Yorkshire Almanac 2025

Unedited excerpt

The excerpt in the book is shorter, edited and, where applicable, translated.

The 5th December, 1859, he was wont to look back upon with especial pride and pleasure, as a red letter day in his life. Shortly after six o’clock on the evening of that day, a carriage pulled up at the office of one of the Barnsley newspapers. The occupant was Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte, son of the late King of Holland, and cousin to the then Emperor of the French. The Prince entered the office, with a copy of The Bairnsla Foaks’ Annual in his hand, and inquired for the residence of its author. He was promptly conducted to the house of Charles Rogers. The Prince at once entered upon a familiar conversation with Mr. Rogers, respecting Barnsley and its associations. His remarks showed him to be well acquainted with the writings of “Tom Treddlehoyle.” He expressed himself to be much interested in his writings, and highly amused by them; and mentioned particularly “Tom’s” visit to Paris, to see the Great Exhibition, which was dedicated to his cousin the Emperor. The object of his visit to Barnsley was to make an arrangement with Mr. Rogers, to be furnished with a written specimen of the dialect of Yorkshire, and for such specimen the Song of Solomon was chosen. After seeing the different varieties of Yorkshire dialect, the Prince selected that which appertained to Barnsley. Mr. Rogers assured the Prince that his wish should be complied with, and the illustrious linguist took his departure. The Prince had posted from Leeds to see “Tom,” and he returned by the same route. Prince Lucien had been in England some time, and had been printing, for private circulation, specimens of the various dialects of this country. The rendering of Solomon’s Song in the Barnsley dialect was accomplished by Mr. Rogers’ son, Mr. Charles Lacey Rogers, a gentleman who was endowed with no inconsiderable share of his father’s genius.

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Comment

Comment

Paterson is wrong to claim that Louis Lucien was “son of the late King of Holland” – Louis Bonaparte: his father was actually Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon’s younger brother, Minister of the Interior from 1799 to 1800, and president of the Council of Five Hundred in 1799.

Who can find me the Barnsley Song of Solomon?

“One of the Barnsley newspapers”!

Bonaparte also visited Abel Bywater, Sheffield dialect writer, and requested a Sheffield version of the Song of Solomon of him:

This he did, and was favoured with a dozen copies from the Prince. He, however, when he saw them, regretted having reduced them to such a ridiculous appearance (Bywater 1877).

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Tags

Tags are assigned inclusively on the basis of an entry’s original text and any comment. You may find this confusing if you only read an entry excerpt.

• Almanac (3) W/G ·
• 📌Barnsley (24) W/G ·
• Bible (15) W/G ·
• Bywater, Abel (1795-1873) (2), Sheffield awl-blade maker, druggist, dialect and moralising pamphleteer - see the memoir by his friend Albert Middleton in the 1877 3rd edition of Sheffield Dialect W/G ·
• Charles Rogers (Barnsley dialect writer) (1) W/G ·
• English language (7) W/G ·
• Exposition Universelle (1855) (1) W/G ·
• France (33) W/G ·
• Linguistics (2) W/G ·
• Louis Lucien Bonaparte (1) W/G ·
• Lucien Bonaparte (1) W/G ·
• Napoleon III (2) W/G ·
• Napoleon (3) W/G ·
• Old Testament (8) W/G ·
• Paris (5) W/G ·
• Philology (5) W/G ·
• Poetry (75) W/G ·
• Pogmoor (1) W/G ·
• Song of Songs (1) W/G ·
• Yorkshire dialect (20) W/G ·

All tags.

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Comment

Comment

Paterson is wrong to claim that Louis Lucien was “son of the late King of Holland” – Louis Bonaparte: his father was actually Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon’s younger brother, Minister of the Interior from 1799 to 1800, and president of the Council of Five Hundred in 1799.

Who can find me the Barnsley Song of Solomon?

“One of the Barnsley newspapers”!

Bonaparte also visited Abel Bywater, Sheffield dialect writer, and requested a Sheffield version of the Song of Solomon of him:

This he did, and was favoured with a dozen copies from the Prince. He, however, when he saw them, regretted having reduced them to such a ridiculous appearance (Bywater 1877).

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Comment

Comment

Via Remember LOP, a feed by Tony Harcup which pays tribute to some splendid local journalism, unimaginable today.

Council sources claim the scheme was a victim of the first wave of cuts imposed by Margaret Thatcher following her General Election victory a month later.

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