Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-03-19
IN PURITAN TIMES.
WORD PICTURES or The QUAINT
LIFE or THOSE OLDEN DAYS.


the New England sabbath Was Held.
Though Puritan children had but few
recreatiOns and amusements, they must
have enjoyed very cheerful, happy home
life. Making sugar In its season was
looked forward To with very agreeable an.
ticipations by the farmers sons and daugh'
tiers. Toll i'm that was more than hgura
lively sweetened.
Thurlow Weed says: when your
troughs were dug out of basswood-for
there were no buckets in those days-your
trees tapped, your wood cut, and your
dres fed, there was leisure either for read
Ing or sparkling Who will ever forget
the transparent and delicious streaks of
candy cooled In snow, while 'sugaring
Off Many farmers son has found his
best opportunity for mental Improvement
In his leisure moments while tending sap
bush AT night you had only to feed the
kettles and keep up your fires, the sap
having been gathered and the wood cut
before dark | remember In this way to
have read history Of the French revou-
ton. ! remember also how happy ! was
To borrow the book after two mile tramp
through the snow shoeless.n
An old time New England expression,
getting the mitten,' meaning getting
your offer Of marriage rejected by your
"best girl, has an origin in the custom
OF the earlier days. One hundred years
ago gloves were unknown In the country
towns; mittens were knitted and worn in
all families. If a young man going home
from singing school with the girl Of his
choice WAS holding her mittened hand, TO
keep IL from getting cold, and took the OPP
portunity TO urge his suit, If the offer
proved acceptable the hand would remain;
II otherwise, an effort 10 withdraw the
hand would leave the mtten. so the sutton
would get the mitten, but not the hand
There were large families In those days.
Sir William Phipps was one of 26 children,
Benjamin Franklin was one Of n family of
II. They rejoiced in some very singular
names. These are the names of one fam
lily: Experience Waitstill, Preserved,
Hopestill, Wait, Thanks, Unites, Desire
and Supply.
1t Is interesting to note that the dinner
hour has gradually moved from the fore
noon until evening The word dinner is
believed to be IA corruption of six hours,
or o'clock, the hour at which the Nor.
man conquerCrs ate their principal meal
A young man from the Maine woods Wis
tied New York or n schooner and wrote
home thus: Hardly anybody here eats
dinner at noon. Most of the folks eat
theirs at o'clock. The rich don't eat
theirs until T or half past, and the real
upper crust don't dine until some time
next day" He had evidently been
brought up to think l2 o'clock the proper
hour
Saturday night was the beginning of
the Sabbath. The quiet hush that per-
vaded the very atmosphere of the house
suppressed the boisterous spirits of youth,
and early planted reverent love for the
New England Sabbath. Everybody was
expected to go to meeting and stay through
both services Some OF the stanch men
rode I'm the saddle, the good wife on pill
lion, with the baby in her lap, and the
next older child in front or behind Every
first Sabbath of the month the deacon
could be seen cantcring up the long road
with the consecrated jug for the sacra-
mental wine dangling from his saddle. 1t
must have been u pleasant sight on sun
day morning TO stand by the church and
watch the worshipers as singly, two by
two or i'm families, they seemed TO rise
out of the hills, from the east and from the
west. from the north and from the south,
for sabbath morning all paths led to
church, as all roads led 10 Rome. In sum-
mer time the boys and girls carried their
shoes and stockings in their hands, TO
save them from the wear aud tear of the
bushes and the long, sandy paths Among
the duties OF the sexton was To turn the
hourglass The sermon was expected to
close with the last sands of the glass.
How the children, and perhaps the grown
people, watched the glass But they were
sometimes disappointed, for the old minis
tiers had great gifts of continuance. Their
wigs were full of learning, and as freely
rs they had received freely they gave.
In 1885 each meeting house had the APP
pendage of stocks and whipping post, and
in some place they voted, THAT all per-
sons who should stand out of the meeting
house during the time of divine service
should he set In the stocks"
1t was also ordered that profane swear
ing should be punished by sitting in the
stocks three times; telling lies, fine of
10 shillings or sitting in the stocks two
times. In 1855 an unfortunate benedict
was fined for keeping house alone A
man was fined for driving yoke of oxen
five miles OH the Sabbath day.
AS long ago as l7I5 IL is said there were
bad boys, and tithing men were appointed
to see that they did not play in meeting,
and to keep the dogs out of the meeting
house.
Mrs. Stowe gives "A picture of the old
meeting house, which Is the best l have
found. ITO my childish eyes our meeting
house was fashioned on the model OF
Noah's ark ard Solomon's temple. Its
double rows of windows, of which | knew
the number by heart; its doors, with great
wooden quirks over them; its belfry, pro-
jecting out AT the east end; its steeple and
bell, all inspired as much sense of the sub
lime as Strasburg cathedral itself. How
magnificent To my eyes seemed the turnip.
like canopy that hung over the ministers
head, hooked by long iron rod to the
wall abovel How wondered at the pan
els on either side of the pulpit carved and
painted as a flaming red tulip. The area
Of the house was divided into large, square
pews, finished with balustrade ten inches
high, Through these loopholes the chill.
dren could watch each other and report
discoveries =
The meeting houses were not warmed,
but the Old and the delicate carried foot
hOves, and between the services they all
repaired to a small building outside to
eat their lunch and warm their nearly
frozen limbs. The ministers were settled
for life, and they were looked up to with
great respect. and we'll they might ne Tor