Mrs Rat and her Friends

Nicknames were prevalent in the age of letters. In fact, whole new dialects seem to be created by the aristocracy, such as the "Cavendish drawl" which the Devonshire House circle spoke in. each member of the circle seemed to have a nickname. Although some origins are obvious, others are quite perplexing. These nicknames were the usual form of address in casual letters, although we cannot be so sure how often they were used vocally.













Duchess of Devonshire Mrs. Rat













Duke of Devonshire Canis, due to his affection for dogs.












Lady Bess Foster Racky













Duchess de Polignac Little Po













Marie Antoinette, Mrs. B[rown], Louis was, of course, Mr. B












Richard Brinsley Sheridan Argus












Charles James Fox The Eyebrow, due to his enormous eyebrows











Lady Jersey The Infernal












Duke of Richmond Goodwin












Prince of Wales Prinny










Charles, Earl Grey Black












Duke of Dorset Pride









Frederick, Viscount Duncannon (Harriet's husband) Harum, due to his love of pranks

Bess had her own unique nickname with the Spencers: the Chief Councellor.

No, Consumption is not actually alcohol-poisoning...

Gout has been on my mind a lot lately this weekend due to my arm randomly hurting followed by a mysterious bruise later in the week. Isn't that lovely! I need some leaches. So what better an occasion to bring up some common 18th century ailments and what they were known as in their heyday.

Apoploxy - Stroke

Chrisom - Infant death

Consumption - Tuberculosis

Falling Sickness - Epilepsy

French Pox - Venereal Diseases, specifically Gonorrhea and Syphilis which weren't always decipherable to the Enlightened eye. One supposed cure was to consummate with an uninfected person.

Goiter - Enlarged thyroid gland usually due to iodine deficiency. This could, in turn, cause bulging eyes.

Gout - A form of Arthritis due to imbalance of uric acid. Aristocrats would commonly find themselves ailing of Gout due to their taste in rich foods.

Hemiplegy - Palsy, paralysis of one side of the body usually due to Apoploxy.

Looseness - Dysentery

Lues Venera - Venereal Disease

Lung Fever - Pneumonia

Morsal - Gangrene

Puerperal Fever/Sepsis - Sepsis of the womb or birth canal

Rickets - Lack of vitamin D or calcium resulting in bow-legs

Thrush - Infection of the mouth and/or throat

Tympany - Tumors