The Olden Time Series, Vol. 3: New-England Sunday | Page 6

of God on the Lord's Day, they shall forfeit and pay the sum
of ten shillings.
"And whereas many Persons are of opinion that the Sabbath or Time of
religious Rest, begins on Saturday evening, therefore to prevent all
unnecessary Disturbance of Persons of such Opinion, as well as to
encourage in all others a due and seasonable Preparation for the
religious Duties of the Lord's Day: Be it further enacted, That no
Person shall keep open any Shop, Ware-House or Work-House or hawk
or sell any Provisions or Wares in Streets or Lanes of any Town or
District, or be present at any Concert of Musick, Dancing or other
Publick Diversion on the Evening next preceding the Lord's-Day, on
Pain of forfeiting ten Shillings for each Offence, &c."
Wardens were to be appointed in all the towns and districts to see that
these laws were duly enforced. All existing laws on the Sabbath were at
that time repealed, but some of the laws then passed are still in force.
The following is from Felt's "Annals of Salem:"--
1676.
April 20th. "Ordered by ye Selectmen yt the three Constables doe
attend att ye three great doores of ye meeting house every Lord's day
att ye end of sermon, boath forenoone and afternoone and to keep ye
doors fast and suffer none to goe out before ye whole exercise bee
ended, unless itt be such as they conceive have necessary occasion and
to take notice of any such as shall presume to goe forth as above said
and present their names as ye law directs. Ordered that all ye boys of ye
towne are and shall bee appointed to sitt upon ye three paire of staires
in ye meeting house on the Lord's day and Wm. Lord is appointed to
look to the boyes yt sitt upon ye pulpit staires and for ye other staires
Reuben Guppy is to look to and order soe many of ye boyes as may be
convenient and if any are unruly to present their names as ye law
directs."

On Sundays, P.M. when sermon is ended, the people in the galleries
come down and march two abreast up one ile and down another until
they come before the desk, for pulpit they have none. Before the desk is
a long pue where the Elders and Deacons sit, one of them with a money
box in his hand, into which the people as they pass, put their offerings,
some _1s._, some _2s._ or a half crown, or _5s._, according to their
ability and good will, after this they conclude with a psalm.
While in 1814 in some parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire the
tithingmen felt obliged to issue an address of warning to the public, in
Boston in 1815 Sunday seems to have been well observed. We copy
two notices from the "Salem Gazette."
_To the Public._
AS the profanation of the Lord's Day is inconsistent with the welfare of
society and a gross violation of the laws of the State; therefore we the
undersigned, being appointed Tithingmen, give notice to the public,
that we are under oath, and it has become our indispensable duty to
prosecute all, who wilfully violate the laws with respect to the Lord's
Day.
And we hereby request all persons, to abstain on the Lord's Day from
travelling, from worldly business and amusement, and thus relieve us
from the painful necessity of prosecuting for a violation of the laws of
the State.
[_Signed by the Tithingmen of Concord, N.H. Salem, N.H. Bradford,
Ms. Andover, Reading, Tewksbury, Beverly, Manchester, Hamilton,
Ipswich, and Wilmington._]
Aug. 6, 1814.
* * * * *
BOSTON JUNE 1.--At the meeting on Monday last, the town of
Boston evinced its good sense by voting to postpone the choice of
Tythingmen till the first Monday of March next. We venture to assert,

that in no district in the universe, of the extent and population of
Massachusetts, is the Sabbath more decently and sincerely observed.
* * * * *
Law against keeping barber's shops open on Sunday morning in Salem
in 1804:--
SUNDAY LAW IN SALEM--BARBERS' SHOPS 80 YEARS AGO.
Correspondence of the Salem Gazette.
BOSTON, Aug. 5.
About 1804 your Selectmen ordered that after a given date no barber's
shop should be kept open on Sunday morning. There was no appeal
from their mandate. The fatal last Sunday arrived; the customers of the
esteemed Benj. Blanchard, whose shop was at the upper part of Essex
street, opposite the Endicott and Cabot mansions, came as usual to have
their hair tied; it was the epoch of queues, and it was necessary to their
aspect in church that their back hair should be artistically bound with
ribbon and their heads nicely pomatumed, even though, like Bonaparte,
they shaved their own