Cuttings - Lancaster - June 1811

Two stories of military misconduct from the Lancaster Gazette, June 1811. The best thing about these for me is the presence of the words "sennight", "grazier" and "whither". Every day's a school day. Bear in mind that these events take place in the middle of the Napoleonic Wars.

On Friday sennight, a court-martial was held at Boston, on a private in the Local Militia assembled there, named Bilton, for having absented himself from duty, and behaving insolently to his officers - The Court sentenced him, for these offences, to the months imprisonment in the county gaol, - the first and last fortnights of the time in solitary confinement: and the man was accordingly taken under guard to Lincoln on Saturday, and delivered into custody at the castle.

A Lieutenant in the above regiment resigned his commission on Monday, rather than undergo a court-martial on his conduct for appearing in town to be married, at a time when he was availing himself of the excuse of illness for not joining the regiment this year. He is a considerable grazier at Pinchbeck; and when on the point of leading his intended bride into Boston church, was arrested by order of the Colonel, and taken into the field of exercise; whither, in a short time, the lady (albeit, not remarkable for modesty) followed, and demanded her gentleman; and it was with difficulty she could be scared away.

The 28th Regiment at Quatre Bras

Cuttings - Wrexham, April 1894 - Part III

Final clippings from the Wrexham Daily Advertiser, with the loose connecting theme of "cures which are clearly bonkers".

Extract from "Our Ladies' Column - By one of themselves", April 28, 1894

"I had a paper sent to me from Cannes the other day by a doctor who is resting there on his return from the Medial Congress at ROme, and in it I find that both the "Lancet" and the "British Medical Journal" have submitted this "Champagne sans sucre" to exhaustive analysis, and they both declare that it supplies a long-felt want to the medical profession, who hitherto have been afraid to prescribe champagne to their patients because of the sugar ordinarily contained in it, but that this "Laurent Perrier sugarless Champagne" removes the objection, and in addition it is assisted in its reviving effect by the introduction of a proportion of coca leaf extract. Of course, all champagne is a rather costly and luxurious beverage, but taken in moderation, and by those thos are exhausted through illness or overwork, I do not think it will be found to be an extravagant remedy, and it certainly is a pleasant one. All these restorative luxuries I mention for the benefit of my readers, though I hope they may not require them."

Advertisement from the front page of the same edition: