No one of the Established Church ever _gave_ his services. They were paid for by the piece or dozen like any other merchantable article. In St. Stephen's parish the vestry book, in 1712, records the price of sermons, for instance, to "Rev. John Bell for eight sermons 450 pounds of tobacco apiece." The Rev. Mr. Lechardy rated his eloquence at a lower figure, "for two sermons 600 pounds of tobacco," etc. Notwithstanding the velvet and lace, the powder, perfume, and high-flown compliments of "the gallants of the early eighteenth century" license of speech was universal. Colonel Byrd, the courtly master of Westover, wrote letters too gross for the pages of a reputable magazine. Swearing among women was as common as in the "spacious times of great Elizabeth." From all this, no tutelage and government, however careful, could insure escape. In spite of all this and more, Mary Ball acquired the refinement and moderation of speech by which she was characterized. CHAPTER XII HER MARRIAGE AND EARLY LIFE "The 'Rose of Epping Forest,'" says one of her descendants, "and 'reigning Belle of the Northern Neck,' as she was universally styled, would, in common parlance, be called 'hard to please,' in that, in times when marriages were early she did not resign her sceptre until she had attained the then ripe age of twenty-two--not 'love-inspiring sixteen,' as Parson Weems would have us believe. In this she exhibited that consummate wisdom, calm equipoise of soul, and perfect self-control so strikingly displayed throughout her subsequent career." She was blessed then with the priceless gift of a long and happy girlhood--that sweet fountain of pure waters, the memory of which has cheered so many women throughout a long and difficult life. In her day so late a marriage was not only eccentric but something to be condemned as unwise. The reluctant Virginia belle was warned that those who "walked through the woods with a haughty spirit would have to stoop at last and pick up a crooked stick." That women could stand alone was unthinkable in those days. A staff was essential, and she who scorned the stately saplings of the forest would surely be forced at last to accept some inferior windfall. But Mary Ball chose wisely and well; of this we may be sure. Augustine Washington died before he could earn the honor of impressing her life or that of his illustrious son. He belonged to an old English family which had sent two of its members to Virginia early in the seventeenth century, and, as we have seen, his grandfather held positions of honor and trust in the colony.