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Annals Of The Cobweb Club, Margaret Jane Mussey Sweat

Annals of the Cobweb Club

Book containing hand-written notes from meetings of the Cobweb Club, a women's organization with which Margaret Jane Mussey Sweat was heavily involved. Contents include lists of special guests, notes on meeting discussions, and a drawing of flowers and a cobweb in the front of the book. Inserts and clippings are included in the order they are found within the book.

An Arrow Against Profane And Promiscuous Dancing Drawn Out Of The Quiver Of The Scriptures, Increase Mather

Electronic Texts in American Studies

When a dancing master arrived in Boston in 1685 and offered lessons and classes for both sexes during times normally reserved for church meetings, the Puritan ministers went to court to suppress the practice. Increase Mather (1639-1723) took the leading part, writing and publishing this tract, which compiles arguments and precedents for the prohibition of “Gynecandrical Dancing, [i.e.] Mixt or Promiscuous Dancing, viz. of Men and Women … together.” These justifications were certainly shared with the court, which found the dancing master guilty, fined him £100, and allowed him to skip town.

Mather’s tract on dancing is an overwhelming compendium …