Composer of the Month
Matthew Locke, born in 1681, was trained as a
boy in the choir of Exeter Cathedral, under the
tutelage of Edward Gibbons. At the age of
eighteen, he travelled in the Netherlands,
possibly converting to Roman Catholicism at
the time.
Locke, with Christopher Gibbons (the nephew
of his teacher), composed the score for Cupid
and Death, the 1653 masque by Caroline era
playwright James Shirley. Their score for that
work is the sole surviving score for a dramatic
work from that era.
In 1673 Locke's treatise on music
theory, Melothesia, was published. The title
page describes him as "Composer in Ordinary
to His Majesty, and organist of her Majesty's
chapel"—those monarchs being Charles
II and Catherine of Braganza. His successor in
the latter office was Henry Purcell (who we
mentioned in the November issue of the Lit
Wick Gazette), and Locke has been described
as Purcell's mentor). His final work was the
score for Psyche, composed in 1675 two years
before his death in August of 1677.
~
Take thy first walk with God! Let Him go forth
with thee; by stream, or sea, or mountain path,
Seek still His company.
-Horatius Bonar
~Leslie Rose Yale~
~
Introduction Etiquette
excerpts from Emily Post’s 1922 Edition of Etiquette
Other permissible forms of introduction are:
“Mrs. Jones, do you know Mrs. Norman?”
or,
“Mrs. Jones, you know Mrs. Robinson, don’t you?” (on no
account say “Do you not?” Best Society always says “don’t you?”)
or,
“Mrs. Robinson, have you met Mrs. Jones?”
or,
“Mrs. Jones, do you know my mother?”
or,
“This is my daughter Ellen, Mrs. Jones.”
These are all good form, whether gentlemen are introduced to
ladies, ladies to ladies, or gentlemen to gentlemen. In introducing a
gentleman to a lady, you may ask Mr. Smith if he has met Mrs.
Jones, but you must not ask Mrs. Jones if she has met Mr. Smith!
~
Inviolable (adj.)
Prohibiting violation; secure from destruction,
violence, infringement, or desecration.
Incapable of being violated; incorruptible.
~Maria Wytherspoon~
~
Jane Austen
was born December 16, 1775 to George and Cassandra Austen. Her father was the rector to the Anglican parishes at Steventon, Hampshire and a nearby village. She had six brothers and one sister: James, George, Edward, Henry, Francis, Charles, and Cassandra. Cassandra was her best friend through her whole life. Jane was also very close to her brother Henry who later became her literary agent.
In 1783 Jane went with her sister to Oxford to be educated by Mrs. Ann Cawley. Later that year they moved with her to Southampton. Both girls caught Thyphus which Jane nearly died from. After that, Jane was educated at home before leaving with her sister for boarding school in 1785. In 1786 they left the school because their parents could no longer afford to send them there.
The rest of Jane’s schooling was reading books in which exercise she was guided by her father and
brothers, James and Henry. Her father gave her complete access to his large and varied library and was tolerant of her writing experiments, providing both of his daughters with expensive paper and writing materials.
In December 1800 Mr. Austen retired from the ministry and moved his family to Bath. Jane had begun
writing some years before but the move from the only home she had ever known saddened her and she did not write much while in Bath.
Two years later, she and her sister visited some old friends (Alethea and Catherine Bigg) who lived near
Basingstoke. Their younger brother, Harris Bigg-Wither was staying with them, only just recently finished his
education at Oxford. He proposed to Jane, and she accepted, but by the next morning she broke off the
engagement realizing that she had only accepted him because he was the heir to a considerable estate.
In January 1805, Mr. Austen became suddenly ill and died. Jane, her mother, and her sister were left in a
precarious financial situation. James, Henry, and Francis promised to helped them out substantially, but they still had financial trouble.
In 1809, after a considerable amount of moving around, they settled in Chawton where they lived a very quiet life. While there Jane successfully published four novels.
Seven years later, Jane began to feel unwell, but ignored it and continued with her work and spending
time with her family. She continued writing until a few months before she died on July 18, 1817.
Her published literary works include: Juvenilia volumes 1, 2, and 3, Lady Susan, Sense and Sensibility,
Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion (which was posthumously
completed and titled by her brother).
She had two unfinished works titled The Watsons, and Sanditon.
Her other works are: Sir Charles Grandison (A play); Plan of a Novel; and Poems, Prayers, and Letters.
Source: Wikipedia
~Eliza Bennet~
