It seems unaccountable that such testimony as this was gravely listened to, and believed by the magistrates; and that too in cases where human life was at stake; but the very nature of the supposed crime did not admit of any other than absurd evidence. The delusion prevailed to such a dreadful degree, that every woman feared her neighbor, and when she lay down to sleep, knew not but the next night would find her in prison. Children accused their own parents of carrying them to witches’ meetings at midnight, and baptizing them in the name of the devil. Sometimes the accused denied the charge, and when asked what God witches prayed to, answered, “I cannot tell; the Lord help me:” but in numerous instances they confessed themselves guilty of all the absurd charges brought against them, and accused others as their accomplices. Some of the accusers lived and died without ever acknowledging that they had stated any thing untrue, although they were reputed religious women; but several of those, who confessed guilt, afterward acknowledged that they did it because they had been told it was the only way to save their lives. Men were sometimes tried as wizards; but this was comparatively rare. Some remnants of this superstition lingered long after the universal epidemic subsided. Within the last twenty years, an old woman in the vicinity of Boston, called Moll Pitcher, pretended to tell fortunes, and her claims to supernatural assistance were believed by many, especially by sailors.
The state of society in the United States bears a general resemblance to the English, though considerably modified by the peculiar circumstances of the country. In Europe, the female peasantry are universally more virtuous than those who (for want of a better term) are called the higher classes; even the contadine[4] of voluptuous Italy are said to be generally modest in their character and deportment. In America there is no class corresponding to the peasantry; but nearly all the people are obliged to support themselves by their own industry. The result is favorable to female virtue. Intrigues with married women, so common in a more luxurious state of society, are almost unheard of in the United States. Should a Frenchman, or an Italian, address himself to an American woman in terms with which his own countrymen are quite familiar, he would generally find it very difficult to make himself understood. I by no means intend to say that profligacy does not exist, even in the most puritanical portions of our country—far, very far from it. The vicious class of females in our cities perhaps bears as large a proportion to the population, as in European towns; and among the respectable and genteel classes of society, there are individuals whose conduct is culpable; but these are exceptions to the general rule. The laws of modesty are never transgressed in dress, except by a few ultra-fashionables, and the opinion even of their own class is decidedly opposed to it. But a change is visibly coming over the face of society. Wealth is introducing luxury into our cities, and foreign refinements are coming with foreign vices in their train. The descendants of the Puritans allow their daughters to waltz, and think it no scandal to witness the exhibition of opera-dancers. The substantial body of the people have still a religious cast of character; but infidelity has taken strong hold in cities. The connection between religion and marriage is not obvious, but it is real. All infidels, whether they be found in France, England, or America, have a decided tendency to regard the institution of marriage as tyrannical. The lines of demarkation between different classes are becoming more distinct, and active industry is considered a bar to gentility. These causes may work slowly, or rapidly; but if their ultimate effects prove favorable to virtue, the history of America will differ from that of all other nations.
[4] Peasant girls.
One of the most observable traits in the character of Americans, is the great value they place upon education. A mother will submit to any privation for the sake of placing her children at good schools. There are not many instances of the thorough and elegant female education, which the higher classes of French and English receive; but women are generally intelligent and well informed; a good knowledge of history, the popular sciences, Latin, French, and Italian, are common acquisitions; and among the descendants of the English settlers, it is almost an unheard-of thing, for either man or woman, not to know how to read and write. The Dutch settlers, with their wives and daughters, are generally ignorant of those first rudiments of learning; and the descendants of Africans, of all complexions, from black to the slightest possible tinge of olive, are almost universally so. In the slave-holding states, which constitute half the Union, it is contrary to law to teach them the alphabet; and in the free states the prejudice against their color is so strong, that they have found many discouragements and obstacles in the path of learning. The same prejudice excludes them from all trades and occupations, except those which are considered the lowest. A young mulatto girl, of very respectable character, belonging to Boston, lately attempted to learn the art of mantua-making; she was charged ten dollars, five of which were paid in advance. In a few days the mantua-maker informed her that she must not come any more, because her other apprentices would not consent to work in the same room with a colored person. Another girl, who became an apprentice to a milliner, was discharged, because the woman with whom the milliner boarded threatened to turn her out of the house, if she thus equalized herself with a mulatto. It is almost an invariable rule to exclude colored people from stages, and from all the comforts and conveniences of vessels and steam-boats; respectability of character and appearance, and ability to pay for such privileges, make no difference in their treatment. A worthy woman, who attempts to visit a dying child at a distance from her home, is generally liable to insulting conduct and contemptuous expressions, if her complexion has the least tinge of African ancestors.
In New Orleans there are a large class of the mixed races, called Quaderoons. They are frequently the daughters of wealthy and accomplished men, who do not spare expense in their education. As a class, they are proverbial for beauty and gracefulness, and are regarded with most peculiar and inveterate dislike by the white ladies. In every slave state, it is supposed to be necessary, for the safety of the planters, to have very severe laws with regard to free people of color; and these laws fall oppressively upon the Quaderoons. Some of them have inherited handsome fortunes; but they are not allowed to ride in a carriage, they must not sit in the presence of white ladies, or enter their apartments without special permission; they can moreover be whipped, like slaves, upon any accusation proved by two witnesses. Many of them have lost even the olive tinge, and have a fair skin, sometimes with light hair and eyes; but the law forbidding marriage between the colored and white race is applied to them. Their personal endowments often render them objects of attraction to wealthy and distinguished men, and custom bestows upon temporary connections a certain degree of respectability. The Quaderoons are said to be generally modest and decorous in their manners, but usually have that flexibility of principle, which might be expected from people placed under such pernicious influences. Instances are, however, by no means rare of constant and virtuous attachments, which continue through life, though the laws prevent their being sanctioned by the form of marriage. In such cases, the children are frequently sent to France to be educated, where they often form highly respectable matrimonial connections.
The attention of many people in the United States has recently been called to the demoralizing influences growing out of slavery, and the consequent prejudice against color. The reformation of the evil is in the hands of Him, who hath said, “As ye would that others should do unto you, do ye even so unto them.”
As a general rule, education among the wealthy classes is much more neglected in the slave states than in other portions of the Union. This is owing partly to the want of schools, and partly to the indolence induced by slavery. It is a common thing, even for the wives and daughters of distinguished men, to be as deficient in correct spelling, as they are in a knowledge of household duties. But many are sent to the free states for education; and not a few are admirable exceptions to the above remarks. The southern ladies in general are delicately formed, with pale complexions, a languid gracefulness of manner, and a certain aristocratic bearing, acquired only by the early habit of commanding those who are deemed immeasurably inferior.
The women of the United States have no direct influence in politics; and here, as in England, it is deemed rather unfeminine to take an earnest interest in public affairs. But perhaps there is no country in the world, where women, as wives, sisters, and daughters, have more influence, or more freedom. Some travellers have compassionated the condition of American women, because they spend so small a portion of their time in amusements; but this remark applies equally to men; and it could not well be otherwise in a country where so much is to be done, and where estates are so equally divided that few become very wealthy. It is true that Americans do not treat their ladies with the graceful gallantry of Frenchmen, or the chivalric deference of Spaniards; but in place of these external refinements, women have their respect, esteem, and undoubting confidence.
The class who are exempted from personal exertion, or at least from personal superintendence of their domestic avocations, is comparatively very small. Labor in the open fields and streets is rarely performed by women, unless it be by foreign peasantry lately arrived in the country. The buxom daughters of the Dutch farmers do indeed continue the old custom of raking hay, and the girls in Weathersfield, Connecticut, may often be seen at early dawn weeding the immense beds of onions, for which that town is celebrated. A large proportion of schools throughout the country are kept by women, and it is not uncommon for them to keep shops for the sale of English and French goods, toys, confectionary, &c. Mantua-making and millinary are, of course, their peculiar province; and many are employed to tend looms in factories, to set types in printing-offices, and fold sheets for the bookbinders. By far the largest proportion of these do not work for support, but to gain additional luxuries, which their parents cannot afford to furnish. Nothing surprises a foreigner more than the near approach to equality in the dress of different classes. The rich and fashionable are in most respects like those of Europe; and humble imitators have need of great diligence to copy their frequent changes. In the article of jewels, the most wealthy cannot indeed cope with their European models; for the diamonds of a foreign duchess often surpass in value the whole fortune, real and personal, of a rich American.
The habit of tight lacing, in order to form a slender waist, has been copied, like other European fashions. This practice, combined with the habit of taking very little exercise in the open air, has an unfavorable effect upon freshness of complexion and beauty of figure. Excursions on horseback have lately become a very favorite amusement with American ladies.