The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-05-20
PUNISHMENT OF sHREws.
Severe Treatment Melted Out to Scold
in the Days of Long Ago.
From the st. Louis Globe Democrat.

LUlu inc 81. IOuIS 0lOD6-De0OCfab.
When our grandmothers talked toe
much our grandfathers, or, more prop.
erly speaking, the grandfathers of our
contemporaries, had a way of dealing
with them which effectually silenced
their chatter. Some one says: ''There is
but one scold in the world and every man
thinks he has her. an adage that no
doubt originated in the days of our grand
fathers, and expressed their opinion of
the feminine ability to make life burden
for every benedict who did not exactly
conform in the minutest particular to
what his wife deemed he should be- Now
adays, of course, it is not to be supposed
that married people quarrel. The refine
ment of the age is against it, and when a
man is scolded by his wife there is naught
for him to do but to grin and bear it. But,
in former days it was not.
When a woman, one of our grandmothers
perhaps, became so liberal in the use of
her tongue as to render herself conspicu-
Gus in the neighborhood where she lived.
all her husband, if she had husband, or
her afflicted neigh bors if she was a
widow or spinster, did was to proceed to
the nearest magistrate and make charges
against her as a common scold." A day
was appointed for the trial, evidence was
produced, and if deemed conclusive the
IldS lStIduC ulItCUGu bIldb Sic SilOUlU De
bridled and escorted through the town
The scold's bride was always kept in the
town hall or in the church, and was an
instrument well adapted to tame
the spirit of even the most able and
successful shrew. 1t consisted of
an iron band passing over the
head from ear to ear, from the extremi-
ties of which another band from one to
two inches wide passed across the face
hot I'D ali, T..
plate, projecting inward from the face
band, entered the mouth and pressed
down the tongue of the sufferer, thus
effectuauy preventing any outcry. From
the eXtremities of the face band another
thin iron semicircle passed around the
head at the back, secured on one side by
a hinge, on the other by hasp and staple
The back band was thrown open by means
of the hinge, the bride placed upon the
head of the shrewish unfortunate; the
hinged section was then closed and fast
ened with paddock, of which the magis-
trate bore the key.
The scold was then tied by the wrists
to the tail of a cart and escorted through
the streets, preceded by crier ANNOUNCE
ing her name, offense and punishment.
and followed by mob of oilers such as
can always be collected to witness a scene
of this kind. One dose of such medicine,
temper Of any shrew, but in case it proved
inadequate there was another remedy
still more severe, which was rarely known
to fail. After the scold's bride had
proved its inefficiency to suppress the
clamOr of the scold and she was brought
up again before a magistrate, recourse
was had, as a last resort.
to the ducking-stool. The ducking-stool
was large chair without legs, which
was fastened at the end of a long pole.
balanced at the top of post close by the
waters of q stream or pond. The pole
was arranged upon pivot so loosely
fastened that it permitted of a consider
able vertical as well as horizontal motion.
The scOld was securely strapped in the
chair, half-dozen pairs of strong hands,
generally those of the witnesses in the
case. seized the other end of the pole and
revolved the unfortunate scold until she
went directly over the water, when she
was sOused "A sufficient number of
times TO kill the ardor and i'm
petuosity of her tongue. Generally
she was ducked until she gave promise OF
permanent reformation and made oath
upon the Bible or psalm book brought
from the nearest church for that purpose,
that she would scold no more But in
stances have been known Of inveterate
Shrews refusing 10 promise anything Of
the kind, and in one case in the south Of
England l02 years ago an unlucly woman
was ducked twenty-seven times before
she was subdued, while a year or two be-
fore that another unfortunate was actu-
ally drowned, the determination OF those
inhiCtmg the punishment 20 subduo her
boing equaled by her resolution not 10
yield.