That this was not always the case is proved by
a letter of invitation still in existence written by Reverend Timothy
Edwards, who was ordained in Windsor in 1694; it was written to Mr. and
Mrs. Stoughton, asking them to attend the ordination-ball which was to be
given in his, the minister's house. But whether the parsons approved and
attended, or whether they strongly discountenanced it, the ordination-ball
was always a great success. It is recorded that at one in Danvers a young
man danced so vigorously and long on the sanded floor that he entirely wore
out a new pair of shoes. The fashion of giving ordination-balls did not die
out with colonial times. In Federal days it still continued, a specially
gay ball being given in the town of Wolcott at an ordination in 1811.
There was always given an ordination supper,--a plentiful feast, at which
visiting ministers and the new pastor were always present and partook with
true clerical appetite. This ordination feast consisted of all kinds of New
England fare, all the mysterious compounds and concoctions of Indian corn
and "pompions," all sorts of roast meats, "turces" cooked in various ways,
gingerbread and "cacks," and--an inevitable feature at the time of every
gathering of people, from a corn-husking or apple-bee to a funeral--a
liberal amount of cider, punch, and grog was also supplied, which latter
compound beverages were often mixed on the meeting-house green or even in
punch-bowls on the very door-steps of the church.
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