he men maintained at a height
of fervor, not to say frenzy, that stopped short not even at the taking
of life to further its own ends or to crush the purposes of others.

Before entering into this more particular portion of our present
subject, however, it may be well to cast a hurried glance at the status
of woman in the Puritan settlements when these began to attain to the
dignity of colonies. As early as 1631 we find the court of Plymouth
sending for the elders and charging them to urge upon the conscience of
the people that they should avoid the costliness of apparel which was
beginning to be noted, as a detriment to the young colony; but,
unfortunately, the worshipful court did not take into consideration all
the circumstances of the case, for we read that "divers of the elders'
wives were partners in the general disorder," and we may be entirely
sure that the elders did not dare too strenuously to urge reform in this
matter. Winthrop tells us that "little was done about it." So that even
here we find feminine influence paramount, and on the side of disorder;
and this was to be the history of the sex in New England for many a day,
even though there were to be notable exceptions to the rule thus begun.

When we read the "Twelve Good Rules" of the infant colony, we are
constrained to believe that some of them were framed with especial
reference to women, and that they were dictated by some sad experiences.
The twelve rules ran thus:

1. Profane no divine ordinance.

2. Touch no state matters.

3. Urge no healths.

4. Pick no quarrels.

5. Encourage no vice.

6. Repeat no grievances.

7. Reveal no secrets.

8. Maintain no ill opinions.

9. Make no comparisons.

10. Keep no bad company.

11. Make no long meals.

12. Lay no wagers.

Truly a Draconian code in its paternalism; but we are inevitably forced
to the conclusion that the framers thereof had in their minds' eye their
helpmeets when they laid down rules 6 and 8, while they must have smiled
at one another when they wrote rule 7.

One of the first regulations of the infant colony was in regard to
marriage, and ever and anon we find the Solons of the settlement laying
down new legislation for the better enforcement of the marriage tie as a
thing to breed accord rather than discord in the colony. It would seem
that there was considerable trouble in regulating the matrimonial
desires of maidens under guardianship and maid-servants, since in 1638