1816-1817 ca. Man’s Linen Shirt, American. High collar, ruffles down front opening, fullness from gathered shoulders and sleeves for unrestricted movement. Beautifully created and monogrammed by Elizabeth Wild Hitchings for her husband, Benjamin Hitchings, a sea captain. Wives or servants regularly hand stitched shirts from 1800s-1840s, before sewing machines, but handiwork rarely recorded.
From The Creator: This shirt was created, from the linen fiber to the finished garment, by the donor’s great-grandmother, Elizabeth Wild Hitchings, for her husband Benjamin Hitchings, a sea captain, in 1816. It was common practice for a wife or servant to hand stitch family members’ shirts prior to the mid-19th century, but rarely was such handiwork recorded, making this case rare and intriguing. In addition, its elegant stitching makes it a perfect example of the familial care taken in sewing prior to the common possession and use of the sewing machine. via Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.C., U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Captain Belling cleared his throat and turned to face Lady Melton. āI owe you an apology for not personally seeing to your comfort. Iāve not been at my most amicable recently. Our evacuation plans have changed five times in the past three days, because each messenger has brought worse news about conditions of the roads. Wellesley probably pictured us rounding up a fleet of comfortable carriages to transport the wounded to the coast, after which boats would magically whisk us across the Channel until, within a few days, the wounded would be under the care of a staff of competent physicians. Apparently, the first and largest batches of wounded soldiers managed that scenario and are, I hope, being loaded into the boats as we speak. Word is that the second group ran afoul of deserters on three separate occasions.ā
āBritish or French?ā
He shrugged. āWho knows? Men probably went rogue from many forces as soon as the battle turned and we became the winners. Napoleon was so confident of victory that he didnāt plan for retreat. So, retreating regiments were bottlenecked at the bridge at Sambre and soldiers ran away, rather than die during the chaos. Disenchanted soldiers from every country meet, form alliances, and will then kill without compunction, to stay free, or to appease their hunger for food and women. And every day, more will be on the roads.ā
When she stiffened, he said, āDonāt worry. Our messengers reported where theyād seen large groups, and weāll avoid those roads.ā She sat still as a statue and listened. āIād like to get to London without killing anyone else, because Iām tired of the fighting, tired of wars.ā
She shuffled a few inches back towards him and laid her hand on his knee. āIām sorry that Iāve added to your problems.ā She looked down at her sleeping son. āSorry you have two more passengers to worry about.ā
āOur main problem is transport. The first groups needed the biggest wagons, so we must make do with inferior vehicles.ā
āDaniel and I are used to cramped quarters. Weāre grateful for whatever you arrange.ā
āHumph. Iām glad to hear that.ā When she gave him a puzzled look, he pointed to a mattress set at a right angle to her cot but with their ends almost touching. āI shall now be sleeping there.ā
The small noise she made pleased him. She didnāt scream like a virginal girl would if told that a man would be sleeping in such close proximity, but sounded surprised to find that sheād pressed herself up against him.
Her hand flew to her mouth. āOh, dear. Iāve taken your bed. Iāve forced you to use a mattress on the floor.ā
He laughed softly. āBelieve me, thatās far better than propping against a tree and trying to snatch an hourās sleep before battle. Or squeezing between a sea of horses and men so you stay warm and donāt expire from frostbite.ā
āHow long have you been with Wellesley?ā
He leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. āToo damn long.ā
āSo youāre pleased to be going home?ā
āPleased? No. Resigned, yes. My friends, my fellow officers, were ordered back to Brussels. I feel guilty that Iām not with them.ā
āBut surely they will return home soon, now that weāve defeated Napoleon?ā
āWeāve thought the war finished several times before, and I fear this time may prove the same. Nobody can predict what the Corsican will do next.ā
She squeezed his thigh. āYouāre worn out, Gabe. Things will be better when youāre in London once again.ā
George, Prince of Wales (1762-1830), later George IV. By Mather Byles Brown (1761-1831) via Royal Collection, London, U.K.
The decision to make Prince George the Regent took a lot of political debate. After nearly two and a half months of political wrangling, the British government agreed to grant the title of Prince Regent on George. The Act of Parliament was finally passed by a commission in the House of Lords on February 5th 1811 and the Prince was formally sworn in as Regent at Carlton House the next day. He continued to rule as Regent until 1820 when, on his fatherās death, he assumed the title George IV and reigned until his own death in 1830.
The British Regency was the period from 1811-1820. King George III was deemed mad and unfit to rule so his son became his proxy, the Prince Regent, or Prinny to his close friends. This was the situation when Jane Austen was alive. The Regency Era was famous for its beautiful clothing as well as the magnificent buildings erected and furnished in the ‘Regency Style’ under orders from the extravagant Prince Regent.
Outback Arrival : A contemporary medical set in an outback Australian hospital. A city nurse follows the doctor she loves to the bush town where he manages his family’s cattle properties, determined to prove her love for him. But can he accept that she is carrying his baby and that those he trusts have lied?
āNo, no, no! Bodies donāt stand up and walk out of hospitals.ā
āIām real sorry, Nurse Kristie.ā The weather beaten grounds-man shuffled his feet in front of her office desk, distress adding a decade to his sixty something years.āLooked everĖwhere. Canāt find it.ā
āThis canāt be happening, Joey. A corpse cannot just disappear. Somebody must have noticed something.ā
āSure aināt sometinĀ“ no normal personād tuck unāerneath their arm. Walk out with, when visitors go āome.ā
Kristie adopted the calm and confident demeanor that had helped her tackle hundreds of emergency room dramas without showing a moment of panic. Casualty nurses joked that no matter how many crazy things youād dealt with, something stranger was always about to walk in your door. Or in todayās case, walk out of the morgueās door.
She hauled in a deep breath, while mentally chastising herself for not making more time to attend yoga classes, for Joeyās sake if not her own. She faked a confident smile. āWe have to find his body, Joey. Quickly. Before the boardās fusspots hear whatās happened. Or weāll have them arriving, en masse, and breathing down our necks.ā
When sheād arrived four weeks earlier, the majority of the board members had welcomed her with open arms. Enticing an experienced nurse away from a city hospital to a remote outback town didnāt happen every day and the town had seen them as heroes saving their stretched outback health system. The few remaining few board members, however, were old-fashioned, staid, and highly suspicious of her motives.
Kristie had learned to be vigilant at work and circumspect when off duty. During her three monthsā probation as Director of Nursing, she couldnāt afford any slip ups or she wouldnāt be contracted for a permanent position, no matter how desperate rural towns were to keep medical staff.. Those board members, the ones lacking a sense of humor, would be horrified that a recently deceased member of their small community had mysteriously disappeared from the hospitalās morgue. Although morgue was a loose term for a brick shed which housed a refrigerator, a work bench, and was supposedly cooled by a temperamental air-conditioner. Misplacing a body, without any of her rostered staff noticing, would be classified by the board as her first mistake, a huge mistake.
Definition Merino Wool: Finest quality wool, originating in Spain. During Napoleonic wars, Merino sheep exported to Britain and other parts of Europe. Napoleon supported Merino growth in France. In 1808, after French invaded Spain, King George purchased additional 2000 Merinos for royal flock but Britain too wet for thriving industry. Other countries i.e. Australia, began producing fine quality Merino.
Definition Velvet: Historically made with silk pile on silk backing, or cheaper backing e.g. linen. Velvets were also made from cotton or wool. Today, silk velvet is usually rayon pile on silk backing so you only see the rayon and not the silk.
1811 May Walking Dress and Evening Dress, English. White muslin dress under green Pelisse, matching hat and reticule or bag, yellow gloves and green boots. Pink crepe dress with small train open at front over white satin underskirt with silver cord, yellow gloves, earrings and necklace of white pearls. Fashion Plate via The Lady’s Monthly Museum, London, UK.
Definition Walking Dress: Worn out shopping, walking in a city park or the country estate. Presentable and warm, more fashionable than Morning Dress but not overly accessorized.
Definition Evening Dress: Minute distinctions between ball, dinner, evening and opera gowns meant different quality of fabrics and designs.
Nothing had prepared Lady Katharine Montgomery for the jumble of feelings overwhelming her when Alex worshipped her body, first with words and later with his hands and mouth. For years around this house, sheād been forced to appear dowdy, unintelligent, and totally self-effacing to never anger her father, or draw his wrath. Now, though, every degrading restriction was lifted from her mind, body, and life.
Her father was dead. Yesterday, sheād buried her hatred for the despicable man whoād given her life during the quarter hour it took to stand at his grave and, along with all the other hypocrites present, pretend to mourn as they buried his mortal remains. Heād cheated traders, beaten plantation workers, and horse-whipped her within an inch of her life. She and all the other mourners hoped heād rot in hell.
Last night, sheād felt free to liberate the passionate nature sheād kept buried for six and twenty years for fear of her fatherās explosive wrath. But one night with Lord Alexander St. John had changed everything. One night with a lover who was gentle and caring had her aching for more, more of Alex and more of life with him.
“l declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” Jane Austen ~ Pride and Prejudice (1813 )
Fascinated with historical fashion? Treat yourself to a nonfiction Box Set on corsets, including Bridgerton and Jane Austen years. Corsets Box Set History Notes Book 22. This Box Set combines corset books 14-21 to give a complete picture of the progression of corset styles from 1700 through to the 1900s, including Jane Austen’s lifetime. These books show how body wraps, stays, and corsets were worn through the centuries to create a variety of fashionable silhouettes through various historical eras. Corsets flattened breasts and accentuated rounded hips or pushed up breasts and showed off the bust line depending on the fashions of the time and the desired silhouette. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveCorsetBook22
