Magdalenism : an inquiry into the extent, causes, and consequences of prostitution in Edinburgh / by William Tait.

  • Tait, William
Date:
1840
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Magdalenism : an inquiry into the extent, causes, and consequences of prostitution in Edinburgh / by William Tait. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    >f)of those females who have once forsaken the path of virtue. (No '--man who has a kept-mistress|s^ certain of obtaining her affection ; andyhere is no woman of this description who has not a regard for some particular friend)^whose visits will alwa^^sTe^welcome, ^and which~musl be Vlource of perpetual jcalousy)to himVho provides for heri To_the stupid jftol who doesjsoj it may be observed, that > ' Wliilc the needful holds out, the kind souls ■will caress you, / J And be gentle and bland as the breezes in spring; • / 1 But if your finances get taper, Lord bless you ! j The wamith of afFection at once wll take vnng^ Xhan the smiles of a mistress, what charms cm be greater, ^' To gild the dull hours and the spirit to cheer ? ^ But you'll make the discovery, sooner or later. The tie, though delightful, is terribly dcar.^/ The words of the poet are so full of meaning, and so illustrative of the present subject, that it is thought a pity to destroy their effect by any farther remarks. (Girlsypreserve their status in(this class)for very different periods. (§0 long as they refrain from ardent spirits, ^nd g,re enabled to dress fashionably, ^^hey receive attention from some gentlemen who are always ready with pecuniary aid when they are likely to fall into a lower grader;.)^^Some are thus kept. in. the genteelcst rank for a number of years';'^but how; few are there who can con- t_inue ternperate.m their habits for that period ! ij^Generally speak- ing,(they are in the daily practice of drmkingjritoxicating li(][uors, ^and few are above a year abandoned to this_life before they be- come confirmed drunkards.\ So soon as this takes place, they (jall from one class to anotHer,jxill they have successively passed through them allj)|^The^erioa required for this revolution (paries f for a few moments utter a single expression. They silently gazed on one another, each expecting the other to give an explanation of his conduct. All at length explained— all apologised—^1 liad good reason to be satisfied that they had been coniplctely duped for once in their lifcjj^nd that a woman could be equally afrablc\^afi'ectionatc, and faith- ful to three as to onej^ She h.ad been the mistress nV tlicm all for a considerable time wilho\lt cither having the least suspirion.\^