A Recipe for Punch, Chapter 54

Chapter 54
Not with Metal


"Your Grace, this door ain't locked."  Gamilla shook her head.  "Not with metal, it ain't."

"I don't understand."  Punch squinted.

"I done tried the key you gave me.  It don't work."  Gamilla answered.

"Only that's the master key.  It oughta open all the doors in the house."

"Don't open this one."  Gamilla replied.

Punch stepped back.  "Come away from the door, Gamilla."

"Yes, Your Grace."

"I'm going to try the door in your sitting room again, Auntie Morgana."  Punch said as calmly as he could.

"It will not bu...budge, Punch."  Morgana shook her head.  

"Miss Morgana is right, Your Grace."  Gamilla nodded.

"Only we gotta get outta here.  I gotta see 'bout Colin!"  Punch exclaimed nervously.

Gamilla closed her eyes.  "Master Colin is safe."

"Are you sure?"  Punch asked.

"I am."  Gamilla replied.  "It ain't young Colin she wants."

"She?"  Punch placed his hand over his mouth.  "Not?"

"Your...your mother."  Morgana whispered.

"Yes, Your Grace."  Gamilla nodded.  "Her spirit is angry."

"She oughta be pleased.  She's been taken out o' that cupboard in put in the crypt, nice 'n' proper as she shoulda been from the start.  She should be at peace.  Before she was hangin' there like bacon."

"No.  She considered it a reliquary--a place to be revered, and a place where..."  Gamilla stopped.

"Where?"  Punch asked.

"It can't be so."  Gamilla shook her head.

"Go on, Gamilla."  Punch urged.

"Where she could wait to live again.  Now, she's with the dead, and she's angry."

"Folk don't get to come back once they been dead."  Punch spat.  "That isn't the way it works."  He looked around the room.  "And, lockin' livin' folk in rooms isn't gonna change that none, it isn't!"

"She ain't here, Your Grace."  Gamilla responded.

"Where is she?"  Punch asked.

"She's gone to the crypt."  Gamilla answered, shutting her eyes again.

"Robert!"  Punch exclaimed.  "And, Gerry and Charles."

"They're trapped, too."  Gamilla nodded.

Punch hurried to the windows of Morgana's room.

"Punch, what are you thinking?"  Morgana went to her nephew's side.  "The fall would...kill you."

"I dunno."  Punch sniffed.  "Gamilla, try the bell again.  See if we can't get someone to come up here."

"Yes, Your Grace."  Gamilla answered.  She tried the bell-pull again, but it still wouldn't move.

"Is there nothing we can do?"  Punch moaned.  "Aside from banging on the door?"

"There is something."  Gamilla replied.  "If you're willing to risk it."



Did you miss Chapters 1-53 of A Recipe for Punch?  If so, you can read them here.  Come back tomorrow for Chapter 55.

Sculpture of the Day: A Parian Bust of Llewellynn Jewitt, 1879

Bust of Llewellynn Jewitt
W.H. Goss
Circa 1879
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Llewellynn Jewitt was a celebrated Nineteenth Century pioneer of ceramic history. So, fittingly, this portrait bust of Jewitt is crafted of parian. The bust rests on a turned pedestal and depicts Jewitt at the end of his life, in 1879, with his trademark long, forked beard.

Designs for the bust date to 1878. It was made by W.H. Goss in Stoke-on-Trent, England, known for its parian ware. The base is inscribed:

This bust of Llewellynn Jewitt F.S.A. etc. etc. was made expressly for presentation to his son, - Mr Edwin Augustus George Jewitt - on the occasion of his 21st birthday, the 13th October 1879, as a mark of the highest esteem for both, by their devoted friend 

--William Henry Goss

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Count Alexander Mensdorff-Pouilly

Count Alexander of Menddorff-Pouilly
Henry Pierce Bone, 1839
After a portrait by A.E. Chalon
Commissioned by Her Majesty Queen Victoria
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust
This image used courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Victoria commissioned this enamel on gold miniature in 1839.  She chose for the job a favorite miniaturist, Henry Pierce Bone (1779-1855) who was celebrated for his detailed and flattering portraits.  Here, we see the head and shoulders of Count Alexander of Mensdorff-Pouilly, known for his handsome face and attractive physique.  Pierce used, as his model, A.E. Chalon’s (1781 – 1860) full-length double military portrait in watercolour of the count and his cousin, Prince Augustus of Saxe-Coburg, also dating from 1839.

Of the original watercolor, Queen Victoria expressed her delight in her Journal: 

I went downstairs to see my dear cousins sitting; Chalon has made delightful likenesses of all; and of Alexander and Augustus in their uniforms quite beautiful and so like; … Alexander is so handsome and has such beautiful eyes and eye-brows.

Count Alexander Mensdorff-Pouilly was the third son of Emanuel, Count Mensdorff-Pouilly, and Sophie, daughter of Francis Anthony, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.  A first cousin to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Count married in 1857 Countess Alexandrine Marie of Dietrichstein-Proskaw-Leslie and, in the process, became Prince Mensdorff-Dietrichstein von Nicolsburg after the death of his father-in-law. 

A general of cavalry in the Austrian army, he would go on to become an Austrian diplomat and would also serve as Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs in St Petersburg. 

He died in Prague in 1871.

On the reverse of the miniature, on red enamel, is the date and Bone's signature along with:

Count Alexander

Mensdorf London Oct

 1839. 

Painted by Command

of her Majesty by Henry

Pierce Bone Enamel Painter

to her 

Majesty &c. 

From a Draw g. By A.E. Chalon

R.A.

Masterpiece of the Week: July; Vincennes; The Months; The Royal Residences, 1670-1700

Les Maisons Royales:  Vincennes
Tapestry, 1670-1700
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made between 1670 and 1700, this tapestry is one of a series which represented twelve of the royal residences of France’s Louis XIV—each depicted during a different month of the year. While the subjects were the palaces themselves, these were set in the backgrounds of the compositions while scenes of the luxury and wealth of Royal life took center stage.

The initial concept for the series of “Les Maisons Royales” was the idea of Le Brun, however, the tapestries were made and designed by a variety of artists in the workshop of Lefebvre and Jans. Seven complete sets were made until 1713.

This one, a tapestry of woven wool and silk, shows a woman surrounded by ripe fruit and two large, blue parrots. Elegant outdoor furnishings, exotic birds, an unidentifiable animal with a snout, and a curious dog complete the scene which is meant to frame a depiction of King Louis XIV and his courtiers hunting at the Château de Vincennes. This work was meant to represent “July.”

Unusual Artifacts: The Sheldon Tapestry Book Cover, 1615

Tapestry Book Cover
Sheldon Tapestry Works, 1615
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Books in general, until recently, were highly-valued objects which were treated with the utmost respect. Most upper class Seventeenth Century households would proudly display and protect their precious books, especially the family Bible. The expensive and intricate bindings of books were often protected with ornate covers made from a variety of materials.

This book cover dates to about 1615 and is constructed of a particularly expensive bit of tapestry. Tapestry, though more costly, would have worn better than the more common embroidery protective covers. The tapestry was professionally made of silk and metal thread and is adorned with biblical scenes.

Made in Warwickshire, England, by the Sheldon Tapestry Works the cover’s front shows a square cartouche depicting “Moses and the Burning Bush,” with the presence of God indicated by the word DEUS which appears in a cloud. A similar cartouche graces the back and shows Jonah emerging from the Whale. A golden star surrounded by a cloud adorns the spine.

Treat of the Week: A Groundhog's Day Feast

The groundhog may have said we were going to have some more weeks of winter, but that didn't keep my mother from creating a springtime-themed feast for this week's Treat of the Week.  

It did, however, keep Bertie and me from actually attending the feast.  The weather forecast looked grim, and, after the rather vicious ice storm which had taken out our power for several days, my parents decided it best to leave me in my own location and bring the feast to me instead of bringing me to the feast.  

But, first, my mother very thoughtfully plated everything as she would normally do and my father photographed it as I normally would do so I could share it with you.  

The meal began with a truly delightful and flavorful salad of Yellow and Red Cherry tomatoes with Avocado, Mozzarella, Cucumber, Radishes, Green olives and chiffonade of spinach in a dressing of olive oil infused with sautéed garlic, lemon juice, grainy mustard and herbs and spices.

This was joined by a "Super Bowl of Pasta."  Ha.  This delecatable dish of gnocchi  was topped with sun-dried tomatoes, green onions, and spinach in a sauce of creamy diced mushrooms, herbs and vermouth and sprinkled with Romano, Parmigiana and Mozzarella cheeses.

A semolina Ciabbata “Slipper Bread” rounded out the meal.

As always, the star of the show was the cake.  This springtime-themed cake looks quite a lot like a gorgeous tapestry.  A Scotch Chocolate cake containing raisins and nuts, it's adorned with  Chocolate icing decorated for the spring that Punxsutawney Phil says won’t come for six more weeks.  

Stupid Groundhog.  He’s actually spending the winter in St. Thomas because Pennsylvania is too darn cold.

Her Majesty's Furniture: The Wakefield Tapestry Chair, C. 1750

Part of an impressive suite which consisted of at least five armchairs and a sofa, this tapestry armchair was designed to show off the taste and wealth of the owner, and would probably have been displayed prominently in a drawing room or ornate reception room.

The suite was sold by Richard Wright and Edward Elwick of Wakefield, Yorkshire, who were working between 1745 and 1771--the pre-eminent firm of cabinet-makers and upholsterers in Yorkshire at that time. The chair's gilt frame is adorned with carved fish scales and acanthus leaves.

It was made for William Wentworth, 4th Earl of Strafford (1722-1791), for Wentworth Castle, Yorkshire. The Duchess of Northumberland wrote that she saw "French chairs emb'd [embroidered] with flowers upon Brown by the famous Mr Wright" upon a visit to Wentworth Castle in 1760.