Blog archives: December 2016
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The New Year’s Day Reflections of John Quincy Adams
December 30, 2016
Every New Year’s Day, 6th US President John Quincy Adams offered his reflections on the past year and his wishes for the year to come. Here is a sample of his musings.
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Celebrating a 19th-Century Christmas
December 23, 2016
Here’s a selection of newspaper extracts to give you the flavour of an early 19th century Christmas, including some puzzles to amuse you during the holidays.
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Able was I ere I saw Elba: 19th-Century Palindromes & Anagrams
December 16, 2016
Napoleon Bonaparte did not say, “Able was I ere I saw Elba,” although this palindrome is often attributed to him. Anagrams were a more popular form of word play in the early 19th-century. Napoleon even made a pun or two.
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Watching French Royals Eat: The Grand Couvert
December 9, 2016
The grand couvert was a ceremony in which French kings and queens ate their dinner in front of members of the public. When Napoleon became Emperor of the French, he re-introduced the custom.
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The Coronation of Napoleon
December 2, 2016
Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of the French on December 2, 1804 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Things did not go smoothly.
We must confess that fate, which sports with man, makes merry work with the affairs of this world.
Napoleon Bonaparte