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cahnBackground: The kids' school has a topic for "Unit" every trimester that a lot of their work (reading, writing, some math) revolves around. These topics range from time/geographic periods ('Colonial America') to geography ('Asia') to science ('Space') to social science ('Business and Economics'). (I have some issues with this way of doing things, but that's a whole separate post.) Anyway, for Reasons, they have had to come up with a new topic this year, and E's 7/8 class is doing "World Fairs" as their new topic.
Me: I know E's teacher is all about World Fairs and I know she is great and will do a good job. But I feel like if we had a different teacher who wasn't so into World Fairs, they wouldn't do such a good job and another topic would be better.
Me: Like... the Enlightenment!
D: Heh, you could teach that! But you'd have to restrain yourself from making everything about Frederick the Great.
Me: But that's the thing! Everyone does relate to each other in this time period! Voltaire -- and his partner Émilie du Châtelet, who was heavily involved in the discourse of conservation of energy and momentum -- well, I've told you Voltaire had a thing with Fritz -- and then there's Empress Maria Theresa, who went to war with him a few times -- and Catherine the Great --
D, meditatively: You know --
Me: *am innocently not warned even though this is the same tone of voice that is often followed by, say, a bad pun*
D: -- it's impressive how everyone from this 'the Great' family is so famous!
Me: *splutters*
D, thoughtfully: But of course there's probably selection bias, as the ones who aren't famous don't get mentioned. You never see 'Bob the Great' in the history books...
Me: *splutters more*
Me: I know E's teacher is all about World Fairs and I know she is great and will do a good job. But I feel like if we had a different teacher who wasn't so into World Fairs, they wouldn't do such a good job and another topic would be better.
Me: Like... the Enlightenment!
D: Heh, you could teach that! But you'd have to restrain yourself from making everything about Frederick the Great.
Me: But that's the thing! Everyone does relate to each other in this time period! Voltaire -- and his partner Émilie du Châtelet, who was heavily involved in the discourse of conservation of energy and momentum -- well, I've told you Voltaire had a thing with Fritz -- and then there's Empress Maria Theresa, who went to war with him a few times -- and Catherine the Great --
D, meditatively: You know --
Me: *am innocently not warned even though this is the same tone of voice that is often followed by, say, a bad pun*
D: -- it's impressive how everyone from this 'the Great' family is so famous!
Me: *splutters*
D, thoughtfully: But of course there's probably selection bias, as the ones who aren't famous don't get mentioned. You never see 'Bob the Great' in the history books...
Me: *splutters more*
Lady Grange: Her father's story
Date: 2024-01-07 04:49 pm (UTC)Alas, Lockhart didn't take the threat seriously. He was walking home from church one day, accompanied by his brothers, Lord Castlehill and Daniel Lockhart, when John Chiesley walked up to him and shot him in cold blood, in front of everyone.
Richard Augustin Hay has left us a vivid account of the assassination and the events leading up to it. It would appear that Chiesley had been stalking his victim. In a manuscript penned eleven years after the events described, Hay writes that the day before the murder Chiesley had been seen following Lockhart from the Duke of Hamilton’s apartments at Holyroodhouse. The next day, outside the New Church (one of the smaller churches contained at that time within St Giles Kirk), Chiesley had offered money to the ‘bedler’ for a place in the seating area belonging to Lord Castlehill, the Lord President’s brother, which would have positioned him strategically just behind his intended victim.
It is hard to credit that Chiesley actually intended to shoot Lockhart while he was at worship in a crowded church, yet that does seem to have been his intention. Yet, informed that the particular seat he wanted was not available, Chiesley refused any other, reportedly pacing up and down till the sermon was over and walking out of the church ahead of Lockhart. He then stationed himself at the close entrance which he knew led down to the Lord President’s house.
...At the entry to Hope’s Close, Chiesley saluted the Lord President and was acknowledged in return. Lockhart was a courteous man. He had discounted Chiesley's threats as idle bluster, even though friends had warned him to take care. His companions walked part-way down the close with him, engaging in a few last moments of conversation before bidding him farewell and walking back up towards the street. Lockhart had a second thought and called back to them. Daniel was returning when he encountered Chiesley.
'I thought you had been at London,' said Daniel Lockhart.
'I’m here now,' was the terse rejoinder.
Chiesley brushed past Daniel, who had put out his hand to greet him, caught up with Lockhart and discharged his pistol into his back. The bullet passed through Lockhart's body, fatally wounding him, before being battered on the close wall. Lockhart had time only to turn round and look his murderer in the face, before falling back against the wall. Too late, his companions rushed to his aid. 'Hold me, Daniel, hold me,' were the Lord President's last words.
John Chiesley was immediately arrested and put on trial. His defense was that Lockhart had pronounced an unjust sentence against him. Unsurprisingly, this was not considered a convincing defense, and he was executed for murder.
If Rachel Chiesley really didn't hold a pistol to Lord Grange's head and tell him they were getting married, and that was just an urban legend, I'm betting her father's actions played a significant role in the development of that urban legend.
Re: Lady Grange: Her father's story
Date: 2024-01-09 06:01 pm (UTC)His defense was that Lockhart had pronounced an unjust sentence against him. Unsurprisingly, this was not considered a convincing defense, and he was executed for murder.
What a defense. One wonders if Chiesley actually thought he was going to survive committing this public murder, or not...
Daniel Szechi, three of whose books on Jacobites I've enjoyed, has written a book about Lockhart of Carnwath, but I haven't read it.
Re: Lady Grange: Her father's story
Date: 2024-01-12 04:51 pm (UTC)"Fuck you," in other words.
He didn't make any attempt to escape, either, so...idk what was going on with that guy. The level of psycopathy is astounding.
Daniel Szechi, three of whose books on Jacobites I've enjoyed, has written a book about Lockhart of Carnwath, but I haven't read it.
Interesting! It looks like that Lockhart was the son of murdered!Lockhart, and he was eight years old when his father died. (I forgot to give the date of the murder: it was Easter Sunday, 1689.)
ETA: Oh, and the story that's told about Lady Grange threatening to shoot Lord Grange if he didn't marry her goes like this:
It was rumoured that the espousals were brought about by the Lady, who having formed a pretty correct estimate of the fickleness of the gentleman, very adroitly brought matters to a crisis, by presenting a pistol to her lover, and bidding him remember that she was a daughter of John Chiesley of Dalry.
Se non è vero, è ben trovato.
Re: Lady Grange: Her father's story
Date: 2024-01-13 11:15 pm (UTC)I thought the same thing! It kind of feels to me like he had that sort of entitled mindset of "well, he did something I didn't like, so therefore I am totally justified in whatever."
Mildred, how did Lady Grange go from starving and with a homicidal dad to marrying Lord Grange, ill-fated though that was? (I mean, assuming that she didn't in fact threaten him into doing so -- but even if she did, she would have had to meet him and so on.)
Re: Lady Grange: Her father's story
Date: 2024-01-13 11:32 pm (UTC)This is all I've got:
The Mar family were less than enthusiastic over the union. The Chiesleys were not of the first water, even discounting the blemish of a murder conviction. As Alexander Carlyle, son of the minister at Prestonpans, waspishly points out in his Autobiography, the Chiesley knighthood dated back only to the time of Charles 1 and 'being a new family they must have had few relations'. Few that counted, he means. But Chiesley's brother Robert recovered well enough from the family’s misfortunes to be knighted and become Lord Provost of Edinburgh in 1694, and his eldest son, who inherited the family estate, served as a major in the British army.
So I guess her uncle and her first cousin?