"The Nutmeg of Consolation" - 75% Sailing/5% CD

[Frank Vernet]

Patrick O'Brian's masterful series on the adventures of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin contains the delightful phrase "The Nutmeg of Consolation". It is initially used as one of many flowery praises given to the Sultan of Pulo Prabang "in "The 13 Gun Salute" and in the next book, "The Nutmeg of Consolation", Jack names his new ship "The Nutmeg of Consolation". His logic was "The Nutmeg for daily use, Of Consolation for official papers. Dear Nutmeg!...What joy!".

My question is .... what does that mean? I recall reading somewhere that nutmeg is a hallucinogenic spice. As little as 2 tbsps of the same nutmeg you sprinkle in your eggnog, the equivalent of perhaps a single nutmeg nut, can cause hallucinations, nausea and heart palpitations. Charles Sackville, the sixth Earl of Dorset, was once imprisoned after an evening of nutmeg frenzy for "running up and down all night almost naked through the street." This seems like just the sort of tidbit that Patrick O'Brian would have loved, and he probably knew of it. Many of POB's book titles (and short story titles) have double entendres. Might this be another?

In closing, it would make a fabulous name for a CD....hmmmmmm.

[Marianna Max]

Frank, I found your exact question, to the word, on another website posted by someone named Susan. What's up, are you Susan in drag?

[Frank Vernet]

Marianna...tsk..tsk

Sorry, but I look simply awful in drag...so I'm told anyway.

But you are right. I ran across the "Susan" question while researching my own initial question (I've been thinking about this for some time) and found little reason to reword it. The question still stands.

To the infinite sorrow of POB devotees, he passed away in 2000 at age 84. We may never know the answer.

[Ed Haley]

Nutmeg is abundantly found in Malaysia and throughout South East Asia. The intact seeds are normally egg-shaped, corrugated and red-brownish in colour. The hallucinogenic effects have been reported with the use of about one to three whole nutmeg seeds, with the effects beginning three to six hours after ingestion. The effects of ingestion may last up to 24 hours or even longer in certain cases. The individual may show increased heart rate, a slight increase in blood pressure, flushing, vomiting and signs of brain over-activity. These effects may wane with complete recovery usually within 24 hours.

[Marianna Max]

"The Nutmeg of Consolation"

Here's my guess as to what this means: Nutmeg is the seed of an edible fruit. It is itself surrounded by a shroud which when dried is the spice mace. So after you've eaten the fruit and used the mace, you have the further consolation for your effort in harvesting the fruit when you get to the heart which is nutmeg itself.