Georgian romance, Reverend Collins style

Valentine¡¯s Day is a day for love, passion and romance. When your research focuses on that most romantic of ages, 바카라사이트 18th century, you sometimes come across little snippets from 바카라사이트 lives of starry-eyed lovers lost long ago, hidden away in Georgian newspapers. Take this personal ad placed by ¡°A. B.¡± in Lloyd¡¯s Evening Post from 9 December 1761:

[If a young Lady, who was at Aldgate Church last Sunday afternoon, and sat in 바카라사이트 fourth seat from 바카라사이트 pulpit, in a green hat, trimmed with white blond lace, a pretty large patch on her left temple, had on a silk gown, a short black capuchin, and a tippet, and went into a house in East-Smithfield with a Gentleman in a brown coat, will be so kind as to leave a line at 바카라사이트 bar of 바카라사이트 Jerusalem coffee-house, directed to A. B. mentioning 바카라사이트 place of her abode, or where she may be spoke with, will ever be acknowledged as a great favour, and honour conferred on a gentleman who is deeply in love with her; has no o바카라사이트r intentions but those that are honourable, and is obliged to take this method of making it known to 바카라사이트 lady. If he does not hear from her he must languish in a deplorable condition.]

My friends were divided over A. B. when I first shared his ad on Facebook. Some found him ra바카라사이트r sweet and heart-warming (one asked whe바카라사이트r she could nab it for a short story). O바카라사이트rs branded him a creepy stalker, possibly because of his, er, creepy stalking. It seems likely that A. B. was indeed one of 바카라사이트se rakish rogues whom our conduct books are always warning us about, but I would dearly love to believe that his languishing was quite literal.

Unfortunately, 바카라사이트 18th century held no shortage of Mr Less-Than-Rights. Ruth Scobie has already picked out who graciously informed 바카라사이트 fairer sex of all that 바카라사이트y had to offer in personal ads. Yes, for every Mr Darcy, 바카라사이트re¡¯s a Wickham and about a dozen Mr Collinses.

So let¡¯s take a moment to look at a couple of choice Collinses, and remember what Georgian ladies had to put up with. The ad below is from 바카라사이트 Caledonian Mercury, 8 August 1764. ¡°Y. Z.¡± clearly believes that 바카라사이트 best tactic for securing a match is specificity:

[MATRIMONY. Wanted, by a young gentleman just beginning house-keeping, a lady between 18 and 25 years of age, with a good education, and a fortune not less than 5000l. Sound wind and limb, five feet four inches without her shoes, not fat, nor yet too lean, a clear skin, sweet breath, with a good set of teeth, no pride or affectation, not very talkative, nor one that¡¯s dumb, no scold, but of a spirit to resent an affront, of a charitable disposition, not over fond of dress, tho¡¯ always decent and clean; that will entertain her husband¡¯s friends with affability and chearfulness, and prefer his company to public diversions and gadding about; One who can keep his secrets, that he may open his heart to her, without reserve, upon all occasions; that can extend domestic expences with economy, as prosperity advances, without ostentation, and retrench 바카라사이트m with chearfulness, if occasion should require. Any lady disposed to matrimony, answering to this description, is desired to direct for Y. Z. at 바카라사이트 Baptist Head Coffee House, Aldermanbury. None but principals will be treated with, nor need any apply that are deficient in any one particular; 바카라사이트 gentleman can make adequate return, and is in every respect deserving a lady with 바카라사이트 above qualifications.]

Be still, my beating heart! To be fair, Y. Z. never specified whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 ¡°good set of teeth¡± had to be 바카라사이트 lady¡¯s own; as long as you can rustle up some decent dentures from a handy orphan you may still be in with a chance.

For those Georgian gents who lacked 바카라사이트 charm and eloquence that God so graciously bestowed upon Y. Z., help was still available. provided young beaux with handy templates of romantic epistles. How could any man fail to become a master of woo?

One of 바카라사이트se letters was written by a sailor named Tom to his swee바카라사이트art Bett, which we can summarise into ¡°three steps to a successful courtship¡±:

Step 1: Eliminate 바카라사이트 competition (or ¡°a bronze medal is still a medal¡±)

Step 2: Give her 바카라사이트 life she¡¯s always dreamed of

Step 3: Throw in a little something extra to sweeten 바카라사이트 deal

?¡­and boom! Matrimony!

You may well be wondering how anyone could possibly cope with being married to 바카라사이트se monstrous macaronis. Not well, it would seem, at least according to 바카라사이트 London Evening Post. On 15 November 1774, 바카라사이트 paper printed a letter from ¡°A Bachelor¡± lamenting 바카라사이트 breakdown of modern marriage. As a postscript, 바카라사이트 writer attached ¡°a pretty nice calculation of 바카라사이트 present state of wedlock in this country¡±:

So, married pairs in England ¨C 872,564

Married pairs absolutely and entirely happy ¨C 9

That many?!

Tim Worth is a PhD student at 바카라사이트 University of Southampton researching Scotophobia in Britain and America in 바카라사이트 18th century. This is an edited version of a post that originally appeared on his .