#Matthew Clarkson

[46ten]

Brief notes on correspondence of Philip Schuyler and John Jay

I wanted to confirm the transcription of the 7Feb1785 letter from Philip Schuyler to EH was correct - that Catharine Schuyler had been ill - and found it in a letter to AH 11Jan1785 (that doesn’t wish AH a Happy 28th Birthday):

Mrs. Schuyler has been much indisposed since my last. We began to be very apprehensive of her situation but our fears are vanished with the untoward Symptoms which occasioned them. She is now so well as to go abroad and we have well grounded hopes of a perfect restoration.

It’s also confirmed here (Philip Schuyler to John Jay, 22Jan 1785):

I was in hopes to have had a tete à tete with you at new york about this time but Mrs. Schuylers indisposition has deprived me of that pleasure.

The next month (PS to JJ, 21Feb1785): 

The attention to be paid Mrs. Schuyler who has been confined to her bed since the 10th Instant has prevented a more early answer. [He then provides him with advice on the plan of his house, which Jay had sent to him; PS also provided the wood for it.]

I haven’t found more about what was afflicting her; PS’s letter to EH indicates that she has mostly enjoyed good health, which is interesting to me considering her numerous pregnancies/premature births/loss on infants. 

There’s also this sad note that PS had been saving planks for the Churches to build their home. They wouldn’t be back in America permanently for another 12 years. 

When Mr Church arrives at New York Inform your self If he will build & want the boards which I have reserved for him, and which are three to four years old, and have been constantly stacked & Covered.

I guess there was no point offering wood to build a house to the destitute Hamiltons scraping by in their rented house on Wall Street. 

A great 1785 letter where Philip Schuyler describes the role of men such as Jay (and himself) in government: “It is a wise, and a true Maxim, and which I think I have heard you ^urge^ more than once, that to serve ones country is the first of dutys, next to that which we owe to the supreme being.” (PS and friends had tried to convince Jay to run for governor of NY; they had already united the families in Albany in opposition to Clinton; JJ was eventually NY gov with Stephen Van Rensselaer as his lieutenant, from 1795-1801, after JJ’s stints as 1st Sect of State and 1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court). 

Always interesting to see how PS described his family and read that he’d made the decision in 1783 to retire from public life (that did not last long) PS to JJ, 1July1783. :

Mr. Carter my son in law, will have the honor of delivering you this, he and Colo: Wadsworth have furnished the supplies for the french army, and have acquitted themselves with great propriety, and to the entire satisfaction of the french commander and chief, and the other officers, they go to sollicit a discharge of the bills which have been drawn in their favor. It is probable that by your intervention their business may be much expedited, will You permit me to intreat Your Attention to them & ^to^ their concerns.

Since you left America two of my daughters have married, Colo: Hamilton has Betsy and Mr. Stephen Van Renselaer has Peggy.

My health is so much impaired, that It is become absolutely necessary, in order to pass the remainder of my days with tolerable satisfaction, that I should retire from public life, and retreat to my Saratoga hobby-horse, where I hope some day to have the pleasure of embracing You, unless you should consent to remain in Europe.

I also came across this little bit (Jay to Schuyler, 19Feb1780):

My Views are at present confined to a Segment of that Circle—but that Segment affords Field for many Inquiries, and yields Matter for Observations—both interesting and entertaining— I will share them with you if you please—and to do it the more effectually, wish you would send me a Plan and Explanation of the Cypher you once shewed me at Rhynebeck, but which I do not now well recollect. Let the Key Word be the Name of the man who so long and regularly placed every Day a Tooth-Pick by Mrs. Schuylers Plate, written backwards, that is the ^last^ Letter in the Place of the first and so on

I assume this is a servant/enslaved person that was with the Schuylers for a long time. The beginning of the letter is also a good example of manners in 18th century letters. Jay and Schuyler do like their cyphers, as discussed in the first letter above: 

You have probably a better Cypher than that I shewed & sent you. I have lately contrived one which I prefer to any I have yet seen, on account of Its expedition, and the impossibility, as I conceive, of decyphering it without a previous knowledge of the Key

To finish up this little diversion on some of John Jay and Philip Schuyler’s correspondence, here’s the text of the letter Jay sent following AH’s death:

Bedford, 25 July 1804

My Dear Sir,

The Friendship and attachment which I have so long and so uniformly experienced from you, will not permit me to delay expressing how deeply and sincerely I participate with you in the afflicting Event which the Public are now lamenting, and which you have so many domestic and particular Reasons to bewail.

The phylosophic Topics of Consolation are familiar to You, and we all know by Experience how little Relief is to be derived from them. May the author and only Giver of Consolation be and remain with You. With great Esteem and affectionate Regard, I am my Dear Sir, Your obliged and obedient Servant,

P.S. to myself, the letter from Benson to Jay, 4th January 1805, questioning whether/why Jay has not yet subscribed to the loan for the Hamilton family, is pretty great at summarizing the financial plan of the trustees and executors. Yet:

The principal Motive however for a numerous Subscription ^is^ that it will be more honorable to the Memory of our Freind— All that took place here immediately on his Death may be considered as the Effect of Sensibility for the Moment, but what We are now about to do is, in my View of it, the best possible Means to express our sincere and fixed Affection for him ^and^ some of his superlative Worth— Clarkson has increased his Subscription from 5 to 10 Shares, and I think his Example will not be without it’s Influence

Of course he did. 

[sagegreen17]

rest in peace arthur morgan you would’ve loved top gear

[kelly-clarksons]

July 18, 2024

[blackkat15]

Head empty.

Only Dwampyverse three idiots.

[pl9090]

My personal headcanon regarding the Timelord civilisation's founder's physical appaearance and personality basis before and during the Intuitive Revelation.

[bibliollama]

Books on my Spring 2024 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but…

[msmenna]

“Passage” - Final Chapter is Up

Finally, the last chapter of passage has been posted on FanFiction.net.

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 25:

The dock was cramped with people jostling for a position to get a good view of those on deck while the ship's crew readied the ship to leave the port. Chatter filled the air along with the cacophonous squawking of gulls as they circled the fishing vessels that were hauling their catch to the docks.

A cool breeze swept over Matthew's face, carrying the briny scent of the sea along with it and he closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply. When he opened them, he spotted a familiar face in the bustling crowd and nudged Mary to follow his gaze.

"Darling, isn't' that Edith?" Matthew said, spying his sister-in-law breaking through the throng of people on the Southampton dock.

Following the direction of his gaze, Mary rose on her toes to get a better view and fixed her eyes on her sister, who was squeezing her body between a heavy-set man with a handlebar moustache and a slight young woman with strawberry blond hair.

it was no easy feat weaving through a throng this size and by the time she reached him and Mary, she was winded.

Offering the two of them a brief smile, Edith rasped, "I haven't had to do that in a while." Then recovering her breath, added, "By the size of the crowd, one would think a new ship was being launched."

"What are you doing here?" Mary asked without preamble. "You said you couldn't come because you had to attend an important meeting this morning."

Ignoring her sister's question, Edith's eyes narrowed, and she combed the deck, moving her gaze quickly from one passenger to another.

Knowing the ship would be leaving soon Mary sighed and said, "Never mind. You can explain later. The gangplank will be drawn soon. If you want to say 'goodbye' to Mama and Papa you had better hurry. There they are," she called out, pointing to the spot they occupied on deck.

XX

if you are a Matthew/Mary fan, I think you will enjoy this story.  

It took me years to finally finish and seemingly endless hours of research as it is filled with historical references. 

I hope you will take a look and let me know if you like it.

You can find it here:https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12865038/1/Passage

You can also find all my work by googling msmenna

[fanofcarson]

My fantasy au is so cringe it’s so cringe I don’t even wanna share it but also I wanna draw it so maybe..

[recentlyheardcom]

2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction: The Best Moments

The thirty ninth annual Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame induction ceremony turned Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, right into a “celebration” Saturday night time as Kool & the Gang, Dave Matthews Band, Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Known as Quest and Cher confirmed as much as settle for inductions from Chuck D, Julia Roberts, Technique Man, Dr. Dre, Dave Chappelle and Zendaya.  The occasion…

[autumnrose11]

thequietworld:

#matthew’s all proud of his mama #and you know he’s secretly going ‘omgomgomg i’m sitting next to mary. are we almost touching shoulders?! i think we are…stay cool crawley. stay cool.’ #meanwhile mary is like ‘HOW DID I GET SAT NEXT TO HIM? UGH.’ *eyeroll*

[thechanelmuse]

My Top Albums/EPS of 2025

It's that time again where I give y'all my end-of-the-year music list and take over your dashboard. Hopefully some of these projects or artists will be new to you.

I would love for y'all to tell me your faves this year.

Here's my list:

JAZZ

Charles McPherson - Reverence

Christian McBride & Edgar Meyer - But Who's Gonna Play the Melody

Christian Sands - Embracing Dawn

Immanuel Wilkins - Blues Blood

Jazzmeia Horn - Messages

Jeremy Pelt - Tomorrow's Another Day

Joel Ross - nublues

Kamasi Washington - Fearless Movement

Keyon Harrold - Foreverland

Lakecia Benjamin - Phoenix Reimagined (Live)

Miles Davis - Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings

Miles Davis Quintet - Miles In France 1963 and 1964 - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8

New Brass Band featuring Trombone Shorty - Live at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Nubya Garcia - Odyssey

Samara Joy - Portrait

SOUL/BLUES (ROCK)

Baby Rose with BADBADNOTGOOD - Slow Burn (EP)

Brittany Howard - What Now

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram - Live in London (Expanded Edition)

Jerron Paxton - Things Done Changed

Jovin Webb - Drifter

Lizz Wright - Shadow

GOSPEL

Cory Henry - Church

Karen Clark Sheard - Still Karen

Ricky Dillard - Choirmaster II (Live)

Tamela Mann - Live Breathe Fight

COUNTRY/AMERICANA

Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter

Brittney Spencer - My Stupid Life

Caitlyn Smith - I Think of You (The Heartache Collection)

Elles Bailey - Beneath the Neon Glow

Gabby Barrett - Chapter and Verse

Lainey Wilson - Whirlwind

Luke Combs - Fathers & Sons

Mickey Guyton - House On Fire

Rvshvd - It's Rashad

Tanner Adell - Buckle Bunny (Deluxe) — 2023 album

FOLK

Bessie Jones, John Davis & The Georgia Sea Island Singers - The Complete Friends of Old Time Music Concert

Jessica Pratt - Here In the Pitch

Yasmin Williams - Acadia

ROCK

The Black Keys - Ohio Players (Trophy Edition)

Lenny Kravitz - Blue Electric Light

Linkin Park - From Zero

Olivia Rodrigo - Guts (spilled)

Sum 41 – Heaven :x: Hell

BLENDED GENRES

Amythyst Kiah - Still and Bright

Boney James - Slow Burn

Charlotte Day Wilson - Cyan Blue

Eva Cassidy - Walkin' After Midnight

Gallant - Zinc

Judith Hill - Letters From a Black Widow

Madison Ryann Ward - Purified Love

Marsha Ambrosiuos - CASABLANCO

Matthew Whittaker - On Their Shoulders: An Organ Tribute

Tank and The Bangas - The Heart, The Mind, The Soul

Victoria Monét - Jaguar II: Deluxe

Willow Smith - empathogen

R&B

Andra Day - CASSANDRA (cherith)

Avery*Sunshine - So Glad to Know You

BJ The Chicago Kid - Gravy (Deluxe)

Derand Benarr - En Route

Kenyon Dixon - The R&B You Love: For the '99 and the 2000s

Kyle Dion - If My Jeans Could Talk

Lalah Hathaway - VANTABLACK

Ledisi - Good Life

Lucky Daye - Algorithm

Muni Long - Revenge

NxWorries - Why Lawd?

Ravyn Lenae - Bird's Eye

SiR - HEAVY

Usher - Coming Home

RAP

Big Sean - Better Me Than You

Common & Pete Rock - The Auditorium Vol. 1

Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal

Kendrick Lamar - GNX

LL Cool J - The Force

MC Lyte - 1 of 1

Rapsody - Please Don't Cry

ScHoolboy Q - BLUE LIPS

POP

Ariana Grande - Eternal Sunshine

Billie Eilish - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You: Everasking Edition

Chappell Roan - The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess

Christina Aguilera - The 25th Anniversary of Christina Aguilera

Gavin DeGraw - Chariot 20

James Bay - Changes All the Time

Sabrina Carpenter - Short n' Sweet

Teddy Swims - I've Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1.5)

Tori Kelly - TORI.

HOUSE/ELECTRONIC

Durand Bernarr & Charlie Vettuno - Charlie Vettuno Presents… Where in the World is Carmen Randiego?

KAYTRANADA - TIMELESS

HOLIDAY

Boney James - Soulful Holiday Sax

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - Ella & Louis Wish You a Swinging Holiday

Jennifer Hudson - The Gift of Love

Kelly Clarkson - When Christmas Comes Around...Again

[kelly-clarksons]

kellyclarksonshow: Jam-packed Thursday with Matthew Macfadyen and @ ariana_greenblatt PLUS an update from Danie's @ whitehouse visit with Press Secretary @ k_jeanpierre, Olympian @ evita.griskenes trains @ lawrencezarian in rhythmic gymnastics, and a performance from @ travistheband!

[ohtobealady]

This is for @callhimnowmarisamylove … it’s not exactly that you were hoping for, but I hope you like it all the same. Missing scene: S3E8.

—//—//—//—//—//—//—

Women’s Stuff 3

“You know something, don’t you?”

Cora startled a little at his words, and she looked up and away from her book at the dividing door. “Oh! Robert.” She found where she was on the page. “You frightened me.”

“But you do, don’t you?”

“Do what?” She mumbled, but her eyes scanned the page. ‘Dearest,’ exclaimed Valentine, with her adorable smile, ‘awake and look at me!’ Morrel uttered a loud exclamation and frantic, doubtful, dazzled, as though by a celestial vision, he fell upon his knees.

“Honestly, Cora, I’m speaking to you.”

“Sorry, darling, but I’m only paragraphs away from the end,” she sighed, but tucked her thumb into the pages of her book and closed the cover over it. “Surely it can wait five more minutes?”

“No,” he enunciated, and began to untie his dressing gown, “it cannot. Especially because I suspect—” here he tossed the garment at the end of her bed and worked to slide himself inside her blankets. “—That you know something and you’re keeping it from me.”

Cora rolled her eyes, but chuckled. “I really haven’t a clue what you could be referring to.”

“Mary.”

“Mary?” She waited for Robert to finish adjusting the pillow behind his back before speaking, but her mind went immediately to where Mary was: London. “What about her?”

Her husband lifted his brows. His face looked brighter than it had been in months and months, and her heart grew a little in her breast. She felt her mouth soften into a smile. “She’s told you she’s pregnant, hasn’t she?”

And Cora deflated. “Oh, Robert—“

He chuckled. “I saw the way you glanced over to her yesterday. And today in the library, darting your eyes away from me. Really, Cora, you’re not quite as subtle as you think.”

“She’s not pregnant.” Cora opened her book and attempted to find her place again. “I’d tell you,” she added. “And that glance was for something else entirely.”

“Something else?”

Cora hummed, and she read. The next morning at daybreak, Valentine and Morrel were walking arm-in-arm—

“Then you do know something. Has it to do with—“

Cora sighed deeply and looked up. “With what?”

“They’ve been married for nearly a year, Cora.” She looked at him as he spoke. “Matthew hasn’t a living father. Do you think I should speak with him?”

She felt her mouth fall open a little as she studied her husband’s face. His eyes watched her, waiting, his pink mouth opened slightly in his earnestness. “It hasn't been a year, not as long as that. And besides, I’ve already said no,” she answered. “I think they both know all they need to know. In fact—“ she took in a breath, and then stopped herself.

“You do know.”

Oh. She was terrible at secrets. “Alright, but you mustn’t let on that I’ve told you anything.”

“What is it?”

Cora studied him a few moments more—the tired lines around his eyes, the crease between his brows, the evening stubble at his jaw—and again she closed her book over her finger. “Mary has to have a tiny procedure done—very quick, and very small—“

“—a surgery?”

Cora shook her head to ease the nerves she saw etch deeper lines into his face. “Not a surgery, Robert. A procedure. Lasts only a handful of moments and is fairly painless.”

He repositioned himself against the pillows, and he shook his head. “That still sounds rather like a surgery to me.” He looked over at her again. “And Matthew thinks this wise?”

“He doesn’t know. And I don’t think it’s our place to tell him, Robert. Really, I’m not sure it’s my place to say anything at all—“

“What? And when is Clarkson doing this?”

“It’s not Clarkson.” Robert still looked at her, and his brows bobbed higher. “It’s a Doctor Ryder in London. And she had it done today.”

“Is that why she’s gone? I don’t like this,” his anxiety now crept into his voice. “Some quack of a doctor doing—“

“—he’s not a quack—“

“—God knows what to our daughter and perhaps destroying her chances of ever having a child—“

“He’s a very good doctor, darling. Trust me.” Her husband looked at her, but this time the brightness she’d seen moments before had clouded over, and she knew why. How could she not? Her chest felt tighter, and she gave a small little smile to reassure him. “Doctor Ryder is well-respected and very knowledgeable. Truly. He’s done the procedure dozens of times. I’m not worried in the slightest.”

But Robert frowned. “You can’t be sure.”

“I am sure,” she let her eyes go back to her book when Robert began to cover himself more with the sheets. “It’s amazing what he knows just by appearances alone. And it helps that he’s kind. I’m certain he put her at ease.”

“You speak as if you know him.”

Cora stilled. And suddenly she realized she’d said too much, had gone a step too far in the truth.

She could feel beside her as Robert leaned to his left and back again, and she heard the sound of his book’s pages fluttering. “Cora? Do you?”

She heard herself make a little unintelligible sound, her ability to conceal anything from Robert not an ability of hers at all. Especially now. She wouldn’t hide anything from him now.

Cora looked up from her book, and held her breath. Oh. Her mouth moved open and then closed again. “Well, I—“

“How?”

“How?” she repeated.

“How do you know him?” Robert blinked at her, peering meaningfully, and Cora let all the air she held in her lungs escape. It was useless.

“Because I’ve been his patient,” she confessed quietly. Robert’s eyes widened.

“What?” He angled his body towards hers. “When was this?”

“Years ago, before the war,” she rushed out. She watched her husband do the quick tallying of math and memory before his mouth fell slightly agape. A quick look of hurt flashed across his features, and she felt herself crumbling. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you; it wasn’t meant to be a secret forever.” She tipped her head. “At the time, I didn’t want you to get your hopes up if it didn’t work, and then when it did, nearly a year had gone and—“

“It being the pregnancy,” he said in a flat voice, and after a moment Cora tried her best to nod.

They were quiet, and Cora felt her throat grow thick. “Seemed pointless to speak of it afterward,” she added quietly.

And then their quiet slipped into silence.

“You should have told me,” he said after some time, and she nodded.

“Yes,” she agreed.

“Had something happened to you—“

“It’s really not that sort of procedure, darling,” she reiterated. “It’s very safe.”

“But it wasn’t necessary.” His shoulders rose with a deep breath. “We had our girls.” And, without warning, Cora’s eyes stung.

Oh, the past week had been better. She’d managed to avoid weeping, but Robert’s words—“had”—caught in her chest and ached. “I…” she did as he had done a moment before and pulled in a breath. She understood now why he had done it: so that he could speak around the emotion that she was sure was as lodged in his throat as it was hers. “…I wanted to make you happy.”

Nearly immediately, he turned away from her. He swung his legs over the side of her bed where she heard his book slide against the top of the table there. Tears threatened her composure.

“Oh,” her chin trembled, and she moved her jaw. “Please don’t be angry with me.”

But when he turned quickly and looked at her, Cora choked. “I’m not angry. No.” And as he reached his hand toward her, Cora could see that his eyes were teary. “Not at all.”

She took his hand and held it.

“Unexpected,” was all he said as an excuse as he turned his head away again, and she heard as he cleared his throat.

She tightened her grasp of his thumb. She let him sit that way for another moment, another two, before at some length, he turned again towards her.

“Goodness,” he chuckled, but wryly. “Apologies.”

“Don’t apologize.” She let him release her hand, and not knowing what else to do—how else to comfort him—she tugged the covers beside her. With a small grin, he pulled his legs up, and he pushed them back to where they had been.

“She’ll be alright,” he said quietly.

“Yes,” she affirmed. “Perfectly alright.”

He nodded, but did not speak.

“Matthew should know,” he added, and she nodded. “She’ll tell him.”

“Hmm.” He nodded, too, and touched the covers at his waist.

She leaned to him, trying to catch his gaze. “Let’s try to sleep?” She pursed her lips. “You’ve got plenty of things to think about in the morning.”

“You’re right. The Cricket.”

She didn’t even roll her eyes.

“Didn’t you want to finish?” He added, sniffing, and nodded towards her book that still lay in her lap. “You said you were at the end.”

“Oh.” She’d nearly forgotten. “Yes, I am.”

He held out his hand, and gestured with his fingers. “I’ll read aloud.”

“You won’t.” She opened her book, and shaking away the cloud that threatened her, she lifted her chin. “It’s just like you to swoop in at the best part.”

He laughed, a pitiful, wet sound, but all the same, it made Cora’s heart go skipping about her breast. “You always make me out to be much more calculating than I am.”

“Well…” Cora eyed him, assessed him, and then smirked. “Alright.” She passed the book to him, and she turned and settled on her left side, lying ever closer to him as he sniffed and cleared his throat once more.

“Here?”

She peered up at where he pointed and nodded. “At the break.”

His chest expanded, and he began. “The next morning at daybreak, Valentine and Morrel were walking arm-in-arm, Valentine relating how Monte Cristo had appeared in her room …”

Cora listened as he read, listened to the beautiful lifts and falls of his words, listened to the small crack at the vowels that had come from the emotion he’d buried away again. She listened to him, and she felt the hum of his voice against her, humming through his arm, his side.

And without much other thought, she pressed her lips to his sleeve.

He paused, and she looked up at him. Her eyes felt warmer and stung again, but she smiled. She lifted herself and finding his lips, she kissed him again.

“Darling—“

But she didn’t want him to speak; she kissed him again, and this time she felt him smile against her mouth.

“Shall I tell you how it ends?”

Cora kissed his prickly jaw, his throat. She felt his hand go to her neck and a finger thread into the base of her braid. She hummed. “Would it please you to spoil the ending?”

A laugh rumbled against her, and she closed her eyes.

“‘All human wisdom is summed up in two words…’” She knew he closed the book, and she was glad. She let her fingers find his cheeks and opened her eyes to see him. “‘Wait and hope,” he finished in a whisper.

And, wanting to cry, Cora kissed him again.

————-

Excepts from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

[studywgabi]

Study Motivation Playlist

So Much Better - Legally Blonde

You're on Your Own, Kid - Taylor Swift

Top of My School - Katherine Lynn-Rose

Are You Satisfied? and Oh No! - Marina and the Diamonds

Successful and 7 Rings - Ariana Grande

I Am - Baby Tate

You Gotta Be - Des'ree

Break My Stride - Matthew Wilder

Bodak Yellow and Money - Cardi B

I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor

Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson

Fighter - Christina Aguilera

All I Do is Win - DJ Khaled

Daddy I'm Fine and No Man's Woman - Sinead O'Connor

Respect - Aretha Franklin

Glamorous - Fergie

Survivor and Independent Women, Pt. 1 - Destiny's Child

My Prerogative - Bobby Brown

Stronger - Kanye West

Savage and Money Good - Megan Thee Stallion

Underdog - Alicia Keys

Die, Vampire, Die - Title of Show

Girl Perfect - Bend it Like Beckham

As always, please feel free to add your own!

[bibliollama]

Stacking the Shelves #13

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Reading Reality all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! I’ve been intentionally not picking any new books up for a couple of weeks, because I once…

[msmenna]

“Passage”, a Downton Abbey fanfiction

The penultimate chapter of “Passage” is up with the final chapter dropping this Friday. If you cannot accept Matthew Crawley’s untimely death, which I still do not, I think you will enjoy the AU I have created for him and Mary that began with “Patient #9″, which brought him back to life in a plausible way.

Here is link to “Passage”:  https://www.fanfiction.net/u/3225849/MsMenna

 Excerpt Chapter 24

His brother-in-law's eyes grew wide as he looked him over from head to toe. Then he burst into laughter.

"What?" Matthew said.

"Do you have any idea what you look like?" Tom replied, trying, but failing, to regain his composure.

Matthew moved to Mary's vanity and getting a look in the mirror, cringed as he saw his disheveled hair, the dark circles under his eyes, and his pajama top lopsided with the top button fitted into the second hole.

"Rough night, heh?" Tom teased.

Matthew turned and glared at him. "I'd say a rough morning. Come in and shut the door. What time is it?"

Tom complied with his request and standing and informed him that it was half-past eight.

"I didn't expect to find you still asleep, Matthew. I'm sorry if I woke you, and hope I didn't get Mary out of bed, too."

Matthew ran his hand through his hair, again, and righted his pajama top before turning to Tom and replying, "I'm sorry that I barked at you, Tom, I haven't slept well in quite some time and the sleep deprivation has made me cranky…and you need not feel guilty about waking Mary. She was already up before you knocked."

At that, Mary sailed through the doorway of the adjoining room, fully dressed and humming a tune under her breath as she stuck a pin in her hair. After giving her husband a quick peck on the cheek, she gently nudged him to the side, crouched down before the vanity mirror and assessed her hair. Finding no strands out of place, she rose, took in Matthew's appearance, and frowned.

"Darling, I think you need more sleep," she said, her eyes fixed on the dark smudges beneath his eyes.