Tittle-Tattle; Or, the Several Branches of Gossipping

From the Archives of the British Museum:

A satire on women; childbed, church, the market, public baths ("the Hottehouse"), the conduit, washing clothes in the river, the bakehouse and the alehouse, are all shown as opportunities for women to exchange gossip; at the conduit, two women fight, egged on by others; verses below in six columns. late 16th century; this impression c.1750 Woodcut, hand-coloured, with letterpress.

"WASHERS-AT-THE-RIVER"

Bringing hot water (note the handle holes are used with a carrying pole), utilizing the running water of the river to rinse, using a washing bat on a table to beat the dirt out: all typical stages of doing renaissance laundry.

The image derives from a large French etching of c.1560, "Le Caquet des Femmes" (IFF, 16th-century prints, p.194, Bibliothèque nationale, TF.2.fol.49). The British Museum's eighteenth-century impression of the sheet – now entitled Tittle-Tattle; Or, the several Branches of Gossipping – adds an extra ninth quatrain to the verses below the sheet, the previous verses being the same as in the earlier impression (but for trivial variants), though arranged in a slightly different order. They read as follows:

At Child-bed when the Gossips meet,
Fine Stories we are told:
And if they get a Cup too much,
Their Tongues they cannot hold.
At Market when good Houswives meet,
Their Market being done,
Together they will crack a Pot,
Before they can get Home.
The Bake-house is a Place you know
Where Maids a Story hold,
And if[3] their Mistresses will prate,
They must[4] not be control'd.
At Alehouse you see how jovial they be
With every one her Noggin:[5]
For till the Skull and the Belly be full,
None of them will be jogging[6]
To Church fine Ladies do resort,
New Fashions for to spy:
And others go to Church sometimes
To shew their Bravery.[7]
The Hot-house makes a rough Skin smooth
And doth it beautify:
Fine Gossips use it every Week,
Their Skins to purify.
At the Conduit striving for their Turn,
The Quarrell it grows great,
That up in Arms they are at last,
and one another beat.
Washing at the River's Side
Good Housewives take Delight:
But scolding Sluts care not to work,
Like wrangling Queens[8] they fight.
Then Gossips all a Warning take,
Pray cease your Tongue to rattle:
Go knit, and Sew, and Brew, and Bake,
And leave off TITTLE-TATTLE.

For the complete article please visit:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1460434&partId=1&searchText=laundry&sortBy=fromDateDesc&page=1