(BayV.o Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/fastthanksgivingOOIoverich At a GOUNCiL held at "Bojlon Septemh. 8* i6jo. |Hc Council taking into their ferious Confideration the low eftate of the Churches of God throughout ihc World > and the increafc of Sin and Evil amongft our fclvc^^ Gods hand following us fon the fame 5 Do thcrcibrc Ap^oiiu the Twtr-oid cvvcmfttitw this inftant Sepembtr to be a Day of Publick Huoiiliadon throughout this Jurifdidion, and do coKimend the fame to the fc vera! Churches, Eldcrj, Minifters and People, folemnly to keep it accordingly : Her:by prohibiting all Servile work on that day. Bv the Council^ fd^E^on Secret.. 4 THE FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS OF NEW ENGLAND BY W. DeLOSS love, Jr., Ph. D. BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 1895 Copyright, 1895, By W. DeLOSS LOVE, Jb. All rights reserved, 7f 3 3 «^ The Riverside PresSy Cambridge^ Mass.^ U. S. A. Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton and Company. TO MY FATHER WBOSB XJTB HAS KXXMPUFISD THB YIBTUS OP HONK8T HUMIIJTT AND MY MOTHER WHOSE OHKERFUL PIXTY HAS BESN A 80NO OP THAKKSGIYIIVO THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED WITH PIUAL APPBCriON PREFACE. Reader, this book aims to place before you the historical facts relating to the Fast and Thanksgiving days which the Fathers of New England have trans- mitted to their children. You will see how religiously they esteemed these institutions, and how rigorously they observed them, but it has not been our purpose to plead for their restoration. We have rather sought to exhibit the pious purpose, persevering courage, and honest faith of those good men, — which surely are as worthy of regard as their oaken chests, spinning-wheels, and warming-pans, — and to show how these days, though changed in outward form, may still survive, — the Fast through the reverence of the churches, and the Thanksgiving through the fellowship of the family circle. Thus, though the days of old seem like antique shapes, we may have the life, and in this we shall best honor the Puritan fore- fathers. Herein you will find set forth the conditions lead- ing to the adoption of the Fast and Thanksgiving system in New England, in place of the holy days of the Church of England, the circumstances under which it was developed, and the reasons for its de- vi PREFACE, cline. It is also seen in operation and is illustrated in successive chapters, which tell the story of promi- nent periods, the days being thus found in their proper historical setting. Many appointments could not be particularly mentioned in the text, but the student is furnished with the data relating thereto in the Calendar and the Bibliography, without which the volume would be incomplete, and he may pursue the study at his pleasure. It has seemed hardly worth while to continue this record later than the year 1815, since the dates have generally followed the established custom in each State, and the sermons printed have had so little reference to the days. Still, the practice itself is traced down to the present time, — the history of the Thanksgiving Day closing with its adoption by the nation, and that of the Fast Day with what seems to us a fair statement of the problem as yet imsolved in several States. The application of the inductive method to histori- cal studies, while it is scientific, has some disadvan- tages. In this instance it has demanded an exhaustive search to recover all the days observed ; and though no pains have been spared in this work, doubtless others will be added to the list. The antiquary can now tell at once whether or not a date, which he may find in some bit of manuscript, is recorded elsewhere. It is not probable, however, that any additions will modify the conclusions arrived at as to the origin of annual appointments, — a subject which coidd only be thoroughly treated by the inductive method. PREFACE. vu We acknowledge with gratitude the courtesy which has permitted the necessary search in the Libraries consulted. They are enumerated in connection with their collections of broadside proclamations and printed Fast and Thanksgiving sermons, many of which are exceedingly rare. The uniform kindness of their Librarians has made the work a pleasant task to the author, and we venture to hope the result may be of some assistance to them. To Hon. J. Ham- mond Triunbull, LL. D., we are indebted for his notes on the " Wolcott Note-book," and to Hon. Charles J. Hoadly, LL. D., for the use of his col- lection of proclamations and other assistance. Ac- knowledgment is made for data furnished from im- printed manuscripts. The work would never have been attempted except for an interest kindled by the resources of the Connecticut Historical Society ; it could not have been accomplished without the use of many treasures in the possession of the American Antiquarian Society and the Massachusetts Historical Society. To these our thanks are rendered, and es- pecially to Hon. Samuel A. Green, M. D., the Li- brarian of the latter, whose personal interest has urged to completion this study, which has engaged vacation hours and odd moments. W. D. L. Hartford, Conn., September 18, 1894. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAOB THE HOLY SEASONS OF THE CHURCH. Christianizing Heathen Festivals in England. — The Multitude of Holy Days. — Equality of the Sabbath and Saints' Days. — Re- view of Early Laws. — The Burden put upon Labor. — Dese- cration of the Lord's Day. — The "Book of Sports." — " May Games ' ' allowed on ajl Holy Days. — Reformation demanded. — Irreligious Keeping of Christmas Day 11 CHAPTER n. THE FEASTS OF CHRIST. The Early Puritans willing to retain Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter in the Calendar. — Refugees at Zurich. — An At- tempt to abolish Saints' Days. — Its Failure in the Convocation of 1562. — Origin of the Proposal to keep the "Feasts of Christ." — Zurich and Geneva. — The Second Helvetic Confes- sion. — Views of English Bishops opposed by Queen Elizabeth. — Pressure for Conformity. — Field and Wilcocks — their " Ad- monition to the Parliament." — Thomas Cartwright. — Genevan System adopted by the Non-conformists 28 CHAPTER III. FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS IN ENGLAND. The Puritans influenced by the Bible. — Their Doctrine of Divine Providence. — Statement of their Position. — Special Days early appointed in England. — Guy Fawkes's Day. — Prac- tice under the Commonwealth. — The Westminster Directory for Public Worship on the Manner of Observance. — Reaction inEngland. — The Twenty-ninth of May, 1660 40 CHAPTER IV. THE FASTS OF THE EXILES. 1595-1620. Separatist Churches. — Robert Browne's Belief and Practice. — Reformed Churches in Holland. — Henry Ainsworth and his 5 CONTENTS. Flock at Amsterdam. — John Smyth. — The Scottish Church at Eotterdam. — Hugh Peter. — Thomas Hooker's Declaration as to " Holy Days and Fast Days." — General Agreement in keep- ing Occasional Days. — John Robinson — his Church observe Fasts at Ley den. — A Farewell Feast at the close of a Fast Day. — Similarity to the Dutch Custom. — A Family Gathering of the Pilgrims 54 CHAPTER V. THE HARVEST FESTIVAL AT PLYMOUTH. 1621. Influence of a New Environment. — The Forefathers give thanks to God. — An Anxious Seed-Sowing. — New England's Wed- ding Feast. — Winslow's Account. — A Harvest Festival and not a Puritan Thanksgiving. — Significance of the Occasion. — The " Bill of Fare." — Supposed Relation to the " Feast of In- gathering." — The Harvest Home of England. — An Inspira- tion of the Pilgrims 68 CHAPTER VI. SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 1623. The Thanksgiving Service of the Church of England different from the Thanksgiving Day. — The Puritan System in Opera- tion. — Misfortunes at Plymouth in 1622. — A Hopeful Plant- ing. — Six Weeks of Drought. — The Governor appoints a Fast Day. — The Englishman's God sends Gentle Showers. — A Public Thanksgiving. — Dates of these Occasions determined. — Subsequent Customs in the Plymouth Colony 78 CHAPTER VII. THE SEA-FASTS OF TWO VOYAGES. 1629-1630. Various Shades of Non-conformity. — A Preference for Certain Days of the Week. — Higginson's Voyage. — Fasts at Salem. — Fellowship of Plymouth. — The Days Winthrop kept at Sea. — A Thanksgiving in all the Plantations. — The Institution established 91 CONTENTS. 3 CHAPTER Vin. THE 0BDEBIN6S OF DIVINE PROVIDENCB IN THE BAY COLONY. 1631-1635. Simple Fare of the Fathers. — Threatened with Starvation. — Winthrop's Foresight and the Relief Ship. — Subsequent Mis- fortunes. — A Drought. — A Welcome to Margaret Winthrop. — Praying for Ministers. — Days observed on account of Af- fairs in Europe 102 CHAPTER IX. A FAST SERMON IN COURT. 1635-1640. Deference paid to "Men of Quality." — Social Conditions. — Ar- rival of Henry Vane. — John Cotton and Ann Hutchinson. — A Fast Day to further Peace. — The Offensive Sermon. — Wheel- wright is banished. — Cotton has a Day of Humiliation, and a Snowstorm arises. — A Lesson in the Virtue of Demo- cracy 114 CHAPTER X. THE BIVER PLANTATIONS. 1635-1640. A Providence at Windsor. — Early Hardships. — Religious As- pects of the Pequot War. — Commemoration of the Victory. — First Thanksgiving Day of Connecticut — October 12, 1637. — A Fast at Windsor and its Story. — John Warham's Sermon. — October Thanksgivings of 1638. — Thomas Hooker's Dis- course. — Humiliation "for England and the Sickness in the Bay." — The Great Flood and its Warning. — A Thanksgiving Appointed by the General Court. — Connecticut's First Harvest Festival 129 CHAPTER XI. TEARS FOR OLD ENGLAND. 1640-1660. Commotions in England. — A Summer Fast Day. — William Hooke's Sermon. — Attitude of New England. — The Date of Hooke's Second Sermon shown to have been April 14, 1642. — CONTENTS. \ Allies in the " BatteU of Antichrist." — Subsequent Fastings. — A Notable Thanksgiving in behalf of England. — Tempting Providence. — " The Christian Commonwealth." — Making Ready for the Restoration 147 CHAPTER XII. DUTCH CUSTOMS IN NEW NETHERLAND. 1643-1664. The Dutch observed Fast and Thanksgiving Days. — Their Holy Seasons. — First Congregation at New Amsterdam. — William Kieft and his Humiliation. — A Thanksgiving for Peace. — Features of the Observance. — " Fasting, Prayer, and Thanks- giving Days." — Later Occasions. — A Study in 1653. — An Annual Thanksgiving proposed. — Influence of these Practices in the Adoption of the National Thanksgiving 162 CHAPTER Xm. PESTS, PLAGUES, AND PRODIGIES. 1640-1670. Supposed Degeneracy of New England and Consequent Calami- ties. — Droughts. — Blasting of Crops. — Visitations of Cater- pillars. — Locusts. — The Hand of God in Sicknesses. — Prodigies portend Evil. — Meaning attached to the Appear- ance of Comets. — Samuel Danforth's "Astronomical Descrip- tion " — A Fast-Day Sermon. — " God's Controversy with New England " 177 CHAPTER XrV. Jacob's trouble in the wilderness. 1675-1676. November Thanksgivings after Dark Days. — Outbreak of King Philip's War. — The People humble themselves. — Ominous Signs. — Fastings fail to wdn Divine Favor. — Massachusetts omits the Thanksgiving Day. — The Tide turns. — An Early Thanksgiving Broadside. — Joseph Rowlandson keeps the Day — a Family Incident. — Connecticut's Course of Thanks- givings.— The 17th of August, 1676, at Plymouth — did it commemorate King Philip's Death ? — Arrival of the " Levia- than's Head " at the Close of the Religious Service 192 CONTENTS. 6 CHAPTER XV. THE REFORMATION FASTS. 1675-1680. A Backslidden Israel. — Increase Mather and the Reformation Laws. — James Fitch follows the Early Practice at Hartford. — " Renewal of Covenant " adopted by Mather. — Part taken by Children in the Exercises. — Mather's Earnest Exhortation. — Covenanting Fasts. — The ** Reforming Synod " sustains Mather^s View. — His Proclamation. — Covenants employed. — Results of the Movement 205 CHAPTER XVI. THK CONFLICrr OF AUTHORITIES. 1684-1692. Anthority for Appointments primarily vested in the Churches. — Ministers write the Proclamations. — Gradual Transfer of Au- thority to the State. — A Troublesome Question — who shall order a Thanksgpiving ? — It becomes a Party Issue. — Revival of Interest in English Holidays. — Andros censures the Minis- ters for assuming Autliority. — Increase Mather remembers it. — Andros makes Obnoxious Appointments. — Old Customs restored 221 CHAPTER XVIL THE ANNUAL 8PRINQ FAST AND THE AUTUMN THANKSOIVINO. 1620-1694. Presumption against the Annual System. — Erroneous Opinions. *- — When did the Thanksgiving Day become Annual ? — Eccle- siastical and Civil Authority in Plymouth Colony. — Annual Appointments developed in Connecticut. — Massachusetts. — When did the Fast Day become Annual ? — Practice in Plymouth Colony. — Elarly Adoption in Connecticut. — Massa- chusetts prefers Occasional Fasts. — Her Spring Fast Annual since 1694. — Old and New System 239 CHAPTER XVIII. THE WITCHCRAFT FASTS. 1692-1696. Private Fasts at Salem kindle Fanaticism. — The Preaching of Samuel Parris. — A General Fast at a Critical Time. — Atti- ; CONTENTS. tude of the Ministers. — Cotton Mather's Sermon. — He relies on Fasting and Prayer. — A Convocation of Ministers to check the Prosecutions. — Effect of the Bill. — Cotton Mather's Re- jected Proclamation. — Samuel Sewall's Confession 256 CHAPTER XIX. THE JUDGMENTS AND MERCIES OF INDIAN WARFARE. 1688-1713. Prayers for Soldiers gone forth to War. — Several Expeditions. — Captain Church's Successes are greeted with Humiliation. — Attacks upon the Frontier Settlements. — Appointments in New Hampshire. — Assault on Deerfield. — " Clouds return after the Rain." — A Court Fast. — 111 News and a Rain- bow. — "Hammering out" a Proclamation on account of Peace 270 CHAPTER XX. THE TERROR OF THE LORD. 1727-1755. The Divine Voice in Earthquakes. — Surprise of a Sabbath Night. — Startling Effects. — A Call to Prayer in Boston. — Cotton Mather's Warning to a Terrified Audience. — Lecture Fasts. — Religious Impressions produced. — Earthquake of 1755. — Changed Conditions. — The Excitement soon subsides. — A,Scientific Explanation 285 CHAPTER XXI. THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 1744-1749. 1755-1760. Reinforcements and Humiliations. — Expedition against Louis- burg. — Earnestness in Prayer. — Rejoicing over a Victory. — Historical Sermons preached. — War against the Eastern In- dians. — Thanksgiving for the Pretender's Defeat. — "Salva- tions of God in 1746." — The Hostile Fleet scattered. — Campaigns of 1755. — All the Colonies keep Fasts. — Thanks- givings for the Reduction of Cape Breton and the FaU of Quebec. — Religious View of the War 299 CONTENTS. T CHAPTER XXII. SPELLS OF WEATHER. 1717-1749. Predictions of the Almanac. — Has the Climate of New Eng- land moderated ? — The Blizzard of 1717 and its Consequences. — Churches turn to Fasting and Prayer. — Homiletic Use of the Storm by Eliphalet Adams. — The Extreme Drought of 1749. — Manuscript Fast Sermon by Thomas Prince. — His Thanksgiving Sermon. — Prevailing View of Divine Chastise- ments • 314 CHAPTER XXm. THE AMEBICAN REVOLUTION. 1765-1783. "Civil and Religious Liberties." — The Stamp Act. — Feeling among the Ministers. — Thanksgivingfs for the Repeal. — Loy- alist Proclamations in Massachusetts. — The Boston Port Bill. — Governor Gage refuses to order a Fast and the Ministers set a Day. — Patriotic Preachers. — Connecticut Fasts on the IDth of April, 1775. — Appointments by the Continental Congress. — Eleazar Wheelock keeps the Wrong Day. — Subsequent Days observed. — The First Continental Thanksgiving. — After Many Days a Thanksgiving for Peace 328 CHAPTER XXIV. THE GOOD FRIDAY FAST IN CONNECTICUT. 1795-1797. Liberal Sentiment in Connecticut. — Good Friday Fasts in New Hampshire. — Attitude of Episcopalians. — Washington sets a Thanksgiving in Lent. — Disregard for the Day in New Lon- don. — "The Churchman's Apology" by Bishop Seabury. — He objects to Fasts in Easter Week. — The Difficulties ex- plained in a Reply. — Governor Huntington sets the Fast on Good Friday in 1795. — A Protracted Controversy. — Governor Wolcott's Appointments. — The Good Friday Fast established in 1797 347 8 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXV. THE POLITICAL FAST IN MASSACHUSETTS. 1789-1799. Religious, Historical, and Political Fast Days. — Position and In- fluence of the Clergy. — They are drawn into Politics. — Samuel Adams's Proclamation omits Mention of the Federal Government. — David Osgood's Sermon. — Federalist Ministers in Massachusetts. — Reply to Osgood. — Political Sermons of February 19, 1795. — Misfortunes of a Democrat. — Sermons ' as Campaign Documents. — Jedidiah Morse arraigns the II- luminati. — Ministers denounced. — The sjequel 362 CHAPTER XXVI. THE PROCLAMATIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. 1811-1815. Practices in the New England States. — Character of Proclama- tions. — Governor Gerry's Partisan Paragraph. — He is cen- sured by Rev. Elijah Parish. — The Governor replies. — Po- litical Preachers stigmatized in a Proclamation. — Election Day. — The Federalists have an Opportunity. — Governor Strong's Proclamations condemned. — National Appointments on Account of the War 379 CHAPTER XXVII. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY. Extent of the Observance in the United States. — A Cherokee Proclamation. — Early Acceptance of the Institution by the Indians. — Forces making for its National Adoption. — The Principle of Union. — Influence of Appointments by the Conti- nental Congress. — First National Thanksgiving Day December 18, 1777. — Congress discusses the Subject in 1789. — Early Presidential Appointments. — The Civil War. — An Annual Harvest Festival since 1863 395 CHAPTER XXVIII. LAWS AND CUSTOMS. Fast and Thanksgiving Days regarded as Sabbaths by the Fathers. — Early Laws and Subsequent Modifications. — Cus- CONTENTS. 9 toms pertaining to Fast Day. — The Harvest Festival devel- oped by Home Life. — Growth of the Feast. — An Ideal New ^ England Thanksgiving 410 CHAPTER XXIX. THE PRINTER AND THE PROCLAMATION. Rarity of Broadsides. — Transmission of the Written Order. — Printing becomes Necessary. — First Printed Proclamation of Connecticut in 1709. — Early Massachusetts Broadsides. — Their Appearance. — The Seal. — Provincial Broadsides. — Proclamations during the American Revolution. — Present Style in Massachusetts dates from 1784. — Many Printers in Connecticut. — Press of William Bradford. — Early Broad- sides in Other New England States 430 CHAPTER XXX. THE RETURN TO THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. Fast Day abolished in Massachusetts. — Patriots' Day. — How ^ the Change was brought about. — Observance of Good Friday left to the Churches. — Influence of the Action in Massachu- setts. — Conditions in Connecticut. — The Good Friday Fast a bond of Christian Unity. — General Acceptance of the Proposal to keep ''The Feasts of Christ." 446 Addenda. — A Thanksgiving on the Arrival of the Pilgrims . . 457 Abbreviations 460 Some Sources of Information 461 Calendar 464 Bibliography 515 Index of Bibliography 599 General Index 603 FACSIMILE ILLUSTRATIONS. PAaa A Fast Day Proclamation of 1670, being the earliest New England broadside proclamation known . Frontispiece A Proclamation for the Thanksgiving Day in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, June 29, 1676 . . . 200 A Proclamation for the Fast Day in Connecticut, June 29, 1709, being the first broadside proclamation printed in the Colony 432 UNIVERSITY THE FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS OF NEW ENGLAND. CHAPTER I. THE HOLY SEASONS OF THE CHURCH. When Gregory the Great, in the year 596, dis- patched Augustine on his mission to Ethelbert, king of Kent, he sent with him the ecclesiastical observances of the Roman Church. The policy adopted in dealing with the customs of the Anglo-Saxons was that of substituting some Christian festival for a heathen feast, allowing much in the pagan manner of celebrat- ing it to remain, " to the end that," as that Pope ex- pressed it, " whilst some gratifications are outwardly permitted them they may the more easily consent to the inward consolations of the grace of God." ^ Thus it was, that many barbaric customs and ceremonies were invited to attach themselves to Christian festivals. In niunerous instances the former were altered only in purpose, and that after the lapse of years. The Saxons, in common with many of the northern na- tions, had their Yule-feast at the winter solstice, which was doubtless even then hallowed in sim wor- ship by fhe fiery sun-wheel and the blazing Yule-log. They had the festival of Easter, many believe, about the vernal equinox, and probably also a celebration at 1 Bede, b. 1, c. 30. 12 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, the summer solstice. Around their temples they built for themselves huts of the boughs of trees and there held high carnival. These and other pagan observ- ances being permitted, the Christian calendar easily obtained recognition, and thereafter the holy seasons of England were ordered by the Catholic Church, with such additions as local saints might suggest, and under certain regulations enacted by English kings and bishops. It is first of all necessary to obtain some conception of the extent and evils of the system which the Puri- tans opposed, as that was the reason why they rejected it and substituted their fast and thanksgiving days. A lamented master of the historical literature of the time. Dr. Henry M. Dexter, has given us, in his description of "the darkness and the dawn," a sum- mary as to holy days, which we cannot do better than quote. He says, " On more than one quarter of the secular days of the year it [the church] forbade all persons over twelve years of age to taste food until three o'clock in the afternoon, besides prohibiting all to eat on the eves of most festival days. On the other hand it set aside nearly one half of the year on various pretexts as festival time. And when it is re- membered that on all these holy days the people were compelled to attend church under severe penal- ties, it will be seen how great was the tax put thus upon the industry of the land." ^ This, however, does not fully state our case, for the primary objection of the Non-conformists was to the desecration of the Lord's Day, which had come about through its equal- ity with saints' days, as the tyranny of the church re- ^ Congregationalism as seen in its Literature^ p. 26. THE HOLY SEASONS OF THE CHURCH. 13 acted to the permission of labor and recreations during holy seasons. They contended most strenuously for the Sabbath, which they found it impossible to rescue from abuses except by rejecting other ecclesiastical festivals, which, in themselves, they would have been willing to retain. Let us briefly trace the growth of these evils by an examination of the civil laws relating to holy seasons. Perhaps the first English law on the subject was that of Ina, king of the West Saxons, A. D. 693, which forbade working on the Lord's Day. '' If a master obliges his slave to work on the Lord's Day, he shall pay thirty shillings fine, and the slave be set free; but if the slave presumes to work without his master's order he shall be flogged, or purchase exemption by a fine. A freeman guilty of the like offense is either to lose his liberty or pay sixty shillings. A priest in- curs a double penalty." ^ In the canons of the Coun- cil of Berkhampsted, A. D. 697, — which, by the bye, note the holy season as continuing from sunset of Saturday to sunrise of Monday, — there is a provision against traveling on the Lord's Day ; and the same was repeated by the Council of Clovishoff, A. D. 747, under the Archbishop of Canterbury, and was implied in the constitutions of Egbert, Archbishop of York, A. D. 749. It will be noticed that these laws apply only to the Sabbath. But Alfred, A. D. 887, when he prescribed a double penalty for thieving, included in the prohibition Christmas and Easter. A few years later, A. D. 906, when Edward the Elder made a treaty with Guthriun, not only was trading forbidden on the Lord's Day, but working on that or any other ^ Spelman, Concilia, i. 183. 14 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, feast day. This was the law : " The Dane who trades on the Lord's Day shall forfeit the article and pay a fine of twelve pence. The Englishman shall pay thirty shillings. The freeman who does any work on any feast day shall be reduced to servitude or pay a fine." 1 These same laws were in force in the time of Canute, A. d. 1032, and he revived the penalties which several Saxon bishops had omitted. We may infer that holy seasons were then very strictly re- garded from the fact that, throughout most of this period, laws, either of Frankish or Roman origin, were in existence against huntings, banquetings, " idle stories and talkings," songs, dances, standing at the corners of the streets and in the open places, " the profane canticles of the Gentiles," games and " devil- ish mimicries." Surely these Saxon Blue-Laws were equal to anything ever enacted in New England. At- tendance was required, not only upon the services of the Sabbath, but upon matins, mass, and vespers. Ec- clesiastical usages which were early in vogue were en- joined by the civil law, such as abstinence from food and marriage ceremonies. It was the treaty above mentioned which stipulated that " if a freeman shall break an appointed fast by taking food he shall be subject both to a fine and the penalty of the violation of the law," and this applied to the Lenten fast, Ember days, and all other appointed fasts. Furthermore, these holy seasons were judicial holi- days, and had been so since the treaty of Edward, which said, "Let there be no trials, neither let any one be sworn on feast days or the appointed fasts." The increase of such days in the time of Canute and 1 Spelman, Concilia^ i. 391. THE HOLY SEASONS OF THE CHURCH 15 under Edward the Confessor indicates very clearly the tendency toward an extension of holy seasons.^ In the main these early laws continued on the statute- books throughout the Norman period of English his- tory. William the Conqueror was quite content to leave the ecclesiastics to themselves and reenact the laws of Edward the Confessor. The same is true of the early Plantagenet kings. During the reign of John, however, there was a general revival in the ob- servance of holy seasons. It was furthered by a celestial mandate said to have been found on Mount Golgotha in Jerusalem, which an abbot brought to England preaching a crusade against popular viola- tions of holy times. Such a revelation could not but make a more powerful impression on the people of that age than the laws themselves. It enjoined the keeping of Sunday and the festivals of the saints under penalty of showers of stones and hot water, ravenous beasts, and final destruction by pagan hordes, from which they had only been kept by the prayers of the most holy mother Mary. Such a movement furnishes conclusive evidence of this im- portant fact that, in the twelfth century, the reaction against the bondage of ecclesiasticism had attained considerable proportions. The early Saxon laws, originally designed to secure the sanctity of the Sab- bath, had been applied first to Christmas and Easter and afterward to all the festivals and fasts of the church, and these had been so multiplied that the people were compelled by the necessities of agricul- ture or trade, and their natural craving for amuse- ments, to establish their markets even on the Lord's 1 See Feasts and Fasts, E. V. Neale. 16 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Day, — no more sacred in their practices than saints' days, — and upon all holidays to indulge in diversions hostile to attendance upon church services. We are able also to understand the struggle of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries between the ecclesiastics and this laxity among the people. The church set herself against labors of the most trivial character. Attend- ance at markets on holy days was denounced under the threat of anathemas. But in the end, the people, who could not lessen the days, so far influenced the church that labor and recreations were tolerated. The Reformation began in the sixteenth century. To put the matter in a few words, the situation forced an amelioration of the condition of the people. Sov- ereigns like Henry VIII. and EUzabeth sought to bring it about by repealing the statutes or tolerat- ing markets and shows during holy seasons. Some of the Puritans staked their hopes on a revision of the calendar. These movements accomplished much, at least in an economic reform, but they did not rescue the Lord's Day from its sacrilege. This the Dissent- ers did by distinguishing it from other holy days, which at last they were compelled to reject altogether. When Henry VIII. assumed the supremacy of the church, he abolished aU those feasts or holidays wliich came in harvest time, and certain others. He declared that the number of hoHdays had become so excessive that it was prejudicial to the commonwealth, not only increasing idleness, but resulting in the destruction of crops " in not taking th' oportunitie of good and se- rene wheather offered upon the same in time of har- vest." i An attempt was also made to decrease the 1 Wilkins, Concilia, iii. 823. THE HOLY SEASONS OF THE CHURCH 17 popular veneration of the saints, but customs genera- tions old could not be so easily uprooted. However, his reign was an economic success, and it prepared the way for the retention of the Christian calendar in the Church of England. Edward VI., though he entered more into the true spirit of the Reformation, made substantially no alter- ation in the calendar, which he republished in the Book of Prayer. There was a tendency toward a less strict observance of festivals, the Lord's Day being classed with the rest. In the preamble to his act of 1552, setting forth " The Booke of Common Prayer," it was enacted that it shoidd be " lawfid to every hus- bandman, labourer fisherman and to all and every other person of what estate, degree or condition he be, upon the holy days aforesaid in harvest, or any other time of the year when necessity shall require, to la- bour, ride, fish or work any kind of work at their free wills and pleasures." Thomas Fuller, in speaking of the fact that the Lord's Day was included with other holy days in the injunctions of Edward VI., takes oc- casion to thank God that the Reformation was progres- sive. It was so in the Church of England, and he judges with partiality who ascribes all the honors of subsequent reforms to the Non-conformists. Various attempts were made by churchmen to restore the sanc- tity of the Sabbath. For instance, during Elizabeth's reign a measure was tlu^own out for the postponement of fairs and markets from Sunday to the next working day. Similar legislation was attempted in the reign of James I., but was imsuccessful. As for Elizabeth, she did not restore the act of Edward VI. which Mary had repealed. She was disinclined to follow either of 18 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. them, and more willing than they to tolerate labor and amusements. She even by a distinct act placed the Lord's Day and saints' days on the same footing.^ Her reforms pertained principally to conduct during time of service. She refused to check the desecration of the Sabbath by revels, sports, and the like, which ran high during her reign; indeed, she encouraged them.2 Had she adopted the more liberal and reli- gious measures proposed by her own bishops, the outcome might have been different. But she vacil- lated, and when undecided did nothing. And all the while the Non-conformist sentiment was increasing in strength, conceived and nurtured as it was in antag- onism to this equal regard for the Sabbath and saints' days. Such being the state of affairs in the reign of James I., we cannot be surprised either at the appearance of his " Book of Sports," or the sensation which it made. It happened in this wise : In the summer of 1617 the king was journeying homeward from Scotland, where his stay had not been altogether agreeable, for the Presbyterians were not at all incKned to coincide with his views on Episcopacy. Perhaps he had not been pleasantly impressed with their strict observance of Sunday, and was the more willing to encourage a laxity in accord with his own practices.^ The royal company were indeed having a jolly time of it, travel- 1 1 Eliz. c. 2. 2 Gibson, Codex Juris, etc., pp. 236, 242 ; Wilkins, Concilia, iv. 255 ; Neal, Hist, of Puritans, i. 390, 391 ; Cardwell, Documentary Annals. ^ Upon one occasion, when James was in Scotland, he appointed on a Saturday a feast for the following Monday for the entertainment of two French ambassadors. The ministers of Edinburgh on the Sabbath made that Monday a fast. — The Phenix, ii. 295. THE HOLY SEASONS OF THE CHURCH. 19 ing by easy stages, hunting in the forests, entertained at sumptuous banquets, and amused by the players and musicians who formed a part of the king's suite. Thus they came to Lancashire, where the Papists, who were quite numerous, made his visit the opportunity for complaining that they were much oppressed by the prohibiting of their amusements on the Lord's Day after divine service. James was in the right humor to grant their petition, which he did the more readily in the hope of winning the popish recusants. Four days thereafter he gave his petitioners a fair example of the Sabbath observance which he favored. We learn from the private journal of one Nicholas Asshe- ton tha^i the programme for August 17 was as fol- lows : " Hoghton. Wee served the Lords with bis- kett, wyne and jeUie. The Bishopp of Chester, Dr. Morton, preached before the King. To Dinner. About 4 o'clock there was a rush-bearmg and Pipeing afore the King in the Middle Court. Then to supp. Then, about 10 or 11 o'clock a Maske of Noble- men, Knights, Gentlemen, and Courtiers, afore the King in the middle round in the garden. Some Speeches ; of the rest dancing the Huckles, Tom Bedlo and the Cowp Justice of the Peace." ^ The royal license was at once abused, so that the king, on the 24th of May, 1618, was led to issue his "Decla- ration concerning Lawfull Sports," hoping to correct the unwarranted disturbance of worship, and at the same time allay the excitement which had been occa- sioned. It is sufficient to quote a single paragraph to show what amusements were permitted : " Our plea- sure Hkewise is. That, after the end of Divine Service, 1 The King's Book of Sports, L. A. Govett, p. 33. 20 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Our good people be not disturbed, letted or discour- aged from any lawfull recreation, Such as dancing, either of men or women. Archery for men, leaping, vaulting, or any other such harmlesse Recreation, nor from having of May Games, Whitson Ales, and Mor- ris-dances, and the setting up of May-poles, and other sports therewith used, so as the same be had in due and convenient time, without impediment or neglect of Divine Service : And that women shall have leave to carry rushes to the Church for the decoring of it, according to their old custome." Bear and bull bait- ing, which were practiced on other days, were forbid- den on Sundays, — a law, by the way, which was not enforced. To win the right to indulge in the above sports, one had only to attend service in the morning. It does not appear that the " Book of Sports " was com- manded, to be read in the churches ; some read it and others did not. But it was interpreted as the future law of the Sabbath. The Puritans, including many worthy ministers of the church which called the king the " defender of the faith," were greatly incensed. The royal prerogative was found to be fighting hor- nets with straw in most desperate fashion. Not until the damage had been done, and it was too late to re- pair it, did the king see his mistake. The Pilgrims were already preparing to spread the white sails of the Mayflower for the voyage to the western world. Thousands of their Puritan brethren had become weary of the struggle to establish their ideals in Eng- land and were ready to follow them. And so the sane- tity of the New England Sabbath was born. The amusements allowed in the " Book of Sports " give us some conception of the provocation which our THE HOLY SEASONS OF THE CHURCH. 21 forefathers liad. Dancing is prominently mentioned, from which cause it was called the " Dancing Book." The word gave license to many dances of an athletic character, such as sword-dancing and rope-dancing, performed by traveling joculators, of which Strutt gives a very full description.^ But promiscuous dances of men and women are primarily meant, and these were very popular at that time. The court of King James, where Buckingham was facile princeps in the art, had set a fashion for which the peasantry had a gi*eat Uking, but in which they quite neglected courtly manners. The pillow on which " Joan " and "John Sanderson" were accustomed to kneel, and offer salutations as they were welcomed to the " prinkimi-prankum " dancers in the ring, was vastly more popular than the hard floor of the parish church.2 Some of the prevailing immodest customs would scarcely bear recording. Dances were often the screen of rioting and drunkenness even in the churchyard. " The priestes, and clerkes to daunce have no shame ; The frere or monke in his frocke and cowle Must daunce, and the doctor lepeth to play the foole." No religious person could witness such scenes, follow- ing hard upon the most solenm ritual of worship, with any complacency. Archery was originally ordered by law in each parish as a military exercise. The plea of desecration alone was raised against it, and the same may be said of " leaping " and " vaulting." It was claimed that such sports dissipated Sabbath-day impressions. 1 Strutt's Sports and Pastimes^ c. 5. 2 Brand's Popular Antiquities, Bohn, ii. 162. 22 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. The "May games" often appear in early New England history as the particular aversion of the forefathers. They stood for much in the way of im- moral practices. We may fitly give Philip Stubs's own description, found in his '^ Anatomic of Abuses : " " Against Maie day, Whitsunday, or some other time of the year, every parish, towne, or village, assemble themselves, both men, women, and children ; and either all together, or dividing themselves into companies, they goe some to the woods and groves, some to the hills and mountaines, some to one place, some to another, where they spend all the night in pleasant pastimes, and in the morning they return, bringing with them birche boughes and branches of trees to deck their assemblies withal. But their chief est jewel they bring from thence is the Maie-pole, which they bring home with gi*eat veneration, as thus — they have twentie or fourtie yoake of oxen, every oxe hav- ing a sweete nosegaie of flowers tied to the tip of his homes, and these oxen drawe home the May-poale, their stinking idol rather, which they cover all over with flowers and hearbes, bound round with strings from the top to the bottome, and sometimes it was painted with variable colours, having two or three hundred men, women, and children following it with great devotion. And thus equipped it was reared with handkerchiefs and flagges streaming on the top. They strawe the ground round about it, they bind green boughs about it, they set up summer halles, bowers and arbours hard by it and then fall they to banquetting and feasting, to leaping and dancing about it, as the heathen people did at the dedication of their idoUs." The " May games " played about #t^" THE HOLY SEASONS OF THE CHURCH. 23 this fantastic symbol of the goddess Flora are too numerous for recital. ^ Puritan indictments were not always just, though doubtless the charges brought against the immorality of the season were believed by them. It could hardly have been true, as Thomas Hall said in his ''Downfall of May-Games," that ^^\^ none but " ignorants, atheists, papists, drunkards, ^ ^ swearers, swash-bucklers, maid-marrions, morrice-dan- cers, maskers, munmiers, May-pole stealers, healths drinkers, gamesters, lewd men, light women," and the like observed the festivities of the May Day. But it is beyond dispute that in the main the accusation was true. And these May games were allowed on the Sabbath as upon the most solemn festival days. It was Latimer who went once to a certain church to preach on a holy day and found the good people all gone a Maying and the church locked. In the first " Admonition to the Parliament," 1571, the minister is represented as hurrying through the service because '' some games are to be played in the afternoone, as lying for the Whetstone, heathenishe dauncing for the ring, a Beare or a Bull to be bayted or else Jacke an apes to be ryde on horse backe, or an enterlude to be playde, and if no place else can bee gotten it must bee doone in the church." The literature of the Puritans is full of the details of such desecration of the Sab- bath and churches. A Conformist thus arraigns the church : " Goe to Alehouses on the Sabboth dayes, there is as well solde all kinde of loosenesse as vict- uals. Goe to Greenes, there is myrth that would wound a Christian man's heart with heauinesse. Goe ^ See Brand's Popular Antiquities, i. 212-247 ; Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, Intro, c. xxxiv. and b. iv. c. 3, §§ 15-20. 24 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, to Fayres, there is a shew and trafficke, as well of all lewdnesse as of wares. . . . The Theatres, Parish gar- den, Tauernes, streetes, fields all full and prophanely occupied and this chiefly on the Sabboth day." ^ Against all this our forefathers stood, — the enlight- ened, industrious, refined, and moral as well as reli- gious people of their age. They could not discover the appropriateness of commemorating the deaths of the foremost apostles in a heathen fashion. That they entertained a reverence for the descent of the Holy Spirit out of harmony with Whitsun-ales is no reflec- tion upon their characters. The chief contribution of the parishioner to this holy festival was strong ale, and the most virtuous was he who could " get the soonest to it and spend the most at it ; " and the rol- licking games grew boisterous, and round and round whirled the morris-dancer, whose tinkling bells, fring- ing his clownish garments, bore no inscription, " Holi- ness unto the Lord." The forefathers have been fairly hooted at because they were opposed to the observance of Christmas. Well, let the reader return to their times, and station himself in a Fleet Street Inn on a Christmas eve. The way without is obstructed with roistering crowds. Wandering minstrels are playing their ditties; the showman is at his entertainment. It is high carnival, and all sorts of iniquity have had a liberty conferred upon them by the law, since it is Christmas time. There comes a company of shouting revelers bearing the Yule-log, to lay with all ceremony in the great fire- place of the inn, and to dance about the fire like their 1 The TJnlawfull Practices of Prelates, A Parte of a Register, p. 288. See, also, pp. 36, 63. THE HOLY SEASONS OF THE CHURCH. 25 Saxon ancestors from whom they derived the custom. The wassail-bowl on the inn table is emptied and filled as the night advances. Gambling is there, and everywhere, unrestricted. Their merriment is only interrupted to rush to the windows and greet the bands of singers, who know well what impure baUads will best answer the purpose of carols for the crowd without and the auditors within. If their taste rises so high, they may sing of Christ as the Lord of Mis- rule: — * ' The darling of the world is come, And fit it is, we find a roome To welcome him. The nobler part Of all the house here is the heart, Which we will give him ; and bequeath This hollie and this ivie wreath To do him honour, who 's our King, And lord of all this revelling." But is it thought that we shall find in the church on the morrow a quiet resting-place of solemn wor- ship ? We might attend the chiu'ch near by. The service would advance with some degree of order, but in the midst of it we might hear the approaching Lord of Misrule and his companions. And this, in the words of a chronicler of the time, is what might happen : " Then marche this heathen company to- wards the church and churchyard, their pipers piping, drummers thundering, their bells jyngling, their hobby horses and other monsters skirmishing amongst the crowd, and in this sort they goe into the church, (though the minister bee at prayer or preaching,) dancing and swinging their handkerchiefs over their heads . . . with such a confused noise that no man can hear his own voice. Then the foolish people, they 26 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. look, they stare, they laugh, they fleer, and mount upon forms and pews to see these goodly pageants solem- nized in this sort. Then after this about the church they go again and again, and so forth into the church- yard, where they have commonly their banquetting houses set up." ^ Thus the Lord of Misrule invades the sanctuary ; and if any reverent person remains to conclude the service, no sooner is the Nunc dimittis sung, — " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation," — than some lusty Christmas-keeper of the congregation shouts aloud his response : — "Yule, yule, yule. Three puddings in a pule Crack nuts and cry yule." This is what Christmas stood for in those " good old times." Our forefathers looked with horror upon such sacrilege. They would have a reformation in the keeping of holy seasons. The authorities of the mother church attempted it, but with a weak hand and poor success. A little company of Non-conform- ist saints undertook to indicate some of the causes for such a state of affairs, and they were cast into prison for their pains. By one of those bitter sar- casms of which liistory is guilty, they were there, languishing in filth and half starved, on the very day that Elizabeth was solemnly washing the feet of the poor in remembrance of the Lord. It is indeed surprising that our fathers left behind them their prayer-books when they came to New 1 Anatomie of Abuses j Philip Stubs; Brand's Pop. Antiq., l^Ol-- 503. THE HOLY SEASONS OF THE CHURCH, 27 England, but the way in wMch they shook the dust of centuries off their feet, in renouncing customs which they had loved from childhood, when once they felt the deck beneath them, is nothing short of a histori- cal phenomenon. CHAPTER n. THE FEASTS OF CHKIST. It is a popular impression that the Puritans, from the first, cherished an intense hatred for Christmas- keeping. This is doubtless true of those who came to New England, the earliest of whom belonged to the third generation of those who bore the name. But such an opinion is an unjust reflection upon those who labored for reform in the early days of Queen Elizabeth. It should be modified by a more particu- lar study of the situation into which they were forced by the intolerance of the mother church. The fact is, that many of the early Puritans, in the hope of re- forming popular abuses, were willing to retain the observance of Christmas, Easter, and certain other festivals commemorative of Christ, though they de- sired the abrogation of saints' days. These festivals were known as the " Feasts of Christ." Had this been granted them, the calendar of the Church of Eng- land would thus have been still further reformed, and might now afford a practical basis for the union of Christian churches in their observance of ecclesias- tical festivals, for to a considerable extent modern usages conform to this principle of the early Puri- tans. In the decay of the Fast Day and the later de- velopment of the Thanksgiving Day, it is believed that the descendants of the Puritans may with wisdom and dignity return to this earlier principle, the heep- THE FEASTS OF CHRIST, 29 ing of the Feasts of Christ, This was a compromise between the reformed calendar of the EngKsh Church and the practices of the Presbyterians, though it did not arise as such, and, whether fortunately or unfor- tunately, soon sank into obscurity. The former re- tained the saints' days and the latter rejected all, in- cluding Christmas and Easter. It is now our purpose to show how this middle way of the early Puritans arose, and how it failed of adoption. We are introduced to the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It is presumed that Holinshed fairly represents the best reformed sentiment, and therefore his own state- ment is here given : " Our holie and festiuall dales are verie well reduced also vnto a lesse nimiber ; for whereas (not long since) we had vnder the pope foure score and fifteene called festiuall and thirtie called Profesti, beside the simdaies, they are all brought vnto seauen and twentie : and with them the super- fluous numbers of idle waks, guilds, fraternities, church-ales, helpe-ales and soide-ales, called also dirge- ales, with the heathenish rioting at bride-ales, are well diminished and laid aside. And no great matter were it if the feasts of all our apostles, euangelists and martyrs, with that of all saints were brought to the holie daies that follow vpon Christmasse, Easter and Whitsuntide ; and those of the virgine Marie, with the rest vtterlie remooued from the calendars, as neither necessarie nor commendable in a reformed church." 1 This opinion, however, was not " to the manor born." The English reformers had been satis- fied with the revision of the calendar, hoping that time would correct many abuses which they depre- ^ Holinshed's Chronicles, ed. 1807, i. 233. 30 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. cated. But when Queen Mary came to the throne, those who were so fortunate as to escape her blazmg fagots found a refuge at the Protestant centres on the continent. There they witnessed the freer system and simpler discipline of the Reformed churches. They lived in companionship with the noblest minds of Geneva and Zurich, with whom they afterwards maintained a correspondence, greatly to the profit of the Reformation in England.^ When the news of the bloody persecutor's death reached them in their exile, they returned homeward like the redeemed of Baby- lon, in great expectation of the future. It was a considerable importation of Calvinistic theology ; but as questions of doctrine were at the time quiescent in England, no differences arose among them. But in respect to church government, and forms and ceremo- nies, they had been under the most positive influ- ences. Unconsciously it may be, yet nevertheless very decidedly, those who had been domiciled among the hospitable people of Zurich had come to accept the views of that most remarkable and sadly forgotten man, Henry Bullinger, who had been and still was " the sponsor of the English Reformation." 2 The affection in which he was held is scattered like per- fume throughout the letters of Jewel, Parkhurst, Horn, Pilkington, and Cox, who became bishops upon their return, and of Sandys and Grindal, who attained the honor of archbishops. These men, and many others of lesser note, could not but compare the sim- ple service at Zurich with the cathedral splendor of the EngKsh ritual. Being in the current of reform, 1 Parker Society, Zurich Letters. 2 Hist, of Early Puritans, J. B. Marsden, p. 17. THE FEASTS OF CHRIST. 31 nothing was more natural than that they should deter- mitie to follow the example of their friends at Zurich, and rid the church of " the last degrading vestiges of popery." ^ Archbishop Parker, more than any one man, it has been said, was responsible for Non-conformity. One of his early labors was, as Neal expresses it, to " set- tle the Kalendar," and this he did by prescribing les- sons for the whole ecclesiastical year, which had not been done before. On the 13th of January, 1562, the Convocation met at St. Paul's. After they had finished the review of the doctrines of the church, re- ducing them to the Thirty-nine Articles, they took up the discipline. A paper was presented in the House covering seven points. The last reads as fol- lows : " That all Saints Days, Festivals, and Holidays bearing the Name of a Creature may be abrogated ; or at least a Commemoration only of them reserved by Sermons, Homilies or Common Prayer for the better instructing the People in history, and that after ser- vice men may go to work." These articles were signed, be it noted, by some of the most prominent churchmen of England, thirty-three in number, deans, archdeacons, and proctors.^ Strype signifi- cantly says : " These divines were biased (most of whom had been in exile) towards those platforms which were received in the reformed churches where they had a little before sojourned." This was true, and it is the point we emphasize. A few days there- 1 The Pilgrim Fathers, Bartlett, p. 15. 2 Neal's Hist, of Puritans, i. 180-182 ; Strype's Annals, i. 1. 500- 502. Both these authors give a list of the signers. See, also, Mars- den's Hist, of Early Puritans, p. 44; Peirce's Vindication of the Dissenters, pp. 53-55. 32 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. after — these seven requests not finding general favor — another set of six articles was introduced in the House, supported, it seems, by the same party with some others. The first article reads as follows : " That all Sundays in the Year, and principal Feasts of Christ, be kept Holidays ; and that all other Holi- days be abrogated." This was the same in substance as the former, but more concise in expression. In the debate which followed, the two parties were distinctly represented, one the Zurich exiles, the other those who resented the adoption of foreign customs, prefer- ring to follow the example of their own reformers, Ridley and Cranmer. Probably this article would have met the same fate had it stood alone. In the vote, from which some were absentees, forty-three were found in favor and thirty-five against it ; but in the counting of proxies it was lost by a majority of one, fifty-eight being in favor and fifty-nine op- posed. So worthy a cause fell hy the hlow of one praicy I It was a feeble victory for Archbishop Parker, but enough to encourage his pressure for conformity, resulting, as the sequel shows, in the re- jecting of Christmas and Easter by the Non-con- formists. Let us now turn back and trace this system of keep- ing the Feasts of Christ to its source. This is the more important because we discover in the person of John Calvin the chief of those influences which subse- quently moved Thomas Cartwright in England and John Knox in Scotland to declare for the abrogation of all ecclesiastical festivals and the keeping only of the Lord's Day. " Henry BuUinger," says Thomas Fuller, " was the THE FEASTS OF CHRIST. 33 most excellent of all tlie divines that Switzerland yielded." i " Never could worth lodge in a richer breast." His scholarly attainments and moderate temper won the affection of all, to the great enlargement of liis influence. The views he held concerning the outward reform of ceremonies were less radical than those of his Genevan neighbors. Farel and Viret had there abolished all festivals before the coming of Calvin, and they are to be regarded as the forerunners of the Non-conformists in this respect. Calvin was for some time indifferent on the subject. Upon his banish- ment the Bernese introduced at Geneva their system, observing the four festivals, — the circiuncision, the annunciation, the ascension, and Christmas. In a letter Bidlinger says, since about 1538, they at Zurich had been rid of the many festivals and retained only the four, of which the annunciation finally dropped out. When Calvin returned to Geneva he suffered these Feasts of Christ to remain, recognizing them by hours of divine service, though he was exercised be- cause the circumcision was more prominent than the crucifixion, and denounced the annunciation as a su- perstition. However, he seems to have been drifting all the time towards a rejection of all, for which he had little regard. In 1550, by no advice of his, yet " not at variance with his own opinions," partly from national feeling, the Council at Geneva suddenly abolished all festivals, providing only that Christmas should be celebrated on the succeeding Simday.^ This Calvin called the " better custom," and it flour- ^ Abel RedevivuSf ed. 1867, ii. 35. 2 Life and Times of John Calvin, Henry, i. 134, 418; ii. 115-117. 84 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. ished thereafter at Geneva, even to the imprisonment of some in 1555 who observed Christmas Day. The overthrow of the Zurich system at Geneva gave no offense to Bullinger, who praised the apostolic liberty of the Genevese by which also he himself retained his Feasts of Christ. His motive was the glorification of the Lord, and his principle as regards others, toleration in things indifferent. Thus the two systems are clearly defined, that of Zurich and that of Geneva, both different from that of Luther's followers, who retained the saints' days. The very year of the English Convocation referred to, Bullinger composed what became the Second Hel- vetic Confession, which appeared at Zurich in 1566, and attained a preeminence in the Reformed churches. To this we advert. Article XXIV., after commending the Lord's Day, " to be observed in Christian freedom, not with Jewish superstition," declares : " If congrega- tions in addition commemorate the Lord's nativity, circumcision, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascen- sion, and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, we greatly approve of it. But feasts instituted by men in honor of saints we reject, though the memory of the saints is profitable, and should be commended to the people with exhortations to follow their virtues." ^ The English exiles who had been at Zurich returned home with these views. Those who were afterwards elevated to a bishopdom held them, and this consti- tuted a part of the reform which they would gladly have seen furthered in England. The Queen was not so inclined, and Sandys says in one of his letters that for his early vehemence he came near being deposed ^ Schaff 's Creeds of Christendom^ i. 417. THE FEASTS OF CHRIST. 35 and suffering tlie displeasure of her Majesty.^ There is no doubt that Cox, Grindal, Horn, Sandys, Jewel, Parkhurst, and Bentham, upon their first return from exile, labored for this further reform in the Enghsh Church, of which the adoption of the Feasts of Christ was a part ; but they could not prevail with the Queen and Parliament. So finally, after consultation, they concluded not to desert their ministry for some rites so few and not in themselves evil.^ In the vestiarian controversy which followed, concerning what they themselves had called " fooleries," and " relics of the Amorites," they maintained with sufficient energy that these were things indifferent, but forgot, it seems, that, being so, those who found offense in them should not be pressed to conformity. The objection to saints' days had the same experience. After the Convocation of 1562, when the measures for retaining the Feasts of Christ failed, the question no longer was whether saints' days should be abolished, but whether those who would not observe them should forfeit their ministry, not to say endure imprisonment and martyrdom. Ten years passed. Meanwhile a respectable number of ministers had come into promi- nence who held neither more nor less on this point than those who had introduced the six articles in the Convocation. They had no disagreement on points of doctrine, only in discipline. They asked as to fes- tivals that the Sabbath might be kept holy ; that the annual fast of Lent, and Friday and Saturday fasts, and saints' days, might not be enjoined, being willing 1 Parker Society, Zurich Letters, April 1, 1560. 2 Ibid., i. p. 149 n. ; Strype's Annalsj i. 1. 263; Peirce's Vindica- lion of the Dissenters, p. 43. 36 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. that others should exercise the same right of con- science. Their willingness to retain Christmas, Good Friday^ Easter, and Whitsunday was desjjised. They actually held out this olive branch until it with- ered in their hands. At last, failing of justice from the Queen and the bishops, they appealed to Parlia- ment. In 1571 John Field and Thomas Wilcocks, two London ministers, wrote the famous " Admonition to the Parliament." ^ For this they were committed to Newgate prison. This awakened great sympathy for their cause. Their little tract was widely read, several editions appearing from an unknown press. During their imprisonment they issued, December 4, 1572, a Confession of Faith, in which among other statements they said : " We think that those Feast- days of Christ, as of his Birth, Circumcision, Pass- over, Resurrection and Ascension, etc., may, by Chris- tian liberty be kept, because they are only devoted to Christ, to whom all days and times belong. But days dedicated to saints, with fasts on their eves, we utterly dislike, though we approve of the reverend memory of the saints, as examples to be propounded to the people in sermons ; and of publick and private Fasts as the circumstances of nations or private persons require." ^ And this was the fast-failing voice of such as had ac- cepted the views of the Zurich exiles. Their friends had vanished in the shades of Episcopacy. Visited, indeed, by some kindred souls and faithful parishioners, they were suffered to languish in the unwholesome vileness of the place beyond their lawful sentence, en- during the cold of winter, and, what was more, the con- ^ Authorities have associated with these two, in the drawing up of this admonition, Sampson, Lever, Gilby, and Cartwright. 2 Neal's Hist, of Puritans, i. 290,291. THE FEASTS OF CHRIST, 37 cem for their impoverished families ; and it was not in mercy that they were at last released. Nearly fifty years afterward the king of England sought to intro- duce into the Kirk of Scotland this very observance of Christmas, Easter, Whitsimday, and the Ascension of Christ ; but the ministers would not even read the ar- ticle in their churches, so greatly had Non-conformist sentiments altered meanwhile.^ It was then too late for such a compromise. We are not forgetfid that this was but one point in the controversy, and ahnost lost in the boiling caldron. It was not, however, rejected because of its bad com- pany. The Episcopal party determined to retain the saints' days. Against these the Non-conformists protested as the remnants of popery .^ And so, as the discussion went on, it developed the opinion among them that these were not things indifferent, especially as the popish customs remained in influence. While Field and Wilcocks were in prison, Thomas Cartwright, " lately returned from beyond sea," wrote a second " Admonition to the Parliament," taking up their cause. This is the point where the Presbyterian system, nurtured at Geneva, advocated by Cartwright and Knox, came to the front in the discussion. Thus the silver stream was lost in the swollen river ! These Presbjrterian Non-conformists wished to have all festi- vals abolished.^ They assumed the failui^e of efforts 1 Neal's Hist of Puritans, ii. 118, 119. 2 Hawkins, one of the Non-conformists, is reported to have said at his examination, June 20, 1567 : " Well, Master Hooper saith in his Coramentarie vppon the Commandments that holy dayes are the leauen of Antichrist." William White said: "The princes lawe sayeth, Thou shalt not labour seuen dayes but shalt keepe the popish holi- dayes." — A Parte of a Register, pp. 35, 36. * They afterwards claimed that it was Whitgift who forced them 38 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. to reform abuses. If they must be beggars, they might as well ask for a whole loaf. Their view was daily growing in popularity, and was argued directly from the Scriptures with excellent ability. A short time sufficed to establish it as the consensus of Non- conformist opinion. And, to show what an importance it had in shaping the prejudices of the New England fathers, it has only to be remembered that, within the decade from 1570 to 1580, Robert Browne, Henry Barrowe, John Greenwood, and John Penry were at Cambridge University, where Thomas Cartwright, as " Lady Margaret, Professor of Divinity," rose to a preeminent influence; and during the same period Henry Ainsworth and John Robinson were born. The advocacy of the Feasts of Christ, as a system, passed to its burial in England before the Separatist movement had its birth. Thus arose the controversy between Cartwright and Whitgift, in which the observance of holy days was one prominent point. The literature relating to it is voluminous,^ and it is unnecessary to follow the discus- sion. It is sufficient to note that by it the two par- ties were thoroughly intrenched ; the one rejecting all holy days except the Sabbath, because they are not commanded in the Scriptures, the other claiming that the church had authority from the fathers to observe days not enjoined. However, the controversy was of to reject all the remnants of popery. — Loyalty of the Presbyterians, 1713, pp. 94 ff. ^ The burden of the arguments is found in Whitgif t's Defense of the Answere to the Admonition against the Beplie of T. C, 1574. See Dexter's Bibliography, Lit. of Cong., Nos. 44, 46, 48, 50, 57, 64, 72. Also, Fuller's Church Hist., h. ix. s. 3, c. 7 ; Heylyn's Hist, of Presby., p. 238 ; Peirce's Vindication, p. 86. THE FEASTS OF CHRIST. 39 great service in lifting up the standard of the Non- conformists. Thereafter there was unanimity among them on the subject. Heylyn says : " They introduced little by little a general neglect of the weekly fasts, the holy time in Lent, and the Embring-days, redu- cing all acts of humiliation to solemn and occasional fasts, as amongst the Scots." ^ Among the Presby- terians of both England and Scotland the old system was dead. So it was among the scattered companies of Separatists. And furthermore there was a secret inclination toward the same opinions among thousands who still worshiped in the mother church, preparing them to adopt a new system, that of fast and thanks- giving days, when they should have crossed the sea to New England. ^ Heylyn's Hist, of Preshy.y p. 389. When the Scots gave their sanction to the Helvetic Confession, they excepted the holy days. Cf . Schaff's Creeds, etc., L 394, 682. CHAPTER III. FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS IN ENGLAND. " But such have been these times of late, That Holy dayes are out of date, And holynesse to boot ; For they that do despise, and scorn To keep the day that Christ was bom, Want holynesse no doubt." So run the lines of a ballad which attained a popu- larity among the Cavaliers upon the reaction from Cromwellian rule in England.^ It was true enough that holy days were " out of date." If anything had been left undone by Elizabeth to make them so, James had contributed it in his "Book of Sports." The Non-conformists, however, were not satisfied to desert wholly the fasting customs in which they had been nurtured, nor ignore the spirit of thanksgiving which had pervaded their ancient festivals. A new system of holy days was demanded. There were already pre- pared for their adoption customs of observing days of a private religious character, and, what was more essential in the trend of Puritan life, days of fasting and thanksgiving proclaimed by ecclesiastical or civil authorities. Out of these customs, destined to attain a vigorous development in the mother country dur- ing the Commonwealth, arose the fast and thanksgiv- ing days of New England. It is so obvious as hardly to need emphasis that the ^ Bump Ballads, ii. 52. IN ENGLAND. 41 Puritans were brought under the immediate influence of Old Testament usages. The spirit of Jewish cere- monials displaced that of the Roman Catholic ritual, and as a natural sequence they recognized the author- ity of scriptural fastings and thanksgivings. So they founded their system upon the Bible. ^ The philosophy of their institution is found in the Puritan doctrine of Divine Providence. When the Reformation came to its fruitage, a reanimated if not wholly new feeling prevailed as to the divine ordering of events. A God declared in mystical ser- vices, which the worshipers did not understand, gave place to profound convictions arising out of a spir- itual experience with Him. The dormant sensibility of sin was revived, and hence a fear of God's threat- ened judgments. They imbibed those theological doc- trines generally termed Calvinistic. According to t their interpretation of Biblic al hi story, God is con- stantly and directly supervising tiie affairs of men, sending evil upon the city of the Ninevites for their sins, for " shall evil befall a city, and the Lord hath not done it ? " ^ or blessing his people when they turn from their evil ways, for " who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? " ^ Their Confessions declared " that nothing can befall us by chance, but ^ The fasts of the Hebrews present four characteristics: (1) The '* Day of Atonement," expressing a religious truth; (2) Periodical fasts, certain months, commemorating historical events ; (3) Days of private humiliation ; (4) Occasional fasts ordered by proclamation in public calamities. To these last the fathers were fond of referring. Thanksgiving was provided for by their " offerings of thanksgiving," and was connected with the three great festivals. They had no an- nual fast or thanksgiving by special proclamation. ^ Amos iii. 6. ^ Jonah iiL 9. 42 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. by the direction of our most gracious and heavenly Father, who watches over us with a paternal care, keeping all creatures so under his power that not a hair of our head (for they are all numbered), nor a sparrow can fall to the ground without the will of our Father, in whom we do entirely trust, being persuaded that he so restrains the Devil and all our enemies that without his will and permission they cannot hurt us." ^ But it was rather an inference from this belief which exercised such sway over their lives. They found no place for the discipline of chastening love. Regarding all dire happenings as punishments, and all blessings as approvals, they seem to have thought that their moral status before God was thus written out in events. They connected every calamity or deliverance with their present sin or virtue. As the former had a particular voice of warning, and the latter a tes- timony of forgiveness, every event approached them with its shadow before and its sunshine afterward, to be recognized by fasting and thanksgiving. It is only within our province to record these views, which It shed such a lurid light over the early history of ^ New England. To suppose, however, that they were peculiar to our fathers is a grave error. They prevailed throughout the Calvinistic countries of Europe, and were productive of similar feelings, and to some extent of the same customs. They attained an ascendency in the mother country, and wrought into English life the observance of special fast and thanksgiving days which have continued into the pres- lent century. ^ Belgic Confession [1561] and Second Helvetic Confession [1566]. See, also, the Savoy Symbol, and Westminster Confession of Faith. IN ENGLAND. 43 From the year 1566, when, as Neal says, " the era of separation " began, the Non-conformists had been accustomed to gather in secret conventicles for fasting and prayer. The practice was known to the royal authorities, and did not please them. The logic of such a reply as WiUiam White gave they did not appreciate, — " The Ninevites proclaimed a fast before they acquainted the king with it." ^ Finally, when it was learned that the theme of their fastings was the Queen and the Church, her royal Majesty endeavored to put them down.2 Their advocacy of ^;2^6Zi'c fasts and thanksgivings could not so easily be hushed, for such days had ere this come into use among their opponents. The time was ripe for them. Thereafter they contended as earnestly ^br these days as they had against saints' days. We have met with no statement of their position, as framed by the later Dissenters, more worthy of pre- eminence than that given by James Peirce in his " Vindication of the Dissenters." These are his words : " We own there may happen new occasions of solemn and public fasting or rejoicing; for which, because they concern the civil state, 't is the business of the magistrate to appoint proper days and times. And he only can command all his subjects to observe such fasts or thanksgivings when there is occasion for them. But if he neglects his duty and does not appoint such days, when 'tis manifest to aU that he ought, or if, abusing his power, he orders days to be kept to a bad purpose, we think every church has a right to set apart days themselves, or to forbear to observe them 1 Neal's Hist, of Puritans, i. 247. 2 Ibid., i. 370. 44 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. that are not well injoin'd." ^ The points in this author's discussion are : (1) Blessings that belong to all Christians need no stated solenm festival besides the Lord's Day. (2) The Lord instituted no annual fasting season [Lent] in humiliation for ordinary sins. (3) "If God by his providence testifies his displea- sure, or if anything extraordinary is to be sought with more fervent prayers, these are new and special occa- sions^ wherein God calls us to public fasting." (4) The Jews had such occasion in the Feast of Purim, as England has in the 5th of November, but they established no " anniversary solemnities " for bless- ings which were before the setting apart of a partic- ular day. (5) These special fast and thanksgiving days should be ordered by the civil authority. It will be observed by the careful reader that these principles constitute a fair presumption against the immediate appointment of annual public fasts and thanksgiv- ings by the early settlers of New England. Their system is wrapped up in the phrase, " new and special occasions," or in the Latin they employed, "Pro tem- poribus et causis." Let us now turn back to trace the development of this appointment of special days. The practice had prevailed in the Roman Empire,^ and was early intro- duced into England. There was little demand for 1 Peirce's Vindication, etc., ed. 1718, p. 504. The author here refers to his letters in answer to Dr. Wells, from which he quotes. There the phraseology of the passage is slightly different. Memarks on Dr, Tre//s,ed.mO, p.23. 2 The early Christians kept such days. Bishops named them within their jurisdiction. The victory of Constantino was commemorated at Constantinople September 24 ; and at Alexandria July 21 was kept in gratitude for the cessation of earthquakes, etc. Sozomen, 1. 6, c. 2 ; Bingham, Orig. Ecc, xx. 8, 3. IN ENGLAND. 45 them before the Reformation, though the fact that the Code of Canute, A. D. 1032, specifies '' all the days upon which a fast should be proclaimed by due au- thority" would lead us to suspect their occurrence. Indeed, an illustration is given us in HoHnshed's " Chronicles " of a fast season transpiring during the reign of Henry III., A. D. 1258 : " The haruest was verie late this yeare so that the most part of the corne rotted on the ground, and that which at length was got in remained yet abrode till after Alhallowentide so vntemperate was the weather with excessiue wet and raine beyond all measure. Herevpon the dearth so in- creased that euen those which had of late releeued other, were in danger to starue themselues. Finallie solemne fasts and generall processions were made in diuerse places of the realme to appease God's wrath, and (as it was thought) their praiers were heard, for the weather partlie amended and by reason the same serued to get in some such come as was not lost, the price thereof in the market fell halfe in halfe. A good and memorable motiue that in such extremities as are aboue the reach of man to redresse, we shoidd by and by haue recourse to him that can giue a rem- edie against euery casualty, for Flectitur iratus voce rogante Deus^ ^ After the battle of Poictiers the king " took speedy order, by Simon, Archbishop of Canterbury, that a thanksgiving should be celebrated all over England for eight days together." ^ Yet such seasons were exceptional. The Catholic Church did not foster them. During the last years of Henry VIII., however, prayers in the English tongue coming into 1 Holinshed's Chronicles, ii. 449. 2 Har. Miscellany^ viii. 174. 46 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. use, they were frequently ordered to be said in the churches, accompanied by processions. In August, 1543, the plentiful crop of corn was threatened by excessive rain, and so great was the danger that the king sent letters to Archbishop Cranmer " to appoint certain prayers to be used for the ceasing of rain." Strype tells us that the same practice was twice em- ployed the next year, when " occasional prayers and suffrages to be used throughout the churches begun to be more usual than formerly." ^ One instance was for a peace, the other upon going to war. During the first year of King Edward's reign, on account of the victory over the Scots, a public thanksgiving was cele- brated. In the order of the Archbishop to the Bishop of London the latter is required " to cause a sermon to be made in his cathedral . . . declaring the goodness of God . . . and giving thanks for the victory, but also at the same time, immediately after the sermon and in presence of the Mayor, Aldermen and other citizens of London, to cause the procession in English and Te Deum to be openly and devoutly sung." ^ That same year a fast was proclaimed in London on account of the rising in Yorkshire.^ Such seasons were then generally kept on the day of some festival, if convenient. They found favor also in the eyes of Queen Mary, though she restored the Catholic calendar ; and it would seem that upon one occasion greater thanks were given than the subject demanded, as she died without children. ^ In 1563 London was visited by a plague. Days of 1 Strype, Cranmer, pp. 181-183. 2 Ibid., pp. 218-220 ; Parker Soc, Works of Cranmer, Remains, p. 417. 2 Burnet's Hist, of Beformation, ed. 1865, ii. 213. * Camden Soc, Diary of Henry Machyn, pp. 18, 76, 341 ; Strype, Ecc. Mem., iii. 1. 324, 325. IN ENGLAND. 47 fasting were appointed, Mondays and Wednesdays, to continue until some abatement of the disease, which could not be observed by great gatherings as com- monly, for fear of contagion. The food saved was be- stowed upon the poor in the back lanes and alleys of the city. In certain correspondence on the subject, several questions were raised which indicate that this custom of occasional appointment by royal proclama- tion might not have been then fully established. For instance : " In what form is the fast to be authorized, — whether by proclamation or by way of injunction or otherwise, because it must needs pass from the Queen ? " " Whether any penalty is to be prescribed to the violators thereof?"^ But, not to multiply instances beyond necessity, Ehzabeth maintained and strengthened the usage, as may be seen from the peru- sal of her " forms of prayer." ^ The discovery of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 brought out the common sentiment. A diabolical scheme had been formed — it was thought by the Papists — to blow up the Parliament House on the 5th of November, the first day of the session. Vast quantities of gunpowder and inflammable material were found concealed in the vaults underneath. The traitors were arrested and executed.^ In consequence of this deliverance the day was ordered to be kept as a '' public thanksgiving to Almighty God " every year, '' that unfeigned thankfulness may never be forgotten, 1 Strype, Parker, i. 263-268; Grindal, pp. 105, 106. 2 Parker Soc., Prayers of Elizabeth. The Thanksgiving Book was a collection of prayers for the thanksgiving day. Notes and Queries, Ist ser. iii. 328, 481. 3 Knight's Hist, of England , chap. Ixxxi. ; Fuller's Chh. Hist., iii. 212-219; Neal's Hist, of Puritans, ii. 52-54. 48 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. and that all ages to come may yield praises to God's divine Majesty for the same." All ministers were or- dered to say prayers thereon, for which special forms were for many years provided, and the people were commanded to attend worship. Thomas Fuller, writ- ing years afterwards, expressed a regret that this " red- letter day" had fallen into decay. But throughout most of the term of the exodus to New England it was generally esteemed, except by the Papists, and esteemed, too, by some who were abused at its ser- vices.i The custom of burning at night the image of Guy Fawkes the conspirator, which had been paraded through the streets during the day by boys who begged and sang, was continued in England to within a century : — " Pray to remember The fifth of November, Gunpowder treason and plot, When the King and his train Had nearly been slain, Therefore it shall not be forgot." This annual thanksgiving, together with the one es- tablished later on the 29th of May, was abolished in 1833, though both had previously fallen into disuse. Both were recognized in New England, to some extent among the Congregationalists, but chiefly in the Epis- copal Church on account of their place in the calendar. ^ The prayer for the day had this inspiring petition: *' Root out that Anti-christian and Babylonish sect which say of Jerusalem, Down with it even to the ground. Cut off those workers of Iniquity, whose Religion is Rebellion, whose Faith is Faction, whose Practice is murdering both Soul and Body." In 1633 this was altered by the archbishop so as to turn it against the Puritans (Neal, ii. 254). " On the 5th of November we as well as the Churchmen bless God for our deliverance from the Gunpowder Plot."— Peirce's Vindication, etc., p. 505. IN ENGLAND. 49 It will be well now, though we have reached the time when emigration to the New World began, to fol- low the practice, especially during the Commonwealth, which history runs parallel with the early days of New England. It had a development of its own. Under James and Charles I. it retained its public and civil character, the number of such occasions in- "^ creasing somewhat. But when the Puritans obtained control of affairs it was as though the incarcerated fasts and thanksgivings of centuries had been loosed.^ Upon any appearance of public danger they woidd hasten to order a fast. They not only abolished fes- tivals, and burned the " Book of Sports " in public places, but also commanded the constables on fasts to seek out persons at work, that they might be prose- cuted for contempt. In 1643 they established stated monthly fasts on the last Wednesday of each month, which they continued until 1649, when an act was passed to " take away the monthly fasts," and have only those on particidar occasions, which indeed they had all along observed. This monthly custom we meet with in New England. It happened in 1644 that the monthly fast of December feU on the 25th, and every person was obliged to choose which God he woidd serve. The Parliament chose the montlily fast, which created no little uproar among the people.^ Upon these days the " Solemn League and Covenant " ^ We have reckoned more than a hundred public fasts during the Commonwealth period. Proclamations in broadside for some of these are extant. Scores of sermons are met with preached by Puritan ministers on these occasions. ^ Hence Macaulay's remark, "They changed Christmas into a fast." See Neal, iii. 167-169. Christmas in 1647 they made a fast, which nearly caused a riot in London. IbicL, iii. 423, 424. 50 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. was usually read in the public assembly, which met at nine o'clock in the morning, and continued until four in the afternoon. In 1643 the king made proclamation against them, but it availed nothing. ^ Fasts and thanksgivings were the order of the day. They fasted for atheism in the army, gave thanks for the suppression of the Levelers, and the Parliament became a veritable proclamation machine. It was a fine bit of irony, expressed on a slip dropped about Co vent Garden May 15, 1648, referring to a thanks- giving for success in Wales, "observed," says White- locke, " by the houses but not much in the city." " O yes ! O yes ! O yes ! If any manner of man in city town or country can tell tidings of a Thanksgiving to be kept the 17th Day of this present month of May, by order of the Commons assembled at West- minster, let him come to the cryer and he shall be hanged for his pains." ^ Let no one suppose that their thanksgivings were altogether famished ajBfairs. Feasting had always been associated more or less with such rejoicings. It was, at least sometimes, a feature of these English days. Whitelocke gives some account of a feast June 7, 1649, when the House of Commons was entertained by the city fathers. After hearing two sermons they went to Grocers' HaU, where, after some delay in 1 Neal, in. 44, 45. 2 Notes and Queries, 4tli ser. ix. p. 202. The following lines axe given in Hudibras : — " For Hudibras, who thought he had won The field, as certain as a gun, And having routed the whole troop With victory was cock-a-hoop. Thinking he had done enough to purchase Thanksgiving day among the churches." Pt. i. canto 3, lines 11-16. See, also, Pt. iii. canto 3, line 287. IN ENGLAND, 51 choosing the lowest seats, they were sumptuously fed to the music of drums and trumpets, and the fragments were sufficient to cheer many of the poor of London. The Westminster " Directory for Public Worship " gives us a lucid account of what was expected in the way of religious exercises. The early hours of the fast day were to be occupied by each family in " pre- paring their hearts for the solemn work of the day." They must be " early at the Congregation " and clothed in no " rich apparel or ornaments." There a large portion of the day was to be spent in reading and preaching the word, singing of psalms, and especially in prayer, that it might be a day of " afflict- ing the soul." Before the close the minister was " in his own and the people's names to ingage his and their hearts to be the Lord's with professed purpose and resolution to reform whatever is amiss among them ; " and he was also to admonish them as to the fui^ther private duties of the day. The thanksgiving day was much the same in its worship. The congregation were first to have some '' pithy narration of the deliverance obtained or mercy received," and, after sermon, psalm-singing, and prayer, they were to be dismissed with a blessing, that " convenient time might be had for their repast and refreshing." But the minister should not forget to admonish them to " beware of all excess and riot tending to gluttony or drunkenness " in their feasts. At both fasts and thanksgivings collections were to be taken for the / poor, in which the Puritans were never negligent. Such were the days observed in England about the middle of the seventeenth century. They did not differ materially from those proclaimed in New England. 52 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, t There was neither an annual fast nor an annual thanksgiving, a fact which should have great weight in discussing the customs of our forefathers. But this system of holy days soon became over- weighted in England, as the Christian calendar had been, and it suffered a reaction, with the Puritan government which established it. The " Merry Christmas," the amusements which for centuries had clustered round the May-pole, and, also, — for we should not hesitate to concede it, — the deep rehgious reverence that some had for the truth declared by festivals commemorating the Lord's life, — all these forces at last rose among the English people and swept away the structure, leaving only a lone pillar standing, like the 5th of November, and occasional days at intervals. It can truly be said that when the 29th of May, 1660, came, — a day destined to be kept among them more as a farewell to the Puritan than a thanksgiving for the restoration of Charles II., — and the royal pageant, with prancing steeds so gayly man- tled and ridden by such richly robed knights, moved through the streets of London, the people were heartily joyful. The citizens as weU as the king were ready to laugh at the new sign which on that day is said to have adorned that famous hostelry in Fleet Street, where Tom D'Urfey, the Killegrews, Davenant, Matt Barlowe, Ingoldsby, and Isaac Wal- ton are represented as holding high carnival, — a sign in which mine host had the part of St. Dunstan, and held the Puritan Prynne in the array of his Satanic Majesty by the nose.^ The case was quite otherwise 1 An interesting account of the affair and the place, famous evea in Shakespeare's time, the meeting-place of Ben Jonson's club, is found in Ephraim Hardcastle's The Twenty-ninth of May. IN ENGLAND, 53 with the Puritans who had followed the Pilgrims to New England. They brought with them the customs of their time, holy days observed in all sincerity, and found a hostile wilderness, where, with no attractions toward the festivals they detested, they were to estab- lish their humiliations, as the summons for divine assistance in dire straits, and sing their psalms of praise over mighty deliverances and the coveted har- vests enticed from the virgin soiL CHAPTER IV. THE FASTS OF THE EXILES. / 1595-1620. The early history of the Separatists is written in the experiences of individual congregations. The ancient oak which had been so shaken by the storm was surrounded by shoots of ecclesiastical life, spring- ing into a vigorous development from the seed that had been scattered abroad. Those which now come under our view are the exiled churches at Amsterdam and Leyden, — that over which Francis Johnson was pastor and Henry Ainsworth teacher, which had emigrated from London to Amsterdam about 1595 ; the second English church which had gone thither from Gainsborough, under the leadership of John Smyth, about 1606 ; and the Scrooby church, of John Robin- son, which removed to Amsterdam in April, 1608, and shortly afterwards was established at Leyden. With these we may associate the independent church at Southwark, England, which would agree with them in its practices ; and this church has special interest because its first pastor, Henry Jacob, is known to have adopted the ideas of John Robinson, and his successor, John Lothrop, was afterward the minister at Scituate and Barnstable in the Plymouth Colony, whose church records have an important bearing upon the subject. It is essential to ascertain what were the customs THE FASTS OF THE EXILES. 55 of the Scrooby exiles in order to determine what the early practices were at Plymouth. The earliest of the Separatists had maintained an existence in Eng- land for years, and had emigrated to Holland before the development of fast and thanksgiving days into a popular system. So far back as the time of Robert Browne, the founder of Brownism, they seem to have taken up with the keeping of such days. This worthy wrote of his little congregation at Nor- wich : " They particularlie agreed . . . for appointing publick humbling in more rare iudgementes and pub- lick thankesgiuing in straunger blessinges." ^ In this they were carrying out the Second Helvetic Confes- sion, which declared tliat " there are also public fasts api>ointed in tunes of affliction and calamity, when people abstain from food altogether till evening. . . . Such fasts are mentioned by the Prophets and should be observed." They were also the religious legatees of Field and Wilcocks. In their Confession they had said : " Concerning publicke f astes wee hold that they are so often to be had and kept as the consideration of time and the present calamitie hanging ouer our heax^ls, and due for our sinnes, shall require: and wee thinke it most meete that these fasts be generally and vniversally appointed, either by the authoritie of goodly magistrates or particular Presbyteries and Churches." 2 It is believed that Browne has refer- ence to observances among themselves, appointed as the need of his company woidd suggest. They were public but not civil fasts and thanksgivings, — days ^ A True and Short Declaration, etc., p. 20. 2 A Parte of a Register, p. 537. See, also, An Answer for the tyme, etc., p. 74. 56 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. for assembling the congregation/ Throughout the his- tory of these Separatists in Holland, the individual church determined what days should be kept. Recog- nizing it as the source of authority, this was only putting the principle into operation. At the same time they may have paid a respect to any days ap- pointed by the civil authorities. It would not have been inconsistent with their teachings. It will be well to state here that the Reformed churches of Holland, under whose influence they came, were mainly in accord with the customs of the Church of England. The trend of their reformation had been Calvinistic, but they had not wholly rejected holy days. . Catholic and Lutheran opinions had greatly modified their tendencies, which were toward the adoption of the " Feasts of Christ " approved by the Helvetic Confession. These became high festivals among them, but not to the exclusion of all saints' days. In the ecclesiastical laws published by William of Orange in 1577 he specially honored Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide. But the Dutch provincial synods had not discussed the subject, and hence many of the old practices prevailed. The Reformed de- spised the Catholic observances, but on the other hand they venerated the more prominent festivals, and held services and suspended business upon them.^ At a later period they even ejected those who refused to conform to this practice of the Dutch Church.2 We have no details of fast and thanksgiving days at Amsterdam, but, after the exposition given in ^ Brandt's Hist, of the Reformation in the Low Countries, ed. 1720, ii. 10, 12, 14. 2 Steven's Hist, of the Scottish Church in Botterdam, p. 72 n. See, also, p. 339. THE FASTS OF THE EXILES, 57 the previous chapters of the views current, we cannot but conclude that they had such. Henry Ainsworth gives us something of his opinion in his " Arrow against Idolatrie." He evidently had little regard for saints' days. He says : " Again he [Jeroboam] forged but one feast out of his owne heart to make mery with his images once in a year : whereas this our purple Queen hath made many moe holy dayes then ther be monethes (that I say not weeks) of the yere, in honour of her Ladie and all her Saincts, and these some of them correspondent to the paynim festivities, as Christmas, Candlemas, Fasgon or Shrovetide, ac- cording to the times and customes of the gentiles Satumal, Febiiial and Bacchus feasts." ^ He further urges that there is no other than heathen example J for observing Christmas December 25, since Christ was born in September rather than December. There is another item of interest concerning this church at Amsterdam. About the time of Robinson's arrival there, he had received a letter from Rev. Jo- seph Hall, afterward the Bishop of Norwich. It was addressed to " Mr. Smyth and Mr. Robinson, Ring- leaders of the late Separation at Amsterdam." In Robinson's reply, entitled "An Answer to a Censo- rious Epistle," he had said : " Though you have lost the shrines of saints, yet you retain their days, and those holy as the Lord's-day and that with good profit to your spiritual carnal courts, from such as profane them with the least and most lawful labour, notwith- standing the liberty of the six days' labour which the Lord hath given. And as much would the masters of these courts be stirred at the casting of these ^ An Arrow., etc., ed. 1640, p. 156. 58 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. saints' days out of the calendar, as were the ' mas- ters ' of the possessed maid when ' the spirit of divi- nation ' was cast out of her. Acts xvi. 19." ^ To this Hall responded in " A Common Apologie of the Church of England," saying : " You equally condemne those dales of Christ's birth. Ascension, Circumcision, Resurrection, Annunciation, which the church hath beyond all memory celebrated ; " and he adds this im- portant item : " Your owne Synagogue at Amsterdame (if we may beleeue your owne) is not altogether guilt- less : your hands are still and your shoppes shut vpon festiuall dales." ^ This charge may quite likely have been true. Their shops may have been closed on festival days in accordance with the Dutch custom and law, but from no esteem for the occasions. We may fairly conclude that Ainsworth's flock, as they rejected saints' days, adopted the practice of church fasts and thanksgivings. As to the company under the care of John Smyth, quite distinct from the former,^ if the citation already given refers to them it sufficiently determines their position ; and if not, we may infer their agreement, as the point does not appear among the " Differences of the Churches of the Separation," which Smyth pub- lished in 1608.4 At a later date there were other foreign churches in Holland, and these all had fasts and thanksgiv- ings. ^ The Scottish Church at Rotterdam kept pace ^ Robinson's Works, iii. 413. ^ A Common Apologie, etc., p. 100. 8 The True Story of John Smyth, etc., Henry M. Dexter, p. 2 n. Cf. Congregationalism as seen in its Literature, pp. 312 n., 313. 4 i6ic/.,pp. 313, 314. ^ Steven's Hist, of the Scottish Church, etc., pp. 15, 48 n., 66, 85, 91, THE FASTS OF THE EXILES, 59 with the customs of the Kirk of Scotland, appointing days on account of the " commotions in Scotland and England." In 1666 the Enghsh churches are found keeping monthly fasts, and also appointing thanksgiv- ings. We are particularly interested in one of these churches, — that at Rotterdam, — because Hugh Peter, later at Salem, was the minister in 1623, and Thomas Hooker, the founder of the Connecticut Colony, was there for a short time associated with William Ames. Together Ames and Hooker brought out the volume entitled " A Fresh Svit Against Humane Ceremo- nies in God's Worship," and in this the matter is clearly stated. They commended Bullinger's ap- proval of " holy days and fast days," " imderstanding onely by holy days set times of preaching and praying ; and by days of fasting, occasional times of extraordi- narie humiliation. " i Let us compare this with what Henry Jacob, minister of the Southwark church, wrote seventeen years before in his " Confession and Pro- testation of the Faith of certain Christians in Eng- land." " Days of Thanksgiving or Fasting," he says, " which by men are appointed upon some special occa- sion and are to be used accordingly, — in no wise constantly and continually, — we approve and allow as having warrant from the Spirit of God both in the Law and in the Gospel." ^ Here is agreement upon the system of occasional appointments, and we may 04, 273, 303, 304. The custom of having a fast in connection with the choice of church officers was observed in Johnson^s church in 1598. It was general among these churches. A fast day was kept when the Southwark church was formed. The same practices were set up in New England. 1 A Fresh Svit, etc., p. 142. 2 Hanbury's Historical Memorials, ed. 1839, i. 300. 60 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, conclude that Peter and Hooker and Lothrop brought that system and no other to New England. In 1609 John Robinson and the Scrooby church removed to Leyden. We follow them thither; and, before considering the special fasts of which we have record, we summarize Robinson's teachings upon the points hitherto reviewed. Such, we may be assured, were the sentiments entertained by the Pilgrims. He taught: (1) The sanctiiication of the Lord's Day, based upon the commandment, Christ being the authority for the change of day. (2) The church has no suf- ficient authority for keeping saints' days, and compell- ing abstinence from labor thereon. (3) " It seem- eth not without all leaven of superstition that the Dutch reformed churches do observe certain days consecrated as holy to the nativity, resurrection and ascension of Christ, and the same also . . . much more holy than the Lord's day." (4) The keeping of Lent is not enjoined in the Scriptures. (5) God exercises a providential care over men in ordering events, and therefore prayer and thanksgiving are appropriate either in private or " according to the churches present occasionJ^ ^ It is remarkable that throughout his writings there is almost nothing said of fasting as a spiritual exercise. The ideas so prev- alent elsewhere in his time are conspicuously absent. Henry Ainsworth expresses his mind most emphati- cally against " pining the body with too much fasting or evill fare." ^ Robinson's phrase is, days of " prayer and thanksgiving." Both undoubtedly fasted, not for 1 Robinson's Works, i. 200, 201; ii. 268, 269,399; 452-456,504; iii. 43-54, 104, 105, 126. 2 The Orthodox Foundation, etc., p. 72. THE FASTS OF THE EXILES. 61 any merit in so doing, but for the furtherance of fer- vent prayer. When at last, after years spent in Leyden, that most charming city of Holland, the Scrooby congrega- tion began to feel the force of " sundrie weightie & sohd reasons" for emigration to a new land, they were moved to fasting and prayer for Divine guidance. Winslow intimates that these occasions were frequent, but we have no knowledge of more than three. The first seems to have been in the autumn of 1617, when the question of removal came to a public discussion among them. The account of Winslow is as follows : " At the length the Lord was solenmly sought in the congregation by fasting and prayer to direct us, who moving our hearts more and more to the work, we sent some of good abilities over into England to see what favor or acceptance such a thing might find with the King." ^ The words of Bradford are less definite as to the fasting. He says : " After thir hum- ble praiers unto God for his direction & assistance & a generall conference held hear aboute, they con- sulted what particuler place to pitch upon & prepare for." 2 It is probable that this conference filled the latter part of a fast day ; if so, Bradford has left an ample account to associate with the occasion. The second fast day was upon the prospect of their departure. This is commonly placed in 1620, though the delay which they experienced afterward makes the latter part of 1619 seem more probable. It then became necessary to decide who should go, that such 1 Winslow's " Brief Narration " in Young's Chronicles, pp. 380, 382. 2 Bradford's Hist, of Plymouth Plantation, p. 27. 62 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. might prepare themselves. " They had," says Brad- ford, " a soUemne meeting and a day of humiliation to seeke y® Lord for his direction: and their pastor tooke his texte, 1 Sam. 23 : 3, 4. ' And David's men said unto him, see, we be afraid hear in Judah, how much more if we come to Keilah against y® host of the Philistines ? Then David asked counsell of y® Lord againe,' &c. From which texte he taught many things very aptly, and befitting ther present occasion and condition, strengthing them against their fears and perplexities, and incouraging them in their resolu- tions." ^ The religious services were followed by a general consultation as to the future. It was then decided that the pastor, Robinson, should remain at Leyden, and the elder Brewster go with the Pil- grims, and such as would were chosen for the elder's company. It must indeed have been a sorrowful day. The third fast was their farewell. After many debates and delays the time was at hand. It was the year 1620, the month of July, when, " being ready to depart, they had a day of sollemne humihation." Tak- ing all the circumstances into account, we conclude that this was the day before they left Leyden, which was the 21st. They would hardly make the journey to Delf shaven in a Dutch canal-boat during the night, nor do we suppose they started on the fast day. The religious services, according to general custom, were prolonged. Bradford says the pastor took for his text Ezra viii. 21 : " And ther at y® river, by Ahava, I proclaimed a fast, that we might humble ourselves before our God, and seeke of him a right way for 1 Bradford's Hist.f pp. 41,42 ; Winslow in Young's Chron., p. 383. THE FASTS OF THE EXILES. 63 us, and for our children, and for all our substance." "Upon which he spente a good parte of y^ (Jay very ^/ profitably and suitable to their presente occasion. The rest of the time was spente in powering out prairs to y^ Lord with great fervencie, mixed with abundance of tears." ^ Winslow corroborates Brad- ford's suggestion of further exercises of prayer by his words: "The brethren that stayed having again sol- emnly sought the Lord with us and for us, and we further engaging ourselves mutually as before," etc. ^ Possibly it was at this informal conference after the service that Robinson delivered to them the address which Winslow recalled after the lapse of more than twenty-five years.^ Thus throughout most of the day they fasted, pursuing their religious exercises and cele- brating the Lord's Supper, as their custom was ; but at the close of the services, having covenanted together and received their parting address, they broke the fast. Winslow gives us this interesting narrative: "They that stayed at Leyden feasted us that were to go at our pastor's house, being large, where we refreshed ourselves, after tears, with singing of psalms, making joyful melody in our hearts, as well as with the voice, there being many of the congregation very expert in music, and indeed it was the sweetest melody that ever mine ears heard." * This author does not, indeed, say that this feast was on the evening of the fast day, but he implies it, and other considerations leave no doubt of it. The occasion was more than the ordinary frugal meal. In modem terms, it was a 1 Bradford's Hist, pp. 58, 59. 2 Young's Chronicles, p. 384. ^ See Dexter's Cong, as seen, etc., pp. 403, 404 n. * Young's Chronicles, p. 384. 64 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. " church sociable " at which the Pilgrim company- were the guests. If the facts are as above stated, here is a custom which we have not met with hitherto, — a feast on the evening of a fast day! The fast usually ended about four o'clock in the afternoon, but the Puri- tans did not approve of the feasts with which the Church of England celebrated some of its festivals. They frequently referred to the inappropriateness of these "bankets." How happens it, then, that these Separatists are found so perilously near imitating their example ? The problem summons to our notice the peculiari- ties of the Dutch people. They also kept special days on occasion, which they had christened, with a signi- ficant phrase, days of " fasting prayer and thanks- giving " (vast-bede-en dankdag). Even in cases where they are termed " fast and prayer " days (vast-en bededag), or " prayer and fast" days (bidt-en vasten- dag), the word "thanksgiving" (danksegging) i» sometimes used in the proclamation. The Dutch emi- grants to New Netherland carried such days with them to the New World, and celebrated them for many a day, as will be seen in a later chapter. If the Scrooby company arrived in Ley den on the 1st of May, 1609, they were witnesses to the celebration of a thanksgiving day within a week (May 6), on ac- count of the truce between the states and their ene- mies.i Eobinson must have been interested in the events relating to April 17, 1619, a day of " fasting prayer and thanksgiving," in which thanksgiving or prayer may be presumed to have prevailed according 1 Davies' Hist, of Holland ^ ii. 439. THE FASTS OF THE EXILES. 65 as the Dutch minister was a Calvinist or an Ar- minian.^ It was an exciting time at Leyden. And there were other such days when it woiild have been manifest to the observant Separatist that thanksgiving did not merely include the element of praise in the religious service, but also the feast after the hours of fasting were over. It had been a characteristic of some festivals, and thence probably passed to these days of civil appointment, which, too, well suited the feasting temperament of the Dutch. Some historians would no doubt come at once to the conclusion that the Pilgrims about to depart here show their indebtedness to the Hollanders among whom they had found an abiding place for nearly twelve years ; but it seems to us an unwarranted in- ference from a mere coincidence in the outward form. The farewell feast of the Pilgi'ims, hallowed by prayer and psalm-singing, was a very different thing in it- self from the convivial gatherings of the Dutch. The feast was not a part of their system ; in this instance it was incidental. There is another explanation of the fact far more reasonable. It is found in their own past experiences. Those little Separatist circles which, forty years before, had met in private houses about London, or in " the se- cluded gravel-pits of Islington," had been accustomed to " dyne together & after dynner make collection to pay for ye dyet." Gathered as they were from great distances to hear the word of God preached, it was neciessary. The manor house of Scrooby had many times entertained some of this same company on their meeting days. A community of life had been, to 1 Brandt's Hist, iii. 351 ff. The proclamation is there in print. 66 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. some extent, forced upon them by the circumstances. They enjoyed the social compact, which brought them together like a family, in the house of their pastor. So when the time came for them to break the fast, they were following their own precedents in gathering about the feast, which they did without any thought of their neighbors. The Separatists had already de- monstrated their right to be termed independent, and they are the last against whom a charge of imitating others should be brought. Besides, the feast, even on a fast day, if the circum- stances made it appropriate, was not at variance with their religion. They regarded the spiritual end to be served rather than the form. " Those men," says Dr. Leonard Bacon, "were neither sour nor grim; they could fast or feast, as occasion might require." And have we not here an illustration of that genial and hopeful disposition which characterized the Pil- grims ? They had not that rugged severity necessa- rily produced by the constant upheavals of Puritan life in England, and which made the history of the Bay Colony to run at times like a turbulent river. Their life had been turned aside to flow like a shaded stream. It was such a spirit which finally developed the harvest festival out of the Puritan thanksgiving. In their fraternity, too, they were superior to all other companies of planters. The family and the home were consecrated in the adversities they shared in exile. A fast " at the river Ahava " ! A goodly company "seeking from God a straight way for themselves, for their little ones, and for all their substance " ! A fast dissolving at evening into a feast, as the day into THE FASTS OF THE EXILES. 67 golden twilight! The Pilgrim chroniclers' have given us no scene more charming, none in truth more hon- estly religious. It is worthy of the artist's brush, — that gathering of a family of believers, in whose he- roic souls courage, faith, love, and gratitude arise in a psalm they must have sung on that day of fare- wells : — " lEhovah feedeth me, I shall not lack. In grassy folds, he down doth make me lye, he gently leads me, quiet waters by." ^ There are no words which so fitly record their de- parture from Leyden as those of their own historian, Bradford : " So they lefte y* goodly & pleasante citie, W which had been ther resting place near 12 years, but they knew they were pilgrimes & looked not much on those things but lift up their eyes to y® heavens their dearest cuntrie and quieted their spirits." ^ Ainsworth, Psalm-Book, CHAPTER V. THE HARVEST FESTIVAL AT PLYMOUTH. 1621. The early history of Hellenic races often brings out the fact that, though professing descent from the gods, they are found in possession of customs belonging to an older civilization. Our veneration for the fore- fathers of New England must not allow us to suppose that they created wholly new institutions. The pas- sengers of the Mayflow^er were liberty-loving English- men, separated only so far as conscience commanded from the customs of their native land. The seed of many an organism, ecclesiastical, civil, or social, — often thought to have been original, — they brought with them, to be planted in a new soil, and developed in its environment as a new variety. Yet, while we forget not the seed, we need to emphasize those new conditions which had a force, rarely enough considered, in determining their action in church and state, and ! shaping their customs. The environment will account \ in great measure for the fact that opinions and prac- tices, which some professed to love still as they left Old V England, were lost at sea. r~^ The celebration of a harvest festival by the Pilgrims 1 in 1621 is an illustration of the influence of these new ^ conditions and circumstances in clothing an old Jdea with appropriate garments. If we bear in mind the HARVEST FESTIVAL AT PLYMOUTH, 69 fact that they were Englishmen, living in affectionate regard for their fathers, and do them the credit to believe that they were a company of sensible people, as we follow the stony path of their experiences at Plymouth for many months, it aU seems natural enough that they should do as they did. Surely we will rid ourselves of the notion that they were con- sciously shaping the practices of their descendants and inaugurating the harvest thanksgiving of many mil- \ to lions. It was not a thanksgiving at all, judged by their Puritan customs, which they kept in 1621 ; but as we look back u23on it after nearly tlii-ee centuries, it seems so wonderfully like the day we love that we claim it as the progenitor of our harvest feasts. The Pilgrims found abimdant cause at the sight of Cape Cod for praismg God. Even the Truro shore was a grateful rehef after a voyage of sixty-seven days. If Bradford, as we believe, describes the landing of those^who went ashore for wood, November 11 > Ifi^O, O. S., then their first act was to fall upon their knees and bless the God of heaven,^ and without doubt they made special mention of their gratitude in their wor- ship the next day, which was Sunday. The signal deliverance at the place of " the first encounter " was not suffered to pass without their giving God " sol- lei^^TEanks and praise ; " ^ and so, also, their escape from shipwreck on Clark's Island was commemorated.^ Such were the Pilgrims and such their habit day by day. Yet we should hardly suppose that, through- out the sufferings of that first dreadful winter, they had other than these spontaneous recognitions of their 1 Bradford's Hist., p. 78. 2 jjjVf.^ p. ge. 8 Ibid., p. 87 ; MourVs Relation, ed. 1865, p. 59. 70 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. afflictions and blessings, oftentimes tempering their sadly wasted Sunday services. There was no demand for a special day of humiliation ; it was a life of fasting enforced by their suffering condition, and, had there been signal deliverances, they were not so circum- stanced as to respond in a day of thanksgiving. But there was prayer, — constant prayer, like the throb- bing of the pulse ; and so an infant nation was born. The spring of 1621 opened, and the seed was sown in the' fields. They watched it with anxiety, for well they knew that their lives depended upon that harvest. So the days flew by and the autumn came. Never in Holland nor in Old England had they seen the like. For the most part they had worked at trades during their exile ; they were now farmers, as their ancestors had been. Bounteous Nature, with the pride of a milliner at a fall opening, spread all her treasures before them. Their little plots had been blessed by the sunshine and the showers, and round about them were many evidences of the friendliness of the un- tilled soil. The woodland — what a revelation it must have been to them, arrayed in its autumnal garments, and swarming with game, which had been concealed from them during the summer! The Pilgrim from over the sea fell in love then and there with New England, and the bride, clad in her cloth of gold, had been waiting many years for such a suitor. So it hap- pened that there was a wedding feast. The account of this occasion found in " Mourt's Ke- ^lation " is so frequently referred to that it is given in full : " Ouiuharvest being gotten in, our Governour sent foure ifien on fowling, that so we might after a more speciall manner reioyce together, after we had HARVEST FESTIVAL AT PLYMOUTH. 71 gathered the fruit of our labours ; they f oure in one day killed as much fowle, as with a little helpe beside, served the Company almost a weeke, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Armes, many of the Indians coming amongst vs, and amongst the rest their greatest King Massasoyt, with some ninetie men, whom for three dayes we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed fine Deere, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governour, and vpon the Captaine, 'and others. And although it be not alwayes so plentifull, as it was at this time with vs, yet by the goodnesse of God, we are so farre from want, that we often wish you par- takers of our plentie." ^ That thisjwas a harvest festival cannot be disputed. But it has generally been termed the first autumnal thanksgiving in New England,^ and some have sup- posed that it was the inauguration of a continuous series of thanksgiving occasions. Such is not the fact. We have already learned what their idea of a re- ligious thanksgiving day was, and the account itself shows that this was altogether a diflferent celebration. It was not a day set apai-t for religious worship, but a whole week of festivity. No religious service is spoken of, and it is not likely that any was held, other than 1 MourVs Belation, p. 133. 2 Young says in the Chronicles of the Pilgrims, p. 231 n. : "This was the first Thanksgiving, the harvest festival of New England." In The Pilgrim Republic, p. 180, Goodwin says : " Thus heartily and royally was inaugurated the great New England festival of Thanksgiving." This is the opinion commonly held. Rev. H. M. Dexter, D. D., in his edition of MourVs Relation, p. 133 n., says : " Here began that peculiar Now England festival, the a^rmial autumnal Thanksgiving." This view, however, he subsequently modified in The Independent, Novem- ber 28, 1889, where he rejects the opinion that it was the original of the autumnal Thanksgiving, 72 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. their customary morning devotions.^ The Sabbath services which bomided the week were probabTy^ef^ meated with the spirit of gratitude, and for aught we know they may have had a thanksgiving day besides. This, however, was a week of rejoicing and pleasure. The Pilgrims would surely have been shocked at " recreations " during a religious season. They even had more respect for Christmas than that. On the Christmas Day following, as Bradford relates, " more of mirth than of waight," most of the new company, which had meanwhile arrived in the Fortune, excused themselves from going to work from conscientious scru- ples, whom the governor found at noontime " pitching ye barr " and '.' at stoole-ball." ^ He thereupon confiscated their " implements," and bade them keep their houses if they made the keeping of the day a matter of devotion, saying, " Ther should be no gameing or revelling in ye streets," in which action he mirthfully justified himself by the claim that it " was against his conscience that they should play & others worke."'\^It was this very mingling of sports with religious services, as we have seen, that they had condemned in England. Whatever their descendants may do, the Pilgrims would never have countenanced a game of ball upon one of their thanksgiving days. Moreover, such an interpretation robs the passage of its charm, and impairs its real sig- nificance. It is not the day we have before us, but the man who will create the day. The brighter side of our forefathers' characters is here displayed. Re- ^ They had prayers before breakfast. Bradford's HtsL, p. 85 ; The Pilgrim Republic, p. 180. 2 On these amusements see Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, b. ii. c, 2, s. 7, and b. ii. c. 3, s. 11. 3 Bradford's Hist., p. 112. HARVEST FESTIVAL AT PLYMOUTH, 73 ligion had its place, and that was very prominent, but they were not averse to recreations and amusements. They looked with sad concern, no doubt, upon the mature faces of their children, and sought to cheer them by joining them at play. We regret that it cannot be shown that Bradford and Standish and Winslow could play stool-ball just a little better than those Christmas-keepers of the Fortune's company, but we have no doubt they looked on approvingly and greeted the victors with applause. The muster of the military before the admiring eyes of wives and sisters was a needful laudation of soldierly duty, and withal a wholesome spectacle for the Indians. If it excited any fears in their savage breasts, these were dissipated by the prevailing hospitality, — a winsome lesson which they eoidd fully appreciate. The grand hunt of the four prime shots, who received the honor from the governor himself, was an event, and the result shows that Bradford made no mistake in his selection. On the whole, considering the pressure of their em- ployments, it is remarkable that they spared an entire week, as we infer, in general recreations and common feasting. The Pilgrim historians liave not left us any "bill of fare" for this particular occasion, but we can gather from extant writings some knowledge of what they may have had during the week. The provisions must have been bountiful, for there were about one hundred* and forty persons, including the ninety of Massasoit's company, who were entertained for three days. All had their share of the supplies. The colonists were divided into households according to convenience, and over each some Pilgrim mother pre- 74 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. sided who was thoroughly skilled in the art of cookery. Various kinds of sea-food were at hand. They had made the acquaintance of the oyster, which the In- dians were wont to bring them, and who had doubt- less made known to them the best varieties of fish. Ducks they had of the choicest species, higlily prized by the epicures of the present day. Geese were there- about that would have done honor to the Michaelmas feast of England. Game was brought in from the woods in abundance, from venison, which they knew well how to roast, to the partridge, which is never so good as when broiled on the skewer. And, abqve^all, they had the turkey, of which they fomid a " great store " in the forest, — the turkey, thus early crowned queen of their bounty, and to which example their de- scendants, even though they may have failed to imi- tate them in other respects, have always been loyal. These savory meats all garnished their tables through- out that festival. Kettles, skillets, and spits were overworked, while thus their knives and spoons, kindly assisted by their fingers, made merry music on their pewter plates. Nor were these viands without the company of the barley loaf and the cakes of Indian meal, more highly prized then than wheat-fed millions can imagine. As to their vegetables, we have the poetic testimony of the governor himself, — for his Excellency wrote poetry, the lines of which were not measured by dactylic or iambic feet, but by the twelve- inch rule : — * / " All sorts of grain wMcli our own land doth yield, , ^ Was hither brought, and sown in every field : \K \ As wheat and rye, barley, oats, beans and pease ' \ V/' Here all thrive and they profit from them raise, All sorts of roots and herbs in gardens grow, — HARVEST FESTIVAL AT PLYMOUTH, 75 Parsnips, carrots, turnips or what you '11 sow, Onions, melons, cucumbers, radishes, B^^^, beets, cole worts and fair cabbages." ^ >» Of " sallet herbs " they had found plenty in the springtime, but now they depended upon the yield of their garden seeds. The indigenous squash and pump- kin they had allowed to climb their cornstalks, and it may be they had now and then a pumpkin-pie. " Strawberries, gooseberries, and raspis " were out of season, but they may have dried some in the summer sun, and the same may be said of the several varieties of plums that grew in the woodland. They tell us n that they had wild grapes, and we can atiHost detect 11 the smack in their words, '^ very sweete and strong," whose sweetness might have added strength on oppor^ timity, in the absence of their home-brewed English beer. The most temperate of their descendants woidd not begrudge them such a beverage " for their stom- achs' sake " under the circumstances. The fact is that, notwithstanding we know so little of the occasion, we know enough of what was at hand, so we can fairly say it was a royal feast the Pilgrims spread that first golden autumn at Plymouth, worthy of their Indian guests, and altogether creditable to their posterity .^ The occasion was imique, and not in itself adapted to T i be perpetuated in such proportions. As the peach- tree puts forth its tinted bloom before its abiding foli- age, so this harvest festival was the bursting into life 1 1 of a new conception of man's dependence upon the : ^ Lines from Bradford, Mass. Hist. Soc Coll., I. vol. iii. p. 77. ^ The exact time of this festival is unknown. If we may fix it by the sequence of events in the narrative, it was between September 23 and November 11, and probably in October. Bradford's Hist., pp. 104, 105 ; Mourt's Relation, pp. 124, 137. 76 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, bounties of nature. It was the promise of autunma] thanksgivings to come. It has been repeatedly said that this festival was suggested to the Pilgrims by the " Feast of Ingather- ing " known in Jewish history, and others have found in that the motive for the development of the New England Thanksgiving. All harvest festivals, whethei of Christians or heathen, must be the same in essence. Only in respect to its intent and duration would thi^ Pilgrim celebration suggest that of the Bible, in whicl worship and sacrifice were the burden of its ritual John Robinson makes an extended reference to this Jewish feast as kept by Ezra, and finds only a solemr religious character attaching to it.^ It could not have been regarded otherwise by the forefathers. The sup- position seems to us wholly without warrant. If it has a kinship to anything in the past, it is tc the Harvest Home of England. The joy over the gathering-in of the harvest was the main thought in both celebrations. This had no bringing home witli much ceremony, from the field, of the last shock oi corn, fantastically arrayed in brilliant finery; nc "blessing of the cart," or "kissing of the sheaves;'' no harvest song, so familiar in the fatherland : — " Here 's a health to the barley-mow ; Here 's a health to the man Who very well can Both harrow and plough and sow." Yet the master and the servant had the old-time fel lowship at the feast, and the new-time guest, with hi^ royal crown of eagle feathers, was not better than the humblest. Their hockey cake was of the proper sort ; 1 Robinson's Works, ii. 312. HARVEST FESTIVAL AT PLYMOUTH. 77 and the goose, if not of aristocratic lineage, was much to their liking. It is a well-known fact that in some districts in England at that time the feast of the har- vest contmued for an entire week.i Surely, if this occasion is to be judged by analogy, it has affinities with the harvest festival of England. It may be fairly assumed that the idea of celebrating their ingathering was famihar to them. Often in their own land had they witnessed such celebrations. More than this we cariiiot certainly say, for there is no evidence that they observed any of the customs characteristic of that English holiday season ; and if they had in mind the perpetuation of the Harvest Home, it is strange, in- deed, that the historian omits entirely a reference to their purpose. The harvest festival at Plymouth in 1621 was an , inspiration. It was not made ; it was born. It did not look backward into the past; and, as for the future, no one thought of the real influence such a celebration would have. The present alone com- manded it ; its wonderful autimmal season, its relief from anxiety, its food for those who had endured hun- ger, — this benediction of the New World reanimated their drooping spirits. They could serve God as truly \ \ \ on a holiday in its recreations as on the Sabbath in j I | its services. All slumbering discontent they would smother with common rejoicings. When the holiday was over they would be better, braver men, because they had turned aside to rest awhile. So the exile of Leyden claimed the harvests of New England. 1 Richard Carew, in his Survey of Cornwall^ says of the English harvest festival : " Neither doth the good cheere wholly expire (though it somewhat decrease) but with the end of the weeke." For a sum- mary of harvest customs, see Brand's Pop. Antiq., ii. 16-33 ; Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, b. iv. c. 3, s. 27. '\ CHAPTER VI. SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 1623. The expression of gratitude to God in a religious service did not make its advent in America with the Pilgrims. It was, of course, a common feature of all rituals. The Church of England had provided for it by special prayers to be offered at the Sabbath service, and this was the practice of her colonists. A failure to distinguish between this thanksgiving service and the thanksgiving day has led some to claim that the Popham colonists at Monhegan in 1607 were the fore- runners in the keeping of thanksgiving days. The account itself, as given in " A Relation of a Voyage to Sagadahoc," refutes the claim. It is as follows : " Sondaye beinge the 9th of August, in the mominge the most part of our holl company of both our shipes landed on tliis Illand, whear the crosse standeth ; and thear we heard a sermon delyvred unto us by our preacher, gyuinge God thanks for our happy metinge and saffe aryuall into the contry ; and so retorned abord aggain." ^ Rev. Richard Seymour, the preacher, was aii Episcopalian, and the passage shows that he adhered to the custom of his church. The Puritan thanksgiving day was a week-day observance, and quite another thing in its whole temper. 1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc., xviii. 102. ; Winsor's Nar. and Crit. Hist, of America^ iii. 176, 192. SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 79 We have already estabKshed the fact that the system of fasts and thanksgivings which the English colonists as Puritans brought with them to Plymouth, Salem, Boston, and Hartford was that of occasional days for special causes. We now turn to follow them in the practice of this system, which has continued through droughts, earthquakes, and wars to modern times, ever becoming less recognized. The development of the oc- casional spring fast into the annual appointment, and the growth of the autumnal harvest thanksgiving as now observed, we shall meet with in due time, nor will these changes seem so strange to us after we have be- come familiar with the nature of the causes which moved the fathers in early days. A remarkable and interesting instance of their cus- tom is now at hand in the experiences at Plymouth in 1623. The year 1622 had been filled with misfortunes. Shortly after their harvest festival, when they had thought their struggles were at an end, other colo- nists had arrived by the ship Fortune, unprovided \vith supplies. Had this lack of forethought been at once appreciated, Winslow would not have sent back, by this very ship, such a glowing account of their plenty, to encourage a repetition of this mistake. As the spring of 1622 advanced, their " store of victuals was wholly spent." Promises of supplies from the Adventurers in England failed. In the summer the disorderly crowd from the Charity and the Swan, — the Weymouth company — were loaded upon them. Their crop was depleted and damaged by these thieves whom they were entertaining, and rumors of trouble with the Indians had prevented them from increasing 80 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. the extent of their fields. Notwithstanding the fact that they obtained some supplies from the Lidians by barter, and more from fishing vessels by gift, in the autumn their wants were greater even than in the starving spring. Even a pious Pilgrim could find no occasion for an autumnal thanksgiving, and they were, alas ! in no circumstances to indulge in a week of feasting. So the winter passed. The spring of 1623 only augmented their sufferings. At night they did not know where they would procure food for the next day. Perhaps it was Elder Brewster, in one of their Sabbath services, and possibly speaking from the pe- tition in the Lord's Prayer, who made the observation which Bradford quotes : " They had need to pray that God would give them their dayly brade, above all peo- ple in y® world." ^ The one boat they had was em- ployed all the time by one of the several companies into which they had been divided, and the fishing trips on which they went were sometimes prolonged for days before they caught enough to warrant a re- turn. Never since they had arrived at Plymouth had they been so reduced. In the month of April they planted their corn. A second time within the space of three years they turned in desperate straits to the mother earth for re- lief, and lifted up their waiting eyes to Heaven. All prospered until the third week in May, when a drought set in. It was a new trial, and one against which they could not have provided had they fore- seen it. For six long weeks " there scarce fell any raii^n," and there was excessive heat. Sadly they watched the effect upon their crops. The fields be- 1 Bradford's Hist., p. 136. SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 81 came parched. The corn withered away so they thought it was dead. Their beans ceased growing, and appeared as though they had been blasted with fire. In the midst of this discouragement there ar- rived a ship bringing the " admiral of the fishing fleet," who told them he had spoken a ship at sea with many of their friends aboard, but had lost them in a storm, and judged from their delay and some wreck- age that all had perished. " The most courageous," says Winslow, " were now discouraged, because God, which hitherto had been their [our] only shield and supporter, now seemed in his anger to arm himself against them [us]." The narrative of Winslow gives an ample account of what followed, and it should be put in liis own words : " These and the like considerations moved not only every good man privately to enter into examination with his own estate between God and his conscience, and so to humiliation before him, but also more solemnly to hmnble ourselves together before the Lord by fasting and prayer. To that end a day was appointed by public authority, and set apart from all other employments ; hoping that the same God, which had stirred us up hereunto, would be moved hereby in mercy to look down upon us and gi'ant the request of our dejected souls, if our continuance there might any way stand with his glory and our good. But O the mercy of our God ! who was as ready to hear as we to ask : for though in the morning, when we as- sembled together, the heavens were as clear, and the drought as like to continue as ever it was, yet (our exercise continuing some eight or nine hours) before our departure, the weather was overcast, the clouds 82 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. gathered together on all sides, and on the next morn- ing distilled such soft, sweet, and moderate showers of rain, continuing some fourteen days and mixed with such seasonable weather, as it was hard to say whether our withered corn, or drooping affections, were most quickened or revived ; such was the bounty and good- ness of God. Of this the Indians, by means of Hob- bamock, took notice, who being then in the town, and this exercise in the midst of the week, said, It was but three days since Sunday, and therefore demanded of a boy, what was the reason thereof, which when he knew, and saw what effects followed thereupon, he and all of them admired the goodness of our God to- wards us, that wrought so great a change in so short a time, showing the dift'erence between their conjura- tion, and our invocation on the name of God for rain, theirs being mixed with such storms and tempests, as sometimes, instead of doing them good, it layeth the corn flat on the ground, to their prejudice, but ours in so gentle and seasonable a manner, as they never observed the like." ^ It was not many days after this fast, if we rightly conjecture, that Captain Miles Standish, who had been northward on a voyage to procure provisions, returned ^ Winslow's " Relation," Young's Chronicles, pp. 349, 350 ; Brad- ford's Hist., pp. 141, 142 n. Nathaniel Morton, in his New England'' s Memorial (repr. 1855, pp. 64, 65), gives a more dramatic setting to the astonishment of the Indians. Hobomok said, " I am much troubled for the English, for I am afraid they will lose all their corn by the drought, and so they will be all starved," but afterwards he confessed to the same man, " Now I see that the Englishman's God is a good God," etc. This was the version current in 1669 as given by one of the fathers then living, probably John Alden. Increase Mather con- cludes his account with the words, " Some amongst the Indians be- came faithfull to the English" {Early Hist, repr. 1864, pp. 108, 109). SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 83 to them with a supply, and also with the welcome news that their friends had escaped the storm and might soon be expected. This was all they needed to fill their cup with blessings. " Having these many signs of God's favor and acceptation," Winslow con- tinues, ''we thought it would be great ingratitude, if secretly we should smother up the same, or content ourselves with private thanksgiving for that which by private prayer could not be obtained. And therefore another solemn day was set apart and appointed for that end ; wherein we returned glory, honor, and prais^, with all thankfulness, to our good God, which dealt so graciously with us ; whose name for these and all other his mercies towards his church and chosen ones, by them be blessed and praised, now and ever- more. Amen." ^ This is the most complete of the original accounts, and the only other is that given b}^ Bradford. Hub- bard, Prince, and later writers obtained aU their facts from them. John Smith had evidently read Wins- low's " Relation." 2 The deliverance, however, was not soon forgotten, and, being rehearsed from time to time, tradition added many particulars to the story. Such is the authority for the report that they had di- vided their last pint of corn among them, giving five kernels to each person. In most modern versions it is said that the rain began to fall on their way home from church, but it will be noticed that Winslow says " the weather was overcast " and the rain began the next morning. Bradford says: "Toward evening it ^ Young-' s Chronicles^ p. 351. 2 Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters, etc., repr. 1865, p. 33. 84 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. begane to overcast and shortly after to raine," which, though not conclusive, may be the origin of the impres- sion. Thus much must be evident : it was a very re- markable instance of a most beneficial rain following at once upon a day of prayer, and its influence upon those reverent and believing fathers can scarcely be overestimated. This must have been augmented, too, by the coming in of the Anne, only a day after the thanksgiving, with many of the Leyden flock aboard who had been left behind by the Mayflower. The critical study of this passage, compared with Bradford's, enables us to bring out several important points. With a good degree of confidence we may conclude that the date of the fast day was Wednes- day, July 16, O. S., for Bradford says the drought " continued from y® 3 weeke in May, till about y® midle of July," which corroborates Winslow's remark that it lasted for six weeks after the " latter end of May." It was on a Wednesday, " but three days since Sunday," or " in the midst of the week." The Thanksgiving woidd most likley have been on the same day of the week. It was after the rain had proven its beneficial effects, — "in time conveniente," in Bradford's phrase ; but it was before the arrival of the Anne, which Winslow says was the " latter end of July," by which we take him to mean, as in the former instance, the last day of July. Other examples of this rendering of uW die are found in early documents. The tradition certainly is that the Anne arrived on the 31st of July. If, then, we set the thanksgiving day on a Wednesday, two weeks after the fast and at the end of the fourteen days' rain, it would have been July 30, the day before the ship came. SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 86 This would agree with the statement of Captain John Smith, which Prince quotes, that '' either the next morning or not long after [the thanksgiving] came in two ships." ^ Furthermore, if the departure, of Captain Francis West was just before the fast, as we suppose, it was " about 14 days after," according to Bradford also, that the Anne came into port, which would have been the last of July. Thus all accounts are harmonized, and point to the 16 th as the fast, and the 30th as the thanksgiving. It is also noticed that these days were appointed by " public authority," that is, by an order from the gov- ernor as the civil magistrate. We believe they were the first so ordered in New England ; certainly we have no record of any earlier. Winslow particularly notes this manner of appointment, and the reasons for it, as he would hardly have done had it been a custom dur- ing the previous years. Such days as may have been observed previously would, by former usage, have originated with the church. Both practices were in use a few years later, as the Plymouth church records prove. The famine was an extreme occasion which demanded more than their customary private fastings. Yet it was undoubtedly in accordance with the unan- imous desire of the church membership, and perhaps at the specific request of Elder Brewster, that the gov- ernor set apart such days. If we may apply the prin- ciples of criticism to the words of Winslow, there was an order — the earliest form of a proclamation — which declared the occasion for the day, and m which, as the English custom was, the day was " set apart and appointed " and " other employments " were pro- ^ Smith's General History, lib. 6. 86 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, hibited. We might almost venture that some of Winslow's pious expressions were quotations from such a document. The further details of their action are not pre- served for us. We can only imagine the solemn character of their services, — the extended prophesy- ing of Elder Brewster, the prayers,^ and the psalm- singing. What attracts us most in the story is the simplicity of the Pilgrims' faith in the divine answer to their supplications. It was an experience which must have exercised a lasting influence upon their fasting and thanksgiving customs : — " Famine once we had — But other things God gave us in full store, As fish and ground nuts, to supply our strait, That we might learn on providence to wait ; And know, by bread man lives not in his need. But by each word that doth from God proceed." ^ It must be considered a misfortune in our study that we have no accounts of such fasts and thanksgivings, church or public, as may have been observed during the next few years. We do not doubt that they kept them, not annually, but as special causes would sug- gest. De Rasieres' letter of 1627 speaks of their observing the usual holidays, and, as these could not have been those of the Church of England, he must have had certain other days in mind. In 1630 they are found keeping a fast day in sympathy with the Bay Colony, to which reference is made in that connection. ^ Bradford says of Elder Brewster : " He always thought it were better for ministers to pray oftener, and divide their prayers, than to be long and tedious in the same, except upon solemn and special occa- sions as on days of Humiliation and the like." — Young's Chronicles, p. 469. 2 Lines from Bradford, Mass, Hist. Soc. Coll., I., vol. iii. p. 77. SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 87 Meanwhile, however, other emigrants began to settle in the Plymouth Colony, and in 1634 there came Rev. John Lothrop and some of liis English flock. We know that their practice had been the same as that of the Pilgrims. It is fortunate that we have the records of this church, which at first was located at Scituate and afterwards at Barnstable.^ They contain the dates of a number of fasts in the years 1634 and 1635.^ There are six in the two years, and, though we cannot say certainly that these were other than church fasts, some of them may have been kept also by the church at Plymouth. Some, indeed, may have been ordered by public authority. This supposition is favored by their record of the next year, 1636, the most impoiijant of the decade on ac- count of the revision of the Colonial Laws and the establislunent of a more permanent government. Here we meet first with a fast day, November 11, the oc- casion for which was " a blessing upon their consul- tation about the Laws." This would certainly have moved the Plymouth church to fasting as well as that at Scituate, and it is very possible that this was appointed by public authority. On the 15th they met to review the laws, and one residt of their labors was a law concerning the appointment of fasts and thanksgivings. It is as foUows : " That it be in the power of the Governor & Assist® to comand solemn daies of humilia^on by fasting &c, and also for thankesgiving as occasion shall be offered." ^ As these authorities had appointed the days of 1623, it is 1 Church records in N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., ix. 279 ff., x. 37 ff., 345 ff. 2 See Calendar. 3 Ply. Col Rec, xi. 18. 88 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. probable tliat they had continued the practice since then, but only upon occasion, as the law specifically provides. There was now a new reason for confirm- ing this civil power. The colony had extended its borders. Other towns were springing up, and the church at Plymouth had no jurisdiction over those at Scituate and Duxbury. It was only through such a law that they could secure imiformity, which was desirable when the causes were of common interest. As a fast was kept before the " settling the state," it is probable that the thanksgiving kept by the Scitu- ate church December 22 was to celebrate the com- pletion of the work, and it would naturally be ap- pointed under the new law. Of this day as kept at Scituate we have some further information of an important nature. The record is as follows : "In y* Meetinghouse, begin- ning some haKe an hour before nine & continued untill after twelve aclocke, y® day beeing very cold, beginning w* a short prayer, then a psalme sang, then more large in prayer, after that an other Psalme, & then the Word taught, after that prayer — & the a psalme, — Then makeing merry to the crea- tures, the poorer sort beeing invited of the richer." i This is the earliest example in the Plymouth Colony of feasting in connection with a thanksgiving day, fif- teen years after the notable harvest festival of 1621. That such was the custom, at least in the Scituate church, is proven by the fact that October 12, 1637, was also a thanksgiving there, " mainely for these tow particulars : 1. Ffor the victory over the pequouts, y® 2. Ffor Keconciliation betwixt Mr. Cotton and the 1 Chh. rec, N. E, Reg., x. 39. SHOWERS OF BLESSING, 89 other ministers ; " and it is said to have been " per- formed much in the same manner aforesaid." Again, December 11, 1639, was a thanksgiving, and after the services they divided into three companies to feast. This does not prove that the day had assumed an annual character, but it shows an important feature of the development towards that, namely, the thanks- giving feast. And, remembering that many of tliis company had been under Lothrop's care in England, we have another instance like that of the exiles at Leyden, of keeping a church feast, in which the circum- stances of their separation had educated them. The thanksgiving feast, indeed, may be called a Separatist institution, and, in the light of the harvest festival of 1621 and the experiences of 1623, we may conclude that it was not long before it was generally recognized in the Plymouth Colony. In concluding this survey of the early customs of the Pilgrims, we should record the fact that their love for the holidays of England was not increased. The first Christmas, they celebrated by beginning the erec- tion of their storehouse, and the second they labored in the fields, administering some discouragement to a few Christmas-keepers. It will be noted that the church at Scituate appointed a fast on the Christmas of 1634. As for Guy Fawkes's Day, November 5, they had sad occasion to remember the fire of 1623 on that day, either brought about by some roistering sea- men, or set with the intention of destroying their plantation. If justification is necessary for their dislike of the ceremonies of May Day, it is readily found in Thomas Morton's "New English Canaan," whose own account of his company is sufiicient con- 90 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. demnation. That reveling crew of merry mountain- eers, with their " beaver-clad lasses," whose nectar does not seem to have inspired the godlike in their / behavior, were no doubt as offensive to the Saints I Philip and James, whom they were honoring, as to ) the Separatists of Plymouth, who christened their ] pine-tree May-pole, surmounted with its " paire of (bucks horns," the " calf of Horeb." It was, however, not so much " The proclamation that the first of May At Ma-re Mount shall be kept holly-day '* as their violation of the king's proclamation against selling firearms to the Indians, that finally brought down upon them the valiant Standish and his mus- keteers. The fast and thanksgiving days of the Pilgrims, consecrated by their sufferings, were destined to a nobler mission. CHAPTER VII. THE SEA-FASTS OF TWO VOYAGES. 1629-1630. The ecclesiastical organization of the Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony was the natural out- come of their Non-conformity in England. A resi- dence in the mother country about 1625 would cer- tainly have convinced the observer that large num- bers, who still counted themselves as within the Church of England, were dissatisfied with her religious tem- per. They fully accepted her articles of faith, but they could not resist the powerful reforming influences of the age. Advocating, as these persons did, the em- ployment of an intelligent ministry; practicing, as they were wont, prophesying in assemblies distinct from the church service ; hallowing the Sabbath, as the majority of their fellow-communicants did not ; minded also to reject numberless ecclesiastical cere- monies commonly termed indifferent, — these Non- conformists had thus, un^vittingly perhaps, separated themselves from the body of religious life in a church for which they still entertained filial affection. Or- ganization does not precede the adoption of harmo- nious opinions, it foUows. We cannot conceive of these Puritan emigrants to New England as forming any other church than they did. The life that really dissented could not express itself in a church that 92 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. conformed. They acted in good faith, but they laid stone upon stone after a design that they knew not. It seemed to them afterward, as they viewed the struc- ture, that it had been ordered by Divine Providence. Some remembrance of these conditions is essential to an explanation of the fact that companies like those at Plymouth, Salem, and Boston came at once into agreement upon the custom of observing fast and thanksgiving days. They had really come into pos- session of the practice through similar experiences. It was a trait of Non-conformity that declared itself. Church fast and thanksgiving days had their origin among communities that had prophesying assemblies. These were hot always composed of Separatists. They were popular among many in the Church of England. Thus this older custom prepared the way for adopt- ing the civil appointment ; and not only so, it was one means of making the Christians of the three com- panies acquainted with a common religious life, and afforded the occasion upon which they were brought into sympathy with one another. We have already followed the course of one stream ; but there were two others, and we shall see how all came together. Historians have repeatedly noted the fact that there were differences in ecclesiastical tem- perament between the company of Francis Higginson, which came to Salem in 1629, and that of John Winthrop, which came to Boston in 1630. This is apparent in the very fasts they kept on their voyages across the sea. The story is told in the days of the week that found favor among them. Insignificant as it may appear now, there was a time, during the struggle between the Non-conformists and the Church THE SEA-FASTS OF TWO VOYAGES. 93 of England, when both parties had very decided pre- judices as to the days they observed for fasting. The fast day in the Church of England was Friday, a remnant of the dies stationum of the Roman Catho- lic Church. If it fell to them to fast "twice in a week," Wednesday and Friday were the days selected. But at the time of the emigration the former had fallen into decay, and Monday, which had also been formerly regarded in England, was mostly prominent in the culinary department as a " fish day." The pro- test against superstitious fasting had made Tuesday and Thursday more especially the days upon which fasts should be kept, if at all, among the Non-conform- ists; and this with design among some, and with an unquestioning following of custom among others. In the main, the radical dissenter avoided the obser- vance of a fast upon Friday. This was not only true in England, but for many years there was such a pre- judice prevalent among the fathers of New England. So late as 1702, Sewall informs us that when the governor asked that the fast be on a Friday, saying, " Let us be Englishmen," there was objection to it. A public fast or thanksgiving upon that day is a rare exception. If they chanced to keep a fast in Virginia, where the influence of the Church of England was dominant, it would naturally be upon a Friday, but such would not have been the decision in Massachu- setts. Thursday was the day generally preferred, and as a second choice Wednesday. As to fasts in partic- ular churches on the occasion of ordaining or install- ing ministers, no uniformity prevailed. Churches, however, which for some reason selected a particular day of the week for their own observance, either by 94 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. fasts or weekly lectures, usually held to it with consid- erable attachment, and this Avas important in commu- nities where several churches existed. Therefore, if we find a church keeping a fast upon another than its customary day, and that for general causes, there is therein some reason for concluding that it was a pub- lic fast of which the record has disappeared. The immediate application of this fact will appear as we turn to the sea-fasts of the voyages of Higginson and Winthrop. On the 13th of May, 1629, there passed with- in sight of Land's End two ships sailing westward. The larger was the Talbot in which Higginson and " above a hundred planters " were passengers. As the coast of Cornwall began to fade in the distance the reverend leader, standing upon the deck astern, his children and other passengers gathered about him, exclaimed, " We will not say, as the Separatists were wont to say at their leaving 'of England, 'Farewell Babylon ! ' ' Farewell Rome ! ' but we will say, ' Farewell, dear England ! Farewell the Church of God in England, and all the Christian friends there ! We do not go to New England as separatists from the Church of England, though we cannot but separate from the corruptions in it, but we go to practice the positive part of church reformation, and propagate the gospel in America.' " ^ This scene, so often referred to, is very picturesque, to be sure. It has a savor of loyalty in it. But it also suggests the fact that many of the company had already separated from what they considered the corruptions of their mother church. We may be assured that her observance of holy days 1 Magnalia, ed. 1853, i. 362. THE SEA-FASTS OF TWO VOYAGES, 95 was one feature they intended to leave behind. This Non-conformist minister had, during his ministry at Leicester, fostered gatherings of kindred spirits for prayer, hearing of sermons, admonishing the unfaith- ful, and the observance of fasts, all not greatly differ- ent from those of the Separatists themselves. All they lacked was a covenant relation to constitute them a Separatist congregation. We can see very clearly what their opinions were as to holy days by their con- duct. It is said of the 21st of May that they conse- crated the day as " a solemn fasting and humiliation to Almighty God, as a furtherance of their [our] pres- ent work." 1 To this exercise they had been moved by the death of the minister's child and the prevalence of contrary winds. The only other minister aboard was Ralph Smith, a Separatist, the future pastor of Ply- mouth, and the two shared the exercises of the day. The sequel is that, though a calm continued through- out the day, about seven o'clock, after their services were over, a fair wind sprung up " as a manifest evi- dence of the Lord's hearing their [our] prayers." *'I heard some of the mariners say," writes Higginson, " they thought this was the fu'st sea^-fast that ever was kept, and that they never heard of the like performed at sea before." This fast was upon a Tliursday, and the only other was upon Tuesday, the 2d of June, both undoubtedly the days of the week they had been accustomed to observe in England. The reasons for this latter were the contrary winds, unwholesome fogs accompanied with a sultry temperature, and more especially the sickness of some who had been attacked 1 Higginson' s Journal of his Voyage to New England, in Young's Chron. of Mass., and Hutchinson's Original Papers. 96 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. by scurvy and the smallpox. On that occasion, says the writer, " the Lord heard us before we prayed and gave us answer before we called, for early in the morning the wind turned full east, being as fit a wind as could blow." It would seem also that they thought a divine sanction was put upon their practice because a wicked fellow among the crew, who had railed against them as Puritans and mocked at their fast days, fell sick of the pox and died, being the only one aboard who did, excepting the child. The religious exercises consisted of prayer, psalm-singing, expound- ing the Scriptures, and preaching, — a service not un- like that among the Separatists. In reflecting upon these occasions, near the close of his journal, Higginson makes a remark which shows that the custom was already established among them. " Let all that love and use fasting and praying take notice that it is as prevailable by sea as by land, wheresoever it is faith- fully performed." Now surely he and his friends were such as would fellowship with the people of Plymouth. Upon their arrival at Salem they found in the mind of Endicott — who had hitherto, we believe, con- formed to the Church of England — a kindly opinion of the Pilgrims, whose physician had only lately re- turned home from ministering to their sick, having satisfied the governor as to their " outward forme of God's worshipe." Morton informs us that the move- ment for church organization originated with Hig- ginson and Skelton, who " acquainted the governor with their intentions." ^ Kev. Francis Bright, the Conformist minister who had come in the Lion's Whelp, the consort of the Talbot, was left out in the 1 New England's Memorial, p. 97. THE SEA-FASTS OF TWO VOYAGES. 97 cold. The Non-conformists carried the day against some opposition. And thus we come upon the occa- sion of their first fast day at Salem. About a month after Higginson's arrival, Charles Gott writes thus of it to Bradford: " The 20th of July, it pleased y« Lord to move y® hart of our Gov' to set it aparte for a solemne day of humiliation, for y® choyce of a pastor and teacher. The former parte of y® day being spente in praier & teaching, the later parte aboute y® election." ^ Skelton and Higginson were chosen and were " separated for their charge ; " but, as no covenant relation had as yet been entered into, the formal investiture was postponed. Moreover, the last two of the five ships — the Four Sisters and the Mayflower — had not yet arrived, wherein " more able men" for the church officers might come.^ With- out doubt aU had arrived before the 6th of August,^ and therefore that day was also set apart as a fast day, upon which they entered into covenant, chose elders and deacons, and consecrated them to service. When all the circumstances are kept in mind, it will be seen that this was a memorable day. Apart from its ecclesiastical importance, it was an occasion for fellowship between the people of Salem and Plymouth. Governor Bradford was there, having been hindered by adverse winds, so that he only came in time to give 1 Gott's letter to Bradford, in Bradford's History, p. 265. This day, having been ordered by the g-overnor, must be considered a pub- lic fast, though its occasion was ecclesiastical. 2 Bradford's " Letter-Book " in Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., I. vol. iii. ^ These two ships were expected to follow the Talbot, which had made a quick voyage, in three weeks. They could not have ar- rived before July 20, and Bradford says of the Mayflower passen- gers, they came " aboute August." 98 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. the right hand of fellowship. Some others had come with him. But this more than all, thirty-five of the Leyden ilock were there, having come as passengers in the Mayflower. To them it was a happy and tender reunion, as they saw once more the faces of their fellow-exiles, from whom they had been so long separated. As the day declined, and, according to the custom, they broke the fast together, — the Non-conformists of England and the Separatists from Holland, — what recitals of experience there must have been, what Christian sympathies must have filled all hearts ! This we must believe, that the fast day August 6, 1629, was an occasion upon which the emigrants who had found a home at Salem were bap- tized with the spirit of the Pilgrims. Let us now follow the voyage of John Winthrop's company. On March 29, 1630, '' Easter Monday," they were " riding at the Cowes near the Isle of Wight." That was a time proper enough for even a churchman to set forth. They, too, bade a loyal fare- well to the Church of England, but in another form. In a " Humble Request ... to the rest of their Bre- thren in and of the Church of England," etc., they sought her prayers, and cleared themselves of aU sus- picions of separation from their mother church. It must be confessed that they were sincere, and intended to conform in essentials at least. What were their fast and thanksgiving days ? The first was a fast on Friday, April 2, before they were on the way, of which we know nothing eventful, except that two of the lands- men kept thanksgiving on " strong water " that day, and fasted on bread and water the next.^ As we 1 Winthrop's History of New England, i. 4. THE SEA-FASTS OF TWO VOYAGES. 99 read on, we notice that on Friday, April 23, they celebrated a festival. That was the day dedicated to St. George, and was an Englishman's feast day. In this manner they kept it. The captain of the Ara- bella, says Winthrop, " put forth his ancient in the poop and heaved out his skiff and lowered his top- sails, to give sign to his consorts that they should come aboard us to dinner. About eleven of the clock, our captain sent his skiff and fetched aboard us the masters of the other two ships, and Mr. Pynchon, and they dined with us in the round-house, for the lady and gentlewomen dined in the great cabin." ^ On Friday, May 21, they kept a fast, as also on the even- ing before in the great cabin. This was doubtless on account of the weather.^ On Friday, June 4, they kept another fast for the same cause, and with some success, for the next day, a " handsome gale " arising, they had a thanksgiving.^ On Monday, June 7, they were off the Banks, and had great success with cod-lines, which they counted very seasonable, as it was a " fish-day." * Such are the days of record in Winthrop's journal. They invariably chose the day of the week popular among churchmen for fasting, and we tliink the fact indicates what shade of Non- conformity they represented. The foremost of the fleet reached port Saturday, June 12, and, though some went ashore, most returned to the ship, declining to stay, says Felt, "because ^ Winthrop's History, i. 14. 2 Ibid., i. 21. Savage did not seem to understand the case when he added the note : " In this bad weather they were probably without food." 3 Ibid., i. 2.5, 26. * Ibid., i. 26. 100 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, Skelton supposes that he cannot conscientiously admit them to his communion, nor allow one of their children to be baptized. The reason for such scruple is that they are not members of reformed churches like those of Salem and Plymouth." ^ It was appropriate that a thanksgiving day should be kept on accoimt of the safe arrival, especially after such a stormy passage. But this was postponed imtil July 8, awaiting the last straggler of the fleet, the Success, which came to port July 6.2 Winthrop informs us that this day was kept " in all the plantations," by which he means Salem, Charlestown, and Dorchester. Doubt- less all had offered up their thanksgivings before tliis in connection with their Sabbath services, as was the case at Dorchester June 6, the first Sunday after their landing. Possibly church days had been ob- served. But this was a thanksgiving proposed by the civil authority, — the first in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It must have done something toward producing a unity of feeling among those who, at least, had not been in perfect accord. The occasion of their first fast was even more im- portant. A grievous sickness, induced largely by the hardships of the voyage, was upon them. Many died. It seemed best to the main body of the col- onists, then located at Charlestown, to keep a day of humiliation '^ to pacify the Lord's wrath ; " and, as no church had yet been formed, it was deemed the proper time to enter into covenant relations.^ The date was Friday, July 30, the day of the week^ 1 Felt's Ecc, Hist., i. 134. 2 Winthrop's History, i. 35. 8 New England's Memorial, p. 109 ; Bradford's Hist,, p. 277. THE SEA-FASTS OF TWO VOYAGES. 101 it will be noted, upon whicli Winthrop's company had been accustomed to fast. The church was formed, and upon a subsequent fast day, Friday, August 27, inducted its ministry into office.^ But the feature of the fagt July__30 was its larger relations. It was proposed by Governor Winthrop, who did not assume to issue an order for the day, and it was consented to by the action of the churches. The Salem church, it appears, would not act except by the advice of Fuller, Allerton, and Winslow, then at Salem. These wisely, and in tender regard for their afflicted neighbors, indorsed the request, and wrote also to Bradford forwarding Winthrop's suggestion that the Plymouth people also keep the day in their behalf. The plan was doubtless carried out, and for the first time in New England history there was a special religious oc- casion in which all the settlements were united. It might not have been the day of the week that those at Salem would have selected, but that was a minor consideration, and besides their visitors from Plymouth had outgrown such a prejudice. On account of its sorrowful cause it awakened mutual sympathy, and kindled a spirit of fraternity among them. It estab- lished a general acceptance of the custom as belong- ing to their theocratic government. Thus the various shades of Non-conformity came into agreement upon this idea of Puritanism, shaking off the holy days of their fathers and taking a new system in place of the old. 1 Winthrop's Hist., i. 36. CHAPTER VIIL THE ORDERINGS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN THE BAY COLONY. 1631-1635. A WORTHY New England father, Captain Roger Clap, of Dorchester, in detailing the experiences of the early settlers many years thereafter, offers this cogent reflection : " You have better Food and Rai- ment than was in former Times, but have you better Hearts than your Fore-fathers had ? " ^ Comparatively few of their descendants realize the extremity of the hunger which the fathers endured. It was not merely confined to a few occasions, when they may have counted their kernels of com, but rather a self-denial continued from year to year, when com was precious because they knew not what the next season might bring forth, when they could not afford the meats they needed, and when at best their articles of food were so few that they were reduced to such a sim- plicity of life that a single dish was a bounteous re- past. At the same time, all who read these early writers must notice, and view with profound respect, the deep and reverent gratitude with which they re- garded such temporal mercies, — a gratitude which characterized the thanksgiving occasion, and is a last- ing tribute to the noble quality of their hearts. 1 Memoirs of Roger Clap, in Coll. of Dor. Antiq, and Hist Soc., 1844, p. 42 ; also in Young's Chron, of Mass. ORDE RINGS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 103 We turn now to a thanksgiving day in the Bay Colony in which they received the sad impress of starvation experiences, — a thanksgiving made out of a fast through a good Providence, and just such an instance of deliverance a^-^ade for the keeping of the harvest festival at Plymouth. The autumn of 1630 foimd the colonists domiciled in hastily built huts, in which, as the nights grew cold, they suffered much from exposure. Sickness prevailed among them, which was only augmented by the nature of their food. The first interest m their new surroundings had passed, and the despondency and gloom, perhaps in some cases of homesickness, but in all of anxiety for the future, had settled down upon them. Winthrop had happily foreseen that scarcity would soon overwhelm the colony, for part of the provisions had spoiled, and many had come in- sufficiently supplied, under the impression of finding abundance. Some exchanged the provisions they would need during the winter for beaver skins, so that it was necessary to prohibit this trafficking and all ex- portation. Of course they were too late in the season to plant their seed, and doubtless they overestimated the supply of corn among their savage neighbors. So the wise governor, anticipating starvation, had en- gaged Captain William Peirce, of the ship Lyon, to go in all haste to the nearest port in Ireland for provisions. At sea he met the dismasted ship Am- brose, and towed her home to Bristol. This caused delay, so much so that he was thought to have been shipwrecked. As the days went by, the danger be- came more apparent. In October a pinnace was sent to trade with the Narragansetts, and, though about 104 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. one hundred bushels of com were secured, it afforded only a temporary relief. The winter came, and with it increased suffering. The only food the poor had was acorns, ground-nuts, mussels, and clams. Cotton Mather relates that one man, " inviting his friends to a dish of clams, at the table gave thanks to Heaven, who ' had given them to suck the abundance of the seas, and of the treasures hid in the sands. ' " ^ It was not a prophecy which Moses had given for the occasion, but it was surely applicable and doubtless encouraging. Boats were fitted out, and were con- stantly engaged in fishing. At low tide the women in numbers went forth to dig in the clam-banks. A conversation among them is thus reported by an early writer.^ One woman says : " My husband hath trav- ailed so far as Phmouth . . . and hath with great toile brought a little corne home with him." A sec- ond responds : " Our last peck of meale is now in the oven at home a baking, and many of our godly neigh- bours have quite spent all, and wee owe one loafe of that little wee have." Then a third speaks : '' My husband hath ventured hmiselfe among the Indians for corne, and can get none, as also our honoured Governour hath distributed his so far, that a day or two more will put an end to his store." Roger Clap writes thus of the famine : " Bread was so very scarce, that sometimes I thought the very crusts of my father's table would have been very sweet unto me. And when I could have meal and water and Magnolia^ i. 78. Other historians have attributed this apt quota- tion of Deut. xxxiii. 19 to Elder Brewster. Goodwin's Pilgrim Be- public, p. 242. ^ Johnson^s Wonder-working Providence, p. 49, ORDERINGS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 105 salt boiled together it was so good, who could wish better?"^ It was to such straits they had come by midwinter, and these trials moved them to appoint a day of fast- ing and prayer. The exact day set we do not know, but we conjecture that it was during the second week of February .2 It was on the 5th of February, probably a few days before the intended fast, that relief came. According to Mather, it was " when Winthrop was dis- tributing the last handful of meal in the barrel unto a poor man distressed by the wolf at the door, at that instant they spied a ship arrived at the harbour's mouth, laden with provisions for them all." ^ The ship was the Lyon, which Wmthrop had dispatched for relief. Her cargo consisted principally of wheat, meal, peas, oatmeal, beef and pork, cheese, butter and suet, and, what was of greatest importance to the sick, supplies of lemon juice, a cure for the scurvy. The whole was purchased for the common stock, and distributed impartially as there was need. Circum- 1 Mem. of Roger Clap, in Coll. of Dor. Antiq. and Hist. Soc. 2 Savage says : " The Charlestown records mention that a fast had been appointed for the next day after this ship's coming" (Win- throp, i. 50). Prince says: "Feb. 5th was the very day before the appointed fast " (Prince's Annals, ed. 1826, p. 341). Both foimd their authority in the Chariesto\vn records. But these, as given in Young's Chron. of Mass., p. 385, say : " Before the very day appointed to seek the Lord by fasting and prayer, about the month of February or March, in comes Mr. Pearce, laden with provisions." " Before the very day " is not equivalent to " the very day before" Besides, February 5 was a Saturday. They would not have been likely to set such a fast on Sunday. Probably it was to have been that week, and on Sunday it was announced. The labor of distributing the provisions would require a postponement. Hutchinson (i. 23) says they had appointed the 22d for the fast, and changed it to a thanksgiving. But they would not have set a day so far distant in their extremity. 3 Magnalia, i. 122. 106 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. stances no longer being appropriate for a fast, the governor and council ordered a thanksgiving for the 22d of February.! And such was the deliverance which made a profound impression upon the minds of that distressed people. It was recognized as a signal providence of God. About their firesides its story was told by fathers to their children for many a day in praise of the goodness of God and his guardian- ship over the colony. This, however, did not make an end of the distresses they had for want of food. Other lessons were yet to be learned in similar trials. That rigid economy which affected their whole manner of life was the result of repeated seasons of scarcity. Though the remaining months of that year were less eventful, they were at no time relieved of anxiety. The plant- ers were busy preparing their fields and cultivating their crops. Houses were to be built, the necessity for which had been learned through the suffering of the previous winter. Existence was at best a strug- gle. Had it not been for the ships arriving from time to time during the summer, they must certainly have been greatly reduced before their first harvest could be gathered. The season of 1631 was fairly good, and Winthrop says there was a " plentiful crop." But immigrants were coming in every ship, poorly provided, who could not plant until the next year. The fields were not extensive and were poorly tilled. Cattle were being brought over, but so many died on the ocean that those surviving were doubly ^ It is probable that Dudley, in his letter written a few weeks afterwards (Young's Chron. of Mass., p. 325), refers to a sermon preached by John Wilson on that day, when he speaks of his treating the causes for God's dealing thus with his people. ORDERINGS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 107 valuable, and the owners could better afford to starve on clams than destroy their hope for the future. So they contmued throughout the year on short allow- ance. The spring of 1632 came. It was cold and wet. Com planted in the lowlands, which were cleared and could be easier cultivated, was an utter failure. Some fiekls that would otherwise have yielded well were destroyed by worms, and, wliile those who had tilled the sandy soil did better that year, the harvest was very inadequate. Again they were dependent, to a large extent, upon the products of the sea ; but it was not so easy to obtain them, for the winter of 1632-3 was very severe.^ The Charles River was frozen over, and successive snow- storms piled the drifts high round alK)ut. They were only delivered by the coming of a ship in March from Virginia, laden with com. In the spring their strug- gles were renewed. They had hopes that their third planting, of greater extent than the two years pre- vious, would release them from the tyranny of want. But erelong a new enemy was discovered, — the drought, which they learned in subsequent years to dread. They assembled in their churches, though at what times we know not, and besought the Lord for his mercy. Doubtless the season was well advanced, and their com was withering in its earing time. Johnson says : " Thus it befell, the extreame parching heate of the sun . . . began to scorch the Herbs and Fruits, which was the cliiefest meanes of their lively- hood." 2 The same writer emphasizes the urgency of ^ Johnson's Wonder-working Providence, p. 55 ; Young's Chron. of Mass., p. 386. 2 Johnson's Wonder-working Providence, p. 57. 108 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. their prayers. They could not refrain from tears in their religious assemblies as they importuned God for rain. The answer came, and the story is a repetition of that recorded of Plymouth ten years before. In the quaint phraseology of this author: "As they powred out water before the Lord so at that very instant the Lord showred down water on their Gar- dens and Fields, which with great industry they had planted, and now had not the Lord caused it to raine speedily their hope of food had beene lost." ^ Wherefore they celebrated his goodness in a thanks- giving October 16, the first public thanksgiving of the Bay Colony in which the gathering of the harvest bore a conspicuous part.^ Thus, be it noted, the two colonies of Massachusetts, in their early experiences, had the same reason to recognize God as the giver of harvests, and thus in hunger, like Ruth and Naomi, they were pledged to Him and to one another. Yet it cannot be recorded that, after this even, they had general abundance. A scarcity, which enforced economy if not suffering, continued throughout the years 1634 and 1635. Such a crisis was presented in February of the latter year that a general fast was proclaimed for the 25th by the churches, the court ^ Johnson's Wonder-working Providence, p. 58. The Indians were moved to amazement, and regard for the white man's God, as in the instance at Plymouth, and upon a later occasion at Norwich, Conn., when the prayers of Mr. Fitch were answered. Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., I. vol. ix. p. 87. ^ " Here must not be omitted the endearing affections Mr. John Wilson had to the worke in hand, exceedingly setting forth (in his ser- mon this day) the Grace of Christ in providing such meet helps for furthering thereof, really esteeming them beyond so many ship loading of Gold" {Wonder-working Providence, etc., p. 59). Thus in his thanksgiving sermon Wilson referred to the arrival of John Cotton and others. ORDERINGS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 109 not being at hand. ^ But, not to weary the reader with these recitals, it seems evident that these were years of training in a simplicity of Kving such as they had not practiced in England, and they surely abounded in such mercies as taught them to admire a " wonder-working Providence." And as we think of them enduring such trials in succeeding years, rejoi- cing in the springtime hopes and braving the autumn disappointment, — those to many of whom the farmer's life was new, — we can appreciate the force of the ten- dency toward a harvest thanksgiving day. Another prominent cause for thanksgiving during those early years was the arrival of friends. Every one who had endured the perils of the sea wondered that whole fleets came in safety. There was one thanksgiving day for such cause which was unique. On the 2d of November, 1631, there came in the ship Lyon the wife of Governor Winthrop and her fam- ily. Upon the 4th they landed. Margaret Winthrop was to be " the first lady of the land." It was an event which called forth the latent chivalry of the fathers. The military were summoned to arms to do her honor. We do not know of another New Eng- land lady who has been escorted to her home from the landing by " companies in arms," or greeted with such salutes as " vollies of shot." Nor has any since had the like donation of '' fat hogs, kids, venison, poultry, geese and partridges." The scene should be remembered. It manifested a sentiment quite re- freshing in that surrounding of uncultivated wilder- ness. For divers days there was feasting, during 1 Johnson's Wonder-working Providence^ p. 78 ; Winthrop's Hist, i. 216, 217, 220. ^/^^ 110 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, wliich many doubtless took occasion to repay the gov- ernor's kindness to them in the previous winter, and Friday, November 11, was kept as a day of thanks- giving. Of the days observed during the period of which we are writing, the arrival of ships or friends is mentioned in connection with six.i We shall not wonder that such a religious people looked especially for the ordering of Divine Providence in respect to their ministry. No church was formed without a fast day, and no minister installed. This early custom grew into a universal practice in all the New England colonies, and in the local community they were days of considerable importance. Johnson, in his " Wonder-working Providence," relates the fact that the Boston church became somewhat discouraged in waiting for their minister, John Wilson, who had returned to England in 1631 to bring over his wife. " Their eyes now began to fail in missing of their ex- pectation, they according to their common course in time of great strates, set and appointed a day wholy to be spent in seeking the pleasing face of God," but the Lord " heard them before they cried, and the af- ternoone before the day appointed brought him whom they so much desired in safety to shore." ^ This day was a Sunday, May 27, 1632, which instead they kept as a thanksgiving. Only a few days after this there came Thomas Welde, whom also the Boston church much desired to secure ; but he was wanted at Eox- bury. Thereupon both churches took to fasting and prayer. Whether the former did not sufficiently hum- 1 The dates are November 11, 1631; June 13, 1632; September 27, 1632 ; June 19, 1633 ; October 16, 1633 ; August 20, 1634. 2 Johnson's Wonder-working Providence^ p. 56; Winthrop's Hist.^ i. 92. T ORDEEINGS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE. Ill ble themselves, or were not so urgent in their " impor- tunings," they lost him, and he became the minister at Roxbury. The terrible devastation of the smallpox among ^ the Indians did not, as perhaps we might expect, call forth any recognition at the time. It was not noted as a dispensation of Providence. But years after- wards, when the savages rose against them, they turned back to that event as God's way of clearing the country round about for white settlers, and pre- serving them from being overwhelmed in their weak- ness. Thus Amos Adams speaks of it : " And lest, after aU, the savages should prove too hard for them, .^ in 1633 the small pox made dreadful havock among ^ them and swept away almost whole plantations of Indians." ^ All their attention, however, was not devoted, even in their times of famine, to themselves. Every ship was welcome, like the modern newspaper, for its tid- ings of events across the sea. They had enemies there who were spreading evil reports of their religious dissent from the Church of England. Their prayers were offered, in the tone of the Psalms of David, that these hostile plans might be brought to naught. So when tlie favorable news came they had cause for thanksgiving, as on June 19, 1833. They were also thinking and conversing upon the larger concerns of Protestantism abroad. It was plain to them that they lived in trying times. Courage was aroused within their bosoms as they thought of their own colony as the hope of the reformed among the English people. These Puritans are sometimes criticised as men of ^ A Concise Historical Vieiv, etc., fast sermon, April 6, 1769, p. 12. ^ 112 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DA YS. narrow minds. They were not, in the truest sense, and though they may have been bigoted they were not more so than their opponents. Intellectually they were strong men, of large information. The vigor and progressiveness of the English universities crossed the sea with them. We are to think of them in 1632, amidst all their adversities, as twice as- sembled in their sanctuaries, ^ when the tardy mes- sengers brought them news, to celebrate the victories of Gustavus Adolphus, whose armies were sweeping southward against the Catholic forces of Europe to rescue Protestantism and emancipate religion. The King of Sweden and the Emperor of Austria played unwittingly the parts of David and Saul in the dra- matic language of their supplications. Those who wielded the sword in Europe were rushing into their battles, singing, " A mighty fortress is our God," and these, whose struggle was none the less heroic, were responding, — " O Lord my God, I put my trust And confidence in Thee." So, as a detached wing of the same army, the colo- nists were watching with deepest interest the more conspicuous charge of another division, in whose vic- tory they rejoiced as bringing glory to their common Commander. We mistake the early religious life of New England if we do not judge it as having this relation to historic events frequently commemorated in their fast and thanksgiving services. Then the thought of such days encompassed the concerns of nations, and the universal progress of God's kingdom. 1 June 13 and September 27, 1632. ORDEPdNGS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 113 Now, it is oftentimes true that a guardsman's belt can encircle the main cause for gratitude. It becomes us to credit our forefathers with this intelligent and broad sympathy with the religious movements of their time. CHAPTER IX. A FAST SERMON IN COURT. 1635-1640. The painter has frequent chance to notice how one color is changed by the shghtest admixture of another. So the tint which a religious controversy assumes in history would oftentimes be greatly altered by a knowledge of the personal elements entering into it. A church trouble usually has social distinctions or individual offenses to nourish it, and these, though apparent at the time, do not pass into open record and soon disappear from view, leaving future generations to wonder " how great a matter a little fire kindleth." This is true, we believe, of the Antinomian Contro- versy in the Bay Colony. Had there survived a gos- siping newspaper account of the affair, we might see how little part, after all, the doctrinal dispute had in the disturbance. Allowing that a difference of opin- ion on certain theological tenets was the main cause, there was at the same time a condition of social life which furnished a beginning for the excitement, and, once under way, there were personal animosities to keep it up. From the first, there was a deference paid among some in the Bay Colony to " men of quality." Some were such themselves, — men and women of station and means in England. They were needed, both for A FAST SERMON IN COURT, 115 the wealth they brought and the mfluence they com- manded at court. When word was brought in 1635 of the prospect of such emigrants the colonists rejoiced, and none such ever missed a cordial reception. Hence the problem presented itseK as to the honors and emoluments which could be offered to such of the nobihty as might come over. It has been suggested that the election of counselors for hf e — an honor only bestowed upon Winthrop, Dudley, and Endicott — was proposed by John Cotton as a solution of the diffi- culty.^ It seems quite natural, upon reflection, that some, who had not been counted as gentlemen before, should now have ambitions to be reckoned among the aristocracy of New England. This desire became so prominent as to give offense, and the General Court took notice of it. That legislation against " fashions," which seems so strange at this day, was largely the rebuke such received from some who believed in Puri- tan simplicity, probably assisted by others who did not fancy the aspirations of their inferiors. Wearing of " laces and ruffles," " slashed clothes," and " gold and silver girdles " characterized the nobility in England, and the majority, who were very plain people, would not permit the setting up of a claim to superiority upon such vanities. " It nourished pride," they were wont to say .2 The many, who constituted the nursing K^ fathers of democracy, though in some instances of better quality themselves, did not wish to see the nobility established in New England. 1 Life and Letters of John Winthrop, i. 143, 144. 2 The fii-st law against fashions was passed in 1634. There was more legislation in 1036 and 1639 ; but in 1644 these laws were re- pealed. Subsequently, in 1651, aristocratic apparel was conditioned upon the estate possessed. Mass. Col. Rec, i. 126, 183, 274 ; ii. 84 ; iii. 243, 244; Ellis's Puritan Age in Mass., pp. 263-265. 116 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Well, it was about the time these questions arose that there arrived Mr. Henry Vane, the son and heir of Sir Henry Vane, comptroller of the king's house. He was an aristocrat, of conspicuous appearance and affable manners, and soon became the admired of a circle who regarded these qualities. Winthrop after- wards records the fact, which has a deal of light in it, that when he was elected governor " because he was son and heir to a privy counsellor of England the ships congratulated his election with a volley of great shot." And this was quite in harmony with the cus- tom he introduced of magistrates appearing " more solemnly in public with attendance, apparel and open notice of their entrance into court." This young man won especially the favor of many in Boston. Within a month he was admitted to church membership, with- out which standing none could rise to very dazzling heights of glory. He was invited to and accepted one of the highest seats in the Puritan synagogue. His residence was with John Cotton, to whose house he built an addition for his accommodation. Thus asso- ciated, it is not to be expected that they would be divided in their counsels. Within three months we find this young nobleman, who had brought some little authority as to Connecticut affairs, in such a position that he can assume to give the honored Win- throp a lesson in government, though under the guise of settling a difference between him and Dudley. We venture the suspicion that the movement against Winthrop was concocted in the study of John Cotton upon a certain visit of Rev. Hugh Peter, of Salem, who had every reason to be displeased because his own troublesome predecessor, Eoger Williams, had been A FAST SERMON IN COURT. 117 allowed to escape, in which, it has been thought, Win- throp may have had a part. Williams afterwards wrote that, had he perished amid the cold and snows of that winter, his blood would have been required at the hands of Cotton. ^ However this may be, the party with which Mrs. Ann Hutchinson, the disturber of Israel, cast in her lot, was really formed before she came into conspicuous notice. She had been in Bos- ton about a year when Vane arrived, and it is not un- til a year afterward that she is even mentioned in Winthrop's journal. Though exception was at first taken, she was finally admitted to the church to whose teacher she had been devoted in England. It must be admitted that she was an extraordinary woman, — of exceptional mental endowments and well informed in religious matters, the common theme of Puritan conversation. She was fitted to teach. Her acquain- tance with pathology and her philanthropic spirit gave her access to many homes, and made her a popular friend. Yet she lacked in judgment, and expressed her mind perhaps too freely in admiration of the teacher Cotton and depreciation of the pastor Wilson. So far as the church was concerned, this was the main cause of the trouble. As she gradually established herself in the leadership of a cx)mpany of women, whom she endeavored to help in spiritual things, she became a social force in the community ; and when the controversy came on, these women, in the phrase of Cotton Mather, "hooked in their husbands." Her charge against Wilson was that he preached a " cove- nant of works," and did not preach a " covenant of grace," as did Cotton. Furthermore, as hostility to ^ Narragansett Club Publications, i. 315. 118 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, her was manifested among the other ministers of the colony, she included them in the same condemnation, and thus brought down upon her head the disfavor of a powerful body, each the bishop in his own town. So it happened that the controversy arose in a way to array the prejudices of the ministers, the jealousies of the surrounding towns, Winthrop, the representative of the old regime, and his tried friend Wilson, against a circle in Boston, professing some new religious light and superior holiness, to be sure, but controlling a social influence through a woman's cleverness, a nobleman's patronage, and the station of a minister. All of these latter persons were, we judge, more to blame for the disturbance than Rev. John Wheelwright, the man with whose name it is associated, and who suffered most by it. Thus much it has been necessary to record in intro- ducing the reader to an intelligent appreciation of the circumstances in which the famous fast-day sermon w^as preached. Wheelwright, who was the brother-in- law of Mrs. Hutchinson and thoroughly sympathized with her views, had been proposed for settlement over the Boston church, October 23, 1636, but the op]3osi- tion had defeated the plan. The ministers had con- vened, and consulted with the court in the interest of peace, but to no purpose. Some had blamed the new opinions, but Hugh Peter emphatically charged the trouble to Vane, and said the cause was pride and idleness. So the young man wanted to go home to England. At this juncture the court appointed a day, January 19, 1636-7, for humiliation and prayer.i Never was one more needed. From the 1 Winthrop has January 20. Writing some days after, he misdated A FAST SERMON IN COURT. 119 completeness of Winthrop's statement of the causes, we may infer that some public proclamation was made, and probably sent in writing thi-oughout the colony. "The occasion was the miserable estate of the churches in Germany, the calamities upon our native country, the bishops making havoc in the churches, putting down the faithful ministers and advancing popish ceremonies and doctrines; the plague raging exceedingly, and famine and sword threatening them ; the dangers of those at Connecti- cut, and of ourselves also, bvthe Indians ; and the dissensions in our churches.^^!) This last item was destined to swallow up the rest. The reader is introduced on the afternoon of that day to the congregation assembled in the humble meeting-house at Boston. It was a stone structui^, plastered with mud and thatched with straw. Through the smaU windows came the dim light of a winter day, suggestive of the atmosphere within. The seats were rude benches. At one end was the pulpit, never more worthy of Cotton's term, " the scaffold," and there sat Wilson, Cotton, and Wheelwright. Before it, facing the audience, were the elders' seats, filled by Oliver and Leverett, who with the deacons were hiseDtry. The Colonial Records give "the 19th of the 11th month, being the 5th day of the weeke." Mr. Henry B. Dawson, in his reprint of the sermon, says the 19th was Tuesday, and the fast was "probably kept on Thursday the 21st, that day being usually se- lected." This is an error. The 19th was a Thursday. The date given in the transcript {State Archives: Hutchinson Papers, i. 21) is " the xvjth of January," which may have been an error in copying, but most likely this was the date he first preached it. Of the original manuscript (Mass. Hist. Soc.) the first eight of the forty-two pages are missing. The transcript says, " A sermon preached at Boston,'* etc. It was undoubtedly preached on the afternoon of the fast day. 1 Winthrop's Hist, i. 254. 120 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. of the ruling party. In the seats of honor, raised above the rest, were the governor and deputy. Vane and Winthrop. The edifice was crowded with an attentive people, hatted and cloaked in Puritan fash- ion. They little suspected what was in store for them. There they were, assembled particularly to hear the things which make for peace. All day long, save for a short recess at noon, they had been there, fasting after the most rigid practice. They had heard a sermon in the morning, and perhaps one al- ready in the afternoon. And there, up in the pulpit, sat a man perfectly acquainted with the situation, but who had slipped into his pocket, before he left his home at Mount Wollaston to attend upon their service, a sermon which he knew would effectually demolish the hopes of the day ! Would he be invited to preach ? He must have thought so, or he would not thus have provided himself with his ammimition. But he was a man of convictions and courage, and he did not intend to recant, or even remodel his sermon for the occasion. So, when the proper time came and he was invited to " say on," he did. His production is the first fast-day sermon the full text of which has come down to us. The text was innocent enough. It was Matt. ix. 15 : " And Jesus said vnto them, can the children of the bride-chamber mourne as long as the Bridegroome is wi*^ them, but the dayes will come, when the Bridegroome shall be taken from them, & then they shall fast." It is hardly possible that remarks were interjected, after the usual custom, which are not preserved in the manuscript, or it would not have been presented so confidently in court. Yet surely there is enough upon the surface A FAST SERMON IN COURT, 121 to account for the consequences. The widely differ- ent views which are now entertained of it are not so good an interpretation as the judgment of the time, however great the excitement may have been. One modern writer says : " Those who listened so testily to the preacher must have heard between the lines and sentences, interpolating from their own suspicions and fancies what he neither uttered nor suggested. The sermon seems to us earnest, but wholly peaceful, kindly, and harmless." i Cotton Mather is much nearer the truth in his opinion when he says : " He let fall many passages which amounted imto thus much, ' That the magistrates and ministers of the country- walked in such a way of salvation, and the evidence thereof, as was a covenant of works,' which passages were aculeated by resembling such as were under that covenant unto Jews, and Herods, and Philistines and Antichrists ; and exhorting such as were under the covenant of grace to combate those as their greatest enemies." |^ The virus was not in its heresy, but in these reflections upon the opposite party. He cham- pioned the Hutchinsonian views of sanctification, but this might have been passed had he not glorified those who held them as the "true behevers." The pious Wilson and the dignified Winthrop could not be ex- pected to enjoy such a statement as this : " Those y^ are enymies of y® Lorde, not onely Pagonish but Antichristian, & those y^ nmne vnder a covenant of workes are very strong, but be not afraide . . . one of yow shal chase athousand." As it turned out, the thousand chased the one. They must have felt slan- ^ Ellis's Puritan Age in Mass., p. 822. 2 Magnolia J ii. 511. 122 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. dered, too, by the words, " Those vnder a couenant of workes, y® more holy they are y® greater enymies they are to Ch(rist)." . . . '• Seest thou a man wise in his owne eonceite more hope there is of a foole then of him." To that party the preacher was fairly understood to refer in his phrase, " those that oppose y® waies of grace," and he applied Christ's words to them, "you are the children of y® Deuel." The sermon abounds in language and allusions which, under the circumstances, were doubtless as satisfac- tory to the majority of the congregation as they were oifensive to the minority. We can imagine the breath- less silence in which they were received by the Puritan company, and the feelings that were kindled within. The excitement was manifest when the audience was dismissed, and no wonder Winthrop says " the dif- ferences in the said points of religion increased." In the March following, the General Court had the whole subject before it. Finally it took up the case of Wheelwright. The charge against him was, that " he had called such as maintain sanctification as an evidence of justification antichrists and stirred up the people against them with much bitterness and vehe- mency." ^ The preacher produced the sermon, and probably read portions of it to the court, the ministers of the colony being present. He stood by its objec- tionable references to those who walked in a covenant of works, and the ministers agreed that they did so walk. Thereupon the conclusion was that the preacher was " guilty of sedition, and also of contempt, for that the court had appointed the fast as a means of recon- ciliation of differences etc, and he purposely set himself 1 Winthrop's Hist, i. 256. A FAST SERMON IN COURT. 123 to kindle and increase them." ^ In the literal view of the case the sermon sustained the charge. If the premises be allowed, and the right of the court to deal thus with a minister is conceded, they certainly proceeded in accord with the facts, though in a most tyrannical fashion and to a bigoted conclusion. At this time the excitement was high in their poli- tics. Something must be done to get rid of those who were troubling Israel. Governor Vane's time came at the spring election, which was held at Cambridge, a place then more accessible for the other towns than for Boston. The ministers had their part in it, Wil- son especially, who delivered a telling speech. Vane was defeated, and Winthrop was restored to power. The next act of the drama relates to a public fast which was kept May 25, 1637.^ On this account the court again put off Wheelwright's sentence until August. Vane and Coddington, who on the Sabbath before had refused to accept the governor's invitation to sit in the magistrates' seat because of their defeat, on tliat fast day went over to Mount Wollaston to hear Mr. Wheelwright preach, but further incidents of the day are unknown. It must be remembered that, during the early months of this year 1637, the colony had also been engaged with the Pequot War, on account of their victory in wliich they had kept a thanksgiving June 15, but their dissensions overshadowed the occasion. On the 3d of August Mr. Henry Vane left Boston to return to England. It was the farewell of New Eng- 1 Winthrop's Hist, i. 257. 2 As in many other instances, the Colonial Records do not mention this fast. Winthrop does not give the date, hut says it was the day before the defeat of the Pequots, which was the 26th. 124 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. land to all notions of setting up an English nobility. He was attended by four sergeant halberdiers of Bos- ton, who afterwards confessed their aristocratic ideas by refusing thus to honor Winthrop because he was not of the nobility, for whom indeed two of his own servants were quite enough display. On the 24th a day of humiliation was kept in all the churches, with the consent of the magistrates, to prepare for the convening of the Cambridge Synod upon the 30th.i This body, having the assistance of Hooker and Stone of Connecticut, began in the proper way to effect a reconciliation between Cotton and the other ministers ; but it accomplished little with Wheehvright, who nat- urally paid little regard to the thanksgiving October 12, which was also kept in Plymouth Colony, partly to express congratulations over the result, and doubt- less also in Connecticut. The conclusion of the story is fully told thus in Winthrop's history : " The gen- eral court being assembled in the 2 of the 9th month, and finding, upon consultation, that two so opposite parties could not contain in the same body, without apparent hazard of ruin to the whole, agreed to send away some of the principal. . . . Then the court sent for Mr. Wheelwright, and he persisting to justify his sermon and his whole practice and opinions, and refus- ing to leave either the place or his public exercisings, he was disfranchised and banished. . . . The court gave him leave to go to his house upon his promise that, if he were not gone out of our jurisdiction within fourteen days he would render himseK to one of the magistrates." 2 He left the colony, settled in New 1 Winthrop's Hist, I 281-283. 2 Full details are ^ven in Winthrop, i. 291-301, 304, 306, 307, 309- 811, 313-317, 326, 327. A FAST SERMON IN COURT, 125 Hampsliire, and, amid various fortunes, lived to have liis sentence revoked and attain high esteem in New- England. Mrs. Ann Hutchinson was brought before the court and charged with '^ reproaching most of the ministers for not preaching a covenant of free gi'ace," " justify- ing Mr. Wheelwright's sermon," and making a dis- turbance generally.^ Her former friend Cotton did not defend her as he might have done. She was set upon by the ministers, who bestowed upon her such epithets as " the American Jezabel," and was excom- municated from the Boston church. Finally she too went forth, an exile, doubtless with the feeling that her going was a martyrdom ; and several years after- wards was massacred by the Indians. The sequel of this story also relates to a fast day. Months passed, and amid other public interests the excitement was subsiding.^ The winter of 1638-9 developed sickness, and for this and " the apparent decay of the power of religion and the general declin- ing of professors to the world," a public fast was kept December 13. On that day Mr. Cotton, says Win- throp, " did confess and bewail, as the churches' so his own security, sloth and credulity, whereupon so many and dangerous errors had gotten up and spread 1 Examination of Mrs. Ann Hutchinson, Hutchinson's Hist, ii. 482- 520. 2 The colony was threatened with a governor from England, and, April 12, 1638, kept a fast" to intreate the help of God in the weighty matters w*^'^ are in hand <fe to divert any evill plots w*^^ may bee intended, & to p'pare the way of friends w*^'^ we hope may bee vpon coraeing to vs/ ' During the summer many of these arrived safely, and for this, as well as the seasonable weather " to ripen the harvest," a thanksgiving was observed October 25. Mass. Col. Rec, i. 226, 241 j Winthrop, i. 317, 324. 126 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. in the church ; and went over all the particulars, and showed how he came to be deceived, the errors being framed (in words) so near the truths which he had preached and the falsehood of the maintainers of them, who usually would deny to him what they had deliv- ered to others." ^ He furthermore took occasion to commend the sentence of banishment passed upon his former friends as just, and withal endeavored to set himself right with the other ministers of the colony. The part of John Cotton in this controversy is not one of the brightest pages of his career. With all the light he must have had, how could he have been de- ceived ? But, granting that he was, there is not suffi- cient excuse for his course. He was willing to profit by the early popularity which he derived from Mrs. Hutchinson's praise, and he might at least have asked leniency for her. It has been truly said that " they who from the beginning had gone along with her in her errors were not displeased at a good pretence for getting rid of her without condemning themselves." ^ At any rate the fast day upon which his troubled con- science uttered its explanations did not eventuate in the traditional blessing. It is an apt illustration of the times that we find the fathers even looking for a sign in the heavens. The very night of that fast day a great storm arose, the wind blowing fiercely from the northeast, and the snow falling in true blizzard fashion throughout the night and the next day. Sev- eral lives were lost between Boston and Eoxbury, and others at Dorchester. A bark was wrecked on Cape Cod, two vessels cast away on their voyage to New Haven, and great damage done everywhere by the 1 Winthrop's Hist, i. 337. 2 Hutchinson's Hist., i. 73. A FAST SERMON IN COURT. 127 high tide. The ministers, we may be sure, were not slow in their inferences. That, however, which Win- throp records is as follows : " This happened the day after a general fast which occasioned some of our min- isters to stir us up to seek the Lord better, because he seemed to discountenance the means of reconciliation. Whereupon the next general court, by advice of the elders, agreed to keep another day, and seek further into the causes of such displeasure etc, which accord- ingly was performed."^ From the Colonial Records we learn that this latter day was April 4, 1639, and the causes assigned were, '* Novelties, oppression, athe- isme, excesse, supei*fluity, idleness, contempt of author- ity, & troubles in other parts." If the responsibility for the first religious contro- versy of New England belongs to one more than others, it will ever be put upon Mrs. Hutchinson ; but the blame attaching to Mr. Henry Vane was more, we sus- pect, than is recorded. He sought authority, which was too readily granted him, merely because of his rank. He found the people, especially of Boston, in a way to encourage his ambitions, and he advanced his interests, imder the favor of Cotton, by the aid of a reUgious excitement and his own social success. Says the historian Hutchinson : " It is highly probable that if Mr. Vane had remained in England, had not craftily made use of the party which maintained these peculiar opinions in religion to bring him into civil power and authority, and draw the affections of the people from those who were their leaders in the wilderness, these,* like many other errors, might have prevailed a short time without any disturbance to the state, and, as the 1 Winthrop's Hist., i. 346. 128 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, absurdity of them appeared, silently subsided, and posterity would not have known that such a woman as Mrs. Hutchinson ever existed." ^ Yet, as we read the story at this distance of time, discovering between the lines that which the imme- diate actors did not see, there was some good which resulted from it. It crushed out some of those ten- dencies which Thomas Hooker probably saw in the Bay Colony, and which were in part the reason for his removal to Connecticut. It was a lesson in the virtue of democracy. It cured the longing of the colony to see "men of quality" coming over from England; and probably the aristocracy of slashed sleeves, ruffles, and laces were made better acquainted with the Puritan spirit which would rebuke a claim to superiority, whether advanced in social life or in the church by a doctrine of sanctification. 1 Hutchinson's HisU^ i. 73. CHAPTER X. THE RIVER PLANTATIONS. 1635-1640. The settlement of Connecticut was attended with calamitous and joyous experiences, in the orderings of Divine Providence, similar to those which had tried the older colonies. We may be sure that fast and thanksgiving days were kept from the first ; but before the settlement of government these were ordered by the individual churches, each making its appointment independently of the others. Unfortunately, however, we have no account of these earliest days, and there- fore we can only locate them with probability by the study of their experiences. This we purpose to do. One of the first incidents in the history of Wind- sor exhibits an interesting difference of opinion as to the providences of God. A dispute arose between the Plymouth traders and the Dorchester emigrants who unceremoniously squatted on their lands. The latter claimed that " God by his providence " had ten- dered them the lands which the former had bought of the Indians. In Bradford's creed this seemed rather to be " casting a covetous eye upon that which is your neighbor's," and he pointedly said, "Look that you abuse not God's providence." ^ Perhaps he had the best of the doctrine, but his opponents got most of the land. The sequel can only be appreciated by fol- 1 Bradford's Hist., pp. 340, 341. 130 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, lowing these Dorchester men. In the autunin of 1635 they had a suffering time of it. Some few had been on the ground, but the rest had come overland, driv- ing their herds. The arrival was late and the winter was early. A few huts were inadequate, and of food they had little, for the two shallops with their pro- visions had not reached them. So they waited in hunger through those cheerless November days. It is in accord with their temper and practice to suppose that then they set apart days for prayer. But the panic of starvation was soon upon them. An unlucky thirteen started overland for the Bay, wliich twelve reached after untold hardships. The main body filed southward along the river in dismal procession, hoping to meet the shallops. Somewhere about Haddam they met the ship Rebecca, frozen in the ice, and went aboard, which a timely rain released, so that in her they came, December 10, safely to Boston.^ Again, it would seem strange if they did not, with their friends, keep a thanksgiving. But what of the shallops? A northeast storm had arisen when they were off Plymouth, and seeking to make the harbor in the night they were wrecked, and their cargoes scattered along the shore. Here comes the moral of the story. Bradford gathered up, at great labor, what of their possessions he could, and probably he reports the remarks heard on Plymouth beach when he says : "This disaster some imputed as a correction from God for their intrusion (to the wrong of others) into that place. But I dare not be bold with God's judgments in this kind." ^ 1 Winthrop's Hist, I 204, 207-209. 2 Bradford (pp. 348, 349) maizes this record under 1636; Winthrop (i. 201), under October 6, 1635. THE RIVER PLANTATIONS. 131 The few who endured the severity of that winter in the river plantations must have hailed with joy the opening spring. It brought their friends again, and Wethersfield, Windsor, and Hartford experienced a busy season of house-building, and such other employ- ments as attended new towns. By the autumn the congregations were enjoying religious privileges. It can hardly be thought that they did not find occar sion for thanksgiving during that season. The arri- val woiUd have been sufficient cause. Another winter was soon upon them. They were dependent, for the most part, upon provisions brought with them, as the majority had come too late for cultivating the fields. If we liad a fit clironicler of those times we shoiUd doubtless wonder at the hardy courage of those Connecticut planters, and their sub- sequent history shows how they must have sought divine consolation from their able ministry in frequent assemblies. The gi^eatest of their early distresses was the Pequot War. Its religious aspects alone fall within our pur- pose. No sooner was the fear of Indians abroad than the colonists generally comprehended the fact that it threatened the overthrow of their enterprise. And notwithstanding all sentimental criticism, this war will ever stand, not only as justifiable, but also as a re- markable demonstration of courage, a military achieve- ment, and a wonderful deliverance. They religiously regarded God as directing them in every movement. At the first alarm they must have humbled themselves and committed their cause to God. That memorable fast at Boston, January 19, 1636-7, had recognized the " dangers of those at Connecticut," who, though 132 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. doubtless grateful for the sympathy, were not thereby reconciled to the ill-timed expedition of Endicott the summer before, which only precipitated the trouble. An early fast must have been kept at Wethersfield after the attack in April, when nine were killed and two young women taken captive. A General Court held at Hartford, May 1, 1637, determined upon an offensive warfare. The ninety brave men would not have set out for Saybrook with- out some religious recognition in the churches of their departure. It is not unlikely that a fast was kept the day before. Captain John Mason remembered afterwards the words of Rev. Thomas Hooker to them ere they embarked, " that the Pequots should be bread for them," ^ and perhaps this was his recollection of a sermon preached to them from the text, " Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us, their defence is departed from them and the Lord is with us ; fear them not " (Num. xiv. 9). They were accompanied by Rev. Samuel Stone as chaplain, and their uncer- tainty as to the fidelity of Uncas and their Indian allies gave rise to this incident. The authority for it is Captain John Underbill, who says that, as he went in his boat to meet the second detachment, he found the chaplain in prayer among the soldiers, using these words : " O Lord God, if it be thy blessed will, vouch- safe so much favor to thy poor distressed servants, as to manifest one pledge of thy love that may confirm us of the fidelity of these Indians toward us, that now pretend friendship and service to us, that our hearts 1 Mason's " Brief History " in Mather's Early Hist, etc., ed. 1864, p. 156. THE RIVER PLANTATIONS, 133 may be encouraged the more in this work of thine." Whereupon the answer came aboard in the news of five Pequots slain by Uncas' band.^ Mason may be interpreted as confirming this when he says : '' The news was welcome to them, and looked upon as a special providence." ^ Being wind-bound at Saybrook, a difference arose between Mason and his officers as to whether the attack should be from the Pequot River or the Narragansett. The captain favored the latter, for the enemy would not expect them from that quarter ; but the matter was left to the chaplain, who was desired to "commend the case to the Lord." He is said to have retired aboard the Pink, and there remained in prayer until the next morning, when he found his opinion altered to agree- ment with the captain. 3 The resolute little army landed near Point Judith, after keeping the Sabbath aboard ; and, declining to wait for the Massachusetts forces then at Providence, they pushed on. The cap- tain records it as an evidence of God's leadership that they were brought through a " treacherous and per- fidious people," and, by a way they knew not, to the Pequot fort. The day before the fight, it may be remembered, was the fast day observed, in part for them, by the Bay. Upon it the army had a long march, with a little corn biscuit and cheese to satisfy their hunger. The sun was hot as ever it could be on a May day. Some were overcome, whose resuscita- tion, by the by, was not the least wonder of the cam- paign, for, when the captain presented his pint liquor bottle, even " when it was empty the very smelling of 1 Underhill's " Narrative " in Mass. Hist. Soc. ColL, III. vol. vi. p. 16. 2 Mason's Brief Hist., p. 122. » Ibid,, pp. 123-125, 134 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. the bottle would presently recover such." In the bivouac of that night, amid its dangers and darkness, we catch a glimpse of the chaplain wrestling apart in prayer for the victory ; and in the morning, having "yielded themselves up to God and entreated his assistance," in the spirit of Joshua's heroes, while the man of prayer held up his hand, they made an on- slaught which crushed the Pequots' power forever. We have made this digression because it so well illustrates the doctrine of divine providences which these people held. To them, to their children, and ^ its historians, this war was such as those recorded in the Jewish Scriptures, — a holy war, for which they claimed warrant from the Bible. Underbill says: " We had sufficient light from the Word of God for our proceedings." And Mason, in his introduction to ( his history, professes to write in order " to preserve \a remarkable Providence." Their deliverances may seem trivial to us now, — the arrows received in cra^ \ vat knots, or warded off by a bit of cheese in the X pocket ; the wind that blew their ships to their relief, l*^y and then changed to waft them homeward, — but all these incidents in the olden time were the alphabet of a divine speech to which they listened upon every fast X. and thanksgiving day. No record survives of the thanksgiving days that would certainly have been kept in the three Connec- ticut towns upon the return of the victorious troops. Massachusetts observed the 15th of June, and Con- necticut had far greater reason to recognize such a signal deliverance. They were doubtless appointed by the respective churches, and during the first week of June. Hartford's lecture day was Wednesday, THE RIVER PLANTATIONS. 135 and that day or Thursday would naturally have been chosen there, — that is, the 7th or 8th of June. Later, however, a general day of thanksgiving, for the further successes of the war, was kept through- out New England. Trumbull says : " This happy event gave joy to the colonies. A day of public thanksgiving was appointed, and in all the churches of New England devout and animated praises were addressed to Him who giveth his people the victory." ^ We do not know by what authority he makes this statement, but he includes Connecticut. As he re- cords the fact after the events of the autiunn, we may conclude that he had in mind a thanksgiving some months after the Pequot fight. Now, such a day was observed in Massachusetts upon the 12th of October, and at least by the Scituate church in the Plymouth Colony. The Massachusetts Colonial Records give us the following entry: "The 12*^ of the 8^ m^ was ordered to bee kept a day of publicke thanks- giveing to God for his great nicies in subdewing the Pecoits, bringing the soldiers in safety, the successe of the conference, & good news from Germany." Winthrop makes a similar record, and adds the fact that in Boston, after the religious exercises, a feast was given to the " captains and soldiers, who had been in the late service." We have therefore no doubt that this was the day to which Trumbull refers as being general throughout New England. Nor are we wholly in the dark as to how it happened to be so. It was in part for the success of the synod which Hooker and Stone attended at Cambridge in August, and at which a " plan of union " was proposed. We 1 TruTOlmir§ Hist, of Conn., i. 93. 136 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, may fairly conjecture that this thanksgiving day was then and there agreed upon to be kept in all the colonies, as many afterwards were appointed by the commissioners. If this reasoning is correct it cor- roborates Trumbull's assertion, fixes the date of the first general thanksgiving in New England, and en- ables us to locate the first one known in Connecticut upon October 12, 1637, — one year earlier than authorities have heretofore done. We turn on now to another page of Connecticut history. A fast day was observed at Windsor, Fri- day, June 15, 1638. It is the first definitely fixed, the recovery of which, and the notes of the discourse preached by Rev. John Warham, are due to the de- ciphering of Henry Wolcott, Jr.'s shorthand note- book, in the archives of the Connecticut Historical Society, by the Hon. J. Hammond Trumbull, LL. D.^ Interest is added to the occasion by the fact that it was only two weeks after the preaching of the famous sermon on the Constitution by Thomas Hooker. The colonists had passed through a grievous winter, and were in the midst of this discussion. For some ex- ceptional reason, Henry Wolcott, Jr., of Windsor, was in quite constant attendance upon Hooker's Wednes- day lecture ; and we may suppose political agitation was preparing that inmiortal declaration for the 14th of January following, if the same was not formally debated in a protracted assembly or court. The very day after Hooker's sermon, that is, June 1, 1638, about three o'clock in the afternoon, there was an earthquake, ^ We are indebted, for the early days in Connecticut and the ab- stracts of sermons preached, to Dr. Trumbull's manuscript notes on the Wolcott Note-book. See Conn. Hist. Soc. Coll., L 19. J THE RIVER PLANTATIONS. 137 general tliroughout New England.^ Winthrop says that the noise of this earthquake was like " continued thunder or the rattling of coaches in London ; " and Johnson remarks that " the motion was such that it caused divers men (that had never known an earth- quake before) being at worke in the fields to cast downe their working-tooles and run, with gastly ter- rified lookes to the next company they could meet." 2 What use the Connecticut ministers made of such a providence,on the Simday following, we do not know ; but in the Massachusetts colony some thought it was a trying of the churches, though none dared to suggest that they deserved a shaking for their conduct in the Antinomian controversy. Others very considerately observed that, as the motions came from " the westerne and uninhabited parts of the wildernesse " and went due east, it was designed for Old England, and there would be '' greate alterations in the kingdomes of Europe," — a true enough prophecy. Yet, if the Connecticut divines had adopted the same logic, they might have said that it was designed for the Bay Colony, and probably foimd some comfort therein, for there was abroad a general indignation at their attempts to prevent arriving emigrants from coming to the river plantations. To this our story of the Windsor fast day pertains. So far back as 1634, ^ "About a fortnight before," says Wolcott, "there was a great thunder, and a thunderbolt at Hartford went through a house and melted a bar, and hailstones as big as a man's thumb." Some then thought there was a connection between storms and earthquakes. For further information concerning this earthquake, see, especially, Morton's New England^s Memorial, Hutchinson's History, Bradford and Winthrop. ^ Winthrop's Hist,^ L 318, 319 ; Johnson's Wonder-working Prom^ dence^ etc., p. 131. 138 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. — when the fast of September 18 concerned the re- moval, — an opposition had been manifested to the departure, and at this date there was some feeling in the matter, for such as were not dissuaded from com- ing to Connecticut told what had been said to them. In the well-known letter of Thomas Hooker to Win- throp a pithy summary is given of this ungenerous conduct, and this was written only a few months after the delivery of Warham's sermon. We quote Hooker's words : " The heads and hearts of passengers come loaded hither, and that with grief and wonder- ment, and the conclusion which is aimed at from these reproaches and practices is this, that we are a forlorn people, not worthy to be succored with company. . . . If after much search made for the settling of people and nothing suitable found to their desires but to- ward Connecticut ; if yet then they wiU needs go from the Bay, go any whither, be anywhere, choose any place, any patent, — Narragansett, Plymouth, — only go not to Connecticut." ^ He also charges that incoming ships were boarded before they came to an- chor by such as spread evil reports of Connecticut's condition, -^ its dangers, hungerings, d}dng cattle, and weed-growing meadows. With such stories inn- keepers were wont to entertain their guests, and even agents in the Exchange at London did the like. Such was the provocation ; and, as not less than three thou- sand persons arrived at Boston during the season of 1638, many of them in the spring, we can imagine the height of feeling which was kindled by it. It was under these circumstances that the Windsor 1 Conn. Hist. Soc. Coll.,i. 4. Cf. Life and Letters of John Winthrop, ii. 421, 422. 4 THE RIVER PLANTATIONS. 139 church observed its fast of June 15, 1638, and the occasion undoubtedly had reference to them. The minister, Rev. John Warham, chose a very suggestive text : " How long shall this man be a snare unto us ? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God : knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed ? And Moses and Aaron were brought again imto Pha- raoh : and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God : but who are they that shall go ? " (Ex. x. 7, 8). The doctrine set forth was, " That godly men . . . are oftentimes by accident a very snare, and the oc- casion of the greatest plagues and judgments to the people they have to do withal." There was scope enough in this for the larger application of the theme to Old England, whose Council was endeavoring to obstruct emigration to the colonies by permitting none to leave the country without the royal license ; and the great enemy of the Puritans, Archbishop Laud, might weU have filled the role of Pharaoh. It was true enough, also, that the emigrants had brought dis- tresses upon those with whom they had " had to do withal," and, in the opinion of some, had been the " occasion of the greatest plagues and judgments " upon their enemies. Perhaps some of the Windsor congregation entertained the aforementioned theory as to the earthquake which had made off to the eastward. But some at least were in a temper of mind to make an application nearer home, and had we heard the ser- mon throughout, knowing the grievance, we might have discovered an imdertone of reflection upon the conduct of the Bay Colony, and have thought the teaching very evident that the people of God had a right to go and serve Him even in the wilderness of Connecticut. 140 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. The next thanksgiving season in the river planta- tions was in October, 1638. Upon the authority of the Wolcott Note-book, Wednesday, the 3d, was kept at Windsor ; and the notes of Matthew Grant show that Thursday, the 4th, was the day at Hartford, Probably some day that same week was kept at Wethersfield. An event of importance had transpired the 21st of September, — the signing at Hartford of " A Covenant and Agreement made between the Eng- lish and the Indians." ^ This undoubtedly was one ground for the appointment, though the brighter pros- pect before the colony included other particulars, such as the arrival of emigrants and the prospect of a har- vest. John Warham on that day clung, both morn- ing and afternoon, to his text of the Sunday before, Kom. V. 1, from which he was to preach twenty-four more sermons before both he and the text were ex- hausted, perhaps to the relief of his audience. ^ The text of Thomas Hooker's sermon was appropriate: ^ Letters of Roger Williams in Narragansett Club Publications, vi, 117 n. ; Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., IV. vol. vi. p. 250. ^ One text was a winter's supply in those days. In the autumn of 1639, Huit and Warham apparently started in a race of homiletic en- durance. Sunday morning Huit would preach from 2 Tim. ii. 19-21, and in the afternoon Warham would respond from Ps. xcii. 5-7. About the same time Hooker '* struck a lead " at his lecture in Acts ii. 37. All went well at Windsor, until the thanksgiving of November 12 caused Huit to make a break, and gave Warham the advantage with his thanksgiving psalm, but he caught up the next Sabbath by getting in two sermons from the same text. Twice that winter Wol- cott went to Hartford, and there he found Hooker working away on Acts ii. 37 in a masterly fashion. In December and again in Janu- ary, Huit tried to entice his coUeaglie from his psalm by preaching on Jer. viii. 4, but it was no use, and by the spring Warham was way ahead, and Huit gave it up. Yet the victor must have been humbled when Hooker was found still preaching on Acts ii. 37 way along in haying time. THE RIVER PLANTATIONS. 141 " Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben- ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us " (1 Sam. vii. 12). The Indians had brought great ex- pense and distress upon the colony, and this tripartite covenant between the English, Mohegans, and Narra- gansetts was auspicious. It might well be commemo- rated, as also the other causes. But in the sermon of Thomas Hooker, a considerable portion of which is in print,^ his homiletic purpose led him to illustrate es- pecially from the experiences of the previous winter, which may already have received recognition in a thanksgiving. Certainly this day in October was not primarily for deliverances so far back. To those ex- periences, however, we revert. As the crop of 1637 had been small, because there had been -few ploughs to turn the soil and many Indians to turn their attention, the provision for the winter had been insufficient. We can imagine their hardships, shut in as they were by the deep snows of a long and hard winter.^ Both men and cattle perished. Therefore, in the early spring, the court sent Captain John Mason and two others up the river " to make trial what Providence would afford for their reUef." Then there was a time of anxious waiting, ending in the arrival of fifty ca- noes, corn-laden, from Deerfield.^ Soon after came ^ In the Hartford Evening Press of November 28, 1860, is published Dr. Trumbull's abstract of the sermon, from the notes of Matthew Grant, of Windsor ; and extracts are printed in the History of the First Church of Hartford, pp. 95-97, and Thomas Hooker, pp. 101, 102, by Rev. Georore Leon Walker, D. D. - The snow lay on the ground from November 4 to March 23, nearly two feet deep, in Massachusetts, and the spring was very back- ward. On the 23d of April there was a snowstonxL ^ Mason's Brief History^ p. 158. 142 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. a ship from the Bay with provisions, and their distress was thus relieved. Reflecting upon these experiences in his sermon, Hooker says : " We might have perished for want, but the Lord sent us, as it were, drink out of the rock and meat from the ravens, — the Indians, that they should bring provision and leave it here ; it was the Lord that brought it ! " In remembrance of the ship he says : " Let us, when we have seen the Lord in all, — the Lord in the sending of the ship and we not aware of it, — the Lord in bringing us safe, in giving us provisions, . . . labour to have a heart more near unto Him." And, after what has been said of the earlier fast day, it should be noted that he says of the efforts made to prevent emigration to Connecticut : " If anything could have hindered, either by truth or falsehood, to keep men from coming to these parts hitherto, it had been done ; but yet, notwithstanding, men's minds informed, their consciences convicted, their hearts persuaded to come and to plant." Thus on that day the people of his congregation were turned back to review their past deliverances. Upon the 23d of January, 1638-9, there was kept at Windsor " a general day of humiliation for Eng- land and the sickness in the Bay." This fact is found in the Wolcott Note-book. No mention is made in the Colonial Records of its appointment by the General Court; but it may have been kept by the common consent of the churches, without any public authority, and therefore termed " general." The condition of affairs in England, which afterwards assumed such prominence, did not occupy their exclusive attention that day. The scourge, which had swept away the natives by thousands, had made its appearance among THE RIVER PLANTATIONS. 143 the whites at Bostou. Winthrop says of the Massa- chusetts fast day, December 13, 1638, — the day of Cotton's confession, — that a chief occasion therefor was " the much sickness of pox and fevers spread through the country (yet it was to the east and south also)."^ He did not say ''to the west," which con- firms the inference that the sickness did not prevail in Connecticut. Upon that day Warham discoursed with appropriateness, therefore, upon the staying of the plague by Moses (Num. xvi. 44—50), putting a sug- gestive emphasis upon the murmuring of the Israel- ites. In none of his sermons preserved in the Wolcott Note-book does he so clearly exhibit his belief in the judgments visited by God's providences.^ With the opening spring of 1638-9, the church at Windsor kept a thanksgiving. The day was March ^ Winthrop's Hist., i. :3;^7. '^ As an illustration of Warham's method, the plan of this sermon, so far as deciphered, is g^iven from the notes of Dr. TnimbuU : — Doctrine I. That the sin of a people is the [cause] and [occasion] of wrath against that people. Doctrine II. That the murmuring against providence in the way of God's judgments, or against God's deputies in the way of their calling, is a [provocation] of deep wrath against a people. Reason. Because murmuring against providence is attacking the ways of God as if they were not equitable. Doctrine III. That the presence of God's people amongst wicked men is the best means to hinder and [avert] their speedy destruction. Reasons. 1. Because they will by prayer and using means with God [seek his mercy]. 2. Because of the great good-will God bears unto his people he will not only do good unto them but unto others for their sake. Uses. 1. To teach us to see the admirable good-will God bears nnto the elect. 2. Then let no wicked men [lay] it to their [charge] that the . . . 3. To see the madness of wicked men ; they are weary of God's people. 4. To teach us to honor the godly and [seek] to [bring] them amongst us. 144 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 6, and it miglit have been for the preservation of the winter. Warham's text was the ninety-second Psahn. On the day before this, however, according to Matthew Grant, "the gi^eat flood began." The present inhabitants of that quiet town can imagine what this meant, for the water rose higher than it had within the memory of the Indians then living. The houses of many were upon the low land. Their stacks of hay and cattle-sheds dotted the landscape. Thanks- giving services could scarcely have been over ere they hasted forth, some from their houses to the higher lands, and others to the rescue of cattle and fodder. A southeast storm arose, with much rain and wind, and blew the waters in upon them. Trees, fences, and hay were swept away. It was not until the last week of March that the waters subsided sufficiently to allow them to estimate the damage. Then once more this pious people gathered themselves together in their rude place of worship upon a day of humiliation, April 5 ; and the reverend minister, finding his text in Rom. i. 18-21, warned them " that God bears wrath and re- veals wrath against all manner of ungodliness and unrighteousness of man." Sermons are said to be found in running brooks : such sermons are found in Connecticut floods, and we must admire the men who could bear to have the destruction wrought laid to their charge. Omitting now from special mention eight fasts and four thanksgivings kept during the next two years at Windsor, as shown in the Calendar ^ and recovered 1 Several were fasts for England, notably May 24, 1639, July 29, 1640, and January 14, 1640-41. Their earnestness in behalf of their brethren in England was very great. Upon May 24, 1639, Warham preached from Esther viii. 3-6. THE RIVER PLANTATIONS. 145 » through the Wolcott Note-book, we turn to the first thanksgiving noticed in the Colonial Records as ap- pointed by the General Court, namely, September 18, 1639.^ We conclude that before this the churches of the three towns had appointed their days, as illus- trated at Windsor, and as the earlier custom was both at Plymouth and the Bay. For many years they jealously retained this right. The frequency of such occasions could not have been provided for by the court, and it was not until the year 1655 that this authority was delegated by the court to the magis- trates. If any significance attaches to the unique wording when September 18 was appointed, perhaps there was some discussion at the time as to the pro- priety of such action by the court. The record is, " It was coTicluded that there be a publique day of thanksgiving in these plantacons vppon the 18th of the next month." The italics are ours. Did they hesi- tate to use the words " it is ordered " ? Certainly not thereafter. This at least we know, that it was only by degrees and after years that the civil authorities came into exclusive possession of this delegated right of the churches. No reason is given in the records for this thanksgiving. We conjecture, however, that it had a relation to the harvest. They were antici- pating it, and that same court sent a company to gather the com which the disobedient Pequots had planted.^ The Indian corn was then nearly ready to be gathered. They had hitherto had sorry experiences, ^ Conn. Col. Rec.^ i. 33. Windsor anticipated the occasion by a church thanksgiving, September 3. Perhaps this was on account of the arrival of Rev. Ephraim Huit. 2 This was the cause for the fast at Windsor September 10: "for the soldiers gone forth against the Pequots " (Conn. Col. Rec.^ i. 32, 33). 146 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. and the prospect of this year had been bad on account of the drought. Winthrop says that it prevailed " all over the country both east and west, there being little or no rain from the 26th of the 2d month to the 10th of the 4th, so as the corn generally began to wither and great fear there was it would all be lost." At the Bay they fasted June 13, as also in the Plymouth Colony, and " the very day after the fast was appointed there fell a good shower." The bottom lands of Connecticut, fertilized and soaked by the flood, now brought to a better cultivation, profited by the warmth and yielded abundantly. To increase their joy, there came from Massachusetts cargoes of mackerel caught off the coast that year in great quantity, and a re- freshing change in the diet of the colony. This was the bounty for which they had struggled through great want since their arrival. But we are made con- fident that this was the cause by the sermon preached by Rev. Ephraim Huit, of Windsor, on that day. It was from the text, '' Also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced ; for God had made them re- joice with great joy, the wives also and the children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off" (Neh. xii. 43). It was a theme appro- priate to such an occasion. Like the Jews in their Feast of Tabernacles, they seem to have been exliorted to make a feast of rejoicing. It was the first public thanksgiving in Connecticut that had a special refer- ence to the harvest. Ill fortime came to the colony in years thereafter, but they had been brought safely through the perils of a new plantation, — through war, earthquake, flood, and drought, — and they had come into full possession of their Canaan. CHAPTER XI. TEARS FOR OLD ENGLAND. 1640-1660. The 23cl of July, 1640, was a fast day of more than ordinary interest in the Massachusetts Colony. The General Court, when in session in May, could not have anticipated the more serious aspect of affairs in England, and this day was doubtless appointed by the governor and council, as the custom was under such circumstances. On the 5th of May, only eight days before the court convened, the king had dissolved the famous *' Short Parliament," having failed to secure his subsidies for carrying on a war against the Scots ; and only two days before, an attack had been made by the mob on Lambeth Palace, where Arch- bishop Laud, the persecutor of New England, carried on his unix)pular schemes. The result of this failure of Parliament to come to the terms of King Charles was already anticipated in that body, and dismal fore- bodings must have pervaded the exercises of a " day of public fasting and humiliation " which they kept only three days before the dissolution, somewhat in- creased, perhaps, by the warning they that day received from the king. The news of this breach and of impend- ing war traversed the Atlantic in emigrant ships, and a profound impression was made in New England. Though the condition of their native coimtry had, 148 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. before this, entered into their fastings, from this time it was an item in their supplications for many years. And, far separated by the sea from the excitement, they had the cahnness to consider all possible issues, and resolve, in a wisdom which was their salvation, to maintain a loyalty, not to king or Parliament as fac- tions, but to the established government whatever it was.* In all their legislation they assumed a position of neutrality, which is the more remarkable since their political practices and religious prejudices were decid- edly favorable to Parliament then, and afterwards to the Commonwealth. Still, no listener in their reli- gious assemblies could have been in the dark as to the popular opinion, when fast-day sermons were preached, or as the minister uttered his thoughts in extempore prayer upon the Sabbath. Those who were enduring hardships in the wilderness for the sake of religious liberty would not be likely to favor a movement in which the bishops were so united. The news which had called forth the summer fast day of 1640 added great solemnity to its exercises. In Boston the services were universally attended by a deeply interested people. The officers of the ships then in port also came ashore for the purpose, — all except one, and thereby hangs a tale. The captain of the Mary Rose, — whose name is hidden in one of Winthrop's blanks, — not admiring the ordinances of religion as practiced in Boston, remained aboard, and with his company had a service after the Church of England model. Had he known what supernatural spirits hovered around for the execution of judgment on the contemners of the New England churches, he would not have dared thus to provoke them. For he TEARS FOR OLD ENGLAND. 149 had scarcely made his boast at the character of his ser- vice to a visitor, four days after the fast, when one of these spirits, we may suppose, — since no man knew how it came about, — set fire to the ship's magazine and blew it into shivers. The historian does not con- ceal his opinion that this was a " judgment of God upon these scomers of his ordinances; " and that was then, no doubt, the general conclusion.^ Our English captain would have done better had he attended the fast-day service on shore. The item of greatest interest, however, in what we know of that day's services was the preaching of a sermon at Taunton by the pastor, Rev. William Hooke, the friend and subsequently the chaplain of Oliver Cromwell, and the brother-in-law of Edward Whalley, the regicide.^ This sermon, which bears the striking title, ''New England's Teares for Old England's Feares," was printed in England in 1641, and there were three editions that year, now known among the rarities to every bibliophilist.^ ' As the manuscript was " sent over to a worthy member of the honorable House of Commons," the sympathies of the author may be inferred. But there is no spirit of treason in his words. They are verily " Tears for Old England," which must have moved his auditors to the same as they saw his tragic picture of war, which he thought might even then have spilled the blood of their brothers and fathers. The text was : " So they sate down with him upon the ground seven 1 Winthrop's Hisl., ii. 13, 14; Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., IV. vol. vi. pp. 141, 142. 2 Leonard Bacon's Historical Discourses; Emery's Ministry of Taunton. • See Bibliography, No. 2. 150 FAST AND THANKSGIVING BAYS. dayes and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him, for they saw that his grief e was very great " (Job ii. 13). The latest news had evidently been the threat- ened war with the Scots, and that had been the main cause for the day. We quote two of the preacher's most significant passages in evidence : " Let us there- fore feare the worst at this present in behalfe of our deare Countrey-men (considering also what ill tydings we have heard thence) that nothing, as wee doubt, but a miracle of divine power and mercy can preserve them from the miseries of the devouring sword." " And not to looke upon the occasions given on the one side or the other, betweene the two Sister nations : (Sister Nations ? ah^ the word woundeth,) let us looke this day simply on the event, a sad event in all likelihood, the dividing of a King from his Subjects, and him from them, their mutuall taking up of Armes in oppo- sition and defence." That, however, which constitutes the charm of this sermon is its tender plea for friend- ship toward England in her calamities. Loyalty and patriotism resound in his words : " There is no land that claimes our name but England. . . . There is no Potentate breathing that wee call our dread Sov- ereigne but King Charles." If any were in ill temper toward the land which had thrust them out, they re- ceived a forcible rebuke in the preacher's words " O cruell and unnaturall ! " And such sentiments were expressive of the best feeling of the New England fathers throughout the struggle which followed. There were tears for Old England everywhere ; but in say- ing this we cannot deny that, as the Presbyterian influence waned and the spirit of political and eccle- siastical independency prevailed, there were smiles TEARS FOR OLD ENGLAND. 151 mingled with those tears. As English colonies theyf were neutral. As Congregationalists they were favor-/ able to independency. As Englishmen they bemoaned! the divisions in their native land, and as Christians they fasted and prayed for the triumph of God's king- dom in the midst of the turmoil. When the conflict advanced to that stage where they saw visions of a theocratic state arising Phoenix-like out of the ashes of monarchy, they uttered their hopes perhaps too freely. But in this they were only loyal to a politi- cal conception which they themselves were hoping to realize in New England. Nor is it strange that their brethren in England were all the while deriving from them a moral support. Letters went to and fro. Some of their foremost men returned to take an active part in the agitation. Hugh Peter, once of Salem, became the most ubiquitous preacher in the realm. This very Taunton minister probably left his flock at New Haven, hoping to find in England greater use- fulness in the cause. And by many hidden channels the sentiments of New England issued in fountains of good cheer among their distressed brethren. ^ The fathers were esteemed by them as heroes, so much so that Hooke had reason to remark in his sermon, " How doe they (I meane all this while, multitudes of well affected persons there) talke of New England with delight ! How much nearer Heaven doe some of their charities accoimt this Land, then any other place they heare of in the world ? Such is their good opinion of us ! . . . And when sometimes a New-England man returnes thither, how is hee lookt upon, lookt after, 1 The Historical Relation of New England to the English Common- wealthy John Wingate Thornton. 162 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DA YS. received, entertained, the ground hee walks upon be- loved for his sake and the house held the better where hee is ? " On the whole, seeing there was such a re- lationship, it is surprising that they did not go too far in aiding their brethren. But we anticipate. This sermon may suffice to show the character of the preaching everywhere, for it is but one of many which were delivered. An impend- ing war with the Scots was reason for an alarm in all the colonies. Fasts were multiplied. One was kept August 6 by the Barnstable church "in behalf e of England, and the sadd differences betwixt it and Scot- land." Possibly this was the date of a public fast in the Plymouth Colony, where the magistrates made such appointments. The Wolcott Note-book indicates that July 29 and September 2 were fasts for Eng- land in the Windsor church, and probably the other churches kept the like. A year passed before another wave of excitement reached New England. The reader is familiar with the early doings of the " Long Parliament," one of whose first acts was to insure its longevity. The Earl of Strafford was beheaded May 12, 1641, passing to Tower Hill by the room where Archbishop Laud was imprisoned. Measures for a reform in religion fol- lowed. A new form of ecclesiastical jurisdiction was proposed. Early in July, by order of the Commons, papistical pictures, crosses, and statues, were removed from the churches. Bills were passed for abolishing the Star Chamber court and the High Commission, which the Puritans had no reason to cherish. So by the prospect of disbanding the two armies, peace seemed to be at hand. It was the news of all this TEARS FOR OLD ENGLAND. 153 which reached New England in the latter part of August, and prompted the thanksgiving of September 2, 1641, which, either by intent or coincidence, was kept in both the Massachusetts and Plymouth colo- nies.^ In the phrase of Winthrop it was for "the good success of the parliament in England." But the Barnstable Church Records, at greater length, inform us that it was " especially for good Tydeings fro old England, of amost happie beginning of a gracious Re- formation both of Religion and State, the Lord in the tyme of Reformation discovering & also preventing su[n]dry Treasons, one amongst others was this a dia- bolicall intendment to sett y* cittye of London on lire att six sundry places haveing an armie prepared uppon it to massacre whome they thought good." ^ Such then was the report. The treason mentioned was the so- eaUed " Army Plot," by which the rescue of the Earl of Straflford was intended. Doubtless the exaggerated account sufficed to augment the interest in the day, though we find no hint of rejoicing at the death of the earl himself, whom they had no special reason to dislike. The year 1642 was opened with a general fast April 14. Winthrop says it was " for our native coimtiy and Ireland." Of this day we have some- what more to record. There is another sermon by Rev. WiUiam Hooke, of greater rarity even than the preceding, entitled "New-England's Sence of Old- England and Irelands Sorrowes," which was printed in London in 1645. It seems to have escaped notice hitherto that this sermon, without date on its title- 1 August 27 was kept in England as a thanksgiving for peace be- tween England and Scotland. 2 New Eng. Beg., x. 39. 164 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. page, was probably preached on this fast day, instead of in 1645, to which it has been assigned.^ The title only specifies that it was delivered on a fast " in the behalfe of Old-England and Irelands Sad condition." This day answers that description, as Winthrop's words show ; and no other fast day later does. But our identification rests upon the critical study of the sermon itself. Whoever will note the events which followed the " Bishops War " will find distinct refer- ences to them in the sermon as late occurrences, evi- dently moving for this particular appointment ; and the preacher could not have written as he did after the setting up of the king's standard August 22, 1642. The sermon was against the prelates but lately cast out as unsavory salt, — the " evill counsel- lors " of the king, upon which the author exclaims : " Happie is that State, when both the Counsellors are faithful to give onely good advice, and the King wise to discerne good advice from evill." This was pre- cisely the Puritan interpretation of the king's mear sures at the time. But we note some decisive particu- lars. (1) The preacher justifies the Scots in uniting in the Covenant " in their late defence against their Tyranny." This clearly refers to the " Bishops War." (2) The prelates hoped the brotherly union of Eng- land and Scotland "should have engaged them in blood." The armies were but lately disbanded. (3) The abuse of the people's privileges " for many yeares past ... is clearly represented to the view of the ^ See Bibliography, No. 3. In Emery's Ministry of Taunton, i. 73 n., the departure of William Hooke for New HaTen seems to rest upon the date of this sermon, as though delivered in 1645. If this is all the evidence, Hooke may have been at New Haven several years earlier. TEARS FOR OLD ENGLAND. 155 whole world in the late Remonstrance." This passed the House of Commons November 22, 1641, and was voted printed December 15 following. (4) The prel- ates are " not fit to occupy any roome in Church or Commonwealth." The Commons had passed a bill for taking away their votes October 23, 1641. (5) There are vivid references to the Irish massacre of October, 1641, as if to recent news : " Oh those incar- nate Irish Devils ! let them be often in our sight." But not to multiply evidences it would seem that the fishing fleet, or some early ship, had brougjit advices from England of these late events, and hence the day and these sentiments expressed in this sermon. The civil war was not then anticipated. Both of Hooke's sermons were sent to a worthy member of the House of Commons, and we venture the opinion that the person was no other than Oliver Cromwell, the kinsman of William Hooke's wife, who had them printed, the latter not until 1645, if we know it in its first edition. It is interesting to notice, in connection with this second sermon, a further and curious development of the thought that New England sustained a religious part in this conflict. This was a common conception of the time. The author of the '' Wonder-working Providence of Zion's Savior " scarcely overdid it in his extravagant language: "The Forlorne hopes of / Antichrist's Army were the proud Prelates of Eng- land ; the Forlorne of Christ's Armies were these N. E. people . . . which encountring each other for some space of time, ours being overpowered with multitude, were forced to retreat to a place of grater safety, where they waited for a fresh opportunity to ingage with the main battell of Antichrist." It was thought that this 156 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. was an engagement of spiritual forces upon some higher plane. An importance was attached to their fast days other than as mere sympathetic gatherings. So the Taunton preacher declares that the colonists had been dispatched as " bands of souldiers lying in ambush here imder the f earn and brushet of the wil- derness ... to come upon the backs of Gods ene- mies with deadly fastings and prayer, murtherers that will kill point blanke from one end of the world to the other." In this respect they did considerable warring for years, and doubtless on this occasion they of this congregation responded to the exhortation, and gave their enemies a "broadside" by fasting, sack- cloth, and ashes. Two other public fasts were appointed in 1642 by the Massachusetts Colony, both by the court. They were July 21 and September 22. In reference to the latter, Winthrop specifies the ill news received of " the breach between the King and Parliament." But in the February following, when the fishing fleet brought news of the civil war, the frequency of such days for the same cause was objected to by some of the magistrates. The ministers were earnestly for them. So the matter was settled by a return to the early custom, and the churches were " left to their lib- erty" to appoint such days, and as many as they chose.^ There was indeed danger that the prevailing sympathy with the Parliament would thus be quick- ened to excesses. Neutrality was determined upon. And so it came about that, though two public fasts were ordered by the court for their native coimtry in 1643, the churches kept many others. It greatly ' 1 Winthrop's Hist,, ii.*112. TEARS FOR OLD ENGLAND. /157 strengthened the practice of local days for public causes. Many such were kept everywhere. In New Haven they had a system of monthly fasts, which was adopted in the Connecticut Colony, beginning January 10, 1643-4.1 This answered its purpose of shielding the authorities from issuing frequent proclamations, and at the same time satisfied the popular demand. The king of course had his sympathizers. In Vir- ginia, where the Church of England held sway, it was to be expected. The Good Friday of 1644 was a fast there for " the good successes of the king," but the terrible massacre by the Indians anticipated it. Indi- viduals in New England questioned openly " the law- fulness of the Parliament's proceedings." ^ Discussions arose, and in 1644 the May court of Massachusetts declared that whoever thus disturbed the peace should be counted as an offender. This, however, did not extend to shipmasters, etc., who were frequently in port, some of whom were for the king and others for Par- liament. Wherefore grave difficulties arose on several occasions between these ships, involving the sympa- thies of the people,^ in the settlement of which it was noted that the colonists had " openly declared their affection for the Parliament's cause by prayers & fastings," — all true enough. Perhaps it was well that their attention was diverted by the vagaries of the Gortonists, the drought and sickness of 1644, and the Indian troubles of 1645, which shared with England their fast-day exercises. 1 Conn. Col. Bee, i. 99; TrumbuU's Hist, of Conn., i. 141. 2 See the case of Captain Jenyson of Watertown, Winthrop's Hist.,!!. 215,216. 8 Ibid., u. 222-225, 228, 229, 238-240. \ 158 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, On the 21st of March, 1645-6, there appeared be- fore the House of Commons the familiar figure of Hugh Peter, newly come from Fairfax's army. He brought news of victories, in which the Parliament's forces had lately had good experience. On that account they had kept at least six thanksgivings within a short time, on one of which they had been " highly feasted " by the city of London in Grocers' Hall. Truly New England might keep one, especially as the Massachusetts Colony, so far as we have data, had not observed any since the one mentioned in 1641. It was this news at least which caused the appoint- ment of June 11, 1646. Plymouth and Connecticut had not been so sparing. About this time, as the reader is aware, another turn of affairs in England brought on the struggle between Presbyterians and Independents for ecclesias- tical supremacy, ending in the setting up of the Com- monwealth. In this movement the sympathies of the colonists were decidedly with the latter. Out of this condition arose for one thing the " Remonstrance and Petition of Robert Child and others," with sub- sequent disturbances concerning it.^ A petition for religious toleration was ahead of the times, and this was particularly obnoxious because it linked its for- tunes with Presbyterian ism. So, when December 24, 1646, was set in the Bay Colony as a fast, it was conven- ient to mention this faction as those " y* seeke to und''- mine y® liberties of God's people." Alas for those who would cast a slight upon the day, and tempt the divine ^ Hutchinson's Original Papers, pp. 188-218 ; Mass. Col. Bee., ii. 162, 175, 196, 199; iii. 90,94, 113, 114, 219, 256; Winthrop's Hist., ii 319-321, 340-369, 372, 373, 391, 392. TEARS FOR OLD ENGLAND. 159 displeasure, which was committed to the perpetual de- fense of New England fast days ! Two of their num- ber set out with a raft for Boston the day before, knowing they must desecrate the day, and the winds and waves arose in their might and scattered it. Such, however, of this party as went to present their petition before Parliament fared better, notwithstand- ing John Cotton's prediction that it would prove a Jonah to the ship, in reference to which they gave this title to their story, " New Englands Jonas cast up at London." The public fasts throughout this period of agitation were fewer than might be expected, and thanksgivings were rare. We note that the chui'ches, however, main- tained a constant interest in events. They anticipated the rise of the Commonwealth, and though they would not rejoice over the execution of the king, they had found that Cromwell was a friend to New England. He was waging a war against Antichrist, and they could but support him. John Eliot's book on " The Christian Commonwealth " was addressed " To the chosen and Holy and Faithful who manage the wars of the Lord against Antichrist in Great Britian." ^ " Babylon is fallen," they cried. " Oh 1 what an opportunity hath the Parliament now to bring in Christ to rule England," said the grave Eliot ; and Cotton wrote Cromwell, " I am fully satisfyed that you have all the while fought the Lord's battells." Of course then they gave thanks for " exceeding mercys towards Old England in the prosperous good success 1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., HI. vol. ix. pp. 127 ff. ; Mass. Col jRec, iv. pt. 2. pp. 5, 6. The book was repudiated and condemned upon the Restoration. 160 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, of the armie there under the conduct of Coronall Crumwall," ^ — what else could they be expected to do ? And it was not amiss that they thus won the Protector's favor. When it was suggested that the Massachusetts Bay Colony take out a new patent, they could support their plea of loyalty, as they did, by pointing to their " fastings and prayers for their good sucesse and thanksgivings after the same was attained." Such as had kept the multitude of those days in Eng- land must have appreciated the argument. But as in the succeeding years their vision of " The Chris- tian Commonwealth " began to fade away, though the ministers still held out such hopes as they could,^ the wise men became apprehensive of a reaction, and made ready for it. When the order was received in Boston to proclaun Richard Cromwell Lord Protector, they did not comply. The churches were allowed to keep their own fast February 22, 1659-60, without public order. They had no dislike toward the coming king, they only feared a further persecution of non- conformity. Their proclamation for a fast June 21, 1660, contains a confession of their fears as to the " clouds hovering over them, threatening the utter frustration of those hopeful beginnings, wherewith of late years the Lord was pleased to favor them." It was on the whole very remarkable during this period, — with such decided opinions and prejudices, 1 New Eng. Beg., x. 39. 2 A manuscript sermon in possession of the Mass. Hist. Soc, claim- ing to have been by the hand of John Eliot, and which was first preached in 1648, has evidently an addition of later date when it was preached on a fast at Roxbury. In it he says, " What though the Parliament for the present be slighted, malignants grow extream insolent . . . shall we therefore cast away our hope & give all for gone ? No, rather let our hearts be quickened to prayer, " TEARS FOR OLD ENGLAND, 161 with a ministry unanimously favoring tlie Puritan cause, and with such fast-day occasions tempting them, — that the New England people did not go so far as to endanger their rights and privileges. It would not have been so had all their sermons been printed and circulated in England and their extempore prayers been reported. When finally the restoration came, no address more loyal was received than that of Massachusetts, agreed on by the General Court of December 19, 1660, and sped on its way by the united fastings and prayers of New England. The story ends with the thanksgiving celebrated July 10, 1661, for " answer to prayers upon their [our] late addresse or petition made unto y® King, his graciouse accept- ance & favourable answer." So those troublesome days passed, and they quieted their souls in peace. CHAPTER XII. DUTCH CUSTOMS IN NEW NETHERLAND. 1643-1664. The descendants of the Burgomasters and Sehe- pens of New Amsterdam have the hereditary right to hold fast and thanksgiving days in honor. Fast days, ordered by the civil authorities on occasion, were observed by their ancestors, and that while the colony was still under the government of the Dutch, as also afterwards for many years. Though not so frequent as in New England, they occurred almost every year, and were kept in course during certain critical periods. As to causes, they do not differ materially from those of their English neighbors, and yet they do not exhibit that abnormal view of God's providences so prominent in New England Puritanism. They were civil rather than ecclesiasti- cal days, being the continuance of a custom prevailing in HoUand, where these subsisted in connection with the holy days of the reformed churches. The same may be recorded of the Dutch thanksgiving days, for which they were not at all indebted to New England but to their fatherland. These retained in many instances that peculiar double name, by which their language had christened them "fast-prayer and thank days." Yet they did not develop, like those CUSTOMS IN NEW NETHERLAND. 163 of New England, into autumnal thanksgiving days, perhaps partly because the Dutch colony was more occupied with trade than agriculture, but principally because the people had other seasons in which to cel- ebrate the bounties of the table and make merry in the home. The market-place furnished them that opportunity which the Puritans found in the church porch. Christmas (Kerstijd) and New Year (Nieuw- jaar) were their great days for festivity, the celebra- tion continuing for three weeks together, during which courts did not sit and public offices were closed. Young and old entered into the common sports, — bowling, dancing, ball-playing, and the like, — while the tap-houses were crowded with jolly burghers whose merriment it was sometimes necessary to re- strain. In early years they celebrated May Day with great spirit, setting up the May-pole amid general rejoicings and not a little rioting. Besides these they kept the Passover season (Paaschtijd) and Whitsuntide (Pinkster), which, like Christmas, were high festivals in their churches. In fact we find in New Netherland precisely the same days and cus- toms so generally regarded in the fatherland ; and as to their fast and thanksgiving days, they were so nearly in harmony with New England as to exer- cise a great influence in the development when these came to be national, which is our reason for this digres- sion. It would be interesting to know whether any fast or thanksgiving days were observed at New Amster- dam while it was still a mere trading post, before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. If it could be shown that those early voyagers and traders set such days, 164 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, they might lay claim to the honor of keeping the first thanksgiving, though the harvest festival must ever be conceded to be New England born. But we meet with no hint of such days during those early years, and probably there were none. The government was not sufficiently matured. They were without minis- ter and church. However, it is equally probable that, under directors Minuit and Van Twiller, who administered the government from 1626 to 1637, such days were kept, though the loss of their minutes makes it impossible to prove the fact and recover the dates. Religious services were conducted on Sundays by the schoolmaster, or Consoler of the Sick (Zieken- trooster), who was customarily sent out by the West India Company to instruct the young, comfort the sick, and conduct worship. Two of these came in 1626.^ The first minister. Rev. Jonas Michaelius, came in 1628, when the people were gathered in a church, assembling from week to week in the upper story of their horse-mill at the call of the Spanish bells captured at Porto Rico, — a sanctuary fully as romantic as the Pilgrim fort on the hill. If the records kept in Director Van Twiller's time should ever turn up, it would not be surprising if they should reveal fast and thanksgiving days, observed in the wooden church in Pearl Street, which in 1633 supplanted the horse-mill, and where Dominie Bogar- dus might well have preached some vigorous sermons against the Connecticut River colonists. In 1638 William Kieft became the director of New Netherland, and the records of his troubled ad- ^ Their names were Sebastian Jansen Krol and Jan Huyck, who came over with Director Peter Minuit. CUSTOMS IN NEW NETHERLAND. 165 ministration are extant. The first public fast day known to have been kept was March 4, 1643, N. S.^ They were impelled to it by troubles with the Indians, and the story is briefly as follows : Early that year a drunken Indian, who had been provoked by the settlers of Hackinsack, killed a Dutchman, whereupon a hostile sentiment was kindled at Manhattan. The atonement of the savages was refused, and shortly some imwise counselors urged the director to attack them, who were at the time encamped across the river westward. It was a Sunday night, while Kieft was at a Shrovetide feast, at which Dominie Bogardus was present, that a petition for vengeance was presented to him, which might have been more readily granted on such a convivial occasion, though quite in accord with his inclination. 2 Three nights afterwards, the order was executed, and men, women, and children, to the number of eighty, were cruelly massacred. The next day the Indians began to retaliate, and before another week had passed, the Dutch boweries round about had been laid waste, to which Roger Williams, who was there on his way to England, was a witness. Then there was time to repent and humble them- selves before God. The following order was pub- lished, perhaps in their Sabbath assembly, March 1, only a week after it had been triumphantly asserted that the Lord had fully delivered the Indians into their hands. It is the first fast-day proclamation of New York preserved to us : — ^ The New Style of reckoning time was adopted in Holland in 1582, and New Netherland followed the example of the fatherland. Dates are therefore given as New Style during the Dutch period. 2 The petition and answer are found in Boc. Rel. to Col. Hist, oj N. r., i. 198, 194. 166 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, ** Whereas we are suffering at present great injury from these heathens, and many of the inhabitants are not certain of their lives and property, which doubtless has befallen us on account of our manifold sins, It is therefore resolved by the Council here that a General Fast and day of Prayer shall be observed on next Wednesday, being the fourth of March, for which every one can prepare, to the end that we, with hearty sorrow and earnest prayer may move God to mercy, and that He will not suffer His holy name to be prophaned by these heathens on account of our sins."i We have no details of the services of that day, but we may conjecture that Dominie Bogardus, who is said to have warned Kieft against his rashness, made a profound impression upon the assembly, who were thoroughly indignant against the director ; and the occasion was not less moving by the presence of many who had fled to the fort from their devastated homes. If Kieft was himself there, he did not long continue to favor the church with his presence, and the minister's outspoken opinions may in part have given reason for it.^ Though the confession of sin was humble enough, it did not avail with the savages, who kept up a run- ning warfare for some time. Captain John Underbill, of ignominious memory at Boston, but famous in Indian warfare, was in conunand of the Dutch sol- diers when, in the following spring, before the snows melted an assault was determined against the Con- necticut Indians in the neighborhood of Stamford. On a moonlight night they surrounded the Indian village and massacred the natives. It was upon their 1 MS. Council Minutes, iv. 1. 163 ; Doc. Eel. to Col Hist, of N. F., xiv. 44. It is printed as a part of the proclamation of peace, March 25. 2 Broadhead's Hist of N. Y., i. 417, 418, 760 n. O. CUSTOMS IN NEW NETHERLAND. 167 return to New Amsterdam, from this battle on Strick- land's Plain, that the first public thanksgiving of record was proclaimed, though only the bare know- ledge of the fact survives.^ However, another thanks- giving followed, the next year, when peace was con- cluded. On the 30th of August, 1645, N. S., the Indian chiefs gathered outside Fort Amsterdam and signed a treaty, wherefore, the day following, an order was issued, which we give in fuU, as the first thanksgiving proclamation we have met with in the history of New York : — "Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God in his unbounded clemency and mercy, in addition to many previous blessings, to suffer us to reach a long wished for peace with the Indians. Therefore, it is deemed necessary to proclaim the fact to all those of New Netherland, to the end that in all places within the aforesaid country where Dutch and English churches are estab- lished, God Almighty may be specially thanked, praised, and blessed on next Wednesday forenoon, being the 6th of Septem- ber, the text to be appropriate and the Sermon to be applicable thereto. Your Reverence will please announce this matter to the Congregation next Sunday so that they may have notice. On which we rely." ^ Several interesting items appear in this proclama- tion. The day of the week was Wednesday, as in the former instance, and that was the custom throughout the Dutch period. When they ordered a succession of monthly fasts, as in 1648, the day was the first Wednesday of every month. The proclamation usu- ally designated the services to be held, in the forenoon in this case, but in some other proclamations both f ore- IjDoc. Rd. to Col Hist. ofN. F., i. 186-188 ; Broadhead's Hist, L 391 ; O'Callaghan's Hist, i. 302. 2 3fS. Council Minutes, ir. 1. 233. 168 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. noon and afternoon services are specified.^ Notice was given from the pulpit upon a previous Sabbath, as the custom was in New England, and probably the order was read, though all proclamations at New Am- sterdam were published as issued, from the City Hall after the ringing of a bell. Except in the worship, which was after the order of the Reformed churches, the service was much like that among the English, a sermon suited to the day being expected from the dominie. Here, as in other instances, he was enjoined to choose an appropriate text. In some proclamations it was commanded that all attend church, and amuse- ments were prohibited, though generally only during the hours of service, as on the Sabbath.^ For the same reason and during the same time all employ- ments were interdicted. It was the Dutch custom in the fatherland to fast only a part of the day,, and feast toward evening, and the same rule was followed at New Amsterdam. On days of " fasting prayer and thanksgiving," presently to be noted, it was especially true that the time after the second service, or the af- ^ An ordinance at New Amsterdam, April 29, 1648, for the better observance of the Sabbath declared that " from this time forth, in the afternoon as well as in the forenoon there shall be preaching from God's word" (MS. Records of New Amsterdam, p. 18). Fast and thanksgiving days would have followed this example. '^ In the New Amsterdam Manuscript Records there are many or- ders relating to the sacred hours of the Sabbath. One of Peter Stuy- vesant's, May 31, 1647, was, " On the Sabbath of the Lord commonly called Sunday, before two of the clock in the afternoon, in case there is no preaching, or otherwise before four of the clock in the after- noon, they shall not be permitted to set nor draw nor bring out for any person or persons any wines, beers etc." The same was forbidden on Sunday, or any other day, " after tho ringing of the bell in the evening which shall take place about nine of the clock." This related to innkeepers. CUSTOMS IN NEW NETHERLAND. 169 temoon if only one was held, was devoted to the out- ward manifestation of joy, not only by games and feasting, but by military display and the firing of cannon. For example, in a proclamation for a thanks- giving August 12, 1654, on account of peace between England and the Netherlands, the people were " to appear, on that day, in the fore and afternoon at the place where the word of God is preached," and " after the public worship shall be performed to indulge in all moderate festivities and rejoicings as the event recom- mends and their situation shall permit." ^ This cus- tom gave a less solemn character to these days than they possessed in New England ; and we may sup- pose that it was partly this manner of keeping their days, by both fasting and feasting, by public worship and social rejoicings, that gave rise to the name " public fasting prayer and thanksgiving day," which we have noted in use in Holland and which was transferred to New Netherland.2 In respect, however, to the recital of their sins, the catalogue of calamities at home and abroad, and the interpretation of Divine Providence, some of their proclamations equal those of the Puritans. The order for the series of fasts beginning May 6, 1648, recites the "sad and doleful tidings from Europe and the Northern and Southern parts of America, severe inundations and floods, fevers whereby thousands are swept away and scarce any to bury the dead, hurricanes, shipwrecks and famine." It condemns " aU iniquity all false measures and wicked practices, all blasphemy and licentiousness, drunkenness, rioting, swearing, ly- 1 MS. Council Minutes^ v. 312; Translations from the Dutch^yu. 2*10^ 279; MS. Records of New Amsterdam^ trans., i. 506. 2 See chapter iv. 170 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. ing, cheating, profanation of God's most Holy name and Sabbath." It declares that " nothing else can be concluded and inferred than that the Holy One of Israel the Almighty God, being justly provoked to anger and wrath, threatens us for our imrighteous deeds with a just reward, — a reward from the trea- sure of wrath and righteous vengence." ^ The earliest order we have seen for a " prayer and thanksgiving day" is that designating February 1, 1649, N. S. It is as follows : " The Assembly has re- solved and decreed to proclaim that February 1st next coming be a day of prayer for the purpose of thanking and praising God the Lord for the determined and acquired peace now agreed upon between the King of Spain and our dear fatherland ; also likewise to pray to Almighty God that he may preserve the glory and welfare of the fatherland and the prosperity of its in- habitants. Cor. Van Tienhoven Sec." '^ Upon another occasion, March 7, 1657, N. S., when they commemo- rated, among other things, a harvest of self-sown grain the previous season, the fields being deserted for fear of Indians, the expression is " general day of thanks- giving and prayers." ^ In these cases fasting is not specifically mentioned. However, in 1655, when Au- gust 25 was kept on account of the threatened war with the Swedes of the Delaware River, the day is called a general day of " fasting, prayer and thanksgiving." ^ 1 MS. Council Minutes, iv. 1. 377. 2 n^^j^^ p. 425. ^ Ibid., viii. 458 ; Translations from tlie Dutch, xv. 69-71. * MS. Council Minutes, vi. 75 ; Trans-, from the Dutch, xi. 30-82 ; MS. Records of New Amsterdam, ii. 175-178. See Affairs and Men of New Amsterdam, Paulding, pp. 151, 152, where the proclamation is in print, but the rendering " universal fast and thanksgiving " day is not exact. CUSTOMS IN NEW NETHERLAND. 171 It IS presumed that what moved Peter Stuyvesant to enjoin thanksgivings upon what would have been in New England a fast day, was the " manifold blessings and benefits of God '' manifested in their preparations for the war. The two elements were intentionally combined on such occasions because there were rea- sons for both. A notable instance was the keeping of March 13, 1658, N. S., which is twice designated in a lengthy proclamation as " a general fast-prayer and thank day " (algeemenen vast beed en dank dagh). The prominent causes given for fasting and prayer were '^ fevers in some hamlets " and " anew and never heard of heresie named Quakers ; " and the causes for thanksgiving the prosperity of the province, its " peace, increased people and trade." ^ The fevers above mentioned spread abroad as the season advanced. Many died, and it was with diffi- culty that the depleted harvests were gathered. In- deed for the next three years there was little to call forth unusual thanksgivings, for the sickness prevailed in every hamlet, and troubles with the Indians kept them in constant fear. Several fast days were ob- served as follows : October 23, 1658,^ April 2 and October 15, 1659, and March 24, 1660. But to- ward the close of 1661 the sun appeared from the clouds, for the sickness ceased, a goodly harvest was ^ In the Dutch language, MS. Bee. of New Amsterdam^ vol. ii., translation, vol. iii. 85-87 ; also, MS. Court. Min.^ viii. 699 ; Trans, from the Dutch, xiv. 77-79. 2 Proclamation in full in Affairs and Men of New Amsterdam, pp. 155-157; also, MS. Coun. Min., viii. 995 ; Trans, from the Dutch, xiv. 374-376. A discrepancy in the date is noted. Both October 16 and 23 are given. This may be accounted for by the fact that more re- mote settlements may not have received the order in time to keep the earlier date. 172 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, gathered, and a temporary peace with the savages was secured. Wherefore a " general day of fasting prayer and thanksgiving" was observed March 15, 1662, N. S.i Though instances of the same designation are met with afterwards, — as in the monthly fasts of 1673,^ — in general the Dutch term disappeared. It was after all an appropriate idiom, even if it is con- sidered as merely such, for no thanksgiving was with- out the necessity for supplication, and it was quite like the Dutch to find something to be thankful for even in their darkest times. A measure of gratitude would have sweetened many a New England fast, and certainly there was reason enough for it. The Dutch had come from quite another atmosphere than the Puritans. A social license was legitimate among them during the latter hours of the Sabbath day and other holy days, and it was natural that this shoidd pass over to a fast or thanksgiving. But the English influence, while it did not check this mingling of the two elements, soon made them merely civil celebra- tions, which there was no church influence strong enough to consecrate. The troubles between the New England colonists and the Dutch in 1653 — threatening a war which would certainly have been disastrous to both — pre- sent a study. Both parties went to God in fasting and prayer, and doubtless with confidence in his favor, since both considered themselves in the right. The 1 MS. Council Minutes^ x. 27-31. In some places this was the first of a course of days kept quarterly. 2 MS, Records, iLK\\\. 158; Trans, from the Butch xxiii. 91, 92 ; New Jersey Archives, i. 139. The course was the first Wednesday of each month, and began December 3, O. S. Two versions give the date as December 2. CUSTOMS IN NEW NETHERLAND, 173 Dutch complained that their EngKsh neighbors had trespassed upon their territory ; the English were ap- prehensive of a conspiracy between the Dutch and the Indians to destroy their settlements. In the midst of preparations for war, by the command of his High Mightiness Peter Stuyvesant, the pious burghers in- augurated a series of fast days April 9, 1653, to con- tinue the first Wednesday of each month.^ That very day at least one Puritan congregation was convened to recite before the Lord the wickedness of the proposed invasion of the Indians " instigated by the Dutch." ^ Doubtless the services of each would have been decid- edly interesting to the other. The feeling increased as months passed, and as to Connecticut it was aug- mented by the opposition to the war in Massachusetts, on which account the latter received an uncompli- mentary mention in the former's fast-day proclamation of March 15 following. Yet it so turned out that even as the New Haven Colony was sharpening its sword on the altar June 28, seeking God " in an extraordinary way in fasting & praire for a blessing vpon the enterprise abroad," the news came of a peace concluded between England and the United Provinces. Of course thanksgiving days were then in order. At New Amsterdam they were heartily glad to hear the news, to confirm which Stuyvesant sent two messengers to New Haven, and a thanksgiving 1 MS. Council Minutes^ v. 115 ; MS. Rec. of New Amsterdam, i. 182 ; Affairs and Men of New Amsterdam^ pp. 123, 124. 2 N. E. Gen. Reg., x. 39. March 30, O. S., was April 9, N. S. The Barnstable Church also kept May 11, and their records indicate that it was " requested by their [our] Governours Maiestraites and Commissioners being att Boston." It was probably kept, therefore, in all the colonies. 174 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. was kept August 12. The order commends fasting in calamities, and thanksgiving for deliverances. In true Davidic style it says, " Praise, English Jerusalem, thank the Lord of Zion of Netherland." Two ser- vices were held upon that day, but scarcely had the af- ternoon congregation been dismissed when sounds of rejoicing and gay merriment filled the streets, and mu- sic and dancing, sports and feasting, gave the newly palisaded town a holiday appearance. In Massachu- setts the thanksgiving was September 20 ; but no such day is known to have been kept in the New Haven and Connecticut colonies, and perhaps their intention was diverted to fasting on account of the In- dians, which they were about to chastise.^ The year 1663 was also a trying one in New Neth- erland. It was shaken by the earthquake, which was general throughout the country; there was a flood which inundated the fields and greatly injured the harvests ; and the smallpox broke out with malig- nity, spreading in some localities with rapidity, so that villages were decimated. These causes impelled them to a fast April 4. They had not recovered their spirits ere the Indians surprised Eusopus settlement, and massacred many. A series of monthly fasts fol- lowed, beginning July 4, which were kept throughout the entire province ; ^ and so far as appears these con- tinued until June 4, 1664, N. S., when they were con- cluded with a thanksgiving, peace having been effected. ^ A thanks^ ving had been appointed for October 11 , but meanwhile war with the Indians was determined on by the commissioners, and the thanksgiving was put ofP by the fast October 12. ^ Among the archives at Albany is preserved a list of the places to which proclamations were sent. For fourteen it was put in the Dutch language, and for six in the English. CUSTOMS IN NEW NETHERLAND. 175 Among the archives at Albany, there is a letter writ- ten by Rev. Hermanns Brown of Wiltwyek (Eusopus), in which he asks that June 7, the day of the massacre, may be kept annually as a thanksgiving in commem- oration of that event. ^ Probably this was not done, but it is the first record of a desire for an annual thanksgi\dng, and shows that the Dutch had no such custom. It is hardly necessary to dwell further on these days which were observed in New Netherland. Enough has been recorded to show the prevalence of the cus- tom and its points of difference from that of their English neighbors. They were continued under the English government. From 1690 to 1710 they oc- curred almost every year, though they seem to par- take more of foreign relations than those ordered by the Dutch directors. During the French and Indian wars they were frequent, and other plantations to the south and west either kept the same days, or ordered the like. Tlie influence of New York tended to pro- mote this, but the main reason was the relation of these provinces to the mother coimtry, which at the time kept such occasions periodically, and encouraged or ordered the provinces to do the same. Hence we find as to these kept during the wars an agreement between New England and other colonies such as New York, Pennsylvania, and those at the south. In proof and illustration of this, such as we have found in records or manuscript documents are in- cluded in the Calendar ; and they prepare us to un- derstand how it was, in the days of the Revolution, that the Continental Congress could expect a willing- ^ M8. Correspondence, x. 122. 176 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. ness to keep such as they ordered. It was a step in the development of national days. Those proclama- tions, printed from 1693 for many years on the press of William Bradford, and now of the greatest rarity, carried the custom abroad into the newest settlements. Wherever there was a church or a minister the idea found a reception. Who can doubt that, in those days, the custom was eminently beneficial ? It was a means of awakening minds to religious duties, it brought new communities into mutual sympathy, and abQve aU it nursed their loyalty and patriotism. CHAPTER XIII. PESTS, PLAGUES, AND PRODIGIES. 1640-1670. The civil wars in England, whatever the hopes they offered in religious matters, had a depressing effect upon the prosperity hitherto experienced in New England. Immigration almost entirely ceased. There was a general stagnation of trade. Many set- tlers became discouraged and returned to England. So a spirit of discontent manifested itself which reacted upon the religious life and heroic temper of the people. This was increased by uncertainty as to the government, and the vagaries of certain religious sects which threatened their peace. And, as was quite natural, the baser elements of society crept out into the light, startling the commimity with most re- pulsive crimes. AU this brought on a period of lamentations in their history, in which of course the prophets bore a prominent part. The plantations, they were wont to say, had been visited with the prosperous smiles of Heaven, but the day of calamities and religious de- generacy had come, and the favor of God was with- held. Cotton Mather charges that many forgot the " errand into the wilderness," and neglected rehgion for the " enchantments of the world ; " and the reader can understand how this might have appeared to be 178 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. true. The child of a dozen summers, who had come over in the first ships, was now the head of a family, clearing his acres and building his home. A whole- some industrial motive urged on his labors, while the religious motive, which alone had been equal to the earlier hardships, was dominant still in the life of his father. But the point which engages us is this : the prevailing idea was, that this decline in religion was the provoking cause of a series of judgments upon New England. Scarcely a season passed which was not in some way remarkable, at least sufficiently so to be noted in their proclamations. Everything in the way of excessive cold, snow and hail storms, — es- pecially if out of season, — floods and fires, and violent winds which damaged their tender fruit-trees, was made a serious occasion for meditation upon their degenerate ways. Of all natural causes, the droughts were the most frequent occasion for fasts. They did not wait for parched fields, but when rain was needed they prayed for it. If it came between the proclamation and the day, they kept a thanksgiving. Twice in Massachu- setts during this period, once in 1642, when September 22 was set on account of excessive rains, and again in 1645, when June 26 was to be kept for a drought, the weather changed before the day arrived.^ The very intention was thought to have had power with God. Droughts were quite general in 1639, 1644, 1662, and 1666, and were the principal cause for the following fasts in Massachusetts : June 13, 1639, July 3, 1644, ^ Winthrop's Hist., ii. 102, 264. Cf. Barnstable church records as to June 14, 1652. The emergency was so great in 1666 that the Rox- bury church anticipated the public fast by two days. Roxbury chh. rec, N. E. Beg., xxxiv. 162; Dorchester chh. rec, pp. 50, 51. PESTS, PLAGUES, AND PRODIGIES. 179 June 5, 1662, and June 21, 1666. That of 1662 was unusally protracted, and certain unbelievers openly attributed it to the contemplated convening of the synod. Tliis was a challenge to prayer, so when it met the week after the public fast, they made it their first duty to keep June 11, and, as a copious rain fell the day after, and " seasonable showers continued week after week imtil the harvest," we may suppose they silenced their skeptical critics.^ But a more careful examination on this point is reserved for another occa- sion. A second affliction during these years was the blast- ing of their wheat crop. There was some appearance of mildew in 1663, the spring being cold and damp ; but, according to the best authorities, 1664 witnessed the first general blasting in the Bay Colony.^ It began in the latter part of June, and so diminished the harvest that it was a prominent cause for humilia^ tion upon the public fast, September 1. Again it vis- ited them in 1665 and 1666. The Connecticut Col- ony was not exempt. It appeared there and at New Haven in 1665. The order for a fast in Connecticut, May 29, 1668, earnestly urges that we " humble our souls before the Lord in the sight and sence of o' man- ifold sins, whereby we have caused the Lord to goe out against us in those yearly judgments of blasting the increase of the feild." ^ Almost exactly the same lan- guage is used the next year in the order for June 16. In reference to this chastisement, the fathers had 1 HuU's Diary, p. 189; Rox. chh. rec, N. E. Beg., xxxiv. 88; Coffin's Newbury, p. 65. 2 HuU's Diary; Morton's N. E. Mem., pp. 201, 205, 208. 8 Conn. Col. Bee, ii. 89, 90. 180 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. a good taste of their owii doctrine, for the Quakers claimed that it was a judgment upon them for their uncharitable deahngs. God also sent forth swarms of destructive insects against them, which are so variously named canker- worms, palmerworms, and caterpillars, that it is impos- sible to say certainly what species is referred to, or whether they were the same. Winthrop gives the fol- lowing description of these pests, which made their appearance in the summer of 1646 : " Great harm was done in corn (especially wheat and barley) in this month by a caterpillar, like a black worm about an inch and a half long. They eat up first the blades of the stalk, then they eat up the tassels, whereupon the ear withered. It was believed by divers good ob- servers, that they fell in a great thunder shower, for divers yards and other bare places, where not one of them was to be seen an hour before, were presently after the shower almost covered with them, besides grass places where they were not so easily discerned. They did the most harm in the southern parts, as Ehode Island etc, and in the eastern parts, in their Indian corn. In divers places the churches kept a day of humiliation, and presently after the caterpillars vanished away." ^ With this account we may com- pare the Roxbury church records, which fix the time as " about the end of the 5th month," and give fur- ther details of the devastation. The oats, barley, and wheat were almost destroyed, and whole meadows of grass were devoured. This account says the visitation was general " over aU the English plantations." It concludes also with the following reflection : " Much 1 Winthrop's Hist., ii. 327. PESTS, PLAGUES, AND PRODIGIES. 181 prayer there was made to God about it w*^ fasting in divers places, and the Lord heard and on a suddaine tooke j^ all away againe in all p*^ of the country to the wonderment of all men: it was the Lord for it was done suddainly." ^ If an account in Johnson's " Wonder-working Providence " refers to this oc- casion, as is probable, it adds interesting items. " Also the Lord was pleased to awaken us with an Army of caterpillars, that had he not suddainly rebuked them, they had surely destroyed the husband- mans hope. Where they fell upon trees they left them like winter-wasting cold, bare and naked: and although they fell on fields very rarely yet in some places they made as clear a riddance as the harvest mans hand, and uncovered the gay green Meadow ground, but indeed the Lord did by some plats shew us what he could have done with the whole, and in many places cast them into the highways, that the Cart-wheels in their passage were painted green with running over the great swarms of them." This, the author adds, recalled the people to the end of their coming over, for they had wandered far into the wil- derness out of the " sound of the silver Trumpets blown by the laborious Ministers of Christ." ^ It is evident that these '^ good observers " were not natural- ists ; but what an effect the belief must have had that the caterpillars were showered from heaven ! How great, too, must their faith have been, when, in answer to their prayers, they suddenly vanished ! 1 Rox. chh. rec, N, E. Reg., xxxiii. 65. 2 Johnson's Wonder-working Providence, p. 214. On the fast day, July 26, 1687, James Allen of Boston preached a sermon, in which he attributes an afflictive providence of worms and caterpillars to the "Neglect in supporting and Maintaining the Pure Worship of God." 182 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. The canker-worm may have been noted earlier, but it made its appearance in force in 1657, and continued its devastations yearly to 1666, reaching a height in 1665. Such periods have been known since, as about 1686, 1735, and 1769. Historians were not particular in descriptions of these pests. The differ- ence between this and the former visitation seems to have been that the damage was done to the trees instead of the fields. In his diary, under 1661, Hidl says, " The canker-worm hath for four years devoured most of the apples in Boston that the apple trees look in 4th month as if it was the 9th month." This was one prominent cause for the Massachusetts fast day June 22, 1665, and probably also for June 14 in Connecti- cut. Incidental references are found to damage from grasshoppers in 1666, which, though of little extent, sufficed to give the ministers a chance to make homi- letic use of the passage, " That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten, and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten, and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten." Some have supposed that there were in those days plagues of locusts, but the statement is not well founded. Of 1648 Winthrop says, " About the midst of this summer there arose a fly out of the ground about the bigness of the top of a man's httle finger of brown colour. They filled the woods from Connecticut to Sudbury with a great noise and eat up the young sprouts of the trees, but meddled not with the com. They were also between Plimouth and Braintree but came no further. If the Lord had not stopped them they had spoiled all our orchards for PESTS, PLAGUES, AND PRODIGIES. 188 they did some few.i " Making some allowance in this story for the destruction wrought, we conjecture that this fly was the cicada, known as the seventeen-year locust. And leaving the period of its reappearance to the naturalist it is a fact that in 1665, seventeen years afterwards, according to Hull's " Diary " " multi- tudes of flying caterpillars arose out of the ground and from roots of com, making such a noise in the air that travellers must speak loud to hear one an- other, yet they only seized upon the trees in the wil- derness." The well-known noise of the cicada ex- plains these extracts most satisfactorily. A veritable plague of locusts would certainly have spread devasta- tion far and near. In early times there were multitudes of wild pigeons in New England. They were so numerous in 1642 as to do great damage to the grain fields. Again they came in 1648, but as the harvest was mostly gathered there was little to destroy. Thousands were killed and used for food, upon which account Winthrop observes " thus the Lord showetl us that he could make the same creature, which formerly had been a great chastisement, now to become a great blessing." ^ We turn now to consider afflictions of a more seri- ous character, — the diseases of various kinds which prevailed in the plantations during this period. If at aU exceptional, these were particidarly regarded as disclosures of divine wrath, and a large proportion of the fast and thanksgiving orders had some reference to them. The modern physician, who reads the pre- scriptions with amazement, wonders that the mortality was not even greater when infectious diseases broke 1 Winthrop's HisLy ii. 405 2 j^^^v/.^ ji. 113^ 4O4, 184 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. out among them ; but on the whole the climate was healthful and the people hardy, the sick were well cared for and the population was scattered. Never- theless hundreds died in every year of plague. Sick- nesses, of types unknown to them, carried away their children. This was a cause for prayer, to which they responded with great fervor, and as such afflictions were considered as pimishments, we can understand how they cast a sorrowful depression over their reli- gious services. The years from 1644 to 1649 were notable for visitations of sundry diseases, as also were those from 1658 to 1666. Yet we do not know what the particular sickness was each year. Scurvy was general among new-comers. The limited diet accounts for certain common complaints. There was much sickness in the summer of 1644, and partly therefor a fast was kept in Massachusetts July 3. The Rox- bury records notice that the first week in the 10th month of 1645 '' was the most mortal week that ever Eoxbury saw." Five died in one week and many more were sick. We have no clue to the nature of this malady. The next spring, however, there was a malignant fever generally prevalent, " whereof," says Winthrop, " some died in five or six days, but if they escaped the eighth they recovered, and divers of the churches sought the Lord by public humiliation, and the Lord was entreated, so as about the middle of the third month it ceased." ^ The thanksgiving on June 11 following celebrated this " mercy of God in withdraw- ing his afflicting hand." But the year 1647 was even more sickly, though perhaps the mortality was less. In the summer we find the Barnstable church fasting ^ Winthrop's Hist., ii. 315. PESTS, PLAGUES, AND PRODIGIES, 185 July 22, because there was " sickness upon every family and every one in every family," and the order for a fast in the Bay Colony April 20, 1648, speaks of "the Lord's visitation generally through tliis country the last summer by an unknown disease." Winthrop gives tliis more complete description of it : " An epi- demical sickness was through the country among Indians and Enghsh, French and Dutch. It took them like a cold, and a light fever with it. Such as bled or used cooling drinks died ; those who took com- fortable things, for most part recovered and that in few days. WTierein a special providence of God appeared, for not a family, nor but few persons es- caped it, had it brought aU so weak as it did some, and continued so long, our hay and corn had been lost for want of help ; but such was the mercy of God to his people, as few died, not above forty or fifty in the Massachusetts and near as many at Connecticut." ^ Thomas Hooker was one of the lamented victims. John Eliot's record, of greater length, says it followed extremely hot weather and a thunderstorm, and de- scribes it as " a very depe cold, wth some tincture of a feaver & f idl of malignity & very dangerous if not well regarded by keeping a low diet." Another symp- tom given is that it " seized upon their spirits." But it is most to our purpose to note that Eliot sets forth the supernatural conception of it by saying, " It was suddaine & general! , as if the Lord had imediately sent forth an angel, not w*^ a sword to kill but w*^ a rod to chastize, and he smot all, good & bad, old & young." 2 Passing other features recorded, this dis- 1 Winthrop's Hist., ii. 378. « Rox. chh. rec, N. E. Reg., xxxiii. 237, 238. Possibly the excite- 186 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. ease seems to have been what is now known as la grippe, to which possibly Hull also referred in his diary as prevailing in 1660, and which has been known in modern times. At all events it was as really a plague in the minds of the fathers as any wherewith God punished the Egyptians. The in- quiry was at once abroad what had provoked it. The apostle of Roxbury speaks for many of his brethren in his meditation : " To have such colds in the height of the heat of sumer shews vs, y* in the height of the means of grace, peace liberty of ordinances &c yet may we then fall into malignant & mortal colds apos- tacys & coolings." The year 1649 was remarkable for a sickness upon the children. There was fasting in the Plymouth Colony November, 15, children in the Bay dying by the " chin-cough & the pockes," and the same also among them. After other fasts for the same cause, March 13, 1649-50 commemorated with gratitude the cessation and recovery, but such diseases continued to prevail in season for several years. After a period of general health, sicknesses again distressed them, and both Massachusetts and Con- necticut were fasting in 1658 on that account, the former November 10, and the latter September 8. In 1661, too, there was an epidemic in Connecticut, and in 1662 in Massachusetts. As if these were not humbling enough, the smallpox broke out in 1666, ^ having been brought over from England, where it had ment was increased by news of the plague — doubtless the yellow fever — which that year raged in the West Indies. Hutchinson Papers, p. 223 ; Winthrop's Hist., ii. 380-382. 1 Rox. chh. rec, N. E. Beg., xxxiv. 166 ; Morton's N, E, Mem,, p. 207. . PESTS, PLAGUES, AND PRODIGIES. 187 raged with great severity. But this examination is sufficient to show cause for their humiliations ; and no one can comprehend what those days were, without measuring the effect of such afflictions upon their re- ligious life. It happened also, at intervals, that a weird spell was cast over their religious assemblies by a superstitious belief in the supernatural, which peopled the forests with evil spirits, filled the air with strange sounds, and so wrought upon their fearful souls that their religious life was tempered with dismal forebodings. They were indeed not exceptions in their day, for such a belief was common in Europe, but their life in the wilderness intensified its effect. Nothing monstrous could transpire about them, but that they humbly asked what it meant, and in the answer the prophet often put a strain upon his imagination. A calf was brought forth at Ipswich, having one head and tlu'ce mouths, three noses and six eyes, whereupon the wise Winthrop is moved to write : " What these prodigies portend the Lord only knows, which in his due time he will manifest." ^ Many such illustrations are scattered throughout their history. If they found evil omens in such trivial things, much more might we expect they would in earthquakes and strange dis- plays in the heavens. They felt the earth tremble, as it did several times during this period, and an awful warning clutched at their quivering hearts. What wonder is it that their divines produced masterpieces which they christened with such cheerful titles as " The Day of Doom " ! In 1652 a comet appeared, which set them questioning what was about to hap- ^ Winthrop' « Ilistory, ii. 311. 188 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, pen. They had not long to wait, and Morton has thus recorded its relation to the death of John Cotton : "About the time of his sickness there appeared in the heavens over New England, a comet giving a dim light, and so waxed dimmer and dimmer until it be- came quite extinct and went out, which time of its being extinct was soon after the time of the period of his life, it being a very signal testimony, that God had then removed a bright star, a burning and a shining light out of the heaven of his church here imto celestial glory above." i " That comets, great men's deaths do oft forego, This present comet doth too sadly show." ^ Throughout most of the winter of 1664—5 they looked nightly upon a comet that gleamed upon them as a portentous avenger.^ It was first seen Decem- ber 5, and remained in view to February 4. A sec- ond appeared March 11. Moved by these threat- enings the Council of Massachusetts appointed a public fast for March 22.^ It is probable that the tract by Rev. Samuel Danforth, of Roxbury, entitled, " An Astronomical Description of the late Comet or Blazing Star . . . with a brief Theological Applica- tion thereof," was, in part at least, his sermon deliv- ered on this occasion. It was written that month, 1 Morton's iV. E. Mem., p. 163. 2 Ihid. Lines from the funeral elegy by Rev. John Norton. ^ Josselyn's Account of Two Voyages to N. E., ed. 1860, p. 42; Morton's N. E. Mem., p. 198 ; Hutchinson's Hist., i. 226 ; Rox. chh. rec, N. E. Beg., xxxiv. 162 ; Increase Mather's Discourse Concerning Comets. * The Dorchester church records say the order was " from y© Court," but as that body had not been in session, and the entry was made some time afterwards, it is doubtless an error, for Hull's Diary says it was appointed by the council. PESTS, PLAGUES, AND PRODIGIES. 189 and the " Application " has the cast of a fast ser- mon.^ Danforth was the astronomer and almanac maker of the time. He would not let such an occa- sion pass. The theological application is not given in full, being mainly the heads of his discourse. Of the first comet Danforth says, it is " now seconded by a new appearance this spring concomitant to the trans- lation of our honored and aged Governor Mr. John Endicott." Endicott died March 15, and the event supported the general view expressed on the fast the week following. In his " New England's Memorial " a reference is made to this discourse by Morton, and that author attributes to the influence of the comet the threatened invasion by a foreign force, deaths by thunder and lightning, droughts, blasting, and mildew ; and, reflecting the preaching of that day, he urges to a strict and serious examination of hearts and lives, in order to the finding out of those sins that are most provoking to Heaven, and the reforming of them, so that God may not " stir up all his wrath, but yet may delight over them to do them good from the begin- ning of the year to the end thereof." As such was the accepted view, we may conclude that it was freely expressed by others than this astronomical minister. Bradstreet confidently says, "The effects appeared much in England, in a great and dreadful plague that followed the next sumer, in a dreadf uU warr by sea w*^ the Dutch, and the burning of London the 2^ year following." 2 Xs time passed and calamities came upon them they reverted to this comet, which may ^ On the fast February 15, 1681, Samuel Willard preached a simi- lar sermon on a Blazing Star. See Bibliography, No. 21. 2 Bradstreet's " Journal," N. E. Beg.^ vol. ix. 190 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. have been one reason for another mention of it in the proclamation for a fast in Massachusetts the 2 2d of June following. In 1667 fear was spread abroad because of a display of zodiacal light, which seemed to have an ominous semblance to a spear pointed toward New England. Some afterwards thought it had presaged the earthquake of 1668, but more agreed with the sentiment that it referred to the deaths of Shepard Fhnt and Mitchell.i Such were the views entertained of these and other prodigies. We know of no author of that day who has set them forth in more striking form than Michael Wigglesworth in his poem entitled " God's Contro- versy with New England," ^ which, besides being itself an inspiration of the drought of 1662, gives in thirty-one stanzas the calamities which their stubborn sinfulness induced. " Our healthful! dayes are at an end And sicknesses come on From yeer to yeer, becaus o^ hearts Away from God are gone. New England, where for many yeers You scarcely heard a cough, And where Physicians had no work, Kow finds them work enough. ** Our fruitful seasons have been tumd Of late to barrenness. Sometimes through great & parching drought, Sometimes through rain's excess. Yea now the pastures & com fields For want of rain do languish : 1 Bradstreet's " Journal ; " Morton's N. E. Mem,, p. 210. 2 Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc., xii. 83. PESTS, PLAGUES, AND PRODIGIES, 191 The cattell mourn, & hearts of men Are fill'd with fear and anguish. * The clouds are often gathered As if we should have rain : But for o^ great unworthiness Are scattered again. We pray & fast, & make fair shewes, As if we meant to turn : But whilst we turn not, Grod goes on Our field & fruits to bum." CHAPTER XIV. Jacob's trouble in the wilderness. 1675-1676. On the 23(1 of October, 1676, the General Court of the Connecticut Colony made proclamation as fol- lows : — *' This Court considering the enlarged goodness of God to his peo- ple in this wilderness, in appeareing so gloriously for their help in subdueing of o*" enemies in so good a measure as he hath done, and his mercy in remoueing sickness from the land, in the comfortable and plentifull harvest that wee haue receiued, and the continuance of o'" priuiledges and liberties, ciuill and ecclesiasticall hath moued this Court to nominate and appoynt the first day of November next, to be solemnly kept a day of Publique Thankesgiueing thorowout this Colony, to bless and prayse the Lord for his great mercy towards vs, with prayer that the Lord would help vs in our Hues and wayes to walk answerable to his abundant mercy esi" ^ On the 25th of the same month the General Court of Massachusetts appointed a thanksgiving for Novem- ber 9. We quote from the proclamation. " God hath made bare his oune arme for our deliuerance, by taking away counsell & courage from our ennemjes, & giying strange advan- tage, & great success to ourselues & confoederates against them, that of those seuerall tribes & partjes that haue hitherto risen vp against us, which were not a few, there now scarse remajnes a name or fam- ily of them in their former habitations but are either slayne, capti- vated, or fled into remote parts of this wilderness, or lye hid, dispayr- ing of their first intentions against us." ^ It is probable that a similar occasion was also kept in the Plymouth Colony, either by action of the 1 Conn. Col. Bee, ii. 296. ^ This is one of the few proclamations extant in broadside. It is JACOB'S TROUBLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 193 churches or civil authority, notwithstanding the fact that they had on the 17 th of August previous cele- brated the most memorable thanksgiving of many years. These public thanksgivings were the climax of rejoicings after the disastrous experiences of King Philip's War, which Rev. James Fitch of Nor- wich, Conn., was pleased to call " Jacob's Trouble in the Wilderness." The background upon which they must be seen is the picture of blazing homes, cruel massacre, and a more dreadful captivity, which impelled the fathers of New England to humiliation as never before nor since in their history. It is only our pur- pose to mention the events of the war so far as it may be necessary to give the proper historical setting to their fast and thanksgiving days. On Monday morning, the 21st of June, 1675, at the break of day, a messenger arrived at the house of Governor Josiah Winslow, at Marshfield, bringing the tidings that the Indians had assaulted two houses at Swansey the day before, and driven out the inmates. The governor ordered soldiers to their relief, but also dispatched a messenger to Boston to advise Governor Leverett. In the archives of Massachusetts, the let- ter that messenger bore, by the swiftest horse, is pre- served, — yellow now with age, but stiU showing the soiled evidence of its carriage that day.^ About four o'clock that afternoon this unknown rider drew up in front of the governor's house, which stood near the dated October 11, 1675. October 11 was the day the Court met, and 1075 for 1676 is a misprint. We follow the Records which differ slightly from the broadside. See N. E. Reg., ii. 201 ; Mass. Col. Rec, V. 130 ; lY. Hamp. Col. Rec, i. 361. ^ This interesting letter, never in print, has the answer on the same sheet. State Archives : War, vol. Ixvii. 202. 194 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Old Meeting-House at the head of State Street. The council was convened forthwith, and a message prom- ising assistance returned. Drums sounded the call to arms in the streets, and the excitement of gathering volunteers was everywhere. The Ancient and Hojior- able Artillery had been addressed on the 10th of that month by Rev. John Richardson of Newbury, on " The Necessity of a well Experienced Souldiery ; " and the preacher had said, " Thou knowest not how soon orders may come from the Lord of Hosts for thy sudden March ; and then there will be no time to get any skill to defend thyself. You are now, as it were, in Garri- son, but you may very quickly be in the field, not in a naked field, but in a field of war, yea, perhaps in Aceldema, a field of blood." And now the words of the prophet were about to come to pass. In the mean time, though making all preparations for defense, the governor and council of both colonies issued orders for fast days, that of Plymouth being June 24 1 and that of Massachusetts June 29.^ On the very day of that Plymouth fast, as the people were returning from church, they were attacked by the Indians, and ere the day ended, nine English had been slain. Reflecting upon this sad fact Rev. In- crease Mather says, " The Providence of God is deeply to be observed, that the sword should be first drawn upon a day of Humiliation, the Lord thereby declar- 1 MS. Cotton Papers, Boston Public Library, vi. 24 ; Baylies' Hist. Mem. of New Plymouth, v. 47, 48. ^ This was three days after the departure of troops. We know of no copy of the proclamation in manuscript or print. Dor. chh. rec, p. 69 ; Mather's Hist, of King Philip's War, repr. 1862, p. 56 ; Salem chh. rec, in White's JV. E. Congregationalism, p. 82 ; Hull's Diary. JACOB'S TROUBLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 195 ing from Heaven that he expected something else from his people besides Fasting and Prayer." ^ The war thus begun had not been unannounced, it was believed, by ominous signs. A great gun had been heard to go off, as if the Devil were letting off the ordnance of heaven ; and volleys of musket-shots, as of a battle in the air, had startled them. Bullets whistled overhead, and troopers were heard riding to and fro, as of an invisible army on the march.^ On the nio:ht when the soldiers of Boston came to their first encampment on the Neponset River, a shadow crept over the moon, and dismal fancies curdled their blood as they thought they saw on the face of the eclipsed moon a dark spot like an Indian scalp, though it is related that one of their number comforted them with the classic witticism that " there was more cause to be afraid of Sagittarius than of Capricornus." ^ Amid all the troubles of that summer and autumn, disastrous especially to the western plantations, the churches observed continual fastings. It was re- marked too, with sorrow, that their power thus to turn back the tide of disaster had departed from them. Defeats seemed to cluster about those days. When Mendon was assaulted, July 14, and the first blood was shed in Massachusetts, the church in Dorchester was fasting, " wherein," says Mather, " the Providence of God is the more awful &> tremendous." ^ The news came to Boston the next day at lecture time, whije 1 Mather's Hisl.^ p. 55. 2 Magnalia, ii. 560 ; Hubbard's Indian Wars, repr. 1865, ii. 262 ; Mather's Hist, pp. 158, 159. 2 Hubbard's Indian Wars, pp. 67, 68 ; Mather's Hist., p. 57 ; Mag^ nalia, ii. 561. * Mather's Hist., pp. 62-64. 196 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. that divine was expounding the Scripture, "Who gave Jacob to the spoil and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, he against whom ye have sinned ? " Alas ! it was but too evident that the chastisement was from Him. On the 5th of August, as the First Church at Boston was keeping a fast, the news came of Captain Hutchinson's defeat at Quaboag, which appeared so striking that another fast was kept on the Wednesday following in the Second Church.^ This was Dr. Mather's, and the one tiling we know about that service is, that he made his boast in the Lord's spar- ing the churches, showing the benefit of communion with God ; but it was not long afterward that he had occasion to add, like a disappointed prophet, " Now he begins with the Sanctuary," — a remark provoked by the destruction of the Springfield church. When Deer- field was burned, this author notes that on that day " Hadley was before the Lord in fasting and prayer, but were driven from the Holy Service they were attend- ing by a most sudden and violent Alarm." His own church was similarly engaged, which " added solemnity and awfulness to that desolation." *^ But notwithstand- ing such ill success they multiplied their fast days. In August the council at Hartford ordered a " course of seekeing the Lord by Humiliation, Prayer & soule affliction " by weekly fasts, each county in turn on succeeding Wednesdays.^ Plymouth Colony had a 1 Drake's Old Indian Chronicle, pp. 147, 148. Wednesday was the 11th, and not the 12th, as in the Chronicle. 2 Mather's Hist., p. 72. 3 Conn. Col. Bee, ii. 355 ; cf . ii. 467, 469. The order was : New Ha- ven County, September 1 ; Fairfield, September 8 ; New London, September 15 ; Hartford, September 22. These were interrupted by the thanksgiving, February 23, 1675-6. Each county kept about JACOB'S TROUBLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 197 public fast October 14 ; and the governor and council of the Bay Colony also issued a proclamation appoint- ing October 7.^ This order, which was undoubtedly written by Increase Mather himself, and complained that the Lord was " shewing himself angry with the Prayers of his People," was sent over seas by a mer- chant of Boston, with the comment that the day was observed " with very gTcat show of outward penitence & (no Question) with much inward affection by very many, the Governor himself beginning the Duty of the Day with a most heavenly prayer." '^ But Mather does not record very happy results, for he says it was '' attended with awfull testimonyes of divine dis- pleasure," referring to the fact that, the day after it was agi'eed upon. Captain Lothrop and "the flower of Essex County " met their terrible deaths. The deduc- tion he made was, that " praying without reforming would not do," — a logic to which he adds interest by remarking, when his own church afterwards had a fast, " After which we have not received such sad tid- ings as usually such dayes have been attended with since the warr began." However, he came out tri- imaphantly at last, in his discourse on the " Prevalency twelve fasts during the year. They were discontinued by the coun- cil vote of August 19, 1676, and the 30th of August was made a public thanksgiving, but a previous vote of July 21 had changed the last course into " like solemn dayes of Thanksgiving." Miner's Diary (Hon. R. A. Wheeler, Stonington, Conn.) says that August 16 and 23, as well as the 30th, were public thanksgivings throughout the whole colony. They probably were voluntarily so on account of King Philip's death. ^ Mather printed this proclamation in his History of King Philip^s War^ pp. 93, 94 ; and perhaps he corrected from his draft some slight errors and misprints which appear in it as printed in The Present State of New England, etc. ; Old Indian Chronicle, pp. 161-163. 2 Old Indian Chronicle, p. 161. 198 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, of Prayer," by making such experiences a trial of faith to some, and a rebuke of formality in prayer to others. Soon after the inception of the reforming movement discussed in the next chapter, the Commissioners of the United Colonies met at Boston. It was Novem- ber 2. They determined upon a winter campaign against the Narragansetts, and also recommended that all the colonies observe a fast on the 2d of December for the success of the expedition.^ This was done, and it was because this general humihation was pend- ing that the autumn thanksgiving, which had become usual, was that year altogether omitted in Massachu- setts, and probably in Plymouth. In Connecticut it was put off to the 23d of February following, and then the day was largely for success against the Nar- ragansetts, though the proclamation shows that it was intended to cover the vicissitudes of the past year.^ In his " History of King Philip's War " Mather ex- plicitly says that June 29, 167^, the anniversary of the first fast day, was the first public thanksgiving which had been kept in the Bay Colony since the war began.3 There might have been, however, here and there, church thanksgivings. In one instance there certainly was. At Concord, on the 21st of October, several persons, who had been delivered in a wonderful manner when the attack was made on Brookfield, celebrated a thanksgiving therefor, and on that day Rev. Edward Bulkley, preached to them a ^ The commissioners left the several colonies to issue their procla^ mations. It was only a recommendation on their part. Probably a brief order was all any of them sent out. — Conn. Col. Bee, ii. 383. 2 Conn. Col Bee., ii. 408. 3 Mather's Hist., p. 167. JACOB'S TROUBLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 199 sermon, which is in print, with the recital of the deliv- erance, though of the very greatest rarity.^ It is not strange that they so omitted thanksgivings. The times were dark; they feared that the plantations might be swept away. Judge Sewall expressed the general feeling when he wrote of November 11 that year : " The wether exceedingly benign but (to me) meta- phoric, dismal, dark & portentous, some prodigie ap- pearing in every corner of the skies." 2 It was under such depression that they kept the commissioners, fast ; and, in the depth of an exceptionally cold and snowy winter, the troops set out for the Narragansett fort to accomplish the destruction of then* enemies. Rev. Simon Bradstreet, of New London, expressed the hope that " ye fight at ye swamp would be left to Pos- terity ; " and, it has been, to some for condemnation, and to others for praise. When the spring opened, the Indians were abroad with vengeance, and the dark cloud which had rested over the river plantations of Massachusetts moved eastward. Several towns were destroyed. Still they kept on with their fasts, renewing their covenant with God, and doing what they could toward a reformation of morals. But the tide of war had already begun to turn, and in the month of June it became evident that the victory was theirs. At last they had pre- vailed with God ! Connecticut had already antici- pated a thanksgiving, and was getting ready to turn its course of fasts into the same. The governor 1 See Biblio^aphy, No. 10. This sermon has never been g-iven a date, that we are aware of, but in the preface it is said of Edward Bulkley : " He did joyne with us therein on October 21, 75." 2 Sewairs Diary, i. 11. 200 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. and magistrates of Massachusetts, it seems, were in- clined to the Uke action, but the ministers were still for fasting. Increase Mather and James Allen had moved the General Court, requesting them to set such a fast day, but they would not, neither would the council when the elders urged them to it.^ On the contrary, the council determined to have a thanks- giving, and on the 20 th of June they appointed one for the 29th. A copy of the broadside is extant in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society, being the earliest thanksgiving broadside known. Thus the spell of fasting was broken, and it was remarked by many that " from the Time of the Resolve upon it, ever since, we have experienced little else than re- newed Mercies and Smiles of Providence." We have an interesting episode of family history in connection with that day. When the Indians fell upon Lancaster, they carried away captive the wife of the minister. Rev. Joseph Rowlandson, and her children. The " Narrative of the Captivity, Suffer- ings, and Removes " has come down to us from her own hand. Her infant child died on the march through the wilderness, and her son and daughter were sepa- rated from her. The ladies of the South Church in Boston raised the funds for her ransom, which was finally effected, and she reached Concord on the 3d of May, the day on which Rev. William Hubbard preached his four-hour election sermon. The day before the thanksgiving, as Mr. Rowlandson and his wife were sorrowfully journeying toward Newbury, they received the news that their son had come in at Portsmouth. Prepared thus for a joyful service, that 1 Rox. chh. rec, N. E. Beg., xxxiii. 298. ^ ?» .52 X3 5^ >^ w*^ > *<• o ••* »-» 4u v» O T Ti N^ ox: 3 *^^^ o ■^ y !^ o ^ cw }^ v^ ^v2 ^ w C o Ci,^ t* o a ." tji> o cu^ Jo -ci r'^a •»; -- . 5-^ JACOB'S TROUBLE IN THE WILDERNESS, 201 worthy minister preached next day in the meeting- house to a deeply affected congregation ; and it was after he had done, and possibly as they were about to sit down to some frugal thanksgiving feast, that a messenger arrived, having ridden with all speed from Boston, bringing the news that his daughter also was safe among the good people of Providence. So were their hearts at last made glad. Concerning the thanksgiving in Connecticut, Au- gust 30, we have only this fact to mention, that it was the conclusion of a long series of fast days, the most extended in their colonial history.^ But the thanksgiving at Plymouth, August 17, affords details of greatest interest. Later writers have put upon those descendants of the Pilgrims the imputation that their thanksgiving was appointed on account of the death of King Philip.^ This is un- true. The original liistorians record the fact that it was appointed before they had heard of Philip's fate, August 12, at the hands of Captain Benjamin Church. Hubbard's record is as follows : " This was done the 12th day of August, 1676, a remarkable testimony of divine favor to the Colony of Plimouth, who had for the former successes appointed the 17th day of August following to be kept as a day of solem thanksgiving to Almighty God." ^ Increase Mather says : " A little before this, the Authority in that Colony had appointed the seventeenth of this instant ^ See page 196, note 3. 2 Drake's Hist, and Antiq. of Boston, p. 428, says : " Such was the joy caused by the news of Philip's death that in five days after, it was celebrated by a thanksgiving"." In his edition of Churches His- tory, i. 45, Dr. H. M. Dexter questioned this fact. 3 Hubbard's Indian Wars, i. 267, 268. 202 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. to be observed as a day of pubKck Thanksgiving throughout that Jurisdiction on account of wonderfid success against the Enemy, which the Lord hath blessed them with ever since they renewed their Cove- nant with him ; and so they might have hearts raised and enlarged in ascribing praises to God, he delivered Philip into their hands a few dayes before their in- tended Thanksgiving." ^ The day was then set apart " a little before this," and on account of " former successes." Bat the manuscript records of the Ply- mouth church settle the question by saying that the " Governor and Magistrates the week before his death sent an order to all our ches to keep August 12 [17] as a day of publick Thanksgiving." August 12 was Saturday, and the thanksgiving the Thursday following. Captain Church and his company went the next day after Philip's death to Rhode Island, and on Tuesday started through the woods for Plymouth. With joyful hearts did the people of Plymouth come forth from their homes that thanksgiving morn- ing at the call to worship, fathers and mothers and children wending their way up the path to the sum- mit of Burial Hill, where their heavy-timbered fort stood, on its flat roof the sentinel, watching as he paced to and fro, and the cannon — a fitting symbol of their holy warfare — peering angrily through the battlements, for there in the lower part was their meeting-house. They carried swords and muskets as well as Ainsworth Psalm-books. It was a striking assembly, the men on one side of the house and the women on the other, — serious and solemn, all of them. The minister was the Rev. John Cotton, son ^ Mather's Hist., pp. 196, 197, JACOB'S TROUBLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 203 of a noble father. He began the service with a prayer, and no one can doubt that it was "un- stinted" that day. What scriptures he might have read of ancient wars and victories ! What a chance was theirs in that congregation, when the psahn was announced, for the nasal exercise of quavers and semi-quavers ! Was it the tenth ? " Jehovah King, for ever is and to continual aye : Out of his land the Heathen-men are perished away." The minister doubtless had special unction in his discourse, or, if he lacked in that, he made it up in length, and they were indeed, and perhaps in more than one sense, a thankful people upon whom he pro- nounced the benediction. Was it just then that the signal was given by the sentry annoimcing the ap- proach of soldiers towards the town ? That very day, at all events, — and the manuscript church records say " soone after the publick worship was ended," — the company of Church came to Plymouth, and with them they bore the head of King Philip. " So," says the minister Cotton, " in the day of our praises our eyes saw the Salvation of God." Thus, says the pro- digy-loving historian of those days, " did God break the head of that Leviathan, and gave it to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness." And there on the casement of their fort it whitened for many a day, until a curiosity-loving divine of Boston took the jaw home for his collection. So the days of autumn came on. The sounds of war rolled northward like dying thunder ; the harvests, saved from a drought, were gathered in abimdance ; 204 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. the infection of sickness liad ceased ; and they had promise that ship-loads of provisions and clothing would soon follow the prayers of more than one fast day in Old England and Ireland. This is how it was that, when the time for their autumn festival was fully ripe, they turned gratefully from the blackened ruins of their former homes and the newly made graves of their heroes, and, remembering the year which knew no such festival, again sought the sanctu- ary to sing praises unto Him who had delivered Jacob from his trouble in the wilderness. " Sleep, soldiers of merit, sleep, gallants of yore, The hatchet is fallen, the struggle is o'er ; While the fir-tree is green and the wind rolls a wave, The teardrop shall brighten the turf of the brave." CHAPTER XV. THE REFORMATION FASTS. 1675-1680. The movement for the reformation of the New England churches arose out of the belief that the calamities of King Philip's War were the climax of divine punishment upon a backslidden Israel. The ministers at once began to testify against a multitude of provoking sins, and the civil authorities to enact laws to restrain and pimish the transgressors. On the 13th of October, 1675, when the Gen- eral Court of Massachusetts met at Boston, a com- mittee was appointed, says Increase Mather, " in order to a reformation of those evils which have provoked the Lord to bring the sword upon us." ^ This com- mittee called upon the teaching elders of the churches for advice and help, and beyond doubt the leading mind in their counsels was Increase Mather himself, then the most influential minister in the colony, and to whom, more than any other, the progress of the reform- ing movement is due. This same court passed certain ordinances aimed to prevent profanity, dnmkenness, gambling, etc., in the army ; ^ and these were approved by the council at Hartford on the 10th of January following.^ The committee made their return to the court on the 19th of October; and though it is rarely 1 Mather's Hist, of King Philip's War, p. 98. 2 Mass. Col. Rec, v. 49, 50. » Conn. Cd. Bee., ii. 392-394. 206 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, met with, and has never assumed its proper impor- tance in ecclesiastical history, it was the basis of the laws subsequently enacted in the several colonies for reformation. It was largely the work of Increase Mather, and probably from his own pen. From his own draft he seems to have printed it in his " History of King Philip's War." ^ Having been favorably re- ceived by the court, another committee was appointed to frame laws in accordance with its recommendations. These were passed on the 3d of November, and are to be found in the Colonial Records.^ Thus was begun the New England reformation, which had been brewing in the minds of the ministers for many years.^ A deep impression was made at once upon the religious life of the people. The laws, which were well understood to be but an expansion of an ecclesiastical utterance, became the creed of the re- formers. Ministers quoted them in their discourses, and to an extent they revived prosecutions in the courts. No doubt they did good by awakening the people to observe the Sabbath, to restrain intemper- ance, and train the children in morals and religion. Edward Randolph, in his report to the Coimcil of Trade,* taking a more reasonable view of the causes of the Indian War, nevertheless refers to these laws, and intimates that the trouble was generally ascribed to these provoking evils. 1 Mather's Hist., pp. 98-100. 2 Mass. Col. Bee, v. 5&-64. ^ See, especially, Increase Mather's fast sermon, Fehruary 11, 1673-4, and Samuel Willard's, June 16, 1670, and June 13, 1672. In the latter, Willard says : " Many dayes of Humiliation have been kept . . to no purpose." * Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New York, iii. 241, 242; N. Hamp. CoL Mec, i. 342, 343. THE REFORMATION FASTS. 207 In Connecticut the General Court of May, 1676, enacted laws similar to those of Massachusetts, with the prominent omission of those against the Quakers, and wearing " long haire " by men, and " borders of hajre " by women.^ Meanwhile, however, the refor- mation had taken on an ecclesiastical form in that colony, with which we have particularly to do, namely, the keeping of fast days for the " renewal of covenant " as a means of reforming, — a custom which spread throughout the churches of New England. The Coun- cil of Connecticut had before it, on the 7th of March previous, certain " collections drawn up by the minis- ters." These, which have not survived in the state archives, were probably articles setting forth the evils needing reformation, and, accompanied by an order for a fast day March 22, were sent out to the churches.2 Rev. James Fitch, of Norwich, in a letter to the council dated March 13, rejoicing that the Lord had moved them to such a seasonable work, said : " We intend, God willing, to take that very daye, solemnly to renew our covenant in our church state, according to the example in Ezra's time, & as was sometimes practised in Hartford congregation by Mr. Stone, not long after Mr. Hooker's death. If other churches doe not see cause to doe the same, yet wee hope it will not bee offensive ; but doe verily con- clude if y' be rule for y* practise, this is a time wherein the Providence of God does in a knocking & terrible maner call for it." ^ It appears, then, that this had been a custom in the Hartford church. Possibly it had been practiced in other churches, as at Salem in 1 Conn. Col. Bee, ii. 280-283. 2 75^^.^ jj. 296, 297, 414. « Ibid., ii. 417 n. 208 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 1663, but we find no evidence of it earlier than this, and it certainly had never been general hitherto. In the prefatory address to Increase Mather's fast ser- mon, " Returning unto God etc," preached March 17, 1679-80, he refers to the custom, and seems to admit that it was a " new practice," as some had charged, and justifies it on the ground that it ought to have been done long ago. He also notes the objec- tions to it in connection with his sermon of March 21, 1676-7. That the example of Mr. Fitch had a wide influence, and was taken up by Mather, may be inferred from Cotton Mather's testimonial to him in the " Magnalia," in which he also commends the ser- mon preached at Norwich on that fast day, afterwards published with the title, " An Explanation of the Sol- emn Advice Recommended by the Council in Con- necticut Colony," etc.^ For more than thirty years the practice was continued annually in the Norwich church, and within a few months after its first obser- vance the churches in Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecticut were doing the same. The exercises on these days were peculiar. An im- portant feature was the public recognition of the youth as children of the covenant. Parents undoubt- edly had been remiss in family training and the church in catechetical instruction. This was a revival of religious instruction in the churches. Ministers began to put the catechisms to a systematic use. Lists of the youth were made in the parishes, who were statedly subjected to an examination by the minister, — a cus- tom which continued until the early part of the present century, and in the absence of Sunday-schools accom- ^ Magnolia, ii. 334. See Bibliography, No. 11. THE REFORMATION FASTS. 209 pUshed much good. Those to be catechized in Dor- chester in 1676 were from seven to thirty-one years of age.^ Upon the day of renewing the covenant such of them as woidd, publicly acknowledged the government of the church, having been first addressed by the pastor and the elder. It was a kind of half- way covenant, — a pledge to lead righteous lives, though not as yet admitted to the Lord's table. And it was the children's part in this fast-day service, and the utility of such a covenant, which perpetuated these covenant days for so many years. We return to the chronological order of events. On the 9th of May, 1676, the General Court of the Bay Colony kept a fast day in the Town House at Boston. The ministers of the colony were in attendance. We believe that on this occasion Increase Mather delivered his address entitled " An Earnest Exhortation to the Inhabitants of New England," etc., and to this conclu- sion we are led by the fitness of the discourse for the circumstances, as well as the fact that he says it was written two or three months before the date of the preface, which was July 26. In this he not only gives a general review of the calamities of the war, but he urges the covenant feature as the most commend- able means for furthering the reformation movement.^ He ever attached particular importance to it as appeas- ing the divine wrath, and, besides some special testi- 1 Dor. chh. rec, pp. 72-74, 183-185. 2 This was a prominent head in his discourse : *' Solemn Renewal of Covenant with God in Jesus Christ is a ^reat Scripture expedient in order to Reformation." He advises the churches to attend to it with seriousness and sincerity, and the court to recommend it to them, though not impose it, lest it meet with opposition in some places. The whole exhortation shows that it was an address to magistrates and representatives of the churches. See Bibliography, No. 12. 210 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. monials of favor which he connects with this day, he says of it : " There are [those] who have dated the turn of Providence towards us in this Colony, and against the Enemy, in a wonderful manner, from this day forward." ^ But there is more evidence in the same line. The Plymouth church records inform us — though there is no mention whatever of it in the Colonial Records — that the General Court of that colony which met in June, being sensible of the heavy hand of God upon them, appointed the 22d of June as a fast, and " added thereto a solemn motion to all the churches to renew a Covenant engagement to God for Eeformation of all provoking evills." Here, then, just three months after the renewal of covenant by Fitch, we find the court at Plymouth recommending the same to the churches within that jurisdiction, as Mather wanted the Massachusetts court to do. It will be remembered that their appointed day was just one week before the thanksgiving already mentioned in Massachusetts, June 29, 1676 ; and there is no doubt that the main reason why Increase Mather, James Allen, and some others of the ministers wanted a fast at that time, and asked the court to appoint one, was for a similar move toward the renewal of covenant in the Bay Colony. As already recorded, the court refused, and so did the council. Did any of the Massachusetts churches keep such a day notwith- standing ? Yes, one, and that Mather's own church, the Second of Boston ; they kept June 21. Eliot intimates that this was the outcome of the refusal of the court and council; and Mather also recognizes the affinity between the fast in his church and the 1 Mather's Hist., pp. 144, 145. THE REFORMATION FASTS, 211 public fast in Plymouth when he says : " June 21 was kept as a day of solemn Humiliation in one of the Churches in Boston, so was the next day in all the Churches throughout the Colony of PHmouth. After which we have not received such sad tidings, as usually such dayes have been attended with ever since the Warr began." ^ Elsewhere he refers to this action of the Plymouth court, and associates with it the turn of Providence in Plymouth Colony, making special note of this feature, that they did solenmly renew their Covenant with God and one another^ and putting those words in italics.^ Many churches there renewed covenant Jime 22. The Plymouth church, at the close of their fast-day exercises, appointed a day for that purpose, which was the 18tli of July, and their records furnish further information as to the covenant acknowledged. We conclude, therefore, that Mather and some of his brethren of Massachusetts adopted the idea which James Fitch had taken from an earlier example in the Hartford church under Samuel Stone, that they were the influential cause of the action in Plymouth Colony, and that they failed of the same in Massachusetts on account of the encouraging aspect of affairs. Then followed the thanksgivings of Au- gust and November, and for the time the reformation movement was laid by. The next action was taken by Connecticut. In October the General Court, after appointing the thanksgiving, issued a proclamation for a reformation fast the 15th of November. The order notes that " some solemne reflections haue been recommended to the several churches and congregations," but " little 1 Mather's Hist,, p. 163. 2 jft^v?., pp. 181, 182. 212 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. effect " has been observed ; therefore a second occasion for humiliation is appointed.^ Meanwhile the ministers of Massachusetts, though somewhat diverted by fasts for their "messengers sent into England," were discussing the reformation among themselves. Private meetings were held, as Sewall's '' Diary " shows, to consider the prevaiUng sins. By the month of February there was sufficient interest to induce the governor and council to set a public reformation fast for the 1st of March. The procla- mation is found in full in the Dorchester church rec- ords,2 and there alone, so far as we are aware ; and, excepting Hull's " Diary," it is the only evidence found of such a day. Nor are we in doubt as to the reason for this unusual record in that church's archives : it is said that it was because the same was " moe than usu- ally was wont to be." It surely was in length and in tone. In some other instances the drafts of proclama- tions in the hand of Increase Mather have been found, but here we have only the style and the circumstances to submit in evidence of its authorship. Yet we un- hesitatingly claim that Mather wrote it. The Dorches- ter church met the day before the public fast to con- sider in what they had fallen short of their covenant, and subsequently, on March 4, adopted a reformation covenant and proceeded with the work.^ Doubtless other churches did the same, but the plan is best illus- trated in the full records of this church, to which the interested student is referred. It was at one of these meetings — a church fast at Dorchester, March 21, 1676-7 — that Increase Mather preached his sermon 1 Conn. Col. Rec, ii. 296, 297. 2 Dor. chh. rec, pp. 71, 72. 8 Ibid., pp. 17-20, 69-74. THE REFORMATION FASTS. 213 entitled " Renewal of Covenant the great Duty incum- bent on decaying or distressed Churches." ^ Thus was this feature of the reformation movement adopted by the churches. The years 1677 and 1678 present no new interest in our study. PubUc affairs engaged attention, and the smallpox broke out, for which causes mainly the colonies fasted. Yet the movement progressed by the aid of conference meetings and vigorous sermons. Increase Mather's fast sermon, "Pray for the Rising Generation," ^ may suffice to show the temper of the pulpit. A general revival of religious interest was manifest everywhere. When the Commissioners of the United Colonies convened at Hartford, September 5, 1678, they expressed this by recommending a joints fast day the 21st of November. It was kept by all, each issuing its own proclamation, in which the par- ticulars recited by the commissioners were introduced.^ These were six in niunber, and the fifth shows the re- lation of the occasion to the reformation, — " That a spirit of conversion may be poured out upon our chil- dren, that they may give up themselves and their seed after them to be the Lord's, willingly subjecting them- selves to all his holy rules and government in his house." At least two sermons preached on that fast were printed, and both contain in their titles the sen- timents of the time. Joseph Rowlandson preached at . Wethersfield, Conn., on "The Possibility of God's! Forsaking a people that have been visibly near & dear / to him;" and William Adams preached at Dedham, 1 See Bibliography, No. 13. 2 jj^v/., No. 14. 8 Pit/. Col. Bee, X. 398, 399 ; Mass. Col. Rec, v. 196 ; Conn. Col Rec.y iii. 20, 21. y i 214 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Mass., on " The Necessity of the pouring out of the Spirit from on High upon a Sinning Apostatizing People." ^ From these we may judge of the character ot, the day evt rvwliere in Xew England. It is possi- ble that this humiliation caused the omission of the autumnal thanksgiving day in the Bay Colony, as a sunilar occasion had in 1675, or left it to the orderuig o£ churches and the inclination of the people.^ Con- necticut had kept October 31, and Plymouth Novem- ber 6. Having now this knowledge of the strength of the movement, it would be expected that it would formu- late its opinions in an assembly of the churches. It did so in what is known as the " Reforming Synod " of 1679. The phrase "Mather's Synod" would be ap- propriate, for it was largely his own affair, and the modem critic is prepared to appreciate the spelling of an ancient chronicler who calls it a " Sin-od." The General Court of Massachusetts had before it, May 28, 1679, a lengthy petition, which is characterized in the Colonial Records as " a motion made by some of the reuerend elders, that there might be a convening of the elders & messengers of the churches in forme of a synod, for the reuisall of the platforme of discipljne agreed vpon by the churches, 1647, and what else may appeare necessary for the preventing schishmes, haeresies, prophaness, & the establishment of the churches in one faith & order of the gospell." The original is preserved in the state archives, and is signed by the following ministers: John Eliot, In- ^ See Bibliography, Nos. 15 and 16. ^ Dorchester kept December 18, and the record afiPords negative evidence that a previous thanksgiving had not been kept. THE REFORMATION FASTS, 215 crease Mather, Samuel Torrey, Samuel Willard, Moses Fiske, Josiah Flint, Thomas Clark, James Sherman, Joseph Whiting, Samuel Cheever, Samuel Phillips, Solomon Stoddard, Samuel Whiting, Sen., Thomas Cobbet, Edward Bulkely, John Sherman, John Hig- ginson, John Hale, Samuel Whiting, Jun'., and John Wilson. 1 At the same time, and of even date with it, a draft of a proclamation for a public fast was presented. It is printed in the Colonial Records. The original manu- script, however, is in the archives, and the curious can satisfy themselves by the handwriting that the author was Increase Mather.'-^ The motion of the ministers was agreed to, and the synod was called for September 10, and so also was the proclamatio» issued appoint- ing the 10th of July as a fast to pray for it. A manu- script sermon by Ichabod Wiswall, of Duxbury, in the collection of the Connecticut Historical Society, also shows that the event was remembered " On a fast daye being gennerall in Coloney New Plymouth, 16 of July 1679," though it Ls the only evidence we have of the fact. The two questions propounded for considera- tion, also extant in Mather's hand, were: "1. What are y® EuiLs that haue provoked the Lord to bring his Judgments on New England? 2. What is to be done that so those evils may be reformed ? " When the time came, all the messengers did not put in an ap- pearance, and the synod adjourned to September 16, when they kept a fast, the aged Thomas Cobbett preaching in the morning and Increase Mather in the afternoon. After abundant consideration, a committee, of which Mather was the penman, drew up the result, 1 State Archives: Ecc,, x. 196. 2 1^^,^ x. 20. 216 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. which is found in the " Magnalia," and a manuscript draft of the same is in the American Antiquarian So- ciety. The prevailing view of provoking evils was sustained, and measures were recommended for reform- ing and training the rising generation, and especially was the practice of " renewal of covenant " on days of humiliation encouraged. On the 15th of October the General Court approved the result and commended it to the churches. Furthermore, they ordered a public fast for December 11 to pray for grace to reform those evils that had been witnessed against by the synod. The Colonial Records do not mention this fast, and we know of no evidence of it other than a single copy of the proclamation in broadside in the library of the Connecticut Historical Society. It has the unmistakable earmarks of the reverend author of everything else connected with the reformation, of which the reader can judge : — [seal.] At A General Court Held at Boston, October 15, 1679. This Court being sensible of the solemn Rebukes of God upon his poor People | throughout this Land, from year to year ; our Do- ings against the Lord having pro | voked the eyes of his glory, so as that he hath visited us with the Sword, and since | that, hath given a Commission to the destroying Angel, in respect of a sore and terrible | Disease, which hath been of long continu- ance, and more contagious and mortal then in | former times ; and his holy Hand is in that way stretched out stil over some of our Plantations. | And very lately, the Lord God hath called to contend by Fire, which hath devoured a great part of ] that Town, in whose welfare all New-England is concerned ; and therefore we have all cause with [ bleeding hearts, to lament THE REFORMATION FASTS. 217 over the doleful Ruines and Desolations, which the Lord for our iniquityes | hath in one day brought upon us : especially consid- ering, that at the same time, God is taking away | from us the Fruits of the earth, by a greater Blasting then heretofore we have had experience of. And | the Lords Watchmen, with the gen- erality of serious Christians, are not without sad thoughts of heart | lest if we be not reformed by these things, God should punish us yet seven times for our sins, yea and at | last remove our Candlesticks out of their places: and there are already some awfull Symptons of a | Famine of hearing the Word of the Lord ; and other spiritual Judgments, calling upon us to gather our I selves together, in a way of solemn Humiliation and Re- pentance before the Decree bring forth. Being | also sensible that the Churches of Christ abroad in the world, are wrestling with sore distressing | difficultyes, in this day of trouble, when the Children are come to the birth, but there is not strength to I "bring forth, | Do therefore appoint the second Thursday in December next, to be observed as a day | of publick Humiliation throughout this Jurisdiction, earnestly exhorting all the Inhabitants | thereof not only to confess but to forsake their Sins, that so they may find mercy with God | through Jesus Christ, and to cry mightily to Heaven, as for pardon, so for Grace to reform, | those evils that have by the late Reverend Synced been witnessed against, and de- clared to be 1 the provoking procuring causes of the Lords Con- troversy with New-England. As also to pray | that the Lord would remember his people in Europe, more especially in the Land of our Fore- | Fathers Sepulchres, maintaining his own Cause as the matter may require. Edward Rawson Seer, Thus did the ecclesiastical statesman of Massachu- setts carry his point, advancing the reformation by the authority of the court, and securing their sanction for the plan of renewing covenant with God. The churches responded to the advice of the synod, and such as had not already done so had covenanting days. On the 17th of March, 1679-80, at such an occasion in the Second Church, Increase Mather 218 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. and Samuel Willard preached sermons which are in print. 1 It was some.^mes customary to hold a pre- paratory service, and even to read the result of the synod. Upon the fast appointed, before a solemn assembly at which neighboring ministers were present, the covenant was read and consented to by the people, " the brethren lifting up their hands and ^yhe women only standing up." It was an all-day se'^vice, with only a brief intermission, a visiting clergyman preach- ing in the afternoon. Those who made most of the children's covenant found also a place for it in the exercises. No one form of covenant ^^revailed, each church adopting its own; but the le which is found in the "Magnalia" was used by '^ide in the was undoubtedly that drafted by Increase Txier tor the Second Church in Boston. ^ The Thid Church employed it June 29, 1680, fwhen Samuel Willard preached on " The Necessity of Sincerity in renewing Covenant." DorchestcT* ^nd Salem ^' ^d forms of their own. Michael ^ ^lesworth composed the one employed by the Maiden church April 15, 1680, a public fast, upon which many churches renewed cove- nant. It was printed in a quaiiio form in 1727, and probably used December 21 on account of the earth- quake.^ Connecticut had no part in the " Reforming Synod," and the custom which had been instituted within its borders had only a limited observance. But the pro- clamation for a fast June 16, 1680, shows a sympathy with the efforts of their neighbors. The reformation would never have gained such strength in Massachu- 1 See Bibliography, Nos. 17 and IS. ^ Magnolia, ii. 332, 333. ^ Copy in Conn. Hist. Soc. THE REFORMATION FASTS, 219 setts but for the indefatigablr efforts of Increase Mather, and he gained no litt-;3' influence by it. He became the foremost prophet of Israel, and perhaps there is no better evidence of it than the keeping of October 13, 1680, as a thanksgiving in the First Church for his recovery from a sickness which followed his arduoi labors. In liis manuscript diary he calls it a " public thanksgiving," but we judge that he refers only to the churches of Boston which were there repre- sented, and whose ministers offered him their congrat- ulations. * It must not ^ e thought that such covenanting fasts soon P'>"^^'1 ' fc of date ; they passed rather into the ^T^-^th^T ^^ * ^ ^^^^ churches. They were kept up at intervals fifty years, as church records and printed sermons pfove.^ But the people could not always wear " sackcloth and ashes." Soon their fears subsided. In the words of Willartl's i*mon title, nd 'found that " the fiery trial was no strange thing."^ In some respects the effect of the' reformation movement was beneficial, in others injurious. Greater interest was thereafter taken in the children. They were regarded as under the watch and care of the church. Catechisms were brought out and used. Perhaps the churches were strengthened by it, and certainly the membership was increased. But it did not accompHsh what was anti- cipated, and the consequent depression over the sup- posed degeneracy continued for years. Its effect upon 1 The titles of several sermons may be found in the Bibliography. On the 30th of May, 1694, the ministers again memorialized the Gen- eral Assembly on the subject of reformation, referring to this former attempt and the laws of 1675. See State Archives : Ecc.^ xi. 79, 80 ; Acts and Resolves , vii. 537-540. ^ 220 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. the laws was marked, but they were carried to extremes and became inoperative. At one time the ministers read certain of them annually from the pulpit. The church was thus burdened with a responsibility which belonged to the courts, and that was injurious to both. After the immediate excitement had died away, New England life was very much the same as it had been, and that was very far from exhibiting any evidences that the people belonged to a degenerate race. CHAPTER XVI. THE CONFLICT OF AUTHORITIES. 1684-1692. The primary authority for the appointment of New England fast and thanksgiving days was vested in the churches. This was their birthright in England. In Plymouth, Massachusetts^ Connecticut, and New Ha- ven colonies the congregations by distinct vote named their days. Even after the power had become a recog- nized function of government, some churches, for a time, continued to vote on the keeping of those thus proclaimed. This right has never been invalidated, though it has fallen into disuse. Church fasts — which the practice of fasting on installation days, afterwards changed to feasting, kept alive many years — have been discontinued. It rests now with the churches to say whether or not they will observe a fast day, and whether it shall be on Good Friday or some other day. Civil authority can set a holiday, but it cannot secure the observance of a holy day. In early times the elder or minister proposed a fast or thanksgiving day to the church, stating the reasons moving thereto, upon which the church voted. Any individual could " put up a bill " for prayer or thanks- giving in the Sunday service on his own behalf. So, in the larger application of the principle, any minister or number ^ ministers could prepare a proclamation ./ 222 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, and lay it before the General Court or the governor and council. The theory was that the court acted at the desire of the churches. Its sanction brought the day under the laws which protected its holy character, and compelled attendance upon the services. Our custom of reading proclamations from the pulpit is a recognition of the necessary assent of the church, and grew out of it. We have instances at hand where this assent was withheld, at least by a neglect of the day. In course of time the vote was considered to be in the affirmative, " no one speaking." There is every rea- son why the custom of reading proclamations should be perpetuated in Congregational churches as a recog- nition of their own ecclesiastical authority, and it should be on a previous Sunday as the warrant for the appointment, rather than on the day itself as the warrant for assembling. It was because the ministers had the right to move for these appointments that they wrote so many of the proclamations of colonial times. As they lost this, the civil authorities assumed it, and gradually the proclamation became an affair of the governor. If no draft was presented, the secretary advised with some one of the neighboring ministers as to the causes which might properly be enumerated. There are instances where a minister was a member of the General Court, and was delegated by them to draw up a proclamation. Though the governor did, doubt- less, sometimes write it, or one of the magistrates, the larger part, down to th3 setting up of the provincial government, exhibit the style of the minister. In Massachusetts, however, from about 1650 to 1692, a considerable number of the original drafts are extant THE CONFLICT OF AUTHORITIES. 223 in the archives, and there they may be seen in the handwriting of their ministerial authors. Increase Mather wrote some of the most important, and later his son. Cotton Mather, did the same. The transfer of authority from the church to the state was gTadual. Dmdng the colonial period no em- vbarrassment could arise, for the state was the church acting in a civil capacity. The General Court, com- posed of church members, knew the pulse of the re- ligious community, and answered to its wish. As it was desirable that neighboring churches should keep the same day, this was a convenient practice. But the court was not in session at all times, and so au- thority was granted to the governor and council to issue proclamations, which they did, either at the re- quest of ministers or upon consultation among them- selves. This fact explains the absence of many dates from the court records, wliich contain only such as that body appointed, and not all of those ; ^ and fur- thermore it indicates the reason for many erroneous deductions as to these days, drawn from a very incom- plete hst.2 There are more outside of the Colonial Records than in them. Authority was granted to the governor and magistrates in Plymouth Colony by the laws of 1636, though used before that, and in Con- necticut by the General Court of May, 1655. It seems to have been exercised by the governor in ^ The probable explanation of these omissions is, that the proclama- tion was drafted outside of the court, submitted to it, and the vote indorsed on the document, so it was never attached to the records. 2 *' The Governor's Fast," Chas. E. Stevens, Esq., Congregationalist, March, 31 1892 ; Customs and Fashions in Old New England^ Alice Morse Earle ; Acts and Resolves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay^ vol. vii. 224 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Massachusetts in early times, and February 22, 1630-1 is said by Winthi^op to have been apjDointed by the "governour and council." In 1635 "a general fast was proclaimed, which, because the court was not at hand, was moved by the elders of the churches, and assented unto by the ministers." ^ The standing council was created about that time, and the power passed over to them, though also exercised by the court. With reference to December 13, 1638, Win- throp says : "A general fast was kept upon the motion of the elders to the Governour and Council." ^ Thereafter this practice of appointment by the gov- ernor and council was common, and from necessity with such frequent days. The churches, however, were exceedingly jealous of their rights, and a con- flict between the authority of the church and the state arose when the theocracy came to an end by the downfall of the colonial charter. The messengers who were sent to England to ward off the threatened blow were followed with earnest prayers. During the absence of William Stoughton and Peter Bulkley, October 30, 1677, to December 23, 1679, their mission was referred to in the follow- ing public fasts of Massachusetts : February 21, 1677-8, June 6, 1678, and July 10, 1679 ; and they were welcomed home by a public thanksgiving, Jan- uary 22, 1679. Again, when Joseph Dudley and John Richards were in England, May 31, 1682, to October 23, 1683, there were several fasts on their account, — June 22, 1682, January 31, 1682-3, and November 22, 1683, the last because the charter had been called for. Their safe arrival in England also 1 Winthrop's Histj i. 216. ^ j^j^^,^ i. 337. THE CONFLICT OF AUTHORITIES. 225 was remembered in the thanksgiving November 23, 1682. The influence of the ministers was given against yielding the charter, and some did not hesi- tate to express their views in sermons. But at last the charter died, October 23, 1684, and soon after its royal enemy died als.o. When the former event be- came knowTi in Boston, a pubhc fast was ordered for March 12, 1684-5. Not until the 1st of July, how- ever, did a copy of the judgment reach them. Mean- while the General Court had set apart July 16 as a public fast, the last day appointed imder their dearly loved charter.! Still, as the weeks passed, their dreaded governor did not arrive, and then the question arose as to who should appoint their fast and thanks- giving days. In the autumn there seemed, to some, reason for a thanksgiving, the custom being at that time all but annual. Sewall, in his " Diary," gives us a good account of what followed in these entries : "Oct. 22. . . . No Thanks-Giving this Session." '* Nov. 6. Mr. Willard calls in and tells me of a Thanks-Giving intended by the Ministers through the Colony upon the 3d of the next Moneth : Go to the Govern our to get his Approbation, which he doth not presently grant ; but will speak of it in Council on Thorsday next ; whether convenient for the Churches generally to attend such a Day without an Order from Authority as usual. The difficulty of Printing an Order is, lest by putting in or leaving out, we offend England." "Nov. 15. . . . Mr. WiUard mentioned what the Elders had done as to a Thanks- giving, and propounded to the Church that we might - have one on the First Thorsday in December: be- 1 See State Archives : Ecc., xi. 88. 226 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. cause had Fasted, and God had graciously answered our Prayers ; so should meet Him in the same place to give Thanks for that, and any other Providence that hath passed before us. Silence gave Consent, no one speaking." " Nov. 18. Uncomfortable Court day by reason of the extream sharp words between the Deputy Governour and Mr. Stoughton, Dudley and Others. Some Essay to have put a Sanction upon the Apointment for a Thanksgiving ; but it fell throw. I argued 't was not fit upon meer Generals, as (the Mercies of the year) to Coinand a Thanksgiv- ing and of Particulars we could not agree. Govern- our would have had one Article for the Peace of England, ac(3ording to His Majesty's Proclamation." " Nov. 20. . . . 'T was Essayed again to have had a Sanction put on the Thanksgiving : but 't was again pleaded, to do it without mentioning particular causes would be to impose too much on those Comanded : So feU." 1 It will not be inferred from this controversy that any were opposed to thanksgivings, and the fact that they were not then accustomed to have thanksgivings for mere general causes is for the present passed. Evidently the court purposely omitted the proclama- tion for fear of giving oifense by " putting in or leaving out." Then the ministers met and decided to keep December 3, with sanction of civil authority if it could be had, if not without it. They failed to secure it. This therefore became an issue between the old charter and the moderate parties. But the point we notice particularly is, that the ministers con- sidered it their prerogative to move for such appoint- 1 Sewall's Diary, i. 101-107. THE CONFLICT OF AUTHORITIES. 227 ments. The day was kept by the churches, and with unusual interest among such as were disaffected with the government. The General Court recovered sufficient courage to appoint a fast the 25th of March following ; but in May the new government was set up, with Joseph Dudley as president. The same question thereupon appeared again, for the president and council issued an order for a fast July 14, 1686, partly to pray for rain, but principally " for a blessing upon the change of government." The proclamation was read gener- ally, but the day was neglected among the old charter party so much as they dared in the face of laws com- pelling their attendance upon worship. An example was made of two prominent men of the town of Woburn, William Johnson and Thomas Kendall, who were made to take the oath of allegiance, and were " sharply reproved by the Council " for stajring at home on the fast day and having a company of men gathered. ^ The issue appeared again when the thanksgiving day November 25 was appointed, many being sorely displeased at the preamble to the pro- clamation : '' As also for that His Majesties Kingdoms, and other His Majesties Plantations, flourish in all happy peace and tranquility." About this time there was a revival of interest in keeping English holidays, and Christmas, Easter, and saints' days, which reacted to strengthen the attach- ment for fast and thanksgiving seasons. Of course this was due to the Episcopalians. The New Eng- landers had hitherto been favorably disposed toward ^ Sewall's Diary ^1. 145, 146; Archives of Mass. : MS. Council Min,, iL64. 228 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. November 5, Guy Fawkes's Day, but when the church- men commemorated it in their services, spiced with sermons preached against the dissenters in the Town House, it became unpopular. The king's birthday was greeted with guns and military displays, and so was the anniversary of his coronation. The people were not in the mood to enjoy this. Some of those dead Cromwellians must have turned in their graves hard by at the ringing of a bell to call worshipers to mourn the beheading of Charles I. Maypoles were set up, and the customs of Shrove Tuesday revived. So these " Whitsuntiders " or " Christmas-keepers," as they were called, checked the growth of a more liberal sentiment regarding Clu-istmas. In 1684 many had closed their shops on that day, but there were fewer in 1685, and in 1686 " the shops were generally open and persons about their occasions." Sewall says : " Some somehow observe the day, but are vexed, I believe, that the body of the People profane it, and blessed be God no Authority yet to compell them to keep it." Not until the provincial govern- ment had been long established did the feeling sub- side which was revived against these holy days during this transitional period. Sir Edmund Andros arrived December 20, 1686. We have sought in vain for any evidence that a pub- lic fast was kept in Massachusetts in the spring of 1687. Some churches may have set such a day, as they did during the summer on account of caterpillars ; but there was no disposition to move the royal gov- ernor and council. The issue that was sure to come slumbered until the time for thanksgiving drew near. Then, the governor being absent in Connecticut, the THE CONFLICT OF AUTHORITIES. 229 ministers concerted to keep November 17. The causes are thus given in the Salem church records : " 1, the mercy of the harvest ; 2, the mercy of the King's declaration for liberty of Religion and confirma- tion of our properties : and 3, for the general health and peace amongst us here." But, alas ! the gov- ernor returned to Boston the day before the contem- plated thanksgiving, and, learning the facts, inter- preted them as a defiance of his government, it being, he thought, his prerogative to make such appointments, as the custom was in England. In the evening, says Sewall, he sends for the ministers, and " so Schools them that the Thanksgiving is put by which was to have been the 17th." It was too late, however, to in- terrupt the services in remote towns which had taken up the proposition, and the day was observed, as at Salem. There was one minister, who was probably among those summoned before his Excellency, who never forgot that schooling : it was Increase Mather. Accustomed, as he and His son Cotton Mather were, to secure appointments and write proclamations, it was a hard blow. The following spring this New England bishop sailed for London. He then pre- sented a " Memorial of Grievances " to the king, and among them he recites further facts regarding this occasion. " As to matters of religion," he says, " they are inhibited the free exercise thereof, for they are not allowed to set dayes for prayer or thanksgiving. When the ministers in Boston had agreed with their congregations solemnly to praise God because of the Kings Declaration of Indulgences, Sir Edmund An- dros enterteyned them with threatening words, say- ing it was faction in them, and bad them meet at 230 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. their perill, and told them that hee should then send soldiers to guard them and their meeting-houses." ^ In a " Memorial of the Dissenters of New England " the matter is referred to in these words : " They are not suffered to set apart dayes of prayer or thanksgiv- ing, no not even for the blessing of your Gracious Declaration for Liberty of Conscience. Nor were the people there encouraged to make humble addresses of thankes but y® contrary." ^ The church record quoted is all the knowledge we have of what was a statement of causes drawn up by the ministers, but it was well they mentioned in it the declaration of the king. Thus they made out a fair case on the face of it, but in truth they cared more about their right to keep such days as they pleased than about this one item. On the other hand, there was rea- sonable excuse for Governor Andros's action, and the friends of his government must have agreed with him, for he viewed such days as of civil appoint- ment, as in England. When the ministers named such a day they were usurping authority. It was too late for them to recover what they had lost under their theocratic administration, namely, this independ- ence as congregations separated from the state. Had they ever dreamed that a fast day would thus be or- dered in Massachusetts without their free consent, they would have cherished their religious rights more diligently. The governor, however, immediately summoned his council, November 19, and put forth a proclamation for a thanksgiving to be observed throughout all New 1 Andros Tracts, iii. 139 n. "^ ^ Ibid. ; Archives of Mass. : Ecc, xi. 44. THE CONFLICT OF AUTHORITIES. 231 England the 1st of December following. The or- der is here given as found in the archives of Con- necticut : ^ — Att a councill held att y* council chaber in boston on Sat : y" 19 d. of Nov. — 1687 — prest — His xcell S' Edm. Andros Kn*. &c. God having bee infinitly & m'ciful to y" gov'n""* &c — order'd y' thursday® 1*' da of Dec. nxt nsuin b solemnly & publicly kept & obs. in al towns & pi. w0in y" hs Maj. territory & dominio of N. E. as a day of pr. & thansgiv. to G almighty for hs Majesties heal0 (who y Id g prserv. to reign ov' us) & hs many royal favours bestow'd on h' subj' : here. & for all off blessings & m'cies of heald plenty &c in 6es pts, & hubly to implore y* contin. y'of. And o y* da al p'sons are to dsist fro al mail' of servil workes or labour of w"** al minist" & off officers in y' respectiv pi. are to give notice & conform yms. therevnto ac- cordingly. By ord'. in couusil &c In** West Sec'. This was a general thanksgiving throughout New England, and, though it was observed, the people nowhere had a pleasure in it. In Plymouth, Massa- chusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire it was not out of the ordinary custom ; but in Rhode Island, where any such days that may have been kept had been by churches or families in sympathy with the neighboring colonies, it was a strange god. There some ignored it, not more because it was proclaimed by Andros than because it was the introduction of a new custom. For opening their shops Samuel Sta- pleton and Christopher Hargall, of Newport, were brought to court. The former made answer " that he was above the observation of days and times ; " and the latter said his boy opened the shop and wrought on his own account, but had he not been lame " he did 1 State Arch. Conn. : MisceL, i. 33. Cf. State Arch. Mass. : Coun. Min.y ii. 153, and Conn. Col. Rec, iii. 393. 232 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. not know but that himself might have wrought." Probably the authorities elsewhere winked at the neg- lect of many. In the spring of 1688 an opportunity was afforded the governor for humbling his adversaries in the dust. A thanksgiving had been celebrated in Eng- land in January on account of the expectations of the queen. According to Andros's theory of govern- ment, the same should be ordered in the colonies. Therefore, on the 18th of April, the following procla- mation was issued : ^ — - By his Excellency A Proclamation appointing a time of publicke Thanksgiving & prayers throwout this Dominion. Whereas it hath pleased Allmighty God (who in signal manner hath blessed his Maj"' & his kingdomes & Dominions under his Maj"*" Govern' with great prosperity, peace & plenty) to give his Maj"*' also appar- ent hopes & good assurance of having issue by his Royall Con- sort the Queen, who (through Gods great goodness) at y' time of o' latest intelligence from his Kingdome of England was w*^ child: & for as much as increase of Issue of y" Royal family is a publick blessing & under God y* great security of peace & happiness to his Maj'*" Kingdomes & Dominions. I do There- fore by y° advice of y" Council appoint, coinand & require y' upon y® twenty-ninth Instant throwout y* Dominion publicke thanks & solemn prayers be offered up to Allmighty God for y® occasion afores^ & y* all Ministers & others do take notice hereof & demeane themselves in all things accordingly. Dated in Boston y° eighteenth day of April in y* fourth yeare of his Maj"«^ Reigne Anoq. Dom. 1688: E. Andros. This is a true coppy pr order Sam" Gookin, Shff. ^ There are at least two manuscript copies of this proclamation ex- tant, one in the Massachusetts State Archives, Hutchinson Papers^ the other among the Mather Papers, Boston Public Library. They have slight verbal differences, and the latter is signed by John West, R. Secretary. THE CONFLICT OF AUTHORITIES, 233 This order was sent the next day to all the colonies, and in a few days the governor left Boston, expecting the same to be distributed among the ministers. For some reason they were not generally received, and the ministers took advantage of the omission. A messen- ger was sent to Samuel Willard, pastor of the Third Church in Boston, by the 22d, but as no order was given him he did not mention it. One, however, was handed him the night before the day appointed, but he did not read it, and only noticed that " such an occasion was by the Governour recommended to be given Thanks for," and prayed " more particularly and largely for the King." James Allen, minister of the First Church, incidentally noticed the day, and, much to the displeasure of his hearers, gave out these lines from the psalm-book : — ** Jehovah is thy strength, The King shall joyful be, And joy in thy salvation How vehemently shall hee I Thou grantest hast to him That which his heart desired, And thou hast not withholden back That which his lips required." If we correctly interpret their records, the churches round about Boston, having had no order, did not keep the occasion. Many did not regard the cause as Andros did, though it was customary in England to recognize such. More were disgusted with the change of government ; but that which stirred them all was that the order commanded a " time " of thanksgiving, and that on April 29, a Sunday, contrary to their will and traditions, the implication being that they could introduce into their services a prayer of thanksgiving, 234 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, after the manner of the Church of England. That was the height of presumption and outrage in the minds of the New England ministers. The governor himself doubtless appreciated the point, and yet he could plead, as he did in writing to Connecticut, " the order for thanksgiving is as ordered and kept in England in January last." ^ Probably the ministers were never before so glad to miss of receiving a pro- clamation, and it seems that they also failed to get one setting a fast May 3 on account of the drought.^ But this was not the last of the matter. On August 16 the news of the birth of a prince was received, and another Sunday thanksgiving was set September 16, the proclamation for which is in print.^ What must have been the feeling in Boston on that day, as the church bells were ringing for afternoon service, when they heard guns firing, and as they saw in the evening bonfires blazing upon their hillsides ! Still the gov- ernor could say he was only ordering the affair as in England. By this time there was a general indigna- tion among the churches, which the ministers furthered by sermon and prayer. We have next to record the most poignant blow which the government of Andros could give. In the winter of 1688-9, the governor being absent, a few choice spirits of the Church of England, who were 1 Conn. Col. Bee, iii. 444. 2 " Ther was fast in o' towne it is said a publik fast but few towns had notice of it nor had wee but by M^ Stoughtons enforming y* y® Counsell had determined it ther was none at Rocksbery nor Cambridg" nor watertown nor at boston " (Dor. chh. rec, p. 96). The church at Plymouth seem to have kept it. ^ Hutchinson's Hist.^ i. 372. A thanksgiving for this cause was kept in Philadelphia December 26 (Penn. Col, Bee, i. 229). In New York the day was September 2, O. S. THE CONFLICT OF AUTHORITIES. 235 members of the council at Boston, issued an order for the keeping of January 30 as a '' day of fasting and humiliation." It was the anniversary of the behead- ing of Charles I., upon which, says Macaulay, " the Anglican clergy had during many years thought it a sacred duty to inculcate the doctrines of non-resist- ance and passive obedience." A similar attempt had been made in New Hampshire in 1684, of which the Colonial Records give some hint, as it seems to have been one cause of a disturbance. New England had not forgotten the days of the Commonwealth, and many were living who had been actors in its scenes. A day of humiliation on account of the death of Charles I. ! Every man of them felt that it was an insult. The order, which hinted spitefully at their plea of ignorance on the former occasion, and was served upon them by sheriffs and constables, is printed in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical So- ciety, and is a memorial of those troublesome days.^ Its immortal signers were Charles Lidget, Ben. Bul- livant, Antho. Haywood, and Era. Eoxcroft. The ministers, who had denounced the holy days of Eng- land, who had compelled others to abstain from labors on innmnerable fast days, who had evaded the authori- ties and trifled with the proclamation shortly before, would now receive an order based upon the statutes of England, and, lest it should miscarry and some " plead ignorance therein," they should have it from the constable. Nothing could have been contrived more obnoxious to them ; and it is enough that we add this conclusion, in a few weeks the people rose in revolt and placed the above-mentioned worthies in 1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., III. vol. i. pp. 83, 84 236 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, jail. We find no evidence that the order was read in the churches, and, from its omission in records and diaries where such are usually noted, we infer that the occasion and the day were wholly ignored. It was too evidently an attempt to foist upon them the holy days of England. Surely it was not the least of the causes which led to the overthrow of Andros that he went athwart the religious customs of the New England churches. When the government of the colonies passed again into the hands of the people, the former customs were restored. Rhode Island, which had kept the days ordered by Andros, lapsed into indifference, and the others set their days without molestation. The pro- visional government at Boston was formed April 20, 1689, and during their subsequent deliberations it was thought best to have a fast May 7, but upon consideration the order was " stopped from going out." However, upon May 10, being supported in their authority by the town delegates, they ventured to appoint May 16, a few days before the assem- bling of the second convention.^ When the old gov- ernment assumed the public trusts, they ordered a thanksgiving, as did also Plymouth and Connecticut, for the accession of William and Mary, and the occa- sion was a happy relief from their embarrassment.^ So matters went until the provincial government was set up. May 16, 1692. One of the first acts of Sir William Phips, May 17, was to order that the 1 Mather Papers, MS., Boston Pub. Lib. vii. 85; Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., IV. vol. viii. p. 709 ; Archives of Mass. : MS. Rec. 1689, pp. 12, 18. 2 June 27 in Massachusetts and Plymouth, June 26 in Connecti- cut. See Calendar. Cotton Mather wrote the Massachusetts procla- mation. THE CONFLICT OF AUTHORITIES. 237 fast which the former authorities had voted May 6, be kept as provided, May 26.^ The proclamation had been read in most of the churches the day after his arrival, two days before his act, so there was little else to be done. Yet surely he would not have done this had he desired to make any issue with the churches. For several years thereafter the appoint- ments were made much as before. The order some- times originated with the representatives ; upon other occasions they concurred in the vote of the governor and council, who issued the same when the court was not in session.2 We fail to see, what some have claimed, any specific gubernatorial assimiption, but rather a tendency, which was characteristic of the provincial government, toward centralization of au- thority. The fast finally became the governor's fast, / because, with the downfall of the ancient theocratic order of things, the churches lost their hold upon it. " The Congregational ministers," says Amos Adams, " were considered as meer laymen." They no longer dominated in the affairs of the General Court. The ^ Sir William Phips's order is in MS. Coun. Min., ii. 170. Cf. Acts and Resolves, vii. 459. 2 The appointments during the first four years of the provincial government were as follows : (1) T. July 14, 1692. (2) F. December 29, 1692. (3) T. February 23, 1692-3. (4) F. July 20, 1693. [MS. Coun. Bee, ii. 243 ; Dor. chh. rec, etc.] (5) T. December 21, 1693. (6) F. April 19, 1694. [Dor. chh. rec. ; Brins. Note-book.] (7) T. No- vember 29, 1694. [MS. Coun. Rec, ii. 292 ; Dor. and Salem chh. rec, etc.] (8) F. December 13, 1694. [Ihid.'] (9) F, April 25, 1695. (10) F. October 24, 1695. [MS. Coun. Rec, ii. 364 ; Dor. chh. rec, etc.] (11) T. January 16, 1695-6. (12) F. April 2, 1696. Of these 4, 6, 7, 8, and 10 are not noted in Acts and Resolves, vol. vii., and hence the inferences, that, with one exception, all days were appointed by the Assembly (p. 279), and that there was only one fast between May, 1692, and April, 1695 (p. 459), are incorrect. Besides these, the church fasts of 1692 were kept at the desire of the counciL 238 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. proclamations were not prepared in their studies, though one or another of them may have been con- sulted. So their days of fasting and thanksgiving, which had been a feature of the theocracy, passed to a new stage of development. CHAPTER XVn. THE ANNUAL SPRING FAST AND THE AUTUMN THANKSGIVING. 1620-1694. The English origin of fast and thanksgiving days, and the experiences already related, establish a pre- sumption against the existence of the annual spring fast and autumn thanksgiving from the beginning of the New England colonies. The views held may be summarized as follows: (1.) The colonists brought with them the practice of occasional appointments for special causes. (2.) These days were named by the churches as well as the civil authorities. (3.) Their dependence upon a propitious seedtime and an abim- dant harvest gradually made a springtime fast and an autumn thanksgiving prominent. (4.) The custom of rejoicing over the ingathering, illustrated at Ply- mouth in 1621, attached itself to the wholly religious Puritan thanksgiving day. (5.) The appointment of days for special causes continued, being coexistent, even to modern times, with the annual spring fast and the autumn thanksgiving. -^ We have now before us the question when these days became annual, or in other words, when did the spring fast day and the modern thanksgiving begin ? There are those, whose reputation as historians adds weight to their opinions, who claim that these seasons 240 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, were annual from the first, though all the dates have not been recovered. This view prevailed so far back as 1756, when it was thus stated by Lieutenant-Gov- ernor Spencer Phips in the proclamation for thanks- giving, November 25 : " Whereas it has been the laud- able and uninterrupted practice of the people of this government, from the first settlement of the Colony of Massachusetts-Bay, annually, to make their publick thankful and religious acknowledgments," etc. The historian Hutchinson also, after speaking of their occasional days, says, " They constantly, every spring, appointed a day for fasting and prayer to implore the divine blessings upon their affairs in the ensuing year, and in the fall, a day of thanksgiving and public ac- knowledgment of the favors conferred upon them in the year past. ... It has continued without interrup- tion, I suppose, in any one instance, down to this day." ^ A similar statement may be found in Rev. David Osgood's thanksgiving sermon November 20, 1794. Probably Hutchinson's " History " has done much to propagate this opinion, but as he was certainly wrong in supposing the practice had suffered no interruptions, we may infer that he had never carefully examined the subject. On the other hand we may bring two eminent witnesses to show that the early practice was of occasional appointments, both of whom would have mentioned an annual observance had it been custom- ary. John Cotton, in his " Way of the Churches of Christ in New England," says : " We sometimes upon extraordinary occasions either of notable judgments do set apart a day of humiliation or upon special mer- cies we set apart a day of thanksgiving." *^ Thomas 1 Hutchinson's Hist., i. 429. ^ y^^y of the Churches, etc., p. 70. ANNUAL APPOINTMENTS. 241 Lecliford, in his " Plain Dealing or News from New- England," says, '' There are dayes of fasting, thanks- giving and prayers upon occasions but no holy dayes, except the Sunday," a remark upon which his own comment is conclusive evidence, " And why not set fasting dayes &> times and set feasts ? " ^ The former author published in 1G45, the latter in 1642, and they establish the fact that in Massachusetts, at least, there was then no annual appointment. It is conceded that all the dates during the colonial period may not have been recovered. The Calendar, made up from all available sources, is only a contri- bution toward completeness. Nevertheless it affords the only historical basis for an examination of the sub- ject, and is sufficient to warrant some deductions from it. Furthermore a careful study of ecclesiastical ap- pointments shows that, in the absence of action by the General Court or the governor and council, the churches generally may have set a day in the spring or autumn, and so the custom may date much further back than public records would indicate. For this reason, as well as because the concurrent keeping of a certain day by several churches is evidence of its public appointment, such church days as we have met with, previous to the year 1700, have been included in the Calendar. The reader's attention is turned first to the older institution, the annual thanksgiving day or harvest festival^ to determine when it began. By the phrase " annual thanksgiving day," we designate a day ap- pointed every year in the autumn or early winter to commemorate prominently the ingathering of the har- 1 Plain Dealing, ed. 1867, p. 52. 242 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, vest, and the mercies of the year past. Therefore two elements distinguish it from special thanksgivings, — the time of its observance, and the cause. The day cannot always be identified by its season, for there were thanksgivings in the autumn which were not dis- tinctively harvest festivals, and there were harvest festivals which were postponed to the winter season nearer the close of the Old Style year. A thanksgiv- ing kept at any time after the earliest harvest to express gratitude to God on that account or acknow- ledge the general mercies of the past season, would embody the idea of the annual thanksgiving day. The Plymouth Colony claims the honor of having originated the harvest festival. The festival week of 1621, and the recurrence of thanksgiving feasts, may justify this claim ; but the facts which are most needed in tracing this development in the Plymouth Colony are lacking. Between 1623 and 1632 we have no hint of the days observed and their causes, though we assume that they had such on occasion, as before. From 1632 on to 1668 we must depend upon the data furnished by church records, with only the law of 1636, committing authority to the governor and assistants, to encourage the belief that public days were kept. Yet this law was to provide for occasions, and not for an annual thanksgiving. It by no means proves, as some have argued, an annual observance. On the contrary, had there been such, by public ap- pomtment, it would have been by authority of the General Court, which met in the autumn ; but there is no reference of the kind in their records. Some days might be omitted, but it is hardly possible that all would be for thirty years. Furthermore, the cus- ANNUAL APPOINTMENTS. 243 torn of church appointments had its greatest vitality in Plymouth Colony. Ecclesiastical independence was a feature of separatism. After public days became common, the authorities did not '' order," but " de- sired," " proposed," or " recommended " the same to the churches. The church records and public procla- mations both reveal this preeminence of ecclesiasti- cal authority and practice. This accounts for so many church days for public causes. It explains the action of the court in recommending occasions to other churches or counties when some had already kept them. So the conclusion is, that though there was no civil appointment of the harvest festival in Plymouth Colony previous to 1668, the same may have been cus- tomary in the several commimities. The Scituate and Barnstable church records, on the other hand, show that with them so early as 1636 the idea of a thanks- giving with the feast — a feature of the separatist church life — was an accepted custom. As already set forth, they kept such December 22, 1636, October 12, 1637, and December 11, 1639. These dates are neither earlier nor later in the season than those com- monly fixed upon. The first thanksgiving proclamation found in the Plymouth Colony Records making mention of the harvest is in 1668. The words are : " It hath pleased God in some comfortable measure to blesse vs in the fruites of the earth." November 25 was the day appointed, and it was clearly a harvest thanksgiving. From that time on to 1692, other such days are men- tioned, and the writer of the Plymouth church records in 1697 made this marginal note: "In these 30 years past were observed amongst us many dayes of Humil- 244 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. iation and Thanksgiving ordered by Authority which are not here particularly made mention of." This note takes us back to 1668, and prepares us to take the practice of the Plymouth church as indicative of the general custom.^ In 1678 there is good evidence that this mother church was then observing an annual thanksgiving day, usually in the autumn, for the har- vest and blessings of the year past. That year the day was November 6, for the " good harvest." In 1679 it was put off on account of the reformation movement, but " the church set apart February 25 to be kept as a day of Thanksgiving publicly for all the mercies of the yeare spiritual! and temporall." These days were set by the church, but in 1680, October 20 was appointed by the court. In 1681 no day was set by the church, but one probably was by the court or governor and assistants. In 1682 December 1 was kept by authority of the church " for aU the mercies of the year." Here, then, we find the working of a two- fold source of thanksgiving appointments, which, with interruptions for special cause, as during King Phil- ip's war, we conclude was in operation back to 1668, and preserved an annual custom. As to Pl3rmouth Colony, then, the conclusion is, that some time previous to 1636 the idea of a thanks- giving with a feast was current among the churches ; that they generally kept it for thirty years as most convenient in their several communities ; and that thereafter, down to the union with Massachusetts, the same was appointed annually, with interruptions, either by civil or church authority. It was therefore a development, which their experiences encouraged and the social advantages of the occasion fostered. ^ PljrmoTith clmpch records, Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth. ' ANNUAL APPOINTMENTS, 245 We turn next to Connecticut. It should be con- ceded that, in some respects, a more liberal spirit pre- vailed in Connecticut than in the other New England colonies. Among other things, there was not that jealousy of civil authority in ecclesiastical matters, so the power to appoint fast and thanksgiving days was at an early date generally surrendered to the gov- ernment. The churches were satisfied to leave such days to the discretion of their rulers. There was also a notable absence of that extreme morbid sentiment, which at times set aside thanksgivings in other quar- ters. It is characteristic of old Connecticut procla- mations that even in distressing times many causes for gratitude are enumerated. These are in part the reasons why the calendar of Connecticut days is more complete. Their practice was more continuous. Though Plymouth may have been before it in origi- nating the harvest festival, Connecticut by its civil authority and religious constancy preserved and per- petuated it. Long before the breaking out of King Philip's war the annual thanksgiving was a recognized institution in the colony. In the decade from 1660 to 1670 we' have recovered every date, the earliest being October 23 and the latest November 30. Every order or proclamation has such phrases as these : " year past," '' blessings in the fruits of the year," " fruits of the fields and of the trees," and " fruits of the earth." Working backward, in tracing the custom, from 1660 we find similar or general terms wherever a proclama- tion is known ; and, with one exception, the dates are given back to 1649, the earliest being September 18, and the latest December 19. The exception was 1654, in which year the day was appointed and then 246 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. put off ; but it was certainly kept between October 19 and November 20, as an item in the Wolcott Ledger proves. So early as 1649 the phrase " year past " was in use. Back of that date we have recovered only two thanksgivings proclaimed by the civil author- ities : that of 1644, the order for which is not given in the records, and the notable one of September 18, 1639, — as we think, the first so ordered. However, the churches kept days from the settlement of the colony, and by agreement may have kept the same day between 1639 and 1649. When it is remembered that the calendar thus takes us back to within a few years of John Cotton's and Thomas Lechford's testi- mony, we may regard the result as quite definite. As to Connecticut Colony, then, the conclusion is, that about 1649 the Pilgrims' idea of a harvest thanksgiving became an accepted custom, and from that time one was ordered by civil authority annu- ally within its jurisdiction.^ This yearly festival, as now appointed by the several States, is certainly a Connecticut institution. It remains to examine the practice in Massachu- setts, which in due time was followed by New Hamp- shire. Here we have far greater facilities for the recovery of the facts from public records in print and manuscript, proclamations, sermons, and diaries. Though we may be more certain of having a large proportion of the dates back of 1692, the calendar ^ " Connecticut people, though just as pious and as prosperous as the Bay colonists, do not appear to have been as grateful, and had considerable trouble at times to ' pick vppon a day ' for thanksgiv- ing ; and the festival was not regularly observed there till 1716 " {Customs and Fashions, etc., p. 220 : Alice Morse Earle). This is an astonishing paragraph, and only about sixty-seven years wrong. ANNUAL APPOINTMENTS, 247 shows many blanks. One fact is undeniable, that the Puritans of the Bay Colony were firm believers in the system of occasional appointments prevailing in England. They judged the matter from a theologi- cal point of view, and with characteristic intelligence. Their thanksgivings were for notable causes, and ex- hibit a greater breadth of information on pubUc af- fairs. So late as 1685 we find Judge Sewall arguing that " 't was not fit upon meer Generals, as (the Mercies of the year) to Comand a Thanksgiving." ^ He was not alone in this opinion. The ministers of Massachusetts generally, the most intelligent body of men in New England, placed great stress upon the particular causes for thanksgiving, as their diaries prove. Furthermore, upon repeated occasions, when the circimistances were more suitable for a fast day, the thanksgiving is known to have been omitted or postponed. Such was the case in 1675 on account of the war, and in 1679 on account of the reformation. Sometimes there was a difference of opinion as to what was suitable, as in 1690, when Sewall says, " Mr. Torrey is for a Fast or at least a Fast first. Mr. Willard for a Thanksgiving first. Mr. Torrey fears lest a Thanksgiving should tend to harden people in their carnal confidence." The f asters carried the day, and the thanksgiving was put off to February 26, 1690-1.2 There are years, in which no date has 1 Sewall's Diary, i. 106. 2 Ihid., i. 336. The following- extract from Publick Occurrences, under date September 25, 1690, was designed as a reproof for the f asters : " The Christianized Indians in some parts of Plimouth have newly appointed a day of Thanksgiving to God for his mercy in supplying their extream and pinching Necessities under their late want of Corn, and for His giving them now a prospect of a very Comfortable Har- vest. Their example may be worth mentioning." 248 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. been recovered, when the circumstances and the 0C5- currence of a fast encourage the belief that there was no public thanksgiving. On the other hand it is cer- tain that some churches kept thanksgivings when the civil authorities issued no proclamation,^ and that the governor and council made frequent appointments. Notwithstanding this intermittent tendency and the feeling that there should be some cause other than mere generals, it seems that they had autumn thanks- givings, in which the harvest was recognized, almost every year after about 1660. In 1662 November 5 was kept, among other reasons, " for giveing unto us such a portion of y® f ruts of y® earth in o' late har- vests." ^ Back of this we meet with only a few such days, as December 8, 1659, to acknowledge " y® gra- cious retorne of o' prayers put up unto him in y® wett spring by giveing us a seasonable seed-time & har- vest," ^ and November 5, 1656, for " the plenty and aboundance of the blessings of the earth." ^ Yet even in these instances there were special causes. In 1648 the court left the appointment to the assistants, " if they shall see cause." As to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, then, the con- clusion is, that, with more frequent interruptions, the autumn thanksgiving was usual after about 1660, but its annual and harvest features were overshadowed by the prevailing systems of occasional appointments. 1 The Salem church records inform us as to 1G68 that " the General Court in the 8th month " did not appoint '* any public days of Thanks- giving or Fasting and prayer as formerly." This church therefore set December 23 for a fast, and January 14, 1668-9, as a thanks- giving " with respect unto the mercies of the year past," etc. — N. E, Cong.: Salem chh. rec, p. 75. 2 Dor. chh. rec, p. 40. » Ihid., p. 32. * Mass. Col. Rec.y iv. pt. 1. p. 279. ANNUAL APPOINTMENTS, 249 It is difficult to trace the history of a custom, for it is developed gradually. The annual harvest thanks- giving is no exception. Its beginning cannot be set on any particidar date. At first the exceptional har- vest called it forth. Every year of blessings encour- aged it. The religious and social advantages of the day grew in favor. So it was after a time generally accepted. In Plymouth it may have retained longer the community character which their ecclesiastical traditions had given to it ; in Massachusetts it may have been less prominent because of their Puritan heritage ; in Connecticut it may have taken on earlier the continuity of a civil institution ; but in all these colonies, settled by the same people and in con- stant intercourse with one another, the custom was very much the same in its practical observance within the meeting-house and in the home. And, making all allowance for unrecovered facts, this institution, now national, can be traced back to a general adoption about forty years after the memorable harvest feast of the Pilgrims. The question to which we next turn is. When did the annual spring fast day begin ? This day must be defined as a fast of annual observance in the spring to seek divine favor upon the undertakings of the year, and especially upon the planting of the fields. It is distinguished from the special fast both by the time and the cause. It is unnecessary to repeat our observations as to the Puritan prejudices against Lent. The keeping of Good Friday was altogether obnoxious to our fore- fathers, and there was no considerable change of sen- timent until after the Eevolutionary War. The fast 250 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DA YS, day of the Pilgrims was a cry of distress raised to God, and therefore a special cause was essential to it. But after years they found they were in new conditions. The beginning of their Old Style year, the planting of their fields, the end of their long winters, the incoming of ships with foreign news, and the reflex influence of their annual thanksgiving, — these all tended toward the adoption of a springtime fast day. We find no evidence that an annual spring fast was observed in the Plymouth Colony previous to King Philip's War. The Colonial Records mention certain days, but they were for special reasons. Indeed, the absence of appointments by the General Court conven- ing in March is good evidence that no such custom existed. The Scituate and Barnstable church records, covering a period from 1634 to 1653, give us presum- ably a fairly complete fist of their fast days ; and in only two instances is the season of the year an item, April 7, 1636, " in respect of present outward scarcity," and June 10, 1641, " in regard of y® wett & very cold spring," both showing special cause. The Plymouth church records show no trace of such a custom during this period. However, from 1675 on to 1692, spring fasts, sometimes by ecclesiastical and sometimes by civil appointment, are frequent ; and allowing for omissions the custom may be said to have been adopted, especially as we meet with the recognition of a " continuance of mercies," and the " mercies of the year" in the proclamations. In 1697 the Plymouth church had appointed a spring fast, but gave way for that ordered by the government, a fact which argues against a long-established custom of civil appoint- ments in either Massachusetts or Plymouth. After ANNUAL APPOINTMENTS. 251 the union with Massachusetts the day shared her fortunes. As to Connecticut Colony, we reach most definite conclusions. There we believe the annual fast day was first established, if not also conceived. The cal- endar shows frequent spring fasts back to 1659, some- times kept as late as June. June 29, 1659, was a fast " partly for the season." In 1661 April 3 was appointed " to seek favour of God in y® occasions of y® insueing yeare ; " and thereafter we note similar expressions in every proclamation known, as for exam- ple, " bless the fruits of the earth," " blessed with a seasonable seedtime," ^' smile upon us in the season." These were all by civil appointment, and probably such as are missing were kept by the same authority. The question which has excited the greatest interest is when the annual fast day began in Massachu- setts. As to this, various opinions have been advo- cated. Some have claimed that the practice prevailed from earliest times. The proclamations have perpetu- ated this belief, and it has been a cherished tradition among the people. Some have more carefully ex- amined the subject, but have based their conclusions upon the occurrence of fasts in the springtime without regard to the causes, which were special, having no reference to the seed-sowing or the beginning of the year. Some have drawn their deductions from a very imperfect calendar, made up from the Colonial Re- cords alone, and so have been led to think that the custom was not established until some years after the erection of the provincial government. Some have, with some reason, attributed it to the authority of the provincial governor himself. Obviously, the correct 252 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. answer must be supported by a minute study of the proclamations, and a carefully prepared calendar of the days observed. By this method the field has been narrowed to a single decade, from 1684 to 1694. On the one hand it is established that there was no an- nual spring fast during the colonial period of Massa- chusetts history, and on the other the calendar proves that such a day has been observed since the latter date. The conclusion is, that the custom came in during that troubled and changeful decade of history. The Dorchester church records have this entry in 1694: ''Aprilly® 19 94 ther was a publick day of humiliacon Apinted by the Governer and counsell to be kept in all our coUones for to seeke god in the behalf of ouer self es and god people A Broad and that the lord woidd B[l]ese the kings majesty and prosper his great undertaking this year : and y* y® lord crown this year with his Blesing and for the Rising genaracon that god power forth his spiritt upon tham and y* he wold continue ouer present pease." ^ We have nowhere found any public record of this day, or proclamation therefor ; but the fact is supported by the Brinsmead Note-book, and a manuscript sermon in the American Antiquarian Society, preached by Cotton Mather on that day. It was evidently a spring fast, and a fair type of a long line of successors. In 1693 we find no notice of such a day in public records, and none is mentioned in the above church records or Increase Mather's diary. Other authorities also are silent. In New Hampshire May 23 was appointed, and in Plymouth the church kept May 24 to seek the blessings of the year. In 1692 May 26 was ^ Dop. chh. rec, p. 107. ANNUAL APPOINTMENTS. 263 a fast, but for special cause, the witchcraft troubles, and this was the one proposed by the '' late govern- ment" and reappointed by Sir WiUiam Phips. In 1691 May 7 was a fast, but, as the broadside pro- clamation shows, it had no reference to the season of the year. So, tracing the subject back through this decade, we find no other than special fasts after the ancient custom. Furthermore there is evidence of some discussion in regard to fasts at this time. The ministerial procla- mation had become unpopular with the government, and we suspect that Cotton Mather's were, in more than one well-known mstance, rejected. A draft of his for July 10, 1690, does not seem to have been adopted. That was the year when there was a differ- ence of opinion as to whether a fast was more suitable than a thanksgiving. In 1692 the trouble regarding the witchcraft fasts hereafter detailed came on. Some of the ministers wanted a fast which the governor and council would not have, and it is only shortly afterward, in 1696, that we find the latter claim- ing the authority to move in such matters. On the 21st of September, 1694, the House voted to propose to the Governor and Council " y* a Sett day sometyme in Octob'^ next be appointed to be solemnized as a day of Giveing thanks to God for his Enumerated Mercys of the y' past, alsoe y* a day of solemn ffast be ap- pointed some sett day in Novemb' next to have a Humble sence of his Awfull dispensations etc." ^ Whatever interpretation is put upon this desire for a " sett day," it shows a preference for a time for the fast sometimes chosen in earUer days both in Massaehu- ^ State Archives : Ecc,^ xi. 81. 254 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. setts and Connecticut. Out of all these difficulties the way was found in the adoption of a stated spring fast. To be sure, it was the tendency of the time, but the governor would not have made an issue on the sub- ject had his friends, notably the Mathers, been op- posed to it. It is enough to know that there was a " pulling and hauling " about fasts, and a new system was the natural outcome. Then, too, there were vaUd arguments for it. Their own practice as to the autumn thanksgiving favored it. They must have known the working of the custom in Connecticut. It was the beginning of their year, the time of seed-sow- ing, and the opening of communication after the win- ter. But, more than all, the colony of Plymouth was no more, and its representatives were exercising their very modest influence among their neighbors. They had adopted the. spring fast and found it convenient for their purposes. It did not interfere with their special fasts, and the ancient tradition of objection to stated humiliation about the time of Lent was worn out. So the spring fast came in naturally, and by the help of circumstances which alone could have accom- plished the introduction of it. From the first it took on a general character which the special fast did not have.^ The ensuing year became its theme, and the proclamation detailed prospective hopes rather than a present necessity. It was not only different in its mo- tive from their ancient fast, it was hostile to it, work- ing against it in the course of time, as it grew in importance and gathered in the occasions of the year. The honored fast of the fathers laid an immediate bur- den of desire upon the people ; it was specific, and the 1 The Puritan A^e in Mass., Ellis, p. 160. ANNUAL APPOINTMENTS, 255 feeling it aroused was most intense. Its vitality de- pended upon its harmony with Puritan doctrine and life. It came through the ministers from the people themselves. A theme for discourse was thrust upon the preacher by the circumstances which convened the congregation. The annual fast tended to dissipate these interests, and the more general the causes for humilia- tion were, the less of fervor, sincerity, and devotion was fostered in the services of the day. So far from its being true, as successive springtime proclamations in Massachusetts have declared, that the annual fast has come down to them from the earliest times, it is altogether certain that it is a day which, even at its best estate, the colonial fathers, in their intelligence and piety as Puritans, would not have tolerated. Con- necticut conceived and practiced the custom, largely because it was most convenient for her springtime General Court so to appoint it, but she finally laid it aside for the Good Friday fast. It is not the honor of Massachusetts that she originated it, but rather that she held out longest against it, in her devotion to the older Puritan doctrine and custom. CHAPTER XVin. THE WITCHCRAFT FASTS, 1692-1696. The year 1692, the first of the provincial govern- ment, will ever be memorable on account of the witch- craft delusion. It would be expected that an evil so intimately connected with ecclesiastical affairs would call forth frequent public fasts ; but such was not the case. Churches fasted here and there, especially in August before and after the executions which happened upon the 19th. The Dorchester church records tell us that this was at the desire of the council.^ We know of only one public fast in Massachusetts before that date having reference to witchcraft, and after the storm passed the subject was unpleasant to some, who had been conspicuous in it, and such diverse opinions were held by the ministers that it was designedly kept in the background until the time of reckoning in 1696. It was the end of February, 1691, when the witch- craft broke out in the family of Rev. Samuel Parris, minister of Salem Village. His responsibility for the prosecutions has never been disputed. Two of the first accusers were members of his family, children, both of them. They charged Sarah Osburn and " Tituba Indian " with bewitching them, the latter being a servant in the minister's family. The warrant 1 Dor. chh. rec., p. 105 ; Salem chh. rec, p. 96. THE WITCHCRAFT FASTS. 257 was issued Monday, February 29, and the examination was the next day. Calef says, '' They that were con- cerned applied themselves to fasting and prayer which was attended not only in their own private families, but with calling in the help of others." i Eev. John Hale, of Beverly, corroborates the statement in these words : " Soon after this [the examination] there were two or three private fasts at the minister's house, one of which was kept by sundry neighbor ministers and after this another in publick at the village, and sev- eral days afterwards of publick himiiliation during these molestations, not only there but in other Congre- gations for them." ^ Doubtless these private fasts were in connection with the several examinations, March 3, 5, and 7, for it was upon the 11th that the several neighboring ministers met at the house of Mr. Parris " to join with him in keeping a solemn day of prayer." Noyes, of Salem, and Hale, of Beverly, were probably of the nimaber. The exercises customary on such occasions were the reading of sermons and lengthened prayers, and this was intended at that time as a trial of the evil spirits of the bewitched, much after the manner practiced by Cotton Mather with the Goodwin family. It was therefore noted that those persons were for the most part silent during the exer- cises, but " after any one prayer was ended they would act and speak strangely and ridiculously," and one " would sometimes seem to be in a convulsion fit, her limbs being twisted several ways and very stiff but presently her fit would be over." ^ Such was the use 1 Salem Witchcraft, Fowler, p. 224. 2 Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcrafi^ pp. 25, 26. 8 Salem Witchcraft, Fowler, p. 225. 258 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. they put that fast day to, and it had much to do with what followed. The extant manuscript sermons of Mr. Parris, in the Connecticut Historical Society, prove by their references that his reading about that time had been from sundry authors who believed in witchcraft, such as Cotton Mather consulted. We even venture to say that he owned the second impression of Mather's "Memorable Providences relating to Witchcrafts," and had been much moved by reading it. It would be possible on such a private fast, in the presence of the suspected victims, to kindle a fanatical fervency which would carry many sincere people to dangerous lengths. About two weeks after this, several having been committed to jail meanwhile, on a sacramental Sunday, March 27, Mr. Parris preached a sermon from the text, " Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" John vi. 70, the proposition of which was, " Christ knows how many Devils there are in his church and who they are."i Sarah Cloyse, a sister of one of the accused, can be pardoned for go- ing out of the meeting-house and slamming the door. Upham relates other interesting doings of that day, but thus much is cited in order to place that private fast at the beginning of this most horrible episode of New England history in its proper light. It illustrates the influence of the ministers over their flocks and how they used it. These three ministers, ^ MS. Sermons, Conn. Hist. Soc. The followingr note prefaces this serraon : " Occasioned by y© dreadful witchcraft broke out here a few weeks past, and one member of this church and another of Salem upon publick examination by civil authority vehemently suspected for shee-witches and upon it committed." — Upham's Salem Witcha-qfl, ed. 1867, ii. 92-94. Hutchinson's Hist, ii. 26, following Calef in Salem Witchcraft, p. 231, gives this date erroneously as April 3. THE WITCHCRAFT FASTS. 259 under the patronage of Cotton Mather, were respon- sible in large part, we believe, for the kindling of the excitement which followed. Brattle tells us in a letter that excepting these " the reverend elders al- most throughout the whole country were [are] very much dissatisfied " with the court. Four days after the above preaching by Mr. Parris, the church in Salem kept a fast day on account of the witchcraft. Other neighboring churches did the same, and perhaps repeatedly ; but there was as yet no general demand sufficient to call forth a public fast. Mr. Parris fol- lowed up liis sacramental theme upon the next occa- sion, May 8, when he discoursed on the text, " Ye can- not drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils," 1 Cor. X. 21.^ He seems to have believed the charge, which had been brought out in the examination, that the witches held sacramental seasons and kept fast and thanksgiving days by themselves.^ If this preach- ing is to be considered, they had surely some reason for doing so. And it seems to have been the order of the day, for September 11, two days after the exe- cution of six, one of whom was a member of his own church, this divine preached from Rev. xvii. 14, '' These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them." Such discoui^ses were not cal- culated to allay the excitement, and they show, better than any philosophical analysis, what was the origin of the fanaticism. ^ MS. Sermons. 2 ' ' They were accused by the sufferers to keep days of hellish fasts and thanks^vings, and, upon one of these fast days they told a suf- ferer she must not eat, it was a fast day. She said she would. They told her they would choke her then, which, when she did eat was en- deavored." — Deodat Lawson's Narrative j appended to his sermon, ed. 1704, London. 260 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Eev. John Hale, in his " Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft," and Cotton Mather also, in the " Magnalia," refer to " one general Fast by order of the General Court " which was " observed throughout the Colony to seek the Lord that he would rebuke Satan & be a light unto his people in this day of darkness." That day was May 26, already referred to as the first public fast under the new charter.^ It was after many committals and before any executions. Obviously it was a critical time, and an interesting question is raised, — What effect did the keeping of that day have upon the subsequent developments ? Sermons were of course preached everywhere, having this special. reference. If we had them all before us, it would probably appear that some believed in witch- craft as a real assault of the devil upon the churches of New England. Such helped on the executions. Others treated the occasion merely as a cause for humiliation, being much in doubt as to the matter. It is fair to suppose that the temper of the pulpit round about Salem has been already indicated. If so, it only added fuel to the flames. At Dorchester, Eev. John Danforth, the pastor, preached in the morning from Jonah iii. 5, and his brother. Rev. Samuel Danforth, of Taunton, in the afternoon from Psalm cxix. 60. Neither seem to have treated of devils on the occasion, and they may represent the more conservative party. Rev. Samuel Willard, of the Third Church in Boston, is known to have disfavored the manner of the prosecution, and would not have taken any radical view. A broadside from the pul- ^ Modest Enquiry^ etc., pp. 25, 26 ; Magnolia^ ii. 472; Hutchinson's HisUi ii. 25 ; Dor. chh. rec, p. 104. THE WITCHCRAFT FASTS, 261 pits o£ New England on that day would have stayed the horror, no doubt. The greatest interest, however, centres upon the exercises in the Second Church of Boston, whose senior pastor. Rev. Increase Mather, had just returned from England. The son and col- league. Cotton Mather, was certainly an inquirer into the phenomena of witchcraft, and of great influence. His diary gives no light as to this fast-day service ; but there are good reasons to believe that he delivered on that day a portion of what afterwards appeared in his work, "The Wonders of the Invisible World." One section of this is entitled " An Hortatory and Necessary Address to a Country now Extraordinarily Alarum'd by the Wrath of the Devil." The principles of historical criticism woidd locate the teaching before the executions, though a reference to them may have been afterwards introduced. It was certainly deliv- ered on a fast day, for the references to need of hu- miliation are frequent, and this clause is conclusive : " We are engaged in a Fast this day." If a public fast is meant. May 26 is the only one that meets the conditions. Furthermore, we note the prevailing idea of the proclamation — "to seek the Lord that he would rebuke Satan & be a light unto his people in this day of darkness " — in such sentences as these : " Our Lord is darkened indeed since the Powers of Darkness are turned in upon us." Many of Mather's books were originally sermons, and some were pub- lished as such. But whether or not this conjecture is correct, this work sets forth his views, and though it may justly be claimed that he tried to stay the force of spectral evidence, he then and thereafter believed in the reality of witchcraft, and attributed it to the 262 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. devil. Such an address as this upon the 26th of May, 1692, would have done something toward in- creasing the fervor of the prosecution. Here it should also be recorded that Cotton Mather believed, as Professor Barrett Wendell has clearly shown, in the efficacy of prayer and fasting in cur- ing the afflicted. Of this his biographer says, " He inclines more and more to reliance on fasting and prayer. This was undoubtedly the view taken, when the panic was once over, by even the most strenuous advocates of the reality of witchcraft, and Cotton Mather undeniably takes to himself the credit of having held and urged it all along." ^ Perhaps he inspired also that praying circle at Salem ; but certain it is that all these attempts to see if prayer and fast- ing would " putt an end to their Heavy Trials " were failures. Five days after this fast day. Cotton Mather wrote his well-known letter to John Richards, warning him against spectral evidence, and shortly afterwards the council appealed to the ministers for their opinion. The first execution had taken place before the answer was given, June 15, but it fairly represents, not only Cotton Mather who wrote it, but that larger circle of ministers about Boston, removed from the intense fanaticism of Salem.^ It emphatically dis- couraged condemnation on spectral evidence, but unfortunately overshadowed the caution with a com- mendation of the judges' forwardness in prosecutions. In the logic of events this was a contradiction, and 1 Cotton Mather, Wendell, pp. 107, 112-114. ^ Hutchinson's JTts^,!!. 50, 51 ; Cases of Conscience, etc., Increase Mather ; Some Miscellany Observations, etc., Samuel Willard. THE WITCHCRAFT FASTS. 263 the executions were the outcome for which the minis- ters of Massachusetts have been unjustly blamed. It was largely because of the support of the minis- ters that an attempt was made, October 26, 1692, to secure a convocation of ministers to check the prose- cutions. This affair enters into our story because it concerned an attempt to secure a fast day. Sewall thus refers to it : "A Bill is sent in about calling a Fast, and Convocation of Ministers, that may be led in the right way as to the Witchcrafts. The season and maner of doing it is such that the Court of Oyer and Terminer coimt themselves thereby dismissed. 29 Nos. and 33 yeas to the Bill. Capt. Bradstreet and Lieut True, W™ Huchins and several other interested persons there in the affirmative." ^ The explanation of this paragraph is that this was a test vDte of the General Assembly on the witchcraft prosecutions, and nowhere has it been given its deserved prominence. The Court of Oyer and Terminer had adjourned to the first Tuesday in November from September 22, and we have the testimony of Thomas Brattle in his letter dated October 8, that the assembly was looked to for some obstructive measure.. He says : " Between this and then will be the Great assembly, and this matter will be a peculiar matter of the agitation." The bill for calling a convocation of ministers was the anticipated measure, and had they favored prose- cutions it would not have been appropriate. It was cleverly devised, for the clergy were always hungry for convocations, and besides, the appointment of a fast was attached to it. Those who were dissatisfied with the Court of Oyer and Terminer in their proceed- 1 SewaU's Diary, i. 367. 264 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. ings were in favor of the bill, and, knowing the posi- tion of the ministers, they judged that its passage would end. the prosecutions. Captain Bradstreet, of whom Sewall speaks as favoring the bill, was Dudley Bradstreet, the deputy from Andover, who had him- self been accused and been forced to seek concealment, from which he had only come forth a short time be- fore and perhaps to attend this very assembly. Lieutenant Henry True was a deputy from Salisbury, and interested because his wife, Jane Bradbury, was a daughter of Mrs. Mary Bradbury, of Salisbury, even then under sentence and reprieved through the intercession of some friends. The name William Huchins probably should be Samuel Hutchins, a deputy from Haverhill, whose wife, Hannah Johnson, was related to the Johnsons of Andover, then in con- finement. Their essential point was a reference of the matter to the ministers in whose decision they had confidence, and whoever would vote against it must reject the proposition for a fast. The bill was passed by a majority of four votes, and it is no wonder Sew- all wrote, " The season and maner of doing it is such that the Court of Oyer and Terminer count themselves thereby dismissed." That was the very intention of the measure. The convocation, however, was not called, for there was no need of it, as the governor, Sir William Phips, decided that the unpopular court should die, and witchcraft prosecutions cease. The fast, if we rightly judge, was ordered December 20 for December 29, though no proclamation is known to survive.^ ^ It was to be the 29th if the order was received in time ; if not, the Thursday following. — MS. Coun. Rec.y ii, 211. THE WITCHCRAFT FASTS. 265 The sequel came four years afterwards, when a memorable fast of repentance was ordered for January 14, 1696-7. After the executions, a reaction set in, which increased until there was a demand for a day upon which to bewail the mistakes and sorrows of the witchcraft ; but those who had been judges in the obnoxious court, and such as had urged on the prose- cutions, were sensitive as to any public act which might reflect upon them. Several such were in the council. Besides helping on the appointments by the governor, this conflict put off for a long time the confession of sin, of which many thought the judges had been guilty. All motions of the House to this end were rejected, and all suggestions of the ministers failed. At a court fast, September 16, 1696, on account of an expedition against St. John, Rev. Samuel Willard, in his sermon, improved his opportunity to score the authorities for this failure to make "public confes- sion of the guilt incurred in the witch trials," or, as Sewall puts it, he " spake smartly at last about the Salem Witchcrafts, and that no order had been suf- fer'd to come forth by Authority to ask Gods par- don." In response to this growing demand, a procla- mation was drawn up by Cotton Mather, to be offered by a committee on religion, created for the purpose in the House. It was a characteristic docimient, and for many reasons it is worthy of print, and not least of all because it is the last of the sort proposed by the clergy of Massachusetts : ^ — 1 State Archives : Ecc, xi. 119; Acts and Resolves, vii. 531-533. The *' Streamer " to which Sewall refers (Diary, i. 439) is put in its place in brackets. The three specifications are by different hands, the last being by Captain Byfield, who claimed an unjust decision in a law- suit. 266 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. , Inasmuch as the Holy God, hath been, by Terrible and Vari- ous Dispensations of His providence, for many sevens of years Together, most Evidently Testifying His Displeasure against us; and these Humbling Dispensations of Heaven have pro- ceeded from one Degree of Calamity upon us to another, Wherein God hath vexed us with all Adversity, until at Last the symptoms of an Extreme Desolation Threaten us: A more than ordinary Humiliation of this whole people, accompanied with fervent supplications, and thorough Reformations, must bee ac- knowledged Necessary, to prepare us for o' Deliverance, from o' most unhappy circumstances. Tis to bee Confessed, and it hath been often Confessed, That the people of This Land, in a Long Apostasy, from that Reli- gious Disposition, that signalized the First planting of these Col- onies, & from y" very Errand into this Wilderness, have, with multiplied provocations to the Almighty, sinned Exceedingly. The spirit of This World, hath brought almost an Epidemical Death, upon y' spirit of serious, practical & powerful Religion. The Glorious Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, here enjoy'd with much plenty as well as purity, hath not been Thankfully, and Fruitfully, Entertained, by those that have been Blessed with the Joyful sound. The Covenant of Grace, Recognized in o' Churches, hath been by multitudes not submitted unto; and of them that have made a profession of submission unto it, very many have not walked according to the sacred obligations thereby Laid upon them. A Flood of Excessive Drinking, w*** Incentives thereto, hath begun to overwhelm Good order in some Towns, & even to Drown civilitie itself. Some English, by selling of strong Drink unto Indians, have not only prejudiced the Designs of Christianitie, but also been the Faulty and Bloody occasions of Death, among them. The most unreasonable Impieties of Rash and vain swearing, with Hellish cursing, in the mouths of some, have rendred them Guilty sinners. A Vanity in Apparrel, hath been affected by many, whose Glory hath bin their shame. The Lords-day, hath been disturbed, with so many profana- tions, that wee may not wonder, if the Land see no Rest. The woful Decay of all good Family- Discipline, hath opened the Flood-gates for Evils Innumerable, & almost Irremediable. THE WITCHCRAFT FASTS. 267 Wicked Sorceries have been practised in the Land; and, in the Late Inexplicable storms from the Invisible world thereby brought upon us, wee were left, by the Just Hand of Heaven, unto those Errors, whereby Great Hardships were brought upon Innocent persons, and (wee fear) Guilt incurred, which wee have all cause to Bewayl, with much confusion of o' Face before the Lord. It is commonly and credibly Reported, That some, who have belonged unto this countrey, have committed very Detest- able PyracieSj in other parts of the world. The sins of Uncleanness in many, & y* Grossest Instances, have Defiled the Land. The Joy of Harvest hath too much forgotten y* Glad service of God, when Hee hath given us, an Abundance of all Things. Much Fraud hath been used in the Dealings of many, and mutual and multiplied oppressions have made a cry. Magistrates, Ministers, and others that have served the pub- lick, have been but Great sufferers by their services, and mett with unrighteous Discouragements, [y' Irreuernc: to superiors in age & authority & disobedienc to parents is too frequent amongst us, parents not keeping up their authority in their familes. Neglects in the Administration of Justice impartially and duely in Courts of Justice is too Obvious in this Land.] Falsehood and slander, hath been continually carrying of Darts thro' y* Land. And the Successive and Amazing Judgments of God, which have come upon us, for such things as these, have not Reclamed us, but wee have gone on still in o' Iniquities. For these causes, this whole people, is Admonished now to Humble themselves before the Lord, with Repeated Acts of Re- pentance; and particularly. To this purpose. It is Ordered, That Thursday bee kept as a Day of HUMILIATION, by prayer with FASTING, before the God of Heaven, in the several congregations throughout this province; and all servile Labour on y* Day, is hereby Inhibited: That so wee may obtain, thro' the Blood of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, the pardon, both of These Iniquities, and of whatever other secret sins, the Lord may have sett in the Light of His countenance ; And, that wee may implore y" Effusions of y" spirit of Grace from on High, upon all Ranks of men, and Especially upon the Rising Genera- tion, whereby o' Turn to God, y" Fire of whose wrath is dread- fully consuming o' young men, may bee accomplished. 268 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. And it is hereby further signified, That it is hoped, the pastors of the churches, will, in their several charges, by private as well as public Applications, Endeavour to prevent all growth of sirif as they may discern it, in their Vicinities: and y* churches join with their pastors in sharpening the Ecclesiastical Discipline, against all scandals that may arise among them. And all civil officers are hereby Likewise called upon, vigor- ously to pursue y^ Execution of y" Lawes from Time to Time, Enacted against all Immoralities; and in their several places, as well to make Diligent Enquiries and Impartial presentments, of all offences against y^ said Lawes, as to Dispense Justice equally, for no cause forbearing to do their office, according to the oath of God, w"^ is upon them; and unto this End frequently to have their consultations in their several precincts, luhat may bee done by them to suppress any common Evils : Finally, All persons are hereby advised, seriously to pursue the Designs of a general Conversion unto God, as y** best Expedient, for ye Encouragement of o' Hopes, That Hee who hath shown us great §' sore Troubles may Revive us; and not Leave us to perish in the Convulsions which are now shaking a miserable world. In the House of Representatives, Read 10*'' Decemb'" 1696, a first & Second time. Voted and sent up for Concurrance. Penn Townsend, Speaker. To this bill there was appended a vote that five hundred copies be printed, that it be published in the churches and issued to justices, constables, etc., requir- ing all to be faithful in executing their respective offices, and that the laws relating to them be collected and inserted in the proclamation. It is hardly necessary to say that the council did not receive this bill with complacency ; indeed, they were in high dudgeon about it, professedly because the House had prepared and voted all without consultation. Byfield claimed that it was no new thing, and he was right. The real objection was deeper, partly to the assault on the judiciary, but we suspect in the main THE WITCHCRAFT FASTS. 269 because the extravagant view which Mather presented of New England's moral condition was not acceptable. The bill therefore was rejected December 11, and another prepared by Judge Samuel Sewall was voted and sent down for concurrence.- At no time since the settlement of New England had there been greater excitement about a proclamation. The House was in a rage, backed up no doubt by the ministers, who saw their long-cherished prerogative passing to its solemn burial. Yet a conflict was useless, and as the council acceded to the wish for a fast, it was of short duration. Finally the coimcil proclamation, with some altera- tions, was passed by the House December 17. It has several times been printed. That part which relates to the witchcraft is as follows : " And espe- cially, that whatever Mistakes, on either hand, have been fallen into, either by the body of this People, or any Orders of men, referring to the late Tragedie raised amongst us by Satan and his Instruments, through the awfull Judgment of God; He would humble us therefor, and pardon all the Errors of his Servants and People that desire to Love his Name ; and be attoned to His Land." It was upon that day, January 14, 1696-7, appointed after so long a delay, that Judge Samuel SewaU put up his bill of confession to be read in the Third Church in Boston,^ wherein he not only acknowledged any sin that may have been laid to his charge as one of the judges of the witches, but also left a worthy example of manly self-abasement to his lasting honor. It is the falling curtain which hides the horrors of the witchcraft delu- sion from view. ^ Sewall's Diary, i, 445. CHAPTER XIX. THE JUDGMENTS AND MERCIES OF INDIAN WARFARE. 1688-1713. The most we can hope to accomplish in connection with these years of war with the Indians is to set in their proper environment of circumstances the prom- inent fast and thanksgiving days. The trouble was in part a legacy of Sir Edmund Andros, whose expe- dition to the eastward in the spring of 1688 only incensed the savages to hostility, and he did not undo the damage by more conciliatory measures afterwards adopted. On the 27th of November, 1688, we find the Dor- chester church keeping a fast " for o'^ men y* are gone out to ware." Ill news had arrived at Boston August 19, of five English killed at Northfield, and on that account a fast was kept in the First Church August 23. In September similar reports came from the eastward, and soldiers were dispatched thither immediately, and word was sent to the governor at Albany. He returned home in October, and upon the failure of his peaceful policy, raised an army and went forth to war. A fast in Boston, November 22, probably relates to their departure.^ Dorchester and ^ They marched from Boston, Monday, November 12, and notice of a fast would have been given on the 18th for the f oUowmg Thursday. — Sewall's Diary J i. 235, 236. Cf. Church's Indian Wars, repr. 1867, ii. 55 n. INDIAN WARFARE. "2^11 other churches kept the same the week after. The campaigii was a failure. The soldiers, who had sur- vived terrible hardships, returned in the spring, and Andros soon surrendered the government. So ended the first series of fasts. The restored Governor Bradstreet took up the war- fare with vigor in 1689, to which he was moved by the massacre at Dover, N. H., the 27th of June. Cap- tain Benjamin Church, of fame in King Philip's war, was sunmioned to Boston on or before July 17, and that same week an order was sent out for a fast July 25, having this cause prominent : '' In regard of y® Indians plotting against us & doeiiig mischief in some pts Qf ye Cuntry killing & plundering." At Plymouth July 30 was kept. It was not, however, until Septem- ber that the expedition sailed from Boston, probably the 19th,i and on that day a public fast was observed therefor, the proclamation for wliich is extant in broad- side. It is only necessary to say that the expedition was a disappointment. Church was coolly treated on his return in January, notwithstanding his valiant service, and they had no victory to commemorate on the thanksgiving December 19. So ended the second fasting season. The month of February, 1689-90, found the people of Massachusetts agitated about the prevalence of the smaUpox and a descent of the French and Indians on Schenectady. These were the main causes in the pro- ^ Church's latest instructions were dated September 18, Wednes- day, and he arrived in sight of Casco harbor on a Friday afternoon, having had "a brave gale." This was probably the 20th, as he would not have waited a week under the circumstances. He is said to have arrived at Falmouth in the " latter part of September." — Wil- liamson's Hist. Maine^ i. 616. 272 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. clamation for a fast March 6, also extant in broadside. ^ The smallpox increased in virulence. An army under Sir William Pliips was sent out April 28, whose departure the Plymouth Colony had in mind in their fast April 30, and perhaps May 1 was a public fast therefor in Massachusetts. ^ Port Royal was taken; but the day after the news arrived, while a church fast was in progress at Charlestown, May 23, several members of the council present were called out of church, to hear the mournful story of the destruction of Casco. While another expedition was preparing, a public fast was ordered by the General Court for July 10,3 principally " in regard of y® troubls y* weer upon us and y® wars with French & Indians and y® sicknes y* weer amongst us as y® feavor & smallpox." The fleet sailed from Nantasket August 9, and again a public fast was appointed for August 28, the proclamation being drafted by Cotton Mather, and issued by the governor and council.^ Yet even as they were keeping the day, news came of the failure of their Indian allies, which, in the words of Sewall, " put a great damp " upon their spirits. Another force, under Church, was to threaten the eastern Indians, and New York and Connecticut were to move against Canada, but for various reasons all these cam- paigns were disastrous. Church returned to Boston, 1 MS. Proc. in State Arch. : Ecc, xi. 50. Bd. M. H. S. On that day Cotton Mather preached from Ezek. xx. 21, 22, " A Textwch. N. E. has more than once happily seen y® Fulfilment of." — MS. Sermon, Conn. Hist. Soc. '^ The only evidence we have found is the sermon notes of James Allen, of Boston, Har. Coll. Lib. ^ There is a draft of this proclamation by Cotton Mather, but another seems to have been adopted. State Arch. : Ecc, xi. 53, 54. * Ibid., xi. 57 ; Dor. chh. rec, p. 101. INDIAN WARFARE. 273 as it would seem October, ll,i where he received neither thanks nor money for his services. Upon reaching his home he gave the minister of the town a recital of what he considered his successes, and " desired him to Return Publick Thanks," but he was presently made aware that the court at Plymouth, October 7, had ordered " a day of Humiliation thro' the whole Government, because of the frowns of God upon those Forces sent imder his [my] Command, and the ill success they [we] had for want of good con- duct." The day was October 29.^ However, Church justified himself before the coui*t November 4, and a thanksgiving was appointed for November 26. Sir William Pliips reached Boston November 19, with boat-loads of sick soldiers and abundance of smallpox ; and he probably contributed something to the discus- sion already referred to, as to the fitness of a fast or a thanksgiving. So in the midst of a scourge — for the ceasing of which they did not give thanks until February 23, 1692-3 — they gave over more resist- ance against the Indians, and the third fasting season ended. The warfare was renewed in the summer of 1692, under the new government. Among other causes for the thanksgiving July 14, that year, the proclamation for which is extant in broadside, was that it had pleased God " to lay Restraints upon our Enemies, and signally to Disappoint and Defeat them in a late ^ He reached Boston on a Saturday, the Saturday before the con- vening of the Massachusetts Court, which we believe was October 15. Furthermore, the man who brought the evil report against him was " at home a week before him," and before the Plymouth Court met, October 7. 2 Ply. Col Bee, vii. 308 ; Church's King Philip's War, ii. 78 n. 274 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, Attack upon the Eastern Parts." This was the de- feat at Wells, on the 10th of June. Shortly after this thanksgiving, moved thereto by instructions from England, the governor made ready a force to build a fort at Pemaquid. They sailed about the 1st of Au- gust, and their absence was noted in the lecture fasts during that summer; but they accomplished little beside building the fort, and the governor reached home again September 29. The thanksgiving Febru- ary 23, 1692-3, mentioned as one cause " a present stop to the rage of the enemy." The early months of 1693 were uneventful, but early in June the English fleet arrived from the West Indies, with the yellow fever, and the drought of the previous season set in. Under such circumstances, Cotton Mather preached liis sermon, " The Day, and the Work of the Day," at a church fast July 6, and July 20 was also set throughout the province. One cause was the expedi- tion of Major Converse to the eastward and other In- dian troubles ; but in August a treaty was concluded. This hope of peace was dissipated by the attack on Groton, July 27, 1694. Then the war was nearer home, and more serious attention was directed toward reformation, which, it was thought, could alone divert it. Such is the setting of Samuel WiUard's fast ser- mon, at the Third Church in Boston, August 23, "Reformation the Great Duty of an Afflicted Peo- ple." And so the troubles continued through 1695 and 1696. It was the old story of surprises upon the newer settlements, and consequent humiliations. Thus October 24, 1695, was ordered on account of the cap- tives taken at Billerica and Newbury ; and July 23, 1696, for the massacres at York and Portsmouth. INDIAN WARFARE. 275 Then, like the solemn movement of some symphony, the sorrow was varied by the impending dread of famine, in which the war and the drought had con- spired. It was a fear common in all the colonies. For this, Massachusetts fasted July 23, 1696, — "to beg our daily bread and peaxie." Yet in the midst of their troubles they were turned to thanksgiving, be- cause of the discovery of the assassination plot against the king, the news of which came by way of New York, and by a messenger bearing a printed procla^ mation for the same in England, who left a trail of thanksgivings behind him. In Connecticut the day was June 17, and in Massachusetts and New Hamp- shire, June 18, The same was also mentioned in the autumn thanksgivings. So the mercies were mingled with their judgments. An end finally came to King William's war by the Treaty of Eyswick, signed in September, 1697, and though the news came too late to spare Lancaster, it promised a relief from what Cotton Mather has called the ten years of great ca- lamities.^ After five years of peace, hostilities between the colonists and the French and Indians were renewed August 10, 1703, to continue for another period of ten years. This result had been anticipated the year before, when Queen Anne came to the throne, and special fasts had been kept in Massachusetts October 22, 1702, and February 18, 1702-3, partly on ac- count of " impending war." Nevertheless they sought to avert it, the governor, Joseph Dudley, and others holding a conference with the Indians at Casco, June 20, 1703, for that purpose. They failed, and upon an 1 Decennium Luctuosum : Magnalia, ii. 580. 276 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, August morning the savages made an attack upon the eastern settlements from Casco to Wells, killing and taking captive more than one hundred persons. News reached Boston the next day, and the people fully realized what it meant. The frontier settlements would be broken up, and perilous expeditions must be sent out. We note that within a week Dorchester church and town were keeping a fast "to implore deliverance from their [our] French & Indian Enemys who have lately made a great Slaughter: & Taken many Captives at y® Eastward, & to beg Raine from Heaven," to which a memorandum is attached : " God sent a plentiful! Raine ; Item. Diverse of our Enemys have fallen into our hands, 8. 7°^ 1703." i And here we have an illustration of the manner of appointments at this time in New Hampshire, for the lieutenant-governor and council upon August 23 ordered a fast for September 1, and upon September 14 voted another for September 23, according to the command of Governor Dudley.^ It may seem that this was great frequency, but it was none too much so considering their danger on the frontier. They were a hardy people in prayer as well as fighting, — those New Hampshire men ; they committed their forces to the " good conduct of Heaven " on this occasion, that they might " be succeeded in taking just Revenges of the perfidious enemy," and offered a bounty of <£40 for scalps. Of Connecticut it may be said, in this connection, that her proclamations exhibit a sympathy with her ^ Dor. chh. rec, p. 104. 2 N. H. Col. Bec.^ ii. 404. At Dover, Aug-ust 19 had been turned into a public fast on account of the war. — John Pike's Journal, INDIAN WARFARE. 277 neighbors in affliction, but she was too far removed from the perils of war to respond as did the northern and eastern settlements. The people of Maine ob- served such days as Massachusetts ordered, or were a law unto themselves. So it happened that, excepting Connecticut, the Massachusetts order sometimes cov- ered the rest of New England, as Rhode Island kept only such as were commanded from England. Thanksgivings were kept as usual in the autumn, though there was no great cause for rejoicing at victo- ries ; but in the February following, while a force was abroad on snowshoes, and even as Massachusetts and New Hampshire were fasting for them, February 17, 1703-4, the Indians were preparing a severe stroke by stealing southward toward Deerfield, which they assaulted February 29. This aroused Massachusetts. Of the forty-seven who were killed, and the one hun- dred and twelve taken captive, many were their own kindred, and a profound impression was made upon the ministers by the taking of Rev. John WiUiams, the minister of Deerfield. Upon a Sunday morning, March 5, the sorrowful story was passed from one to another on the way to church, and SewaU says of the day in the Third Church : " Our Congregation was made a Bochim, Judges ii. 1—5." Ten days after this the General Assembly had a day of fasting on account of these calamities, and upon that occasion were preached two notable sermons which are in print. One was by Samuel Willard, entitled " Israel's True Safety," and the other by John Danforth, of Dorches- ter, entitled " The Vile Prophanations of Prosperity." To the latter print is appended " A Declaration Against Prophaneness & Immoralities," which was issued by 278 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. the assembly March 24 following, and was probably the result of that day's impressions. Both these sermons presented a sorrowful picture. Willard said : " When this whole People were called to Sanctify a Fast and lay themselves in the dust before God, so to implore his pity and succour, He hath seemed to Smoke against our Prayers, and hath answered us by terrible things in the late sad Catastrophe which befel one of our Frontier Places a few days after." He referred of course to the fast of February 17, and the assault on Deerfield. Danforth said: "The Clouds return after the Rain, in a new War which the Perfidious and Murderous Rebels the Salvages have commenced whilst we were yet Languishing under the Wounds of the former." Such were the sentiments of the day, and they were sorrowful enough. Connecticut had been startled, too, by the slaughter at Deerfield, to whose assistance volunteers from the river towns had hastened, and a special session of the assembly was convened, and a fast appointed for the 29th of March. This wave of excitement had hardly subsided ere another arose. Upon the 4th of May Governor Dud- ley issued his instructions to Colonel Benjamin Clmrch, about to start with an expedition eastward, and about the same time he ordered a day of prayer for its suc- cess, kept on the ISth.i Yet before the day arrived, indeed on the very day the proclamation was being read in the churches, the express brought news of the assault upon Pascomuck (Easthampton, Mass.). The effect can be imagined. It brought to mmd the ^ It was ordered April 27, three days after the first issue of the Boston News-Letter. The proclamation was printed in the third issue, and is the first ever printed in a New England newspaper. INDIAN WARFARE, 279 days of 1675. On that fast day, in some churches, the " Declaration Against Prophaneness " was read as a part of the service. The Connecticut Assembly was in session when this news reached them. Imme- diately they fell to discussing the need for reformation, and set June 14 for a fast. So the season passed, and there were some successes, at least in the failure of their enemies' expeditions against them, to chronicle in the autumn thanksgivings. The year 1705 was not eventful, though the war- fare continued along the frontiers. A special thanks- giving was kept in Massachusetts April 12, in which their "late exemptions from molestations of the en- emy" were noted, but the main cause was doubtless the narrow escape from shipwreck which the gov- ernor had upon a return voyage from Portsmouth.^ In the autumn, too, they had the unusual successes of her Majesty's forces in the war to commemorate, though only the annual thanksgiving was set until an order from England arrived, on which account they repeated the same in Massachusetts January 24, 1705-6, — a fair example of many such days both north and south in response to a royal suggestion. The Indian attacks of 1706 were more numerous and disastrous, extending along the frontier from Sud- bury to Kittery, but we know of no extraordinary fastings. That year, however, was notable for the return of captives ; and notwithstanding a controversy arising out of certain suspicions of duplicity in the matter, a sufficient number were redeemed to flavor the autumn thanksgivings. A larger number came ^ Hutchinson's Hist.^ ii. 148 ; Sewall's Diary ^ ii. 126, 128 ; Proc. in Boston News-Letter, No 48. 280 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. later, and among them Rev. John Williams and two of his sons, — a special answer, it was said, to public prayers in their behalf.^ The spring of 1707 opened with a court fast for direction in the expedition then contemplated against Port Royal. Sewall is rather more particular than usual as to the manner of that observance. The ser- vice began a little after ten o'clock, and continued until half past two. At least seven ministers were pres- ent, and several prayers were offered " with great Pertinency and Variety," which must have been, as some prayed that God would show them what to do as to the expedition, and others thanked Him for the news that eighteen Indians had lately been killed. We may imagine, the solemn mien of our judge as he set the 20th Psalm to his favorite York tune. We know of no sermon preached, and it is not said that it was distinctively a fast ; but it was observed as such custom- arily were, and even the after-part was not out of place, when they broke the fast and all retired to Home's to dine at the council's expense. The whole is a picture of a bygone age, for the authorities in Massachusetts have long since ceased to delight in such occasions. The expedition was decided on, and the spring fast April 16 in Massachusetts and New Hampshire took notice of the fact. It sailed May 13.2 B^^t after a skirmish or two, and within a month, the army reem- 1 Dor. chh. rec, p. 129. One daughter, Eunice, did not return. She married, lived, and died in Canada ; but she was for years the subject of special prayers, and upon the occasion of her visit to her relatives in 1741 was the principal cause of a fast day. See sermon, Solomon Williams, August 4, 1741. ^ Penhallow's Indian Wars is in error in saying March 13. Cf. Hutchinson's Ilist.^ ii. 165 ; SewalFs Biary^ ii. 185. INDIAN WARFARE. 281 barked for Casco. There was great dissatisfaction, increased by repeated surprises along the frontiers. On the day of the ill news, however, a rainbow was seen just at night, and therein they found comfort. Again the forces were sent forward, with a fast July 24 for a blessing. They had prayers enough, but no able general, and because the former woidd not answer alone they finally returned home in time for a hearty thanksgiving on being safely there. Of the year 1708 it need only be said the Indians kept up their warfare and the colonists offered what resistance they could. But in 1709 there was encour- agement from England of a final venture. Troops were raised, and the squadron from abroad was awaited. At last, in the autumn, word came that it had gone to Portugal, and that after the poor New England people had been fasting in church and state all the season long. The next year they had a drought and a plague of worms to pray over, for which the Boston churches fasted together May 4, and the province June 15. Finally the expedition arrived, for which they turned to thanksgivings August 10, — " the happy arrival of her Majesty's forces from Great Britain for our relief from the insult of ene- mies," including in the same their gratitude for rain. After waiting two months, the expedition sailed Sep- tember 18, with the usual humiliations to help it on, ten days thereafter. It was a success, and who can say that the people had not earned some encouragement ? That year they had a very cheerful thanksgiving. The year 1711 was one of continual public humilia- tions, first to implore divine favor upon the great expedition against Quebec, and afterwards to express 282 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. sorrow over its failure. The story is familiar. Gov- ernor Dudley sent forth an order for a fast in Massa- chusetts and New Hampshire to be on July 26, and the forces departed the 30th; but he also included the keeping of a monthly fast the last Thursday in each month during the expedition. August 30 was there- fore kept, but before September 27 came round ill news arrived, and this was put oif to October 11. A similar " wheel of prayer " was in motion in Connect- icut, beginning the 15th of August, and ending the 31st of October. This custom we have met with be- fore during King Philip's war, and as Belknap says of it in New Hampshire, " it was an imitation of the conduct of the long parliament during the civil wars." By the putting off of the fast to October 11, the peo- ple of Boston had additional occasion for humiliation on account of the great fire of the 2d instant, which destroyed the Old Meeting-House. This was par- ticularly regarded as a judgment upon an irreligious people, and the sermon which Increase Mather preached, " In which the Sins which Provoke the Lord to kindle Fires are Enquired into," was not at all an exceptional view. As might be expected, the failure of this expedition resulted in renewed hostilities along the frontier. But we can remark, as Hutchinson did, " I am I tired of relating these inroads of the enemy," and we might add the humiliations which accompanied them. By this time the people had become so accustomed to news of a doleful sort that it offered less and less cause for fasting. They were evidently disheartened, and perhaps a little skeptical. Yet here it was truly darkest just before dawn, for in October, 1712, the INDIAN WARFARE. 283 queen's proclamation of a cessation of arms arrived. Of course it should be mentioned in the thanksgiving at hand. In a week the council at Boston were at work " hammering out " a proclamation. The secre- tary drew it, and the rest of the company criticised it. One phrase in the original draft was this, " for the near view of a peace." His Excellency added the word " happy," but the judicious SewaU thought per- haps it would be better to find out what the conditions were before such a joyful christening. He was over- ruled. The point was too minute, and any kind of a peace was " happy " to the governor. Then there arose an amendment to the agricultural clause, " the plentiful harvest." The judge said " the Wheat and Rye were much blasted ; the Barly much diminished," and he was for introducing the word " later " before harvest. But it was decided not to be over-exact, and to thank the Lord even for the poor crop of early cereals.i We refer to this as illustrating the care which was then common in framing proclamations. They were not only not satisfied with mere generals, but also exact in the particulars ; and it is this which gives historical value to their proclamations. We have had in this period abundant evidence of the frequency of fasts. The practice had its enemies even at that day. These were mostly Episcopalians. In some instances they prevailed to prevent such days. On the 17th of December, 1713, the Boston churches had kept a fast on account of the scarcity of grain, prevailing sicknesses, and the setting in of a severe winter ; and two days thereafter the council were sit- ting round the fire in their chamber, and fell to eom- ^ Sewall's Diary ^ ii. 365. See, also, iii. 41. 284 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, menting on the neglect of the occasion by the Epis- copalians. General Nicholson, who was an attendant at King's Chapel, thought no fast should be kept without public authority, and complained because the shops had been closed on the fast. Of course trade had not been prohibited, but the people had come to observe such ecclesiastical fasts as sacredly as those proclaimed by the authorities. On this oc- casion, as they were met to discuss a proposed fast, the objector himself courteously moved for it to be January 14, 1713-14. Still all the Church of England people were tired of such constant humiliations, and they had surely good reasons for being so. During these years of war they had been compelled to observe them by the dozen ; and though it may seem to the reader that there was a sameness in them, each day had its own fresh cause and complaint. It is only by following them in detail, as we have done, that a true conception can be had of the custom as the fathers honored and practiced it. CHAPTER XX. THE TERROR OF THE LORD. 1727-1755. The great earthquake of October 29, 1727, pro- duced a profound impression upon the people of New " England. In itself it can hardly be called a calamity, for there were no lives lost, and no property was de- stroyed, excepting as a few rods of toppling stone wall were thrown down, the loosened bricks shaken . from the chimneys, and some springs of water dried up. The consequent excitement was not due wholly to the fact of an earthquake, for they had their tradi- tions of others that had been experienced; but rather I to the use that was made of it by the ministers as a \ threatened judgment upon a backslidden people. As I such, it furnishes the most remarkable study of the/ century preceding the American Revolution. It had, indeed, been a long time since the land had been visited with any phenomenon worthy of being called an earthquake. There had been slight trem- bhngs of the earth within the memory of many then living, but those who recalled that of January 26 and February 5, 1662-3, must have been few.^ Dur- ^ Authorities notice the following earthquakes in New England be- fore 1815: June 1, 1638; January 14, 1639; March 5, 1643; Octo- ber 29, 1653 ; 1658 ; January 31, 1660 ; January 26, and February 5, 1662-3 ; October 5, 1665 ; December 3, 1666 ; April 3, and Decem- ber 9, 1668 ; 1669 ; February 8, 1685 ; June 16 and 22, 1705 ; October 286 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. ing this interval, however, they had been repeatedly startled by news of convulsions in other lands, similar to that of 1687 at Lima, in which it was reported that " above 60,000 persons perished, leaving a pool of water where the city stood." They did not know but that such might be the fate of some in New England. Nor was theirs an age of science. The prevaihng ignorance concerning earthquakes, and a superstitious regard for supernatural agencies, left the people in a most impressible state of feeling. They were many centuries nearer the catastrophe which overtook the rebellious Korahites. The preaching, too, had been enforced by prophecies of a judgment if they did not reform. So fully were the ministers committed to a belief in the divine warning of calami- ties, that one may wonder what they would have done for arguments without an occasional drought, or tem- pest, or scourge. Ah ! it was all very real to the honest and reverent men of those days, more so, per- haps, than at any time since. Looking, then, through their eyes, we can comprehend the widespread religious interest which resulted from what their foremost di- vine called " the terror of the Lord." The 29th of October, 1727, was a Sabbath day, — the old and honored New England Sabbath, when the people universally attended church throughout many hours of the day, read their Bibles in the solemn still- ness of the twilight, and catechised the children with scrupulous care. As they went to their rest, it was with more than ordinary religious temper of mind. 29, 1727; April 12, 1730; September 5, 1732 ; February 6, 1737; June 3 and 20, 1744 ; November 18, 1755 ; July 8, 1757 ; March 12, 1761 ; November 29, 1780; March 1, 1800; April 5, 1805; November 9, 1810; November 28, 1814. THE TERROR OF THE LORD. 287 There was nothing in the air that night which por- tended evil, for it was cahn and still. Some few were abroad, but the most were asleep. It was about forty minutes past ten o'clock, — for authorities differ, as doubtless their clocks gave reason, — when the sleepers were awakened by a rumbling noise, which continued for half a minute, ever drawing nearer ; and then the earth began to tremble and heave upwards, the shock reaching its height in about a minute and then subsiding. It is worth while to give, in their own words, some of the descriptions which reflect the recitals of fast-day sermons. Cotton Mather says : " About a quarter of an Hour before eleven, there was heard in Boston from one end of the Town to the other, an horrid rumbling like the Noise .of many Coaches together driving on the paved Stones with the utmost Rapidity. But it was attended with a most awful Trembling of the Earth, which did heave and shake so as to Rocque the Houses." Thomas Prince gives this account : "It came on with a loud hollow Noise like the Roaring of a Great fired Chim- ney, but incomparably more fierce and terrible. In about half a minute the Earth began to heave and tremble. . . . The Noise & Shakes seem'd to come from the Northwestward and to go off Southeasterly, and so the Houses seemed to reel." Paul Dudley, in the description which he sent to England,^ adopted Cotton Mather's simile, and added that " one compared it to the shooting out of a load of stones from a cart under his window." He hin^self, being perfectly awake, " thought at first the servants who lodged in a garret over his chamber \vere dragging along a trun- ^ Philosophical Trans, of the ^oyal Soc. of London, viii. 22. 288 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. die bed," yet he also says there is no describing the noise. His house, which was large and well built, " seemed to be pressed up together as if a hundred screws had been at work to tlu'ow it down." All wit- nesses agree that the motion was upward, and more than a dozen printed sermons support the impressions of the terrible noise which accompanied it. The re- port that "a flash of Light was observed at the Windows and a Blaze was seen to run along on the ground " before the shock, which is mentioned by Mather, Prince, Foxcroft, and others, seems to have originated at Hampton, N. H., and with Nathaniel Gookin. Perhaps tliis was imagination, like the smell of sulphur . that pervaded the house of a certain min- ister. Before any of these sermons were printed, and before some of them had been preached, letters had carried the stories abroad, as the supplementary notes testify, and then as now a story loses nothing by repetition. The effects of the shock, as they were reported from distant sections, were very remarkable. At Guilford, Conn., " it tolled a bell ; " at New Lon- don " a house was rock'd and remain'd leaning about two feet over ; " at Casco and Marblehead there was an agitation of the waters which made the ships sheer and quiver, and it seemed as if they had run aground ; at Newbury one said " there was a fissure of the earth and near twenty cart loads of fine sand thrown out where the ground brake and water boiled out like a spring and mixing with the sand made a sort of a quag- mire ; " at Boston the water in a well thirty-six feet deep " turned wheyish and stank ; " at New York ves- sels were shaken from the shelves, and clocks were put in disorder. Animals were affrighted ; the dogs THE TERROR OF THE LORD. 289 barked and howled ; a horse quivered with fear under his rider, and the beasts in the fields ran excitedly to and fro. Such stories were circulated, many of them true, but some exaggerated or false. However, as they were believed at the time, the fear can be ima- gined which extended from Kennebec to Philadelphia. The subsequent events at Boston furnish an illus- tration. At the first shock, the awakened sleepers ran into the streets for safety, and gathered in terror- stricken groups, not knowing but their end had come. Some verily thought the last trump had sounded for the judgment. Nor was the excitement allayed after this shock was ov^r, for four or five times before day- light the earth trembled. In fact, these disturbances continued for several weeks, being felt thirty times during the next ten days, and only ceased after a shock nearly as great on the 30th of January follow- ing.^ This continuance of the earthquake had a sol- emnizing influence upon the minds of the people, and wa§_used with great effect by the ministers in their sermons, as though God were holding the people over the bottomless pit awaiting their reformation. When the day at Boston dawned, the streets were thronged, and every one had some experience to relate. The ministers were ready to utihze the occasion. For years they had thundered in the deaf ears of New England. Was the time at hand when God's right- 1 Shocks were felt November 11, 12, 14, 19, December 6, 7, 8, 12. "On Tuesday, the 30th [Jan.] near two a clock P. m. we had here in Boston the ^eatest shock that has been observ'd since the night after Octob. 29. It made the houses shake and the moveables jarr. It was perceived mostly by those within doors and many ran out into the streets in great consternation.' ' — Boston News-Letter^ February 1, 1728. f i/ 290 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. eous judgments would be visited upon them ? Cotton Mather was the first to move. About ten o'clock in the forenoon, at his direction, the bell of the Old North Church was rung to summon the people to " some seasonable exercises of religion." His church had the largest capacity of any in Boston, and it was quickly packed to its utmost. Other ministers came. No audience had been seen for many a year so solemn and devout. One after another the ministers were heard in prayer, and they were sincere outpourings of a repentant spirit, moving the worshipers to tears. A less thoughtful people would have made it a service of thanksgiving for their deliveram^e ; but they had heard again and again warnings against Sabbath- breaking, profanity, drunkenness, and all unrighteous- ness, and these had passed unheeded. The public conscience had been aroused, and by the terrors of a single night. Repentance was the cry. It came time for the sermon. No minister of the day was equal to Cotton Mather in the dramatic recital of New Eng- land's misdeeds ; and after the prayers it was his voice that was heard in the awful stiUness. His text was Micah vi. 9, " The Lord's voice crieth unto the city," etc. It was a discourse calculated to deepen and in- crease their fears. The earthquake was verily the voice of God. " The Glorious God has Roared out of Zion," he said ; " we have the last night heard the terrible Roaring," — a favorite figure, found in more than one earthquake sermon. There may be more to come ; God is awaiting an answer to his sum- mons. Such was the tone of the discourse. Then he went on to detail the sins of the time in a most affect- We shall see what advantage he took of THE TERROR OF THE LORD. 291 his opportunity, by his words to such as had been guilty of sleeping during divine service. '' I see none Asleep at this Time. 'T is a Congregation of Hearers that I am at this Time Speaking to. This very Cir- cumstance awakens a Thought in me. That sleeping in the Assemblies of Zion, when it is indulged and not a mere Involuntary surprisal upon Infirmity, His lit- terhj a Fault and offers an affront to Heaven. But it is a very Epidemical Miscarriage in the Countrey. Now, Syrs, you have an Earthquake to give you a push like that of the Goads given of old by the Mas- ters of the Assemblies, for the Awakening of the Drowsy Sleepers there. An earthquake is crying in your Ears, What meanest thou, O sleeper in the House of God ? Oh, No more sleeping in this dreadful place ! It may soon be made so."^ In conclusion, he said somewhat about the judgment and the end of the world, possibly closing the service with the forty-sixth Psalm, which he puts at the end of his printed ser- mon. This service lasted until two o'clock. Lieutenant- Governor Dummer was doubtless himself present, and recommended further services at the Old Church at five o'clock. Such were held, but so many came that another audience was gathered in the South Church. These continued until eight o'clock. Vast congrega- tions were present in both churches, and the minis- ters, Thomas Foxcroft and Joseph Sewall, preached, the latter from Psalm iv. 4, " Stand in awe, and sin not," which sermon is in print. It is obvious that this 30th of October was practi- cally an unannounced fast day of the most solemn 1 The Terror of the Lcrrd, etc., 2<i ed. p. 16. 292 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. character. Elsewhere, as in Haverhill, it was also observed. But if so, it was only the beginning. As on previous occasions, at the motion of the lieutenant- governor, the Thursday lecture, November 2, was turned into a special fast day, not only by the churches in Boston, but in Charlestown, Marblehead, and Brad- ford. The Wednesday had been observed at Brook- line, Haverhill, and Ipswich, and Friday was the day at Cambridge, Roxbury, Newton, Andover, and Wey- mouth. November 7 was kept at Dorchester, the 16th at Hampton, Rye, and other New Hampshire towns, possibly by public authority. It so happened that the 2d of November had been appointed thanks- giving day. in Connecticut, and the 9th in Massa- chusetts. Under the circumstances, these were more like fast days. A proclamation was shortly issued in Massachusetts for a public fast December 21. Upon all these days, sermons suitable to this event were delivered, as well as some others on the Sundays of November. On the 23d, Thomas Foxcroft preached before the assembly on the theme, " The Voice of the Lord from the Deep Places of the Earth." Cotton Mather soon issued his book entitled " Boanerges," designed to strengthen the good impressions produced, and William Cooper printed a sermon with the same purpose. So, for several months, amid a deepening religious feeling, with their fears repeatedly awakened by tremors of earthquake, the people listened to the solemn teachings of their ministers. They were threat- ened with the fate of the Korahites, and some seem verily to have anticipated the end of the world. Cot- ton Mather plainly said, " The smell of sulpher, which is affirmed by many to have been plain imto them, THE TERROR OF THE LORD. 293 adds to a Fearful expectation of a Fiery Indignation in Gods Time and way to be proceeded in." Many eyes were turned toward Boston, as the metropolis, in expectation that, if they were to be swallowed up, the visitation would begin thereabouts. A few lines from an extravagant poem^ which was printed at New Lon- don, exhibits by multiplied exclamations this linger- ing dread : ^ — ** where dwells safety on this crazy Globe ! Should this (which Heav'n avert) be the dire Fate Of these fair Fields ! this fair Metropolis Blooming and Gay ! Should this fair City Sink ! These beauteous Streets, which now, even now we feel Trembling beneath us ! These Ascending Spires ! These beauteous Mansions, Gardens, pleasant Walks, Where springs Delight ! And who live happy here, Age, Infancy, and where fresh blooming Youth Hop'd many a happy Day ; Should all Sink down, Should all be Plung'd deep in the vast Abyss Eternally Absorpt from Mortal sight ! Amazement fills the Tho't ! " Surely such a catastrophe, which appears already to have overtaken the poet's lines, was sufficient to arouse the fears of aU New England. After the earthquake, it occurred to several divines whose sermons were printed that the season past had been full of warnings. Had not the spring been char- acterized by " a gTievous and threatening cold," with sickness abroad? Had not the heat been excessive during the summer months, especially from July 28 to August 7, the like scarcely known before, and some parts of the harvest cut short thereby? Had there not been a remarkable storm of thunder and 1 Some Rude Sf Indigested Thoughts on the Majesty of God In the \ Works of Nature : Occasioned by that Earthquake Octob. 29th, 1727. ] New London, 1730, 16°, pp. (2) 12. Prince Lib., and Conn. Hist. Soc. 294 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. lightning the night of the 1st of August ? Had not a tempest of wind arisen September 16, and laid waste many fields, uprooting even the trees of the forest? These had been the premonitory frowns of God upon them. The eJBEect was remarkable. Churches every- where were at least outwardly aroused. Meeting- houses were thronged. Family worship was set up in many households. "Ill customs were broken off." Eev. William Williams testifies that for several months following he was " busied in conferences with considerable numbers who visited him [me] on the in- tention of joyning to the Church, and of young people desiring to own the covenant." Prince says that many were added to the churches everywhere, from twenty to forty on a single Sabbath, and one church received above one hundred and fifty in three weeks. This latter was probably the church in Haverhill, where, as we learn from a letter in the appendix to John Cotton's sermon, the minister was employed night and day in discoursing with those who came to him on religious matters. The extant church records show large addi- tions at this time. But there was another side to be seen later on, which Hutchinson puts thus : " As the fears of another earthquake went off, the religious im- pressions went with them, and they who had been the subjects of both returned to their former course of life." ^ A similar opinion is given in Prince's " Chris- tian History " and elsewhere, as that of Sewall, Prince, Webb, and Cooper, ^ and it was urged by some against the revivals of Edwards's time. Many doubtless came 1 Hutchinson's Hist, ii. 326, 327. # 2 Prince's Christian Hist.y i. 114 ; Edwards's Narrative^ Preface to 3ded. THE TERROR OF THE LORD, 295 into the churches who were not so much the subjects of fear at the earthquake, as of the truth preached afterwards, some of whom had long before come into the Christian estate. But whatever view may be en- tertained as to the quality of the results, the impartial student must surely regard this as one of the most remarkable awakenings in New England history, both as respects its cause and character. It was, moreover, the last rekindling of the reforma- tion movement which began more than fifty years be- fore. Again and again the churches had sought by a course of vigorous legislation to reform the people, and they had failed. It was not so to be done. The sins of the tune, which are the sins of aU times, were de- nounced by the ministers. Renewal of covenant was again made a practice, sometimes in the very form of 1679 ; and though there may have been a temporary moral upUft in society, in a short time the flood fell to that level which the character of the people could sustain. The great earthquake of November 18, 1755, to which we now turn, did not resemble this former one in its impressions or results. There had been lesser shocks June 3 and 20, 1744 ; and fasts had been called forth,^ but the effect was temporary. In 1755 there were changed conditions. There had been no such preparatory forces as in 1727. The people were engaged in a war which diverted their minds from religious matters. Besides, the body of the people remembered the former occasion, and their natural fears had been allayed both by education and experi- ence. Many of the divines of the older school had ^ Jane 28, in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 296 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. passed away, a noble company of men, — Cotton Mather, Benjamin Colman, William Cooper, and others. The thought of the people had been progressive, and the great revivals had wrought a change in their religious life. They knew more about earthquakes. ' Professor John Winthrop was teaching science in Harvard College. So they were not circumstanced to receive the impressions of 1727. In some respects also the customs as respects fast and thanksgiving days had changed. The annual days had become institutional, and the special appointment was not so common. It demanded more extraordinary reason. Church days were stiU observed, but for the most part they had laid aside public occurrences. The civil authorities were expected to appoint a day if it was warranted. Therefore there were not such opportunities at hand for kindling a general religious enthusiasm at short notice, and before the public authorities could act the interest had somewhat abated. The earthquake of 1755 was more severe than that of 1727, but the shock was not repeated at intervals. It was soon over, and the fright was not prolonged. It came at quarter after four o'clock in the morning of November 18. Few were awake at that hour, but the shaking was sufficient to rouse every one. AU were terror-stricken. Some shrieked, and others cried for mercy. In a sermon preached at East Hartford, Conn., on the Sunday following, Rev. Eliphalet Wil- liams gives this description of it : "I doubt not . . . it was a startling Surprizal to the most of you, to be Awak'd out of your Sleep in the dead, and silence of Night with the mighty Noise, the strong paroxysm and agitation of the Globe : your Houses rocking, and THE TERROR OF THE LORD. 297 cracking over your Heads, your Beds trembling under you, and the Earth staggering, and reeling to and fro like a drunken man and seeming to threaten to Dis- close and Ingulph you in one general Ruin." A more accurate account of the shock and its effects is fomid in Professor John Winthrop's lecture on the event, delivered the week following.^ The damage done to walls, chimneys, and articles of ware was considera- ble. All are agreed that it was an awful night. The next day, at eleven o'clock, a service was held at the South Church in Boston, and the pastor, Rev. Joseph Sewall, preached from the thirty-sixth verse of the thii-teenth chapter of Mark, '^ Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping." As on the former occasion, too, the Thursday lecture was turned into a fast. Doubtless the same character was given to the lectures elsewhere, and the following Sunday it was the theme of discourses.2 Yet it is noticeable that the excite- ment had even then subsided, notwithstanding a slight tremor the night before. It was the 8th of January before Massachusetts had a public fast, and then not exclusively on account of the earthquake. Besides a mention in the spring fasts, this seems to have been the extent of the humiliation. Of course the same solemn warnings were uttered by the ministers, but mingled with reflections of a more cheering character. Thomas Prince, whose sermon on earthquakes was ^ Winthrop's Lecture on Earthquakes ; Babson's Hist, of Gloucester^ p. 346. " It is thought the shock was greater than in 1727. The earth moved like the waves of the sea. The creatures irrational as well as rational were terribly frightened." — Rev. Israel Loring's Diary ^ MS. Notes, Conn. Hist. Soc. "^ We have met with sermons preached Sunday, November -2.3, by the following: Mather Byles, James Cogswell, Jonathan Mayhew, Eliphalet Williams, besides several other lectures and Sunday sermons. 298 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. then reprinted, and who also issued " An Improvement of the Doctrine of Earthquakes," charged Professor Winthrop with " diverting the minds of the people by his physical explanation." ^ Doubtless this was true ; but the intimation in his answer was just ; the divine had himself taken a more scientific view of the sub- ject than before. Progress, like a wave, bears men onward unconsciously to themselves. The day was passed when the people would fear an earthquake, as " the terror of the Lord," and stand in expectation of being swallowed up in a yawning abyss. 1 See Prince's Sermon and Improvement, etc. ; Letter in reply to Winthrop on Earthquakes : Boston Gazette, January 26, 1756. CHAPTER XXI. THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 1744-1749. 1755-1760. The conquest of Canada had come to be recognized, at the time of which we write, as essential to the con- tinued peace of New England. It was the conclusion forced upon them by the Indian wars. We come now to consider the special fasts and thanksgivings of two other wars, which, if measured by the actual hostilities in New England, were of five years each, namely, " King George's war," or " Governor Shir- ley's war," 1744 to 1749, and the " Old French war," or "French and Indian war," 1755 to 1760. The first of these was declared in March, 1744, and the attack was made on the English post at Canso on the 13th of May. When this news reached Boston, inunediate preparations were made to send reinforce- ments to Annapolis Royal. Thereupon Governor Shirley issued a proclamation for a fast to be June 28, four days before the force sailed from Boston. The same day was kept in New Hampshire. In Connecti- cut the 15th of August was a public fast, " on account of the war," though we know of no copy of the procla- mation, and the Wadsworth manuscript diary is the only evidence of the fact. An additional cause for humiliation was found in the earthquake, which was on the 3d of June, the day after the war was declared 800 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. in Boston ; and, strange to relate, the opening year of the second war was also remarkable in the same way. During the summer efforts were made to secure the neutrality of the Indians, but these hopes, which were noted in the thanksgivings of the autumn, proved to be delusive. However, they had special cause for gratitude in the exceptional harvest of that season, upon which ministers afterwards dilated as God's pro- vision for the war. If it was so, it did not hold out. Success attended the reinforcements, and this contrib- uted to the expressions of thanksgiving. The winter following witnessed the preparations for the expedition against Louisburg, which had been proposed by Governor Shirley. It was a daring ven- ture, and was at first received with astonishment, but finally adopted. Aid was promised from the other colonies, which of course extended the interest in fast- ing and prayer. Massachusetts set apart February 28, 1744-5, and upon that occasion Samuel Checkley preached his sermon on " Prayer a Duty when God's people go forth to War." There had not been for many years such earnestness as was displayed that winter. " Who can bring us into the def enced City ? " was the preacher's cry. " Who can lead us into the strong castle ? Canst not thou, O Lord ? ... In thy name would we set up our banners." Thomas Prince, in his valuable thanksgiving sermon upon this expedition, preached July 18, 1745, gives us further information as to the earnestness of their supplications. " Those who were venturing into the danger," he says, " seem'd to be f idlest of trust in God and courage. Many fill'd their vessels with Prayers, and asking ours, they threw themselves into the divine protection, in the name THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 301 of God they set up their banner, and away they sail'd. Pray for us, and we '11 fight for you, was the valiant and endearing language wherewith they left us." He also says : " It gave further ground of hope, to see such a spirit of supplication given to many in this town and land on this occasion. For, besides the solemn days of publick and general prayer appointed by these three governments, there were particular days observed in several congregations. There were also, in divers towns, religious societies, some of women as well as others of men, who met every week more pri- vately to pray for the preservation and success of their dear countrymen, and I have been well informed of their extraordinary fervency, faith and wresthngs, . . . that God should preserve, direct and spirit our friends, and surprise and terrify our enemies, and make them yield without much blood-shed, and in such a manner as the work and glory might appear to be his alone." ^ It will be remembered that this was during the Whit- fieldian interest, and the prayer circles referred to were then common. Public fasts are mentioned as kept in three governments. These were Massachu- setts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. Besides the one of February 28, we know of none in Massachu- setts until the spring fast of April 4. We have no dates of such in New Hampshire, but they may have been the same. In Connecticut, the General Assem- bly of March resolved that "instead of the tenth day in April, mentioned in the proclamation for a Fast, be inserted the 3d day of April, and also that the last Wednesday of April next be kept as a day of ^ Eoctraordinary Events the Doings of God, p. 23 ; see, also, Dr. Chauncy's thanksgiving" sennon. 302 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. fasting and prayer to implore the blessing of Almighty God on the expedition against Cape Breton &c and that his Honour the Governor issue out proclamation accordingly." These two days were observed.^ The spring proclamation in Massachusetts was issued March 25, the day after the forces departed, — " which forces are now, thro' the Favour of Divine Providence, em- barked and have taken their Departure from this Place." A lecture fast was also kept May 2, on which day, it was afterwards remarked, " the grand Battery at Cape Breton was delivered up." ^ After a time of anxious waiting, the good news of the fall of Louisburg arrived in the early morning of July 3. Great were the rejoicings. Crowds thronged the streets, and the joy increased through the day. In the evening there was a general illumination of bonfires and fireworks, A public thanksgiving was in order, which in Massa- chusetts was July 18, and in Connecticut July 25. The news was received by the General Assembly of New Hampshire, then in session, on the 5th of July, and thereupon they appropriated " twenty-five pounds to make publick entertainments in y® town of Portsm® & at his Majesty's Fort Will"^ & Mary." Doubtless also a special thanksgiving was ordered. Of Thomas Prince's sermon July 18, which went through eight editions, we have already spoken. It is the most val- uable historical discourse on the war, of which he gives a history, not forgetting to recite the remarkable provi- dences of God which set the divine approval upon it. ^ Conn. Col. Bee, ix. 99. Rev. Daniel Wadsworth, of Hartford, preached April 3 from Deut. xxiii. 9, and April 24 from Eecles. ix. 18 (MS. Sermons, Conn. Hist. Soc). 2 John PhiUips's MS. Diary : Hist, of Old South Church, Hill, i. 565 n. THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 303 Charles Chauncy, minister o£ the First Church in Boston, and Thomas Prentice, of Charlestown, also delivered historical sermons on that day, which are in print. Only one thanksgiving sermon of Connecticut is known to have been printed, that of Jared Eliot, of Clinton, of rarity and interest, though that of Daniel Wadsworth, minister of the First Church in Hartford, survives in manuscript, bemg from 1 Sam. vii. 12.^ The ministers everywhere manifested great interest in this expedition. One of their nimiber, Samuel Moody, who accompanied the troops, is said to have cut down the papal images with his own hands, and preached a thanksgiving sermon in th^ir sanctuary. They esteemed it as a war against Antichrist, and doubtless had greater hopes of it than were warranted. The expedition was successfully carried out, too, not- withstanding the failure to keep it a secret.^ All the glory of this venture was afterwards appropriated by England, and Louisburg was restored to the French. On the 23d of August, 1745, war was declared against the eastern Indians. In the absence of Shir- ley, the lieutenant-governor, Spencer Phips, issued a proclamation for a fast to be September 19. The pre- amble thus states the situation : " Notwithstanding the Methods used by this Government to retain the Indian ^ In his sermon that day Daniel Wadsworth says : " To our last ad- vices of all ye men y* went from this Colony there were but three dead, and they fell not by ye hand of ye enemy but died of sickness, and that of those y* went from this town not one had died." — MS. Ser., Conn. Hist. Soc. 2 See Prince's sermon July 18, page 21. The assembly attempted to keep it secret until all the plans were perfected, but it was betrayed by a man who asked divine guidance in prayer. Jared Eliot says in his sermon, " I believe that before this the French at Canada and Cape Breton know all the affair as well as we." 304 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Tribes inhabiting the Eastern Parts of this Province, . . . they have at length perpetrated cruel Murthers and other Outrages upon the most innocent People inhabiting our Frontiers ; and other Murthers have been also committed by some of the Western Tribes of Indians on the Inhabitants of the inland Parts of this Province, which Cruelties and Violations of Treaty have constrained this Government to declare war against the said Indians." ^ The service the people were urged to on this occasion was calculated to try their faith. It was to " pray for the withdrawing of the affections of the Indians from the French." The day before it, they had additional reasons to be dis- couraged in such a request, but the fathers never recognized anything as impossible. Public attention was next diverted to affairs in Eng- land. The thanksgiving proclamation in Massachu- setts December 5, 1745, mentioned the return of the king to England in time to repress a rebellion by enemies of the crown. The rebel was Prince Charles, known as the Pretender, and the affair was specially interesting to the New Englanders because it was an attempt in behalf of popery. In the spring fasts of 1746 in all the colonies this was prominent. Indeed, there was a fast in Virginia February 26, 1745-6, on this account, and later on a thanksgiving in Pennsylva- nia July 24, 1746. Massachusetts observed the 14th of August for the victory, and thereon Thomas Prince delivered a discourse reviewing the affair, and show- ing what a marked deliverance had been wrought in behalf of the Protestant religion. ^ For an account of these atrocities, see Drake's French and Indian War, pp. 77-84. THE CONQUEST OF CANADA, 305 The Slimmer of 1746 passed thus amid alternate hopes and fears. In the month of September rumors were abroad of a French fleet hovering off the coast, designed against Boston. It was soon ascertained that ships had been seen to the eastward, and a ver- itable armada, under the Duke d'Anville, was expected at any time. The New England metropolis was in consternation. Troops were hastily mustered for defense. A public fast was set for October 16, and their fears were wrought into its services. Doubtless they would have been realized, too, to the fullest extent, had it not been for a tempest similar to that which had destroyed the Spanish Armada. Who will say that this was not truly a divine deliverance? So Thomas Prince thought, and on the thanksgiving November 27, 1746, he had an opportunity to detail it, as he did in liis printed sermon, " The Salvations of God in 1746." That fleet he sets forth as the object of divine ven- geance. The facts were, that it suffered delays, a fever wasted the troops until thousands were buried in the deep, the treacherous shoals engulfed them, their commander died of poison, his successor fell on his sword, the rumor of an English fleet frightened them, and at last a furious storm of wind, rain, and hail arose and scattered them as the chaff. The preacher makes much of the remarkable coincidence that it was on the day of their fast that the glorious God " put a total end to their mischievous enterprise." " Thus when on our solemn Day of General Prayer* we expressly cried to the Lord, ' Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered, . . . ' then his own Arm brought Salvation to us and his Fury upheld him. He trode down our Enemies in his Anger, he made 306 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. them drunk in his Fury, and he brought down their Strength to the Earth. Terrors took hold on them as Waters : A Tempest bore them away in the Night : The East Wind carried them away, and they departed ; and with a Storm he hurled them out of their Place." We are not aware that any special fasts were set in 1747, until those of January, 1747-8, though the spring fasts were mournful enough and the autumn thanksgivings less joyful than usual on account of the continued depredations of the savages. The 28th of January was a Massachusetts fast, partly on account of the war, but principally for the burning of their Court House on the 9th of December, several sermons upon which are in print.^ So the trouble went on until the summer of 1749 ; and though the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle had been signed six months before, peace was not proclaimed in Boston until the 10 th of May. The special days of those years of course men- tioned the war, but it was overshadowed by the drought then upon them. The treaty of peace was iii fact hardly more than an armistice for six years. None of the disputed ques- tions had been settled, and the American colonies could not rest until Canada was conquered. And here begins the story of the "French and Indian war," with hostilities in the Ohio valley in 1754, but more particularly, as respects New England, with the operations determined upon by the council of colonial governors at Alexandria in the spring of 1755. At this time the French commanded the territory from the eastern provinces westward along the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, and southward in the Ohio and 1 See BibUography, Nos. 107, 108, and 109. . THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 307 Mississippi valleys to the Gulf. To break the guerdon four expeditions were planned: General Braddock was to go against Fort Duquesne ; Governor Shirley against the French post at Niagara ; General Johnson against Crown Point ; and Colonel Monckton to the eastward against Nova Scotia. In all except the first New England troops had a part, and so the people were affected by their successes or failures. Such spring fasts of 1755 as have been recovered indicate that the colonists were sensible of the gravity of the undertaking ; but New England was stupefied and discouraged. They were burdened with debt. Some were not favorable to the enterprise, having little con- fidence in the leaders, and thinking it better to await the more vigorous exertions of England for their pro- tection. The ministers saw the storm gathering, and, though mourning over the sins which they feared had summoned the divine punishment, they preached and prayed with imusual vigor. The customary fasts were proclaimed. In Massachusetts they were pray- ing July 3 for the " divers expeditions projected and now in prosecution for the removal of the encroach- ments" of the French. The General Assembly of Connecticut in May desired the governor to order a fast, because '' a considerable body of troops are raised and raising . . . and are gone and going forth for the defence of his Majesty's just rights and dominions." The day was July 9. There was a fast in New York in August, and in Rhode Island some churches fasted, as that at Westerly August 27, especially for the Crown Point expedition in which some of them had relations. To the departing troops, then and at intervals thereafter, sermons of encouragement and 308 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. cheer were preached, many of which are in print. But in the very midst of such expectations, the news came of Braddock's overwhehning defeat. In Massa- chusetts, at least, there was a public fast on the 28th of August, in humiliation over this " awful rebuke of the Divine Providence." Still they had hopes for the Crown Point expedition near the point of execu- tion. The engagement was upon the 11th of Septem- ber, and the news of the defeat of the French under Baron Dieskau was received in time to temper the autumn thanksgivings, though it yielded no permanent results. In 1756 the sword was unsheathed in Europe, and to this the colonies' owed a more vigorous prosecution of the wars in America, by which they were eventually to reap lasting benefits. Great plans were made to further the expeditions of the previous year, but it was difficult to raise troops, and money was scarce. So after all, nothing was done. It was a very trying year to the people on account of this uncertainty and delay. A reference to the Calendar will show that there was unusual fasting. In Massachusetts, Janu- ary 8 was for the earthquake and the war, and be- sides the spring fast April 29, they kept July 22. New Hampshire also kept the latter date. Connecti- cut had two extra fasts, July 7 and October 7 ; Rhode Island, too, for the first time kept them company on May 20. New York and Pennsylvania each had one in May. Fasts seem to have come into fashion gen- erally. The year following, these were ^-epeated, but nothing special transpired. With the year 1758, however, and the coming of William Pitt into power in England, their hopes rose, THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 309 and the tide of disaster, which had been against them, turned. In the month of June the English fleet an- chored off Louisburg, the object of their first assault. They had a strong force, and, what had hitherto been lacking, competent officers, — Admiral Boscawen and Generals Amherst and Wolfe. The exploits that fol- lowed are famous in history. On the 26th of July the fortress surrendered, and upon the receipt of the news, a special thanksgiving was kept in Massachu- setts September 14. But the colonists had learned to be moderate. in their rejoicings, fearing a disappoint- ment, and they doubtless reflected that once before, at great expense and sacrifice, they had taken that same fortress, only to see it restored. In the Massachu- setts proclamation, the governor, while recognizing the "great and signal success to such of His Ma- jesty's Forces as have been employ 'd for the Reduction of the Island of Cape Breton," yet recommended prayer for the " momentous affairs of the War that are still depending." The rejoicing over this victory was great in England, where there were demonstrations and a public thanksgiving. A recent writer upon this event says of New England, " The joy and delight of the English colonists knew no bounds, finding vent largely in numberless thanksgiving services and prayer as- semblies, the records of which have come down to us in innumerable editions of their most popular preachers' addresses, which were ordered to be printed at the public expense." ^ This is surely a most extravagant statement. The rejoicing was nowhere so exuberant. We find no thanksgiving sermon that was printed at the public expense ; the thanksgivings were not " in- 1 Hart's Fall of New France, p. 86. 310 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. numerable," and those sermons which were preached have not been printed. The autumn thanksgiving in Massachusetts November 23 brought out two sermons from Jonathan Mayhew on the war, which were printed, and one from Jason Haven, of Dedham ; but the best bibliographical lists and careful search show none of the 14th of September. The autumn proclamations were quite moderate, and all that was generally agreed on was thus set forth in Mayhew's sermon: "It is manifest, notwithstanding some strange delays, de- feats and disgraces, . . . that the war has been prose- cuted the last year, on the part of Great Britain, with uncoromon vigor, and that the advantages gained both by sea and land, have been very considerable." The year 1759 was the decisive year of the war. Three armies were in the field. One was sent against Fort Niagara ; another, under General Amherst, was to move northward from Lake Champlain, and down the St. Lawrence River, to join the third under General WoMe at Quebec. All were successful, though the de- lay to the second left the greatest undertaking for the third unaided. These were the burden of petitions at the spring fasts, and a special day of prayer was kept in Massachusetts June 28, and one about the same time in Connecticut. The story of Wolfe's exploits is a household tale. His brave soldiers chmbed to the Heights of Abraham, and there, in the most renowned action of all the French wars, on the 13th of Sep- tember, the hero of the English army lost his life. But he had given the greatest blow to the French power in Canada, and upon the 27th instant a thanks- giving service was held in the chapel of the Ursu- lines, in Quebec, to celebrate the victory. Eli Daw- THE CONQUEST OF CANADA, 311 son, chaplain of his Majesty's ship Sterling Castle, preached a sermon on that occasion, which was printed in London. In a few weeks the news reached Boston. A thanksgiving sermon was preached before the Gen- eral Assembly on the 16th of October, by Samuel Cooper, minister of the Brattle Street Church. An extract from tliis shows how important the event was esteemed : " I know not how to express the impor- tance of that success ^vith which it has pleased God to bless His Majesty's Arms, and yet I feel it, and so I doubt not does every one in this Assembly. Joy sparkles in every eye. Triumph sits upon every face. . . . God has heard our prayers, and those of our progenitors. We behold the day which they desired to see, but saw it not. We have received a salvation from Heaven, greater perhaps than any since the foundation of the Country. The power of Canada is broken. Its Capital is reduced, and the British Ban- ners float triumphant upon the Walls of Quebec ! " A public thanksgiving was immediately ordered for the 25th instant, in Massachusetts, and the same day was kept in Rhode Island. Doubtless the annual thanksgiving in Connecticut November 15 answered the same purpose, and November 10 in New Hamp- shire. Rhode Island, too, proclaimed a thanksgiving November 22, and Massachusetts kept its annual on the 29th, by a coincidence, the very day which was a thanksgiving in England. The victory was still further commemorated in the colonies, in response to a letter from Whitehall, November 13, with the royal proclamation inclosed. ^ Connecticut, having had, as 1 The letter and proclamation are printed in the Penn. Archives, iii. 90, 691. The proclamation in broadside is in the Mass. Hist. See. 312 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. we judge, no special day, kept the 6th of March ; but perhaps that of October 25 was made to answer for Massachusetts, as we find no clue to any other. Of the sermons preached on these days, a number are in print, and their authors and titles are found in the Bibliography. They are all exultant panegyrics in praise of the heroism of General Wolfe, the bravery of the English troops, and above all, they abound in acknowledgments of divine favor. In the following year the war was brought to a close, so far as it concerned the American colonies. The French failed to retake Quebec, and fell back on Montreal, where at last, on the 10th of September, all Canada was surrendered to the English. This caused the series of October thanksgivings that year, and brought out an additional lot of war sermons, which, with those of the preceding year, constitute an impor- tant contribution to the history of the war.^ Others were added to the nimiber before the peace of 1763, when we hear the last of the trials brought upon New England by the French. The ministers understood perfectly the significance of this conquest. To them it had its religious phase, to be sure. It was a war against Antichrist. They cared not for territory, but desired to see the Roman Catholic religion banished from the continent. Some went so far as to regard the war as the final overthrow 1 Besides these in print, the following are in manuscript : Nathan Fiske, November 15, 1759, An. ; Sol. Williams, November 15, 1759, March 6, 1760, and November 27, 1760, Ct. ; John Eells, October 23, 1760, November 26, 1761, and November 18, 1762, Ct.; Justus For- ward, December 9, 1762. H. THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 313 of Babylon. 1 But in the main, they were broad- minded men, as much so as any of the time, and re- garded the English influence and power in Canada as most likely to insure their prosperity, to preserve peace, and further the welfare of the Indians. Yet this they did not see, — how it was preparing them for the struggle for independence, teaching them to war, and increasing their fortifications. They rejoiced, as they had reason to, after so many years of bitter expe- rience, — sacrifices in money and men, hopeless cam- paigns in winter's snow and summer's heat, and the wearing uncertainty of the issue. So they entered into the heritage of their fathers' toils, and with happy hearts sang their " New Thanksgiving Song." ^ " With Feasting and Thanksgiving Our grateful Hearts are fed Whicli gratifies the living And can't offend the Dead." ^ See Strange and Wonderful Predictions, etc., issued in 1759 as a broadside by Fowle and Draper, copy in Am. Antiq. Soc. Lib. These are attributed to Rev. Christopher Love, who was beheaded in 1651, but erroneously, as the original of his predictions shows. 2 Canada Forever. New Thanksgiving Song. Broadside printed at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1759 : Am. Antiq. Soc. Lib. CHAPTER XXn. SPELLS OF WEATHEB. 1717-1749. •* The Clouds their watery Buckets fill, but Where they will be emptied I cannot tell. Nor no man else since Adam fell." Ames^ Almanack f July, 1749. The almanac, as most readers are aware, was once the liighly prized companion of the New England fire- side. It used to hang upon a peg near the chimney corner, and there it reigned as prophet, wit, and sage. About the middle of the eighteenth century, — before the newspaper was a common visitor in rural districts, and after the almanac had been an indispensable acquisition in housekeeping for nearly fifty years, — there wks manifest such a general regard for its prog- nostications upon the weather that one might almost characterize it as superstition.^ That same trait of human nature which has ever enticed men to consult oracles and wizards won our fathers to the persuasion that the almanac-maker knew somewhat of the future. The one instance in which his prophecy proved true wiped out the disgrace of his many failures ; and the genius of his business was in recording such ambigu- ^ Almanacs were of course printed in New England mnch earlier than this, but this household regard was a long time in reaching its height. Almanacks of Nathaniel Ames^ Brigg^ ; Hist, of Am. Lit.y Tyler,ii. c.13.5, 7. SPELLS OF WEATHER. 816 ous predictions as might afterwards serve either to heighten his fame or conceal his error. In the hot and dry summer of 1762, — for which, by the bye, Massachusetts kept a public fast July 28,^ and possi- bly Connecticut also, August 18, — we may readily imagine how it was said^by the reader of Ames' Alma- nack, that "Nathaniel" had wittingly predicted that " the Ladies need Their Fans," and in wisdom had written the lines — " In cool Retreats we skulking strive to shun The torrid Rays of June's meridian Sun." But that renowned sage was always careful to regard the season when it was likely to be warm, and he never put his snowstorms along in summer. Yet what brought utter confusion upon the almanac-maker was the remarkable exception of tempest, snow, or drought, when he could only defend his reputation in such manner as Ames did in a certain instance : " The Devil does not know so much of future Events \ as many expect an Almanack Maker should foretell." The question has been repeatedly raised, whether the climate of New England has not moderated within two centuries. It may have done so ; but the accounts of their storms and droughts, which are met with in diaries and newspapers, are to be judged in connection with the greater suffering then occasioned. If their crops failed, they had no outside world to draw upon ; hence we scarcely notice now what brought famine to them. A great snowstorm then destroyed their cattle, and made their roads, which were bad at the best, impassable sometimes for weeks. On the whole, there ^ This proclamation provided that in case of rain in any town before the day it should he a thanksgiving. 316 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. is ground for the belief that our summers are occa- sionally as hot and dry as those which summoned them to general humiliation, and we experience as se- vere winters and as great snowstorms as any of those which made certain years famous for many a day. An effective comparison is found in the snowstorm of February 20-21, 1716-17, and the blizzard which swept over New England on the 12th and 13th of March, 1888, and which is still fresh in memory. There was little suffering occasioned by the latter, and only some involuntary fasting. It was treated as a holiday. But the former brought serious conse- quences, — a loss of life, destruction of herds, and great scarcity of food. The year was thereafter known as that of " the great snowstorm." Various accounts are extant. The " Boston News-Letter " of February 25, after noting that January was very mild and February " a cold winter month," says : " Besides sev- eral Snows, we had a great one on Monday the 18th currant, and on Wednesday the 20th it begun to Snow about noon and continued Snowing till Friday the 22^, so that the Snow lies in some parts of the Streets about six foot high." Sewall says : " It was terribly surprising to me to see the extraordinary Banks of Snow on the side of the way over against us." The manuscript diary of Jonathan Huntington teUs us what it was in Connecticut : ^ " A grat and remarkabel snow, that began on Wenesdy the 20 day of february 1717 in the afternoon and continued snow- ing until Thursday near night — which was thought to be three foot and an half or four feet deep upon a level, and upon the forth day of March there was a 1 Conn. Hist. Soc. SPELLS OF WEATHER, 317 crust upon it which continued until about the four- teenth day and then wasted away gradully until the snow was gon." Additional notices in subsequent numbers of the " Boston News-Letter " show that this storm came from the northeast, was accompanied by a wind, and was general throughout New England. In some parts of New Hampshire the snow was five feet deep and drifts were fourteen feet high. None then living remembered the hke. No mail posts went or came. There were then three to and from Boston, — the western, southern, and eastern. Communica- tion, except by water, was entirely shut off for several weeks. A few ventured abroad on snowshoes, but there was no traveling for horses. Some men per- ished in attempts to save their cattle or reach them with fodder. Many were snowbound for weeks. The ministers who were attending the funeral of Eev. William Brattle at Cambridge, on the 20 th, were un- able to get home, and their Sunday services failed. For this cause the Boston Thursday lecture, February 28, was much like a fast, and Cotton Mather preached from Psalm cxlvii. 16-18, " He giveth snow like wool," etc. At the suggestion of the "fathers in the ministry," the lecture, March 14, was turned into a fast, the churches concurring in the " seasonable solemnity." The service was held in the South Church, and large congregations attended both fore- noon and afternoon.^ In the morning Benjamin Colman preached from Pro v. xxx. 8, " Feed me with food convenient for me," and in the afternoon Ben- 1 Hill's Hist of Old South Church, i. 384. The author suggests that it was " with reference probahly to their own special needs rather than to the general wants of the community." It was surely for the snowstorm. 318 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, jamin Wadsworth from Psalm cvii. 43, "Whoso is wise, and will observe these things," etc. Other fasts were held in neighboring towns March 21 and 26. Upon the 12th instant a proclamation, drawn up by Colonel Winthrop and amended by various members of the council, was issued for a public fast April 4. Its principal cause is thus stated : " To humble them- selves under the Holy Hand of God in the Tokens of His Displeasure, and in particular, in the late exces- sive Snows and Tempests (Whereby great Losses of Lives and Estates have been sustained by the way of the Sea, and great numbers of Cattel Destroyed in Shore, and many Families reduced into a Distressing Condition)." Had the sermons of that day been printed, they would doubtless give us further interest- ing particulars. The only sermon we know of in print relating to the storm is one by Eliphalet Adams, of New London, Conn., preached on Sunday, March 3, from the text, Nahum i. 3, " The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet." ^ In this the preacher attempts to show the divine displeasure in the storm, — 1. " In that it happened so very late in 'the year when it was the less to be expected ; " 2. "In that the snow descended in so very great a quantity, far beyond what is usual and hath almost been known in the memory of man ; " 3. " In that it was so quickly and so terribly repeated ; " 4. " In that we were driven out of the House of God thereby ; " 5. " In that it hath brought upon us so great distress, loss and ^ A Discourse occasioned by the late Distressing Storm which began Feb. 20, 1716, 17. As it ivas Delivered March 3d 171^. New London : . . . T. Green, 1717, 16©, pp. (2) 32 (1). Prince Library, Bos. Pub. Lib. SPELLS OF WEATHER. 319* suffering." Such homiletic duty, we may conclude, this storm was made to do in admonishing the people on the spring fast in Connecticut April 10. It is quite true that, as this storm was so exceptional, the effect was extraordinary ; but upon other similar oc- casions, \^ hen there had been hurricanes, floods, dark days, and the like, even though fasts were not im- mediately proclaimed, these incidents did not fail to pass in review in due time. We pass on over many years to find another re- markable illustration of the same feature in their fast days. This is a drought, and nothing did so much as these spells of dry weather to bring the almanac-maker into contempt. Surely, of all natural causes the droughts occasioned the most fasting and prayer. They are numbered by the dozfen all the way from that of 1623 to the American Ee volution. i The one now before us in 1749 really began in 1748, and was the most extreme of the time. In the month of May, 1748, the weather became hot and dry, and so continued through the sunmier, broken only by one shower. It is characterized in the Massachusetts fast day proclamation, June 9, as an " Awful Rebuke of Divine Providence in the very early and grievous Drought, which threatens great Scarcity and Dearth to this as well as the neighboring Provinces." The harvest was gTcatly shortened, which added to the scarcity then prevailing on account of the war. Grain of all kinds was scarce. Indian corn rose to thirty- two shilhngs a bushel, rye to forty-six:, and wheat to 1 The following were years of drought : 1644, 1645, 1662, 1663, 1666, 1671, 1672, 1685, 1686, 1688, 1692, 1700, 1704,1705, 1708, 1709, 1710, 1714, 1717, 1724, 1728, 1748, 1749, 1757, 1762. 320 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. three pounds in old tenor bills. Thus the expectation was heightened the following season. The farmers planted as usual in 1749, and were at great expense for seed. As to the sequel, it is best given in the words of an old time chronicler : i — " This Summer was the Severest Drought in this Country, as has ever been known in y" Memory of y** oldest Persons among us. It was a dry Spring, and by y* latter end of May the grass was burnt up so that y* ground looked white; and it was y* 6th Day of July before any Rain (to speak of) came. The Earth was dried like Powder to a great depth and many Wells, Springs, Brooks, & small Rivers were dried up, that were never known to fail before. And the Fish in some of y* Rivers died. The Pastures were so scorched that there was nothing green to be seen, and the Cattle waxed poor, & by their lowing seemed to call upon their Owners for Relief, who could not help them. Although the dry Grass was Eaten so close as that there was but a few thin spires to be seen, yet several Pastures took fire, and burnt fiercely. . . . There was a great scarcity of Hay, being but a very little cut, of y" first Crop ; & salt marsh failed near as much as the English Meadow. English Hay was then sold for £3, & £3.10 old tenor per Hundred. Barley & Oats were so Pinched that many had not much more than their seed again, & many cut down their S"^ Grain before it was ripe for Fodder. Flax almost wholly failed, as also Herbs of all sorts; and Indian Corn Rolled up & wilted ; and there was a melancholly prospect of the greatest Dearth that ever was known in this Land. In the time of our fears & Distress, the Government ordered a Day of Public Fasting & Prayer; and God was graciously pleased to hear & Answer our Prayers, even in a very remarkable manner: for about y* 6th of July the course of y* weather altered ; and there came such plentiful & seasona- ble Rains, as quite altered y* face of y" Earth; and that Grass which we generally concluded was wholly dead, and could not come again under several years, was revived, and there was a good second crop of Mowing ; it looked more like y* Spring than that season of y* Year; and y^ Indian Corn recovered, & there was a very good Harvest. And whereas it was thought ^ 'Slake)'' & Annals of Dorchester, SPELLS OF WEATHER, 321 in y fall of the Year that a multitude of Cattle must Die for want of Meat, insomuch as they sent & fetched Hay from Eng- land; yet God in his Providence Ordered us a moderate Winter, and we were carried comfortably through it; and I did not hear of many, if any Cattle that died. . . . Upon y® Coming of y" Rains & Renewiug of y" Earth last fall, the Gov- ernment appointed a Day of Publick Thanksgiving." In some respects this is the most complete account extant. Another chronicler ^ informs us that " much hay was brought from Pennsylvania," that " the heat and dryness was so severe that the ground cracked in many places and where pieces of broken glass lay on the surface it caught fire," and also adds this impor- tant item that " the drought was attended with swarms of catterpillars, and other devouring insects." This latter trial is particularly mentioned in the proclama- tion, issued June 2 for the public fast Jime 15. Of this we quote the important part, " Forasmuch as it has pleased Almighty God, among other Instances of his Displeasure against this People for their many heinous and provoking Sins, to visit us ^vith a sore and distressing Drought, and a great number of In- sects, which threaten the Destruction of the Fruits of the Earth ; and, if God does not graciously prevent, a grievous Dearth and Famine. . . . Command the Clouds to distill seasonable and plentiful Rains on the Earth, for reviving the corn, grass and other Fruits, and stopping of the devouring Insects." The drought then began early in May, and was so extreme that a fast was thought necessary by the 2d of June. It was a gloomy prospect. Some churches had already fasted, and some towns did not wait for the day appointed, but fasted the week before. Upon the 1 Rev. Mr. French's MS. in Hist, of Haverhill, Chase, p. 332. 822 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, day, they came together under the burden of most afflicting circumstances. Here, then, the almanac's predictions turned out to be a bitter sarcasm. Upon the Sunday when the ministers read the foregoing proclamation, he had said there would be " many showers." If any pious farmer, whose faith in God occasionally sought en- couragement from Ames' Almanack, had consulted it to divine the result of their fast day exercises, he might have been overwhelmed to read of " Thunder and tremendous tempests " on that very day, — though " Nathaniel " had wisely added " in some parts of the world;" but he would have been disappointed, for June 18 wa^ " y® Hottest Day that was ever known in y® Northerly part of America." We are able to get a glimpse of two congregations through the sermons preached in Massachusetts upon that warm sumn^er fast day. The first is that in Marlborough, when Aaron Smith preached both parts of the day from Lev. xxvi. 3,4," If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit." This printed sermon, known only to the collector of rarities, is upon "Some temporal advantages in keeping covenant with God." In the appendix the author gives the following account of the drought : — ** The Heat and Drought daily encreased, 'till not only the Ground was chapt but the Corn which cloathed the Valleys was fainting, and on the Point of Sinking into the earth. The Trees languished and died: The Brooks dried up, the Small Fish so perished that the rivers stank, yea, the Air by a long Stagnation became so putrid and unfit for Respiration that SPELLS OF WEATHER, 323 Mankind were in Danger of being suffocated. In this last extremity, when every Countenance gathered Paleness, for all things appeared dark and dismal, and in Consternation Men stood gazing one on another wisely inquiring, Wherefore Gods Anger burned toward them in such tremendous Manner ! I say in this very critical Juncture, the Lord wrought graciously for his People on the 6th of July; that memorable Day God Almighty compassionated our desperate Case, and called us to behold his Power in relieving us, when reduced to the lowest Ebb that ever New-England saw. 'T was in the very instant when all Hope was ready to fail, that the Father of the rain sent plentiful Showers, and so refreshed the parched Earth and recovered the perishing Fruits and destroyed the insects: And the Earth yielded more than a competent Supply for the Necessities and Comforts of Life." We have added this account because of its testi- mony to the temper of the people in keeping the fast. It was a case of desperate need, and of more impor- tance than we can realize. The other discourse was delivered at the Old South Church in Boston, by Thomas Prmce. The text was Lev. xxvi. 18-20, "And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass : and your strength shall be spent in vain : for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits." This sermon has never been printed,^ and an unusual interest attaches to it because of the occasion, the preacher, and the fact that liis thanks- giving sermon of August 24, 1749, celebrating the fall of reviving rains, has been in print for nearly a century and a half. The fast sermon bears this ^ Manuscript in the Author^s collection. 324 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. inscription, " Gen Fast, On occas"* of y^ most xtr^ drought thro this Province known in y® memory of any now alive." The indorsements show that it was delivered in the " S Ch " Jmie 15, the same day in " Roxbury 1^* Precinct," and July 2 in the " North Ch Boston." It is written with contractions and abbreviations after the author's well-known custom. He also gives some account of the drought, adding, however, no important items beyond emphasizing the devastation in some places by " innumerable swarms of worms and grasshoppers." But this paragraph, which is marked in the manuscript sermon of June 15, was introduced by him into the printed dis- course of August 24, the thanksgiving day, and was evidently under the eye of Blake when he wrote in May, 1750, the account already given.^ Thomas Prince was a very close observer in all such matters, and the foremost historical student of his time. We cannot therefore think that he exaggerates the dis- tress, or is astray in writing, " Never were those af- fecting passages in y® 1st of Joel known to be more applicable to us than in y® present day." Further- more, he was the most devoted to science of any New England minister, and most likely to lean toward a scientific view of such phenomena. His sermon of August 24 was upon " The Natural and Moral Government and Agency of God in causing Droughts and Rains." It was dedicated to the Royal Society of London. And taking these two sermons together, they furnish the best statement of that time as to the philosophy which was underneath all these ap- ^ The passage is on pages 37, 38, of the thanksgiving sermon, first edition. SPELLS OF WEATHER. 325 pointments of fast and thanksgiving days. On the one hand it is evident that the most scholarly minis- y ters were beginning to modify their views, and find- ing more room for the operation of natural causes ; on the other it is shown that such a view was still held as encouraged them in supplications to God. Some synopsis of his teaching is of interest. ^ The argument is that we have to do with the same God and the same revelation as the Israelites of old. Though released from their ceremonial and judicial laws, we have the same moral laws, and our chastise- ment is as much for our moral benefit and the exhi- bition of the glory of God as was theirs. He says : "The only question therefore seems to be whether such kinds of promises of temporal and spiritual blessings and threatenings of temporal and spiritual chastisements now belong to communities of Chris- tians as to the Israelites of old." This he answers in the affirmative. The law of nature is the law of God and Christ, founded on our relation to God and those about us, and so on justice, goodness, reason, and wisdom. Christians are related to it as were the ancient Israelites. We need the same promises and threatenings. God has the government of angels, men, brutes, and elements in his hands, and is always present with them, and is now as capable as ever of fulfilling those promises and threatenings in his wis- dom and goodness. God maintains a ''visible moral government over his people," and where calamities are suited to accomplish a benevolent end, God uses them now as in ancient times. When men do not yield Him due obedience, they are exposed to his pun- ishments, and when they humble themselves before 826 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Him, they may hope to see sooner or later the tokens of his mercy and benignity. He brings a grievous drought for the wickedness of the people. Though there are laws operating in a stated manner, yet God does not "confine himself to act according to his common Course of Nature, but most wisely and justly reserves the Liberty of acting otherwise on all Occa- sions when he sees most fitting. Such reserved cases seem to be Earthquakes, Hurricanes and Tempests, Storms of Wind, Rain, Thimder, Lightning, Snow and Hail . . . but, whenever he sees Occasion, giving additional Degrees of Power and different Direc- tions^ or abating their Degrees of Power in other ways than in his common Course of Nature, which is only his usual Way of Operation in them." " In this manner he may in the most proper Seasons send both Droughts and Rains, and Sicknesses and Health, to particular Places ; he may point his Lightnings to particular Persons; he may raise a Storm to dis- perse a Fleets and give additional Powers to a Gust of Wind to overset a Vessel, or to the Waves to break her; he may direct Physicians to a sufficient Knowledge of the Cases of their Patients, and the suitable Means of their Cure, and give additional Forces and Directions to the Medicines in their in- ward Operations or otherwise. And so in Multitudes of other Cases : Or there would be no more need to pray to God for a safe Voyage, or a prosperous War, or to preservB from Drought, or Plagues, or Enemies, or to save in any Sicknesses or Dangers ; than to pray in an extream hot Day, that he would make the I Sun to go down at the usual Time." Such were the views of the New England minis- SPELLS OF WEATHER. 327 ters, and however erroneous they may now be consid- ered, they operated powerfully in their day. A fast like that of the 15 th of June was in this view appro- priate. They verily hoped that God would interfere for their relief, and when the rains came on the 6 th of July they appointed a thanksgiving, not merely because of the temporal blessing, but in confidence that their faith in God had won a victory. So they rejoiced together, and the deliverance from the drought of 1749 lived in their recollections for many a day. CHAPTER XXIII. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 1765-1783. The history of the American Revolution covers a period from the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 to the proclamation of peace in 1783. This includes many of the most important fast and thanksgiving days ever observed in the New England colonies, espe- cially those ordered by the Continental Congress, the story of which in detail would require the scope of a volume. The proclamations of the colonies from early times had contained, in various forms, this phrase " civil and religious liberties," which like a flag had floated aloft, now triumphant and now in danger, — the symbol of what they held most dear. It is easy to detect the approaching storm by the waving of this emblem in their proclamations. Hitherto these had always dis- played loyalty, of which they were an ofiicial utter- ance. The royal family had been mentioned with regard. A cut of the royal arms was at the top, and the words " God save the King " at the bottom. Even when treason was abroad, it did not appear in these documents. But the time was at hand when the popular feeling must be expressed, or the pro- clamation come into contempt. In 1765 the plea, in the spring fast proclamation of Connecticut was THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 329 " Give us Favour at the Court of Great-Britain, and bless our civil Administrations." It was surely a mild statement of the feeling on the Stamp Act. But the governor of Massachusetts, Francis Bernard, did not encourage the people to ask even that, though they did ask considerably more. From that time Connecticut proclamations maintained a sympathy with the people, while those of Massachusetts, be- cause of the sentiments of the governors, were un- popular, until they finally threw the proclamation overboard as they did the tea. The Stamp Act was passed, and the disturbances of the summer followed. At the thanksgiving in Massachusetts, December 5, the people were asked to express their gratitude for an " addition to the Royal Issue, another Pledge for the Continuance of the Happiness and Liberty, which have been secured to us by his Majesty's illustri- ous House." The Massachusetts ministers were not moved with unction in such a matter. On the other hand, in Rhode Island prayers were put up for a blessing on their endeavors for " preserving their in- valuable privileges." A similar clause is prominent in the Connecticut proclamation. This latter colony, through its General Assembly meeting in October, on account of " the dark aspects of Divine Provi- dence with regard to their [our] most dear and valuable rights and privileges," had requested the governor to appoint a public fast. This was done, and December 18 was the day named. So far as we are aware, this was the only special public fast in New England on this account. A writer has said of New Hampshire, that they were not given to days of fasting for the Stamp Act, but greeted the event with 330 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. tolling bells and mock funeral processions.^ The fact is that the authorities there, as in Massachusetts, would not order a fast on that account, though the people would gladly have kept one. They could only utilize the regular days. On the Connecticut fast day, a notable sermon was preached by Stephen John- son, of Lyme, which is in print.^ This divine had already written some patriotic articles for the " New London Gazette," and liis sermon was in the same tenor. He was the forerunner of a fearless race of prophets, afterwards numerous and active throughout the State. A single quotation will show what this sermon was calculated to accomplish in resistance to the Stamp Act, already general everywhere : — " The calamities which impend over us, and which we are now to deplore and deprecate are the heaviest the churches and in- habitants of this land have ever felt, from any earthly power ; and threaten (in our apprehension) no less than slavery and ruin to this great people, in this widely extended continent. Who does not know ? Who has not heard, that the fatal de- cree is already past, which seems to determine the unhappy fate of all America, and the West India islands ? Unhappy decree ! full of woe! which imposes a burden (as is conceived) far beyond our circumstances to bear, and strips us of very important privileges; and (in our view) partly by its natural operation, and partly as a precedent, it highly endangers our slavery and wretchedness, unless God in infinite mercy inter- poses and changes the British councils, or opens some other way of our deliverance. In a situation so extremely alarming ! well do our civil rulers call us to fasting and mourning, to deep humiliation, and earnest supplication to the God of Israel, the God of our fathers and of all our salvation." 1 Mem. of Dr. Buckminster, p. 35. 2 See Bibliography. This has been given as a " sermon at New- port, R. I." in bibliographical lists. It was printed at Newport, but was delivered on December 18, the Connecticut fast day, and prob- ably at Lyme. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 331 It required some courage to publish such a sermon, and this was issued anonymously. Such, however, were preached in many places. Philemon Robbins, of Bran- ford, discoursed from Isa. lix. 9-16, in which he openly encouraged resistance : " Such as plead the kings pre- rogative in acts unconstitutional and wrong are going apace to the doctrine of passive obedience and non- resistance^ a doctrine held only by high flying church- men." 1 There was but one inference from these sen- timents, and the hearers understood it. The Stamp Act was repealed. Rumors of this prob- able action reached Boston by April 3, 1766, and though they could not be put into the spring fast pro- clamations, they undoubtedly affected its observance. A copy of the act of Parliament was received on the 16th of May. Then followed such rejoicings as had never been known before in the memory of the living. There was no time to issue proclamations, nor was there need of them. People flocked to the meeting- houses, where church days were kept. Samuel Still- man, minister of the First Baptist Church in Boston, preached the next day upon the " Good news from a far country." On the following Tuesday Nathaniel Appleton, of Cambridge, delivered a similar discourse. Friday, the 23 d, was observed in the West Church, Boston, and then Jonathan Mayhew preached his famous sermon on " The Snare broken," dedicated to William Pitt, the heroic friend of the colonies. In it he notes the reason for the occasion, as for many others throughout Massachusetts, — " the improbability of their [our] being called together for this end by procla- mation, as upon some less memorable occasions." It ^ MS. Sermon, Conn. Hist. Soc. 332 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. was not until tlie House of Representatives resolved that the governor be desired to make such an appoint- ment that he issued a proclamation therefor, naming July 24, four days after the publication of which Jon- athan Mayhew died. This accounts for the church thanksgivings and the sermons in print and manu- script delivered upon them. In New Hampshire the governor had set a public fast on the 21st of May, but on that very day toward evening they had the good news, and the next day was one of public rejoicing. Word came to Hartford on the 19th, and the General Assembly forthwith requested the governor to order a public thanksgiving as soon as convenient, which was done, and the 26th of June was kept.^ The same day was appointed in Rhode Island, though some commu- nities could not wait for it. When the Massachusetts thanksgiving, July 24, came round, the ministers — who had been indignant that his Excellency had not moved earlier in the matter — had their sermons ready, and if all were such as those of Charles Chauncy, of Boston, Joseph Emerson, of Pepperell, and William Patten, of Halifax, which are in print, there could have been no doubt as to what would have transpired had England attempted to enforce the Stamp Act. John Adams afterwards referred to Dr. Mayhew' s and Dr. Chauncy's sermons in proof of this very point, and the ministers generally agreed with them. The conclusion of this episode was aptly expressed in the autumn thanksgiving proclamation of Connecticut : " God hath in a singular manner appeared for us in the course of 1 Conn. Col. Rec, xii. 467. The editor's note says, '* Friday, May 23d, was the day appointed." That was the day of the civil celebra- tion, and not the day " to be religiously observed." THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 333 his merciful Providence, in the late gloomy Day of « Prayer, Anxiety and Distress, averting impending Evils, and saved to us our important civil Rights and Liberties, — a Favour of Heaven never to be forgot- ten ! " This relief was short-lived. Other obnoxious mea- sures were imposed, and, though the fire burned low, it burned. From this time on to the outbreak of the Revolution, the proclamations in Massachusetts took on a stereotyped form. The thanksgiving proclamation of 1768 is nearly word for word that of 1767. If there was anything which reflected the times, it was only a hint which must have incensed the people. In 1773 they were asked to humble themselves for " mer- cies which they [we] have justly been deprived of by demerit." Of course these were sometimes read in the churches, but they were also often modified. One occasion is conspicuous. The thanksgiving proclama- tion of 1771, issued by Governor Hutchinson, had the phrase "continuance of our civil and religious privi- leges." Samuel Adams charged that it was "con- trived to try the feelings of the people " in the hope that they might thus acknowledge the same. At all events it did try their feelings, for many ministers would not read it, and those who did modified it by leaving out the clause, or introducing, like Rev. Joseph Sumner, of Shrewsbury, the words " some of." In Boston only two ministers read it. Dr. Pemberton, the governor's pastor, and Mr. Bacon, the young col- league at the Old South Church, the latter through no political design. Both were severely scored for their act by the '' Boston Gazette." i The Associated ^ See a further account in Hill's Hist, of the Old South Churchy ii. 146-149. 334 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, ^ Pastors of Boston in 1774 voted not to read any proclamations wliich the governor and council might issue, — action which was proposed by Dr. Chauncy. In Connecticut the proclamations were more out- spoken. They recognized only the "lengthening out of their public tranquillity," spoke of " public affairs as in great perplexity and doubt," and mourned over the " disappointment of their hopes of relief from the burden laid upon them." So early as 1771 they fore- east the " prospect of war." But no special fast days were appointed in any of the colonies until 1774; then the storm broke, and thereafter until 1783 all such days had more or less reference to the war. ~— — Upon Jime 1, 1774, the Boston Port Bill was to go into effect. It was a memorable day throughout New England, characterized by a solemn and ominous still- ness except for the tolling of the church bells. It has been said that it was observed by fasting and prayer.^ Possibly it was among some Massachusetts churches, but there was no public or general fast, for the reason that the governor would not appoint one. The resolve of the patriotic House of Burgesses in Virginia to hold a fast on that day was the cause of their dissolu- tion ; though they kept the day just the same, and with uncommon solemnity .2 Generally it was a time for the expression of indignation. Even in the coun- try towns, such as Lebanon, Conn., the people gath- ered, at the tolling of the bell, before the town house, which had been draped in black, to make a public declaration of their rights and privileges. Rhode Island was the first, in the order of time, to keep a ^ An Impartial History of the War in America, i. 299. 2 ^,„^ Arch,, iv. s. 1. 350; Conn. Courant, June 28, 1774. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 335 public fast, which was June 30. New Hampshire and Massachusetts came next, observing July 14. But how did that day in Massachusetts come about? It was not ordered by the governor. On the 27th of May the two Houses of the General Assembly had requested the new governor, Thomas Gage, to set such a day ; but he had refused, saying " the request was only to give an opportunity for sedition to flow from the pulpit." Thereupon they resolved that if he did not make the appointment before the end of the ses- sion, they would recommend their respective parish ministers to do so. He did not relent, and the asso- ciated ministers of Boston agreed to propose to their several congregations the keeping of July 14. This action was spread abroad. The Berkshire County Congress, which met at Stockbridge July 6, recom- mended it. Everywhere it was acted upon, a few con- gregations excepted, and this even in the far distant settlements of Maine. The governor of New Hamp- shire adopted it and issued a proclamation accord- ingly, even appending the notice to the letter, calling a convention to choose delegates to the General Con- gress at Philadelphia, whose expenses were defrayed by the collections of that day. If General Gage had read the sermons which the ministers were preparing for that occasion he would sui^ely have been confirmed in his suspicions. Such titles as these speak for themselves : " The duty of a people under the oppres- sion of Man," "Despotism illustrated and improved from the character of Rehoboam," " The misery and duty of an oppressed and enslaved people." A niun- ber of such are in print. The day in Connecticut was August 31, appointed at the request of the General 336 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Assembly. One of the most famous of Revolutionary sermons was at that time preached by Samuel Sher- wood, of Norfield, and the same year printed, to which was appended a statement of grievances by Ebenezer Baldwin, of Danbury, which was doubtless in part his own discourse; and no utterance of the time more fully sets forth the apprehensions of the Connecticut ministers. The autumn thanksgivings were ordered as usual in Connecticut and New Hampshire. Little was to be expected from the governor of Massachusetts, and so the Provincial Congress, meeting at Cambridge, Octo- ber 22, issued a proclamation for such a day Decem- ber 16, which was signed '' by order of the Provincial Congress, John Hancock, President." This was the first proclamation of the kind which appeared, as of course it would, without the royal arms and the legend " God save the King," which were continued on those of Connecticut thi'ough 1775 and part of 1776. It is needless to say that the day was popular,^ and it was one fact which gave the governor reason to write, " Their edicts are implicitly obeyed." Another lot of patriotic sermons was put out. Those delivered at Bradford, Eastham, Hatfield, Marblehead, Roxbury, and one at Boston, were printed and circulated for patriotic ends. That of William Gordon, of Roxbury, the afternoon portion of which was afterwards deliv- ered at the Boston Lecture, is the most famous. It was a bold utterance, and did much to increase the spirit of resistance. It expressed the following senti- ^ Several tories in Boston opened their shops, and quite a disturb- ance was made through the action of some English soldiers who visited them, and charged the owners with insulting their own countrymen. It was all laid to religious persecution. — Conn. Gazette, Dec. 23, 1774 ; Hist. Mag., 2d ser. iv. 219. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 337 ment : " The way to escape an attack is to be in read- iness to receive it. Wliile administration consists of those that have avowed their dislike to the principles of this continent, and the known friends of America are excluded, there should be no dependence upon the fair speeches or actual promises of any, but the colonies should pursue the means of safety as vig- orously as ever, that they may not be surprised." This sermon and the preacher were execrated by the loyalists. He was called a " reverend politician," a " Christian sower of sedition," a " wayfaring priest," the " church-militant general," and the like, epithets which also applied to the Massachusetts ministers gen- erally, as well as to him. '^ Remarks " and '' Observa- tions " on this sermon were put in print, but they were scarcely audible amid the din which it raised. As might be expected, fast days were abundant in 1775. The 1st of February was a special fast in Con- necticut. On the 16th of that month the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, convened at Cambridge, ordered the spring fast for March 16, and issued its second proclamation. Worshipers in Boston were much incensed on that day by the action of the king's troops in pitching two marquee tents before a church, and keeping their drums beating and fifes playing throughout the entire service. The world knows what happened at Lexington and Concord upon the 19th of April, a memorable day in American history, which has been commemorated of late with new fervor. Perhaps it may be well to re- cord the fact that Connecticut also was earnestly en- gaged on that very day. Even as those stirring events were being enacted in Massachusetts, the people were gathering to their sanctuaries in every town of Con- 338 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. necticut, to supplicate Almighty God in fasting and prayer for a blessing upon their endeavors to preserve their liberties. The coincidence could not have been anticipated when the patriotic governor issued his pro- clamation, else he would have said more than he did. But he spoke as a prophet of it as " a dark and dif- ficult day." It was thus given to some to fight and to others to pray. The ministers were firing the peo- ple's hearts with courage, and unwittingly preparing the men of war to march before many hours at the Lexington alarm. If Levi Hart, of Preston, whose manuscript sermon has survived, had known that mes- sengers would soon be on the way to *' alarm the coun- try quite to Connecticut," he would surely have had additional illustration for his discourse on the words, " The posts went out, being hastened by the king's com- mandment," Esth. iii. 15.^ A series of fasts followed the taking up of arms. The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts had already moved, April 15, for the appointment of May 11, and Rhode Island kept the same day by order of the General Assembly, though the governor, Joseph Wan- ton, refused to issue the proclamation. By the time of its celebration it was endowed with a new serious- ness. On June 3 the Provincial Congress of New Hampshire set the 22d.2 ^ MS. Sermon, Conn. Hist. Soc. 2 N. H. Col. Bee, vii. 503. A copy of this broadside in the Mass. Hist. Soc. has the manuscript note : It was drawn up by Rev. Samuel Webster, of Temple. He was a member of the Congress ; and his name should fill in the blank in the Records. The proclamation of November 21, 1776, was by Mr. John Smith, of Durham ; that of April 24, 1777, by Rev. Daniel Rogers and Rev. Isaac Mansfield, both of Exeter, chaplains ; that of August 7, 1777, by three deacons of the house. Dearborn, Daken, and Knowles ; and Ezra Stiles wrote that of April 16, 1778. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 339 But the spirit which had united the colonies for resistance in the Continental Congress was now to inaugurate a system of national appointments, to bind them together in their prayers as in arms. This body, upon the 12th of June, issued a proclamation for a fast day in all the United Colonies July 20i Of a considerable nimiber of national fast days, this is his- torically the first, and we can now see how naturally it came about. All the colonies north and south ob- served it, and thus the custom was furthered by their unanimous approval of the occasion. The proclama- tion is as follows : — " As the great Govemour of the world, by his supreme and universal providence, not only conducts the course of nature with unerring wisdom and rectitude, but frequently influences the minds of men to serve the wise and gracious purposes of his providential government; and it being, at all times, our indispensable duty devoutly to acknowledge his superintending providence, especially in times of impending danger and pub- lick calamity, to reverence and adore his immutable Justice as well as to implore his merciful interposition for our deliverance: "This Congress, therefore, considering the present critical, alarming, and calamitous state of these Colonies, do earnestly recommend that, Thursday^ the twentieth day of July next, be observed by the inhabitants of all the English Colonies on this Continent, as a day of publick humiliation, fasting and prayer; that we may, with united hearts and voices, unfeignedly confess and deplore our many sins, and offer up our joint supplications to the all wise, omnipotent, and merciful Disposer of all events; humbly beseeching him to forgive our iniquities, to remove our present calamities, to avert those desolating judgments with which we are threatened, and to bless our rightful Sover- eign, King George the Third, and inspire him with wisdom to discern and pursue the true interest of all his subjects, that a speedy end may be put to the civil discord between Great Britain and the American Colonies, without further effusion of blood ; and that the British Nation may be influenced to re- gard the things that belong to her peace, before they are hid 340 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. from her eyes ; that these Colonies may be ever under the care and protection of a kind Providence, and be prospered in all their interests; that the divine blessing may descend and rest upon all our civil rulers, and upon the Representatives of the people in the several Assemblies and Conventions, that they may be directed to wise and effectual measures for preserving the union, and securing the just rights and privileges of the Colonies; that virtue and true religion may revive and flourish throughout our land; and that America may soon behold a gracious interposition of Heaven, for the redress of her many grievances, the restoration of her invaded rights, a reconcilia- tion with the Parent state on terms constitutional and honour- able to both; and that her civil and religious privileges may be secured to the latest posterity. "And it is recommended to Christians of all denominations, to assemble for publick worship, and to abstain from servile labour and recreation on said day." This proclamation was signed, " By order of Con- gress, John Hancock, President ; " and it was printed in newspapers and in handbills, which were sent to the authorities in the several colonies, some of whom voted it or issued the same in a broadside. Before the day arrived, as all are aware, the battle of Bunker Hill had been fought, and the hope of a peaceful outcome of the troubles was banished. Upon that occasion the patriot preachers everywhere had an opportunity to speak without fear and restraint, and the titles of a number of sermons are given in the Bibliography, which bear witness to their unstinted use of it. The thanksgivings in the autumn were not omitted even in this dark and distressing time, but the Conti- nental Congress left the appointments to the several colonies. That of Massachusetts was signed by the members of the council, as were several thereafter, and ended with the words, " God save the people." The New Hampshire proclamation was issued by the THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 341 Provincial Congress, and signed by Matthew Thorn- ton, President. It was in connection with this day that Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, the president of Dart- mouth College, drew upon himself such violent criti- cism. Being remote from the seat of government, he had kept November 16, the Connecticut day, the pro- clamation for which he had seen, supposing it to have been appointed, like the July fast, by the Continental Congress. So when the New Hampshire government set the 30th, the president was reluctant to keep it, thinking he had already fulfilled its intent. But his action was interpreted by some as disloyal, and much ado was made of it, though he was indorsed by the Councils of Safety of Hanover and Lebanon. How- ever, he afterwards consented to keep the proper and loyal day, and his sermon was printed with his expla- nation in the preface. The days in 1776 were not particularly connected with the events of the war, though the proclamations are especially patriotic. Spring fasts were set as usual in New England, and the Continental Congress, on March 16, set a general fast for the 17 th of May. Like that of the preceding year it had a national importance. Besides these two, Connecticut had two special fasts, January 17 and September 19, which were none too many for the time. The latter was the first after the knowledge of the Declaration of Inde- pendence had gone abroad, and probably no better iUusti'ation can be found of the change which came over the proclamations everywhere than is shown by the difference between these two, the former with the royal arms and the loyal motto, the latter in the most intense patriotism. Both are in print in the " Life of 342 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Jonathan Trumbull." It should be said that " Brother Jonathan's " proclamations were the most remarkable of the period. They were all written by his own hand, and contain the most stirring utterances. As they were read from time to time from the Connecticut pul- pits they thrilled the people and ministers alike, and deepened the fervent patriotism everywhere. In Mas- sachusetts there was a special fast August 1. The proclamation, though of unusual length, was one of the most remarkable of the war, being put forth at a criti- cal time, and upon a day which will always stand first in American history, — the Fourth of July, 1776. A single paragraph conveys its spirit: ''This Court ap- prehending the present Season to be big with the most important Events, not only to this, but to aU The United American Colonies^ and sensible that these Events are at the Disposal of the supreme Governor of the Universe," etc. The order was issued from the council chamber at Watertown, and the names of the council are appended as follows : James Bowdoin, Jer. Powell, Caleb Cushing, J. Winthrop, Rich. Derby Junr, Eldad Taylor, John Wetcomb, Samuel Holten, Jabez Fisher, Moses Gill, John Taylor, Benj. White, William Phillips, Benj. Austin, Henry Gardner, Dan- iel Davis, D. Sewall, D. Hopkins, Francis Dana, — *'By their Honor's Command, John Avery, Junr., Dep. Secy." " God Save America ! " On this occa- sion the Declaration of Independence was read in many churches of Massachusetts. In the autumn the States were again left to name their thanksgivings, which they did. But, after the operations of the army for the year, it was thought best by the Congi^ess that the States be summoned THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 343 to prayer at some time during the winter. A reso- lution to that effect was passed December 11, and sent out, but it was left to each to set its own date. In accordance with the recommendation of the Con- vention of New England States, which met in Provi- dence soon afterward, January 29, 1777, was the day observed. This did not set aside the spring fasts, and several days were set during the summer following, at which time Vermont joined the column of fast-keeping States. In the autumn they had their first occasion for general rejoicings. As yet the Congress had not appointed any thanksgivings, only fasts. It was not expected, therefore, that they woidd now do so. Hence the States, in the light of the successes of the north- ern army, set their own thanksgivings as usual. Mas- sachusetts and Connecticut kept November 20, and never since the war began was there such enthusiasm. It was an outburst of praise to God, after a long trial of their faith. With delight the Massachusetts peo- ple read the words — " He hath so far supported us in our Exertions against the arbitrary Claims and mili- tary Violence of Britain ; and especially in a late In- stance of Divine Interposition in which the Arm of the Lord of Hosts and God of Armies very conspicu- ously appears, hath given us a compleat Victory over a whole Army of our Enemies, hereby teaching us to rely upon Him whose is the Power and the Glory and the Victory." " Brother Jonathan's " proclamation was in a similar strain, and was ornamented with a new and peculiar cut at the top, probably such as suited the taste of the woman, Hannah Watson, of Hartford, who printed it, in which feature it has a 344 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. unique place. Before the day arrived Burgoyne had surrendered, and the design of the British of occupy- ing the Hudson River and thus shutting off New Eng- land from the south had utterly failed. This was a victory which called for a national proclamation, and so for the first time it happened that a thanksgiving was kept in the United States. The day was Decem- ber 18, and the proclamation, which is given in another connection, was probably written by Samuel Adams, of Massachusetts. No thanksgiving day during the war was so prominent as this. It had a decided and signal victory to commemorate in the services. The times before it had been dark. Many had become discour- aged. But the effect of the victory, which this day did so much to glorify everywhere, was marvelous. In States to which the custom was comparatively new it was the occasion for both preaching and feasting. The army observed it with reverence. In the words of Timothy Dwight, in his sermon of that day, it was the surrender of Burgoyne which ''infixed such a wound upon British pride, as it hath scarcely received during the century ; " and by so much as this was true, the spirit of glorification was manifested among the people. There is nothing exceptional to record of the re- maining years of the war. In 1778 Congress ap- pointed both a spring fast, April 22, and an autumn thanksgiving, December 30, and though several of the States anticipated these dates, they kept the na- tional appointment as well. Other than these there were no special days. Such also is the record of 1779. In 1780 the only special day we have recov- ered was the 20th of July in Massachusetts, a fast THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 345 on account of the late operations of the war. As the war progressed the people were somewhat relieved of their anxiety, and hence there was less to demand exceptional days. Every fast day had some discour- agement to note, and every thanksgiving some ac- knowledgment of gratitude for relief or success. The States had come to look to Congress for procla- mations, and these were regular and less connected with the war. This materially assisted the decadence of the old New England system, but it furthered the national appointment of such days. One reason for their spreading popularity was the patriotic uses they were put to everywhere. The public fasts which, throughout the war, were being kept in England were more or less restricted by the form of service ; ^ these of America, and especially among the Congregational and Presbyterian churches, were a great political as well as religious force. A sentiment of nationalism connected itself with the day. The preacher's words went outside of his little congregation. The people were impressed with the fact that the colonies were united, even so far religiously as to recognize the same day. Religious bodies, such as the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, commended the custom. Even the Episcopalians, of whom the majority were naturally loyalists, sometimes read the proclamations of the Con- tinental CongTCSS, and united in the services, though ^ Forms of prayer were issued in England for these days. The following is from that of February 27, 1778: "Give grace, we be- seech thee, to our unhappy fellow-subjects in America. . . . Grant us not only strength and courage to withstand them, but charity to for- give and pity them, to receive them again as friends and brethren, upon just and reasonable terms." 346 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. in some quarters the patriotic rectors were condemned for it.i So the years passed, and the war came to an end. The treaty of peace was signed in the autumn of 1783. Congress had omitted the setting of a spring fast that year, and the States, having expected one, were late in their appointments. Perhaps some failed altogether, or left it to the churches. But for the final peace it set a day of thanksgiving, the 11th of December. It must have been a great day in New England. Particular sermons were delivered everywhere, and those in print make up an interest- ing series. So the fathers and mothers of the Rev- olution went up to their meeting-houses to render praises to God, and gathered their heroes with re- joicing at the thanksgiving feast. 1 Hist. Coll. of Am. Col Chh., Dr. Perry, Penn. pp. 470, 471 ; and Mass. pp. 602-637. CHAPTER XXIV. THE GOOD FRIDAY FAST IN CONNECTICUT. 1795-1797. The accomplished occupant of the Easy Chair in " Harper's Magazine," a few years since, meditated thus upon the annual fast day in Connecticut : "In Con- necticut, the State in which the austerest Puritanism longest survived, Good Friday was observed as Fast Day ! " ^ It was in 1891 that this apparent surprise at the liberal sentiment in Connecticut was ex- pressed; and the impression was conveyed that it was a departure from the customs of the fathers, whereas the first appointment of the annual fast by the governor upon Good Friday was in 1795, and smce 1797 such has been the continuous practice. The majority of historical students will not agree that "the austerest Puritanism longest survived" in Connecticut. The fact is quite the contrary, for though the early settlers in the Connecticut and New Haven colonies brought with them much of Puritan strength m education and religion, they imbibed to a remarkable degree the more liberal spirit of the Pil- grims. Of this the origin of the Good Friday fast is an illustration. Within a dozen years after the Revolution, — which certainly did not increase the popularity of the Episcopal Church in New England, 1 Harper'' s Magazine^ June, 1891. 848 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. — Connecticut, largely out of its charity toward those to whom its ancient custom was an annoyance, began to appoint its annual fast upon the day they were accustomed to observe. If it was a State in which the austerest Puritanism prevailed, with some- thing of prejudice against Episcopacy, this was all the more creditable to it. In some other States, such as Virginia, it would have had no significance, for there the Episcopal Church had been dominant. Nor can it be said that these were the first Good Friday fasts in New England. Such had been appointed on sev- eral occasions in New Hampshire fifty years before, under the administration of Governor Benning Went- worth, who was an ardent churchman. ^ But there they were not continuous, nor was the change re- ceived with general approval. The next adminis- tration returned to the practice of earlier times, in which Massachusetts had tutored her neighbors. Con- necticut was not without an inherited fear of depar- ture from the faith. When Roger Sherman began to note the fasts and feasts of the Church of England in his almanac, there were those who discarded it on that account.^ After the Revolution, however, this feeling was ameUorated, and largely through the per- sonal influence of some most prominent citizens. In- deed, there are numerous evidences of the fraternal spirit then existing between the various reUgious 1 Governor Wentworth set fasts for Fridays other than " Good Fri- day," and upon Wednesdays. There were Good Friday fasts March 28, 1746; April 4, 1760; April 1, 1763; April 20, 1764. Possibly there were others. 2 This was several yeare earlier than the adoption of the practice by Ames' Almanack. In Roger Sherman's Almanac for 1758 will be found his defense against this complaint. GOOD FRIDAY FAST IN CONNECTICUT, 349 bodies. The stronger did not oppress the weaker, and oftentimes received signal courtesies at their hands. Still, there were doubtless dissensions here and there. In 1791 a law was passed, — the text of which is given elsewhere, — which prohibited labor and recrea- tion upon public fast and thanksgiving days. This was probably called forth by the neglect of some to keep them after the ancient understanding as Sab- baths. It has been said that some were brought before justices of the peace for the violation of this law. It may have been so, though we have found no evidence of such trials. The churchmen could readily find excuse for keeping Good Friday and refusing to keep a fast day during Easter week, and it is not unlikely that their uncharitable neighbors would bring them into court upon the slightest pre- tense. Such a condition of affairs would tend to agitate the wiser and more kindly disposed to seek some solution of the difficulty. It should, however, be noted that this law only required abstinence from labor and recreations, leaving all to their liberty in fasting and holding services in their churches. Upon the whole we are persuaded that it met with the approval of the leading churchmen as weU as others, except in the particular instances where the fast day came during Easter week. It is our purpose now to show how this change of the annual fast day to Good Friday came about. The 19th of February, 1795, was appointed by President George Washington as a national thanksgiving day ; there the recital begins. Rev. Samuel Seabury was then the bishop of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut and Rhode Island. He was respected by aU, and be- 350 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. loved by many who were not under his spiritual care. His home was at New London, where he ministered in St. James Church. Hon. Samuel Huntington was then the governor of the State, — a man highly re- garded for his eminent services to the nation, of good education and a liberal mind, and, though himself a Congregation alist, upon the most friendly terms with Bishop Seabury. His home was in Norwich, where at that very time the Episcopalians and Congrega- tionaUsts were worshiping in the same sanctuary by the courtesy of the former, the latter's church having been destroyed by fire. Withal Governor Hunting- ton was a man of peace, and such comments upon this trait are found in the manuscripts of his contempo- raries that it must be considered a notable characteris- tic. The national thanksgiving day above mentioned fell in Lent, being the next day after Ash Wednes- day. It did not seem to the Episcopal community at New London an appropriate time for thanksgiving, and there was some surprise expressed that an Epis- copalian like Washington should have so far forgotten himself as to have named that date. So the procla- mation was not read in St. James Church the Sab- bath before, and the day was not observed. Thereupon some ardent admirers of Washington, who, for politi- cal reasons, were especially sensitive to reflections upon the government, were moved with great indignation against the Episcopalians. One who signs himself " Plain Truth," under date " New London, March 4, 1795," addressed a communication to the editor of the " Connecticut Gazette," of New London, in which he refers to the matter as " the people insulted in the government by a late instance of contempt in this GOOD FRIDAY FAST IN CONNECTICUT. 351 city."^ From this communication we give this ex- tract : "In direct contempt of this order of the highest officer of the State, the proclamation was not read in the Episcopal church in this city, — and to complete the system of disrespect to the Government on the day appointed for public Thanksgiving the church was shut up, and no notice taken of the dayT In the is- sue of the same newspaper the week following appears a long article entitled " The Churchman's Apology," which was attributed at the time, and we now know correctly, to Bishop Seabury himself.^ It is emi- nently worthy of him, for it is in the kindliest spirit, and takes no notice of the aspersion of " Plain Truth" on " an ecclesiastic dignified in his own estimation." A considerable part of the article is devoted to ex- plaining the significance of " the Christian year " in the Episcopal Church, but the latter part is worthy of a permanent place in the literature of this subject, as the utterance of the first American bishop, recov- ered from an old newspaper. It is as f oUows : — *' I have also to remark, that, according to the sketch I have given, from Ashwednesday to Easter appears to be a season of fasting and humiliation in the church; from Easter to Whit- sunday a season of rejoicing and thanksgiving to God, for Christ's resurrection, for the happy prospect of our own resur- rection from death through him, and for all the blessings of redeeming love. *' I hope it will be allowed that church people have a regard 1 Conn. Gazette, March 12, 1795, No. 1635 ; Am. Mercury, March 16, 1795, No. 558. 2 Conn. Gazette, March 19, 1795, No. 1636. Since arriving at the conclusion that Bishop Seabury was the author of this article, we have been informed, by the courtesy of Rev. William J. Seabury, D. D., that the original draft of the same in the bishop's own handwriting, to- gether with a copy of the Conn. Gazette in which it appeared, is pre- served among the bishop's manuscripts. 352 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. for the church to which they belong, — an equal affection for their religion with that which other Christians feel for theirs. Their religion is a system of doctrines and duties, to which they are bound by rules, and are not left to humor or fancy. Easter will fall this year on the fifth of April. Ashwednesday fell on the 18th of February. Between these days is a season of fasting and humiliation. The public Thanksgiving was on the 19th day of February, the 2d day of Lent. If church people have a regard to the rules of their church, which some of them certainly have, and an affection for their religion equal with other Christians, it must have been disagreeable to them to be called from the season of humiliation and repentance, to a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving. I presume they have as much religion as their neighbors. They must, therefore, have felt severely, the disagreeable necessity they were under of disregarding the regulations of their church, or disregarding the President's proclamation. Some chose to do the latter. Yet I never" heard fault found with the President's appoint- ment. That it fell in Lent was supposed to be an accident. The church-people never imagined it was intended to wound them; and they trust his affection for the church, the goodness of his heart, his regard for the equal rights of all religious denominations in the United States will prevent the repetition of such an appointment. The President they love, they pray God to continue and increase the graces of his heart, to perfect the virtues of his life, to bless him with every prosperity in this world, and to lead him to eternal felicity in the world to come. I hope, however, that it will not be imputed to them as a crime, that they love their God better than any man, and regard more the interests of eternity than those of this world. " And as it is disagreeable to the church-people to be called by authority to observe days of Thanksgiving in Lent, it is equally disagreeable to be called on to observe days of Fasting in the season appointed by the church to praise God for the resurrec- tion of Christ and the happy prospect of eternal life opened to us by him. Yet I believe that three times in four, the annual Fast in Connecticut is by authority appointed in Easter week; a week of highest joy and praise to the people of the church of any in the year. It was some years ago reported that Bishop Seabury had mentioned this matter to Governor Huntington, and that his Excellency kindly told him, that as far as his influ- GOOD FRIDAY FAST IN CONNECTICUT. 353 ence extended it should not be repeated. It has not, however, been mended. So that, if the report be true, I must suppose the Governor has been overruled in the appointments. " I only beg that it may be considered that church-people have the same feelings and passions with others; that they are equally hurt by unkind usage; and then it will be easy to con- ceive what must be their sensations, after having gone thro' a long discipline by fasting and abstinence from bodily pleasures to be called back from joy and gratitude to God for the great- est blessing ever bestowed on man, to observe a day of fasting and mortification. We live in a time which boasts of its light, especially in the rights of man, and in a country which boasts of its candor and liberality of sentiment, — where the rights of conscience are equal and secure; I hope church-men are not worse than their neighbors, nor worse members of civil society. They ask the equal rights of conscience — They ask the free practice of their religion in their own way, which they think will hurt nobody — They ask to be exempt from observing days of Thanksgiving in Lent, or of Fasting from Easter to Trinity Sunday. This indulgence they presume will not detract from the dignity or influence of a government which they esteem and love, and which, I believe, they are equally ready with their neighbors to support. If they are gratified they will be thankful, tho' they suppose that gratification is their right. If they are to continue under the inconveniences they have long felt, they must regard it as the dispensation of God's provi- dence to exercise their patience, and endeavor by his grace to let patience have her perfect work." The next week " Plain Truth " published a " Reply to the Churchman's Apology," ^ in which he notes that the reasons for not observing the thanksgiving " may doubtless be considered as coming from the best authority," and commends his frankness. The day, he says, was observed by " the Episcopal clergy in gen- eral in Connecticut and universally in New York and Pennsylvania." He censures, however, the principle of opposing the canons of the church to the govern- 1 Conn. Gazette^ March 26, 1795, No. 1637. 354 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. ment. In the same paper is another contribution in reply to the '' Apology," which attacks the keeping of Lent in general, and cites the example of the king of England as appointing thanksgivings without regard to the fasting season. These replies do not deal with the bishop's point as to the annual fast. Here this controversy was lost in another, growing out of the same national appointment, of which we shall have some things to record further on, and which had some influence in winning favor for the Episcopal cause. A month later, however, a short article was published in defense of the government, which is here given : ^ — Mr. Green, — Please insert the following in answer to the Churchman's reflection on the honorable Council of this State, wherein he would insinuate a design in them to prevent the churchman's celebrating the feast of Easter in his own way, by- appointing the annual Fast on that day, and in confirmation says that it is appointed in Easter week three times in four. I can- not but observe his mistake in this. Our forefathers from their settlement of this plantation observed a day of fasting in the spring of the year, to supplicate the Almighty to bless their labors and to cause the land to bring forth its increase ; and the month of April was by them thought most proper, and that solemnity was appointed generally on the second Thursday of April. Looking over an old kalendar in my prayer book, to find Easter for forty years, I find it will fall ten times in March, and seven times on the 20th of April and upwards ; and sixteen times on the 10th of April and downwards ; so that there are but seven days between the 20th and the 10th in which the ap- pointment of the annual Fast in this State is likely to interfere with Easter in forty years, — the Council holding to the antient custom of appointing the second Thursday. I do not know why the people of Connecticut have not as good right to their antient custom of a Fast in the middle of April as others to a moveable feast, dodging about, sometimes as far as the 21st of March, and then extending away to the 25th of April. However, the 1 Conn. Gazette, April 30, 1795, No. 1642. GOOD FRIDAY FAST IN CONNECTICUT. 355 Council, not knowing anything of the Churchman's Apology ap- pointed the annual Fast this year early as the 3d of April, and on Friday, (which was never known before) without giving any offence to the most rigid of those for keeping to the rule estab- lished by their pious forefathers. How different the bigot? But it will be very difficult for the Council in future to adhere to the custom of appointing the annual Fast in April, so as not to interfere with the County Courts in Hartford and Danbury, and at the same time to avoid Easter week, and if it should so happen, as to interfere with Easter once in a while, it is better so, than that the old custom of the annual Fast in the spring of the year, in the month of April, the most suitable time to im- plore a blessing on the ensueing summer, should be appointed before the 21st of March or in May, in order to steer clear of Easter week. But we have no reason to think otherwise than that our honorable Council will oblige any respectable part of the community, that may apply to them in a decent way, to relieve them from keeping a Day of Fasting on Easter Week, whenever it may be consistent with the appointment of Courts, and the ancient custom of the State, in ordering their annual Fast in the middle of the week and in the month of April. Pacificus. The reader has thus before him the documents re- lating to this agitation, and the views of both parties. As to the day when the annual fast had been ap- pointed in previous years, the " three times in four " to which the bishop refers were during the years 1791 to 1794, in the last of which it fell in Lent, and in the other three during Easter week, which was more than the ratio before that, though the point was not essential, as it did happen so, very frequently. It appears, therefore, that on some occasion previous to 1795, and perhaps in connection with the law of 1791, Bishop Seabury had called the attention of Governor Huntington to the annoyance suffered among the Episcopalians by having the annual fast in Easter week, and the governor had assured him that he 356 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. would use his influence to prevent its recurrence; but when the difficulties were brought out it was evi- dently not possible at all times, and probably the report was true that he failed to bring the members of the council to his view. The churchmen, so far as we know, had never asked that the fast be ap- pointed on Good Friday. It probably never occurred to them that such a radical change was possible. They were willing to observe the day during Lent, and in Holy Week they were accustomed to hold fast services, but they did object to the day during Easter week. It was without doubt, therefore. Governor Huntington who proposed to the council the appoint- ment of the first Friday in April. The second week would have been Easter week, and would also have interfered with the county courts. They must choose between the third and the first, and if the latter, Thursday would have been the day before Good Friday, which would seem to countenance the supersti- tion of days of the week, so they wisely determined to try the experiment of selecting Good Friday. Thus Governor Hmitington appears to have kept his promise to the bishop, since this was done without any knowledge of " The Churchman's Apology," which was printed on the 19th of March, while the procla- mation is dated the 10th. If the reader wiU now recur to the situation at that time, he will find rea- son to suspect that this was partly dictated by a desire to allay the excitement occasioned by the re- ported neglect of St. James Church, of which the governor, so near by, must have been advised. In setting Good Friday, April 3, they chose a day which neither Episcopalians nor Congregationalists could GOOD FRIDAY FAST IN CONNECTICUT. 357 consistently refuse to keep, for the former were com- pelled to it by the canons of their church, and the latter by their own arguments for the respect due civil authority. We may infer from the communica- tion of " Pacificus," who, if not the governor him- self, was surely one who knew, that there was some criticism of the appointment by the ''bigots," so called, but that no offense was given thereby to the most liberal and charitable portion of the citizens. Yet it was not then considered as a final settlement of the matter, but only an experiment suggested by the circumstances. We now turn back to the Thanksgiving ordered by the President, to trace m brief another controversy which grew out of it. It had been suggested, in a cir- cular sent abroad through the instrumentality of the late commissioner of the United States to Algiers, David Humphreys, that a general collection be taken on the thanksgiving day for the redemption of cap- tives.^ Bishop Seabury, out of his benevolence, issued a recommendation to his diocese that such an offering be taken up on the third Sunday in March, and signed himself " Samuel Bp. of Connecticut and Rhode Is- land." 2 This called out a sarcastic article from one " Connecticut and Rhode Island," in which this title was called " a pompous expression of priestly pride," as he was only the Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut and Rhode Island, — as the bishops of New York and Pennsylvania were wont to style them- 1 Conn. Gazette, March 26, 1795, No. 1637. There were then at least thirteen ships and one hundred and twenty-six captives in Algiers. 2 Ibid., February 19, 1795, No. 1632. 358 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. selves.^ The bishop did not trouble himself about the matter, but he had a champion in the "Newport Mercuiy " who wrote under the name " Aletheia," and a "Presbyterian " at home who bestirred himself in his behalf. On the other hand "Sidney" and "Anony- mous " came to the assistance of " Connecticut and Rhode Island." 2 go fQj. weeks quite a stir was made about this spiritual title, all of which, we conclude, was probably urged on by the bigots' disgust over the solution of the fast day question, which might readily have been attributed to Episcopal influence. They could not reflect on the appointment without censur- ing the council, so they vented their feelings upon the supposed cause of the change. However this may be, the words of " Presbyterian " in reply to the insinua- tions of the bishop's enemies should be recorded as the best sentiment of the people : " The private char- acter of Bishop Seabury will bear the test of the strictest scrutiny ; it has the universal respect and esteem of the citizens of New London, and cannot be shaken by vile calumny." So this episode only tended to increase the kindly feeling toward the churchmen. This also was accomplished : the public attention was diverted from criticism of what was really a radical change in Connecticut customs. The Good Friday fast slipped in quite naturally, and without popular discussion, which would have roused some resistance. A precedent was established, and the day was kept by 1 Am. Mercury, March 16, 1795, No. 558. This article was also sent to the Conn. Gazette, but that paper would not publish it until after- wards urgfed to do so {Conn. Gazette, March 26, 1795). 2 See Conn. Gazette, April 16, April 23, April 30, and May 7, 1795 ; Am. Mercury, April 20 and April 27, 1795 ; Newport Mercury, April, 1795. GOOD FRIDAY FAST IN CONNECTICUT. 359 all denominations in their own way, and without doubt as profitably as it would have been on any other day. Before the time came for appointing the fast day of 1796, both Bishop Seabury and Governor Huntington were dead. Hon. Oliver Wolcott was in the guber- natorial office. Perhaps he thought it wise to return to the former custom. Possibly he had never con- sidered the matter, or was overruled by the council. Great latitude was given the governor in such busi- ness, but in this instance the proclamation has the clause with ''advice of Council." At aU events he appointed Thursday, April 14, which did not fall within Easter week.^ In 1797 Easter was April 16. The problem was fairly before them. The governor did not wish to set the day during Easter week, after what had been so kindly said against it, and he could not set it in any other than Holy Week on account of the coimty courts. Nor would he be so discourteous as to name a Wednesday or Thursday of that week. So a second time the day was on Good Friday. It is noticeable that this proclamation omits the clause "with the advice and consent of Council," and probably they were not called together for the purpose.^ In 1798 the younger Jonathan Trumbull, of Leb- anon, was acting-governor. There were some reasons which would have influenced him to foUow the pre- cedent already established. It had appeared that the ^ The proclamation was doubtless printed at Litchfield by Collier and Buel, as the imperfect cut of the seal would suggest, being with- out the motto, *' Qui. Tran. Sust."' 2 Original draft in Wolcott Papers, iv. 93, Conn. Hist. Soc. The fast proclamation of 1798 has the clause, but that of 1799 has 7iot. That of 1797 was printed at Litchfield. 360 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. fast on Good Friday had not hurt any one. Certain it is, as the manuscript draft in the archives of the Con- necticut Historical Society shows, that when he wrote the proclamation of 1798, he regarded the question as settled either by the council or precedent, for he wrote in the date of Good Friday. Trumbull occupied the governor's chair until his death in 1809, and surely found it easy to follow his own example. In the papers of the Connecticut Historical Society there is a letter to Governor Trumbull from Bishop Jarvis, under date February 19, 1802, concerning the appointment of that year. The standard almanac had put Easter on April 25, but by the church calendar it came on the 18th. It was to advise the governor of this error that the bishop wrote. But it is to show the absence of any dictatorial spirit that this reference is made. After remarking that "in some former instances " His Excellency had thought proper to appoint the fast on Good Friday, he makes the cor- rection, and further says : " What attention your Ex- cellency may be disposed to give to the day of very solemn estimation in the church in your appointment of the vernal Fast I do not venture prematurely to judge. My intention is nothing more than if there should be occasion for it, barely to suggest to your Excellency that I trust there will be no diversity either in Europe or America, but that Easter will be celebrated universally on the eighteenth." The gov- ernor's reply, March 15, is also preserved, and says he has already decided on April 16 and sent his proclamation to press. Thus the custom came about in Connecticut. It has been continuous since, and has never been objected GOOD FRIDAY FAST IN CONNECTICUT. 361 to by the people. For some years it retained among the Congregationalists its ancient character, as the themes treating upon it show ; but the fact commem- orated upon that day has gradually been gaining im- portance in its thought. It is of common interest to all Christian denominations. Some have objected to the appointment by civil authorities, which is thought to serve no reHgious purpose, and others to the holi- day character given to it ; but the day is observed less as a civil fast, and more as a church day. It is in fact a return to the conceptions of the early Puritans, — a fast which they would have kept, as Christmas and Easter, could they have separated these from saints' days and the prevailing irreligious customs. It is not the institution of early New England, and is a fast to which they would have decidedly objected ; but it seems, nevertheless, to serve best the spiritual purpose of the fathers. CHAPTER XXV. THE POLITICAL FAST IN MASSACHUSETTS. 1789-1799. It may be said, in a general view, that the fast and thanksgiving days of Massachusetts have passed through three periods to their present development. The observance which the forefathers brought from old England was religious, having its motive in the doctrine of Divine Providence, and this was main- tained with vigor down to the establishment of the provincial government. With the adoption of the system of annual appointments, particularly as to the fast day, came in an observance having its affiliations with the season of the year, the events of which it chronicled, and this was characteristic through the Revolution. After the organization of the federal government, the observance — though retaining the semblance of the first period, and operating through the system of the second — was infused with the political spirit, which has been, on the whole, domi- nant in it to the present time. The fast day espe- cially may be characterized as successively religious, historical, and political. The political sermon on a fast or thanksgiving day is not a modern innovation. Aside from all the arguments which may now be offered in its favor, this is preeminently true : at the time of its introduction POLITICAL FAST IN MASSACHUSETTS. 363 the clergy occupied such a position in relation to pubKc affairs that they would have thought them- selves culpable had they been silent upon them in their pulpits. During the American Revolution their influence had increased rather than diminished. They were the intimate friends and often the advisers of public men, and entertained positive views upon the various issues which necessarily arose in the organi- zation of government. The congregational polity, which had secretly wrought in state governments, and materially influenced the union of the States, was a theme to which they had been born. Moreover, it so happened that the questions which directed the first decade of political agitation after the adoption of the Constitution, namely the relations to foreign nations, and particularly the influence of France, brought with them matters of great moment to the religious beUefs of the people. Infidelity was rife everywhere. The ministers were alarmed lest the friends of the French Revolution should propagate these opinions, and in arraying themselves against these they also stood opposed to the Jacobinical soci- eties and other democratic orders which waged a war against the Federalists. So it is in a measure true that the New England ministers were seduced into political discussions. The political parties grew up around them, and they were found partisans from the circumstances of the time. Nor can it be supposed that these sermons were fruitless of good. They were in a sense political documents, were printed and reprinted as such. Everybody read them; and with the politics the readers imbibed much sound sense and many arguments against French infidelity. 364 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, Surely they had the virtue of declaring positive opin- ions, and they did not attempt to preserve a judicious neutrality. On the other hand the opposite party were greatly incensed against the ministers, and on the whole the results were injurious to the churches. A few months after the inauguration of President Washington he appointed, at the request of Con- gress, a national thanksgiving day on account of the adoption of the Constitution. It was November 26, 1789. Tliis must be very evident, that the anti- Federalists would not heartily enjoy such a day. It seemed like asking them to rejoice over their own defeat, and was very suggestive of the party rooster. This was the introduction of the political issue. The day was observed generally in New England, taking the place of the usual autumn thanksgiving, though some States issued another proclamation omitting the particular reference to the Constitution. As years passed, and the opposition to the policy of the government increased, the Democratic party of that day came into existence with its popular enthu- siasm in behalf of France and her societies for the furtherance of political designs. Then the ministers of Massachusetts were almost unanimous in support of the government. The patriot, Samuel Adams, who became governor in 1793 upon the death of John Hancock, was an ardent Democrat. When the season came round in 1794 for the annual thanksgiving, the governor, for some reason, omitted from the procla- mation all mention of the federal government. This was a challenge to the divines who were Federalists, and they were not slow in making the most of the omission. The 20th of November was therefore an POLITICAL FAST IN MASSACHUSETTS. 365 occasion for much preaching of politics in that com- monwealth. Foremost of all was David Osgood, of Medford. The title of his sermon on that day was innocent enough, — " The Wonderful Works of God are to be remembered." But in it he purposely took up the several causes named in the proclamation, mitil he came to that phrase so historical and significant to the New Englander, "civil rights and Uberties." Here he spoke as follows : " For . . . our civil rights and liberties, we are, under Providence, and as the mean by which Heaven has granted and continues them to us, indebted to a cause or source which, I am sorry to observe, is not mentioned, nor even referred to in the proclamation — I mean the general or federal government. This omission is strange and singular, beyond anything of the kind that I recollect to have seen since the first union of the states in the memora- ble year 1775. It has, to say the least, a strong ap- pearance of disconnection with the general government, and an air of separate sovereignty and independence, as though we enjoyed not our civil rights in union with the other states under one common Head." He continued with a eulogy of the federal government, and a denunciation of the "Democratic societies." In connection with the latter he thus refers to the governor: "Unless we suppose him to have fallen under the baneful influence of those societies, we know not how to account for his having hazarded a proclamation in which we are directed, neither to give thanks for any advantages enjoyed by means of that government, nor even to ask the blessing of Heaven upon it." In a note to this sentence he says, " This must appear the more extraordinary when we reflect, 866 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. that at the time of Issueing the proclamation, war with the savages raged on our frontiers, rebellion in the bosom of the country, and our situation, with respect to the powers of Europe, had become so critical that we were actually fortifying and forming a numerous army." ^ Other sermons of that day made allusions to these events, especially to the so-caUed " Whiskey Insurrection " of western Pennsylvania, which was a resistance of the authority of the federal government ; and they did not hesitate to speak of it, as did Samuel Stillman, of Boston, as " displaying the energy of gov- ernment and the excellency of the executive in the methods that have been taken first to conciliate, and in case of failure, to subdue the insurgents." 2 But we shall let in the light by quoting from a letter from Eev. Jedidiah Morse, of Charlestown, to Hon. Oliver Wolcott, comptroller of the United States Treasury .^ Chablestown, December 17, 1794. My dear Sir, — I take the liberty to enclose you Mr. Osgoods Thanksgiving sermon, with whh I think you wiU be pleased. It will evince that the sentiments of the clergy this way (for so far as I am acquainted he (Mr. Osgood) speaks the sentiments of nine out of ten of the clergy) agree with those of the President, Senate and House of Representatives, in respect to the ^'self-created Societies,'^ The thanksgiving sermons in Boston & its vicinity (with only two or three exceptions,) all breathed the same spirit, — though their manner was not so particular & pointed as Mr. Osgoods. His sermon is now the gen- ^ The Wonderful Works of God, etc., Osgood, pp. 16, 25. 2 Thoughts on the French Revolution, Stillman, p. 25. ^ Wolcott Papers^ viii. 9, Conn. Hist. See. POLITICAL FAST IN MASSACHUSETTS. 367 erat topic of conversation ; it has grievously offended the Jacobins. Poor fellows I they seem to be at- tacked on all sides. They must I think feel it to be a truth, that "there is no peace to the wicked." They still make a noise, but it is like the groans of despair. I could wish, if you think it proper, that the ser- mon might, in a suitable way, be put into the hands of our most worthy President with this remark accom- panying it, that the clergy in this Commonwealth, generally approve of the same sentiments. I wish it because it may possibly add to his satisfaction, & will certainly to our honor in his view. To render some parts of the sermon intelligible it may be necessary to observe that our Governor is not considered as very warmly attached either to our Federal Gov* or to the President. And as if to prove to the world that this was actually the case he omitted, contrary to all former custom the mention of both in the Proclamation. ... I am with great sincerity & esteem. Your friend, Jed= Morse. To Oliver Wolcott, Comptroller of the U. S. Treasy. Philadelphia, Pa. The sermon by David Osgood made a great sensa- tion in Massachusetts. It was at once printed, and several times reprinted. No former thanksgiving ser- mon had such a circulation. It was a theme for com- ment among the newspapers far and near. Of course the reverend author came under fire, and he found himself the most celebrated minister in the State. The Federalists praised him, and the Democrats visited 368 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. upon him all the epithets they could command.^ " The Boston Independent Chronicle " printed several communications on the subject, prominently those of "A Friend to the Clergy and an Enemy to Ecclesi- astical Presumption," " Fair Play a Jewell," and " A Friend to Decency and Free Inquiry." ^ "Parson Osgood " had the pleasure of seeing himself immor- talized in such poetic lines as these : — " Osgood stand forth, I dare thee to be tried. In that Great Court where conscience must preside." And the parson did stand forth, very greatly to the trial of his enemies, as the sequel shows. A reply to his sermon was shortly printed, and though it was anonymous, the author was none other than Hon. James SuUivan, afterwards governor of Massachusetts. The title was, '' The Altar of Baal thrown down ; or the French Nation defended, against the Pulpit Slan- der of David Osgood A. M. Pastor of the Church in Medford. A Sermon Par citoyen de Novion." In this the author defends the governor against the charge of omitting the federal government from his procla- mation, closing with such withering counsel as this : " I now leave you Sir, with only advising you never again to step out of your line to gratify a party," — advice which the " Parson " was careful to disregard on the first opportunity. The other ministers who preached political sermons ^ " Mr. Osgood has already experienced some small reward for his late sermon, as he has boasted with his usual bluntness, that he has received a large cheese from a friend, as a token of his approbation. We have heard of the ' tythe pig,' but never before of a tythe cheese ! " — Boston Ind. Chron.j December 29, 1794. 2 Boston Ind. Chron., December 22, 25, and 29, 1794; January 8, 1795. POLITICAL FAST IN MASSACHUSETTS. 369 that day were not spared, though they had been less pronounced in their utterances. One of these was an Episcopalian. The " Boston Independent Chronicle " of November 24, 1794, records the preaching on Thurs- day last of a sermon against Democratic societies by " a certain Episcopalian ' thumper of the pulpit drum,' " and gives sufficient account of his words to show that they were very decidedly political and in support of the government. A later issue has some- thing more to say on " The Episcopalian Canon or the Trinity Church Trumpeter," and speaks of him as a young man. This could have been none other than the Assistant of Trinity Church, Rev. John S. J. Gardiner, who afterwards delivered several strongly political sermons, of which practice he was an advocate. His sermon November 20, 1794, was not printed, and all we know of it is from the above report. The se- quel follows. In 1796 the Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Church in Massachusetts, following the example of Bishop Samuel Seabury, of Connecticut, already detailed, petitioned the governor, — this same Samuel Adams, — asking him not to appoint the annual fast day so that it would faU during Easter week, in order that it may not " wound the feelings of so many of the citizens of this Commonwealth as compose the body of the Protestant Episcopalians." ^ This " Memorial " came before the governor and council on the 27th of January, 1797, whereupon they "Advised that this Memorial be put on file, and that the Secretary be directed to lay the same before 1 The committee were appointed May 24, 1796, and consisted of Drs. Walter and Parker, and Perez Morton, Esq. They reported May 30, 1797. The Memorial is printed in Journals of the Conven- tions, etc., pp. 61, 62. 370 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. the Council when they have under consideration the appointment of the annual fasts in order that the wishes of the Episcopal Gentlemen may be complied with." If it was hoped that Massachusetts would follow the example of Connecticut and appoint the annual fast on Good Friday, it was a disappointment, though in this instance the request was complied with, by the setting of the fast that year in May. Such a course would have been strongly condemned in Mas- sachusetts at that time. By the 1st of January, 1795, the prospect of a foreign war had greatly decreased, and therefore Washington issued on that day his proclamation for a national thanksgiving the 19th of February. Natu- rally, his mention of the causes gave offense to the Democrats. Again there was a general discharge of clerical artillery. No less than thirty-three sermons preached on that day were printed, and more than two thirds of these were by the ministers of Massachu- setts. Most of them were printed at the request of their respective congregations; some by vote of the town. Such as deal particularly with poKtics present a formidable array of considerations in support of the federal government. There is one notable excep- tion, — the sermon of Ebenezer Bradford, minister of the First Church in Rowley. He was a Democrat, and upon that occasion expressed himself without concealment. David Tappan, of Harvard College, preached at Charlestown in the afternoon, and his discourse, with that of the pastor, Jedidiah Morse, in the morning, must have made the day a Federalist celebration. Before the former's sermon was printed, that of Ebenezer Bradford had appeared, which gave POLITICAL FAST IN MASSACHUSETTS. 371 an opportunity to answer him, which was done in an appendix to Tappan's sermon. The Democratic min- ister spoke in commendatory terms of the Democratic societies ; these the Federalists condemned, at the same time lauding the successes of the government in sup- pressing the "Whiskey Insurrection," averting war, and conquering the Indians. Among the rest David Osgood was again heard from, in the same strain as on the former occasion. This made him the champion of the Federalists and Bradford of the Democrats. A newspaper paragraph runs as follows : " When the pitiful, short-lived fame of the monk of Medford is forgotten, when his puny attempt at abuse and de- nunciation is buried in merited oblivion, the laurels of a Bradford shall bloom with increasing glory, and that assertion of the rights of the people be remembered with gratitude by millions of Freemen." ^ Alas ! the fact of history is that both divines are pretty much forgotten, and their sermons have fed the paper-mill to such an extent that they are rarely met with by the collector. We quote again from the manuscript correspond- ence of Rev. Jedidiah Morse.^ Charlestown, March 18, 1795. Dear Sir, — ... I am greatly pleased with D'. Smith's Sermon.^ I am sorry it is published with the privilege of copyright. It w'd otherwise be pub- lished here & have, I doubt not, an extensive circula- 1 Bos. Ind. Chron., March 2, 1795. ^ Wolcott Papers, viii. ' This refers to Dr. Smith's sermon of February 19, 1795, and not to a fast sermon of January 6, a day set by the Synod of New York and New Jersey before the President appointed the thanksgiving. The latter was not copyrighted. 372 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. tion, & do mucli good. Won't the Printer who has secured the right permit an Edition to be printed here ? Mr. Osgood's Second Sermon you have proba- bly seen. I suppose it will be reprinted with you, or w'd send you one. I enclose you for your candid ac- ceptance a copy of my sermon, & also one of D^ Tap- pan's and one of J)^ Barnard's. The National Thanks- giving has done a vast deal of good in sl 2^olitical vieio this way. All the sermons whh have been published (& they are numerous) have, as far as I have heard, spoke the language of Federalism except Mr. Brad- ford's of whh you may learn the character in D^ Tappan's appendix to his discourse. . . . Jed^ Morse. To Hon. Oliver Wolcott. In a few weeks the annual fast day came, April 2, and then it was Bradford's turn to reply to Tappan in an appendix. At this time also, and in consequence of the national thanksgiving, a similar discussion was going on in New York and Philadelphia. The sermons of Samuel Stanhope Smith, delivered in the Quaker city, had a wide popularity and a great sale, and those of Bishop William White and Ashbel Green were enthu- siastically received. In New York Osgood's sermons were widely distributed, and only surpassed by one delivered by John M^Knight, one of the ministers of the United Presbyterian Church, who was a Demo- crat of most decided convictions. So the people everywhere were reading the political tracts of the clergy. Encouraged by this patronage, and not a little profited also, they kept at it. On the autumn thanksgiving David Osgood delivered the third part of POLITICAL FAST IN MASSACHUSETTS. 373 his treatise, of which Jedidiah Morse wrote, " It is the same tune in a higher key," but which the Democrats attacked with animosity. In the year 1796 another disturbing question was settled, — the treaty with England was sustained. This determined the character of the thanksgiving cel- ebration in the autumn. Again many sermons were preached, and some were printed. Referring to the occasion, Rev. Jedidiah Morse wrote under date De- cember 23, " Very few of y® clergy in the circle of my acquaintance seem disposed to pray for the success of the French since they have so insidiously & wickedly interfered in the management of our political affairs, & I apprehend the complexion of the thanksgiving sermons throughout N. Eng^ this year is very differ- ent from those of the last in respect to this particular. I can speak for more than one with certainty." ^ For a time, however, the excitement subsided. Rev. Eben- ezer Bradford was in a measure ostracized among the ministers, very much to their shame. His neighbor, Rev. Levi Frisbie, of Ipswich, \\Tites to his friend Rev. David MacClure, of East Windsor, Conn. : " Our Jacobinical Brother Bradford has indeed preached and written himself almost entirely out of credit. He was not indeed expelled the association, but he was so roughly dealt with that he has not attended its meet- ings this long time." ^ To such a pass had these politi- cal sermons brought the fast and thanksgiving days, that the people looked to them for their sensations. In the spring of 1798 it was supposed that the coun- try was on the eve of a war with France. This led President Adams, on the 23d of March, to recommend ^ Wolcott Papers, viii. ^ MS. Letter, Conn. Hist. Soc. 874 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, a general fast in all the States on the 9 th of May. Many said it had a political intent, though it was generally observed ; ^ and the printed sermons show how widely distributed the interest was, both as to States and religious denominations. The President said the country was placed "in a hazardous and afflictive situation, by the unfriendly disposition, con- duct and demands of a foreign power, evinced by repeated refusals to receive our messengers of recon- ciliation and peace, by depredations on our com- merce and the infliction of injuries on very many of our fellow citizens." This was true, but it was not an acceptable sentiment to some. The character of Dr. Osgood's discourse on that day is briefly stated in its title, " Some facts evincive of the atheistical, an- archical, and, in some respects, immoral principles of the French Revolution." This was the tone of other sermons. Shortly before this, Robinson's " Proofs of a Conspiracy against the Christian Religion " had reached America. It contained somewhat sensational disclosures of the character and work of the Illu- minati, a secret atheistical society in France. A copy had come into the hands of Rev. Jedidiah Morse, who took the fast day for denouncing the pernicious influ- ence of such irreligious bodies, which, he claimed, had maintained branches in America for years. In an appendix to his thanksgiving sermon of November 29, 1798, and in the notes to his fast sermon of April 25, 1799, he continued his discussion of this subject. But from his first utterance the ministers took the alarm. A voice was raised everywhere against French infidel- ^ Connecticut observed May 16, instead of the 9th, because the lat- ter was election day. — Eobbins^s Diary, i. 56. POLITICAL FAST IN MASSACHUSETTS, 375 ity, which was supposed to be propagated by the lUu- minati. The Masonic orders were greatly disturbed, and the feeling against these Federalist preachers was augmented among the Democrats, who resented the imputation that was put upon them. The newspapers arrayed themselves on both sides. A Federalist organ said of the thanksgiving sermons, " We wish it were in our power to do justice to the performances (amongst many others) of a Tappan, an Eckley, a Lathrop, a Thacher, a Earkland, a Baldwin and a Kendall. Public opinion has passed their eulogy." ^ A Democratic organ replied : " Our clergy would serve the cause of religion at this day of deism more effectually by vin- dicating the truths of the gospel than the measures of government." ^ From this time criticism upon the course of the ministers increased. Though many, like Dr. Morse, of Charlestown, carried their congregations with them, some were not so fortimate. Many worthy parisliioners deserted the churches. When the spring of 1799 came, the President again set a national fast, the 25th of April. In the pro- clamation was this paragraph: "The most precious interests of the people of the United States are still held in jeopardy, by the hostile designs and insidious arts of a foreign nation, as well as by the dissemina- tion among them of those principles subversive of the foundations of all religious, moral and social obliga- tions, that have produced incalculable mischief and misery in other countries." This was a pointed arrow in the quiver of every political preacher. There were then in circulation multitudes of infidel tracts, the 1 Columbian Centinel, December 1, 1798. 2 Boston Ind. Chron,, December 3, 1798. 376 FAST A ND THANKSGI VI NG ' DA YS, most prominent by Thomas Paine. It seemed to the ministers that the very foundations were in danger. So when the President put them in the way of it, they were aroused to do their utmost against irreligion. Had this been without political affiliations, only good could have come from it, but the truth was quite other- wise. It was a political goad in their hands. On the 15th of April the Boston Association of Ministers is- sued a circular to their brethren, in which they com- mended the President's proclamation, and besought the churches to seek the reformation of evils and exert themselves against the progress of irreligion.^ Of course it was a day of very earnest observance, and many printed sermons. David Osgood, who somehow had by this time been promoted from being the "Monk of Medford" to be the "Bishop of Mystic," was heard from as usual, and under a very unusual title, " The Devil let loose, or the wo occasioned by his wrathful appearance," in which he intimated that the royal residence of that personage was at that time in France. His sermon was published anonymously. Jedidiah Morse, who had been challenged everywhere for his proofs as to the Illuminati in America, put out, in extended notes to his sermon, such as had been some time in his hands. Upon further investigation these did not turn out as had been expected. They were everywhere ridiculed. A reaction set in against him. Anonymous and threatening letters were sent to him through the mails, which were illustrated with pen and ink hieroglyphics, and ornamented with dag- ^ Wolcott Papers, viii. 25. — A copy of this circular. It grew into an address of the Convention of Ministers of Massachusetts, which was sent even to New York and Philadelphia. POLITICAL FAST IN MASSACHUSETTS. 377 gers and coffins. These at least troubled his peace. He was made to feel that he had trampled upon the sacred secrets of a Masonic society who would have " blood for blood," as they comfortingly informed him.i He did very boldly set at defiance their threats, but probably in the quiet of his study at Charlestown he meditated whether he had been making the best use of the fast and thanksgiving days after all. At ' all events that was the general reflection as the reac- tion increased. Abraham Bishop, of rare fame at the time, regaled his hearers thus as to the matter : "How much, think you, has religion been benefited by ser- mons, intended to show that Satan and Cain were Jacobins ? How much by sermons in which every deistical argument has been presented with its great- est force as being a part of the Republican creed ? Is this, men of God, following the precept, 'Feed my sheep, feed my lambs ' ? " 2 This is what the people began to think as the excitement passed over. To be sure, the clergy had their view of the case, but when they came to turn once more to their particular par- ishes, it was somewhat modified. Many of the anti- Federalists had forsaken the church, and absented themselves from the services of the Sabbath which their fathers had attended so assiduously. These were made a harvest for infidelity. Indeed, the agitations ^ The Wolcott Papers show that Dr. Morse derived his original in- formation from Hon. Oliver Wolcott. Some of these anonymous warnings are therein preserved, and further information on the sub- ject. 2 Connecticut Republicanism^ Bishop, pp. 20, 39, 40. See, also, Oration at Wallingford, Conn., March 11, 1801, Bishop, p. 46 ; Works of Peter Porcupine, x. 230. Cobbett approved of Dr. Morse's course and copied the appendix to his sermon. The newspaper comments pro and con are very numerous. 378 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. of this decade in the churches of New England did much to dethrone the royal influence of the one church, which in many towns had hitherto united the people in their worship. The religious influence of the minister was greatly lessened in the end. He had pleased some of his own opinion for the time, but he had lost something of his preeminence and authority as the spiritual patriarch of the community. CHAPTER XXVI. THE PROCLAMATIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. 1811-1815. The political agitation of the closing years of the eighteenth century, which had connected itself with fast and thanksgiving days, destroyed the immediate prospect of a national adoption of the institution. New England was left to observe the regular an- nual appointments in the several States. Of the two States which had cherished such days from the earliest times, Massachusetts, far more than Connecticut, was instrumental in bringing about this uniformity. As to the district of Maine, it was under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, into which it had come in 1686, to which it was confirmed by the provincial charter in 1692, and of which it continued a part after Massa- chusetts became a State, imtil its admission to the Union in 1820. From its first occupation, therefore, down to that time, its days were those of Massachu- setts, — whose' proclamations were sent thither, — ex- cept as the churches set such other occasions as local causes might suggest.^ As to New Hampshire, its scattered settlements were under Massachusetts juris- diction from 1643 down to 1679-80, when it was created a royal province. During this period its dis- 1 See Extracts from the Journals of Rev. Thomas Smith, Fal- mouth, Me. 380 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. tant towns kept such days as they chanced to hear of, or followed the will of the churches. Before the first session of its General Assembly, March 16, 1679-80, a fast day was appointed for February 26, and, as they began the year with fasting, they closed it with a thanksgiving, January 13,168 0-1 . The proclamations for both these days are in print.^ From that time on, except during the unsettled period from 1686 to 1692, when it returned to the fortunes of Massachusetts, there was an independent method of appointments in use, though under the provincial governors, as appears in the Calendar, the orders sometimes issued from the governor and sometimes from the lieutenant-governor by advice of the council. Therefore both the days and the causes were many times the same as in Massachu- setts. As to Rhode Island, the custom was first forced upon them during the administration of Governor Edmund Andros. Then it was entirely dropped until the time of the French wars, unless now and then by church appointment.*^ In 1756 the 20th of May was a public fast, and thereafter several public thanksgivings were observed, presumably because of royal a* thority or example. This practice was again taken up during the American Revolution, and the days set by the Continental Congress brought the State into harmony with the rest of New England. After the Revolution the fast and the thanksgiving parted company, the former being observed only on occasion, as ordered by the state or the national government, the latter be- coming an annual institution with the national thanks- 1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc, xvi. 265, 266, 278, 279 ; N. H. Col. Bee, xix. 660, 661, 674, 675. 2 Rec. Pres. Chh., Westerly, R. I., in N. E. Beg., xxvi. 383 £P,: Sermon, August 27, 1755. PROCLAMATIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. 381 giving of 1789.^ Rhode Island, therefore, has never adopted the annual fast day. As to Vermont, the State came naturally into the common practice during the American Revolution, the first proclamation issued being for the fast day June 18, 1777.^ Thus at the beginning of the present century all the New England States, except Rhode Island, were keeping annual spring fasts, and these were in the month of April, unless the Good Friday fast of Con- necticut chanced to fall in March. Thursday was the day in Massachusetts ^ and New Hampshire, and Wednesday in Vermont. The annual autumn thanks- giving had become an established institution with all, being usually a Thursday in November, though occa- sionally put off to the first Thursday in December. After the national fast of April 25, 1799, there were no national days until those connected with the war of 1812, nor any special days in the New Eng- land States. Rehgious bodies sometimes appointed them, as in the case of September 8, 1808, set by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian churches, and partioiilar churches and towns did the same, though less frequently than formerly. Upon one occasion, at least, February 16, 1809, the legislature of Massa- ^ In 1845 the authority for making these appointments, which had been exercised by the General Assembly, was committed to the gov- ernor. 2 Bee. Gov. and Coun. Vt., i. 59 ; Hist. Mag., 2d ser. iii. 110 ; Vt, Hist. Soc. Coll., i. 55 ; MS. Bee. N. Y. ^ Since 1815, the limit of the calendar, the fast day in Massachusetts has usually been the first Thursday in April. The following are ex- ceptions : 1829, April 9th; 1830, 8th; 1835, 9th; 1841, 8th; 1847, 8th; 1849, 12th; 1850, 11th; 1851, 10th; 1852, 8th; 1856, 10th; 1857, 16th; 1858, 15th; 1865, 13th; 1869, 8th; 1876, 13th; 1877, 12th ; 1878, 11th ; 1880, 8th ; 1886, 8th. These have been mainly to avoid April 1. 382 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. chusetts met for humiliation and prayer at the meet- ing-house in Brattle Street, when the services were conducted by the chaplains, Messrs. Buckminster and Lowell.^ Other than in such exceptions the practice of earlier times had been laid aside for the spring and autunm days. The sermons which were delivered de- clined in interest, as one may judge from their titles. Sometimes they were political, but more generally upon a stray theme to which the preacher had been moved, or upon the religious aspects of himiiliation and thanksgiving. The proclamations also presented a great variety of considerations, always having a relation to passing events, in wliich they very greatly differ from the formal and sapless orders of New England governors at the present time. These gave a life to the services, quickening the thought of the people and enforcing a recognition of blessings wliich otherwise might have been unnoticed. One prominent feature of most all the proclamations, during the first decade of this century, was the mention of foreign affairs. The fortunes of European nations were fol- lowed with interest. They mourned over the devas- tation of Napoleon's armies and prayed for the coming of peace. This conqueror was not generally popular with the ministers. They counted him a cruel tyrant, and occasionally the prophets among them would get out the book of Revelation and search for the par- ticular vial of wrath which he was pouring out. It was generally thought that he was waging a war of Antichrist in behalf of the papal powers of Europe or fallen Babylon, whose emissaries abroad were the atheistical French, — a view not at all popular with 1 Hill's Hist of the Old South Church, u. 338. PROCLAMATIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. 383 such as sympathized with France. The proclama- tions would also reflect, upon occasion, the local inter- ests of each State, the sickness in some towns, the fires of more than common destructibility, and the deaths of prominent persons, all of which were appropriate and useful in creating a mutual interest among the vari- ous sections of the State. Institutions of learning were remembered, and sometimes the ministers were special subjects of prayer. One of the first public announce- ments of the formation of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was in the pro- clamation of its first president, Governor John Tread- well, of Connecticut, for the thanksgiving November 29, 1810, which was issued the month following the first meeting of the board at Farmington, and men- tions as cause for gratitude " institutions to send the Gospel to newly peopled regions and to the Pagan world." Scarcely a proclamation can be found which has not a clause requiring the interpretation of his- tory. We have now at hand an illustration of this, in certain political proclamations, which one might read to-day without interest, but which then made a decided sensation. The war of 1812 did not affect the days like those of earlier times, for its events were not of such a critical character. But, unlike any be- fore, the issues divided the people, and brought the governors of the several States into the peril of ex- pressing too decidedly their own political opinions. It was a war of proclamations, in which the ministers bore a particular part. In the year 1811 the political caldron, in which party differences had been simmering for some time, began to boil furiously, and this affected the fast and 384 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. thanksgiving day observances. The Federalists were still strong, especially so in New England, where they included most of the Congregational ministers ; but the Democrats or Democratic-Republicans had pos- session of the national government. Their policy had all along been favorable to the French, and such measures had been adopted as had paralyzed indus- tries, restricted commerce, and spread abroad an alarm of approaching war. Hon. Elbridge Gerry, very prominent in Republican counsels, was the gov- ernor of Massachusetts. In due time he issued the proclamation for the fast, April 11, 1811. It looks innocent enough at this distance, but read with the eyes of the Federalist minister, it was a provoking doc- ument. Perhaps others beside Dr. Gardiner, of Trin- ity Church, Boston, read it with a very brief pause between the words " Elbridge Gerry Governor " and " God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ! " We quote the objectionable paragraph : — " And for our unparalleled ingratitude to that Adorable Be- ing, . . . who has protected us by a federal and state Constitu- tion, each adapted to support the other. Who has blessed us with a wise and upright national Government, which, amidst numerous embarrassments and difficulties, has promoted beyond reasonable expectation our peace prosperity and happiness — Who has indulged us with wise legislatures, with codes of mild and equitable laws, and with learned judges to expound and ad- minister them — Who has diminished that party spirit, which, generated by craft and ambition and fostered by ire and folly, has been destructive of social happiness." The effect of this proclamation was to bring down upon the governor the severest criticism, and when the day arrived the discussion of political themes was in order. Two sermons of those in print attracted PROCLAMATIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. 385 fecial attention. One was by Solomon Aiken, of Draeut, upon " The Rise and Progress of the Polit- ical Dissension in the United States." This was Republican, and of course attributed the prevailing troubles to the Federalists. Its author was a vigor- ous disputant, and afterwards issued an " Address to Federal Clergymen on the Subject of the War." One paragraph in the sermon called out special criti- cism : " A separation must and will take place, things will come to a crisis. There is a rooted enmity be- tween modern Federalism and Republicanism. They can no more coalesce than the feet and toes of the Hieroglyphical Image of the Nations, wliich were a part of iron and a part of Potter's clay. A separ ration must come, and in the opinion of the speaker, who pretends to no spirit of prophesy, neither party wiU die, 'tiU it bleeds to death." Some regarded this as an alarming sentiment, and it was taken notice of in " An Address to the Rev. Mr. Aiken on his Fast Sermon, 1811 " by " Clericus," wliich appeared in the " Columbian Centinel," April 1, 1812. The other sermon was by Elijah Parish, of Byfield, a vio- lent Federalist, and of this more particular notice should be made. His text sheds light upon the course of his thought, — " Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every un- clean and hateful bird," Rev. xviii. 2. After setting forth his view of Babylon, and finding a resem- blance between it and the principles of the Repub- lican party, he takes up the governor's proclamation, and deals with it thus : " In the third section is the following sentence, ' Who has blessed us with a wise 386 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. and upright national government, which amidst nu- merous embarrassments and difficulties has promoted beyond reasonable expectations, our peace ^ iwosperity^ and happiness,^ This the chief magistrate doubt- less expected the clergy would read in a serious man- ner to their people, as a part of their instruction without comment or remark. I would as soon have administered poison in your cups. He would be ' a lying spirit' in the mouths of Christian ministers. He knew that very few clergymen in the Common- wealth believed a single word of this sentence ; yet he treacherously intended they should read it. He doubtless intended to silence murmurs by this sancti- monious declaration, and to gain influence. A more fraudulent sentence never came from a scribe of Babylon. What have the general government done more than could be reasonably expected? From what burden have they relieved you? What branch of commerce have they protected? What husband- man or artisan owes them any thanks ? What virtue have they cherished? What comfort have they in- creased? What religion have they promoted? None, none, none. This very year they refused to incor- porate a Baptist Society, as though they were outlaws, and not to be protected by government. Thus we harmonize with spiritual Babylon, not only in her falsehood and fraud, her oppression, and barbarity, and slavery; but in her irreligion and infidelity. . . . But we must not forget the proclamation. We are called upon ' devotedly to perform the sacred duties ' of the day ' for unparalleled ingratitude to that Being, who has indulged us with wise Legis- latures.'' Where is a solitary instance of their wis- PROCLAMATIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. 387 domf — 'with codes of mild and equitable laws.' Are not those of the present administration, quite of another sort ? — ' who has smiled on our navigation and commerce.' Have not our present Rulers bound them in chains, bid them vanish from the ocean ? — ' for rendering invincible our beloved country.' Mis- erable man, why does he adopt this dialect of a dema- gogue? . . . Why does he tell us of sins, which we have never committed, of blessings, long, long de- parted from us? But we turn with disgust from the unpleasant theme. Other parts of the pro- clamation are equally aberrations from truth and decency." ^ The preacher of tliis sermon, one of the most famous discourses of the time, fell into the bitter- est reproaches of his opponents. It was said he had called his Excellency a "liar," and been guilty of contempt of rulers. So damaging was the sermon thought to be to the Federalists, that the Republi- cans printed an edition of it, from the press of " B. True," with the proclamation appended, and a very uncomplimentary notice of the "astonishing deprav- ity of a Man," who had " fallen a victim to Party Spirit." 2 We do not know of a sermon which so severely arraigned a governor and his proclamation. But his turn to reply was at hand, for he was re- elected the governor of the State. In his message to the General Assembly he took pains to commend the "general spirit of religious liberality and toler- ance" among the clergy, adding this paragraph: " Should any perchance wander into the devious paths of party politicks the injury wiU not extend beyond 1 Sermon, pp. 26-28. 2 See Bibliography, No. 489. 388 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. themselves, and they will soon retreat from the la- cerations of briars and thorns which will meet them at every step." This did not pass unnoticed. It was remarked by one, " Had not the Governor been lacerated by briars, in the hand of some clergyman, he would not have put this in." ^ Without doubt it was intended as a thorn for Eev. EKjah Parish and some others. That same message initiated action toward the passage of an act permitting tax-payers to divert their support from the Congregational minister in the Massachusetts towns, a movement in which his Excellency must have been particularly interested. When the time for the autumn thanks- giving drew near, a further opportunity was afforded him to retaliate. Two paragraphs in his proclama- tion were especially offensive. He spoke of the " na- tional government and administration, whose wisdom virtue and firmness have not been circumvented, cor- rupted or appalled by the arts, seductions or threats of foreign or domestic foes ; " and in these words acknowledged the goodness of God in giving them ministers, — " who has favoured us with a Clergy (with a few Exceptions) whose conduct is influenced by the mild benign and benevolent principles of the Gospel ; and whose example is a constant admonition to such pastors and professors of Christianity as are too much under the guidance of passion prejudice and worldly delusion." If the party views of the former proclamation could have been excused, it was not so with this. Every Federalist took the words " domestic foes " to himself, and the triplet " wisdom, virtue and firmness " became at once a by-word among the Feder- 1 "The Clergy," Columbian Centinel, June 22, 1812. PROCLAMATIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. 389 alists. The ministers of Massachusetts were indignant beyond expression. It had never occurred before that any of their number had been so stigmatized in a pro- clamation. They knew of course to whom particular reference had been made, and the general compliment made the dose only more bitter for them. " With a few exceptions," indeed! when it was well known that nine tenths of the ministers were strong and out- spoken Federalists. And this they were expected to read from their pulpits, — to declare that some of their brethren were passionate, prejudiced, and de- luded! They would never do it, and the majority did not, omitting altogether the offensive paragraphs.^ It was charged upon the governor that this was a crafty design on his part to terrify the few who had boldness to speak and stir up sedition in their par- ishes ; 2 but the few were not, by any means, fright- ened, though trouble did shortly afterwards spring up in some towns, and the minister suffered for his political sermons.^ So the excitement raged, and the Republican governor seemed rather to have had the best in the contest. But he was to have a reckoning time, for the election was coming on, and the disfavor of the Massachusetts ministers in a political cam- paign was not to be despised. At this juncture the proclamation for the spring fast, April 9, 1812, was issued, and it was in much the same strain as its pre- ^ Rev. Abiel Holmes, of Cambridge, read it, but amid the disturb- ing" noise of the college students, for which they apologized, meaning no insult to the clergyman himself. — Columbian Centinel, November 13, 1811. ^ *' Salutary Counsel to His Excellency, Elbridge Gerry," Columbian Centinel, November 16 and 20, 1811. ^ See sermon of Rev. Stephen Bemis, of Harvard, Mass., August 20, 18X2, for an account of his troubles, Bibliography, No. 530. 390 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. decessors. How could the ministers better express their sentiments than by refusing to read it from their pulpits? This query occurred to some one, who issued an address " To the Clergy of Massachu- setts," ^ a part of which is as follows : " ' With few exceptions ' you recoil from the task, however author- itatively imposed, ' of calling evil good and good evil ; of putting darkness for light, and light for darkness ; bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.' With few ex- ceptions,' therefore, you have either totally neglected, or considerably abridged, or read with indignant reluctance and conscientious scruples, several modern papers purporting to be Proclamations of Thanksgiv- ing, and of Fasting and Prayer, in this Common- wealth. This, as might be expected, has entailed upon you an increased portion of calumny and abuse. ' So persecuted they the prophets that were before you.' At the commencement of the American Revolution, Proclamations equally offensive were repeatedly pub- lished; and the manner in which they were then treated may be instructive and useful in our day.^^ The writer then refers to the action of the Associated Pastors of Boston in 1774, in refusing to read procla- mations, and remarks that " A word is enough for a wise man." It was enough in this instance for the ministers, whether they were wise or not. The procla- mation was not read generally. Dr. Channing excus- ing himself on the ground that there was no reason, civil or religious, obliging him to produce the warrant for his appointment in the pulpit.^ The election came off, and Caleb Strong, the Federalist candidate, was chosen governor of Massachusetts. ^ Columbian Centinel, April 4, 1812. 2 Memoir of Eliza S. M. Quinq/, pp. 150, 151. i PROCLAMATIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. 391 As every reader knows, war was proclaimed against England, greatly to the disappointment of the Feder- alists. The next act of the drama, therefore, relates to the fast day which was proclaimed in Massachusetts July 23, 1812. It was now the innings of those who had suffered under Governor Gerry's proclamations, and the feeling was so great that Governor Strong had not an easy task. When his order appeared, it was found to contain these words : " That He would inspire the President and Congress, and the Government of Great Britain with just and pacific sentiments, that He would humble the pride and subdue the lust and passion of men, from whence wars proceed, and that Peace may speedily be restored to us upon safe and equitable terms." He also paid a compliment to Great Britain, as " the nation from which they were de- scended," and " which for many generations had been the bulwark of the religion they profess." Consider- ing the fact that the EepubKcan newspapers had been heralding the proclamation of war as " blessed news," and that the English "people from whom they had descended " were at the time hated with perfect hatred, this laudation of their enemies and exhortation to pray for peace was hard for the Republicans to bear, — fully equal to anything Governor Gerry had in- flicted on the Federalists. And this was the view taken of it in two extended articles by " A Clergy- man," printed in the " Boston Patriot," where his Ex- cellency is thus addressed : " Your proclamation for a Fast has excited the astonishment and mortification of every friend to the liberties of his Country. The dis- mal tone in which you deplore a war against the 392 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. * nation from which we are descended ' and which you denominate ' the bulwark of the religion we profess,' may indicate your feeHngs and principles." i But there were few ministers who cared thus to set them- selves against the popular sentiment of Massachusetts, which was increasingly against the war. The fast day brought out a series of sermons from the Federalists, and prominent among them were those of Samuel Austin, William E. Channing, John S. J. Gardiner, John Lathrop, Jedidiah Morse, and last but not least EHjah Parish, the title of whose discourse, " A Pro- test against the War," would have been appropriate for them all. About this time President James Madison ap- pointed a national fast day August 20, 1812, to pray that " God would guide their public counsels," " ani- mate their patriotism," and " bestow a blessing on their arms." Before this the excitement arising from political proclamations had been confined principally to New England ; for, though Massachusetts has been selected for illustration, it must not be supposed that the proclamations in other States did not contain, or were not suspected of containing, political views. There was less objection in Connecticut, but there was some, as when Governor Griswold, in the spring of 1812, termed the war " an offensive war." In Ver- mont there was much, and particularly in regard to the national fast. Those who did not believe the war was justifiable regarded the President's proclamation as an impertinence. The Federal newspapers everywhere were outspoken in their denunciation. Ministers 1 Boston Patriot, July 15 and 18, 1812. PROCLAMATIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. 393 were asked to hold divine services on that day, and when they frankly expressed their opinions in their sermons, their poHtical preaching was condemned. For all this the proclamations, which invariably re- flected the views of the governor, as the national pro- clamation did those of the President and Congress, were to blame. They contained clauses which roused animosity, and little else could be expected at such a time. As for many years it had been the custom to make these specific in detaihng events, the authorities were not prepared to bring out one of such a neutral tint that none would be offended. And this has al- ways been the danger attending special days, and par- ticularly national fast days, which have occasionally been ordered ; they relate to events which have more or less political significance, and in which the people are not agreed. At the present day proclamations similar to those which have been cited would precipi- tate a like disturbance and destroy much of the value of such an occasion, and the national thanksgiving day has only escaped this fate by its relation to the harvest and the home. There were two more national fast days during this period, — September 9, 1813, and January 12, 1815, but they present nothing new, unless we except the sermons preached upon them. Some of these, as well as those delivered upon the usual fast and thanksgiv- ing days, were intensely political ; but, on the whole, the interest declined. The New England people grew weary of the conflict, and the ministers, having emp- tied their vials of wrath, returned to more important religious themes. At last a national thanksgiving day 394 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. for peace was proclaimed for the IStli of April, 1815, and they all gave themselves to its celebration with a good degree of satisfaction, some praising God that the war had turned out so well, and others that it had turned out no worse. ^■nnt/i ^'^^t ^^' CHAPTEK XXVII. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL THANKS- GIVING DAY. The national harvest thanksgiving day was conse- crated at Plymouth in the autumn of 1621. If it were given us to devise a seal for this institution, it would represent a little company of our Pilgrim fore- fathers gathered in devout gratitude about their sim- ple board, with the Indian chieftain Massasoit as their guest. This would be emblematic of a festival which is now celebrated by American citizens, representing all the ancient races that went forth out of Noah's ark. The day is now ordered by the Executive in States and Territories as vast as the lands bounded in a colonial charter, and extending between the two great oceans, from arctic cold to torrid heat. Its proclamations bear seals with devices as various as the vine of Connecticut, the palmetto-tree of South Carohna, the beehive of Utah, and the seal islands of Alaska. The acceptance of the institution is assured ; it is fulfilling the mission for which the Pilgrims con- secrated it, though among a people and in a land of which they never dreamed. In honor of the guest at Plymouth we quote from the proclamation issued by J. B. Mayes, the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1891 : — "Whereas, Benjamin Harrison, our great father, the Presi- dent of the United States, has issued a Proclamation setting 396 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. apart the 26 inst. as a day of joyful thanksgiving, in which to thank God * for the bounties of His providence, for the peace in which we are permitted to enjoy them, and for the preservation of those institutions of civil and religious liberties.' It is proper that the Cherokee People should participate in this joyful praise, and thanks to God for the peace and prosperity they now enjoy, and ask Him to continue to the Cherokee People that civil lib- erty they have enjoyed from time immemorial, and ask that they may continue in the peaceful possession of their land and homes to a time without end. Now, therefore, I, J. B. Mayes, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, do hereby appoint Thursday, November the 26th, 1891, to be a day of Thanks- giving and Praise to God, that He still permits the Cherokee Nation of Indians to live in the enjoyment of this civil and reli- gious liberty, and in this struggle for the right of soil and self- government, ask Him to shield us from all danger." Thus does the enlightened representative of Massa- soit's race summon his people to thanksgiving. The fact brings into a clear light the present popularity of the institution. To what proportions has it come that so many millions were bidden to keep this ancient festival! In the year 1891 fifty proclamations were issued, — forty-four States and six Territories, — and many of them are as characteristic of their local con- stituency as the one by the Indian chieftain.^ The day was welcomed by all who fully entered into its significance, — a joyous occasion, which may surely make a claim to be venerated as the oldest American holiday. It may be presumed that many households, far and near, reUgiously kept the feast of plenty in the home, but it is certain that some regarded it mainly as a time for recreations, the negro having his ^ The District of Columbia was the only exception where it has not been customary, the commissioners, who are the executive officers, merely issuing an order to respect the proclamation of the President, which, under the law, extends to the District of Columbia. THE NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY, 397 turkey-shoot, the Chinese their turn at fan-tan, and the university student his ball-game, while a goodly company everywhere, of various sects, went to the house of God and gave sincere thanks to Him " from whom Cometh every good and every perfect gift." The first alien people to receive this institution of the Pilgrims, strange to relate, were the American Indians. They made its acquaintance at Plymouth, and as Christianity spread among them through the efforts of Rev. John Eliot and others, they entered into the religious observances of the whites. For fast days particularly they had a use in humbling them- selves, confessing their sins ; ^ and so early as Novem- ber 15, 1658, we find them keeping a fast on account of excessive rains, as their white neighbors had done a few days before. Such was their custom. An early writer said of them : " They observe no holy-days but the Lord's day, except upon some extraordinary occasion, and then they solemnly set apart whole days, either giving thanks or fasting and praying with great fervour of mind." ^ So they received the thanksgiv- ing day, and upon one occasion already noted their ex- ample was a rebuke to their teachers .^ In their Chris- tian communities, as at Natick and Stockbridge, these days were highly regarded. The Indian missionary, Samson Occom, carried the practice westward into the wilderness, and doubtless one of the earliest cele- brations of a thanksgiving day in the Oneida country was by the Indian congregation of Rev. John Sergeant in their new home at West Stockbridge, N. Y. So also their descendants years afterwards established the 1 Eliot's Tears of Repentance ; Neal's Hist. ofN. E., i. 256 ff. 2 Andros Tracts, ii. 20 ; Magnalia^ i. 570. 3 j^ote, p. 247. 398 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. institution in the then far distant Territory of Wis- consin. In the light of these and other facts, a deep significance attaches itself to the words which Prin- cipal Chief Bushyhead of the Cherokees used in his proclamation of 1882 : " While thanksgiving days last, and are sincerely kept, we need not fear that a magnanimous people will see their Government drag and thrust the remnant of our race into the abyss." The national thanksgiving day has come to pass through the operation of various forces, some of which are as apphcable to the fast day, though not those which have been most decisive, and therefore the latter institution has been left behind. For many years the streams of emigration flowed from New England, as rivers from a mountain spring, and the children car- ried the knowledge of the autumn festival wherever they went. It was as dear to them as the memories of their childhood home. So the day arose naturally, and almost simultaneously with government itself, in those Western States which were settled by people from New England.. It has literally grown up with the country. The progress was slower in the South- ern States, where they were somewhat prepared for occasional thanksgivings, but were once suspicious of a Puritan institution lest some Puritan doctrine might be concealed within. To some extent the fast day, for which many religious persons had no use, hindered the adoption of the thanksgiving day, and not until late years have they been so divorced that the distinc- tive character of the latter is apparent. Above all, it has been the character of the day itself, — its season after harvest, which in all countries has been com- memorated ; its joyous meaning, for which men have THE NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY, 399 ever had a stronger desire than for confession and repentance ; its feast of plenty, which has gathered the family and exalted the home life, — which has operated to bring the custom into national favor. A gradual working of the principle of union is evi- dent from the first. The church at Salem reached out its hand for the sympathy of Plymouth, and the New England colonies recognized the emergencies and deliverances of each other. It was natural and proper for the Commissioners of the United Colonies to agree to commend to the several general courts or coimcils to appoint days in view of the concerns in which they were mutually interested. So also, later on, when they were united in the Continental Con- gress, with other colonies along the Atlantic coast which had known occasional appointments of the kind, it was the utterance of a common sentiment which led to such days. The reader will recall the fact that there were three fasts set by the Continental Congress before the first thanksgiving. These furthered the idea of union. The fu-st was that for July 20, 1775. On the com- mittee to draw up the proclamation North Carolina was represented by Mr. Hooper and Massachusetts by John Adams. No objection was made to the custom in this instance. Probably it had been furthered by the action of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, recommeli.ding to their congregations the last Thurs- day in June, imless the Congress should appoint a fast, in which case their date should be observed. The second fast was May 17, 1776, recommended by a vote of March 16, on a report of Mr. W. Living- stone. The third was in accordance with a resolution of December 11, 1776, in which each State was left to 400 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. fix its own date, and by their agreement January 29, 1777, was selected. In the autumn of that year came the surrender of Burgoyne, in consequence of which the first Continental thanksgiving day was appointed, December 18, 1777. On the 31st of October the Congress passed the following resolution, "That a Committee of three be appointed to prepare a recom- mendation to the several States to set apart a day for thanksgiving for the signal success lately obtained over the enemies of these United States." The mem- bers chosen were Mr. Samuel Adams, Mr. Richard Henry Lee, and Mr. Daniel Roberdeau, and thus Massachusetts, Virginia, and Pennsylvania were rep- resented in the event, though the proclamation was probably drawn up by Samuel Adams. The action of Congress having been communicated to the governors of the several States, some reissued the proclamation with an appended recommendation, which was the early custom, rather than that at present practiced of a separate proclamation in each State. One procla- mation in all the commonwealths had manifest advan- tages in producing a unity of sentiment in the obser- vance, which, indeed, is as important now as then, though there are good reasons for the present custom. Considering the thanksgiving day as an institution, apart from its annual and harvest features, the day then appointed merits the honor of being the first na- tional thanksgiving day in America. As such the proclamation is worthy of record. IN CONGRESS November 1, 1777. Forasmuch as it is the indispensible Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God ; to acknowledge THE NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY. 401 with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need of: And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence j but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a Just and necessary War, for the Defence and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Lib- erties ; particularly in that he hath been pleased, in so great a Mea- sure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown our Arms with most signal success : It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these United States, to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for Solemn Thanksgiving and Praise : That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor ; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgements and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their mani- fold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favour ; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance : That it may please him gra- ciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole : To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to se- cure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE : That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the La- bour of the Husbandman, that our Land may yield its Increase : To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cul- tivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand ; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consist- eth " in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.^^ And it is further recommended. That servile Labour, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion. Extract from the Minutes, Charles Thomson, Secr. 402 ^FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. In some respects this day was the most remarkable in our history. The circumstances were such that the people entered into it heartily, and though the harvest was not prominent and an autumn thanksgiving had been already celebrated in some New England States, the feast was not omitted in many homes on that joy- ous occasion. All patriots observed it with earnest- ness. Eloquent sermons were preached everywhere. The soldiers especially were gathered at the services. Washington's army was then at Yalley Forge, and the following is the entry in his orderly book : " Tomor- row being the day set apart by the honorable Congress for Public Thanksgiving and praise, and duty calling us devoutly to express our grateful acknowledgments to God for the manifold blessings he has granted us, the general directs that the army remain in its present quarters, and that the chaplains perform divine ser- vice with their several corps and brigades, and ear- nestly exhorts all officers and soldiers whose absence is not indispensably necessary to attend with reverence the solemnities of the day." In 1778 the thanksgiving day was December 30. The proclamation was framed by the chaplains of Congress, and amended by that body. Its chief senti- ment was gratitude to God for " disposing the heart of a powerful monarch to enter into an alliance with us," for which General Washington had already kept a thanksgiving in his army the 7th of May previous, issuing an order which much resembles a proclama- tion, and mingling in the exercises worship, the firing of cannon, and a chorus of huzzas, " Long live the King of France." So the practice was continued year by year, December 11, 1783, being a thanksgiv- THE NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY, 403 ing for peace, and October 19, 1784, for the treaty ratifying the same ; and we have a series of national thanksgivings, in the autumn or early winter, from 1777 to 1784. For the time being this was the adop- tion of the institution, but during the following years of settling the government, the custom of state ap- pointments returned. The first national Congress after the adoption of the Constitution in 1789 had the question thrust upon it, whether the practice of the Continental Congress should be followed. But the matter then appeared in another light because of the issue before the people. On the 25th of Septem- ber, Eli as Boudinot introduced the following resolu- tion in the House of Representatives : " Resolved, That a Joint Committee of both Houses be directed to wait upon the President of the United States, to request that he would recommend to the People of the United States a day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favours of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peacefully to estab- lish a Constitution of Government for their safety and happiness." A discussion followed, in the course of which Mr. Burke, of South Carolina, said he " did not like this mimicking of European customs, where they made a mere mockery of thanksgivings. Two parties at war frequently sung Te Deum for the same event, though to one it was a victory and to the other a de- feat." Mr. Tucker, of South Carolina, observed that " the House had no business to interfere in a matter which did not concern them. Why should the Presi- dent direct the people to do what perhaps they have no mind to do ? They may not be inclined to return 404 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. thanks for a Constitution until they have experienced that it promotes their safety and happiness. ... It is a religious matter, and as such is proscribed to us. If a day of thanksgiving must take place, let it be done by the authority of the several States. They know best what reason their constituents have to be pleased with the establishment of the Constitution." Messrs. Boudinot and Sherman advocated the mea- sure as warranted by Holy Writ and the precedents of the late Congress. The real objection in all this was, of course, on political grounds, and to the proposed thanksgiving for a constitution which some of them had opposed. Had they considered the day, not as a thanksgiving for the success of the Federalists, but as an autumn harvest festival, they would have found no objection to it, though it might have been thought unnecessary. The Revolution had deepened the con- ception of a thanksgiving as an occasional observance in the minds even of those from New England. It was necessary that time should modify that Puritan custom before the day could be accepted by a people among whom events were wont to assume a political relation. Notwithstanding the opposition, however, the resolution passed, and was concurred in by the Senate three days afterwards. The proclamation of George Washington, appointing Thursday, November 26, 1789, was the result, and it was the first national thanksgi\dng day after the government was established. It may be assumed that the New England represen- tatives would have then agreed to the annual appoint- ment of a thanksgiving day, but in consequence of the opposition the subject of national appointments was not brought up again for nearly three years. On the 1st THE NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY. 405 of May, 1792, the House resolved to ask the President to appoint a fast day. No action, however, was taken by the Senate on the matter so far as the record shows, and certainly no such day was appointed, though this resolution has led to the statement that the first na- tional fast day was in 1792. The opinion prevailed that a resolution of Congress was not necessary, if the President thought fit to recommend such a day. And it was without any action on the part of Congress that Washington, moved by the situation of public affairs, in January, 1795, made the recommendation for a thanksgiving February 19, — the memorable day which did much to confirm Massachusetts in its politi- cal observance and operated to bring about the Good Friday fast in Connecticut. This was the second national thanksgiving day recommended by the Presi- dent of the United States, and these were the only appointments by George Washington. Under the administration of John Adams two na- tional fast days were observed as already noted, — May 9, 1798, and April 25, 1799, but no thanksgiving day. It was not until 1815, and after tlu'ee national fasts on account of the war, that another national thanks- giving was appointed by the President, James Madison. The cause was peace with Great Britain. On Febru- ary 18, 1815, the following resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives : "It being a duty peculiarly incumbent in a time of public calamity and war., humbly and devoutly to achnowledge our depen- dence on Almighty God and to implore his aid and protection and in times of deliverance and prosperity to manifest our deep and undissembled gratitude to the Almighty Sovereign of the Universe : Resolved, by the 406 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that a Joint Committee of both Houses wait on the President of the United States, and request that he recommend a day of Thanksgiving, to be observed by the people of the United States, with religious solemnity, and the offer- ing of devout acknowledgments to God for his mercies, and in prayer to him for the continuance of his bless- ings." The portion printed in italics was finally stricken from the resolution, because it seemed to some to be an attempt to sanction the fast days which the President had appointed during the war, and which had met with such resistance among his politi- cal enemies. Evidently the national political fast was dead, but as amended the resolution embodied the sentiment of the modern national thanksgiving day. It passed, and the day fixed upon was April 13, 1815. We know of no other national appointments for a quarter century, though a proposition was made for a fast in 1832, an account of the cholera, in view of which Massachusetts and Connecticut kept the 9th of August. But in 1841 the 14th of May was made a national fast day because of the death of President Harrison, and again in 1849, President Taylor set a fast on the 3d of August on account of the cholera. The idea of national days had so far died out that only the most extraordinary cause could produce one. Meanwhile, however, the annual thanksgiving day had been coming into favor, and it was this enlarged interest in it outside of New England which finally revived national appointments during the civil war. The Executive of the nation must needs wait for this conquest of the institution itself among the people. THE NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY, 407 States like New York took up the idea of an annual thanksgiving. Since the year 1817 the Empire State has observed the day, doubtless largely owing to Governor DeWitt Clinton, who maintained the custom for ten years.^ Other States took the same action. In some of the northwestern States it has been customary since they were admitted into the Union, Minnesota made a law requiring the governor to set apart such a day. In North Carolina it was estab- lished by an act of the General Assembly. So, little by little, the idea gained recognition ; and before the annual thanksgiving was made a national institu- tion by the President's appointments, it had become all but universal by the action of the several States. In 1858 Mr. Franklin B. Hough made an examination, and reprinted all the proclamations of that year, which included all the States except Virginia, Ken- tucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Cahfornia. Virginia observed one in 1855, but in 1857 Governor Wise declined to accede to requests made to him for such a day, on the ground that he had no authority to interfere in matters of religion. We have now come to the experiences of the civil war. It happened naturally, as during the Revolu- tion, that the fast day preceded the thanksgiving, the circumstances being more appropriate for humilia- tion. In the early days of calamity the people were ^ Governor John Jay issued several proclamations, but their polit- ical significance made them unpopular. Governor Clinton's met with the same criticism, but the most singular objection to them was from the people of Southampton, L. I., who had been accustomed to reg- ulate their thanksgiving by the return of the cattle from the Mon- tauk pastures. Many Long Island people had customarily kept Connecticut days. See Proc.for Thanksgiving ^ Hough, pp. x, xi. 408 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, summoned to fasting.^ Two such days were kept in 1861, — January 4 and September 26 ; but it was not until 1863 that the horizon had so brightened as to warrant a national thanksgiving. Then President * Abraham Lincoln appointed one on the 6 th of Au- gust because of the victory at Gettysburg. On the > 26 th of November the same year another thanksgiv- ing was observed, and this was really the harvest festival throughout the country, as every Northern State then recognized the institution. So also in 1864, the 24th of November was kept. Then came the assassination of Lincoln, on which account the * fast of June 1, 1865, was proclaimed, following his own precedent in appointing April 30, 1863, and August 4, 1864. It might have been that the na- tional thanksgiving in 1865 would have been omitted, ^ had it not been for the efforts of Rev. Benj. F. Mor- ris, of Washington, who moved the First Congrega- tional Church in that city to send a committee to President Andrew Johnson and request him to issue a proclamation. However, this was but an incident in a movement which must have resulted in the for- mal adoption of the institution by the nation. The several States were prepared for it. During the cen- tury that had passed since the Revolution the harvest feature of the day had become dominant, and such an institution the people were glad to receive. Since that time it has been customary for the President to issue a proclamation annually, appointing a national thanksgiving day the last Thursday of November, and ^ Both fasts and thanksgiving's were kept in the Confederate States during the Rebellion. July 28, 1861, was a thanksgiving for the " Vic- tory at Manassas ; ' ' February 28, 1862, and April 8, 1864, were fasts. THE NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY. 409 the States have issued their own proclamations naming the same day. In 1876 President U. S. Grant by proclamation made the 4th of July a special thanks- giving day to be kept by religious services '' for the blessings which have been bestowed upon us as a Nation during the century^ of our existence." The present national custom may be said to be the ap- pointment of an annual harvest thanksgiving, and such special fast or thanksgiving days as the circinn- stances of sorrow or joy may seem to warrant. If we speak of the thanksgiving day as a national institu- tion, it dates back to the Revolution, and the first was December 18, 1777 ; but if we have in mind the an- nual harvest thanksgiving day, it became nationalized through the adoption of it by the several States, and the first appointment was by Abraham Lincoln, the 26th of November, 1863. There are none now in our broad land who will dispute the right the day has to be reverenced. It has made conquests among all our heterogeneous races, has come to be regarded in every commonwealth, and has received the sanction of all religions. More than two and a half centuries have rolled away since the beloved forefathers christened it at Plymouth in the golden autumn of 1621, but though it is thus the ancient of days, it is as young now as then. Some of our later holidays cannot ex- pect such an immortality. They will fall into neglect in the course of time. But of this day, enshrined in our home life, it can be confidently prophesied, in the lines of the poet, — " Men may come and men may ^o^ But I go on forever." CHAPTER XXVIII. LAWS AND CUSTOMS. The manner in which aU religious seasons were observed by the Puritans was the natural expression of their inner life. They were a serious and solemn folk, who had a reverence, almost superstitious, for the meeting-house, considered worship in it to be the chief exercise of a holy day, and thorouglily abhorred all other occupations which might dissipate the impres- sion of those services. Even the time necessarily spent in the home was filled with penitential reflec- tions, the reading of the Scriptures, and some few devotional and theological books ; but, above all. with catechetical instruction. To this latter duty the New England fathers were urged by the very first general letter of the company to John Endicott in 1629, wherein they were commanded to " surcease their labo^ every Satterday throughout the yeare at 3 of the clock in the afternoone," and " spend the rest of that day in catichising and p'paracon for the Saboth, as the ministers shall direct." ^ It was at great expense that they had rescued the Sabbath from the debauch- ing influences of former times, and they intended to establish it in New England as a holy day, — a bless- ing to them and their descendants after the ideal which they entertained of religious life. This general con- ception of a holy day held sway with the people in all 1 Mass. Col. Bec.j i. 395. LAWS AND CUSTOMS, 411 the colonies, until, little by little, their Puritan temper of mind was modified, and consequently burdensome regulations were relaxed. The forces which had developed fast and thanks- giving days before the emigration had also secured for them an equahty with the Lord's Day. Such occasions in the history of Israel they judged to have been kept as Sabbaths ; and, in their own secret con- venticles, as also upon days publicly proclaimed, they knew not how to observe them otherwise. Further- more, the English laws then in force applied alike in many respects to all holy days, some of which were even more reverently regarded than Sunday. We cannot imagine that, in the face of such legislation, reaching back through centuries, the Puritans would have kept their fast and thanksgiving days, other than with the greatest strictness. Such was their practice. Neither in law nor in custom did they recognize any difference between them and the Sabbath, as respects abstaining from labor and amusements, or attendance upon the appointed services. There was no need, therefore, of any specific law concerning them for some time, other than that implied in the obligation to keep the Lord's Day. The earliest laws related to the authority for appointments, as for instance that of the Plymouth Colony in 1636 already quoted, and one which is found in the Body of Liberties of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1641, giving every church freedom to celebrate such days according to the word of God. At this time, however, a command may have been appended to the orders, after the ancient practice in England, requiring the people to abstain from their usual avocations, for Winslow 412 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. notes that the first public fast at Plymouth was " set apart from all other employments." We have not the full text of these orders, and cannot assert that this was not usual. The first proclamation we have met with, having this requirement, is that for a fast in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, April 20, 1648, which has the words " all psons are here [by] required to abstaine from bodily labo' that day & to resort to y® publike meetings, to seeke y® Lord, as becomes Christians in a day of humiliation." ^ Such a clause does not appear in an earlier order for a fast, De- cember 24, 1646, which seems to be complete. We should therefore conclude that this command — for so many years afterwards customarily appended to pro- clamations — had its origin, not in an English custom, but in the law which was enacted by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony at the session No- vember 4, 1646, on a later day than the appointment of the latter fast. That law was the most important of early times on the subject, and became the common property of New England. It reads as follows : — " Wherever the ministry of the word is established, accord- ing to the order of the Gospel throughout this Jurisdiction : Every Person shall duely resort, and attend therunto, respec- tively on the Lords dayes, & upon such publick fast dayes, & dayes of thanksgiving, as are to be generally observed by ap- pointment of Authority. And if any person within this Juris- diction shall without just & necessary cause, withdraw himselfe from the publick ministry of the Word, after due meanes of con- viction used, he shall forfeit for his absence from every such publick meeting five shillings : And all such offenses may be heard & determined from time to time by any one or more Magistrates." ^ 1 Mass. Col Bee, ii. 229. 2 Colonial Laws of Mass. ^ 1672; Whitmore's Reprint, p. 43. LAWS AND CUSTOMS. 413 This law was taken bodily by Mr. Ludlow into the Code of Laws adopted in Connecticut in May, 1650, and also appears in the New Haven Code of 16 5 5.^ It therefore became the law, under which the sanctity of fast and thanksgiving days was maintained, wher- ever they were observed in New England. Attendance upon such services was compulsory; and though it contained no provision forbidding work and amuse- ments, these diversions were understood to be prohib- ited as upon the Lord's Day. As to Massachusetts, however, after the establishment of the provincial government, the laws relating to the keeping of the Sabbath did not apply to fast and thanksgiving days, that clause being omitted from them thereafter. The proclamation contained a sufficient prohibition in the words " all servile labor is forbidden." In 1682 the Plymouth Colony enacted a law " that none shall p'^sume to attend servill worke or labour or attend any sports on such dayes as are or shalbe appointed by the Court for humiliation by fasting and prayer or for pubUcke Thanksgiueing on penalty of five shillings." ^ The effect in both colonies was the same. No labors were performed upon such days. New Hampshire followed the example of Massachusetts. In Connecticut, where the colonial laws under- went less modification, the original law of 1650 con- tinued in force for many years. It is found in the re- vision of 1702 and the reprint of 1715, with the added provision that complaints under it must be made within one month of the offense. In the revision of 1750, this law was combined with another relating to ^ Conn. Col. Rec, i. 524 ; New Haven Col. Bee, ii. 588. 2 Fly. Col Rec, xi. 258. 414 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. the Lord's Day, the same which Massachusetts had enacted in 1692 and New Hampshire in 1700, whence also Connecticut derived it ; and this was done in such a manner that fast and thanksgiving days were brought under the prohibition against labor and amusements, and attendance upon the services was no longer compulsory. The amended form is as fol- lows : — " That no Tradesman, Artificer, Labourer, or other Person whatsoever, shall upon the Land or Water, do or exercise any Labour, Business or Work of their Ordinary Callings, or of any other kind whatsoever, (Works of Necessity and Mercy only excepted) Nor use any Game, Sport, Play, or Recreation on the Lord's Day, or Day of Public Fasting or Thanksgiving, or any part thereof, on pain that every Person so Offending, shall for every offence Forfeit the Sum of Ten Shillings." ^ It is evident, from the very fact that these days were included in the law of the Sabbath, that at this time they were observed as holy days. Probably there had been little occasion for the law. The few, here and there, who were prosecuted for labor, only meant by their violatipn to show their dislike for the govern- ment or these Puritan days when they preferred those recognized in the Church of England. On the whole they were then reverently observed ; but after the American Revolution, partly because such occasions had been appropriated to party uses, and partly be- cause of a decline in the veneration felt for them, there was a manifest tendency to disregard them both by labor and recreation. Hence a new law was made in Connecticut in 1791, having entire reference to the subject, and which is certainly conclusive evidence 1 Kevision of 1750, p. 139. Cf . revision of 1702, pp. 30, 103, 104, and same in reprint of 1715. LAWS AND CUSTOMS. 415 against the supposition that they had become mere hol- idays. The following is the text of that law : — " That on the Days appointed for public Fasting or Thanks- giving by Proclamation of the Governour of this State : all Per- sons residing within this State, shall abstain from every kind of servile Labour, and Recreation, Works of Necessity and Mercy excepted ; and any Person who shall be guilty of a Breach of this Act, being duly convicted thereof, shall be fined in a Sum, not exceeding Two Dollars, nor less than One Dollar. Pro- vided this Act shall not be construed to prevent public Posts and Stages from Travelling on said Days." ^ This was the final attempt to preserve by law the ancient sanctity of these days. Soon afterward the annual fast in Connecticut was changed to Good Fri- day, and possibly one great reason for this law thereby became invalid, for it has been suspected that it was revived merely to afford an opportunity to bring into court some Episcopalians who would not regard such days, especially during Easter week. It soon became a dead letter, however, and was repealed in 1833, with the proviso that such action should not be con- strued as restricting in any way the governor from recommending fast and thanksgivmg days as before. The purpose of all these laws is evident. Such occasions were days of worship, and it was necessary to protect them from irreligious influences. Not until the public sentiment had changed as to the solemn character of the church services did the law relax its efforts to preserve order and quiet in the community. They show how the sabbatical conception prevailed at first unchallenged; how in the course of time this fea- ture was shaken off, and a civil holiday remained upon which the state recommended reKgious exercises ; and 1 Revision of 1796, p. 177. 416 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. how finally the people were left to make of these days what they would and the churches what they could. Moreover, they mdicate approximately the dates of these changes, — the decline of the fast and the evo- lution of the modern autumn festival from the eccle- siastical thanksgiving. Concerning the customs which have regulated the observance of fast days, there is little to be said. There was for many years no reason to change its sabbatical character. Until the present century two services were maintained in most communities, and these occupied the major portion of the day. In early times, indeed down to the general breaking up of old customs by the Eevolutionary war, the people usu- ally abstained from food until after the second ser- vice, — a very ancient interpretation of this duty. Then, as the day declined, they sat down to some simple repast of cold meats, bread or "hasty pud- ding," and milk. Many are now living who remember when fasting was commonly practiced. One of the first signs of the changing sentiment as to the day was the indulgence in visiting, walking abroad in the fields, inspection of barns and herds, discussion among neighbors of plans for the planting, much of which the spring season suggested. The first settlers would never have tolerated this, but after a century it was thought to be permissible. It was made also a con- venient time for church meetings, a custom which grew out of certain disciplinary proceedings and con- fessions fostered by humiliation. Other gatherings were a natural consequence. Long before labor was permitted, the day was set apart by many for such political or semi-religious tasks as they would not per- LAWS AND CUSTOMS. 417 form on Sundays and had no time for during week days. Even amusements, when of such a nature as not to interfere with the rights of a community, were allowed before " servile work," which the proclama- tion especially stigmatized. When worn out as a holy day, it remained as a holiday, to which latter charac- ter all modern laws pertain. Yet the present general and popular disregard for the occasion by amuse- ments of all sorts has grown up within the past fifty years. It must be allowed, too, that, so long as the day is recognized by the state and proclaimed by the governor, they are, to say the least, in bad taste. The New England fast day was therefore a very plain affair, having none of those fantastic and inter- esting practices which were connected with similar holy days in England. It might have been otherwise, but for the prejudice against aU such days which con- tinued until long after emigration had ceased. A few ancient customs can be traced here and there among those who owned the Church of England. After the theocratic system broke down, such persons became more bold, and they may fairly be suspected of de- lighting to parade their affection for Enghsh customs upon such days as Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun- day. The baking of pancakes at Shrovetide was very unsavory to the thoroughbred New Englander. It was otherwise with a Churchman. " But hark, I hear the Pancake-bell, And fritters make a gallant smell." Such fancies crept in and occasionally showed them- selves, especially at Christmas time. It was because of the tendency to unseemly commemoration of these 418 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. festivals that the forefathers passed the law prohibit- ing any from "forbearing labour" and "feasting" upon them, — a law which outlived the first comers. Against these " heathen vanities " Increase Mather directed his treatise entitled " A Testimony against several Prophane and Superstitious Customs," printed in 1687. Even in the early years of the eighteenth century men like Samuel Sewall struck these days from the almanac, and would not adjourn court for Christ- mas, though many were then more tolerant of them, even to some extent observing them.i In 1712 Cot- ton Mather ventured to preach a Christmas sermon, probably the first by a Puritan divine in New England, in which, by the bye, he condemned riotous proceedings. Of course they detested the May Day, with its masks and processions. In 1686 Increase Mather said of it : " It is an abominable shame that any persons in a land of such light and purity as New England has been, shoidd have the face to speak or think of practicing so vile a piece of heathenism." Yet such disapproval shows that a few did keep up their ancient customs; and probably by this means some practices which had been most prominent dur- ing the English Lenten season became associated with the fast day. It may have perpetuated an af- fection for Good Friday to fare on bacon and eggs, and some doubtless did so on fast days without ap- preciating the significance of the fact, merely because others set the example. The willow, which had long been an emblem of mourning in England, became such here ; and, after a century, even pious Puritans took occasion to cut a sprig of it when abroad, less in 1 Sewall's Diary, ii, 91, 230; iii. 315. LAWS AND CUSTOMS. 419 token of their humiliation than because it had some- how become customary. So they came to plant them over graves or cut them upon tombstones as their forefathers would not have done on account of the superstition. It was impossible to resist the hilarious proceedings on the Fifth of November, — " Guy Fawkes's Day." They dared not if they would. The Royal Commis- sioners in 1665 had proposed the permanent establish- ment of the 5th of November, the 29th of May, and the 30th of January, — the first two as thanksgivings, the last as a fast. ^ Only the first was celebrated to any extent, and that because it was " Pope's Day," — a suitable time, it was thought, for mocking pageants and bonfires. The Church of England kept it with religious services, but it never became popular except with riotous youths. Still the bonfire and cannon- firing, by this means, became later a form of cele- brating thanksgiving, especially during and after tlu Revolution. Such demonstrations had been tolerated a century before this on Guy Fawkes's Day, and some other English holidays, though the fathers pro- tested against them if these chanced to fall on the Sabbath. We can understand how English ships in port would think it proper to commemorate the New England thanksgiving in the same manner. At all events they did so, and certain divines uttered their protest against it. Upon one occasion, in 1662, a public thanksgiving for a good harvest notwithstand- ing a drought chanced to be appointed on the 5th of November, and then there was a combination of re- ligious services and bonfires which could not have been 1 Mass. Col. Bee, iv. pt. 2. p. 212. 420 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. agreeable to all,^ though they did the same thing in 1667, two years after the proposal of the Royal Com- missioners, which might have been one cause for it. ^ The celebration of the Fifth of November was at its height in England about that time, and was afterwards revived in connection with the wars against France. It was the same in New England, and so great was the disturbance and danger of the customary riotous pageants that it became necessary to enact laws pro- hibiting them.2 As the Revolution drew near they died out altogether, and whatever customs were ap- propriate passed over to the Thanksgiving Day, or the Fourth of July. The customs which have clustered round the New England Thanksgiving are by far the most interesting. An autumn harvest festival has a relation to social life which generates them. Since the Pilgrim Fathers celebrated their feast at Plymouth, the same forces which then inspired it have been at work, gradually creating a festival peculiarly adapted to preserve the savor of early New England life. In this respect it is unique among our hohdays. Others are of later date. They do not reach back into those adventurous experi- ences in the wilderness, nor introduce us to the house- holds of our simple, hearty, pious forefathers as this does. Here alone do we meet with customs which can claim originality and antiquity, more wholesome if less fantastic than those which have made England's holi- ^ Felt was led to give quite an erroneous impression concerning this " Pope's Day," because he overlooked the fact that it was also a public thanksgiving. Annals of Salem, ii. 45 ; Frothingham's Hist, of Charlestown, p. 204. 2 Acts and Resolves, iii. 647, 664, 997 ; Am, Antiq. Soc. Coll., v. p. LAWS AND CUSTOMS. 421 days a blessing to her people. The harvest festival was developed by home Uf e. Its power is social rather than religious. The feast has been from the first the sustaining element, not so much on its own account, as because it furnished the occasion for family gather- ings, and this we must follow in tracing the growth of customs. The germ is found in such social repasts as we have witnessed among the Pilgrims in Holland and the Scituate flock, which we have noted as kept after the Pequot war, and which were officially rec- ognized in 1645 by the Westminster Assembly of Divines in the " Directory for Public Worship." It was a seed that fell into good ground among those who were dependent upon harvests and were stripped of their ancient holidays. So it grew, thriving espe- cially in the Plymouth Colony. As the household became the self-sustaining unit of their life, it was better that the family should feast together, rather than that the richer should invite the poorer, or that they should divide into three companies as Lothrop's church did. So in a few years this became a dis- tinctive feature of thanksgiving days. At the same time it was no such feast as interfered with the reli- gious features of the day, which were dominant, par- ticularly in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and in Connecticut. Amusements were contrary to the law everywhere. The Puritan family met at the noontime meal in a spirit of deep gratitude, and worship was the expression of their feelings rather than recreation. They would not have thought of indulging in those hilarious customs which arose after a century, only to be rebuked by their ministers, and at last became common because the Puritan fervor had waned. That 422 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, which is now usually esteemed as the early celebration of thanksgiving does not date back into the lives of the first comers. It was no sucA occasion as that fes- tival week at Plymouth in 1621 has led many writers to suppose. The feast itself was not an elaborate affair, — no Puritan meal was. Extra fare was pro- vided, perhaps occasionally a wild turkey or a haunch of venison, 1 and there was an assembly of the family, with sometimes invited guests, but they did not aban- don themselves to feasting nor forget that the day was holy unto the Lord. The father was wont to read aloud some thanksgiving sermon, either the evening before in preparation for the day, or as the family gathered about the fireside after the second service. The theme of conversation was the mercies of God to the first settlers, — such reminiscences as we meet with from the pen of Johnson, Roger Clap, and Mather, — and there were recitals of providential deliverances, which the hero might well have made thrilling stories ^ An interesting" incident, professing to relate to a thanksgiving dinner, was recorded by Rev. Lawrence Conant, of Danvers, in 1714 as follows : — ^ *' When ye services at ye meeting house were ended ye council and other dignitaries were entertained at ye house of Mr. Epes, on ye hill near by, and we had a bountiful Thanksgiving dinner with bear's meat and venison, the last of which was a fine buck, shot in ye woods near by. Ye bear was killed in Lynn woods near Reading. " After ye blessing was craved by Mr. Garrich of Wrentham, word came that ye buck was shot on ye Lord's day by Pequot, an Indian, who came to Mr. Epes with a lye in his mouth like Ananias of old. " Ye council therefore refused to eat ye venison, but it was after- ward decided that Pequot should receive 40 stripes save one, for lying and profaning ye Lord's day, restore Mr. Epes ye cost of ye deer, and considering this a just and righteous sentence on ye sinful heathen, and that a blessing had been craved on ye meat, ye council all par- took of it but Mr. Shepard, whose conscience was tender on ye point of ye venison." LAWS AND CUSTOMS. 423 of hairbreadth escapes, to be remembered by the children, even if they forgot the moral. The procla- mations themselves encouraged the people to such oc- cupations, being a presentation of their causes for gratitude, and possibly those extended dissertations may have grown out of this ancient custom. Indeed, there were generally two services on the day for nearly a century, and the feast, crowded in between them, had no great chance to expand. It finally made war against the second service and overcame it. We find Samuel Sewall in 1721 discussing the matter with Colonel Townsend in the Council Chamber at Boston, and the latter would not " move a jot towards having two," though he would consent on that particular oc- casion.i Evidently the colonel was of those who felt that the latter part of the day should be devoted to social enjoyments in the home, giving more time to the feast, which had been a feature in Se wall's family life for at least twenty-five years, many instances be- ing noted in his diary. Even before this the evening exercise had been put at a later hour than usual, or in some towns, where the people found it inconvenient to return to it, altogether abandoned. At first even special thanksgivings, whatever the time of year, were honored by a dinner, but after the days became an- nual, and more particularly associated with the harvest, the high festival was reserved for the autumn. The bounties of the season favored the feast, and that in turn warmed the social circle. So it came about that ere the first quarter of the eighteenth century had passed, the autumn harvest festival was a fully grown and estabhshed institution. As they might have ex- ^ Sewall's Diary, iii. 294. 424 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. pected, advantage was taken of this social license, particularly among such as made the inn their even- ing resort and had a fondness for the sizzling " flip." A thanksgiving, too, which commemorated a victory in war, offered special inducements to celebrate by noisy demonstrations. Rev. Daniel Wadsworth, of Hartford, in his manuscript sermon preached July 25, 1745, closes with this caution : " Take heed y* after y® public exercise of y® day is over y^none of you run into those follies and indecencies y* are unbecoming such a solemnity as this, let not this solemnity be dishonored by any disorders committed on this day or in y® evening following, let there be no carousing at publick houses nor unseemly noises or clamors in y® streets." ^ This wa"S the com- mon attitude of the ministers at the time, but such demonstrations occurred, nevertheless. The harvest thanksgiving was not so liable to them. It was a quiet day, the service at the meeting-house in the morning being attended by all, and the feast, followed by social fireside pleasures, filling the remainder of the day. After the Revolution, — which was the great- est force of the century for the development of our social life, — these latter features were very greatly expanded. In some respects they were liberalized. The farmer and his grown-up sons thought it a proper time to hunt the wolf which had raided his flock. In the home, games were indulged in by the younger members of the family, such as " Hunt the slipper," " Fox and geese," and " Bhnd man's buff." Pilgrim- ages to the old home, which had long been custom- ary, were more highly regarded. Some thought even 1 MS. Ser. in Conn. Hist. Soc. LAWS AND CUSTOMS. 425 then that too much pleasure was a desecration of the clay. They did not see how it was all the work of healthy and natural forces. That had survived which was fittest. The sabbatical thanksgiving of the forefathers could not have lived. It could never have been made such a festival as Christmas, for the truth was lacking. Their calamities and adventures in the wilderness were over. So the family conse- crated the day anew to its own religious and social uses, honoring alike the worship of the Puritan and the feast of the Pilgrims ; and, as years pass, it be- comes more and more evident that the family life alone, which has saved the day, can preserve it for coming generations. There are those now living who have heard their fathers tell of the New England Thanksgiving Day a hundred years ago. In the great red farmhouse on the hill, preparations were begun long before the day. The turkey that stalked about the dooryard had been watched with hungry eyes, and fattened with urgent care. Pumpkins had been brought from the cornfield to sun themselves on the woodpile. Ah ! it was a sure sigii of the day's approach ; and they might have de- fended their right to be there without being laughed at by the ancient chronicler's words : " Let no man make a jest at pumpkins, for with this fruit the Lord was pleased to feed his people to their good content till corne and cattel were increased." ^ A goodly supply of all garden vegetables was at hand. Ap- ples and pears, the best in the orchard, had been gathered and hidden away in the dark to mellow. Alas for the feast, if there was not molasses enough ^ Johnson's Wonder-Working Providence, p. 56. 426 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. to be had ; there could be none without it.^ Stores of raisins and citron had been laid in, so there was some- thing for the girls to do, while the boys looked after the popcorn, which had been seasoning in the wood- shed chamber, or picked up wahiuts under the old shagbark-tree in the pasture. Then there was a deal of work necessary within the house, — the wedding china to be brought out, the brasses all around to be polished, especially the ancestral andirons, and the spare chambers to be set in order, with extemporized beds in every available corner, — all ready for the home-coming. Grandpa and grandma were the reign- ing sovereigns, and their family was a royal one. A thorough-going New Englander in those days had sons enough to use up in the christening all the favor- ite names of the apostles, and then he had to draw on the prophets. How they flocked home ! Peter, the eldest, and his family live on the old homestead. James is up from the city with his city-bred wife and children, — but what is a palace compared to the old home for a Thanksgiving ! Jeremiah has made a pil- grimage thither from the far West, which might then have been in " York State." Matthew, the custom- house officer, and Ezra, the college professor, are there, but " riches and larnin " give no prior titles at that court. The night before Thanksgiving they are all there, and the daughters-in-law have stowed the little ones away in big feather-beds, a dozen, more or less, in each, like sardines, and the youngsters have ^ The town of Colchester, Conn., in 1705, voted to put off the Thanksgiving from the first to the second Thursday in November ; and the tradition is well supported that the cause was a delay in receiving a supply of molasses. — Barber's Conn. Hist. Coll., p. 305. LAWS AND CUSTOMS. 427 gone to their pillow-fight in the attic chambers. Around the huge open fireplace, by the light of its burning logs, those boys of the olden time spin their yarns of childhood's days and crack their jokes, till the laughter changes to tears and they are ready for the evening prayer and the tender good-night. And then, that Thanksgiving morning! It is clear and cold, perhaps the first snow upon the ground, for Boreas was wont to contribute something unusual before the days of weather reports. All the family are at church, — it was expected, and the proper thing, for family religion was on dress parade, — and the gray-haired parson, regardless of the passing time, rises to the occasion in fervent words of gratitude to God for his abundant mercies. Then comes the din- ner, skillfiJly managed by the maiden aunt, God bless her ! — an indispensable condensation of virtue on such occasions, — a dinner not so elaborate as bounti- ful, not so elegant as healtliful. How the children's eyes dance ! even those of the babe in the big board cradle, who has no part nor lot in it. The turkey, of course, is there, crisp and brown, as only one can be which has been slowly roasted before the fire, and basted from the dripping-pan beneath. Vegetables of all sorts load the table, delicacies, too, that have been waiting long for that hour, and nunierous mys- teries of their old-fashioned culinary art. Then there are pies of sundry kinds, the chicken-pie among them, but best of all, — and can we trust our feelings to mention them, — genuine pumpkin-pies baked in square tins, having only four corner pieces to each ! Our Quaker poet remembered them when he wrote his lines, — 428 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. *' Ah ! on Thanksg-iving day, when from East and from West, From North and from South come the pilgrim and guest, When the gray-haired New-Englander sees round his hoard The old hroken links of aifection restored. When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more, And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before, What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye ? What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie ? '* The feast is over at last, and while the women-folks clear the table, the grandsire, his sons, and grandsons make the round of barns and sheds and pens, to re- new old acquaintance with their favorites. Happiness reigns among the youth. They romp over the hay, play hide-and-seek around the buildings, or take a sleigh-ride in the straw-filled sled. Then, as the even- ing shadows fall, there is a grand assembly about the fireplace. How merrily the corn sputters in the pop- per I How familiar the sound of nuts cracked on the hearthstone ! What apples, and competitions in par- ing them without a break in the golden shaving ! The cider flows from the great earthenware pitcher, — it never became old in those days. There are genealo- gies to be explained as Ezra writes up the record in the family Bible, and sombre portraits to be honored, which look down approvingly upon the scene. It is grandpa's patriotic duty to rehearse again the thrill- ing story of Bunker Hill, in full view of the sacred flint-lock, hanging from the deer-horns over the man- telpiece. By and by the young heads begin to nod, and the tallow-dips burn low, warning them that they must separate soon, — too soon. It may not come again, the same Thanksgiving joy, — not to all ; and the sad suspicion solemnizes the family circle, as they all bow there, and, like the sons of Jacob, receive the LAWS AND CUSTOMS. 429 sire's blessing. Ah ! those were " good old days " in- deed. May generations yet unborn cherish the pious flavor of that household festival ! He who for some Kght pleasure forsakes it has dishonored the Lares of his ancestors. The descendant of New England, be he there still, on the Western prairie, or across the sea, will evermore turn once a year, with tender feelings, toward the scene, and in so doing he pays his tribute to one of the grandest conceptions of family life known in history. CHAPTER XXIX. THE PRINTER AND THE PROCLAMATION. The student of American history is aware that one of the most interesting fields of research is offered in collections of broadsides. A single sheet of print oftentimes contained news not to be found elsewhere. In time of war it was the extra of the weekly news- paper. It announced events and circulated calimmies as an irresponsible person. Programmes, ballads, po- litical satires, and articles of faith were thus given to the public. The single sheet was most perishable, on account of its own unprotected form, and was also most convenient for wrapping-paper. Some of them were crammed into the Revolutionary musket, and probably then attained their highest mission. So it happens that these stray flyers, of an early date, are known to the collector as " excessively rare." The proclamations for fast and thanksgiving days were, during the early years of printing, as now, com- mitted to this form. When it is considered that they contained the action of a general court or a governor and council, which is not always found in their records, even when these survive, the value attaching to them is evident. Of the proclamations issued in broadside form prior to 1750, the vast majority have utterly perished. A file made up from the collections of all the libraries would be far from complete, and it has been a rare experience to find two copies of the same PRINTER AND PROCLAMATION. 431 proclamation before the American Revolution. But as some may yet come to light, — we write in hope of arresting the destroyer, — and as early proclama- tions may be preserved in private collections, all our remarks must be taken as merely a contribution upon the subject. We record such facts as we have met with in searching libraries or in private collections put at our service, to which doubtless others will be able to add. The earliest manner of appointing these days was by a simple order, briefly stating the causes, which was in writing, and signed by the secretary of the colony. This was transmitted to the minister of each town, often by a special messenger, and by him was read to the people. In remote districts the notice was passed from one to another, the minister finding some mode of communication. There are instances on record where all he received was hearsay informa- tion, and sometimes this was too late to secure a gen- eral keeping of the day. In such a case he would appoint a day the week following. Some excused themselves, if the day was impopular, on the ground that they had no notice. The fast in Connecticut, April 18, 1771, was not observed in Fairfield County because the post-rider, knowing, we suspect, what they were, did not deliver the proclamations, on which ac- count he was brought into court. The later colonial proclamation was longer than the early order, being an expansion of the causes by some minister or pious layman. Therefore, as it was at first comparatively brief, as the occasions were frequent, and printing expensive and slow, there was no demand for putting them in print, even though there was a printing-press 432 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. at Cambridge. But after forty years had passed, the number of towns in Massachusetts was greatly in- creased, and the labor of making copies for all the clergymen was considerable. Then a necessity arose for the use of the printing-press. All these proclamations were in writing in Con- necticut until 1709. That year Thomas Short set up his press at New London, and it is believed that his first work was the fast day proclamation of June 29, 1709, a facsimile of which is given by the courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Only one copy of this is known. It was issued the year before the date of " The Saybrook Platform," — said to be the first book printed in Connecticut, — and only about a month and a half after his contract to do such work went into effect.^ The Acts of the May session were certainly not printed until after those of the June ses- sion, which ended the 11th, and the latter would hardly have anticipated this proclamation relating to the expedition against Canada. Between this time and his death, September 27, 1712, he probably printed about ten proclamations, no copies of which are known to survive. After two years Timothy Green became his successor, and the fast day proclamation Septem- ber 1, 1714, may have been also his first work in Connecticut. A copy is in the Massachusetts Histori- cal Society. Other than these two, no early Connect- icut broadsides are known to us, though for several years after 1723 the proclamations were printed in the " Boston News-Letter," doubtless from the broad- side form. As there were more than fifty such issued during the first twenty-five years of printing in Con- ^ Thomas's Hist, of Printing, in Am. Antiq. Soc. Coll., v. 184, 185. u a o > s * £ 3\ to * 13 •* u si I *^ tf-* o H in I o f o is 2 o PRINTER AND PROCLAMATION, 433 necticut, the reader can judge as to the rarity of these two stray sheets. In Massachusetts the results are quite different. It cannot be affirmed that there were no proclama- tions printed at Cambridge prior to 1670, but in bills for government printing none are mentioned and none of an earlier date have been met with. In the Ar- chives of Massachusetts, at the State House in Bos- ton, there is preserved a broadside, ordering the fast day September 22, 1670.1 If not the first so printed, very few could have preceded it, and as the forerunner of more than two hundred years of Massachusetts fast day broadsides, it is worthy of its place in this volume. In size and style it affords an interesting contrast with that of 1893, printed on the standard sheet 19 by 24 inches, with which the annual fast day was discontinued. The day itself is mentioned in the Dorchester church records and in Hull's Diary. It is not noted in the Colonial Records, being one of many ordered by the governor and council. Though no printer's name is attached, the work was done by the well-known Samuel Green, of Cambridge, grandfather of the above-mentioned Timothy Green. He was then printer to the government, and this is proven to have been from his press by the headpiece, which was used in certain books having his imprint, for instance in " The Life and Death of that Reverend Man of God, Mr. Richard Mather," printed that same year by " S. Green and M. Johnson." The second broadside known is in the possession of the Massachusetts His- torical Society. It is for a thanksgiving, June 29, 1676, and a facsimile of this also is introduced both ^ Mass. Arch. , x. 17. 434 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, on this account and because of its relation to the story of King Philip's war. It is the earliest broadside known ordering a thanksgiving day, and a special interest attaches to it. This also was issued by the governor and council. Another pubhc thanksgiving was kept that year, on the 9th of November, by the authority of the General Court, and the proclamation was printed in broadside form, as we infer from the reprint of it in the New England Register, which differs slightly from the same in the Colonial Re- cords.i A search for the original broadside has not been successful. The next is for the fast June 6, 1678, appointed by the General Court, also in the Massachusetts Historical Society. In appearance it resembles the last, though the width of the print is less by three fourths of an inch, and the length by two inches. Two others complete the list of those issued under the old charter. One is for the reformation fast December 11, 1679, in the Connecticut Histori- cal Society, and the other is for a fast April 21, 1681, in the American Antiquarian Society. Both of these were ordered by the General Court. Neither of them, however, nor the one preceding, are men- tioned in the Colonial Records. Three fasts within the space of three years, which are altogether omitted from the records of the body which appointed them ! If any further evidence is needed to show how im- perfect a list must be which is made up from the Colonial Records, it is in this summary, that such a list would not include one of the days named in these five early broadsides. At this time doubtless all the proclamations were printed. The Colonial Records 1 N, E. Gen. Beg., ii. 201 ; Mass. Col. Bee, v. 130. PRINTER AND PROCLAMATION, 435 furnish proof that seven were besides these, and three more are recorded elsewhere, evidently from a print.^ Hence sixteen were certainly issued in broadside. During the years from 1670 to 1685 at least fifty public fast and thanksgiving days were kept in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The broadsides of only five of these are known to be extant ; that is, only one out of ten has survived the destroyer. All these were doubtless printed at Cambridge by Samuel Green. The type is similar to that of the Laws and Orders which he issued for the government, and he would most likely print also the proclamations. One feature is deserving of special notice, namely, the impression of the colonial seal at the top of the sheet, lacking only in the first. Of this two different woodcuts were employed, which can be easily distin- guished, the Indian in the earlier having a feminine appearance and a skirt about the loins, while in the later the Indian wears a covering of leaves and the trees are larger, evidently pines. The feminine characteristic was probably due to a lack of skill on the part of the engraver, who improved his work in several respects in making the second cut. In Blake's " Annals of Dor- chester," " he that made the then Seal or Arms of y® Colony " is said to have been John Foster, who was an engraver, and began printing in Boston in 1675, continuing until his death in 1681.^ This might raise the question whether Foster did not print some of these broadsides. Yet both cuts were certainly in the possession of Samuel Green, and were employed 1 Mass. Col Bee, v. 131, 156, 324, 371, 377, 388, 463; Dor. chh. rec, p. 71 ; Sewall's Diary, i. 84 ; Mather's King Philip^ s War, p. 93. 2 See Mass. Hist. Soc. Proceedings, I. vol. x. pp. 94-104 ; II. vol. iv. p. 204. 436 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. in printing the Laws and Orders, also issued on single sheets. Foster may have borrowed one to use in con- nection with Mather's " History of King Philip's War," but both were in existence before that work was pub- lished. The earlier first appears in the Colonial Laws of 1672, facing the title-page, which leads to the be- lief that Green had no cut when he printed the pro- clamation of 1670. This continued in use till 1675-6, when the second was made, and this can be traced down to 1691, being in Green's possession ten years after Foster's death. The proclamation of 1676 shows the earlier cut, as does also that of 1678, probably be- cause the other was in use at the time in printing some law. The later cut was employed in the proclamations of 1679 and 1681. We conclude, therefore, that the lost proclamations before 1672 resembled that of 1670, that between 1672 and 1676 they were much like the thanksgiving broadside of the latter year, and that thereafter, so long as the seal was used, they were like the proclamation of 1679. Four other Massachusetts broadsides are known prior to 1700. The first is for the fast September 19, 1689, among the Hutchinson manuscripts in the State Archives, the day being ordered by the council, which had resumed authority. The second is for the fast, March 6, 1689-90, appointed by the General Court met at Charlestown by adjournment on the 12th of February ; it is in the Massachusetts Historical Society. Isaac Addington was then the secretary, and his signature is af&xed. The colonial seal is of course lacking, and the type is of another font. Pos- sibly both these were printed by Samuel Green, Jr., of Boston, son of Samuel of Cambridge and father of PRINTER AND PROCLAMATION, 437 Timothy of New London. He then did work for the government, and a considerable sum was due him at his death in July, 1690. The third is a fast proclama- tion for May 7, 1691, by the council, and is preserved in the State Archives.^ It has been mutilated, appar- ently, by cutting out the impression of the seal, and if so, this was one of the last Massachusetts broadsides which bore it. The cut was last in the possession of Samuel Green, Sr., and the type appears to have been his. Perhaps the fire at Boston, which had destroyed the press of Bartholomew Green, successor to his bro- ther, Samuel Green, Jr., was the reason why this one was printed at Cambridge. The fourth is for the thanksgiving July 14, 1692, one of the first acts of the provincial government. This is in the Massachu- setts Historical Society. It is signed by the secre- tary, Isaac Addington, and has no impression of the royal arms, as we might expect. Benjamin Harris, of Boston, was at that time " Printer to the Governor and Council," and issued the Acts and Laws of the session which ordered the day. It may be assumed to have been from his press. We have enumerated in all nine early Massachusetts broadsides. These constitute a group by themselves, in size, typography, and style of composition. AU savor of colonial days, the circumstances under which they were kept per- meating them, and possibly no two were drawn up by the same person. The broadsides of the provincial period are very different in all respects. In composition the procla- mation is a formal, stilted, official affair. The days had passed into annual observance, which gave a same- ^ Mass. Archives, xi. 58. 438 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. ness to the proclamations extending even to the print- ing. From 1693 on, for forty years, Bartholomew Green was the " Printer to the Governor and Council," and, though none of his early broadsides have been found, he would naturally soon adopt a convenient size, with faced type similar to that used in England. The royal arms, which he used in 1693 in printing laws, would have been the headpiece, and the words " God save the King " would have been his conclusion. Strange to say, we have not met with any collection of these broadsides printed before 1740. Only three are known to us, as follows : that for October 26, 1721, a thanksgiving, in the Massachusetts Historical Society, with a duplicate in the Rhode Island Historical So- ciety ; that for the thanksgiving. November 28, 1723, in Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth ; and that for the spring fast April 2, 1730, in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society at Worcester. During these years many were printed in the "Boston News-Letter," but it is a misfortune that so few are extant in the broadside form. These three are similar in style, and probably fair samples of those which have disap- peared. That of 1721 is printed on a sheet about 12 by 16, has the royal arms, the legend " God save the King," and the printer's name, Bartholomew Green. The signature is " Samuel Shute, Governor." There was little variation from this standard down to the American Revolution, and though a complete file of broadsides after 1750. could not be made up, the ma- jority are extant as shown in the Calendar. After the death of Green, December 28, 1732, his successor in business and honors was John Draper, who in turn was followed by his son Richard at his death, Novem- PRINTER AND PROCLAMATION 439 ber 29, 1762, and Richard Draper did the work until his death, June 6, 1774 ; so that all the broadsides from 1693 to 1774 were printed in one estabhslunent by three men. In 1771 the size was slightly changed, and the words " Massachusetts Bay " were sometimes printed at the left of the royal arms. There came a time, however, when Thomas Hutch- inson got tlirough making proclamations in Boston, and then the broadside was suddenly put into very democratic homespun. The earliest of this group was issued by the Provincial Congress for the thanks- giving December 15, 1774, and was signed by " John Hancock, President." Of course the arms and legend are missing. It has the plain heading '' In Provincial Congress, Cambridge, October 22, 1774." Tlu-ough- out the Revolution these broadsides vary greatly in ap- pearance. Different kinds of paper were used, various styles of type, and they had no standard size, ranging from an 8 by 12 sheet to one 15 by 20. The printer's name was not given as formerly. Benjamin Edes, while at Watertown, issued those for July 20 and No- vember 23, 1775, and he probably printed others after- wards. In place of the arms we note in that for March 7, 1776, the words " Colony of the Massachu- setts Bay," and after the Declaration of Independence this was altered to " State of Massachusetts Bay." In 1779 it became " State of Massachusetts," and in 1781 " Commonwealth of Massachusetts." What seemed to exercise the authors most was the proper substitute for the legend " God save the King." Be- fore independence was declared, they wrote " God save the People." The proclamation which was issued upon that memorable day July 4, 1776, had "God save 440 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. America." The next had " God save the United States of America," which was usual thereafter, though we note also " God save the People," " God save the People of the United States," and " God save the American States." This series of Revolutionary proclamations is in every respect the most interesting since colonial days. The proclamation for the fast day April 15, 1784, set the present style of Massachusetts broadsides, though the sheet was only 15 by 20, the larger one now used having been adopted in 1800. It had at the top an impression of the state seal, various cuts of which have been used since, showing nearly as great diversity as those of Connecticut, and at the bottom appeared for the first time the familiar words : '' God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." This was printed by Adams and Nourse, who in course of time were succeeded by Thomas Adams, Adams and Larkin, Young and Minns, Russell and Cutler, and others. These did not vary the style except in the seal and a double-column arrangement. Governors Eustis in 1824, and Banks in 1860, changed the fash- ion, reducing the size ; but their successors. Governors Lincoln and Andrew, returned to the ancient form, which Massachusetts authorities have adhered to with commendable loyalty. This description of Massachusetts broadsides leaves less to be said in reference to Connecticut proclama- tions. In addition to the two already noted, only three are known back of 1754 : the fast of 1733 and the thanksgivings of 1743 and 1744. These are quite similar to their contemporaries in Massachu- setts, following the English style in size and type. PRINTER AND PROCLAMATION. 441 Timothy Green, of New London, was still the printer, and continued to be throughout this period. After the year 1754, however, a goodly number of Con- necticut broadsides are extant. The collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, Yale College, and Hon. Charles J. Hoadly, state librarian, courteously put at our service, would together make up an excel- lent though incomplete file. These vary greatly in size, type, and especially in the impression of the royal arms and state seal. The reason is, they were from different presses. Timothy Green was succeeded by his son Timothy, and he in 1763 by his nephew Tim- othy, all of whom printed some broadsides. At New Haven, James Parker and Company set up a press in 1754, to whom Benjamin Mecom succeeded in 1764, and he in turn was followed by Samuel Green in 1767, being soon joined by his brother Thomas in the firm Thomas and Samuel Green, which later became Thomas Green and Son. All these printed broadsides. Thomas Green went from Hartford, where he had been connected with Ebenezer Watson, who continued the business until his death in 1777, liis wife, Hannah Watson, keeping up the establish- ment with George Goodwin until she married Bar- zillai Hudson, when the fu-m became Hudson and Goodwin. All these printed broadsides. Meigs and Dana, of New Haven, issued the thanksgiving procla- mation of 1786. One certainly, in 1794, was the work of Moses H. Woodward, of Middletown, and probably the fast of 1796 was by Collier and Buel, of Litchfield. Elisha Babcock, of Hartford, also printed several. Thus there were more than a dozen imprints of broadsides before 1800. That press which was 442 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. most convenient when the proclamation was issued usually printed it, and as each had its style of type and cut of the arms or seal, the broadsides make as interesting an exhibit of early Connecticut printing as can be gathered. Unlike Massachusetts, the royal arms and the words " God save the King " were not omitted until after the Declaration of Independence. Nor was it necessary for the council to issue or sign any as in Massachusetts, — " Brother Jonathan " being eminently qualified for the task. Both States had their individual proclamations as well as those order- ing a day named by the Congress, in the latter case the national resolution being either prefixed or ap- pended. Throughout the first half of the present century the broadside was of large size, which Gov- ernor Trumbull had adopted with the thanksgiving of 1783. But about 1850 it was reduced, and under Governor Buckingham it assumed the present folio form. In the year 1693 William Bradford began printing proclamations in New York. The earliest one for a fast or thanksgiving day we have seen is in the State Archives at Albany, and is for the fast, March 27, 1696.1 It has his imprmt, and is an excellent speci- men of his work. The headpiece is the royal arms, and the usual legend is at the bottom. The type is good. In size it is somewhat larger than what had been customary in the Massachusetts Colony, but the same as a proclamation upon another subject printed by him in 1693.' Probably it fairly represents all the early broadsides in New York. Soon afterwards he printed a thanksgiving proclamation for Jime 4, ^ Governor Fletcher^ xl. 133. PRINTER AND PROCLAMATION. 443 1696, the day celebrated on account of his Majesty's deliverance " from the base and horrid conspiracy s and plotts of His enemies." ^ This is also in the State Archives, and two more which he printed the next year, all being quite similar in appearance. The history of printing in New Hampshire begins with the year 1756, when Daniel Fowle set up his press at Portsmouth. Probably he printed the broad- sides from that time, but we have seen none earlier than that of May 21, 1766. From that date on to 1786 a very good collection is preserved in the Mas- sachusetts Historical Society, to which several could be added by the New Hampshire Historical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, and the Secretary of State. Before the Revolution the size and style were similar to those of Massachusetts, but when paper became scarce they were made smaller. Daniel Fowle took his nephew Robert into partnership in 1764, and all broadsides down to 1769 bore the im- print of " Daniel and Robert Fowle," though they issued some afterward which were without the print- er's name. When they separated in 1774, the latter set up a press at Exeter, and shared with Robert Fowle the state printing. Both imprints occur in 1776. Zachariah Fowle was successor at Exeter in 1777, and Lamson and Raulet issued one in 1786. In 1785 both Melcher and Osborne and Robert Ger- rish, of Portsmouth, printed proclamations, and the latter for years afterward. It is quite probable that in Rhode Island some of those occasional days, kept before the Revolution, were proclaimed in the broadside print. Work of a ^ Governor Fletcher, xl. p. 164. 444 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. like character was done for the government both at Providence and Newport ; but we know of no collec- tion of such broadsides, and the earliest met with is for the thanksgiving December 13, 1781, which has no peculiar features. John Carter, of Providence, was the printer, as for some time afterward. The imprint of Carter and Wilkinson is noted in 1795, and the thanksgiving broadside of 1797 has '' Warren : Printed by Nathaniel Phillips, Printer to the State." A few early Vermont broadsides are extant, but no collection has been made even by the State, and no file is preserved. The fast proclamation of June 18, 1777, is in manuscript, and no press had been estab- lished there at that time. We do not know that the national fast and thanksgiving proclamations of the next two years were reprinted at all, though Alden Spooner was then "Printer to the State of Vermont." In 1781 Spooner and Green were located at West- minster, and they may have printed the broadside for the thanksgiving December 6, which was in the Brin- ley Library.^ It is, like its contemporaries, without seal, having at the bottom the words " God save the People." Hough and Spooner, of Windsor, were later the state printers. Broadsides for April 27, 1785, and November 27, 1788, are in the Brooks Library at Brattleboro. The day will come when all these early broadsides of New England will be of greatest interest. As mere curiosities of the ancient time, they have a recognized value. Their story is simply told in the appearance which they present, in which the progress of printing is written, the history of paper-making and the chan- 1 Brinley Cat, No. 8912. PRINTER AND PROCLAMATION. 445 ging styles of type. They show the devastation of war and the thrift of peace in their very fibre. In them the record is made of calamities and deliverances which exercised the spirits of the fathers, and they declare with the force of contemporaries the current opinion of political events. A few only survive of many thousands once fresh, but now withered and scat- tered leaves. CHAPTER XXX. THE RETURN TO THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. On the 16tli of March, 1894, the annual Fast Day was abolished in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. Such action was favored by the vast majority of her Christian citizens of all denominations, and met with no organized opposition from any source. It had long been evident that the religious significance of the day had departed ; but so strongly intrenched was the an- cient institution in the life of the people, that continued discussion, repeated memorials, and the recommen- dation of successive governors were necessary to ac- complish at last its overthrow. In the superficial view, the action taken seemed to show a disregard for a religious custom of the fathers, and to discountenance the practice of fasting ; but in reality it had no such purpose and could produce no such effect. The insti- tution had two elements. It was both a day for re- ligious worship and a civil holiday. These were divorced. The churches, having come to prefer the crucifixion of Christ rather than the natural blessings of the season as the central idea of their humiliation, were left to their liberty to reconstruct a new fast day, dependent wholly upon religious fervor for its sanctity. The State dealt with the civil holiday, and as such it substituted therefor the Nineteenth of April. Hence the statement that " Patriots' Day " RETURN TO THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 447 has taken the place of the Fast Day in Massachusetts demands qualification. On the 11th of April, 1894, his Excellency, Gov- ernor Frederic T. Greenhalge, issued a proclamation, in the usual broadside form, recommending the first observance of April 19, a day which has certainly been memorable in the history of Massachusetts. In this he says : — " This is a day rich with historical and significant events which are precious in the eyes of patriots. It may well be called Patriots' Day. On this day in 1775, at Lexington and Concord, was begun the great War of the Revolution ; on this day in 1783, just eight years afterward, the cessation of the war and the triumph of independence was formally proclaimed ; and on this day in 1861 the first blood was shed in the war for the Union. Thus the day is grand with the memories of the mighty struggles which in one instance brought Liberty and in the other Union to the country. It is fitting, therefore, that the day should be celebrated as the anniversary of the birth of Liberty and Union. Let the day be dedicated, then, to solemn, religious, and patriotic services, which may adequately express our deep sense of the trials and tribulations of the patriots of the earlier and of the latter days, and especially our gratitude to Almighty God, who crowned the heroic struggles of the founders and pre- servers of our country with victory and peace." It should not be forgotten among those who mil celebrate this day as the years roll by, that there were patriots also in 1689, who upon that same 19th of April gathered in haste at Boston and brought to a successful issue the overthrow of Sir Edmund An- dros by the surrender of the Castle, to which he was that day committed. But another coincidence deserves to be remembered in this connection. It has been shown that the annual fast day in Massachusetts be- gan with the 19th of April, 1694. The institution. 448 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, therefore, survived exactly two hundred years, and upon the same day of the third century there was inau- gurated the celebration of a new holiday in its place. Surely the change could not have been made at a more fitting time ; and in Patriots' Day itself, now crowned with immortality, the genius of history has designed a friendly monument to an ancient custom, which has served well the commonwealth in past generations. The proposal to abolish Fast Day dates so far back as 1855, and perhaps farther. That year the Salem Association of Congregational Ministers discussed the subject, to which they were moved in part by the oc- currence of Good Friday on April 6, the day after the annual fast. Since then the movement has been revived from time to time by sundry ecclesiastical bodies, and notably at Salem, which was appropriate. In the spring of 1892 it assumed definite shape in a memorial originating with the Essex Congregational Club, signed by prominent representatives of various religious denominations and of colleges within the State, and addressed to Governor WiUiam E. Russell, by whom, with other like petitions, the same was trans- mitted to the legislature with a brief message on the 31st of May. This Memorial suggested the establish- ment of a new holiday and the leaving of the sacred purposes of the fast day "to be accomplished by the observance of Good Friday as a church religious fast day independent of all state control or authority." The matter having been referred to the next legisla- ture, the governor called special attention to it in his inaugural address of 1893, in which he recommended that " the secular duties of the State " be severed from " the spiritual obligations of the churches " by RETURN TO THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 449 providing another legal holiday, — for which the 19th of April was suggested, — " leaving to voluntary action the recognition and reverent observance either of the religious fast of Good Friday or of such other day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer as the various churches and religious communities in the Commonwealth may at any time appoint for themselves." A considerable majority, however, in the House of Representatives voted against the measure and it failed. Only a few days afterward, Governor Russell issued his fast day proclamation appointing the 6th of April, which brought the subject in vigorous terms into general no- tice. It proved to be the last annual fast day procla- mation in Massachusetts, and the body of the text is as follows : — " Whereas, our pious ancestors established the custom of set- ting apart by public authority a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer to God, that the whole people might thereon, in public and private, unite in such holy service and devotion to their Creator as the day, alike in its name and purpose, suggested; And whereas, long-continued usage now requires the annual ap- pointment of such a day, although it has ceased to be devoted generally to the purposes of its origin, but is appropriated and used as a holiday, for purposes at variance with its origin, its name and its solemn character ; And whereas, this day iS recog- nized in the Statutes of the Commonwealth and set apart as a holiday, and recent legislative action has decided that no change is to be made in regard to it ; it therefore becomes my official duty now to appoint a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer. Accordingly, with the advice and consent of the Council, I do hereby appoint Thursday, the sixth day of April next, as the day to be devoted to such purposes. It is for the people of the Commonwealth to determine whether this day shall be observed in conformity with the high and holy purposes for which it has been instituted and is appointed, or whether it shall be a formal fast by proclamation, to which the great body of the community of a Christian State gives neither heed, support, nor service." 450 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, Again in 1894 the subject was referred to in the inaugural address of Governor Frederic T. Green- halge, who supported the recommendations of his pre- decessor. Meanwhile the Lexington Historical So- ciety had taken the matter in hand, and by a circular and other means had succeeded in kindling a public interest in the historic Nineteenth of April. To the propriety of celebrating this day the fmal action was largely due. A bill was drafted entitled " An Act to abolish Fast Day and to make the Nineteenth Day of April a Legal Holiday," covering all the pomts neces- sary to accomplish the change, and after full discus- sion, it was passed by a larger majority than had the year before defeated the measure. On the 16th of March the governor affixed his signature, and the pen which thus bade farewell to the fast day of Massa- chusetts was presented to the Lexington Historical Society. The main aro^iment which has been at all times of- fered against this action of Massachusetts has been that the ' annual fast day was an institution of the fathers. It has been shown that this is untrue as to those who lived under the privileges of the first char- ter. The right, which was given to the churches by the earliest law enacted on the subject, and which they persistently claimed and exercised, — that of ap- pointing such days for humihation as they thought proper, — still remains to them. If we may assume that Massachusetts will still keep special fasts, either in company with sister States or in response to her own governor, as she did during the civil war, then in principle this action has been but a return to the cus- toms of those who founded that conunonwealth. On RETURN TO THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 451 the other hand, though it has released the churches from allegiance to the fast day as appointed by civil authority, it has laid upon them the responsibility of re-creating in a new form an institution wh^ch has always been vital to religious life. The force which has wrought most effectively to bring about the change has been the Christian regard for the crucifixion day, and this is the truth which alone has power to revive sincere humiliation in the hearts of men. To this the people of Massachusetts have tacitly pledged them- selves in seeking the abolishing of Fast Day. The State has furthered their purpose so far as it could, and it has left reUgious bodies and Christian people to do the rest. It remains to be seen what influence, if any, the action of Massachusetts will have upon the other New England States. The situation is the same in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, where the fast day is a civil holiday and not appointed upon Good Friday. There also the tendency is apparent, especially in cities, to observe the natural fast day of the Christian year. It is doubtful if as good a substitute could be found for the spring holiday, which has a strong hold upon the people, as the Nineteenth of April, into the celebration of which they could not be expected to en- ter with the ardor of Massachusetts. Without such a substitute the probability of a change is greatly de- creased. New Hampshire as a State kept the earliest Good Friday fast days in New England, and her peo- ple might not be averse to returning to that historic precedent. The churches within these States will doubtless become more and more favorable to the re- ligious uses of Good Friday, and the future action 452 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. would seem to be reduced to a choice between the ex- ample of Connecticut or Massachusetts. In Connecticut the conditions are different from those which have prevailed in Massachusetts. In the former State the annual fast has been set upon Good Friday for nearly a century. It may be fairly pre- sumed, too, that the State which originated annual appointments wiU have some reluctance to forsake its ancient custom. Some at least will see little reason for any change, as no modification of the present civil practice can materially affect the religious purposes of the day. During the last twenty-five years the gen- eral tendency to return to the Christian year has wrought efficiently among tlie churches for the recovery of the spirit of the day. The common theme is not the springtime season, but the crucifixion of Christ. In form only is it the civil fast day. Formerly it was the annual fast appointed upon Good Friday ; it has come to be Good Friday, sanctioned by the State's authority and by it made a legal holiday. It would seem to be wise to allow time for this renewed interest in Christian bodies to develop. They only can make the day of religious profit to the community, and in this they are not hindered by its civil relations. It has been suggested that the governor should discon- tinue the issuing of the usual proclamation. This feature is, true enough, a remnant of the union of church and state ; but unless it can be shown to be harmful it may properly claim respect because of its age, and it might be made a means of good. If the churches of a Christian commonwealth are agreed as to the propriety of observing Good Friday as a re- ligious festival, a public proclamation of the day and RETURN TO THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 453 its purposes cannot be an offense to any. There is something to be said in favor of this recognition of the occasion by the State, and certainly the religious design is not impeded by it. The validity of the complaint lies not so much against the fact of civil proclamations, as it does agamst their character, since they have degenerated into a mere form of words, which does not command the respect of Christian peo- ple. A proclamation which is not in sympathy with the religious community which is urged to heed it needs reformation quite as much as the people. We may fairly sum up the whole matter in this statement, — the real question is whether it is better to have the Good Friday fast a legal holiday or not. In the one case it must run the risk of being used for recreation and amusements, in the other it will cer- tainly be filled with employments and traffic. In both cases the observance is voluntary. Tliis is precisely the present difference between Massachusetts and Connecticut ; and it remains to be proven that it is easier to win people from their business to worship on Good Friday than from their pleasures. It is con- ceded that the day is celebrated to a large extent in Connecticut as a day of pleasure, but it is not dese- crated in this by one who recognizes it only as a holi- day. \t is desecrated by Christian people who accept it as a holy day. They have come to this largely through the habit of considering it as a worn-out springtime fast day, and doubtless this will decrease as the movement toward its recognition as the cruci- fixion day gains strength. It is a fair contest between the church with its holy day and the world with its holiday ; and we fail to see how abolishing the latter 454 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. will assist the former. Every day wliieh finds public favor is likely to be set apart from labor ; and such has been the result wherever Good Friday has been adopted. Many European countries regard it as a holiday. Even the municipal authorities of New York have so recognized it upon more than one oc- casion. Every ritualistic church which glorifies the day in its services, making it preeminently a day for worship, at the same time assists in releasing the peo- ple from labor. The objection is, therefore, not so much against having it a holiday, as it is against the dissipating uses to which all holy days are liable. And as to this, whatever the laws and customs may be, its proper observance, like the keeping of the Sabbath, must finally be left to the people themselves. Public sentiment must be educated. The churches must themselves show a regard for the occasion ; and, with the united influence of ecclesiastical authorities so di- verse as the Congregational and Roman Catholic, it would be strange indeed if the needed reform could not be effected. The observance of Good Friday is only one feature of a much larger subject, — the return to the Chris- tian year. Days which our Puritan fathers would not keep, and which, it must be conceded, they had some reason to disregard, have come to be adopted in all Christian denominations. Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Whitsunday, which stand for the great facts of Christianity, have won a new favor by their merit, and have been restored to preeminence in the great catholic church. Those evils which were once connected with them, and against which the Puritans of Queen Elizabeth's time so vigorously protested, RETURN TO THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 455 have been reformed ; and even in those communions which have maintained their observance through the intervening centuries, these days are not what they once were. The life of Him in whose honor they were instituted has revived their spiritual significance. The clouds of superstition have passed away, and the sunlight sheds its glory upon those summits which were raised heavenward in the creation of a Christian world. The day will come, and we write to speed it, when these religious festivals will be sanctioned by those who meet in assemblies, conferences, synods, and councils ; and will be by their churches no less reverently esteemed, though commemorated in an- other form of worship, than among those who ac- knowledge the authority of a bishop or the supremacy of the Pope. They furnish a basis for Christian unity, more practical than organisms or creeds; and elevate a unity of life above that of form. As the feasts of Christ they assume a legitimate royalty in the Christian year. The honor due the saints fades away in their presence, as stars that are hidden in the brighter light of other Imninaries. The descendants of the early Puritans have by in- heritance an interest in the reverent keeping of these festivals. It was the proposition of their own fathers when Puritanism was in its infancy. The cycle of events has brought us back to the convocation of 1562, and that compromise which was then ignomin- iously buried by the vote of one proxy has come si- lently to a resurrection. The spiritual children of the Pilgrims, the legatees of the later Puritans, and the followers of all those sects which arose during that era of separation, can properly and honorably rest their 456 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. present practice upon that event, and claim historic fellowship with the system which their fathers sought then to establish. After the lapse of more than three centuries the Christian world has accepted the pro- posal to keep " The Feasts of Christ." ADDENDA. A THANKSGIVING ON THE ARRIVAL OF THE PILGRIMS. Evidence has come to light since the foregoing pages were in type, which supports the belief that the Pilgrims ob- served a thanksgiving upon their arrival at Plymouth, and is of sufficient importance to merit this added record. The family Bible of William White, the Pilgrim, — a " Breeches Bible " of 1588, — has lately been identified through some marginal notes which it contains relating to the Mayflower company. The later history of the volume is unknown to the present possessor, Mr. S. W. Cowles, of Hartford, Conn. Its early ownership is indicated by such entries as the following : " William White his Book 1608," elsewhere " 1619 ; " " At Amsterdam Holland. April. Anno Domini 1608 ; " " Leyden Hol- land March 1609 ; " " Left Delf thaven in Holland. Sailed for Southampton, August 1620 ; " " William White Sailed from Plymouth in y* Ship Mayflower y" 6*^ day of September Anno Domini 1620. Nov y* 9*^ came to the harbour called Cape Cod ; " " Landed y' Plymouth December y" 11*^ 1620." After the death of William White, the book was given in 1623, by Susanna White [Winslow], to William Brewster, — who, by the bye, is said to have been at " Emanuel College, England " — and it is, perhaps, the one noted in the inventory of his estate as " 1 English bible lattin letter, 0.08.00." It seems also to have made several voyages : " This book in y® dauntless ship, and brought back for William Brewster, 1622-3 ; " " We took this book with our Company on board y* ship Lion 18*^ July A. D. 1632." At one lime it may have been in the possession of John How- land, for the following entries are made : " John Howland landed y* Boston in ye harbor Sep* 21'' 1627 and joined our company y* New Plymouth colony. John Howland married Katharain Tilley grand darter of John Carver governer apointed Anno Domini 1620 of Plymouth now called New Plymouth. Infant Sonne Born to John and Katherain Howland y* Six o.clock morning Nov. ye 23. Anno Domini 1629." 458 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Several facts in the preceding notes have been hitherto un- known. Others are added to them, such as these : " Y* Ship May- flower, departed from us 'in y* month of — March y' 12**' 1621 ; " " John Carver. Sonne of James Carver, Lincolnshier Yeoman. Called by y" grace of God Governor of our Colony Dec y* 10'** 1620 for one year ; " " Plymouth 1621 Sabbath y* ye new meeting house on the hill. This day We sang Psalms and hymns to y* Praise of God." These items of Pilgrim history could hardly have been recent inventions, and there is an internal probability of the truth of some of them, however difBcult it may be to harmonize others with Bradford's statements. The handwriting and the ink, as we think, show that the entries were made in the seventeenth century. Some have been traced over an older hand, which may account for some errors. Surely the record that John Rowland married the " grand darter " of Carver was made before the discovery of Bradford's history, which dispelled the tradition that he married the governor's daughter, and must therefore have been made with an older tradition in mind or by some one who knew the fact. On the other hand it is quite certain that all the entries were not contemporaneous with the events. It could not have been >vritten in 1627 that John Rowland landed at " Boston ; " and possibly the apparent date when *' they chose or rather confirmed " Carver as governor, given as December 10, 1620, may be due to an error of punctu- ation in the first edition of Mourt's Relation, which makes the 10th Saturday instead of Sunday. We conclude that this Bible contains veritable and valuable historical data, recorded within the lives of the Pilgrims and by those who participated in their ^ experiences. f But leaving many critical points to others, and commending the perplexing problems of family history to the genealogist, we turn to one entry which has an important place in our subject. It is as follows : " William White Maried on y" 3^ day of March 1620. to Susannah Tilly. Peregrine Whitee Born on Boared y" Mayflower in Cape Cod barber. Sonne born to Susanna Whtee December 19*^ 1620 y* Six o.clock morning. Next day we meet for prayer and thanksgiving." The clause ** in Cape Cod bar- ber" seems to have been added later ; they were certainly not there on December 19. Bradford's record, in Mourt's Rela- tion, of Peregrine White's birth has warranted the belief that it occurred while they were at Cape Cod, and during the second or ADDENDA, 459 perhaps third expedition of discovery. This entry places it later, the third day after they anchored in Plymouth Bay. If the meaning is that the whole company *' meet for prayer and thanks- giving," the circumstances do not so well suit an earlier date. Possibly, then, it was on the 19th of December that the first white child of New England was born, and the event might easily have been associated with the very important action of the day following. It was appropriate that they should meet to render thanks to (xod upon the 20th of December. At last they had found a place of habitation, after forty days of wandering since they sighted land. The two days before this had been spent in exploring l^lymouth; they were the last of their peregrinations. The circumstances demanded immediate action. Many had decided ill favor of the site of Plymouth, but a final and formal choice \)\ the company was necessary. Their custom at Ley den had been to take such action on special days of prayer. So we have a new light thrown upon Bradford's words as to this very day : " So in the morning, after we had called on God for direction, we came to this resolution, to goe presently ashore againe, and to take a better view of two places, which wee thought most fitting for vs. . . . After our landing and viewing of the places, so well as we could, we came to a conclusion, by most voyces, to set on the maine Land, on the first place." Thus we may think of them as keeping such a day of thanksgiving as the circum- stances would permit, and thereupon making their decision^ — after some religious service. Upon this evidence the 20th of December, 1620, may be termed the first Thanksgiving Day of New England. X ABBEEVIATIONS USED IN THE CALENDAR AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. F. — Fast Day. T. — Thanksgiving Day. Pub.— Public. Chh., Chhs., — Church, Churches. Ecc. — Ecclesiastical. Co. — Court. c. — Beginning of a course of days. Cong. — Congress of the United States. C. C. — Continental Congress. P. C. — Provincial Congress. . At. — State Archives. Hy. — Collection of Hon. Charles J. Hoadly, LL.D., Hartford, Conn. L. — Collection of W. DeLoss Love, Jr., Hartford, Conn. S. — Sermon in print. S, — Sermon in manuscript. Manuscripts are indicated by italics. LIBRARIES. An. — American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass. Ath. — Boston Athenaeum, Boston, Mass. B. — Boston Public Library, Boston, Mass. Bo. — Library of Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine. C. — Congregational Library, Congregational House, Boston, Mass. Ct. — Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Conn. H. — Hai-vard College Library, Cambridge, Mass. M. — Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, Mass. N. H. — New Hampshire Historical Society, Concord, N. H. N. Y. — New York Historical Society, New York, N. Y. p. — Prince Library, in Boston Public Library, Boston, Mass. R. I. — Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence, R. I. U. — Union Theological Seminary, New York, N. Y. Y. — Yale College Library, New Haven, Conn. SOME SOUECES OF INFOEMATION EMPLOYED IN CONSTRUCTING THE CALENDAR, AND WHICH ARE REFERRED TO BY THE NUMBER PREFIXED. 1. Mourt's Relation, or Journal of the Plantation at Plymouth. 2. Bradford's History of Plymouth Plantation, — Mass. Hist. See. CoU. 3. Winslow's Relation, in Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrims. 4. Winthrop's History of New England. 5. Morton's New England's Memorial. 6. Young's Chronicles of Massachusetts. 7. Johnson's Wonder-working Providence of Zion's Saviour. 8. Hubbard's History of New England, —Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. 9. Hutchinson's History of Massachusetts, and Original Papers. 10. Baylies's Historical Memoir of New Plymouth. 11. Felt's Ecclesiastical History of New England. 12. Mather's Magnalia. 13. Increase Mather's Early HistDry of New England. 14. Hubbard's Indian Wars. 15. Mather's History of King Philip's War. 16. Church's History of King Philip's War. 17. Drake's Old Indian Chronicle. 18. Trumbull's History of Connecticut. 19. Broadhead's History of New York. 20. Calendar of New York Historical Manuscripts, Dutch and English. 21. Thomas Smith, Extracts from his Journals, Falmouth, Maine. 22. Niles's Narrative of the Wars in New England, — Mass. Hist. Soc* CoU. 23. Hutchinson Papers, — Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. 24. Mather Papers, — Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. 25. Winthrop Papers, — Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. 26. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 27. Historical Magazine. 28. Hale's Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft. 29. Paulding's Affairs and Men of New Amsterdam. 30. Stuart's Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sr. 31. Thornton's Pulpit of the American Revolution. 32. Hough's Proclamations for Thanksgiving. 33. Wheildon's Curiosities of History. 34. The Olden Tune Series. 35. Salem Witchcraft, S. P. Fowler. 462 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 36. Salem Witchcraft, Charles W. Upham. 37. " Memorable Providences," or John Pike's Journal, — MS. in Mass. Hist. Soc. 38. Moore's Diary of the American Revolution. 39. Annals of Providence, — R. I. Hist. Soc. Coll. 40. Plymouth Colonial Records. 41. Massachusetts Colonial Records. 42. Connecticut Colonial Records. 43. New Haven Colonial Records. 44. New Hampshire Colonial Records. 45. Rhode Island Colonial Records. 46. Vermont, Records of the Governor and Council, 47. Pennsylvania Colonial Records and Archives. 48. New Jersey Archives. 49. Documents relating to the Colonial History of New York, 50. Documentary History of New York. 51. Massachusetts Acts and Resolves. 52. Rhode Island Acts and Resolves. 53. New Hampshire Journals of the Senate and House. 54. Manuscript Council Records of New Hampshire. 55. Annals of Congress. 56. Journals of Congress. 57. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, — American Archives. 58. Hazard's Historical Collections. 59. Ecclesiastical, vols, x., xi., and xii. Manuscript Archives of Mass. 60. Commissions and Proclamations, — Manuscript Archives of Mass. 61. Council Records, — Manuscript Archives of Mass. 62. General Court Records, — Manuscript Archives of Mass. 63. Council Minutes, — Manuscript Archives of New York. 64. Translations from the Dutch, — Manuscript Archives of New York. 65. Correspondence and Miscellaneous, — Manuscript Archives of New York. 66. Manuscript Records of New Amsterdam. 67. " Form of Prayer " in Print. 68. Church Records of Scituate and Barnstable, — N. E. Reg., Vols. ix. and x. 69. Roxbury Church Records, — N. E. Reg., vols, xxxiii. and xxxiv. 70. Salem Church Records, in White's New England Congregationalism, 71. Records of the First Church at Dorchester. 72. HiU's History of the Old South Church. 73. Records of the First Church in Charlestown, James F. Hunnewell. 74. Records of the First Church in Boston, — MS. in Mass. Hist. Soc. 75. History of Lynn, Lewis and Newhall. 76. Records of the First Church, Plymouth, — MS. in Pilgrim Hall. 77. Manuscript Records of the Congregational Church, Marblehead, 78. Manuscript Records of the First Church, Middletown, Conn. SOURCES OF INFORMATION, 463 79. Treasurer's Book, —MS., First Church in Dedhara, Mass. 80. Diary of Samuel Sewall, — Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. 81. Diary of John Hull, — Am. Antiq. Soc. CoU. 82. Diary of Thomas Robbins. 83. Journal of WiUiam Adams, — Mass. Hist. Soc. CoU. 84. New England Hist, and Gen. Register. 85. Brinsmead Note-book, —MS. in IVtass. Hist. Soc. 86. Increase Mather's Manuscript Diaries, — Am. Antiq. Soc. 87. Cotton Mather's Manuscript Diaries, — Am. Antiq. Soc, Mass. Hist. Soc, and Congregational Library. 88. Diary of Israel Loring, — MS. in Conn. Hist. Soc. 89. Diary of Michael Wigglesworth, — MS. in Mass. Hist. Soc. 90. Matthew Grant's Manuscript Note-book. 91. Shorthand Note-book of Henry Wolcott, Jr., — MS. in Conn. Hist. Soc. 92. Hempstead Diary, — MS. in New London Hist. Soc. 93. Thomas Miner's Diary, — MS. Hon. R. A. Wheeler, Stonington, Conn. 94. Daniel Wadsworth's Diary, — MS. in Conn. Hist. Soc. 95. Notes of Warham's Sermons, — MSS. in N. Y. Hist. Soc 96. Diary of Jeremiah Bumstead, — MS. in Am. Antiq. Soc. 97. John Fiske's Manuscript Record Book, — Hon. Samuel A. Green, M. D. 98. Samuel Sewall's Sermon Notes, — MSS. in Bos. Pub. Lib. 99. Mather Papers, Unprinted Manuscripts in Bos. Pub. Lib. 100. Cotton Papers, —MSS. in Bos. Pub. Lib. 101. Boston News-Letter. 102. Boston Gazette. 103. New England Weekly Journal, Boston, Mass. 104. Boston Weekly Post-Boy. 105. New Hampshire Gazette, Portsmouth, N. H. 106. New London Summary. 107. New London Gazette, 1763-1773. Connecticut Gazette, 1773-1823. 108. Connecticut Courant, Hartford, Conn. 109. Middlesex Gazette, Middletown, Conn. 110. Spooner's Vermont Journal and Universal Advertiser, Windsor, Vt. 111. Vermont Gazette, Bennington, Vt. 112. Rutland Herald, Rutland, Vt. 113. Green Mountain Farmer, Bennington, Vt. 114. Providence Gazette. 115. Washingtonian, Windsor, Vt. 116. New Hampshire Gazetteer. 464 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. P3 'panoii^nam 9i9qM •UOtSBOOO Q\i% 3uioi:^ou S8i:juoq:jny *9J9qM — 'ijuud JO (^duosnaBtn UI UOItJISUIBpOJjJ -Bui'Bioojj 9pisp«oaa eAi:^n99X[3 •jisai t- coo tr 0000 Ci T-t 05CS t>t^ OOOO t-t^ C50 i-H 00 i-ii-t O 1-1 .H T-t iOiO ?2?3 V. ;:! eo"e<r laia ocTio" o" oo" cfcT cfcf TjTcf -* "* ^' Tk i m P4C4 pq •1 . .a.s .a I I II II ««=2^« Off o«o •OTiqnj JO qojnqo II a 3 3-5 3 •3niAT3s5[creqx JO qsB^ H feH fep=; HfefeH HfR* •Jiaajii 9q:» Jo ^bq 1 21 1^ Thurs. Fri. Tues. g •q^«OH 9q^ JO £xa S 5Sg g^ "^gSS^g^ rH ^$2 •qi^uoH CJ 0- o 1-5 *«J July July Aug. Feb. coco 010> QOOQ T-*^ <N(NC3 <N<M <N -M COCOCOCO COCO CO W CO 5J5Q3 tO^O CDOOCO COCO COCO^ CALENDAR. 465 O t- ^ 00 i-icot- i>b- t- t-t-o iH 1-1 00 0000 00 Q000r-( ^§ c5c^ ^^ocT ^^ .S.S -co 3 3 Oft &.P4 P4O4 CQ QQ C8 OQ O O J3 O nmopq bo . eS ® es rt g OS OQ sT: 3 S ° 3 5 §:§ .° am. « C9 CQ 5 3 w 5551 c-o^c- (>- 53S Pm Ph cj c;^ u u u fH'&;&jPN' Eh H ^ ^' ^' H E^' H^^^^&i^^^' ^^^' ^' ^ H ^' ^ PN'feHfefe'HH :i <a Zi 3,^33© 3333333 ^ ^ iH ^ tr, -^^iZ. t-^^/iJ=^3° -3 3^ j3 fcH j:5 ^ 3 ^ J3 ^ J3 x: x: ^ \^^9.^.^< ooooc^oooeoo ccioo ►-;:jg^S55 "^^iSg^^^^S g' o o o S5 ooo sfto©©SsS 3©© &,o®S© a^S33o« ■ic<«<N(N eo CO CO CO CO CO CO ^ ■* >* -^ -.+1 '^^ WiOlO O CO O CO CO t- t- b- t-- t^ t- t- COCCCO COCOCOCOCO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO COCOCO COCOCOCOCO cococococococo 466 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. ^ g g ^^ ^ ■«*1 1- rt< CO g g||g §S co" g^llg S§2 00 00 ^00 1-H tH O ,.00 iH 00 iH ^-1 i-H ^H ..00 OOrH^C^OO'HTj^iHOO'-li-t 00 rHOO»-»r^ rHO Tj< rH Oi Ci C5 T*< «» ■^ Oi «£) Oi ^ OS O Tji ;D O OS 05 ->* «D Oi t- ^^ C> CJ O «0 ^ OS «0 OS OS a a I . eS .Wi2i°5 . c3 « 03 * g5 2 ^ a s M 15 « fl^ a rt *irt OS 03 r*^ i'^ cs c8 •71 C5 r^^ '^ r*^ 6^ gg^^WScgS^^^ i^^^s -s .-§ .2 .a § ° a « I .•§ « .s ■ « « ■ • ^ B t; !"- L"" fg c5 r-" n? r-^ r*^ HBh fePqfeHHHI^fMpHENH fefefafepHfeHP^HfeHfeHHfeH fefafafefeHfe ^ S t^ .£3 .a jq .jg fT jT fT ^ G tH ^ JSfT d fl tT -£! S S-fl (C ^ S ti. rC k. t^. ti. tZ >h rl <MC<Jr- C<Jr-(r-l(M r-l rl CO tH <N <N Ti (N eO ^53 J2S3S'«^'*52 & «« §ooooaiSS^ a, D. eS 2 S S O* f^ O-tS o o o « a> o 00 00 00 00 ooo w .-5. O CS C5 OS OS OS OS C5 OS OS CI C5 OS OS OS OS 5eo cc fo CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO ec ro CO CALENDAR. 467 uo o o o Ci Ci O UO lO "^ o "^ ,.i-( 1-t 1-1 !M -^ 1-1 CI i-t'FHOO CO OOC^l ^..►OO^CiOO OOi-lO0i-(00C3C^(MCi ^ ^^QO 53 »-i t- b- Oicao ot^Tjtoi-t Ti» Tt« Til o ri< ,-t o o -"i* «o Ti< o Tt* •«# Tt« 1-1 Tt« r^ i;o tj* >* c» Ci •2 ;§ a . . ^ O O III i2 ^1 wjR. iJo Co o o « '0 13 "^ .tS ri O O O . ssQ aoooc^o 93 aa a> s ^ '^ O !•< 'O a "3 a ^ i^ ^ *jr tn a ft m ri >■ Sog .c.a*^ .a ^ .a ^.a 3^ a ^^^.ai^^ a 3 a J3.a a j3 p^ Pu (2ui o Q i:^ o ^.c^*^.a^^^.£5 .a 3^ 3-a 3 3 3 3 O Pd U Ph Q p.4 Ph PL4 p.4 3 3^3 3^3 pL, CL, O Ph CU O O 1 s &;wfe fe&;HEH*fe lijfefc&ifafafa fefcfefefefa'f^PL^'H fe^P^HfeWfe ^^f^ M »«« _^ ^H — ^ HI M ^ a a 3.^- ii 'i^i^^'i'i xiJUJiu ^a ►^.aajsjStTt? ^=^^ 0»0<NC^Tt* OrHCOlOOOO CJ CO tH CO OS (M CO ^ ^ June Aug. Sept. Sept. Nov. ft'a ST oT » j2 i2 i^>?U> 6 f^ »3 &. 3 3 o a» « =2 III o toooo 1642 1642 1642 1642 1642-43 1642-43 1642-43 1643 1643 1643 1643 1643 1643 1643-44 1643-44 1643-44 1644 1644 1644 1644 1644 1644-45 1644-45 ill 468 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 2 § 3t- 00 o ^ <Ni-» *-l J5 1^ 1^ «. s- ^ .*5 si . *i . w . « jl . . >» u> S 5 S £3 >>a o S S ^4i .1 1 5 fl f^ £3> C 04 >» I 11. ^I •Hflfl s.^ :r ^ IT O 3 cS c8 O 3 O q «! rt PW ^ |:c ^ 1*:^ ^Wm w »» Q» »»» 4J <o ® (U OJ O 0) a5 05 <u Ol 31 5l X x> X. i^ -2 ^-0-3 tSa ^^ J m S sl^ fi s s MfqM Mass. N. Ne Wenh Mass. Conn. N. Ne Bosto Bams Barns Conn. Barns OOP5 III Barns Mass. Conn. Conn. ^.o .fl^^^Q .d.d.d .d^.q 6 j£> Xi x^ ji x> £> A ji£x>^ j5 j3.d j5.:5,3 .c jd.d^ a s .^ S rQ s 3.fl^ 3 3.;: 3 3 S.Q xi Si zixi 3 3.a 3 3x: .« 3 3 3 P^Pk 0(1|UP4 O^QOOOO Ph 0^ o PL. ph e^ o QOPhQ PhPuiOP^PuO UCUO^Pk PrH P^H^P^ pc,pHHfoHPc( ^^P^h^Pe^^ Pt^^HH foH&^^HH P^^H^ ^-sS cc to 00 I »-. >1 tH I 3 3 3 3 3 S O O r-i 5 © 3 3^ ^ «=^ ^3 « ifS f=^k2 Soi?®« t2i?^j3 f^3 = = o" 5*3 OJ « jgo cocoa CO o Sco« t- t^ t- t- t- b!" 00 00 QO 00 00 00 CO OSOi^OT cocoSoSS ococoScoSo SSS3 ^igo^ CALENDAR. 469 ^»o »P9 sss a s SooSoS W bO.S'5)oO'no. ©iri..© O ^Oj liiil 3 -5 2 ^Jz; I s ^ § ^ S ;z; Iz; S u Iz; o Iz; . > ► . -g .WW'S Jz;§^^;z5 . o o « . i 6 it xi x> x> x> Xi j:i Xi x; jn .aasaa3s.ca O (Xi Ah A^ Pui A^ Pu U put £ p^ (2 £ (^ (2 :S (S £o(S£S HH ^^'Em'^'^'^H^'^ ^'^'hhp^'^'hec; fi^i^^^^ 1 Hon. Wed. Wed. Wed. Thurs. Wed. Wed. Wed. Wed. Thurs. Thurs. i (D V Wed. Tues. Wed. Wed. Wed. t- ^?2Sg5^ ^§5|I^S ^ 1""-^ T^ 00 OS 10 10 M June Oct. Nov. Mar. Mar. Aug. Oct. Oct. Nov. Mar. June July Oct. Nov. Nov. ^^ 470 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. * t- ^i:; ^Ji ^8 00 o - 05 "*•* t- l^ t^ t- T*< t- t^^ II Welles. Prence. Stuyvesant Welles. Newman. Endicott. Stujrvesanl Endicott. Winthrop. Stuyvesani Winthrop. Newman. Endicott. s > >> 111 .W .Sis M ;z;|25 OWQl^ oS;25u;2;S l^So^O^SSkq ^00;z;Qp5S{ffl oSlzioJzj -is 0.4 Oi £ Qui 04 Qui 3333333.03 O, 04 Om Cm Ph Ou CU V pLi . . . 09 . . OS . .O X) XJ rC ^ .O .3 .O 3 3 3j:x:j3J3ja CmOl^CuOOOOO fe fe fe H H fn' fefe'ptJpm'HHH&IpR felSM'HHfefcfepE; fe'Hfe'HH '73T3 "73 Hn3n3 « © OJ 2 03 03 '3'Ot3'3 'OTSTJ'O'O'oS'C'O 03(133303 «DfD(Ua3(I)<Ur:fl3(D 'O i- "O 'O x) ■« 03 3 03 03 33 03 (33 03 O) 03 03 03 J ^^^^^^g^^ Sh^ hh^^ ^^ ^^ s>=; s$s;2:» h;ino;fcQQoo(Ns5 tHth-^ 'S S5^ II llll §*o O o o o 03 03 .• ... I aSStjooS'oJS 3§ooSS'®j 0< 3 O C3 O CO 00 00 CO 00 00 i-'i 1^5 lO O O O O CO o o o o 8? Ci O <J5 O O 05 O 05 CI OOOOOOOO ^ r-i ,-( ,-H .pH CALENDAR 471 tr- 00 S S * a a .5 « « 2 . S o o o 5* 5 <>5 > .2 .2 .2 5 ,a a) ^73 TS ^3 a t^ p ^^ o t be bo '2 .2 = 3 a tC *> « .fl.« ...WW... .©."Ss.-WWg. iS|!s iia^^all a^|^^|a^^i| a.^>7-0Qa(}aQa><a) e^»«22a1o2 ajas33333 3a.a3js.r:s33J3.a 3333333JS3 Pli Q Ph Ph A^ Ph PM Oui PhPhQPhOOPiPliPuiOO Pm Ph Pm pui P^ Pl, Ph U Pm .a^X>.Q — J3 3 3 OOPhPh 3 3 O PhPmO fRP^PRHP^HH&^ PRfefefcfeE=(HHfeE-ife fe fe H fe feps< HfciBc, ^^^ '©22© Q T5 rj 'O 'O "TS tS a V ;: o) o) ® o ^§^<^» O;. COOgiU O « £3 Jj t; j^ ti >> ti bi)^ ^ > > 6 ^^ 33a?00®i2 S3« .22 3 00 <N(M(N<M(NC<J(N<M 00000000000 000000000 000 472 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 1-1 C<IC t- 00 00 g 5sJ^ ffi*^ ^ iSSS Oi^o oT^iH b-THe<i qoo^o <Dt- «o ooo t-t-t- wt-t- o5t-b- s s g sa 1 a .a dco ce cs d S aS o-c: ^ A o ,G O^ be bob »- bo • be bo bo I-) c 11 a II III M s a . boiH M^ ^(i; O O e8 O J2 O i§s§lill . «^ 'o »; 9 <U WO)-, « Co b5 «5 fl 333^ S3^-a333J53 pMpLifMO PL4 P^ O O Oh P^ (^ O i:i4 3 3^ 3 3^^^ Ph eu( o A. pu o o o H^HpEi PhPh^PmHH^^^ fo^HHE^^ ^^^HH^^H ^^|z(E^^^^H ) OQ CD r^ .-« <U ff) fli (D (U "T ^^^ ^ggg^gSSS ^feH^^H g^^^^^^S 00 lO cs th i-H 00 c<) CO 1-1 eooiCOTj^ IQ CO O OJ 00 U5 CO CO •>!l< IQ t- rt* CD O C5 00 0> > > > CO CO c;p 5»0»c»A CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO t- 1- 1- b- 1- t- pcococo cocDcocococococDco cocococooco 3COCOCO COCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCO COCOCOCOCOCO 00 00 00 00 000 D CO CD CO CO CO CJ 3 CO CO CO CO CO c; CiC5050CiOi05C COCOCOCOCOCDCOCi cocococococoocj CALENDAR. 473 iH eo t-t>- t- 0«0 rfOOtO 1 Winthrop. Bellingham. Prence. Bellingham. Leete. Leete. Bellingham. Wyllys. Prence. Prence. Prence. Bellingham. Winthrop. Prence. Winthrop. Bellingham. Prence. Bellingham. Leete. Bellingham. Bellingham. Winthrop. Leverett. Mass. Conn. Boston, 3d. Btouington. Boston, 1st. Conn. Plymouth. Mass. Plymouth. Mass. Conn. Conn. Mass. Conn. Conn. Plymouth. Plymouth. Plymouth. Mass. Conn. New London. Middletown. Plymouth. Conn. Mass. Plymouth. Mass. Conn. Mass. Mass. Conn. Mass. Boston. Mass. « (S. «^ « Pub Pub Chh Chh .d.dxi.fi.d.d.a.d Cm ;2 (2 Ph £ S 3 O Hbfe&< fefeHE^fe|i^feHH&^pE^ fefeHHHHHfe fefe&,fe^HHfr, fnfn^fst • «•• •• ^ ® .^ ^ ^ » » m « M ^ ^ ^ » m OQDO ©©©2 2® 2©2 ©2aj© ©©©2a©©© © ©222©2 ©ai22 T-( T-ii-t 1-1 <M iH<N(M eo c^eoeo^ riCOCNC 5: g ax> <J-«J Sa© oo®rt Sasoyoo'© a ea esaaoo© jSSaa ooooooooooo t-t-b-t^t^t-t-t- ^ ^ cocoeoco t- !>• t- t— 474 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, ^t Ol CiC OS t- t- t- b- 00 CO t—t- T-t ■^ lO U5 ca'aTScTco c^^ «f $5 2S J5 t::^ ^ rf 55 "2 ^^"P S2 ^ "^ "^ 3'*25»«'"S oo"o"o -^e^ fC t< (1) >H ^ kT (u o a> :c a> ;r o oi o g^^ o « <5^ f^ t^ t^ <» 5 .a -e>>' -r (M O 'o 9 ^ ^ .«5o .«5o5ooo fld3d3^ 33333^4545^ 33333J3X3^^^3^^^33j33333 Ph Ph Pm fLi pL( Q P^ Oui Cm Cl, CU O O O Q Pi CW P^ Oi Oi O O Oi Q O O Pm OO O Oi Ph O Ph Ph An P4 H H Pm Ph P^ fe li^" H fM H H H f^" Pm fe fe fe* fe P^ (i^ [jr fe fe &^ fe fe fe fe fe fe fa fa H Pr fe fe ^ 03 0002 tn w ..w OQ o5. .cc oooJcoMor'iHaa ■ Ft ?j > > O O O J3 O O <I> 03 O) 03 {zi^PfiQfa l55 B ^ 03 " o<i»a>3 ^3«*3333^^333ora;ara7«J""i'3^<i^® coco eo cODti CO t- t- t- t- I- t- ?0 CO CO CO CO CO cococococococococo lOmiO»OiCiCiCtCiO»OiOiCiOiO>O»OiClCu0iCW5i!0 COCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCO CALENDAR. 475 t:!"^^. 2?5? (MC<>rH OO-H (MOO c5(M o c-f u's'o CO irTeo O C<J rH -H C5 fl Ci ^2 H> ©Sd ti > ^ > ■5 >> S3 Sc- S^ 3^-d 3 S 3^ S?3 S S3 S ^Sgs-2 = wwS S-2 « £2 2 « s 5 S 5 S5 2 « c « o-g a ago g S " ^ i « QpHSeuWoSSo CHpq^pH«pHSPL.Ofi(OP-(«o^oSQoP4SO PphoSc«P d ^J33J3^S3^3 ^ j; O jS J3 3 3^ 3 3 3-«^ 3 3 3 3 J3 J= ^ 3 J3 * h5 3 3 ^ 2 <u(c2<ua)a)i'r-<u a>32£<»222a>2<upi3a)2<u2a)(»a)3a3 ©222<u<u OS 10 CO (M M CO (N O (M O O C5 Q tH <N Ci 00 O t- O •^ (M r-l OS W t- O t- -H t-I »H <» O rH IQ »C rH C< 1-1 <MC<« tHCN i-l<M CO !N (M C<> T-H <N rl CO i-H T-1 tH (M r-t CO (N t-1(M CO (N CO 3 ^ -?? -5 5? tJ 53 " 3 3 W O^^^^^^S^SS <j^s;^<^^^^^^<l<l(2o;z;^;2;QQ^H?gS ^^j^^^^o t~- t— t- b- O -O O O CO '■^ SS'55: - t- I- t^ I- 476 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. fj CO CO CO ^ §g ^ I .^. igS^ II. m 9 . o o <p , ®5 si «5 © C5.S u u CO <» u % >>a lS ,5^J?l5 o o cS o Jh o X*^ o JSJ^s. o o o j^^ fL,pL,SQrtMPMMPHSoPHP4SoQQ 12 o ^ . . o , ^ . . . aufla2a°3oS9ao 6« ass rd 3 ji33SrC^j3^ra^osaa3dj3-q Oft^ftipuiQOQOOOOeLHflifXiP^PHOO .a ^ 3 3 a >jj3 3 3 3 3 x: 3 uo0-iCMa^c»oPMaiPLiPHQOui ^O^^^aJ !3ceg3'g'g333g'«oOOOO©e8 0-3 3 3 3 ® o O O _2? § b- b- t- t- t- t^ 00O0CO0O0O0OCO0O00 00 00COO000O0O0O0CX3 000000 Oir^ C^iM CALENDAR, 477 S^ C^(M(M (N <M CO rt< tH CM <M (M iH iH CO 1] ss c * <D ^ o io 1o , 00 «; 00 n^ --! '^'^^ Brad Leet Brad Leet "^ «PQO ^ » 5 0.^-(-> S^+3.^j.04i '^ W i-M ^> Cfl :fl ^ CO f4^ 00 /^^ ""^ CD _!n (d t^liq )^(5 ^ M oo«aM«-i'^aQrsa3«"rfc<>*^ «iaoo-<r-2««coc8tH? a*52«'Cco? "S "S "2 "^ '5 6 "S -a -^ -^ -^ -^ "^ -5 "^ -^ ^jiji^ji^jD^^^^ . ^jijsji^jsA^ ^ ,333^,^3— 3333S — ^3 S3333^3^^J3^0 33^33,=;^^ U U P-i Pui O U CU O Qui Cu CU Oi pLi O Q flu P^ Pui fL| 0^ p^ Q Oh O O O U Q Pui CL| OPm Ph OOO ®.-.?...®*® tOOOOOOS CO OJCOOQCO 00 -S ^I'Sl'Sl'S'S'Ssil 'S2 2'12 1112'S'S'S'S- |2N2--'S| ^ ^H^H^H^^^HHH ^H H ^ H H ^^ H ^ P^ ^ ^ ^ gSg^H^^H t- COJOOCilOOCOOb-iOOCO (Mt- "i-HlOt-00^i-l'!*<i-tlOlO rH"># lOfN-^tHCO'HOOO ^ il rt 0« rl CO rH (N rH C^ T-i ,-t r- <N i-t r-i CO CO IM !M (N i-l (N <N r-t <N (MCI ^ fc ij 3 3 a a-w -i^>>03^bi iH"2>>si)!iti)>u^^t;>j ^aQ4>>»"» O ,-( tH ^-( ^^ CI ■>! 'M CI 00 00 CO OO op 00 GO CO QO ^ QSS5®^000000000 ^i-li-li-l-Hi-l^i-irH^-H^ (MCICIC^CICICIC^ Jx ?S?g?g5S?g^Sg?g5292°2°2°S°o°^ oooooooococooooooooooooo coqooocoooqoooqo 478 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. ^ ^ § ^g oo-5<f t- t- 00 O T-ICO »-(,-( S ?2 ^ 53^^^^ MM pq 11 2 I pq ra*^ 2 2 S. 2'^ SL^ S.a 2 2 fl SS S &H o S S Ph S O O ^ ? tl CO P O . . O . <0 ei fl 2^ >^2 ee'O ^ « ;i :i o H fc( H H H ^ > ^ ^ ^ H SS (>• 0- .^ d s o rf 33^3^3;= 3 d 3 d d cm O O O O Cu O 0^ Ow Di Om O CL, Ph eu Cl^ fl- Cu CU O CL( ,c ^ ^ ^' tj ^ ^' ^ a d^ o-fl^ a o P,o ^ Ph' Pe^ ^' ^' Pj^ &^ f^' &; H fe fe fe H fe fe fefeHHHfa'fc &^^ 2 2 S « 3^ 2 2 § ^^;3$3^ SS5^^2253^g5g5^ ^^^"^^g^S^^^iS^ ^J2^;:l^g;^ sssoj© J?'*'^ m o o o ©■ o 3 fti3 i^auuooOai^ P<^ o o O) o) «§ ^^ ■5 CO CO CO CO 00 00 00 or OOOCOOOOOOOOOQi ScOOCOtO tocOCOOCOOOOOO OOOOOOOCOOCOCO 50COC050COOC1 CALENDAR. 479 § § S5 1 (M ^ <N O s ^ 55 fi ^ ;^ 5; ;^ f. t- 00 -^ t- 1- oc t- t-t- i-Tt<Tti t- t- t-'^co t-t-t-t-t-oo o QKhQh § § § § § §§§ss is (H (H U ^ tH & t-i 'O'O'C'dS 'OT3T3'T3'0 '0'T3 C C S C ;3 c fl s s a c a <j<t5<j<<1 <!<J«5<1<3 <j;<i a 5^ a.-f' ^ o a c* £ 3 3 3 3 3 3 a 3 a -- ^ G a I ^^^^X>JO^ ,3 J3^ J3,C3 J3 J5.C,f3^,DX>^X!^^ ,3 ^ U3 X> X> ,0 ^ ^ ,« ^ ^ ,« ,Q ^ .333333,3 ^^3J3^^j3^^J333333J: ^s333S^J3^J3^J33 3 O pU fli Ph Pi Pk O OOPLiOOOOOOOPhPmP^PhPmO O Oi Ph Ph Pt^ P4 O OO O OU Pk ^ Pm^HHHEc^^ Es^bb&^^^fo^l^HHHHHHPEt ^hHHH HPr^Pr^PciPrHH . . . t- fH >i 03 h . . )3Ca3._:3a)333 i 3 3^^_s-J3_3^ 3 3 th (M C<J Cl C<J so i-H<Mi-ilM tH 480 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. ^ g o© ^S5 C^C5(N C^C<» (N y-i r- (N (MfMM N c5 <M <N<N(N(M S5 § § o o o u u ^^ a'a'a u pS*^^)^ '^ ^ ^ a <o to G ei cS O a a c3 c3 ^ ei V PL, o (4 Ph m Q 0^ S f:^ I 3 0^5 XI .O rO rC -CJ ,G X> X> fl ,C^X5 jOjDrOjD J5X>X>,QX>^-aX! 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U ^* U U U U -1-1 u u u u 2 2^ 2 2 2 2 « « 2 2 2 2 OQ OB lu s - « i ; (M (N eo 1-1 00 00 c^ o ^^ fc ij ^ ^ 3^ Oi G. cL-^^ > 6 6 x>^ h p. a a, e8 3 3 g*g*g*uooi?a3®k2 _e3 cS cS J2 2 00 " ??? eococOMcoeococccoeococoMcccoco ©000000000000000 t-t^t-t^b- b-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-r-t-t- 00 -50- t- b- t- t- t- f t- t- t- ti tt tt ti h- ri ► 486 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. r!fc: r^t- n^r 5t-T-! lO s s^ s^ ^^ s s 3 . ►»>> >»>» >»>» >»>> ^ ^. OO) OO) ffiO vv Cq^vo •^ t3 'C *t3 'O 't3 'O TIS -^iS '^ n3 *t3 S3 S3 S3 S3 rjSSS OP Qft PQ QQ v«PPq oa 03 ® 00 >> fl as s « CQOQmOSM 11 ccoqQP sw gwgswgs swgswggw gtdggswsw |§>rggwg§sw W. eS.ges.geS eS.©"*-©**. «S.OO*.«*. 00.0«*.00<*- gizi g;z;og;zjoS SlzioSlzjogJz; S;z;ooS5z;S!z; oolzjo^jziooS^ ^- ^----- . -^ ,c^^^---« ^---- . 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Q- '^ >■ p t: >> >> bo &c bo-S ^ ^ *5 > > > rj |5 J3 fe>^> OO iM <M(M OO OOOOOOOOOOO ^ ,-(,-( .^ ^ ,~( ^ ^ ^ W ,-1 -m-i 1-1 .^ tH J< tH (M(N(N{N OO T-l tH i-H 1— I r-( »^ 1-1 ^H i-( »H tH ,_( r-i _i ,-,,_( t-i 1-c ^H 1-1 tI tH -r-l 1—1 T-t -H ^H -^ 1-1 ,_( ,1 ,-i ^^ 488 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. coco CO 00 cot- Ci t- est- o D CO OJ t- t-O Tt<CD00'#O Oi? t-Ci C5 CO t- t-Oi 00 ^O"* T*« <£> TlH iX> "^ tH •* CO r»< t- -^ t- 00 t- SI! « SH S 2 a <x> <x> o PQ Oft f^(=lP:«« cfiP j1 1.. S li §|W§|W||W §|W||W§|W |gWg|W|W §W|§|W|| I oSlzjoS^M^^ oSlzjoS^oSiz; go;z;oS!2;S5zi olzi^oSlziMS S .o^ ^ ^ ^ ^ o^^ a- - - - - o a- Pui P>qpLi - — Ph Pub. Ecc. Chhs. i feP^^HHH&iP^fH ^ |2^' 1^; Ph' ^ P^ H H H P«i^feHHHfeP=; Pm H H H H H P=; fe pR •S22 2 2222 Wed. Thurs. Thurs. Wed. Thurs. £2 I'd Wed. Thurs. Thurs. Thurs. Thurs. Wed. Thurs. Thurs. Wed. Thurs. Thurs. Thurs. Thurs. 2 .a H rH «0 CO lO 0^ ^ t;^ ^ ^ i-HCOCOt-KM CO rH 1-H sa 53 ?2 S^^g^^ ^cooo^coco^l rt< -< <j <1 ;25 ^ jzi p t-5 Hs > > > > > ^ ^ o o o «2^ f^ iiDto> 6 6 *^ ti ft3aoa»a)^=« 1 eococoeoeoecwcoco l-t-l-t-t-t-b-t-t- coco 5h S 52 $H S S 5h Jh s CALENDAR. 489 O O t- t- O OJO C<J o c^ CO 00 00 t- 00 Ot-i t- 00 o O t- OS CD "(tl t- CSt-^ OTl«ri<00C5O CC tJ< •"^ O Bgi^g SS »-l (N »-l QQOQCOOQ!! ^ 1^ -s^ Jg %% •*^ ® o 15 iil ©^ 3 §i «!§« i3 3 a? i2 3 3 5^3 CCQD^ S^C^ .^^ cc!>ccco *i 3ii 3 S 3 i3 3 53 3 S;ii i2 3 3 Si3 3 *2 ij 3 s 3 5 j^ .=3 eS-^t^ •=■!>-« re's .St^c5.a e8 eS .3 .c .« ^^i§i^i wg§|w |Kgli|w iwiiw§ gpwi|w« si fcoSoSS^^ ^oqS^zj g;z;o«oS5z; Ssz;uS5z3o oS;z5SS!z5u So .0^ ^ ous^ - 3 - - 03-- fefeERHHHfe ^^b^bi^ EnfefefeHHH &<fcEqHHH fepcife&tHHH fefe OQQQCO aaQSQaSOQCQ OQOQOQ OQt&aQCQ.aQ -d^-ob-dft -« 3 a S3'^3'«3 3 S-O 3 *« *« 3 3 3 3 'S 3 '« S;^«§^^ "^^^ (N(M00eCO0C5 Sco^S^ OS Sa J3§§°° ss > cS d © © Mar. Mar. Apr. 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Thurs. rtl 05 « 00 Tj* Tj* o ^^S ^ icio>o - ^§5 S^^ S^22 g^S^ >> !M)> > > »j * S O O O * <1 1 i m u > > > 0.0 o o 1722 1722 1722 1722 1722 1722-23 t- 1— t- 1~- 1- 1- 1725 1725 1725 1725 1725 1725 1725-26 1725-26 llll CALENDAR, 491 QQ CQ QQOQCQ C3 CO t- t- OS (M rT o"{M CJ 23 rH »H ^<M (M O Ci t— t— t« 05 C> t— t— Ci t— Ci O 05 00 000 o 00 o 00 o 00 o o S a ^ S 3 i^i^"S o a a a a « « d +i a t^iiS i t^g 4^ Ji? ® 8 sg-s f, OA •?? •3 •5 3 'rtrt'S 03 '3'S "eS "oS H H « HH« « H« H m |g|ww||w giiw|w §li|w iagsste gw§sw§ gsw SoS^^ziSl^lz; ooSsziS^ oMoSjz; S;z;o6a^ S^oS^g^o ols^ «o . . ... ^3^,.-^-^ s..^^^^ SOS--* 3-.»--« 3::»222 q:I3 QPh P>4 A^Pi^Ph Pui Ph (^ PrHHH^'^'Pe;^ P^'HHH^'^ ^'PrHHH ^^^'hhh Pn^'^'hHH ^'^^ 03 CO ttt 3 3 3 A .a A 2 3 .a H Wed. Fri. Wed. Thurs. 1 i -1 u 3 1 ^CNO S?5c^ t-o t- S CO »H (M OOiOlM ^ ?5?5 s > > > 000 1 A < (^ > > p<o 1 ;z5 1^ CO cc cc CO CO CO t— h- t- t— t— t— ill 492 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. ^ ^ Ai O 53 53„ gw§ gw§§gtt swgjlswg ggwls^wg «td§§gW§§! I-- ::2 :: :: Oh - 3 PL. --5 :: :: :: 3 :: :: :: = ., HHH fe fe PcJ H H H P^hpR^ HHH fefe^liJ HHH Pa'l^i^Eqt^HHfiB)^' 2 2 1 1 2 «2 2 III 1 i> 222 s s s 2 1 2 Is ^ «* s ^cog. «* o b-t-t- ^ tH CO CO T-t ^ 1-1 ss 1 ^ ^ti 4i > >^ t^ is IS 1 oiz; U cococo cOcococococo COMCOM w co co eo co co co co co co co co co eo co co eo eo co CALENDAR. 493 1^ a S^ -a ■5-5^^ o o o u w « l^-z (U '3 ee 0) 0) HP; m HHMM «l ^ 1 ^^1 II ?i « ^ ^ g| g 1 &§:» mm SI J3 . OS CQ CQOa 03 aOcncCflQ OQOQaQaQ OQ 03 SQOB H CO ot- ^ 00 S5g5 ^ T-HOO ^ °°s (N ^ OS 10 CO "S «>S 10 ^• > > jj ^ > > > J fH* >> bD > > ^ u > > c3j£ ^ ^ t>: 3 &) P4 s ^;z5 <1 -I^^JZi !^ <^S ^ ^^ fH § <)^^ QPm <1<1 !2; s: £:fc:feb:t^ 00000000 ^^ OCiCSCi Ci OCiCSCi 00000000 TfiTjirj^rfl USSrtj:;^^ ^UJ:^?:; t-t- t- 1- t-t- tl T-t»HlHT-l i::^:^ • t- t-t-b- rH TH rH tH • b-t- ^t-^t- 494 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. CiCiO C^ C^ <N COCO M % CO CO CO CO P r: J:: i ^ S5 ot^'^ost— "^t-"^ Oi— f^cfct- ot-^c^i^OT cht^ CI oicorr ^ » S)^ ^ .o .0.0 .0 .0 .0.0 ^.S HH fePRPRHHHfePM feHHHHH fe fe fafafafafeHHHfe fePc&,&^faHHH 3 ®_3 222225 ®2 2^ '^ 3 S = --« • 3 3 S OQ CO CQ CQ © 2 « 2 3 3 ^g^ gg g H <N CO 1-1 r1 C^ eo"*"^ (Noo S ^ 5z; <1 ^ ^ ;z; Jzi Izi S 23 <«J O O Iz; 5z; Iz; «J <1<1 ^ ^ -«J 02 !zi ;z; coco .,......-.-.-. cocococococo >< rt< rt" -!*< rt< -!*< rt< rti -*■ -h -!t< rfi -*! CALENDAR. 495 ooo o COCOCO CO §§ 1^ !^ a S)^' S S S If Wentwoi Law. Law. Shirley. Thomas. Shirley. Shirley. Wentwoi Law. Shirley. <0 ^ « (D W 3 § gWS|K SWs^W^ |Hi«wgw iwa PLI feHHH^fe fe&^fefeHHHH&i&i^'HHH fefafeHHHfepR fe&^E^fefa&,E^HH 1^ -cl 52 ^H fe^ HH HHH^H HH HH ^^H H ot-»o SS S« Sc5 -^COOlO t- C5 S§ "-^ S2^g5 cs ^ <B O O II i^'^^^ 1^^^^ ^^ ^ > > > 3 O o O O O <iOO!zi!zi!z; < U u 3 i 1745 1745 1745 1745 1745-4G 1745-40 lllllllllligg COCO gggglllll 496 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 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Thurs. i ll 2 2 II •22 '§3 3 3 H 22 3 3 ll S5S5 ^ J5i5d5SS5 IC ;::^ °^c^ Ot't- oooc OJO ^0 II ^ <5 S ^^ ►? -*J !z; J2; u > > 12552; oLol, 0006 05050C5C5C5C50>05asc5 OQOQQQ ^^^.ht-ith <^^<5<^3KJS3S3J2 f2f3 CALENDAR. 497 b- t- b- 00 30 CO lO 00 r— 00 O 00 OO 00 00 00 00 Q OQ CQ Cq CQ c^^ t- 00 00 qcMOCi t-t- "<!f (M -^ ■* C5 t^ S ooS M w sS a 1^ a SWS J2 8 .2 IP 2 •- »2 2 .-t^ « ^ ^ --ti 2 2 ••§ ■ = o^ « »2 ^ 2 ^ .-s ^ A •»-o^ «2_"00.2^ .-j^_:0««»5o -kS^-Oi^JS^ k2oJ2 j,_:'*o»Si_*o®iS 2=- OQ . feHHH fefafeHHH fefefefefefepRfefeHHfeHH fePn &H feP=< fe ^^fefefe HH '^iS ^ S^?5 -g OCSC005^00(MeOg'4< '^''^gc^S^g^S^^SS ii 4a »^ 2 >> >» bi) !Xaj > > d ^3'::'^ 3 3 0© gggggg t- 1— t— t- 1- 1- 1- 1- 1- 1- 1- 1- 1- 1- 498 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. CO c*5 CO coco 00©OOi-IO»-i^i-^i-lTH^r-( eocococococococococococoweo QQGQCQQQGQ S 05t^^c5 <NOO>b- ■g ^: 3 oS s sa o n » s >» -Sec fl J ^^a-« P-c-sJ-fiSC-S^a ^uQQQ^NpLi^ Ph |Z4 ^ Q Pm ;i, pLi ^ pc< Q P^^^OhEr pi^ Ic-g W gW gSW>H'gg«5ji3g gW gggSSMW2KH>^Hi« Iz; oS^gpLnQlEioogizi g o ^ 52; Q g g 5?; o Pu g;z;oSoSS05;zioe5;zilz:a rS ^^ - >. rO^ ^ . OpLi H feBHfefefefefefeHHH fefc<fafcfeHHHHH fe fc< fe fe fe H H H H H H H HH ;m h (1 Pi ^ u U I CO a; n cQ I »H P4 ^ ti : S S S 3 s OrHOOooooco^Heot-b- <M CO rH CO t-i tH tH «^^;^S^^g5S5?5S "^SS?5 J5g5^SSg3g3^g^ 1 *«j <«5 S ►^ ^^ ^^ ^ <5 !zi ;z< ^25 tl t^ p >>_^-i^ > > > c5 ^ <j -< ^ h^ jg Iz; ^ ;25 P rH giig||i|g|gigi CALENDAR. 499 1-1 00 e^(N<M 1-1 3; Tl ,-1 r-l CO rt CO CO CO ^ rji ^ TJl (NO CJ !^ S p-s n fl 'o ^ f-v ^ ^ !5 *•■» 1 g ^:w §>; s° I «w |h4 I |w s? i gw (2 6!l^5^l5s5^5d 5;l;^Sc3lj^ cSs;^;2i^a)i!i;^5«i .0 x>^ ^ ^ . 3 - ^ - - . 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Wed. ^HH^ HHHHHH OS OS ;^s^j:;^«> SSa«SS »Ot-00'*<'^00iO00 $3^^?32^g^ggS^ 11 tJ^ C ^ > > > &,ao.o o o ^ <J <j 525 Jz; ;zi cuOiaoooajd) <5 «1 ^ ;z; ;z; 5z5 Q « m^si llllllll t- b- t- t- t- t- t- t- I- r- t- CALENDAR. 501 QQ 03 CM b-'i; >;« S* ^ t^< «g<i <i^SS-< -<So-<5S -<SuS-< ^Sou^'iS t t o o S c: S S S c3 S'« S-^ •OO O-O r^O asO S033C0 cossco afe^e^Ss ^^=3'^^ -a^E^^-a^ 'a^^^-a^ .9g-w.S-gS 5*2.5-^2*^ otiSao-s 'S-saSo-S — 1^" j^ ~ "^ _M *^ a j^ a^^ ^^a^^aa ^ a a t^ ^ a ^ a ^ a xa a _.j--<>fc'7^fe-*^ 'S'^oi'Saj'^ *"aj^'>?-'OJ "iia)-"a"aa3 ■aai33'aa3 SMp^S^W £W^£^« tt^PHWH^ K^hhW^ K^^hK^ a o 3 a •g-sea ■S 33 3 a § aw IKS gswsws sMgsia gwgggw gw|S|w |w§§ Oi5'0'ii2 Oi2'0*k5 i2"Ok2o- j5*oo>2* J2'0®k2" ta2'®® ^- - - ^ , 3 - - ,. ^ . fefefeHHH fefefcHHH fefefeHHH fefefcHHH fefefeHHH fefefeH OQQQCO CQOQCQCQCO QQCC CCQQCQ |333 ^33333 3 3^ 3 3 3 ^£^5 3 3 3 3 3 3 ^H^HHH ^HHHHH ^^^^^^ ^^'^^^^ HHHHHH HHHH u u u > > 6 jit;t-*>>c5 t;t:t:>>> t;5:t:>c5c3 fc^fc^BrSr fefefefe OiOiCuooaj aaa-ooo) &.&.cl,ooo q^cuCuo <a o fto. ft. o o o fti fti 0.0 <U<5<«J5z;:2;Q <-<jj<j^!2;ft << -< ^ iz; Iz; ;?; <1-ii^;z;Qa < <- <; Iz; ^2; Iz; <-<i-<JSz! t^t^t^t^t^t^ 000000000000 ociOsciCiCi 000000 ooocooo o^ooooco ooo<:oi:oo r--t— t-t— t— t— ^-^-^ h-b- t-t-t— b- t— t- t- t— t— t— b- t- t- t- I— b- .— ►—►— ^ .— ►— - - .^ - b- b-b-tr- t- 502 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. § ^ CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO 52=3r<'^-1 cocococococ*^M^5S W GO CiC^CiC^C^^tSa^S 5 coco CO CO CO coco COMCO^ 6Q CQ OQ OQ CQ GQ CQCGGQ GQOQ GQ ^i r:^ ^^ t-O t;-«OOT! 3^§§ ^^ 4a An. M. M. Ct.Hy.M.Y. An. M. M. Ct. M. Y. 6i Ct. Hy. M.Y. An. Ct.Hy.M.Y. M. An. M. M. M. An. M. Ct. M. Y. An. An. M. Trumbull. Hutchinson. Wentworth. Wythe. Wanton. Wentworth. Trumbull. Trumbull. Wentworth. Hancock, P. C. Trumbull. Hancock, P. C. Trumbull. Wentworth. Hancock, P. C. Gen. Assm. Thornton, P.C. Hancock, C. C. Trumbull. Gen. Assm. Thornton, P.C. r-5 si i^ 3 Hutchinson Wentworth Trumbull. Hutchinson Wentworth Trumbull. Cooke. Trumbull. Council. Cooke. Thornton, P.i <5. ee.©"*-© os!.«8.««.oo-J3 o=*o.*...o<*..o*.. 3- 3- - . Ph Ah HH fefePMHHH fafePqfefefefepHHHH fe fe fe |x( fefe fef^ERfM Pc,|x,Eh HHH .fi.3 .3.St^J.S.§ ^ j J=[^i3.3.3t^.ajS.3 t^.r:^J=.a^.3.3.3.C.3.C.C.C;G^ ^" J51255^^S $3^;5-^g^^c3^^J3 ^SS^^Sg5gSa§§5SS5?5g ' >> >^ s ^^^^^ > > > > Pfi <J <j <J ^ ;z; }Z5 <iH ^ <j ►^ ►^ ►^ K^ <H ;2; j2; Q p^ g <3 ^ g S hj Hj h, H, h, H, jz? {2; Izj ^ZJ 6 6 t: u i^ > > > fZ C C a a ^^ fcp > > 6 ^ h f (Nf^l COCO COCOCOCO r* ■* Tt< "<:t< Tt* ■<*<•<*■* -^ ■^ •<# lO iO IC »0 in VC »0 lO U5 >o »o to »0 W lO »o t^ t- t^ t^ t- t- t^ l>- tr- t* t^ t^ t- t— b- t- t- t~- t^ t— t— t- t- t~- t— t— b- t- t— t- t- CALENDAR. 503 ^ ^ ^ •^ T^ ''tf^ ^ ^ ^ ^ CQCOcocococccocococo OOSOC5 Ci C5 C5 C5 cc CO CO CO CO CO coco 00 i-i o ■^ "* -^ •^ CO 00 c* CO coco CO CO co^ coeocoeocococoeoMP cocococococococoeoc< CQ CO GQ ^^ g^^Ji? io^^S ^ n SW hJ >• •S " " " s S s 2 oj c nail "2 *0 * <D 'O sa - r: Jrf CI illiiill lliillillillliil 2 s--^ S c S h a fl 5 == 5 e3 h O So -3 ^ ;«; fe Pd fe fe fe fe &; fe fc H fe H Eh fe fe &^' fe fH fe fc &^ fe E^' &I &I H H H H H H H H H H _I^b4 U U U U t-t u u t-t-oot-t-t^t^t-iHOo»-<oojO(N oosc50co-*'^»-iooi'OoeooO'i<'^oo 00000000 00 T-l rH tH T-< ^ 11 rH ,-irH(M(N i-l (N <M (M 0< (M <N t-( C<» (N Ol i-( i-t .-I rii-l r-l Ji u u >>>>>>>>>j 6i)"a,jj > > 6 6 ^r«*f4r;*^^^!^^2si ti"Q, >>66666666 g e3 Q, ce c8 e8 c3 cS 3 g^-g oO«U(U SsSsaOi P- «5 5sSa300a)©<»a><D!D©a» -t— t-t-t— t— h-t-b-t— t— t~-t-t-t— t— t— t— t— t— 604 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. veococococccoeocococQC'b >^ W H to to s 3 C C £ c S S c b ■f||2§ •■5 £p a s « £-^ ^^---^-^- 2 -- fefe[3^*fefefe&H*HHHHHrHHHH Pr'&J &;fe feP=3fe fe'H HHHHH fe fefefe&J 3'C'O'O'O'O'O r 3 'O TS n3 ^O 73 'O 3SSSS3S3S SSSPd HHHHHHHHH HHHHH ^ ^^^^ CO(N(M(N(N(NC<ieOOOQQOOOO i-i(N<N<N(Nca(N(N(Nr-iei5c<5eocoeoeo <J<1<J<5^<t3<5|2;^QQPPftpq OOOOOOQOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCO C5C50JOO»050SC5CS OOOOOS Q OQOO t— t-t-t-t— t— t-t-t— t-t— t-t^t~»t^t— t^t-t— t^r-t-t— I— t- b-t— t^t— t— 00 oocooooo b-t-t-t— t— Ir-t-t^t-t-t-l— t— t— t— r~- t— t— t^r— b-t— b-t-t— t— t— t-t-b- t- b-t— b-b- 1-4 iH i-i T-( iH Tl iH rH r-i r-l iH tH rH tH tH r-l t-I »-l tH rl rl r-t r-l t-I i-« r-t r-( i-t iH iH tH iH rl tH t-« CALENDAR, 505 >^ S fi-S-S c S « b Si5 •3 3.C S O 3 5 S «-3 "3 s::^::::^::;:^:::::: "§:::::::::: g^i:: A4 Ph EeiPh fefeHH H H H P* H Em fefefefefeHHHHHHH fe fe fe fe fe &; &; H H H H H H Wed. Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs i £ £ £ 2 £ £ 2 2 2 £ 2 2 333333S33S33 HHHHHHHHHHHH 2 22 2 £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ 3333333333333 goct^ t-t' t-t-t- eo eocoeoeoeoococoeocoeoco S^^^^^^85?5^§5?5§5 Apr. July Nov. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. 1 coco CO 00 I- 1- 1- b- CO 00 00 05 00 CO OOQOCC'XOOOOCOOOCOOOOOOO t— t" t— t— t- I- b- b- r- t~- t- h- t~- 506 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. \a cooc Tt^ '^ ^ ^ T CO CO CO CO c« 2 ^ 'a" ^-T n S B . 5a <{ .© .^ ©^^ -3 . « ©:^ • i&§8|©§'g.9^|§©§S S^§© ° fe s 5-2 m •— a fl • © © • . g • O " '^ O O ( a H o o oj S S ©•; 2 flS ^ iv^' 2 3 :: 2 j.. .......... Pub. fe&;fe'^*&jHHH H H H H H fePcifi^ftiHHHHHEHHHH fa &; fe fe H H H H H 2.^2 2© 2 222 Thurs. Thurs. Thurs. Thurs. Thurs. ^222,^^^^^2222 ^3S3©©©©©S333 ^.jaJ3J533333J2J=J3J3 Thurs. Thurs. Wed. Wed. Thurs. Thurs. Thurs. Thurs. Thurs. COCiia $5gS rf*lO»0100(3S05(3505»0(M<M(N ^;2;§^s^^'^J3 u o w « © -<-<<J'<OOOOO^PQQ -< <J <3 <«- iz; ;z5 iz; Q P gggggggg t^ t- 1— t— t— SoOOOOOOOOOOOQOOOWOoS* imiiigg CALENDAR. bOl CO CO cc CO CO CO ^^% iWS MS !S w isgw W 2 S s sa . w 3 ga5SSW«- S;5o>!25o^S go^^oS;^> ;2iog>oS;25^ ;^o>l^t3oS;25«> ^,. - - ^ ,. 3- - - ^ - (3m X>^ ^ - ^ . 3- - - - ■ fefafefeHHHH fefsJ&^'feHHHH fe&J&^'Pq'H H H H &^ EnEn &! 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O f* 2 .is O Of "" "■■ H --S /^^ /l^ O « .:i .S i:* "73 .•1 t'^iil'Sif.^f'S 'Si^^lilt'S,-'^ ii'^'Sa^-^l^ii^'H c.-ti Cfllj.-tiCuaC.-tJ Ct-C.-tlflcS-if 'Si^css-'S^^-if K m n !:; iiQ n S En O S;z;>oS5z;tf> oS;z;^S;zi«o;> S^o^jz^oSos^ }z;>SoSolz;tf> ^^ ^ - ^ - . fePRfeHHHHH fefeENEMHHHHH fefefc|i<HHHHH fefafafeHHHHH oQin oDiRtntnoQ 000900 sowcomoj oQOQcn ooaSminin ao.EQ.ooooncncQ t4>H_2h;H(H;it' (Ht4(-i-J;4b(4^h ^;H(-c_;tih^^^ '-'rn^fri'r^hh^h b^bi^HHHiribi HHH^HHHHH HHH^HHHHH H^H^HHHHch 00 10 00 T-l la 10 10 10 ^ ^ t- b. t- t- t- •^ T-l 10 (M »a (N CS Ci 05 «0 •<;*« O tH t- b- ^ f- 00 10 tif^u>>>>> ^^b4^>>>>>c3 ^;^^^>>>>c3 ^fr^u^>>>>c3 ftAftiOoooo e««a.a.ooooa) ^0.0^0-00000) &.&.&. c o o o o « ^^<ii^^^^^ SS<j<;^^^;z;Q g<i<1^;z5 5z;^;ziQ <j <i <tj ^ ;z; ^ ;z5 ^z; Q 00000000 r-trHiHi-li-ti-li-l^iH C^JOQ'MfMC-llNC^Jr^tM f^MfOMCOCOCjeOCO C5C5C5C5000CJ 0050i C5 C500CS0 O CS Ci O O Ci Ci C5 Ci ^r^2P^2Sl£2 CALENDAR, 509 COCO CO lO t- t— t- t- t~- co CO CO CO CO CO M CO s s ".^o o;:} 5 W «W .^1 s a -tj s a oJ «Wy<1f^O<5f^Wu t» ^ ^ O K O O ^._ w 5 3 5 5 S" ^0) <a 2 4) © d 111 ill ^:i to HH f g^ d i .*a^* 5z;Q>Sc5Szis»;o> ;zi:DS;z;o^;*5Se;>o S>;^o5zi^Stf6 ^o^SoSzi Pe^Eeh^'^^'h'h'HHH ^'H^^^'^'HEh'HHH &^'^'^^HHEhHH ^'^^'^'hh* ; h ^M ;h ;-i ; ^=^«^i::^S§^^ OCi<N(NCOO^OiOeO^ CO rHi-( i-lr-i<M CO rt* CJ ^ o o ^ a4a.&,ao o o o 0) g <j <j <- <f3 ;?; ;2i ;?; ;z5 « ►i| fe ^ ^ ^ g 12; ^ ^ q Q uuuu>6666 e3&,a.a.oaj(ua»a) t-' t^ u >> > > Cua,D.eS o O ^ <j <tj g Iz; Iz; -+| •* >* -t< -H -t< -t< -t< -t< -t< lO I'MC uo o >ci o i-o LO »i3 o o 'O o o o -o cT o o r^ t^ r- t- t- t^ O C3 Ci Ci C5 O O Ci OCJ C5 C5 Ci C; O C5 C5 C5 C5 C5 C5 O Ci CI C5 CI C5 Ci C5 Ci OCiCSOCSOS ►— f— •—'-►— "^ ^- >—•— •- t- t— t— h- t- t— I— I— t- t- t- t— t~ r^ t^ t— t— t- t— t- t^ t- t— t- t- t- t— r— t— t- t— t— r 510 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 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CQCQQQ CCCQ QQ CG CG CG CG OQ CQ CG Cc OQCG SS «M ff WS a ^ oi a OSAHa2a2iT>0 (liccoQOSOoQaQi-sO cCH-,aQOOaQccOi-*0 S i-s 02 oQ C5 J^ Q OQ o 3,. . (I4 fefeHHHHH Enfefe&HfcHHHHH fefeE^E^P^E-tHHHH fr^Hfef^&^Hfc, cQosinaQ'nQtiaQ cqcq ai aa ta in oi ca ai tn n m m n vi ti mm qocqcq :3 S S 3 3 ^ 9 3!3-'os=33S33 PS._:Sl<33S33 33._:3SS^ 00 c» 00 00 CO So 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 XI 00000000000000000000 00000000000000 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 1.— -1636-7, Jan. 19. —John Wheelwright, [Mount Wollaston] Boston, Mass. A Sermon Preached at Boston in New England, vpon a Fast Day the xvjth [19th] of January 1636. [Matt. ix. 15.] (1) Proceedings of the Mass. Hist. Soc, 1866-7, pp. 256-274. (2) Cam- bridge : John Wilson and Son. 1807. 8°, pp. 22. [Twenty-five copies privately reprinted from the " Proceedings."] (3) Historical Maga- zine, Apr. 1867. 2 s. i. 215-224. (4) Morrisania, N. Y. : 18()7. 8°, pp. viii. 28. [Twenty-five copies privately reprinted from the " Historical Magazine."] (5) Boston : 1876. Publications of the Prince Society. 2. — 1640, July 23. — William Hooke, Taunton, Mass. New | En-glands | Teares, | for Old | Englands | Feares. | Preached in a Sermon on July 23, 1640. | being a day of Publike Humiliation, ap- | pointed by the Churches in behalfe of | our Native Countrey in time | of feared dangers. . . . [Job ii. 13.] (1) London : . . T. P. for John Rothwell and Henry Overton, . . . 1641. 4°, pp. (4) 23. — An. P. [Sabin, No. 32811. The word "Englands" in capitals and small capitals. There are 13 ornaments in the first headpiece. The 17th line of the title ends with the word "desires."] (2) London: . . E. G. for John Rothwell and Henry Overton, 1641. 4°, pp. (4) 23. — B. H. [Sabin, No. 32810. The running headline is all in italics. There are 15 ornaments in the first headpiece. Another lining.] (3) Lon- don: . . 1. D. for John Rothwell and Henry Overton, 1641. 4°, pp. (4) 23. — Ives Coll. J. Carter Brown. [There are lines about the initial letters. The 17th line of the title ends with the word "it."] (4) Reprinted in "Ministry of Taunton," i. 75 ff. 3. — [1642, Apr. 14.] — William Hooke, Taunton, Mass. New- Englands Sence, | of | Old-England | and Irelands | Sorrowes. | A Sermon preached upon a day of | generall Humiliation in the Churches of I New-England. | In the behalfe of Old-England and Irelands | Sad condition. [2 Sam. x. 6-12.] (1) London : . . John Rothwell, . . . 1645. 4°, pp. (2) 34. — H. (2) Reprinted in "Ministry of Taunton," Emery, i. 99 ff. 4. — [1664-5, Mar. 22.] — Samuel Danforth, Roxbury, Mass. An | Astronomical Description | of the late | Comet | Or Blazing. Star, | As it appeared in New-England in the | O'**, lO^*", 11'**, and in the beginning | of the 12^*^ Moneth, 1664. j Together | With a brief Theo- logical Application | thereof. [Joel ii. 30, 31. Luke xxi. 25. Acts ii. 19. 20.] Cambridge : . . Samuel Green, 1665. 16°, pp. 22. — M. 516 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, 5. — [1668-1669.] John Davenport, Boston, Mass. God's Call | to I His People | To Turn unto Him ; | Together with | His Promise to Turn unto them. | Opened and Applied in | II Sermons, | At two Publiek Fasting-dayes appointed by Authority. [Zech. i. 3.] (1) Cambridge : . . S. G. and M. J. for John Vsher, 1669. 4°, pp. 27. (2) London : . . 1670. 4°. [Bacon's Historical Discourses, p. 889.] (3) Cambridge : 1672. [Haven's List of Ante-Revolutionary Publi- cations.] 6.— [1670, June 16.]— Samuel Willard, Groton, Mass. Useful Instructions | for a professing People in Time of great | Security and Degeneracy : | Delivered in several | Sermons | on Solemn Occasions : [Jer. vii. 12.] [The first of three sermons in volume having the above title-page.] Cambridge : . . Samuel Green, 1073. 4°, (4) 19, 43, 80. — H. Library of Congress. Samuel A. Green. 7. — [1672, June 13.] — Samuel Willard, Groton, Mass. Same. [Isa. xxi. 11, 12.] [The third of the above sermons.] 8. — 1673-4, Feb. 11. — Increase Mather, Boston, Mass. The Day of Trouble is near. | Two | Sermons | Wherein is shewed, | What are the Signs of a Day of Trouble being near. | And particularly, | What reason there is for New-England to expect | A Day of Trouble. | Also what is to be done, that we may escape these things | which shall come to pass. I Preached (the ll^*" day of the 12'^ Moneth 1673. being a day of I Humiliation | in one of the Churches in Boston. [Ezek. vii. 7.] Cambridge: . . Marmaduke Johnson, 1()74. 4°, pp. (4)31. — P. 9. —1674, Mar. 26. — Thomas Thacher, Boston, Mass. A Fast of God's chusing, | Plainly opened, | For the help of those poor in spirit, whose I hearts are set to seek the Lord their God | in New-England, in the solemn | Ordinance of | A Fast. Wherein is shewed. . . . | Preached on a Fast called by publiek Au- | thority. On 26. 1. 74. [Isa. Iviii. 5, 6.] Boston : . . John Foster, 1678. 4°, pp. (6) 25. — Ath. M. 10. — 1675, [Oct. 21]. — Edward Bulkley, Concord, Mass. A Thankefull | Remembrance | of Gods Mercy | to Several Persons at Quabaug or | Brookfield : | Partly in a Collection of Providences about them, | and Gracious Appearances for them : and partly in a | Sermon Preached by Mr. Edward Bulkley, | Pastor of the Church of Christ at Concord, upon a | day of Thanksgiving, kept by divers for their Wonder- | full Deliverance there. | Published by Capt. Thomas Wheeler. [Psa. cxvi. 12.] Cambridge : . . Samuel Green, 1676. 4°, pp. (6) 14, 32. — Lenox Library. Y. 11. — 1675-6, Mar. 22. —James Fitch, Norwich, Conn. An | Ex- planation I of the Solemn | Advice, | Recommended by the Council | in Connecticut Colony | to the Inha- | bitants in that Jurisdiction, | Respecting the Reformation of those | Evils, which have been the Pro- I curing-Cause of the late Judgments upon New-England. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 517 [Dent. ix. 7.] Boston : . . S. Green for J. Usher, . . . 1683. 8°, pp. (8) 1-66 (67-72, 73-133). — An. Ath. Ct. P. 12. — [1676, May 9.] — Increase Mather, Boston, Mass. An Earnest | Exhortation | To the Inhabitants of | New-England, | To hearken to the voice of God | in his late and present | Dispensations | As ever they desire to escape another Judgement, seven times | greater then anything which as yet hath been. Boston : . . John Foster, 1676. 4°, pp. (2) 26. — M. [It was issued with the History of the War, and a second impression was put out in 1677. Sibley's " Harvard Graduates," i. 440-442.] 13. — 1676-7, Mar. 21. — Increase Mather, Boston, Mass. Renewal of Covenant the great Duty | incumbent on decaying or distressed | Churches. | A Sermon | Concerning Renewing of Covenant with God in Christ, | Preached at Dorchester in New-England, the 21. Day | of the 1. Moneth, 1677. being a Day of | Humiliation | There, on that Occasion. [Neh. ix. 38.] Boston : . . J. F. for Henry Phillips, . . . 1677. 4°, pp. (8) 21.— B. 14. — 1678, July 3. — Increase Mather, Boston, Mass. Pray for the Rising Generation, | Or A | Sermon | Wherein Godly Parents are En- cou- I raged to Pray and Believe | for their Children, | Preached the third Day of the fifth Moneth, 1678. | which Day was set apart by the second Church in Boston in New-England, | humbly to seek unto God by Fasting and Prayer, | for a Spirit of Converting Grace, to be poured | out upon the Children and Rising Generation in | New- England. [Isa. xliv. 3.] (1) Cambridge : . . Samuel Green, . . . 1678. 4°, pp. 23. (2) Boston : . . John Foster, 1679. 16^, pp. 29. [" Appended to the 1679 edition of * A Call from Heaven.' " Sibley.] — An. M. P. (.3) Boston: . . R. P. forJ.Brunning, 1685. 16°, pp. 161-198 of 1685 edition of " A Call from Heaven." — An. P. 15.-1678, Nov. 21. — William Adams, Dedham, Mass. The | Necessity | of | The pouring out of the Spirit | from on High | upon a I Sinning Apostatizing People, set under | Judgment, in order to their merciful | Deliverance and Salvation. | As it was Delivered in part, upon 21. 9. 1678. being a general | Fast throughout the United Col- onies of N. E. [Isa. xxxii. 13-18.] (1) Boston : . . John Foster, for William Avery, ... 1679. 4°, pp. (8) 48. — An. H. M. P. (2) Reprinted in " Dedham Pulpit," pp. 29 ff. 16. — 1678, Nov. 21. — Joseph Rowlandson, Wethersfield, Conn. The I Possibility of Gods For- | saking a people, | That have been visibly near & dear to him | Together, | With the Misery of a People thus forsaken, | Set forth in a | Sermon, | Preached at Weathersfield, Nov. 21. 1678. | Being a Day of Fast and Hu- | milia- tion. [Jer. xxiii. 33.] (1) Boston: . . John Ratcliffe and John Griffin, 1682. 16°, pp. (6) 22. P. — (2) . . . Reprinted at London, and sold by Joseph Poole, . . . 1682. 4°, pp. 35-46. [Printed with 618 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. "A True History of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson," etc.] — Watkinson Library. Y. (3) Reprinted in "Somers Tracts," ed. 1812, viii. 582. 17. — 1679-80, Mar. 17. — Increase Mather, Boston, Mass. Re- turning unto God, the great concernment | of a Covenant People. | Or I A Sermon | Preached to the second Church in Boston in | New- England, March 17. 1679-80. when | that Church did solemnly and explicitly | Renew their Covenant with | God, and one with another. [Hosea xiv. i.] Boston : . . John Foster, 1680. 4°, pp. (6) 19 (2). — M. P. 18.— 1679-80, Mar. 17. —Samuel Willard, Boston, Mass. The Duty of a People that have Renewed | their Covenant with God. | Opened and Urged in | A Sermon | Preached to the second Church in Boston in | New-England, March 17. 1679-80 after | that Church had explicitly and most | solemnly renewed the Ingagement | of them- selves to God, and | one to another. [Josh. xxiv. 22, 23.] Boston : . . John Foster, 1680. 4°, pp. (2) 13. — M. P. 19. — [1679-1680.] ~ Urian Oakes, Cambridge, Mass. A | Season- able Discourse | Wherein | Sincerity & Delight | in the Service of God I is earnestly pressed upon | Professors of Religion. | Delivered on a Publick Fast, at Cambridge in | New-England. [Isa. xliii. 22.] Cambridge : . . Samuel Green, 1682. 4°, pp. (6) 33. — P. 20. — 1680, June 29. — Samuel Willard, Boston, Mass. The | Ne- cessity I of I Sincerity, | in renewing | Covenant : | Opened and urged in a I Sermon, Preached to the Third ga- | thered Church in Bos- ton, New-England ; | June 29, 1680. On the Day wherein they | Sol- emnly renewed Covenant. [Part of " Covenant-Keeping the Way to Blessedness."] Boston, N. E. : . . James Glen, for S. Sewell, 1682. 16°, pp. 131-150 (6). —An. 21. — 1681-2, Feb. 15. — Samuel Willard, Boston, Mass. The Fiery Tryal no strange thing; | delivered in a | Sermon | Preached at I Charlestown, | February 15. 1681. | Being a Day of | Humiliation. [1 Pet. iv. 12.] Boston, N. E. : Printed for Samuel Sewall, 1682. 4°, pp. (4) 19 (1).— An. H. M. 22. — [1681-1682.] — Increase Mather, Boston, Mass. A Sermon | Wherein is shewed that the Church of God | is sometimes a Subject of I Great Persecution ; | Preached on a Publick | Fast | At Boston in New-England : | Occasioned by the Tidings of a great Persecution Raised against | the Protestants in France. [Acts viii. 1.] Boston, in New-England : Printed for Samuel Sewall, in the year 1682. 4°, pp. (6)24. — An. M. 23. — 1682, June 24 [22]. —William Hubbard, Ipswich, Mass. The Benefit | Of a Well-Ordered | Conversation, | As it was Delivered in a i Sermon | Preached June 24*\ 1682. On a Day | of publick Humiliation. ] As also A Funeral Discourse. . . . [Psa. li. 27.] Printed at Boston by Samuel Green, 1684. 16°, pp. (6) 218. —An. H. M. BIBLIOGRAPHY, 519 24. — 1682-3, Jan. 25. — Samuel WiUard, Boston, Mass. AU Plots against God and his People | Detected and Defeated, as it was | delivered in a | Sermon | At a Fast kept by the First gathered | Church in Boston, Jan. 25, | 1682. Boston, in New-England: . . Samuel Green, . . . 1684. 8^, pp. 199-227. [Printed with " The Childs Portion."] — H. 25. — 1687, July 26.— James Allen, Boston, Mass. Neglect of Supporting | and | Maintaining the Pure | Worship of God, | By the Professing People of God : is a God-provoking and | Land-Wasting Sin. I And Repentance with Reformation of it, the only way to | their Outward Felicity : Or, | The Cause of New-Englands Scarcity : And right way to its | Plenty. | As it was Discovered and Applied in a Sermon Preached at Roxbury, | on a Fast-Day : July 26, 1687. Bos- ton : Printed for Job How and John Allen, . . . 1687. 4°, pp. (4) 16. 26. — 1689, Dec. 19. — Cotton Mather, Boston Mass. The Wonder- ful Works of God | Commemorated. | Praises | Bespoke for the God of Heaven, | In a Thanksgiving | Sermon ; | Delivered on Decemb. 19. 1689. I Containing | Just Reflections upon the Excel- | lent Things done by the Great God, | more Generally in Creation and Re- | demp- tion, and in the Govem-ment of the World ; But more Par- | ticularly in the Remarkable Revolu- | tions of Providence which are every | where the matter of present Observation. | With a Postscript giving an Account of some very | stupendous Accidents, which have lately happened | in France. | By Cotton Mather. I To which is Added a Sermon Preached unto the | Convention of the Massachuset-Colony in I New-England. | With a short Narrative of several Prodigies, which New- I England hath of late had on the Alarms of Heaven in. [Isa. xii. 5.] [Proclamation for Thanksgiving, Dec. 19, 1689, is appended.] Boston: . . S. Green, . . . 1690. 16°, pp. (8) 32.— An. H. M. P. 27. — [1691-1692.] — Cotton Mather, Boston, Mass. A Midnight Cry. An Essay for our Awakening out of a Single Sleep. ... A Discourse given on a Day of Prayer, kept by the North-Church in Boston. Boston: . . John Allen for Samuel Phillips, 1692. 12°, pp. 72. 28. — [1692, May 26.] — Cotton Mather, Boston, Mass. An Hor- tatory and Necessary Address to a Country now Extraordinarily Alarum'd by the Wrath of the Devil. [A part of " The Wonders of the Invisible World," for full title of which see Sibley's "Harvard Graduates," iii. 58, 59.] 29. — 1693, July 6. — Cotton Mather, Boston, Mass. The Day, and the Work of the Day. | A Brief Discourse, | on | "What Fears, we may have at | This Time to quicken us ; | What Hopes there are for us at I This Time to comfort us : | And | What Prayers would be Likely to | turn our Fears into Hopes. | With | Reflections upon Time and State, | now come upon the Church | of God, | And | Collections 520 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. of certain Prophecies | relating to the Present Circum- | stances of New-England. | Uttered on a Fast, kept in | Boston, July 6th 1693. [Job XV. 4.] Boston: . . B. Harris, 1693. 12°, pp. 71. —P. 30. — 1694, Aug. 23. — Samuel Willard, Boston, Mass. Kef orma- tion I The Great Duty | of an | Afflicted People. | Setting forth | The Sin and Danger there is | in Neglecting of it, under the | Contin- ued and Repeated Judg- | ments of God. | Being the Substance of what was | Preached on a Solemn Day of | Humiliation, kept by the Third Gathered Church in Boston, | on August 23d. 1694. [Lev. xxvi. 23,24.] Boston, .... Bartholomew Green, 1694. 16°, pp. 76. — An. M. P. 31. — [1696 ?] — Cotton Mather, Boston, Mass. The Christian Thank-Offering. A Brief Discourse ... on Rom. 12. 1. Made on a Solemn Thanksgiving, kept in a Private Meeting of Christians, on the Occasion of some Deliverance. Boston : . . B. Green & J. Allen, for Michael Perry, 1696. 16°, pp. 32. 32. — 1701, Sept. 18. —Samuel WiUard, Boston, Mass. The | Checkered | State | of the | Gospel Church. | Being | the Substance of a Sermon | prepared for, and in part Preached | on Sejitember 18th 1701. Being | a Day of Publick Fasting | and Prayer. [Zech. xiv. 6, 7.] Boston, in N. E. : . . B. Green, and J. Allen, for Samuel Sewall, junior, . . . 1701. 16°, pp. 64. — An. Ath. Ct. M. P. 33. — 1703, May 19. — Cotton Mather, Boston, Mass. The Duty of I Children, | Whose Parents have Pray'd for them. | Or, | Early and Real I Godliness | Urged ; | Especially upon such as are Descended | from Godly Ancestors. | In a Sermon Preached on May 19. | 1703. A Day Set apart for Pray- | er with Fasting, in one of the | Congre- gations at Boston, to im- | plore the Glorious Grace of God, | for the Rising Generation. [Ex. xv. 2.] Boston : Printed for J. Edwards & B. Gray . . . 1719. 12°, pp. 41-99. — P. [Title from the Second Impression, with the sermon of Increase Mather on " The Duty of Parents etc." The First Impression appeared in 1703.] 34. — 1703, May 19. — Increase Mather, Boston, Mass. The Duty of I Parents | To | Pray | For their | Children, | Opened & Applyed in a Sermon, | Preached May 19. 1703. | Which Day was set apart by One I of the Churches in Boston, New- | England, humbly to Seek unto God by Prayer with Fast- | ing for the Rising Generation. [1 Chron. xxix. 19.] (1) Boston : . . B. Green and J. Allen, . . . 1703. 12°, pp. 6e>. (2) Boston: . . John Allen for John Edwards, 1719. 12°, pp. vi. 40. — H. P. 35. — 1703-4, Mar. 15. — John Danforth, Dorchester, Mass. The Vile I Prophanations of Prosperity | By the | Degenerate | Among the People of God : | In part Arraigned in the Name of the Glo- | rious Lord Jesus Christ, at the Bar | of the Great and General Court and I Assembly of the Province of the Mas- | sachusetts-Bay, in New- BIBLIOGRAPHY, 521 Eng-land : at their | Fast in the Council Chamber in | Boston, March 15th. 1703-4. I In a Sermon Upon | Jer. xxii. 21. ["A Declaration Against Prophaneness and Immoralities," by Governor Dudley is appended, which is dated March 24, 1703, and was also issued in broadside. — An.] Boston : Printed for Samuel Phillips, 1704. 16°, pp. (2) 44. — An. Ath. M. P. 36. — 1703-4, Mar. 15. — Samuel Willard, Boston, Mass. Israel's | True Safety : | Offered in a | Sermon, | Before His Excellency, | the Honourable Council, | and Representatives, of | the Province of the Massachusetts- | Bay in New England, On March | 15th, 1704. Be- ing a Day Set | a part for Solemn Fasting | and Prayer. [Rom. viii. 31.] Boston: . . B. Green, for Samuel Phillips, . . . 1704. 16°, pp. (2) 34. — An. Ath. M. P. 37. — 1705, Dec. 28. — Samuel WiUard, Boston, Mass. A | Thanksgiving Sermon, | Preach'd at | Boston in New-England, | December, 1705. | On the Return of a | Gentleman | from his Travels. [Psa. Ixvi. 20.] [The gentleman was Mr. Jonathan Belcher, Sewall's Diary, ii. 151.] London : Printed for Ralph Smith, . . . 1709. 8°, pp. 16. — Ath. Ct. P. 38. — [1703-1706.] —Joseph Belcher, Dedham, Mass. Two Ser- mons I Preached in Dedham. N. E. | The First on a Day set apart for I Prayer with Fasting, | to Implore Spiritual Blessings | on the Rising I Generation. | The Other | (some time after) in Private, to a | Considerable Number of Young | Persons in the aforesaid Town. . . . [Matt. xix. 13.] (1) Boston: . . B. Green for Samuel Phillips, . . . 1710. 16°, pp. (4) 30, 58. — An. (2) Reprinted in " Dedham Pulpit," pp. 141 ff. 39. — 1707, Apr. 16. — William Williams, Hatfield, Mass. The | Danger | Of Not Reforming | Known Evils | or, | The Inexcusable- ness of a Knowing | People Refusing to be | Reformed. | As it was set forth on a Day of | Publick Fasting, April 16. 1707, | at Hatfield. [1 Sam. iii. 13.] Boston : . . B. Green, 1707. 8°, pp. (2) 30. — Ct. 40. — 1711, Mar. 28. — Cotton Mather, Boston, Mass. Orphanotro- phium. I Or, | Orphans Well-provided for. | An Essay, | On the Care taken in the | Divine Providence | For Children when their | Parents forsake them. | With Proper Advice to both | Parents and Children, that I the Care of Haven may be the more Conspicuously & Com- forta- I bly. Obtained for them. | Offered in a Sermon, on a Day | of Prayer, kept with a Religious | Family [28d. 1 m. 1711], whose | Honourable Parents were late | by Mortality taken from them. [Psa. xxvii. 10.] Boston : . . B. Green, 1711. 16°, pp. (2) 68. — Ath. M. P. 41. — 1711, Dec. 18. — Benjamin Wiadsworth, Boston, Mass. A | Sermon | Preach'd on a Fast-Day, kept by the | First Church of Christ in Boston, | on Decemb. 18. 1711. Which Fast | was Occa- 522 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, sioned by the Burning of their | Meeting-House, on Octob. 2, 1711. [Psa. xxvi. 8.] [No. iii. of Five k^crmons.] Boston : . . J. Allen, for Nicholas Buttolph, . . . 1714. 12°, pp. xi. (1) 168 [61-96]. — An. P. 42. — 1713, Nov. 12. Benjamin Wadsworth, Boston, Mass. A Thanksgiving | Sermon, | On Novemb. 12. 1713. Occasioned | by God's Goodness in providing a | New Meeting-House, for the First | (or Old) Church in Boston, N. E. | Their Former being Burnt some | time before. [Zech. iv. 7.] [No. v. of Five Sermons. The half-title on page 141]. Boston: . . J. Allen, . . . 1714. 12°, pp. xi. (1) 168 [141-168].— An. P. 43. — 1715, Aug. 2. — Benjamin Colraan, Boston, Mass. A Gospel Ministry | The rich Gift of the | Ascended Saviour | Unto His | Church. I As it was Represented in a Sermon | preached August 2. 1715. By I Mr. Benjamin Colman, | On a Day of Prayer kept by His Con- I gregation, to implore the Divine | Conduct and Blessing with them, in | their election of Another into the | Pastoral Office among them. [Eph. iv. 8, 11.] Boston : . . T. Fleet and T. Crump for Samuel Gerrish, . . . 1715. 12°, pp. 48. — Ct. 44. — 1715-16, Mar. 22. — Benjamin Colman, Boston, Mass. A brief | Enquiry | into the Reasons | why the People of God have been ) wont to bring into their | Penitential Confessions, | the Sins of their | Fathers and Ancestors, | in Times long since past. | Preached on a Day of General | Prayer and Fasting, | March 22. 1716. [Psa. cvi. 6.] Boston : . . T. Fleet and T. Crump, for Samuel Gerrish, . . . 1716. 16°, pp. 32.— An. Ath. C. Ct. M. P. 45. — 1716, Aug. 23. — Benjamin Colman, Boston, Mass. A | Ser- mon I Preach'd at | Boston in New-England. | On Thursday the 23d. of August, I 1716. I Being the Day of Publick Thanksgiving, | for the Suppression of the late Vile | and Traiterous Rebellion in | Great Britain. [1 Kings x. 9.] Boston : . . T. Fleet and T. Crump, . . . 1716. 8°, pp. 28. — An. Ath. H. M. 46. — 1716-17, Jan. 8. — Cotton Mather, Boston, Mass. Zelotes. | A Zeal I For the | House of God ; ! Blown up, in | a Sermon unto an | Assembly of Christians: [at the Dedication of the New Meeting- House on Church Green in Summer Street] in the South-Part of Bos- ton I On 8. d. xi. m. 1716, 17. | A Day of Prayer kept by them, | at their First Entrance | into a New Edifice Erected | by them, for the Publick Worship of God our Saviour. [John ii. 17.] Boston : . . J. Allen, for Nicholas Boone, 1717. 12°, pp. 44. — An. Ath. H. P. 47. — 1716-17, Jan. 8. — Benjamin Wadsworth, Boston, Mass. The I Churches | Shall Know that | Christ | Searcheth the Hearts. | Set forth in | the first Sermon that was | preach'd in the New Meet- ing- I House in Summer-street, Boston, | being a | day of Fasting and Prayer ; to ob- | tain Gods gracious presence with, 1 and Blessing on. BIBLIOGRAPHY, 523 the Congregation | who designed to attend God's | publiek Worship in that Place ; | and now publish'd at their desire. [Rev. ii. 23.] Boston: . . J. Allen for N. Boone, . . . [1717.] 12°, pp. (2) 34.— An. Ath. P. 48. — 1717, Aug. 14. — James Keith and Samuel Danforth, Bridge- water and Taunton, Mass. Bridgewater's Monitor. | Two Sermons, | Preached unto a | New Assembly | of Christians | at Bridgewater. | On, 14. d. vi. m. 1717. | . . . | at their Entering into the | New-Edi- fice. I The first by James Keith | • • . The second [The Building of Sion I carryed on by Praying.] By Samuel Danforth. (1) Boston : 1717. 12°, pp. 39. [Sibley's " Harvard Graduates," iii. 249.] (2) Bos- ton :. . William McAlpine, 1768. 12°, pp. (2) v. 26. — M. Y. [James Keith's sermon from Ezek. xxxvi. 37, with a different title-page.] 49. — 1717, Sept. 5. — Thomas Prince, Boston, Mass. God brings to the Desired Haven. | A | Thanksgiving-Sermon, | deliver'd | at | the Lecture in Boston. N. E. | On Thursday, September 5. 1717. | Upon Occasion of the Author's safe | Arrival thro' many great Haz- ards I & Deliverances, Especially on the | Seas, in above Eight Years Absence | from his Dear & Native Country. . . . [Psa. xxii. 22-25.] Boston: . . B.Green, . . . 1717. sm. 8°, pp. (2) iii. 32. — Ath. M. 50. — 1717, Nov. 28. — John Barnard, Marblehead, Mass. The | Nature and Manner | Of | Man's Blessing | God ; | With Our | Obli- gations I thereto. | A Sermon | Preached at Salem, upon a | Public Thanksgiving, | the Thursday after the Death of the | Reverend, | Mr. George Curwin ; | Who departed this life, Novemb. 23d, | 1717. In the 35th Year of his Age. [Psa. ciii. 1.] Boston : . . T. Crump, for Samuel Gerrish, . . . 1717. 8°, pp. (2) ii. 42. — Ath. M. P. 51. — 1718, Dec. 11. — Increase Mather, Boston, Mass. A | Ser- mon I Wherein is Shewed, | I. That the Ministers of the Gospel | need, and ought to desire the | Prayers of the Lord's People | for them. | II. That the People of God ought | to Pray for his Ministers. | Preached at Roxbury, October 29. 1718. | W^hen | Mr. Thomas Walter | Was Ordained a Pastor in that Church, by | his Grand-Father. [Heb. xiii. 18.] Boston : . . S. Kneeland, for J. Edwards, 1718. 8°, pp. (2) ii. 35. — An. Ath. M. P. Y. [The manuscript notes of the above sermon [8°, pp. 8.], in the library of Hon. J. Hammond Trumbull, in- dicate that it was preached, probably with additions, on the " Thanks- giving throughout y® Province Dec^" 11. 1718."] 52. — 1719, Apr. 2. — Increase Mather, Boston, Mass. Believers encouraged to Pray | from the Consideration of | Christs Interceding for them, and with them. Boston: . . B.Green, for Daniel Hench- man, . . . 1719. 12°, pp. 98-128 of " Five Sermons on Several Sub- jects." — An. 53. — 1721, May 10. — Cotton Mather, Boston, Mass. A Vision in the Temple. | The | Lord of Hosts, | Adored ; | And the | King of 524 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, Glory I Proclaimed ; | On a Day of Prayer Kept [May | 10. 1721] at the Opening of the New | Brick Meeting-House in the North | part of Boston, by the Ministers of | the City, with the Society which | Built it, & this Day Swarmed into it. [Psa. xxiv. 10.] Boston : Printed for Robert Starkey, . . . 1721. 16°, pp. (4) 45.— An. P. [Haven's List has two editions in 1721. The half-title is " Two Sermons Preached," etc., the other being the next number.] 54. — 1721, May 10. — Benjamin Wads worth, Boston, Mass. The | Lord Jesus | Walking in the midst of the | Churches. | A | Ser- mon I Preach'd in the New Brick Meeting- | House, in Middle-street, Boston, May | 10. 1721. Which was kept as a Day | of Fasting and Prayer, (Being the | first time of Publick Worship there) | by the Society which Built the | House ;' and is now Publish'd at | their De- sire. [Rev. ii. 1.] Boston : Printed for Robert Starkey, 1721. 16°, pp. (2) 34. — An. P. 55. — 1721, July 12. — Eliphalet Adams, New London, Conn. A Sermon | preached at | Windham, | July 12th. 1721. | On a Day of Thanksgiving | For the Late remarkable Success | of the | Gospel | Among Them. [1 Thess. iii. 8.] (1) New London: .... T.Green, 1721. 12°, pp. (2) vi. 40. — L. P. (2) Windham: . . John Byrne, 1800. 8°, pp. 35. — Ct. U. • [The sermon is erroneously attributed on the title-page of the second edition to Samuel Whiting, of Windham, Conn.] 56. — 1722, Nov. 8. — James Allin, Brookline, Mass. What shall I Render! | A Thanksgiving | Sermon | Preached at Brooklin, | Nov. 8th, 1722. | From Psalm cxvi. 12. Boston, N. E. : . . B. Green for Samuel Gerrish, . . . 1722. 16°, pp. (4)27. — C. Ct. P. Y. 57.-1722, Nov. 13.— Joseph Sewall, Boston, Mass. The Holy Spirit I the | Gift of God | Our Heavenly Father, | To them that Ask Him. I A Sermon | Preach'd on a Day of Prayer | with Fasting, kept by the | South Church in Boston, to Ask | of God the Effusion of His Spirit | on the Rising Generation, Novemb. | 13th 1722. . . . [Luke xi. 13.] Boston : Printed for D. Henchman, 1728. 16°, pp. (4)32. — Ath. C. H. M. P. Y. 58. — 1722-3, Mar. 5. — Benjamin Colman and William Cooper, Boston, Mass. Two | Sermons | Preached in Boston, | March 5, 1723. I On a Day of Prayer, | Had by the Church and Congregation | usually meeting in Brattle-Street, | to ask the Effusion of the Spirit of Grace | on their Children, and on the Children | of the Town. [I. " God's Concern for a Godly Seed," etc. Mai. ii. 15. — W. C. IL "The Duty of Parents to pray," etc. 1 Chron. xxix. 19. — B. C] Boston: . . S. Kneeland, . . . 1723. 12°, pp. (4) iv. 38: (2) ii. 36 (1). — An. Ath. Ct. L. M. 59. — 1724, Mar. 26. — Daniel Brewer, Springfield, Mass. God's | BIBLIOGRAPHY. 525 Help to be Sought, in Time of | War | with a Due Sense of the Van- ity I of What Help Man can afPord : | shewed at Springfield, | March 26, 1724. [Psa. cviii. 12.] Boston : . . B. Green, 1724. 8°, pp. (4) 19. — M. 60. — 1725, June 4. — Thomas Cheever, Chelsea, Mass. Two | • Sermons i Preached at | Maldon. | The First, August 26, 1722. On | the Sabbath. | The Second on a Particular | Fast, June 4. 1725. [Running title of the second, " Because there is Wrath, beware." Text, Job xxxvi. 18.] [Boston:] Printed for, and sold by Nicholas Boone, . . . 1726. 12°, pp. (2) 94. — P. 61. — 1726, Oct. 5. — Daniel Baker, Sherborn, Mass. Two | Ser- mons, I The First | Preached at Dedhara, | October 5th, 1726. | On a Day of Prayer with Fasting There, | to Ask the Pourings out of the Spirit | of Grace on Them, | and Especially on | their children. | The Other | Preached at Sherbourn, | On a like Occasion, May 10. 1727. [1 Chron. xxviii. 9.] [There is a half-title, and the second has a separate title-page. See next number.] Boston: Printed for D. Henchman, . . . 1728. 12°, pp. (2) vi. 88. — P. 62. — 1727, May 10. — Daniel Baker, Sherborn, Mass. Early Piety I The | Duty & Interest of Youth. | As it was shown, | in | A Sermon | Preached at Sherbourn, on May 10. | 1727. Being a Day set apart there, | for Prayer with Fasting. | To Implore | the Effusions of God's Spirit on | the Rising Generation. | . . . [Prov. iii. 1, 2.] Boston: Printed for D. Henchman, 1728. 12°, pp. 64. — P. 63. — 1727, Nov. 1. — James AUin, Brookline, Mass. Thunder and Earthquake, A Loud and | A^vful Call to Reformation. | Consider' d in I A Sermon | Preached at Brooklyn, | November the First; | Upon a Special Fast, | Occasion'd by the | Earthquake, | Which happen'd in the Evening after | the 29th Day of October 1727. [Isa. xxix. 6.] (1) Boston, N. E. : . . Gamaliel Rogers for Joseph Ed- wards, 1727. 16°, pp. (4)49 (1).— Ath. (2) Same.— An. H. Y. 64. — 1727, Nov. 1. — Samuel Wigglesworth, Ipswich, Mass. A | Religious Fear of God's | Tokens, | Explained and Urged; | in a | Sermon | Preached at Ipswich, | November 1. 1727. Being a Day of Humiliation on account | of the terrible | Earthquake, | October 29. 1727. [Psa. Ixv. 8.] Boston : Printed for D. Henchman & T. Han- cock, . . . 1728. 8°, pp. (4) iii. 42. — Ct. P. 65. — 1727, Nov. 2. — John Barnard, Marblehead, Mass. Earth- quakes I under the | Divine Government. | A Sermon, | preach'd November 2. 1727. at the Lecture in | Marblehead after the terrible Earthquake. [Isa. xxix. 6.] [With " Two Discourses to Young Persons."] Boston: . . S. Gerrish, 1727. 12°, pp. 71-99 (3). — Ath. Ot. M. P. 66. — 1727, Nov. 2. — Benjamin Colman, Boston, Mass. The Earth devoured by the Curse. | A | Sermon | Preached at Boston | 526 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, Novem. 2, 1727. | On a Day of Prayer and Fasting", | four days after the Earthquake. [Isa. xxiv. 6.] [Four sermons on the Earthquake, pp. 61-86.] Boston : Printed for J. Phillips . . . and T. Hancock, . . . 1727. 8°, pp. 61-86. — An. Ath. Ct. H. L. M. 67. — 1727, Nov. 2 and 9. — Thomas Prince, Boston, Mass. Earth- quakes the Works of God & Tokens | of his just Displeasure. | Two Sermons | On | Psal. xviii. 7. | At the Particular Fast in Boston, Nov. 2. I and the General Thanksgiving, Nov. 9. | Occasioned | by the late dreadful | Earthquake. | Wherein | among other things is offered a brief Account of | the Natural Causes of these Operations in the I Hands of God : With a Relation of some late | terrible Ones in other Parts of the World, as well | as those that have been perceived in New-England | since its Settlement by English Inhabitants. (1) Boston : Printed for D. Henchman, . . . 1727. 8°, pp. (6) 45 (.3). — An. Ath. H. P. (2) Same. "The Second Edition Corrected." ...1727. 8°, pp. (6)45(3).— Ath. Ct. M. Y. (3) The First Sermon Reprinted. Boston : . . . . D. Fowle, 1755. 12°, pp. 23. — Ath. (4) The Same Sermon Reprinted. Boston: . . , . D. Fowle, and by Z. Fowle, 1804. 12% pp. 24. 68. — 1727, Nov. 3. — John Barnard, Andover, Mass. Sin testify 'd against | by | Heaven and Earth. | A | Sermon | preached on the Friday | after the g^eat and terrible | Earthquake, | which occur'd on the I Lord's-Day-Evening, | between the 29th and 30th of Octo- ber, I 1727. [Job XX. 27.] Boston : Printed for John Phillips, . . . 1727. 12°, pp. 32.— P. 69. — 1727, Nov. 3. — John Cotton, Newton, Mass. A | Holy Fear of God, I And His | Judgments, | Exhorted To : | In A | Sermon | Preach' d at Newton, Nov. 3. 1727. | On a Day of Fasting and Prayer, | Occasioned by the Terrible | Earthquake | that shook New- England, — on the I Lord's-Day Night before. With an Appendix containing a Remarkable | Account of the Extraordinary Impressions made | on the Inhabitants of Haverhill &c. [Psa. cxix. 120.] Bos- ton :. . B. Green, Jun., 1727. 8°, pp. (4) xvi. 24 (7). —An. Ath. 70. — 1727, Nov. 3. — Thomas Paine, Boston, Mass. The Doctrine of Earthquakes. | Two | Sermons | Preached at a particular Fast in | Weymouth, Nov. 3. 1727. The Friday after | The Earthquake. | Wherein this terrible Work appears not to | proceed from natural Second Causes, in any | orderly Way of their Producing : | But from | the Mighty Power of God immediately in- | terposing ; and is to the World, I A I token of God's Anger, &c. | and | Presage of Terrible Changes. | With Examples of many Earthquakes in His- | tory, — illustrating this Doctrine. [Job ix. 6.] Boston: . . D. Henchman, . . . 1728. 8°, pp. 87. — M. P. 71. — 1727, Nov. 7. — John Danforth, Dorchester, Mass. A | Ser- mon I Occasioned by the Late Great | Earthquake, | And the Terrors BIBLIOGRAPHY. 527 that attended it. | Prepared for, and (in Part) Delivered at a | Fast in Dorchester, Nov. 7. 1727. And | Transcribed for the Press with some I Enlargement. [Ex. ix. 33, 34.], Boston: . . Gamaliel Rogers, ...1728. 16^pp. (4)46 (5). — An. Ct. H. M. P. 72.-1727, Nov. 16. —Nathaniel Gookin, Hampton, N. H. The Day of Trouble near, The Tokens | of it, and a Due Preparation for it ; I In I Three Sermons | on Ezekiel vii. 7. | The First of which was Preached on The Lord's | Day. Oct. 29. 1727. Which was the Day ini- I mediately Preceeding the late Earthquake ; | The other Two were Prepared for, and one of them | was Preach'd on a Day of Pub- lick Fasting and | Prayer. Nov. 16. | To which is added, | a Sermon on Deuteronomy v. 29. Preach'd the Wed- | nesday after that Awak- ening Providence ; | And an Appendix, | Giving some account of the Earthquake as it | was in Hampton. And something Remarkable of I Thunder and Lightning in that Town, | in the year 1727. Boston: Printed for D. Henchman, 1728. 8°, pp. (6) 75 (2). — An. 73. — 1727, Nov. 16. — Nathaniel Morrill, Rye, N. H. The | Lord's Voice in the Earthquake | Crieth to | Careless & Secure Sinners, | Shewed in a | Sermon | Preached in the Parish of Rye, in New-Castle, in I New-Hampshire, | in New-England, Novemb. 16, | 1727. Being a Day of Publick Fasting thro'out | the Province, occasioned by the late awful and | terrible | Earthquake. . . . [Micah vi. 9.] Boston in New England : Printed for Richard Jenness and Joseph Lock, in the Parish of Rye, 1728. 8°, pp. (4) iv. 32. — An. 74. — 1727, Nov. 29 — Edward Payson, Rowley, Mass. Pious | Heart-Elations : | being | the Substance of a | Sermon | in Publick | on November 29th. in Consideration | of present Awful Providences | amongst us ; and on the Sabbath | following in the Forenoon. | De- cember 3* 1727. I From those words of Jeremiah, | in | Lamenta- tions iii. 41. . . . Boston: . . B. Green for J. Phillips, . . . 1728. 16^ pp. (2) 23. — P. 75. — 1727, Dec. 21.— Samuel Phillips, Andover, Mass. Three plain I Practical Discourses, | Preach'd at Andover. [1. October 29th, Day preceding the Earthquake. 2. December 21st, 1727, Public Fast, Occasioned by the Continuance of the Earthquake.] [Isa. cxix. 120. Isa. xxvii. 8.] Boston : Printed for J. PhiUips, . . . 1728. 12°, pp. (2) vi. 226 (1). — H. 76. — 1727, Dec. 21 . —John Rogers, Boxford, Mass. The | Nature and Necessity | of | Repentance, | with | the Means and Motives to it. I A I Discourse | Occasioned by the | Earthquake. | Preached at Boxford, I in part on the | Publick Fast. Dec. 21. 1727. [Ezra xviii. 30.] Boston : Printed for S. Gerrish, . . . 1728. 8°, pp. 78. — Ath. P. 77. — 1727, Dec. 21. — Joseph Sewall, Boston, Mass. Repentance | The sure Way to | Escape Destruction. | Two Sermons | on Jer. 18. 7, 8. I Preach'd Deceii^ber 21st. on a Publick | Fast occasioned by the 528 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Earthquake | the Night after the Lord's-Day Octoh. 29th. | And on the Lord's- | Day December 24th. 1727. Boston : Printed for D. Henchman, 1727. 16°, pp. (4) 55.— An. Ath. M. P. 78. — 1727, Dec. 21. — William Williams, Weston, Mass. Divine Warnings | To be received with | Faith & Fear, | and | Improved to excite to all proper | Methods for our own safety | and our Families. | Shew'd in a Discourse on Heb. xi. 7, | on the Publick Fast, Dec. 21. 1727. I on occasion of the terrible Earthquake | Oct. 29, 30. & fre- quently since repeated. | To which is added, | a Discourse on Prov. 2, 1-6. Boston : Printed for Samuel Gerrish, 1728. 16°, pp. (2) xii. 72, 132. — Ct. 79. — 1727-8, Mar. 21. — John Brown, Haverhill, Mass. Solemn Covenanting with God, one | of the best means to prevent | fatal De- clensions. I A I Discourse | before | Publick Renewal of Covenant | in Haverhil | On the Day of the General Fast: | March 21. 1727, 8. Preached partly on that day, partly on | the Sabbath before. [Deut. xxix. 10-21.] Boston, N. E. : Printed for Samuel Gerrish, . . . 1728. 8°, pp. (4)36.— Ath. Ct. P. 80. — 1727-8, Mar. 21. — Jonathan Townsend, Needham, Mass. An Exhortation or Call to a professing Peo- | pie to return unto the Lord. I Being the Substance of | Two Sermons | Preach'd on March 21st 1727, 8. I Which was observ'd throughout the Province | as a Day of I Publick Fasting and Prayer. [Hosea vi. 1.] [Boston:] Printed for N. Belknap, . . . 1729. 12°, (4) ii. 46. —An. 81. — 1731-2, Jan. 25. — Benjamin Colman, Boston, Mass. Min- isters and People | under special Obligations | to Sanctity, Humility & Gratitude | for the great Grace given Them | in the Preached Gospel. I A Sermon | On a Day of Prayer, | Kept by the North Church in Boston | on Tuesday, January 25. 173i | To implore the Divine Direction in | their Election of Another Pastor. . . . [Eph. iii. 8.] Boston : . . S. Kneeland & T.,Green, for S. Gerrish . . 1732. 8°, pp. (4) 20. — An. Ath. Ct. M. 82. — 1731-2, Jan. 25. — Thomas Prince, Boston, Mass. The Dy- ing Prayer of Christ, for his People's | Preservation and Unity. | A | Sermon | to the | North Church in Boston, | January xxv. 1731, 2. | Being a Day of Prayer for the Divine | Direction, in their Choice of Another Colleague | Pastor, to succeed the Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather. [John xvii. 11.] Boston, New-England: . . S. Kneeland & T. Green for S. Gerrish, . . . 1732. 16°, pp. (4) 26. — An. Ath. Ct. M. 83. — 1733, Apr. 18.— William Billings, Windham, Conn. A | Warning | to | God's Covenant People, | against | Breaking the Cove- nant of I God they are under. | A Discourse | On Jeremiah xi. 10, 11. | Composed by the Reverend | William Billings, M. A. | Late Pastor of the Church of Christ | in Windham- Village. | And Preach'd by him on the 18th of April | 1733, it being the Anniversary Fast- | Day BIBLIOGRAPHY, 529 then, & the last day of his Preaching. New London: .... T.Green, 1733. 16°, pp. (6)30. — Y. 84. — 1733, Apr. 18. — Marston Cabot, KiUingly, Conn. The Nature of Religious Fasting Opened. | In | Two short Discourses | Deliver'd | At Thompson in Kellingley, | Connecticut Colony. | On a Day of publick Fasting and | Prayer, | April 18. 1733. [Zech. vii. 5.] Boston : Printed for John Eliot, . . . 1734. 8°, pp. (4) ii. 18. — An. Ath. Ct. H. L. M. P. 85. — 1734, June 18. — John Webb, Boston, Mass. The Duty of ^ Degenerate People to pray | for the Reviving of God's Work. | A | Sermon | Preach'd June 18. 1734. | Being a | Day of Prayer with Fasting, | Observed by the | New North Church | in Boston. [Hab. iii. 2.] Boston : . . . . S. Kneeland and T. Green, . . . 1734. 8°, pp. (4)41. — An. Ath. C. H. M. P. 86. — 1734, Nov. 7. — Marston Cabot, Killingly, Conn. The Nature of Religious Thanksgiving Opened. | A | Sermon | Preach'd | At Thompson in Kellingley, | Connecticut Colony. | On a Day of Publick Thanksgiving, | November 7. 1734. [Deut. xvi. 13-1.5.] Boston: N. E. . . S. Kneeland & T. Green, . . . 1735. 8°, pp. (4) 23. — C. Ct. L. 87. — 1736, Dec. 10. — Benjamin Colman, Boston, Mass. Right- eousness and Compassion | the | Duty and Character | of | Pious Rulers. | A | Sermon | Preach'd on a Day of | Private Fasting and Prayer | In the Council Chamber in Boston | December 10th 1736. | Before | His Excellency the Governour | and the | General Court. [Zech. vii. 8, 9.] Boston : . . J. Draper, . . . 1736. 8°, pp. (6) 31. — An. Ath. C. L. P. Y. 88. — 1738, Nov. 23. — Samuel Dexter, Dedhara, Mass. Our Fathers God, the Hope of Posterity. | Some serious Thoughts | on the I Foundation, Rise and Growth | of the Settlements | in | New- England ; I With a view to the. Edification of the Present, | and the Instruction and Admonition of Future | Generations. | A Discourse | Delivered at Dedham, on the Day of | Publick Thanksgiving, Nov. 23. 1738. I Upon the Conclusion of the first Century, | since a Church of Christ was gathered in | that Place. [Psa. Ixxviii. 1-8.] (1) Boston. . . S. Kneeland and T. Green, 1738. 8°, pp. (4) ii. 51. — An. H. P. (2) Boston : . . Thomas Fleet, Jun., 1796. 8° pp. (4) ii. 51. — An. Ath. H. . L. M. (3) Reprinted in "Dedham Pulpit," pp. 245 fp. 89. — 1740, Dec. 3. — Joseph Sewall, Boston, Mass. Nineveh's Repentance and Deliverance. | A | Sermon | Preach'd before | His Excellency | the | Governour, | the Honourable | Council | and | Rep- resentatives I of the Province of the | Massachusetts-Bay in New- England, I on a Day of Fasting and Prayer | in the Council Chamber, Dec. 3. 1740. [Jonah iii. 10.] Boston, N. E. : . .J. Draper . . . 630 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, for D. Henchman, 1740. 8°, pp. (4) 33. — An. Ath. C. H. M. P. Y. 90. — 1740-41, Feb. 26. — Peter Clark, Salem, Mass. The Captain of the Lord's Host appearing | with his Sword drawn. | Two | Ser- mons I Preaeh'd at Salem- Village | on the | General Fast, | Appointed on the Occasion of the | War, February 26. 1740, 1. | From Joshua v. 13,14. Boston: .... S. Kneeland and T. Green, 1741. 8°, pp. (4) 55. — An. Ath. H. M. P. 91. — 1740-41, Feb. 26. — Phillips Payson, Walpole, Mass. A professing People directed and excited to | prepare to meet God, in the Way of | his Judgments. | In | Two Sermons | Preached Feb. 26. 1740, 1. I upon ] a public Fast, | Occasion'd by the present War with | Spain, and other Judgments. [Amos iv. 12.] Boston : . . S. Knee- land & T. Green, . . . 1741. sm. 8°, pp. (4) ii. 49.— An. H M. P. 92. — 1741, Apr. 23. — Nathan Bucknam, Med way, Mass. The just Expectations of God, from a People, | when his Judgments are upon them for their Sins. | Shewn, in | Two Sermons, | on Deut. xiii. 11 I Preaeh'd atMedway, | on a Day of publick Fasting and Prayer, | April 23. 1741. Boston: . . T. Fleet, . . . 1741. 12°, pp. 78.— C. L. 93. — 1741, Aug. 4. — Solomon Williams, Lebanon, Conn. The Power and Efficacy of the Prayers of | the People of God, when rightly offered to | him ; and the Obligation and Encouragement | thence arising to be much in Prayer. | A | Sermon | Preaeh'd at Mansfield, Aug. 4. 1741. | At a Time set apart for Prayer for the Revival | of Religion ; and on the Behalf of Mrs. | Eunice, the Daughter of the Reverend | Mr. John Williams, (formerly Pastor | of Deerfield) who was then on a Visit there, | from Canada ; where she has been in a long | Captivity. [Isa. xlv. 11.] Boston: . . S. Kneeland and T. Green, . . . 1742. 12% pp. (2) 28.— An. Ath. 94. — 1741-2, Feb. 26. — Joseph Sewall, Boston, Mass. God's People must Enquire of Him to | bestow the Blessings promised in his I Word. | A | Sermon | Preaeh'd February 26. 1741-2. On a Day of Prayer | observed by the South Church and Congregation in | Boston, to seek of God the more | Plentiful Effusion | of | His Holy Spirit I upon them and His People. [Ezek. xxxvi. 37.] Boston: . . D. Fowle for D. Henchman, 1742. 8°, pp. 30. — An. Ath. M. P. 95. — 1742, May 13. — Charles Chauncy, Boston, Mass. The out- pouring of the Holy Ghost. | A | Sermon | Preaeh'd in Boston, May 13. 1742. I On a day of prayer observed by the First Church there, | to ask of God the effusion of his Spirit. [Acts. x. 45.] Boston : . . T. Fleet for D. Henchman and S. Eliot, 1742. 8°, pp. 46.— An. Ath. Ct. M. 96.-1744, Sept. 14. — J. Evans, [Charleston, S. C] National BIBLIOGRAPHY, 631 Ingratitude lamented : | Being | the Substance | of a | Sermon | preached at the Old Meeting-House | in Charles-Town in South-Car- olina, I September 14th, 1744. | A Day of Publick Fast. [Isa. i. 3.] Charleston: . . Peter Timothy, . . . 1745. 4°, pp. 31. — Ath. H. 97. — 1744-5, Feb. 28. — Samuel Checkley, Boston, Mass. Prayer a Duty when God's people go forth | to War. | A | Sermon | Preach'd Feb. 28. 1744-5. | Being a Day of publick | Fasting and Prayer | to ask in particular, | that it would please God to succeed the | Expedi- tion formed against his Majesty's | Enemies, &c. [1 Kings viii. 44, 45.] Boston: . . B. Green and Comp., 1745. 12°, pp. 24. — Ct. 98. — 1745, July 18. — Charles Chauncy, Boston, Mass. Marvel- lous Things done by the right Hand and holy Arm | of God in getting him the Victory. | A ! Sermon | Preached the 18th of July, 1740. | Being a Day set apart for | Solemn Thanksgiving to almighty God, | for the Reduction of Cape Breton. . . . [Psa. xcviii. 1.] (1) Boston : . . . . T. Fleet, . . . 1745. 8°, pp. 23. — An. Ath. M. P. (2) London, Reprinted, . . . 1745. 8°, pp. 21. 99. — 1745, July 18. — Thomas Prentice, Charlestown, Mass. When the People, and the Rulers among them, willingly | offer them- selves to a Military Exposition against their | unrighteous Enemies, and are successful therein, the | Lord is to be praised, and they to be loved and | honoured therefor. | A | Sermon | Preached at Charles- town, I on I A General Thanksgiving, | July 18, 1745. | for the | Re- duction of Cape-Breton, | by an Army of New-England Volunteers, | Under the Command of the Honourable | William Pepperell, Esq ; | Lieutenant-General and Commander in Chief. | With the Assistance of a British Squadron, | commanded | by Peter Warren, Esq; . . . [Judg. v. 1,2,9.] Boston: .... Rogers and Fowle, . . . 1745. 8°, pp. 31). — An. Ath. C. Ct. M. 100. — 1745, July 18. — Thomas Prince, Boston, Mass. Extraor- dinary Events the Doings of God, and | marvellous in pious Eyes. | Illustrated | ina | Sermon | at the | South Church in Boston, N. E. | on the I General Thanksgiving, | Thursday July 18. 1745. | Occasion'd | By taking the City of Louisburg, on the Isle of | Cape-Breton, by New-England Soldiers, assisted | by a British squadron. [Psa. cxviii. 23.] (1) Boston: Printed for D. Henchman, . . . 1745. 8°, pp. 35. — An. Ath. H. M. Y. (2) Boston, Printed : London, Reprinted, and sold by J. Lewis, . . . 1746. 8°, pp. 32. — H. (3) Same. (4) Same. (5) Same. — Ath. H. L. (6) Same. — M. (7) Edinburgh : . . R. Fleming and Company, 1746. 8°, pp. (2) 38. (8) Eos- ton : Printed for D. Henchman, . . . 1747. 8°, pp. 35. — Ath. Ct. M. U. 101. — 1745, July 25. — Jared Eliot, [Killingworth] Clinton, Conn- God's Marvellous Kindness, | Illustrated in a | Sermon | Preach'd at the South Society in Killingworth, | on the General Thanksgiving in 532 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. the Colony ! of Connecticut, July 25, 1745. | Occasion' d | By taking the City of Louisbourg on the Isle | of Cape-Breton, by New-England Soldiers, | assisted by a British Squadron, June 17, 1745. [Psa. xxxi. 21.] New London: . . . . T. Green, 1745. 16°, pp. (4) 26. — Ct. M. 102. — 1746, Aug. 14. — Thomas Prince, Boston, Mass. A | Ser- mon I Delivered | At the South Church in Boston, N. E. | August 14. 1746. I Being the Day of | General Thanksgiving | for | The great Deliverance of the British Nations | by | The glorious and happy Victory | near | Culloden. | Obtained by His Royal Highness | Prince William Duke of Cumberland | April 16. last. | Wherein | The Greatness of the Publick Danger and Deliverance is in | Part set forth, to excite their most grateful Praises to the | God of their Sal- vation. [Ezra ix. 13, 14.] (1) Boston: Printed for D. Henchman, . . . 1746. 8°, pp. 38 (1). — An. Ath. C. Ct. L. P. U. Y. (2) Boston, Printed : London, Reprinted and sold by John Lewis, . . . 1747. 8°, pp. 39. — L. [Some slight alterations in the title.] 103. — 1746, Nov. 27. — Thomas Prince, Boston, Mass. The Sal- vations of God in 1746. | In Part set forth in a | Sermon | at the South Church in Boston, | Nov. 27. 1746. | Being the Day of the | Anniversary Thanksgiving | in . the Province of the | Massachusetts Bay in | N. E. Wherein | the most remarkable Salvations of the Year past, both in | Europe and North America, as far as they are come to our I Knowledge, are briefly considered. [Ex. xiv. 13.] (1) Boston : Printed for D. Henchman, . . . 1746. 8°, pp. 35.— An. Ath. Ct. H. L. M. P. U. Y. (2) Boston, Printed : London, Reprinted, and sold by T. Longman and T. Shewell, . . . 1747. 8°, pp. 36. — H. L. (3) Extract on the " Destruction of the French Fleet etc." re- printed to encourage the People of God under the Execution of the Boston Port Bill. Boston : Reprinted and sold by John Kneeland, 1774. 8°, pp. 15. (4) Same. Watertown : Reprinted and sold by B. Edes, 1776. 8°, pp. 15. — H. M. 104. — [1746.] — Thomas Cradock [St. Thomas], Baltimore, Md. " During this year, 1747, Mr. Cradock published two Sermons ; one of which was preached in St. Thomas' Church, from Psalm cxxii. 6, 7, on the day of the Governor's Thanksgiving, on the occasion of the Suppression of the Scotch Rebellion ; and the other, on the same occasion, in St. Paul's Church, Baltimore town, from Proverbs xvii. 22." Sprague's Annals, v. 113. 105.— 1747-8, Jan. 7. — William Currie, Radnor, Pa. A | Ser- mon I Preached in | Radnor Church, | on | Thursday, the 7th of Jan- uary, 1747. I Being the Day appointed by the | President and Council of the I Province of Pennsylvania, | to be observed as a | General Fast. [Jer. v. 29.] Philadelphia: .... Benjamin Franklin and David Hall, 1743. 8°, pp. 23. — Hist. Soe. of Penn. 106. — 1747-8, Jan. 7. — Gilbert Tennent, PhUadelphia, Pa. A | BIBLIOGRAPHY. 533 Sermon | Preach'd | at Philadelphia, January 7. 1747-8. | Being- the Day appointed by the | Honourable | the | President and Council, | to be observed throughout this Province, | as a Day of | Fasting and Prayer. | With some enlargement. Philadelphia: . 7 W. Bradford, . . . 1748. 8°, pp. 34. — Princeton Coll. 107. — 1747-8, Jan. 28. — Nathaniel Appleton, Cambridge, Mass. The Cry of Oppression where Judgment is looked for, | and the sore Calamities such a People may expect from a | righteous God : | Illus- trated in I Two Discourses | from Isaiah v. vii. | on January 28th 1747, 8. which was set apart by the Government | for Fasting and Prayer, in Consideration | of the remarkable Judgments of God | upon the Land ; and more especially the | Destruction of the Court- House by | fire on the 9th of December last. Boston, N. E. : .... J. Draper, 1748. 8°, pp. 51. — An. Ath. C H. M. P. Y. 108. — 1747-8, Jan. 28. — Thomas Prentice, Charlestown, Mass. *The Vanity of Zeal for Fasts, without | true Judgment, Mercy, and Compassions. | A | Sermon | Preach'd at Charlestown, January 28. 1747, 8. On a I PublickFast, | After the Destruction of the | Prov- ince Court-House | by Fire. [Zech. vii. 8-12.] Boston : . . . . Rogers andFowle, . . . 1748. 8°, pp. 27. — An. Ath. M. 109. — 1747-8, Jan. 28. — Ebenezer Turell, Medford, Mass. Mr. Turell's | Brief and Plain | Exhortation to his People | on the late Fast, I January 28. 1747, 8. [Isa. i. 10-17.] Boston : . . . . Rogers & Fowle, 1748. 8°, pp. 11. — An. Ath. C. U. 110. — 1749, Apr. 27. —Gilbert Tennent, Philadelphia, Pa. Two | Sermons | Preach'd at Burlington, | in New-Jersey, April 27th, 1749. | The Day appointed by His Excellency the Governor, | and the Hon- orable the Council, | for a | Provincial Fast, | Before the Governor and others, upon Texts | Chosen by His Excellency. [Matt. vi. 16-18. Jonah iii. 8.] Philadelphia : . . . . W. Bradford, . . . n. d. 8°, pp. 40. — Library of Congress. 111. — 1749, June 15. — Aaron Smith, Marlborough, Mass. Some | Temporal Advantages | in | Keeping Covenant with God, | considered and applied | in | Two Discourses | from Lev. 26. 3, 4. | Delivered June 15th 1749. | Being a Day of publick Fasting, on Occa- | sion of the Extream Drought. Boston : . . . . S. Kneeland, 1749. 8°, pp. (4) 31 (1). — Ath. 112. — 1749, Aug. 24. — Thomas Prince, Boston, Mass. The natu- ral and moral Government and Agency of | God, in causing Droughts and Rains. | A | Sermon | at the | South Church in Boston, | Thurs- day, Aug. 24. 1749. I Being the Day of the | General Thanksgiving | in the | Province of the Massachusetts, | for the extraordinary reviv- ing Rains, after the most | distressing Drought which have been known among | us in the Memory of any Living. [Psa. cvii. 33-35.] (1) Boston : Printed and sold at Kneeland and Green's, . . . 1749. 534 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, 8°, pp. (6)40.— An. Ath. Ct. H. M. U. Y. (2) Same, 1750. 8°, pp. (6) 40. (3) Boston, Printed : London, Reprinted, . . . 1750. 8°, pp. (6) 34. — C. H. L. (4) Same, 1750. 8°, pp. (6) 34. 113. — 1749, Nov. 23. — Gilbert Tennent, Philadelphia, Pa. A | Sermon | Preaeh'd at Burlington in New-Jersey, November 23. | 1749. Being the Day appointed by his Excellency | the Governor, with the advice of His | Majesty's Council, | for a | Provincial Thanksgiving. | Before the Governor and others, upon Texts | chosen by his Excellency. | With a Prefatory Address . . . [Psa. Ixv. 1. Phil. i. 27.] PhUadelphia: . . William Bradford, . . . 1749. 4°, pp. 28. — C. P. 114. — 1750, Feb. 28. — Solomon Williams, Lebanon, Conn. The Sad Tendency of Divisions and Contentions in Churches, a [Fast Day] Sermon, at the West-Farms, in Norwich [Conn.], Feb. 28, 1750. Newport : James Franklin, n. d. 16°, pp. 29. — Brinley Cat. No. 2422. 115. — 1753, April 19. — Andrew Eliot, Boston, Mass. An evil and adulterous Generation. | A | Sermon | Preached on the | Publick Fast, I April 19, 1753. [Matt. xii. 39.] Boston: . . S. Kneeland, for J. Winter, . . . 1753. 8^ pp. (2) 26. — An. Ath. C. L. M. Y. 116.-1753, Dec. 13.— Samuel Dunbar, Stoughton, Mass. The Duty of Ministers, to testify the Gospel | of the Grace of God. | A I Sermon | Preached to the First Parish in | Braintree, | Decem- ber 13. 1753. I Being | a Day set a-part by them for solemn Humiliation and Prayer for Divine | Direction in their Choice of a Minister. [Acts xx. 24.] Boston : . . . . S. Kneeland, 1754. 8°, pp. (4)23. — Ath. M. 117. — 1755, Jan. 1. — Aaron Burr, Newark, N. J. A | Discourse | delivered | at New-ark, | in | New-Jersey. | January 1, 1755. | Be- ing a Day set apart for solemn Fasting and Prayer, on | Account of the late Encroachments of the French, and | their Designs against the British Colonies in America. [Hosea ix. 12.] (1) Philadel- phia. [Haven's List, but probably an error.] (2) New York : . . HughGaine, . . . 1755. 4°, pp. 41. — Bo. Ct. M. U. 118. — 1755, Mar. 20. — Samuel Wigglesworth, Ipswich, Mass. The Blessedness of such as trust in Christ, | the King whom God hath exalted. | A | Discourse | Delivered | to the Congregation of the Southern [ Parish in Ipswich, March 20th 1755. | Being a Day of publick Fasting and | Prayer. [Psa. ii. 12.] Boston : N. E S. Kneeland, ... 1755. 8°, pp. (4) 28. — Ath. M. P. Y. 119. — 1755, Aug. 27. — Joseph Fish, No. Stonington, Conn. Angels ministring to the People of God, for their | Safety and Comfort in Times of Danger and Distress. | A | Sermon | Preached at I Westerly, in the Colony of Rhode-Island, | Aug. 27. 1755. | BIBLIOGRAPHY. 535 In I the South Meeting House, j to a | number of religious People, on a Day of Fasting and | Prayer (observed by them) for Success to our Armies. | With a | more particular Reference to the Expedition against Crown-Point ; | in which some of them had near Relations. [Heb. i. 14.] Newport : . . J. Franklin, n. d. 4°, pp. 28.— An. 120. — 1755. — Joseph Bean, Wrentham, Mass. The Importance of Spiritual Blessings. | A | Sermon | preached before | the Congrega- tion of the First Church and Parish | of Wrentham, | on a day of | Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, | A. D. 1755. [Gen. xxxii. 26.] Providence: H. H. Brown, 1837. 8°, pp. 23. — C. 121. — 1756, Jan. 8. — Thomas Foxcroft, Boston, Mass. The Earthquake, a Divine Visitation. | A | Sermon | Preached to the Old Church in Boston, | January 8, 1756. | Being | A Day of Pub- lick Humiliation and Prayer, | throughout the Province of the Massa- chusetts- I Bay in New-England : | Upon Occasion | of the repeated Shock of an Earthquake on this Continent, and the very destructive earthquakes | and Inundations in divers Parts of Europe, all in | the Month of November last. [Isa. xxix. 6.] Boston : . . . . S. Kneeland, ...1756. 8°, pp. 51. — Ath. H. M. Y. 122. — 1756, Jan. 8. — John Tucker, Newbury, Mass. God's special Care over the Righteous, | under publick Calamities. | A Sermon on the Occasion of the late Earth- | quakes. Deliver' d on a Day of publick | Humiliation therefor, January 8th 1756. From Ezek. ix. 4, 5, 6. [One of "Four Sermons on Several Subjects."] Boston: . . . . S. Kneeland, . . . 1756. 8°, pp. (2) vii. 99 [24-46]. — Ct. M. 123. — 1756, May 21. —William Smith, Philadelphia, Pa. Hard- ness of Heart and Neglect of God's merciful Visitations, the certain Forerunners of more public Miseries ; applied to the Colonies, in a parallel between their state and that of the Jews in many remarkable Instances, Preached on the Public Fast, appointed by the Govern- ment of Pennsylvania, May 21, 1756. [Jer. viii. 7-11.] (1) London, " Discourses on Public Occasions," 1759. (2) London : Printed for A. Millar, R. Griffiths &c. 1762. 8°. "Discourses on Public Occa- sions," pp. 47-74. (3) Phila. : Hugh MaxweU and WiUiam Fry, 1803. 8°. Works, ii. pp. 90-111. 124. — 1756, Nov. 25. — John Tucker, Newbury, Mass. God's Good- ness, amidst his afflictive Providences, | a just Ground of Thankful- ness and Praise. | A | Discourse on Psalm cxviii. 18, 19. | Deliv- ered November 25. 1756. | Being a Day appointed by Authority, for a publick | Thanksgiving thro' this Province. Boston : . . . . S. Kneeland, . . . 1757. 8°, pp. (2)23.— An. Ath. C. H. M. P. 125. — 1757, May 6. — Arthur Browne, Portsmouth, N. H. The | Necessity of Reformation, | in Order to avert | Impending Judg- ments. I A I Sermon | Preached at Portsmouth, in New- | Hampshire, 536 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. May 6, 1757. | Being the | Annual Fast. [Isa. i. 20.] Portsmouth: .... Daniel Fowle, . . . 1757. 8°, pp. 21. — An. Ath. M. 126. — 1757, June 30. — John Cotton, Halifax and Plymouth, Mass. God's Call to His People ; — shewing their Duty. | Two | Sermons | Preached at Plymouth, | June 30. 1757. | Being a Day of General Humiliation, | Occasioned | by the Drought and War. [Zeph. ii. 3.] Boston: . . Benjamin Meeom, . . . 1757. 8°, pp. 43. — Ath. 127. — 1757, July 8. — Matthias Harris, Lewes, Del. A | Sermon | Preached in the Church of St. Peters in Lewis, | in Sussex County on Delaware, on July 8, 1757. | Being | The Day appointed by the Honourable Wil- | liam Denny, Esq ; to be observed as a | Day of Fasting and Humiliation, to implore | the Blessing of God on his Majestys Arms, | especially on the Expedition now carrying | on under his Excellency John Earl | of Loudon. Philadelphia : . . . . James Chattin, 1757. 8°, pp. 54 (1). — Am. Phil. Soc, Phila. 128. — 1758, Nov. 23. — Jason Haven, Dedham, Mass. The Duty of Thanksgiving to God for | Favours received, explained and urged. | A | Discourse | Delivered November 23d. 1758. | It be- ing I the Day appointed by Authority | to be obsei-ved | as a Day of publick I Thanksgiving, | for the Smiles of Providence in the Year past. [Psa. ciii. 2.] (1) Boston : . . S. Kneeland, . . . 1759. 8°, pp. (4) 23. — C. H. Y. (2) Reprinted in " Dedham Pulpit," pp. 281 ff. 129. — 1758, Nov. 23. — Jonathan Mayhew, Boston, Mass. Two | Discourses | Delivered November 23d. 1758. | Being the | Day ap- pointed by Authority | to be | Observed as a Day of public | Thanks- giving : I Relating, more Especially, | to the | Success of His Ma- jesty's Arms, I And those of the | King of Prussia, the last Year. [Psa. c. 4.] Boston : N. E R. Draper, . . . n. d. 8°, pp. 29, 57. — An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. H. L. M. Y. 130. — 1759, Apr. 5. — Thaddeus Maccarty, Worcester, Mass. The Advice of Joab to the Host of Israel, goilig | forth to War, con- sidered and urged, ! in two | Discourses | delivered at Worcester, April 5th, 1759. | Being the | Day of the publick annual Fast, | Appointed by Authority, | and the | Day preceeding the General Muster | of the | Militia throughout the Province, | for the | Inlist- ing Soldiers | for the | Intended Expedition against Canada. [2 Sam. x. 12.] Boston : . . Thomas and John Fleet, 1759. 8°, pp. 39. — An. Ath. Ct. M. 131. — 1759, Oct. 16. — Samuel Cooper, Boston, Mass. A | Ser- mon I preached before His Excellency | Thomas Pownall, Esq ; | Captain-General and Governor in Chief, | the Honourable His Ma- jesty's Council I and House of Representatives, | of the Province of the I Massachusetts-Bay in New-England, | October IG**" 1759. | Upon Occasion of the Success of His | Majesty's Arms in the Reduction of | Quebec. [Psa. cxl. 10-12.] Boston : . . Green & Russell, and Edes & Gill, . . . n. d. 8°, pp. xi. 53. — An. Ath. Y. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 537 132. — 1759, Oct. 25. — Amos Adams, Roxbury, Mass. Songs of Victory directed by human Com- | passion, and qualified with Chris- tian I Benevolence ; in | A | Sermon | delivered at Roxbury, October 25, 1759. I On the general | Thanksgiving, | for the Success of His Majesty's Arms, | " more particularly, in the Reduction | of Quebec, the Capital of Canada." [Prov. xxiv. 17, 18.] Boston: .... Edes and am, ... 1759. 8°, pp. 29. — An. Ath. Bo. C. M. 133. — 1759, Oct. 25. — John Burt [Bristol, R. I.]. Sermon preached at Bristol, R. I., Oct. 25, 1759, upon a Thanksgiving for the Reduction of Quebec. Newport : J. Franklin [1759]. 8°. — BrinTey Cat. No. 2430. 134. — 1759, Oct. 25. — Andrew Eliot, Boston, Mass. A | Sermon | preached October 25th, 1759. | Being a Day of | Public Thanks- giving I Appointed by Authority, | for the Success | of the British Arms this Year; | Especially | in the Reduction of | Quebec, | the Capital of Canada. [Psa. exxvi. 3.] Boston: . . Daniel and John Kneeland, for J. Winter, . . . 1759. 8°, pp. 43.— An. Ath. Ct. M. P. Y. 135. — 1759, Oct. 25. — Jonathan Mayhew, Boston, Mass. Two Discourses | delivered | October the 25th, 1759. | Being the Day appointed by Authority to be observed | as | a Day of public Thanks- giving, I for the I Success of His Majesty's Arms, | more particularly in the | Reduction of Quebec, | the Capital of Canada, | with an | Appendix, | containing a brief Account of two former Expeditions against | that City and County, which proved unsuccessful. [Psa. exxvi. 3.] (1) Boston : . . Edes & Gill, 1759. 8^ pp. 67. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. M. Y. (2) London: Printed for A. Millar in the Strand, 1760. 8°, pp. (4) 28, 63 (17). — Ct. 136. — 1759, Oct. 25. — Jonathan Townsend, Medfield, Mass. Sorrow turned into Joy. | A | Sermon | Deliver'd at Medfield, | Octo- ber 25. 1759. I Being a Day of public Acknowledgement | of the smiles of Heaven upon the British Arms | in America : | more espe- cially in the Reduction of | Quebec. [Esther ix. 20-22.] Boston: . . S. Kneeland, . . . 1760. 8°, pp. (2) 28.— An. M. 137. — 1759, Nov. 10. —Samuel Langdon, Portsmouth, N. H. Joy .and Gratitude to God | for the | Long Life of a Good King, | and the | Conquest of Quebec. | A | Sermon | Preached in the First Parish of Portsmouth, in | New-Hampshire, Saturday, November 10th 1759. | Being the Anniversary Birth Day of | His present Majesty King George II. | And apx>ointed by His Excellency | Benning Went- worth, Esq. | Governor of said Province, | a Day of general Thanksgiving and public | Rejoicing for the Success of His Majesty's | Arms, especially against | Canada. [Psa. xxi. 1-13.] Portsmouth : .... Daniel Fowle, 1760. 8°, pp. 47. — An. M. 138. — 1759, Nov. 15. — Solomon Williams, Lebanon, Conn. The 538 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Relations of God's People to him, and the Enga- | gements and Obli- gations they are under to praise him, | and prepare him an Habita- tion. With a special View | to New-England, and the rest of the British Subjects | in America. | A | Thanksgiving | Sermon, | on Occasion of the Smiles of Heaven on | the British Arms in America, particularly | in the Reduction of Quebec. | Preached at Lebanon, November 15, 1759. [Ex. xv. 2.] New-London : . . . . Timothy Green, 1760. 16°, pp. 28. -- An. Ct. H. L. M. 139. — 1759, Nov. 29. — Samuel Chandler, Gloucester, Mass. A | Sermon | preached at Gloucester, | Thursday, | November 29, 1759. | Being the Day of the Provincial Anniversary | Thanksgiving. [Isa. ix. 6.] Boston, N. E. : . . Green & Russell, . . . n. d. 8°, pp. 30.— An. M. Y, 140. — 1760, Jan. 3. — Joseph Emerson, Pepperell, Mass. A | Thanksgiving | Sermon, | preached at Pepperrell, | January 3d. 1760. | A Day set apart by the Church and | Congregation there: | to commemorate the Goodness of God to | them the Year past : | Es- pecially I in the Removal of Sickness, and tbe Return of so | many Soldiers from the Army. [Psa. Ixxii. 18.] (1) Boston: . . . . S. Kneeland, . . . 1760. 16°, pp. (4) 25. — C. Ct. P. (2) Reprinted in "The Pepperell Advertiser," Jan. 2, 1892. 141. — 1760, Mar. 6. — Mather Byles, 2d., New London, Conn. A | Sermon, | delivered March 6th 1760. | Being a Day appointed, | by Order of his Majesty, | as a Public Thanksgiving, | for the late Sig- nal Successes, | granted to the British Arms. . . . [Psa. xcvi. 7, 8.] (1) New-London : . . Timothy Green, 1760. 16°, pp. 22. — An. Ct. H. M. (2) Boston. 12°, 1760. [Haven's List of Ante-Revolu- tionary Publications.] 142.— 1760, Mar. 6. — Eliphalet Williams, East Hartford, Conn. God's wonderful Goodness, in succeeding the Arms | of his People, to be acknowledged and celebrated with | Rejoicing and Praise. | A | Sermon, | Preached at East-Hartford, | March 6. 1760. | Being the Day of I Public Thanksgiving, | For the signally favourable Appear- ances of I Almighty God, in prospering his Majes- | ty's Arms : Par- ticularly by the Defeat of | the French Army in Canada, and the Tak- I ing Quebec, &c. [2 Chron. xx. 27, 28.] New-London : Timothy Green, 1760. 16°, pp. 31. — An. Ct. H. L. 143. — 1760, Oct. 9. — Nathaniel Appleton, Cambridge, Mass. A | Sermon | preached October 9. | Being | a Day of public Thanks- giving, I occasioned by the | Surrender of Montreal, | and | all Can- ada, I September 8th 1760 | to His Britannic Majesty. | Effected by I the British and Provincial Troops under | the Command of Gen- eral Amherst. [Rev. xv. 3, 4.] Boston: New England, . . John Draper, . . . 1760. 8°, pp. 36. — An. Ath. H. M. Y. 144. — 1760, Oct. 9, — Eli Forbes, Brooktield, Mass. God the BIBLIOGRAPHY. 639 Streng"th and Salvation of his | People ; illustrated in | A | Sermon | Preached October 9, 1760. | Being a Day of Public Thanksgiving | Appointed by Authority | For the Success of the British Arms | in | North-America, | especially | In the total Reduction of | Canada | to the Crown of Great-Britain. [Ex. xv. 2.] Boston : . . . . Edes & Gill, ... 1761. 8°, pp. 35.— Ath. H. L. M. 145. — 1760, Oct. 9. — Thomas Foxcroft, Boston, Mass. Grateful Reflexions on the signal Appearances of Divine | Providence for Great Britain and its Colonies in | America, which diffuse a general Joy. I A I Sermon | preached in the Old Church in Boston, | Octo- ber 9. 1760. I Being | the Thanksgiving-Day | on occasion of | the Surrender of Montreal, and the complete | Conquest of Canada, | by the Blessing of | Heaven on his Britannic Majesty's brave | Troops, under the auspicious Conduct of that | truly gTeat and amiable Com- mander, General | Amherst. [Psa. cxxvi. 3.] Boston, N. E S. Kneeland, . . . 1760. 8°, pp. 36. — An. Ath. Ct. H. M. P. Y. 146. — 1760, Oct. 9. — David Hall, Sutton, Mass. Israel's Tri- umph. I It concerns the People of God to celebrate the Divine | Praises, according to all his wonderful Works. | A | Sermon | preached at Sutton | on a | Publick Thanksgiving, | October 9th 1760. I For the entire Reduction of Canada. [Also at Hollis, N. H., Nov. 20, 1760.] [Ex. xv. 1.] Boston : .... J. Draper, . . . 1761. 12°, pp. 24.— An. 147. — 1760, Oct. 9. — Jonathan Mayhew, Boston, Mass. Two | Discourses | delivered October 9th 1760. | Being the Day ap- pointed to be observed | as a Day of public | Thanksgiving, | for the Success of His Majesty's Arms, | More Especially | in the intire Re- duction of I Canada. [Psa. xcviii. 1, 2.] Boston : . . R. Draper, ...1760. 8°, pp. 34, 69. — An. Ath. Bo. Ct. H. M. Y. 148. — 1760, Oct. 9. —John Mellen, Sterling, Mass. A | Sermon | preached at the West Parish in Lancaster, | October 9. 1760. | On the General Thanksgiving | for | the Reduction of Montreal | and | Total Conquest of Canada. | Containing | a brief Account of the War, from I the year 1755 ; — and a Review of the first | Settlement and several Expeditions against (with | some of the Reasons for holding) Canada. [Psa. xxi. 12.] Boston: . . . . B. Mecom, n. d. 8°, pp. 46(1). —An. Ath. M. 149.-1760, Oct. 9. — Nathan Stone, Southboro', Mass. Two | Discourses | delivered at Southborough : | The First, | on a Day of public Thanksgiving, | October 9th 1760. | Occasioned by the entire | Reduction of Canada. | The Second, | A plain and brief Discourse | to little Children. ... [1 Sam. xv. 22.] Boston : . . . . S. Kneeland, . . . 1761. 8°, pp. (4) ii. 15. — H. 150. — 1760, Oct. 9. — Samuel Woodward, Weston, Mass. A | Sermon | preached October 9. 1760. | Being a day of Public 540 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Thanksg-iving | on occasion of | the Reduction of Montreal | and | the entire Conquest of Canada, | by the Troops of His Britannic Majesty, | under the Command of General Amherst. [Psa. cxxiv.] Boston : . . Benjamin Mecom, . . . n. d. 8°, pp. 30. — Ath. M. Y. 151. — 1760, Oct. 23. — William Adams, New London, Conn. A | Discourse | delivered at New-London, | October 23d. A. D. 1760. | On the I Thanksgiving, | (Ordered by Authority) | for the Suc- cess of the British Arms, | the reduction of Montreal, and the con- | quest of all Canada. [Psa. xxi. 11-13.] New-London: .... Timothy Green, 1761. 16°, pp. 25. — An. Ct. H. P. 152. — 1761, Feb. 12.— John Swift, Acton, Mass. A | Sermon | delivered by the | Rev. Mr. John Swift, | of Acton, | at the East Pre- cinct in Sudbury, | on a Fast-Day, | preparatory to the chusing and settling a | Gospel minister in that Place. | February 12, 1761. [Matt. ix. 38.] Boston : N. E Edes and GUI, 1761. 8°, pp. 18. — Ath. C. Ct. 153. — 1762, Oct. 7.-— Samuel Frink, Boylston, Mass. The mar- vellous Works of Creation and Providence, | illustrated. | Being | the Substance of a | Sermon | preached at the North Precinct in Shrewsbury, | on Thursday the 7th of October, 1762. | A Day of public Thanksgiving, | occasioned | by the Reduction of the Ha- vannah. [Rev. xv. 3.] Boston: . . S. Kneeland, . . . 1763. 8°, pp. 39 (1). — Ath. M. 154. — 1762, Dec. 9. — Jonathan Mayhew, Boston, Mass. Two | Sermons | on the Nature, Extent and Perfection | of the Divine Goodness. | Delivered December 9. 1762. | Being the | Annual Thanksgiving | of the Province, &c. | On Psalm 145. 9. | Published with some Enlargements. Boston, N. E. : . . . . D. and J. Kneeland, ...1763. 8°,pp. 51, 91. — An. Ath. Bo. Ct. H. L. M. Y. 155. — 1763, July 6. — James Lockwood, Wethersfield, Conn. A | Sermon | Preached at Weathersfield, | July 6, 1763. | Being the Day appointed by Authority | for a | Public Thanksgiving, | on account of the I Peace | concluded with | France and Spain. [Psa. 1. 14, 15.] New-Haven : . . James Parker and Company, n. d. 8°, pp. 35. — Ct. L. U. 156.-1763, Aug. 11. — East Apthorp, Cambridge, Mass. The Felicity of the Times. | A | Sermon | preached at | Christ-Church, Cambridge, | on Thursday, XI August, MDCCLXIII. | Being a Day of Thanksgiving | for the | General Peace. [Psa. cxlvii. 12-20.] Boston: . . Green and Russell, . . . 1763. 4°, pp. (2) viii. 26. — An. Bo. H. M. P. 157. — 1763, Aug. 11. — Henry Caner, Boston, Mass. The Great Blessing of Stable Times, | together with | the means of procuring it. | A I Sermon | preached at | King's Chapel in Boston, | August 11, BIBLIOGRAPHY, 541 1763, I being a Day of Thanksgiving ] appointed by Public Author- ity I on occasion of the | General Peace. [Isa. xxxiii. 6.] Boston : . . Thomas and John Fleet, . . . 1763. 4°, pp. (2) vi. 24. — An. Ath. Bo. H. M. Y. 158. — 1764, Apr. 12. — Edward Barnard, Haverhill, Mass. A | Sermon | Preach'd April 12, 1764, | on the | Public Fast, | in the Massachusetts-Bay, | at Haverhill and Bradford, West Parish. [Hosea vii. 9.] Portsmouth, in New-Hampshire : . . Daniel & Rob- ert Fowle, 1764. 8°, pp. 22. — Ath. C. U. 159. — 1765, Dec. 18. — Stephen Johnson, Lyme, Conn. Some | Important Observations, | occasioned by, and adapted to, | the Publick Fast, I ordered by Authority, | December 18th, A. D. 1765, | on Account of the peculiar Circumstances of | the present Day. | Now humbly offered to the Publick, | by the Author. [Acts. vii. 6, 7.] [Published anonymously.] Newport : . . . . Samuel Hall, 1766. 4°, pp. 61. — An. Ct. M. U. 160.-1766, May 17. — Samuel Stillman, Boston, Mass. Good News from a far Country. | A | Sermon | preached at Boston, May 17. 1766. I Upon the Arrival of the important News | of the | Repeal of the Stamp- Act. [Prov. xxv. 25.] Boston : . . Kneeland & Adams, 1766. 8°, pp. 34. — Ath. M. P. Y. 161. — 1766, May 20. — Nathaniel Appleton, Cambridge, Mass. A I Thanksgiving | Sermon | on | the Total Repeal | of the | Stamp- Act. I Preached | in Cambridge, New-England, May 20th, | in the Afternoon preceding the public Rejoic-ings of the Evening upon that great Occasion. [Psa. xxx. 11, 12.] Boston: . . . Edes and Gill, ...1766. 8°, PP..32. — An. Ath. Bo. C. H. M. U. Y. 162. — 1766, May 23. — Jonathan Mayhew, Boston, Mass. The Snare broken. | A \ Thanksgiving-Discourse, | preached | at the Desire of the West Church | in | Boston, N. E. Friday May 23, 1766. | Oc- casioned by the | Repeal | of the | Stamp-Act. [Psa. cxxiv. 7, 8.] (1) Boston: .... R. & S. Draper, . . . 1766. 8°, pp. viii. 44. — An. Ath. Ct. L. M. U. (2) Boston : . . . . R. & S. Draper, . . . 1766. 8°, pp. viii. 9-52. — An. Bo. Y. (3) London : . . G. Kearsley, . . . [1766]. 8°, pp. vi. 41. (4) Reprinted in " Patriot Preachers of the American Revolution," 1860. 163. — 1766, May 28. — Elisha Fish, Upton, Mass. Joy and Glad- ness: I A I Thanksgiving Discourse, | preached in Upton, | Wednes- day, ) May 28, 1766 ; | Occasioned by the | Repeal | of the | Stamp- Act. [Esther viii. 15.] Providence : . . . . Sarah Goddard and Co., . . . 1767. 12°, pp. (2) 17. — An. 164. — 1766 June, 4. — David Sherman Rowland, Providence, R. I. Divine Providence | Illustrated and Improved. | A | Thanksgiving- Discourse, I preached | (By Desire) in the Presbyterian, or | Congrega- tional Church I in | Providence, N. E. Wednesday June 4. 1766. | 542 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Being His Majesty's Birth Day, and Day of | Rejoicing, | occasioned by the | Repeal | of the | Stamp-Act. [Psa. cxxvi. 3.] Providence (New England) : . . Sarah Goddard and Company, n. d. 8°, pp. viii. 31. — An. Ct. N. H. Y. 165. — 1766, June 25. — John Joachim Zubly, Savannah, Ga. The Stamp-Act Repealed. | A | Sermon, | preached in the meeting | at Savannah in Georgia, | June 25th, 1766. [Zech. viii. 10-12.] (1) Savannah, Ga., 1766. 8°, pp. 30. (2) Savannah, Ga., 1766. 8°, pp. 30. (3) Georgia Printed : South-Carolina, Reprinted by Peter Tim- othy, . . . 1766. 4°, pp. 24.— Ath. 166. — 1766, June 26. — Benjamin Troop [Bozrah], Norwich, Conn. A Thanksgiving | Sermon, | upon the Occasion, of the glorious News I of the Repeal of the Stamp Act ; | Preached in New-Concord, in Norwich, | June 26. 1766. [Psa. xiv. 7.] New London : . . T. Green, 1766. 4°, pp. 16. — Ct. U. 167. — 1766, July 24. — Charles Chauncy, Boston, Mass. A | Dis- course I On" the good News from | a far Country." | Deliver'd July 24th. I A day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God, | throughout the Province of the Massachusetts- | Bay in New-England, on Occasion of the I Repeal of the Stamp- Act; appointed | by his Excellency, the Governor of said | Province, at the Desire of its House of Re- | presen- tatives, with the Advice of his | Majesty's Council. [Prov. xxv. 25.] (1) Boston, N. E. : . . Kneeland and Adams, . . . 1766. 8°, pp. 32. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. M. U. Y. (2) Reprinted in " Pulpit of the American Revolution," 1860. 168. — 1766, July 24. — Joseph Emerson, Pepperell, Mass. A | Thanksgiving-Sermon | preach'd at Pepperrell, | July 24th 1766. | A day set apart by public Authority | as a day of | Thanksgiving | on the account of the Repeal | of the Stamp-Act. [Ezi^ ix. 13, 14.] Boston: .... Edes and Gill, . . . 1766. 8°, pp. 37. —An. Ath. M. P. 169. — 1766, July 24. —William Patten, Halifax, Mass. A | Dis- course I delivered at Hallif ax | in the County of Plymouth, | July 24th 1766. I On the day of Thanksgiving to Al- | mighty God, throughout the Province | of the Massachusetts-Bay in New Eng- | land, for the Repeal of the Stamp- | Act. [Acts xxii. 28.] Boston: N. E. . . D. Kneeland, ... for Thomas Leverett, . . . 1766. 8°, pp. 22. — C. Ct. M. 170. — 1766, Nov. 27. — Henry Cumings, Billerica, Mass. A| Thanksgiving | Sermon | Preached at Billerica, | November 27. 1766. [Psa. xvi. 6.] Boston : N. E. . . Kneeland and Adams, . . . 1767. 8°,pp. 32. — An. Ath. C. H. L. Y. 171. — 1767, June 25. — James Chandler, Rowley, Mass. Minis- ters of the Gospel, Gifts of the Lord to | his Churches ; and to be obtained by Prayer. | A | Sermon | preached | at | Newbury-Port, | BIBLIOGRAPHY. 643 June 25, 1767. | A Fast, sanctified by the Congregational- | Church and Society there, under Bereavement | of their Pastor. [Philem. 22.] Boston, N. E. . . Edes & Gill for Buckley Emerson, . . . 1767. 8°, pp. 30. — Ath. C. Ct. H. N. H. Y. 172. — 1767, Nov. 19. — Abiel Leonard, Woodstock, Conn. The Memory of God's great goodness is to be abun- | dantly uttered. | Illustrated in a | Sermon, | delivered at Woodstock, Nov. 19th, 1767. I Being the day of the | Anniversary Thanksgiving, | in the Colony of | Connecticut. [Psa. cxlv. 7.] Providence [R. I.] : . . . . Waterman and Russell, . . . 1768. 4°, pp. 36. — An. C. 173. — 1767, Dec. 3. — Amos Adams, Roxbury, Mass. Religious Liberty an Invaluable | Blessing : | illustrated in Two | Discourses, | preached at Roxbury Dec 3. 1767, | being the day of general | Thanksgiving. [Gal. v. i.] [With Hynm.] Boston, N. E. : . . Knee- land and Adams, ... 1768. 8°, pp. 58. — An. Ath. Bo. Ct. M. U. Y. 174. — 1768, Dec. 1. — Benjamin Caryl, Dover, Mass. The Duty of Thanksgiving | opened and urged. | A | Sermon, | preached | at Dedham, 4th Parish, December 1st, 1768. | Being the day of gen- eral Thanksgiving. [Psa. cvi. i.] Boston : . . Meinard Fleeming, . . . 1769. 8°, pp. 23. — Ath. C. 175. — 1768, Dec. 1. — William Symmes, Andover, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered | at Andover, December 1st, 1768. | On the | Pub- lic Thanksgiving | in the Massachusetts-Bay. [Psa. Ixxviii. 1-4.] Sa- lem: ... . Samuel HaU, . . . 1769. 4°, pp. 24. — An. Ath. C. M. 176. — 1769, Apr. 6. — Amos Adams, Roxbury, Mass. A concise, historical view of the perils, hardships, | difficulties and discourage- ments which have at- | tended the planting and progressive im- prove- I ments of New-England ; with a particular ac- | count of its long and destructive wars, expensive | expeditions, &c. With reflec- tions, principally, moral and religious. | In Two | Discourses, | preached at Roxbury on the General Fast, | April 6. 1769. | And published at the general Desire of the | Hearers. [Luke i. 74, 75.] (1) Boston : . . Kneeland and Adams, . . . 1769. 8°, pp. QQ. — An. Ath. Bo. Ct. H. M. (2) London : reprinted for Edward and Charles DiUy, 1770. 8°, pp. (4) 68. — Ath. 177. — 1770, Apr. 5. — Nathaniel Appleton, Cambridge, Mass. The right Method of addressing the Divine Majesty in | Prayer ; so as to support and strengthen our Faith in dark and troublesome Times, I set forth in | Two Discourses | on | April 5. 1770. | Being the I day of General Fasting and Prayer | through the | Province : | and m the | Time of the Session of the General Court | at Cambridge. [Psa. Ixxx. 1-3.] Boston : . . Edes and Gill, . . . 1770. 8°, pp. 36, 69. — An. Ath. Ct. H. M. U. Y. 178. — 1770, Apr. 18. — Judah Champion, Litchfield, Conn. A brief 544 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. View of the Distresses, Hardships and Dangers | our Ancestors en- counter'd, in settling New-England — | the Privileges we enjoy, and our Obligations thence | arising ; with moral Keflections thereupon. | In two I Sermons, | delivered at | Litchfield, | on the | General Fast, | April 18, 1770. [Deut. iv. 37-40.] Hartford : . . Green & Watson, ...1770. 4^pp. 45.— An. C. Ct. H. L. 179. — 1770, Dec. 6. —John Browne, Cohasset, Mass. A | Dis- course I delivered | on the day of the Annual Provincial | Thanks- giving, I December 6, 1770. [Dan. vi. 10.] Boston, N. E. : . . Thomas and John Fleet, 1771. 8^, pp. 15. —An. C. M. U. 180. — 1770, Dec. 6. — Ebenezer Gay, Hingham, Mass. The De- votions of God's People adjusted | to the Dispensations of his Provi- dence. I A I Sermon | preached | in the First Parish of Hingham, | December 6, 1770. | The day observed throughout the Province as a I day of public Thanksgiving and Prayer. [Jer. xxxi. 7.] Boston : .. Eichard Draper, 1771. 8°, pp. 23. — An. Ath. C. M. U. Y. 181.— 1772, Dec. 3. — Allen [John?] [Rev. Isaac Skillman ?] Boston, Mass. An | Oration, | on the | Beauties of Liberty | or the essential | Rights of the Americans. | Delivered | at the Second Baptist-Church in Boston, | upon the last Annual Thanksgiving, Dec. 3d, 1772. . . . By a British Bostonian. [Micah vii. 3.] (1) Boston: N. E. . . D. Kneeland and N. Davis, 1773. 8°, pp. 31. — M. (2) Same. — M. (3) New London: . . T. Green, . . . 1773. 8°, pp. 23. — Ct. (4) Boston, N. E. : . . E. Russell, 1773. 8°, pp. 80. — Ct. (5) Hartford: . . Ebenezer Watson, 1774. 8% pp. 40. — Ct. (6) Wil- mington: .... James Adams, . . . 1775. 8°, pp. 21. ["Last Thanksgiving P. M. Mr. Allen, a British Bostonian preached a Ser- mon at the Rev. Mr. Davis's Meeting-House from those words Micah vii. 3. etc." — New London Gazette, Dec. 18, 1772.] 182. — 1774, Apr. 29. — Samuel Dunbar, Stoughton, Mass. The Duty of Christs Ministers to be Spiritual | Labourers ; and the Duty of Christs I Churches to pray to God for such. | Exhibited in a Sermon | from Matthew ix. 38 | preached at Dorchester, | April 29, 1774. | A Day set apart by the Church and Congre- | gation there, for Solemn Humiliation and | Supplication, to seek the divine Direction | and Blessing in the Choice and Settle- | ment of a Minister among them. Boston: . . Mills and Hicks, . . 1775. 8°, pp. 28. — Ct. M. Y. 183. — 1774, July 14. — Nathan Fiske, Brookfield, Mass. The Im- portance of Righteousness to | the Happiness, and the Tendency of | Oppression to the Misery | of a People ; illustrated | in Two | Dis- courses I delivered at Brookfield, July 14, 1774. | Being a day ob- served by general consent through the Province, | (at the recommen- dation of the late House of Representatives) | as a | day of Fasting and Prayer, | on account of the | Threatening Aspect of our Public BIBLIOGRAPHY. 545 Affairs. [Isa. v. 7.] Boston: . . John Kneeland, . . . 1774. 8°, pp. 40. — Ath. C. Ct. M. U. 184. — 1774, July 14. — Timothy Hilliard, Barnstable, Mass. The duty of a People under the oppression of Man, | to seek deliverance from God. | The substance of | Two Sermons, | delivered at | Barn- stable, I July 14th, 1774. | A day set apart for Humiliation and Prayer, on | account of the present dark and melancholy aspect | of our Public affairs. [Psa. cxix. 134.] Boston : . . Greenleaf's Print- ing-Office, ... 1774. 8°, pp. 31. — An. C. L. M. 185. — 1774, July 14. — Thaddeus Maccarty, Worcester, Mass. Reformation of manners, of absolute necessity | in order to conciliate the divine favour, in | times of public evil and distress. | Shewn in two I Sermons, | preached at | Worcester, | upon a special Fast ob- served there, as well as | in many other Towns, | July 14th, 1774. | On account of the public difficulties | of the present Day. [1 Pet. V. 6.] Boston: .... William M' Alpine, 1774. 8°, pp. 38. — An. Ct. M. 186. — 1774, July 14. — David Sherman Rowland, Providence, R. I. Despotism Illustrated and Improved from the Character of Rehoboam ; a Discourse, delivered at Wrentham, Mass., on a Day of Fasting and Prayer, July 14, 1774. — Honesdale (Pa.) " Democrat," Apr. 14, 1846. 187. — 1774, July 14. — Samuel Webster, Salisbury, Mass. The Misery and Duty of an oppress'd | and enslav'd People, represented | in a I Sermon | delivered at Salisbury, July 14, 1774. | On a day set apart for Fasting and Prayer, | on account of approaching public Calamities. [Neh. ix. 36-38.] Boston : . . Edes and Gill, . . . 1774. 8°, pp. 31. — An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. H. M. Y. 188. — 1774, July 14. — Peter Whitney, Northborough, Mass. The Transgression of a Land punished by | a multitude of Rulers, j Con- sidered in two I Discourses, | delivered July 14, 1774, | being volun- ' tarily observed in most of the religious As- | semblies throughout the Province of | Massachusetts-Bay, | as a daj" of | Fasting and Prayer, | on account of the Dark Aspect of our | Public Affairs. [Prov. xxviii. 2.] Boston : . . John Boyle, . . . 1774. 8°, pp. 34, 71. — An. Ct. H. L. M. U. 189. — 1774, Aug. 31. —Samuel Sherwood, [Norfield] Weston, Conn. A | Sermon, | Containing, | Scriptural Instructions to Civil Rulers, | and all Free-bom Subjects. | In which the Principles of sound Policy and good | Government are established and vindicated ; and I some Doctrines advanced and zealously propagated | by New- England Tories, are considered | and refuted. | Delivered on the public Fast, I August 31, 1774. | With an Address to the Freemen of the Colony. . . . Also, An Appendix, | Stating the heavy Grievances the Colonies labour under | from several late Acts of the British Parlia- ment, I and shewing what we have just Reason to expect the | Con- 546 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. sequences of these Measures will be. | By the Rev. Ebenezer Bald- win, of Danbury. [2 Sam. xxiii. 3.] New-Haven: . . T. and S. Green, n.d. 8°, pp. x, 11-42 ; xliii-xlvi, 47-82. — C. Ct. L. M. U. Y. 190. — 1774, Dec. 15. — Jonathan Bascom, Eastham, Mass. A | Sermon | preached at | Eastham, | on | Thanksgiving-Day, | Decem- ber 15, 1774. [Ecc. vii. 14.] Boston : . . Edes and GiU, . . . 1775. 8°, pp. 20. — An. M. 191. — 1774, Dec. 15. — William Gordon, [Jamaica Plain] Rox- bury, Mass. A | Discourse | preached | in the morning | of | De- cember 15th 1774. I Being the day recommended | by the Provincial Congress. [Lam. iii. 22.] Boston : Printed for . . . Thomas Lever- ett, . . . 1775. 8°, pp. 22. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. M. U. 192. — 1774, Dec. 15. — William Gordon, [Jamaica Plain] Rox- bury, Mass. A | Discourse | preached | December 15th, 1774. | Being the day recommended | by the Provincial Congress ; | and afterwards at the Boston Lecture. [Lam. iii. 22.] [Another sermon than the last. Preached in the afternoon of the same day.] (1) Boston: Printed for . . . Thomas Leverett, . . . 1775. 8°, pp. 32 (2).— An. Ath. Bo. Ct. M. U. (2) London : . . Edward and Charles Dilly, 1775. 8°, pp. 36. — Ath. (3) Reprinted in " Pulpit of the American Revolution," 1860. 193. — 1774, Dec. 15. — John Lathrop, Boston, Mass. A | Dis- course I preached, | December 15th 1774. | Being the day recom- mended I by the Provincial Congress, | to be observed | in thanks- giving to God for the Blessings | enjoyed ; and humiliation on account of I public Calamities. [Psa. ci. 1.] Boston : . . D. Kneeland, . . . 1774. 8°, pp. 39.— An. Ath. C. Ct. L. M. U. Y. 194. — 1774, Dec. 15. — Joseph Lyman, Hatfield, Mass. A | Ser- mon I preached | at Hatfield | December 15th, 1774, ) being the day recommended | by the late Provincial Congress; | to be observed as I a Day of Thanksgiving. [Mai. iii. 1, 2.] Boston: .... Edes and Gill, . . . 1775. 8°, pp. 32. — An. C. Ct. L. 195. — 1774, Dec. 15. — Isaac Story, Marblehead, Mass. The Love of our Country Re- | commended and Enforced. | In a | Sermon | from Psalm cxxii. 7, | delivered on a day of | Public Thanksgiving, | De- cember 15, 1774. Boston: .... John Boyle, . . . 1774. 8°, pp. 23. — Ath. C. H. 196. — 1774, Dec. 15. — Samuel WiUiams, Bradford, Mass. A | Discourse | on the | Love of our Country ; | delivered | on a day of Thanksgiving, | December 15, 1774. [Psa. cxxxvii. 5, 6.] Salem, New-England : . . Samuel and Ebenezer Hall, 1775. 8°, pp. 29. — Ath. Ct. M. U. Y. 197. — 1775, May 11. —William Stearns. A View of the Controversy subsisting between | Great-Britain BIBLIOGRAPHY. 547 and the American Colonies. | A | Sermon, | preaclied | at a | Fast, | in I Marlborough in Massachusetts-Bay, | on | Thursday, May 11, 1775. I Agreeable to a recommendation of the Provincial CongTess. [2 Chron. xx. 11, 12.] Watertown : . . Benjamin Edes, 1775. 8°, pp. 33. — Ath. C. H. M. 198. — 1775, July 20. — Samuel Andrews. A Fast Sermon. New- Haven. 8°, pp. 18. See Sabin. 199. — 1775, July 20. — Daniel Batwell. A I Sermon, | Preached at York-Town, | Before Captain Morgan's and Captain | Price's Companies of Rifle-Men, | On Thursday, July 20, 1775. j Being the Day recommended by the | Honorable Continen- tal Congress | for | A General Fast | throughout the | Twelve United Colonies | Of North- America. Philadelphia: . . John Dunlap, . . . 1775. 8°, pp. 20. — Lib. Co. of Phil. 200. — 1775, July 20. — Thomas Coombe, Philadelphia, Pa. A | Sermon, | Preached before the Congregations of | Christ Church and St. Peter's, | Philadelphia, | on Thursday, July 20, 1775. | Being the Day recommended by the | Honorable Continental Congress | for | a General Fast | throughout the | Twelve United Colonies | of North- America. [2 Chron. XX. 11-13.] [Dedication to Benjamin Franklin.] (1) Philadelphia: . . John Dunlap, . . . 1775. 8°, pp. (4) 29.— Ath. H. L. (2) Same. (3) Newport (R. I.), 1776. 201. —1775, July 20.— Jacob Duche, Philadelphia, Pa. The | American Vine, | A | Sermon, | preached in Christ-Church, Philadel- phia, I before the Honourable | Continental Congress, | July 20th, 1775. I Being the day recommended by them | for a General Fast | throughout the | United English Colonies | of America. [Psa. Ixxx. 14.] Philadelphia: . . James Humphreys, Jr., 1775. 8°, pp. 34. — Ath. Ct. M. 202. — [1775 ?] — Jacob Green, Hanover, N. J. " The nature of an acceptable Fast," preached on a Fast day appointed by Congress. — Sprague's Annals, iii. 139. 203. — 1775, July 20. — Enoch Huntington, Middletown, Conn. A I Sermon, | delivered at | Middletown, | July 20th, A. D. 1775, | the day appointed by the | Continental Congress, | to be observed by the Inhabitants of all the | English Colonies | on this Continent, as a day of public | Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer. [Neh. vi. 8, 9.] Hartford : . . Eben Watson, n. d. 12°, pp. 26. — Ath. Ct. M. Y. 204. — [1775, July 20.] —David Jones, Tredyffryn, Pa. Defensive War in a just Cause | Sinless. | A Sermon, | Preached | on the day of the Continental Fast, | at | Tredyffryn, in Chester County. Phila- delphia : . . Henry Miller, 1775. 8°, pp. 27. — Hist. Soc. of Penn. 205. — 1775, July 20. — Joseph Montgomery, Newcastle, Del. A | Sermon, | preached at | Christiana Bridge and Newcastle, | the 20th of July, 1775. I Being the day appointed by the | Continental Con- 548 FAST AND THANKSGIVING IMYS. ^ress, I as a day of Fasting, Humiliation, | and Prayer. Philadelphia : . . James Humphreys, Jun., . . . 1775. 8°, pp. 30. — Hist. Soc. of Penn. 206. — 1775, July 20. — Ezra Sampson, Plympton, Mass. A | Ser- mon I preached at | Roxbury - Camp, | before Col. Cotton's Regi- ment ; I on the 20th of July, P. M. 1775. | Being | a day set apart for Fasting and Prayer, through- | out all the United Colonies in America. [2 Chron. xx. 11, 12.] Watertown : . . . . Benjamin Edes, 1775. 8°, pp. 24. — An. C. 207. — 1775, July 20. — William Smith, Philadelphia, Pa. A Fast Sermon | Preached at All-Saints Church, | in the County of Phila- delphia, I July 20, 1775, | being | the First American Fast | Recom- mended by Congress. [Isa. Iviii. 4-7.] Philadelphia: . . Hugh Maxwell and William Fry, 1803. 8°. Works, ii. 111-126. 208. — 1775, Nov. 16. — Ebenezer Baldwin, Danbury, Conn. The Duty of Rejoicing | under | Calamities and Afflictions, | considered and improved | in a | Sermon, | preached at | Danbury, | November 16, 1775. I A day set apart for Thanksgiving in | the Colony of Con- necticut. [Hab. iii. 17, 18.] New York : . . Hugh Gaine, . . . 1776. 8o,pp. 42. — Ath. Ct. U. Y. 209. — 1775, Nov. 16. — Robert Ross, Stratfield, Conn. A ( Ser- mon, I in which the | Union of the Colonies | is considered and recommended ; | and the bad | Consequences of Divisions | are rep- resented. I Delivered on the | Public Thanksgiving. | November Sixteenth, 1775. [Judg. v. 15, 16.] New York: . . John Holt, . . . 1776. 8°, pp. 28. — Ct. M. Y. 210. — 1775, Nov. 23. — Henry Cumings, Billerica, Mass. A | Sermon, | preached in Billerica, | on the 23d of November, 1775. | Be- ing the day appointed by Civil Authority, | for a | Public Thanksgiv- ing I throughout the Province of Massachusetts-Bay. [Psa. Ixxvii. 7- 12.] Massachusetts-Bay : Worcester, . . I. Thomas, . . . n. d. 8°, pp. 29. — An. Ath. C. H. Y. 211. — 1775, Nov. 23. — Thaddeus Maccarty, Worcester, Mass. Praise to God, a Duty of | Continual Obligation. | A | Sermon, | preached at Worcester, | Thursday, November 23d, 1775. | Being a day of Public Thanksgiving, | by the appointment of the General Assembly. [Psa. xxxiv. 1.] Worcester : . . I. Thomas, . . . n. d. 8°, pp. 28. — An. Ath. H. L. M. U. 212. — 1775, Nov. 23. — Isaac Mansfield, Exeter, N. H. A | Ser- mon, I preached in the | Camp at Roxbury, | November 23, 1775 ; | being the day appointed by Authority | for Thanksgiving through the I Province. [Gen. xxvii. 9-13.] Boston : . . S. Hall, . . . 1776. 8°, pp. 27 (1).— An. Ath. Ct. P. U. 213. — 1775, Nov. 30. — Eleazar Wheelock, Hanover, N. H. Lib- erty of Conscience ; or, no King but | Christ, in his Church : | A | BIBLIOGRAPHY. 549 Sermon, | preached at | Dartmouth-Hall, | November 80th, 1775 ; | being the day appointed by the | Honourable Congress | of the Prov- ince of I NeAv-Hampshire, | to be observed as a | General Thanksgiv- ing throughout that Province. [John xviii. 36.] Hartford: . . Eben. Watson, . . . n. d. 8°, pp. 31. — C. Ct. L. M. U. 214. — 1776, Jan. 17. — Andrew Lee [Hanover], Lisbon, Conn. Sin destructive of temporal and eternal Happiness : | and | Repentance, Trust in God, and a vigorous, harmonious, | and persevering Oppo- sition, the Duty of a People, | when wicked and unreasonable Men are attempting | to enslave them. | Set forth in a | Discourse | delivered at Hanover, in Norwich, | January 17th, A. D. 1776 : | being a day set apart for Fasting and Prayer | throughout the Colony of Connect- icut. [Isa. V. 20.] Norwich : . . Judah P. Spooner, 1776. 8°, pp. i>8. — C. Ct. U. 215. — 1776, Jan. 17. — Samuel Sherwood, [Norfield] Weston, Conn. The | Church's Flight | into the | Wilderness : | An I Ad- dress I on the Times. | Containing | some very interesting and im- portant Observations on | Scripture Prophecies : | Shewing, that sundry of them plainly relate to Great- | Britain, and the American Colonies ; | and are fulfilling in the present day. | Delivered on a Public Occasion, January 17, 1776. [Rev. xii. 14-17.] New York: . . Printed by S. Loudon, 1776. 8°, pp. 54. — An. Ath. Ct. 216. — 1776, May 17. — John Withei-spoon, Princeton, N. J. The Dominion of Providence over the Pas- | sions of Men. | A | Sermon | preached | at Princeton, | on the 17th of May, 1776. | Being | the Gen- eral Fast appointed by the Congress | through the United Colonies. [With an address to the natives of Scotland residing in America.] [Psa. Ixxvi. 10.] (1) Philadelphia: . . . . R. Aitken, . . . 1776. 8°, pp. (4) 78. — An. Ath. Ct. H. Y. (2) (3) (4) Glasgow: Reprinted, 1777. 8°, pp. 56. — Y. (5) London: Reprinted for Fielding & Walker, 1778. 8°, pp. 24. — Ath. H. 217.— 1776, Dec. 5. — Eliphalet Wright, Killingly, Conn. A People ripe for an Harvest. | A | Sermon, | delivered to the Church and Congregation, in the fourth | Society in Killingly, | on a day of public Thanksgiving, Decem- | ber 5, A. D. 1776. [Rev. xiv. 18.] Norwich: . . J. Trumbull, n. d. 12°, pp. 20. — Ct. 218. — [1777, Jan. 29.] — Cyprian Strong, [Portland] Chatham. Conn. God's care of the New-England colonies ; — His | reasonable demands of them ; — the fruits they | have produced ; — and what they have now | reason to fear and expect, from his righteous | dispensa- tions, illustrated and improved : | in a | Sermon, | delivered in the first Society of | Chatham, | on a day of | Fasting and Prayer. [Isa. v. 1- 5.] Hartford: . . Eben. Watson, . . . n. d. 16°, pp. 31. — C. Ct. H. U. 219.— 1777, Jan. 30 (?).— Josiah Stearns, Epping, N. H. Two | 550 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Sermons, | Preached at Epping, | in the | State of New-Hampshire, | January 30th, 1777. | On a Public Fast, | appointed by Authority, on account of the un- | natural and distressing War with Great- | Bi-itain, in defence of Liberty. [Judg. xx. 26-28.] Newburyport : . . John Mycall, 1777. 8°, pp. 39. — C. Ct. 220. — 1777, Nov. 20. — Samuel Spring, Newburyport, Mass. A | Sermon | delivered at the | North Congregational Church | in | New- buryport, I on a day of Public | Thanksgiving; | November 20th, MDCCLXXVII. [Psa. Ixv. 1.] Newburyport: . . John Mycall, 1778. 8°, pp. 32. — An. Ath. C. Ct. 221.-1777, Dec. 18. — David Avery, Windsor, Vt. The Lord is to be praised for the Triumphs | of his Power. | A | Sermon, | preached at Greenwich, in Connecticut, | on the 18th of December 1777, I being | a General Thanksgiving through the | United Ameri- can States. [Ex. xv. 11.] Norwich: . . Green & Spooner, 1778. 8°, pp. 47. — An. Ct. L. Y. 222. — 1777, Dec. 18. Timothy Dwight, New Haven, Conn. A | Sermon, | preached at | Stamford, | in | Connecticut, | upon the | Gen- eral Thanksgiving, j December 18th, 1777. [Joel ii. 20, 21.] [Pub- lished Anonymously.] Hartford: . . Watson and Goodwin, 1778. 16°, pp. 16. — Ct. 223. — 1777, Dec. 18. — Israel Evans, Philadelphia, Pa. A | Dis- course, I delivered, | on the 18th day of December, 1777, the day of | Public Thanksgiving, | appointed by the | Honourable | Continental Congress. [Psa. cxv.] Lancaster [Pa.] : . . Francis Bailey, 1778. 12°, pp. 24. — Ct. H. 224. — 1779, Nov. 4. — John Murray, Newburyport, Mass. Nehe- miah, | or the Struggle for Liberty never in vain, when | managed with Virtue and Perseverance. | A | Discourse | delivered at the | Presbyterian Church | in | Newbury-Port, | Nov. 4th, 1779. | Being the day appointed by Government to be obser- | ved as a day of sol- emn Fasting and Prayer through- | out the State of Massachusetts- Bay. [Neh. vi. 16.] Newbury: . . John MycaU, 1779. 12°, pp. 56.— An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. H. 225. — 1780, Dec. 7. — Nathan Strong, Hartford, Conn. The Agency and Providence of God | acknowledged, in the Preservation of I the American States. | A | Sermon | preached at the | Annual Thanksgiving, 1 December 7th 1780. [Job v. 12-16.] Hartford: . . Hudson and Goodwin, 1780. 8°, pp. 24. — Ct. L. Y. 226. — 1781, May 3. — Joseph Roby [Saugus], Lynn, Mass. A | Sermon | delivered | at 1 Lynn | on the | General Fast | May 3, 1781. [Isa. X. 6, 7.] Boston : . . T. and J. Fleet, 1781. 8°, pp. 31. — C. H. M. 227. — 1781, May 3. — William Smith, Philadelphia, Pa. A Fast Sermon, | Preached in Chester Chapel, | Kent County, Maryland, | BIBLIOGRAPHY, 551 May 3, 1781. [Isa. Iviii. 3.] Philadelphia : . . Hugh Maxwell and William Fry, 1803. 8°. Works, ii. 127-140. 228. — 1781, Dec. 13. — Samuel Cooke, Cambridge, Mass. The American Revolution in a NutsheU. " Wobum Journal," Apr. 18, 1874. — H. 229. — 1781, Dec. 13. — Israel Evans, Philadelphia, Pa. A | Dis- course I delivered | near York in Virginia, | on the | Memorable Occa- sion I of the I Surrender of the British Army | to the | Allied Forces of America and France, | before | the Brigade of New- York Troops and the Division of | American Light-Infantry, under the Command of the I Marquis de la Fayette. [1 Sam. vii. 12.] Philadelphia : . . Francis Bailey, . . . 1782. 8°, pp.45 (1). — Ath. C. 230. — 1781, Dec. 13. — James Madison, Williamsburg, Va. A | Sermon, | preached in the | County of Botetourt, | on the 13th of Sep- tember, 1781. I Being the day appointed by Congress to be observed | with prayer and thanksgiving. [Pro v. xiv. 34.] [Error in month in the title.] Richmond : . . . Nicolson & Prentis, . . . n. d. 8°, pp. 19. — C. 231. — 1781, Dec. 13. — Robert Smith, Pequea, Pa. The | Obliga- tions I of the I Confederate States of North America | to praise God. | Two sermons, | Preached at Pequea, December 13th, 1781, the | day recommended by the Honorable Congress to | the several States, to be observed as a Day of | Thanksgiving to God, for the various inter- | positions of his Providence in their favour, during | their con- test with Great Britain, | particularly those | of the present year, crowned by the capture of | Lord Cornwallis with his whole army. [Psa. Ixvii. 5.] Philadelphia : . . Francis Bailey, . . . 1782. 8°, pp. (4) 36. — M. 232. — 1781, Dec. 13.— WiUiam Smith, Philadelphia, Pa. [A Sermon] Preached in Chester Chapel, | Kent County, Maryland, | December 13, 1781. | Being a day of General Thanksgiving and Prayer, Recom- | mended by Congress, throughout the United States. [Ex. XV. 1.] Philadelphia: . . Hugh Maxwell and WiUiam Fry, 1803. 8°. Works, u. 141-154. 233. — 1783, May 15. — David Tappan, Newbury, Mass. The Question answered, | Watchman, what of the Night? | A | Discourse | delivered | at Newbury, May 15, 1783, | being the day appointed by Authority | for | the Annual Fast, | in | the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. [Isa. xxi. 11, 12.] Salem : . . Samuel Hall, . . . 1783. 12°, pp. 19. — An. Ath. C. Ct. L. U. 234. — 1783, May 15. — Charles Turner, Cambridge, Mass. Due Glory to be given to God. | A | Discourse | containing | Two Ser- mons I preached in | Cambridge | May 15, 1783. | Being a day ap- pointed by Government | for public Fasting and Prayer. [1 Chron. xvi.29.] Boston: . . T. and J. Fleet, 1783. 8°, pp. 35. — An. Ath. C. L. U. 552 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 235. — [1783, Dec. 11.] — Thomas Brockway, [Columbia] Lebanon, Conn. America saved, or Divine Glory dis- | played, in the late War with Great- | Britain. | A | Thanksgiving | Sermon, | preached in | Lebanon, Second Society, | and now offered to the Public, at the De- sire of a Num- | ber of the Hearers. [Judg. v. 21.] Hartford : . . Hudson and Goodwin, n. d. 8°,pp.24. — C. Ct. L. M. Y. 236. — 1783, Dec. 11. — Joseph Buckminster, Portsmouth, N. H. A I Discourse | delivered | in the | First Church of Christ, | at | Ports- mouth, I on I Thursday, December 11th, 1783; | being the day rec- ommended by the honorable | Congress | for a | General Thanksgiv- ing I throughout the | United States of America, | after the | Ratifi- cation of a Treaty of Peace, | in the | Ultimate Acknowledgment | of their | Sovereignty and Independence. [Psa. xcviii. 1.] Portsmouth, N. H., . . Robert Gerrish, 1784. 8°, pp. 33. —An. C. Ct. 237. — 1783, Dec. 11. — Rozel Cook, [Montville] New London, Conn. A | Sermon, | delivered at | New-London, North Parish, | Upon the | Anniversary Thanksgiving, | December 11, 1783. [Psa. civ. 34.] [With Hymn.] New London: . . Timothy Green, 1784. 8°, pp. 30. — Ct. L. U. 238. — 1783, Dec. 1 1. — Henry Cumings, Billerica, Mass. A | Ser- mon I preached in Billerica, | December 11, 1783, | the day recom- mended by Congress | to | all the States, | to be observed as a day of | Public Thanksgiving, | and | appointed to be observed accordingly, throughout | the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts, | by the Author- ity of the same. [Psa. cxxvi. 3.] Boston : . . T. and J. Fleet, 1784, 8°, pp. 39.— An. Ath. C. Ct. H. Y. 239. — 1783, Dec. 11.— George Duffield, Philadelphia, Pa. A | Sermon | preached in the | Third Presbyterian Church | in the | City of Philadelphia, | on Thursday December 11, 1783. | The day ap- pointed by the United States in Congress | assembled, to be observed as a day of thanksgiving, for | the restoration of peace ; and estab- lishment of our Li- I dependence in the enjoyment of our rights and pri- I vileges. [Isa. Ixvi. 8.] (1) Philadelphia : . . F. Bailey, . . . 1784. 8°, pp. (2) viii. 28.— Ath. (2) Boston: . . T. & J. Fleet, 1784. 8°, pp. 26. — An. Ath. H. L. M. (3) Reprinted in the *' Patriot Preachers of the American Revolution," 1860. 240. — 1783, Dec. 11. — Israel Evans, Philadelphia, Pa. A | Dis- course, I delivered in | New- York, | before a Brigade of Continental Troops, and a Num- | ber of Citizens, assembled in | St. George's Chapel, I on the 11th of December, 1783. | The Day set apart by the recommendation of | the United States in Congress, | as a day of pub- lic Thanksgiving for the Blessings of | Independence, Liberty and Peace. [Ex. xv. 1.] New York : . . . . John Holt, n. d. 8°, pp. 23. — Ath. H. 241. — 1783, Dec. 11. — Johann Christoph Kunze, Philadelphia, BIBLIOGRAPHY. 553 Pa. Eine | Aiifforderung' | an das | Volk Gottes in America | zum | frohen Jauchzen und Danken. | An dem von eineni Erlauchten Congres wegen erhaltenen Fiiedens und | erlangter Unabhangigkeit auf den 11 ten December, 1783, aus- | geschriebenen Dankfeste in der Zions-Kircbe zu Pbiladelphia | vorgestellt und auf Verlangen ver- schriedener | Zuborer dem Druk iibergeben, | nebst dem | Anhange einer andern Presdigt | aulichen Inhalts, und an dem Dank- und Bet- tage I des Yares 1779 gebalten. . . . Pbiladelphia : . . Melchior Steiner, . . . 1784. 8°, pp. 101. — H. 242. — 1783, Dec. 11. —John Marsh, Wethersfield, Conn. A| Discourse | delivered at Wethersfield, | December 11th, 1783. | Being a day of | Public Thanksgiving, throughout the United States of America. [Psa. cxlvii. 12-14.] Hartford: . . Hudson & Goodwin, n. d. 8^pp.22.— Ath. C. Ct. L. M. U. Y. 243. — 1783, Dec. 11. — John Murray, Newburyport, Mass. Jerub- baal, I or | Tyranny's Grove Destroyed, | and the | Altar of Liberty Finished. | A | Discourse | on | America's Duty and Danger, | Deliv- ered at the I Presbyterian Church in Newburyport, | December 11, 1783, I on occasion of the | Public Thanksgiving | for | Peace. [Judg. viii. 34, 35.] (1) Newburyport: . . John Mycall, 1784. 8°, pp. 75. — An. Ath. C. (2) Newburyport: . . Edmund M. Blunt, 1801. 8°, pp. 70. — An. Ath. M. 244. — 1783, Dec. 11. — David Osgood, Medford Mass. Reflections on the goodness of God | in supporting the People of the | United States through the late war, | and giving them so advantageous | and honourable a peace. | A | Sermon | preached | on the | day of annual and national | Thanksgiving | December 11, 1783. [Psa. Ixv. 11.] Boston : . . T. and J. Fleet, 1774. 8°, pp. 35. — An. Ath. C. L. M. Y. 245. — 1783, Dec. 11. — Eliphalet Porter, Roxbury, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered to the | First Religious | Society in Roxbury, | De- cember 11, 1783; I being the first day of | Public Thanksgiving, | in America, | after the restoration of Peace, and the | ultimate acknow- ledgment of her I Independence. [Psa. cxxiv.] Boston : . . Adams and Nourse, 1784. 8°, pp. 24. — An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. L. M. U. Y. 246. — 1783, Dec. 11.— John Rodgers, New York, N. Y. The Divine Goodness displayed, | in the | American Revolution : | A | Ser- mon, I preached in New- York, December 11th, 1783. | Appointed by Congress, | as a day of | Public Thanksgiving, | throughout the United States. [Psa. cxxvi. 3.] (1) New-York: . . Samuel Loudon, 1784. 8°, pp. 42. — Ct. L. M. Y. (2) Reprinted in "Patriot Preachers of the American Revolution," 1860. 247. — 1783, Dec. 11. —Benjamin Trumbull, North Haven, Conn. God is to be praised for the Glory of his | Majesty, and for his mighty 654 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Works. I A I Sermon | delivered at North-Haven, | December 11, 1783. I The day appointed by the United-States | for a | General Thanksgiving | on | Account of the Peace | concluded with Great- Britain. [Psa. cl. 2.] (1) New -Haven : . . Thomas and Samuel Green, n84. 8°, pp. 38. — Ath. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. (2) New- Haven : . . Thomas and Samuel Green, n. d. 8°, pp. 28. — An. Ath. Ct. L. U. Y. 248. — 1783, Dec. 11. — Joseph Willard, [Har. Coll.] Cambridge, Mass. A I Thanksgiving | Sermon | delivered at Boston | December 11, 1783, I to I the Religious Society | in Brattle Street, | under the pastoral care | of | the Rev. Samuel Cooper, D. D. [Psa. cxviii. 27.] Boston: . . T. and J. Fleet, 1784. 8°, pp. 39. — An. Ath. Bo. C. H. L. M. U. Y. 249. — 1784, Nov. 25. — John Lathrop, Boston, Mass. A | Dis- course I on the I Peace ; | preached on the day of | Public Thanks- giving, I November 25, 1784. [Isa. xl. 2.] Boston : . . Peter Edes, . . . 1784. 8°, pp. 35. — An. Ath. M. Y. 250. — 1784, Dec. 2. — Nathaniel Noyes, South-Hampton, N. H. A I Sermon | preached at | South-Hampton | December 2, 1784. | Being the day appointed for a Thanksgiving through- | out the State of New-Hampshire. [Psa. Ixv. 1-13.] Newburyport: . . John Mycall, 1785. 8°, pp. 23. — Ath. 0. 251. — 1784, Dec. 2. — William Patten, Newport, R. I. Directions with regard to the improvement | of temporal blessings. | A | Thanks- giving Sermon, | delivered to the | First Society in New London, | December 2^ 1784. [Ecc. ix. 7.] New London: . . T. Green, n. d. 8°, pp. 22. — Ct. L. U. Y. 252. — 1785, Apr. 7. — Samuel West, Needham, Mass. Two | Dis- courses I delivered | at Needham, | First Parish : | on occasion of | the Public Fast, | April 7, 1785. [Isa. Iviii. 6.] Boston : . . Ben- jamin Edes and Son, . . . 1785. 8°, pp. 39. — Ath. C. H. Y. 253.-1785, Dec. 15. — William Hazlitt, Hallowell, Me. A| Thanksgiving | Discourse, | preached | at | Hallowell, | 15 December, 1785. [Psa. cvii. 8.] Boston: .... Samuel Hall, . . . 1786. 8^, pp. 19.— An. Ath. Bo. M. Y. 254.-1786, Oct. 29. — William White, Philadelphia, Pa. A | Sermon, | on the Due Celebration . | of the | Festival, | appointed as a Thanksgiving | for the Fruits of the Earth ; | preached in | Christ- Church and St Peter's, | by . . . October 29, 1786, | the day preced- ing his Departure for England, to obtain | Episcopal Consecration. [Deut. viii. 10.] Philadelphia : . . Hall and Sellers, 1786. 8°, pp. 18.— Y. 255. — 1786, Dec. 14. —Joseph Lathrop, West Springfield, Mass. A I Sermon, | preached in the | First Parish in West-Springfield, | December 14. MDCCLXXXVI, | being the day appointed by Au- BIBLIOGRAPHY, 555 thority for a | Publick Thanksgiving". [Isa. i. 19, 20.] . . John BusseU, . . . Springfield, 1787. 8°, pp. 24. — Bo. H. U. 256. — 1788, Apr. 17. — Charles Backus, Somers, Conn. A | Ser- mon, I preached in | Long-Meadow, | at the | Publick Fast, | April 17th, MDCCLXXXVIII. [Ecc. vii. 10.] Springfield : . . Weld «fe Thomas, . . . 1788. * 8°, pp. 24. — C. Ct. L. N. H. 257. — 1788, Aug. 14. — John Tucker, Newbury, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered at | Newbury-Port, | August 14'^ 1788, | on a | day set apart | by the | First Church there | to seek the | Divine direction and blessing | in the choice and | Settlement of a Colleague-Pastor | with the I Rev Thomas Cary. [Psa. cxxxiii. 1.] Newburyport: . . John MycaU, 1788. 8°, pp. 52. — An. L. M. Y. 258. — 1789, Nov. 26. — Oliver Hart, Hopewell, N. J. America's Remembrancer, | with respect to her | Blessedness and Duty. | A | Sermon, | delivered in Hopewell, | New Jersey, | on Thanksgiving Day, I November 26, 1789. [Num. xxiii. 23.] Philadelphia : . . T. Dobson, . . . 1791. 8°, pp. 24. — Ath. C. Y. 258 a. — 1789, Nov. 26. — Gershom Seixas, New York, N. Y. A Religious Discourse delivered in the Synagogue in this City . . . Nov. 26, 1789, agreeable to the Proclamation of the President of the United States, &c, to be observed as a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer. New York : McLean, 1789. 8°, pp. 16. — Sabin, No. 78950. 259. — [1792, Nov. 22.] — Bunker Gay, Hinsdale, N. H. To Sing of Mercy and Judgment : | Recommended and Exemplified | in a | Discourse, | delivered on a day of | Publick Thanksgiving. [Psa. ci. 1.] [Half title — Mr. Gay's Reflections on the Thanksgiving next after the death of his wife.] Printed Greenfield, Mass., by Thomas Dickman, 1793. 8°, pp. 19. — L. 260.-1792, Nov. 29. — Frederick William Hotchkiss, Saybrook, Conn. On National Greatness, | A | Thanksgiving Sermon, | deliv- ered to the I First Society | in | Say-Brook, | November 29th, 1792. [Deut. iv. 7-9.] New-Haven : . . Thomas and Samuel Green, 1793. 8°,pp. 23. — L. N. H. U. 261. — 1793, Apr. 11. — Joseph McKeen, Beverly, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I preached on the | Public Fast | in the | Commonwealth | of | Massachusetts, | April 11, 1793. [Psa. li. 18.] Salem: . . Thomas C. Gushing, ... 1793. 8°, pp. 22. — An. Ath. H. L. U. Y. 262. — 1793, Apr. 11. — David Tappan, [Har. Coll.] Cambridge, Mass. A I Sermon, | delivered | to the First Congregation | in | Cambridge, | and ) the Religious Society | in | Charlestown, | April 11, 1793. I On occasion of the Annual Fast | in | the Commonwealth of I Massachusetts. [Deut. xxxii. 4, 5.] Boston : . . Samuel Hall, ...1793. 8°, pp. 31. — An. Bo. C. H. L. U. Y. 263.-1793, Apr. 17. —Nathan WiUiams, ToUand, Conn. Order and Harmony in the Churches of [ Christ, agreeable to God's Will. | 556 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Illustrated in a | Sermon, | delivered in Tolland, | on the | Public Fast, I April 17tli, 1793. [1 Cor. xiv. 38.] Hartford : . . Hudson and Goodwin, 1793. 8°, pp. 31. — Ath. C. Ct. L. U. [Strictures on the above sermon were published by George Roberts, Presiding Elder of the Methodist Church. See Brinley Cat. No. 6269.] 264. — 1793, Sept. 20. — John Mitchell Mason, New York, N. Y. A I Sermon, | preached September 20th, 1793 ; | a day set apart, | in the I City of New- York, | for Public Fasting, Humiliation | and j Prayer, | on account of a | Malignant and Mortal Fever | prevailing in the I City of Philadelphia. [Hab. ii. 3.] New York : . . Samuel Loudon & Son, 1793. 8°, pp. 64. — An. Ath. C. L. 265.-1793, Nov. 7. — Joseph Lyman, Hatfield, Mass. The Ad- ministrations of Providence full of | .Goodness and Mercy. | A | Ser- mon, I delivered at Hatfield, | November 7th, A. D. 1793. | Being the day of I Public Thanksgiving. [Psa. cxxxix, 17, 18.] Northampton : .. WiUiam Butler, 1794. 8°, pp. 22. — Ath. C. Ct. M. U. 266. — 1793, Nov. 7. — Samuel Spring, Newburyport, Mass. A | Discourse, | delivered at the | North Church in Newburyport, | No- vember 7th, 1793, I being the day appointed for a | General Thanks- giving, I by the authority of \. Massachusetts. Newburyport : . . . . John Mycall, 1794. 8°, pp. 40. — C. 267. — 1793, Dec. 12. — Thomas Dunn, Philadelphia, Pa. E<iuality of Rich and Poor : | A | Sermon, | preached in the | Prison of Phila- delphia, I on Thursday, December 12th, 1793. | Being the day ap- pointed for humiliation and | thanksgiving, on the ceasing of the | late epidemical fever. [Prov. xxii. 2.] Philadelphia: . . Thomas Dobson, . . . 1793. 8% pp. 24. — An. 268.— 1793, Dec. 12. —William Smith, Philadelphia, Pa. [A Sermon] Preached, December 12, 1793, | Appointed as a | Day of General Humiliation, Thanksgiving | and Prayer, | for | Our Deliv- erance from the Rage of the | Grievous Calamity, | commonly called | the Yellow Fever. [Psa. Ixxviii. 34-50.] Philadelphia: . . Hugh MaxweU and William Fry, 1803. 8°. Works, i. 76-104. 269. — 1794, Apr. 17. —Joseph Roby, [Saugus] Lynn, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered at Lynn, | on the | General Fast, | April 17, 1794. [Psa. cxix. 121.] Portland : . . Thomas Baker Wait, n. d. 8°,pp. 31. — An. H. M. 270. — 1794, May 22. — Ezra Weld, Braintree, Mass. A | Sermon, | on I Christian Union; | delivered in Wrentham, May 22, 1794, | at a I Public Fast, | appointed by the Church and Pastor, | on account of their Ecclesiastical Difficulties ; | and printed by their mutual desire. [1 Cor. i. 13.] Boston : . . E. W. Weld and W. Greenough, 1794. 8°,pp. iv, 5-30.— An. Ath. C. Ct. H. N. H. Y. 271. — 1794, Nov. 20. — John Eliot, Boston, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered | on the day | of | Annual Thanksgiving, | November 20, BIBLIOGRAPHY. 557 1794. [Psa. xcvii. 1.] Printed by Samuel Hall, . . Boston, 1794. 8°, pp. 26. — An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. L. M. U. Y. 272. — 1794, Nov. 20. — John Lathrop, Boston, Mass. Extracts from his thanksgiving sermon in the Boston Independent Chronicle, Nov. 24, 1794. 273. — 1794, Nov. 20. — John Mellen, Barnstable, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered at | Barnstable, | East Precinct, | on the Annual Thanksgiving, | November 20, 1794. [Psa. Ixxvii. 10-12.] Boston : .. Samuel Hall, ... 1794. 8°, pp. 21. —An. Ath. C. M. 274.-1794, Nov. 20. — David Osgood, Medford, Mass. The Wonderful Works of God | are to be remembered. | A | Sermon, | delivered | on the day | of | Annual Thanksgiving, | November 20, 1794. [Psa. cxi. 4.] * (1) . . Samuel Hall, . . . Boston, 1794. 8°, pp. 29. — An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. H. (2) Same. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. Y. (3) Same. 1795. 8°, pp. 29. — An. Ath. H. L. M. U. Y. (4) . . Blunt & March, . . . Newburyport, 1795. 8°, pp.24. — An. L. (5) Albany: . . Charles R. and George Webster, . . . 1795. 8°, pp. 24. — An. (6) . . . Stockbridge : By Loring Andrews, 1795. 8°, pp. 30. — C. Ct. L. 275. — 1794, Nov. 20. — Samuel Stillman, Boston, Mass. Thoughts on the French Revolution. | A | Sermon, | delivered | November 20, 1794 : I being | the day of | Annual Thanksgiving. [Matt. xxiv. 6-8.] Boston : . . Manning & Loring, 1795. 8°, pp. 27. — An. Ath. L. M. U. Y. 276. — 1794, Nov. 20. — Thomas Gushing Thacher, Lynn, Mass. A I Sermon, | preached at | Lynn, | November 20th, 1794 : | being the day appointed | for the | Annual Thanksgiving. [Psa. Ixv. 11.] Boston: . . Thomas HaU, 1794. 8°, pp. 24.— An. Ath. C. M. 277. — 1794, Nov. 27. — Henry Channing, New London, Conn. The Consideration of divine Goodness an argument | for religious gratitude and obedience. | A | Sermon, | delivered at New-London, | Nov. 27, 1794. I Being the day appointed by Authority, | for Public Thanksgiving I in the State of Connecticut. [1 Sam. xii. 24.] New Loudon: . . Samuel Green, 1794. 8°, pp. 24. — Ath. C. Ct. L. U. Y. 278. — 1794, Nov. 27. — Amzi Lewis, North Stamford, Conn. The Duty of Praising God for | His Mercy and Judgment. | A | Sermon, | delivered (for substance) at | North Stamford, | November 27, 1794, | being a day of | Public Thanksgiving. . . . [Psa. ci. 1.] Danbury : . . N. Douglas, 1795. 8°, pp. 30. — Ct. U. 279. — 1795, Jan. 6. — Samuel Stanhope Smith, [Coll. of N. J.] Princeton, N. J. A | Discourse | on the | Nature and Reasonableness of Fasting, | and on | the existing Causes that call us to that Duty. | Delivered at Princeton, on Tuesday the 6th January, 1795. | Being the Day appointed | by the | Synod of New-York and New-Jersey, 558 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. to be observed as a General Fast, | by all the Churches of their Com- munion in those | Stages ; and now published | in compliance with the request | of the | Students of Theology and Law in Princeton. [Joel ii. 12, 13.] Philadelphia: . . WilUam Young, . . . 1795. 8°, pp. 31. — Ath. C. H. L. Y. 280. — 1795, Feb. 19. —John Andrews, Newburyport, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered February 19, 1795, | being a day | of | Public Thanksgiving, | throughout the | United States of America. [Prov. xvi. 7.] Printed at Newburyport by Blunt & March, n. d. 8°, pp. 22. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. M. U. Y. 281. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Thomas Baldwin, Boston, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I February 19, 1795 : | being | the day of | Public Thanksgiv- ing I throughout the United States. [Psa. xxxiii. 12.] Boston : . . Manning & Loring, 1795. 8°, pp. 24. — An. Ath. C. H. L. M. Y. 282. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Thomas Barnard, Salem, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered | on the day | of | National Thanksgiving, | February 19, 1795. [Isa. v. 3-7.] Printed by Thomas C. Cushing, . . . Salem, 1795. 8°, pp. 25. — An. Ath. C. H. L. M. Y. 283.-1795, Feb. 19.— John Bracken, Williamsburg, Va. The duty of giving thanks for | National Blessings. | A | Sermon, | preached in | the Parish Church of Bruton, | Williamsburg ; | on Thursday February 19th, 1795. [Psa. cvii. 1, 2.] Richmond: . . Thomas Nicolson, 1795. 8°, pp. 26. — M. 284. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Ebenezer Bradford, Rowley, Mass. The Nature and Manner of giving | Thanks to God, Illustrated. | A | Ser- mon, I delivered | on the day | of the | National Thanksgiving | Feb- ruary 19, 1795. [Eph. V. 20.] Boston: From the Chronicle-Press, by Adams & Larkin, 1795. 8°, pp. 23. —An. Ath. H. L. M. 285. — 1795, Feb. 19.— Pitt Clark, Norton, Mass. On the Rise and signalized Lot of the | United Americans. | A | Sermon, | de- livered, February 19, M,DCC,XCV, | on occasion of a Thanksgiving throughout the | United States, | to the | Congregational Society, | in I Norton. [1 Sam. vii. 12.] Boston : . . Samuel Hall, . . . 1795. 8°, pp. 30. — An. C. H. L. M. 286. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Joseph Dana, Ipswich, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered February 19, 1795, | being a day | of | General Thanksgiving, | throughout the | United States of America. [Deut. xxxiii. 29.] Newburyport: . . Blunt and March, . . . 1795. 8°, pp. 26. — An. Ath. C. H. L. U. Y. 287.-1795, Feb. 19. — Samuel Deane, [Falmouth] Portland, Me. A I Sermon, | preached | February 19th, 1795. | Being a day of | National Thanksgiving, | appointed by | the President | of the | United States. [Psa. 1. 14.] Portland : . . Thomas B. Wait, 1795. 8°, pp. 20. An. Ath. Bo. M. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 559 288. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Thaddeus Fiske, Cambridge, Mass. Thanksgiving and Prayer for Public | Rulers, | recommended in a | Discourse, | delivered at the | Second Parish, in Cambridge, | Febru- ary 19, 1795, I being the day of National Thanks- | giving in the United States. [1 Tim. ii. 1, 2.] Printed at Boston, 1795. 8°, pp. 20. — An. Ath. C. M. Y. 289. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Levi Frisbie, Ipswich, Mass. A | Sermon | delivered February 19, 1795, | the day | of | Public Thanksgiving | through the | United States. | Recommended by the President. [Psa. c. 3, 4.] Newburyport : . . Blunt and March, n. d. 8°, pp. 28. — An. Ath. U. Y. 290.— 1795, Feb. 19. — Ashbel Green, Philadelphia, Pa. A| Sermon, | delivered in the | Second Presbyterian Church in the City of I Philadelphia, | on the 19th of February, 1795, | being the day of General Thanksgiving | throughout the United States. [Psa. evii. 21, 22.] Philadelphia: . . John Fenno, . . . 1795. 8°, pp. 48.— An. Ath. L. M. Y. 291. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Abiel Holmes, Cambridge, Mass. A | Sermon, | on the | Freedom and Happiness | of | America ; | preached at Cambridge, | February 19, 1795, | the day appointed | by the |- President of the United States | for a | National Thanksgiving. [Deut. xxxiii. 29.] Printed by Samuel Hall, . . . Boston, 1795. 8°, pp. 31. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. 292.-1795, Feb. 19. — Samuel Kendal, Weston, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered | on the day | of | National Thanksgiving, | Feb- ruary 19, 1795. [Psa. cxliv. 15.] Printed by Samuel Hall, . . . Boston, 1795. 8°, pp. 31. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. M. Y. 293. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Joseph Lathrop, West Springfield, Mass. National Happiness, | illustrated in a | Sermon, | delivered at | West- Springfield, I on the nineteenth of February, 1795. | Being a day of | General Thanksgiving. [Psa. Ixvii. 1, 2.] Springfield: . . J. W. Hooker and F. Stebbins, 1795. 8°, pp. 20. —An. Ct. U. Y. 294. — 1795, Feb. 19. — James Madison, Williamsburg, Va. Man- ifestations I of the I Beneficence of Divine | Providence | towards America. | A | Discourse, | delivered on Thursday the 19th of Feb- ruary, 1795, I being the day recommended by the Presi- | dent of the United States, for gene- | ral Thanksgiving and Prayer. [1 Sam. xii. 24.] Richmond: . . Thomas Nicolson, 1795. 8°, pp. 23. — M. 295. — 1795, Feb. 19. — John Mitchell Mason, New York, N. Y. Mercy Remembered in Wrath. | A | Sermon, | the substance of which was preached on | the 19th of February, 1795, | observed throughout the United | States, | as a day | of Thanksgiving and Prayer. [Psa. ciii. 10.] New York: . . J. Buel, 1795. 8°, pp. 33. — Ath. C Ct. L. Y. 296. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Samuel Eusebius McCorkle, Salisbury, 560 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. N. C. A I Sermon, | on the | Comparative Happiness and Duty | of the I United States of America, | Contrasted with other Nations, par- ticularly the I Israelites. | Delivered in Salisbury, on Wednesday, Fe- I bruary 18th ; and a't Thyatira, on Thurs- | day, February 19th, 1795 : being the day of | General Thanksgiving- and Prayer, ap- point- | ed by the President of the United States. [Deut. iv. 32.] Hali- fax: . . Abraham Hodge, 1795. 8°, pp. 43. — Ath. 297. — 1795, Feb. 19. —John McKnight, New York, N. Y. The Divine Goodness | to the | United States of America, | particularly in the course of the last year. | A | Thanksgiving Sermon, | preached in New- York, February 19, 1795. [Psa. Ixv. 11.] New-York: . . Thomas Greenleaf, 1795. 8°, pp. 28 (3). — An. C. Ct. L. U. 298.— 1795, Feb. 19. —John Mellen, Hanover, Mass. The | Great and Happy Doctrine | of | Liberty. | A | Discourse, | deliv- ered I at Hanover, | Commonwealth of Massachusetts, | February 19, 1795. I On the day | of | Public Thanksgiving and Prayer, | appointed by I the President, | to be observed throughout all | the United States of America, [John viii. 36.] Boston: . . Samuel Hall, 1795. 8°, pp. 34. — An. Ath. C. H. L. M. Y. 299.— 1795, Feb. 19. — Jedidiah Morse, Charlestown, Mass. The present Situation of other Nations of | the World, | contrasted with our own. | A | Sermon, | delivered | at Charlestown, | in the i Com- monwealth of Massachusetts, | February 19, 1795 ; | being the day recommended by | George Washington, | President of the United States of America, | for Publick Thanksgiving | and | Prayer. [Deut. iv. 6, 8, 9.] Printed by Samuel Hall, . . . Boston, 1795. 8°, pp. 37. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. M. U. 300.-1795, Feb. 19. —John Murray, Boston, Mass. The | Sub- stance I of a I Thanksgiving Sermon, | delivered at the Universalist Meeting-house, | in Boston, February 19, 1795. [Psa. Ixix. 5.] Boston : . . . . John W. Folsom, . . . 1795. 8°, pp. 32. — An. Ath. C. M. 301. — 1795, Feb. 19. — David Osgood, Medford, Mass. A | Dis- course, I delivered | February 19, 1795 : | the day set apart by the | President, | for a | General Thanksgiving ] through the United States. [Psa. cxlvii.20.] (1) Boston: . . Samuel Hall, 1795. 8°, pp. 30.— An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. H. L. M. Y. (2) Litchfield (Connect- icut) Re-Printed by Collier and Buel, n. d. 12°, pp. 24. — Ct. Y. 302. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Hezekiah Packard, Chelmsford, Mass. The plea of patriotism. | A | Sermon, | preached in | Chelmsford, | on the day of | General Thanksgiving, | February 19, 1795. [2 Chron. XX. 30.] Boston: . . William Greenough, . . . 1795. 8°, pp. 24. — An. Ath. C. H. Y. 303. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Ezra Sampson, Plympton, Mass. A | Discourse | delivered | February 19, 1795 ; | being | the day of | Na- BIBLIOGRAPHY. 561 tional Thanksg-iving. [Deut. xxxii. 7-12.] Boston : . . . . Samuel Hall. n. d. 8°, pp. 21. — An. C. L. M. 304. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Samuel Stanhope Smith, [Coll. of N. J.] Princeton, N. J. The Divine Goodness | to the | United States of America. | A | Discourse, | on the | Subjects of National Gratitude, | delivered in the Third Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, | on Thursday the 19th of February, 1795, | recommended by the Presi- dent of the United States, | to be observed throughout the Union as a day of I General Thanksgiving and Prayer. | . . . [Psa. cvii. 21.] (1) Philadelphia : . . WiUiam Young, . . . 1795. 8°, pp. 38 (2). — Ath. Ct. L. U. Y. (2) Same. — L. [There were two impressions of the second edition with a slight difference on the title-page.] 305. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Isaac Story, Marblehead, Mass. A| Sermon, | preached February 19, 1795, | (From Ecclesiastes ix. 18.) | Being the | Federal Thanksgiving, | appointed by our beloved Presi- dent, the Illus- I trious George Washington, Esq. . . Thomas C. Cush- ing, . . . Salem, 1795. 8°, pp. 29. [With a sermon preached Feb. 15, and paged continuously.] — An. Ath. C. H. L. M. Y. 306. — 1795, Feb. 19. — David Tappan, [Har. Coll.] Cambridge, Mass. Christian Thankfulness | Explained and Enforced. | A | Ser- mon, I delivered | at Charlestown, | in the afternoon of February 19, 1795. I The day | of | General Thanksgiving | through the United States. [Col. iii. 15.] Boston : . . Samuel Hall, 1795. 8°, pp. 40. —An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. M. Y. 307. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Thomas Thacher, Dedhara, Mass. A| Discourse, | delivered at the Third Parish | in | Dedham, | 19th Feb- ruary, 1795. I Being the day recommended | by the | President | of the United States, | for | Publick Thanksgiving. [Josh. xxiv. 17.] Boston : . . Thomas Fleet, jun., 1795. 8°, pp. 24. — An. M. 308.-1795, Feb. 19. —John Tyler, Norwich, Conn. The | Blessing of Peace ; | A | Sermon | preached at Norwich, | on the | Continental Thanksgiving, | February 19, 1795. [Psa. xxix. 11.] Norwich : . . John Trumbull, 1795. 8°, pp. 20. — C. Ct. M. 309. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Benjamin Wads worth, Danvers, Mass. America invoked to praise the Lord. | A | Discourse | delivered | on the day | of | Public Thanksgiving | through the | United States of America, | February 19, 1795. [Psa. cvii. 31.] . . . Salem : by Thomas C. Cushing, 1795. 8°, pp. 31. — An. Ath. C. H. L. M. 310. — 1795, Feb. 19. — Henry Ware, Hingham, Mass. The Contin- uance of Peace and increasing | Prosperity a Source of Consolation | and just Cause of Gratitude to the | Inhabitants of the United States. | A I Sermon, | delivered February 19, 1795 ; | being a day set apart | by I the President, | for | Thanksgiving and Prayer | through the | United States. [Psa. cxlvii. 12-14.] . . Samuel Hall, . . . Boston, 1795. 8°, pp. 31. An. C. H. L. M. U. Y. 562 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 311.— 1795, Feb. 19.— Samuel West, Boston, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered upon the late | National Thanksgiving, | February 19th, 1795. [Dan. ii. 20, 21.] Boston : . . Samuel Etheridge, . . . 1795. 8°, pp. 20.— An. Ath. H. L. M. U. Y. 312. — 1795, Feb. 19. — William White, Philadelphia, Pa. A | Sermon, | on the | Reciprocal Influence | of | Civil Policy | and | Re- ligious Duty. I Delivered in | Christ Church, in the City of Phila- delphia, I on Thursday, the 19th of February, 1795, | being a day of General Thanksgiving. [Dent, xxxiii. 27.] Philadelphia: . . Ormrod & Conrad, . . . 1795. 8°, pp. 36. — An. Ath. C. L. 313. — 1795, Apr. 2. — Ebenezer Bradford, Rowley, Mass. The Nature of Humiliation, Fast- | ing and Prayer explained. | A | Ser- mon, I delivered on the | day of | Public Humiliation and Prayer | in the I Commonwealth of Massachusetts, | April 2, 1795 : | with an | Appendix, | in Answer to | Dr. Tappan's remarks on his Thanks- | giving Sermon, dated February 19, 1795. [Ezra viii. 23.] Boston : . . Adams & Larkin, 1795. 8°, pp. 40. — An. Ath. C. H. L. 314. — 1795, Apr. 2. — Nathaniel Thayer, Lancaster, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered | on the day of | Fasting, Humiliation & Prayer ; | April 2, 1795. [Isa. Iviii. 1.] Boston : . . Joseph Belknap, . . . 1795. 8°, pp. 20. — An. Ath. H. Y. 315. — 1795, Nov. 12. — Thomas Worcester, Salisbury, N. H. A | Thanksgiving | Sermon, | delivered | November 12, 1795. [Psa. Ixv. 11.] Newburyport: . . John Mycall, 1796. 8% pp. 31. — An. L. 316. — 1795, Nov. 19. — Francis Gardner, Leominster, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered | on the day | of | Annual Thanksgiving, | No- vember 19, 1795. [Psa. Ixv. 11.] Leominster: . . Charles Prentiss, 1796. 8%pp. 23. — An. Atk. 317. — 1795, Nov. 19. — Eliphalet Gillet, Hallowell, Me. A | Ser- mon, I preached at | Hallowell, | on the day of the | Anniversary Thanksgiving | in the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts, | November 19, 1795. [Psa. xvi. 6.] Printed at Hallowell, Hook, by Wait and Baker, n. d. 8°, pp. 22. — C. U. 318.-1795, Nov. 19. — David Osgood, Medford, Mass. A | Dis- course, I delivered | on the day | of | Annual Thanksgiving, | Novem- ber 19, 1795. [Gen. viii. 22.] . . Samuel Hall, . . . Boston, 1795. 8%pp. 32. — An. Ath. C. H. L. M. 319. — 1795, Nov. 19. — Jonathan Strong, Randolph, Mass. A | Sermon | delivered | on the day of | Annual Thanksgiving, | Novem- ber 19, 1795. [Deut. xxxii. 15.] Boston: . . Young and Minns, n. d. 8°, pp. 27.— An. Ath. L. Y. 320. — 1795, Nov. 26. — WiUiam Linn, New York, N. Y. A | Dis- course, I delivered on the 26th of November, 1795 ; | being the day recommended by the Governor of | the State of New- York to be ob- served as a day of | Thanksgiving and Prayer, | on account of the BIBLIOGRAPHY, 563 removal of an | Epidemic Fever, | and for other | National Blessings. [Psa. cxvii.] New York : . . T. & J. Swords, . . . 1795. 8°, pp. 38. — An. Ath. Ct. L. M. Y. 321. — 1795, Dee. 24. — Walter King, Norwich, Conn. The Obli- gations of a Grateful Peoj^le to | Speak the Praises of God for His | Abundant Goodness ; | illustrated | in a | Sermon, | delivered at Chel- sea, in Norwich, | December 24th 1795. | Being the day of Public | Thanksgiving, | and | Dedication | of a | House of Worship, | lately- built in that place. [Psa. cxlv. 7.] Norwich: . . Thomas Hub- bard, 1796. 8°, pp. 26. — Ct. L. U. 322. — 1795, Dec. 31. — Bethuel Dodd, Whitestown, N. Y. The Singular Goodness of God | to America : | a | Thanksgiving Sermon ; | delivered at Whitestown, December | thirty-first, :M,DCC,XCV. [Psa. cxlvii. 20.] Whitestown : . . OHver P. Easton, 1796. 12°, pp. 22. — L. 323. — 1796, Mar. 2. —Joseph Buckminster, Portsmouth, N. H. Remarks upon Paul's and Barnabas's | dispute and separation. | A | Discourse | delivered in | the Congregational Church & Society in | Hampton, | March 2d, 1796. | A day devoted by them to Fasting | and Prayer. [Acts xv. 39, 40.] Portsmouth : . . John Melcher, . . . 1796. 8°, pp. 19. — Ct. 324. — 1796, Mar. 31. — Thomas Barnard, Salem, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered at | Salem, | on March 31, 1796, | the day | of | Gen- eral Fasting | through the State of | Massachusetts. [2 Chron. xxviii. 10.] . . . Newburyport, by Blimt and March, . . . n. d. 8°, pp. 20. — An. Ath. Bo. Ct. H. L. U. Y. 325.-1796, Nov. 17. — Zephaniah Swift Moore, Peterboro, N. H. A I Thanksgiving Sermon, | delivered | at Peterborough, in New Hampshire, | November 17, 1796. [Psa. cxlvii. 20.] Keene: New Hampshire. . . C. Sturtevant, Jun. &> Co., 1797. 12°, pp. 36. — C. Ct. 326. — 1796, Nov. 17. — John Smith, Salem, N. H. A | Sermon, | preached in Salem, | on the | Anniversary Thanksgiving, | November 17, 1796. . . . [Psa. cxxxvi. 26.] Amherst : . . . . Samuel Preston, 1797. 8°,pp. 32. — An. C. N. H. 327. — 1796, Dec. 15. — Samuel Austin, Worcester, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered at | Worcester, | on the | day of Public Thanks- giving, I observed throughout the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts, | December 15th, MDCCXCVI. [Judg. iii. 9-11.] Worcester: . . Leonard Worcester, 1797. 8°, pp. 24. — An. Ath. Bo. C. H. M. U. Y. 328.— 1796, Dec. 15.— Thomas Barnard, Salem, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered | on the day | of | Annual Thanksgiving, | December 15, 1786. [2 Sam. vii. 18.] Printed by Thomas C. Gushing : . . . Salem, n.d. 8°, pp. 22. — An. C. Ct. H. U. Y. 564 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 329. — 1796, Dec. 15. — Henry Cumings, Billerica, Mass. A | Sermon | preached at | Billerica, | December 15, 1796, | being the day- appointed I by Authority, | to be observed throughout the | Common- wealth of Massachusetts, | as a day of | Public Praise | and | Thanks- giving. [Psa. cxliv. 15.] . . Thomas Fleet, jun., . . . Boston, 1797. 8°,pp. 35. — An. Ath. C. H. L. M. Y. 330. — 1796, Dec. 15. — Nathaniel Emmons, Franklin, Mass. Na- tional Peace the Source of | National Prosperity. | A Sermon, | delivered at | Franklin, | on the | day of Annual Thanksgiving, | De- cember 15th, MDCCXCVI. [1 King's iv. 25.] (1) . . Worcester, By Leonard Worcester, 1797. 8°, pp. 23. — An. Ath. C. H. L. U. (2) Reprinted in Works, 1842. 331. — 1796, Dec. 15. — James Freeman, Boston, Mass. A | Ser- mon I for I December 15, 1796; | the day of | Public Thanksgiving. [1 Thess. V. 13, 14.] [Published Anonymously.] Boston : William Spotswood, 1796. 8% pp. 21. —H. L. Y. 332. — 1796, Dec. 15. — Alvan Hyde, Lee, Mass. A | Sermon | delivered at Lee, | December 15th, 1796, | being the day appointed by Authori- | ty for a | Public Thanksgiving. [Judg. viii. 34, 35.] Stockbridge: . . Rosseter & WiUard, April, 1797. 8°, pp. 24.— An. Ct. M. 333. — 1796, Dec. 15. — Benjamin Wadsworth, Danvers, Mass. Social Thanksgiving a Pleasant Duty. | A | Sermon, | preached | on the day | of | Annual Thanksgiving | through the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts, | December 15, 1796. [Psa. cxxxvi. 1.] . . Salem, By Thomas C. Cushing, 1795. 8°, pp. 38. —An. Ath. N. H. 334. — 1797, May 4. — Joseph Lathrop, West Springfield, Mass. God's I Challenge to Infidels | to Defend their Cause, | illustrated and applied in a | Sermon, | delivered in West-Springfield, | May 4, 1797. I Being the day of | General Fast. [Isa. xli. 21.] (1) West Springfield: . . Edward Gray, n. d. 12°, pp. 36. — An. Ath. C. Ct. U. (2) Same, 1803. 8°. — Ath. ^(3) Cambridge: . . . Univer- sity Press, . . William HiUiard, 1803* 8°, pp. 28. — An. Bo. H. M. (4) Same, 1805. 8°, pp. 24. — Ath. C. L. U. 335. — 1797, Nov. 16. — Nathan Strong, Hartford, Conn. A | Ser- mon, I preached at the Annual | Thanksgiving, | November 16th, 1797. [Psa. cvii. 8.] Hartford: . . Hudson & Goodwin, 1797. 8°, pp. 16. — Ath. C. Ct. L. U. Y. 336.-1798, Apr. 5. — David Tappan, [Har. Coll.] Cambridge, Mass. A I Discourse, | delivered to the Religious Society | in | Brattle-Street, Boston, | and | to the Christian Congregation | in | Charlestown, | on April 5, 1798. | Being the day of the Annual Fast I in the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts. [Prov. xiv. 34.] Boston: . . Samuel Hall, . . . 1798. 8°, pp. 31.— An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. BIBLIOGRAPHY, 565 337.— 1798, Apr. 6. — Nathan Strong-, Hartford, Conn. A | Ser- mon, I preached on the | State Fast, | April 6th, 1798. [Isa. xxvi. 21.] Hartford :.. Hudson & Goodwin, 1798. 8°, pp. 20. — C. Ct. M. U. Y. 338. — 1798, May 9. — James Abercrombie, Philadelphia, Pa. A I Sermon, | preached in | Christ Church and St. Peter's, | Phila- delphia : I on Wednesday, May 9th, 1798. | Being the day appointed by the | President, | as a day of | Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, | throughout the | United States of North America. [Joel ii. 15-18.] Philadelphia : . . John Ormrod, . . . 1798. 8°, pp. 38. — An. Ath. H. L. M. 339. — 1798, May 9. — Samuel Andrews, St. Andrews, N. B. The true Means to avert National | Judgments. | A | Sermon | upon the | Solemn Fast ordered through the | States of America, | May 9th, 1798. I Delivered | at the house of John Brewer, Esq., | in Robins- town, upon the river Schodick, | at his, and the desire of others of its inhabitants. Citizens of the | United States. . . . [Ecc. vii. 4.] Printed at Boston, 1798. 8°, pp. 22. — B. Ct. 340. — 1798, May 9. —Jeremy Belknap, Boston, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered on the 9th of May, 1798, | the day | of the | Na- tional Fast, I recommended | by the President | of the | United States. [Dan. ii. 42, 43.] . . Samuel Hall, . . . Boston, 1798. 8°, pp. 29. — An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. 341. — 1798, May 9.— Samuel Blair, Philadelphia, Pa. A | Dis- course I delivered in | the First Presbyterian Church | of | Phila- delphia, I on Wednesday, May 9th, 1798, | Recommended by the | President of the United States | to be Observed as a Day of | Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer, | throughout the | United States of North America. [Isa. i. 5.] Philadelphia : Published by James Watters, & Co., . . . 1798. 8°, pp. 31. — Hist. Soc. of Penn. 342. — 1798, May 9. — Alden Bradford, Wiscasset, Me. Two | Sermons, | delivered in | Wiscasset, (Pownalborough) | on the 9th of May, 1798, | which | the President of the United States | had pre- viously Appointed to be Religiously | Observed as a day of | Humilia- tion I and I Prayer | throughout the Union. [2 Chron. xx. 1-13.] Wiscasset: . . Henry Hoskins & John W. Scott, 1798. 8°, pp. 20. — An. Ath. Ct. M. 343.-1798, May 9. —Nathaniel Emmons, Franklin, Mass. A | Discourse, | delivered May 9, 1798. | Being the day of Fasting and Prayer | throughout the United States. [2 Sam. xv. 31.] (1) . . Wrentham, Mass., by Nathaniel and Benjamin Heaton, 1798. 8°, pp. 28. — An. Ath. U. Y. (2) Newburyport : . . Angier March, n. d. 8°, pp. 24.— Ath. Bo. C. H. L. (3) Reprinted in Works, 1842. 344. — 1798, May 9. — Ashbel Green, Philadelphia, Pa. Obedi- ence I to the I Law of God, | the Sure and Indispensable ) Defence of £66 FAST AND THANKSGIVING LAYS. Nations. | A Discourse, | delivered in the | Second Presbyterian Church, I in the city of Philadelphia, | May 9th, 1798. [2 Chron. XV. 2.] Philadelphia: . . John Ormrod, . . . n. d. 8°, pp. 51. — An. C. L. M. 345. — 1798, May 9. — Thaddeus Mason Harris, Dorchester, Mass. A I Sermon | preached in | Milton | on the morning, and at | Dor- ' Chester | in the afternoon of the 9th of May, 1798 ; | being the day | recommended by the President of | the United States for | solemn Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer | throughout the Union. [2 Kings xix. 14.] Boston: . . Samuel Etheridge, . . . 1798. 8°, pp. 24. — An. Ath. Bo. C. H. L. M. Y. 346. — 1798, May 9.— John Thornton Kirkland, Boston, Mass. A I Sermon, | delivered on the 9th of May, 1798. | Being the day of a I National Fast, | recommended by the | President of the United States. [Isa. xxvi. 9.] Boston: . . John Russell, . . . 1798. 8°, pp. 23. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. M. U. 347. — 1798, May 9. — William Linn, New York, N. Y. A | Dis- course I on I National Sins : | delivered May 9, 1798 : | being the day recommended by the President | of the United States to be observed | as a day of | General Fast. [Josh. vii. 13.] New York : . . T. & J. Swords, . . . 1798. 8°, pp. vi, 7-37. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. U. Y. 348. — 1798, [May 9]. — Samuel Eusebius McCorkle, Salisbury, N. C. " The work of God for the French Republic, and then her reformation or ruin ; or the novel and useful experiment of national Deism, to us and all mankind." A national Fast Sermon. — Sprague's Annals, iii. 348. 349.-1798, May 9. — Joseph McKeen, Beverly, Mass. Two | Discourses, | delivered at | Beverly, | on the day of the | National Fast, I May 9, 1798. [1 Chron. xxviii. 8.] Salem : . . Thomas C. Cushing, 1798. 8°, pp. 31. — An. Ath. C. H. L. U. Y. 350. — 1798, May 9. — Samuel Miller, New York, N. Y. A | Ser- mon, I delivered May 9, 1798, | recommended, by the President of the J United States, | to be observed | as a day of general | Humilia- tion, Fasting, and Prayer. [2 Tim. iii. 1.] New York : . f T. and J. Swords, 1798. 8<^, pp. 46. — An. Ath, C. Ct. H. L. M. U. 351. — 1798, May 9. — Jedidiah Morse, Charlestown, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered at the New North Church in Boston, | in the morning, | and | in the afternoon at Charlestown, | May 9th, 1798, | being the day recommended by | John Adams, | President of the United States of America, | for | solemn Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer. [2 Kings xix. 3, 4.] Boston: . . Samuel Hall, . . 1798. 8°, pp. 30. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. 352. — 1798, May 9. — David Osgood, Medford, Mass. Some Facts evincive of the atheistical, anarchical, | and m other respects, immoral BIBLIOGRAPHY. 567 Principles of the | French Republicans, | stated in a ! Sermon | de- livered on the 9th of May, 1798, | the day | recommended | by the President | of the | United States | for | Solemn Humiliation, Fast- ing, I and Prayer. [2 Kings xix. 14-16.] Printed by Samuel Hall, . . . Boston, 1798. 8°, pp. 27. — An. Ath. Bo. C. H. L. M. U. Y. 353. — 1798, May 9. — Eliphalet Porter, Roxbury, Mass. A | Dis- course, I delivered at Brookline, in the morning, | and at the | First Parish in Roxbury, in the afternoon, | of the 9th of May, 1798, | being the day recommended by | John Adams, | President of the United States, I for solemn Humiliation, Fasting & Prayer, | throughout the Union. [Neh. vi. 16.] Boston : . . John Russell, . . . 1798. 8°, pp. 36. — An. Ath. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. 354. — 1798, May 9. — John Prince, Salem, Mass. A | Discourse, | delivered at | Salem, | on the day of the | National Fast, | May 9, 1798: I appointed by | President Adams, | on account of the difficulties subsisting between the | United States and France. [1 Tim. ii. 1-3.] (1) . . Thomas C. Gushing, . . . Salem, 1798. 8°, pp. 44. — An. H. L. Y. (2) . . Thomas C. Cushing, . . . Salem, 1798. 8°, pp. (4) 30. — An. Ath. C. H. M. (3) Boston: . . . 1798. 8°, pp. 30.— H. M. 355.-1798, May 9. — Gershom Seixas, New York, N. Y. A | Discourse, | delivered | in the Synagogue | in | New- York, | on | the Ninth of May, 1798, | observed as a day | of | Humiliation, &c. &c. | Conformably to a Recommendation | of | the President of the United States of I America. [Psa. cxxxiii.] New York: . . William A. Davis & Co., . . . 1798. 8% pp. 32. — C. 356. — 1798, May 9. — John Thayer [Catholic Missioner] Boston, Mass. A I Discourse, | delivered, | at the Roman Catholic Church | in Boston, | on the 9th of May, 1798, | a day recommended by the | President, | for | Humiliation and Prayer | throughout the | United States. [1 Thess. v. 17, 18.] Boston: . . Samuel Hall, . . . 1798. 8°, pp. 31. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. Y. 357.-1798, May 9. — John Wilder, Attleborough, Mass. A | Discourse, | delivered May 9, 1798, | on the importance of Special | . Humiliation. [Joel ii. 15-17.] . . Wrentham, Mass., by Nathaniel and Benjamin Heaton, 1798. 8°, pp. 27. — C. 358. — 1798, [Aug. 30]. — Jonathan P'reeman, Bridgeton, N. J. " He published a Sermon on the day appointed by the General As- sembly as a day of Solemn Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer, 1798." — Sprague's Annals, iv. 394. 359. — 1798, Nov. 15 and 29. — Abiel Abbot, Haverhill, Mass. A Memorial of Divine Benefits. | In a | Sermon, | delivered at Exeter, on the 15th, | and at | Haverhill, on the 29th of November, | 1798, | days of | Public Thanksgiving, | in | New-Hampshire and Massachu- setts. [Psa. ciii. 2.] . . Haverhill : By Moore & Stebbins, . . . 1798. 8°, pp. 26. — Ath. C. L. U. 568 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 360. — 1798, Nov. 15. —Joseph Buckminster, Portsmouth, N. H. A I Discourse, | delivered in | the first parish in Portsmouth, | Novem- ber 15, 1798, I a day observed | as an | Anniversary Thanksgiving. [Psa. xlviii. 9.] Portsmouth, N. H., . . John Melcher, 1798. 8°, pp. 21. — An. C. Ct. H. L. M. 361. — 1798, Nov. 15.— Abel Fiske, Wilton, N.H. A | Discourse, | delivered at | Wilton, | November 15, 1798 ; | being the day of the j Anniversary Thanksgiving | throughout the | State of New Hamp- shire. [Psa. cxlix. 8.] [Two other sermons added.] Amherst, N. H., .... Samuel Preston, 1799. 8% pp. 44 (1-24). — An. H. N. H. 362. — 1798, Nov. 15.— Robert Gray, Dover, N.H. A | Discourse | delivered in | Dover, | November 15th, 1798. | A | day observed | as an | Anniversary | Thanksgiving. [Psa. cxlviii. 1-4.] Dover; . . Samuel Bragg, Jun. ... 8°, pp. (2) 21. — C. H. 363. — 1798, Nov. 15. — Asa McFarland, Concord, N. H. A | Sermon, | delivered at | Concord, | New-Hampshire, | on the | day of Annual Thanksgiving, | November 15, 1798. [Psa. cxlvii. 30.] Con- cord : . . George Hough, n. d. 8°, pp. 24. — C. N. H. 364. — 1798, Nov. 29.— John AUyn, Duxbury, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered on the 29th of November, 1798, | the day | of | Public Thanksgiving | in the | State of Massachusetts. [Rom. ii. 4.] Bos- ton: . . Samuel Hall, . . . 1799. 8°, pp. 21. — H. L. M. 365. — 1798, Nov. 29. — Samuel Camp, Ridgbury, Conn. Thanks- giving and Praise due to God, for his | Wisdom, Power, and Goodness, displayed | in the late and present Dispensations | of his Providence. | A I Discourse | delivered at Ridgbury, | on the day of | Public Thanksgiving: | November 29, 1798. [Psa. cxxxvi. 1.] Printed in Danbury, by Douglas & Nichols, 1799. 8°, pp. 23. — C. Ct. 366. — 1798, Nov. 29. — Henry Cumings, Billerica, Mass. A | Ser- mon I preached at | Billerica, | November 29, 1798, | being the day of the I Anniversary Thanksgiving | throughout the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts. [Job v. 12-16.] Boston : . . John & Thomas Fleet, ...1798. 8°, pp. 31. — An. Ath. C. H. L. M. Y. 367. — 1798, Nov. 29. — Joseph Eckley, Boston, Mass. A | Dis- course, I delivered on the | Public Thanksgiving Day, | November 29, 1798. [Gal. V. 1.] (1) Boston: .... Manning & Loring, 1798. 8^, pp. 23. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. (2) Same. — An. H. Y. 368. — 1798, Nov. 29. — Jonathan French, Andover, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered on the | Anniversary Thanksgiving | November 29, 1798. I With I some additions in the historical part. [Psa. xl. 5.] Andover : . . Ames and Parker, 1799. 8°, pp. 31. — An. Ath. C. H. L. M. Y. 369. — 1798, Nov. 29. — Asa Messer, [Brown Univ.] Providence, R. I. A I Discourse, | delivered on | Thanksgiving-Day, | the 29th of BIBLIOGRAPHY. 569 November, 1798, | at the | Congreg-ational Meeting'-House, | in the | First Precinct in Rehoboth. [Jas. i. 17.] Pro\ddence : . . John Carter, jnn., . . . n. d. 8°, pp. 16. — Andover Theol. iSera. 370. — 1798, Nov. 29. — Jedidiah Morse, Charlestown, Mass. A | Sermon, | preached at Charlestown, | November 29, 1798, | on the | Anniversary Thanksgiving- | in | Massachusetts. | With | an Appen- dix, etc. [Ex. xviii. 8, 9.] [Two documents at the end of the second edition were also printed separately.] (1) . . Samuel Hall, . . . 1798. 8^ pp. 74. — Ath. C. Ct. H. L. M. Y. (2) .. Samuel Hall, ... 1799. 8°, pp. 79. — An. Ath. Ct. H. L. U. Y. (3) Worcester: . . Daniel Greenleaf, 1799. 8°, pp. 88. — L. 371. — 1798, Nov. 29. — Samuel Spring, Newburyport, Mass. A | Thanksgiving | Sermon, | preached November 29, 1798. [Psa. ci. 1.] Newburyport : . . Angier March, . . . 1798. 8°, pp. 26. — C. L. M. Y. 372. — 1798, Nov. 29. — Nathan Strong, Hartford, Conn. Politi- cal Instruction from the Prophecies | of God's Word. | A | Sermon, | preached on the | State Thanksgiving, | Nov. 29, 1798. [Rev. xviii. 4.] (1) Hartford: . . Hudson and Goodwin, 1798. 8°, pp. 30.— Ath. C. Ct. L. Y. (2) Hartford, Printed: New York, Re- printed by G. Forman, for C. Davis, 1799. 8°, pp. 24. — Ct. L. U. Y. 373.-1798, Nov. 29. — John Taylor, Deerfield, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered on the day of | Public Thanksgiving, | at Deerfield ; Nov. 29, '98. [Deut. xi. 12.] . . Greenfield, by Francis Barker, n. d. 4°, pp. 19. — C. Ct. M. Y. 374. — 1798, [Dec. 6]. — Thomas Mason, Princeton, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered at | Middlebury, | Vermont ; | on occasion of the anniversary | Thanksgiving, | 1798. [Rev. xix. 6.] [The govern- ment of God an occasion of joy to mankind.] . . Rutland, Vermont, by John Walker, jun., . . . 1799. 8°, pp. 18. — Ct. L. N. H. 375. — 1799, Feb. 5. — Samuel Miller, New York, N. Y. A | Ser- mon, I delivered February 5, 1799 ; | recommended by the Clergy of the City of | New- York, | to be observed as a day of | Thanksgiving, Humiliation, and Prayer, | on account of the removal of a | Malig- nant and Mortal Disease, | which had prevailed in the city | some time before. [Psa. ii. 11.] New York: . . George Forman, 1799. 8°, pp. 36. — An. Ath. Ct. L. U. Y. 376.-1799, Apr. 2. — Thomas Baldwin, Boston, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I on Tuesday, April 2, 1799 ; | at a | Quarterly Meeting of sev- eral Churches | for | Special Prayer. [Isa. xliii. 12, 13.] Boston : . . Manning & Loring, 1799. 8°, pp. 24. — An. Y. 377. — 1799, Apr. 4. — Levi Frisbie, Ipswich, Mass. The Nature and Effects of the Works of Dark- | ness Detected and Displayed, | in two I Discourses, | delivered at the | First Parish in Ipswich, | April 4, 1799, | on the | Anniversary Fast Day | throughout the State 570 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. of I Massachusetts. [Eph. v. 11.] . . Angier March, Newburyport, 1799. 8°, pp. 23, 53. — Ath. C. Ct. 378. — 1799, Apr. 4. — Leonard Woods, Newbury, Mass. Two | Sermons | on Profane Swearing, | delivered | April 4, 1799 ; | the day appointed by | the Governor of Massachusetts j for Humiliation, Fast- ing and Prayer. [Ex. xx. 7.] Newburyport : . . Angier March, 1799. 8^pp. 39.— An. Ath. C. 379. — 1799, Apr. 4 and 25. — Hezekiah Packard, Chelmsford, Mass. Federal Republicanism, | Displayed | in | Two Discourses, | preached on the day of the State Fast | at Chelmsford, | and on the day of the National Fast at | Concord, | in April, 1799. [Prov. xviii. 17.] Boston: . . John RusseU, 1799. 8°, pp. 35. —An. Ath. C. H. L. Y. 380. — 1799, Apr. 25. —Jacob Burnap, Merrimack, N. H. A | Sermon | delivered at Merrimac, | on the day | of the | National Fast, I April 25, 1799. [1 Kings xviii. 17, 18.] Amherst : Preston's Printing-office, 1799. 8°, pp. 15. —An. H. 381. — 1799, Apr. 25. — Abraham Cummings. The present Times perilous. | A | Sermon, | preached at Sullivan, | on the I National Fast, | April 25, 1799. [2 Tim. iii. 1-9.] Printed for David J. Waters, Castine, n. d. 8°, pp. 24. — An. L. 382. — 1799, Apr. 25. — Maiiasseh Cutler, [Ipswich Hamlet] Ham- ilton, Mass. A I Sermon, | delivered at | Hamilton, | on the day | of the I National Fast, | April 25, 1799 ; | appointed by the | President of the United States of | America. [Jer. ix. 9.] Salem : . . Johna. Gushing, 1799. 8o,pp. 32.— Ath. C. Y. 383. — 1799, Apr. 25. — Daniel Dana, Newburyport, Mass. Two | Sermons, | delivered | April 25, 1799 : | the day recommended by | the President of the United States | for National | Humiliation, Fast- ing and Prayer. [Psa. cvi. 24. Neh. iv. 9.] . . Angier March, New- buryport, 1799. 8°, pp. 29, 56. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. U. Y. 384. — 1799, Apr. 25. — Joseph Dana, Ipswich, Mass. The Duty and Reward of loving our | Country, and seeking it's Prosperity. | A | Discourse | delivered in two parts, | at the | National Fast, | April 25th 1799. [Psa. cxxii. 6.] Boston : . . Manning & Loring, 179-9. 8°, pp. 41. — An. Ath. C. L. M. Y. 385. — 1799, Apr. 25. — Nathaniel Emmons, Franklin, Mass. A | Discourse, | delivered | on the National Fast, | April 25, 1799. [Titus iii. 1.] (1) Wrentham: . . Nathaniel and Benjamin Heaton, 1799. 8°, pp. 31. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. U. Y. (2) Reprinted in Works, 1842. 386.— 1799, Apr. 25. — Eliphalet GiUet, Hallowell, Me. A | Discourse, | delivered at | Hallowell, April 25th, 1799. | Being | the day appointed by the | Chief Magistrate | of the | United States, | for a I National Fast. [Numb. xvi. 14.] (1) Hallowell, 1799. (2) BIBLIOGRAPHY. 571 Hallowell-Printed : New York- Re-Printed for, and Sold by Corne- lius Davis, . . . 1799. 8°, pp. 22. — C. Ct. L. M. U. Y. (3) Augusta, (District of Maine) . . Peter Edes, 1799. 8°, pp. 32.— Ath. 387. — 1799, Apr. 25. — Walter Harris, Dunbarton, N. H. A | Discourse, | delivered at | Dunbarton, | New-Hampshire, | April 25, 1799 : I being- | the day of a | National Fast. [Psa. Ixxxii. 5.] Con- cord : . . Geo. Hough, 1799. 8°, pp. 32. — C. 388. — 1799, Apr. 25. — Abiel Holmes, Cambridge, Mass. A | Sermon | preached at | Brattle-Street Church, in Boston, | and | at Cambridge, | April 25, 1799, | the day appointed | by the | President of the United States | f or a | National Fast. [2 Chron. xxxii. 5-8.] Boston : Printed for Young & Minns, 1799. 8°, pp. 31. — An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. H. L. M. Y. 389. — 1799, Apr. 25. — John Lathrop, Boston, Mass. Patriotism and Religion. | A Sermon, | preached on the 25th of April, | 1799 | the day recommended | by the President of the United States, | to be observed as a | National Fast. [Luke xix. 41, 42.] Boston : . . John Russell, 1799. 8°, pp. 30. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. M. U. Y. 390. — 1799, Apr. 25. — Jedidiah Morse, Charlestown, Mass. A | Sermon, | Exhibiting | the Present Dangers, and Consequent | Duties of the Citizens of the | United States of America. | Delivered at Charlestown, April 25, 1799. | The day of the | National Fast. [Psa. xi. 3.] [Notes on the Illuminati appended.] (1) Charlestown : . . Samuel Etheridge, ... 1799. 8°, pp. 50. — An. Ath. Bo. C. H. L. Y. (2) Hartford : Reprinted by Hudson and Goodwin, 1799. 8°, pp. 42. — Ct. L. Y. (3) New York: .... Cornelius Davis, . . . 1799. 8°, pp. 36.— M. U. 391. — 1799, Apr. 25. — David Osgood, Medford, Mass. The Devil Let Loose, or | The Wo occasioned to the Inhabi- | tants of the Earth by his wrathful Ap-pearance among them, | illustrated in a | Dis- course I delivered on 1 the day | of the | National Fast, | April 25, 1799. [Rev. xii. 12.] [Published Anonymously.] Boston : . . . . Samuel Hall, . . . 1799. 8°, pp. 16.— An. Ath. Ct. L. 392. — 1799, Apr. 25. — Samuel Stillman, Boston, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I preached at Boston. | April 25, 1799 ; | the day recommended by the | President of the United States | for a | National Fast. [Joel ii. 15-17.] Boston : . . Manning & Loring, . . . 1799. 8°, pp. 28. — An. Ath.- C. H. L. M. Y. 393. — 1799, Apr. 25. — Eliab Stone, Reading, Mass. A | Dis- course, I delivered at Reading, | on the day of the | National Fast, | April 25, 1799. [2 Sam. x. 12.] Boston: . . Manning & Loring, 1799. 8°, pp. 29.— An. Ath. H. N. H. 394. — 1799, Apr. 25.— Ezra Weld, Braintree, Mass. A | Dis- course, I delivered April 25, 1799 ; | being | the day of | Fasting and 572 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Prayer | throughout the | United States of America. [2 Kings xviii. 36.] Boston: . . Manning & Loring, 1799. 8°, pp. vi. 7-31. — An. Ath. Ct. H. M. Y. 395.— 1799, Apr. 25. — William White, Philadelphia, Pa. A | Sermon | on the | Duty | of | Civil Obedience, | as Required in | Scripture. | Delivered in Christ Church and St. Peters, April | 25, 1799, being a day of general Humiliation, | appointed by the Presi- dent of the United States. [Rom. xiii. 1, 2.] Philadelphia : . . John Ormrod, . . . 1799. 8°, pp. 26. — Ath. H. 396. — 1799, Nov. 28. — Abiel Abbot, HaverhUl, Mass. Traits of Resemblance in the Peo- | pie of the United States of Amer- | ica to Ancient Israel. | In a | Sermon | delivered at Haverhill, | on the | Twenty-eighth of November, 1799, | the day | of | Anniversary Thanksgiving. [Deut. xxxiii. 29.] Haverhill : . . . . Moore & Steb- bins, . . . 1799. 8^, pp. 25. — Ath. C. U. 397. — 1799, Nov. 28. — Peter Eaton, Boxford, Mass. A | Sermon, | preached at Boxford, | November 28, 1799. | The day | of | Anni- versary Thanksgiving | in the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts. [Psa. cvii. 22.] Haverhill : . . Moore & Stebbins, . . . 1799. 8°, pp. 24. — An. L. 398. — 1799, Nov. 28. — Joseph Sumner, Shrewsbury, Mass. A | Sermon, | preached at Shrewsbury | November 28, 1799. | On the An- niversary Thanksgiving | in | Massachusetts. [Deut. xxxiii. 29.] Brookfield, Mass. : . . E. Merriam & Co., 1800. 8°, pp. 26. — An. Ct. L. M. Y. 399. — 1799, Dec. 5. — Martin Tullar, Royalton, Vt. The Virtues of a Prudent Wife, | illustrated in a | Sermon, | delivered at Royalton, Vermont, | on the | Anniversary Thanksgiving, | December 5, A. D. 1799. [Prov. xix. 14.] Printed at Hanover (N. H.), by Moses Davis, n. d. 8°, pp. 26(2).— U. 400. — 1799, Dec. 13. — David Porter, Spencertown, N. Y. Two | Discourses : | The Second | delivered on a | Thanksgiving Occasion, | at the same place | December 13, 1799. [Spencertown.] [Rev. xi. 17.] Hudson: Ashbel Stoddard, 1800. 12°, pp. 21, 33.— Ath. Ct. 401. — 1800, Nov. 27. — John Crane, Northbridge, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I preached at Northbridge, | November 27, 1800. | On the | Anniversary Thanksgiving | in | Massachusetts. [Eph. i. 15, 16.] Worcester: . . Daniel Greenleaf, 1800. 8°, pp. 21. — L; U. Y. 402. — 1800, Nov. 27. — Nathaniel Emmons, Franklin, Mass. A | Sermon, | preached on the | Annual Thanksgiving | in | Massachu- setts. I November 27, 1800. [1 Sam. xii. 22.] (1) Wrentham (Mass.), .. Nathaniel Heaton, Jun., 1801. 8°, pp. 30. — An. C. U. (2) Reprinted in Works, 1842. 403. — 1800, Nov. 27. —Henry Augustus Rowland, Windsor, Conn. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 573 A I Discourse, | delivered | November 2Tth, 1800 ; | a day observed as an | Anniversary Thanksgiving. [Psa. cxlv. 10.] Hartford: . . Hudson and Goodwin, 1801. 8°, pp. 20. — C. Ct. L. Y. 404. — 1800, Nov. 27. —'Nathan Strong, Hartford, Conn. A | Thanksgiving | Sermon, | delivered | November 2Tth, 1800. [Psa. xvi. 4-6.] Hartford: . . Hudson and Goodwin, 1800. 8°, pp. 18. — Ct. L. Y. 405. — 1801, Apr. 9. — Henry Cumings, Billeriea, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I preached at | Billeriea, | April 9th, 1801 ; | being the day of the I Annual Fast. [Rom. xiii. 11.] Amherst, New Hampsliire : From Samuel Preston's Office, 1801. 8°, pp. 29. — Ath. C. H. L. Y. 406. — 1801, Apr. 9. — Nathaniel Emmons, Franklin, Mass. A | Discourse, | delivered on the | Annual Fast | in | Massachusetts, | April 9, 1801. [2 Kings xvii. 21.] (1) Wrentham (Mass.), . . Nathaniel Heaton, Jun., 1801. 8°, pp. 36. — An. C. Ct. Y. (2) New York : . . T. & J. Swords, for C. Davis, 1801. 8°, pp. 37 (2). — Ct. L. (3) Hartford : Reprinted by Hudson and Goodwin, 1801. 8°, pp. 23. — Ct. L. Y. (4) Salem : Reprinted by Joshua Cushing, 1802. 8°,pp. 38. — Ath. Bo. C. H. L. U. 407. — 1801, Apr. 9. — John Leland, Cheshire, Mass. A | Blow at the Root, I being a fashionab[l]e Fast Day Sermon, deliv- | ered at Cheshire, April 9th, 1801. (1) Suffield, [Conn.] : . . Edward Gray, 1801. 12^ pp. 36. — Ct. (2) New London: . . Joseph D. Hunting- ton, .. . 1801. 8°, pp. .32. — An. L. 408. — 1801, Apr. 9.— Joseph McKeen, Beverly, Mass. A | Dis- course I against | Speaking Evil of Rulers : | delivered on the | Anni- versary Fast I in | Massachusetts, | April 9th, 1801. [Acts xxiii. 5.] . . Salem, by Joshua Cushing, 1801. 8°, pp. 17. — C. H. L. U. 409. — 1801, Apr. 9.— Stephen West, Stockbridge, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered on the | Public Fast, | April 9th, 1801. [Jer. xxiii. 33.] . . Stockbridge, by Heman WUlard, 1801. 8°, pp. 27. — Ct. 410. — 1801 , Apr. 9. — Ezra Witter, Wilbraham, Mass. Two | Ser- mons, I on the I Party Spirit and Divided State of the | Country, Civil and Religious. | Delivered at Wilbraham, April 9, 1801, | on the | Anniversary Fast, | in Massachusetts. [Matt. xii. 25.] Springfield: . . Ashley & Brewer, n. d. 8°, pp. 15, 28. — Ct. L. N. H. U. 411. — 1802, Apr. 8. — Rufus Anderson, No. Yarmouth, Me. Two I Discourses, | delivered on the | Public Fast, | in the | Com- monwealth I of Massachusetts, | April 8, 1802. [Prov. xiv. 34.] Port- land : Printed for E. A. Jenks, 1802. 8°, pp. 40. — Bo. C. U. 412. — 1802, Apr. 8. — Nathaniel Emmons, Franklin, Mass. A | Discourse | delivered on the day of the | Annual Fast | in | Massachu- setts, I April 8, 1802. [Gal. iv. 17.] (1) Wrentham (Mass.), . . 574 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Nathaniel Heaton, Jun., 1802. 8°, pp. 35. — An. Ath. C. L. U. (2) Reprinted in Works, 1842. 413. — 1802, Apr. 28. — Leonard Worcester, Peacham, Vt A | Sermon, | preached at | Peacham, | April 28th, 1802 ; | being a day of I Public Fasting and Prayer, | in the | State of Vermont. [Dent, xxxii. 15, 19, 20.] Peacham, Vermont : . . Samuel Goss, 1802. 8"^, pp. 32. — Andover Theol. Sem. 414. — 1802, Oct. 19.— Vinson Gould, Southampton, Mass. A | Sermon, | preached | at | Westhampton, | in a | Time of Sickness | in that Town. | Tuesday, 19th, October, 1802. [Amos iv. 12.] North- ampton, Printed at the Hive Office, by Thomas M. Pomroy, 1804. 8°, pp. 14. — Ct. 415. — 1802, Nov. 25. — Hezekiah May, Bath, Me. A | Thanks- giving Sermon, | preached at | Bath, in the District of Maine, | No- vember 25, 1802. [Eph. V. 20.] . . E. A. Jenks, . . . Portland, 1802. 8°,pp. 28.— H. 416. — 1803, Mar. 31. — Samuel Tomb, Newbury, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered March 31, 1803, | in the Second Presbyterian Church in I Newburyport, | on a day of | Fasting and Prayer. | Observed by them, particularly for the purpose of seeking | Divine direction in the choice and settlement of a Gos- | pel Minister among them. [Acts i. 24.] Newburyport: . . Allen & Barnard, 1803. 8°, pp. 24.— C. Y. 417. — 1803, Apr. 7. — Nathaniel Emmons, Franklin, Mass. A | Discourse | delivered on the day of the | Annual Fast | in | Massa- chusetts, I April 7, 1803. [2 Chron. xxiv. 15, 16.] (1) Wrentham, Mass., . . Nathaniel Heaton, Jun., 1803. 8°, pp. 36. — An. Ath. C. L. (2) Reprinted in Works, 1842. 418. — 1803, Apr. 7. — Joseph Lathrop, West Springfield, Mass. The I Constancy and Uniformity | of the | Divine Government, | illustrated and improved | in a | Sermon, | preached in Springfield, April 7, 1803, I which was a day of | Public Fasting and Prayer. [Ecc. i. 9, 10.] Springfield: . . Henry Brewer, n. d. 8°, pp. 21. — An. Ath. Ct. L. U. 419. — 1803, Apr. 7. —Samuel Tomb, Newbury, Mass. A | Ser- mon I delivered | in the 2d Church in Newbury, | on the Annual Fast, I April 7, 1803. [Ex. xxii. 28.] (1) Newburyport: . . C. Cross, ... 1803. 8°,pp. 15.— C. (2) Same. — C. L. 420. — 1803, Apr. 7. — Joseph Woodman, Sanbornton, N. H. The I Substance | of | Two Discourses, | on the | Vision of Micaiah, | with some | general remarks on the Character of | Ahab, King of Israel. | Delivered at Sandbornton, | on the | Anniversary Fast, | April 7th, 1803. [1 Kings xxii. 19-23.] Concord: . . George Hough, 1803. 8°, pp. 32. — C. L. 421. — 1803. Nov. 24. — Evan Johns, Berlin, Conn. The Happi- BIBLIOGRAPHY. 575 ness of American Christians. | A | Thanksgiving | Sermon, j preached | on Thursday the 24th of November 1803. [Psa. cxliv. 15.] Hartford, . . Hudson and Goodwin, 1804. 8°, pp. 15. — Ath. Ct. L. U. Y. 422. — 1803, Nov. 24. — William Fowler Miller, Windsor, Conn. Christ the Rod of Iron upon all Antichris- | tian Kings and Nations. | A I Sermon, | delivered on the | Annual Thanksgiving, in Connecti- cut, I November 24th 1803. | To which is annexed, | an Appendix | on the I Prophecies of the Sixth and Seventh Vials. [Psa. ii. 10-12.] Hartford: . . Hudson & Goodwin, 1804. 8°, pp. 126. — Ct. L. Y. 423. — 1803, Dec. 1. — Jonathan French, North-Hampton, N. H. A I Discourse, | delivered in the South Parish in Andover, | Decem- ber 1, 1803, I on the | Anniversary Thanksgiving | in | Massachusetts. [Deut. viii. 10.] Newburyport : . . E. M. Blunt, 1804. 8°, pp. 20. — C. H. N. H. 424. — 1804, Mar. 30. — Ludovicus Weld, Hampton, Conn. A | Sermon, delivered on the day of the | Annual Fast, | in | Connecti- cut, I March 30, 1804. [Jer. v. 31.] Windham: . . John Byrae, 1804. 8°, pp. 25.— Ct. 425. — 1804, Apr. 5. — Thomas Crafts, Middleborough, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered at the Second Parish in | Middleborough. | at the I Annual Fast | in the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts. | April 5, 1804. [Prov. xiv. 34.] Boston: . . Manning & Loring, . . . 1804. 8°, pp. 22. — An. Ath. C. L. 426. — 1804, Apr. 5. — Enoch Hale, Westhampton, Mass. Asking amiss and not receiving. | A | Sermon, | preached | in | Westhamp- ton, I on a day | of | Fasting and Prayer | in | Massachusetts, | April 5, A. D. 1804. [James iv. 3.] Northampton : Printed at the Hive Office, by Thomas M. Pomeroy, 1804. 8°, pp. 12. — C. Ct. L. U. 427. — 1804, Apr. 5. — Jotham Waterman, Barnstable, Mass. Na- tional Righteousness National Security. | A | Discourse, | delivered April 5, 1804. | The day appointed for | Fast, | by His Excellency | Caleb Strong, Esq. | Governor of the Commonwealth of | Massachu- setts. [Prov. xvi. 34.] Boston : . . Manning & Loring, . . . 1804. 8°, pp. 27. — An. Bo. Ct. H. Y. 428. — 1804, Apr. 5. — Payson Williston, Easthampton, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered | in | East-Hampton, | on | the day of | the | Public Fast | April 5, 1804. [Jer. v. 7.] Northampton : Printed at the Hive Office, by Thomas M. Pomeroy, 1804. 8°, pp. 19 (2). — Ct. U. 429. — 1804, Apr. 19. — Drury Fairbank, Plymouth, N. H. A | Discourse, | delivered at Plymouth, | New - Hampshire, | on | Fast Day, I April 19th, 1804. [Prov. xxiv. 21.] Concord : . . George Hough, 1804. 8°, pp. 26. — C. 430. — 1804, Apr. 19. — Eli Smith, Hollis, N. H. The Signs of the Times, I A I Sermoq, | delivered in | Holies, New-Hampshire, April 676 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 19, 1804, I the day of the | Annual Fast. [Matt. xvi. 3.] Amherst, N. H., . . Joseph Gushing, 1804. 8°, pp. 31. — C. M. N. H. 431. — 1804, Apr. 19. —Samuel Wood, Boscawen, N. H. A | Ser- mon, I preached at Boscawen, | New-Hampshire, | on the | Public Fast, I April 19th, 1804. [Rev. xi. 12.] Concord : . . George Hough, . . . 1804. 8°, pp. 28. — C. U. 432. — 1804, Nov. 22. — David Schuyler Bogart, Southampton, N. Y. The Voice of Gratitude. | A | Discourse, | delivered on the 22d of November, 1804 ; | being the | Anniversary Thanksgiving | in the Presbyterian Church at | Southampton, | on Long-Island. [Psa. c. 4.] Sag-Harbor: . . Alden Spooner, 1805. 8% pp. 24. — Y. 433.-1804, Nov. 29. — Thomas Baldwin, Boston, Mass. The Happiness of a People | Illustrated and Explained. | A | Sermon, | de- livered before the | Second Baptist Society | in Boston, | November 29th, 1804 : | being the day of Annual Thanksgiving. [Psa. clxiv. 15.] Boston : Printed for Adams & Rhoades, . . . 1805. 8°, pp. 23. — Ath. C. M. 434. — 1804, Nov. 29.-- Joshua Cushman, Winslow, Me. A| Discourse, | delivered at | Winslow, | November 29, 1804. | Being a day consecrated | to the purposes of | Publick Thanksgiving and Praise \ throughout the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts. [Psa. Ixxxi. 1-3.] Boston : Printed for Adams and Rhoades, 1805. 8°, pp. 23. — H. M. 435. — 1804, Nov. 29. — Nathaniel Emmons, Franklin, Mass. The Danger of Embracing that Notion of | Moral Virtue, which is Sub- versive of all I Moral, Religious, and Political Obliga- | tion, Illus- trated. I A I Discourse, | delivered on the | Annual Thanksgiving | in I Massachusetts, | November 29, 1804. [1 Tim. vi. 5.] (1) Provi- dence : . . Heaton & Williams, n. d. 8°, pp. 32. — An. C. Ct. L. (2) Reprinted in Works, 1842. 436. — 1804, Nov. 29. — Eliphalet Gillet, Hallowell, Me. A | Dis- course I delivered on the | Annual Thanksgiving | in | Massachu- setts, I November 29, 1804. [Isa. xxxiii. 6.] , . Augusta, by Peter Edes, . . . 1804. 8°, pp. 28. — Ath. C. Ct. H. ' L. U. 437. — 1804, Nov. 29. — Joseph Lyman, Hatfield, Mass. The | Two Olive-Trees : | or | Zerubbabel and Joshua. | Religion the lead- ing qualification of Civil Rulers | and Christian Ministere, | illustrated in a I Sermon | preached at Hatfield, Nov. 4, 1804. | Being the day preceding the choice of Electors in | Massachusetts. | Also | God the Sure Foundation of Confidence and Joy, | A | Thanksgiving Sermon | delivered Nov. 29, 1804. [Zech. iv. 11-14. Phil.iv. 4.] Northamp- ton :.. William Butler, 1804. 8°, pp. 14, 29. — An. Ath. C. Ct. U. Y. 438.-1804, Nov. 29. — Thomas Mason, Northfield, Mass. A ( Sermon, | preached at Northfield, | on the day of | Public Thanks- BIBLIOGRAPHY. 577 giving: | November 29, 1804. [Psa. xviii. 4.] . . Greenfield (Mass.), by John Denio, 1804. 8°, pp. 16. — An. Ath. 439. — 1804, Nov. 29. — Elijah Parish, [Byfield] Newbury, Mass. A I Discourse, | delivered at | Byfield, | on the Annual Thanks- giving, I in the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts, | Nov. 29, 1804. [Prov. xxix. 2.] (1) Salem : . . Joshua Gushing for the Subscribers, 1805. 8^, pp. 24. — An. Ath. C. Ct. L. U. (2) Salem: . . Joshua Gushing, 1805. 8°, pp. 22. [The second edition has notes at the bottom of the pages.] — Gt. Y. 440. — 1805, Apr. 4 and 11. — John Hubbard Ghurch, PeUiam, N. H. " Three unclean Spirits " combining | men against Jehovah. | A I Discourse | delivered at Haverhill on the 4th, and at | Pelham on the 11th of April, 1805 ; | days of Public | Fasting, and Prayer | in | Massachusetts and New Hampshire. [Rev. xvi. 13, 14.] Amherst, N. H., . . Joseph Gushing, 1805. 8°. — New Jersey Hist. Soc. 441. — 1805, Apr. 4. — John Foster, Brighton, Mass. A | Sermon | delivered | to the First and Third Societies | in | Gambridge, | on the Anniversary Fast in Massachusetts, | 4 April, 1805. [Ezek. vii. 23.] Cambridge : . . W. Hilliard, 1805. 8°, pp. 26. — An. Ath. G. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. 442. — 1805, Apr. 4. — Solomon Williams, Northampton, Mass. Three Sermons, | preached at | Northampton, | one on the 30th of March — the other two on the | Annual State Fast, | April 4, 1805. . . . The Civil and Religious Foundations of the Country Shaking — shewn from Psa. Ixxxii. 5 William Butler, Northampton (Mass.), 180o. 8°, pp. 40.— Ath. C. Gt. H. 443. — 1805, Apr. 11. — Humphrey Moore, Milford, N. H. A | Dis- course, I delivered at | Milford, N. H. | April 11, 1805, | on the | An- niversary Fast. [Mark iii. 24.] Amherst : . . Joseph Gushing, 1805. 8°, pp. 16. — G. L. 444. — 1805, Apr. 11. — Seth Payson, Rindge, N. H. An Abridg- ment I of two I Discourses, | preached at Rindge, | at the | Annual Fast, I April 11th, 1805. [Dan. iv. 17.] Keene, N. H., . . John Prentiss, 1805. 8°, pp. 24. — An. G. N. H. 445. — 1805. — John Wilder, Attleborough, Mass. "Fast Sermon, 1305," Hist, of the Mendon Association, p. 140. 446. — 1805, Nov. 27. — Theodore Dehon, Newport, R. I. A | Discourse, | delivered | in Trinity Church, | in Newport, | on Thurs- day, 27th November, 1805, | an appointed day | of public Thanks- giving and Praise. [Psa. c. 4.] Newport, R. I., . . Office of the Newport Mercury, 1806. 4°, pp. 14. — An. Ath. 447. — 1805, Nov. 28. — William Gay Ballantine, Washington, Mass. A favored Land under peculiar obliga- | tions to religious Praise and Gratitude. | A Sermon, | delivered upon the | Anniversary Thanksgiving-Day, | November 28th. 1805, | at | Washington, Massa- 578 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. chusetts. [Deut. viii. 10.] Pittsfield : . . Phinehas Allen, . . . 1806. 8°, pp. 15. — U. 448. — 1805, Nov. 28. — James Dana, Wallingford, Conn. The Wisdom of Observing* the Footsteps | of Providence. | A | Sermon, | preached at Wethersfield, | on the | Annual Thanksgiving, | Novem- ber 28, 1805. [Psa. cvii. 43.] Hartford : . . Hudson and Goodwin, 1805. 8^pp. 27. — C. Ct. L. U. Y. 449. — 1806, Nov. 25. — Dirck Cornelius Lansing, Onondaga, N. Y. Thanksgiving I Sermon, | preached before | the Inhabitants | of | the Town of Onondaga, | November 25, 1806. [Psa. cvii. 8.] Utica : . . Asahel Seward, . . . 1807. 8°, pp. 23. - Y. 450. — 1807, Apr. 9. — Edmund Mills, Sutton, Mass. A Dis- course, I delivered on the | Annual Fast, | in | Massachusetts, | April 9th, 1807. [Matt. vii. 12.] . . Sutton (Mass.), by Se wall Goodridge, 1807. 8°,pp. 18. — C. Ct. 451. — 1807, Aug. 4. — Joseph Dana, Ipswich, Mass. On the Worth and Loss of the Soul. | A | Sermon | delivered at | Ipswich, | on a day of prayer, | Aug. 4, 1807. [Matt. xvi. 26.] Newburyport : Ephraim W. Allen, 1808. 8°, pp. 23. — An. Ath. C. L. M. 452. — 1807, Nov. 26. — Thaddeus Mason Harris, Dorchester, Mass. A I Sermon | preached at Dorchester | Nov. 26, 1807. | On the day of I Public Thanksgiving. [Psa. cxxii. 6-9.] Boston : . . Belcher and Armstrong, . . . 1807. 8°, pp. 16.— An. Ath. Bo. 453.-1807, Nov. 26.— Seth Stetson, Plymouth, Mass. A| Thanksgiving Sermon, | delivered | before the Second Society | in Plymouth, | November 26, 1807. [Psa. cxvi. 12.] Boston : . . Lin- coln & Edmands, . . . 1807. 8°, pp. 23. — An. C. Ct. Y. 454.-1808, Apr. 7. — Mighill Blood, Buckstown, Me. A | Dis- course, I delivered at | Buckstown, | on the Annual Fast, | in the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts, | April 7, 1808. [Rev. x\iii. 4.] Buckstown (Me.), . . William W. Clapp, n. d. 8^ pp. 22. —C. 455. — 1808, Apr. 7. — John Sylvester John Gardiner, Boston, Mass. A I Sermon, | preached at | Trinity Church, | in Boston, | on Fast Day, | April 7, 1808. [Jonah iii. 5.] Boston : . . Munroe, Francis, & Parker, 1808. 8°, pp. 22.— An. Ath. Bo. C. H. M. N. H. U. 456.-1808, Apr. 7. — Eliphalet Gillet, Hallowell, Me. A | Dis- course I delivered | on the Annual Fast | in | Massachusetts, | April 7, 1808. [Joel ii. 17.] Augusta: . . Peter Edes, 1808. 8°, pp. 24. — Ath. C. M. U. 457. — 1808, Apr. 7. — Joseph Lathrop, West Springfield, Mass. The Signs of Perilous Times. | A | Sermon, | delivered | at the | Pub- lic Fast, I in West-Springfield, April 7, 1808. [2 Tim. iii. 1.] Spring- field : . . Henry Brewer, n. d. 8°, pp. 16. — Ath. C. Ct. 458.-1808, Apr. 7. Elijah Parish, [Byfield] Newbury, Mass. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 579 Ruin or Separation from Anti-Christ. | A | Sermon | preached at By- field, I April 7, 1808, I on the Annual Fast | in the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts. [Rev. xviii. 4.] (1) Newburyport : . . E. W. & W. B. AUen, . . . 1808. 8°, pp. 24. — An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. H. U. Y. (2) Portland: . . . Gazette Office, — Arthur Shirley, n. d. 8°, pp. 21. —M. 459. — 1808, Apr. 7. — Thomas Thacher, Dedham, Mass. A | Sermon | preached at the Third Parish in Dedham, | April 7, 1808. | The day appointed by His Excellency | the Governour, for a day of Hu- I miliation and Prayer, through- | out the Commonwealth of | Massachusetts. [Psa. Ixxxi. 11, 12.] Dedham : . . H. Mann, 1808. 8°, pp. 21.— An. Ath. C. H. M. 460. — 1808, Sept. 8. — James Inglis, Baltimore, Md. A | Sermon, | delivered in the | First Presbyterian Church | in the | City of Balti- more, I on I Thursday, September 8th, 1808. | Being | a day of Fast- ing, Humiliation, and Prayer, I appointed by the | General Assembly | of the I Presbyterian Church | in the | United States of America. [Isa. Iv. 7.] Baltimore: . . Warner & Hanna, 1808. 8°, pp. 13. — L. 461. — 1808, Sept. 8. — John Ewing Latta, Newcastle, Del. A | Sermon | delivered on the 8th September, a day | recommended by | the General - Assembly | of the | Presbyterian Church | in the | United States, | to be set apart | for | Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. [Lam. iii. 40-42.] Wilmington : . . Peter Brynberg, 1808. 8°, pp. 24. — L. 462. — 1808, Sept. 8.— John Broadhead Romeyn, Albany, N. Y. Two Sermons, | delivered | in | the Presbyterian Church in the City of Albany, | on Thursday, Sept. 8, 1808; | being the day recom- mended I by I the General Assembly | of the | Presbyterian Church in the United States, | for | Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer. [Isa. xxvi. 20, 21.] Albany: . . Backus and Whiting, . . . WiUiam Tucker, Printer, 1808. 8°, pp. v, 35, 80. — An. Ath. C. Ct. L. U. Y. 463.— 1808, Nov. 17, Dec. 1, and Dec. 8. — Clark Brown, Swanzy, N. H. The I Propitious Manifestations of God, | considered as sub- jects demanding the Grateful | Homage of Thanksgiving, and as Excite- I ments to Devout Adoration and | Humble Supplication. | A I Sermon, | preached | inSwanzey, N. H., November 17th, | in War- wick, Mass., December 1st, | in Putney Vt., December 8th, | on the | Annual Thanksgivings | in those States | 1808. [Psa. cxvi. 17.] . Keene, N. H., . . John Prentiss, 1809. 8°, pp. 28. — Ct. 464. 1808, —Nov. 30. — Alexander Proudfit, Salem, N. Y. Our Danger and Duty: | Two Sermons, | delivered on Wednesday, the 30th day | of November, 1808. | Being a day appointed by the | Pres- bytery of Washington | for the exercises of | Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer, | on account of the alarming aspect of Divine | Provi- 680 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. dence to our Country. [Jer. v. 29. Amos iv. 12.] Salem : . . Dodd & Rumsey, 1808. 8°, pp. 60. — Ath. H. L. 465. — 1808, Dec. 1. — John Sylvester John Gardiner, Boston, Mass. A I Sermon, | preached at | Trinity Church, | in Boston, | on the day appointed for | Publick Thanksgiving | throughout the State of Massachusetts, | Dec. 1, 1808. [Psa. 1. 14.] Boston: . . Munroe, Francis and Parker, . . . 1808. 8°, pp. 23. — An. Ath. L. M. U. 466. — 1808, Dec. 1. — John Lathrop, Boston, Mass. We Rejoice with Trembling. | A | Discourse, | delivered | on the day of | Publick Thanksgiving, | in the State of Massachusetts, | Dec. 1, 1808. [Psa. ii. 11.] Boston: . . Munroe, Francis, and Parker, . . . 1808. 8°, pp. 20. — An. Ath. L. M. 467. — 1808, Dec. 1. — Jotham Waterman, Barnstable, Mass. Thanks to be Given for the Lord's Mercies, both in | Times of Plenty and Want. | A | Discourse, | delivered Dec. 1, 1808, the day ap- pointed I for I Publick Thanksgiving, | by His Excellency | James Sullivan, Esquire. | Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. [Psa. cvi. 1.] Charlestown : . . Hastings, Etheridge and Bliss, 1809. 8% pp. 15.— Bo. Ct. M. 468. — 1808, Dec. 31. — James Gray, Philadelphia, Pa. Present Duty. I A Discourse, | delivered on the 31st of December, 1808 ; | which was observed, by concert, | as a day of | Public Thanksgiving and Prayer, | in several of the Churches | in the | City of Philadel- phia. [Psa. XXX. 6-12.] Philadelphia : . . Jane Aitken, . . . 1809. 8^pp. 36. — H. L. U. 469. — 1809, Apr. 6. — Samuel Dana, Marblehead, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered to his society, | April 6, 1809, | th» day of An- nual Fast I in | Massachusetts. [1 Sam. xii. 6, 7.] Charlestown : . . Hastings, Etheridge, and Bliss, 1809. 8°, pp. 20. — C. 470. — 1809, Apr. 6. — Abiel Holmes, Cambridge, Mass. A | Sermon, | preached at Cambridge | April 6, 1809, | the day of | the Public Fast. [Jer. xi. 17-19.] Cambridge : . . Billiard & Metcalf, 1809. 8°, pp. 23.— An. Ath. C. Ct. H. M. U. Y. 471. — 1809, Apr. 6. — Thomas Noyes, Needham, Mass. Two Sermons, | delivered | in the Second Parish in Needham, | on the | Annual Fast, | April 6, 1809. [Isa. xxvi. 9.] Dedham: . . H.Mann, 1809. 8°, pp. 34 (1). — An. Bo. C. L. N. H. 472. — 1809, Apr. 6. — Samuel Spring, Newburyport. Mass. Two | Sermons, | addressed | to the | Second | Congregational Society | in | Newburyport, | Fast Day, April 6, 1809. [Ezek. xxvii. 26.] (1) New- buryport: . . . . E. W. Allen, 1809. 8°, pp. 31.— An. Ath. H. L. M. U. Y. (2) Newburyport: .... W. & J. Gilman, . . . 1809. 8°, pp. 36. — Bo. C. M. 473. — 1809, Nov. 23 and Nov. 30. —Clark Brown, Swanzy, N. H. God's Government and Works | considered as always affording sub- BIBLIOGRAPHY. 581 jects of I Gratitude and Joy: | A | Sermon, | preached | in Swanzey, N. H. November 23d, | and | in Orange, Mass. November 30th, | on the I Annual Thanksgivings | in those States, | 1809. [Hab. iii. 17, IS.] Keene, N. H., . . John Prentiss, 1810. 8°, pp. 28. — Ath. C. Ct. L. 474. — 1809, Nov. 30. — Edmund Foster, Littleton, Mass. A | Sermon, | preached at | Littleton, Massachusetts, | on the 30th of No- vember, 1809 ; I being the | Day of Annual Thanksgiving. [Psa. ii. 11.] Amherst, N. H., . . Richard Boylston, 1810. 8°, pp. 22. — H. 475. — 1809, Nov. 30. — Asahel Huntington, Topsfield, Mass. A | Thanksgiving | Sermon, | delivered at Topsfield, | November 30, 1809. [Psa. cxliv. 11-15.] Newburyport : . . W. & J. Gilman, . . . 1810. 8°, pp. 20. — L. 476. — 1809, Nov. 30. — Ethan Smith, Hopkmton, N. H. A | Sermon, | delivered to | Doctor Spring's Society, | in | Newbury- port, I Thanksgiving Evening, | Nov. 30, 1809. [Psa. cxix. 137.] Newburyport : . . E. W. Allen, 1809. 8°, pp. 23. — Ath. C. 477. — 1810, Apr. 5. — Isaac Braman, Rowley, Mass. Union with France a greater evil than union | with Britain. | A | Sermon | preached in Rowley, West-Parish, | at the | Annual Fast, April 5th, 1810. [Jer. viii. 12.] Haverhill : . . WiUiam B. Allen, . . . 1810. 8°, pp. 24. — Ath. C. H. 478. — 1810, Apr. 5. — William Ellery Channing, Boston, Mass. A I Sermon, | preached in Boston, | April 5, 1810, | the day of the | Public Fast. [Matt. xvi. 3.] (1) Boston : . . John Eliot, Jun., 1810. 8°, pp. 23. —An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. (2) Same. — M. 479.-1810, Apr. 5. — John Hubbard Church, Pelhara, N. H. The First Settlement of New England. | A | Sermon, | delivered in the South Parish | in Andover, | April 5, 1810 ; | being the | Annual Fast in Massachusetts. [Psa. cv. 44, 45.] Sutton (Mass.), .... Sew- all Goodridge, 1810. 12°, pp. 24.— An. Ath. C Ct. H. L. M. U. 480. — 1810, Apr. 5. — Joseph Richardson, Hingham, Mass. A | Discourse | addressed | to the | First Parish in Hingham, | on the | Day of Fasting, | April 5, 1810. [Joel ii. 12.] Boston : . . Ebenezer French, 1810. 8°, pp. 20. — An. Ath. H. L. 481. — 1810, Apr. 5. — John Sylvester John Gardiner, Boston, Mass. A I Sermon, | preached | at Trinity Church, April 6, 1810, | being the | day of Publick Fast. [Isa. i. 7.] Boston: . . Munroe and Francis, 1810. 8°, pp. 24. — An. Ath. Bo. C. H. L. M. Y. 482. — 1810, Apr. 12. — Drury Fairbank, Plymouth, N. H. A | Sermon, | delivered at Plymouth, | New-Hampshire, | on | Fast Day, | April 12, 1810. [Isa. xxix. 9, 10.] Hanover (N. H.), . . Charles and William S. Spear, 1810. 8°, pp. 30. — C. Ct. L. 483. — 1810, Nov. 29. — Wilkes Allen, Chelmsford, Mass. Divine 582 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. favors gratefully recollected | in a | Discourse | delivered at Chelms- ford, (Massachusetts) | Nov. 29, 1810, | at the | Annual Thanksgiving. [Deut. viii. 7-10.] Cambridge : . . Milliard and Metcalf, 1811. 8°, pp. 28. — An. Ath. L. N. H. Y. 484. — 1811, Apr. 11. —Solomon Aiken, Dracut, Mass. The Rise and Progress of the Political Dissension | in the United JStates. A | Sermon, | preached in Dracutt, May 11, 1811, | it being the | Annual Fast. [Numb, xxxii. 55.] (1) Haverhill : . . . . William B. Allen, 1811. 8°, pp. 22. — C. H. L. N. H. (2) Same. — L. H. [The second edition has April 11th, the correct date, and another lining.] 485. — 1811, Apr. 11. — Samuel Austin, Worcester, Mass. A | Sermon, | preached at Worcester, | on the | Annual Fast, April 11, 1811. [Isa. iii. 9.] Worcester: . . Isaac Sturtevant, 1811. 8°, pp. 32. — An. Ath. C. H. L. U. Y. 486.-1811, Apr. 11. — John Foster, Brighton, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I preached in Cambridge and Brighton, | April 11, 1811, | the | Anniversary Fast | in Massachusetts. [Isa. Iviii. 1.] Cambridge : . . Billiard and Metcalf, 1811. 8°, pp. 31. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. N. H. U. Y. 487. — 1811, Apr. 11. — Eliphalet Gillet, Hallowell, Me. The Patriot. I A | Sermon | delivered | on the | Annual Fast | in | Massa- chusetts, I April 11, 1811. [Psa. cxxxvii. 5, 6.] Hallowell: . . N. Cheever, 1811. 8%pp. 20. — An. Ath. H. M. U. 488. — 1811, Apr. 11. — Joseph Lathrop, West Springfield, Mass. The I Prophecy | of | Daniel, | Relating to the Time of the End, | Opened, Applied and Improved, | in Two Discourses | delivered on a I Publick Fast, | April 11, 1811. [Dan. xii. 10.] Springfield (Mass.), .. Thomas Dickman, 1811. 8°, pp. 18, 32. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. 489. — 1811, Apr. 11. — Elijah Parish, [Byfield] Newbury, Mass. A Sermon, | preached at Byfield, | on the | Annual Fast, | April 11, 1811. [Rev. xviii. 2.] (1) Newburyport : . . E.W.Allen, . . . 1811. 8°, pp. 30. — An. C. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. (2) Boston:.. B.True, . . . 1811. 8^^, pp. 22. — An Ath. C. Ct. [The so-called " Curiosity " edition, with this note on the title-page : " The follow- ing Sermon (as it is called) is reprinted by subscriptions made by Republicans for the purpose of enabling the public more generally to obtain and read it, that they may be convinced of the astonishing depravity of a Man, who professes to be a preacher of the Gospel."] 490.-1811, Nov. 21. — Festus Foster, Petersham, Mass. The Watchman's Warning to the House of Israel. | A | Sermon, | deliv- ered before the Congregation in | Petersham, November 21, 1811, | being the day appointed for | Thanksgiving | throughout the Com- monwealth. [Ezek. xxxiii. 6, 7.] From the Press of Isaiah Thomas, Jun. — Worcester : Isaac Sturtevant, Printer, 1811. 8°, pp. 24. — An. Ct. H. L. BIBLIOGRAPHY, 583 491. — 1811, Nov. 21. — Eliphalet Gillet, HaUowell, Me. A | Dis- course I delivered | at | Hallowell, | on the | Annual Thanksgiving | in I Massachusetts, | Nov. 21, 1811. [Psa. xcvii. 1.] Hallowell : . . N. Cheever, 1811. 8°, pp. 20. — L. M. U. 492. — 1811, Nov. 21.— Nathan Holman, East Attleborough, Mass. A I Sermon, | delivered at | Attleborough, East Precinct, | November 21st, 1811 ; | being the | Anniversary Thanksgiving | in | Massachusetts. [Psa. ii. 11.] Providence: .... Dunham & Hawkins, 1812. 8°, pp. 22. — C. 493. — 1811, Nov. 21. — John Lathrop, Boston, Mass. Peace and War. I In relation to the United States of America. | A Discourse, | delivered in Boston, | on the | day of Public Thanksgiving | in the State of Massachusetts, | November 21, 1811. [Psa. Ixviii. 30.] Bos- ton : .... J. W. Burditt and Co. . . J. Belcher, Printer, 1811. 8^, pp. 18. — Ath. Bo. C. Ct. L. U. Y. 494. — 1812, Mar. 1 1. — Donald McLeod. A I Sermon, | preached | in the | Presbyterian Church of Edisto- Island, I on the eleventh of March, 1812, | being the day appointed | for I Religious Reflection, Humiliation and Prayer, | by the Procla- mation of His Excellency | Henry Middleton, | Governor of the State of South-Carolina. [2 Chron. vii. 14.] Charleston : . . E. Morford, Willington & Co., . . . 1812. 8°, pp. 68. — Y. 495. — 1812, Apr. 9. — John Sylvester John Gardiner, Boston, Mass. A I Discourse. | delivered | at Trinity Church, Boston, April 9, 1812, I on the day of | Publick Fast. [Num. xxxii. 6.] Boston: . . Munroe and Francis, 1812. 8°, pp. 19. — An. Ath. Bo. H. 496. — 1812, Apr. 9. — James Miltimore, Newbury, Mass. Two | Discourses | delivered | at Belle-ville, April 9, 1812, | on | occasion of the Annual Fast | in the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts. [Psa. Ixxxi. 18, 14, 16.] Haverhill, Mass. : . . W. B. & H. G. Allen, for E. W. Allen, Newburyport, 1812. 8°, pp. 22. — Y. 497.-1812, Apr. 9. — Thomas Thacher, Dedham, Mass. A| Discourse | delivered | on the day of | Public Fast, | April 9, 1812. [Matt. xxiv. 12.] Dedham: . . Herman Mann, 1812. 8^", pp. 23. Ath. Bo. H. 498. — 1812, Apr. 9. — Otis Thompson, Rehoboth, Mass. " Signs of the Times" : | A | Sermon, | preached at Attleborough, West Par- ish, I on the I Annual Fast in Massachusetts, | April 9th, A. D. 1812. [Matt. xvi. 8.] Providence : Printed at the American Office, by David Hawkins, Jun., 1812. 8°, pp. 23. — Ath. C. L. 499. — 1812, July 23. — Samuel Austin, Worcester, Mass. A | Sermon, | preached in | Worcester, Massachusetts, | on the occasion of the I Special Fast, | July 28d, 1812. [Jer. xviii. 7, 8.] Printed at Worcester, by Isaac Sturtevant, 1812. 8°, pp. 28. — An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. L. M. U. Y. 584 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 500. — 1812, July 23. — Titus Theodore Barton, Fitehburg, Mass. A I Fast Sermon, | preached at Fitchburg-, | July 23, 1812. [Mark iii. 24.] Leominster, Mass. : . . Salmon Wilder, 1812. 8^, pp. 24. — An. C. Ct. H. M. 501. — 1812, July 23.— Francis Brown, North- Yarmouth, Me. A I Sermon, | delivered July 23, 1812, | on occasion of the State Fast, I appointed in consequence of | the | Declaration of War | against Great Britain. [Zeph. iii. 8.] Portland : . . Hyde, Lord and Co., 1812. 8°, pp. 32. — Ath. Bo. C. U. 502. — 1812, July 23. — Jacob Catlin, New Marlboro', Mass. Alarm to the Churches, | A | Sermon, | preached at New-Marl- borough, I South Parish, | July 23, 1S12 ; | being a Day of Fasting and Prayer, | occasioned by the | Declaration of War against Great- | Britain. [Hosea xiii. 9.] StockbridgQ : . . H. Willard, 1812. 8°, pp. 16. — C. Ct. L. 503. — 1812, July 23. — William Ellery Channing, Boston, Mass. A I Sermon, | preached in Boston, July 23, 1812, | the day of the | Publick Fast, | appointed by the Executive of the | Commonwealth of Massachusetts, | in consequence of | the Declaration of War against | Great Britain. [Luke xix. 41, 42.] 3oston : . . Greenough and Stebbins, 1812. 8°, pp. 20. — An. Ath. C. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. 504. — 1812, July 23. — Timothy Dwight [Yale Coll.] New Haven, Conn. A | Discourse, | in | Two Parts, | delivered July 23, 1812, on the I Public Fast, | in | the Chapel of Yale College. [Isa. xxi. 11, 12.] (1) New-Haven: Published by Howe and De Forest, . . . Printed by J. Seymour, . . . New- York, 1812. 8°, pp. 54. — Ath. Ct. H. L. U. Y. (2) Utica: Reprinted by Ira Merrell, 1812. 8°, pp. 44. — C. (3) Boston : Published by Cummings and Hilliard, . . . Andover : Printed by Flagg & Gould, 1813. 8°, pp. 1-28. [Printed with sermon of Aug. 20, 1812.] — Ath. H. U. 505. — 1812, July 23. — Ferdinand Ellis, Marblehead, Mass. A | Discourse, | adapted to | the Present Situation | of | our National Concerns, | preached at | Marblehead, Mass., | July 23, 1812, | ap- pointed I by the Executive of this Commonwealth | as a day of | Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. [Isa. Iviii. 4.] Warwick Palfray, Jun., Salem, Printer, 1812. 8°, pp. 20. — Y. 506. — 1812, July 23.— Brown Emerson, Salem, Mass. The Equity of God's Dealings with Nations. | A | Sermon, | preached | in Salem, July 23, 1812, | a day of | Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer | in I Massachusetts, | occasioned by the | Declaration of War against Great- | Britain. [Jer. xviii. 7-10.] Salem: . . Joshua Gushing, 1812. 8°, pp. 24. — Ath. C. H. M. U. 507.— 1812, July 23.— John Sylvester John Gardiner, Boston. Mass. A 1 Discourse, | delivered | at Trinity Church, Boston, July BIBLIOGRAPHY, 585 23, 1812, I on the | day of Publick Fast | in Massachusetts, | upon the I Declaration of War against | Great-Britain. [Psa. cxx. 7.] Boston : . . Munroe & Francis, . . . 1812. 8°, pp. 19. — An. Ath. C. H. L. M. Y. 508. — 1812, July 23. — Reuben Holeomb, Sterling, Mass. A | Discourse, | in two parts. | Delivered at | Sterling, Massachusetts, | Thursday, July 23, 1812 | at the | State Fast. [Psa. Ixviii. 30.] Worcester: .. Isaac Sturtevant, 1812. 8°, pp. 22. — An. N. H. Y. 509. — 1812, July 23, and Aug. 20. — John Lathrop, Boston, Mass. The Present War unexpected, unnecessary | and ruinous. | Two | Discourses | delivered in Boston. | The first | on the 23d of July, 1812, I the Fast appointed | by the Governor of Massachusetts ; | the second | on the 20th of August, | the Fast appointed by the | Presi- dent of the United States, | in consequence of the | Present War. [Jer. viii. 15.] Boston: . . J. W. Burditt & Co., 1812. 8°, pp. 42. — An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. H. M. U. Y. 510. — 1812, July 23. — Jedidiah Morse, Charlestown, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered at Charlestown, July 23, 1812, | the day appointed by the Governor and Council of Massachu- J setts, to be observed in | Fasting and Prayer | throughout the Commonwealth; | in conse- quence of a Declaration of | War with Great Britain. [Titus iii. 1. Joel ii. 1, 2.] Charlestown : . . Samuel Etheridge, Jun'r, 1812. 8% pp. 32. — An. Bo. C. H. U. Y. 511. — 1812, July 23. — Elijah Parish [Byfield], Newbury, Mass. A Protest against the War. | A | Discourse | delivered at | Byfield, | Fast Day, July 23, 1812. [Isa. xxi. 11.] (l)*Newburyport : . . E. W. Allen, 1812. 8°, pp. 26. — An. C. H. M. Y. (2) Same.— An. U. (3) Stockbridge: . . E. Kingsely, H. WiUard's Print, 1812. 8°, pp. 28. — L. 512.-1812, July 23. — Nathan Perkms, West Hartford, Conn. The National Sins, and National Punishment in | the Recently De- clared War ; | considered, in a | Sermon | delivered, July 23, 1812, on the day of the | Public Fast, | appointed by the Governor and Council of the State of Connecti- | cut, in consequence of the | Declaration of War I against Great-Britain. [Ezra ix. 5, 6.] Hartford : . . Hud- son & Goodwin, 1812. 8°, pp. 30. — C. Ct. U. Y. 513.-1812, July 23. — Thomas SneU, North Brookfield, Mass. Repentance and Prayer. | A | Sermon, | preached in North Brook- field, I July 23d, 1812. | A day of Prayer, | recommended by | His Excellency the Governor, | on account of the Declaration of War | against England. [Joel ii. 17.] Brookfield : . . E. Merriam & Co., 1812. 8°, pp. 22. — An. C. Ct. Y. 514. — 1812, July 23. — Micah Stone, Brookfield, Mass. Danger and Duty pointed out, | in a | Discourse | delivered at | Brookfield, South Parish, | July 23, 1812; | —the day of | Fasting, Humiliation 586 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, and Prayer, | appointed by | His Excellency the Governor, | on account of the distressed and alarm- | ing state of the Country. [2 Sam. x. 12.] Brookfield: . . E. Merriam & Co., 1812. 8°, pp. 22. — An. Ath. C. M. N. H. U. Y. 515. — 1812, July 23. — Nathan Strong, Hartford, Conn. A | Fast Sermon, | delivered | in the | North Presbyterian Meeting House | in I Hartford, | July 23, 1812. [Rev. xviii. 4.] Hartford: . . Peter B. Gleason & Co., 1812. 8°, pp. 19.— An. Ath. C. Ct. L. M. U. Y. 516. — 1812, July 23 and Aug. 20. — Samuel Taggart, Coleraine, Mass. God's Visitation of Sinful Nations. 1 Two | Sermons, | de- livered in Colrain, | on the Public Fast, July 23, | and afterwards in Shelburne, | August 20, 1812. [Jer. v. 29.] Greenfield : . . Denio and Phelps, 1812. 8°, pp. 74 — Ath. C. Ct. H. L. 517.— 1812, July 23. — Samuel Walker, Danvers, Mass. Two | Discourses, | delivered | July 23, 1812, | being the Day appointed by | the Governor of Massachusetts | for | Fasting and Prayer, | on account of the | War with Great Britain. [Joel ii. 12, 13.] Salem : . . Joshua Gushing, 1812. 8°, pp. 26. — C. H. M. 518. — 1812, July 23. — Peter Whitney, Quincy, Mass. A | Dis- course I delivered | in the morning at Quincy | and in the afternoon to the I Third Religious Society in Hingham | on the day of the | State Fast, I July 23, 1812. [Psa. Ixxix. 8.] Boston: . .John Eliot, Jun., 1812. 8%pp. 16. — An. Ath. Bo. C. H. L. M. U. Y. 519. — 1812, July 23. — Samuel Worcester, Salem, Mass. Ca- lamity, Danger, and Hope. | A | Sermon, | preached | at the Taber- nacle in Salem, | July 23, 1812. | The day of the | Public Fast in Massachusetts, | on account of the | War with Great-Britain. [Psa. Ix. 1-4.] Salem: . . Joshua Gushing, 1812. 8°, pp. 24. — C. Ct. H. U. Y. 520.-1812, July 30 and Aug. 20. — James Abercrombie, Phila- delphia, Pa. Two Sermons : | the first, | preached on Thursday, July 30 ; I the second, | preached on Thursday, August 20 ; 1812 : | being days of | Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer, | appointed by | Public Authority. [2 Chron. vii. 14, and Hos. xiii. 9.] [Each sermon has also a separate title-page.] Philadelphia: . . Moses Thomas, . . . J. Maxwell, Printer, 1812. 8^, pp. 26, 41. —Ath. Ct. L. Y. 521.-1812, July 30. — Joseph Clark, New Brunswick, N. J. A I Sermon, | delivered in the city of New-Brunswick, | on Thursday, July 30, 1812. I Being | the day set apart by the General Assembly of I the Presbyterian Church, | for | Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. [Jer. V. 29.] New Brunswick : .... L. Deare, 1812. 8°, pp. 16. — Ct. 522. — 1812, July 30. — Stephen N. Rowan, Greenwich, N. Y. The Sin and Danger | of | Insensibility | under the Calls of God to Repentance : | Two Sermons, | delivered in the Reformed Dutch BIBLIOGRAPHY. 587 Church, at Greenwich, | in the City of New- York, | on Thursday, July 30, 1812, I the day set apart by the joint recommendation o£ the I General Synod of the R. D. Church, | and of | His Excellency Daniel D. Tompkins, | Governor of the State, | as a day of | Fast- ing, Humiliation, and Prayer. [Isa. xxii. 12-14.] New York : Pub- lished by Whiting & Watson. ... J. Seymour, Printer, 1812. 8°, pp.33, 54.— Ct. U. 523. — 1812, July 30. — Petrus Van \aierden, CatsMU, N. Y. A I Sermon, | delivered | at | Catsldll, | on Thursday, July 30, 1812. | Being a day of | Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. [Luke iii. 9.] [Translated from the Dutch.] (1) (2) Albany : . . Jesse Buel, 1813. 8°, pp. 24. — C. 524. — 1812, Aug. 20. — James Abercrombie, Philadelphia, Pa. [See Sermon of July 30, 1812.] 525.-1812, Aug. 20. — Samuel Austin, Worcester, Mass. The Apology of Patriots, | or | the heresy of the friends of the Wash- ington and I peace policy defended. | A | Sermon, | preached in | Worcester, Massachusetts, | on the day of the | National Fast, | Thursday, August 20, 1812, | observed in compliance with the recom- mendation of I James Madison, | President of the | United States; | and in consequence of the Declaration of War | against Great-Britain. [Acts xxiv. 14.] Printed at Worcester, by Isaac Sturtevant, 1812. 8°,pp. 32. — An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. H. L. Y. 526. — 1812, Aug. 20.— Winthrop Bailey, Brunswick, Me. Na- tional Glory. I A | Discourse, | delivered at Brunswick, | on the day of the National Fast, | August, 1812. [Psa. Ixxxv. 9.] Portland : . . Arthur Shirley, 1812. 8°, pp. 16. — C. 527. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Joseph Barker, Middleborough, Mass. A I Discourse, \ delivered in | Middleborough, Mass. | August 20, 1812, I being | the day of the National Fast. [Psa. xxii. 4, 5.] Bos- ton: . . Samuel T. Armstrong, . . . 1812. 8°, pp. 24. — C. 528. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Benjamin Bell, Steuben, N. Y. The | Difference | between | the Present and Former Days, | shown in a | Discourse | upon Eccles. vii. 10, | delivered at Steuben, August 20, 1812, I being the day appointed by the President of the United States, I to be observed as a day of | Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. Utica: . . Ira Merrell, 1812. 12°, pp. 72. — Ath. C. U. 529. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Nathan Sidney Smith Beman, Port- land, Me. A I Sermon, | delivered at the Meeting House of the Sec- ond I Parish in Portland, | August 20, 1812: | on the occasion of | the National Fast. [Gen. xiii. 8.] Portland : . . Hyde, Lord & Co., 1812. 8°, pp. 16.— An. Ath. C. Ct. L. U. 530. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Stephen Bemis, Harvard, Mass. Two Discourses, | delivered at Harvard. | The one August 20, 1812, | the day of the National Fast | on account of the War with Great Bri- 588 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. tain. I The other May 29, 1813, etc. [Jer. ii. 17.] [National ca- lamity procured to ourselves.] Harvard : . . Sewall Parker, 1814. 8°,pp. 47. — Ath. H. L. 531. — 1812, Aug. 20.— William EUery Channing, Boston, Mass. A I Sermon, | preached in Boston, August 20, 1812, | the day of | Hu- miliation and Prayer, | appointed by the | President of the United States, I in consequence of | the Declaration of War against Great- Britain. [Acts xxiv. 16.] Boston: . . C. Stebbins, . . . 1812. 8°, pp. 15.— An. Ath. Bo. C. H. L. M. U. Y. 532. — 1812, Aug. 20.— John Hubbard Church, Pelham, N. H. Advantages of Moderation. | A | Sermon, | delivered at Pelham, N. H. August 20, 1812 ; | a day of | National Humiliation, | recom- mended by the President, at the request | of the | Two Houses of Congress, | after having | declared War against Great Britain. [Phil, iv. 5.] HaverhiU: . . . . W. B. & H. G. AUen, 1812. 8°, pp. 15. — Ath. C. 533.-1812, Aug. 20. —John Cleaveland, Wrentham, Mass. A | Discourse | delivered on the day of | National Humiliation and Prayer, | August 20, 1812. [Ezek. xiv. 21.] Boston : . . Samuel T. Armstrong, . . . 1812. 8°, pp. 20.— An. Ath. C. L. 534. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Henry Colman, Hingham, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I preached in Hingham and Quincy, | 20th, August 1812, | the day of I the National Fast, | on account of | the War with Great Britain. [Rom. viii. 28.] Boston : . . Joshua Belcher, 1812. 8°, pp. 21. — An. Ath. Bo. C. H. M. U. Y. 535. — 1812, Aug 20, and 1813, Apr. 8. — Moses Dow, Beverly, Mass. A I Sermon, | preached in Beverly, | August 20, 1812, | the day of the I National Fast, | on account of | War with Great-Britain ; | and again at | the Tabernacle in Salem, | April 8, 1813, | the day of the I Annual Fast in Massachusetts. [Luke xix. 41, 42.] Salem: .. Joshua Gushing, 1813. 8% pp. 16. — C. Ct. H. M. Y. 536. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Timothy Dwight, (Yale Coll.) New Haven, Conn. A | Discourse, | in two parts | delivered August 20, 1812, I on I the National Fast, | in the Chapel of Yale College. [Isa. xxi. 11, 12.] (1) New-York : . . J. Seymour, . . . 1812. 8°, pp. 60. — C. Ct. H. L. M. Y. (2) Utica: Reprinted by Ira Mer- rell, 1813. 8°, pp. 48.— An. (3) Boston: Published by Cummings & HiUiard, . . . Andover, Printed by Flagg & Gould, 1813. 8°, pp. 29-59. [Printed with Sermon of July 23, 1812.]— An. Ath. Ct. H. - L. U. 537.-1812, Aug. 20. — Brown Emerson, Salem, Mass. The Causes and Effects of War. | A | Sermon, | delivered in Salem, August 20, 1812, I the day of | National Humiliation and | Prayer. [Jer. iv. 19.] Salem: . . Joshua Gushing, 1812. 8°, pp. 16.— Ath. C. H. M. BIBLIOGRAPHY, 589 538. —1812, Aug. 20. — John Fiske, New Braintree, Mass. A | Sermon | delivered at | New-Braintree, | August 20, 1812. | On the General Fast, | occasioned by a | Declaration of War against Great- | Britain. [Num. xxiv. 10, 11.] Brookfield : . . E. Merriam & Co., 1812. 8°,pp. 28.— An. C. Y. 539.-1812, Aug. 20. —Jonathan French, North-Hampton, N. H. Sermons, | delivered on the 20th of August, 1812, | the day | recom- mended I by the | President of the United States | for | Public Hu- miliation and Prayer. | To which are added | observations | on the I propriety of preaching occasionally | on | Political | Subjects. [2 Sam. xxiv. 14. Dent. iv. 30, 31.] Exeter: Printed at the Consti- tutionalist Press by E. C. Beals, n. d. 8°, pp. 28. — C. 540. — 1812, Aug. 20.— John Giles, Newbiiryport, Mass. Two Discourses, | delivered to the | Second Presbyterian Society | in New- buryport, August 20, 1812 : | the day recommended by | the President of the United States, | for National Humiliation and Prayer. [Psa. cvi. 24.] (1) Newburyport: . . W. & J. Gilman, . . . 1812. 8°, pp. 20. — M. Y. (2) Newburyport. (3) Newburyport: . . W. & J. GiK man, . . . 1812. 8<^, pp. 20. — An. H. M. (4) Haverhill: . . W. B. & H. G. Allen, 1812. 8°, pp. 28. — An. Ath. C. H. [Appendix. Copious parallelisms charging the author with plagiarism from Thomas Paine.] (5) Bridgeport, 1812. 8°. 541. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Eliphalet Gillet, Hallowell, Me. A | Dis- course I delivered in the forenoon at | Hallowell, | and in the after- noon at I Augusta, | on the day of the | National Fast, | August 20, 1812. [Job xxxii. 10.] Augusta: . . Peter Edes, 1812. 8°, pp. 23. — Ath. U. 542. — 1812, Aug. 20. — John Lathrop, Boston, Mass. [See Ser- mon of July 23, 1812.] 543. — 1812, Aug. 20. — John Ewing Latta, Newcastle, Del. A I Sermon | preached on the 20th of August, 1812, | a day recom- mended by I the President of the United States, | to be observed as a day I of Humiliation and Prayer. [Isa. xxvi. 9.] Wilmington: . . Robert Porter, . . . 1812. 12°, pp. 24. — C. Y. 544. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Nathaniel Laurence, Tyngsborough, Mass. David's crime examined, his virtue illustrated, and | his patriotick example recommended, | in a | Sermon, | delivered at Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, | on the late | National Fast, | August 20, A. D. 1812. [1 Chron. xxi. 16, 17.] Boston: . . C. Stebbins, . . . 1812. 8°, pp. 15. — L. 545. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Gershom Clark Lyman, Marlborough, Vt. A I Sermon | preached at Marlborough, on the | Public Fast, | Au- gust 20th, 1812. [Hos. vii. 9.] Brattleborough (Vt.), . . William Fessenden, 1812. 8°, pp. 23. — C. Ct. N. H. U. Y. 546.-1812, [Aug. 20].— John Matthews, Shepherdstown, Va. 590 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. " National Peace and Safety : A Sermon preached on the Fast day appointed by public authority, 1812." — Sprague's Annals, iv. 293. 547. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Samuel Mead, Amesbury, Mass. A| Sermon | on the War, | delivered in Amesbury, | August 20, 1812, | on the General Fast. [2 Sam. xxiv. 14.] Newburyport: . . . . E. W. Allen, 1812. 8°, pp. 18. — C. 548. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Humphrey Moore, Milford, N. H. A | Discourse, | delivered at Milford, | August 20th, 1812, | the day | recommended by the President, | for | National Humiliation. Am- herst, N. H., . . Kichard Boylston, 1812. 8°, pp. 16. — Ath. C. N. H. 549. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Reed Paige, Hancock, N. H. Obedience to the Laws of Civil Rulers, a Duty | Enjoined in the Scriptures. | A I Sermon, | delivered at | Hancock August 20th, 1812 ; | the day | recommended by the President of | the United States | for | ' ' Pub- lic Humiliation and Prayer." [Matt. xxii. 21.] Concord, N. H., . . I. & W. R. Hill, 1812. 8^^, pp. 27. — N. H. 550.-1812, Aug. 20. — William Parkinson, New York, N. Y. Sermon in First Baptist Church, N. Y. City, Aug. 20, 1812, a Day of Special humiliation and prayer on account of the Present War. New York : . . John Tiebout, 1812. 8°, pp. 25 (1). 551.-1812, Aug. 20. — Huntington Porter, Rye, N. H. The Present Distressed Situation of Our Country, | and the Duty of Min- isters and People in such | a time as this ; considered, in a | Sermon, | preached at Rye, | August 20, 1812 ; | the day recommended by | Pres- ident Madison, | for a | National Fast. [Joel ii. 15-17.] Portsmouth, N. H., Printed at the Oracle Press, by William Treadwell, n. d. 8"", pp. 23. [With a sermon on ' ' Peace and War " having a common title-page.]— Ath. L. U. Y. 552. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Thomas Prentiss, Medfield, Mass. A | Sermon, | preached at Holliston, August 20, 1812, | the day of | Hu- miliation and Prayer, | recommended by the | President of the United States, I in consequence of | the Declaration of War | against | Great Britain. [Psa. xxviii. 9.] Cambridge : . , Hilliard and Metcalf, 1812. 8°, pp. 18. — An. Bo. C. H. 553. — 1812, Aug. 20. — John Smith, Salem, N. H. An | Apol- ogy I for the Friends of Peace, | in two | Discourses, [ delivered Au- gust 20, 1812. I Being the day appointed for Fasting and Prayer | throughout the United States, | on account of the | War with Great Britain. [Psa. cxx. 7.] Haverhill : . . . . W. B. & H. G. Allen, 1812. 8°, pp. 24.— Ath. C. 554.-1812, Aug. 20. —Thomas Snell, North Brookfield, Mass. Praying for Rulers a Christian Duty. | A | Sermon, | preached in North Brookfield, | August 20th, 1812, | a day of prayer, | recom- mended by I Congress | on account of the War in which we are | BIBLIOGRAPHY. 591 involved with England. [1 Tim. ii. 2.] Brookfield: . . E. Mer- riam & Co., 1812. 8°, pp. 23-43. [With sermon of July 23.] — An. C. Ct. Y. 555. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Conrad Speece, Cumberland, Va. A Sermon "preached in Cumberland, Va., August 20, 1812, the day- appointed by the President of the United States for humiliation and prayer." — Sprague's Annals, iv. 287. 556. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Samuel Taggart, Coleraine, Mass. [See Sermon of July 23, 1812.] 557. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Nathaniel Thayer, Lancaster, Mass. A | Sermon, | delivered August 20, 1812 ; | the day | " Of Publick Hu- miliation and Prayer," | appointed by the | National Government, | who had declared | War against Great-Britain. [Jer. iv. 19.] . . Worcester : by Isaac Sturtevant, 1812. 8°, pp. 16. — An. Ath. H. L. Y. 558. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Otis Thompson, Rehoboth, Mass. Prayer for Peace, | inculcated in a | Discourse, | delivered | on the National Fast, I August 20th, 1812. [Psa. cxxii. 6.] Providence : . . David Hawkins, Jun., 1812. 8°, pp. 19. —An. C. L. 559. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Noah Worcester, Salisbury, N. H. Abra- ham and Lot. I A | Sermon, | on | the Way of Peace, | and | the Evils of War. | Delivered | at Salisbury, in New-Hampshire, | on the day of the | National Fast, | August 20, 1812. [Gen. xiii. 7-9.] Con- cord (N. H.), . . George Hough, 1812. 8°, pp. 32. — H. Y. 560. — 1812, Aug. 20. — Samuel Worcester, Salem, Mass. Courage and Success to the Good. | A | Discourse | delivered | at the Taber- nacle in Salem, | Aug. 20, 1812, | the day of | National Humiliation and Prayer, | on account of the | War with Great-Britian. ... [2 Chron. xix. 11.] Salem: . . Joshua Gushing, 1812. 8°, pp. 32. — Ath. C. H. L. 561. — 1812, Nov. 12.— Walter Harris, Dunbarton, N. H. A | Discourse, | delivered | at Dunbarton, New-Hampshire, | on | Thanks- giving-Day, I November 12, 1812. [Lam. iii. 39.] Concord : . . George Hough, 1812. 8°, pp. 18. — L. 562. — 1812, Nov. 26. — Daniel Dana, Newburyport, Mass. A | Sermon, | preached November, 26, 1812. | The day of | Public Thanks- giving I in I Massachusetts. [Hab. iii. 17, 18.] Newburyport : . . . E. W. Allen, 1813. 8°, pp. 19. — An. C. Ct. L. 563. — 1812, Nov. 26. — Nathaniel Hill Fletcher, Wells, Me. A | Sermon | delivered on the 26th of Nov. 1812, | the day of the | An- nual Thanksgiving | in the | State of Massachusetts. [Psa. cvi. 47.] Kennebunk : . . James K. Remich, 1812. 8°, pp. 16. — N. H. 564. — 1812, Nov. 26. — Isaac Lewis, Bristol, R. I. A | Dis- course, I delivered | in the Congregational Church, | at | Bristol, | on the I Public Thanksgiving, | November 26, A. D. 1812. [Psa. c. 4.] Warren, R. L, . . John F. PhiUips, 1812. 8°, pp. 18. — Ath. Ct. Y. 592 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, 565. — 1812, Nov. 26. — Josiah Webster, Hampton, N. H. A | Sermon, | delivered at | Newburyport, Nov. 26, 1812. | On the evening of I Public Thanksgiving | in | Massachusetts. [Psa. ii. 11.] New- buryport: . . . . E. W. AUen, 1812. 8°, pp. 22. — C. Ct. L. 566. — 1813, Feb. 16. — Oliver Cobb, Rochester, Mass. Two Sermons, | preached at Sandwich. | The First, | February 1 6, 1813, on a I day of Fasting, | appointed by the First Church in that Town. | The Second, | Feb. 17, 1813, at the | installation | of Rev Jonathan Burr. ... [2 Chron. xxv. 9.] Boston : . . . . Lincoln & Edmands, 1813. 8°, pp. 10, 23. — Ath. C. 567. — 1813, Mar. 25. — John Smith, Salem, N. H. The People of God Invited to Trust in Him amidst His | Judgments upon sinful nations. | A | Sermon | delivered on the Annual Fast | at Salem, N. H. March 25, | and | at the South Parish in Andover, Mass. | April 3, 1813. [Isa. xxvi. 20, 21.] Haverhill, Mass. : . . . . W. B. and H. G. Allen, 1813. 8°, pp. 20. — C. H. 568. — 1813, Apr. 8. — Joshua Bates, Dedham, Mass. Two | Ser- mons I on I Intemperance, | delivered | on the day of the Annual Fast, I April 8, 1813. [Prov. xx. 1.] (1) Boston: .... Samuel T. Armstrong, . . 1813. 8°, pp. 16, 28. — An. Ath. C. Y. (2) Ded- ham : Printed at the Gazette Office, 1814. 12°, pp. 18, 36. — H. 569. — 1813, Apr. 8. — Moses Dow, Beverly, Mass. [See Sermon of Aug. 20, 1812.] 570. — 1813, Apr. 8.— Elijah Parish, [Byfield] Newbury, Mass. A I Discourse, | delivered at | Byfield, | on the | Annual Fast, | April 8, 1813. [Matt. xxvi. 52.] (1) Newburyport: . . . . E. W. Allen, . . . 1813. 8°,pp. 24. — C. Ct. H. L. U. Y. (2) Portland: . . . 1813. ^°.— Ath. 571. — 1813, Apr. 8. — Joseph Richardson, Hingham, Mass. The Christian Patriot Encouraged. | A | Discourse, | delivered before the I First Parish in Hingham, | on | Fast Day, | April 8, 1813. [Isa. Iiv.l7.] Boston :.. Joshua Belcher, 1813. 8°, pp. 22. — An. C. H. 572. — 1813, Apr. 8. — Eliphalet Steele, Paris, N. Y. The Im- portance of the Church. | A | Discourse, | in two parts ; | delivered in Paris, (N. Y.) April 8, 1813, | on the day of a | Public Fast, | recom- mended by the Oneida Association, | to the | Churches and Societies | ■within their limits. [Psa. cv. 14, 15.] Utica : . . Merrell and Camp, 1813. 8°, pp. 24. — C. Ct. L. U. 573. — 1813, Apr. 8. — John H. Stevens, Stoneham, Mass. A | Discourse, | delivered in | Stoneham, (Mass.) April 8, 1813. | Being | the Day of the State Fast. [Judg. v. 23.] [Later editions prefix the title " The Duty of Union in a Just War " and have another lin- ing.] (1) Boston: . . Watson cfe Bangs, . . . 1813. 8°, pp. 27. — An. C. L. (2) Same.— Ath. H. M. (3) New York : . . E. Conrad, . . . 1813. 8°, pp. 24. (4) Same. — L. (5) New Haven : . . J. Barber for BIBLIOGRAPHY. 593 E. Bassett, 1813. 8°, pp. 15. — C. Ct. (6) Albany: . . J. Buel, 1814. 8°, pp. 24. — H. (7) Bennington, Vt., . . Darius Clark & Co. 12% pp. 22. — U. (8) Pittsfield : Ke-printed by Pbinehas AUen, 1814. 8°, pp. 24. — L. 574. — 1813, Sept. 9. — Samuel Cary, Boston, Mass. A | Sermon | preached at | King's Chapel, Boston, | September 9, 1813, | the day of the I National Fast. [Psa. cvi. 4, 5.] Boston : . . Isaiah Thomas, Jun., 1813. 8%pp. 20.— An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. H. L. M. U. Y. 575.-1813, Sept. 9.— Pliny Dickenson, Walpole, N. H. A | Discourse | on the | Institution, Observance, and Profanation, | of the I Sabbath. | Delivered at Walpole, N. H. | on the | National and State Fast, | September 9, 1813. [Ex. xx. 8-11.] Walpole, N. H., . . . 1813. 8°, pp. 12. — N. H. 576. — 1813, Sept. 9. — John Ewing Latta, New Castle, Del. A | Sermon | preached on the 9th of September, 1813. | A day recom- mended by I the President of the United States, | to be observed as a day | of Humiliation and Prayer. [Rev. xiv. 6, 7.] Wilmington : . . Robert Porter, 1813. 8°, pp. 24. Ath. 577. — 1813, Sept. 9. — John Truair, Cambridge, Vt. The Alarm Trumpet. | A | Discourse, | delivered at Berkshire, Sept. 9, 1813, | the day of the | National Fast, | appointed by the President, on ac- count I of I the War. [Joel ii. 1.] Montpelier, Vt., . . Walton & Goss, 1813. 8°, pp. 22. — C. 578.-1813, Sept. 9. — Samuel Whelpley, Newark, N. J. The Fall of Wicked Nations. | A | Sermon, | delivered in the | First Presbyterian Church, Newark, | September 9, 1813, | a day of Fasting and Humiliation. [Isa. Ix. 12.] New York : . . Pelsue and Gould, . . . 1813. 8°, pp. 24. — Ct. L. 579. — 1813, Nov. 11 and 25.— John Smith, Salem, N. H. The triumph of Religion over Infidelity. | A | Discourse | delivered, 1813, I Nov. 11, in Salem, New-Hampshire ; | Nov. 25, in the East Parish of Bradford, | Massachusetts, | on the Public Thanksgiving. [Rev. XV. 2-4.] Haverhill, Mass., . . Greenough and Burrill, 1814. 8°, pp. 28. — L. 580. — 1813, Nov. 25. — Nathaniel Emmons, Franklin, Mass. A | Discourse, | delivered November 25, 1813, | on the day of the | Annual Thanksgiving. [1 Sam. xiv. 25.] (1) Dedham : . . . Gazette Office, 1813. 8°, pp. 20. — An. C. L. (2) Newburyport :.. William B. Allen & Co., 1814. 8°, pp. 16.— Ath. C. L. (3) Reprinted in Works, 1842. 581. — 1813, Nov. 25. — John Snelling Popkin, Newbury, Mass. A I Sermon, | preached in Newbury, First Parish, | on the day | of Annual Thanksgiving | in the j Commonwealth of Massachusetts, | November 25, 1813. [Gal. v. 1.] Newburyport : . . William B. AUen & Co., 1814. 8°, pp. 24. — Ath. N. H. 694 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 582. — 1814, Apr. 7. — Francis Brown, No. Yarmouth, Me. The Evils of War. | A | Fast Sermon, | delivered at North- Yarmouth, | April 7, 1814. [Micah iv. 3.] Portland : . . Arthur Shirley, 1814. 8% pp. 27. — C. H. U. 583. — 1814, Apr. 7. — Joseph McKean [Har. Coll.], Cambridge, Mass. A Plea | for | Friendship and Patriotism ; | in | Two Dis- courses, I preached at First Church, in Boston, | on Lord's Day, 27 March, | and | on the Annual Fast, 7 April, | MDCCCXIV. [Deut. xiii. 6. Jer. xxix. 7.] Munroe & Francis, Printers, Boston, 1814. 8°, pp. 59(1). — Ath. Ct. H. L. 584.-1814, Apr. 7. — EUjah Parish [Byfield], Newbury, Mass. A I Discourse, | delivered | at Byfield, | on | the Public Fast, | April 7, 1814. [Ex. V. 17, 18.] (1) Newburyport: . . William B. Allen and Co., 1814. 8°, pp. 24. — Ath. Bo. C. U. (2) Same. — C. Ct. H. 585. — 1814, Apr. 7. — John H. Stevens, Stoneham, Mass. The Duties of a Fast, in Time of War, | illustrated. | A | Discourse | de- livered in I Stoneham, (Mass.) April 7, 1814. | Being | the day of the State Fast. [Dan. vii. 3.] (1) Boston : . . Thomas S. Bangs, . . . 1814. 8°, pp. 24. — C. H. (2)Same.— An. L. (3) Same. — Ath. C. 586. — 1814, Apr. 14. — Abraham Burnham, Pembroke, N. H. Antichrist. | A | Discourse, | addressed to the Congregational | Church and Society in Pembroke, | New- Hampshire, | on | the Annual Fast, | April 14, 1814. [1 John ii. 22.] Concord : . . George Hough, 1814. 8°, pp. 24.— C. H. 587. — 1814, Oct. 5. — Benjamin Morgan Palmer, Beaufort, S. C. Gratitude and Penitence, | recommended from the united consi- | deration of National Mercies and | Judgments. | A Sermon, | deliv- ered I in the | Independent | or | Congregational Church, | Charles- ton, South-Carolina, | October 5, 1814. | Being a day appointed for Humiliation, | Thanksgiving, and Prayer, | in that City. [1 Sam. xii. 23-25.] Charleston: . . W. P. Young, . . . 1814. 8°, pp. 28.— Y. 588.-1814, Nov. 24. — John Truair, Sherburne, N. Y. A | Dis- course, I delivered | at Sherburne, November 24, 1814. | Being the day of I Public Thanksgiving, | appointed by Union Association. [Dan. vi. 10.] Utica : Printed .... by Merrell & Camp, 1815. 8°, pp. 15. — Ct. 589. — 1814, Dec. 1. — Sylvester Holmes, New Bedford, Mass. The I Government of God Glad Tidings. | A | Sermon, | preached on the day of | Public Thanksgiving and Praise, | December 1st, 1814. | From Isaiah lii. 7. . . New-Bedford : . . Benjamin Lindsey, 1815. 8^pp. 24 — C. H. 590. — 1814, Dec. 1. — Jacob Norton, Weymouth, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered December 1, 1814, | on the | Anniversary Thanksgiv- ing I in I Massachusetts. [Psa. cxviii. 1-4.] Boston: . . Lincoln & Edmands . » . n. d. 8°, pp. 23. — L. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 695 591. — 1815, Jan. 12. — Asa Burton, Thetford, Vt. A | Fast Ser- mon, I delivered at | Thetford, January 12, 1815. | On the day ap- pointed by the | President of the United States, | for Fasting and Prayer, | throughout the nation. [Isa. i. 5, 6.] Hanover : . . Charles Spear, 1815. 8°, pp. 23. — Ct. L. 592. — 1815, Jan. 12. — Daniel Chaplin, Groton, Mass. The Dis- pensations of Divine Providence considered as | Generally Correspond- ing with the Moral Character | of a Nation, and the Morals of New England at the | Present Day briefly compared with the Morals of | our Ancestors ; with some observations on the Duty | of Electors, to give their Suffrages to Men of Chris- | tian Character. | A | Sermon | delivered at Groton Jan. 12, 1815, | being the day of the | National Fast. . . . [Jer. xviii. 9, 10.] Cambridge : . . Hilliard and Metcalf , 1815. 8^pp. 12. — C. H. 593. — 1815, Jan. 12. — John Foster, Brighton, Mass. A | Ser- mon I preached in Brighton, | January 12, 1815, | a day of | National Fasting and Prayer | in the United States. [Luke xiv. 31, 32.] Bos- ton : . . John Eliot, 1815. 8°, pp. 18. — An. Ath. C. H. L. M. Y. 594. — 1815, Jan. 12. — John Ewing Latta, Newcastle, Del. A | Sermon | preached on the | Twelfth of January, 1815. | A Day | recommended by the | President | of the | United States, | to be ob- served as a day of | Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer. [2 Chron. xxxii. 7, 8.] Wilmington: .... Robert Porter, . . . 1815. 8°, pp. 24. — Ath. M. 595.-1815, Jan. 12 and Apr. 13. —Edward Mitchell, New York, N. Y. Two Sermons. | On the | National Fast, | twelfth of Jan. 1815; I and on the | National Thanksgiving, | thirteenth of April, 1815. [Isa. Iviii. 6 and Psa. xxii. 27, 28.] New York: .... Abra- ham Paul, . . . 1815. 8% pp. 28, 44. — C. 596. — 1815, Jan. 12. — Humphrey Moore, Milford, N. H. A | Discourse, | delivered at Milford, N. H. .| January 12, 1815 ; | the day I appointed by the | President of the United States | for | Na- tional Fasting and Humiliation. [Ex. xx. 7.] | Amherst : R. Boyl- ston, . . . 1815. 8°, pp. 16. — C. H. N. H. Y. 597. — 1815, Jan. 12. — Thomas Bobbins, East Windsor, Conn. A I Sermon, | preached at East- Windsor, | at the | National Fast, | appointed by the ] President and Congress | of the United States, | January 12, 1815. [2 Chron. xv. 1, 2.] Middletown: Loomis & Richards, Printers, 1815. 8°, pp. 21. — An. C. Ct. L. U. 598. — 1815, Jan. 12. — James Wakefield Tucker, Rowley, Mass. A I Discourse, | delivered Jan. 12, 1815. | On the | National Fast, | at I the Second Parish in Rowley- [Isa. v. 24, 25.] Newburyport : . . WiUiam B. Allen & Co., . . . 1815. 8°, pp. 20. — Ct. H. L. M. 599. — 1815, Jan. 12. — Samuel Walker, Danvers, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I delivered before the | Second Society in Danvers, | January 596 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 12, 1815, I being the day appointed for | National Humiliation and Prayer. [Prov. xiv. 34.] Salem : . . Thomas C. Gushing, 1815. 8°, pp. 24. — Ath. C. H. L. 600. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Jesse Appleton, [Bowd. Coll.] Brunswick, Me. A I Sermon, | delivered at Brunswick, April 13, 1815, | ap- pointed as a day of | National Thanksgiving, | by the | President of the United States, | on account of the peace recently established | between | this Country and Great Britain. [Psa. xlvi. 8, 9.] Hal- lowell: . . Ezekiel Goodale, 1815. 8°, pp. 24. — An. Ath. Bo. C. H. M. U. 601. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Samuel Blatchford, Lansingburg, N. Y. A I Sermon, | delivered to the | United Presbyterian Congregations of Lansingburgh | and Waterford, April 13, 1815; | being the day of I National Thanksgiving, | directed by | the President of the United- States, I and I the Governor of the State of New-York. [Psa. cxxxvi. 1.] Albany: . . Websters and Skinners, . . . n. d. 8°, pp. 20. — Ct. L. 602. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Nathan Bradstreet, Chester, N. H. Peace. | A | Discourse, | delivered in Chester, | New-Hampshire, | April 13, 1815, [ being the day of | National Thanksgiving, | in con- sequence of I the Restoration of Peace, | between the United States and Great Britain. [Psa. cxx. 7.] Concord : . . I. & W. R. HQl, 1815. 8°,pp. 15. — L. N. H. 603. — 1815, Apr. 13. —Silas ChurchUl, Lebanon, N. Y. A | Ser- mon, delivered at | Lebanon, in Canaan, | April 13, 1815, | it being | the Day of Public Thanksgiving | on account of the restoration of | Peace | between the | United States of America | and | Great-Britain. [Psa. 1. 14.] Pittsfield: . . Phinehas Allen, June, 1815. 8°, pp. 24. — L. 604. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Charles Coffin, [Greeneville Coll.] Greene- ville, Tenn. A | Sermon, | delivered in Rogersville, | April 13, 1815. | The day appointed | by the | President of the United States, | as a day of I National Thanks-giving | for the | Restoration of Peace. [Psa. cxlvii. 14.] Rogersville (Ten.), . . Carey & Early, . . . 1815. 8°, pp. 33. — L. 605. — 1815, Apr. 13.— Jonathan Curtis, Epsom, N. H. Two | Sermons, | delivered | at Epsom, New-Hampshire, | on the day ap- pointed I for the annual State Fast, | and | National Thanksgiving | for Peace, | April 13, 1815. [Isa. Iviii. 6. Isa. xlv. 7.] Concord : . . George Hough, 1815. 8°, pp. 16, 31. — C. N. H. 606. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Joshua Cushman, Winslow, Me. A | Dis- course, I delivered by request, | to a Respectable Audience of Liberal Christians, | assembled at | Winslow, | from that and the neighboring towns, I April 13, 1815 : | the day recommended by the President, | to be observed as | a | General Thanksgiving | throughout the United BIBLIOGRAPHY. 597 States I for the | Kestoration of Peace, and other Signal | Blessings. [Psa. Ixxv. 1.] HaUowell: . . N. Cheever, 1815. 8°, pp. 24. — An. Ath. M. 607. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Nathaniel Emmons, Franklin, Mass. A | Discourse | delivered on the | National Thanksgiving, | April 13, 1815. [Jer. xxx. 21.] (1) Dedham : . . . Gazette Office, 1815. 8°, pp. 19. —An. Ath. C. (2) Reprinted in Works, 1842. 608. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Edmund Foster, Littleton, Mass. A | Ser- mon, I preached at Littleton, April 13th, 1815 ; | being the | day of National Thanksgiving, | for the | Restoration of Peace | between the I United States of America | and | Great Britain. [Psa. xlvi. 7-11.] Boston: . . Ezra B. Tileston, 1815. 8°, pp. 16. — An. L. 609. — 1815, Apr. 13. — John Henry Hobart, New York, N. Y. The Security of a Nation. | A Sermon, | preached in Trinity Church, in the city of New- York, on | Thursday, April 13, A. D. 1815 ; | being the day appointed by the | President of the United States, | and the | Governor of the State of New York, | as a day of | Thanksgiving to Almighty God | for the various Public Mercies of His Pro\ddence, and I especially for the Restoration of the | Blessings of Peace. [Psa. cxliv. 15.] New York: .... T. & J. Swords, . . . 1815. 8% pp. 21. — Ath. L. U. Y. 610. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Samuel Farmer Jarvis, New York, N. Y. The I Duty of Offering unto God Thanksgiving. | A | Sermon, | preached in | St. Michael's Church, Bloomingdale, | on the | second Thursday in April, A. D. 1815 ; | the day appointed by | the President of the United States | as | a day of Thanksgiving | for | the Resto- ration of the Blessings of | Peace. [Psa. i. 14.] New York: . . Eastbum, Kirk & Co., . . . 1815. 8°, pp. 16. — Y. 611. — 1815, Apr. 13. — John Lathrop, Boston, Mass. A | Dis- course, I delivered in Boston, April 13, 1815, | the day of Thanks- giving I appointed by the | President of the United States. | In con- sequence of the I Peace. [1 Chron. xvi. 8, 9.] Boston : . . J. W. Burditt, 1815. 8°, pp. 28. — An. Ath. Bo. C. Ct. L. M. U. 612. — 1815, Apr. 13. — John Ewing Latta, Newcastle, Del. A I Sermon | preached at New-Castle, (Del.) | on the Thirteenth Day of April, 1815. | A Day | recommended | by the | President | of the | United States, | to be observed as a day of | Public Thanksgiving and Praise to God | for the | Restoration of Peace. [2 Chron. xx. 27-30.] Wilmington : . . Robert Porter, . . . 1815. 8°, pp. 23. — Ath. 613. — 1815, Apr. 13.— Daniel Merrill, Nottingham West, N. H. Balaam Disappointed. | A | Thanksgiving Sermon, | delivered | at Nottingham- West, | April 13, 1815. A day recommended by the National | Government, in which to rehearse God's mighty acts, and praise | His name. [Num. xxiii. 23.] (1) Concord: . . Isaac &. W. R. Hill, 1815. 8°, pp. 30. — An. Ct. (2) Concord: . . Isaac Hill, 1816. 8°, pp. 35. — An. 598 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. 614. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Edward Mitchell, New York, N. Y. [See Sermon of Jan. 12, 1815.] 615.— 1815, Apr. 13. — John Morse, Green River, N. Y. A | Sermon, | delivered at | Hillsdale, Green-River Society, | Columbia County, New- York, | April 13, 1815, | it being a day of | Public Thanksgiving | by order of the President of the United States, | on account of the Restoration of | Peace. [Psa. cxxiv. 1-8.] Hudson : . . S. W. Clark, 1815. 8°, pp. 16. — C. 616. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Seth Payson, Rindge, N. H. An | Abridg- ment I of I Two Discourses, | preached at Rindge, N. H. | at | the Annual Fast, | April 13, 1815 ; | the same day being afterwards appointed by the | National Government, to be observed as | a day of Public Thanksgiving, for | Returning Peace. [Ezra ix. 13, 14.] New-Ipswich, N. H. : Simeon Ide, . . . 1815. 8°, pp. 15.— Y. 617. — 1815, Apr. 13. — John Snelling Popkin, Newbury, Mass* A I Discourse | delivered | on the day of | National Thanksgiving | for Peace, | April 13, 1815. [Psa. xlvi. 8,- 9.] (1) Newburyport: .. W. B. Allen and Co., ... 1815. 8% pp. 24. — Ath. C. H. M. (2) . Reprinted in Memorial, 1852. 618. — 1815, Apr. 13. — John Smith, Salem, N. H. The goodness of God in restoring peace to the | United States. | A | Sermon | preached April 13, 1815, | being | the day appointed for thanksgiving throughout the | United States, | on account of | Peace with Great Britain. [Psa. cxlvii. 14.] Haverhill, Mass., . . Burrill & Tile- ston, 1815. 8°, pp. 16. —N. H. 619. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Otis Thompson, Rehoboth, Mass. A | Sermon | preached on the | National Thanksgiving | for the | Resto- ration of Peace, | April 13, 1815. [James iv. 1.] Providence : . . The American Office, by Goddard & Mann, 1818. 8°, pp. 20. — Ath. H. L. N. H. 620. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Edward Turner, Charlestown, Mass. The I Substance of a Discourse, | delivered | at the Universalist Meeting-House | in Charlestown, Mass. | April 13, 1815, | being the day of I General Thanksgiving | for | the Return of Peace. . . . [Prov. XXV. 25.] Charlestown: . . J. Howe,; 1815. 8°, pp. 16.— An. L. 621. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Alvan Underwood, West Woodstock, Conn. A I Discourse, | delivered at West Woodstock, | at the request of the singers of the parish ; | April 13th, 1815. | The day recommended for National Thanksgiving | for | Peace. [Zeph. iii. 14, 15.] Hartford : . . B. & T. Russell, 1815. 8°, pp. 16. — Ct. U. Y. 622. — 1815, Apr. 13. — Solomon Williams, Northampton, Mass. Historical Sketch | of | Northampton, | from its first settlement: | in a I Sermon, delivered on the I National Thanksgiving, | April 13, 1815. [Deut. xxxii. 7.] Northampton : . . . Hampshire Gazette Office? W. W. Clapp — 1815. 8°, pp. 24. — Ath. Bo. H. L. M. INDEX OF BIBLIOGEAPHY. Abbot, Abiel, 359, 396. Abercrombie, James, 338, 520, 524. Adams, Amos, 132, 173, 176. Adams, Eliphalet, 55. Adams, William, of Dedham, 15. Adams, William, of New Loudon, 151. Aiken, Solomon, 484. Allen, James, 25. Allen, John, 181. Allen, Wilkes, 483. Allin, James, 56, 63. Allyn, John, 364. Anderson, Rufus, 411. Andrews, Jolm, 280. Andrews, Samuel, 198. Andrews, Samuel, of St. Andrews, N. B., 339. Appleton, Jesse, 600. Appleton, Nathaniel, 107, 143, 161, 177. Apthorp, East, 156. Austin, Samuel, 327, 485, 499, 525. Avery, David, 221. Backus, Charles, 256. Bailey, Winthrop, 526. Baker, Daniel, 61, 62. Baldwin, Ebenezer, 189, 208. Baldwin, Tliomas, 281, 376, 433. Ballantine, William G., 447. Barker, Joseph, 527. Barnard, Edward, 158. Barnard, John, of Andover, 68. Barnard, John, of Marblehead, 50, 65. Barnard, Thomas, 282, 324, 328. Barton, Titus T., 500. Bascom, Jonathan, 190. Bates, Joshua, 568. Batwell, Daniel, 199. Bean, Joseph, 120. Belcher, Joseph, 38. Belknap, Jeremy, 340. Bell, Benjamin, 528. Beman, Nathan S, S., 529. Bemis, Stephen, 530. Billings, William, 83. Blair, Samuel, 341. Blatchford, Samuel, 601. Blood, Mighill, 454. Bogart, David S., 432. Bracken, John, 283. Bradford, Alden, 342. Bradford, Ebenezer, 284, 313. Bradstreet, Nathan, 602. Braman, Isaac, 477. Brewer, Daniel, 59. Brockway, Thomas, 235. Brown, Clark, 463, 473. Brown, Francis, 501, 582. Brown, John, 79. Browne, Arthur, 125. Browne, John, 179. Buckmiuster, Joseph, 236, 323, 360. Bucknam, Nathan, 92. Bulkley, Edward, 10. Burnap, Jacob, 380. Bumham, Abraham, 586. Burr, Aaron, 117. Burt, John, 133. Burton, Asa, 591. Byles, Mather, 141. Cabot, Marston, 84, 86. Camp, Samuel, 365. Caner, Henry, 157. Cary, Samuel, 574. Caryl, Benjamin, 174. Catlin, Jacob, 502. Champion, Judah, 178. Chandler, James, 171 . Chandler, Samuel, 139. C banning, Henry, 277. Channing, William E., 478, 503, 531. Chaplin, Daniel, 592. Chauncy, Charles, 95, 98, 167. Checkley, Samuel, 97. Cheever, Thomas, 60. Church, John H., 440, 479, 532. Churchill, Silas, 603. Clark, Joseph, 521. Clark, Peter, 90. Clark, Pitt, 285. Cleveland, John, 533. Cobb, Oliver, 566. Coffin, Charles, 604. Colman, Benjamin, 43, 44, 45, 58, 66, 81, 87. Colman, Henry, 534. Cook, Rozel, 237. Cooke, Samuel, 228. Coombe, Thomas, 200. Cooper, Samuel, 131. Cooper, William, 58. Cotton, John, of Halifax, 126. Cotton, John, of Newton, 69. Cradock, Thomas, 104. Crafts, Thomas, 425. Crane, John, 401. Cumings, Henry, 170, 210, 238, 329, 366, 405. Cummings, Abraham, 881. Currie, William, 105. Curtis, Jonathan, 605. Cushman, Joshua, 434, 606. Cutler, Manasseh, 382. 600 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Dana, Daniel, 383, 562. Dana, James, 448. Dana, Joseph, 286, 384, 451. Dana, Samuel, 469. Danforth, John, 35, 71. Danforth, Samuel, of Roxbury, 4. Danforth, Samuel, of Taunton, 48. Davenport, John, 5. Deane, Samuel, 287. Dehon, Theodore, 446. Dexter, Samuel, 88. Dickenson, Pliny, 575. Dodd, Bethuel, 322. Dow, Moses, 535, 569. Duche, Jacob, 201. Duffield, George, 239. Dunbar, Samuel, 116, 182. Dunn, Thomas, 267. Dwight, Timothy, 222, 504, 536. Eaton, Peter, 397. Eckley, Joseph, 367. Eliot, Andrew, 115, 134. Eliot, Jared, 101. Eliot, John, 271. Ellis, Ferdinand, 505. Emerson, Brown, 506, 537. Emerson, Joseph, 140, 168. Emmons, Nathaniel, 330, 343, 385, 402, 406, 412, 417, 435, 580, 607. Evans, Israel, 223, 229, 240. Evans, J., 96. Fairbank, Drury, 429, 482. Fish, Elisha, 163. Fish, Joseph, 119. Ffske, Abel, 361. Fiske, John, 538. Fiske, Nathan, 183. Fiske, Thaddeus, 288. Fitch, James, 11. Fletcher, Nathaniel H., 563. Forbes, Eli, 144. Foster, Edmund, 474, 608. Foster, Festus, 490. Foster, John, 441, 486, 593. Foxcroft, Thomas, 121, 145. Freeman, James, 331. Freeman, Jonathan, 358. French, Jonathan, of Andover, 368. French, Jonathan, of No. Hampton, 423, 539. Frink, Samuel, 153. Frisbie, Levi, 289, 377. Gardiner, John S. J., 455, 465, 481, 495, 507. Gardner, Francis, 316. Gay, Bunker, 259. Gay, Ebenezer, 180. Giles, John, 540. Gillet, Eliphalet, 317, 386, 436, 456, 487, 491, 541. Gookin, Nathaniel, 72. Gordon, William, 191, 192. Gould, Vinson, 414. Gray, James, 468. Gray, Robert, 362. Green, Ashbel, 290, 344. Green, Jacob, 202. Hale, Enoch, 426. Hall, David, 146. Harris, Matthias, 127. Harris, Thaddeus M., 345, 452. Harris, Walter, 387, 561. Hart, Oliver, 258. Haven, Jason, 128. Hazlitt, William, 253. Hilliard, Timothy, 184. Hobart, John H., 609. Holcomb, Reuben, 508. Holman, Nathan, 492. Holmes, Abiel, 291, 388, 470. Holmes, Sylvester, 589. Hooke, William, 2, 3. Hotchkiss, Frederick W., 260. Hubbard, William, 23. Huntington, Asahel, 475. Huntington, Enoch, 203. Hyde, Alvau, 332. Inglis, James, 460. Jarvis, Samuel F., 610. Johns, Evan, 421. Johnson, Stephen, 159. Jones, David, 204. Keith, James, 48. Kendal, Samuel, 292. King, Walter, 321. Kirkland, John T., 346. Kunze, Johann C, 241. Langdon, Samuel, 137. Lansing, Dirick C, 449. Lathrop, John, 193, 249, 272, 389, 466, 493, 509, 542, 611. Lathrop, Joseph, 255, 293, 334, 418, 457, 488. Latta, John E., 461, 543, 576, 594, 612. Laurence, Nathaniel, 544. Lee, Andrew, 214. Leland, John, 407. Leonard, Abiel, 172. Lewis, Arazi, 278. Lewis, Isaac, 564. Linn, William, 320, 347. Lock wood, James, 155. Lyman, Gershom C, 545. Lyman, Joseph, 194, 265, 437. Maccarty, Thaddeus, 130, 185, 211. Madison, James, 230, 294. Mansfield, Isaac, 212. Marsh, John, 242. Mason, John M., 264, 295. Mason, Thomas, 374, 438. Mather, Cotton, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 33, 40, 46, 53. Mather, Increase, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 22, 34, 51, 52. Matthews, John, 546. May, Hezekiah, 415. Mayhew, Jonathan, 129, 135, 147, 154, 162. INDEX OF BIBLIOGRAPHY. 601 McCorkle, Samuel E., 296, 348. McFarland, Asa, 363. McKean, Joseph, 583. McKeen, Joseph, 261, 349, 408. McKuight, John, 297. McLeod, Donald, 494. Mead, Samuel, 547. Mellen, John, of Barnstable, 273. MeUen, John, of Sterling, 148, 298. Merrill, Daniel, 613. Messer, Asa, 369. Miller, Samuel, 350, 375. Miller, WiUiam F., 422. Mills, Edmund, 450. Miltimore, James, 496. Mitchell, Edward, 595, 614. Montgomery, Joseph, 205. Moore, Humphrey, 443, 548, 596. Moore, Zephaniah S., 325. Morrill, Nathaniel, 73. Morse, Jedidiah, 299, 351, 370, 390, 510. Morse, John, 615. Murray, John, 224, 243, 300. Norton, Jacob, 590. Noyes, Nathaniel, 250. Noyes, Thomas, 471. Oakes, Urian, 19. Osgood, David, 244, 274, 301, 318, 352, 391. Packaed, Hezekiah, 302, 379. Paige, Reed, 549. Paine, Thomas, 70. Palmer, Benjamin M., 587. Parish, Elijah, 439, 458, 489, 511, 570, 584. Parkinson, William, 550. Patten, William, of Halifax, 169. Patten, William, of Newport, 251. Payson, Edward, 74. Payson, Phillips, 91. Payson, Seth, 444, 616. Perkins, Nathan, 512. Phillips, Samuel, 75. Popkin, John S., 581, 617. Porter, David, 400. Porter, Eliphalet, 245, 353. Porter, Huntington, 551. Prentice, Thomas, 99, 108. Prentiss, Thomas, 552. Prince, John, 354. Prince, Thomas, 49, 67, 82, 100, 102, 103, 112. Proudfit, Alexander, 464. Richardson, Joseph, 480, 571. Robbins, Thomas, 597. j Roby, Joseph, 226, 269. Rodgers, John, 246. Rogers, John, 76. Romeyn, John B., 462. Ross, Robert, 209. Rowan, Stephen N., 522. Rowland, David S., 164, 186. Rowland, Henry A., 403. Rowlandson, Joseph, 16. Sampson, Ezra, 206, 303. Seixas, Gershom, 258 a, 355. Sewall, Joseph, 57, 77, 89, 94. Sherwood, Samuel, 189, 215. Skillman, Isaac, 181. Smith, Aaron, 111. Smith, Eli, 430. Smith, Ethan, 476. Smith, John, 326, 553, 567, 579, 618. Smith, Robert, 231. Smith, Samuel S., 279, 304. Smith, William, 123, 207, 227, 232, 268. Snell, Thomas, 513, 554. Speece, Conrad, 555. Spring, Samuel, 220, 266, 371, 472. Stearns, Josiah, 219. Stearns, William, 197. Steele, Eliphalet, 572. Stetson, Seth, 453. Stevens, John H., 573, 585. Stillman, Samuel, 160, 275, 392. Stone, Eliab, 393. Stone, Micah, 514. Stone, Nathan, 149. Story, Isaac, 195, 305. Strong, Cyprian, 218. Strong, Jonathan, 319. Strong, Nathan, 225, 335, 337, 372, 404, 515. Sumner, Joseph, 398. Swift, John, 152. Symmes, William, 175. Taggaet, Samuel, 516, 556. Tappan, David, 233, 262, 306, 336. Taylor, John, 373. Tennent, Gilbert, 106, 110, 113. Thacher, Thomas, of Boston, 9. Thacher, Thomas, of Dedham, 307, 459, 497. Thacher, Thomas C, 276. Thayer, John, 356. Thayer, Nathaniel, 314, 557. Thompson, Otis, 498, 558, 619. Tomb, Samuel, 416, 419. Townsend, Jonathan, of Medfield, 136. Townsend, Jonathan, of Needham, 80. Troop, Benjamin, 166. Truair, John, 577, 588. Trumbull, Benjamin, 247. Tucker, James W., 598. Tucker, John, 122, 124, 257. TuUar, Martin, 399. Turell, Ebenezer, 109. Turner, Charles, 234. Turner, Edward, 620. Tyler, John, 308. Underwood, Alvan, 621. Van Vlierden, Petrus, 523. Wadsworth, Benjamin, of Boston, 41, 42, 47, 54. Wadsworth, Benjamin, of Danvers, 309, 333. Walker, Samuel, 517, 599. 602 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, Ware, Henry, 310. Waterman, Jotham, 427, 467. Webb, John, 85. Webster, Josiah, 565. Webster, Samuel, 187. Weld, Ezra, 270, 394. Weld, Ludovicus, 424. West, Samuel, 252, 311. West, Stephen, 409. Wheelock, Eleazar, 213. Wheelwright, John, 1, Whelpley, Samuel, 578. White, William, 254, 312, 395. Whiting, Samuel, 55. Whitney, Peter, of Northborough, 188. Whitney, Peter, of Quincy, 518. Wigglesworth, Samuel, 64, 118. Wilder, John, 357, 445. Willard, Joseph, 248. Willard, Samuel, 6, 7, 18, 20, 21, 24, 30, 32, 36, 37. Williams, Eliphalet, 142. Williams, Nathan, 263. Williams, Samuel, 196. Williams, Solomon, of Lebanon, 93, 114. 138. . ' Williams, Solomon, of Northampton, 442, 622. Williams, William, of Hatfield, 39. Williams, William, of Weston, 78. Williston, Payson, 428. Witherspoon, John, 216. Witter, Ezra, 410. Wood, Samuel, 431. Woodman, Joseph, 420. Woods, Leonard, 378. Woodward, Samuel, 150. Worcester, Leonard, 413. Worcester, Noah, 559. Worcester, Samuel, 519, 560. Worcester, Thomas, 315. Wright, Eliphalet, 217. ZuBLY, John J., 165. GENERAL INDEX. Adams, Rev. Eliphalet, 318, 319. Adams, President John, 373, 375, 405. Adams, Gov. Samuel, 364-370. Adams, Rev. William, of Dedham, 213, 214. "Admonition to the Parliament," 23, 36, 37. Aiken, Rev. Solomon, 385. Ainsworth, Henry, views of, 54, 57, 58, 60. Allen, Rev. James, 181 n., 210, 233, 272 n. Almanacs, 314, 315, 322, 348. American Board, 383. Amusements, on holy days, 16-27, 72, 163 ; on fast and thanksgiving days, 168, 169, 172, 396, 397, 417, 424, 428 ; prohibited, 413-415. Andros, Sir Edmund, 228-236, 270, 271, 447. Antinomian Controversy, 114-128. Appleton, Rev. Nathaniel, 331. " Assassination Plot," 275. Austin, Rev. Samuel, 392. Baldwin, Rev. Ebenezer, 336. Barnard, Rev. Thomas, 372. Barnstable, church at. See Scituate. Bemis, Rev. Stephen, 389 n. Bible, Puritans influenced by, 40, 41. *' Bishops' War," 154. Bogardus, Dominie Everardus, 164-166. " Book of Sports," 18-24, 40, 49. Boston, town, 124, 148, 293, 305, 306, 317, 333, 334, 337 ; First Church, 92, 100, 101, 110, 116-128, 148, 149, 233, 270, 281, 282, 291 ; Second [North] Church, 196, 197, 210, 211, 217, 218, 281, 290, 291 ; Third [South] Church, 200, 218, 225, 233, 260, 269, 274, 277, 281, 297, 317, 323-327, 333. Bradford, Rev. Ebenezer, 370-373. Bradford, Gov. William, 67, 72, 74, 97, 98, 129, 130. Brewster, Elder William, 62, 80, 85, 86, 104 n., 456. Browne, Robert, views of, 55, 56. Bulkley, Rev. Edward, 198, 199. Bullinger, Henry, views of, 32-34, 59. Byles, Rev. Mather, 297 n. Calvin, John, views of, 32-34. Canada, conquest of, 299-313. Cartwright, Thomas, follows practice of Calvin, 32, 37 ; controversy with Whitgift, 38. Carver, Gov. John, 456-458. Catechisms, use of, 208, 209, 219, 410. Channing, Rev. WUliam E., 390, 392. Charles I., 49, 147, 150, 228, 234-236. Charles II., 52, 160, 161. Charlestown, church in, 100, 101, 105. Chauncy, Rev. Charles, 301 n., 302, 303, 332, 334. Checkley, Rev. Samuel, 300. Child, Robert, 158, 159. Christian Year, 12, 16, 17, 28-39, 56, 60, 163, 351-353, 454, 455. Christmas, heathen customs attached to, 11, 12 ; English laws concerning, 13-15; observance of, in England, 24-26 ; at Geneva, 33, 34 ; Ainsworth's opinion of, 57 ; honored in Holland, 56- 58 ; fasts on, 49, 89 ; in New Nether- land, 163; in New England, 72, 73, 89, 227, 228, 417, 418, 454, 455. Church, Captain Benjamin,~^Dl-204, 271-273. Churches, keep installation fasts, 59 n., 97, 110, 221; appoint fast and thanksgiving days, 56, 85, 108, 142, 145, 156, 221-224, 228-230, 241-244, 332 ; religious services of, 51, 81, 88, 97, 167, 168, 202, 203, 208, 209, 218. " Churchman's Apology," 351-357. Clap, Roger, 102, 104. Clinton, Gov. De Witt, 407. Cogswell, Rev. James, 297 n. Colman, Rev. Benjamin, 296, 317. Comets, influence of, 187-190. Conant, Rev. Lawrence, 422 n. Concord, church thanksgiving at, 198, 199. Confessions, declarations concerning Divine Providence, 41, 42 ; holy days, 34 ; occasional fast and thanksgiving days, 55, 59 ; of Field and Wilcocks, 36, 55. Congress, Continental, 175, 339-346, 399-402 ; national, 403-406. Connecticut, early experiences, 129-146 ; first public thanksgiving known in, 135, 136 ; first fast day, 136-139 ; churches appoint days, 142, 145 ; orders from civil authorities, 145 ; monthly fasts, 157, 196, 201; de- velopment of harvest thanksgiving in, 245, 246 ; annual fast day of, 251 ; sympathy with Massachusetts, 276, 277, 300 ; proclamations during the Revolution, 334, 341, 342 ; Good Fri- day fast in, 347-361, 452-454; laws concerning fast and thanksgiving days, 412-415 ; broadside proclama- tions, 432, 440-442. 604 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS. Convocation of 1562, 31, 32, 35. Cooper, Rev. Samuel, 311. Cooper, Rev. William, 292, 294, 296. Cotton, Rev. John, of Boston, 108 n., 115-127, 159, 188, 240. Cotton, Rev. John, of Newton, 292-294. Cotton, Rev. John, of Plymouth, 202- 204. Cromwell, Oliver, 149, 155, 159, 160. Crops blasted, 179, 180, 283. Customs relating to fast and thanks- giving days, 416-429. Danforth, Rev. John, of Dorchester, 260, 277, 278. Danforth, Rev. Samuel, of Roxbury, 188, 189. Danforth, Rev. Samuel, of Taunton, 260. Dawson, Rev. Eli, 311. Dexter, Rev. Henry M., 12, 71 n., 201 n. Dorchester, church at, 100, 209, 212, 252, 276. Droughts, list of, 319 n. ; fast days on account of, 80-85, 107, 108, 146, 157, 178, 179, 190, 191, 227, 274, 281, 293, 306, 315, 319-327. Dudley, Gov. Joseph, 275-279. Dutch customs, in Holland, 64, 65 ; in New Netherland, 162-176. Dwight, Rev. Timothy, 344. Earthquakes, list of, 285 n. ; in 1638, 136, 137; in 1727, 285-295; in 1744, 299 ; in 1755, 295-298, 300. Easter, heathen origin of, 11, 12 ; Eng- lish laws relating to, 13-15; in Hol- land, 56; in New Netherland, 163; in New England, 227, 351-357, 415, 454, 455. Edward VL, 17. Eells, Rev. John, 312 n. Eliot, Rev. Jared, 303. Eliot, Rev. John, 159, 160, 185, 186, 397. Elizabeth, Queen, reforms of, 16 ; tolerates desecration of the Sabbath, 18 ; opposition to abolishing saints' days, 34, 35 ; orders fast and thanks- giving days, 47. Emerson, Rev. Joseph, 332. Endicott, Gov. John, 96, 97, 115, 132, 189, 410. England, holy days in, 11-39 ; fast and thanksgiving days in, 40-53, 158, 234, 275, 311, 345; fasts for, 142, 144 n., 147-161, 275, 304; days ordered by, 175, 279, 311, 312, 380. Episcopal Church, early reforms at- tempted by, 17, 18 ; calendar of, 28- 32, 351-353 ; reformed bishops of, 30- 32, 35 ; preference for particular days of the week, 92, 93; thanksgiving service of, 78 ; festivals of, in New England, 89, 90, 227, 228, 232-236, 347-361, 417-420 ; relation to fast and thanksgiving days, 283, 284, 345- 361, 369, 370, 414, 415. Fashions, Puritan objection to, 115, 128. Fast Days, practice of (Occasional ap- pointments, 40-47, 59, 60, 78, 79, 92 ; among early Christians, 44 n. ; in England, 40-53, 345 ; among the Dutch, 64, 65, 162-176; annual ap- pointment of, 44, 52, 79,239-241, 249- 255; services on, 50, 51, 81, 97, 167, 168, 208, 209, 218, 335, 415, 416 ; day of the week preferred for, 92, 93, 99, 167 ; general in New England, 173 n., 198, 213 ; church appointments, 56, 85, 108, 142, 145, 150, 221-224, 228, 241, 411 ; civil authority for, 85, 87, 145, 223, 224, 237, 411 ; of religious bodies, 124, 215, 381 ; of the Court, 209, 277, 280, 311, 381, 382; of a private character, 36, 221, 256-258; on installation occasions, 59 n., 97, 110, 221; lecture fasts, 302, 317; for renewal of covenant, 207-220 ; monthly, 49, 59, 157, 167, 172, 174, 196, 201 ; national appointments, 339-346, 373, 375, 381, 392, 393, 399- 409 ; changed to thanksgiving days, 105, 106, 178, 199, 315 n. ; customs relating to, 416-420; Lord's Supper on, 63 ; opposition to, 157, 200, 210, 229, 230, 263-269; disregarded, 148, 149, 158, 159, 227, 234, 337, 431 ; in- effectual, 126, 127, 195-197 ; sanctity of, 410-416; political character of, 362-394. Fasting, compulsory, 12, 14 ; duration of, 12, 04, 416 ; food saved by, 47 ; Ainswortli and Robinson on, 60; in New England, 416. " Feast of Ingathering," 75, 76, 146. Feasting, in England, 50, 51, 65; at Leyden, 63-67 ; at Plymouth, 73-75 ; in Bay Colony, 109, 135 ; of the Scit- uate Church, 88, 89 ; development of, in New England, 421-429. " Feasts of Christ," 28-37, 56-58, 454, Field* John, 36, 37, 55. Fiske, Rev. Nathan, 312 n. Fitch, Rev. James, 108 n., 193, 207-211. Floods, 144, 169. Food, scarcity of, 79-86, 102-109, 141, 142, 283. Forward, Rev. Justus, 312 n. Foxcroft, Rev. Thomas, 288, 291, 292. Gage, Gov. Thomas, 335. Gardiner, Rev. John S. J., 369, 384, 392. Geneva, practice at, 33, 34. Gerry, Gov. Elbridge, 384-391. Good Friday, observance of, in Eng- land, 28-39 ; in Connecticut, 347-361, 452-454 ; in Massachusetts, 369, 370, 448-451; in New Hampshire, 348, 451 ; in New Netherland, 163 ; in Vir- ginia, 157. Gookin, Rev. Nathaniel, 288. Gordon, Rev. William, 336, 337. Green, Rev. Ashbel, 372. Greeuhalge, Gov. Frederic T., 447-451. GENERAL INDEX. 605 Griswold, Gov. Roger, 392. " Guy Fawkea's Day," 47, 48, 52, 89, 228, 419, 420. Hale, Rev. John, 257-260. Hall, Joseph, Bishop, 57. Hart, Rev. Levi, 338. Hartford First Church, fasts and thanks- givings of, 132, 134-136, 140-142 ; cov- enanting practice of, 207-211. Harvest Festival, at Plymouth, 68-77 ; in Bay Colony, 103, 108 ; development of, 68, 239-249, 395-409. Harvest Home of England, 76, 77. Harvests, days relating to, 45, 46, 70-76, 80-86, 107, 108, 145, 146, 170, 179-183, 283. Haven, Rev. Jason, 310. Henry VIII., reforms of, 16, 17. Higginson, Rev. Francis, voyage of, 94- 96. Holmes, Rev. Abiel, 389 n. Holy Days, number of, 12 ; judicial hol- idays, 14, 15, 163 ; diminished, 16, 17, 29. Hooke, Rev. William, 149-156. Hooker, Rev. Thomas, views of, 59, 60 ; at Cambridge Synod, 124 ; removal to Connecticut, 128 ; on immigration, 138, 142; sermons of, 132, 136, 140- 142 ; his death, 185. Hubbard, Rev. WiUiam, 200. Huit, Rev. Ephraim, 140 n., 145 n., 146. Huntington, Gov. Samuel, 350-359. Hutchinson, Mrs. Ann, 117-125. Hutchinson, Gov. Thomas, 333. Indians, at the Pilgrim feast, 71, 73; astonished at answers to prayer, 82, 108 n. ; smallpox among. 111 ; allies of English, 132, 133; treaty with, 140, 141 ; plant corn, 145 ; massacres by, 157, 165, 192-200; killed by whites, 166, 198, 199; wars with, 192-204; 270-284; 299-313, 371; observe fast and thanksgiving days, 247 n., 395- 398. Insects, crops injured by, 107, 180-183, 228,281,321-325. Ireland, fast for, 153-156. Jacob, Henry, 54, 59. James I., issues "Book of Sports," 18- 21. Jarvis, Abraham, Bishop, 360. Jay, Gov. John, 407 n. Jews, fasts and feasts of, 41, 75, 76, 146. Johnson, President Andrew, 408. Johnson, Rev. Stephen, 330. Kieft, Gov. William, 164-166. Knox, John, 32, 37. Labor, restrictions of, 12, 13, 17; pro- hibited on fast and thanksgiving days, 411-415. Laud, William, Archbishop, 139, 147, 152. Laws, relating to holy seasons, 13-20 ; appointment of days, 87, '88, 145; ob- servance, 168 n., 349, 410-416; re- formation of morals, 205-207, 219, 220, 268. Lent, 14, 44, 60, 249, 351-354, 418. Lincoln, President Abraham, 407-409. Lothrop, Rev. John, 54, 60, 87-89. Madison, President James, 392-394, 405, 406. Maine, practice in, 277, 379, 451. Mary, Queen, 18, 46. Masonic societies, 374-377. Massachusetts, early practice in, 91, 92, 96-101, 221-224, 237, 239-241 ; devel- opment of harvest thanksgiving in, 239-241, 246-249 ; annual fast day of, 239-241, 251-255 ; monthly fasts, 282 ; later practice in, 381, 381 n. ; Good Friday fast favored in, 369, 370 ; po- litical character of fast day services in, 302-394 ; laws concerning fast and thanksgiving days, 411-414; broad- side proclamations, 433-440 ; abolishes fast day, 446-451. Mather, Rev. Cotton, writes proclama- tions, 223, 225, 272 ; rejected procla- mations of, 253, 265-268 ; Jiis relation to witchcraft, 257-268 ; on earthquake of 1727, 287-293 ; sermons of, 252, 261, 262, 272 n., 317, 418. Mather, Rev. Increase, writes proclama- tions, 197, 212, 215-217, 229 ; encour- ages fasts, 194-198 ; his efforts for a reformation, 205-220; rebuked by Andros, 229, 230 ; on May Day, 418 ; sermons of, 209, 212, 213, 282. May, twenty-ninth of, 48, 52, 419. May Day, games of, 20-23 ; at Merry Mount, 89, 90 ; in New England, 228, 418 ; in New Netherland, 163. Mayhew, Rev. Jonathan, 297 n., 310, 331, 332. McKnight, Rev. John, 372. Michaelius, Rev. Jonas, 164. Ministers, write proclamations, 221-224, 338 n. ; make appointments, 225, 226, 335; further reformation, 205-220; resist Andros, 228-230, 237, 238; re- lation to witchcraft, 256-269; views on droughts, 325-327 ; patriotism of, 329-346; preach politics, 362-394; move to abolish fast day in Massachu- setts 448 Moody,' Rev. Samuel, 303. Morris, Rev. Benj. F., 408. Morse, Rev. Jedidiah, 368-378, 392. New Hampshire, practice in, 235, 246, 276, 282, 301, 302, 335, 379, 380, 451 ; monthly fasts in, 282 ; Good Friday fasts observed in, 348 ; laws relating to fast and thanksgiving days, 412- 414 ; broadside proclamations, 443. New Haven Colony, fast and thanks- giving days in, 157, 173, 174 ; laws of, 412, 413. 606 FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS, New Netherland, observes fast and thanksgiving days, 163-176. Newspapers print proclamations, 278 n., 432, 438. New Year's Day, 163. New York, 175, 307, 353, 442, 443. Non-conformists, Sabbath esteemed by, 12-21 ; oppose the keeping of saints' days, 35-39 ; views of, 43, 44 ; prac- tices of, 91-98. Norwich, church at, 207-209. Osgood, Rev. David, 240, 365-378. Parish, Rev. Elijah, 385-392. Parker, Matthew, Archbishop, 31, 32. Parris, Rev. Samuel, 256-259. Patriots' Day, 337, 338, 447-451. Patten, Rev. William, 332. Peace, thanksgivings for, 134-136, 167, 169, 170, 174, 192, 193, 201-204, 311, 346, 394. Peirce, Captain William, brings relief, 103-106. Pemberton, Rev. Ebenezer, 333. Pennsylvania, 175, 304, 353. Pequot War, 123 n., 131-136. Peter, Hugh, 59, 60, 116, 118, 151, 158. Philip, Indian king, war with, 192-204. Phips, Sir William, 236, 237, 253, 254, 264, 272. Pigeons, 183. Pilgrims, fasts of, at Leyden, 61-67 ; land at Plymouth, 69, 456-458 ; early practices of, at Plymouth, 68-90 ; fel- lowship with Salem, 97, 98 ; sympa- thize with the Bay Colony, 101. Plymouth Colony, development of har- vest thanksgiving in, 242-244 ; annual fast day of, 250, 251, 254 ; covenanting fasts in, 210, 211 ; laws relating to fast and thanksgiving days, 87, 411- 413. Popham colonists, 78. Prayer, form of, 345 n. Prentice, Rev. Thomas, 303. Preparatory service, 218. Prince, Rev. Thomas, 288, 294, 297, 298, 300-306, 323-327. Proclamations, earliest form of, 85 ; dis- tributed, 174 n., 176, 233-235, 431; read from the pulpit, 222 ; broadside prints of, 343, 344, 430-445 ; reprinted, 165-167, 170, 192, 216, 217, 231, 232, 266-268, 330, 339, 340, 395, 396, 400, 401. Prodigies, 187-189. Reformation, need of, 125, 169, 170, 177, 178, 199; movement for, 205-220; after the witchcraft delusion, 266-268 ; after the earthquake of 1727, 289-295. Reformed churches, 56, 162, 163, 168. Reforming Synod, 214. Revolution, American, 328-346, 399-404, 439 440. Rhode Island, practice in, 231, 230, 277, 380, 381 ; occasions observed by, 307, 308, 311, 329, 332, 334, 338 ; proclama- tions, 443, 444. Richardson, Rev. John, 194. Robbins, Rev. Philemon, 331. Robinson, John, views of, 54-67, 76. Rowlandson, Rev. Joseph, 200, 201, 213. Roxbury, church at, 110, 111, 178 n., Russell, Gov. William E., 448, 449. Sabbath, equality of saints' days with, 13-20 ; observance of, 15, 19, 20, 22-24, 168, 410, 411. Saints' days, 12-24, 28-39, 57-60, 89, 90. Salem, church at, 92, 96-98, 100, 101, 207, 228, 248 n., 257. Salem Village, 256-259. Scituate, church at, 54, 87-89, 135, 152, 243, 250, 421. Scotland, fasts and thanksigivings in. 19 n., 32, 39. Scottish church at Rotterdam, 58. Seabury, Samuel, Bishop, 349-359. Separatists, adopt Genevan system, 38, 39 ; practices in England, 55, 56, 65, 95. See Pilgrims. Sewall, Rev. Joseph, 291, 294, 297. Sewall, Judge Samuel, 225, 226, 247, 263- 269, 282, 423. Sherwood, Rev. Samuel, 336. Ships, thanksgiving for arrival of, 109- 111 ; days disregarded by, 148, 149, 157. Shrovetide, 57, 165, 228, 417. Sickness, fasts on account of, 100, 125, 157, 169, 171, 183-187, 190, 274. SmaUpox, 95, 96, 111, 142, 143, 174, 186, 213, 271, 273. Smith, Rev. Aaron, 322, 323. Smith, Rev. Samuel S., 371. Smyth, John, 54, 57, 58. Snowstorms, 141 n., 315-319. Stamp Act, 328-333. States, Southern and Western, 395-398, 407, 408 n. Stillman, Rev. Samuel, 331, 368. Stone, Rev. Samuel, 132-134. Storms cause fast days, 126, 127, 169, 178, 315-319. Strong, Gov. Caleb, 391, 392. Stuyvesant, Gov. Peter, 168-173. Sullivan, Gov. James, 368. Sumner, Rev. Joseph, 333. Supernatural phenomena, 187, 195, 199. Synod, Cambridge, 135, 136 ; Reforming, 214-217. Tappan, Rev. David, 370, 372, 375. Taylor, President Zachary, 406. *' Thanksgiving Book," 47. Thanksgiving Days, practice of occa- sional appointments, 40-47, 59, 60, 78, 79, 92, 226, 247 ; among early Chris- tians, 44 n. ; in England, 40-53, 158, 234, 275, 311 ; among the Dutch, 64, 65, 162-176 ; annual appointment of, 44, 52, 79, 89, 175, 239-249 ; services on, 50, 51, 88, 167, 168, 202, 203, 357, GENERAL INDEX. 607 415, 421^24, 427 ; general in New- England, 135, 136, 231 ; church ap- pointments, 56, 85, 145, 221-224, 228- 230, 241-244, 332; civil authority for, 85, 87, 145, 223, 224, 237, 411 ; of a private character, 221 ; monthly, 201 ; national appointments, 339-344, 349, 350, 364, 370, 393, 395-409; changed to fast days, 292 ; omitted, 198, 214, 225; on Sunday, 78, 232-234; disre- garded, 231, 232 ; customs relating to, 420-429; sanctity of, 410-416; feast of, 50, 51, 65, 73-75, 88, 89, 109, 135, 421-429. Treadwell, Gov. John, 383. Trumbull, Gov. Jonathan, 341, 342, 442. Trumbull, Gov. Jonathan, Jr., 359, 360. UnderhiU, Captain John, 132, 133, 166. Vane, Gov. Henry, 116-124, 127. Vermont, 343, 381, 392, 444, 451. Virgmia, 93, 157, 304, 3^4, 407. Wadsworth, Rev. Benjamin, 317, 318. Wadsworth, Rev. Daniel, 299, 302 n., 303, 424. War causes fast and thanksgiving days, 46, 111, 112, 119, 123, 131-136, 147-161, 165-167, 169-175, 192-204, 270-284, 299-313, 328-a46, 383-394, 407-409. Warham, Rev. John, 136, 138-140, 143. Washington, President George, 349, 350, 364, 370, 402, 403, 405. Westminster " Directory for Public Worship," 51. Wethersfield, 131, 132, 140. Wheelock, Rev. Eleazar, 341. Wheel\*xight, Rev. John, 118-125. White, William, Bishop, 372. White, William, PUgrim, 456-458. Whitgift, John, Archbishop, 37, 38. Whitsuntide, 20, 22-24, 56, 163, 228, 454, 455. Wigglesworth, Rev. Michael, 187, 190, 218. Wilcocks, Thomas, 36, 37, 55. Willard, Rev. Samuel, 189 n., 206 n., 217, 218, 233, 247, 260, 265, 274, 277, 278 Williams, Rev. Eliphalet, 296, 297. Williams, Rev. John, 277, 278, 280. WiUiams, Roger, 116, 117, 165. Williams, Rev, Solomon, 312 n. Williams, Rev. William, 294. Wilson, Rev. John, 106 n.,108n., 110, 117. Windsor, settlement of, 129-131 ; fast and thanksgiving days of, 134-140, 142-144. Winslow, Gov. Edward, 70, 71, 79, 101. Winslow, Gov. Josiah, 193. Winthrop, Gov. John, voyage of, 98, 99 ; makes first appointment, 101 ; fore- sees scarcity, 103-106 ; arrival of his family, 109 ; honored, 115 ; in Antino- mian Controversy, 116-124; his view of providences, 127, 148, 149, 180, 182, 187, Winthrop, Professor John, 296-298. Wiswall, Rev. Ichabod, 215. Witchcraft, fasts relating to, 256-269. Wolcott, Henry, note-book of, 136, 140, 142, 144, 145. Wolcott, Gov. Oliver, 359. Wolcott, Gov. Oliver, 2d, 366, 367, 371, 372, 376, 377. Yellow fever, 186 n. Zodiacal light, 190. Zurich, 30, 33, 34. 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