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January 11, 2005
Look that up in your Funk & Wagnall's!
An 1865 letter from Joseph Hodges Choate to his wife begins with this reference to his New York neighborhood: "You will see by tonight's Post that our immediate vicinity has been oppressed in all this hot weather by a defunct Bucephalus at the corner."
Posted by senioritis at January 11, 2005 06:40 AM
Comments
You *know* I had to look! So, he's complaining about horse poop and flies?
Posted by: susansinclair at January 11, 2005 10:34 AM
Good guess, but no. He's complaining about the stench from a dead horse in the street during hot weather. Tongue in cheek (I think), the letter continues, "I remonstrated with Mr. Gervaise about it the first thing this morning, and told him that he ought to have cut it up on Saturday, and that his meat would surely spoil in this hot season if he didn't take better care of it. But it didn't seem to have much effect. . . ."
Posted by: senioritis at January 11, 2005 10:39 AM