Sex and The Civil War
Your father and mother started a brothel in Washington City and you and your two sisters kept it going until you decided to move to Gettysburg. Hey, that's where all the soldier boys were! But then a large brawl disrupted your business and the town kicked you and your sisters out. You returned to the Union capital with your sisters and decided to try out dancing in the streets to the music of an organ grinder and a monkey. In no time you and your sisters were in trouble again. Was it your fault that in your enjoyment of the rhythm your clothes completely fell off?
YOU ARE?
Kate, Anna, and Matilda Light. (I guess they would say that it's just something about a man in uniform that makes you want to go into the oldest profession. And I wonder if their last name was really Light – as in Light Skirt? LOL!)
"Going down the line" - Visiting a prostitute
The Confederate and Union capitals were overflowing with prostitutes called Cyprians, fallen angels, daughters of Eve, and gay young chicks.
A young man wrote to his friend about the "gay old time" he had in Washington and how he enjoyed "Horizontal Refreshments or in Plainer words Riding a Dutch gal...."Brothels in Washington had names like "Madam Russell's Bake Oven and "the Haystack" owned by a Mrs. Hay.
The Washington area called Marble Alley had the greater concentration of brothels.
When Southern women said that Yankee men had horns, they weren't talking about them being on their heads.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
History Tidbits
Being Married in London during the Year 1700
or the Single Life is for Me.
If you are a high-born lady wishing to marry your stable boy, an uncle wishing to marry his niece, or a young couple wanting to marry without consent, you would go to the alleyways known as the Rules of the Fleet near Fleet Bridge, not far from the river Thames. All types of “plyers” would encourage you to come into their “marriage house” for the ceremony. Most of the clienteles were craftsmen, innkeepers and the lower classes.
One-ninth of England’s population lived in London during 1700.
Weddings were legal only between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and noon.
A contract for marriage was official when the man provided the woman with a ring or presented her with half of a coin.
Males over the age of 14 and females over the age of 12 could marry with the consent of their guardian. Both sexes could marry without consent at the age of 21.
A single woman had many of the same rights of a man. She could own property, leave a will, sue or be sued, but once married, her husband own her lock, stock and barrel. Should she commit adultery, her husband could sue the man for trespassing on his “property.”
Popular sex manuals of the time were Aristotle’s Masterpiece and Aretine’s Postures. The man’s sexual organ was at times referred to as his “yard.” (Funny! In his dreams!) A midwifery book by a Mrs. Jane Sharp claimed the wife would not conceive if there was “no desire nor delight . . .”
A 5 shilling tax was paid on licenses and certificates of marriage. Thus, the reason cheaper marriage houses married 1/3 of the London population.
A Fleet marriage to a stranger help legitimized a child and prevented the woman from being publicly whipped.
Neither a license nor posting of Banns was required in a Fleet marriage.
If a woman got heavily into debt, she could marry a prisoner and the debt would be considered cleared. (You can’t arrest the husband for the debt when he’s already in prison, duh!)
Brides wore bright colors, preferably blue. Blue was associated with the Virgin Mary.
Some brides wore gloves to bed. A symbol of their virginity.
Bundling was common. A board was placed on the bed between a couple. Many women used bundling as a way to catch a husband.
One-tenth of the English brides were pregnant before they married.
Knickers (underwear) had yet to be invented.
Condoms was made from sheep intestines and tied onto the “yard” by a ribbon. They were very expensive.
If a man murdered his wife, he was hanged for the offense. If a woman murdered her husband, the wife was burned alive.
Bachelors and widowers, over age 25, were taxed 1 shilling a year.
Due to the high mortality, late marriages, early death, the average maximum length of marriages was 17 to 20 years. A quarter of marriages were second marriages.
A divorce could cost you more than 20 pounds sterling.
London shopkeepers earned about 45 pounds sterling (roughly $72.00) a year and a housemaid 5 pounds sterling (roughly $8.00) a year.
This is one of the History Tidbits I sent in to Southern Magic's newsletter a few years ago. Thought I would share.
or the Single Life is for Me.
If you are a high-born lady wishing to marry your stable boy, an uncle wishing to marry his niece, or a young couple wanting to marry without consent, you would go to the alleyways known as the Rules of the Fleet near Fleet Bridge, not far from the river Thames. All types of “plyers” would encourage you to come into their “marriage house” for the ceremony. Most of the clienteles were craftsmen, innkeepers and the lower classes.
One-ninth of England’s population lived in London during 1700.
Weddings were legal only between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and noon.
A contract for marriage was official when the man provided the woman with a ring or presented her with half of a coin.
Males over the age of 14 and females over the age of 12 could marry with the consent of their guardian. Both sexes could marry without consent at the age of 21.
A single woman had many of the same rights of a man. She could own property, leave a will, sue or be sued, but once married, her husband own her lock, stock and barrel. Should she commit adultery, her husband could sue the man for trespassing on his “property.”
Popular sex manuals of the time were Aristotle’s Masterpiece and Aretine’s Postures. The man’s sexual organ was at times referred to as his “yard.” (Funny! In his dreams!) A midwifery book by a Mrs. Jane Sharp claimed the wife would not conceive if there was “no desire nor delight . . .”
A 5 shilling tax was paid on licenses and certificates of marriage. Thus, the reason cheaper marriage houses married 1/3 of the London population.
A Fleet marriage to a stranger help legitimized a child and prevented the woman from being publicly whipped.
Neither a license nor posting of Banns was required in a Fleet marriage.
If a woman got heavily into debt, she could marry a prisoner and the debt would be considered cleared. (You can’t arrest the husband for the debt when he’s already in prison, duh!)
Brides wore bright colors, preferably blue. Blue was associated with the Virgin Mary.
Some brides wore gloves to bed. A symbol of their virginity.
Bundling was common. A board was placed on the bed between a couple. Many women used bundling as a way to catch a husband.
One-tenth of the English brides were pregnant before they married.
Knickers (underwear) had yet to be invented.
Condoms was made from sheep intestines and tied onto the “yard” by a ribbon. They were very expensive.
If a man murdered his wife, he was hanged for the offense. If a woman murdered her husband, the wife was burned alive.
Bachelors and widowers, over age 25, were taxed 1 shilling a year.
Due to the high mortality, late marriages, early death, the average maximum length of marriages was 17 to 20 years. A quarter of marriages were second marriages.
A divorce could cost you more than 20 pounds sterling.
London shopkeepers earned about 45 pounds sterling (roughly $72.00) a year and a housemaid 5 pounds sterling (roughly $8.00) a year.
This is one of the History Tidbits I sent in to Southern Magic's newsletter a few years ago. Thought I would share.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Thankful Friday
I'm thankful this Friday that our "snowstorm" wasn't nothing like they were predicting. It snowed again today, but by noon, even with freezing weather, it was gone. I guess it blew away. LOL!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
A Day Of Ice and Snow
LOL! It snowed for most of the day today, but if you were to look around before it got dark, you would wonder if you had imagined it. That's the South for ya. It was to be in the teens tonight and may still get there. At the present time, it is only 32 degrees F. Oh, well, thankfully I work for a company who worries about their employees. They let us go home early to be on the safe side. See, in the South we don't have the type of equipment needed to clear roads. Unless you count two men in the back of a truck sprinkling sand onto the road. LOL! Just kidding...about the sprinkling. They actually shovel it. LOL! If I can find pictures I'll post them here.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Got The Time?
I love it when I hear someone say they don't have time to read. And especially when the woman doesn't have children or none at home. I can't help but wonder what she really does every night. One lady said she cooked and cleaned when she got home from her job. Hmmm. I do too. I do housework too. I do a little each evening so I won't have as much to do on the weekend. Even so, each evening it takes me one to two hours tops to cook and clean. Hmmm. What does she do the rest of the evening? Does she deep clean? Like clean out her cabinets? Scrub or paint the walls? Every night? She owns a clothes washing machine like me. So she doesn't have to haul water and scrub them by hand. Hmmm.
Sorry. I just wonder what people do that takes so much time each night. I have a feeling it's a lot of messing around. What we in the South call pittling. (Not sure if that's spelled correctly. It's kind of like puttering around.)
Anyway, I always say, "Everyone can make time to read if it's important to them."
Reading is very important to me.
Sorry. I just wonder what people do that takes so much time each night. I have a feeling it's a lot of messing around. What we in the South call pittling. (Not sure if that's spelled correctly. It's kind of like puttering around.)
Anyway, I always say, "Everyone can make time to read if it's important to them."
Reading is very important to me.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Coincidence? I Think Not
My birthday and my two daughters' are on completely different days, months of the year and, of course, different years, but we all celebrate on the same day of the week. Only leap year fouls it up. So we're all celebrating birthdays on Fridays this year!
Monday, January 4, 2010
A Change
Hey, I just found out today Alicia Condon is now with Kensington. She'd been an editorial director with Dorchester up to the end of 2009. It appears she took the late-great Kate Duffy's spot. That's a good choice. She's a sweet lady.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
A Good Day
After freaking everyone out yesterday with my strange post, today I'm glad to report of not remembering any of my dreams from last night. I know I dream every night but thankfully I forget most of them.
Today, both of my daughters came home and we celebrated the youngest's birthday. Her birthday was actually January 1. No. She wasn't the first baby born that year as she came in this world at 2:24 pm. My oldest who was born August 6 at 1:12 am. Funny how the youngest was born double the time as the eldest, isn't it?
Anyway, we reminded her of how when she was small we would tell her all the fireworks the night before her birthday were for her. LOL! She told me once she was rather disappointed to find out they weren't. We also use to sing her Happy Birthday in the same tune and words of the beginning of We Wish You A Merry Christmas. It would go something like...
We wish you a happy birthday,
We wish you a happy birthday,
We wish you a happy birthday
and a happy new year!
I thought it fit perfectly. LOL! Love my girls.
Today, both of my daughters came home and we celebrated the youngest's birthday. Her birthday was actually January 1. No. She wasn't the first baby born that year as she came in this world at 2:24 pm. My oldest who was born August 6 at 1:12 am. Funny how the youngest was born double the time as the eldest, isn't it?
Anyway, we reminded her of how when she was small we would tell her all the fireworks the night before her birthday were for her. LOL! She told me once she was rather disappointed to find out they weren't. We also use to sing her Happy Birthday in the same tune and words of the beginning of We Wish You A Merry Christmas. It would go something like...
We wish you a happy birthday,
We wish you a happy birthday,
We wish you a happy birthday
and a happy new year!
I thought it fit perfectly. LOL! Love my girls.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Strange Dreams
Last night (or early this morning), I had several strange dreams. One I hope to forget and will never repeat ever. Yuck. YUCK.
Others I've forgotten though I know there were more. I do know they were all different in their own way. But the other strange one I remember was...well...odd. I never experienced anything like this. Let me first say when I had this dream, I was aware it was one. Probably part of why I didn't freak out about it.
I dreamed I got out of bed and stood in front of a full length mirror. Looking in the mirror, instead of seeing me, I saw a man about five foot nine, nice physique, thick wavy hair, thick mustache wearing a sleeveless grayish-green tee shirt and light blue boxers. I don't normally dream in color and didn't then. It was like I knew what color I wore without really noticing them. When we think of ourselves, we rarely think of what our clothes look like. It took me a few seconds to realize the reflection was of me as a man.
Once I realized that, the man's eyes widen in the mirror. At that point my thought was "Cool! I can really get into a man's head and use it in my writing." See. I knew I was dreaming and fullly prepared to use the experience. I remember thinking, "So this is what a guy feels like." Kind of strong and sure of himself.
Well, the next thing I did only shows how my mind works and how daring I can be...some may even say crazy, but I believe nothing ventured, nothing gained. Plus I DO WRITE HOT ROMANCE.
Yeah. You got it. I reach down between my legs and grabbed a handful of what was there. Hey! At least I didn't jerk down my boxers. My thought then was, "I can't believe I'm doing this." And quickly followed by "Wow! It feels good." LOL! Yeah, it gets worse but don't worry, only in thought and not deed.
At that point, I had an overwhelming need to find something to "get inside of." It made me feel like if I didn't take care of that need, I would burst. LOL! The next thought was "I don't like women." I knew it was my thought and not the man's. And then I was kind of pushed out of his body. Like he didn't want me there. Obviously he liked women and since I don't (not like that in particular), he didn't want my next thought. LOL! No. Not exactly what you're thinking but there's no need for me to go further. I just think it was the strangest dream I've ever had in my life.
I do have to say, I think I can write from a man's point of view so much better after the small experience. LOL! I can't stop laughing about it. Thus, all of the LOLs. I do laugh a lot when I'm embarrassed or scared (like on a rollercoaster). And this is so much the former. I mainly wrote this because it was such a different experience for me and wonder if anyone else had a dream like this. I bet they have but still...so strange.
Others I've forgotten though I know there were more. I do know they were all different in their own way. But the other strange one I remember was...well...odd. I never experienced anything like this. Let me first say when I had this dream, I was aware it was one. Probably part of why I didn't freak out about it.
I dreamed I got out of bed and stood in front of a full length mirror. Looking in the mirror, instead of seeing me, I saw a man about five foot nine, nice physique, thick wavy hair, thick mustache wearing a sleeveless grayish-green tee shirt and light blue boxers. I don't normally dream in color and didn't then. It was like I knew what color I wore without really noticing them. When we think of ourselves, we rarely think of what our clothes look like. It took me a few seconds to realize the reflection was of me as a man.
Once I realized that, the man's eyes widen in the mirror. At that point my thought was "Cool! I can really get into a man's head and use it in my writing." See. I knew I was dreaming and fullly prepared to use the experience. I remember thinking, "So this is what a guy feels like." Kind of strong and sure of himself.
Well, the next thing I did only shows how my mind works and how daring I can be...some may even say crazy, but I believe nothing ventured, nothing gained. Plus I DO WRITE HOT ROMANCE.
Yeah. You got it. I reach down between my legs and grabbed a handful of what was there. Hey! At least I didn't jerk down my boxers. My thought then was, "I can't believe I'm doing this." And quickly followed by "Wow! It feels good." LOL! Yeah, it gets worse but don't worry, only in thought and not deed.
At that point, I had an overwhelming need to find something to "get inside of." It made me feel like if I didn't take care of that need, I would burst. LOL! The next thought was "I don't like women." I knew it was my thought and not the man's. And then I was kind of pushed out of his body. Like he didn't want me there. Obviously he liked women and since I don't (not like that in particular), he didn't want my next thought. LOL! No. Not exactly what you're thinking but there's no need for me to go further. I just think it was the strangest dream I've ever had in my life.
I do have to say, I think I can write from a man's point of view so much better after the small experience. LOL! I can't stop laughing about it. Thus, all of the LOLs. I do laugh a lot when I'm embarrassed or scared (like on a rollercoaster). And this is so much the former. I mainly wrote this because it was such a different experience for me and wonder if anyone else had a dream like this. I bet they have but still...so strange.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)