Something of interest - Col Dickson's court-martial:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=sisYAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA164#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Dear Yetanotherlurker,




You have solved puzzle for me that goes back 30 years. When I was at school , in those middle years, boys have a fascination with, well , shall I say, less than genteel humour. There was, at that time, a series of jokes circulating 'unofficially' about army officers, girls schools, Poona , and ,I think , we should draw a veil there.

However the alleged said activities were set in Poona in the 19th century. I never properly understood the basis for them until today. Perhaps it would not be wise for me ascertain the old school of the late Colonel , just in case.............

Sir, I remain in you debt

Yours etc......

Sir,

I regret too few anothers , on another posting above this one . Clearly disrespect was not intended!

"Sir,

I regret too few anothers , on another posting above this one . Clearly disrespect was not intended! "

Hear, Hear.

An interesting find Yetanotheranotherlurker. It is good to see someone besides American Way tapping the vast CP resources hidden in Google Books!

I have to say that I see nothing in the activities of Lieut.Col. A Hill Dickson, then commanding His Majesty's 40th Regiment of Foot, to promote schoolboy snig­geri­ng as suggested by prof.n. The Colonel was clearly a man of vision and modern ideas. Like Jenny some 175 years later he believed that corporal punishment was good for young ladies, and by ga­d sir, he made sure they got it!

Fascinating!

Lt Col. Dickson probably committed the cardinal sin of conduct unbecoming by soiling the name of the regiment.

If it was the 40th Foot, he should either have caned the girls on the soles of the feet, or used something worn on the foot to do the spanking! Had he been in the 40th Whippers or 40th flog-'em-and-be damnders, no problem!

Anyone know what the result of it all was? Was he cashiered/blackballed/acquitted?


Steve M

Hi: yetanotherlurker A very nice find indeed. Oddly enough it was my catholic school interests in austerity and the mortification of the flesh when I first came to discover my interests through studying the lives of the saints that steered me to a book that had to be accessed as an antiquarian book from the reference room with a locked bookcase. The curiosity of a child and serendipity came together. It was well past puberty that I became aware that such things could be considered naughty. In retrospect I wonder the poor woman reference librarian most of thought was my fascination as an eight grader. Little would I know that it would become a classic?

The book was called the History of the Rod and it had little under America. One room schools in the frontier days and rural areas much were the rule with the girls not finishing their education as it is in many third world countries had the hickory stick or just a switch often freshly cut from the nearest trees which were plentiful. The paddle never made it North and was not the instrument of correction chose by their Irish nuns who brought the custom of the cane along with their faith and a whole lot of guilt to boot.

Boston had their Eton quality like Boston Latin and used the birch.

The target was often the hand with an appropriate length cane but not a ferule in coed school or the ruler for the hand and a yardstick for sisters (ours the cane being an exception).

The modesty and refinement of the schoolmarms decreased the likelihood by using shaming (dunce cap)schoolmarms. I think that a legitimately historical book would be of value knowing full well of its fetish appeal.

In the schools and homes the instruments of correction was that which was easiest found. Switches and canes abounded in school with fathers and mothers choosing belts and mothers any thing from wooden spoons or hairbrushes. The target was more often than not the hand when girls were present because what was good for the goose was good for the gander. Not so much in single gender schools.

I hope the link image appearing under Margaret Stone's work was not removed by larry 1951 but was just trouble downloading. I wouldn't be spending 25 quid on something that was too unseemly to post in this estimable Forum.

Another Lurker,

Good to see you keep in practice lurking with the soft hyphen, and moreover that you appear satisfied with merely one another in your correct form of address.Your surmise may be correct in that the Poonah jokes contained little of intellectual quality , and exhibited a rather base sense of humour not at all appropriate to a leading Ladies academy in the hill country.

It did occur to me that it might , given the current preponderance of lurkers, be more appropriate for us to have Lurkers major, minor and minimus , but I fear such a suggestion might be taken awry .

Therefore I have an alternate idea : that you immediately form Lurker House and in some appropriate way determine your order of precedence amongst yourselves. It does however fall to me to remind you that whilst you may well win the annual climbing wall competition, you do not as yet have sufficient members to form an entry for the Michaelmas term 'sevens'.


I remain ,Sir , as always ...... etc......

A_L

Perhaps the Lt Col should have used the slipper instead?


It was the 40th Regiment of FOOT, after all!


Steve

Hi prof.n. You say:

It did occur to me that it might , given the current preponderance of lurkers, be more appropriate for us to have Lurkers major, minor and minimus , but I fear such a suggestion might be taken awry .

I fear thast the situation is even more complex than you might realise. I commend to you the last paragraph of my post here. As you will see we are only one short of being able to enter a team in the Michaelmas term 'sevens' As I am often also referred to as A_L here perhaps I could play in two positions and thus facilitate an entry. Of course A_Lurkologist will have to give me an undertaking not to accuse me of being Fran of Wembley before I'll agree to play in the same team with him!

You also say:

Your surmise may be correct in that the Poonah jokes contained little of intellectual quality , and exhibited a rather base sense of humour not at all appropriate to a leading Ladies academy in the hill country.

If you google schoolgirls poona as I did when attempting to discover more about the flagellation minded Lieut.Col. A Hill Dickson you will observe that schoolgirls in said city appear to have been the subject of several studies quite unrelated to the Colonel's activities. Possibly it was one of these that may have come to the attention of your fellow school boys.

James Glass Bertram assumed pseudonyms Margaret Anson (Merry Order of St Bridget) and of course Rev William M Cooper (History of the Rod). In the course of reading the lives of the saints I delighted that my sister chose that for her confirmation name and teased her. My sister picked her name for Bridgette Bardot like youngsters today Madonna. St Bridget flogged herself with keys. I have recommended Internet Archives before and the Merry Order of St Bridget is linked below. I am partial to the flip book but my favorite is the PDF mode. Instruments of correction illustration is from the History of the Rod. If you find this off topic or tasteless and you feel a need to take me to task please do so gently, Civility has been a trademark of this esteem Forum.

merry order of st bridget

instruments of correction

On a lighter note prof n the spatula has holes to cause blisters and there is an aid to help those who are not rock climbers to adopt the brace position.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BdPOH3JgJ1YC&pg=PA23&dq=&lr=&as_brr=3#v=onepage&f=false

History of the Rod. I would imagine this middle of the nineteenth century book was one of the first of the genre that mixed facts and fiction and appealed to scholars and the prurient alike. It passed the censors of my local library for rare books. It corrupted me.

http://www.aks-books.com/titles/history.htm

http://www.euriskodata.com/products/ROD.htm

I'm afraid that Google Book's new unlimited coverage is refined to the USA.

Here in the UK there are still a large number of books which don't show the relevant content, and I'm afraid this last link is one of those.

Can you possibly give us some idea of what's in chapter III, including some cut and pastes?

English Charity School Rev. William M. Cooper Second Link. The First Link Illustration for History of the Rod.


http://euriskodata.com/products/ROD.htm


click

Was this Rev William M Cooper's History of the Rod often read through its many years since its publication. I noticed historically there were printed editions from time to time. Mind you I encountered this in a library here printed in the 19th century at an early age of adolescence. Obviously, it is popular now in it soft back editions. In his aliases and was fascinated with woman's wardrobes and matters of modesty in his other works. I read this when I was of impressionable age and I wonder if others would like to share if and when such works became an interests to them.

August 1860. May be of some interests for local historians. Maidstone, not far from some felllow estimable Forumites domiciles, would not put up with indecent corporal punishment of a girl by a male.

CLICK

A gem from nine decades ago. Very uplifting to see there are ways of dealing with student misbehavior.

http://www.archive.org/details/citizenship_at_school-school_discipline

CLICK

This snippet follow up of my October 24 2009 at 11:28 PM post.

CLICK

http://archive.org/details/merryorderofstbr00bertrich

I wonder (wonder, wonder little star) if resentments, consciously or unconsciously, plays a part in school corporal punishment? We know that anger does.

The Merry Order of St. Bridget: Personal Account of the Use of the Rod

The ugly ones made their strokes twice as hard as the pretty ones. It seemed to me as though they were settling an account with nature for their own ugliness, when they let their rods fall on that white skin, from which red weals sprung with ever blow.

CLICK

CLICK

In my neck of the woods CP has been verboten for years but other forms of discipline are employed. Resentment may have played a part in this case. Teens are very sensitive but nonetheless his side was quite compelling. True, there are two sides, but this young man's account rung true.

I recently had an honor student and athlete, who needed a college recommendation, tell me of an incident where he was given a detention by a teacher who made a point of verbally chastising him in front of the class (that's wrong in my book) for thinking he was exempt from discipline because he was a two letter athlete.

In some schools that would get you thrown out (e.g. cheerleaders). They get to wear special jackets, a custom that UK readers may be unfamiliar with. I am sure Renee, et. al. are familiar with this custom.

Personally, this custom offensive. I was a "jacket less star" of the debate team and my trophies adorn my living room mantle as well as the team trophy their curio. Far too much emphasis on sports here and I don't think that should be the American Way.

This young man had a spotless record until then. He felt he was being picked on (what 17-year-old doesn't) because she didn't play sports when she was in school. That sensitivity is not altogether a bad thin in adolescent development IMHO.

I told him that after he walked across the stage (graduate) with diploma in hand to let her know how you felt. He may be wrong or right but he shouldn't carry resentments. I'm told that's not a good thing. Not from personal experience of course.

He is an exceptional wrestler as well as a track star. Wrestling is his passion and what he excels at best. Sadly it has been eliminated in the Olympics. Unlike track, wrestling scholarships are as rare as hen's teeth.

Remember, I asked him what he would do if he was asked to wrestle a girl how he would feel. He said without any awareness of its other meaning from what I could determine, "when she crosses the ropes she is mine." That gender neutral attitude in sports is a wonderful thing and is one of the good signs of the times despite my prior expressed misgivings.

Is this a surrealistic post? Or one that some find beyond clarification? Sorry KK if you find it to be the latter to your distaste.

Is this a surrealistic post?

Yes, it is a surrealistic post.

It is also without a doubt post modernist.