The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-05-22

Laws Placed Heavy Shackles Upon
Cupid's Active Limbs--wooings of
widows and Widowers.
AS the chief and only object of a
girl of colonial times was plainly to
get married, it Is evident, writes Alice
Morse Earle in the Pittsburg Dispatch
that the steps that led her to marriage
were of much Importance. She was
early taught by precept and a few
rare and deplorable examples to dread
and shun being an old maid. The
traveller, John Dunton, wrote in 1874:
1T is true. an old or superannuated
maid in Boston is thought such a curse
as nothing can exceed 1t, look'd on as a
dismal spectacle"
He adds that unmarried women
were called "thorHbaolis." The state
OF old-maidism was reached at an
carly date. Higglnson wrote of an
ancient maid" OF 25. The letters of
Mary Doning, daughter of Emanuel
Doning, John Winthrop's brother-in-
law, show how bitterly her parents re
sented her remaining unmarried till
about 25 years of age. And letters of
her father show his modification as
not "early matching" his children. The
evidences of family records, of grave
stones, of cburch-lsts, show that un-
married women were few.
EYED WITH SUSPICION.
Lone men, as Shakespeare called
them, We're, Of course, equally discour-
aged. Bachelors were eyed askance
and with much suspicion. They were
watched by ministers, elders, deacons,
magistrates heads of families, and the
tithing-man was ordered to have a
Especial eye out" on them. They were
not permitted to live alone, nor to
choose their place of residence, but had
to go with whom and where the court
assigned, and if they resented this
treatment were sold for a term of SER
vice. In many of the colonies they had
to pay tax if they remained unmar-
ried after a certain age.
All was not smooth sailing when the
restricted and watched bachelor decid-
ed to marry and gain freedom. He
could not make a motion of marriage"
to any young woman in the community
without obtaining the consent of her
parents, guardians or near kinsfolk.
The whippingpost and cat-o'-nine-
tails awaited him If he "inveigled the
affections of any maid or maid-ser-
want" by making love to her without
proper permission. / have often Won
dered whether the marked attractions
and charms of widows in Colonial DAYS
were not somewhat due to the fact
that a man could court them without
being watched, or being given permis-
sion or rendering account.
Many laws restricting unlicensed
love-making can be found in court rec
ords of Colonial days, but the New
Haven magistrates severely specified
the "inveigling" as "by speech, writ
ing, message, company-keeping, un-
necessary familiarity, disorderly night
meetings, sinful dalliance, gifts or (as
a final blow to inventive lovers), in any
other way"
HOW TO CHEAT THE LAW.
1t may plainly be seen that if a sly
wooer were hauled up for "inveigling"
and threatened with the whipping post
and stocks, a bold sweetheart had a
very simple way of thwarting the mag,
istrates.
When Goodman Tuttle of New
Haven, found that Jacob Murine had
been kissing Sarah Tuttle, his daugh-
ter, without leave or license, he anglily
brought suit against Jacob for inveig-
ling Sarah's affections Affairs were
looking dark for Jacob and the lash of
the whip semeed TO tremDle near him
in the air, when the court asked Sarah
whether Jacob inveigled her, and she
demurely answered mo"
The magistrate called her q ''boulI
virgin" but he couldn't make her say
che was kissed against her WILL SO ia
cob went scot-free, to Goodman Tuttle's
ire.
These laws as to the restraint of low
ers were not wholly for the control of
ignorant and poor folk, nor to prevent
the loss of bound servants, as some
historians have imagined. They ap-
Piled to all classes in the community,
ana were taken advantage Of by fathers
and guardians of all ranks.
The governor of Plymouth colony,
Thomas Prence, did not hesitate to
drag his daughters love affairs before
the public. He prosecuted Arthur
IIowland for "disorderly and unrighte-
ously endeavoring to gain the affec-
tions of Mistress Elizabeth Prence."
have a suspicion in this case had
Elizabeth Prence been q "bould virgin"
she might have truthfully asserted
that the affections were given by her,
not unrighteously stolen. Lover How
land was ordered ito refrain and de-
sist," and he paid fine of five pounds.
Seven years later, still endeavoring TO
retain the affections of Mistress Eliza
beth, and evidently succeeding very
well in his endeavor. he was again
fined at law, and in few months Mis-
tress Prence became Madame Arthur
IIowland.
A SERIOUS MATTER.
An engagement of marriage was a
serious matter in those days. If the
father had given his consent he could
not recklessly or unreasonably inter-
fere to break the contract Colonial
court records, especially those of Ply
mouth, prove that lovers, in turn,
could sue parents for intermeddling i'm
sanctioned love-maling, and breach of
HASTY MARRIAGES.
promise cases were brought by men
against women.
In some communities. In both Ply
mouth and Boston formal betrothal,
called contraction" took place. This
was not held to have a very favorable
influence on morals, as colonial court
records prove, and as II furthered long
engagements was not encouraged. Cot
ton. Mather expressed himself with
some force uDOn this suhtacf