Customs and Fashions in Old New England

								

with his grandfather for a time, and on April 1st, 1719, the Judge
wrote:



     "In the morning I dehorted Sam Hirst and Grindall Rawson from

     playing Idle tricks because 'twas first of April: They were the

     greatest fools that did so. N. E. Men came hither to avoid

     anniversary days, the keeping of them such as the 25th of Decr. How

     displeasing must it be to God the giver of our Time to keep

     anniversary days to play the fool with ourselves and others."
Ten years earlier the Judge had written to the Boston schoolmaster,
begging him to "insinuate into the Scholars the Defiling and Provoking
nature of such a Foolish Practice" as playing tricks on April first.
Sam was but a sad losel, and vexed him in other and more serious
matters. On March 15th, 1725, the Judge wrote:



     "Sam Hirst got up betime in the morning, and took Ben Swett with

     him and went into the Comon to play Wicket. Went before anybody was

     up, left the door open: Sam came not to prayer at which I was much

     displeased."
Two days later he writes thus peremptorily of his grandson:



     "Did the like again, but took not Ben with him. I told him he could

     not lodge here practicing thus. So he log'd elsewhere."
Though Boston boys played "wicket" on Boston Common, I fancy the young
Puritans had, as a rule, few games, and were allowed few amusements.
They apparently brought over some English pastimes with them, for in
1657 it was found necessary to pass this law in Boston:



     "Forasmuch as sundry complaints are made that several persons have

     received hurt by boys and young men playing at football in the

     streets, these therefore are to enjoin that none be found at that

     game in any of the streets, lanes or enclosures of this town under

     the penalty of twenty shillings for every such offence."
One needless piece of cruelty which was exercised toward boys by Puritan
lawgivers is shown by one of the enjoined duties of the tithingman. He
was ordered to keep all boys from swimming in the water. I do not doubt
that the boys swam, since each tithingman had ten families under his
charge; but of course they could not swim as often nor as long as they
wished. From the brother sport of winter, skating, they were not
debarred; and they went on thin ice, and fell through and were drowned,
just as country boys are nowadays. Judge Sewall wrote on November 30th,
1696:



     "Many scholars go in the afternoon to Scate on Fresh Pond. Wm.

     Maxwell and John Eyre fall in, are drowned."
In the New England Weekly Journal of January 15th, 1728, we read:



     "On Monday last Two Young Persons who were Brothers, viz Mr. George

     and Nathan Howell diverting themselves by Skating at the bottom of

     the Common, the Ice breaking under them they were both drowned;"
and in the same journal of two weeks later date we find record of
another death by drowning.