%ISOlat1; %ISOlat2; %ISOnum; %ISOpub; ]> [The Ladies of] London's Petition, / [OR,] THEIR / [Humble Address to the] Parliament of old Women / [for husbands; Sign'd by] threescore thousand Hands, and / [never a crackt Maidenhe]ad nor Widow amongst them. University of California - Santa Barbara The Early Modern Center English Broadside Ballad Archive (EBBA) Director Patricia Fumerton Associate Director Carl G Stahmer ?-? Early Modern Center, University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 06/19/2014 33938

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Patricia Fumerton Early Modern Center - English Department University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93105 United States of America EMail: pfumer@english.ucsb.edu

R179899 1 Mary live long Let Mary Live Long Mary live long YOu Matrons all, / With humble Submission, Information in this section of the Source Description refers to the original ballad manuscript. 1: 1412 [The Ladies of] London's Petition, / [OR,] THEIR / [Humble Address to the] Parliament of old Women / [for husbands; Sign'd by] threescore thousand Hands, and / [never a crackt Maidenhe]ad nor Widow amongst them. The Ladies of London's Petition, OR, THEIR Humble Address to the Parliament of old Women for husbands; Signed by threescore thousand Hands, and never a cracked Maidenhead nor Widow amongst them. ?-? Josiah Blare

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 Early Modern Center Ballad Project Keyword Taxonomy advice affliction/ health alcohol Americas animals/ nature Bible/ biblical figures buildings/ architecture catastrophe children class clothing/ appearance country/ nation crime death economics/ commerce entertainments family Featured folklore gender holidays/ seasons infidelity labor/ craft law London love maritime marriage military/ war monstrosity mythology/ Classical news nobility/ court politics/ government procreation punishment race/ ethnicity religious concepts religious figures religious groups royalty rural life servitude sex/ sexuality supernatural/ magic travel trickery/ deceit urban life vice violence virtue vulgar humor youth/ age Library of Congress Subject Heading Taxonomy 6/19/2014 Santa Barbara, California, United States of America country/ nation gender marriage Ballads, English 17th century Broadsides, England 17th century 6/19/2014 12:40:39 PM XBallad Russ, Theresa Created XML Version of Ballad 6/19/2014 12:40:39 PM Transcription Supervisor Meyer, Shannon Transcription of ballad manuscript 6/19/2014 12:40:39 PM Double-Key Comparison and Merging McCants, Kristen Transcription of ballad manuscript 6/19/2014 12:40:39 PM Transcriptionist Two Koath, Jayne Transcription of ballad manuscript 6/19/2014 12:40:39 PM Transcriptionist One Keller Scotch, Grace Transcription of ballad manuscript 11/23/2012 Bibliographer Shannon Meyer Initial Ballad Catalogue Record Created 11/18/2013 Checker Phillip Cortez Edited Ballad Catalogue Record 11/18/2013 Checker Phillip Cortez Edited Ballad Catalogue Record 11/18/2013 Checker Phillip Cortez Edited Ballad Catalogue Record
<seg n="1" rend="left">The Ladies of <hi rend="italic"><hi rend="bold">London</hi></hi><hi rend="italic">s Petition,</hi></seg> <seg n="2" rend="left">OR, <hi rend="italic">THEIR</hi></seg> <seg n="3" rend="left">Humble Address to the <hi rend="italic">Parliament of old Women</hi></seg> <seg n="4" rend="left">for husbands; Sign'd by <hi rend="italic">threescore thousand Hands, and</hi></seg> <seg n="5" rend="left">never a crackt maiden he<hi rend="italic">ad nor Widow amongst them.</hi></seg> <lb/> <seg n="6" rend="left">To the Tune o<hi rend="italic">f,</hi> Mary live long.</seg>
YOu Matrons all, With humble Submisson, We bring our Petition, For Justice we call, pray hear our Complaint For the good Marriage-state Is so run down of late by every one, That pritty young Ladies, That pritty young Ladies, do long lye alone.
A Marriage one fears Because he Conjectures, The Loud-curtain-lectures, Will ring through his ears both morning and night, Yet in Taverns they'll rore, With a Noise ten times more and Bottles of Wine, Still leaving young Lasses, Still leaving young Lasses, to sigh and repine.
A second wont wed For fear his fair Beauty, Should stray from her Duty, And graft on his head a large pair of Horns; Yet he will have in store Twenty Harlots and more: Is this not a shame? To spend Youth and Treasure, To spend Youth and Treasure, on Girls of the Game. Another replys, He can't bear the bawling, The wining and squalling, And terrible crys of Children when young: Why the fourth crys a Wife Will destroy a Man's Life, and wast him away: These are their Excusies, These are their Excusies, for longer Delay. But yet let them know, That Ladies of Pleasure Are Wasters of Treasure, They'll bring a Man low that follows the Sport; Nay the Docter may hap, For the curing the Clap, may pillage his Purse Of more then would pay for, Of more then would pay for three Children at Nurse.
Be pleas'd to debait Our Case with Discretion, It's worse then Oppression To live at this rate, and spin out our Days; Let an Act now be made That a Fine shall be paid by Men that refuse To Marry when twenty, To Marry when twenty, there's none we'll excuse. You well understand, That Plowing and Sowing, That Reaping and Hoing, And Tilling the Land, brings forth an Increase, So our dear Virgin-ground Would in Plenty abound, without all despute, But while it lies fallow, But while it lies fallow, there can be no Fruit. Is it not a Shame, That hear amongst Christains, Not Turks nor Philistians, But Persons of Fame, and Protestans too, That should Wedlock deny, Which would yield a supply, the Land to Defend From all that oppose us, From all that oppose us, or dare to Contend?
Printed for Josiah Blare, at the Looking-Glass on London-Bridge.