for in the particular case alluded to, the only case I ever heard of on
good authority, although he was invited by the parents of a pretty girl
who stood near him, to bundle with her, and although he _did_ bundle
with her, he had every reason to believe, that if he had been very free,
or more free than he might have been at a country frolick after they had
invited him to escort her, to sit up with her, to dance with her, he
would have been treated as a traitor by all parties. He had a fair
opportunity of knowing the truth, and he spoke of the matter as if he
would prefer the etiquette of sitting up to the etiquette of going to
bed with a girl who had been so brought up. He complained of her as a
prude. The following communication appears, however, to be one that may
be depended on:[40]

"MR. NEAL--If you wish to know the truth about bundling, I think
your correspondent V. could tell you all about it--it seems by his
confession that he has practiced it on a large scale. I never heard
of the thing till about three years ago; an acquaintance of mine had
gone to spend the summer with an aunt, who lived somewhere near
Sandy river.[41] The following is a copy of one of her letters while
there:

"'I should have written sooner, so don't think me unkind, for I have
been waiting for something to write about. You requested me to give
you a faithful description of the country, the manners and customs
of the inhabitants, etc. I have not been here quite three months,
but I have been everywhere, seen everything, and got acquainted with
everybody. I shall certainly inform you of everything I have seen or
heard that is worth relating.

"'You remember how you told me, before I left home, that I was so