Threads of History

I’ve begun reading George III, A Personal History, by Christopher Hibbert.  One of those fun little tidbits of history was revealed on the 8th page. 

... the future King George III, was born on 4 June 1738 at a home in St. James’s Square rented from the Duke of Norfolk.

and in the footnote:

Norfolk House was demolished in 1938 and the present house, No. 31, was built on the site to the design of Messrs Gunton and Gunton.  A plaque on the front of the building records that it was there that General Eisenhower formed the first Allied Force Headquarters, and planned the North African campaign of 1942 and the invasion on north-west Europe in 1944.  There is no plaque recording the birth of King George III.

How fitting. 

On an unrelated note, on page 43 the author is relating the voyage of the future queen to England.  It references two of her companions as such:

These were the Duchess of Ancaster, her Mistress of the Robes, and the Duchess of Hamilton, First Lady of the Bedchamber, the discomfort of the first being exacerbated by her being pregnant and ‘subject to hysteric fits’, and of the other by concern for the lactation of the ass that she had insisted on taking aboard with her.

I googled “lactation of the ass” and the results were… unpleasant.  Surely there is another meaning, but I can’t seem to uncover it.  Does anyone know?

1. I think the Duchess of Hamilton was referring to the Duchess of Ancaster.

   Posted by James Wigderson on June 29, 2010 at 1954 hrs




2. Ass = Donkey

   If she brought aboard a female (known as a jenny) in milk, she’d need to be milked just like a cow.

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 29, 2010 at 2035 hrs




3. Ass = Donkey

   If she brought aboard a female (known as a jenny) in milk, she’d need to be milked just like a cow.

   I’m certain this is what it meant.

   Good grief Owen I can’t imagine what you found on your Google search.  Do you go to the image tab by chance?

   Posted by Jay4Liberty on June 29, 2010 at 2049 hrs




4. If she brought aboard a female (known as a jenny) in milk, she’d need to be milked just like a cow.

   That makes sense as I reread it.  By the phraseology of the author I took “the lactation of the ass” to be a noun - as if she had a jug of ass milk - but that wouldn’t seem to present a source of agitation no matter how rough the seas. 

   Thanks, Capt’n

   Posted by Owen on June 29, 2010 at 2104 hrs




5. Maybe the boat was being tossed about so the ass quit lactating and the woman needed her milk, dang it. And when the nonlactating ass served no other purpose, it began to look like a steak dinner to the crew.

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 29, 2010 at 2112 hrs




6. While certainly awkward grammatically, the other clue or way to look at it is to parse it without the lactation bit:

   concern for the ass that she had insisted on taking aboard with her.

   She had the pregnancy crazies and insisted on bringing a donkey on board - and was overly concerned about making sure the thing got milked.

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 29, 2010 at 2123 hrs




7. But if anything, you would drop the entire prepositional phrase “of the ass.”  The object of her concern was the lactation.  Then again, without the clarifying phrase, one is left to wonder about whom’s lactation she was so concerned.

   Posted by Owen on June 29, 2010 at 2131 hrs




8. Good grief, Owen. Move on to the next paragraph. Please. Can’t you just look at porn like normal husbands?

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 29, 2010 at 2140 hrs




9. Yes, Dear.

   Posted by Owen on June 29, 2010 at 2143 hrs




10. I’m googling the lactating ass phrase now….

    hmmm, a porn fetish.  Who knew?

    Posted by Jay4Liberty on June 29, 2010 at 2145 hrs




11. I think I’d enjoy a BBQ at the Owen/Wendy homestead.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 29, 2010 at 2205 hrs




12. Try Cake Farts next Jay4.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 29, 2010 at 2251 hrs




13. Owen - read books with more pictures in them.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 30, 2010 at 0738 hrs




14. Unlike a cow, an ass will not continue to produce milk just because you continue to milk it.  The ass needs the actual stimulus of a young ass suckling to continue to produce.  If the ass was being used as a source of milk for the people (which they often were) then the concern is most likely about keeping the lactation going while they were in transit so that the ass would still produce once they reached their destination.  owning an ass was also considered a sign of wealth, which would explain why the woman insisted on bringing it with her.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 01, 2010 at 1510 hrs