In this issue: Re: metre in railway poem What happened at Owl Creek Re: What happened at Owl Creek Re: What happened at Owl Creek Today in History - June 10 Southern legends: a ride for a bride Southern legends: the moaning sisters Re: Southern legends: a ride for a bride Southern legends: spooks of the Hiawasee Southern legends: lake of the dismal swamp Bohemia Hall Etext avail: Thomas Griffiths Wainewright; Oliphant's _Beleaguered City_ Re: Etext avail: Thomas Griffiths Wainewright; Oliphant's _Beleaguered City_ Still another correction: <WAS Etext avail: Oliphant's _Beleaguered City_> U.S. Library of Congress's book preservation webpage Pulitzer prize: _Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898_ Today in History - June 14 Re: Pulitzer prize: _Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898_ Re: Pulitzer prize: _Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898_ Re: Pulitzer prize: _Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898_ -----------------------------THE POSTS----------------------------- Date: Wed, 09 Jun 1999 13:16:13 -0600 (MDT) From: "p.h.wood" <woodph(at)freenet.edmonton.ab.ca> Subject: Re: metre in railway poem Not being a prosodist by training or inclination, I cannot give the correct name to the metrical structure of the 'railroads' ballad. However, it is very clearly a street ballad, and can be sung to the tune of "So early in the morning", with the chorus structured: "RAILROADS now are all the rage With men of every rank and age; Pray then get same railroad shares, To fill your purse, and ease your cares. CHORUS: Pray then get some railroad shares, Pray then get some railroad shares, Pray then get some railroad shares, To fill your purse and ease your cares." No doubt there are other ballad tunes which would fit even more easily. Peter Wood
===0===
Date: Wed, 09 Jun 1999 20:58:29 -0700 From: Alan Gullette <alang(at)creative.net> Subject: What happened at Owl Creek I enjoyed the posts on this story, which had I reread in IN THE MIDST OF LIFE earlier this year. Just to point out the obvious, the "Occurrence" at Owl Creek is twofold: what happens in Farquhar's mind (the escape), and what happens in "fact" (he dies). This emphasizes the different spheres of mind and body while making clear that one (the mind) relies on the other -- Bierce's fatalistic materialism. When you reach the end of the rope, it's all over! That the title is "AN Occurrence..." tends toward the objective happening, just as at the end "Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body ... swung" emphasizes the undeniable predominance of material conditions over consciousness. Farquhar's thinking of his family and his hope to escape (towards end of sect. I) leads us to believe that what he experiences (sect. III) is an actual escape, while hopeful thought has only created the illusion of continuance. This is strengthened by the mundane account of how he arrived at this critical juncture (sect. II). Notice how subtly and abruptly we are "told" that Farquhar is hung: "The sergeant stepped aside." (end of I) At the beginning of sect. III, he falls and "was as one already dead" -- which, of course, he was! Then follows the actual sensations of hanging -- tightness in throat, pain shooting through his limbs, etc. Other obvious points (also deriving from the title!): owl = death; also, wisdom; hence, knowledge of mortality creek = time, the stream of events -- or experience (again, occurence divided into inner and outer) bridge = man's attempt to counter time, conquer nature The curious device of the plank is perpendicular to the bridge, aligned rather with the creek, but I wonder how much this can be analyzed... The entry into the creek is imagined, but would otherwise = life, or life continued by escape; here it is the entry into the stream of his own thought or imagining, quite separate from reality. Reference should also be made to the common notion that in one's last moments one relives one's life, possibly to grasp it's overall meaning in a final epiphany (sic! Greek epiphaneia, appearance). Here, Farquhar reaches out to regain his life. By dashing that vision, Bierce seems to rob us of even a final sense of meaning. As a biographical aside, while it is true that Bierce was bitter about mortality, cynical about society, and pessimistic about humanity, he was also known to be a warm person -- in person -- and went out of his way to help poets and writers in whom he saw real talent. Further, the recent "autobiography" of Bierce composited from his writings by S.T. Joshi & David Schultz, A SOUL SURVIVOR: BITS OF AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Knoxville: Univ. of Tennessee [my alma mater!], 1998), reveals a number of surprising facts that seem to run counter to his popular image as a hard, uncaring man: he believed he could reform (if not improve) his contemporaries "by means of satire" (Joshi); he expressed concern for the suffering working classes of England, for the plight of Chinese immigrants in San Francisco, and for the prejudicial treatment of Jews and Mormons; etc. There is even the bold confession that he used to pray in his youth; while in his maturity he appeared to seriously promote Jesus as a model of ethical behavior! (Obviously, it is possible to be highly moral without believing in a divinity.) But far be it from me to attempt to reform the image of "Bitter Bierce"! P.S., I have a long, rather old & somewhat outdated, essay on Bierce called "Ambrose Bierce, Master of the Macabre" at my website: http://www.creative.net/~alang/lit/horror/bierce.sht
===0===
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 02:14:37 -0400 (EDT) From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu> Subject: Re: What happened at Owl Creek On Wed, 9 Jun 1999, Alan Gullette wrote: > I enjoyed the posts on this story, which had I reread in IN THE MIDST > OF LIFE earlier this year. An intriguing post, Alan, filled with insight. I believe you live in San Francisco, which was also Bierce's city. Does SF honor him in any way that you know of? Is there a Bierce house, or a Bierce statue, or a Bierce-related watering hole? Or does SF feel slightly awkward about honoring a man who mocked the common wisdom so easily? I'm glad to hear that Bierce had pleasant moments in his life and even seems to have been something of a do-gooder. A little sweet to temper the bitter, I guess. 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 _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
===0===
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 09:28:14 -0500 From: Moudry <Moudry(at)uab.edu> Subject: Re: What happened at Owl Creek At 20:58 09-06-99 -0700, Allan Gullette wrote: >I enjoyed the posts on this story, which had I reread in IN THE MIDST >OF LIFE earlier this year. ><snip!> Excellent submission, Allan, with nice things pointed out to help amplify the appreciation of the story. Bierce has always been a favorite, even if I tend to read him in small doses. Saturnally, Joe Moudry Technical Training Specialist & SOE WebMaster Office of Academic Computing & Technology School of Education The University of Alabama (at) Birmingham E-Mail: Moudry(at)uab.edu MaBell: (205) 975-6631 Fax: (205) 975-7494 Snail Mail: 901 13th Street South 149 EB Birmingham AL 35205 USA Master of Saturn Web (Sun Ra, the Arkestra, & Free Jazz): <http://www.dpo.uab.edu/~moudry> Producer/Host of Classic Jazz (Armstrong -> Ayler ->)on Alabama Public Radio: WUAL 91.5FM Tuscaloosa/Birmingham WQPR 88.7FM Muscle Shoals/NW Alabama WAPR 88.3FM Selma/Montgomery/Southern Alabama
===0===
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 10:35:50 -0600 From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org> Subject: Today in History - June 10 1801 Tripoli declares war on the United States for refusing to pay tribute. 1854 First graduation cermony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. 1861 Dorthea Dix is appointed superintendent of women nurses for the Union Army. 1863 Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest defeats numerically superior Union troops at Brice's Crossroads, Mississippi, having gotten there "fustest with the mostest". 1898 U.S. Marines land in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. 1905 Japan and Russia agree to peace talks facilitated by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. 1909 First use of the SOS signal in an emergency by the Cunard liner SS Slavonia, wrecked off the Azores. 1916 Arabs take Mecca from Turkish during the Great Arab Revolt. Birthdays 1895 Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American actress to win an Oscar - Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mammy in _Gone With the Wind_. [For a moment I thought I had seen her once in person, then remembered that it was her costar Butterfly McQueen, who in 40 years had grown to Mammy proportions, that I had seen in a touring production of _Show Boat_.]
===0===
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 13:02:02 -0600 From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA Subject: Southern legends: a ride for a bride from _Myths and legends of our own land_ (1896) by Charles M. Skinner A RIDE FOR A BRIDE WHEN the story of bloodshed at Bunker Hill reached Bohemia Hall, in Cecil County, Maryland, Albert De Courcy left his brother Ernest to support the dignity of the house and make patriotic speeches, while he went to the front, conscious that Helen Carmichael, his afficanced wife, was watching, in pride and sadness, the departure of his company. Letters came and went, as they always do, until rumor came of a sore defeat to the colonials at Long Island; then the letters ceased. It was a year later when a ragged soldier, who had stopped at the hall for supper, told of Albert's heroism in covering the retreat of Washington. The gallant young officer had been shot, he said, as he attempted to swim the morasses of Gowanus. But this soldier was in error. Albert had been vexatiously bogged on the edge of the creek. While floundering in the mud a half-dozen sturdy red-coats had lugged him out and he was packed off to the prison ships anchored in the Wallabout. In these dread hulks, amid darkness and miasma, living on scant, unwholesome food, compelled to see his comrades die by dozens every day and to be flung ashore where the tide lapped away the sand thrown over them, De Courcy wished that death instead of capture had been his lot, for, next to his love, he prized his liberty. One day he was told off, with a handful of others, for transfer to a stockade on the Delaware, and how his heart beat when he learned that the new prison was within twenty miles of home! His flow of spirits returned, and his new jailors liked him for his frankness and laughed at his honest expletives against the king. He had the liberty of the inclosure, and was not long in finding where the wall was low, the ditch narrow, and the abatis decayed ? knowledge that came useful to him sooner than he expected, for one day a captured horse was led in that made straight for him with a whinny and rubbed his nose against his breast. "Why!" he cried, "it's Cecil! My horse, gentlemen ? or, was. Not a better hunter in Maryland!" "Yes," answered one of the officers. "We've just taken him from your brother. He's been stirring trouble with his speeches and has got to be quieted. But we'll have him to-day, for he's to be married, and a scouting party is on the road to nab him at the altar." "Married! My brother! What! Ernest, the lawyer, the orator? Ho, ho! Ah, but its rather hard to break off a match in that style!" "Hard for him, may be; but they say the lady feels no great love for him. He made it seem like a duty to her, after her lover died." "How's that? Her own ? what's her name?" "Helen ? Helen Carmichael, or something like that." Field and sky swam before De Courcy's eyes for a moment; then he resumed, in a calm voice, and with a pale, set face, "Well, you're making an unhappy wedding-day for him. If he had Cecil here he would outride you all. Ah, when I was in practice I could ride this horse and snatch a pebble from the ground without losing pace!" "Could you do it now?" "I'm afraid long lodging in your prison-ships has stiffened my joints, but I'd venture at a handkerchief." "Then try," said the commandant. De Courcy mounted into the saddle heavily, crossed the grounds at a canter, and dropped a handkerchief on the grass. Then, taking a few turns for practice, he started at a gallop and swept around like the wind. His seat was so firm, his air so noble, his mastery of the steed so complete, that a cheer of admiration went up. He seemed to fall headlong from the saddle, but was up again in a moment, waving the handkerchief gayly in farewell ? for he kept straight on toward the weak place in the wall. A couple of musket-balls hummed by his ears: it was neck or nothing now! A tremendous leap! Then a ringing cry told the astonished soldiers that he had reached the road in safety. Through wood and thicket and field he dashed as if the fiend were after him, and never once did he cease to urge his steed till he reached the turnpike, and saw ahead the scouting party on its way to arrest his brother. Turning into a path that led to the rear of the little church they were so dangerously near, he plied hands and heels afresh, and in a few moments a wedding party was startled by the apparition of a black horse, all in a foam, ridden by a gaunt man, in torn garments, that burst in at the open chancel-door. The bridegroom cowered, for he knew his brother. The bride gazed in amazement. "'Tis the dead come to life!" cried one. De Courcy had little time for words. He rode forward to the altar, swung Helen up behind him, and exclaimed, "Save yourselves! The British are coming! To horse, every one, and make for the manor!" There were shrieks and fainting ? and perhaps a little cursing, even if it was in church, ? and when the squadron rode up most of the company were in full flight. Ernest was taken, and next morning held his brother's place on the prison list, while, as arrangements had been made for a wedding, there was one, and a happy one, but Albert was the bridegroom. (End.)
===0===
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 13:17:53 -0600 From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA Subject: Southern legends: the moaning sisters from _Myths and legends of our own land_ V.2 (1896) Lights and shadows of the South by Charles M. Skinner THE MOANING SISTERS ABOVE Georgetown, on the Potomac River, are three rocks, known as the Three Sisters, not merely because of their resemblance to each other ? for they are parts of a submerged reef ? but because of a tradition that, more than a hundred years ago, a boat in which three sisters had gone out for a row was swung against one of these rocks. The day was gusty and the boat was upset. All three of the girls were drowned. Either the sisters remain about this perilous spot or the rocks have prescience; at least, those who live near them on the shore hold one view or the other, for they declare that before every death on the river the sisters moan, the sound being heard above the lapping of the waves. It is different from any other sound in nature. Besides, it is an unquestioned fact that more accidents happen here than at any other point on the river. Many are the upsets that have occurred and many are the swimmers who have gone down, the dark forms of the sisters being the last shapes that their water-blurred eyes have seen. It is only before a human life is to be yielded that this low wailing comes from the rocks, and when, on a night in May, 1889, the sound floated shoreward, just as the clock in Georgetown struck twelve, good people who were awake sighed and uttered a prayer for the one whose doom was so near at hand. Twelve hours later, at noon, a shell came speeding down the Potomac, with a young athlete jauntily pulling at the oars. As he neared the Three Sisters his boat appeared to be caught in an eddy; it swerved suddenly, as if struck; then it upset and the rower sank to his death. (End.)
===0===
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 14:26:30 -0500 From: Chris Carlisle <CarlislC(at)psychiatry1.wustl.edu> Subject: Re: Southern legends: a ride for a bride This reminds me very much of the stories Louisa May Alcott turned out for the newspapers in the 1870's, even to the aristocratic but not Southern-sounding "De Courcy", which is so reminiscent of the typical romance hero of that day. Kiwi Carlisle carlislc(at)psychiatry.wustl.edu
===0===
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 13:23:52 -0600 From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA Subject: Southern legends: spooks of the Hiawasee from _Myths and legends of our own land_ V.2 (1896) Lights and shadows of the South by Charles M. Skinner SPOOKS OF THE HIAWASSEE THE hills about the head of the Hiawassee are filled with "harnts," among them many animal ghosts, that ravage about the country from sheer viciousness. The people of the region, illiterate and superstitious, have unquestioning faith in them. They tell you about the headless bull and black dog voices, each faint and hollow, by itself, but loud in of the valley of the Chatata, the white stag of the Sequahatchie, and the bleeding horse of the Great Smoky Mountains ? the last three being portents of illness, death, or misfortune to those who see them. Other ghosts are those of men. Near the upper Hiawassee is a cave where a pile of human skulls was found by a man who had put up his cabin near the entrance. For some reason, which he says he never understood, this farmer gathered up the old, bleached bones and dumped them into his shed. Quite possibly he did not dare to confess that he wanted them for fertilizers or to burn them for his poultry. Night fell dark and still, with a waning moon rising over the mountains ? as calm a night as ever one slept through. Along toward the middle of it a sound like the coming of a cyclone brought the farmer out of his bed. He ran to the window to see if the house were to be uprooted, but the forest was still, with a strange, oppressive stillness ? not a twig moving, not a cloud veiling the stars, not an insect chirping. Filled with a vague fear, he tried to waken his wife, but she was like one in a state of catalepsy. Again the sound was heard, and now he saw, without, a shadowy band circling about his house like leaves whirled on the wind. It seemed to be made of human shapes, with tossing arms ? this circling band ? and the sound was that of many voices, each faint and hollow, by itself, but loud in aggregate. He who was watching realized then that the wraiths of the dead whose skulls he had purloined from their place of sepulture were out in lament and protest. He went on his knees at once and prayed with vigor until morning. As soon as it was light enough to see his way he replaced the skulls, and was not troubled by the "haunts" again. All the gold in America, said he, would not tempt him to remove any more bones from the cave-tombs of the unknown dead. (End.)
===0===
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 13:28:27 -0600 From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA Subject: Southern legends: lake of the dismal swamp from _Myths and legends of our own land_ V.2 (1896) Lights and shadows of the South by Charles M. Skinner LAKE OF THE DISMAL SWAMP DRUMMOND'S POND, or the Lake of the Dismal Swamp, is a dark and lonely tarn that lies in the centre of this noted Virginia morass. It is, in a century-old tradition, the Styx of two unhappy ghosts that await the end of time to pass its confines and enjoy the sunshine of serener worlds. A young woman of a family that had settled near this marsh died of a fever caused by its malarial exhalations, and was buried near the swamp. The young man to whom she was betrothed felt her loss so keenly that for days he neither ate nor slept, and at last broke down in mind and body. He recovered a measure of physical health, after a time, but his reason was hopelessly lost. It was his hallucination that the girl was not dead, but had been exiled to the lonely reaches of this watery wilderness. He was heard to mutter, "I'll find her, and when Death comes I'll hide her in the hollow of a cypress until he passes on." Evading restraint, he plunged into the fen, and for some days he wandered there, eating berries, sleeping on tussocks of grass, with water-snakes crawling over him and poisonous plants shedding their baneful dew on his flesh. He came to the lake at last. A will-o'-the-wisp played along the surface. "'Tis she!" he cried. "I see her, standing in the light." Hastily fashioning a raft of cypress boughs he floated it and pushed toward the centre of the pond, but the eagerness of his efforts and the rising of a wind dismembered the frail platform, and he fell into the black water to rise no more. But often, in the night, is seen the wraith of a canoe, with a fire-fly lamp burning on its prow, restlessly urged to and fro by two figures that seem to be vainly searching for an exit from the place, and that are believed to be those of the maiden and her lover. (End.)
===0===
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 16:18:38 -0400 From: Linda Anderson <lpa1(at)ptdprolog.net> Subject: Bohemia Hall I don't personally know of a Bohemia *Hall* in Cecil County, Maryland. But I should, if it were there. I'm from Cecil County, Maryland. Near Cecilton (Hack's Point, actually). There is a Bohemia Manor (large farm) on the Bohemia River by the bridge Route 213 uses to cross the river. Right where Little and Big Bohemia creeks meet to form the river. St Augustine School is up Big Bohemia Creek. James Michener mentions the school etc in his book "Chesapeake." There would be no place on the Delaware River that would be within 20 miles of Bohemia Manor. The state of Delaware may be within the 20 mile radius, but that's Middletown, DE and not on a river. Elkton, MD is about 20 miles north on route 213. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal goes thru Chesapeake City about 10 miles north of the manor. I've not heard of any stockade in Delaware during the revolution but if someone can supply me with a city or township, I may be able to give mileage. Linda Anderson
===0===
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 16:28:05 -0600 From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA Subject: Etext avail: Thomas Griffiths Wainewright; Oliphant's _Beleaguered City_ From: Stephen Davies(at)MRC on 06/11/99 04:28 PM To: Gaslight-announce(at)mtroyal.ab.ca cc: Subject: Etext avail: Thomas Griffiths Wainewright; Oliphant's _Beleaguered City_ (HUNTDOWN.HTM) (Fiction, Chronos) Charles Dickens' "Hunted down" (1859) (PPPGREEN.HTM) (Nonfic, Chronos) Oscar Wilde's "Pen, pencil and poison: a study in green" (1889) (BLGCMENU.HTM) (Nonfic, Chronos) Mrs. Margaret Oliphant's _A beleaguered city_ (1879, 1900 ed.) ***************************************** These three etexts are still only drafts. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who spots errors. - Stephen ***************************************** huntdown.sht pppgreen.non Next week (99-jun-14), we will look at two texts about an aesthete, forger and murderer, Thomas Griffiths Wainewright. The first is a fictionalization of his career, by Charles Dickens, called "Hunted down" (1859). The second is an overview of Wainewright's career by Oscar Wilde, "Pen, pencil, and poison" (1889). For Fr. John and Phoebe, who asked: blgc*.nvl Mrs. Oliphant's _A BELEAGUERED CITY BEING A Narrative of Certain Recent Events in the City of Semur, in the Department of the Haute Bourgogne A Story of the Seen and the Unseen_ (orig. ed. 1879, this ed. 1900). This novel will be the text for discussion starting 99-jun-21 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 huntdown.sht get pppgreen.non get blgcmenu.nvl get blgctyX1.nvl get blgctyX2.nvl get blgctyX3.nvl get blgctyX4.nvl get blgctyX5.nvl get blgctyX6.nvl get blgctyX7.nvl get blgctyX8.nvl get blgctyX9.nvl or visit the Gaslight website at: http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/huntdown.htm http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/pppgreen.htm http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/blgctymn.htm Stephen D mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
===0===
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 16:37:59 -0600 From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA Subject: Re: Etext avail: Thomas Griffiths Wainewright; Oliphant's _Beleaguered City_ In the Haste Makes Waste Dept., my announcement needed correcting. Here's an improved version: (HUNTDOWN.HTM) (Fiction, Chronos) Charles Dickens' "Hunted down" (1859) (PPPGREEN.HTM) (Nonfic, Chronos) Oscar Wilde's "Pen, pencil and poison: a study in green" (1889) (BLGCMENU.HTM) (Fiction, Chronos) Mrs. Margaret Oliphant's _A beleaguered city_ (1879, 1900 ed.) ***************************************** These three etexts are still only drafts. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who spots errors. - Stephen ***************************************** huntdown.sht pppgreen.non Next week (99-jun-14), we will look at two texts about an aesthete, forger and murderer, Thomas Griffiths Wainewright. The first is a fictionalization of his career, by Charles Dickens, called "Hunted down" (1859). The second is an overview of Wainewright's career by Oscar Wilde, "Pen, pencil, and poison" (1889). For Fr. John and Phoebe, who asked: blgcty*.nvl Mrs. Oliphant's _A BELEAGUERED CITY BEING A Narrative of Certain Recent Events in the City of Semur, in the Department of the Haute Bourgogne A Story of the Seen and the Unseen_ (orig. ed. 1879, this ed. 1900). This novel will be the text for discussion starting 99-jun-21 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 huntdown.sht get pppgreen.non get blgctymn.nvl get blgctyX1.nvl get blgctyX2.nvl get blgctyX3.nvl get blgctyX4.nvl get blgctyX5.nvl get blgctyX6.nvl get blgctyX7.nvl get blgctyX8.nvl get blgctyX9.nvl or visit the Gaslight website at: http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/huntdown.htm http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/pppgreen.htm http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/blgctymn.htm Stephen D mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
===0===
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 22:16:30 -0600 From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA Subject: Still another correction: <WAS Etext avail: Oliphant's _Beleaguered City_> O.k., so haste actually makes not just waste, but landfill. My previous announcements of the _Beleaguered_ plain ASCII files for the ftpmail included large Xs in the filenames, but the files were named with little xs in the ftp archives. I have renamed the files and now the commands will actually work. (There's a joke in here somewhere which I can see is percolating in your mind too.) _Beleaguered_ is a fascinating novel and well worth the read. Take advantage of the files as soon as you can so that you'll know what the excitement is about when we begin discussion in a week's time. Thanks to Linda A for pointing out my administrative errors. Stephen
===0===
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 09:36:03 -0600 From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA Subject: U.S. Library of Congress's book preservation webpage The U.S. Library of Congress maintains a webpage for its preservation dept. The section called "Care, Handling and Storage of Books" may be of interest to some Gaslighters. http://lcweb.loc.gov/preserv/care/books.html I'd be happy to mail a copy of this page to anyone who doesn't have web access. Stephen D mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
===0===
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 10:42:56 -0600 From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA Subject: Pulitzer prize: _Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898_ Has anyone any comments regarding this year's Pulitzer prize for nonfiction? This precis appears on Galenet: Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 (1998) Edwin G. Burrows Mike Wallace This is the first installment in a historical chronicle of the Big Apple, from its humble beginnings through times of great political and social change. It discusses scores of famous, infamous, and unknown individuals who helped establish New York's unique culture. The authors manage to balance an enormous amount of factual information with detailed portrayals of personal experiences and the effects that major events had on a human level. Copyright: Gale Research (1999) All rights reserved. http://www.galenet.com/wdirn/june/gotham.htm Stephen D mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
===0===
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 13:31:47 -0600 From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org> Subject: Today in History - June 14 1846 Settlers in California declare it a republic. It becomes known as the Bear Flag Revolt gets its name from the grizzly bear on their proposed banner. 1864 Confederate General Leonidas Polk is killed by a Union cannonball at the Battle of Pine Mountain, Georgia. 1893 The first Flag Day is observed in Philadelphia, home of Betsy Ross. 1907 Women in Norway achieve voting rights. 1919 John William Alcot and Arthur Witten Brown begin the first nonstop transatlantic flight, flying from St. John's, Newfoundland to Clifden, Ireland. Birthdays 1811 Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. 1855 Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette, Governor of Wisconsin, U.S. Senator, and Progressive Party presidential candidate. [My father-in-law insisted for years that there was a plaque at Longfellow's Wayside Inn in honor of a visit La Follette had made there, until we showed him a photo of the plaque in honor of Lafayette's visit. BTW, it's an interesting place to visit, and I can still taste their chicken pot pie in my mind with great pleasure.]
===0===
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 16:06:22 -0400 (EDT) From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu> Subject: Re: Pulitzer prize: _Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898_ Yes, Stephen, I posted--or at least believe I posted--some excerpts of a review by ex-New York City mayor Ed Koch, which appeared in the _Times_ of London. This must have been a couple of months ago. The mayor seemed to like the book just fine and reported some of its more entertaining tidbits. Bob C. On Mon, 14 Jun 1999 sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA wrote: > Has anyone any comments regarding this year's Pulitzer prize for nonfiction? > > This precis appears on Galenet: > > Gotham: A History of New > York City to 1898 (1998) > > Edwin G. Burrows > Mike Wallace > > This is the first installment in a historical chronicle of the > Big Apple, > from its humble beginnings through times of great political and > social > change. It discusses scores of famous, infamous, and unknown > individuals who helped establish New York's unique culture. The > authors manage to balance an enormous amount of factual > information > with detailed portrayals of personal experiences and the effects > that > major events had on a human level. > > Copyright: Gale Research (1999) All rights reserved. > http://www.galenet.com/wdirn/june/gotham.htm > > Stephen D > mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca > > > _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 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 _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
===0===
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 13:56:00 -0700 From: Jack Kolb <kolb(at)UCLA.EDU> Subject: Re: Pulitzer prize: _Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898_ It's received very adulatory reviews in several magazines I've seen, including not just The New Yorker, but also Newsweek and The Atlantic. Jack Kolb Dept. of English, UCLA kolb(at)ucla.edu >Yes, Stephen, I posted--or at least believe I posted--some excerpts of a >review by ex-New York City mayor Ed Koch, which appeared in the _Times_ of >London. This must have been a couple of months ago. > >The mayor seemed to like the book just fine and reported some of its more >entertaining tidbits. > >Bob C. > >On Mon, 14 Jun 1999 sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA wrote: > >> Has anyone any comments regarding this year's Pulitzer prize for nonfiction? >> >> This precis appears on Galenet: >> >> Gotham: A History of New >> York City to 1898 (1998) >> >> Edwin G. Burrows >> Mike Wallace >> >> This is the first installment in a historical chronicle of >the >> Big Apple, >> from its humble beginnings through times of great >political and >> social >> change. It discusses scores of famous, infamous, and unknown >> individuals who helped establish New York's unique >culture. The >> authors manage to balance an enormous amount of factual >> information >> with detailed portrayals of personal experiences and the >effects >> that >> major events had on a human level. >> >> Copyright: Gale Research (1999) All rights reserved. >> http://www.galenet.com/wdirn/june/gotham.htm >> >> Stephen D >> mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca >> >> >> > > >_________________________________________________ >@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ > >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 >_________________________________________________ >@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ >
===0===
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 18:12:51 -0400 (EDT) From: Donna Goldthwaite <dgold(at)javanet.com> Subject: Re: Pulitzer prize: _Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898_ Stephen, I picked this up (very carefully, this is a _large_ tome); wasn't able to get too far into it because of time constraints, but what I did read was very good. The section on New Amsterdam history was fascinating. All the reviews I read were most enthusiastic. Donna Goldthwaite dgold(at)javanet.com >Has anyone any comments regarding this year's Pulitzer prize for nonfiction? > >This precis appears on Galenet: > > Gotham: A History of New > York City to 1898 (1998) > > Edwin G. Burrows > Mike Wallace ------------------------------ End of Gaslight Digest V1 #76 *****************************