Page:A Treatise concerning the Use and Abuse of the Marriage Bed.djvu/390

 may suffice to shew the Meaning of the thing, 'tis not so remote from the Design as may be suggested. Trapanning of Women is not much better than Whoring. It is true, the Woman is innocent, the Whoredom is on the Man's Side only, but on his Side it is evidently so, and no otherwise, 'tis a Complication of Crime; 'tis a double Robbery, for they plunder the innocent Lady of her Honour and of her Estate, both at once; not only her Money is seiz'd on, and immediately wasted, squander'd, perhaps gam'd away, or worse, but the is exposed to the utmost Contempt and Disgrace.

, expecting that he is received into the Arms of a Gentleman, and that she takes into her Embraces and to her Affection, a Man of Honour and Fortune, she is prostituted to a Scoundrel, a Mechanick, or, which is infinitely worse, a Rake, a debauch'd infected Carkase, who at once despoils her of her self, so we may justly call it, and communicates to her the worst of all Contagion, a Poison in her Blood, an impure and loath some Plague, so that she is ruin'd at once in Life and Estate.

is worse than Matrimonial Whoredom, for it is Matrimonial Murther, and the poor Lady is undone; she is Beggar'd on one hand, and ruin'd on the other, and is soon transpos'd from a fine furnished House to an Hospital, and from thence to the Grave, and perhaps starv'd too, to make her Miseries more compleat.

is a Mischief we yet want a Law for; and, indeed, 'tis wonderful to me that we should do so. It seems to me, that a Man in such Circumstances merits as much the Gallows for an attempt of that Nature, as it is possible for him to do by any other Crime he can commit. I