Susan - are you looking for more folk and country type tunes? My DH like to play stuff like that on his guitar. It is possible he'll have some other ideas when he gets home

Thanks, brenda!

And thanks, beth, but my character is much more the classical type. Um, this is the part where I admit to maybe being a little crazy and talking to the dead and/or imaginary people who inhabit my brain, but he kinda insisted I research the kind of music someone of his good breeding and exalted birth would know, because to him my own tastes in the music of his era are so depressingly, well, common. Except for my love for Handel's Messiah, I'm all folk music and Wesley hymns when it comes to the 18th and early 19th century.

I'm not REALLY crazy, I swear! I know lots of authors--well, at least several--whose characters talk back to them. It makes it more fun!

I thinking more like this kind of stuff

[link]

O'Caralan is a bit earlier than you are looking for but it sounds more like the type of music yo are talking about

( if you click on his name in the above link you get a taste of the music )

never mind

You wrote more while I ws off looking - so you get the info anyway. this is something that was popular back then ( from a musical ) and is still known today

heart of Oak

[link]

hivemind - any tricks to keep a jack-o-lantern from rotting?

Here's a dude who says WD-40 will give you three days: [link] But in general, I think that's why they live outside.

Bleach? [link]

I've heard varnish, but I've never tried it.

That Last Supper almost scares me. I shouldn't be able to see that much.

Bleach? [link]

Wow, that was really cool. And reminiscent of a science fair project I once did about mold on bread.

this is what I found

Preserving and Firming Up a Pumpkin

If the pumpkin is carved, put the carved part face down. Let the pumpkin float, and let the insides fill with water. The pumpkin will absorb the water and become very firm.

If you have fine detail work to do, you may want to let your pumpkin soak over night. This will firm up the pumpkin flesh and allow you to do intricate carving.

For long term storage, put a thin amount of petroleum jelly on the exposed, sawed edges. This prevents water from getting out. If water gets out, your pumpkin will shrivel. Anytime your pumpkin shrivels, soak it in a bath of cold water for one to eight hours, longer is better. Over night doesn't hurt.

Putting a little unscented Clorox bleach in the water will prevent your pumpkin from prematurely molding by killing off evil pumpkin germs.

Use a plant mister to spray your pumpkin and keep it moist. If you put it in plastic wrap to hold the water in and place it in the refrigerator, not the freezer, you can keep the pumpkin looking good for a long, long time.

Once you remove a wet pumpkin for display, you should immediately dry it off. This prevents mold from hanving a chance to grow.