Lucy [Byrd’s wife] joined her husband in London in 1716 but soon died of smallpox; the two children arrived later and were placed with friends or relatives. That left Byrd, in his forties, free to pursue the high life in London, where the maids seemed far more compliant than those of America. He also relished the masquerades then fashionable in London; at these large parties masked participants could cast aside under cover of anonymity whatever inhibitions they might still have. Byrd recorded the typical result in his diary: “about ten we went and I was very well diverted and… met with a woman that I hugged till I spent. I stayed till 6 o’clock in the morning…”
The imperial capital signified sexual and theological liberation for Byrd. His diary from these years is filled with repeated, graphic descriptions of sexual encounters with women from every station of life: from girls picked up on the street to the aristocratic ladies of London’s political elite. Every several months the names changed, but Byrd always seemed delighted to report that he had gone “to Mrs. Smith’s to meet a new mistress who was pretty and well humored.” London women were not reluctant fornicators like those in America, but were “very sweet and agreeable.” There was variety: “I went to see my French whore.” There was immediate availability: “After the play I picked up a woman and carried her to the tavern and ate some roast chicken and lay with her.” The openness of London for even outdoor sex thrilled Byrd: “I walked in the park and lay with a woman on the grass… About twelve I went home and neglected my prayers.”
Bonus:
[The author adds more of Byrd’s exploits in the Notes section of the book, the source pages of which can also be found in the bottom citation.]
”I kissed the maid till my seed ran from me” or “I kissed the maid till I committed uncleanness” are refrains in his diary of 1718.
”I went to Will’s Coffeehouse and drank a dish of chocolate, and about ten went to the bagnio and bathed and then lay all night with Annie Wilkinson and rogered her twice. I neglected to say my prayers… In the evening I went to visit Mrs. A-l-n, a mistress of mine, and she treated me with a bottle of Rhenish wine and I rogered her well and gave her a guinea. About 11 o’clock I went home and neglected to say my prayers.”
Similarly, “I picked up a woman and set down in a coach and committed uncleanness… I picked up a young girl and carried her to the tavern and gave her some mutton cutlets and committed uncleanness with her, and then walked home and neglected my prayers.”
Source:
Olasky, Marvin. “Golden Chains.” Fighting for Liberty and Virtue: Political and Cultural Wars in Eighteenth-Century America. Crossway Books, 1995. 47-8. Print.
Original Source Listed:
William Byrd II, The London Diary (1717-1721) and Other Writings, ed. Louis B. Wright and Marion Tinling (New York: Oxford University Press, 1958), 68, 71, 77, 85, 118, 121, 127-8, 135-6, 141, 143, 146, 156, 161-2, 168, 221, 223, 225, 232-3, 243, 263, 269, 272, 274, 282, 285, 288, 339, 341.
Further Reading:
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