What could you conjure with characters named Mr. Trick and Mrs. Treat?
In April 1849, Mr. Trick and his family emigrated from England to the U.S., along with another two score families. Trick was a baker and a member of the Banwell Total Abstinence Society and Banwell Wesleyan Missionary Society. He often spoke on the subject of “missions to the heathens.” The family finally settled in Iowa, where the stick up Mr. Trick’s ass became firmly wedged.
In 1875, the Edinburgh Evening News reported on Mrs. Treat and her animal-eating plants. Mary’s husband Joseph regularly lectured on women’s rights and abolition, so already the Treats sound like better neighbors than the Tricks. The Treats also emigrated to the U.S., settling in New Jersey.
Mary was a self-trained naturalist interested in insects and carnivorous plants. Mary’s independent research was published in scientific magazines as well as books including Chapters on Ants (1879) Injurious insects of the farm and garden (1882); and Home Studies in Nature (1885). She corresponded with Charles Darwin and had plant and insect species named after her.
Interesting characters, with contrasting names and personalities. What shenanigans could they have conducted had they met? What other contrasting but paired characters can you think up? What happens next?
