Life in old new england

Most of the Puritans were ministers. Each week they could hardly wait until Sunday, when they preached for several hours on such subjects as 'Hellfire' and Damnation'. In those days, church attendance was as good every Sunday as it is today on Easter.

All of the Puritans, except a few who should never have left England, were opposed to sin. When a woman sinned, they pinned a scarlet letter 'A' on her breast, where it would be conspicuous. Women who won their letter year after year were disdainfully called Scarlet, like Scarlet O'Hara and Scarlet Pimpernel. Children were kept in innocence of the meaning оf the 'A' and thought it stood for ' Adulthood', when such things usually happened.

The homes of the Puritans were simple and austere, but their furniture was antique and therefore frightfully expensive. The chairs were as straight and stiff as the Puritans themselves, and had hard bottoms. They became known as period pieces because they went to pieces after a short period of sitting on them. The women had large chests, or collector's items, of which they were extremely proud. Some of these have been handed down from generation to generation and are displayed proudly by their owners today.

The Puritans believed in justice. A woman who was a witch, or a man who was a son of a witch, was punished by being stuck in the stocks. These were wooden devices that had holes to put the arms and legs through, and were considered disgraceful. They were also considered uncomfortable.

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