Thursday

Odd Names

This blog post at NRO about odd Puritan names ("Experience Bliss," "Thankful Clapp," "Moses Sleeper") reminded me of this passage from A Renegade History of the United States: "In 1864 Increase Mather set out to put an end to [dancing] with a precisely titled book, An Arrow Against Profane and Promiscuous Dancing out of the Quiver of the Scriptures." Increase condemned dancing, but not all forms. He approved of it when it was "sober and grave Dancing of Men with Men, or of Women with Women."