Learn more

Delivery Delayed: A Victorian Cycling Club Romance Buy the book Learn more

A Trip and a Tumble:
A Victorian Cycling Club Story
Buy the Book
Learn More

***
​Anthologies

A Bouquet of Victorian Roses

Quotations of Quality A Commonplace Book of Victorian Advice, Wit, and Observations on Life

Love's Messenger A Choice Collection of  Victorian Love Poetry

Words For Parting Victorian Poetry on Death and Mourning

The Wheelman's Joy Victorian Cycling Poetry and Words About Wheels

I put together an anthology of Victorian writings about roses, transcribed from our antique books and magazines:

A Bouquet of Victorian Roses
Available on Amazon
​
"What flower did she most resemble?… A rose! Certainly… strong, vigorous, self-asserting… yet shapely, perfect in outline and development, exquisite, enchanting in its never fully realized tints, yet compelling the admiration of every one, and recalling its admirers again and again by the unspoken appeal of its own perfection—its unvarying radiance." —John Habberton, 1876.

All hail the Queen of Flowers! In this collection of Victorian writings on roses, brief prose remarks, lovely poetry and engaging short stories are gathered together —all with nature's most perfect blossom as their central theme. From poetry on the fragrant beauty of roses, to tales ranging from a ghost story about roses as omens, to a romance of love among the roses, this collection will delight anyone who dreams of being surrounded by roses. A perfect gift for weddings, birthdays… or your own sunny afternoon!

On Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Bouquet-Victorian-Roses-19th-century-Remarks/dp/1720858659/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529024644&sr=1-1&keywords=A+bouquet+of+Victorian+roses

Pacific oyster (left) vs. Olympia oyster (right)

The following passage and nineteenth-century recipes appear in Appendix II of A Trip and a Tumble, along with recipes for the other foods mentioned in the story.  Enjoy!
​

All stories come from somewhere, and sometimes the best of them start when an author's research unearths something surprising which refuses to let go of their imagination.  Find out how an 1891 description of a posh American Indian and her pretty phaeton inspired my latest book by going to 
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-trip-and-a-tumble.html

A Trip and a Tumble:
A Victorian Cycling Club Story
Time for a vacation —step right up!  When Felix's newspaper sends him up to Victoria, B.C. to report on a visiting circus Ken inevitably tags along, "like a dutiful puppy", as Addie says.  Meanwhile, Jacob's sent north to Victoria as well, as an ambassador for the cycling company he represents.  Addie tells him to keep an eye on the chums, but no one ever could keep Ken and Felix from stumbling into scrapes.  When a vivacious high-society belle and a surprisingly timid circus bicyclist enter the picture, things heat up quickly. 
Be prepared for a grand circus pageant —let the show begin!​
Buy the Book
Learn More

This glossary of terms which were used in various communities in the nineteenth-century appears in Appendix III of my latest book, A Trip and a Tumble.  Enjoy —and please feel free to share with your friends!  

When Felix's newspaper sends him up to Victoria, B.C. to report on a visiting circus Ken inevitably tags along, "like a dutiful puppy", as Addie says.  Meanwhile, Jacob's sent north to Victoria as well, as an ambassador for the cycling company he represents.  Addie tells him to keep an eye on the chums, but no one ever could keep Ken and Felix from stumbling into scrapes.  When a vivacious high-society belle and a surprisingly timid circus bicyclist enter the picture, things heat up quickly. 
Be prepared for a grand circus pageant —let the show begin!​

A Trip and a Tumble:
A Victorian Cycling Club Story
Buy the Book
Learn More

​
​Bill: Poster.  The word "bill" meaning "sign or poster" has somewhat fallen out of use in modern America, although it may still be seen in the familiar prohibition "POST NO BILLS" which is often seen on walls and poles in public spaces. 

​Boston: American.  (Aboriginal trade jargon of the American Pacific Northwest and Southwestern Canada, early and mid-nineteenth century.)  This term referred to any white American, regardless of his city or region of origin: to an aboriginal person in this part of the world, Yankees and Southerners alike were simply "Bostons".  See also King George Man and Passaieux.
 
Canvas men: Rough laborers in a circus.
 
Celestial: Chinese.  Historically the Chinese referred to China and the countries it occupied as the Celestial Kingdom or the Celestial Empire.  Some modern scholars have taken umbrage with the term, but nineteenth-century Anglophones who referred to Chinese as Celestials were using a direct translation of what the Chinese called themselves at the time. 
 
Circus mother: A matron who manages the aspects of circus life falling under women's sphere.  Whereas the (male) manager supervised the business end of circus life, the circus mother managed the performers' personal affairs, acting as everything from banker, to nurse, to chaperone and wardrobe outfitter for them.  Source: Thompson, W.C. On the Road With A Circus, New York: New Amsterdam Book Company, 1905. pp. 130—132.
 
Clallam: A tribe of American Indians living on the Olympic Peninsula, in what is now Washington state.  Chief Chetzemoka was the nineteenth-century leader of the group of Clallams living in and around Port Townsend, the real city which inspired the town of Chetzemoka in this series.
 
Cully: Friend.  (Circus jargon.)  Source: Frost, Thomas. Circus Life and Circus Celebrities. London: John Child and Son, 1876, p. 309.
 
Dona: Lady (Circus jargon, from the Italian donna.)  Source: Frost, Thomas. Circus Life and Circus Celebrities. London: John Child and Son, 1876, p. 306.
 
En garçon: Used in reference to married men temporarily away from their wives.  (French: literally, "as a boy" or "as a bachelor".)    Source: Jenkins, Edward.  The Captain's Cabin. Belfast: William Mullan and Son, 1877. p. 14: "On the left is the purser's table, frequented mostly by bachelors, old and young, and by leery commercials, who are married when at home, but are travelling for the voyage en garçon—a most lively table, where…rough joke and broad story are never wanting…"
 
Goney:  A great goose, a stupid fellow.  (New England origin.)  Source: Dictionary of Americanisms, Ed. John Russell Bartlett, Boston: 1877. p. 253.
 
Guy:  Man.  The very british Oxford English dictionary credits the origin of this term to effigies burned on Guy Fawkes day, but the term had a different connotation in circus culture: "Circus dialect for a man is always 'guy,' and the proprietor of the show is invariably styled 'the main guy,' or the 'main squeeze.'  The former appellation is probably adapted from the fact that the main guy rope holds the tent in position."[1]  It is worth noting that "guy" was not a very common term yet for a man in the American population in general in 1885, but it was common in circus communities.  It is also worth noting that nineteenth and twentieth-century Americans did not celebrate Guy Fawkes day as a culture, but they did watch a lot of circuses.  Which context truly led to its adoption in America is left to the reader's judgement.
 
Hello: 19th-century exclamation of surprise.  The term didn't become a generic greeting until after telephone use grew widespread.
 
Hey Rube!: A circus call for help.  It orders all circus workers to drop what they're doing and rush to the aid of the person who yelled it.  (Circus jargon.)
 
High climber: A logger (lumberman) who climbs up tall trees to cut off the limbs and tops in preparation for the rest of the tree being felled.
 
Hook: To steal.  (Late nineteenth-century slang.)  Source: Dictionary of Americanisms, Ed. John Russell Bartlett, Boston: 1877. p. 293.
           
Header (active form, "take a header"): A crash or fall.  In the high wheel era, this term referred to any fall from a bicycle: it did not (as commonly believed) mean falling on one's head, it was simply slang for a crash.  It applied equally when the unfortunate wheelman landed on his hands, his knees, or any other body part.  (Similarly, we now use the term "crash" to describe any fall from a bike, even when the actual sound involved is more of a thwack, a thud, or a shriek.)  Confusion about terminology led to the widely held misconception that riders who fall off high wheel bicycles frequently fall on their heads, but such a landing is actually extremely rare.  In 1883 a medical doctor writing on high wheel bicycles described the actual physiology of a typical fall: "When the wheel meets with any obstruction upon the road, either unobserved by the rider or thrown by some mischievous urchin, the rider is pitched forward upon his hands and knees, in the same way as if he had stumbled while running upon his feet.  This is called "taking a header."  The wrist is sometimes sprained in these involuntary dismounts, but the rider is never seriously injured unless he is going at an inordinate rate of speed."[2]  In the very rare cases when someone did fall on their head —usually in the position which would now be called a "face plant"— the appropriate term was a "cropper".  This phrase was borrowed from equestrianism and comes from the fallen rider landing in a position that resembles a horse cropping the grass with its teeth.
            Falls in general from high wheel bicycles were far less dramatic and certainly less slapstick than farcical depictions of them in the twentieth and twenty-first century.  An instructor on high wheel riding advised, "In order to avoid a fall, keep the wheel turned a very little out of the perpendicular, your hands ready to adjust the handle, and your toes lightly pressing on the pedals.  If you feel that you must fall —if you cannot check your descent by gently and slightly turning the front wheel in the direction of its incline, prepare to go down as easily as possible.  Put out your leg, and yielding to the inclination of the Bicycle, come down easily, and without a jerk."[3]  Note that in this description, the fall is again one towards the side of the bicycle, not over the handlebars.  As the writer says, this is the natural inclination of the bicycle. 
            My husband Gabriel has been riding high wheel bicycles with extreme frequency for years, and his copious experience with them confirms the statements of these nineteenth-century writers.  He's never even once gone over his handlebars, and the small handful of times he's fallen to the side were because I crashed into him on my own wheel, which can hardly be considered the fault of his machine.
 
Ink-Slinger: "One who habitually writes for publication; particularly an editor or reporter of a newspaper." (Late 19th-century slang.)  Source: Dictionary of Americanisms, ibid., 1877. p. 786.
 
Keester: Trunk.  (Circus Slang.)  Source: Thompson, W.C.,  On the Road With a Circus, New York: New Amsterdam Book Company, 1905. p. 23.
 
King George / King George Man: British.  (Aboriginal trade jargon of the American Pacific Northwest and Southwestern Canada, early and mid-nineteenth century.)  Aboriginal trade jargon continued to designate the British this way even after Queen Victoria assumed the throne in 1838.  See also Boston and Passaieux.
 
Klootchman:  An American Indian woman, or a female animal —pejorative.  (Aboriginal trade jargon of the American PNW and Southwestern Canada.)  In terms of both offensiveness and meaning, the closest term familiar to modern audiences would be "squaw".  This word was in fairly common usage by traders in this region (both white and native) in the mid-nineteenth-century but it was considered increasingly derogatory as time progressed.  In the early days of exploration and trade, the ambiguity of a word which could refer either to a woman or a female animal was more a linguistic side-effect of the inarticulate nature of pidgin languages than it was any deliberate attempt to be offensive.  However, as relationships deepened and English became the lingua franca of the region, this dual-meaning jargon word shifted from being an accepted term to being a slur.
            By 1885, when A Trip and A Tumble takes place, the term was inappropriate for polite society; on the Pacific coast at the time it was considered even more offensive than squaw.  The scene where Theresa calls herself a klootchman in order to shock Jacob was taken almost verbatim from an Englishman's non-fiction account of his visit to Victoria in 1887.  In this autobiographical work, the Englishman meets a woman who challenges him to guess her ancestry.  After he fails several times the lady laughs at him and calls himself a klootchman to scandalize him.  He makes a very clear point of stating that although the woman had referred to herself by this term, she "would have been very indignant indeed if I had called her that."[4]
 
Lumberman: Logger.
 
Macadam: A smooth road surface favored by cyclists.
 
Main: Very.  (Late 19th-century slang.)  Source: Alger, Horatio, The Young Acrobat, New York: Hurst & Company, 1889, p. 134.  "I'm main tired and hungry." / "They must have been main strong."

Mash: A crush.  (Nineteenth-century slang.)  Source: McIlvaine, C.W.  "Censor".  The Nassau Herald.  Princeton College, 1878,  p. 60:  "Boys, you know Miss B… I took her to a cotillon one evening and got a terrible mash on her."
 
Missed (my) tip: Fail in an aim to do something, as when an acrobat fails in a catch.  (Nineteenth-century slang.)  Source: Stradling, Arthur, "A Broken Neck", Time, March, 1883, p. 360: "Almost the first part of an acrobat's education is to learn how to fall properly when he "misses his tip" —a principle which might be introduced with advantage into the course of training for some other professions."
 
Mosquito Fleet: A collective term for the great variety of ships that plied the waters of the greater Puget Sound region in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  For more on these, see Newell, Gorden R. Ships of the Inland Sea, Portland: Binsfords & Mort, 1960. and Findlay, Jean Cammon and Robin Paterson, Mosquito Fleet of South Puget Sound, Images of America, USA: Arcadia Publishing, 2008.
 
Multum in parvo (M.I.P.)  Literally, "much in little" (Italian.)  A style of leather or canvas bag which straps to the backbone of a high-wheel bicycle behind the seat.  They were especially popular for touring cyclists.
 
Mumble the Peg: A boy's game.  "It consists in endeavoring to draw out with the teeth a peg driven almost wholly into the ground.  The successful one of course wins."  Source: Dictionary of Americanisms, Ed. John Russell Bartlett, Boston: 1877. p. 413.
 
Old horse: Especially hard and dry salt beef (Nautical slang.)  In Two Years Before the Mast (1840), R.H. Dana recounts a rhyme he'd heard sailors reciting at mealtime when they came across a particularly bad piece of meat: "Old horse!  Old horse!  What brought you here?  / From Sacarap' to Portland pier / I've carted stone this many a year; / Till, killed by blows and sore abuse, / They salted me down for sailors' use.  / The sailors they do me despise: / They turn me over and damn my eyes; / Cut off my meat, and pick my bones / And pitch the rest to Davy Jones."  Dana credits the euphemism (and the resulting rhyme) to a story about a beef dealer in Boston who was convicted of selling old horse meat for ship's stores and being sentenced to imprisonment until such time as he had eaten the whole of it.  The story is very likely apocryphal, but it stuck.[5]
 
Passaieux:  French.  (Aboriginal trade jargon of the American Pacific Northwest and Southwestern Canada, early and mid-nineteenth century.)  See also Boston and King George Man.  The spelling used here was found in James G. Swan's book The Northwest Coast (1857). Swan reports:
 
"Formerly the Americans had a very extensive trade of furs on the Northwest Coast, and this was carried on principally by the merchants of Boston.  The Indians, hearing the name of Boston so often repeated, supposed that to be the name of the country these people and ships came from; consequently, all Americans are to this day [1857] called by the Northwest Coast Indians Boston tillicums, or Boston people.  English, Scotch, and Irish are called King George People, and the French, Passaieux.  The derivation of this last term… is undoubtedly [derived from] some Canadian French patois word."[6]
 
            Orthography of trade jargon words varied substantially between different sources.  As Swan put it, "no two writers of Indian words fully agree as to the proper method of spelling."[7]  Among many other alternatives, this word was also spelled "pasiuks"[8]; and "pasai-ooks".[9] 
            British ethnographer Horatio Hale attributes the word's origin to a mispronunciation of the French "Français" by people unable to pronounce f, r, or nasal n sounds.  However, this explanation seems questionable since Swan, who lived at close quarters with Northwest tribes for a number of years, reported their extreme linguistic skills: "The Indians are very quick to detect any difference in the intonation or method of pronunciation of the whites, and sometimes think we speak different languages.  An Indian asked me one day (while pointing to a cow) what was the name we called that animal.  I told him cow.  He said that he had just asked another white man, and he called it a caow.  By this means, different Indians who have been with the whites acquire a habit of pronouncing such English words as they pick up in the same style and manner as the person from whom they learn them."[10]
 
Phaeton: A light carriage.  For a picture of a phaeton and other horse-drawn vehicles from the nineteenth-century, see <http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/a-visit-to-the-northwest-carriage-museum>.
 
Potato jacket: Potato skin / peel. 
 
Queer a pitch: Spoil a performance.  (Circus jargon.)  Source: Frost, Thomas. Circus Life and Circus Celebrities. London: John Child and Son, 1876, p. 307.
 
Razorback: A man or boy who helps load and unload circus materials.  (Circus jargon.)  Source: Alger, Horatio, The Young Acrobat, New York: Hurst & Company, 1889, p. 68.
 
Running Gear: A horse-drawn vehicle used for hauling large loads like timber.  Different from a wagon in that a running gear didn't have sides.  For a picture of a running gear and other horse-drawn vehicles from the nineteenth-century, see <http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/a-visit-to-the-northwest-carriage-museum>.
 
Sacred cattle: A breed of cattle from the Indian subcontinent, popular with nineteenth-century menageries.
 
Sociable: A cycle for two riders with seats side-by-side.  (Tandems have seats fore and aft.)  A sociable has two large wheels to propel it, a smaller wheel for stabilization, and usually an additional even smaller wheel to prevent tipovers on hills.  This technically makes it a quadricycle, although since the smallest wheel rarely touches the ground it is often termed a tricycle.
 
Tá: Is / it is / that's so.  (Irish Gaelic).  Irish is a somewhat unique language in not having words for "yes" or "no".  Instead, questions are answered by giving the affirmative or negative form of the verb —in this case, the affirmative of "to be".  Centuries of English rule have led to a dwindling number of speakers of the Irish language.  A school inspector in 1884 reported that it was no longer taught (Ross, Donald. The Gaelic Journal, March, 1884, p. 95.), and in modern times the World Languages Project lists its status as Endangered.  However, certain Irish words have persisted in the speech of the country.  When I visited Ireland in 2000 I found it interesting to note that the word Tá still retains a sort of slang status in the twenty-first century, even amongst young urban Dubliners.
 
Top: Tent. (Circus jargon.)
 
Tyee:  The highest caste in aboriginal society in the Puget Sound Region.  Usually translated as "chief", it is more appropriately translated as "person of high-rank" or "titleholder".  Aboriginal societies in the Pacific Northwest were stratified into three castes: titleholders, commoners, and slaves.  For more on this, see Professor Leland Donald's book, Aboriginal Slavery on the Northwest Coast of North America.
 
Wheel: Bicycle or tricycle.
 
Wheelman / Wheelwoman: Cyclist.
 
Worth: Charles Frederick Worth, one of the 19th-century's most famous fashion designers.  The idea of a show mother being "the Worth of circusland" was cribbed from Thompson, W.C. On the Road With A Circus, New York: New Amsterdam Book Company, 1905, p. 132.  For more about Worth himself, see "Worth and His Dresses", The Domestic Monthly, June, 1885, p. 196.  <https://tinyurl.com/y84g4lnn>.


[1] Thompson, On the Road With A Circus, New York: New Amsterdam Book Company, 1905, p. 23. 

[2]  Kinch, Charles A., M.D. "A Medical Symposium: The Bicycle and Tricycle for Physicians and Patients." The Wheelman. August 1883, p. 362.  The full text of this article can be found at <http://tinyurl.com/hc9n8yt>.

[3] "A Practical Bicyclist" [Nom de plume.] The Bicycle and How to Ride It.  London: Ward, Lock And Co., 1882. p. 36—37.

[4] Roper, Edward. By Track and Trail: A Journey Through Canada, London: W.H. Allen & Co., Ltd., 1891, pp. 243—244.

[5] Ibid., ch. 30.

[6] Swan, James G., The Northwest Coast.  New York: Harper & Brothers, 1857. pp. 95—96.

[7] Swan, ibid, p. 308.

[8] Hale, Horatio.  An International Idiom: A Manual of the Oregon Trade Language. London, Whittaker & Co., 1890. p. 8.

[9] Bryce, George.  The Remarkable History of the Hudson's Bay Company.  London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1900. p. 410.

[10] Swan, ibid., pp. 308—309.

In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing.  In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into.  Join their adventures in
The Tales of Chetzemoka
To read about the exhaustive research that goes into each book and see little vignettes from the stories, click on their "Learn More" buttons!

First Wheel in Town: A Victorian Cycling Club Romance​​ Buy the book​ ​Learn more​​​​ A Rapping At The Door: A Victorian Cycling Club Suspense Story Buy the book Learn more

Love Will Find A Wheel: A Victorian Cycling Club Romance Buy the book ​Learn more Delivery Delayed: A Victorian Cycling Club Romance Buy the book Learn more

A Trip and a Tumble:
A Victorian Cycling Club Story
Buy the Book
Learn More

***
Anthologies

Quotations of Quality A Commonplace Book of Victorian Advice, Wit, and Observations on Life Love's Messenger A Choice Collection of  Victorian Love Poetry

The Wheelman's Joy Victorian Cycling Poetry and Words About Wheels Words For Parting Victorian Poetry on Death and Mourning

​​June 6, 1844: The first YMCA was founded in London, England.
 

June 7, 1866: Death of Chief Seattle <http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chief-seattle-dies-near-the-city-named-for-him>

Image courtesy http://philippinereporter.com/2016/06/10/june-12-1898-philippine-independence-declared/

June 12, 1898: Philippine independence from Spain declared. 

​June 20, 1837: King William IV passes away, leaving his niece Victoria to become Queen of England.
Image source for William IV and a timeline of his reign: <http://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=william4>
Image source for Victoria and a timeline of her reign:
<http://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=victoria>

​​June 20, 1887: Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee
 
June 20, 1897: Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee

June 25, 1876: Alexander Graham Bell demonstrates his telephonic apparatus at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
<https://www.assemblymag.com/articles/83790-then-now-the-1876-centennial-exposition>

Image courtesy http://www.perkins.org/stories/helen-keller-shakespeare-skeptic

June 27, 1880: Happy birthday, Helen Keller!  An article about Helen's visit to the Chicago Exposition in 1893: <https://tinyurl.com/ybdxsktu>

June 28, 1838: Victoria crowned queen of England
Portrait by Sir George Hayter

Image courtesy https://tomreeder.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/blondins-question/

​June 30, 1859: Aerialist Charles Blondin (Jean François Gravelet) crosses Niagara Falls on a hemp cable more than a thousand feet long. Sources: Linda Simon, The Greatest Shows on Earth, pp. 121, 122.,  <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-daredevil-of-niagara-falls-110492884/>
​

Special Days in June

​June 12th: National Red Rose day
"Many ages ago Anacreon sang the praises of the Rose.  He calls it "the most beautiful of flowers," "the delight of the gods," the favorite of the Muses," and since that time it has been denominated the Queen of Flowers." —Shaw, Henry, "The Rose: Historical and Descriptive." R.P. Studley & Co.: St. Louis. 1882,  p. 4.
​

​June 21st: Summer Solstice

Need an end-of-school present for your favorite teacher?  Books make perfect gifts for folks who love to learn —and they won't get broken like a mug!  Consider giving your favorite educator the story of a Victorian schoolteacher whose sweetest student inadvertantly makes a lot of mischief for her: Delivery Delayed.  The appendixes in the back are full of fun historical facts, and recipes, too!
Buy the book
Learn more

​In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing.  In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into.  Join their adventures in
​The Tales of Chetzemoka

First Wheel in Town Buy the book​ ​Learn more​​​​​​​​​​​​

Love Will Find A Wheel Buy the book ​Learn more

A Rapping At The Door Buy the book Learn more

Delivery Delayed Buy the book Learn more

A Trip and a Tumble
Book V of the Tales of Chetzemoka is now available!
Time for a vacation —step right up! When Felix's newspaper sends him up to Victoria, B.C. to report on a visiting circus Ken inevitably tags along, "like a dutiful puppy", as Addie says. Meanwhile, Jacob's sent north to Victoria as well, as an ambassador for the cycling company he represents. Addie tells him to keep an eye on the chums, but no one ever could keep Ken and Felix from stumbling into scrapes. When a vivacious high-society belle and a surprisingly timid circus bicyclist enter the picture, things heat up quickly. Be prepared for a grand circus pageant —let the show begin!
Learn More

***
Anthologies

Quotations of Quality A Commonplace Book of Victorian Advice, Wit, and Observations on Life The Wheelman's Joy Victorian Cycling Poetry and Words About Wheels

Love's Messenger A Choice Collection of  Victorian Love Poetry Words For Parting Victorian Poetry on Death and Mourning

Hey, everyone!
I'm very pleased to announce that A Trip and a Tumble, book 5 in the Tales of Chetzemoka, is now available both as a paperback and an e-book.  Happy reading!

Click here to go to the book's Amazon listing:
A Trip and a Tumble:
A Victorian Cycling Club Story

Time for a vacation —step right up! When Felix's newspaper sends him up to Victoria, Canada, to report on a visiting circus, Ken inevitably tags along, "like a dutiful puppy", as Addie says. Meanwhile, the cycling company Jacob represents sends him north to Victoria as well, as an ambassador for the sport. Addie tells him to keep an eye on the chums, but no one ever could keep Ken and Felix from stumbling into scrapes. When a vivacious high-society belle and a surprisingly timid circus bicyclist enter the picture, things heat up quickly. Be prepared for a grand circus pageant —let the show begin!

Read the backstories and see the inspirations for the book by clicking here:
Learn More

In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing.  In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into.  Join their adventures in
The Tales of Chetzemoka

First Wheel in Town: A Victorian Cycling Club Romance​​ Buy the book​ ​Learn more​​​​ A Rapping At The Door: A Victorian Cycling Club Suspense Story Buy the book Learn more

Love Will Find A Wheel: A Victorian Cycling Club Romance Buy the book ​Learn more Delivery Delayed: A Victorian Cycling Club Romance Buy the book Learn more

A Trip and a Tumble:
A Victorian Cycling Club Story
Buy the Book
Learn More

​​May 1, 1851: The Great Exhibition opens in London.  The building housing this first World's Fair would come to be known as the Crystal Palace, and the fair itself would be the model for many others throughout the world. 
Read about it here: http://www.bl.uk/victorian-britain/articles/the-great-exhibition
Image courtesy: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O8820/the-opening-of-the-great-oil-painting-selous-henry-courtney/

May 1, 1873: An International Exhibition (another world's fair) opens in Vienna.  
A digital archive of World's Fair Art & Architecture from the University of Maryland: <https://digital.lib.umd.edu/worldsfairs/about>

Image source:http://www.museumoflondonprints.com/image/65686/souvenir-portrait-of-queen-victoria-as-empress-of-india

​May 1, 1876: Britain's Queen Victoria declared Empress of India.  (She began officially using the title on January 1, 1877.)<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/victorianbritain_timeline_noflash.shtml>

​May 1, 1893: World Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago.  Take a virtual tour: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma96/wce/title.html
 More about the fair: https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/worldsChicago.html

Image source: http://www.austinweeklynews.com/News/Articles/5-7-2013/On-this-day-in-Black-History/

May 3, 1845: 1st African American lawyer (Macon B Allen) admitted to the bar in the U.S. 

Image source: http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/about/

May 4, 1852: Alice Liddell born.  Liddell would be the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

​
May 6, 1889: Exposition Universelle opens in Paris
 

May 8, 1886: Coca Cola invented. 
 
Historical Soda articles:The American Drink (1897) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/the-american-drink.html

Evils of Encouraging the Ice Cream Soda Trade (1897) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/evils-of-encouraging-the-ice-cream-soda-trade.html

How to Draw A Glass of Ice Cream Soda (1893) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/how-to-draw-a-glass-of-ice-cream-soda.html

Origin of Ice-Cream Soda Water (1892) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/origin-of-ice-cream-soda-water.html

Serving Ice Cream Soda (1901) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/serving-ice-cream-soda.html

Soda Water (1896) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/soda-water.html
 
Read about the history of Coca Cola advertising and the iconic hobble-skirt glass bottle: http://www.amexessentials.com/message-in-a-bottle/
 
A history of the Coca Cola Company: http://assets.coca-colacompany.com/7b/46/e5be4e7d43488c2ef43ca1120a15/T

Image source: https://www.recreation.gov/recreationalAreaDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&recAreaId=13936

​May 10, 1869: Railroads plant the Golden Spike, celebrating the completion of the first Transcontinental railroad. 

​May 10, 1876: The Centennial Exposition opens in Philadelphia
<https://www.assemblymag.com/articles/83790-then-now-the-1876-centennial-exposition>

​May 11, 1858: Minnesota becomes a state

​​May 12: Happy birthday, Florence Nightingale!  Read about how Nightingale completely changed the public's view of nursing:
Florence Nightingale, Shifting Attitudes Towards Nurses, and The Origins of Nurse McCoy: <http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/florence-nightingale-shifting-attitudes-towards-nurses-and-the-origins-of-nurse-mccoy>

Image scanned from our private archive. To see more like this, go to http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/food.html

​May 15, 1850: The American Vegetarian Society established at a meeting in New York.  This meeting was introduced by William Alcott, whose cousin Bronson was Louisa May Alcott's father.  Source: <https://ivu.org/history/societies/americanvs.html>  The Introduction by William Alcott: <https://ivu.org/congress/1850/history.html>
A full account of the meeting: <https://ivu.org/congress/1850/index.html>
​

​May 19, 1884: One thousand bicycle riders convene at Ford's Opera House in Washington D.C. for the League of American Wheelman's fifth annual meeting.  The National Republican newspaper reported on its front page the next day, "The opera house was decorated with flags and filled with good-looking young men, with an unusual development of the lower part of the leg.  This distinguishing characteristic was made more apparent by the knee breeches and long stockings which they wore." <chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86053573/1884-05-20/ed-1/seq-1/>
​

May 20, 1884: The League of American Wheelmen, still in Washington, D.C. for their meet, hold championship races (watched by ladies who took a keen interest in the calves of the shapely riders), then had a grand feast at Willard's Hotel.  The following account of their merriments was printed in the National Republican the next day:
 
THE WHEELMEN EAT,
AND THEN MAKE PLEASANT SPEECHES BEFORE THEY PART FOR A YEAR
       The lobby of Willard's was adorned last night by stacks of bicycles, and flitting among them were their owners.  In the long dining room on the first floor was heard the clatter of dishes and cutlery, while occasionally the head of a… waiter peeped out of the door at the crowd.  The wheelmen began to assemble at 8:30, and by 9 o'clock the long parlor was filled with them.
       Mr. Pelouza, of the Washington Cycle club, stood up at 9:30 and told the members that all was ready.  The doors were thrown open and the assemblage, which numbered about 250, filed into the room and took seats.  There were three long tables, two running the length of the room, while the third (a smaller one) was in the center.  Candelabra and flowers adorned the snowy white tables, and a souvenir menu card was placed in front of each guest's plate.  President Beckwith felt his mustache, and then informed the guests that they were welcome, and invited them to begin operations.  A flourish and clatter of cutlery followed this announcement, and neatly attired waiters were soon busy serving the guests.
       This is what they ate and drank:
 
Soups
Chicken with rice.     Consomme a la royal.
 
Fish
Boiled striped bass, lobster sauce.
Sliced cucumbers.     Potatoes Saratoga.     Lettuce.
 
Removes.
Roast spring lamb, mint sauce.
Roast ducks, English dressing.
Roast ribs of beef, dish gravy.
 
Entrees.
Fricandeau of veal, tomato sauce.
Chicken croquettes on petit pois.
Soft shell crabs fried in crumbs.
Roman punch.
 
Vegetables.
Mashed potatoes.     Stewed tomatoes.
Green peas.     Bermuda potatoes.
 
Mayonnaise.
Chicken.     Lobster.
 
Dessert.
Champagne jelly.     Assorted cake.
Vanilla ice cream.     Macaroons.
Strawberries, with cream.
Fruits.     Nuts.     Raisins.
 
Coffee
 
       After the cloth had been removed, Mr. Beckwith introduced Mr. Charles E. Pratt, the toast master.  He said that Mr. Pratt was one of the founders of the league, and was at present a city councilman of Boston.
       Mr. Pratt made an eloquent speech, telling what the bicyclers had done and what they expected to do.  At the conclusion of his address an enthusiastic wheelman sang in a cracked voice, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," in which he was assisted by the whole assemblage.
       "The City of Washington" was happily responded to by the Rev. L.H. Schneider, chief consul of the district.  He described the streets and the many advantages Washington offered to bicyclists, and hoped that the league would again meet here.  During his speech he referred to Judge Snell, who was present, as the first judge who had ever rendered a decision in favor of the bicycle.  There was loud cheering at the mention of Judge Snell's name, and the magistrate was greeted with a burst of enthusiasm when he arose to speak.  His speech was a short but a witty one, and he was cheered as he sat down.
       Hon. De B. R. Keim said in response to the toast, "The Press," that the press had always upheld the bicyclists, and invited them to come again.
       President Beckwith anticipated a brilliant future for the "League," and was loudly applauded when he responded to that toast.
       "Our hosts," by Mr. Wein, of the Washington cycle club, was a clever speech, and our "Sister Leagues" was happily responded to by H.S. Livingston, of Ohio.  W.B. Everett, of Boston, and H.E. Ducker, of Springfield, treated the "Cycle Clubs," in a pleasant manner.  Mr. Abbott Barrett responded to the toast, "The Cycling Press."
       The other speakers were B.B. Ayres, of Chicago; J.O. Monroe, of Buffalo; Joseph Pennell, of Philadelphia; Rev. Mr. Evans, of Columbia, Pa,; Rev. S. Stall, of Lancaster, Pa., and others.
       Between 3:30 and 4 o'clock this afternoon, Mr. D.J. Canary, the champion one wheel bicycler, who attended the races and convention of the league in this city, will attempt a daring feat.  He will ride down the steep steps leading to the house of representatives, east capitol front, on a single wheel.  A large crowd will doubtless be attracted by the remarkable feat.
Source: <chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86053573/1884-05-21/ed-1/seq-2.pdf>
​

​​May 21, 1885: Workers at the stone quarry near Victoria, B.C. go on strike for higher wages.  Instead of negotiating with the workers, to break the strike the quarry owners bring in Chinese laborers (the victims of human trafficking) who are used by the quarry owners as virtual slaves.  The actions of the quarry owners heighten racial tensions in the city, and an Anti-Chinese rally of over one thousand men nearly mobs Victoria's Chinatown.  Source: The Daily British Colonist, May 22, 1885.  <http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist18850522uvic/18850522#page/n0/mode/1up>
​

May 22, 1882:  The United States and Korea sign the Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation. 
Among other things, this treaty allowed Koreans to immigrate to the U.S.
<http://seoul.usembassy.gov/ack_sp_052212.html>

​May 24: Happy birthday, Queen Victoria!  Born May 24, 1819.
 

May 24, 1844: First telegraphic message sent.  [Source: Suggestive Programs for Special Day Exercises p.96.)  To learn more about the telegraph and its massive significance in Victorian history, be sure to read Tom Standage's book The Victorian Internet, an excellent overview of the revolutionary nature of the telegraph and the parallels between communication in the nineteenth-century and today.

19th-century images of technology and tools, scanned from our private archive: www.thisvictorianlife.com/technology-and-tools-images.html

Image source: https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/may-24-1883-brooklyn-bridge-opens/

Brooklyn Bridge illustration from "Scientific American", August 11, 1877.

Brooklyn Bridge illustration from "Scientific American", August 11, 1877.

​May 24, 1883: Brooklyn Bridge opens.  Read about the woman who helped make it possible here: <http://roeblingmuseum.org/about-us/emily-warren-roebling/>

More about the bridge: <https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/may-24-1883-brooklyn-bridge-opens/>

Image courtesy https://www.thewheelmen.com/sections/americanjourneys/shiningsea/nellis.php

​May 24th, 1887: Cycling journalist George W. Nellis Jr. departs Herkimer, New York, for a cross-continental ride via bicycle to San Francisco on a 52" Columbia Expert high wheel. Source: Hayes, Kevin J. An American Cycling Odyssey, 1887. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002. pp. 23-25.

Image source: http://www.lancastercandy.com/home

Image source: http://www.mhskids.org/news-feed/catherine-hershey-shortened-life-remembered-1872-1915/

​May 28th: Happy anniversary, Milton Hershey and Catherine Sweeney Hershey! Married May 28, 1898.

The Hersheys, who couldn't have children of their own, established a school for orphans that has continued to help underprivileged children ever since. To this day, the Milton Hershey School remains the controlling stockholder and main beneficiary of the Hershey Chocolate company. Read about the school's history: http://www.mhskids.org/about/school-history/
Before he made his fortune in chocolate, Milton got his start manufacturing caramels. The Hershey company recently reinstated his original caramels as a regular product: Lancaster caramels (named for the city where Milton started his business.) If anyone out there hasn't tried Lancaster caramels yet, I highly recommend them! They're delicious—and remember, more than half the profits go to help underprivileged kids!

The Lancaster Caramel website: http://www.lancastercandy.com/home
More info: https://hersheystory.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Milton-Hershey-The-Man-Behind-The-Chocolate.pdf
Hershey Community archives: http://blog.hersheyarchives.org
​

May 29, 1848: Wisconsin becomes a state
​

​May, 29, 1879: Karl Kron's first ride on an Ordinary bicycle.  He would go on to become one of the most famous Wheelmen of the 19th-century.  His book about his experiences, "Ten Thousand Miles On A Bicycle" can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/h2pljur Karl Kron preferred riding alone to cycling in groups, and he had a quirky sense of humor: he dedicated his book to his bulldog Curl, "The best bulldog ever".

​May 30th, 1880: The League of American Wheelman (LAW) founded.
 

Image source https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/12/why-walt-whitman-called-the-america-the-greatest-poem/510932/

May 31st: Happy birthday, Walt Whitman!  Born May 31, 1819.
 
Special days in May:

May 1st: Happy May Day!
"May-day is one of the many holidays still celebrated, that originated among the pagans ages ago, and it is said that the practice of choosing a May-queen and crowning her with flowers is a remnant of the ceremonies in honor of Flora, the goddess of flowers, which were held in Rome the last four days of April and the first of May.
            There was, at one time, a very pretty custom observed in Merrie England of fastening bunches of flowering shrubs and branches of sycamore and hawthorn upon the doors of those neighbors whose good lives and kindly habits were thus recognized by their friends.
            The maids and matrons of England formerly had a way of their own of observing the day.  On the first of May they would all go trooping out with the earliest rays of the morning sun, to bathe their faces in the magic dew, which glistened upon the grass once a year only, and was supposed to render the features moistened with it beautiful for the next twelve months.
            When the writer was a wee little girl there lived next door to her home two old maiden ladies, who always kept a bottle of May-dew among their treasures.  Although the ladies in question had long since passed that period when maidens are supposed to be lovely, superstitious persons might have found confirmation of a belief in the power of the dew, when they looked upon the sweet and kindly faces of these old maids…" —From How To Amuse Yourself and Others: The American Girls' Handy Book by Lina and Adelia Beard (1887). <https://tinyurl.com/y6uy3klz>

Victorian Language and Sentiment of Flowers:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/language-and-sentiment-of-flowers-1891.html

​May 5: Happy Children's Day to all our Korean friends, and our Japanese friends, too! 
http://www.incultureparent.com/2013/04/korean-childrens-day-may-5/
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/calendar/may/children.html
 
A piece from 1888 about home life in Japan, seen through Western eyes: <http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-japanese-home-1888.html>

​​May 8, 2018: Teacher Appreciation Day —please enjoy sharing the educational worksheets from our website! http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/worksheets-for-k-12-students.html

May 12th: International Nurses' Day.  (It's not an accident that this is on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birthday!

A Nurse
 
A nurse, a simple nurse; to the unthinking
Only a nurse, and nothing but a name;
A patient woman in her round of duty,
Living and dying all unknown to fame.
 
Only a nurse, a messenger of mercy,
An angel sent unto our suffering race,
With quiet step, and tender hand of healing,
Divinest pity on her gentle face.
 
When all the world lies wrapt in quiet slumber,
Save the poor sufferer moaning on his bed,
Whose watchful eye with Christian love keeps vigil
Through the long night with silent softened tread?
 
Only a nurse, in duty all unshrinking;
Before such scenes, man's stouter heart would quail;
See there!  That sweet, fair girl, in sorest trial
Is at her post, nor will her courage fail.
 
The fever we but terror-struck encounter,
Or fly before with selfish, coward dread;
While nurse and doctor hasten to the rescue,
And stand unflinching by the stricken bed.
 
Hark!  That weird bell —an accident at midnight;
The nurse and doctor, wakeful, close at hand,
The minister to suffering or dying,
The hospital's heroic little band!
 
There you or I may in our need find refuge,
With kindly help and loving tender care;
Respect we'll give those brave, unselfish women,
And night and day remember them in prayer.
 
—E.M.C., Good Housekeeping, December 11, 1886.

Nineteenth-century photographs of nurses scanned from our private ephemera collection: <www.thisvictorianlife.com/photos-of-nurses.html>
​

​ May 14—18, 2018: National Bike to Work Week.  This is a perfect time to read my historical fiction cycling club series!

The Tales of Chetzemoka   
On Amazon
​In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing.  In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into.  Join their adventures in

First Wheel in Town Buy the book​ ​Learn more​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Love Will Find A Wheel Buy the book ​Learn more

A Rapping At The Door Buy the book Learn more

Delivery Delayed Buy the book Learn more

The Wheelman's Joy
Victorian Cycling Poetry and Words About Wheels
There is something inherently romantic about cycling, and there has been since the first riders set their wheels to the road. This collection of nineteenth-century poetry, prose quotes and bon-mots about cycling reflects both the ardent passion and the innocent affection cycling inspires. From the glory days of high-wheel cycling through the boom of the safety bicycle, riders were falling in love with their wheels, with new-found freedoms, and above all with each other. This delightful little collection tells of those days in their own words, and evokes sentiments which every cyclist will find timeless. Compiled edited and introduced by Sarah A. Chrisman, author of the charming Tales of Chetzemoka cycling club series, This Victorian Life, Victorian Secrets, and others.

​19th-century cycling articles:

A Burglar, A Bicycle, and A Storm (Fiction—1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-burglar-a-bicycle-and-a-storm.html
 
A Cycle of the Seasons: A Bicycle Romance in Four Meets (Fiction—1883)   http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-cycle-of-the-seasons-a-bicycle-romance-in-four-meets.html
 
A Cycle Show in Little (1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-cycle-show-in-little.html
 
A Song of the Wheel (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-song-of-the-wheel-poem-mdashoctober-1883.html
 
A Header (?) (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-header--poem-1883.html
 
A Midwinter-Night's Dream (1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-midwinter-nights-dream-1883.html
 
A Modern Love Sung in Ancient Fashion (Poem—1884) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-modern-love-sung-in-ancient-fashion.html
 
Bicycle Riding In The United States (1881) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/bicycle-riding-in-the-united-states-1881.html
 
Bicycler's Song (1882) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/bicyclers-song-poemmdash1882.html
 
Bicycling and Tricycling (1884) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/bicycling-and-tricycling.html
 
Bikes on Trains (1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/bikes-on-trains-1883.html
 
Cycling's Value As An Exercise (1879) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/cyclings-value-as-an-exercise-1879.html
 
Cycling for Women (1888)   http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/cycling-for-women.html
 
Is Bicycling Harmful? (1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/is-bicycling-harmful.html
 
An Early Morning Ride (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/an-early-morning-ridemdashpoem-1883.html
 
The Evolution of a Sport (1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/the-evolution-of-a-sport.html
 
Foreign [Bicycling News] (1884) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/foreign-bicycling-news.html
 
My Wheel (Poem —1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/my-wheel-poem-1883.html
 
'Neath the Magnolias (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/neath-the-magnolias-poemmdash1883.html
 
On Wings of Love (Poem—1884) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/on-wings-of-love.html
 
Rosalind A Wheel (Fiction—1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/rosalind-a-wheel.html
 
Snakes in his Wheel (1895) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/snakes-in-his-wheel.html
 
Wheelman's Song (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/wheelmans-song.html
 
The Wheelman's Joy (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/the-wheelmans-joy-poem-mdash1883.html
 
The Work of Wheelmen for Better Roads (1896)   http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/the-work-of-wheelmen-for-better-roads.html
 
Woman's Cycle (1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/womans-cycle.html

May 28, 2018: Memorial Day
 
"Memorial Day", 1890: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/memorial-day-poem-1890.html
 
"The Blue and the Grey", 1887: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/the-blue-and-the-grey-poemmdash1887.html
 
"In Decoration", 1890: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/in-decoration-poem-1890.html
 

PROVISIONS IN SEASON IN MAY
From Isabella Beeton's The Book of Household Management, 1893 edition
Vegetables. - Asparagus, beans, early cabbages, foreign carrots, cauliflowers, cresses, cucumbers, lettuces, peas, early potatoes, salads, sea-kale - various herbs.
Fruit. - Apples, green apricots, cherries, currants for tarts, gooseberries, melons, pears, rhubarb, strawberries.
 
More on Victorian foods and when things are in season: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/victorian-food.html
 
Image: "Little Greedy", scanned from an 1877 Peterson's Magazine in our collection. For more images scanned from our collection, see these pages:
Images of animals: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/animals.html
Images of children: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/children.html
Images of food: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/food.html

***
​
​In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing.  In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into.  Join their adventures in
​The Tales of Chetzemoka

First Wheel in Town Buy the book​ ​Learn more​​​​​​​​​​​​ A Rapping At The Door Buy the book Learn more

Love Will Find A Wheel Buy the book ​Learn more Delivery Delayed Buy the book Learn more

***
Anthologies

Quotations of Quality A Commonplace Book of Victorian Advice, Wit, and Observations on Life Words For Parting Victorian Poetry on Death and Mourning

The Wheelman's Joy Victorian Cycling Poetry and Words About Wheels Love's Messenger A Choice Collection of  Victorian Love Poetry

​April 2, 1867: Happy birthday, Eugen Sandow!  A Victorian celebrity epitomizing masculine beauty, Sandow's book Strength and How To Obtain It is a classic in body-building circles.  For a modern biography of Sandow, see ​The Perfect Man: The Muscular Life and Times of Eugen Sandow, Victorian Strongman.

​April 2, 1877: Fourteen-year-old aerialist Rosa Matilda Richter, stagename "Zazel", debuts at a performance in London and is the first to perform the circus act of being "shot out of a cannon". <https://tinyurl.com/y8k43wtn>
 

​April 14, 1883: The Boston Casino declared "Bicycler's Day."  Wheelmen in cycling uniforms were admitted free.  There were races, and a special supper was given to the cyclists.   Source:  The Wheelmen, June, 1883, p. 231.
Read more about Victorian Cycling: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/cycling.html
 

​April 14, 1884: Karl Kron recorded his 10,000th mile on a bicycle.  His book about his experiences, "Ten Thousand Miles On A Bicycle" can be found here: <http://tinyurl.com/h2pljur>  Karl Kron preferred riding alone to cycling in groups, and he had a quirky sense of humor: he dedicated his book to his bulldog Curl, "The best bulldog ever".
Read more about Victorian Cycling: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/cycling.html
 

​April 15, 1874: American socialite Jennie Jerome marries Britain's Lord Randolph Churchill.
 
April 15th, 2017: Emma Morano, the last living person to be born in the 1800s, passes away peacefully in her home in Italy. <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/last-surviving-person-born-in-1800s-dies-at-117/>
 

April 22, 1884: cycling great Thomas Stevens starts on his around the world tour. He would be the first person ever to travel around the world on a bicycle, and his book about his adventures has become a classic in cycling circles: Around the World On A Bicycle.
Some images from Stevens' book —enjoy! 

Read more about Victorian Cycling: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/cycling.html
And of course, don't forget my cycling club series, The Tales of Chetzemoka!
 
April 29, 1879: Inventor Charles Brush holds the first public demonstration of an arc lamp for electric street lighting.  <https://clevelandmagazine.com/cleader/government/articles/cleveland-was-the-first-city-of-light>
More on arc lights: <https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/under-the-moonlight/>

​Special days in April:

​April 1, 2018:  Happy Easter!

EASTER BUNS
Ellsworth, Mrs. M.W.  Queen of the Household. Ellsworth & Brey: Detroit, Michigan, 1899. p. 17
 
"Three cups sweet milk, 1 cup yeast; flour to make think batter.  Set this as a sponge over night.  In the morning add 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, melted, 1/2 nutmeg, 1 saltspoon salt.  Flour enough to roll out like biscuit.  Knead well and set to rise 5 hours.  Roll 1/2 inch thick, cut into round cakes, and lay in rows on a buttered baking-pan.  When they have stood 1/2 hour, make a cross upon each with a knife, and put instantly into the oven.  Bake to a light brown, and brush over with a feather or soft bit of rag, dipped in the white of an egg, beaten up stiff with white sugar.  These are the "hot cross-buns" of the "London cries."
 
Notes / My version:
 
N.B. When a Victorian recipe seems to call for an inordinate amount of yeast, it's a sure bet the author meant home-made yeast, i.e., sourdough starter. 
 
3 cups milk
1 cup sourdough starter
10 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
 
1 egg white
1/4 cup powdered sugar
 
Mix the milk, sourdough starter, and 4 cups of flour in a very large mixing bowl.  Cover with a towel and let rise overnight. 
 
In the morning, melt the butter; add it and the sugar, nutmeg, salt and the other 6 cups of flour to the sponge.  Knead well, then return to the bowl and let rise in a warm place 5 hours.  After this, be sure to treat the dough VERY GENTLY or you will force out all the air bubbles, resulting in heavy buns. 
 
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and GENTLY roll it out, then cut with a round cutter.
 
Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown.
 
Frosting: While the buns bake, mix the egg white and powdered sugar, then beat until stiff.  As soon as the buns come out of the oven, make frosting crosses on top of each one using a feather, clean cloth, or clean paintbrush. 

​​April 1st: April Fool's Day. Historical comics scanned from our collection: <http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/historic-comics.html>
 

April 8—14th, 2018: National Library Week <http://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks#nlw>
Some of our favorite books: <www.thisvictorianlife.com/favorite-books-etc.html>

"It is an excellent thing for every young person of literary inclination to begin early the collection of a private library.  I do not see why women should not make this an object in life." —W.H. Venable, 1872.

"Every home should start a small library, to which additions can be made continually." —Annie Randall White, 1891.

"The books we read should be chosen with great care, that they may be, as an Egyptian king wrote over his library, "The medicines of the soul." —Paxton Hood, 19th-century.

"A little library, growing every year, is an honorable part of a young man's history.  It is a man's duty to have books.  A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessaries of life." —Anonymous, 1889.

"Among the earliest ambitions to be excited in clerks, workmen, journeymen, and indeed, among all that are struggling up in life from nothing to something, is that of owning, and constantly adding to, a library of good books." —Anonymous, 1889.
 

​April 16th: Feast day of St. Drogo, patron saint of tea and coffee drinkers.

19th-century instructions for making coffee and tea.  (These appear in the appendix of Delivery Delayed, Book IV of the Tales of Chetzemoka series, along with recipes for all the other foods mentioned in the story!)

Coffee
Beeton, Mrs. Isabella. The Book of Household Management.  London: Ward, Lock & Bowden, Limited, 1893.  #2644, p. 1185.
            "It would be impossible, in the space at our command, to enumerate the various modes adopted in different countries for "making coffee;" that is, the phrase commonly understood to mean the complete preparation of this delicious beverage for drinking.  For performing this operation, such recipes or methods as we have found most practical will be inserted in their proper place…"
 
 
Filtered or drip coffee
The Capitol Cookbook.  Chicago: The Werner Company, 1896, p. 398.
            "For each person allow a large tablespoonful of finely ground coffee, and to every tablespoonful allow a cupful of boiling water.
            Have a small iron ring made to fit the top of the coffee-pot inside, and to this ring sew a small muslin bag (the muslin for this purpose must not be too thin).  Fit the bag into the pot, pour some boiling water in it, and, when the pot is well-warmed, put the ground coffee into the bag; pour over as much boiling water as is required, close the lid, and, when all the water has filtered through, remove the bag, and send the coffee to table.  Making it in this manner prevents the necessity of pouring the coffee from one vessel to another, which cools and spoils it.  The water should be poured on the coffee gradually so that the infusion may be stronger; and the bag must be well made that none of the grounds may escape through the seams and so make the coffee thick and muddy.
            Patent coffee-pots on this principle can be purchased at most house-furnishing stores."
 
 
***

Coffee
Café Noir
"Six Cups of Coffee: Prepared for the Public Palate." Corson, Juliet. Good Housekeeping. June 25, 1887, p. 81.
            "This beverage, called after-dinner or black coffee, is made clear and strong, being allowed to reach the boiling point, but not to boil.  The usual proportions are one cupful (or four ounces) of coffee to a quart of water.  If made in a percolator, a half additional of this quantity of coffee should be allowed; that is, six ounces to a quart."
 
***

Tea
Ellsworth, Mrs. M.W.  Queen of the Household. Ellsworth & Brey: Detroit, Michigan, 1899. pp. 218—219.
            "We find the following eminently sensible lines in Household Hints:
            "One of the most surprising things one constantly meets is to find that the people who have the same duties to perform, day after day, or year after year, do not improve in their method, or even once blunder into the right way of doing them.  Nothing is more easily made than good tea, and yet how seldom, away from home, does one enjoy delicately fragrant tea, which Hawthorne calls 'an angel's gift,' and which Miss Mitford said she could be awake all night drinking.  The first thing needed is a clean tea-pot; it is useless to try to make good tea in a rusty pot, or one in which the leaves have been allowed to remain all night.  The water should be boiling, but the tea itself should never boil.  I wish these words could be painted on the wall of every hotel and restaurant kitchen in the United States.  After the boiling water has been poured over the tea, set the tea-pot on an extra griddle at the back of the stove.  All that is good in the tea will be gradually extracted from it; then when brought to the table one may well echo De Quincey's wish for an 'eternal tea-pot,' though not inclined to follow his example of drinking it from 8 o'clock in the evening until 4 o'clock in the morning.
            "The most satisfactory steeper I ever used is an old-fashioned brown earthen tea-pot.  This may be kept perfectly clean with almost no trouble.  Whatever may be said of the hurtfulness of tea, when immoderately used, a cup of the afternoon tea so frequently mentioned in novels and essays is an unpurchasable luxury.  Hamerton says in 'The Intellectual Life:' 'If tea is a safe stimulant it is certainly an agreeable one; there seems to be no valid reason why brain-workers should refuse themselves this solace.'"
            Put tea and coffee away in air-tight receptacles as soon as they are brought into the house.  They lose much of their flavor by standing uncovered."

​April 27, 2018: Arbor Day
History of Arbor Day
From Suggestive Programs for Special Day Exercises, 1898:
            We are told that the custom of tree planting is an old one among the Germans, who in the rural districts practice a commendable habit of having each member of the family plant a tree at Whitsuntide, which comes forty days after Easter.
            The old Mexican Indians also plant trees on certain days of the year when the moon is full, naming them after their children; and the ancient Aztecs are said to have planted a tree every time a child was born, giving it the name of the child.
            But to the Hon. J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska, Secretary of Agriculture in the Cleveland cabinet, belongs the honor of instituting our American Arbor Day.  It was at an annual meeting of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture, held in the ciyt of Lincoln, January 4, 1872, that Mr. Morton introduced the following resolution:
 
            Resolved, That Wednesday the 10th day of April, 1872, be and the same is hereby especially set apart and consecrated for tree planting in the state of Nebraska, and the State Board of Agriculture hereby name it Arbor Day, and to urge upon the people of the state the vital importance of tree planting, hereby offer a special premium of one hundred dollars to the agricultural socieyt of that county in Nebraska which shall upon that day plant properly the largest number of trees; and a farm library of twenty-five dollars worth of books to that person, who on that day, shall plant properly, in Nebraska, the greatest number of trees.
 
            After a little debate as to the name, some preferring Sylvan instead of Arbor, the resolution was unanimously adopted.  A second resolution was likewise adopted, asking hte newspapers of the state to keep the matter constantly before the people until the appointed day; and the result was the planting of over a million trees in Nebraska on April 10, 1872.
            From this beginning on that western prairie the movement has spread in an ever widening circle whose circumference today sweeps from the Atlantic to the Pacific, while all appreciate the poet's thought:
 
"What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty,
And far-cast thought of civic good,
His blessing of the neighborhood,--
Who in the hollow of his hand
Holds all the growth of all our land:
A Nation's growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree."
 
Find out the symbolism of various trees by looking them up in this 1891 piece on the Language of Flowers: <http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/language-and-sentiment-of-flowers-1891.html>

PROVISIONS IN SEASON IN APRIL
From Isabella Beeton's The Book of Household Management, pages 123-126.​
Vegetables. - Broccoli, celery, lettuces, young onions, parsnips, radishes, small salad, sea-kale, spinach, sprouts - various herbs.
Fruit.- Apples, nuts, forced cherries, green gooseberries, &c., for tarts, rhubarb; dried fruits, crystallized preserves." 

***
​In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing.  In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into.  Join their adventures in
​The Tales of Chetzemoka

First Wheel in Town Buy the book​ ​Learn more​​​​​​​​​​​​

Love Will Find A Wheel Buy the book ​Learn more

***
Anthologies

Love's Messenger A Choice Collection of  Victorian Love Poetry

The Wheelman's Joy Victorian Cycling Poetry and Words About Wheels

Quotations of Quality A Commonplace Book of Victorian Advice, Wit, and Observations on Life

Words For Parting Victorian Poetry on Death and Mourning

​​                 We've just returned from a grand adventure! 
​
     A few months ago we received an invitation to speak at the Belle Meade Plantation near Nashville, Tennessee, an absolutely gorgeous place with a very rich history.  Naturally we accepted with pleasure, and we looked forward to it with great anticipation.  Neither of us had ever been to Tennessee before —indeed, the farthest south either of us had ever travelled was Maryland.  Before we left we were very curious as to what it would be like, and then throughout our trip we were delighted to see Southern hospitality living up to its warm reputation in the best ways possible.

     When we arrived in Nashville our host Andy greeted us with a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses and Gebera daisies (both flowers symbolizing friendship), then he took us to supper at a classic southern restaurant called the Loveless Café, which is famous for its biscuits.  While we ate we enjoyed hearing Andy's insights into Southern history, and sharing Pacific Northwest history with him.  When we left the restaurant it was snowing outside, which surprised us quite a bit but was beautiful to see.  As Andy took us through Nashville and the surrounding area he pointed out the city's replica of the Parthenon, Belle Meade where we'd be speaking, and a beautiful home called West Meade, which used to be part of the Belle Meade estate but is now a private residence.

​            Throughout our trip I kept privately marveling at the rich diversity of the English language as it is spoken in different regions.  Hearing my own out-of-place Northwest accent against the background of all the lovely Southern tones around us, I reflected how extraordinary it is that a single language can sound so very different, yet still be mutually comprehensible to its speakers.  From time to time I would recall how various readers have told me I should create an audiobook version of my Tales of Chetzemoka, but I've always replied that I didn't think I could replicate Nurse McCoy's accent: now I know I can't.  If I tried to wrap my clumsy northern mouth around any Southern accent (let alone McCoy's Appalachian one), I would make such a hash of things I would deeply embarass myself and probably offend every last one of my Southern readers.
            On our first morning in Nashville Andy took us to Centennial Park and we toured the Parthenon.  Originally built as a temporary structure for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition, it was so popular with the city's residents and visitors that when it started to crumble in the 1920's it was fully restored with permanent materials.  The structure is a full-scale replica of the Ancient Greek temple devoted to Athena, goddess of wisdom, and stands as a symbol of Nashville's reputation as the Athens of the American South.
           Ancient records report that the original Parthenon in Greece held a statue of Athena crafted by Pheidias in the 5th century B.C., but sadly it no longer exists.  Enough records were made of it, though, to recreate the enormous statue and she proudly stands within the Nashville replica of her temple: 41'10" tall, gilded with 8 lbs of nearly pure gold, and holding a 6'4" statue of Nike, goddess of victory, in her right hand.  Looking on it, I thought of John Ruskin's book The Queen of the Air, which describes how the philosophies of Ancient Greece (and especially the ones associated with Athena) remain relevant throughout the ages.
 
"The Spiritual power associated with [Athena] is of two kinds: first, she is the Spirit of Light in material organism; not strength in the blood only, but formative energy in the clay; and, secondly, she is inspired and impulsive wisdom in human conduct and human art, giving the instinct of infallible decision, and of faultless invention." —John Ruskin, The Queen of the Air, 1869, p. 59.

​            After leaving the Parthenon we headed to Belle Meade.  It's a Southern Plantation on a grand scale; although the acreage on which it is located has dwindled (once encompassing 3500 acres, the land holdings of Belle Meade have decreased to little more than the immediate grounds around the buildings), its beauty remains.  Around the mansion, groomed fields with a wonderfully civilized creek running through them present an idyllic location.

       Originally founded in the early 19th-century, Belle Meade's first owner John Harding built a wooden cabin to reside in while his large brick mansion was under construction.  (Remember the cabin: there'll be more on it later.)  The land at Belle Meade produced a variety of products, but by the Victorian era Belle Meade was developing a reputation for one thing in particular: breeding magnificent thoroughbred race horses.  In 1860 William Giles Harding (the owner of Belle Meade) had more silver trophies and horse racing cups than anyone else in America.  Although there are no horses at Belle Meade today, the bloodlines established there continue to win prizes: every horse which has raced in the Kentucky Derby since 2003 (both winners and losers) are descended from Belle Meade stock. 

            In Antebellum times the labor which ran Belle Meade (including caring for, training and racing those beautiful race horses) depended heavily on the work of enslaved people.  After construction was completed on the mansion, the original wooden cabin became a residence for high-ranking slaves.  The structure consists of two rooms connected by a dog-trot, and the modern museum has set up the exibit in a very clever way: one room is furnished as it would have been when the property's owners were living there, awaiting the completion of their mansion, and the other room is set up with furnishings consistent with the building's long use as the residence of Bob Green, Belle Meade's chief hostler.  Bob Green was brought to Belle Meade as a slave in 1839[1], and continued working there as a freeman after the end of the Civil War.

[1] Source: Miller, Andrew B. et al. Meet Me At The Belle Meade Plantation, Southwestern Publishing Group, Inc. 2014, p. 70.

            When we moved on to a tour of the Belle Meade mansion, Gabriel particularly enjoyed seeing the different ways Southern architecture deals with the challenge of summer heat: the enormous doors and windows which could be thrown open for ventilation, the soaring ceilings higher even than the most impressive ones we have up north.  The decor in the mansion was both beautiful and tasteful, and above all it represented the driving passions of those who lived there.  As mentioned above the family who built and ran Belle Meade made their fortune by breeding horses, and their well-deserved pride in their stock is visible everywhere: in the iron horse heads which flank the gates on the driveway, in the myriad portraits of prize-winning equines which cover the walls of the front hall where visitors enter.  We saw a portrait of a mare named Gamma along with a silver cup she'd won in a race, then we heard the story of how she'd surprised everyone by giving birth to a foal immediately after winning it! 
       Even the dining room at Belle Meade has printed pictures of horse races on its walls.  In General Jackson's office atop the beautiful desk where he kept accounts one sees a particularly vivid example of the inseparable connection between Belle Meade and prize winning horses: a pair of inkwells made from a pair of hooves.  They belonged to Iroquois, the first American horse to win the English Derby —quite a feat, since he had to learn to run a racetrack in the opposite direction from the way he'd been trained back home in America.  He also won the Epsom Derby, among other British races.  After his illustrious racing career he lived a pampered life at Belle Meade until he passed away of natural causes.
            Famous animals are generally far better known than the humans who made them celebrities.  (Anyone who doubts this should try to recall the name of Grumpy Cat's talent agent without looking him up.)  The Belle Meade horses would not have achieved such reknown if not for the efforts of the various African American jockeys and trainers who worked with them; Bob Green's story is fairly well documented but the names of many of the men who worked under him have been forgotten.  Some of their pictures have been preserved, though: on the edges of many of the portraits of the famous race horses are the trainers and jockeys who made them what they were.  The museum's staff has undertaken the challenging but extremely laudable project of identifying these men and bringing their stories to light.  Each of these men is an important thread in the tapestry of Belle Meade's history, and it's wonderful that the staff is trying so hard to learn more about them.  Anyone who has ever tried to identify an individual from little more than an aged photograph can appreciate the difficulty of the project, and I wish them the best of luck with it.
            Horses made Belle Meade famous, but there is far more to see there than relics of equines.  In the library are charming little details of life ranging from a family Bible to a small piece of artwork made of painted spiderwebs.  Upstairs are the bedrooms where the Hardings and their visitors slept.  I generally don't subscribe to the "Great Men / Women of History" approach to the past but I do have a soft spot in my heart for Frances Cleveland, the First Lady who was instrumental in implementing kindergarten education for the poor in the U.S, and who was known in her time as America's darling.  I couldn't help feeling a bit moved when I saw the bed where she had slept when she and her husband stayed at Belle Meade during a presidential visit.  It is an absolutely gorgeous piece of furniture; the frame and canopy are richly carved wood, embracing silken bedclothes.  Frances Cleveland must have looked like an enchanted princess from a fairy tale when she slumbered there.  (When Bob Green was introduced to the Clevelands, like many who met that couple he was proud to have shaken hands with a president but far more impressed with Frances, who he enthusiastically declared was a true queen.[1])  A journalist recounting the Clevelands' visit in 1887 described Belle Meade as "an epitome of homely luxury and comfort, spacious, genial and unostentatious, though elegant, just such a place as even so distinguished a guest would select for quiet repose."[2]  The description seems just as apt today.
      On the grounds near the big house are two buildings which made our mouths water: one of the biggest smokehouses in Tennessee (made of red brick), and a charming little stone dairy built in 1884.  Of course, one could certainly not overlook the carriage house.  Speaking there was an experience we'll never forget, and we were immensely flattered to meet all the wonderful people who came to hear us.  One couple travelled all the way from St. Louis!  After our talk I signed copies of my books, and it was sweet to see how excited people were to read my work.

[1] The Daily American, Nashville, Tennessee, October 17, 1887.
[2] The Daily American, Nashville, Tennessee, October 17, 1887.

​​            While we were in Tennessee our hosts made sure to allow us time to see as much of the history around Nashville as possible, which meant a great deal to us.  We visited Fort Negley and walked around the old fortifications there built when the Union army occupied Nashville during the Civil War.  Interpretive signs along the trail around the old fort explained how it had fallen into disrepair after the war then been restored in the 1930s as part of a publics work project.  The fort has a sweeping and impressive view of the city of Nashville —which is perfectly logical, when one stops to think about it.

​            The Tennessee History Museum is in the process of moving their collection to a new location, but there were still a lot of marvelous artifacts to see there when we visited.  I especially enjoyed seeing artifacts from the Mississippian aboriginal culture; I do a lot of research into the tribes of the Pacific Coast, but hadn't had much opportunity to examine materials from farther east.  It was a wonderful opportunity to see the regional differences of the native peoples of North America.

​            When we moved on to the exhibits on recorded history in Tennessee, I was more than a little intimidated by the needlework skills demonstrated by a ten-year-old girl back in 1824.  I sew my own clothes by hand; I try my best but when people compliment them I'm always embarassed because I've seen many other samplers like this one and I know my needlework skills don't even come close to what used to be considered a basic part of a young girl's education.

​            Gabriel was fascinated by the woodworking tools and the great wheel lathe from a cabinetmaker's shop, circa 1820.

     When we saw a weapon labeled, "Sword and scabbard supposedly presented to Lafayette in 1830 by the thirty-four survivors of the storming of the Bastille in 1789", I expressed surprise that such a prestigious item would be in a state museum instead of the Smithsonian.  Gabriel pointed out that the explanation for this lay in one word of the label: "supposedly."  Without documentation, there's no way to prove the provenance.

      We were both impressed by the technology represented by a horse-drawn fire engine from the turn of the 20th-century.

​            And the stickers being sold in the state museum's gift shop were just plain fun.

            Elsewhere around Nashville it was interesting to see Andrew Jackson's Hermitage, and Belmont Mansion was very impressive.

       Throughout our time in the South I was constantly delighted to see how very different the plants and animals are from the ones we know back home.  We don't have cardinals in the Pacific Northwest, so every time we saw those bright, pretty little crimson birds I would find myself squealing with excitement.  I'd always wondered what the song of a mockingbird sounds like, and I loved having a lifetime curiosity about it satisfied.  We do have a few magnolias in the Northwest, but the enormous size and age of the ones in and around Nashville were awe-inspiring: we saw one which was over 150 years old.  They must smell magnificent in the summer.
            When we visited the Carnton museum, we saw a very special tree: an osage orange which had been a witness to some 10,000 casualties in a five-hour period during the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864.  (The horrifyingly large death count included six Confederate generals.  After the fighting eleven Federal soldiers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.[1])  During the battle the home of John and Carrie McGavock was used as a field hospital, and the wooden floors inside still bear stains from blood and ether.  As we walked through the tightly-packed Confederate cemetery nearby and looked at the sweet green fields beyond, I couldn't help remarking on what a pretty place it was to have witnessed so much tragedy.  Andy nodded sadly.  "It seems to always be the way of things, doesn't it?"  I agreed, and I thought of a poem from 1887:

THE BLUE AND THE GREY.
Peace within all our fair borders!
Shoulder to shoulder, to-day,
Grounded their arms—sheathed their sabres--
Stand they—the Blue and the Grey;
Queenly Magnolias—the pride of 
The golden, the glorious South,
And daisies—brave flowers of the Northland--
Their bloom at the tombs' gloomy mouth,
Is mingled by hands, that, forgetting
Past triumphs, past wrongs, past defeat--
Strew laurel alike on each hillock,
And the fair work of Peace, thus complete.
 
Hushed is the terrible singing
Of furious bullet and shell;
Grass-grown the fields of encounter--
Clear, wanders the stream through the dell
Once mingled with warm tides of crimson;
The oriole flashes above
The copses once vocal with anguish
The bluebird his message of love
Trills forth from a rust-girdled cannon;
O hideous, merciless war--
Thus Nature would ever expunge thee!
Humanity, seal thy grim door!
 
Peace throughout all our fair borders!
Gallant commander in grey,
Over a heart from New England,
Wreathing the laurel to-day;
The Blue and the gold of the victors,
Flashing out from among the green fronds
Of regal palmettos—encircling
With loving and reverent bonds
The graves of their fair, fallen heroes;
O dauntless, incincible North,
And valorous, glorious Sunland--
Life and light, from they union, come forth!
--By Helen Chuse. Good Housekeeping. May 28, 1887. pp. 33-34.

[1] Battle of Franklin Trust. "The Greatest Story of the Civil War: Carnton." (Brochure.)

Osage orange tree at Carnton

       Our last stop before leaving Nashville was at the Travellers Rest Plantation.  Before Europeans made their first contact with the Americas, the land on which Travellers Rest now stands was the footprint of a Mississipian village.  These early Americans left behind pottery and ceremonial items, but by the time the first white settlers came to the area the people themselves were gone, probably having succumbed to diseases.  In 1799 Judge John Overton built a home here which remained in the Overton family until 1946.  During the Civil War the Traveller's Rest plantation was occupied at different times by both the Union and Confederate armies, and on December 16, 1864 the Battle of Peach Orchard Hill took place on land which was then part of Traveller's Rest.  During this battle the US Colored Troops (USCT), which had previously been mostly relegated to garrison and guard duty, fought valorously and suffered heavy casualties.
           In modern discussions about the Civil War, I'm often saddened by how much antagonism still appears in both North and South over a conflict between our great-great grandfathers.  It was a terrible, dark time for our country.  Yet when it was still within living memory and people were mourning not long-ago ancestors but much-loved immediate family, they already saw the need never to forget, but to forgive and reconcile.  Writings from the 1880's and '90's reiterate this again and again.

The Soldier's Daughter (1889)
A littler girl her mother sought,
A troubled look upon her face,--
"At school they tease me; had they ought
To tell me that my father fought
For nothing, or for less than naught?

To be a soldier brave, I thought
Was honor, not disgrace.
"Because he did not wear the blue,
He was all wrong the children say;
Was he a good man, mother?  You
Have said he fought and suffered too;
Was it not hard for him to do?
Was he not noble, brave and true,
If he did wear the gray?

"To-morrow when the people meet
To decorate the soldiers' graves,
And walk with martial tread, and beat,
Of muffled drums, they will not greet
My father's grave with flowers sweet,
But pass it by with careless feet,
Nor name him with the brave."

The morrow's sun shone bright on high;
Among the crowd a sad-faced child,
The pageant watched with glist'ning eye;
Unreconciled, she wondered why
They should her father's grave pass by.
Her tears no longer could she dry.

In gentle voice and mild,
A stranger clad in soldier's blue,
Inquired, "My child, why do you cry?"
"My father was a soldier too,
And honor to his grave is due,
My mother says that he was true
To what he thought was right, and you--
You people pass it by
Because he wore the Southern gray."

Again her tears fell fast and free.
The soldier paused, kind words to say,
Then with his comrades marched away.
She found her father's grave that day
Bedecked with many a flowery spray.
And cheered at heart was she.

--By Sarah E. Howard, Good Housekeeping, May 25, 1889. p. 30.
​

​          Every inch of ground upon the earth holds history; wherever we step we are walking where others have gone before, though we may not know it.  In the Northwest one often struggles to read the stories of the land because written accounts of the place represent only the most recent events.  There is something both fascinating and moving about being in a place where the history is so painstakingly documented.
       Before I close this account I must make some mention of the very warm and gracious hospitality we were shown in the South.  While there we attended a lovely dinner party resided over by a charming hostess, and to give an account of all the conversations we enjoyed during our short stay in Tennnessee would require a book rather than a short essay such as this one.  Suffice it to say, we had a marvelous time and will always think back on the trip with the fondest of memories.

*****
​In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing.  In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into.  Join their adventures in
​The Tales of Chetzemoka

First Wheel in Town Buy the book​ ​Learn more​​​​​​ A Rapping At The Door Buy the book Learn more

Love Will Find A Wheel Buy the book ​Learn more Delivery Delayed Buy the book Learn more

*** 
​ Wordcraft Collections

Words For Parting Victorian Poetry on Death and Mourning

Quotations of Quality A Commonplace Book of Victorian Advice, Wit, and Observations on Life

Love's Messenger A Choice Collection of  Victorian Love Poetry

The Wheelman's Joy Victorian Cycling Poetry and Words About Wheels