8

THE SPRING FAMILY.

Frost, daughter of Hon. Simon Frost, a graduate of Harvard in 1729, and long in public life, and of May Sewall, a descendant of Henry Sewall, who came from Coventry, England, in 1634 and was founder of this New England family. The Frosts were a very numerous and influential family; some of them were prominent in the Revolution, and handsome monuments now commemorate them near York, Maine.

Mr. Spring, my maternal grandfather, graduated at Princeton in 1766, and was there about the same time as was Charles Lee, my wife's maternal grandfather. He was settled over the west parish of Kittery, now Eliot, Maine, where, after a pastorate of twenty-three years, he died in 1791. He was the son of Henry (4) Spring and Kezia Converse, and his grandparents were Henry (3) Spring and Lydia Cutting. His great-grandparents were Henry (2) Spring and Mehitable Bartlett. John (1) Spring, born in 1588, one of the original proprietors of Watertown, Mass., married Elinor and was the founder in this coun

try of this family, so well known at the North.

After her father's death, when she was eighteen, my mother went to live with her uncle, Dr. Marshall Spring, at Watertown, near Boston, and Horace Binney, a cousin, was living in the same house. She had danced in Boston at a ball with Lord Lyndhurst, the son of Copley, the painter. There she became acquainted with some very cultivated people, among them Rev. Mr. Buckminster, who was a very famous preacher, as was also his son, Rev. Joseph S. Buckminster. My mother was of a retiring disposition, but possessed superior powers and culture and marked character. She had a wonderful memory, and I can remember her repeating long pieces of poetry to us. She was married in 1794, and she carried to her home in Chelmsford and thence to Wiscasset the culture and tastes of her early life. While she turned her spinning wheel (to quote Prof. Egbert C. Smythe, D. D.) in her rural home by the Sheepscot, and wove garments for her household, Pope's translation of the Odyssey was spread open at one end of the machine, so that as she paced to and fro, a line could be caught at each return. Her memory was stored with facts of history and passages from her favorite authors, which, repeated by her, were the delight of her children; and often while too busy herself with domestic cares to turn a page or glance at a book, some one of the family under her untiring encouragement and skillful direction would read aloud for the

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY LIFE.

9

benefit of all. These mothers of men, how like the thick-set stars in our nightly skies do they shine upon us whenever our eyes are open to discern the influences that have made our nation great and strong. My mother remembered Rev. Joseph Moody of York, Maine, who wore a black veil (see Hawthorne's Tale, The Minister's Black Veil). In early life he had accidentally killed a beloved friend and from that day till death he hid his face from

men.

The Boston Chronicle of Nov. 20th, 1769, says "that one Lindsay stood in the pillory at Worcester one hour, after which he received thirty stripes at the public whipping post, and was then branded on the hand; his crime was forgery." It appears that it was the custom, as punishment for that crime, to brand the letter F. on the palm of the right hand, just as Hawthorne says of the letter M. for Murder.

Just here let me call attention to the great improvement in comfort over the eighteenth century, especially for the laboring class. Their houses were mean, their food course, their clothing of common stuff and their wages not half the present scale, with even less purchasing power. For ordinary unskilled labor the wages were two shillings a day, and six pence more when laborers were scarce. Good men in my father's first parish were hired for eighteen pounds a year or four dollars a month, and out of this furnished their clothes. They rarely had fresh meat because too costly, corn was three shillings, and wheat eight and six a bushel, an assize of bread four pence, a pound of salt pork ten pence. Fruits were regarded as luxuries or were not attainable. The fox grape was the only one in the market in my father's time, and was the luxury of the rich. In the house of the laborer there was little comfort. Sand sprinkled on the floor did duty as a carpet. There was no glass on his table, no china in his cupboard, no prints on his wall. He did not know what a stove was, coal he had never seen and of matches he had never heard. At this very time, 1793-1800, hod-carriers and mortar mixers, diggers and choppers, who labored on the public buildings and cut the streets and avenues of Washington City, received seventy dollars a year. But there were not then as great contrasts of wealth and poverty as now, and the gulf between the laborer and the rich has deepened and widened.

MY

CHAPTER II.

MY FATHER.

Y FATHER wrote down some recollections of his early life which in substance were published after his death in 1849. As he entered the Revolutionary Army when very young, not being fourteen, I have thought some of his experiences may be of interest at this time of revived historical research. I quote his opening words as expressing my own sentiments:

"Feeling myself infirm and under the increasing weight of years, and well knowing that I must soon go the way of all the earth, I have a desire to prepare some written testimonials of divine goodness to me and to my family, hoping they will be of some use to my children and descendants. And now, O Father of Mercies, may it please Thee to impart to me Thine assistance, guidance and blessing, that what I write may correspond with the record kept on high."

His father was a farmer on a moderate scale, and his early habits of active industry, economy and self-reliance favored the development of strong character and great bodily vigor in his sons. He often spoke with affection and respect of his parents and of their influence. They were noted for their piety and industry, and with limited advantages for improvement, and with few books, they were diligent in instructing their children, and set them examples of pious and prayerful lives.

"I remember," says my father, "the following facts: We lived two miles from the house of worship. Our large family all attended worship when the weather allowed. We had no vehicle, and there were only two chaises in the parish; so my father and the others walked, my mother, with one of the family, rode on side-saddle and pillion."

"The hearth-fire was frequently raked up on Sunday, as at night. Nothing was done on the Sabbath except what was necessary, and it was a day of rest from worldly cares. I never saw my father shave himself on the Lord's Day. The supper, after returning from church, had been mostly cooked the day before."

ΙΟ

MY FATHER'S HOME.

II

"The practice of singing kept alive the attention of the family and rendered the Sabbath more welcome and interesting than any other day. The family being singers, a hymn was sung at family worship Saturday evening, Sabbath morning and evening."

"The modes of living, dress and manners of the people, the state of society and of religion, and the duties of pastors and churches in 1770 were far different from now. There were but few wealthy or noted people in our region. They were mostly farmers and mechanics, whose education was limited, but who enjoyed the necessaries and comforts of life. The most conspicuous traits in the community were integrity, industry and economy."

"Food was more simple and less in quantity, yet I think people were better satisfied with their style of living than now. There was a good supply of pork and beef, with pies and puddings on occasion. One wholesome dish was thought sufficient. Few potatoes were used for family use and none for cattle, as their value was little known. I remember well that six bushels were thought sufficient for my father's family of eight or nine persons. There was an equal supply also of English turnips, beets and carrots. I think their modes of living secured them better health and satisfaction with their lot, and their simple economy was healthful to to their moral and religious interests."

"I recall the quiet and noiseless state of the church and parish in Bridgewater in 1770. The people were constant at worship, and there was a cordial sympathy and co-operation among the members of the church."

"Very little attention was paid to schools. I attended school for a few weeks in the summer for several years and learned the Assembly's Catechism, on Saturdays at school and on Sabbaths at home. Dilworth's Spelling Book and the Psalter were the school books used. In winter there was a school for older scholars for a few weeks and Arithmetic to the Rule of Three and some other branches were taught."

"The morals of the people were correct and pure. Profane language was very rare ; so was fraud and deception in trade, and theft or robbery. There were few amusements in those days. Playthings and toys for children were simple and few. Very early in my life I got a fife, to my great delight, and soon learned several martial airs. The tunes played and sung just before the Revolution were exciting. I was eager to attend and often did attend the drill and enlistment meetings."

'The battle of Bunker Hill excited great feeling. On that day I was in a neighbor's field hoeing corn and I heard the roaring of the cannon. I was then thirteen and a half years old, but very large for my age. The captain of the militia lived near my father's and knowing they were high Whigs, and that I had some skill with my fife, he appointed me fifer in his company. Soon after this he enlisted and begged me to go with him as fifer, promising that he would treat me as a son, and he faithfully kept his promise. Though young and fond of home, I had no hesitation in enlisting, nor did my parents discourage it. I have wondered that as I was the youngest, my mother did not oppose my going. I can never forget when I left home, she took my hand and said: 'Hezekiah, remember, praying will make thee leave sinning, and sinning will make thee leave praying.' This was to me as a guardian angel, being full of meaning and of practical truth."

As a soldier my moral habits were correct. I was averse to vices in the army, to which youth are exposed. I had many interesting experiences during the campaigns, in which I served so young."

"The regiment to which I belonged was ordered to Cambridge, and dwelt in tents near Cambridge Port, in an orchard where afterwards, in 1832, I took tea with my friend Rev. Thomas B. Gannett. We drew provisions from the College Hall, where beef, pork, &c., were kept for the army."

"From the time we marched into Boston, late in the autumn, until the following June, Col. Sargent's regiment, in which my name was enrolled, occupied several stations. We were ordered to Bunker Hill, and while there the grave of Dr. Warren was discovered and the body disinterred. I saw the spot where that American hero slept. We were ordered to New York, and had a pleasant passage from New London to New York. We were stationed near Hurlgate, six miles above the city, and the enemy had a fort opposite ours across the river, about a mile distant. The enemy had much greater weight of metal, both in cannon and in mortars."

"A soldier, soon after the balls and bombs began to fly into our camp, walking proudly upon the parapet, boastfully proclaimed that the ball was not yet made that was to kill him. Not many minutes after this a ball came and almost cut him asunder, thus warning others not to expose life needlessly, lest they also