Life in old new england
Most
of the
Puritans were ministers. Each week they
could hardly wait until Sunday, when they preached for several hours
on such subjects as 'Hellfire' and Damnation'. In those days, church
attendance was as good every Sunday as it is today on Easter.
All
of the Puritans, except a few who should never have left England,
were opposed to sin. When a woman sinned, they pinned a scarlet
letter 'A' on her breast, where it would be conspicuous. Women who
won their letter year after year were disdainfully called Scarlet,
like Scarlet O'Hara and Scarlet Pimpernel. Children were kept in
innocence of the meaning оf
the 'A' and thought it stood for ' Adulthood', when such things
usually happened.
The
homes of the Puritans were simple and austere, but their furniture
was antique and therefore frightfully expensive. The chairs were as
straight and stiff as the Puritans themselves, and had hard bottoms.
They became known as period pieces because they went to pieces after
a short period of sitting on them. The women had large chests, or
collector's items, of which they were extremely proud. Some of these
have been handed down from generation to generation and are displayed
proudly by their owners today.
The
Puritans believed in justice. A woman who was a witch, or a
man
who was a son of a witch, was punished by being stuck in the stocks.
These were wooden devices that had holes to put the arms and legs
through, and were considered disgraceful. They were also considered
uncomfortable.
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