Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady - August

♫The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady♫

Edith Holden's 1906 diary tells us that August received its name from Emperor Augustus and because July, named after Julius Caesar, had 31 days, a day was added to August so that Augustus would not be "in any respect inferior to Julius."

Edith would take a summer holiday late in the summer each year.  This year she went to Scotland, taking the train on the 9th. . . .

She had spent a year with Denovan Adam's family studying painting in 1891 when she was 20.   Mr. Denovan had died in 1896, and his widow is now running a boarding house on the edge of Callander.  In Edith's biography Ina Taylor writes, "Edith loved the area perhaps even better than that around Craigmill, because from Callander she could explore the countryside around the lochs or high on the hills.  Always it was quiet and beautiful.  It was also an area very closely linked with literature and steeped in history...the local traditions about Rob Roy, walking out to see the legendary tomb and reading the heroic tale, but it was Sir Walter Scott's connection with the area which really fired her imagination."  His The Lady of the Lake and Waverley novels were set here.

In the DVD series we take the train to Scotland with Edith and explore the countryside with her.  The series takes liberty and has Mr. Smith pay her a surprise visit in which he declares his intentions.  Edith is not ready, however.  Her major objection is that he is 28 and she is 35 and she values her independence too much to give it up for marriage.

Ragged Robin's Nature Notes, Part 5, follows in the Edith's footsteps by taking us to Packwood House.  Edith had known the children in this household when she lived nearby from 1880 to 1890 and visited often.

Bunny Mummy's August post highlights Edith's 1905 Nature Notes diary.  This month she takes us on her own nature walk in Cornwall.

With Edith's visit to Scotland this month I decided I should draw the Thistles from her Diary.  This is what the Country Diary Wildflower book has to say about the Thistle.....

The Cotton Thistle, Onopordon acanthus, was assumed to be the thistle chosen as the emblem of Scotland, bearing the motto 'Nemo me immune lacessit', standing for 'No one irritates me unscathed'.  This stemmed directly, so it was thought, from the old legend concerning an invasion by the Danes.  The Danish forces came upon the camp of the Scots one night, and thinking to overrun the camp with a surprise attack the Danes advanced stealthily and barefooted.  Unfortunately, one of the attackers stepped upon a thistle, and in the ensuring melee the Danes were driven off.  This action was believed to have taken place at either the Battle of Largs or the siege of Stains Castle in the reign of Malcolm I.  An interesting legend, but it was certainly not the Cotton Thistle which was responsible for saving the Scots.  Most probably it was the Spear Thistle, Cirsium vulgare, which was fairly common in Scotland, whereas the Cotton Thistle is quite rare, and it was not until the reign of James III that the thistle was adopted as the national emblem, with the motto 'In Defense'.

The Cotton Thistle was introduced to America in the late 1800s as an ornamental.  It is now considered a noxious weed here because it creates dense, impenetrable stands that prevents animals from foraging and can overtake a grain field.

Another reason Scotland interests me is because I just finished reading Elizabeth Goudge's compelling story, The Middle Window, which is set in Scotland.  Goudge had me crying in the middle of the book as she described the horrors of the 1745 uprising and subsequent punishment of the highlanders by the British for their rebellion.  My ancestors were lowland Scots who had resettled in the late 1600's to Northern Ireland and subsequently here to America in the early 1700's so were not a part of this tragic history.  Scotland's history is very unsettling to me and a testament to the fact that war does not bring about a lasting peace.

First I drew the three different thistles on my drawing pad. . . .

Then I chose the Creeping Plume Thistle to paint.  This time I did a light background wash to give it more of the feel of Edith's diary. . . .

Here are some other drawings I did in my journal during the month. . . .

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Take Joy!