Podcasts about Harriet Lane

"Oh, Lord God Almighty, as thou wilt!" The final words of James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States, and today regarded as one of the worst. Learn about the end to Buchanan's Presidency, his lonely years after, his death, burial, and other commemorations! Check out the website at VisitingthePresidents.com for visual aids, links, past episodes, recommended reading, and other information!Episode Page: https://visitingthepresidents.com/2024/10/22/season-3-episode-15-james-buchanans-tomb/Season 1's James Buchanan Episode: "James Buchanan and Cove Gap" on his birthplace!Season 2's James Buchanan Episode: "James Buchanan and Wheatland" on his home!Support the showVisit the social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

The life and career of acting FLOTUS, Harriet Lane, the niece of bachelor U.S. President James Buchanan is profiled. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/valerie-harvey/message

The battle of land and sea was short, with most of the casualties on the Union side. The Confederacy captured the Harriet Lane at Kuhn's Wharf. The Westfield struck a sandbar near modern-day Pelican Island and was intentionally destroyed by its commander to prevent the vessel from being captured and used by the Confederacy. The Battle of Galveston.  Follow Galveston Unscripted on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! More history content on Visit Galveston!Galveston Unscripted What is Galveston Unscripted?

Check out Ol' Buck in Wheatland! Learn about James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States, and his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania! Listen to his political rise, his tragic administration, his personal life, and, of course, his great home! Check out the website at VisitingthePresidents.com for visual aids, links, past episodes, recommended reading, and other information!Episode Page: https://visitingthepresidents.com/2022/06/07/season-2-episode-15-james-buchanan-and-wheatland/Season 1 James Buchanan Episode: “James Buchanan and Cove Gap”Support the show

Harriet Lane was the niece of 15th US President James Buchannan and served as the bachelor president's First Lady. She was popular, well-known, and admired here and in England. Besides that, she left an incredible legacy for the well-being of children. Here is her story. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/americas-first-ladies-15-harriet-lane/  Genealogy Clips Podcast https://ancestralfindings.com/podcast Historical Postcard Giveaway https://ancestralfindings.com/postcard-giveaway/ Free Genealogy eBooks https://ancestralfindings.com/ebooks Hard To Find Surnames https://ancestralfindings.com/surnames Follow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AncestralFindings Support Ancestral Findings https://ancestralfindings.com/donation #Genealogy #AncestralFindings #GenealogyClips

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 238, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: White House Women 1: In March 2000 this former Clinton press secretary gave birth to 5-pound, 11-ounce Katherine. Dee Dee Myers. 2: A U.S. Coast Guard cutter was named for Harriet Lane, this bachelor president's hostess. James Buchanan. 3: After his wife Rachel died, his niece took over her duties; after she died, a daughter-in-law was summoned. Andrew Jackson. 4: In July 2000 Hearst hired this reporter who had covered the White House for UPI for 37 years; Thank You, Mr. President. Helen Thomas. 5: Last name of Evelyn, JFK's personal secretary. Lincoln. Round 2. Category: Podcast Incorporated 1: This company's first podcast talked about its new Cadillacs at the Chicago Auto Show. General Motors. 2: A morning stock report is podcast by this Dow Jones-owned national newspaper. The Wall Street Journal. 3: We aren't sure if the podcasts for this Sci Fi Channel show are created by humans or Cylons. Battlestar Galactica. 4: The podcast by this company discussed the promise of "on demand" with its new mainframes. IBM. 5: No joke, this satellite radio company signed former MTV-VJ Adam Curry as its exclusive PJ. Sirius. Round 3. Category: All The Presidents' Children 1: In 2002 she edited a new book of essays: "Profiles in Courage for Our Time". Caroline Kennedy. 2: His daughter Patti has written several books including "Bondage" and "The Way I See It". Ronald Reagan. 3: (Hi, I'm Marvin Hamlisch, here at the Hollywood Bowl.) No mystery here, while her father was president, this soprano sang in concert at the Bowl. Margaret Truman. 4: Sadly, his youngest son, Quentin, was killed in WWI and his oldest son, Ted Jr., died during WWII. Theodore Roosevelt. 5: In 1835 Zachary Taylor's daughter Sarah married this future president of the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis. Round 4. Category: File Under "Z" 1: In Greek myth, Hera is both the wife and the sister of this supreme god. Zeus. 2: Gold Rush is a variety of this Italian squash but with yellowish skin. zucchini. 3: It's the branch of biology that studies various animals. zoology. 4: Alphabetically, it's last among the nations of the world. Zimbabwe. 5: At the time of his death, Irish author James Joyce was living in this Swiss city. Zurich. Round 5. Category: Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists 1: Who was No. 50? This Who guitarist, that's who. Pete Townshend. 2: Not surprisingly this legendary guitarist who colored the '60s with songs like "Purple Haze" came in at No. 1. Jimi Hendrix. 3: It's said of No. 3, "His string-bending and vibrato made his famous guitar, Lucille, weep like a real-life woman". B.B. King. 4: His "Smooth" guitar strains earned him a place at No. 15. Carlos Santana. 5: Surprisingly, only 2 women made the list: Joni Mitchell and this leader of the Blackhearts. Joan Jett. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!

In a surprise turn of events, we find out that James Buchanan was engaged and need to tell the tale. Ann, you lived your best PA life and we love you for it. James Buchanan finally get to the White House and brings along his charming niece with a great haircut. Harriet, doing the best she can making seating arrangements while the civil war rumbles and tumbles in the background. Trying to use her FLOTUS powers for good, while also focusing heavily on DC nightlife.  Also, Elyse discovers that there is a rival to Wawa and her world crumbles. 

Another 19th century murder, this time in London. Henry Wainwright was seemingly a family man and an upstanding member of the Victorian middle class, but he had an awful secret...Explore the blog for more great content!https://www.theministryofhistory.co.uk/SUPPORT THE SHOW by becoming a patron and receive great benefits! I need your support to help keep the show going.£1 or £3.50 a month is not much to you, but it makes a world of difference to me!https://www.patreon.com/ministryofhistoryReferences:Susan Isaac article - https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/library/blog/murder-in-the-east-end/Article on the East End website - http://the-east-end.co.uk/henry-wainwright/

Another 19th century murder, this time in London. Henry Wainwright was seemingly a family man and an upstanding member of the Victorian middle class, but he had an awful secret...Explore the blog for more great content!https://www.theministryofhistory.co.uk/SUPPORT THE SHOW by becoming a patron and receive great benefits! I need your support to help keep the show going.£1 or £3.50 a month is not much to you, but it makes a world of difference to me!https://www.patreon.com/ministryofhistoryReferences:Susan Isaac article - https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/library/blog/murder-in-the-east-end/Article on the East End website - http://the-east-end.co.uk/henry-wainwright/

In dieser Folge verschlägt es Katharina und Nina in den Londoner Whitechapel Distrikt des Jahres 1875 wo, 13 Jahre vor den berüchtigten Jack the Ripper Morden, die „Whitechapel Road Mystery“ die Polizei und die weltweite Presse in Atem hält. Was eine zerstückelte Leiche, eine Finanzkrise und der Mut eines Bürstenmachers mit der Klärung eines Vermisstenfalls und der Aufdeckung eines Falles von viktorianischem Heiratsschwindel zu tun haben hört ihr in dieser Folge von „Früher war mehr Verbrechen – Der historische True Crime Podcast“. // Kapitel // • 01:40 – Einleitung – Leichenteile werden entdeckt • 17:36 – Die Suche nach Harriet Lane beginnt • 29:17 – Ein gemeiner Betrug wird aufgedeckt • 35:42 – Das Verfahren der Wainwright Brüder und Besprechung des Falles // Quellen & Shownotes // • The proceedings of the Old Bayley, London's Central Criminal Court 1674 – 1913, HENRY WAINWRIGHT, THOMAS GEORGE WAINWRIGHT. 22. November 1875 https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?div=t18751122-1
 • Murderpedia: Henry WAINWRIGHT, https://murderpedia.org/male.W/w/wainwright-henry.htm
 • The British Medical Journal: THE WAINWRIGHT CASE IN ITS MEDICO-LEGAL ASPECTS, Artikel vom 11. Dezember 1875, https://www.jstor.org/stable/25242370?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
 • Royal College of Surgeons of England, Murder in the East End: The Wainwright Trial, Artikel vom 9. Februar 2018, https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/library/blog/murder-in-the-east-end/
 • The New York Times, The London Murder, Artikel vom 8. Oktober 1875 https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1875/10/08/79252900.html?pageNumber=2
 • The New York Times, The London Murder, Artikel vom 18. Oktober 1875 https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1875/10/18/79255439.html?pageNumber=8
 • Brief Case, The Dark & Sinister case of Henry Wainwright, You Tube Video vom 14. Oktober 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WQeEpTLczY
 // Folgt uns auf Instagram // https://www.instagram.com/frueher.war.mehr.verbrechen/?hl=de // Karte mit allen „Früher war mehr Verbrechen“-Tatorten // https://bit.ly/2FFyWF6 GEMAfreie Musik von https://audiohub.de

Resolve is part of an ongoing series about Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women in Alaska created in partnership with Affinity Films, a non-profit media organization based in Anchorage, Alaska. This episode features Amos Lane sharing his story about the brutal rape and murder of his mother Harriet Lane in Point Hope, AK.

This is a man who probably would have been totally forgotten about, he would be in the dustbin of history, he'd be a President that none of us except for dorky tour guides and people who like to know weird things for pub trivia would know about if it had not been for his niece, Harriet Lane and this is the part of the story that I find really interesting.”Tour Guide Tell All continues its exploration of Malcolm X/Meridian Hill Park by taking a look at an often-forgotten presidential memorial found in the park.Join us as we discuss James Buchanan, often regarded as one of the worst presidents in history, Harriet Lane, a woman ahead of her time, and a 15 year fight to place a presidential memorial in D.C.Comments or Questions? Or have an idea for future episodes? Email us tourguidetellall@gmail.comIf you’re interested in in more information, we find these sources helpful:James Buchanan Memorial  - D.C. MemorialistBoundary Stones - A Memorial Fifteen Years In the MakingWhite House Historical Association - Harriet LaneYou’re Listening To: Becca GrawlSound Editing, Technical & Admin Work: Canden Arciniega Intro/Outro Music: Well-Seasoned from Audio Hero

Plunging necklines! Bachelor President! Bralettes! Cocaine! These are just a few of the wonderful things we talk about as we finish up First Ladies month. Debbi brings us the fantastic story of First Lady Harriet Lane who was the niece to the 15th President, James Buchanan and the first to have the official title of "First Lady."   More info at: galsguide.org Patreon: patreon.com/galsguide Facebook: facebook.com/galsguidetothegalaxy Twitter: twitter.com/GalsGuideGalaxy

We upgraded our account so it's day 2 in the run up to our new episode and we're reposting all of our past episodes so you can finally listen to all of them in one place! cw: child abuse, gaslighting, kidnap, reference to underage relationship Are you going on a vacation to the south of France? Maybe it's got an infinity pool and you're travelling with two young children. This week, Shamini tries to convince us that Her is the spine-tingling thriller you should bring along with you. Twitter: @RePresentedPod www.macdermog.com/RePresented Bread & Barricades: A Les Mis podcast:https://www.nemomartin.com/podcasts/

The brutal killing of Harriet Lane in 1857, was the most infamous slaying in England, prior to the multiple murders committed by Jack the Ripper in the 1880s. This episode shares the story with you – told entirely in Whisper, by Kit Caren. ==== BECOME A SUPPORTER OF THE PODCAST! Simply go to: Patreon Page – Whispered True Stories and contribute whatever you can. Hear a bonus Episode, for only $1. There are extra rewards, for any donation of $5 or more! ==== HISTORICAL REFERENCES Chronicles of Crime and Criminals (No. 1), Beaver Publishing Co (Toronto, Canada, 1880s, author and exact year, unknown), Chapter 1. Fortey, H.S., Lamentation of Henry Wainwright, for the Murder and Mutilation of Harriet Lane (1875). Storey, Neil, The Little Book of Murder, "The Businessman and His Mistress", (2013). Lachanudis, Paula, The Murder of Harriet Lane, Herts Memories (webpage, 2011). Jackson, Victoria (compiler), Wainwright, Henry, Murderpedia (webpage). Treguer, Pascal, The Gruesome Origin of “Harriet Lane” and “Fanny Adams”, Word Histories (webpage, 2017) (the history of these names as military slang for preserved or canned meat); see also, Harriet Lane, Green’s Dictionary of Slang (2019). ==== CLOSING THOUGHT: Source - Chesterton, G.K., The Flying Stars (short story, 1911), included within story collection, The Innocence of Father Brown. ==== Episode includes Whispered recommendations for these podcasts: True Crime Finland American Sex Podcast ==== HOW TO CONTACT THE HOST - KIT CAREN E-Mail: WhisperedTrueStories@gmail.com Twitter: @WhisperedTrue @KitCaren

On this episode of The Body, The Blood, The Michelada we continue our Patriotic Series with a series of tales about some of the First Ladies of the United States of America. Paul talks about the iconic lady in red, Nancy Reagan and her involvement with her husbands presidency. Then we throw it to Natalie who talks about Bachelor-In-Chief, James Buchanan, and about his niece, Harriet Lane, and how she took up the role of first lady since he didn't have a partner to fill the role...or did he? Lastly, Sophie talks about one of the pioneers of the traditional First Lady's role, Dolley Madison! But did one of the Miches make up their story?

Nicholas Hytner's new production at London's Bridge Theatre is Lucinda Coxon's play Alys Always, based on Harriet Lane's novel. A journalist decides to set her sights on a joining the exalted circle of a grieving best-selling author. Ray and Liz is the debut film from photographer Richard Billingham; weaving a story from his 1996 collection of autobiographical portraits of his hard-drinking and hard smoking parents living on the margins of society in a Black Country council home. Max Porter's new novel Lanny is a follow-up to his much-lauded debut Grief Is The Thing With Feathers. A magical child communicates with the present and a mysterious past Photographer Martin Parr has an exhibition. Only Human at London's National Portrait Gallery combining old and previously unseen works. ITV's police drama The Bay is set in the picturesque surroundings of Morecambe, Lancashire. Might it become the new Broadchurch? Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Christopher Frayling, Charlotte Mullins and Emma Jane Unsworth. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Christopher: If Beale Street Could Talk and Moonlight. Also The Salt Path by Raynor Winn Emma-Jane: The Good Immigrant USA by Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman Charlotte: Studio Voices by Michael Bird and The National Sound Archive Tom: the disputed Caravaggio at the Colnaghi Gallery

Click here to buy:https://adbl.co/2DETVmq Frances is a thirty-something sub-editor, an invisible production, drone on the books pages of the Questioner. Her routine and colourless existence is disrupted one winter evening when she happens upon the aftermath of a car crash and hears the last words of the driver, Alys Kyte. When Alys's family makes contact in an attempt to find closure, Frances is given a tantalising glimpse of a very different world: one of privilege and possibility. The relationships she builds with the Kytes will have an impact on her own life, both professionally and personally, as Frances dares to wonder whether she might now become a player in her own right... Read by Clare Corbett (p) 2012 Orion Publishing Group

Rachel Stevens tells us about her grown up life now she's no longer a singer in S Club 7 but a mum and Instagram star and author Marianne Power reveals why she wrote Help Me! and what she learnt by following 12 self-help books in a year, and which one she'd recommend for women in midlife. Our TV picks are Homecoming on Amazon Prime and Great News on Netflix and our book picks are A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult, Alys, Always by Harriet Lane and The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

Tony Parsons chats to Red Szell about his work and being the 'Father of Man-Lit', Phill Jupitus discusses some of his favourite books, old and new, and with the stage version of 'Alys, Always' about to open in London we talk to Harriet Lane.

The first part of this episode covers: remonstrating Hackles Mufti Shuftisluicing bumptious avidity cinch stymie vindication These words come from these books:  “A Question of Blood” by Ian Rankin. "Alys Always" by Harriet Lane. "Team of Teams" by Stanley McChrystal. At xxxx there is writing advice from an Episode 12 of “A Stab in the Dark” by Ian Rankin. Pilar also mentions her own book, "Hi, I'm Here for a Recording. The ordinary life of a voiceover artist."   Remember you can check out all the words covered in Word Maze in the Words and Books page  https://wordmaze.cafe/category/words-and-books/ You can about writing here: https://wordmaze.cafe/category/writing-advice/ I would love to hear from you: Have you got any words you’ve discovered lately? Any books you’d like to recommend? Have you come across an inspirational piece of advice on writing lately? Let me know. You can connect with me or on Twitter: @wordmazepodcast or pop over to www.wordmaze.cafe  

First Lady Lane? But we didn't even have a President Lane?! Correct you are, faithful listener! So why don't you listen in to see what Harriet's story is! _______________________________ Support us on Patreon! For only $0.11 per episode ($1/month) you can be part of our Patreon community. For a few more bucks per month we'll throw in two bonus episode! Check it out. ____________________________ Support the show! Use this link to do your shopping on Amazon. It won't cost you a penny more and it will help us out!  ElectionCollege.com/Amazon ________________________ Be sure to subscribe to the show! Leave us a review on iTunes - It really helps us out! Facebook  |  Twitter  | Instagram ________________________ Music from: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music ________________________ Some links in these show notes are affiliate links that could monetarily benefit Election College, but cost you nothing extra.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From James Thurber to Mark Hardie we talk to writers who haven't let sight loss get in the way of success. Crime writer Mark Hardie tells us how blindness doesn’t prevent him from describing a murder scene. Harriet Lane reveals how sight loss allowed her to become an author. International best-selling writer Joanna Trollope tells Leanne why she’s such a passionate supporter of Talking Books.

This week on StoryWeb: Mary Chesnut’s Civil War. In her book on the American Civil War, Mary Boykin Chesnut, the wife of a Confederate general, describes a woman seeking a pardon for her husband: “She was strong, and her way of telling her story was hard and cold enough. She told it simply, but over and over again, with slight variations as to words – never as to facts. She seemed afraid we would forget.” This passage is but one of many in the book that signals Chesnut’s desire to tell the story of the South during the Civil War. She wants to document history so that her readers won’t forget. At the same time, she wants to record more than just the facts of history, by telling her story over and over again artfully. Thirty years ago, I first encountered Chesnut’s writing and fell in love (total love!) with her firsthand, play-by-play accounts of the Civil War. Chesnut lived in or visited various locations throughout the South, most notably Montgomery, Alabama, Columbia, South Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia, where she came into regular contact with the Jefferson Davises and the Robert E. Lees. In every location, she opened her home to others as a social gathering place. Visiting did not end for Chesnut and the other gentile Southern ladies of her community, but now their conversations turned to war. It was widely known throughout the community that Chesnut kept a detailed diary about her society’s comings and goings and the ladies’ conversations. Because she had had a ringside seat to the Confederacy, friends pressed her to publish the diary after the war. From 1881 to 1884, she worked on a version for publication. She deleted and moved sections, added dialogue and other novel-like detail to create a hybrid of diary, memoir, autobiography, and even to some extent, novel. She wove together accounts of her own experiences with stories that others have told her and created an anthology of anecdotes about members of the Confederate society, a crazy quilt of Civil War lore. Chesnut writes, “History reveals men’s deeds – their outward characters but not themselves. There is a secret self that hath its own life ‘rounded by a dream’ – unpenetrated, unguessed.” What she attempted to give us in her revision was the “unpenetrated, unguessed” “secret self” of the women in the Confederacy. To be sure, her diary gives us an intimate glimpse into the history of the day – the official, public activities of the men of the Confederacy – but it also brings to vivid life the stories and concerns of the women of the Confederacy. Her revised diary is filled with hundreds of pages of women’s talk, gossip, and conversation, suggesting that to understand the true story of the Confederacy one need only listen more attentively to women’s voices. Unfortunately, when Chesnut died in 1886, her manuscript was unfinished. A heavily edited and abridged version was published in 1905 as A Diary from Dixie. Gone are the scenes, the dialogue, much of the story Chesnut tried to bring to life in her 1880s revision. Fast forward to 1981. Eminent Southern historian C. Vann Woodward decided to resurrect the original diaries, creating the Pulitzer-Prize-winning volume, Mary Chesnut’s Civil War. This book is, quite simply, amazing – long and rambling but amazing! Woodward has been praised for meticulously bringing to life an historical account that otherwise would have been lost. He has also been criticized for not honoring Chesnut’s authorial intent. Though I have some misgivings about Woodward’s decision to reinsert passages Chesnut clearly meant to cut, I nevertheless love the more thorough eavesdropping I get to do when reading his version. Suffice it to say, if you want a gripping account of the Civil War from the perspective of the Confederacy, read Mary Chesnut. If you want to learn more about the ideal of the “Southern lady” (the white upper-class Southern lady on her pedestal), read Mary Chesnut. And if you just plain want to listen in on other people’s conversations, read Mary Chesnut. Should you read A Diary from Dixie or Mary Chesnut’s Civil War? Despite my quibbles with Woodward’s editing, I’d recommend reading his version. It’s full, lively, dynamic – and if you are a Civil War buff or a fan of Southern history, you’ll be in heaven! Stay tuned next week for another take on the Civil War, this one also from a woman’s perspective. Laird Hunt’s novel Neverhome features an Indiana woman who disguises herself as a soldier and fights for the Union Army. Listen now as I read Mary Boykin Chesnut’s diary entries from April 1861. These excerpts – which describe the beginning of the Civil War when the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina – are taken from Mary Chesnut’s Civil War (edited by C. Vann Woodward and published in 1981). --- April 12, 1861. Anderson will not capitulate. --- Yesterday was the merriest, maddest dinner we have had yet. Men were more audaciously wise and witty. We had an unspoken foreboding it was to be our last pleasant meeting. Mr. Miles dined with us today. Mrs. Henry King rushed in: “The news, I come for the latest news – all of the men of the King family are on the island” – of which fact she seemed proud. While she was here, our peace negotiator – or envoy – came in. That is, Mr. Chesnut returned – his interview with Colonel Anderson had been deeply interesting – but was not inclined to be communicative, wanted his dinner. Felt for Anderson. Had telegraphed to President Davis for instructions. What answer to give Anderson, etc. He has gone back to Fort Sumter, with additional instructions. When they were about to leave the wharf, A.H. Boykin sprang into the boat, in great excitement; thought himself ill-used. A likelihood of fighting – and he to be left behind! --- I do not pretend to go to sleep. How can I? If Anderson does not accept terms – at four – the orders are – he shall be fired upon. I count four – St. Michael chimes. I begin to hope. At half-past four, the heavy booming of a cannon. I sprang out of bed. And on my knees – prostrate – I prayed as I never prayed before. There was a sound of stir all over the house – pattering of feet in the corridor – all seemed hurrying one way. I put on my double gown and a shawl and went, too. It was to the housetop. The shells were bursting. In the dark I heard a man say “waste of ammunition.” I knew my husband was rowing about in a boat somewhere in that dark bay. And that the shells were roofing it over – bursting toward the fort. If Anderson was obstinate – he was to order the forts on our side to open fire. Certainly fire had begun. The regular roar of the cannon – there it was. And who could tell what each volley accomplished of death and destruction. The women were wild, there on the housetop. Prayers from the women and imprecations from the men, and then a shell would light up the scene. Tonight, they say, the forces are to attempt to land. The Harriet Lane had her wheelhouse smashed and put back to sea. --- We watched up there – everybody wondered. Fort Sumter did not fire a shot. --- Today Miles and Manning, colonels now – aides to Beauregard – dined with us. The latter hoped I would keep the peace. I give him only good words, for herwas to be under fire all day and night, in the bay carrying orders, etc. Last night – or this morning truly – up on the housetop I was so weak and weary I sat down on something that looked like a black stool. “Get up, you foolish woman – your dress is on fire,” cried a man. And he put me out. It was a chimney, and the sparks caught my clothes. Susan Preston and Mr. Venable then came up. But my fire had been extinguished before it broke out into a regular blaze. --- Do you know, after all that noise and our tears and prayers, nobody has been hurt. Sound and fury, signifying nothing. A delusion and a snare. Louisa Hamilton comes here now. This is a sort of news center. Jack Hamilton, her handsome young husband, has all the credit of a famous battery which is made of RR iron. Mr. Petigru calls it the boomerang because it throws the balls back the way they came – so Lou Hamilton tells us. She had no children during her first marriage. Hence the value of this lately achieved baby. To divert Louisa from the glories of “the battery,” of which she raves, we asked if the baby could talk yet. “No – not exactly – but he imitates the big gun. When he hears that, he claps his hands and cries ‘Boom boom.’” Her mind is distinctly occupied by three things – Lieutenant Hamilton, whom she calls Randolph, the baby, and “the big gun” – and it refuses to hold more. Pryor of Virginia spoke from the piazza of the Charleston Hotel. I asked what he said, irreverent woman. “Oh, they all say the same thing, but he made great play with that long hair of his, which is always tossing aside.” --- Somebody came in just now and reported Colonel Chesnut asleep on the sofa in General Beauregard’s room. After two such nights he must be so tired as to be able to sleep anywhere. --- Just bade farewell to Langdon Cheves. He is forced to go home, to leave this interesting place. Says he feels like the man who was not killed at Thermopylae. I think he said that unfortunate had to hang himself when he got home for very shame. Maybe fell on his sword, which was a strictly classic way of ending matters. --- I do not wonder at Louisa Hamilton’s baby. We hear nothing, can listen to nothing. Boom, boom, goes the cannon – all the time. The nervous strain is awful, alone in this darkened room. “Richmond and Washington ablaze,” say the papers. Blazing with excitement. Why not? To use these last days’ events seem frightfully great. We were all in that iron balcony. Women – men we only see at a distance now. Stark Means, marching under the piazza at the head of his regiment, held his cap in his hand all the time he was in sight. Mrs. Means leaning over, looking with tearful eyes. “Why did he take his hat off?” said an unknown creature. Mrs. Means stood straight up. “He did that in honor of his mother – he saw me.” She is a proud mother – and at the same time most unhappy. Her lovely daughter Emma is dying in there, before her eyes – consumption. At that moment I am sure Mrs. Means had a spasm of the heart. At least, she looked as I feel sometimes. She took my arm, and we came in. --- April 13, 1861. Nobody hurt, after all. How gay we were last night. Reaction after the dread of all the slaughter we thought those dreadful cannons were making such a noise in doing. Not even a battery the worse for wear. Fort Sumter has been on fire. He has not yet silenced any of our guns. So the aides – still with swords and red sashes by way of uniform – tell us. But the sound of those guns makes regular meals impossible. None of us go to table. But tea trays pervade the corridors, going everywhere. Some of the anxious hearts lie on their beds and moan in solitary misery. Mrs. Wigfall and I solace ourselves with tea in my room. These women have all a satisfying faith. “God is on our side,” they cry. When we are shut in, we (Mrs. Wigfall and I) ask, “Why?” We are told: “Of course He hates the Yankees.” “You’ll think that well of Him.” Not by one word or look can we detect any change in the demeanor of these negro servants. Laurence sits at our door, as sleepy and as respectful and as profoundly indifferent. So are they all. They carry it too far. You could not tell that they hear even the awful row that is going on in the bay, though it is dinning in their ears night and day. And people talk before them as if they were chairs and tables. And they make no sign. Are they stolidly stupid or wiser than we are, silent and strong, biding their time? So tea and toast come. Also came Colonel Manning, A.D.C. – red sash and sword – to announce that he has been under fire and didn’t mind. He said gaily, “It is one of those things – a fellow never knows how he will come out of it until he is tried. Now I know. I am a worthy descendant of my old Irish hero of an ancestor who held the British officer before him as a shield in the Revolution. And backed out of danger gracefully.” Everybody laughs at John Manning’s brag. We talked of St. Valentine’s Eve; or, The Maid of Perth and the drop of the white doe’s blood that sometimes spoiled all. The war steamers are still there, outside the bar. And there were people who thought the Charleston bar “no good” to Charleston. The bar is our silent partner, sleeping partner, and yet in this fray he is doing us yeoman service. April 15, 1861. I did not know that one could live such days of excitement. They called, “Come out – there is a crowd coming.” A mob indeed, but it was headed by Colonels Chesnut and Manning. The crowd was shouting and showing these two as messengers of good news. They were escorted to Beauregard’s headquarters. Fort Sumter had surrendered. Those up on the housetop shouted to us, “The fort is on fire.” That had been the story once or twice before. --- When we had calmed down, Colonel Chesnut, who had taken it all quietly enough – if anything, more unruffled than usual in his serenity – told us how the surrender came about. Wigfall was with them on Morris Island when he saw the fire in the fort, jumped in a little boat and, with his handkerchief as a white flag, rowed over to Fort Sumter. Wigfall went in through a porthole. When Colonel Chesnut arrived shortly after and was received by the regular entrance, Colonel Anderson told him he had need to pick his way warily, for it was all mined. As far as I can make out, the fort surrendered to Wigfall. But it is all confusion. Our flag is flying there. Fire engines have been sent to put out the fire. Everybody tells you half of something and then rushes off to tell something else or to hear the last news. Manning, Wigfall, John Preston, etc., men without limit, beset us at night. In the afternoon, Mrs. Preston, Mrs. Joe Heyward, and I drove round the Battery. We were in an open carriage. What a changed scene. The very liveliest crowd I think I ever saw. Everybody talking at once. All glasses still turned on the grim old fort. Saw William Gilmore Simms, and did not recognize him in his white beard. Trescot is here with his glasses on top of the house. --- Russell, the English reporter for the Times, was there. They took him everywhere. One man got up Thackeray, to converse with him on equal terms. Poor Russell was awfully bored, they say. He only wanted to see the forts, etc., and news that was suitable to make an interesting article. Thackeray was stale news over the water. --- Mrs. Frank Hampton and I went to see the camp of the Richland troops. South Carolina had volunteered to a boy. Professor Venable (The Mathematical) intends to raise a company from among them for the war, a permanent company. This is a grand frolic. No more. For the students, at least. Even the staid and severe-of-aspect Clingman is here. He says Virginia and North Carolina are arming to come to our rescue – for now U.S.A. will swoop down on us. Of that we may be sure. We have burned our ships – we are obliged to go on now. He calls us a poor little hot-headed, headlong, rash, and troublesome sister state. General McQueen is in a rage because we are to send troops to Virginia. There is a frightful yellow flag story. A distinguished potentate and militia power looked out upon the bloody field of battle, happening to stand always under the waving of the hospital flag. To his numerous other titles they now add Y.F. Preston Hampton in all the flush of his youth and beauty, his six feet in stature – and after all, only in his teens – appeared in lemon-colored kid gloves to grace the scene. The camp, in a fit of horseplay, seized him and rubbed them in the mud. He fought manfully but took it all naturally as a good joke. Mrs. Frank Hampton knows already what civil war means. Her brother was in the New York Seventh Regiment, so roughly received in Baltimore. Frank will be in the opposite camp. --- [No date.] Home again. In those last days of my stay in Charleston I did not find time to write a line. And so we took Fort Sumter. We – Mrs. Frank Hampton etc., in the passageway of the Mills House between the reception room and the drawing room. There we held a sofa against all comers. And indeed, all the agreeable people South seemed to have flocked to Charleston at the first gun. That was after we found out that bombarding did not kill anybody. Before that we wept and prayed – and took our tea in groups, in our rooms, away from the haunts of men. Captain Ingraham and his kind took it (Fort Sumter) from the battery with field glasses and figures made with three sticks in the sand to show what ought to be done. Wigfall, Chesnut, Miles, Manning, etc., took it, rowing about in the harbor in small boats, from fort to fort, under the enemies’ guns, bombs bursting in air, etc. And then the boys and men who worked those guns so faithfully at the forts. They took it, too – their way. Old Col. Beaufort Watts told me this story and many more of the jeunesse dorée under fire. They took it easily as they do most things. They had cotton-bag bombproofs at Fort Moultrie, and when Anderson’s shot knocked them about, someone called out, “Cotton is falling.” Down went the kitchen chimney, and loaves of bread flew out. They cheered gaily, “Breadstuffs are rising.” Willie Preston fired the shot which broke Anderson’s flagstaff. Mrs. Hampton, from Columbia, telegraphed him, “Well done, Willie!” She is his grandmother, the wife or widow of General Hampton of the Revolution, and the mildest, sweetest, gentlest of old ladies. It shows how the war is waking us all up.    

Xiaohua: Welcome to Round Table’s Word of the Week. This week we’re talking about the phrase “First Lady.” And we all know why we’re talking about it. John: Yeah, and so apparently Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States, has come to visit China with her daughters and her mother. Actually, “first lady” is an unofficial title used for the wife of a head of state. However, it first appeared in 1843 in the United States. XH: 第一夫人的称呼首次出现是在1843年的美国，但现在已经可以广泛用于各国元首的夫人或配偶。And, I guess together with the phrase “First Lady,” there’s also “First Family” phrase, right? JA: Yeah, and sometimes the president and his wife are referred to as the “First Couple.” Sometimes, the mom of the president sometimes even called the “First Mom.” Interestingly enough, as I said in 1843 was the first time that it was used, at least written, so it’s the first time we have an actual record of. But that was actually talking about Martha Washington. And Martha Washington in 1843 was not even alive at the point. The first woman to actually be called the “First Lady” during a time when her relation was the president was not even the woman married to the president. Actually, it was Harriet Lane, who was the niece of bachelor president James Buchanan. So, James Buchanan did not have a wife, at that time, and so they called his niece the “First Lady.” XH: 和第一夫人一起使用的还有 “First Family” 第一家庭，“First Couple” 第一夫妇，although, I don’t think “First Couple” is that often used or mentioned in China. 但有意思的是，刚才我们说到1843年Martha Washington，George Washington的妻子，在文章中被提及事被称为第一夫人，但那时她已经过世了，首位在世时被称为的女性是一位单身总统的侄女。 John: Yeah, exactly. Why is it that Michelle Obama is visiting China? One of the big reasons is actually, the First Lady plays a pretty powerful role in the administration of the current president. Ever since the first lady, Martha Washington in 1789, they’ve actually played a significant role in how policy is developed and the kinds of actions that the president chooses to take. XH: 现任美国第一夫人Michelle Obama显然对于美国的政治还是具有一定影响力的，而在美国历史上多任第一夫人都曾经对于美起到过重要的影响。 John: Interestingly enough, some analysts say that first ladies also have a so-called “Pillow Influence.” For example, how their family life, social interests, and moral beliefs affects the president. So, the kind of discussions that would occur while the president and first lady are in bed. XH: pillow influence这个词，跟我们中国人说的吹枕头风，应该是很像的了。 John: Interestingly enough, in the United States, we refer to every wife or significant other of the head of state as the “First Lady.” For example, Peng Liyuan, we always refer to her as the “First Lady of China,” even though technically they don’t call themselves that. XH: 而现在在美国，人们通常会把各国元首的夫人都统称为第一夫人。So it’s very to see how these two first ladies, one from China and one from the United States, will communicate with each other in this trip. That wraps up Round Table’s Word of the Week.

Writer Julie Burchill and broadcaster Fred MacAulay argue about their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Their choices are, The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger; Alys, Always by Harriet Lane, and Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard. Produced by Beth O'Dea