History of Northampton, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1654;

1781.] REVOLUTION—ARMY SUPPLIES—SAMUEL ELY. 447
uary, 1781, at the rate of Is. 4d. each. From this bill 3s.
3d. was deducted before it was allowed.
Irrepressible Youth. Periodically the youth of the congregation
created disturbance in the meeting-house
on Sunday, and as often the matter came before the town
for adjustment. After each new regulation had qualified
or allayed the disorder, vigilance relaxed, the young people
became bolder and bolder, till their actions becoming
intolerable, some more effectual method of repression had
to be devised. It is a strange comment upon the moral
and religious teachings of our forefathers, that so many
times this peculiar element of disorder should appear.
That reverence for spiritual things, so marked a characteristic
of the Puritans, seems to have been entirely wanting,
completely omitted in training the rising generation. Was
this their manner of protest against the dreary monotony
of the Sunday catechising, that found vent in these unseemly
proceedings ? Or was that one among the many
ways in which they rebelled against the straight laced propriety
of their every-day life ? Whatever may have been
the cause, such ungodly behavior was a constant menace of
evil and source of irritation, as well as a most effective
slumber disturber to the good people of the town, as has
already been shown by the many allusions thereto throughout
these pages. As usual a committee was this year in-
structed to prepare a new by-law to meet the emergency. It
was made the duty of any person appointed to keep order in
the meeting-house to quietly request the evil-doers to desist,
and in case of refusal, " Gently to lay Hands on the person
so refusing or neglecting and him or her to expell and turn
out of the meeting house (to be excluded during that exer-
cise)." They were also empowered to require the aid of
others if need be, who were to render the needed assistance.
The oflBcers chosen to execute this by-law were to be sworn
in as were other town officers. It is not difficult to imagine
the state of affairs when two or three stalwart deacons were
hustling out some refractory and vigorous disturber. For
a short time at least the remedy must have been worse than
the disease.