“HENRY BARTHOLOMEW, Clerk.”

This was indeed an extraordinary outburst of lawless violence, and gives a singular insight of the state of society.  Such an occurrence in our day would create astonishment.  The organized power of the community to suppress vicious and rude passions was probably never brought to bear with greater rigidness than in our Puritan villages; but it did not fully accomplish its end.  Behind and beneath the solemn and formal exterior, there was, after all, perhaps as much irregularity of life as now.  The nature of man had not been subdued.  The people had their quarrels and fights, and their frolics and merriments, in defiance of the restraints of authority.  Violations of local and general laws were not infrequent; and flowed, as ever since, from intemperance, in as large a measure.  Kitchen, in this instance, acted as if under the influence of liquor.  His behavior, in tripping up the heels and throwing dirty water upon the person of the schoolmaster of the town, the dignity of whose social position is indicated by the title of “Mr.;” and in giving to Corey such a persistent and gratuitous pommelling,—­bears the aspect of a drunken delirium.  The latter seems not to have supposed, for some time, that he was in earnest, but to have looked upon his conduct as rough play, which was carried rather too far.  Poor Corey was often getting before the town Court as accused or accuser.  He was, to the end, the victim of ill-usage, either given or taken.  Though not a bad-natured man, he was almost always in trouble.  The tenor of his long life was as eccentric and unruly as the manner of his death was strange and horrible.

There was what may be called an institution in the rural parishes of the early times, still existing to some extent perhaps in country places, which must not be omitted in an enumeration of controlling influences.  The people lived on farms, at some distance from each other, and almost all at great distances from the meeting-house.  Local and parental authority, church discipline, public opinion, enforced attendance upon the regular religious services.  Fashion, habit, and choice concurred in bringing all to meeting on the Lord’s Day.  It was impossible for many to return home during the intermission between the services of the forenoon and afternoon.  The effect was, that the whole community were thrown and kept together every week for several hours, during which they could not avoid social intercourse.  It was a more effective institution than the town-meeting; for it occurred oftener, and included women and children.  In pleasant weather, they would perhaps gather together in knots at eligible places, or stroll off in companies to the shades of the neighboring woods.  In bad weather, they would remain in the meeting-house, or congregate at Deacon Ingersoll’s ordinary, or in the great rooms of his dwelling-house.  As a whole, this practice must have produced important results upon the character