Seldom-used words - M to A

[NaokoSmith]

I came across a Morganatic marriage while I was away this week. The aristocratic owner of Uppark, a stately home, had been a friend of the Prince Regent (an expensive thing to be). He had never married, but one day he heard a Dairy Maid singing as she worked in the Dairy. He proposed to her. If she accepted, she was to carve meat for him at the evening meal - something no Dairy Maid should do.

While being dressed for dinner, he confessed to his valet "I think I have made a fool of myself".

The Dairy Maid carved for him that evening. They married. He was 70. She was 20.

He lived to 91, apparently very happy with his wife. She inherited the house and estate and ran it very well, leaving it to her younger sister, who then left it to a cousin of the nobleman. Both the Dairy Maid and her sister were well regarded by the staff and local community, and renowned for their charitable work.

Marrying one's Dairy Maid was very morganatic. Marrying a Housekeeper or Lady's Maid was much more acceptable, because of their far higher status in Servants' Hall.

She must have had a mellifluous voice, although such an adjective would be even more appropriate if she had been the beekeeper!

Was the marriage morganatic, if she got to inherit? I thought that was when Kings married someone who wasn't sufficiently Blue Blood, and by legal contract, they weren't really to inherit nor were any children from the marriage to be King/Queen afterwards.

I think there are some morganatic marriages in Sherlock Holmes stories, and in Agatha Christie's The Secret of Chimneys, the King-to-be of an obscure European country (there were lots of them around in those days, not like now when there are just wars in obscure European countries) refuses to have a morganatic marriage with the heroine of the story and romantically insists on marrying her properly.

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, that was a very interesting story. So, when King Edward VIII married Wallis Simpson, was that considered a morganatic marriage, too?

Naoko, forgive me for not commenting on what a great word mordant is for LIT. It has two other definitions in my dictionary.

mordant(2) - noun 1. a chemical that fixes a dye in or on a substance by combining with the dye to form an insoluble compound 2. a corroding substance used in etching

mordant(3) - vt to treat with a mordant

More Moorish words;

moresque(1) - adj often cap: having the characteristics of Moorish art or architecture

moresque(2) - noun often cap: an ornament or decorative motif in Moorish style

 

[NaokoSmith]

Well, you know, I thought Edward VIII and Wallace Simpson's marriage would not be morganatic, and I was right, as this wikipedia article confirms. Edward wanted to marry Wallace Simpson in a morganatic alliance, but public feeling was so against it that he abdicated instead.

The article also says morganatic marriages are known as 'left-handed' because in the wedding ceremony the groom takes the bride by his left instead of his right hand.

 

[AllardChardon]

Thanks for the great answer to my question, Naoko. No matter how you look at it, Edward and Wallis' marriage caused a lot of problems for the royals. But without those problems, Queen Elizabeth II might never have been, but you know all about that.

One last entry before heading outside to work;

morello - noun a cultivated cherry derived from the sour cherry and distinguished from an amarelle by the dark-colored skin and juice

 

[NaokoSmith]

Thanks for the great answer to my question, Naoko. No matter how you look at it, Edward and Wallis' marriage caused a lot of problems for the royals. But without those problems, Queen Elizabeth II might never have been, but you know all about that.

One last entry before heading outside to work;

morello - noun a cultivated cherry derived from the sour cherry and distinguished from an amarelle by the dark-colored skin and juice

Mind your back out there - if you are headed back to the garden! You don't want all the mayhem which will ensue if you put your back out.

 

[oggbashan]

She must have had a mellifluous voice, although such an adjective would be even more appropriate if she had been the beekeeper!

Was the marriage morganatic, if she got to inherit? I thought that was when Kings married someone who wasn't sufficiently Blue Blood, and by legal contract, they weren't really to inherit nor were any children from the marriage to be King/Queen afterwards.

I think there are some morganatic marriages in Sherlock Holmes stories, and in Agatha Christie's The Secret of Chimneys, the King-to-be of an obscure European country (there were lots of them around in those days, not like now when there are just wars in obscure European countries) refuses to have a morganatic marriage with the heroine of the story and romantically insists on marrying her properly.

The Dairy Maid, Mary Ann Bullock, would not have inherited the title, or rather would not have passed it on to the children she didn't have. She was known as Lady, because that was a courtesy, not a real title.

The rules on who inherits a title are set by the College of Arms acting on behalf of the Monarch. IF the bridegroom wanted the marriage to be a 'proper' one, he needed the prior approval of the College of Arms, or if of Royal Blood, the Monarch and possible the Government.

Mary Ann inherited the property, but NOT the title.

The really scandalous morganatic marriage was that of the Prince Regent to Mrs Fitzherbert. It meant that when he did finally marry 'appropriately', that marriage was bigamous!

 

[NaokoSmith]

The Dairy Maid, Mary Ann Bullock, would not have inherited the title, or rather would not have passed it on to the children she didn't have. She was known as Lady, because that was a courtesy, not a real title.

Was she seriously a dairy maid called Bullock!

 

[oggbashan]

Was she seriously a dairy maid called Bullock!

From link at end in post #225

One day in 1825, while walking past the dairy on his estate, Uppark, the 70-year-old master of the house heard Mary Ann Bullock, an eighteen-year-old diary maid, singing. Details of the courtship are scarce, but what is known is that Sir Harry married Mary Ann and provided her with a governess to be educated in the manner of a lady. He then sent his bride, now twenty-one years of age, to Paris to complete her education. Lady Fethersonhaugh lived a quiet life in the country with her husband and her younger sister, Frances, who had moved in with them.

 

[NaokoSmith]

From link at end in post #225

One day in 1825, while walking past the dairy on his estate, Uppark, the 70-year-old master of the house heard Mary Ann Bullock, an eighteen-year-old diary maid, singing. Details of the courtship are scarce, but what is known is that Sir Harry married Mary Ann and provided her with a governess to be educated in the manner of a lady. He then sent his bride, now twenty-one years of age, to Paris to complete her education. Lady Fethersonhaugh lived a quiet life in the country with her husband and her younger sister, Frances, who had moved in with them.

OMG! what a story there is in there. You are making it up! The dairy maid ... the governess who educated her in the manner of a ... lady , the younger sister joining in ... It's an MSTarot!

Sorry that I doubted you about the morganaticity of the alliance! I hesitated to question you, I was sure you would be right, and how right I was - that I was wrong, um er ... as it were

 

[oggbashan]

OMG! what a story there is in there. You are making it up! The dairy maid ... the governess who educated her in the manner of a ... lady , the younger sister joining in ... It's an MSTarot!

Sorry that I doubted you about the morganaticity of the alliance! I hesitated to question you, I was sure you would be right, and how right I was - that I was wrong, um er ... as it were

It was unbelievable by the standards of the time, but Sir Harry Fethersonhaugh was generally considered to be 'as thick as two short planks'.

It gave plenty of material for Victorian Lady romance novelists.

 

[NaokoSmith]

It was unbelievable by the standards of the time, but Sir Harry Fethersonhaugh was generally considered to be 'as thick as two short planks'.

It gave plenty of material for Victorian Lady romance novelists.

I bet it did!

 

[oggbashan]

The marriages of the Gunning sisters were not morganatic, but they caused more scandal than Mary Ann Bullock.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Gunning,_1st_Baroness_Hamilton_of_Hameldon

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Elizabeth_Campbell%2C_1st_Baroness_Hamilton.png

Born Elizabeth Gunning in Hemingford Grey, Huntingdonshire, she was the daughter of John Gunning of Castle Coote, County Roscommon and his wife, the Hon. Bridget Bourke, daughter of Theobald Bourke (1681–1741), 6th Viscount Mayo. Elizabeth's elder sister was Maria Gunning.

In late 1740 or early 1741, the Gunning family returned to John Gunning's ancestral home in Ireland, where they divided their time between their home in Roscommon, and a rented house in Dublin. According to some sources, when Maria and her sister Elizabeth came of age, their mother urged them to take up acting in order to earn a living, due to the family's relative poverty. The sources further state that the Gunning sisters worked for some time in the Dublin theatres, befriending actors like Margaret Woffington, even though acting was not considered a respectable profession as many actresses of that time doubled as courtesans to wealthy benefactors. However, other sources[who?] differ and point out that Margaret Woffington did not arrive in Dublin until May 1751, by which time Maria and her sister Elizabeth were in England.

In October 1748, a ball was held at Dublin Castle by the Viscountess Petersham. The two sisters did not have any dresses for the gathering until Tom Sheridan, the manager of one of the local theatres, supplied them with two costumes from the green room, those of Lady Macbeth and Juliet. Wearing the costumes, they were presented to the Earl of Harrington, the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Harrington must have been pleased by the meeting as, by 1750, Bridget Gunning had persuaded him to grant her a pension, which she then used to transport herself, Maria, and Elizabeth, back to their original home in Huntingdon, England. With their attendance at local balls and parties, the beauty of two girls was much remarked upon. They became well-known celebrities, their fame reaching all the way to London, with themselves following soon afterwards. On 2 December 1750, they were presented at the court of St James. By this time, they were sufficiently famous that the presentation was noted in the London newspapers.

Elizabeth was immortalized in portraits by, among others, artists Sir Joshua Reynolds and Gavin Hamilton.
Marriage into nobility

In January 1752, Elizabeth met the Duke of Hamilton. According to Walpole, on 14 February (St. Valentine's Day) at a party at Bedford House, the duke declared his desire to marry Elizabeth that night and he called for a local parson to perform the ceremony. However, without a license, calling of banns, and a ring, the parson refused. They were eventually married that night in Mayfair Chapel (which did not require a license) in a clandestine marriage, with a ring from a bed-curtain, whereupon Elizabeth became the Duchess of Hamilton.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Coventry,_Countess_of_Coventry

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/MariaCountessOfCoventry.jpg

She was born Maria Gunning in Hemingford Grey, Huntingdonshire and was the eldest child of John Gunning of Castlecoote,[1] County Roscommon and his wife Hon. Bridget Bourke, daughter of Theobald Bourke (1681–1741), 6th Viscount Mayo. Maria's younger siblings were Elizabeth, Catherine (married Robert Travis, died 1773), Sophia, Lizzie, and John (a general in the army). Although her beginnings were humble, Maria Gunning would go on to become one of the most celebrated beauties of her day.

In late 1740 or early 1741, the Gunning family returned to John Gunning's ancestral home in Ireland, where they divided their time between their home in Roscommon, and a rented house in Dublin. According to some sources, when Maria and her sister Elizabeth came of age, their mother urged them to take up acting in order to earn a living, owing to the family's relative poverty. The sources further state that the Gunning sisters worked for some time in the Dublin theatres, befriending actors like Peg Woffington, even though acting was not considered a respectable profession as many actresses of that time doubled as courtesans to wealthy benefactors. However, other sources deny this and point out that Margaret Woffington did not arrive in Dublin until May 1751, by which time Maria and her sister Elizabeth were in England.

In October 1748, a ball was held at Dublin Castle by the Viscountess Petersham. The two sisters did not have any dresses for the gathering until Tom Sheridan, the manager of one of the local theatres, supplied them with two costumes from the green room, those of Lady Macbeth and Juliet. Wearing the costumes, they were presented to the Earl of Harrington, the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Harrington must have been pleased by the meeting as, by 1750, Bridget Gunning had persuaded him to grant her a pension, which she then used to transport herself, Maria, and Elizabeth, back to their original home in Huntingdon, England. With their attendance at local balls and parties, the beauty of two girls was much remarked upon. They became well-known celebrities, their fame reaching all the way to London, and themselves following soon afterward. On 2 December 1750, they were presented at the court of St James. By this time, they were sufficiently famous that the presentation was noted in the London newspapers. Maria, who was notoriously tactless, was reported to have made a notable gaffe by telling the elderly George II that the spectacle she would most like to see was a royal funeral. Fortunately the King was highly amused.

Within a year, her sister Elizabeth had married the Duke of Hamilton. In March 1752, Maria married the 6th Earl of Coventry and became the Countess of Coventry. For their honeymoon, the Earl and Countess traveled around Europe accompanied by Lady Petersham, but neither lady enjoyed it much, especially Maria who particularly disliked Paris. The Countess's ignorance of the French language and her husband's decision not to allow her to wear red powder as make-up (which was fashionable in Paris at the time) intensified her dislike of the city and the trip. On one occasion, her husband saw her arrive at dinner with powder on her face and tried to rub it off with his handkerchief. Her tactlessness, which had amused George II, struck the French Court as simple bad manners.

Maria's popularity and beauty was such, that on her return to London, she was mobbed when she appeared in Hyde Park and was eventually given a guard by the King, led by the Earl of Pembroke. Her husband became involved with then famous courtesan Kitty Fisher, [see below] which caused Maria much distress.

Maria, also, became involved in at least one affair. She was rumoured to have been involved romantically with the 3rd Duke of Grafton, but this was never confirmed beyond doubt.

In the park Lady Coventry asked Kitty Fisher for "the name of the dressmaker who had made her dress."

Kitty Fisher answered she ..."had better ask Lord Coventry as he had given her the dress as a gift."

The altercation continued with Lady Coventry calling her an impertinent woman.

Kitty replied that she ... "would have to accept this insult because Maria was socially superior since marrying Lord Coventry, but she was going to marry a Lord herself just to be able to answer back." [She didn't. She married a Member of Parliament.]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Fisher

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Kitty_Fisher_and_parrot,_by_Joshua_Reynolds.jpg

 

[oggbashan]

And then there is "The Double Duchess"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_Cavendish,_Duchess_of_Devonshire


Louisa Frederica Augusta Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, formerly Louisa Montagu, Duchess of Manchester, née Luise Fredericke Auguste Countess von Alten (15 June 1832, Hanover –15 July 1911), daughter of Karl Franz Viktor, Count von Alten (1800–1879) and his wife, Hermine de Schminke (1806-February 11, 1868).

On 22 July 1852 she was married at Hanover to Viscount Mandeville, eldest son of the 6th Duke of Manchester. He succeeded his father as 7th Duke of Manchester on the 8 August 1855, and Louisa became Duchess of Manchester.

They had five children:

George Victor Drogo Montagu, 8th Duke of Manchester (1853–1892)
Lady Mary Louisa Elizabeth Montagu (Kimbolton Castle, 27 December 1854 – 10 February 1934), married firstly at Kimbolton Castle, 10 December 1873 William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton and had issue, and secondly 20 July 1897 to Robert Carnaby Forster of Easton Park, Wickham Market, Suffolk (d. 23 June 1925), without issue.
Lady Louisa Augusta Beatrice Montagu (Kimbolton Castle, 17 January 1856 – London, 3 March 1944), married London, 10 August 1876 Archibald Acheson, 4th Earl of Gosford and had issue.
Lord Charles William Augustus Montagu (Kimbolton Castle, 23 November 1860 – 10 November 1939), married at Kimbolton Castle, 4 December 1930 Hon. Mildred Cecilia Harriet Sturt (27 February 1869 – London, 17 September 1942), daughter of Henry Sturt, 1st Baron Alington, without issue.
Lady Alice Maude Olivia Montagu (London, 15 August 1862 – Coworth Park, 23 July 1957), married at London, 5 January 1889 Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby and had issue.

She was appointed Mistress of the Robes to the Queen on 24 February 1858, and remained in that office until the fall of Lord Derby's government on 11 June 1859.

The Duke of Manchester died at Naples on 22 March 1890, and on 16 August 1892 at Christ Church, Mayfair, the sixty-year-old Dowager Duchess of Manchester married the 8th Duke of Devonshire, who had been in love with her for years. She thereby became Duchess of Devonshire; sometimes she is given the nickname "The Double Duchess".

Widowed for the second time on 24 March 1908, she died after a seizure at the Sandown Races in Esher Park, Surrey on 15 July 1911, aged 79, and was interred at Edensor, Derbyshire.

[Og's note: The Double Duchess was one of the most popular members of the Victorian aristocracy. She made everyone she met feel at ease and comfortable talking to her.]

 

[NaokoSmith]

Fabulous stuff! Stop it, I am trying to get dressed to go out. You are too entertaining! I feel like an eighteenth century lady in her boudoir, where they were allowed to receive gentlemen visitors while they powdered their ... noses, LOL.

Where's my beauty spot got to?

 

[Handley_Page]

Mesonoxian.
Anything related to midnight

 

[AllardChardon]

I will read everything I missed and comment a bit later. Thanks, everyone.

Naoko, I started walking two miles a day, followed by 45 minutes of Yoga, back in March, so I was in better shape than usual this year. I do limit my time, depending on heat and task, to 4 to 6 hours with plenty of water breaks in the shade. I dehydrated myself badly last year and never want to repeat that ordeal again. I was so dizzy, I could barely walk, and that scared me into the proper care of my body. Thanks for the concern, though, you are a real sweetheart.

I skipped over this one earlier;

Morgan - noun any of an American breed of light horses originated in Vermont from the progeny of one prepotent stallion of uncertain ancestry

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, what a wonderful collection of stories about racy ladies of olden days. I adore history and significant women of their day. Thanks so much for taking the time to post everything you did.

This stone was named for J P Morgan, but I really don't know why;

morganite - noun a rose-colored gem variety of beryl

 

[NaokoSmith]

Hullo Allard, that sounds like a very good exercise programme. I'm trying to get out on my bicycle more, although I'm not very good about doing it regularly enough.

I was so entertained by Ogg's stories that I never had time to put my makeup on! and had to rush out the door without, LOL. While I was out, I thought of this word but luckily I have no idea how to operate my supposedly smart phone and couldn't rudely whip it out there and then and log in here, ignoring my dinner partner.

The gentlemen Ogg describes had contracted a mésalliance.

 

[Handley_Page]

Hullo Allard, that sounds like a very good exercise programme. I'm trying to get out on my bicycle more, although I'm not very good about doing it regularly enough.

I was so entertained by Ogg's stories that I never had time to put my makeup on! and had to rush out the door without, LOL. While I was out, I thought of this word but luckily I have no idea how to operate my supposedly smart phone and couldn't rudely whip it out there and then and log in here, ignoring my dinner partner.

The gentlemen Ogg describes had contracted a mésalliance.

[track off]
See this one?
listen here.

[track on]

 

[NaokoSmith]

[track off]
See this one?
listen here.

[track on]

That's a great one, HP! and has as part of the lyrics the Scottish proverb: Many a mickle maks a muckle, or lots of little things add up to a big one.

 

[AllardChardon]

Most entertaining, Naoko, and Handley. Thanks so much for furthering my education in British fun!

Another fabric word;

moreen - noun a strong fabric of wool, wool and cotton, or cotton with a plain glossy or moire' finish

 

[AllardChardon]

Good day, everyone. Before leaving mordant behind, I must add these two;

mordacious - adj 1. biting or sharp in style or manner: CAUSTIC 2. given to biting: BITING

mordancy - noun 1. a biting or caustic quality of style: INCISIVENESS 2. a sharply critical or bitter quality of thought or feeling: HARSHNESS

 

[NaokoSmith]

I have come back in with a bottle of Margaux, from my make-up-less evening out. It wasn't quite as nice as I was hoping it would be (it wasn't a Chateau Margaux BTW). I was a bit surprised that they just took the cork out and sloshed it in the glasses without letting it breathe, poor thing.

"It's very expensive," the very young waiter said, when I ordered it.

"Well, I'm not paying and I'm worth it," I replied.

 

[AllardChardon]

That is funny, Naoko, thanks for sharing. I used to waitress and did wine presentation often. When it is not done properly, it really shows.

morass - noun 1. MARSH, SWAMP 2. something that traps, confuses, or impedes

 

[NaokoSmith]

I'm really surprised by the lack of care with which provincial restaurants sometimes treat the wine that goes with their food. (I'm sure I must have told the story about the Prince of Wales and the bottle of Chateau d'Yquem in the previous thread.)

Musty - mouldy stale state which things get into if left lying around too long. Particularly used of smell. It seems unclear whether the word comes from a corruption of moist, or from
Must - grape juice before/during fermentation.