New Britain herald., 1916-01-27


 mine. Reverence for parents, as we'll ac for God, was a common virtue. An
 old letter in my family, written by
 son to father begins "Honored Sir' and through four large pages, closely l written, there is the same spirit of de- 1 ference and submission in all decisions to the natural authority and wishes of ] a parent What we have lost of old | tune reverence, we may have gained
 in comradeship. I must confess that l the dear daddy" of our days warns the cookies of my heart as 'honored i sir'-hoWeVer correct-never would.
 Next to the Bible, the Westminster 1 catechism occupied place of honor on the limited colonial book shelf surely not longer than President l Eliots of today. I wonder if those
 old Scotch and English divines with a few Godly laymen, one hundred and
 fifty in all-sitting in solemn con-
 clave for many years about the middle
 of the 17th century, realized what an
 Instrument of mental torture the
 Westminster catechism they evolved would prove and how far it's hard exactions would reach-all those questions about "sanctifica tion' and
 Justification" &c., how they puzzled the brains of our colonial boys and ! girls, for across the ocean that catechism did come and in all the l schools and homes of this region, | the young people were made to memorize it-questions as well as l answers. Fancy that!
 | (Perhaps you will pardon the per- sonal "reminiscences passed on to me 1 by my parents and received by them from their parents and grandparents ic al Of reported of one of my maternal ances- tors that she could decite the whole catechism backwards, asking, as well as answering, all the questions. For this absurdly unnecessary feat of memory she is said to have received a fine print Bible, poor child! I think a box of candy, if only the maple sugar of that day, would have been more human reward
 That Sunday, or the Sabbath, as they called it in Hebrew parlance, was the great day of the week is proved in many ways. One slight indication ap- peared In one of my ancestral homes in the southwest part of the town where one of the five deacons, Elijah Hart lived. He had large farm and a mill and employed five men, all of them working with him on the farm
 
 winter It was his invariable custom l throughout the entire year, to stop all work at o'clock on Saturday after l moons and to prepare for the Sabbath ! by shaving! (Let us hope ne per- formed this act between timesD By l having his top boots blackened and ! his long coatee surtout carefully l brushed in readiness for an carly start i to meeting" on Sunday morning. It is also said that he cNorted, though 1 he did not compel his men to mako l similar preparations for the Holy l time, which was supposed to begin at | sun down Saturday. That life was a serious and somewhat grim affair to our forebears is self evident, but there l are human touches that relieve the l sombre picture. Young men and ' maidens met, we are told, at husking parties, even an occasional dance is referred to, singing schools were early introduced as part of the com 1 munity life, in the interest, no doubt, l of matrimony as well as of music. l Conviviality seems not to have been unusual, though it took a curious form. If dinner parties were un- known, the raising of buildings, es> pecially of large ones, called for brawn and courage accompanied with loud talk and much drinking of rum, l all of which resulted in what we might l call a high old time.' "No license' does not seem to have been 8 politi- 1 cal factor in those early days. It is l not within the limits of my paper to 1 anticipate the great wave of temper 1 ance which at later day swept over l New England and counted among ] it's loyal supporters the men of New 1 Britain. Sunday indulgcnces in those | mortorless days, were limited to l walks in the cemetery or church yard 1 where the old tomb stones,-not with | out artistic merit--but ornamented l at the top with the familiar "death's 1 head" which even pretty scroll work 1 at the side could not greatly relieve, l! kept ever before the young lovers, l strolling through the sacred precnts 1 the brevity of life and the transitor- l ness of all earthly things. It is a re- | lief to read that Col. Issac Lee when l walking abroad was always dressed 1 with scruplous propriety, who with l elegance being particularly proud of 1 his buckles. It is also pleasant to ] know that the young matrons ex- ! changed patterns for the caps which l they invariably wore after marriage | and that "delaine gowns were pre- ] ferred to calico'-be it French calico i costing two shillings a yard-for Sum 1 day. The eternal faminine' is al- l ways with us, Thanks be. Let the men laugh as much as they like. We 1 know-ladies-yOu and l, that a bit l of your nonsense often relieves a tense 1 situation and believe mo, the men like 1 it as well as we do!
 We find it hard to begin or end any 1 paper on Colonial days in this quiet, 1 inland settem ent--far from the eX- l citement and social charm of seaport 1 towns like Salem, Newburyport or l New London-without referring to [