Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 May 1885 — The Origin of a Word. [ARTICLE]

The Origin of a Word.

The following account is given of the oricril of the term “eavesdropper:* At a revival s os Masonry, in- 1717, a curious punishment was inflicted upon a man who listened at the door, of a Masonic meeting in order to hear ita secrets. He was summarily sentenced to be placed under the eaves of an outhouse while it was raining hard till the water ran in under the collar of his coat and out at. his shoes.” The penalty was inflicted on the spot and the name has continued ever since.— Troy Times.