Contents

JOURNAL ARTICLES

1: England in 1815, by Joseph Ballard
Part 1          Part 2          Part 3          Part 4

2: Journal of Travels, by G.E. Winants
Part 1          Part 2          Part 3          Part 4

3: A Year Abroad, by Willard C. George
Part 1          Part 2          Part 3          Part 4

4: Men and Manners in Britain, by Grant Thorburn
Part 1          Part 2          Part 3          Part 4

5: A Frenchman in America, by Max O’Rell
Part 1          Part 2          Part 3          Part 4          Part 5          Part 6

6: Excursion to Scotland, Guernsey and Jersey (anon)
Part 1          Part 2          Part 3

7: A Journey to Central Africa, by Bayard Taylor
Part 1          Part 2          Part 3          Part 4          Part 5          Part 6

8: Wild Wales, by George Borrow
Part 1          Part 2          Part 3          Part 4

9: Seward’s Travels Around the World
Part 1          Part 2          Part 3          Part 4

10: Loiterings in Europe by John Corson
Part 1          Part 2          Part 3          Part 4          Part 5

11: England in 1592
Part 1          Part 2

12: Paul Hentzner in England, 1598
Part 1          Part 2

13: Reminiscences of an Idler by Henry Wikoff
Part 1          Part 2          Part 3          Part 4

14: Travels on the Continent and in England by August Hermann Niemeyer
Part 1          Part 2          Part 3          Part 4

Windows into History – The Book

SNIPPETS

  1. Lovely view, shame about the corpse
  2. School Fears
  3. Too Much Debt…in 1864
  4. Americanisms and Briticisms
  5. From rags to riches in one night
  6. The Winteryest Winter
  7. The Pipe-Chomping, Chalk-Licking, Trash Eater
  8. Arndt’s Spirit of the Times
  9. Science Fiction, 1770 style
  10. On thin ice
  11. A bracing cold bath, but only if you’re skinny
  12. Advice for girls, 200 years ago
  13. Knitting while the heads rolled
  14. An Alien Visitor in 1803
  15. A Pint of Seawater Please
  16. Hands off that Beard
  17. Mind your Caperlash
  18. Cobweb Concoctions
  19. The Wig Snatcher
  20. Face to the Foe
  21. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Discworld and Flat Earth Myths)
  22. A strange new drink: tea!
  23. The Slave Market
  24. Washing Trees
  25. Games in the Year 1600
  26. Deadly Toothpaste
  27. Defects of Beauty
  28. The Psychic with X-Ray Vision
  29. Life on Saturn
  30. The 14mph Speed Limit
  31. A Den of Thieves
  32. Drunken Barnaby
  33. The Great Storm of 1703
  34. Victor Meldrew, 1855-style
  35. Sailing on Land
  36. The Rollercoaster Train in Spain
  37. The Countryside Con Man
  38. The Joy of November
  39. Chaos in Naples
  40. A Schoolboy Comedian’s Prank
  41. The Scandal of Spinsterhood
  42. Slang in the 1850s
  43. Drunk Driving in the 19th Century
  44. The Fake Shipwreck
  45. George II: “never mind the crash, send me a billion”
  46. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Discworld and Flat Earth Myths)
  47. The Lady’s New Years Gift, 1688
  48. New York New Year, 1889
  49. Bug Attack!
  50. A Forest of Signs
  51. Grand Old Winters
  52. Pride and Ignorance
  53. Sneck the Door
  54. The 1860 Joke Book
  55. Money Slang in the 1850s
  56. The Opportunistic Emperor
  57. Earthquake Terrors!
  58. How to Win Customers (in 1853!)
  59. London Dialect for the “Curous Scholard”        59½.   An Easter Snippet
  60. When Anyone Could Issue Money
  61. The Beauty and Hope of April
  62. Victor Meldrew, 1855-style, revisited
  63. An Encounter with Liszt
  64. The 18th Century Robot
  65. The Rogue Tram Conductor
  66. Slang in the 1780s
  67. The Dangers of Hedonism
  68. The Great Festival of May
  69. Restlessness and Rush of London
  70. Lookeedezee the Grizzledemundy?
  71. The Miracle Cure (Not)
  72. An Obliging Innkeeper
  73. The First Slang Dictionary
  74. Houses on the Moon
  75. A Todd of Wool
  76. Military Advice, 1783
  77. The 185 Year Old Men
  78. A Very Hungry Lady!
  79. The Mysterious Nun
  80. Old Devonshire Dialect
  81. Hedges not Ledgers
  82. The End of an Era
  83. How to Choose a Husband
  84. A Moral Dilemma
  85. Friendship, Love and Alcohol
  86. Glorious August
  87. Northern Lights in London
  88. The Greatest Light Show Ever
  89. Around Spain in a Blue Serge Suit
  90. Victor Hugo, Devoted Grandfather
  91. William Howitt’s September
  92. He Blew Smoke Where?
  93. Gardening Advice, 1788
  94. Rubbing Furniture with Eels
  95. October Gardening, 1788
  96. The Fall of the Leaf
  97. Death-Defying Sledges
  98. The Joy of Travelling Slowly
  99. The Field Mouse
  100. Hope in Darkness
  101. Don’t Ask the Locals!
  102. Trees on the Moon
  103. Chirping, Gobbling, Hooting, Croaking!
  104. Travel Changed the World
  105. The Grumpy Tourist
  106. Champion of the Rapids
  107. You Carbuncle Faced Crusty Beau!
  108. Troublesome Photography
  109. A Lesson in Life
  110. The Mischievous Girl
  111. The Swallow Mystery
  112. 20,000 Sheep
  113. Gravity? Hocus-Pocus.
  114. Marrying for Money
  115. Votes for Women
  116. Versailles Train Crash
  117. The First Private Asylum
  118. The Dog’s Nose
  119. The North Pole
  120. Don’t Mention Legs!
  121. Mob Justice
  122. A Disturbed Night
  123. Fashionably Late
  124. The Cross-Dressing Waiter
  125. Contempt for Politicians
  126. A Chilly Night
  127. Breaking Wind
  128. Funiculì, Funiculà? “One-an-threppence”
  129. A Long Journey
  130. Tip us your Daddle
  131. The Super Tornado
  132. Surviving a Snow Storm
  133. The Aftermath
  134. French Healthcare in 1854
  135. A Film Critic, 1914
  136. Fashion Advice, 1858
  137. Lighting St. Peters in 1854
  138. A Victorian Hotel on Thunder Bay
  139. The Rumour-monger
  140. Thanksgiving, 1833
  141. Terrors of the Desert Trail
  142. Memoirs in Flames
  143. The Shame of Being a Poet
  144. The Struggling Actor
  145. Drunken Actors
  146. Hellgate, Newgate, Cripplegate and Billingsgate
  147. Soup, soup and soup please.
  148. The Legend of “She”
  149. Bald head? Use some beef.
  150. Life and death in Rio
  151. Drapery Misses
  152. Inland Sandcastles
  153. The idea of “home”
  154. The English need to travel
  155. A Meeting on a Volcano
  156. Etiquette on the Horsebus
  157. Stuck in Customs (in 1854)
  158. Danger! Lady on Board!
  159. Inspired by the Past
  160. Quarantined in the Port
  161. A Night of Chaos
  162. A Grumpy Serenade
  163. Thirteen O’Clock
  164. The Clog Almanac
  165. A Sneaky Assistant
  166. Kissing the Blarney Stone
  167. Gollup up, Gollumpus!
  168. Home Dentistry with Acid and String
  169. Australian Etiquette, 1903
  170. Australian Adages, 1903
  171. A Childhood Injustice
  172. “A Few Extra Glasses”… Fire!
  173. The Magic Record
  174. Money Talks
  175. Acid Drops, Lemon Drops, Don’t Drops
  176. Happy New Year of Peace
  177. New Year Across the Pond
  178. A Painful Journey
  179. Jerrycummumbling Inkle Weavers
  180. The Abolition of Clapping
  181. The Spark of Inspiration
  182. The First Police Boxes
  183. Too Much Hat
  184. The Living Picture
  185. A Rude Awakening
  186. Revolutionary Tech, 1904
  187. Too Much of a Rush
  188. A Miserable Winter in Rome
  189. Caesar’s Short Skirt
  190. Chocolate Records
  191. A pony, or some bricks for a church?
  192. Watch out for Lizards!
  193. The Early Cinema Queuing Nuisance
  194. Hot Air Balloon Crash
  195. The Looby with a Malmsey Nose
  196. Missing Mail in 1862
  197. No Change for a Greenback
  198. Fire in the Theatre
  199. The Mock Trial
  200. A Rat in the Face
  201. Dancing the Kickapoo
  202. Married Twice in One Day
  203. Technology in Schools?
  204. A Voice from the Past
  205. Living Too Rapidly
  206. Japanese Artistic Talents
  207. Safety Last in Cinemas
  208. The Child Actor Who Caused a Riot
  209. Lost in a Swamp
  210. The Platter-Faced Pin Basket in the Nicknackatory
  211. Blanched Bones or Human Life?

GUEST POSTS

  1. The Man on the Bridge
  2. Wings Around the World, Part 1
  3. 911 and Father’s Day
  4. Wings Around the World, Part 2
  5. Wings Around the World, Part 3
  6. A Visit to Robber’s Roost
  7. The Asylum Seekers
  8. Survival for Travellers, Edwardian Style
  9. Dandyfunk and Slumgullion
  10. The Klondike and the Lost Baronet (Part 1) and (Part 2)
  11. A Victorian Hotel on Thunder Bay
  12. Terrors of the Desert Trail
  13. The Legend of “She”
  14. Life and death in Rio
  15. The Captain’s Table
  16. The Elopement
  17. A Love of Adventure

CREEPY HISTORY

  1. The Ghost of Westminster Abbey
  2. (article moved and collated at our sister site: A History of Yeti Sightings)
  3. (article moved and collated at our sister site: River Monsters)
  4. The Accordion That Played Itself
  5. A Ghostly Visitor
  6. Corpse Candles
  7. The Flying Saucer (ok, orange)
  8. The Ghost Dog
  9. Spirits of the Hill
  10. The Sea Serpent
  11. Werewolves 2500 Years Ago
  12. Daniel Defoe’s ‘True’ Ghost Story
  13. The Killer Tree
  14. In Two Places at Once
  15. Transylvania Terrors
  16. (article moved and collated at our sister site: River Monsters)
  17. The Haunted Bedroom
  18. The Ghost Next Door
  19. The Phantom Horsemen
  20. Haunted Britain in the C18th
  21. A Chat with a Ghost
  22. Spirits in the Sky
  23. A Ghost in the Night
  24. The Psychic Traveller
  25. A Dream Come True
  26. A Ghost Troubled by Wool
  27. Fairy Ghost Sheep
  28. An Angry Wind
  29. Buried Secrets
  30. The Foreshadowing
  31. Sleeping in a Haunted House
  32. A Roman Ghost
  33. The Vampire Legend
  34. Investigating a Haunting (1)
  35. Investigating a Haunting (2)
  36. Investigating a Haunting (3)
  37. Investigating a Haunting (4)
  38. Together at the End
  39. The Ghostly Twin
  40. An Impossible Visitor
  41. The Ghost in the Field
  42. Ghostly Girls
  43. Premonition of Murder
  44. The Death of a Duke
  45. Knocking in the Ceiling
  46. The Ghost that Followed
  47. The Ghost Dragon
  48. The Beresford Ghost
  49. Mysterious Bones and a Ghostly Visitor
  50. Murder Solved by a Ghost
  51. A Real Ghost and a Fake Ghost
  52. The Moving Bedstead
  53. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Dracula: Contemporary Reviews)
  54. Belief in Witches
  55. Ghost or Imagination?
  56. Two Welsh Ghosts
  57. Ghosts in Parliament
  58. Bitten by a Ghost
  59. Jumping to Conclusions
  60. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Ghost Ships)
  61. The Doppelganger Ghost
  62. Music of the Dead
  63. The Kingdom Underground
  64. The Harbinger
  65. Halloween Superstitions

CHRISTMAS HISTORY

  1. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Abroad for Christmas)
  2. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Abroad for Christmas)
  3. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Abroad for Christmas)
  4. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Abroad for Christmas)
  5. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Abroad for Christmas #2)
  6. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Abroad for Christmas #2)
  7. Warm Hearts in the Cold Winter
  8. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Abroad for Christmas #2)
  9. Runaway Sledge!
  10. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Abroad for Christmas #2)
  11. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Abroad for Christmas #3)
  12. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Abroad for Christmas #3)
  13. Heigh-O! For the Christmas-Tide
  14. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Abroad for Christmas #3)
  15. A Page of Nonsense
  16. Santa’s Helper and the Queen’s Christmas Gift
  17. Pennies for the Poor
  18. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Abroad for Christmas #3)
  19. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Pantomime and the Six-Foot Christmas Cracker)
  20. Yule Feasts in Norway
  21. Mince Pies, Plum Pudding and Bustards
  22. (article moved and collated at our sister site: Pantomime and the Six-Foot Christmas Cracker)
  23. Noel in Paris
  24. A Christmas Message
  25. The First Canadian Snows
  26. The Mischievous Physician
  27. A Magical Sleigh Ride
  28. Children’s Christmas Letters
  29. Children’s Christmas Letters 2
  30. Children’s Christmas Letters 3
  31. Children’s Christmas Letters 4
  32. Children’s Christmas Letters 5
  33. I’m Dreaming of a Muddy Christmas
  34. Christmas in the Workhouse
  35. How to Celebrate Christmas, 1818
  36. The Last Frost Fair
  37. The Danger of a Frost Fair Thaw
  38. The Post-War Christmas
  39. Throwing Cheese from the Belfry
  40. A Christmas Message
  41. Christmas Lost
  42. A Christmas Kidnapping
  43. Christmas in Russia, 1869
  44. Letters to Santa, 1898
  45. To Santa Claus, on the Moon

MODERN TRANSLATIONS OF LATIN TEXTS

  1. Buying a farm (Cato 1)
  2. Running a Roman farm (Cato 2)
  3. Arranging a Roman farm (Cato 3)
  4. A Roman Farm Manager (Cato 4)
  5. 550 Pints and Some Strong Shoes (Cato 5)
  6. Making Wine, the Roman Way (Cato 6)
  7. A Roman Housekeeper (Cato 7)
  8. Cabbages: Miracle Cure (Cato 8)
  9. Live a Happy Life (Seneca 1)
  10. Don’t Copy Celebrities (Seneca 2)
  11. Never Cruel or Cowardly (Seneca 3)
  12. The Definition of Happiness (Seneca 4)
  13. Life’s Little Scratches (Seneca 5)
  14. Childhood Happiness Regained (Seneca 6)
  15. Pleasure or Virtue? (Seneca 7)
  16. Seek the Truth (Seneca 8)
  17. A selfless act? (Seneca 9)

RAMBLINGS

  1. Shadow Tails
  2. Edward VII and his turn-ups
  3. H.G. Wells, Wimblehurst and an Orange Pip
  4. Past Impressions of Midhurst
  5. Glorious Murmurations
  6. Midhurst in 1915

QUICK QUOTES

  1. Shocking Trousers
  2. A Bad View
  3. Too Much Rum
  4. American Wives
  5. Uninvited but Welcome
  6. Tender Memories
  7. The Sandwich Rip-off
  8. Too Hot in Spain
  9. A Bad Afternoon
  10. Mishap on a Train
  11. A Champion Spitter
  12. The Wonder of Nature
  13. Grey People in a Grey Land
  14. Runaway Hansom!
  15. Dreams of Childhood
  16. President vs Queen
  17. Beauty and Misery
  18. Nature’s Freezer
  19. How to dress a child in 1904
  20. Rules for Children, 1904
  21. Thanks for visiting, son. Here’s your bill.
  22. Wardrobe Malfunctions
  23. Not Worth Stealing
  24. The Girl Who Struck Gold
  25. The Bottomless Tram
  26. Not Worth Robbing (Again!)
  27. Neighbour Dispute (to the death)
  28. A Bumpy Ride in Knob Land
  29. Life-threatening Bureaucracy
  30. A Harsh Swimming Lesson
  31. Fish Tank on the Head
  32. “The Voice in the Box!”
  33. Generous and Humble Hospitality
  34. At One with Nature
  35. The Over-Excited Performer

MIDHURST LOCAL HISTORY

  1. Edward VII and his turn-ups
  2. H.G. Wells, Wimblehurst and an Orange Pip
  3. Past Impressions of Midhurst
  4. Midhurst in 1915
  5. A Railway Celebration
  6. Richard Cobden and Midhurst
  7. An Archaeological Excursion
  8. Early Closing at 7pm? No thanks.
  9. Midhurst: Rotten Borough?
  10. Midhurst Local Issues, 1908

MAX OF THE MONTH

  1. Flirtation: an English Pastime
  2. Love, Honour and Obey?
  3. Offended by the view.
  4. A Scarecrow in Petticoats
  5. A Widow’s Cruel Fate
  6. Throw a Veil Over the Past

WINDOWS INTO HISTORY… IN WONDERLAND

)WINDOWS INTO JAPAN

  1. The End of Isolation
  2. Mixed Bathing in Japan
  3. Japanese Politeness
  4. Bustling Tokyo, 1878
  5. Disaster Narrowly Averted
  6. The Village of Babies
  7. Lovely Meal, Achy Back
  8. The Japanese Home
  9. The Soiled Doves

BOARD GAME TOUR OF GREAT BRITAIN

Note: these articles can now be found on our sister site:

The View from the Junkyard: Board Game Tour of Britain

PICK OF PUNCH

  1. The Old Clothes Line
  2. Dead Wells and Drinking Fountains
  3. The Song of the Would-be Merman
  4. Pity the Poor Lawyers
  5. Stamps that won’t stick
  6. Post Delivery Stampede
  7. The Failure of a “Genuine Hit”
  8. The Lazy Cow-Milking Gardener
  9. Rat Attack!
  10. Painted Babies
  11. Shrieking Engines
  12. Annoying Buskers

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