The morning call., 1894-02-21
OLD NEW ENGLAND.

The work begun by Mr.. Adams in dis
interrng the early history of New Eng
land has been advanced one step by Mrs
Alice Morse Earle, whose "Customs and
Fashions in Old New England" has Just
been published. Certain public features
of ancient colonial life - the old first
church. the theocratic government, the
contact of Puritanism with daily life, the
friction between gentlemen aud yeomeD,
the Inconsistencies into which the colo
nists were forced by their endeavor to
reconcile their aspirations for liberty OF
conscience with their intolerance of opin-
ions which were condemned by the clergy
have been described by many historians.
But the substratum of private life has
been less fully brought to view in all its
details of everyday existence, manners
and observances. Even such well-known
characters as the Mathers. the WinthrOps,
the Winslows and the Sewalls have usually
been exhibited before us in their best
clothes, with their company manners. The
consequence is that the acquaintance of
the average reader with them is super
fetal, although moro particular informa-
ton has always been obtainable by those
who cared 10 seek it.
The usual treatment of children in the
early colonial days appears to us amazing
and ludicTous. The boys were brought up
with tanning" whipping and such bene-
fits OF nature. 1t was the law that an in
FAINT must be baptized on the Sunday fol-
lowing its birth and in the church, at some
risk to its life, for the church was rarely
warmed. Drainage and sanitation were
nOEDnUn diaao al MI
as fatal as bronchitis and pneumonia.
When child fell i'll it was dosed with
medicines which may have been as dan
gerous as the disease. A popular panacea
was snail water; but the rich admins
tered decoctions of gold. pearls and coral.
OF course the deaths of children were
numerous. OF Judge SewalPs fourteen
children only three survived him. and of
Cotton Matber's fifteen only two. Boys
did not have as good times as they do
now. Judge Sewall entertained his son
with an account of the death Of his school
fellow from ''small packs; the urchin
listened, munchilg an ''aple." When the
story came to an end, the lad burst into
tears, saying that he was afraid TO die,
and did not care about living.
Marriage was popular. Judge Sewall
lost his wives one after another, but
speedily replaced them. Those old Puri-
tans called a girl of % an "ancient virgin"
and woman Of so ga thorn back" But
the widows had the pull over the spinsters.
In our days a young gentleman sends his
best girl a bouquet or a neat volume of
verse. In the old colonial days he sent
her a mug Of cider or a couple of pounds
of West India sugar. Prenuptial kissing
was contrary to law. but sticklers for pro-
priety complained that the law was not
carried out.
There was the same trouble, then, over
servants as there is now. Negro servants
were worth from 20 to 40 pistoles, children
being sold by the pound. Indian servants
were employed in many households, but
were too fond of rum to be reliable. Both
classes were slaves. and the practice of
trading in them was den ounced as heart
less and vicious. But when Cotton Ma
theirs congregation presented him with
likely boy. worth ESQ. he reconsidered his
views on the subject Of keeping human
beings In bondage. In the matter Of social
usages, the Puritaus condemned every
thing which the cavaliers enjoyed; they
denounced plum pudding and maypoles,
balls with wantOn dancing and dallance
and play-acting. A lover of Shakespeare
desiring to produce ''Othello" at Newport
in 1862 brought it out as "a moral dialogue
in five parts"
Mr.. Adams considers that the cheapness
Of rum was one of the chief draw backs to
New England's prosperity. For ninepence
rum enough could be bought to fuddle
party of gentlemen. Can this excessive in
temperance be regarded as premonition
of the Maine liquor law?