Archive for the ‘history hoydens’ Category
FLESH-BAG: a shirt
New History Hoydens post up! Part 1 of 2, excerpts from James Hardy Vaux’s 1819 Dictionary of the Flash Language (i.e. criminal slang).
BEST: to get your money at the best, signifies to live by dishonest or fraudulent practices, without labour or industry, according to the general acceptation of the latter word; but, certainly, no persons have more occasion to be industrious, and in a state of perpetual action than cross-coves [criminals, as opposed to square-coves, honest men]; and experience has proved, when too late, to many of them, that honesty is the best policy; and consequently, that the above phrase is by no means à-propos.
Without the Mace, the House is totally powerless
New History Hoydens post up on some interesting UK Parliamentary traditions, including: the mace, the House of Commons snuff-box, and my personal favorite, the House of Commons opera hat! Yes, I know they don’t use the opera hat anymore, but they DID until 1998.
(Longtime readers may recognize the post as a revised and illustrated version of this one…in which case I will be extremely flattered that you remembered it!)
The actual loss to government by the sudden destruction of the Custom House cannot be calculated
History Hoydens post up on the London Customs House fire of 1814! The fire destroyed not only the Customs House and all the records of the Revenue Service (including the irreplaceable notebooks kept by revenue officers stationed all over England), but also many of the surrounding buildings—partly because a rumor started that there were barrels of gunpowder stored in the building and the firemen refused to get near it…
Come and tell me about your favorite disaster!
The throat was too narrow to admit the hand
New History Hoydens post up! The 1808 Stronsay sea monster, which washed up on the beach in Orkney. Eyewitness testimony, snobbery, cryptozoology, and Lord Byron!
When public terror was calmed, and calm had led to reflection
New History Hoydens post up! I bought an engraving of the burning of the Barrière de la Conférence at a flea market yesterday, and I talk about the history of the engraving and the burning of the Paris Customs Houses on the first day of the French Revolution!
Never shake thy gory locks at me!
New History Hoydens post up, about the history of sightings of murder victims. Cool stuff! Apparently the idea was taken so seriously through the first part of the eighteenth century that a ghost sighting of someone could be enough to open a murder investigation without any other reason for suspicion!
Someone’s buried alive, you know you want to read about it
New History Hoydens post up! The Very Bloody History of the Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers (no relation to Adrian!), including a pitched battle with a village, a raid on a Customs House, and some good old-fashioned torture and murders.
Meet a Person from the 19th Century!
History Hoydens post up about my trip to Mystic CT (a historic shipbuilding and whaling town). I discuss (inter alia) precision craftsmanship, eccentric billionaires, and my addiction to research books…
Reformed rakes make the best Victorians
I’ve got a new History Hoydens post up! It’s about how Jane Eyre is set during the Regency, but movies always put her in Victorian clothes. It makes sense, right? Putting Jane and Rochester in Regency clothes would be as weird as that Pride and Prejudice movie where everyone has leg-of-mutton sleeves.
But WHY is it so weird? I try to pin it down and only partially succeed, but I have a lot of fun doing it!
“Imposing on the Compassion and Credulity of different Persons in Town and Country”
Today over at History Hoydens I’m talking about an eighteenth-century con-woman I discovered while reading a book about newspapers…
Before the fatal Discovery, the Company were greatly pleased with the Woman’s behavior, as she was not only very sprightly and engaging in Conversation, but sang and played on the Guitar to Perfection.
Come on over and let me know whether you think she’s romance heroine material!