New Britain herald., 1927-05-07
SPIRIT 0F UNREST
 NOTICED IN l79O 
Rd,l,tea; h Io'ib uta Rsrollta Dqlald by Colanbts

S~vsWseOA1af - 0VAO AAAV~s Rsrollhm Dqlalsd by Calanhh
 'The strictnsss Of public moraia
 and rsusious worship II rsiaxins,
 and this ts duo to the war;" said
 tho, head of one of New Britain'a
 leading familieA "Misdemeanors are
 moro frequent stnce the war;" ad-
 ded one of the officials charged
 with keeping the peace.
 These utterances ring with such
 familiarity in one's ears that it
 seems . foregone conclusion that
 ''ths9 war" is the World war. which
 is being blamed for 70 many evils
 anA supposed evila But it Il not:
 it ia, the Revolutionary war to
 which these worthy gentlemen were
 referring, and they were deploring
 the conditions which existed in
 their time, about 17so.
 For crime wave swept over
 New Britain following the Revolu-
 ton, an epidemic of thefts and in- toxication and disturbances which
 was n serious in those days as the succession of hold-ups and rum rings and shootings. is today. And,
 just as prominent men are doing
 today. when the Yankees of 179O cast about for an explanation they hit upon 'the war" as one which no one could refute and which could not in itself refute their staten ents.
 It was all very terrifying to the stern, God-fearing Puritans Of those days, for they were still as strict and intolerant as in the days Of the first settlements in New England. The social upheavar evidenced a changing spirit. but the majority still believed in freedom of religion only long az you used your free- dom to believe in their particular religion. Crimes against the church were unpardonable breaches Of secular law in those days, and many an offender was found guilty on charges which sound absurd today.
 Arrested for Missing Church
 In the year 1764, for instance. the grand jurors and constables of the parish of New Britain duly noted down the names of those persons who had neglected to attend public worship. The names were handed to one of His Britanic Majesty's jus tices of the peace and the scoun- drelly culprits were arrested and fined.
 Some years later, a grand juror made complaint of man who 'vatnly and profanely repeatedly swcre and raahly and wickedly spoke and uttered improper words" At his trial the wretch confessed and was fined $1.50. None of the fines were high. but they were prompt
 And tithingman complained that some ungodly rascal had profaned the Lords house by laughing there in on the Sabbath and by marking on 1t with a pin. This criminal drew . prompt fine. A tithingman was an official appointed to see that order was kept in church: he it was who tickled those who slept and rapped those who talked in church, and such was the connec- tion between church and state that the man generally was a constable or had . constable's authority.
 This reaction from the forbidding religion of the times seems almost unavoidable today. for the Puritan church was at once tiresome and terrifying. with almost no bright aide to it. Yet the people of New Britain. from firm belief-and part ly, 1t h to be suspected, from fear or from lack of anything else to do were constant in their church attendance.
 sDobbin' Takes Them to Church
 Going to church in those early days required practically the whole day. At first the only meeting house within a radius of miles was that in Pennington, but later one was es- tablished in Christian Lane. This was divided in 1754 and four years later the First Church of Christ was built on smahey street. Thither tho entire population made its way early every Sunday morning. mak- ing the journey either afoot or on horseback. for not only was the automobile an undreamt of miracle of the future but the carriage was inexistent in this section -aS late as 1900 there were said to i be only six carriages in New Brit ain. Tho back of a horse. then. was the most luxurious conveyance to meeting. and . whole family fre- i rode on its single horse.
 The churches were bare, unpro- tected from tho weather, and con- tained no apparatus for heating. 50 that worshippers had to bring their own pans and coals or take their ,. chances with pneumonia. In these uncomfortable. and ugly surround ings the early residents sat for hourA The service opened with a long sermon, reading of a psalm, scripture. exposition, and led up to the sermon, which would be of great length and most likely filled !, with hellfire and birthstone; then ! came another psalm and final ! prayer. The church-goers had ! brought cold lunches with them and [ they proceeded to eat them and gos- gip for about an hour. after which a second service was held. Then l they are hastened home to the well {