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
It rejoiceth all mankind to behold in the sky the innumerable
multitude of glittering Stars: but it is a far surpassinger Pleasure,
that the new married Couple receive, when they see vast heaps of
Silver and Gold ly dazling their eys, and they Lording over it.
You, O lately married Couple, possess this Pleasure to the utmost; you
have to your content received your promised Portions; you onely want
the great Iron Mony-Chest to lock it up in securely, and to keep it
safely, that it may be laid out to advantage. O how pleasant the free
dispensation thereof is unto you! What a noble Valley it is to walk in
between these Mountains, and to delight your eys with such an object!
Yet nevertheless, O faithfull Couple, here is need that a great deal
of prudence be used, as well in the laying of it out, as the
preserving of it. In ancient times it hath been often observed and
taken notice of, that where mony was hid, the places were generally
hanted with terrible spirits, and strange Ghosts, that walked there,
coming in frightfull apparitions: but since they have been driven out
of our Country and Houses; there's another sort of Imp come in, ten
times wickeder then any of the other; which regards nor cares neither
for Crosses, Holy-water, Exorcisms, or any sort of Divel-drivers; but
dares boldly shew himself at noon-day, namely a Plague-Divel, which
sets Man an Wife together by the ears, to try who of them both shall
have the command and government of the Cash or mony-box.
And to the end he may herein act his Part well, he knows how very
subtlily first to fill the weak womans ears full, that she ought above
all things to have the command of the cash; because she had such a
great Portion; and that it is her mony which she hears gingle so. And
then again, because the care of the house-keeping is appropriated to
be her duty, it is against all reason, that she, like a servant,
should give an account to her husband, what, wherefore, or how that
the mony is laid out; because the necessaries also for house-keeping
are so many, that they are without end, name or number, and it is
impossible that one should relate or ring them all into the ears of a
Man. Likewise the good woman cannot have so fit an occasion every foot
to be making some new things, that she may follow the fashion, as it
is usual for women to do; much less to have any private pocket-mony,
to treat and play the Divel for God's sake, with her Bride-Maids, when
her husband is gone from home.
And on the contrary, when men pay out any thing, it goes out by great
sums, according as is specified by the accounts delivered, which must
be set to book, and an acquittance given: This cannot be so done with
every pittifull small thing that belongs to house-keeping. Insomuch
that the Husband can then, with all facility, demand what Mony is
needful for his occasion from his Wife.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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