CROSS-REFERENCES FOR FUN AND ILLUMINATION PART 2

YESTERDAY, CROSS-REFERENCES OFFERED an innovative means of indexing material. Today in Part 2, we continue this investigation from Brewer’s Rogues, Villains & Eccentrics: An A–Z of Roguish Britons Through the Ages—and even compose a cross-reference ourselves. 

Llangollen, the ladies of. See Butler, Lady Eleanor. This one caught my eye because wife Dottie and I knew well the Llangollen Canal. We even learned its proper Welsh pronunciation: sorta “Thl’an-gothl’n,” with those thl’s given some explosive force.

The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct of the LLogollen Canal soars above the valley of the River Dee in northeast Wales. Image by Dorothy Clendenin. 

Brewer’s describes Lady Eleanor Butler (1738–1821) as a “recluse.” But so much more: “In 1774 Lady Eleanor, the daughter of an Irish peer, and her kinswoman Sarah Ponsonby met in Kilkenny and fell in love. Lady Eleanor was 39, Miss Ponsonby ten years younger. Their subsequent decision to withdraw from the world and set up home together in the Welsh village of Plas Newydd brought them enduring fame as ‘the Ladies of Llangollen.’ Here they lived in complete seculsion with one maidservent, Flirt the dog, and Mrs Tatters the cat. Neither spent a single night away from their little farmhouse, or from each other, until their deaths 50 years later.”

Brewer’s continues, “Dressed in men’s clothes, Lady Eleanor and Sarah Ponsonby occupied themselves by tending their lovingly planted garden and model farm, the beauty of which struck every visitor.” 

Visitors included Wordsworth, the Darwins, the Duke of Wellington (a close friend) and Queen Charlotte (who asked for plans for their cottage and garden).

A sweet tale, with nary a rogue nor villain in sight. Dear eccentrics, and I like their pets’ names.

Davidson, the Reverend Harold Francis. This one is an oddity in Brewer’s, in that I stumbled upon a photo, not a compelling cross-reference.

The Reverend Harold Davidson seen here in compromising circumstances. Image from Brewer’s Rogues, Villains & Eccentrics.

Brewer’s recounts: “In the course of his ministry as rector of Stiffkey, Davidson, on his own assessment, saved the souls of more than 1000 fallen women. He also photographed actresses in their pyjamas, was ejected from a nudist camp in Harrogate, exhibited himself in a barrel, and was eaten in the end by a lion named Freddy.”

I’d have accompanied his Brewers entry with cross-reference Freddy, eaten in the end by a lion named. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025