south, and indeed in all sections, were filled with the best of furniture some of it imported from Europe, though much of it home-made and of the style now known as "colonial."

Stoves were first introduced about 1700, and by the time of the Revolution had been greatly improved. Franklin invented a stove known as the Franklin stove, which was extensively used, though no dwelling was felt to be complete without its full number of fireplaces.

Though pewter was in common use and the rich had silverware, much of the tableware was still made of wood. About the year 1700 forks came into

WASHINGTON'S BED

corn, wheat or rye, constituted the "staff of life." The land abounding in wild game, much flesh was eaten.

165. Habits: Laws and Penalties.-Tobacco and liquor were used freely. Even some of the women used snuff, and not a few smoked. Drunkenness was common.

The people as a whole frowned upon all vicious and evil habits. Church attendance and private conduct were regulated by law. The "Blue Laws" of Connecticut were, in this particular, severe in the extreme.

The whipping post, the pillory, and the stocks awaited their victims at all times. Drunkenness, swearing, Sabbath breaking, pilfering, lying, stubborn disobedience of children, scolding, law-breaking, running in debt, and even dressing beyond one's station in life, were severely punished.

Penalties were frequently out of proportion to offenses committed.

Punishments were, at times, extremely cruel,

even barbarous-a slave being burned for the murder of his master, and a wife for the murder of her husband. Cutting off an ear and branding on the forehead were penalties frequently inflicted.

Out of this stern and rugged life came a sturdy and a happy people, who were firm believers in right living and right doing. And yet, while the conduct of the people was regulated with reference to the teachings of the Bible, and while the standard of morals was high, many customs were practiced in the colonial period which would not now be tolerated. Lotteries, which are to-day placed under the ban

PILLORY AND STOCKS

means

of law in every state in the Union, were in that day recognized in all sections as a legitimate of raising money for public purposes "to build churches, to aid the deserving poor, to erect lighthouses, colleges, buildings, and

bridges." Faneuil Hall, Boston, when destroyed by fire, was rebuilt by lottery. During the trying days of the Revolution, when money was scarce, it was proposed to raise money for the "next campaign" by lottery.

166. Religion. The colonists were a profoundly religious people. The clergy in nearly all sections were of a superior class. Those of New England and of the Carolinas excelled all others in breadth of learning and scholarship. The Puritans of New England as well as the Germans, the Dutch, the Quakers, and the Scotch-Irish of the other colonies hated the Established Church of England. In New York, in Virginia, in Maryland, and in the colonies farther south, this church had

been established. It was not popular with the masses in New York because the clergy were bitter in their opposition to all other forms of church service. Their attitude provoked dissensions in Virginia and Maryland as well. The attempt of the Established clergy to fasten the Established Church upon the colonies and to uphold the authority of the bishops was indignantly resented. "No Bishops" and "No Established Church" became cries which were heard down to the time of the Revolution and had not a little to do with uniting the colonies against England at that time.

In some sections the clergy of the Established Church were not even godly men, "concerning themselves more for tithes than for souls." Their reckless and careless habits caused "as bad as a Maryland. parson" to become a proverb in the colonies.

The majority of the colonists were Protestants. At the time of the Revolution it is said that every Protestant sect then known was represented in America. There were Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed, Baptists, Episcopalians, Quakers, Lutherans, and Methodists. The Catholics were strongest in Maryland. The religious disputes of that day were very heated; at times bitter.

167. Amusements.-There were few forms of amusement in the colonies. Husking bees and quilting bees were common in all sections and dancing in some, though the latter was generally prohibited in New England and among the Quakers. The theater was not tolerated, yet traveling museums interested all the people. The church, or “meeting house, was the common meeting place of all classes and afforded an opportunity for exchanging gossip and bits of conversation. Thus the church service in many localities was apt to be an all-day service, with a good portion of the time taken up in visiting. The "town meetings" in the New England colonies also furnished an opportunity for relaxation and entertainment. Even funerals, it is said, furnished a kind of "melancholy entertainment." Perhaps

at no period in the history of America were funerals so unnecessarily expensive as in that early colonial day-all because they afforded the people a chance for pomp and show, and at the same time furnished an occasion for assembling together. Public executions and hangings were also thus taken advantage of by the people. In New York and in the south, bands of concert singers or strolling actors made frequent appearance.

The rich planters in the south delighted in the pursuit of the chase each keeping a pack of well-trained hounds. Horse-racing was common in the south. In the rural districts of all sections, games and amusements calling for "trial of strength" were indulged in. Thus wrestling, running, jumping, and "throwing the stone". furnished amusement

for large gatherings
of people. The games
of "fox and geese,
and "nine men's mor-
ris"
were also very
popular. The male
residents in many
a neighborhood

amused themselves by "shooting at the mark," a practice which developed superior marksmanship among the early pioneers. From this rural class came the sharpshooters of the Revolution.

168. Mode of Travel.-The usual mode of travel was on foot or horseback, and by water; though in the southern colonies the rich planters rode in a coach and six, accompanied by mounted servants. Chaises came in with the Revolution. Travel by land was always a hardship, since the roads were poor and ferries and fords not well located. A stage route was early established between Providence and Boston, which took two days for the trip. Later a similar route was established between New York and Philadelphia, requiring three days for the trip. In 1766 this time was

reduced to two days, whereupon the coach making the trip was called a "flying machine."

Travel by water was even more tedious than travel by land. It took six days to go from New York to Albany on the Hudson River.

Boats sailed only at intervals between Boston and New York; between New York and Philadelphia; and between Phil

adelphia and Charleston.

INN

Such a thing as comfort in travel was not known in those days. This kept the vast majority of people shut up in their own settlements. When a traveler arrived, he was the center of interest-he had brought news from the outside world. The inns or taverns by the roadside proved, in those days, poor stopping places for the tired traveler.

OCCUPATIONS AND MONEY

169. Occupations. -Agriculture formed the chief industry of the people, but in all sections farmers and planters were slow to introduce improved methods. Through long use the farm land had become "worn out" in many sections. Franklin recommended fertilizers, but the whole question of thus enriching the soil was little understood. Rotation in crops was not even thought of. Farm implements were crude and far from perfect. The hoe for the cultivation of his grain, and the flail for the thrashing of his wheat and rye, constituted the farmer's implements.

Sheep and cattle and swine were raised in abundance, though there was a tendency on the part of England to discourage the raising of sheep in the colonies, lest the