Chapter 2

"Nec morum dicere promtum est,Sit ratio simplex, sitne venusta magis.Æthiopissa palam mensæ formulatur heriliIn puris naturalibus, ut loquimur.Vir braccis se bellus amat nudare décentér,Strenuus ut choreas ex-que-peditus agat.Quid quod ibi; quod congere ipsis conque moveriDicitur, incolumi nempe pudicitiâ,Sponte suâ, sine fraude, torum sese audet in unum.Condere cum casto casta puelle viro?Quid noctes coenaque Deûm? quid amœna piorum.Concilia?"

Which being translated is as follows:

"Nor is it easy to say whether the tenor of their manners is more to be admired for simplicity or elegance; a negro wench, as we are told, will wait on her master at table in native nudity; and a beau will strip himself to the waist, that he may dance unincumbered, and with more agility. There, too, we hear of the practice ofbundlingwithout any infraction of female modesty; and the chaste maiden, without any deception, but with right good will, ventures to share the bed with her chaste swain! Oh, what nights and banquets, worthy of the gods! What delightful customs among these pious people?"

But this spirit of misrepresentation and ridicule, so glaringly apparent in the foregoing extracts, and which has so universally characterized all those British travelers and authors who have attempted to describe our social habits and manners, is fitly rebuked, even as long ago as 1815, by an anonymous writer, whose trenchant penreminds our British cousins of the old adage concerning "those who live in glass houses," etc.

"From the time of Jack Cade," says he, "to Lord George Gordon, and down to the present day, neither yourgraveorgayauthorities on the subject ofbundlingandtarryingare worthy of criticism. There is a littleness in noticing, in theLondon Quarterly Review, a work which heretofore has been distinguished for its taste, chasteness and celebrity, the observation of travelers who, if men of truth, could only mean to mention customs (if they were customs) of the most vulgar and ignorant, which at any rate are now as little known as are the operation of the blue laws of Connecticut, or part of the penal code enacted to keep in slavery and subjection the sister kingdom.[26]

"Englishmen, examine your own cottages, particularly in the north, and on the borders, and extend your view to the western extremity ofyour island. Pray, what term will you give to that promiscuous bundling of the father, mother, children, sons and daughters-in-law, cousins, and inmates who call totarry, and not unfrequently stretch themselves in one common bed of straw on the hovel's floor?[27]

"Nay, even, in some parts of your empire, the hogs and the cows join the group, and form a most audible respiration from their noses, getting vent through the hole in the roof intended for a chimney, or spreading throughout the clay built edifice with odorific sweetness, though perhaps not so fragrant and refreshing as was the precious oil poured on the venerable head of Aaron, which Sternhold and Hopkins tell us filled the room with pleasure. In the early settlement of this country there might have been houses in the route of the inquisitive and insidious European travelers, unprovided with a spare bed on which he might stretch his limbs; but, now, should Mr. Canning[28]himself visit us, he need not fear beingbundled—he need not travel far in any part of the United States without enjoying the luxury of a soft couch and clean sheets, where he can ruminate on the injustice he attempts on our national character."

Badinage, ridicule and misrepresentation aside, however, there can be no reasonable doubt thatbundlingdid prevail to a very great extent in the New England colonies from a very early date. It is equally evident that it was originally confined almost entirely to the lower classes of the community, or to those whose limited means compelled them to economize strictly in their expenditure of firewood and candlelight. Many, perhaps the majority, of the dwellings of the early settlers, consisted of but one room, in which the whole family lived and slept. Yettheir innocent and generous hospitality forbade that the stranger, or the friend whom night overtook on their threshold, should be turned shelterless and couchless away, so long as they could offer him even half of a bed. As an example of this we may cite the case of Lieut. Anbury, a British officer, who served in America during the Revolutionary War, and whose letters preserve many sprightly and interesting pictures of the manners and customs of that period. In a letter dated at Cambridge, New England, November 20, 1777, he thus speaks:

"The night before we came to this town [Williamstown, Mass.], being quartered at a small log hut, I was convinced in how innocent a view the Americans look upon that indelicate custom they callbundling. Though they have remarkable good feather beds, and are extremely neat and clean, still I preferred my hard mattress, as being accustomed to it; this evening, however, owing to the badness of the roads, and the weakness of my mare, my servant had notarrived with my baggage at the time for retiring to rest. There being only two beds in the house, I inquired which I was to sleep in, when the old woman replied, 'Mr. Ensign,' here I should observe to you, that the New England people are very inquisitive as to the rank you have in the army; 'Mr. Ensign,' says she, 'our Jonathan and I will sleep in this, and our Jemima and you shall sleep in that.' I was much astonished at such a proposal, and offered to sit up all night, when Jonathan immediately replied, 'Oh, la! Mr. Ensign, you wont be the first man our Jemima has bundled with, will it Jemima?' when little Jemima, who, by the bye, was a very pretty, black-eyed girl, of about sixteen or seventeen, archly replied, 'No, father, not by many, but it will be with the first Britainer' (the name they give to Englishmen). In this dilemma what could I do? The smiling invitation of pretty Jemima—the eye, the lip, the—Lord ha' mercy, where am I going to? But wherever I may be going now, I did not go to bundle withher—in the same room with her father and mother, my kindhostandhostesstoo! I thought of that—I thought of more besides—to struggle with the passions of nature; to clasp Jemima in my arms—to—do what? you'll ask—why, to do—nothing! for if amid all these temptations, the lovely Jemima had melted into kindness, she had been an outcast from the world—treated with contempt, abused by violence, and left perhaps to perish! No, Jemima; I could have endured all this to have been blest with you, but it was too vast a sacrifice, when you was to be the victim! Suppose how great the test of virtue must be, or how cold the American constitution, when this unaccountable custom is in hospitable repute, and perpetual practice."[29]

Again, in a subsequent letter, the Lieutenant, after describing a New England sleighing frolic, says: "In England this would be esteemedextremely imprudent, and attended with dangerous consequences; but, after what I have related respectingbundling, I need not say, in how innocent a view this is looked upon. Apropos, as to that custom, along the sea coast, by a continual intercourse among Europeans, it is in some measure abolished; but they still retain one something similar, which is termedtarrying. When a young man is enamored of a woman, and wishes to marry her, he proposes the affair to her parents (without whose consent no marriage, in this colony, can take place); if they have no objections, he is allowed to tarry with her one night, in order to make his court. At the usual time the old couple retire to bed, leaving the young ones to settle matters as they can, who having sat up as long as they think proper, get into bed together also, but without putting off their under garments; to prevent scandal. If the parties agree, it is all very well, the banns are published, and they married without delay; if not, they part, and possibly never see eachother again, unless, which is an accident that seldom happens, the forsaken fair proves pregnant, in which case the man, unless he absconds, is obliged to marry her, on pain of excommunication."[30]

The wordtarry, in the sense ofto stoporto stay, was more used by our ancestors than by the present generation; yet we think that Lieut. Anbury was mistaken in his idea that thetarryingwas but for a single night. It is true that marriages were early, and probably the courtships were short, but we all know enough of New Englandsparkingto know that a single night was cutting it rather short; and yet it is easy to see how Anbury should get his erroneous idea. True, if the lover was so unlucky as to get his final dismissal the first night, there was an end of the matter, and well might they fail to meet again; but, in that case, it is not likely that the favors of which he could boast would besuch as to seriously affect the reputation of the girl with whom he tarried. The fact that in the custom oftarrying, the parties alsobundled, does not authorize the synonymous use of the two words, which have nothing in common. For, doubtless many young mentarriedwith their sweethearts, who did notbundlewith them.

Again, when, on a sabbath night, the faithful swain arrived, having, perhaps, walked ten or more weary miles, to enjoy the company of his favorite lass, in the few brief hours which would elapse before the morning light should call him again to his homeward walk and his week of toil, was it not the dictate of humanity as well as of economy, which prompted theold folksto allow the approved and accepted suitor of their daughter to pursue his wooing under the downy coverlid of a good feather bed (oftentimes, too, in the very same room in which they themselves slept), rather than to have themsit upandburn out uselesslyfirewood andcandles, to say nothing of the risk of catching theirdeath a' cold?Indeed, was not the sanction of bundling in such cases a tacit admission, on the part of the parents, of their perfect confidence in the young folks, which necessarily acted upon the latter as, at once, a strong restraint from wrong, and a strong incentive to right doing? The influence of early religious training, the powerful control which the church had obtained upon the social and domestic life of the people, and the superstitious aspect which, in those days, the gospel was made to wear, must also be taken into the account. And, moreover, is it not probable that the universality of the custom, which certainly cleared it from anything like odium or reproach, would naturally tend to preclude, in a degree, any improper ideas in the minds of those who practiced it? Such, then, we consider thestatusof the custom in the earlier history of the colonies, and among thefirst generationof settlers.

"But," if the reader will allow us to quote from a previous work, "the emigration from acivilized to a new country,[31]is necessarily a step backward into barbarism. Thesecond generationdid not fill the place of the fathers. Reared amid the trials and dangers of a new settlement, they were in a great measure deprived of the advantages, both social and educational, which their parents had enjoyed. Nearly all of the former could write, which cannot be said of their children. Neither did the latter possess that depth of religious feeling, or earnest practical piety which distinguished the first comers. Religion was to them less a matter of the heart than of social privilege, and in thehalf way covenantcontroversy we behold the gradualletting down of barsbetween a pure church and a grasping world.

"Thethirdgeneration followed in the footsteps of their predecessors. Then came war; and young New England brought from the long Canadian campaigns, stores of loose camp vices,and recklessness, which soon flooded the land with immorality and infidelity. The church was neglected, drunkenness fearfully increased, and social life was sadly corrupted."[32]

It is not, therefore, a matter of surprise that bundling should, in the increased laxity of public morals, become more frequently abused. Its pernicious effects became constantly more apparent, and more decidedly challenged the attention of the comparatively few godly men who endeavored to stem and to control the rapidly widening current of immorality which threatened to overwhelm the land.[33]The powerful intellect of Jonathan Edwards thundered its anathemas upon it; pious divines prayed against it intheir closets, and wrestled with it in their pulpits; while many attempted by a revision of their church polity, by greater carefulness in the admission of members; by rules more stringently framed and enforced, to preserve, as best they might, the purity of the churches committed to their charge, and to make them, if it were possible, beacon lights amid the surrounding darkness of the times.[34]The task, however, was well nigh hopeless. The French wars were succeeded by that of the American Revolution, and not before the close of that struggle, may the custom of bundling be said to have received its deathblow, and even then itdied hard.

Its final disuse was brought about by a variety of causes, among which may be named the improved condition of the people after the Revolution, enabling many to live in larger and better warmed houses, and in the very few places where the ministers dared to touch the subject in the pulpit, as in Dedham, already referred to, a decided effect was produced, but it was confined to the neighborhood, having very little effect on the general custom. Probably no single thing tended so much to break up the practice as the publication of a song, or ballad, in an almanac, about 1785.

This ballad described in a free and easy style the various plans adopted by those who bundled, and rather more than hinted at the results in certain cases. Being published in an almanac, it had a much larger circulation than could have been obtained for it in any other way (tract societies not being then in vogue), and the descriptions were sopat, that each one who saw them was disposed to apply them in a joking way toany other who was known to practice bundling; and the result was, such a general storm of banter and ridicule that no girl had the courage to stand against it, and continue to admit her lovers to her bed.

We have found many persons who distinctly remember the publication of this song, and the effect which it had on the public mind, but all our efforts to find the almanac containing it, have proved of no avail.

We have, however, been favored with the use of a broadside copy of a ballad, preserved among the treasures of the American Antiquarian Society, at Worcester, Massachusetts, which several of our ancient friends have recognized as identical with that in the almanac, one of them proving it by repeating from memory several lines from the Almanac version, which were precisely like that of the broadside, a copy of which we give herewith.

A NEW BUNDLING SONG;

Or a reproof to those Young Country Women, who follow that reproachful Practice, and to their Mothers for upholding them therein.

Since bundling very much abounds,In many parts in country towns,No doubt but some will spurn my song,And say I'd better hold my tongue;But none I'm sure will take offence,Or deem my song impertinence,But only those who guilty be,And plainly here their pictures see.Some maidens say, if through the nation,Bundling should quite go out of fashion,Courtship would lose its sweets; and theyCould have no fun till wedding day.It shant be so, they rage and storm,And country girls in clusters swarm,And fly and buz, like angry bees,And vow they'll bundle when they please.Some mothers too, will plead their cause,And give their daughters great applause,And tell them, 'tis no sin nor shame,For we, your mothers, did the same;We hope the custom ne'er will alter,But wish its enemies a halter.Dissatisfaction great appear'd,In several places where they've heardTheir preacher's bold, aloud disclaimThat bundling is a burning shame;This too was cause of direful routAnd talk'd and told of, all about,That ministers should disapproveSparks courting in a bed of love,So justified the custom more,Than e'er was heard or known before.The pulpit then it seems must yield,And female valor take the field,In places where their custom longIncreasing strength has grown so strong;When mothers herein bear a sway,And daughters joyfully obey.And young men highly pleased too,Good Lord! what can't the devil do.Can this vile practice ne'er be broke?Is there no way to give a stroke,To wound it or to strike it dead.And girls with sparks not go to bed'Twill strike them more than preacher's tongue,To let the world know what they've doneAnd let it be in common fame,Held up to view a noted shame.Young miss if this your practice be,I'll teach you now yourself to see:You plead you're honest, modest too,But such a plea will never do;For how can modesty consist,With shameful practice such as this?I'll give your answer to the life:"You don't undress, like man wife,"That is your plea, I'll freely own,But whose your bondsmen when alone,That further rules you will not break,And marriage liberties partake?Some really do, as I suppose,Upon design keep on some clothes,And yet in truth I'm not afraidFor to describe a bundling maid;She'll sometimes say when she lies down,She can't be cumber'd with a gown,And that the weather is so warm,To take it off can be no harm:The girl it seems had been at strift;For widest bosom to her shift,She gownless, when the bed they're in,The spark, nought feels but naked skin.But she is modest, also chaste,While only bare from neck to waist,And he of boasted freedom sings,Of all above her apron strings.And where such freedoms great are shar'dAnd further freedoms feebly bar'd,I leave for others to relate,How long she'll keep her virgin state.Another pretty lass we'll scan,That loves to bundle with a man,For many different ways they take,Through modest rules they all will break.Some clothes I'll keep on, she will say,For that has always been my way,Nor would I be quite naked found,With spark in bed, for thousand pound.But petticoats, I've always said,Were never made to wear in bed,I'll take them off, keep on my gown,And then I dare defy the town,To charge me with immodesty,While I so ever cautious be.The spark was pleased with his maid,Of apprehension quick he said,Her witty scheme was keen he swore,Lying in gown open before.Another maid when in the dark,Going to bed with her dear spark,She'll tell him that 'tis rather shocking,To bundle in with shoes and stockings.Nor scrupling but she's quite discreet,Lying with naked legs and feet,With petticoat so thin and short,That she is scarce the better for't;But you will say that I'm unfair,That some who bundle take more care,For some we may with truth suppose,Bundle in bed with all their clothes.But bundler's clothes are no defence,Unly[35]horses push the fence;A certain fact I'll now relate,That's true indeed without debate.A bundling couple went to bed.With all their clothes from foot to head,That the defence might seem complete,Each one was wrapped in a sheet.But O! this bundling's such a witchThe man of her did catch the itch,And so provoked was the wretch,That she of him a bastard catch'd.Ye bundle misses don't you blush,You hang your heads and bid me hush.If you wont tell me how you feel,I'll ask your sparks, they best can tell.But it is custom you will say,And custom always bears the sway,If I wont take my sparks to bed,A laughing stock I shall be made;A vulgar custom 'tis, I own,Admir'd by many a slut and clown,But 'tis a method of proceeding,As much abhorr'd by those of breeding.You're welcome to the lines I've penn'd,For they were written by a friend,Who'll think himself quite well rewarded,If this vile practice is discarded.

The party in favor of bundling were able, too, tokeep a poet, as is shown by the following ballad, which we transcribe from a printed copy preserved by the American Antiquarian Society.

A NEW SONG IN FAVOUR OF COURTING.

Adam at first was form'd of dust,As scripture doth record;And did receive a wife call'd Eve,From his Creator Lord.From Adam's side a crooked bride,The Lord was pleas'd to form;Ordain'd that they in bed might layto keep each other warm.To court indeed they had no need,She was his wife at first,And she was made to be his aid,Whose origin was dust.This new made pair full happy were,And happy might remain'd,If his help mate had never ate,The fruit that was restrain'd.Tho' Adam's wife destroy'd his life,In manner that was awful;Yet marriage now we all allowTo be both just and lawful.But women must be courted first,Because it is the fashion,And so at times commit great crimes,Caus'd by a lustful passion.And now a days there are two ways,Which of the two is right,To lie between sheets sweet and clean,Or sit up all the night;But some suppose bundling in clothesDo heaven sorely vex;Then let me know which way to go,To court the female sex.Whether they must be hugg'd or kiss'dWhen sitting by the fireOr whether they in bed may lay,Which doth the Lord require?But some pretend to recommendThe sitting up all night;Courting in chairs as doth appearTo them to be most right.Nature's request is, grant me rest,Our bodies seek repose;Night is the time, and 'tis no crimeTo bundle in your clothes,Since in a bed a man and maid,May bundle and be chaste,It does no good to burn out wood,It is a needless waste.Let coats and gowns be laid aside,And breeches take their flight,An honest man and woman canLay quiet all the night.In Genesis no knowledge isOf this thing to be got,Whether young men did bundle then,Or whether they did not.The sacred book says wives they took,It don't say how they courted,Whether that they in bed did lay,Or by the fire sported.But some do hold in times of old,That those about to wed,Spent not the night, nor yet the lightBy fire, or in the bed.They only meant to say they sentA man to chuse a bride,Isaac did so, but let me knowOf any one beside.Man don't pretend to trust a friend,To choose him sheep and cows,Much less a wife which all his lifeHe doth expect to house.Since it doth stand each man in hand,To happify his life,I would advise each to be wise,And chuse a prudent wife.Since bundling is not the thing,That judgments will procure,Go on young men and bundle then,But keep your bodies pure.

Adam at first was form'd of dust,As scripture doth record;And did receive a wife call'd Eve,From his Creator Lord.

From Adam's side a crooked bride,The Lord was pleas'd to form;Ordain'd that they in bed might layto keep each other warm.

To court indeed they had no need,She was his wife at first,And she was made to be his aid,Whose origin was dust.

This new made pair full happy were,And happy might remain'd,If his help mate had never ate,The fruit that was restrain'd.

Tho' Adam's wife destroy'd his life,In manner that was awful;Yet marriage now we all allowTo be both just and lawful.

But women must be courted first,Because it is the fashion,And so at times commit great crimes,Caus'd by a lustful passion.

And now a days there are two ways,Which of the two is right,To lie between sheets sweet and clean,Or sit up all the night;

But some suppose bundling in clothesDo heaven sorely vex;Then let me know which way to go,To court the female sex.

Whether they must be hugg'd or kiss'dWhen sitting by the fireOr whether they in bed may lay,Which doth the Lord require?

But some pretend to recommendThe sitting up all night;Courting in chairs as doth appearTo them to be most right.

Nature's request is, grant me rest,Our bodies seek repose;Night is the time, and 'tis no crimeTo bundle in your clothes,

Since in a bed a man and maid,May bundle and be chaste,It does no good to burn out wood,It is a needless waste.

Let coats and gowns be laid aside,And breeches take their flight,An honest man and woman canLay quiet all the night.

In Genesis no knowledge isOf this thing to be got,Whether young men did bundle then,Or whether they did not.

The sacred book says wives they took,It don't say how they courted,Whether that they in bed did lay,Or by the fire sported.

But some do hold in times of old,That those about to wed,Spent not the night, nor yet the lightBy fire, or in the bed.

They only meant to say they sentA man to chuse a bride,Isaac did so, but let me knowOf any one beside.

Man don't pretend to trust a friend,To choose him sheep and cows,Much less a wife which all his lifeHe doth expect to house.

Since it doth stand each man in hand,To happify his life,I would advise each to be wise,And chuse a prudent wife.

Since bundling is not the thing,That judgments will procure,Go on young men and bundle then,But keep your bodies pure.

(Printed and sold by Nathaniel Coverly, Jun. Boston.)

The foregoing version is evidently not complete, several verses having been left out on account of their containingmore truth than poetry, but these may be supplied from a manuscript copy, evidently made from memory, with considerable variations from the printed copy, which by no means improve it, though the schoolmaster did his best, and probably saved for us avery complete version of the ballad as it passed from mouth to mouth before the printed copy was made.

It was transcribed from a volume of manuscript ballads in the handwriting of Israel Perkins, of Connecticut, written in 1786, when he was eighteen years old, and teaching school.

THE WHORE ON THE SNOW CRUST.

1. Adam at first was formed of dust,As we find on record;And did receive a wife cal'd Eve,By a creative word.2. From Adam's side a crooked bride,We find complete in form;Ordained that they in bed might layAnd keep each other warm.3. To court indeed they had no need,She was his wife at first,And she was made to be his aid,Whose origin was dust.4. This new made pair full happy were,And happy might remained,If his help meet had never eatThe fruit that was restrained.5. Tho' Adam's wife destroyed his lifeIn manner that is awfull;Yet marriage now we all allow[To] Be both just and lawfull.6. And now a days there is two ways,Which of the two is writeTo lie between sheets sweet and cleanOr sit up all the night.7. But some suppose bundling in clothesThe good and wise doth vex;Then let me know which way to goTo court the fairer sex.8. Whether they must be hug'd and buss'dWhen setting up all night;Or whether [they] in bed may lay,Which doth reason invite?9. Nature's request is, give me rest,Our bodies seek repose;Night is the time, and 'tis no crimeTo bundle in our cloaths.10. Since in a bed, a man and maidMay bundle and be chaste:It doth no good to burn up woodIt is a needless waste.11. Let coat and shift be turned adrift,And breeches take their flight,An honest man and virgin canLie quiet all the night.12. But if there be dishonestyImplanted in the mind,Breeches nor smocks, nor scarce padlocksThe rage of lust can bind.13. Cate, Nance and Sue proved just and true,Tho' bundling did practise;But Ruth beguil'd and proved with child,Who bundling did despise.14. Whores will be whores, and on the floorWhere many has been laid,To set and smoke and ashes poke,Wont keep awake a maid.15. Bastards are not at all times gotIn feather beds we know;The strumpet's oath convinces bothOft times it is not so.16. One whorish dame, I fear to nameLest I should give offence,But in this town she was took downNot more than eight months sence.17. She was the first, that on snow crust,I ever knew to genderI'll hint no more about this whoreFor fear I should offend her.18. 'Twas on the snow when Sol was low,And was in Capricorn,A child was got, and it will notBe long ere it is born.19. Now unto those that do opposeThe bundling traid, I sayPerhaps there's more got on the floor,Than any other way.20. In ancient books no knowledge isOf these things to be got;Whether young men did bundle then,Or whether they did not.21. Sence ancient book says wife they took,It dont say how they courted;Whether young men did bundle then,Or by the fire sported.[But some do hold in times of old,That those about to wed,Spent not the night, nor yet the light,By fire, or in the bed.]22. They only meant to say they sentA man to choose a bride;Isaac was so, but let me know,If any one beside.23. Men don't pretend to trust a friendTo choose him sheep or cows;Much more a wife whom all his lifeHe does expect to house.24. Sence it doth stand each one in handTo happyfy his life;I would advise each to be wise,And choose a prudent wife.25. Sence bundling is not a thingThat judgment will procure;Go on young men and bundle then,But keep your bodies pure.

1. Adam at first was formed of dust,As we find on record;And did receive a wife cal'd Eve,By a creative word.

2. From Adam's side a crooked bride,We find complete in form;Ordained that they in bed might layAnd keep each other warm.

3. To court indeed they had no need,She was his wife at first,And she was made to be his aid,Whose origin was dust.

4. This new made pair full happy were,And happy might remained,If his help meet had never eatThe fruit that was restrained.

5. Tho' Adam's wife destroyed his lifeIn manner that is awfull;Yet marriage now we all allow[To] Be both just and lawfull.

6. And now a days there is two ways,Which of the two is writeTo lie between sheets sweet and cleanOr sit up all the night.

7. But some suppose bundling in clothesThe good and wise doth vex;Then let me know which way to goTo court the fairer sex.

8. Whether they must be hug'd and buss'dWhen setting up all night;Or whether [they] in bed may lay,Which doth reason invite?

9. Nature's request is, give me rest,Our bodies seek repose;Night is the time, and 'tis no crimeTo bundle in our cloaths.

10. Since in a bed, a man and maidMay bundle and be chaste:It doth no good to burn up woodIt is a needless waste.

11. Let coat and shift be turned adrift,And breeches take their flight,An honest man and virgin canLie quiet all the night.

12. But if there be dishonestyImplanted in the mind,Breeches nor smocks, nor scarce padlocksThe rage of lust can bind.

13. Cate, Nance and Sue proved just and true,Tho' bundling did practise;But Ruth beguil'd and proved with child,Who bundling did despise.

14. Whores will be whores, and on the floorWhere many has been laid,To set and smoke and ashes poke,Wont keep awake a maid.

15. Bastards are not at all times gotIn feather beds we know;The strumpet's oath convinces bothOft times it is not so.

16. One whorish dame, I fear to nameLest I should give offence,But in this town she was took downNot more than eight months sence.

17. She was the first, that on snow crust,I ever knew to genderI'll hint no more about this whoreFor fear I should offend her.

18. 'Twas on the snow when Sol was low,And was in Capricorn,A child was got, and it will notBe long ere it is born.

19. Now unto those that do opposeThe bundling traid, I sayPerhaps there's more got on the floor,Than any other way.

20. In ancient books no knowledge isOf these things to be got;Whether young men did bundle then,Or whether they did not.

21. Sence ancient book says wife they took,It dont say how they courted;Whether young men did bundle then,Or by the fire sported.

[But some do hold in times of old,That those about to wed,Spent not the night, nor yet the light,By fire, or in the bed.]

22. They only meant to say they sentA man to choose a bride;Isaac was so, but let me know,If any one beside.

23. Men don't pretend to trust a friendTo choose him sheep or cows;Much more a wife whom all his lifeHe does expect to house.

24. Sence it doth stand each one in handTo happyfy his life;I would advise each to be wise,And choose a prudent wife.

25. Sence bundling is not a thingThat judgment will procure;Go on young men and bundle then,But keep your bodies pure.

Since this work went to press we have been favored, by one of our antiquarian friends in Massachusetts, with a copy of another poetical blast against the practice of bundling. It was written in the latter part of the last, or the first decade of the present century, by a learned and distinguished clergyman settled in Bristol county, Massachusetts, who was a graduate of Harvard University, and a doctor of divinity. The original manuscript from which our copy is made, is very carefully written out, with corrections apparently of a later date, and now undoubtedly appears for the first time in printed form.

A POEM AGAINST BUNDLING.

Dedicated to yeYouth of both Sexes.

1. Hail giddy youth, inclined to mirth,To guilty amours prone,Come blush with me, to think and seeHow shameless you are grown.2. 'Tis not amiss to court and kiss,Nor friendship do we blame,But bundling in, women with men,Upon the bed of shame;3. And there to lay till break of day,And think it is no sin,Because a smock and petticoatHave chance to lie between.4. Such rank disgrace and scandal base,All modest youth will shun,For 'twill infest, like plague or pest,And you will be undone.5. Let boars and swine lie down and twine,And grunt, and sleep, and snore,But modest girls should not wear tailsNor bristles any more.6. Let rams the sheep mount up and leap,Without restraint or blame,But will young men act just like them;Oh, 'tis a burning shame!7. It is not strange that horses rangeUnfettered to the last,But youthful lusts in fetters mustBe chained to virtue fast.8. Dogs and bitches wear no breeches,Clothing for man was made,Yet men and women strip to their linen,And tumble into bed.9. Yes, brutal youth, it is the truth,Your modesty is gone,And could you blush, you'd think as much,And curse what you have done.10. To have done so some years ago,Was counted more disgraceThan 'tis of late to propagateA spurious bastard race.11. Quit human kind and herd with swine,Confess yourself an whore;Go fill the stye, there live and die,Or never bundle more.12. Shall gentlemen with ladies joinTo practice like the brutes,Then let them keep with cattle and sheep,And fodder on their fruits.13. This cursed course is one great sourceOf matches undesigned,Quarrels and strife twixt man and wife,And bastards of their kind.14. But in excuse of this abuseIt oftentimes is said,Father and mother did no otherThan strip and go to bed.15. But grant some did as you have said,Yet do they not repent,And wish that you may never doWhat they so much lament?16. A stupid ass can't be more baseThan are those guilty youthWho fill with smart a parent's heart,And turn it into mirth.17. Others do plead hard for the bed,Their health and weariness,So drunkards will drink down their swill,And call it no excess.18. Under pretense of self defense,Others will scold and say,An honest maid is chaste abedAs any other way.19. But where's the man that fire canInto his bosom take,Or go through coals on his foot solesAnd not a blister make?20. Temptation's way has led astrayThe likeliest of you all,And yet you'r found on slippery ground,And think you cannot fall.21. A female meek, with blushing cheek,Seized in some lover's arms,Has oft grown weak with Cupid's heatAnd lost her virgin charms.22. But last of all, up speaks romp MollAnd pleads to be excused,For how can she e'er married be,If bundling be refused?23. What strange mistake young women,To hope for sparks this way!Your fond bold acts can't lay a taxThat men will ever pay.24. So cheap and free some women be,That men are cloyed with sweet,As horse or cow starve at the mowWith fodder under feet.25. 'Tis therefore vain yourselves to screen,The practice is accurst,It is condemned by God and man,The pious and the just.26. Should you go on, the day will come,When Christ your Judge will say,Inbundlesbind each of this kind,And cast them all away.27. Down deep in hell there let them dwell,And bundle on that bed;There burn and roll without control,'Till all their lusts are fed.

1. Hail giddy youth, inclined to mirth,To guilty amours prone,Come blush with me, to think and seeHow shameless you are grown.

2. 'Tis not amiss to court and kiss,Nor friendship do we blame,But bundling in, women with men,Upon the bed of shame;

3. And there to lay till break of day,And think it is no sin,Because a smock and petticoatHave chance to lie between.

4. Such rank disgrace and scandal base,All modest youth will shun,For 'twill infest, like plague or pest,And you will be undone.

5. Let boars and swine lie down and twine,And grunt, and sleep, and snore,But modest girls should not wear tailsNor bristles any more.

6. Let rams the sheep mount up and leap,Without restraint or blame,But will young men act just like them;Oh, 'tis a burning shame!

7. It is not strange that horses rangeUnfettered to the last,But youthful lusts in fetters mustBe chained to virtue fast.

8. Dogs and bitches wear no breeches,Clothing for man was made,Yet men and women strip to their linen,And tumble into bed.

9. Yes, brutal youth, it is the truth,Your modesty is gone,And could you blush, you'd think as much,And curse what you have done.

10. To have done so some years ago,Was counted more disgraceThan 'tis of late to propagateA spurious bastard race.

11. Quit human kind and herd with swine,Confess yourself an whore;Go fill the stye, there live and die,Or never bundle more.

12. Shall gentlemen with ladies joinTo practice like the brutes,Then let them keep with cattle and sheep,And fodder on their fruits.

13. This cursed course is one great sourceOf matches undesigned,Quarrels and strife twixt man and wife,And bastards of their kind.

14. But in excuse of this abuseIt oftentimes is said,Father and mother did no otherThan strip and go to bed.

15. But grant some did as you have said,Yet do they not repent,And wish that you may never doWhat they so much lament?

16. A stupid ass can't be more baseThan are those guilty youthWho fill with smart a parent's heart,And turn it into mirth.

17. Others do plead hard for the bed,Their health and weariness,So drunkards will drink down their swill,And call it no excess.

18. Under pretense of self defense,Others will scold and say,An honest maid is chaste abedAs any other way.

19. But where's the man that fire canInto his bosom take,Or go through coals on his foot solesAnd not a blister make?

20. Temptation's way has led astrayThe likeliest of you all,And yet you'r found on slippery ground,And think you cannot fall.

21. A female meek, with blushing cheek,Seized in some lover's arms,Has oft grown weak with Cupid's heatAnd lost her virgin charms.

22. But last of all, up speaks romp MollAnd pleads to be excused,For how can she e'er married be,If bundling be refused?

23. What strange mistake young women,To hope for sparks this way!Your fond bold acts can't lay a taxThat men will ever pay.

24. So cheap and free some women be,That men are cloyed with sweet,As horse or cow starve at the mowWith fodder under feet.

25. 'Tis therefore vain yourselves to screen,The practice is accurst,It is condemned by God and man,The pious and the just.

26. Should you go on, the day will come,When Christ your Judge will say,Inbundlesbind each of this kind,And cast them all away.

27. Down deep in hell there let them dwell,And bundle on that bed;There burn and roll without control,'Till all their lusts are fed.

The evidence presented in the preceding pages, establishes, as we think, the following facts:

1st. That the custom, so far as it pertained to the American States, had its origin as a matter of convenience and necessity.

2d. That in all stages of its history it was chiefly confined to the humbler classes of society.

3d. That its prevalence may be said to have closed with the eighteenth century.

It is our opinion that it came nearest to being a universal custom from 1750 to 1780, and that it was, at all times, regarded by the better classes as a serious evil, and was no more countenanced by them then the frequenting of grog shops is by the better class of the present day.

This opinion is corroborated by the remarks of several old persons whom we have consulted as to their recollections of the custom. Among these, Mr. B., of East Haddam, Ct., now in his 95th year, says that he well remembers it; that it could not be called general, though frequent. It was not practiced among the more intelligent,educated classes, nor among those who lived in large, well warmed houses. He says it was not the fashion to bundle with any chap who might call on a girl, but that it was a special favor, granted only to a favorite lover, who might consider it a proof of the high regard which the damsel had for him; in short, it wasonly accepted loverswho were thus admitted to the bed of the fair one, and, as he expresses it, only after long continued urging in most cases.[36]He thinks the fashion ceased about 1790 to 1800, and in consequence of education and refinement; and thatno more mischief was done then than there is now-a-days.

In the same strain, also, spoke the genial Colonel H., a native of Berlin, Ct., born in 1775. He was perfectly conversant with the custom, had known the old ladies, in some cases, to go up stairs before retiring, to see that the bundling couple were comfortable,tuck 'em up,and put on more bedclothes! And stoutly asseverated his belief "that there wasn't any more mischief done in those days than there is now."

Indeed, all the old people with whom we have conversed on the matter, although in some cases a little unwilling to own that they had ever practiced it themselves, were unanimous in their belief that the abuse of chastity under the bundling regime was no more frequent than it is now. One old gentleman of whom we have heard, in reply to the half reproachful, half joking question of his grandson, whether he wasn't ashamed, replied: "Why, no! What is the use of sitting up all night and burning out fire and lights, when you could just as well get under kiver and keep warm; and, when you get tired, take a nap and wake up fresh, and go at it again? Why, d—n it, there wasn't half as many bastards then as there are now!"[37]

Even within the present century we have found traces of the continuance of the practice of bundling, though the instances are perhaps few, and in some measure exceptional. Until a very late day the custom (as a matter of convenience) was prevalent among the Dutch settlers of Pennsylvania, and it is not improbable that traces may still continue to exist in some of the more remote counties of that state. An old schoolmaster who flourished in Glastenbury, Ct., some twenty years ago, when relating his experiences in teaching in southern Pennsylvania, and speaking ofboarding around, informed us that when for any reason he did not choose to go to his boarding place for the time being, he was accustomed to stop at a tavern kept by an honest old Dutchman. On one occasion, having askedthe landlord if he could stay over night, he was told that he could; and after chatting with his host through the evening, was shown to bed. The landlord set down the candle and had gone out of the room, when our friend noticed the only bed in the room was already occupied, and calling to the host, notified him of the fact; when he cried back: "Oh! dat ish only mine taughter; she won't hurt nopoty," and coolly went his way. And our friend affirmed that he found the daughter not only harmless, but also quite competent to take care of herself.

In New England, we believe that Cape Cod has the dubious honor of holding out the longest against the advance of civilization, bundling, as we have it on good authority, having been practiced there as late as 1827.[38]In Greenwich,New Jersey, it was in vogue in 1816. In the state of New York this custom came under judicial cognizance in the year 1804, when the supreme court held, that although bundling was admitted to be the custom in some parts of the state, it being proven that the parents of the girl, for whose seduction the suit was brought, countenanced her practicing it, they had no right to complain, or ask satisfaction for the consequences, which, the court say, "naturally followed it!"[39]

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