Social Victorians/Timeline/1886

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Mary Cora (Urquhart) Brown-Potter and her husband (and daughter?) visited England in 1886 and met the Prince of Wales, who invited them to spend a weekend. (Wikipedia: Brown-Potter).

The Shelley Society mounted a production of The Cenci, which lasted four hours. According to Neil Fraistat, "Wilde, Shaw, and Browning were all in the audience. It was a hard ticket to get. The audience gave it a rapturous reception. The newspaper critics, not so much. Wilde was wild about it. Shaw had reservations."

January 1886
Annie Eastty and Isabella Clemes gave their papers at the Men and Women's Club regular January meeting, talking about morality; Henrietta Muller and Mrs. Walters were not present at this meeting (Bland 22).

15 January 1886, Friday
Reading of A Doll's House "in a Bloomsbury drawing room in which all the participant were not only associated with the feminist cause but had achieved or would achieve prominence in the British socialist movment: Eleanor Marx, the daughter of Karl, in the role of Nora; her common-law husband Edward Aveling, who played Helmer; William Morris's daughter May, portraying Mrs Linde; and, as Krogstad, none other than Bernard Shaw." (McFarlane 89) "'I feel I must do something to make people understand our Ibsen a little more than they do,' wrote Eleanor Marx to Havelock Ellis in Late December 1885.1 [fn 1] So invitations went out to a 'few people worth reading Nora to'; and on 15 January 1886, in their flat in Great Russell Street, Karl Marx's youngest daughter and her common-law husband, Edward Aveling, played host to one of the first readings in England of an Ibsen play — A Doll's House in the Henrietta Frances Lord translation. Bernard Shaw was a favoured invitee, playing the part of Krogstad to the Mrs Linde of William Morris's daughter, May." (McFarlane 233) [McFarlane, James Walter. The Cambridge companion to Ibsen. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996.]

February 1886
Robert Parker gave a paper on "Sexual Relations among the Greeks of the Periclean Era" at the regular February 1886 meeting of the Men and Women's Club (Bland 31).

15 April 1886, Thursday
Hon. Charles W. Mills and Hon. Alice Marion Harbord married:"The marriage of the Hon. Charles W. Mills, M.P., eldest son of Lord Hillingdon, with the Hon. Alice Marion Harbord, second daughter of Lord Suffield, took place yesterday afternoon at St Peter's Chapel, Vere-street. Among the relatives and friends who assembled were the Duchess of Leeds and Lady Harriet Godolphin Osborne, the Dowager Marchioness of Lansdowne and Lady Emily Fitzmaurice, the Earl and Countess of Wharnciiife, the Earl of Arran and Lady Alice Gore, Lord and Lady Suffield, Lord and Lady Hillingdon, Viscountess Bury and Hon. Misses Keppel, Lord and Lady George Hamilton, Lord and Lady Hastings and Hon. Miss Astley, Lord and Lady Claud Hamilton, Lord and Lady Revelstoke, Viscountess Downe, Sir E. and Hon. Lady Birkbeck, Captain and Lady Agneta Moutagu, Colonel Hon. C. Edgoumbe [sic], Hon. Assheton E. Harbord, Colonel and Hon. Mrs. Ellis, and Mrs. Windham Baring. Mr. Adolphus Liddell was the bridegroom's best man, and the eight bridesmaids were the Hon. Winifred, Hon. Eleanor, and Hon. Bridget Harbord, sisters of the bride; the Hon. Isabel, Hon. Mabel, and Hon. Violet Mills, sisters of the bridegroom; the Hon. Elizabeth Baring, and Miss Alexandra Ellis. The Hon. and Rev. James W. Lascelles, rector of Goldsborough, Yorkshire, uncle of the bridegroom, officiated, assisted by the Rev. P. Roberts, M.A., Lord Suffield giving his daughter away. After the ceremony Lord and Lady Suffield received the friends present at the wedding at their residence in Grosvenor-street. Early in the evening the bride and bridegroom left for Queen's Mede, near Windsor, lent to them by Colonel the Hon. Reginald and Mrs. Talbot for the honeymoon."

23 April 1886, Friday
Good Friday

25 April 1886, Sunday
Easter Sunday

7 May 1886, Friday
Muriel Wilson taking part in the program for a benefit. Mr. Clive Wilson was a "sable attendant," probably in racist blackface. The copy of the newspaper the British Library digitized is sometimes quite difficult to read.

"At the Anlaby Room on Friday evening, an entertainment, provided by Mrs Arthur Wilson of Tranby Croft, and house [?] party, was successfully presented. The performance was given in aid of the School Building Fund, which, as the room was crowded to excess, will materially benefited. The first part of the programme consisted of a concert, in which every item was encored, the quaint trio, 'Three little maids from school,' sang [sic?] by Miss Wilson, Mrs Travers, Messrs Whiting and Mahoney, and the recital of 'The Stowaway' by Mr F. W. Wood, deservedly drawing forth hearty approval, the recitation being given with good dramatic feeling. A right merry finale was furnished in the exhibition of Mr Wood's famous “Waxworks,' the figures in which included the 'Grand Old Man” (Mr Reginald Voase), 'Laughing Girl' (Miss Wilson), 'The Walking Doll' (Miss Muriel Wilson), 'The Duchess of Devonshire' (Mrs Reynard), 'The Babes [?] in the Wood' (Miss Mabel Wilkinson and Mr Harry Sykes), and 'Alonzo the Brave and the fair Imogene” (Lady Boynton and Mr Reynard). The showman found his humour heightened the able assistance rendered by Mr R. Hxxyard [?] as clown, and Master Clive Wilson as a picturesquely-attired sable attendant with a passion for the drum. The whole affair was in every way a complete success. (“Entertainment at Anlaby.” Hull Daily Mail 10 May 1886, Monday: 2 [of 4], Col. [of ]. British Newspaper Archive (accessed July 2019)."

16 May 1886, Sunday
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, recovering from his conflict with Randolph Churchill in 1876, agreed to attend a dinner party hosted by Jennie Churchill. Bertie had attended a dinner in March 1884 that included the Gladstones and Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill, his first meeting with them since 1876. ...another two years elapsed and Lord Randolph had become Secretary for India before the Prince could bring himself to enter the Churchill home. On this occasion Blandford also attended, and Jennie, the bewitching Jennie, was thirty-two — approaching the age at which the Prince really appreciated his lady friends. The date was May 16, 1886, and it proved her most successful dinner party because so much was at stake (Leslie 66).

26 May 1886, Wednesday
Derby Day.

According to the Morning Post, The Derby Day. / The Countess of Dalhousie's reception. / Mrs. Smith's second evening party. / Mrs. Charles Mills's dance, instead of Friday, ths 28th inst. / Mrs. Burton's first dance, at 6, Chesterfield-gardens. / Chevalier and Mrs. Desanges' at home, at 16, Stratford-place, from four to seven. No cards. / New Club Dance. ("Arrangements for This Day." The Morning Post Wednesday, 26 May 1886: p. 7 [of 12], Col. 7B).

13 June 1886, Sunday
Whit Sunday

26 June 1886, Saturday
There was apparently a regular celebration of Arthur Collins' birthday, 26 June, by Bret Harte, George Du Maurier, Arthur Sullivan, Alfred Cellier, Arthur Blunt, and John Hare (Nissen, Axel. Brent Harte: Prince and Pauper: 239. ). Choosing 1885–1902 as the dates because those apparently are the dates of the close relationship between Harte and Collins, ending in Harte's death in 1902.

28 June 1886, Monday
George, Duke of Cambridge: "Went to Kneller Hall. There met Sir Arthur Sullivan who had come down from London in my waggonette. Heard the band in the Chapel first and then a fine and powerful band, and was very much satisfied with the whole condition of things, as was Sullivan, who said he had no sort of suggestions to offer for improvements." (Sheppard, Edgar. George, Duke of Cambridge: a memoir of his private life based on the journals and correspondence of His Royal Highness. Volume 2. London: Longmans, Green, 1906: 153. Google Books, retrieved 23 February 2010.)

12 July 1886, Monday
Bret "Harte became an official member" of the Beefsteak Club "on July 12, 1886" (Axel Nissen, Bret Harte: Prince & Pauper. Jackson, MS: U P of Mississippi: 2000: 300; from personal correspondence to Nissen by the Beefsteak Club).

23 August 1886
From the 28 August 1886 Vanity Fair: THINGS IN HOMBURG

H OMBURG, 23rd August.

MY DEAR VANITY,— Here I am once more in Homburg, and it seems hard to realise that it is a full year ago that I wrote to you from this place. Everything goes on just as when I left in August, 1885. The band plays the same music, nearly all the same people walk up and down the avenue of the springs, the water is served out by the same young women, the same "watery" shop is talked all over the place, and the restaurants have the same bills of fare. In fact, had I, like Rip Van Winkle, fallen asleep in August, 1885, and been suddenly awakened in August, 1886, I should have noticed no change to tell me that twelve months had elapsed.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales arrived about ten days ago, and whilst going steadily through the cure, seems to be enjoying himself with occasional visits to the Frankfort Opera and little picnics in the woods. The Prince's kind and genial manner makes him popular wherever he goes, and one hears nothing but words of praise about him from both English and Germans here. Princess Christian and the blind Grand Duke of Mecklenburg are also here, so that we have a fair share of Royalty in the town.

Frankfort Races, which came off on Sunday and Monday, the 15th and 16th, were very amusing, and drew many people away from Homburg. On the second day, Monday, the Prince of Wales went over with a small party of friends, and was met by his brother-in-law, the Grand Duke of Hesse. The Stand and Paddock are very prettily situated in the middle of a pine wood; and as the day was hot, the shade was delicious.

Betting is strictly forbidden now in Germany, but in spite of this, a little wagering was done when an English bookmaker put in an appearance; for, although he could not shout out the odds, / yet he was quite willing to walk to the wood with any would be backer for a few minutes' conversation, and once safely there, would explain what he could do on the next race.

The last event on the card, a steeplechase, was great fun. Two German officers rode in uniform, and went very well indeed, although it must have been a severe trial for both horses and riders in this almost tropical heat.

Lord Rendlesham gave a charming little dance on Wednesday evening to about forty friends. The Prince of Wales was present, and everyone enjoyed it. Dancing, which began at half-past nine, was stopped at half-past eleven. Then came a small supper, and to bed soon afterwards, for in Homburg no one dreams of sitting up late.

On Monday afternoon all the beau monde here were at a concert, at which Herr Hollman, violoncellist to the King of Holland, played most beautifully. Mrs. Burrowes sang divinely, and Mr. Alexander Yorke gave his impersonation of actors and actresses. The whole performance was so good that, in spite of the intense heat, everybody stayed till the end.

A good many people have left during the last two or three days, but fresh arrivals still pour in to take their places, so that it is difficult to find rooms, unless they are engaged a few days beforehand.

Homburg is quite celebrated for its lovely roses, and this year they seem to be finer than ever. One of the great occupations at the Elizabeth spring in the morning is to "bunch” the fair sex with bouquets and sprays. When leaving Homburg, the popularity of a fair lady may always be guessed by the amount of flowers which are sent by friends to the station. A certain beautiful and popular Countess left a morning or two ago, and her carriage looked like a florist's shop, in such numbers did her many friends come to wish her God speed.

Never have I seen a finer August in Homburg. The result is that picnics are quite the order of the day. Last week the Prince of Wales gave a charming one in the Taunus Woods, and ordered a photographer there, who did some groups of the party. Mr. Hargreaves also got up a most successful picnic, at which every pretty face in Homburg was to be seen, and the lunch being quite excellent was most thoroughly enjoyed.

Amongst the many well-known English who are here just now are the Duke of Manchester, Lord and Lady Erne, Lord Rendlesham, Lady Shrewsbury, Lady Conyers and Miss Lane-Fox, Mrs. and the Miss Verschoyles, Lord Dartmouth, Mr. Godfrey Webb, Colonel Larking, Mrs. and Miss Legh of Lyme, Lady Headfort, Mrs. Dixon, Mr. and Mrs. Cunard, Mr. and Miss Clarke Thornhill, Mrs. Francis Slone Stanley, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Campbell, the Hon. Mrs. Candy and Major Westenra, Lady and Miss De Bathe, Mrs. Rochford and Miss Crabbe, Colonel Colville, Colonel and Mrs. Chaine, Lord and Lady Cork, Mrs. Keith Fraser, Miss Ethel Cadogan, Mr. Alfred Montgomery, Mr. and Mrs. Ker Seymer, Mr. and Mrs. Hare, Mr. and Mrs. Grossmith, Lord Wolverton, Mrs. Maxey, Countess Tolstoi and Miss Helen Henniker, Mr. Alexander Yorke, Lady Sophia Macnamara, Mr. and Mrs. Powell, Mr. Hargreaves, Mr. Percy Barker, the Hon. Mrs. Roche and Miss Werke, Lady Macpherson Grant, Mrs. and the Miss Shaws, Admiral, Mrs., and the Miss Cochranes, and a heap more whose names do not come to me just now.

30 August 1886, Monday
Summer Bank Holiday

September 1886
"... in September 1886, the decision was taken to move [the head-centre organization of the Liberal party] to London, with the proviso that its annual meetings were always to be held in some provincial centre" (Spender 12). Robert Hudson, who was Assistant Secretary to Schnadhorst, moved to Palace Chambers, where he lived until May 1888 (Spender 15).

28 October 1886, Thursday
In New York City, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated.

5 November 1886, Friday
Guy Fawkes Day

16 November 1886, Tuesday
"On the 16th inst., at St. George's, Hanover-square, by the Rev. E. W. Pownall, M.A., Emslie John, only son of F. J. Horniman, Esq., of Surrey Mount, Forest Hill, to Laura Isabel, only daughter of Colonel A. G. Plomer, of 7, Chesterfield-street, Mayfair. (No cards.)" ("Marriages." Illustrated London News (London, England), Saturday, November 20, 1886; pg. 544; Issue 2483, Col. B)

25 December 1886, Saturday
Christmas Day

26 December 1886, Sunday
Boxing Day