Bassetts Scrap Book, Vol 5, No 12

Articles in this issue

• Leap Year Customs

  A survey of the traditions associated with Leap Year, particularly the custom of women proposing marriage to men on February 29.

  p. 3
• Ruskin on Cookery

  John Ruskin's views on the art of cookery, arguing that it deserves to be ranked among the highest of the domestic arts.

  p. 2
• A Leap Year Proposition

  A comic poem in which a woman boldly takes advantage of Leap Year custom to propose marriage to her reluctant beau.

  p. 3
• The Etymology of 'Trunk'

  A note tracing the word 'trunk' for a large travel chest back to the Norman Conquest and William the Conqueror's court.

  p. 4
• Hip Hip Hurrah: From Crusades to Cheering Crowds

  An account of how the battle cry 'HEP' used by Crusaders against Jewish communities in Jerusalem evolved into the modern cheering phrase 'hip hip hurrah.'

  p. 5