Timothy Materer wrote:
>
> Among the "testimonies of summer nights" along the Thames, Eliot
> names "silk handkerchiefs." Why are they mentioned? Is it because, as
> I have heard, they could be used as condoms?

I believe so.  I've done internet searches on a few occassions and I
haven't corfirmed them being used this way at that time but I've come
up with lots of pages mentioning silk used as contraception by the
Chinese.

This use of the handkerchiefs falls into a wordplay with testimony
and testes too.

Regards,
    Rick Parker