Biography: The Days Before Yesterday(Annotated)
Book Details
Author(s)Lord Frederic Spencer
ISBN / ASINB01FL75E3Y
ISBN-13978B01FL75E38
Sales Rank99,999,999
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
Early days--The passage of many terrors--Crocodiles, grizzlies and hunchbacks--An adventurous journey and its reward--The famous spring in South Audley Street--Climbing chimney-sweeps--The story of Mrs. Montagu's son--The sweeps' carnival--Disraeli--Lord John Russell--A child's ideas about the Whigs--The Earl of Aberdeen-- "Old Brown Bread"--Sir Edwin Landseer, a great family friend--A live lion at a tea-party--Landseer as an artist--Some of his vagaries--His frescoes at Ardverikie--His latter days--A devoted friend--His last Academy picture
CHAPTER II
The "swells" of the "sixties"--Old Lord Claud Hamilton--My first presentation to Queen Victoria--Scandalous behaviour of a brother--Queen Victoria's letters--Her character and strong common sense--My mother's recollections of George III. and George IV.-- Carlton House, and the Brighton Pavilion--Queen Alexandra--The Fairchild Family--Dr. Cumming and his church--A clerical Jazz-- First visit to Paris--General de Flahault's account of Napoleon's campaign of 1812--Another curious link with the past--"Something French"--Attraction of Paris--Cinderella's glass slipper--A glimpse of Napoleon III.--The Rue de Rivoli--The Riviera in 1865-- A novel Tricolour flag--Jenny Lind--The championship of the Mediterranean--My father's boat and crew--The race--The Abercorn wins the championship
CHAPTER III
A new departure--A Dublin hotel in the "sixties"--The Irish mail service--The wonderful old paddle mail-boats--The convivial waiters of the Munster--The Viceregal Lodge--Indians and pirates-- The imagination of youth--A modest personal ambition--Death- warrants; imaginary and real--The Fenian outbreak of 1866-7--The Abergele railway accident--A Dublin Drawing-Room--Strictly private ceremonials--Some of the amenities of the Chapel Royal--An unbidden spectator of the State dinners--Irish wit--Judge Keogh-- Father Healy--Happy Dublin knack of nomenclature--An unexpected honour and its cause--Incidents of the Fenian rising--Dr. Hatchell--A novel prescription--Visit of King Edward--Gorgeous ceremonial, but a chilly drive--An anecdote of Queen Alexandra
CHAPTER IV
Chittenden's--A wonderful teacher--My personal experiences as a schoolmaster--My "boys in blue"--My unfortunate garments--A "brave Belge"--The model boy, and his name--A Spartan regime--"The Three Sundays"--Novel religious observances--Harrow--"John Smith of Harrow"--"Tommy"--Steele--"Tosher"--An ingenious punishment--John Farmer--His methods--The birth of a famous song--Harrow school songs--"Ducker"--The "Curse of Versatility"--Advancing old age-- The race between three brothers--A family failing--My father's race at sixty-four--My own--A most acrimonious dispute at Rome-- Harrow after fifty years
CHAPTER V
Mme. Ducros--A Southern French country town--"Tartarin de Tarascon"--His prototypes at Nyons--M. Sisteron the roysterer--The Southern French--An octogenarian pasteur--French industry--"Bone- shakers"--A wonderful "Cordon-bleu"--"Slop-basin"--French legal procedure--The bons-vivants--The merry French judges--La gaiete francaise--Delightful excursions--Some sleepy old towns--Oronge and Avignon--M. Thiers' ingenious cousin--Possibilities--French political situation in 1874--The Comte de Chambord--Some French characteristics--High intellectual level--Three days in a Trappist Monastery--Details of life there--The Arian heresy-- Silkworm culture--Tendencies of French to complicate details--Some examples--Cicadas in London.
CHAPTER VI
Brunswick--Its beauty--High level of culture--The Brunswick Theatre--Its excellence--Gas vs. Electricity--Primitive theatre toilets--Operatic stars in private life--Some operas unknown in London--Dramatic incidents in them--Levasseur's parody of "Robert"--Some curious details about operas--Two fiery old pan- Germans--Influence of the teaching profession on modern Germany-- The "French and English Clubs"--A meeting of the "English Club" Some reflections about English reluc
CHAPTER I
Early days--The passage of many terrors--Crocodiles, grizzlies and hunchbacks--An adventurous journey and its reward--The famous spring in South Audley Street--Climbing chimney-sweeps--The story of Mrs. Montagu's son--The sweeps' carnival--Disraeli--Lord John Russell--A child's ideas about the Whigs--The Earl of Aberdeen-- "Old Brown Bread"--Sir Edwin Landseer, a great family friend--A live lion at a tea-party--Landseer as an artist--Some of his vagaries--His frescoes at Ardverikie--His latter days--A devoted friend--His last Academy picture
CHAPTER II
The "swells" of the "sixties"--Old Lord Claud Hamilton--My first presentation to Queen Victoria--Scandalous behaviour of a brother--Queen Victoria's letters--Her character and strong common sense--My mother's recollections of George III. and George IV.-- Carlton House, and the Brighton Pavilion--Queen Alexandra--The Fairchild Family--Dr. Cumming and his church--A clerical Jazz-- First visit to Paris--General de Flahault's account of Napoleon's campaign of 1812--Another curious link with the past--"Something French"--Attraction of Paris--Cinderella's glass slipper--A glimpse of Napoleon III.--The Rue de Rivoli--The Riviera in 1865-- A novel Tricolour flag--Jenny Lind--The championship of the Mediterranean--My father's boat and crew--The race--The Abercorn wins the championship
CHAPTER III
A new departure--A Dublin hotel in the "sixties"--The Irish mail service--The wonderful old paddle mail-boats--The convivial waiters of the Munster--The Viceregal Lodge--Indians and pirates-- The imagination of youth--A modest personal ambition--Death- warrants; imaginary and real--The Fenian outbreak of 1866-7--The Abergele railway accident--A Dublin Drawing-Room--Strictly private ceremonials--Some of the amenities of the Chapel Royal--An unbidden spectator of the State dinners--Irish wit--Judge Keogh-- Father Healy--Happy Dublin knack of nomenclature--An unexpected honour and its cause--Incidents of the Fenian rising--Dr. Hatchell--A novel prescription--Visit of King Edward--Gorgeous ceremonial, but a chilly drive--An anecdote of Queen Alexandra
CHAPTER IV
Chittenden's--A wonderful teacher--My personal experiences as a schoolmaster--My "boys in blue"--My unfortunate garments--A "brave Belge"--The model boy, and his name--A Spartan regime--"The Three Sundays"--Novel religious observances--Harrow--"John Smith of Harrow"--"Tommy"--Steele--"Tosher"--An ingenious punishment--John Farmer--His methods--The birth of a famous song--Harrow school songs--"Ducker"--The "Curse of Versatility"--Advancing old age-- The race between three brothers--A family failing--My father's race at sixty-four--My own--A most acrimonious dispute at Rome-- Harrow after fifty years
CHAPTER V
Mme. Ducros--A Southern French country town--"Tartarin de Tarascon"--His prototypes at Nyons--M. Sisteron the roysterer--The Southern French--An octogenarian pasteur--French industry--"Bone- shakers"--A wonderful "Cordon-bleu"--"Slop-basin"--French legal procedure--The bons-vivants--The merry French judges--La gaiete francaise--Delightful excursions--Some sleepy old towns--Oronge and Avignon--M. Thiers' ingenious cousin--Possibilities--French political situation in 1874--The Comte de Chambord--Some French characteristics--High intellectual level--Three days in a Trappist Monastery--Details of life there--The Arian heresy-- Silkworm culture--Tendencies of French to complicate details--Some examples--Cicadas in London.
CHAPTER VI
Brunswick--Its beauty--High level of culture--The Brunswick Theatre--Its excellence--Gas vs. Electricity--Primitive theatre toilets--Operatic stars in private life--Some operas unknown in London--Dramatic incidents in them--Levasseur's parody of "Robert"--Some curious details about operas--Two fiery old pan- Germans--Influence of the teaching profession on modern Germany-- The "French and English Clubs"--A meeting of the "English Club" Some reflections about English reluc
