St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-06-06
SOMETHING OF sCoLDs.
Sketchy and Interesting Ac-
counts of the Days of Our
Grandfathers.
The Very Severe Treatment In
f1icted on Shrewish Women
Many Years Ago.

When our grandmothers talked too
much our grandfathers, or, more prop
erly speaking, the grandfathers of our
contemporaries, had way of dealing
with them which effectually silenced
their chatter, says the st. Louis Globe
Democrat.
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
grandfathers. and expressed their opin-
ion of the feminine ability to make life
burden to every benedict who did not
particular. to what his wife deemed he
should be.
Nowadays, of course. it is not to be
supposed that married people quarrel.
The refinement of the age is against 1t,
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 1t was
not so. il
When a woman, one OF our grand
mothers, perhaps, became so LIBERAL in
| the use of her tongue as to render herself
conspicuous in the neighborhood where
she lived. all her husband if she had a
| husband, or her afflicted neighbors. If
| she were 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, II deemed
| conclusive, the magistrate directed that
| she should be bridled and escorted
through the town. si
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 sue
| cessIul shrew. 1t consisted of an iron
| band passing over the head from ear to
ear, from the eXtremities of which an
| other band from one TO two inches wide
| passed across the face between the nose
| and chin.
In front plate, projecting inward
| from the face band, entered the mouth
and pressed down the tongue OF the
sufferer, thus etfectually preventing any
| cutlery. From the eXtremities Of the
face band another thin iron semi-circle
passed around the head at the back,
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 fastened
with the paddock, OF which the magiS-
trate bore the key.
The scold was then tied by the wrists
| to the tail of cart and escorted through
the streets, preceded by crier an
nouncing her name, offense and pun
ishment, and followed by mob of
| idlers such as can always be collected
to witness scene of this kind. One
dose of such medicine, it might be sup
posed. would overcome the temper of
any shreW, but in case it proved made
quate 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 scoid and she was brought up again
before magistrate. recourse was had,
as a last resort. to the ducking-stoOl.
The ducking-Stool was large chair
without legs which was fastened to the
end of long pole. balanced at the top
of post close by the waters of stream
or pond. The pole was arranged upon
pivot SO loosely fastened that it per-
United of considerable 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 rev0lved the unfortunate Scold
until she went directly over the water,
when she was Soused sufficient num-
Der Of times to kill the ardor and i'm
petuosity of her tongue.
Generally she was dncked until she
gave promise of permanent reforma'
ton, and made oath upon the Bible OF
psalm-book, brought from the near.
est church for that purpose, that
she would scold no more. But in
stances have been known of inveterate
shrews refusing to promise ANYTHING OF
the kind. and in one case in the south O1
England 102 years age an unlucky
woman was ducked twenty-seven times
before she was subdued, while year OF
two before that another unfortunate
was actually drowned, the determine
ton of those inflicting the punishment
to subdue her being equaled by her res
olution not to yield.