_Miss._--It is generally, I believe, understood that, prior to the time
of Charles II., married women were called _Mistress_, and unmarried had
_Mistress_ prefixed to their Christian name; and that the equivocal
position of many in that reign, gave rise to the peculiar designation of
_Miss_ or "Mis." Can any of your readers show an earlier use of the
term than the following, from _Epigrams of all Sorts_, by Richard
Flecknoe, published 1669?
"To Mis. Davis on her excellent Dancing.
Dear Mis., delight of all the nobler sort,
Pride of the stage and darling of the court."
Again, was the term, when used with especial reference to these ladies,
always spelt with one _s_, as _Mis_?