The taming of a shrew: or, The onely way to make a bad wife good at least, keep her quiet, be she bad or good.
J. R. aut, H. C. aut, Crouch, Humphrey, fl. 1635-1671, attributed name. aut
The Counsel o• a Father to his Son newly Married.
The First Document.
YOung man that now art wedded to a wife,
Use her even as the apple of thine eye,
Then if she be of nature bent to strife,
Thy love will cause •••t wrath in her to dye;
even as soft things fiery bullets do allay,
that through walls of stone do make their way.
II
And if thou thinkest thy wooing to be done,
Or ended quite upon thy wedding day,
Thou art deceiv'd, it is but then begun,
And must continue till thy dying day;
for as at first thou wood'st her to be wife,
so must thou do unto a quiet life.
III
Thou must be still as thou wast at the first,
Loving and courteous to her every way,
For true love hath an everlasting thirst,
That never can be quenchr, nor yet decay;
if thou thus loving unto her do prove,
she'l answer thee again with love for love.
IV
Walk with her as a wise man ought to do,
And let not thy loose living her distast,
Keep company with no accursed crew,
Lest that Gods Image in thee be defac'd;
for many a man doth on his wife complain,
when as the fault doth in himself remain.
V
Give her both good and decent cloathes to wear.
With meat and drink and all things necessary,
See that thou keep her not in too much fear,
For this will make her quickly of the weary;
I dare presume that woman will be quiet,
that wanteth not good rayment nor good dyet
VI
She is thy wife, remember this always,
Tis fit that she should have some recreation,
Let her not spend the remnant of her days,
At home in sorrow, overcome with passion;
but walk abroad with her in friendly wife,
as Adam did with Eve in Paradise.
VII
Each morning when from sleep thou dost awake,
Depart from her to work with chearful smsles,
Thy leave of her in such a manner take,
As if thou wert to go an hundred miles:
she will take notice of it, thou wilt find,
and unto thee no doubt will prove as kind.
VIII
If thou abroad with company do rome,
Let no perswasion keep thee out too late,
For that is the way to make her grieve at home,
Impair her health, and weaken thy state,
especially come thou ne'r home in drink,
for this will make a good wife chide, I think.
IX
If that the neighbors do in words abuse her,
Then thou must be her friend to take her part,
If she be faulty, modestly excuse her,
And she will love thee then with all her heart:
mind that I say, and steer thy course thus even,
and you will live as if you were in heaven.
X
Let not thy children nor thy Servant's slight her,
But give her lawful power to correct them,
If any body wrong her, thou must right her,
If friends do visit her thou must respect them,
and entertain her sister and her brother,
as kindly as thy father and thy mother.
XI
Above all things my son I thee desire,
Not to be jealous of thy •ing wife,
For jealousie is a consuming fire,
And thou will never live a quiet life:
then if she chance to tread her shooe awry,
thank thine own self, and thy fond jealousie.
XII
A Cotquean be not thou in any wife,
Scum not the pot, nor meddle with the room,
Ask not what oatmeal will the pot suffice,
or how much she paid for her last broom,
meddle thou not with pottage-pot or jack,
lest with the ladle she thy pate do crack.
XIII
Be thou ever in thy calling diligent,
Play not at dice, nor handle not a card,
For these two things will cause thee to repent,
And beggery is the gamesters just reward.
O with what hearts can men abroad thus rome,
and let their wives and children want at home.
XIV
Spend not thy money in a Tipling-house,
For drunkenness is an odious thing,
Many w••• Quarrel when they do carowse,
And divers mischief from this vice do spring.
A drunkard is dispised of all, therefore,
make not thy Hostess rich, and thy wife poor.
XV
If she occasion have abroad to go,
With other women merry for to be,
Deny her not, this sometimes must be so,
When thou get'st forth she never hinders thee,
Answer me this, is she thy wife or Slave?
she is a wife, be not to her a knave
XVI
Do not examine her for every penny,
Women have divers ways to lay out coin,
Neither be thou perswaded now by any,
To 〈◊◊〉 wife, but all to her resign.
If 〈◊◊〉 careful and a loving mate,
she never will diminish thy state.
XVII
If she sometimes her mind to thee do break,
And tell that with her all things is not right,
or if her little finger do but ake,
Cherish her up, and she‘l in thee delight.
She‘l do as much for thee if need require,
and answer love for love to thy desire.
XVIII
Beleive no false reports, nor Slandrous words,
of envious people ‘gainst thy joying wife,
They are no better then two edged swords,
Which if thou do regard will breed much strise
look what thou dost shou'd be to their disgrace
take her and kiss her even before their face.
XIX
If thou be sometimes crost in thy vocation,
Fret not, nor be thou pevish with thy wife,
For she poor heart expects no alteration,
But lasting love in thee during thy life.
Bridle thy passion, and let her not know
of any thing may bring her care and woe.
XX
If she be sometimes pevish be thou merry,
And do not strike thy wife in any case,
For that is the way to make her of thee weary
And that is a thing will tend to thy disgrace
out of thy wife thou canst not beat the devil,
and if thou beat him in, she is made more evil.
XXI
Provoke her not to wrath by words and frowns
For she is a tender creature quickly moved,
And bitter words a tender heart more wounds,
Then all things else from him who once she loved
for often times a sharp and bitter word,
doth pierce a womans heart more then a sword
XXII
Bear ever with the weakness of her nature,
Think not thy wife an Angel without fault,
She is as thy self, a weak and earthly Creature
Thou art the strongest yet sometimes dost halt.
since it is so, in vain tis to contend,
since thou as well as she hast faults to mend.
XXIII
If thus thou do, thou shale gain honour by it,
And all thy friends shall laugh her foes to scorn,
Thou and thy wife shall ever live in quiet,
And many graces shall thy house adorn.
Good people will commend thee, heaven smile
Tosee how thou the devil dost beguile.
The Conclusion.
If all these rules thou dost observe and keep,
And she continue in perverseness still,
A just cause hadst thou then to wail and weep
Her to amend doth almost pass my skill
but yet thou shalt thy comfort much enlarge,
if thou these duties unto her discharge
H. C.
FINIS
