CHAPTER X.

WE

COLONIAL DAYS IN NEW ENGLAND.

E must remember, that although the New England colonies had jealousies and differences, yet they were in many respects alike. They were composed almost wholly of Englishmen and Protestants; and most of their pioneers had come from motives of conscience, as well as for their worldly advantage. Their leaders were men of strict morality, and they aimed to have no others among them. In the very first year of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Governor Endicott broke up a settlement at "Merry Mount," composed of people who led gayer and idler lives than he approved; and this same John Endicott cut the red cross out of the English flag, because he thought it meant superstition. The other New England colonies. were not so stern in their discipline as was Massachusetts; but the habits of that age would seem very peculiar to us, and they had their influence even in the more liberal colonies, such as Rhode Island.

If we could carry ourselves back to those days, and were to approach a New England village about nine o'clock on Sunday morning, we should hear some one beating a drum, or sounding a horn, or blowing a conch-shell, or possibly ringing a bell, to call people

to worship. As we came nearer still, we should see a flag waving from a little log-built church, or "meeting-house." Entering the village, we should see a strong fence of stakes around this meeting-house, and a sentinel in armor standing near it; and we should see some of the men, as they went in, leaving their muskets under his care. We should, perhaps, see a cannon or two planted near the meeting-house; and we should also see some strange wooden frames not far off, these being the stocks and the pillory, put there to punish offenders. Looking at this church itself, we should see that it had very few glass windows, and that these had very small and thick panes, diamond-shaped, and set in leaden frames. We should observe that the other windows had oiled paper, instead of glass; and we should see

between the windows the heads of wolves that had been killed and displayed there during the past year.

If we were to look inside the little church, we should not see families sitting together, as now; but they would be distributed according to age, or sex, or rank. In those days the old men sat together in one place in church, the young men in another, the young women in another. The boys all sat on the pulpit-stairs and gal

lery-stairs, guarded by constables. Each of these con stables had a wand, with a hare's foot on one end, and a hare's tail on the other. These were to keep people awake. If any woman went to sleep, the constable touched her on the forehead with the hare's tail; but, if a small boy nodded, he was rapped with the other end, not quite so gently. No doubt the wand was often used; for the services were sometimes three or four hours long, the sexton turning the hour-glass before the minister at the end of every hour. The only music consisted of singing by the congregation, from a metrical version of the Psalms, called "The Bay Psalm Book." The whole number of tunes known to the people did not exceed ten; and few congregations could go beyond five. This was the Puritan form of religious service. And people were not allowed to stay at home from it; for men called tithing-men were sent about the town to look for those who were absent. Men were fined for every unnecessary absence; and, if they staid away a month together, they might be put in the stocks, or into a wooden cage.

Looking round at the houses of the Puritan village, we should see that the older ones were made of earth or logs, one story high, with very steep roofs, covered with thatch. Entering any of these, we should find the fireplaces made of rough stones, and the chimneys either of boards, or of short sticks crossing each other, and smeared with clay. Here and there we should see newer and better houses, made of wood and brick, two stories high in front, and one story behind; or houses of stone, like this of which a picture is given, and which represents the house of Rev. Mr. Whitfield at

Guilford, Conn., built in 1639, and still standing, proba

bly the oldest house in the United States north of Florida. We should observe that the windows were very small, and opened on hinges; and we should find the fireplaces of these houses large enough for burning logs four feet long, and for the children to sit in the corners to look up at the sky. We should find the houses facing exactly south, so that the sun at noon might "shine square

A PURITAN.

MR. WHITFIELD'S HOUSE.

into them, and the family might know when to have dinner.

If we could see the people occupying these houses, we should find the men wearing jerkins, small-clothes, ruffs around their necks, and, when in the open air, short cloaks and steeple-crowned hats, under which the elders wore velvet caps. We should find the young men, on public occasions, wearing showy belts, gold and silver buttons, and great boots rolled over at the top. We should

find the young women wearing plain and homespun

clothing when about their work, but appearing on Sun days in silk hoods, lace neckerchiefs, slashed sleeves and embroidered caps. But the law required that they should dress according to their means; and, if they wore such things, they must prove that they were rich enough to afford it. This was the practice in England in those days, and the Puritans brought such laws with them. Thus it appears in the records, that one Alice Flynt was accused of wearing a silk hood; but, when she proved before court that she was worth two hundred pounds in money, the complaint was dropped. Jonas Fairbanks, about the same time, was prosecuted for wearing "great boots;" but the evidence was not sufficient to convict him, and he was happily acquitted.

If we were to remain in this Puritan village during the week, we might see, perhaps, a monthly muster of the soldiers; that is, of all men over the age of sixteen. We should perhaps see the officers with swords like that sword of Capt. Miles Standish, which is still preserved, bearing an unknown Oriental inscription, in the Antiquarian Hall at Plymouth. We should see some of the soldiers armed with pikes ten feet long, and others carrying muskets called "matchlocks," from being fired by a slow-match instead of a percussioncap, as now. We should observe that each soldier had also a "rest," or iron fork, to be stuck in the ground for the support of his heavy weapon; and we should notice that he had girt round him a belt, or “bandolier," holding a sword and a dozen tin cartridge-boxes. He would probably wear, also, a steel helmet and an iron breastplate; so that he would need to be a strong man to make a long march thus laden. Or perhaps he