In this issue: Today in History (addendum) Re: OTR site Re: Today in History (addendum) J. Alec West's OTR site and mystery vault Seeking information about baroness Orczy's Old Man in the Corner Talbot Mundy e-text "The Fourth Customer and the Crucifix Today in History -- Aug 24 Re: Talbot Mundy e-text Re: "The Fourth Customer and the Crucifix RE: "The Fourth Customer and the Crucifix Organ-grinding Re: Organ Grinding Re: Organ-grinding Re: Organ-grinding Re: Organ-grinding Today in History -- Aug 25 Today in History (addendum) Re: Organ-grinding Re: Hurdy Gurdy Re: Today in History -- Aug 25 CHAT: Re: Organ-grinding Hagar's name ? Seeking E.M. Hull's bio dates Today in History -- Aug 26 Re: Gaslight Digest V1 #90 Today in History -- Aug 27 Re: Today in History -- Aug 27 Etext avail: P.C. Wren's _Stepsons of France_ -----------------------------THE POSTS----------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 02:47:53 -0400 (EDT) From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu> Subject: Today in History (addendum) Some dates unaccountably left out: 1838 The first class was graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, Mass., one of the first colleges for women. 1914 Japan declared war on Germany in World War I. 1926 Silent film star Rudolph Valentino died in New York at age 31.
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Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 02:52:55 -0700 From: "J. Alec West" <j(at)alecwest.com> Subject: Re: OTR site When Bob told me he was going to mention the Old-Time Radio website on Gaslight, my first thought was, "Heck, why didn't I think of that?" Especially since I'm a Gaslighter myself and have been for some time (and because it's my website <grin>). Right now, there are two radio adaptations of Poe's work there ( http://alecwest.com/otr/ ): MYSTERY IN THE AIR -- 9/18/47 - "The Black Cat" w/Peter Lorre. THE WEIRD CIRCLE -- 5/21/45 - "Murders In the Rue Morgue." Already on the January schedule will be five more radio adaptations of Poe's work: "The Fall of the House of Usher" (CBS's "Escape") -- and the next 4 all from episodes of "The Weird Circle" -- "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" "A Cask of Amontillado" "The Facts in the Case of Monsieur Valdemar" "The Tell-Tale Heart" But, there's bound to be other non-Poe Gaslight-era adaptations in the future. I haven't scheduled it yet, but I know I'll have an adaptation of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." In November, I'll have a mini-tribute of Mercury Theatre On the Air and Campbell Playhouse featuring some era adaptations. If you want a sneak listen, there's already a great Mercury/Campbell website here: http://www.unknown.nu/mercury/ And, in December, I'll have one program the website above does not yet have (though I'm trying to give it to them) -- "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, done by Campbell Playhouse and starring Orson Welles and Lionel Barrymore. P.S. BTW, I also have another website that may be of interest to Gaslighters. I call it The Mystery Vault: http://alecwest.com/mysvault.htm It's an archive of mystery-related lists and I've got archived Gaslight digests dating back to 2/98 there. And currently, I'm working on an extension of this I'm calling the Mystery Vault Morgue but it's too soon to spill all the beans <grin>. J. Alec
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Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 07:44:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Zozie(at)aol.com Subject: Re: Today in History (addendum) In a message dated 8/23/99 6:48:45 AM, Bob wrote: <<1838 The first class was graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, Mass., one of the first colleges for women. >> The above was interesting to me because I'm an adjunct at Bradford College here in Massachusetts, which was founded as Bradford Academy (and co-ed) in 1803 and became a college for women in 1836 when the founders perceived the general lack of educational opportunity for women. If you'll indulge a quick personal vision: when I interviewed at the college four years ago, I waited in the gracious reception room with high ceilings, wonderful moldings, a marble fireplace. The walls of that room are lined with portraits of past presidents of the school -- all of whom were women. That was something I had never seen before and it made me smile. Wonderful faces, faintly smiling, tightly corseted bodies, rather stiff until the 20th century. The school has once again become coed but women are still the majority of administration and staff, including the newest president, installed last year. best wishes phoebe Phoebe Wray zozie(at)aol.com
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Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 10:08:55 -0600
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: J. Alec West's OTR site and mystery vault
Alec,
thanks for giving an introduction to your websites. I am especially
pleased to see more old time radio which I haven't seen listed elsewhere on the
WWW. You mentioned specifically
>MYSTERY IN THE AIR -- 9/18/47 - "The Black Cat" w/Peter Lorre
> at http://alecwest.com/otr/
which I remember as the series which was announced by Henry Morgan. Not
the comedian who became famous first, but the actor who had to change his name
to Harry Morgan (M*A*S*H, etc.)
I also tested your Mystery vault site ( http://alecwest.com/mysvault.htm )
and found that your searching of the Gaslight digests works better than the
search utility on Gaslight's own website! I'll have to look into that.
Stephen D
mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
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Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 14:48:26 -0600
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: Seeking information about baroness Orczy's Old Man in the Corner
I'm helping a correspondent identify the stories written by Baroness Orczy,
featuring the Old Man in the Corner. Can anyone tell us which stories are
contained in the final volume: _Unravelled knots_ (1925)?
- ---------------------- Forwarded by Stephen Davies/Academic/MRC on 08/23/99
02:46 PM ---------------------------
Stephen Davies
08/23/99 02:44 PM
To: Paolo
cc:
Subject: Re: information about baroness Orczy's Old Man in the Corner
(Document link not converted)
Paolo,
you'll find the names of 24 stories about the Old Man in the corner in this
listing from Ordean A. Hagen's _Who done it? : A guide to detective, mystery and
suspense fiction_ (1969). The first book publication (_The case of Miss
Elliott_) is actually the second set of stories about the Old Man. The first
set, which I am slowly etexting now, appeared in magazines much earlier, in
1901. This set was incorporated in the second book (_The old man in the
corner_) along with some newer stories.
Orczy, Baroness
THE CASE OF MISS ELLIOTT
London, T. Fisher Unwin Ltd. (1905)
London, Greening (1905)
The Case Of Miss Elliott
The Hocussing Of Cigarette
The Tragedy In Dartmoor Terrace
Who Stole The Black Diamonds?
The Murder Of Miss Pebmarsh
The Lisson Grove Mystery
The Tremarn Case
The Fate Of The "Artemus"
The Disappearance Of Count Collini
The Ayrsham Mystery
The Affair Of The Novelty Theatre
The Tragedy Of Barnsdale Manor
THE OLD MAN IN THE CORNER
London, Greening (1909)
New York, Dodd, Mead & Co. (1909),
as THE MAN IN THE CORNER
New York, W.W. Norton (1966)
The Fenchurch Street Mystery
The Robbery In Phillimore Terrace
The York Mystery
The Mysterious Death On The Underground Railway
The Liverpool Mystery
The Edinburgh Mystery
The Theft At The English Provident Bank
The Dublin Mystery
The Unparalleled Outrage
The Regent's Park Murder
The De Genniville Peerage
The Mysterious Death In Percy Street
This last story was the **END** of the Old Man in the corner. You can only
understand why by reading the story itself.
But a third volume appeared:
UNRAVELLED KNOTS (1925)
Unfortuantely, I can't confirm the details of this book, but I will ask the
discussion listmembers of Gaslight if they can tell us what the book contains.
I think the following stories will be found in it:
The Mystery Of Brudenell Court, and
The Mystery Of The Tytherton Case
The Mystery Of The Pearl Necklace,
The Tragedy In Bishop's Road
The Mystery Of The Russian Prince,
The Mystery Of Dog's Tooth Cliff
If so, that would bring the total Old Man stories to 30.
Stephen D.
mailto:sdavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
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Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 23:26:07 -0800 From: Robert Raven <rraven(at)alaska.net> Subject: Talbot Mundy e-text To all gaslighters: Just a note that Talbot Mundy's rip-roaring adventure novel King--of the Khyber Rifles is now online at http://www.litrix.com. Bob Raven
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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 00:56:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: "The Fourth Customer and the Crucifix
Two elements in this story strain credulity. First, Bolker figures out
that the crucifix is a dagger almost as soon as it is in his possession,
whereas Carlino and Gemma apparently own it for years without having a
clue as to its real nature. It is hard to believe that they would not
discover its secret, if only by chance. Second, knowing that Carlino
Bardi was bound to pursue and try to kill them, Pietro and Gemma
nonetheless make no effort to disguise themselves, go to another country,
or use different names--at least we are not told of such contingencies.
One would think that they wouldn't be so heedless as to neglect putting
considerable distance between themselves and Gemma's raging Tuscan
husband.
I don't really know whether these were unintentional lapses or comments on
the backwardness of the Italian race. Still, Hume has much right. No
doubt he enforces the English stereotype of the Italian, but there were
indeed Italian organ-grinders and the Italians, compared to the British
(and almost anyone for that matter), did/do seem to be passionate souls.
It is also true, as most of us know, that the Latin attitude toward
husbands who do away with cheating wives and their lovers is one of
enormous leniency. Whether Bardi supposes this is the English attitude, I
don't know; but if so, he proves himself to be thicker than he appears.
It is hard to believe that his fatal ruse would have been accepted as
anything other than a cheap alibi. In an Italian court it might have been
seen as a technicality that would have gotten the murderer off. In an
English one, it would ever have seen the outrageous lie it is. (Btw, I
recall that this ruse of shallow self-inflicted wounds in an attempt to
misdirect police was used a couple of decades ago by Jeffrey MacDonald,
the American wife-killer--and he surely was not the first.)
Bob C.
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Robert L. Champ
rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu
Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity
Whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy, meditate on these things
Philippians 4:8
rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 00:58:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Today in History -- Aug 24
Interesting things that happened August 24th:
Birthdays on this date:
In 1816 Sir Daniel Gooch, laid first successful trans-Atlantic cables
In 1872 Aubrey Beardsley, artist
+ Max Beerbohm, writer
In 1886 William Francis Gibbs, naval architect, designed the Liberty ships
In 1898 Albert Claude, Belgian physician (Nobel 1974)
In 1899 Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine writer of fiction and essays
In 1902 Fernand Braudel, French historian
In 1916 Gerry Foley, history buff
Events worth noting:
In 1814 British sack Washington, DC, White House burned.
In 1853 The first potato chips are prepared by Chef George Crum in Saratoga
Springs, New York. Nobody could eat just one!
In 1869 The Waffle Iron is invented.
In 1909 Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.
In 1912 Territory of Alaska organized.
In 1932 First transcontinental non-stop flight by a woman, Amelia Earhart
Putnam.
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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 10:21:59 -0500 From: Chris Carlisle <CarlislC(at)psychiatry1.wustl.edu> Subject: Re: Talbot Mundy e-text Thanks to Bob Raven for his note: >Just a note that Talbot Mundy's rip-roaring adventure novel King--of the > >Khyber Rifles is now online at http://www.litrix.com. My dad was a big Mundy fan, and read Tros of Samothrace and The Purple Pirate over and over. I read them a time or two myself, and recall them as being nearly as much fun as the original Conan novels by Robert Howard. Kiei
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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 13:35:40 -0600
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: Re: "The Fourth Customer and the Crucifix
Bob C. writes:
>Two elements in this story strain credulity. First, Bolker figures out
>that the crucifix is a dagger almost as soon as it is in his possession,
Bolker does this again in THE SEVENTH CUSTOMER AND THE MANDARIN, while
Hagar manages to find something too in THE NINTH CUSTOMER AND THE CASKET.
These hidden compartments, etc. are probably the biggest part of the
mystery in these stories. In Bolker's case, I think he saw more than
most people. He wasn't blinded to the crucifix's qualities by virtue
of it being an icon and an antique, as perhaps the Italians were blinded.
> .....Second, knowing that Carlino
Bardi was bound to pursue and try to kill them, Pietro and Gemma
nonetheless make no effort to disguise themselves,
At least they didn't leave directions for forwarding their mail. The
characters are certainly stock ones.
What amazes me more is how many people bring Hagar objects to pawn so that
they will be looked after. It's an irony considering how Bolker treats the
objects, but more strange, to me, is the trust people put in the pawning system.
They assume they will be able to retrieve their objects after paying a small
interest.
Stephen D
mailto:sdavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 16:27:23 -0400 From: "Roberts, Leonard" <lroberts(at)email.uncc.edu> Subject: RE: "The Fourth Customer and the Crucifix I don't think pawning items for security was very unusual among the poorer classes. I have read in a fair number of other stories of characters retrieving items pawned when they were needed. Watchchains are often mentioned. For a working class man a watchchain would be something used only on the most formal occasions and seldom needed otherwise. After all, the item would be much more secure in a pawnshop, the charge to recover the item would have been small and the chance of most of the items being purchased would have been quite worth the risk. Even the items in these stories had little chance of being pawned given that most of the inhabitants were poor and would have had no real use for them. And how often would people with the cash and inclination to buy come to that neighborhood? Len Roberts > What amazes me more is how many people bring Hagar objects to pawn so > that > they will be looked after. It's an irony considering how Bolker treats > the > objects, but more strange, to me, is the trust people put in the pawning > system. > They assume they will be able to retrieve their objects after paying a > small > interest. > > Stephen D > mailto:sdavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca >
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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 21:50:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Organ-grinding
Re the Hume story: Just wonder what constitutes the organ the grinders
grind. Does anyone know? Are there still organ-grinders in Europe, as
there are still "Punch and Judy" shows?
Bob C.
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Robert L. Champ
rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu
Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity
Whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy, meditate on these things
Philippians 4:8
rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 22:20:05 -0400 (EDT) From: LoracLegid(at)aol.com Subject: Re: Organ Grinding <A HREF="http://www.midcoast.com/~beechhil/vielle/">Matthew Szostak's Hurdy-gurdy Page</A> http://www.midcoast.com/~beechhil/vielle/ An organ grinder is a Hurdy-gurdy Carol Digel LoracLegid(at)aol.com www.focdarley.org
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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 22:27:58 +0300 From: cbishop(at)interlog.com (Carroll Bishop) Subject: Re: Organ-grinding >Re the Hume story: Just wonder what constitutes the organ the grinders >grind. Does anyone know? Are there still organ-grinders in Europe, as >there are still "Punch and Judy" shows? Hi Bob. Barrel organ (Webster's New World Dictionary) -- "a mechanical musical instrument having a cylinder studded with pins which open pipe valves or strike metal tongues when the cylinder is revolved, producing a tune." I think sort of like a music box. Also known as a hurdy gurdy although that may be the name of more than one kind of instrument. They sure had them in Chicago when I was a child, monkey and all. I see the man winding the organ with a crank, while the monkey sat on his shoulder or ran around with cap to get money. Or did I dream all this? Monkey wore clothes. Little, wizened monkey with chattery smile and beseechy eyes. Capuchin? (Little tin cup but no cappuccino.) Think there are still a few around, but wouldn't swear to it. Carroll
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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 23:32:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Re: Organ-grinding
Hi Carroll,
So these cylinders act like rolls in a player piano? That must mean that,
somewhere, collections of cylinders exist. Something to look for, one of
these days!
Both you and Carol mention the hurdy-gurdy. I had always supposed that a
hurdy-gurdy was an instrument that was actually played. But if the
grinder's organ is a hurdy gurdy I must be wrong.
Thanks for the information!
Yrs,
Bob
On Tue, 24 Aug 1999, Carroll Bishop wrote:
> >Re the Hume story: Just wonder what constitutes the organ the grinders
> >grind. Does anyone know? Are there still organ-grinders in Europe, as
> >there are still "Punch and Judy" shows?
>
> Hi Bob. Barrel organ (Webster's New World Dictionary) -- "a mechanical
> musical instrument having a cylinder studded with pins which open pipe valves
> or strike metal tongues when the cylinder is revolved, producing a tune."
> I think sort of like a music box. Also known as a hurdy gurdy although
> that may be the name of more than one kind of instrument. They sure had
> them in Chicago when I was a child, monkey and all. I see the man winding
> the organ with a crank, while the monkey sat on his shoulder or ran
> around with cap to get money. Or did I dream all this? Monkey wore
> clothes. Little, wizened monkey with chattery smile and beseechy eyes.
> Capuchin? (Little tin cup but no cappuccino.)
>
> Think there are still a few around, but wouldn't swear to it.
>
> Carroll
>
>
>
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Robert L. Champ
rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu
Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity
Whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy, meditate on these things
Philippians 4:8
rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 22:04:53 -0600 (MDT) From: "p.h.wood" <woodph(at)freenet.edmonton.ab.ca> Subject: Re: Organ-grinding >> On Tue, 24 Aug 1999, Carroll Bishop wrote: >> Hi Bob. Barrel organ (Webster's New World Dictionary) -- "a mechanical musical instrument having a cylinder studded with pins which open pipe valves or strike metal tongues when the cylinder is revolved, producing a tune." I think sort of like a music box. Also known as a hurdy gurdy although that may be the name of more than one kind of instrument.<< >> On Tue, 24 Aug 1999, Robert Champ wrote: >> ... So these cylinders act like rolls in a player piano? That must mean that, somewhere, collections of cylinders exist. Something to look for, one of these days! Both you and Carol mention the hurdy-gurdy. I had always supposed that a hurdy-gurdy was an instrument that was actually played. But if the grinder's organ is a hurdy gurdy I must be wrong.<< >> ...They sure had them in Chicago when I was a child, monkey and all.<< Also in London in late 19C. Charles Babbage (computing pioneer) had a lifelong war with them. There's a mention of them in the Dover "Best Dr. Thorndyke Stories". If I recall past readings correctly, they were a franchise operation. The street performer rented fresh cylinders as the popular songs changed, and either paid a fixed amount to the proprietor of the barrel-organ, or bought his own. However the cylinders were always rented. Rather like taxicabs. The irritating aspect would be the constant repetition of one tune, I should think. Certainly the selection would be much smaller than a 1950's juke-box possessed. They were man-powered, with a handle which rotated the drum against the pins or sound-producing system, leading to the old music-hall joke: "You know the great Handel? "Yes, my father used to turn it." Peter Wood
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Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 01:25:58 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Today in History -- Aug 25
Interesting things that happened August 25th:
Birthdays on this date:
In 1819 Allan Pinkerton, founder of the famous Chicago detective agency
In 1836 Bret Harte, writer (Outcasts of Poker Flat)
In 1841 Theodor Kocher, Swiss surgeon, thyroid specialist (Nobel 1909)
In 1845 Ludwig II, mad king of Bavaria (1864-86)
In 1909 Michael Rennie, actor (Klatuu-Day the Earth Stood Still)
+ Ruby Keeler (in Halifax, NS), dancer
In 1913 Walt Kelly, cartoonist, creator of "Pogo"
In 1916 Van Johnson, actor
In 1918 Leonard Bernstein, conductor, composer, pianist
In 1919 George C. Wallace, former Alabama Goveror and Pres. candidate (D)
Events worth noting:
In 1804 Alice Meynell becomes the first woman jockey, in England.
In 1822 William Herschel, discoverer of Uranus, dies at age 85.
In 1825 Uruguay declares independence from Brazil (National Day).
In 1830 Belgium begins revolt against the Netherlands.
In 1835 N.Y. Sun publishes moon hoax story about John Herschel.
In 1864 Combination rail and ferry service available from SF to Alameda.
+ Petersburg Campaign - Battle of Ream's Station.
In 1875 Matthew Webb becomes first to swim the English Channel.
In 1919 First scheduled passenger service by airplane (Paris-London).
In 1921 Yankee Harry Harper hits 3 batters in an inning tying the record.
In 1922 Cubs beat Phillies 26-23 in highest scoring major-league game.
In 1929 Graf Zeppelin passes over San Francisco headed for Los Angeles after
trans-Pacific voyage after trans-Pacific voyage from Tokyo.
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Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 02:22:43 -0400 (EDT) From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu> Subject: Today in History (addendum) The following is an AP note about celebrations for the centennial of Borges in Argentina. Borges was not only born in the Gaslight period but he was influenced by many of our Gaslight favorites, particularly Poe, Stevenson, and Chesterton. Borges also had the good fortune to have found wonderful English translators for his work; unfortunately we can touch none of it. Bob C. Borges Saluted on 100th Anniversary BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - Argentina Tuesday saluted its most famous writer, Jorge Luis Borges, with art exhibits, poetry readings, and new documentaries marking the 100th anniversary of his birth. The revered essayist, poet and short-story writer - hailed as one of Latin America's greatest writers - won almost every honor but the Nobel Prize for Literature. Borges, born Aug. 24, 1899, died in 1986 in Geneva, Switzerland, where he spent much of his early childhood.
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Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 06:36:22 +0300 From: cbishop(at)interlog.com (Carroll Bishop) Subject: Re: Organ-grinding Peter: Babbage of Babbage-Ada Byron fame? What a lovely connection. Think of the computer as a sort of hurdy gurdy, franchised cylindrical tunes wound out -- perhaps a code? Hurdy gurdy man is Sherlock Holmes in disguise, or maybe Holmes plays the monkey. He is seeking Moriarty, or running from him. Was it organgrinder, organ, organ music or monkey Babbage objected to? Carroll Peter Wood said: >Also in London in late 19C. Charles Babbage (computing pioneer) had a >lifelong war with them. There's a mention of them in the Dover "Best Dr. >Thorndyke Stories". >If I recall past readings correctly, they were a franchise operation. The >street performer rented fresh cylinders as the popular songs changed, and >either paid a fixed amount to the proprietor of the barrel-organ, or >bought his own. However the cylinders were always rented. Rather like >taxicabs. The irritating aspect would be the constant repetition of one >tune, I should think. Certainly the selection would be much smaller than a >1950's juke-box possessed. >They were man-powered, with a handle which rotated the drum against the >pins or sound-producing system, leading to the old music-hall joke: > "You know the great Handel? > "Yes, my father used to turn it." >Peter Wood
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Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 07:31:38 -0400 (EDT) From: LoracLegid(at)aol.com Subject: Re: Hurdy Gurdy Further research reveals that what Fergus refers to was a barrel organ. See below. A Description of the Hurdy-Gurdy First of all, lets be clear: we are not referring to the organ grinder's barrel organ, which plays whatever tunes it has been "pre-programmed" to play, like a player piano or a music-box. This point of confusion exists only in English, the only language in the world which has devoted the same name to two quite different instruments. The association, however, is obvious, since both are played with a crank. Our hurdy-gurdy (or vielle in French) is a bowed stringed musical instrument. It usually has one or two melody strings, and two or more drone strings. Hurdy-gurdies come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from traditional period designs almost a thousand years old, to modern "electro-acoustic" machines which challenge many traditional musical and visual aesthetics. http://www.midcoast.com/~beechhil/vielle/descript.html Carol Digel LoracLegid(at)aol.com
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Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 09:13:16 -0500 From: Chris Carlisle <CarlislC(at)psychiatry1.wustl.edu> Subject: Re: Today in History -- Aug 25 Bob Champ wrote: >Interesting things that happened August 25th: >Birthdays on this date: SNIP > In 1845 Ludwig II, mad king of Bavaria (1864-86) According to family lore, my great-grandad was King Ludi's cappelmeister. I dunno if it was at Neuschwanstein (better known as Cinderella's Castle), but I've always felt a tad proprietary when visiting Disney World. ;-) Kiwi
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Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 11:42:13 -0600 (MDT)
From: "p.h.wood" <woodph(at)freenet.edmonton.ab.ca>
Subject: CHAT: Re: Organ-grinding
On Wed, 25 Aug 1999, Carroll Bishop wrote:
> Babbage of Babbage-Ada Byron fame? What a lovely connection. Think
> of the computer as a sort of hurdy gurdy, franchised cylindrical tunes
> wound out -- perhaps a code? Hurdy gurdy man is Sherlock Holmes in
> disguise, or maybe Holmes plays the monkey. He is seeking Moriarty,
> or running from him.
An intriguing suggestion, but I would think that even a master of disguise
such as Holmes who, though a tall man ("over six feet" according to
Watson in "The Abbey Grange") could take a foot off his height for several
hours on end ("The Empty House") would have had difficulty impersonating a
Capuchin monkey which is, according to Gerald Durrell, some 12"-18" in
height...
The "musical code" idea occurs in one of the Rathbone/Bruce films - was it
"The Secret Weapon"?
> Was it organ-grinder, organ, organ music or monkey Babbage objected to?
The "music", I believe - or, more likely, its repetitive nature, which
would constitute what programmers call an "infinite loop" from which one
cannot escape save by drastic action such as switching off the power.
"It's organ, organ all the time with you..." ("Under Milk Wood",
Dylan Thomas).
Peter Wood
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Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 14:41:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Hagar's name
In the Bible Hagar is a maidservant to Abraham. Abraham's wife, Sarah, is
infertile and, frustrated by that condition, offers Hagar to her husband
as what we would call today a "surrogate" mother. Hagar becomes pregnant;
and Sarah becomes jealous of her and orders her out of her household.
Just wondering if Hume makes any reference to this story in his tales.
Hagar, as a pawnbroker, could be said to be holding or carrying something
of value for someone else (as Hagar did for Sarah), and just as often the
pawnbroker is reviled (as Hagar was by Sarah). I know that it makes for
an odd analogy, but is there anything in it?
Bob C.
_________________________________________________
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Robert L. Champ
rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu
Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity
Whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy, meditate on these things
Philippians 4:8
rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net
_________________________________________________
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===0===
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 17:19:27 -0600
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: ? Seeking E.M. Hull's bio dates
Does anyone know the birth and death dates of the reclusive Edith Maud Hull, who
wrote _The sheik_ (1919), etc.?
Stephen D
mailto:sdavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
===0===
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 01:06:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Today in History -- Aug 26
Interesting things that happened August 26th:
Birthdays on this date:
In 1873 Lee De Forest (in Council Bluffs, Iowa), invented the Audion vacuum
tube (radio tube)
In 1880 Guillaume Apollinaire, French poet
In 1885 Jules Romains, French novelist, dramatist, poet (Men of Good Will)
In 1901 Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, former US Army chief of staff
In 1904 Christopher Isherwood, novelist, playwright (I Am a Camera)
In 1906 Dr. Albert Sabin, polio vaccine discoverer
In 1914 Julio Cort?zar, Argentine writer (We Love Glenda So Much)
In 1917 William French Smith, former Attorney General
Events worth noting:
In 1846 W. A. Bartlett is appointed the first US mayor of Yerba Buena (San
Francisco).
In 1847 Liberia was proclaimed an independent republic.
In 1883 Krakatoa began erupting with increasingly large explosions.
In 1907 Houdini escapes chains underwater at Aquatic Park in 57 seconds.
In 1914 Germans defeat Russians in Battle of Tannenberg.
In 1920 19th amendment passes -- women's suffrage granted.
===0===
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 06:36:57 -0700 (Pacific Daylight Time) From: Chris Willis <c.willis(at)bbk.ac.uk> Subject: Re: Gaslight Digest V1 #90 Hi! >> >throaty and impassioned reading by BBC Radio actress Juliet Stevenson. >> Most people might remember Ms. Stevenson in the ghost >> movie "Truly, >> Madly, Deeply" (also a small part in "Sense and >> Sensibility"). And she was a marvellous Hedda Gabler at the National Theatre a few years ago. Chris
===0===
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 01:38:22 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Today in History -- Aug 27
Interesting things that happened August 27th:
Birthdays on this date:
In 1770 G.W.F. Hegel, invented dialectic
In 1809 Hannibal Hamlin (R), 15th VP (1861-65)
In 1865 Charles Gates Dawes (R), 30th VP (1925-29) (Nobel 1925)
In 1871 Theodore Dreiser, novelist (Sister Carie, An American Tragedy)
In 1882 Samuel Goldwyn, pioneer filmmaker
In 1899 C.S. Forester, historical novelist, created Horatio Hornblower
In 1908 Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President (1963-1969)
+ Sir Donald Bradman, cricket batsman extraordinaire
In 1909 Lester Young, saxiphonist, jazz icon
In 1910 Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Nobel 1979)
In 1915 Walter Heller, economist
In 1916 Martha Raye (in Butte, MT), singer, actor, denture wearer
Events worth noting:
In 1783 First hydrogen-filled balloon ascent (unmanned).
In 1859 First successful oil well drilled near Titusville, Penn.
In 1878 At a meeting in Saratoga, New York, the American Bar Association is
founded.
In 1883 Krakatoa, west of Java, blew apart; top that, St. Helens!
In 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs' publishes "Tarzan".
===0===
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 01:44:09 -0400 (EDT) From: Zozie(at)aol.com Subject: Re: Today in History -- Aug 27 Another birthday... in 1910, Sophia Smith, founder of Smith College. phoebe
===0===
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 10:39:01 -0600
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: Etext avail: P.C. Wren's _Stepsons of France_
From: Stephen Davies(at)MRC on 08/27/99 10:39 AM
To: Gaslight-announce(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
cc:
Subject: Etext avail: P.C. Wren's _Stepsons of France_
(WRENMENU.HTM) (Fiction, Chronos, Schedule)
P.C. Wren's _Stepsons of France_ (1917, 1925 ed.)
10legion.sht
cowdlegn.sht
Here are two stories about the French Foregin Legion, written by
P.C. Wren who was to have greater success a decade later with the
Beau Geste series. Here, tho, are the seeds of those novels.
For discussion next week, I've chosen these two stories from _The
stepsons of France_ (1917): "Ten little legionaries" and "The
coward of the legion".
Discussion will begin on Tuesday, 99-aug-31.
To retrieve all the plain ASCII files send to: ftpmail(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
with no subject heading and completely in lowercase:
open aftp.mtroyal.ab.ca
cd /gaslight
get 10legion.sht
get cowdlegn.sht
or visit the Gaslight website at:
http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/wrenmenu.htm
Stephen D
mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
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End of Gaslight Digest V1 #91
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