To Be Saved By No Other Mean

I pray you all, good Christian people, to bear me witness that I die a true Christian woman, and that I do look to be saved by no other mean, but only by the mercy of God, in the blood of his only Son Jesus Christ: and I confess, that when I did know the word of God, I neglected the same, loved myself and the world; and therefore this plague and punishment is happily and worthily happened unto me for my sins; and yet I thank God, that of his goodness he hath thus given me a time and respite to repent. And now, good people, while I am alive, I pray you assist me with your prayers.

~Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Day Queen of England, in her last words before being beheaded for treason on February 12, 1554.

Yesterday marked the 460-year anniversary of the death of Lady Jane Grey.  I'm not going to write much about her-- she was a Protestant who was put on the throne through the machinations of those sympathetic to the cause of the English Reformation.  Her much older cousin Mary, eldest daughter of King Henry III and a staunch supporter of Catholicism, felt the crown rightly belonged to herself, and thus raised an army and was able to remove Jane from the throne.  Mary appeared to be sympathetic towards her teenage cousin, but when Jane's own father led a rebellion against Mary, Jane's fate was sealed, and it was off to the beheading block for her.  Mary encouraged Jane to convert to Catholicism, which may have have saved her life, but Jane remained committed to her faith until the very end, as evidenced in her last words above.

What I love about what she says is her explanation of and reliance upon the Gospel.  She "looks to be saved by no other mean... but the blood of... Jesus Christ."  She expresses that her actions on earth (loving herself and the world) merit punishment, and yet God in His goodness and mercy has rescued her.  Her words and spirit are noble and confident in God's everlasting mercy even as she looks into the face of death.  She was quite a remarkable woman.

I've been away from my blog for quite some time.  Was it really October when I last posted?  Let's hope that this post is the beginning of me writing again.

And, my sixteen-year-old self would be disappointed with my too-old-to-tell self if I failed to mention that this week also marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.  Somewhere deep inside is a girl who still loves those mop-top-sporting fellas. 

"I am half-sick of shadows," said the Lady of Shalott

The new J. Crew Catalog came in the mail today.  It looked very Anthropologie-ish to me.  That's not a bad thing, though, as I happen to love Anthropologie and find myself not usually as enamored by J. Crew.

Does the cover remind you of anything else?  Think hard...

Well, the second thing I thought when I saw it was, "Oh, the Lady Ophelia!"  Take a look at this depiction by John Everett Millais (Ophelia, 1851-1852):

Of course, I will give you full credit as well if you said, "The Lady of Shalott," or perhaps, "The Lady Elaine."

Oh, Anne of Green Gables, you are so dear to my heart!

Does it make me completely morbid to want to do my own Lady of Shalott/Elaine/Ophelia-inspired photoshoot?  (Did you see Anja's "Northern Lake Baptism" shoot on her blog?  It is sooo beautiful, you really should check it out!)

I would love to see a series of photographs based on tragic women figures in history and literature, kind of a Harold and Maude sort of a thing (i.e., death scenes).  Wouldn't that be terribly romantic?  Hmmm, now to think of some examples.  There is Cleopatra and the asp, Lady Jane Grey and the axe, Emma Bovary and the arsenic...

Who else can we think of?


XOXO,

Libraries and nerd-ery

There is no frigate like a book

To take us lands away,

Nor any coursers like a page

Of prancing poetry.

This traverse may the poorest take

Without oppress of toll;

How frugal is a chariot

That bears a human soul!

~ Emily Dickinson, Part One: Life XCIX

I am, without a doubt, the biggest nerd I know.  How else to describe someone who gets as much joy out of a library as I do.  When I moved out of Brooklyn in late February, it was with great sadness that I bid my local library (The Brooklyn Public Library's Central Branch) goodbye.  I was not ready to let it go, and on subsequent visits to the city, I've stopped by and checked more books and DVDs out.  I'm thankful for their online renewal service, and for my friend, Corrie, who has graciously volunteered to return my books for me if I mail them to her.

Having my nearest "local" library some three hours drive away was not ideal or practical for a self-avowed book lover such myself.  I was under the impression that I was banned from the New Castle County Public Library system because of a $100 fine that I somehow accrued  almost fifteen years ago.  I finally decided a few weeks ago that I would just pay the fine, but when I went in to talk to them, my fine had mysteriously disappeared, and I emerged from the library the triumphant owner of a bright yellow piece of plastic entitling me to borrow from any of the local libraries.  Yippee!

After my physical therapy session today (working on my knees), I drove to the nearest branch, and somehow managed a half hour later to have accumulated an armful of books on topics ranging from Eleanor of Aquitaine and Lady Jane Grey, to fashions of the 1940's, to sex and chastity.  What joy I had perusing those shelves; what regret in deciding to leave some books behind!  I didn't want to be too overzealous-- after all, I do only have them for three weeks at a time.

Perhaps I shall share some thoughts on my reading in future posts.  In the meanwhile though, I have a lot of reading to do!