"I saw two gallants and their footmen taking a pretty wench, which I have much eyed, lately set up shop upon the hill, a seller of riband and gloves. They seek to drag her by some force, but the wench went, and I believe had her turn served, but, God forgive me! what thoughts and wishes I had of being in their place."
Yes, there were no police, but the situation was worse than that. Criminal investigations and prosecution were the responsibility of the victim. (Or what the 17th century would have called her "friends", meaning her family. If she had any.)
So let's say the seller of ribands and gloves had decided to press charges. First, she would have had to get a constable to apprehend her assailants. who were of higher social class than herself. The position of constable was unpaid, although in reality those who found themselves obliged to serve would pay a pittance to someone else to take their place; often this would be someone incapable of other work. So along come the riband seller and an elderly pauper to arrest the two "gallants" and the footman. Lots of luck.
Say they somehow succeed, and the three assailants get their day in court-- actually more like 30 minutes in court.
The men on the bench are men of Pepys's class, or above it. They're probably looking at the riband seller and then looking at the assailants and thinking "God forgive me! what thoughts and wishes I have of being in their place."
Pretty unlikely that they're going to hang the so-and-so's on the word of a wench who's probably no better than she should be-- after all, here's a witness, Mr. Pepys of the Naval Office, a very respectable gentleman, and he's swearing that the wench "went". That doesn't sound like force, does it? Next case.
Meanwhile the riband seller has advertised her availability to all and sundry, in the eyes of many of those present in the courtroom.
No wonder so many of the cases actually tried are of the rape of children. There, at least, the magistrates might feel that some crime had been committed.
Comments
Second Reading
About Wednesday 3 February 1663/64
Sam Skeptic • Link
"I saw two gallants and their footmen taking a pretty wench, which I have much eyed, lately set up shop upon the hill, a seller of riband and gloves. They seek to drag her by some force, but the wench went, and I believe had her turn served, but, God forgive me! what thoughts and wishes I had of being in their place."
Yes, there were no police, but the situation was worse than that. Criminal investigations and prosecution were the responsibility of the victim. (Or what the 17th century would have called her "friends", meaning her family. If she had any.)
So let's say the seller of ribands and gloves had decided to press charges. First, she would have had to get a constable to apprehend her assailants. who were of higher social class than herself. The position of constable was unpaid, although in reality those who found themselves obliged to serve would pay a pittance to someone else to take their place; often this would be someone incapable of other work. So along come the riband seller and an elderly pauper to arrest the two "gallants" and the footman. Lots of luck.
Say they somehow succeed, and the three assailants get their day in court-- actually more like 30 minutes in court.
The men on the bench are men of Pepys's class, or above it. They're probably looking at the riband seller and then looking at the assailants and thinking "God forgive me! what thoughts and wishes I have of being in their place."
Pretty unlikely that they're going to hang the so-and-so's on the word of a wench who's probably no better than she should be-- after all, here's a witness, Mr. Pepys of the Naval Office, a very respectable gentleman, and he's swearing that the wench "went". That doesn't sound like force, does it? Next case.
Meanwhile the riband seller has advertised her availability to all and sundry, in the eyes of many of those present in the courtroom.
No wonder so many of the cases actually tried are of the rape of children. There, at least, the magistrates might feel that some crime had been committed.