The Ten Pleasures of Marriage: and the Second Part, The Confession of the New Married CoupleMarsh, A.
General
The Ten Pleasures of Marriage: and the Second Part, The Confession of the New Married Couple
Marsh, A.
Marriage
But housoever as long as he goes and walks up and down, eats and
drinks, he thinks that the tide will turn again. Yet finding himself
inwardly weaker of body rallies with his own distemper, in hopes that
by his jesting, among his merry Companions, he may from them
understand what is best, upon such occasions, to be done or avoided;
and they seriously jesting say to him: O friend, wean yourself from
your wife and Tobacco, and drink Chocolate, and eat knuckles of Veal,
or else you'l become like one of Pharaohs lean Kine. Oh ho, thinks he,
if that be true, I have spent my reckoning this evening very happily.
Now young woman, don't you admire if your husband comes home at night
discontented in mind, for his wits run a Wool-gathering, and he has
walkt in a dump from Towerhill to Tuttle Fields contriving what's best
for him to do, and how to compass the matter neatly. For to remain so
from his dear and delicate Wife, not paying unto her the usual family
duty, is below the generosity of a man; and to tell her what the
matter is, is yet worse. To leave of Tobacco, and eat knuckles of
Veal, is feasible. But to go to a Coffehouse and alwaies drink
Chocolate, that sticks against the stomack.
Nevertheless Necessity hath no Law. And the Occasion overpowers
affection. Insomuch that after a thousand pondrous considerations, he
resolves to deny his dearly beloved Wife a little of that same; and to
that purpose will somtimes in an evening feign to have the headake, or
that he is very dull and sleepy, (which is no absolutely;) and thereby
commands his man to call him up somtimes very early in the morning, as
if there were forsooth Customers in the Shop, &c. and hunts up and
down among the Chocolate Dealers to get of the very best, preparing it
himself in milk, treating all that come to visit him with Chocolate
instead of Tobacco; and he feigning that he hath an extraordinary
delight in it; and on the other side, perswade his wife that he has a
huge mind to eat a knuckle of Veal, some good broath, and new-laid
Egs, or some such sort of pretty conceited diet.
But perceiving that this avails little, and that he grows rather
weaker then stronger; away he trots to the Scotch Paduan Doctor, who
immediately prescribes a small Apothecaries Shop, at the least twenty
or more several sorts of herbs, to be infused in a pottle of old
Rhenish wine, and twice a day to drink half a quartern thereof at a
time: Item a Plaister to be applied to his Stomack; and an unguent
for the pit of the Stomack, under the nose, and to chafe the Temples
of the head; but most especially to keep a good strengthning diet, &c.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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