which were by no means
admirable, such as the scrambling for the bride's garter, the bedding of
the newly wedded pair, and like fashions, imported from the rural
districts of England. These things were carried to such a length that
restrictive laws were found necessary, and in 1651 "mixt and unmixt"
dancing at taverns during wedding ceremonies was distinctly forbidden.
Dancing may seem to us incongruous with the spirit of the old Puritan
life; but dance they did, as is evident from the law referred to and
from the fact that dancing persisted as an accompaniment of all
weddings. Though a little out of its period, it may be recorded here
that in 1769 there were danced at one wedding ninety-two jigs, fifty
contra-dances, forty-three minuets, and seventeen hornpipes, all being
safely accomplished by a little past midnight.

Enough of the general for the present; let us come to the particular in
exemplification of the status of women among the old Puritans. In the
beginning of this chapter the statement was made that women played a
most prominent part in the religious polity of the northern colonies,
and it is well that the assertion should now be established. The early
history of New England holds the stories of more than one remarkable
woman, and one of the most remarkable among them was Mrs. Anne
Hutchinson, who may be selected as in many regards a typical New England
woman of the early colonial days. It is true that Mrs. Hutchinson was
not an American by birth and had even passed some forty years of life
when she first stood upon the shores of our country; but she was of
those who invaded this land filled with the spirit of liberty that
afterward took such strong root, and in the genius of her nature she was
emphatically American. The old New England spirit found no better
exposition than in this daughter by adoption, and it is for this reason
that she has been chosen, being of one stock with the native Puritans,
as typical of the woman of her time and country.

Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, who had been born in England about 1590, landed at
Boston on September 18, 1634. She came in the name of religious liberty,
seeking that freedom which she was denied in the land of her birth; but
even on her voyage to our shores she had excited suspicions as to her
orthodoxy, and there was some delay, probably at the instance of the
Rev. Mr. Symms, her fellow passenger, in granting her membership in the
first church of Boston. She had been