Walkerton Independent, Volume 54, Number 26, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 22 November 1928 — Page 2

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By ELMO SCOTT WATSON S THANKSGIVING time approaches and our minds turn back to the origin of that holiday—that is, if Twentieth century minds, accustomed to making it a day for consuming roast turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, cider and other eatables and drinkables to a painful degree, football games and for innumerable other forms of celebration far removed from the original purpose of the day. can be easily turned back for a consideration of

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historic origins—it would be interesting for each of us to make a mental inventory and try to determine if we know much more about the people who gave us this holiday than we seem to know about observing it in the spirit in which it was conceived. Thanksgiving, of course, brings up a mental picture (which is usually a reproduction of some painting—or cartoon —that we have seen) of a group of sober-faced men and women walking through the woods to a little log church. The outstanding features of the sober costume of the men are the tall-crowned hats, the big shoe buckles and the clumsy-looking guns, with their bell-shaped muzzles, over their shoulders; of the women —the white Dutch caps on their heads and the dark capes hanging from their shoulders. If It Is the cartoonist, rather than the painter, who gives us our mental picture of the Puritan Inventors of Thanksgiving day, we’re pretty sure to see a man holding a turkey by the neck in one hand and his gun in the other, while an Indian arrow decorates the tall crown of his hat. Or the arrow (an Indian arrow is by now an almost indispensable symbol of Thanksgiving) may be flying through the window of a log cabin home and plunking into the turkey on the table, much to the consternation of the Puritan family, ail ready to eat the “noble bird” when the unexpected garnish arrives. Or if we are asked to characterize the Puritans in a few words, those words are pretty likely to be “stern” or “noble” or “godly” or “pious” or “well —well—puritanical —you know what I mean.” But aside from the ideas, as given by these mental and word pictures, how much do we actually know about the Puritan fathers and mothers? Do they exist in our minds as "people.” as “human beings” or as images recreated from myths? Were they all, and always, “pious” or “godly” or “stern,” or did they have their lighter moments when they were “people” or “human beings,” as we know such individuals today. Let the author of a book, recently published in Boston, the home of the Puritans, by Little. Brown and company, answer that question. The name of the book is “The Not-Quite Puritans.” which in itself is something of an answer. But lest it be thought that it is the work of an iconoclast. Intent upon shattering some more idols, an outsider who wishes only to poke irreverent fun at a people and tradition near and dear to most Americans, let it be said that the author of the hook is Henry W. Lawrence, a native New Englander and a professor of history at Connecticut college, who has only to examine his family history to know whereof he speaks. For two of his ancestors among many others have “records” in that they were haled into court for deeds which wore “notquite puritan.” In the introduction to his book Professor Lawrence says: Nothing new could possibly be uttered about the austerity of the Puritan, but there is still much to be said concerning his frivolity. During more than a century, tireless orators have stupefied their reverent hearers with undiscriminating praise of the stern virtues that were the glory of early New England; and when the image breakers of our own irreverent times have risen to reply, they have usually seen and smitten only a figure of unhuman sternness, made awful by his worshipers. It is high time that justice be done to the humanity, the frailty, and the frivolity of our formidable ancestors. For example, all we loyal New Englandeis have known from our youth up of Cotton Mather’s views on witchcraft and his discussion of the “nature, number, and operations of the devils”; but why have we not been as freely informed of how he narrowly escaped a breach-of-promise suit while courting his second wife? We shall not love them less, these forefathers of ours, if we see them gay as well as grave; and we may cease to think of them as largely the creatures of a moralized and provincial mythology. New England in the Seventeenth century was probably no more wholesome than it is in the Twentieth. Then, as now, a few great and good men and women tried in vain to "sell'’ godliness to the multitude, but there were few buyers, though at that time everybody was compelled to attend the sale. Judging by the acts of the vast majority, rather than by the words of a very small number, these early New Englanders were spiritually akin to our present generation. Some few of them were saints; a few more were hypocrites; but most of them were neither. Their amount of true holiness was, per capita, about the same as ours, but it took a different form, and they talked about it more than we do. Their normal human cantankerousness was often so camouflaged in pious phrases that it was, and still is, mistaken for godliness. Probably they were as bewildered as we are about how life should be lived. Certainly they were often discouraged with their efforts to regulate it, and they had many private doubts as to whether the method of sitting on the lid was. after all, the best way to djeal with human feelings.

Famous Thanksgiving Dinners

Turning from cookbooks to histories, Nell B. Nichols, New York cooking expert, lias discovered the menus for Thanksgiving enjoyed by the greatest Ataerican epicures and reproduced tßem in the experimental kitchens of Farm and Fireside. The first is a famous Thanksgiving dinner given at the home of Daniel Webster in 1842, in which a special chestnut stuffing was the feature.

Al B W A 4 A ill iB I \\ zz^ The Seventeenth century specialized in repression. We of the Twentieth have a right to demand that history tell us the truth about how the repressionism of Puritan New England really worked among the masses of the people. It seems to have been no more than indifferently successful even in that age of lean adversity. A large fraction of the population submitted to, rather than shared in, the religious and moral fervor which has made the period notorious. They hardly qualified as belonging in the company of the saints. They were "the not-quite Puritans.” That these "not-quite Puritans” were very much like the people of today In their faults ami frailties, Professor Lawrence then proceeds to demonstrate in his book by quoting from contemporary records. Then, as now, the elders had the "flaming youth” problem on their hands. For the boys and girls of Massachusetts Bay and other New England colonies DID pet, they DID go in for “new and immodest fashions” and wicked apparell,” there WERE ‘‘flappers.” or their equivalent, who bobbed their hair, or the equivalent, the college students of those days WERE addicted to riotous night life and there WERE breach-of promise suits, family rows, back-fence quarrels, fights, intoxication and any number of other offenses which brought them, young and old. into court. These are not merely opinions. They are facts taken from court and other records and here is evidence of the truth of the above statements, in the order presented, as given in Professor Lawrence’t, book: Young men there were forbidden "to inveigle or draw the affections of any maid” without the proper permission, and the law enumerates the current prohibited methods: "whether it be by speech, writing, message, company-keeping, unnecessary familiarity, disorderly night-meetings, sinful dalliance, gifts.” In IG6O, Jacob Minline and Sarah Tuttle of New Haven were haled to court for violating the law, and the record shows that the purpose of their unlawful meetings had by no means been prayer and fasting. "They sat down together,” says the testimony "his arm being about her, and her arm upon hi“ shoulder or about his neck; and he kissed her, and she kissed him, or they kissed one another, continuing in this posture about half an hour.” Moreover, Sarah denied that Jacob had "inveigled her affections,” whereupon the court fined her instead of him, and called her a “bould virgin.” As early as 1634, "some new and immodest fashions” alarmed the authorities of Massachusetts into ordering "that no person! either man or womar, shall hereafter make or buy an apparel, either woolen, silk, or linen, with any lace on it, silver gold, silk, or thread.” A prohibition was likewise laid on "slashed clothes, other than one slash in each sleeve, ano another in the back”; also! on "all gold or silver girdles, hat bands, belts, puffs, beaver hats.” With due regard for the avoidance of waste, however, the law allowed the present possessors "to wear out such apparel as they are now provided of, except the immoderate great sleeves, slashed apparel, immoderate great rails, long wings, etc.” The remote ancestress of the present day flapper was also dealt with in the clause which prescribed "short sleeves, whereby the nakedness of the arm may be discovered in the Rearing thereof.” When a girl bobbed her hair, or otherwise deformed it to meet the latest Seventeenth century fashion, she had to expejct not merely father’s wrath and mother’s tears, but also some public comment from the minister on the Lord’s Day, and a personal visit from the local magistrate. Sometimes they were haled into court, after indictment by the grand jury along with murderers

Charles Dickens, who was the guest of honor, in letters home praised the stuffing highly, but referred to the huge wedges of pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes and opposum as too indigestible. Webster. however, was noted for his famous dinners. A second famous, dinner that found its way into history books was one given by Hamilton Fish when he was secretary of state in 1852, with the

English writer Thackeray as his guest of honor. It was at this time that the ice cream of the type in use today was introduced to supplant frozen ices which had hitherto been used. Other dishes were turkey surrounded by mounds of cranberries and celery curls, another innovation; baked pumpkin, spiced peaches and pears for salad and ice cream as one of the desserts. Theodore Roosevelt, while President, received a request from the Japanese ambassador to permit his chef to pre-

.JI V Z.-. ■ 1 thieves, and others who, like themselves, were dangerous to the community. Thus, the records of the Essex County Quarterly courts show that, during the session held at Ipswich in 1632, several such perilous females were dealt with: "Warrant dated April 14. 1652. for the appearance of those presented by the grand Jury on Mar. 28 for folding their hair, frizzling and knots, and for wearing silk scarfs. Martha Rogers. Mary Brownexx and Elizabeth Browne, the glazier's daughters, Abigalll Metcalfe, Elizabeth Berkirs. wife of Luke Perkins, Martha Watton, J din Webster’s daughter who lives with Mr John Rogers and Pricilla Carta'll, Capt. Applet< n’s maul " By 1713, disorderly night life in Boston seems to j have been well started, to the extreme annoyance of the Rev. Cotton Mather, who comments on *t thus in his diary: "There are knotts of riotous Young Men In the I Town. On purpose to insult Piety, they will come under my Window in the Middle of the Night, and sing profane and filthy Songs The last Night they did so, and fell upon I‘eople with Clubs, taken off my Wood Pile. 'Tis hightime to call in the Help of the Government of the Place, for the punishing and suppressing of these Disorders.” EHarts of the early New England fathers to ■ stop wickedness by means of strict laws met with indifferent success. They were more ready to ad- i mit this than some of their modern descendants have been. Thus are the "not-quite Puritans” revealed in a book written by one of tiie descendants in wldch for once, at least, they are presented to Americans of today as “people” and "human beings.” But in turning our thoughts back to them as the time for the holiday which they have given us approaches, we need not hold them in any the less esteem or reverence because of these revelations about them. The concluding chapter of Professor Lawrence's book is an illuminating exposition of that fact. He says; There is n belief, widely prevalent today, that history should be the cringing slave of public policy, rather than its trustworthy guide. Ac- * cording to this belief the facts which history presents should be determined, not by the historians, but by those who are supposed to understand better than they what the public welfare requires of the historic record. Tn particular, there are a great number of persons, grouped in powerful organizations, who are now insisting, even to the point of coercion, that no present-day explorer of cur national or colonial history shall bring to light, and certainly to no widespread public notice, any facts which seem to discredit the traditional and popular view of our heroic and glorious past. The authenticity of the facts is rarely questioned. The propriety of presenting them to the public, or at least of giving them so much prominence. Is often sharply challenged. In anticipation of such a challenge to the facts presented in this little book, a further word beyond what has been said in the preface seems appropriate. First, as to the belief that Clio should be a slave rather than a guide, and that her utterances should be determined, not by her faithful disciples, but by the self-appointed guardians of public welfare. This willingness to substitute mythology for history, and to cling fondly to that which is known to be untrue, is shared by so many admirable people today that the historians of this country have issue! a formal, public protest and warning against it. This warning is in the form of a set of resolutions adopted by the American Historical association, the national society which includes in its membership practically all the leading writers and teachers of history in the L’nited States. Second, as to the damage, if any, done to the Puritan tradition by the facts presented in this book, or by the manner of their presentation, the author’s own profound admiration for many ’of the leaders in early New England has not been lessened in the slightest degree because of the facts he has discovered and related about them. Rather, he has felt reassured to find that behind the myths of impossible, intolerable, unhuman goody-goodi-ness there really were men and women of heroic character and achievement, so abundantly equipped with noble qualities and noble deeds that laudatory lying about them was at best superfluous. Their fame shines all the brighter when the darkness which surrounded them is more adequately revealed. The policy of trying to conceal or to minimize their faults and limitations seems far more likely to produce, in the mind of the presentday schoolboy or citizen, a cautious but cynical skepticism than the desired patriotic reverence, and to deepen the suspicion ot many that all national history is a set of half-truths, more conducive to jingoistic patriotism than to intellectual honesty. However distressing "The Not-Quite Puritans” may be to those who insist on regarding the early New Englander as a fleshless demigod and a haloed ascetic, it may find a welcome with the followers of that eminent son of New England, Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his world-wise remark that "we must have a weak spot or two in a character before we can love it much.”

। pare the prize turkey sent the President. When it appeared, its golden brown plumage, its red head and adornments and its claws had been spared. A slight movement removed all these and the bird, browned to a turn and seething in rich gravies, was disclosed. Within the turkey had been placed a capon, within the capon a pheasant and within the pheasant a grouse. One serving consisted of four delicious meats. —Farm and Fireside. Each man makes his own shipwreck.

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King Grasshopper Has Great Leaping Powers Giant hunting grasshoppers nearly five inches long, that prey on small animals sucl as mice and the young of ground-nesting birds, are found in tiie Congo. They rival the kangaroo as lumpers ami can leap a considerable distance onto their prey. The hunting grasshopper is not so great a leafier in proportion to its size as the king gre«sliopper, tiie young of which, even before its wings are developed, can jump a hundred times its own length. Very set men can cover more than twice their own length in a Jump. The hunting grasshopper is the largest of all grasshoppers. Its great i front lip hides a pair of jaws as effective as a hay-chopper, and its appetite i j makes it a plague to mankind. Absent Minded Again. Professors Wife—Good gracious. Jolin, you've put the hot-water bottle in baby's cot. Where’s baby? Professor (in bed)—Hang it! I was wondering why the hot-water bottle wouldn't keep still.—Answers. Money may not make the man. but that doesn't prevent the man from tryln" to make money.

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