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NM.783.071
1 Nov 1783:22 (1153)
The most illustrious old bachelors in Great-Britain are the
Duke of Q----, the Duke of D----t, Lord T----w, and Lord E--
---. It is remarkable that the laws of Lycurgus, so much
commended for their singular wisdom, were exceedingly severe
against bachelors. In the coldest days of winter they were
forced to run through a peculiar square, and to sing at the
same time some ballads full of poignant sarcasms and
raillery against themselves. Athaeneus reports on this
subject a laughable custom, which is, that every year a
great festival was celebrated in one of the temples of
Sparta, where all men of a certain age, who were not
married, were obliged to attend. The ladies then were
allowed to taunt them with the bitterest language, and to
slap their faces as much as they pleased.
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