The MAIDS Petition. To the Honourable Members of both Houses. OR The Humble PETITION of many Thousands of the well-affected, within and without the lines of Communication, Virgins, Maids, and other young Women not married, &c. And in the behalf of the whole kingdom, for their lawful dayes of Recreation. With their Declaration, to hold out stiffly and to comply with the Apprentices or others for their tolerable toleration.  
Presented on Tuesday the 9, of August the 2d. Recreation day for Apprentices, 1647.  
 depiction of maid servant  
LONDON, Printed for AL, in the year of Englands freedom and Liberty, 1647.   

The maids Petition.  

WEe the Mayd-servants in general of the City of London, & in behalf of the universal sisterhood of the same servitudinous rank and quality; being fellow-feelers of the like underlying condition( not meaning the natural posture in reference to wedlock, which is very tolerable) but that uncessant drudgery essentially relating our too much kitting occupation or family function by reason of the uncontrollable impositions of our surly Madams; who in despite to all bodily respite, will perpetually enjoin senseless and fruitless motions without intermission. Upon these and the like considerations and to avoid all strodling or straggling intentions or actions, on dayes consecrate:) Humbly prostrate ourselves to the honourable members of both houses, in the way of Petitionin for a comformity of Recreation with the apprentices, which doth appear very modest, for although their indentures do engage them to stand longer upon constant duty to one particular Master, yet things happen in so that upon the point we oftentimes lie longer under odd services in respect of divers Mistrisses, likewise the primary privilege of rational creatures is to be sociable, being great a benefit to reason, therefore great reason that wee should have this benefit; Which we profess cannot be attained without the egress and regress one with each other, not meaning the Convinticle confinement of in and in: harmless love is multiplied by communion, and scorns limitation, being of a diffusive more then an infusive nature: therefore our desire is, to shut up out kitchen doors from eight in the morning, till eight at night, every second Tuesday in the month, unless some extraordinary business happen( betwixt) to keep them open:( if so to enjoy an equivalent and conscientious liberty another day, but our City dames are so nice that they will put in any thing for an exception, and in case of rainy weather, they may detain us: therefore we petition the members that we may not be thus handled, but that they will be pleased absolutely to enact what they intend( onely)( except before excepted) and so much the rather, because of the additional foul weather that we shall have at home, likewise the lowering of a scold is worse then the lowering of a sky. Therefore let it rain, hail, snow, or blow never so fast; we would have leave, at our discretion to take up our coats, and steer our course as we please, and if vegetable creatures cannot blossom without watery distillation, how can sensible, both proceeding from the earth. These being granted, we do engage ourselves under penalty of being committed with or by any Iustice of the Peace, to abandon all uncivil meetings, to speak or do all things modestly, by talking or walking by couples, not committing any unnatural or unlawful exploit by way of riot, being a threefold mischief, drinking no more then will satisfy nature, by way of sypping, abhorring that staggering 'vice of drunkenness, which argues so much bodily weakness: To which stream of iniquity we may be a convenient stop, to dam up there overflowing cupping with importune and opportune interpositions; likewise, we may so qualify their Recreations that they will bee altogether indisposed to play longer then from eight in the morning to eight at night, either at Cards, Dice, or bowls: Wee may bee such a rub in the way, but least wee should not hold bias with our Mistrisses, wee will hold our tongues, humbly craving, that you would at length bee pleased to stand to what wee so reasonably desire: Till then, wee'll remain your Vassalized Virgins.   

The Maids Declaration.  
WEe the subordinate subjects of this Commonwealth, do declare ourselves( by reason of the epidemical difference) to join with the Apprentices of the City of London, not by way of combinatory siding, but down-right honestly intending the increase of the City force, approving their locking in the Members until they made themselves void: By way of nulling the Proclamation of Treason, which was merely ravished from the Armifyed Parliament: The same ravishment being taken into serious consideration, doth justly put Us into a bodily fear, being the weaker vessels & therefore the more subject to an arbitrary leak, which is below the degree of an Ammunition: Whereupon to prevent all hostile incursion, the Apprentices shall freely enter us by way of listing, and if they do advance( which wee hope will never be beyond the line of Communication) wee shall bee vilely troubled to secure our forts from the multitude of Tub-preachers, who will never bee out of exercise, and doubtless the cobblers of single-soled Consciences, which they call tender, with their independent pumps on: Meaning liberty will eyer bee skipping into our Trenches; who being of an upright Occupation, may underlay Us at last. Patience the tailor will go nigh to make us mad with his Heriticall Thimble. Bat the foul purblind coxcomb will never leave fluttering about our sconces in the way of a Spy. Pricheares the Wyerdra●er, who was formerly frighted out of Foster lane by the spirit of a Pudding-pye, will tempt us to a surrender with his stiffe-standing Longitudes. Bulcher the Chicking man with his newly hatch Errors will documentise our Bulwarks alive or dead. Humble the ostler, with his scrubbing titillations will seek to undermine. wyatt the Prick-louse, will nittifie our Corps with the small shot of reproof; the Millenary, may threaten to bee a thousand strong: But not this year the sly Anabaptist must needs pretend Dipping, and so sneak privily into us to Cast our water, that he may know where our strength lies: Not unlike the late mundifying of our late Members, this fellow and a jesuit are the Divels quacksalvers. The innocent Adamite, though he be stripped of all offensive Stratagems, yet he is ever prepared to beat up our quarters, and having naked truth, for his Standard will often bee ready to enter our sensative outworks, yet the rogue quickly spends his Ammunition, carrying but one charge at a time, therefore we fear not his encounter. The Seekers may disturb our night watch being ever groping in the dark, but their weak judgements will reach no further. The Brownist may come flourishing with his new Creed and trusty colour: thinking to ravish our belief by way of Articles, but wee bid defiance to all treaty. And in spite of the Antipolicall crew of them, according to our feminine faculty, wee will keep them at a distanticall posture, vowing a maiden magnimity in opposition to all Convernicling conjugation, sostanding a tiptoe upon the conscientious liberty of our unvassalized Virginity wee here unanimously Vote with our fore-runners, for King Charles his coming home and residence with his Parliament, being free and unarmifyed as the onely conclusive means against fictions and factions, our flesh and blood cannot endure, base by attempts, therefore stand to it fellow doers and sufferers.  
Wee will live and die, stand and fall with you and for you.   
FINIS.