Painting of the Day: “A Dress Rehearsal,” by Albert Chevallier Tayler, 1888

A Dress Rehearsal
Albert Chevallier Tayler, 1888
The Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool

This is one of the many paintings based on the contemporary French naturalistic style which were collected by Lord Leverhulme to advertise his line of soaps. Once the paintings had been employed as images in his ads, Leverhulme brought the paintings home and gifted them to his wife. After her passing, the collection became the centerpiece of The Lady Lever Art Gallery.


Leverhulme used this scene by Albert Chevallier Tayler as an advertising image. He was drawn to this scene of a young bride modeling her wedding dress before her nuptials. Tayler, an artist from Cornwall, specialized in these sentimental domestic scenes and images of working class and pleasant families. This was just the sort of theme that Leverhulme wanted for his advertisements, and found much success with them.

Sculpture of the Day: A German Ivory Bust, circa 1700

Ivory Bust
German, 1700-1725
Carl August van Lücke
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This unusual sculpture as well as its plinth are both carved from ivory. The plinth has been stained to create contrast between it and the bust. Carved from a single piece of ivory, this miniature sculpture is the work of German artist Carl August van Lücke, the Younger.


The figure is tenderly sculpted with a great attention to detail. The folds, bows and ruffs of her tight corsage have the look of fabric while her skin and hair mimic the textural appearance of the real thing.

Person of the Week: Lauren Lane

C.C. Babcock, Maxwell Sheffield’s long-suffering business partner, lived in a perpetual state of unrequited love throughout six seasons of The Nanny. Chastity Claire’s portrayer, Lauren Lane, however has had her love requited—her love for theater.

Best known to world-wide audiences for her roles on television programs such as Hunter, L.A. Law and The Nanny, Miss Lane is much more than the cool, attractive blonde that she plays on the small screen. An accomplished and extremely versatile actress, Lane is one of the brightest stars of the American stage. Her ability to fully realize a character is legendary. Now, she teaches those skills to eager young actors at Texas State University in San Marcos Texas.

For all of the many hours of delight she’s brought us with her own work and for the many more hours of joy she’s fostering through her teaching, Lauren Lane is our “Person of the Week.”

Treat of the Week: Sumptuous Spice Madeleines

The madeleine is a small sponge cake which originated in the Loraine region of France. These plump, delectable cakes are famous for their distinctive shell-like shape which comes from being baked in a pan with shell-shaped depressions.


Two different stories surround the naming of the madeleine. Some believe that they were named for Madeleine Paulmier, a Nineteenth Century pastry chef. Others think that Paulmier was a cook in the Eighteenth Century who worked for the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France who named the wee cakes in her honor. Regardless of their origin, these wonderful cakes often represent France in bakeries around the world.

Instead of the typical sponge cake madeleines, my mother has created a wonderful variation with spice-cake madeleines. With a mellow spice flavor and a dusting of powdered sugar, they are the perfect accompaniment to a rich pudding, such as the butterscotch pudding pictured here, or on their own. Not only are they delicious, they’re inspirational.

Celebrated author Marcel Proust wrote of madeleines in Remembrance of the Things Past. Proust rhapsodized about tea and madeleines as symbols of the persistence of beautiful memories.

Many years had elapsed during which nothing of Combray, save what was comprised in the theatre and the drama of my going to bed there, had any existence for me, when one day in winter, as I came home, my mother, seeing that I was cold, offered me some tea, a thing I did not ordinarily take. I declined at first, and then, for no particular reason, changed my mind. She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called 'petites madeleines,' which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim's shell. And soon, mechanically, weary after a dull day with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate, a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, but individual, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory--this new sensation having had on me the effect which love has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me, it was myself. I had ceased now to feel mediocre, accidental, mortal. Whence could it have come to me, this all-powerful joy? I was conscious that it was connected with the taste of tea and cake, but that it infinitely transcended those savours, could not, indeed, be of the same nature as theirs. Whence did it come? What did it signify? How could I seize upon and define it?

Punch's Cousin, Chapter 212

Marjani hurried through the dark streets of the Quarter and skittered onto Royal Street. As she approached their borrowed mansion, she paused outside, aware that several pairs of eyes were watching her.


She smoothed her apron and took a deep breath as she walked toward the house.

“Where ya goin’, Girl?” A man’s voice growled from the shadows.

“Home, Mr. Cage. Home to my granddaughter and the folk who take care of us.” Marjani said plainly.

“At this hour?” Edward Cage grinned, stepping out into the moonlight.

“What better time to come home, Mr. Cage?” Marjani nodded.

“Where’ve you been?” Mr. Cage asked.

“Out, Sir.” Marjani answered flatly.

“Aren’t you a little old to be carousing Bourbon Street in the wee small hours?” Edward grumbled.

“I don’t owe you no explanation.” Marjani said.

“I think you do.” Edward shook his head.

“Well, Sir, I was out nursin’ some poor sick soul who got stricken with the Yellow Jack. I done been doin’ that for years, you know—nursin’ sick folk. Remember when your lady wife done got struck with that terrible flu? Remember how you called for me?”

“Who is this sick friend?”

“A colored girl who works in the French Market.” Marjani lied without blinking.

“Why should I believe you?”

“You don’t gotta believe me,” Marjani shrugged. “It don’t matter much to me. But, if you fell like you need some convincin’, Sir, come and put your arms around me. Smell my hair and my clothes. You’ll sure enough smell the sick room on me. Course, you gotta be careful. Those plague seeds are still on me, Sir. In my hair, on my dress, on my hands. If you need convincin’ so bad you want to put your own life and the life of your kin in peril, come on and smell me.”

“Very well, Girl.” Edward grunted. “Go in the house and bring your disease to the people to whom you’re so loyal. I’ll be here in the mornin’. Maybe I can walk with you to where your poor sick friend lies.”

“Maybe you can Sir.” Marjani smiled. “Maybe you can wipe the blood from her teeth and hold her head when she vomits up her life in thick, bubbling, black gobs.”

“Get out of my sight, Girl.” Edward turned away.

“Happily,” Marjani sighed, walking up the steps of the house. “You want for me to send Meridian out with some tea for ya?”

“No.” Edward growled.

Marjani entered the house and was shocked to see Cecil and Adrienne sitting in the parlor. They both looked nervous and upset.

“Where have you been?” Cecil asked—not out of anger, but out of concern.

“I been with your brother, Mr. Halifax, and Mr. Punch. We got the baby all settled in.”

“However will we get them out of here?” Adrienne said, worry creeping into her lovely voice.

“We got a plan, Missus.” Marjani said slowly. “But, we’re gonna need ya.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Punch watched Robert as he slumbered with the child nestled in his arms. He smiled contentedly at the sight. His smile faded for a moment when he thought of Toby and his puppet, and Adrienne, Cecil, Fuller, Columbia and Meridian—even Gamilla. He missed them all, but knew that they’d be reunited somehow.

“I’d make any sacrifice, I would.” Mr. Punch sighed. “Anything for little Colin.”

A knock on the door startled Mr. Punch and he quickly glanced at the baby who didn’t stir. Nor did Robert, for that matter.

“That ain’t Marjani back so soon.” Mr. Punch muttered to himself. He slowly walked to the door and opened it, gasping when he caught sight of the two people on the other side.



Did you miss Chapters 1-211? If so, you can read them here.

Goal for the Day: Try Something New

Any day is a perfect day to try something new. I’m certainly not the most adventurous of people. I like my routine and sticking to what’s comfortable and established. But, I also have an insatiable desire to learn things. For example, I’m fortunate in that my mother is an exquisite cook. Lately, I’ve wanted to learn from her and, perhaps, make some of the wonderful things that she does. Though I’ll never match her skill, learning would still be fun. Just take a look at the “Treats of the Week” for some examples of her art. Similarly, my father is a master woodworker. I’m going to have an opportunity soon to learn from him and to try my hand at it myself. Now, I’m the first to admit that I’m rather inept with tools, but that can change.


So, this week, try something new. Even if it’s something you’re not terribly good at, you can give it a try. You may surprise yourself.

Object of the Day: An Emerald Bristol Glass Vase

I absolutely love antique Bristol Glass for its delicacy and beautiful color. While much of the Bristol Glass we find is the characteristic milky-white color, adorned with painted scenes, mid-Victorian Bristol Glass was frequently a solid color and decorated with graceful gold patterns reminiscent of French and Egyptian designs.


This green vase is one of my favorites. One doesn’t often see green Bristol Glass. I am always drawn to this minty-emerald color and I find the Classically-inspired decoration to be both elegant and charming.

Bristol Glass can still be found in antique stores. You’ll often come across white and blue pieces, and pink can occasionally be found. These pieces look perfect in almost any décor and add a wonderful splash of color to any space.