Q: "travelling lady"?

[Joel S. Berson]

At 10/15/2010 01:31 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>John may be right, but my _Sprachgefuehl_ agrees with Joel's, namely that
>_travelling lady_ was a recognized compound and not merely equivalent to
>"lady who happened to be traveling with him."

The problems are:  All of about a dozen raw Google Books hits before
1800 are straightforward, with no hints of liaisons -- simply a woman
who did travel or had traveled.  (And it seems to be complimentary --
a travelling lady had knowledge of the world.)  Expanding the search
to later dates may be like finding the needle.  I was hoping someone
could point to another meaning, but so far no one has, including the
18th c. list participants.  I think I and Jon perhaps are too suspicious.

>If they were an item, cf. modern euphemistic use of "companion."

She was at least part of an item in the newspaper.  :-)

Joel


>JL
>
>
>On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 1:17 PM, Baker, John <JMB at stradley.com> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Baker, John" <JMB at STRADLEY.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: Q: "travelling lady"?
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >        The story is also reported in the London Daily Advertiser (Sept.
> > 25, 1736), where it says that the sheriff handed M'Cullogh "to a Carr,
> > and was his Guard to the House call'd the Ware; from whence he sent him
> > that Night, together with his travelling Lady (who had bravely stood all
> > the Fires) and the rest of the Prisoners, under a strong Guard to his
> > Majesty's Goal at Killmaisham."  This is from Access Newspaper Archives;
> > the scan is not the best, so there may be an error somewhere (the
> > spelling "Goal" is clear, though).
> >
> >        I at first thought that "travelling lady" would be a courtesan
> > or adventuress, but I don't think there is any evidence that a
> > travelling lady in the eighteenth century was anything other than a lady
> > who travels, so I think this is simply a reference to the captain's wife
> > or consort, likely the former.  It sounds like the lady was in the
> > castle with the captain, if she bravely stood all the fires, so the
> > travel may simply be to the Goal.
> >
> >
> > John Baker
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> > Of Jonathan Lighter
> > Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 12:44 PM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: Q: "travelling lady"?
> >
> > You mean you think they were an item?
> >
> > Regardless, it may be that by 18th C. standards her prison confinement
> > was
> > not considered very different from confinement as a PW - perhaps an
> > especially wicked one for her close association with her boss.
> >
> > JL
> > On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 12:26 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > > Subject:      Re: Q: "travelling lady"?
> > >
> > >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > -------
> > >
> > > I would think more than a laundress.  Why would a servant, and only
> > > this one, be especially mentioned as taken to prison?  And if she was
> > > the only woman in the castle, would she not have been someone
> > > special?  The only other persons of M'Cullogh's party mentioned are
> > > "the rest of the Garrison", many of them wounded, who were made
> > > "prisoners of war".
> > >
> > > Joel
> > >
> > > At 10/15/2010 11:42 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > > >Laundress and attendant?
> > > >
> > > >JL
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 11:23 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net>
> > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > > > -----------------------
> > > > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > > > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > > > > Subject:      Q:  "travelling lady"?
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > -------
> > > > >
> > > > > In 1736 Ireland, a Capt. M'Cullogh forcibly, with arms, resisted a
> > > > > sheriff trying to serve a "writ of restitution" to remove him from
> > a
> > > > > castle he was resident in.  When he was captured, he, "together
> > with
> > > > > his travelling Lady", was sent to his Majesty's Goal.  [From a
> > Boston
> > > > > newspaper.]
> > > > >
> > > > > Does "travelling lady" have any meaning beyond the notion of a
> > woman
> > > > > who travels?  Here M'Cullogh is not described as travelling;
> > rather,
> > > > > the newspaper article is entirely about the siege of the castle
> > and
> > > > > the capture of Mc'Cullogh.
> > > > >
> > > > > Joel
> > > > >
> >
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