Saturday, March 3, 2012

Mrs. Gibson Advises and Miss Dashwood Bah-Humbugs

I have here an entry for Miss Elizabeth Bennet's Period Drama Advice contest, but first I have a bit of bah-humbugging to do, so please bear with me.  I had written out this post earlier in the week and this morning was just putting the finishing touches on it (and rather proud I was of the letter I'd written) and then Blogger. Ate. My. Post.

Read that and weep, fellow bloggers.

I'm sure you can all sympathize, because I know I'm not the only one who has suffered the loss of a slaved-over blog post to the greedy, slobbering jaws of Some Computer Server Belonging To Google.   It is a solemn, sad thing to see a nicely laid out blog post suddenly chomped and eaten and then spit back in a sickening conglomeration of HTML code and meaningless strings of numbers, never to rise again.  (This analogy is getting a bit disgusting and I really should stop now.)

All that simply goes to say that I really should write my posts on Word and then save them before posting them on Blogger.  But I am usually in too much of a rush to do that, and I never take my own advice anyway. (Who was it who said he always advised people not to give advice?  Was it Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest? I can't remember.)

Another reason for me to bah-humbug is that I missed my 100th post.  That is, I missed marking the event.  It was this one, my announcement about the Assembly Rooms.  Incidentally, Melody's 100th post on Regency Delight was her announcement about the Assembly Rooms.  (I guess two hundred-mark posts on the same topic are better than one, eh, Tween? How swellissimus!)  So really it's not a humbug after all, though I should have liked to commemorate the occasion in some way.

Enough blathering.  Here is my entry (rewritten, and alas, not quite the way I had it before) for the Period Drama Advice competition.  Miss Elizabeth Bennet posted a letter seeking advice from Edward Ferrars of Sense and Sensibility, and I have written a reply from Mrs. Gibson of Wives and Daughters.  (If you wish to know more about the Period Drama Advice event, click on the button below.)




Edward's Letter


Dear Period Drama Advice Column,

I find myself in a predicament. Four years ago, I became secretly engaged to a woman named Lucy Steele, the niece of my tutor in Exeter. I thought myself in love, but it was a foolish, idle inclination on my side. I have recently met my sister's sister-in-law, Elinor, and I like her a great deal. I find myself in love with her, but I cannot break my commitment to Lucy. If I were free, I would tell her that my heart is and always will be hers. Her friendship has been the most important of my life. My mother also wants me to marry the rich Miss Morton with 50,000 pounds: all I want, all I've ever wanted is the quiet of a private life, but my mother wants me distinguished.Do you think I am doing the right thing in keeping my promise to Lucy despite all of this?

Sincerely,
Edward Ferrars

Mrs. Gibson’s Response

My Dear Mr. Ferrars,

What a lovely, romantic note you have sent! It quite puts me in mind of my younger days, when half the young men in the local regiment were head over heels for me. I sometimes think it is a pity I was born when I was. I should have liked to belong to this generation.

Now, Mr. Ferrars, about your predicament. It is such a shame that your attentions have turned to another young lady—youth is so very fickle. My daughter Cynthia, for instance, is not very constant. But my dear sir, I am sure you will acknowledge that an engagement is an engagement. If you have given your promise to Miss Steele, you must fulfill your responsibility and marry her.

Perhaps your waning interest in Miss Steele is due to a lack of communication with that young lady? You might try calling at her house one of these days and visiting with the family. Only pray do not call before breakfast, as that sort of thing is quite inconvenient and unappreciated. But if you come bearing flowers, all will be forgiven.

One last thing, Mr. Ferrars—do not be swayed by urgings to marry Miss Morton, despite her 50,000 pounds. Riches are a great snare, you know.

Yours sincerely,
Mrs. Hyacinth Clare Gibson
Hollingford

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fortunately, I've never lost a post to Blogger, so I can't quite sympathize, but I am so very sorry for you! I know how frustrating that must be. =( But anyway, I think your letter is wonderful! Wives and Daughters is one of my favorites. =) Good luck in the voting! =)

Alexandra said...

I haven't actually lost one, but my mom has, and she writes HUGE posts so it was quite a blow. :-D

Sniff. Here is a tear for you. (flicks it your way)

LOVE the letter!!!! Soooooo funny! Great job!

Miss Elizabeth Bennet said...

Thank you for your entry! Blogger can act really weird: once I had posts scheduled and then they weren't scheduled. I don't think Blogger ever ate one of my posts, but it is possible. I really enjoyed your letter.

Melody said...

Indubitably, Tween! Wonderfulissimus!
Althoooough.... also rather ironic, since your blog is 9 months younger than mine! ;-) Haha, well, that's just my fault for lack of posts anyways. ;)

Haha, Edward should definitely write back with "Did I say an engagement was an elephant, ma'am?" ;-)
Good lettuh. MMG. =) I caun't think of anything... well, not yet. ;P

Uggh, it's perfectly awful that that happened to your post. (Although I can't help smiling since you're saying 'bah humbug'. hehe) Sometimes I want to somehow find blogger and give land a high kick in its silly astonished... um... something.
Perhaps you should do what I do and write your posts in a Word document first. ;-)

Miss Dashwood said...

Payton,
Thank you! I literally shrieked with laughter over yours--I hope you win. :)

Ally,
*catches tear* Thank you. Thank you.

Miss Bennet,
Sometimes I think it's worth just switching over to Wordpress. *in a whisper* I didn't really mean that. No, really I didn't. I am loyal to Blogger. Really. I am.

Melody,
Swelliferous indeed!
Haha, I sooooo wanted to put "Did I say an engagement was an elephant?" in but couldn't figure out how to work it in. ;)
Yes, I thought of you when I said bah humbug. I probably should have thought of Scrooge, but I thought of you.
Is that bad?
Oh well, I suppose I am learning your ways. :D

Melody said...

Of course you won't switch over to Wordpress. Because if you do, then you won't get any more long comments from me.

...Was that a worthless threat?
Really though, I don't like Wordpress because their commenting arrangement does not please me. And I can't follow in the general fashion, so I tend not to read Wordpress blogs.

Heh... as long as you're not comparing me to Scrooge, it isn't bad. And it's good for you to learn your ways. Because I learn yours, too. >:D

Ugh! But this with this ridiculous new format, I can't select the follow-up comments box!! I am NOT happy about that. *glacial glare*

Miss Dashwood said...

Melody,
I pledge allegiance to the Blogger of Google, and to the bloggers for which it stands...
There. :)

'Twas not a worthless threat at all, for if I lost your long comments I know not what I might do.
You're learning my ways, too? Good. That is the general idea.

Glacial Glare? Don't you mean Melody Menace? ;P

Bekah said...

I have not lost a post to Blogger, but when my laptop hard drive completely crashed & wiped, I lost literally hundreds of videos, pictures, documents, and music... most of which I didn't have saved anywhere else, so lost forever. You have my sympathies!

I found your letter quite amusing.... well written... seemed true to the era... over all, good job. :)

Elizabeth said...

i could hear Hyacinth Claire saying everything you just wrote...and it has inspired me to write a response by Squire Hamley...don't know if i will...but its a grand idea.. :)

The Well Dressed Doll said...

Very good letters. :-) Mrs. Gibson is always so hilarious. Ha Bad choice for a wife on the Dr's side, though, I must say..

Melody said...

Mousie,

Oh, good! Heehee, you do often humour me and say what I want you to. ;-)

Haha, the amusing thing is, I came this close to saying "I learn your ways, too. That is the general idea." ;)

Well, if we were going to say Melody Menace we would have to say Gladys Glare, and that just isn't the same. Because "we" (meaning you, of course) still haven't thought of a adjective for the menace. Otherwise I would have said *_______ menace*.
Murderous? *snorts* Merciless? Monstrous (a la Mrs. Jennings)? Malevolent? Malignant? Mortiferous? Morose... Malicious?
No,I didn't think of those off the top of my head. The thesaurus is a dear friend of mine. And it was very fun trying to find appropriate words that began with 'm'. Too much fun. Because I should be in bed.

Speaking of which, 'menace' is listed as a synonym for 'glare', but when you look the word up separately it seems to have different ideas. o.O