I was reading some diary entries from a Colonial Virginian, who may have been one of my ancestors. He apparently didn't get along well in London, so they sent him back home where he was given a minor magistrate position and set loose on the young women of Williamsburg. This particular entry talked about rising early, saying his prayers, dressing, walking into main part of town to check on things, then spending the rest of the afternoon chasing a wench around his quarters in town. In his defense, he did appear to feel some remorse for his actions, because he appealed to Heaven for forgiveness for his trespasses. However, this level of repentance didn' last very long for he seemed to be back at it later in the day.
The short biography stated that this particular gentleman and his spouse loved to dispute with one another. Apparently, their way of punishing their respective spouse was to beat the servant of the other. I can see it now, to colonial gentle-folk, yelling at each other, beating the servant of the other in retribution for the sins of their spouse. Nice system.
No wonder we fought a Civil War over that institution.
Ah, life in Colonial Virginia.
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