This was rather better than "making the
punishment fit the crime," since the Boston magistrates managed to force
the criminal to furnish his own punishment. In Shrewsbury, also, the
unhappy man who first tested the wearisome capacity and endured the public
mortication of the town's stocks was the man who made them. He "builded
better than he knew." Pillories were used as a means of punishment until
a comparatively recent date,--in Salem until the year 1801, and in Boston
till 1803.
Great horse-blocks, rows of stepping-stones, or hewn logs further graced
the meeting-house green; and occasionally one fine horse-block, such as the
Concord women proudly erected, and paid for by a contribution of a pound of
butter from each house-wife.
The meeting-house not only was employed for the worship of God and for town
meetings, but it was a storehouse as well. Until after the Revolutionary
War it was universally used as a powder magazine; and indeed, as no fire in
stove or fireplace was ever allowed within, it was a safe enough place for
the explosive material. In Hanover, the powder room was in the steeple,
while in Quincy the "powder-closite" was in the beams of the roof. Whenever
there chanced to be a thunderstorm during the time of public worship, the
people of Beverly ran out under the trees, and in other towns they left
the meeting-house if the storm seemed severe or near; still they built no
powder houses.
Pages:
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26