Pig Tale

 

In a letter Charles Lamb wrote to Samuel Taylor Coleridge on March 9, 1822, a pig provides a source of some amusement:

‘It gives me great satisfaction to hear that the pig turned out so well – they are interesting creatures at a certain age – what a pity such buds should blow out into the maturity of rank bacon!  You had some of the crackling – and brain sauce – did you remember to rub it with butter, and gently dredge it a little, just before the crisis?...Not that I sent the pig…’

Another porcine character amused the Scott party one day, and inspired Scott to turn to verse, as told in Richard Hutton’s “Sir Walter Scott”.  ‘The order of march had been all settled, and the sociable was under weigh, when the lady Anne broke from the line, screaming with laughter, and exclaimed, “Papa! Papa! I know could never think of going without your pet.”  Scott looked round, and I rather think there was a blush as well as a smile upon his face, when he perceived a little black pig frisking about his pony, and evidently a self-elected addition to the party of the day.  He tried to look stern, and cracked his whip at the creature, but was in a moment obliged to join in the general cheers.  Poor piggy soon found a strap round his neck, and was dragged into the background.  Scott, watching the retreat, repeated with mock pathos the first verse of an old pastoral song:

“What will I do gin my hoggie die?

My joy, my pride, my hoggie!

My only beast, I had nae mae,

And wow! But I was vogie!”…

James Hamilton's Execution

'On arriving at Preston, in Lancashire, Lord George Murray had to combat the superstition of the soldiers whom he commanded. The defeat of tbe Duke Hamilton in the great Civil War, with the subsequent misfortune of Brigadier Macintosh in 1715 had given rise to a belief, that Preston was to a Scottish army the fatal point, beyond which they were not to pass. To counteract this superstition, Lord George led a part of his troops across the Ribble bridge, a mile beyond Preston, at which town the Chevalier arrived in the evening. The spell which arrested the progress of the Scottish was thus supposed to be broken, and the road to London was considered as laid open before them.

The people of Preston received Charles Edward with several cheers, which were the first he had heard since entering England; but on officers being appointed to beat up for recruits, no one would enlist. When this was stated to the Prince, he continued, in reply, to assure his followers with unabated confidence, that he would be joined by all his English friends when they advanced as far as Manchester; and Monsieur D'Eguilles, with similar confidence, offered to lay considerable wagers, that the French either had already landed, or would land within a week. Thus, the murmurers were once more reduced to silence.'
 
Duke James Hamilton, remembered above in text from Sir Walter Scott's "Tales of a Grandfather", suffered a terrible defeat at the Battle of Preston.  With odds of nearly 2.5:1 in his favor, Hamilton managed to lose to Oliver Cromwell's forces.  Hamilton is remembered as a weak and ineffective leader.  Hamilton was captured at Preston, tried, and on March 9, 1649, decapitated.

David Rizzio

"...a cunning harper that could harp the heart out of woman's breast, as they say Signer David Rizzio did to our poor Queen..."

The quote above is from "The Abbot", by Walter Scott.  The Abbot was set during the English Reformation, and the novel covers Mary, Queen of Scots interrment at Lochleven Castle.  Rizzio, in the quote, is David Rizzio.

David Rizzio was a music teacher from Turin, who through a turn of events, met Queen Mary of Scotland's musicians, and ultimately became one of Mary's valets, adding his bass voice to the voices of three others.  Rizzio grew in trust an influence with Mary, and was rewarded with the office of Secretary for relations with France.

Rizzio's rise drew jealous eyes, and rumors about an affair with Mary began to circulate.  On May 9, 1566, Rizzio was murdered by a force led by Patrick Ruthven in the Palace of Holyroodhouse.  Mary was present at the execution, seven months pregnant with the future James VI, and was herself threatened by the murderers.  Mary escaped the palace by tying bedsheets together, and exiting through a window.  She later returned to Edinburgh with troops, and arrested Ruthven's forces.