mother come up stairs above our room; there she sat and sang with as
sweet a voice as a young maiden, though she had reached a great age;
whereat my bride laughed heartily.

"On the Tuesday morning her bridesmaid Kathleen brought her the rest of
her clothes; we admitted her, and as she was a pleasant maiden, we had
much fun with her. After that the marriage guests collected again at
dinner, which took place at eleven o'clock, for then we had not turned
time topsy-turvy, as is the bad custom now. There were as many tables
laid as on the first day, and the entertainment was as ample; and there
was in addition the bridal porridge, which is now replaced by mulled
wine. After dinner they danced till night, and at supper there were
still many guests, especially the maidens, who all took leave and went
home in good time. There were many rich presents given at the marriage;
but of these I got only a small goblet and two ducats, the rest my
father took to defray the costs as far as they would, and later, as
soon as I earned something, I had to pay him for my clothes. My father
took also the hundred gulden that my wife had brought with her, and
paid it off likewise. My father-in-law made me no present, because, as
he afterwards told me, he had paid five gulden for me at the doctor's
capping feast, and therewith I ought to be content. The household gear
that my wife brought with her was not very good; an old pan in which
they had made her porridge, and a large wooden bowl in which her
mother's dinner had been brought to her during her confinements, and
other bad utensils, which were placed behind a screen in our room.
After that, our household arrangements were to be fixed and regulated
by my wife's advice, which required great consideration. My father
still continued to have boarders and all kinds of disquiet in the
house, so that we young married people were much harassed; we had
rather have kept house by ourselves, but we could not manage it; we
were obliged for nearly three years to board with my father, and I had
to make shift with my room, and to see the sick in the lower hall,
which was cold in winter. There was frequent offence taken because I
could not help towards the kitchen expenditure, for I had enough to do
to provide ourselves with clothes, and frequently had to pay what I had
just earned to the shops where I was still in debt for them; which was
thrown in my teeth, if I did not do it. Thus there were at times
quarr