Curious Punishments of Bygone Days

								

In Plymouth in 1665 "all persons being without the dores att the meeting
house on the Lords daies in houres of exercise, demeaneing themselves by
jesting, sleeping, and the like, if they shall psist in such practices
hee (the tithing-man) shall sett them in the stocks."
Regard for church and state were often combined by making public
confession of sin in church with punishment in front of the church
after the service. This was simply a carrying out of English customs.
Mr. Hamilton, author of that interesting book, Quarter Sessions from
Queen Elizabeth to Queen Anne, says, dealing with Devonshire:
"A favorite punishment for small offenses, such as resisting the
constable, was the stocks. The offender had to come into the church at
morning prayer, and say publicly that he was sorry; he was then set in
the stocks until the end of the evening prayer. The punishment was
generally repeated on the next market-day."
It seems scarcely necessary to describe the shape and appearance of
stocks, for pictures of them are so common. They were formed by two
heavy timbers the upper one of which could be raised, and when lowered,
was held in place by a lock. In these two timbers were cut two
half-circle notches which met two similar notches when the upper timber
was in place and thus formed round holes, holding firmly in place the
legs of the imprisoned culprit; sometimes the arms were thrust into
smaller holes similarly formed. Usually, however, the culprit sat on a
low bench with simply his legs confined. Thus securely restrained, he
was powerless to escape the jests and jeers of every idler in the
community.
The stocks were the scene of many striking figures, and many amusing
ones; what a sight was that when an English actor who had caused the
playing of the Midsummer-Night's Dream in the very house of the Bishop
of Lincoln, and on Sunday, too, was set in stocks at the Bishop's gate
with an ass's head beside him and a wisp of hay--in derision of the part
he had played, that of Bottom the weaver. This in 1631--after both
Plymouth and Boston had been settled.
And the stocks were not without their farcical side in New England.
Governor Winthrop's account of the exploits of a Boston Dogberry in 1644
is certainly amusing.
"There fell out a troublesome business in Boston. An English sailor
happened to be drunk, and was carried to his lodging, and the constable
(a godly man and much zealous against such disorders), hearing of it,
found him out, being upon his bed asleep, so he awaked him, and led him
to the stocks, no magistrate being at home. He being in the stocks, one
of La Tour's French gentlemen visitors in Boston lifted up the stocks
and let him out. The constable, hearing of it, went to the Frenchman
(being then gone and quiet) and would needs carry him to the stocks.
The Frenchman offered to yield himself to go to prison, but the
constable, not understanding his language pressed him to go to the