Part 1
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_THE OLDEN-TIME SERIES._
16mo. Per vol., 50 cents.
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There appears to be, from year to year, a growing popular taste for quaint and curious reminiscences of "Ye Olden Time," and to meet this, Mr. Henry M. Brooks has prepared a series of interesting handbooks. The materials have been gleaned chiefly from old newspapers of Boston and Salem, sources not easily accessible, and while not professing to be history, the volumes contain much material for history, so combined and presented as to be both amusing and instructive. The titles of some of the volumes indicate their scope and their promise of entertainment:--
CURIOSITIES OF THE OLD LOTTERY. DAYS OF THE SPINNING-WHEEL. SOME STRANGE AND CURIOUS PUNISHMENTS. QUAINT AND CURIOUS ADVERTISEMENTS. LITERARY CURIOSITIES. NEW-ENGLAND SUNDAY, ETC.
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"It has been the good fortune of the writer to be allowed a peep at the manuscript for this series, and he can assure the lovers of the historical and the quaint in literature that something both valuable and pleasant is in store for them. In the specialties treated of in these books Mr. Brooks has been for many years a careful collector and student, and it is gratifying to learn that the material is to be committed to book form."--_Salem Gazette_.
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_For sale by all Booksellers. Sent, post-paid, upon receipt of price. Catalogues of our books mailed free._
TICKNOR & CO., BOSTON.
THE OLDEN TIME SERIES
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NEW ENGLAND SUNDAY
"_Sunday is the golden clasp that binds together the volume of the week._"--LONGFELLOW.
"_What greater calamity can fall upon a nation than the loss of worship? Then all things go to decay._"--EMERSON.
"_There are some moody fellows, not a few, Who, turn'd by Nature with a gloomy bias, Renounce black devils to adopt the blue, And think when they are dismal they are pious._" HOOD.
"_Sundays observe; think when the bells do chime 'Tis angel's music._" HERBERT.
THE OLDEN TIME SERIES.
GLEANINGS CHIEFLY FROM OLD NEWSPAPERS OF BOSTON AND SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS
SELECTED AND ARRANGED, WITH BRIEF COMMENTS
BY
HENRY M. BROOKS
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New-England Sunday
"Old and new make the warp and woof of every moment. There is no thread that is not a twist of these two strands. By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote."--EMERSON
BOSTON
TICKNOR AND COMPANY
1886
_Copyright, 1886,_
BY TICKNOR AND COMPANY.
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_All rights reserved._
=University Press:=
JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE.
INDEX OF NAMES.
PAGE
AGASSIZ, PROFESSOR L. 15 Andrew, Charles A. 43 Atkinson, Edward 15
BARNARD, THOMAS, D.D. 21 Beecher, Rev. H.W. 6 Bentley, William, D.D. 10, 11 Blanchard, Benjamin 20, 21 Bolles, Lucius, D.D. 21 Bonaparte, Napoleon 20 Brisset, Citizen 49 Burns, Robert 21
CABOT, JOS. S. 20 Chase, Philip 46 Churchill, Mr. 35 Cleveland, George 43, 46, 48 Coggin, Jacob 32 Crowninshield, John 43 Culver, Mr. 33
EMERSON, R.W. 58 Endicott, Governor John 33 Endicott, Samuel 20
FELT, REV. JOS. B. 8, 9, 18 Freeman, Nehemiah 22 Frothingham, Nathaniel 46, 48
GLOVER, MR. 34, 35 Guppy, Reuben 18
HODGES, CAPTAIN BENJAMIN 11 Hopkins, Daniel, D.D. 9, 21 Hopps, John Page 62
INGERSON, NATHANIEL 40
JACOBS, JOHN 32 Jefferson, Thomas 13 Johnson, Richard M. 47, 49, 50
KING CHARLES I. 37 King George II. 38 King George III. 38 King James I. 37 Kittredge, Dr. Benjamin 43, 46
LANE, DAVID 32 Le Favre, Mr. 10 Le Sage 40 Lord, William 18
MCCLURE, MR. 34, 36 Mitchell, Judge 34, 36
NEAL, DAVID A. 43
OSGOOD, BENJAMIN 32
PAINE, THOMAS 49, 56 Parker, Mr. 10 Peele, Willard 46, 48 Peters, Hugh 9 Phillips, Stephen C. 43, 46 Pickman, Dudley L. 46, 48 Pingree, David 43 Preston, Mr. 65 Prince, Rev. John, LL.D. 21 Putnam, Perley 43, 46, 48
SALTONSTALL, LEVERETT 43 Smith, Jonathan 15 Smith, Susan 15 Spurgeon, Rev, C.H. 6 Stearns, Charles 21 Story, Franklin H. 43 Swan, Mr. 10
TALMAGE, REV. DR. 6 Treadwell, John W. 43 Trumbull, Jonathan 15 Tucker, Gideon 46, 48
VOSE, MR. 34
W----, REV. MR. 41 Washington, George 1 Waters, Joseph G. 43 Waters, Stanley 10 West, Nathaniel, Jr. 43 White, Stephen 46 Whiting, Samuel 32 Wright, Fanny 56
NEW-ENGLAND SUNDAY.
SEEING in an old paper that General Washington was stopped by a "tythingman" in Connecticut in 1789 for the "crime" of riding on Sunday, we were naturally led to think about the "Sabbath question," as it is sometimes called. We find the account referred to in the "Columbian Centinel" for December, 1789.
THE _PRESIDENT_ AND THE _TYTHINGMAN_.
The President, on his return to New-York from his late tour, through Connecticut, having missed his way on Saturday, was obliged to ride a few miles on Sunday morning, in order to gain the town, at which he had previously proposed to have attended divine service.--Before he arrived, however, he was met by a Tythingman, who commanding him to stop, demanded the occasion of his riding; and it was not until the President had informed him of every circumstance, and promised to go no further than the town intended, that the Tythingman would permit him to proceed on his journey.
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This Sunday question has been so often discussed of late years, and the opinions expressed on the same are so diverse, that it may be well to print a few selections on the subject from some of the old newspapers, that those who are interested may see, as a matter of curiosity, if for no other reason, what views have been entertained within the past century, more especially in New England, in reference to Sunday.
In a Salem paper of 1775 the following notice appeared:--
WHEREAS the sober and thoughtful People of this Town are much displeased by the great Noise and Disturbance made in the Streets, on Saturday and Sabbath Day Evenings. It is earnestly desired that all Heads of Families would keep their Children and Servants at Home, on those Evenings, and thereby greatly contribute to the Quiet of the Town and Peace of the Inhabitants.
The appearance of Essex Street in Salem at the present time on Saturday evening would seem to indicate that "heads of families" do not now "keep their children and servants at home."
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From a communication in the "Massachusetts Centinel," April 30, 1788, "riding on the Sunday" is held to be a "flagrant crime."
_For the_ CENTINEL.
AS the devoting one day in seven to religious purposes is a bounden duty we owe to God our creator, and a most reasonable law of our Commonwealth--to see people riding on the Sunday in pursuit of their worldly affairs, is so disgusting to the man of true principle, that the neglect of our executive authority of so flagrant a crime, is to be lamented. The common practice of a Mr. C----fl----n of H-pk----n is notorious on this account. Would not wish to traduce the character of any man, but would only query, whether such conduct is not highly reprehensible, and deserving the cognizance of the magistrate.
SUFFOLK.
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This is not at all strange from the point of view from which Sunday was then regarded. Indeed many people feel about the same now. They would have the old laws enforced in regard to riding and neglect of public worship. They have fears that the day may degenerate into a European Sunday, with prayers in the morning and amusements in the afternoon and evening.
The changes in the past fifty years in reference to Sunday have indeed been very great, but we think they arise chiefly from a reaction from the too strict Puritanism of the past. While we would not have the day too strictly kept, we yet have no sympathy with that class of minds who think there should be no "day of rest" or no time set apart for religious exercises or church services, but would have all days exactly alike.
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According to the "Salem Mercury" of Aug. 12, 1788, the ministers of Connecticut, in convention, publish an address on the "increasing negligence of the Publick Worship of God," etc.
SALEM, AUGUST 12.
The Ministers of the State of Connecticut, convened in General Association, have published a serious, sensible, plain Address to the People of the Churches and Societies under their pastoral care, on the subject of the increasing negligence of the Publick Worship of God; which they consider as one of the most painful and alarming, among the various instances of declension and immorality, which at the present time threaten the very existence of religion in this country.--"In what manner," says the Address, "does this evil affect the political interests, the essential wellbeing, of the community? All the branches of morality are indissolubly connected. From one breach of moral obligation to a second, to a third, and to all, the transition is easy, necessary and rapid. From negligence of the duties we owe to God, the passage is short to contempt for those we owe to men. The Sabbath, in the judgment of reason and of revelation, is the great hinge on which all these duties are turned. When the ordinances of this holy day are forsaken and forgotten, the whole system of moral obligation must of course be also forgotten; the great, substantial and permanent good, of which religion is the only source, is effectually destroyed; the political peace and welfare of a community, the salvation of the human soul, the infinitely benevolent designs of redeeming love, the institution of the means of grace, and the obedience and sufferings of the Son of God, are frustrated and set at nought. Thus, by one effectual blow of sin, and the friends of sin, are all the great and valuable interests of mankind overthrown."
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Although our remarks are confined to America, we may mention that it has been stated by some of our own countrymen who have visited London that Sunday is generally as well observed there as in New England; yet we find in the "Salem Gazette" of Nov. 23, 1785, that the attendance on public worship in London was then rather small as compared with what might have been seen in Boston at the same date. But that was before the days of the "sensation" preachers, as they are called,--Spurgeon, Beecher, Talmage, and men of that stamp, who now draw crowds of people, many of whom are not always the most religious in the community, but who love excitement rather than quiet contemplation.
LONDON,
_Sept._ 13. Sunday being a day of rest, 739 horses were yesterday engaged on _parties of pleasure_.
In fifty churches, eastward of Temple-bar, the congregations amounted, on an average, to _seven_ for each church in the morning, and _five_ in the afternoon. This shews the state of the Christian religion in the metropolis to be far better than could be expected!
1785.
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The following extract from the "Belfast Patriot" of 1825 shows how the "Lord's day" was regarded in 1776 in the "District of Maine."
FIFTY YEARS AGO. At a town meeting, held on the common, on the south end of lot No. 26, probably where the meeting house now stands, on the east side of the river, in Belfast, Oct. 10th, 1776, the town then having been incorporated two years--among other things "to see if there can be any plan laid to stop the Inhabitants from visiting on Sunday." "Voted, That if any person makes unnecessary vizits on the Sabeth they shall be Lookt on with Contempt untill they make acknowledgement to the Public."
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Houses of worship were formerly "as cold as a barn."
Notwithstanding all the comforts and conveniences of modern places of worship, to say nothing about the more interesting preaching and other exercises, some people consider it a hardship to be obliged to attend even one service on Sunday. How was it in "old times"? Our ancestors were obliged to conform to the prevalent custom of going to meeting whether they liked it or not. The law did not then excuse any one from attendance at public worship, except for sickness. Not to be a "meeting-goer" in those days was to range one's self with thieves and robbers and other outlaws. No matter if the meeting-house was cold, and there was danger of consumption; it was apparently "more pleasing to the Lord" that a man should get sick attending services in "his house" than by staying away preserve his health. Mr. Felt, in his "Annals of Salem," says: "For a long period the people of our country did not consider that a comfortable degree of warmth while at public worship contributed much to a profitable hearing of the gospel. The first stove we have heard of in Massachusetts for a meeting-house was put up by the First congregation of Boston in 1773. In Salem the Friends' Society had two plate-stoves brought from Philadelphia in 1793. The North Church had one in 1809; the South had a brick Russian stove in 1812. About the same date the First Church had a stove and the Tabernacle had one also. The objections that [to heat churches] was contrary to the custom of their hardy fathers and mothers, [and that it] was an indication of extravagance and degeneracy, had ceased to be advanced. Not a few remember the general knocking of feet on cold days and near the close of long sermons. On such occasions the Rev. Dr. Hopkins used to say, now and then: 'My hearers, have a little patience, and I will soon close.'"
Mr. Felt says that Hugh Peters (one of the ministers of the First Church) was represented by an English painter as in a pulpit with a large assembly before him, turning an hour-glass and using these words: "I know you are good fellows, stay and take another glass."
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The Lord's Day in Connecticut in 1788.
ANECDOTE.
A Gentleman in the State of Connecticut, regularly attended publick worship on the Lord's day with all his family: On the Sunday evening he always catechised his children and servants on the principles of religion, and what they heard the minister deliver from the pulpit. He had a negro man who never could remember a note of the sermon, though otherwise smart. At last his master peremptorily told him he would on Monday morning tie him up and flog him. Next Sunday evening, when interrogated, he had forgotten all: On Monday morning his master executes his threat so far, as to tie him up. The fellow then cried out, O master spare me, for I remember something the minister said. What is it? said the master. The fellow replied, "_This much may suffice at this time._" His master was so pleased with his wit that he forgave him.
_Salem Mercury_, August 12.
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From the Rev. Dr. Bentley's notes, edited by Stanley Waters, printed in the "Salem Gazette," we learn that even in old times people occasionally absented themselves from public worship on the Lord's Day.
Under date of 1791 we read,--
Jan. 23. No singing through the whole day--not even an attempt. Mr. Le Favre Swan & Parker promised their assistance, but by drawing a prize of £300 in the Lottery they have been detained from Public Worship.
And in 1792,--
Mch. 11. Sunday. The Ship Grand Turk burdened 550 Tons sailed this day for India, Capt. B. Hodges.
The previous invitations given to the principal Gentlemen of the Town & the fame of a ship built in the Town & furnished with Sails from our own manufactories urged a curiosity so strong that few people were left in our houses of worship. Weather fine.
Thus we see that pecuniary success and pleasant weather were as influential in 1792 as they are in 1886 in diverting individuals from their ordinary religious privileges.
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The following extracts from the "Salem Impartial Register" of July 27, 1801, will perhaps have interest when considered in connection with some circumstances which have taken place in Salem within a year or two:--
_THE CONNECTICUT SABBATH._
IN ancient days, 't was God's most sacred will, To give his law on Sinai's lofty hill, Whose top terrific issued clouds of smoke, And thus, amidst the flames, th' Eternal spoke; Six days, said he, (and loud the same express'd) Shall men still labor, and on the seventh rest: But here alas! like yon great pious town,[A] They break his law, and thus prefer their own: "And let it be enacted further still, That all our people strict observe our will: Five days and half shall men and women too Attend their business, and their mirth pursue. But after that, no man without a fine, Shall walk the streets, or at a tavern dine. One day and half 'tis requisite to rest, From toilsome labor, and a tempting feast. Henceforth let none, on peril of their lives, Attempt a journey, or embrace their wives: No Barber, foreign or domestic bred, Shall e'er presume to dress a lady's head. No shop shall spare (half the preceding day), A yard of Ribband, or an ounce of Tea. Five days and half th' inhabitants may ride All round the town, and villages beside; But, in their travels, should they miss the road, 'Tis our command they lodge that night abroad." From hence 'tis plainly seen how chang'd indeed, That sacred law which GOD himself decreed! In this one act they think to merit heav'n, By taking half a day from six to add to seven.
[A] _Boston--where a similar law was formerly enforced with rigour._
_"One Man esteemeth one day above another; another esteemeth every day ALIKE. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."_ Romans xiv. 5.
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The _old_ custom of opening Barbers' Shops in this Town on Sunday ceased yesterday, in consequence of the determination of the Grand Jury to make presentment of all such violations of the Sabbath. Cautions have also been given to the Horse Letters, against loaning any Horses or Carriages on Sunday; and there appears to be a very serious and wise determination in the "_Gentlemen_ of the Grand Jury" to put a stop to those shameful practices, which have for twenty years disgraced the most sober and quiet Town in Massachusetts! _Laus Deo!_ There will be no more horses killed now of a Sunday in going to Boston, either by _lack of bating_, or by _hard driving_! It is whispered, that the public are indebted, for this salutary reform, to the covert exertions of a _ci-devant_ PREACHER, who lacking the ability to _lead_ his _wakeful_ flock formerly, is now determined to _drive_ all within his Circuit, into the pale of obedience, and thereby make up for former Sins of Omission. The Federalists predicted the loss of Religion, should Jefferson be President. We certainly have a good _Sample_ (thus early under his administration) that its state will be improved.
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Although doubts have often been expressed as to the authenticity of certain Connecticut "Blue Laws," it is probable that many laws which have sometimes been referred to as such were in the early days of the colony actually in force,--as the following, which we find in an old paper. They are certainly not much stronger than laws of the time in Massachusetts.
No one shall be a freeman, or give a vote, unless he be converted, and a member in full communion, of one of the Churches allowed in this dominion.
No one shall travel, cook victuals, make beds, sweep house, cut hair, or shave, on the Sabbath day.
No woman shall kiss her child on the Sabbath, or fasting-day.
No one shall run on the Sabbath day, or walk in his garden, or elsewhere, except reverently to and from meeting.
No one shall read common prayer books, keep Christmas, or set days, make minced pies, dance, play cards, or play on any instrument of music, except the Drum, Trumpet, or Jewsharp.
No food or lodging shall be offered to a Quaker, Adamite, or other heretic.
If any person turns Quaker, he shall be banished, and not suffered to return but on pain of death.
No Roman Catholic priest shall abide in the dominion; he shall be banished, and suffer death on his return.
Some years ago, a law-book which had belonged to Jonathan Trumbull, containing the early statutes of Connecticut, was in the possession of a Boston gentleman,[1] who informs us that at the end of the volume, in manuscript, were found reports of "Brother Jonathan's" adjudications of small cases which he tried as "justice of the peace." Among them was one where "His Majesty's tythingman" entered a complaint against Jona and Susan Smith for a "profanation of the Sabbath;" namely, "That on the ---- day of ---- during Divine Service on the Lord's Day _they did smile_." The culprits were adjudged to be guilty of the offence, and severally fined "five shillings and costs." This book was shown to the late Professor Agassiz, who examined it with great interest and then made the following remark: "I find here evidence of the difference between the Calvinism of Switzerland and the Calvinism of America. I was brought up in that faith. I went to meeting in the morning, I danced with the parson's daughter on the green in the afternoon, and I played whist with the parson in the evening."
[1] Edward Atkinson, Esq.
The legislature of Massachusetts in the year 1760 passed the following laws in relation to Sunday and to the proper observance of Saturday evening:--
"Whereas it is the Duty of all Persons, upon the Lord's-Day carefully to apply themselves publickly and privately to Religion and Piety, the Prophanation of the Lord's-Day is highly offensive to Almighty God; of evil Example and tends to the Grief and Disturbance of all pious and religiously disposed persons.