"The Princess Royal was not dead on this day as Sam had heard from the Countess of Sandwich. She died tree [sic -- read 3] days later on Christmas Eve."
The rumor mill must have been working over-time. John Evelyn heard the same thing:
21 December, 1660. This day died the Princess of Orange, of the smallpox, which entirely altered the face and gallantry of the whole Court.
"To my Lady’s, and dined with her: she told me how dangerously ill the Princess Royal is and that this morning she was said to be dead. But she hears that she hath married herself to young Jermyn, which is worse than the Duke of York’s marrying the Chancellor’s daughter, which is now publicly owned."
The rumor that Mary was being courted by Henry Jermyn Jr., was an old one. Years ago Charles II had made it quite clear such a union would not be tolerated.
@@@
"I wonder how did she catch the smallpox and if she was on isolation!"
Wkikipedia says: "On 20 December the English court was stirred up by the news that Mary was seriously ill with smallpox. Having received this news, Queen Henrietta Maria arrived at the bedside of her dying daughter and made a last attempt to convert her to Catholicism, but Mary refused. The Queen managed to insist that her French doctor take over the treatment of the princess, which, as many contemporaries believed, was fatal for Mary, since the doctor was an ardent supporter of bloodletting. On 24 December, Mary signed her will and died on the same day."
So no, Mary, the Princess Royal saw her doctor(s), her mother and her lawyer/scribe at the very least, therefore not complete isolation.
Wiki got this information from Beatty, Michael A. (2003). The English Royal Family of America, from Jamestown to the American Revolution. McFarland. ISBN 9780786415588. ISBN 0786415584 ISBN 9780786415588
On 16 March 1660 Gen. Monck forced Parliament to vote for its own dissolution and call new elections. At the same time, Charles II made the Declaration of Breda, and when the Convention Parliament met on 25 April 1660 (Matthew Hale MP represented Gloucestershire) it immediately began negotiations with the King
Hale moved in the Commons that "a committee might be appointed to look into the overtures that had been made, and the concessions that had been offered, by [King Charles]" and "from thence to digest such propositions, as they should think fit to be sent over to [Charles II]" who was still in Breda
On 1 May Parliament restored the monarchy, and Charles II landed in Dover 3 weeks later
Judge Hale MP's first task in the new regime was as part of the Special Commission of 37 judges who tried the 29 regicides not included in the Declaration of Breda, between 9 and 19 October 1660
All were found guilty of treason, and 10 of them were hanged, drawn and quartered. Sitting as a judge in this trial led to some viewing Chief JusticE Matthew Hale MP as hypocritical, with F.A. Inderwick later writing "I confess to a feeling of pain at finding [Hale] in October 1660, sitting as a judge at the Old Bailey, trying and condemning to death batches of the regicides, men under whose orders he had himself acted, who had been his colleagues in Parliament, with whom he had sat on committees to alter the law".[58] 58 Sainty, John (1993). The Judges of England 1272 -1990: a list of judges of the superior courts. Oxford: Selden Society. OCLC 29670782. p.96
Perhaps as reward, Hale became Chief Baron of the Exchequer on 7 November 1660. He had no wish for the knighthood that accompanied this appointment and avoided being near Charles II. So Chancellor Clarendon invited him to his house, where the King was present. Hale was knighted on the spot.[60] 60 Hostettler, John (2002). The Red Gown: The Life and Works of Sir Matthew Hale. Chichester: Barry Rose Law Publishers. ISBN 1-902681-28-2. p.84
On 2 September 1666, the Great Fire of London broke out. Over 100,000 people became homeless, and 13,000 houses and 400 streets were destroyed.
An Act of Parliament enacted on 8 February 1667 created a Court of Fire, tasked with dealing with property disputes over ownership, liability and the rebuilding of the city.[68] 68 Hostettler, p.113
Bishop Gilbert Burnet wrote (“History of his Own Time,” book ii.): “An act passed in this session for rebuilding the city of London, which gave Lord Chief Justice Hale a great reputation, for it was drawn with so true a judgment, and so great foresight, that the whole city was raised out of its ashes without any suits of law.”
Judge Hale was tasked with sitting in this court, which met in Clifford's Inn, and heard 140 of the 374 cases the court dealt with during its first year in operation.[69] 69 Sainty, p.11
I was wrong -- at least, 20 years later they were made of thin pieces of metal and look a bit 1920's to me. A pair of glasses were retrieved from the wreck of the Gloucester which went down in 1682 -- the 6th photo down shows them in their original wooden case. They were usually tied on with ribbon:
Some history and pictures of Deptford, Sayes Court, John Evelyn, the dockyards and St. Nicholas Church, where Christopher "Kit" Marlowe is buried.
Also somewhere in its grounds are three of Evelyn's young sons, and of Roger Boyle, the first child of Sir Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (therefore Robert Boyle's oldest brother), who was born at Youghal in 1606, was sent at 7 to England, at first to his uncle John (then Dr. John Boyle, a prebendary of Lichfield), and a year later, 1614, to while Lady Katherine Fenton Boyle's relatives, the Brownes, of Sayes Court, Deptford (John Evelyn's in-laws) to attend school there. Little Robert died in 1615 after a short illness.
Deptford was the Maidenhead or Henley of the time, a gentlemanly place to reside, and remained so for the next 200 years. And St. Nicholas' Church was their fashionable Parish Church.
A very worthwhile read, which includes Pepys information beyond the Diary. Apparently Wayneman wasn't the only one sent off to Barbados by Pepys.
I expected it to be a downer, but didn't find it so -- Simon Newman included births, deaths and marriages information as well as advertisements for runaways and Diary and letter entries to illustrate the variety of experiences enslaved people encountered.
The word 'servant' was used to describe people of all colors, enslaved, indentured and free. In the 17th century London, they mostly wanted young boys as pages ... it's when the boys became men that problems arose.
Lots of statistics about the growth of London, trade and demographics of who did what where when, if you're interested in that.
When I started to research the people mentioned, I found some were MPs, details omitted by Newman, which I found curious. But omitted in their Parliamentary bios. was the fact that they were slaver traders and/or owners -- all were politely described as "traders", a word that will forever be suspect for me now.
It's good to confront the dead imperial elephant in the living room; it has enlightening stories to share of days gone by. It's the entrepreneurial little elephants living next door that we are responsible for; more people are enslaved today than in the 18th century. That's what we need to be woke about.
Hi Brendan, the Black Collar question -- it seems from the annotations above that no one knows for sure. Terry Foreman has posted the L&M explanation, and a suggestion from Wikipedia. It may be one of those "you had to be there" questions.
Feel free to share any ideas you may have on the subject.
11 October, 1659. Came to visit me Mr. William Coventry (since secretary to the Duke), son to the Lord Keeper, a wise and witty gentleman.
@@@
Another example of how Evelyn went through and edited his entries years later. And another example of how Pepys and Evelyn could have been introduced and met many more times than reflected in the Diary. His good opinion of Sir William Coventry opinion hadn't change with the years.
In the first 4 years of the Diary, Pepys uses the description "droll" 4 times. After that, not at all. Did his sense of humor change?
Definition of drollery 1: something that is droll, especially: a comic picture or drawing 2: the act or an instance of jesting or burlesquing 3: whimsical humor https://www.merriam-webster.com/d…
Pepys repeatedly described Hudibras as "droll". I understand Charles II enjoying droll.
Definition of drollery 1: something that is droll, especially: a comic picture or drawing 2: the act or an instance of jesting or burlesquing 3: whimsical humor https://www.merriam-webster.com/d…
Definition of drollery 1: something that is droll, especially: a comic picture or drawing 2: the act or an instance of jesting or burlesquing 3: whimsical humor https://www.merriam-webster.com/d…
6 December, 1660. I waited on my brother and sister Evelyn to Court.
Now were presented to his Majesty those two rare pieces of drollery, or rather a Dutch Kitchen, painted by Dowe, so finely as hardly to be distinguished from enamel.
I was also shown divers rich jewels and crystal vases; the rare head of Jo. Bellino, Titian's master; Christ in the Garden, by Hannibal Caracci; two incomparable heads, by Holbein; the Queen-Mother in a miniature, almost as big as the life; an exquisite piece of carving; two unicorn's horns, etc. This in the closet.
@@@
John Evelyn had two brothers, George and Richard. I'm not sure which one this is. They were both married.
Possibly Gerrit Dou (7 April 1613 – 9 February 1675), AKA Gerard Douw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders? He specialized in genre scenes and is noted for his trompe-l'œil "niche" paintings and candlelit night-scenes with strong chiaroscuro. He was a student of Rembrandt. Queen Christina of Sweden owned 11 paintings by Dou, and Cosimo III de' Medici visited his house, where he may have bought at least one of the works now in the Uffizi. The Dutch royal court, however, preferred work of a more classical tendency.
Definition of drollery 1: something that is droll, especially: a comic picture or drawing 2: the act or an instance of jesting or burlesquing 3: whimsical humor https://www.merriam-webster.com/d…
Maybe I don’t know what a Dutch Kitchen is … the fact it came in 2 parts makes me thing it might be a Dutch oven, which were invented around now. But why would anyone give Charles II a Dutch oven, escept as a joke? https://www.wasserstrom.com/blog/….
The last few entries on Peg Penn Lowther reveal her rebellion against her upbringing. Activities for young women were so limited.
30 years later Judge Matthew Hale described it in a scathing letter to his granddaughters:
“If they rise in the morning before ten of the clock, the morning is spent between the comb, and the glass, and the box of patches; though they know not how to make provision for it themselves, they must have choice diet provided for them, and when they are ready, the next business is to come down, and sit in a rubbed parlour till dinner come in; and, after dinner, either to cards, or to the exchange, or to the play, or to Hyde Park, or to an impertinent visit; and after supper, either to a ball or to cards; and at this rate they spend their time, from one end of the year to the other; and at the same rate they spend their parent’s or husband’s money or estates in costly clothes, new fashions, chargeable entertainments: their home is their prison, and they are never at rest in it, unless they have gallants and splendid company to entertain.”
And whose fault was that, Judge? They needed to be educated and allowed to undertake real challenges.
“The more business a man has to do, the more he is able to accomplish, for he learns to economize his time.”
“Be frugal of your time. It is one of the best jewels we have.”
“It is a sign that your reputation is small and sinking if your own tongue must praise you.”
“The vanity of loving fine clothes and new fashion, and placing value on ourselves by them is one of the most childish pieces of folly.”
“Do not choose for your friends and familiar acquaintance those that are of an estate or quality too much above yours ... You will hereby accustom yourselves to live after their rate in clothes, in habit, and in expenses, whereby you will learn a fashion and rank of life above your degree and estate, which will in the end be your undoing.”
“When rogues fall out, honest men get into their own.”
“Christianity is part of the Common Law of England.”
“The husband cannot be guilty of a rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband which she cannot retract.” -- Judge Matthew Hale (1609 – 1676) – from his book, “Pleas of the Crown”
In a letter, Hale prescribes individualized counsel for his 3 granddaughters:
Mary possessed great wit and spirit: “if she can temper the latter, will make an excellent woman, and a great housewife; but if she cannot govern the greatness of her spirit, it will make her proud, imperious, and revengeful.”
Frances possessed great confidence: “If she be kept in some awe, especially in relation to lying and deceiving, she will make a good woman and a good housewife.”
Ann possessed a “soft nature.” “She must not see plays, read comedies, or love books or romances, nor hear nor learn ballads or idle songs, especially such as are wanton or concerning love-matters, for they will make too deep an impression upon her mind.”
Hale then complained that young women “make it their business to paint or patch their faces, to curl their locks, and to find out the newest and costliest fashions.
“If they rise in the morning before ten of the clock, the morning is spent between the comb, and the glass, and the box of patches; though they know not how to make provision for it themselves, they must have choice diet provided for them, and when they are ready, the next business is to come down, and sit in a rubbed parlour till dinner come in; and, after dinner, either to cards, or to the exchange, or to the play, or to Hyde Park, or to an impertinent visit; and after supper, either to a ball or to cards; and at this rate they spend their time, from one end of the year to the other; and at the same rate they spend their parent’s or husband’s money or estates in costly clothes, new fashions, chargeable entertainments: their home is their prison, and they are never at rest in it, unless they have gallants and splendid company to entertain.”
Comments
Second Reading
About Friday 21 December 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"The Princess Royal was not dead on this day as Sam had heard from the Countess of Sandwich. She died tree [sic -- read 3] days later on Christmas Eve."
The rumor mill must have been working over-time. John Evelyn heard the same thing:
21 December, 1660.
This day died the Princess of Orange, of the smallpox, which entirely altered the face and gallantry of the whole Court.
@@@
The Princess Royal, Mary, Princess of Orange = https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
FROM John Evelyn's Diary
http://brittlebooks.library.illin…
@@@
"To my Lady’s, and dined with her: she told me how dangerously ill the Princess Royal is and that this morning she was said to be dead. But she hears that she hath married herself to young Jermyn, which is worse than the Duke of York’s marrying the Chancellor’s daughter, which is now publicly owned."
The rumor that Mary was being courted by Henry Jermyn Jr., was an old one. Years ago Charles II had made it quite clear such a union would not be tolerated.
@@@
"I wonder how did she catch the smallpox and if she was on isolation!"
Wkikipedia says: "On 20 December the English court was stirred up by the news that Mary was seriously ill with smallpox. Having received this news, Queen Henrietta Maria arrived at the bedside of her dying daughter and made a last attempt to convert her to Catholicism, but Mary refused. The Queen managed to insist that her French doctor take over the treatment of the princess, which, as many contemporaries believed, was fatal for Mary, since the doctor was an ardent supporter of bloodletting. On 24 December, Mary signed her will and died on the same day."
So no, Mary, the Princess Royal saw her doctor(s), her mother and her lawyer/scribe at the very least, therefore not complete isolation.
Wiki got this information from Beatty, Michael A. (2003). The English Royal Family of America, from Jamestown to the American Revolution.
McFarland. ISBN 9780786415588. ISBN 0786415584 ISBN 9780786415588
About Thursday 13 December 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
John Evelyn's Diary – he and Mary Browne Evelyn live at Saye's Court, Deptford.
http://brittlebooks.library.illin…
@@@
13th December, 1660.
I presented my son, John, to the Queen-Mother, who kissed him, talked with and made extraordinary much of him.
@@@
“My son John” (the second of this name) was born 19 January, 1655, so he’s almost 6.
Queen Mother Henrietta Maria -- https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Sir Matthew Hale (Chief Baron of the Exchequer)
San Diego Sarah • Link
On 16 March 1660 Gen. Monck forced Parliament to vote for its own dissolution and call new elections. At the same time, Charles II made the Declaration of Breda, and when the Convention Parliament met on 25 April 1660 (Matthew Hale MP represented Gloucestershire) it immediately began negotiations with the King
Hale moved in the Commons that "a committee might be appointed to look into the overtures that had been made, and the concessions that had been offered, by [King Charles]" and "from thence to digest such propositions, as they should think fit to be sent over to [Charles II]" who was still in Breda
On 1 May Parliament restored the monarchy, and Charles II landed in Dover 3 weeks later
Judge Hale MP's first task in the new regime was as part of the Special Commission of 37 judges who tried the 29 regicides not included in the Declaration of Breda, between 9 and 19 October 1660
All were found guilty of treason, and 10 of them were hanged, drawn and quartered. Sitting as a judge in this trial led to some viewing Chief JusticE Matthew Hale MP as hypocritical, with F.A. Inderwick later writing "I confess to a feeling of pain at finding [Hale] in October 1660, sitting as a judge at the Old Bailey, trying and condemning to death batches of the regicides, men under whose orders he had himself acted, who had been his colleagues in Parliament, with whom he had sat on committees to alter the law".[58]
58 Sainty, John (1993). The Judges of England 1272 -1990: a list of judges of the superior courts. Oxford: Selden Society. OCLC 29670782. p.96
Perhaps as reward, Hale became Chief Baron of the Exchequer on 7 November 1660. He had no wish for the knighthood that accompanied this appointment and avoided being near Charles II. So Chancellor Clarendon invited him to his house, where the King was present. Hale was knighted on the spot.[60]
60 Hostettler, John (2002). The Red Gown: The Life and Works of Sir Matthew Hale. Chichester: Barry Rose Law Publishers. ISBN 1-902681-28-2. p.84
On 2 September 1666, the Great Fire of London broke out. Over 100,000 people became homeless, and 13,000 houses and 400 streets were destroyed.
An Act of Parliament enacted on 8 February 1667 created a Court of Fire, tasked with dealing with property disputes over ownership, liability and the rebuilding of the city.[68]
68 Hostettler, p.113
Bishop Gilbert Burnet wrote (“History of his Own Time,” book ii.): “An act passed in this session for rebuilding the city of London, which gave Lord Chief Justice Hale a great reputation, for it was drawn with so true a judgment, and so great foresight, that the whole city was raised out of its ashes without any suits of law.”
Judge Hale was tasked with sitting in this court, which met in Clifford's Inn, and heard 140 of the 374 cases the court dealt with during its first year in operation.[69]
69 Sainty, p.11
For more on his career, see https://www.britannica.com/biogra…
About Saturday 24 April 1669
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... frames back then would have weighed a ton."
I was wrong -- at least, 20 years later they were made of thin pieces of metal and look a bit 1920's to me. A pair of glasses were retrieved from the wreck of the Gloucester which went down in 1682 -- the 6th photo down shows them in their original wooden case. They were usually tied on with ribbon:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-engla…
About St Nicholas (Deptford)
San Diego Sarah • Link
Some history and pictures of Deptford, Sayes Court, John Evelyn, the dockyards and St. Nicholas Church, where Christopher "Kit" Marlowe is buried.
Also somewhere in its grounds are three of Evelyn's young sons, and of Roger Boyle, the first child of Sir Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (therefore Robert Boyle's oldest brother), who was born at Youghal in 1606, was sent at 7 to England, at first to his uncle John (then Dr. John Boyle, a prebendary of Lichfield), and a year later, 1614, to while Lady Katherine Fenton Boyle's relatives, the Brownes, of Sayes Court, Deptford (John Evelyn's in-laws) to attend school there. Little Robert died in 1615 after a short illness.
Deptford was the Maidenhead or Henley of the time, a gentlemanly place to reside, and remained so for the next 200 years. And St. Nicholas' Church was their fashionable Parish Church.
https://spitalfieldslife.com/2022…
About Samuel Pepys and Slaves
San Diego Sarah • Link
A very worthwhile read, which includes Pepys information beyond the Diary. Apparently Wayneman wasn't the only one sent off to Barbados by Pepys.
I expected it to be a downer, but didn't find it so -- Simon Newman included births, deaths and marriages information as well as advertisements for runaways and Diary and letter entries to illustrate the variety of experiences enslaved people encountered.
The word 'servant' was used to describe people of all colors, enslaved, indentured and free. In the 17th century London, they mostly wanted young boys as pages ... it's when the boys became men that problems arose.
Lots of statistics about the growth of London, trade and demographics of who did what where when, if you're interested in that.
When I started to research the people mentioned, I found some were MPs, details omitted by Newman, which I found curious. But omitted in their Parliamentary bios. was the fact that they were slaver traders and/or owners -- all were politely described as "traders", a word that will forever be suspect for me now.
It's good to confront the dead imperial elephant in the living room; it has enlightening stories to share of days gone by.
It's the entrepreneurial little elephants living next door that we are responsible for; more people are enslaved today than in the 18th century. That's what we need to be woke about.
About Friday 13 July 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Hi Brendan, the Black Collar question -- it seems from the annotations above that no one knows for sure. Terry Foreman has posted the L&M explanation, and a suggestion from Wikipedia. It may be one of those "you had to be there" questions.
Feel free to share any ideas you may have on the subject.
About Mr Salsbury
San Diego Sarah • Link
An amazing selection of Miniatures and their frames made during the 16th and 17th century -
https://theframeblog.com/2017/12/…
About Samuel Cooper
San Diego Sarah • Link
An amazing selection of Miniatures and their frames made during the 16th and 17th century -
https://theframeblog.com/2017/12/…
About Monday 30 March 1668
San Diego Sarah • Link
An amazing selection of Miniatures and their frames made during the 16th and 17th century -
https://theframeblog.com/2017/12/…
About Friday 25 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
An amazing selection of Miniatures and their frames during the 16th and 17th century -
https://theframeblog.com/2017/12/…
About Saturday 3 May 1662
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Miniature by Savill."
For an amazing selection of 16th and 17th century miniatures, see
https://theframeblog.com/2017/12/…
About Monday 11 July 1664
San Diego Sarah • Link
The George, Holborn was the coaching inn terminus for coaches to Buckden, which is close to Brampton, Cambridgeshire.
About William Coventry
San Diego Sarah • Link
John Evelyn's Diary – he and Mary Browne Evelyn live at Saye's Court, Deptford.
http://brittlebooks.library.illin…
@@@
11 October, 1659.
Came to visit me Mr. William Coventry (since secretary to the Duke), son to the Lord Keeper, a wise and witty gentleman.
@@@
Another example of how Evelyn went through and edited his entries years later. And another example of how Pepys and Evelyn could have been introduced and met many more times than reflected in the Diary.
His good opinion of Sir William Coventry opinion hadn't change with the years.
About Tuesday 22 March 1663/64
San Diego Sarah • Link
In the first 4 years of the Diary, Pepys uses the description "droll" 4 times. After that, not at all. Did his sense of humor change?
Definition of drollery
1: something that is droll, especially: a comic picture or drawing
2: the act or an instance of jesting or burlesquing
3: whimsical humor
https://www.merriam-webster.com/d…
About Butler's 'Hudibras'
San Diego Sarah • Link
Pepys repeatedly described Hudibras as "droll".
I understand Charles II enjoying droll.
Definition of drollery
1: something that is droll, especially: a comic picture or drawing
2: the act or an instance of jesting or burlesquing
3: whimsical humor
https://www.merriam-webster.com/d…
About Friday 26 December 1662
San Diego Sarah • Link
Definition of drollery
1: something that is droll, especially: a comic picture or drawing
2: the act or an instance of jesting or burlesquing
3: whimsical humor
https://www.merriam-webster.com/d…
About Thursday 6 December 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
John Evelyn's Diary – he and Mary Browne Evelyn live at Saye's Court, Deptford.
http://brittlebooks.library.illin…
@@@
Meanwhile, at the other end of Whitehall Palace:
6 December, 1660.
I waited on my brother and sister Evelyn to Court.
Now were presented to his Majesty those two rare pieces of drollery, or rather a Dutch Kitchen, painted by Dowe, so finely as hardly to be distinguished from enamel.
I was also shown divers rich jewels and crystal vases; the rare head of Jo. Bellino, Titian's master; Christ in the Garden, by Hannibal Caracci; two incomparable heads, by Holbein; the Queen-Mother in a miniature, almost as big as the life; an exquisite piece of carving; two unicorn's horns, etc. This in the closet.
@@@
John Evelyn had two brothers, George and Richard. I'm not sure which one this is. They were both married.
Closet https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Possibly Gerrit Dou (7 April 1613 – 9 February 1675), AKA Gerard Douw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders? He specialized in genre scenes and is noted for his trompe-l'œil "niche" paintings and candlelit night-scenes with strong chiaroscuro. He was a student of Rembrandt. Queen Christina of Sweden owned 11 paintings by Dou, and Cosimo III de' Medici visited his house, where he may have bought at least one of the works now in the Uffizi. The Dutch royal court, however, preferred work of a more classical tendency.
Definition of drollery
1: something that is droll, especially: a comic picture or drawing
2: the act or an instance of jesting or burlesquing
3: whimsical humor
https://www.merriam-webster.com/d…
Maybe I don’t know what a Dutch Kitchen is … the fact it came in 2 parts makes me thing it might be a Dutch oven, which were invented around now. But why would anyone give Charles II a Dutch oven, escept as a joke?
https://www.wasserstrom.com/blog/….
About Margaret Lowther (b. Penn)
San Diego Sarah • Link
The last few entries on Peg Penn Lowther reveal her rebellion against her upbringing. Activities for young women were so limited.
30 years later Judge Matthew Hale described it in a scathing letter to his granddaughters:
“If they rise in the morning before ten of the clock, the morning is spent between the comb, and the glass, and the box of patches; though they know not how to make provision for it themselves, they must have choice diet provided for them, and when they are ready, the next business is to come down, and sit in a rubbed parlour till dinner come in; and, after dinner, either to cards, or to the exchange, or to the play, or to Hyde Park, or to an impertinent visit; and after supper, either to a ball or to cards; and at this rate they spend their time, from one end of the year to the other; and at the same rate they spend their parent’s or husband’s money or estates in costly clothes, new fashions, chargeable entertainments: their home is their prison, and they are never at rest in it, unless they have gallants and splendid company to entertain.”
And whose fault was that, Judge? They needed to be educated and allowed to undertake real challenges.
More about Judge Matthew Hale, still quoted in 2022 by the Supreme Court of the USA:
https://www.propublica.org/articl…
About Sir Matthew Hale (Chief Baron of the Exchequer)
San Diego Sarah • Link
More wisdom from Judge Hale:
“The more business a man has to do, the more he is able to accomplish, for he learns to economize his time.”
“Be frugal of your time. It is one of the best jewels we have.”
“It is a sign that your reputation is small and sinking if your own tongue must praise you.”
“The vanity of loving fine clothes and new fashion, and placing value on ourselves by them is one of the most childish pieces of folly.”
“Do not choose for your friends and familiar acquaintance those that are of an estate or quality too much above yours ... You will hereby accustom yourselves to live after their rate in clothes, in habit, and in expenses, whereby you will learn a fashion and rank of life above your degree and estate, which will in the end be your undoing.”
“When rogues fall out, honest men get into their own.”
“Christianity is part of the Common Law of England.”
“The husband cannot be guilty of a rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband which she cannot retract.” -- Judge Matthew Hale (1609 – 1676) – from his book, “Pleas of the Crown”
In a letter, Hale prescribes individualized counsel for his 3 granddaughters:
Mary possessed great wit and spirit: “if she can temper the latter, will make an excellent woman, and a great housewife; but if she cannot govern the greatness of her spirit, it will make her proud, imperious, and revengeful.”
Frances possessed great confidence: “If she be kept in some awe, especially in relation to lying and deceiving, she will make a good woman and a good housewife.”
Ann possessed a “soft nature.” “She must not see plays, read comedies, or love books or romances, nor hear nor learn ballads or idle songs, especially such as are wanton or concerning love-matters, for they will make too deep an impression upon her mind.”
Hale then complained that young women “make it their business to paint or patch their faces, to curl their locks, and to find out the newest and costliest fashions.
“If they rise in the morning before ten of the clock, the morning is spent between the comb, and the glass, and the box of patches; though they know not how to make provision for it themselves, they must have choice diet provided for them, and when they are ready, the next business is to come down, and sit in a rubbed parlour till dinner come in; and, after dinner, either to cards, or to the exchange, or to the play, or to Hyde Park, or to an impertinent visit; and after supper, either to a ball or to cards; and at this rate they spend their time, from one end of the year to the other; and at the same rate they spend their parent’s or husband’s money or estates in costly clothes, new fashions, chargeable entertainments: their home is their prison, and they are never at rest in it, unless they have gallants and splendid company to entertain.”