ound is the negative one which Judge Sewall gives
when he states of his own wedding that "none came to us," after he and
his elderly bride had retired. When the weddings of English noblemen of
that period were attended by most indecorous observances, there is no
reason to suppose that provincial and colonial weddings were entirely
free from similar rude customs.

It was found necessary in 1651 to forbid all "mixt and unmixt" dancing
at taverns on the occasion of weddings, abuses and disorders having
arisen. But I fancy a people who would give an "ordination ball" would
not long sit still at a wedding; and by the year 1769, at a wedding in
New London, ninety-two jigs, fifty contra-dances, forty-three minuets,
and seventeen hornpipes were danced, and the party broke up at quarter
of one in the morning--at what time could it have begun?

Isolated communities retained for many years marriage customs derived or
copied from similar customs in the "old country." Thus the settlers of
Londonderry, New Hampshire--Scotch-Irish Presbyterians--celebrated a
marriage with much noisy firing of guns, just as their ancestors in
Ireland, when the Catholics had been forbidden the use of firearms, had
ostentatiously paraded their privileged Protestant condition by firing
off their guns and muskets at every celebration. A Londonderry wedding
made a big noise in the world. After the formal publishing of the banns,
guests were invited with much punctiliousness. The wedding day was
suitably welcomed at daybreak by a discharge of musketry at both the
bride's and the groom's house. At a given hour the bridegroom,
accompanied by his male friends, started for the bride's home. Salutes
were fired at every house passed on the road, and from each house
pistols and guns gave an answering "God speed." Half way on the journey
the noisy bridal party was met by the male friends of the bride, and
another discharge of firearms rent the air. Each group of men then named
a champion to "run for the bottle"--a direct survival of the ancient
wedding sport known among the Scotch as "running for the bride-door," or
"riding for the kail" or "for the broose"--a pot of spiced broth. The
two New Hampshire champions ran at full speed or rode a dare-devil race
over dangerous roads to the bride's house, the winner seized the
beribboned bottle of rum provided for the contest, returned to the
advancing bridal group, drank the bride's health, and passed the bottle.
On reach