Wizardry, triplets and a 90 year old father!

The view from my bathroom window.  Snowy hills just visible in centre.

 Well, the predicted snow is sprinkled very lightly on nearby hills, but the hills beyond Hundred House in the distance are white.  I drove down to collect my prescription and have a word with the Pharmacist.  He said this is a very persistent virus, and to steam myself 3 times a day, 10 mins each time, and have short walks.  So, that I shall do.  I walked up to the junction and back but the very cold air effects my asthma so I had to put my gloved hand over nose and mouth to warm the air before it made me cough. I will wear a scarf over my face later.  Tea tonight is going to be Spag. Bol, so will throw that together shortly.

I found a very useful Manx Family History link today and have been going through Newspapers.  Nothing that I am actively searching, but had to smile at Mr Dupe, gunmaker, St Aldate's, whose wife "about half his age" presented him with a daughter.  He has only drunk water all his life, and his wife is similarly teetotal.  His age . . . 90 years in 4 months time!!! (this was around 1841 I think).

Then there were two lots of triplets.  One set to a woman in Limerick, who had not had a child for 6 years now (obviously catching up after the rest!).  Another (unnamed) woman, a framework knitter from Leicestershire, gave her husband John Lee three fine daughters, which were named Faith, Hope and Charity . . .  Clearly the Manx papers collected news snippets country wide if of sufficient interest.

Then there was a case of Wizardry.  "It appears that some feud existed between Cringle and Clucas, when suddenly a cow belonging to the latter fell sick, which was attributed to the wizard agency of his foe.  However, a panacea was quickly devised by the enlightened rustics to neutralise the enchantment, and to save the animal from inevitable death.  The remedy was this: the dust was swept from the threshold of Cringle's door by the wife of Clucas, and rubbed upon the poor stricken cow.  The effect, as anticipated, was electrical; the cow was as well as ever before the rubbing ceased, and the whole vicinity are loud in their praises of the specific, and wish us to publish it.  We have done so, but not for the purposes of recommending it, but solely to apprize the Home Missionary Society of a station and hope they will despatch a teacher without delay to the benighted inhabitants of the above district (Oak Hill)."

Within in our family grouping, we have Mr Thomas C----e of the Glaick, aged 68 years, who married Miss Ann C----e, aged 27 years.  I would love to know the nitty-gritty of this relationship - did she marry for love or money or ???  That's quite an age gap.