Important note for those who view this site:

  The novelist L P Hartley opened one of his books with the words ' The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there.' So, if you are bothered by words and terms used on this site, please note when the item was written and remember L P Hartley's words! I try to alter written material as little as possible, so that the reader is brought as close as possible to the time in which it was written, with all the different language, thought processes, attitudes and environments involved. I hope you will find the site interesting, instructive, and even entertaining.

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