XVII.
The Observances of the Day.
The so-called "False Blue Laws" of Connecticut, which were foisted upon the
public by the Reverend Samuel Peter, have caused much indignation among all
thoughtful descendants and all lovers of New England Puritans. Three of
his most bitterly resented false laws which refer to the observance of the
Sabbath read thus:--
"No one shall travel, cook victuals, make beds, sweep house, cut hair, or
shave on the Sabbath Day.
"No woman shall kiss her child on the Sabbath or fasting day.
"No one shall ride on the Sabbath Day, or walk in his garden or elsewhere
except reverently to and from meeting."
Though these laws were worded by Dr. Peters, and though we are disgusted to
hear them so often quoted as historical facts, still we must acknowledge
that though in detail not correct, they are in spirit true records of the
old Puritan laws which were enacted to enforce the strict and decorous
observance of the Sabbath, and which were valid not only in Connecticut and
Massachusetts, but in other New England States. Even a careless glance at
the historical record of any old town or church will give plenty of details
to prove this.
Thus in New London we find in the latter part of the seventeenth century a
wicked fisherman presented before the Court and fined for catching eels on
Sunday; another "fined twenty shillings for sailing a boat on the Lord's
Day;" while in 1670 two lovers, John Lewis and Sarah Chapman, were accused
of and tried for "sitting together on the Lord's Day under an apple tree in
Goodman Chapman's Orchard,"--so harmless and so natural an act.
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