首页 >出版文学> Democracy In America>第58章
  Champlainlivedawholewinterquitealoneamongthesebarbarians,withoutbeingunderanyalarmforhispersonorproperty。
  AppendixE
  AlthoughthePuritanicalstrictnesswhichpresidedovertheestablishmentoftheEnglishcoloniesinAmericaisnowmuchrelaxed,remarkabletracesofitarestillfoundintheirhabitsandtheirlaws。In1792,attheverytimewhentheanti—ChristianrepublicofFrancebeganitsephemeralexistence,thelegislativebodyofMassachusettspromulgatedthefollowinglaw,tocompelthecitizenstoobservetheSabbath。Wegivethepreambleandtheprincipalarticlesofthislaw,whichisworthyofthereader’sattention:"Whereas,"saysthelegislator,"theobservationoftheSundayisanaffairofpublicinterest;
  inasmuchasitproducesanecessarysuspensionoflabor,leadsmentoreflectuponthedutiesoflife,andtheerrorstowhichhumannatureisliable,andprovidesforthepublicandprivateworshipofGod,thecreatorandgovernoroftheuniverse,andfortheperformanceofsuchactsofcharityasaretheornamentandcomfortofChristiansocieties:—Whereasirreligiousorlight—mindedpersons,forgettingthedutieswhichtheSabbathimposes,andthebenefitswhichthesedutiesconferonsociety,areknowntoprofaneitssanctity,byfollowingtheirpleasuresortheiraffairs;thiswayofactingbeingcontrarytotheirowninterestasChristians,andcalculatedtoannoythosewhodonotfollowtheirexample;beingalsoofgreatinjurytosocietyatlarge,byspreadingatastefordissipationanddissolutemanners;BeitenactedandordainedbytheGovernor,Council,andRepresentativesconvenedinGeneralCourtofAssembly,thatallandeverypersonandpersonsshallonthatdaycarefullyapplythemselvestothedutiesofreligionandpiety,thatnotradesmanorlabourershallexercisehisordinarycalling,andthatnogameorrecreationshallbeusedontheLord’sDay,uponpainofforfeitingtenshillings。
  "Thatnooneshalltravelonthatday,oranypartthereof,underpainofforfeitingtwentyshillings;thatnovesselshallleaveaharbourofthecolony;thatnopersonsshallkeepoutsidethemeeting—houseduringthetimeofpublicworship,orprofanethetimebyplayingortalking,onpenaltyoffiveshillings。
  "Public—housesshallnotentertainanyotherthanstrangersorlodgers,underpenaltyoffiveshillingsforeverypersonfounddrinkingandabidingtherein。
  "Anypersoninhealth,who,withoutsufficientreason,shallomittoworshipGodinpublicduringthreemonths,shallbecondemnedtoafineoftenshillings。
  "Anypersonguiltyofmisbehaviourinaplaceofpublicworship,shallbefinedfromfivetofortyshillings。
  "Theselawsaretobeenforcedbythetything—menofeachtownship,whohaveauthoritytovisitpublic—housesontheSunday。Theinnkeeperwhoshallrefusethemadmittance,shallbefinedfortyshillingsforsuchoffence。
  "Thetything—menaretostoptravellers,andrequireofthemtheirreasonforbeingontheroadonSunday;anyonerefusingtoanswer,shallbesentencedtopayafinenotexceedingfivepoundssterling。Ifthereasongivenbythetravellerbenotdeemedbythetything—mansufficient,hemaybringthetravellerbeforethejusticeofthepeaceofthedistrict。"(LawofMarch8,1792;GeneralLawsofMassachusetts,vol。i。p。410。)
  OnMarch11,1797,anewlawincreasedtheamountoffines,halfofwhichwastobegiventotheinformer。(Samecollection,vol。ii。p。525。)OnFebruary16,1816,anewlawconfirmedthesesamemeasures。(Samecollection,vol。ii。p。405。)SimilarenactmentsexistinthelawsoftheStateofNewYork,revisedin1827and1828。(SeeRevisedStatutes,PartI。chapter20,p。
  675。)IntheseitisdeclaredthatnooneisallowedontheSabbathtosport,tofish,toplayatgames,ortofrequenthouseswhereliquorissold。Noonecantravel,exceptincaseofnecessity。AndthisisnottheonlytracewhichthereligiousstrictnessandausteremannersofthefirstemigrantshaveleftbehindthemintheAmericanlaws。IntheRevisedStatutesoftheStateofNewYork,vol。i。p。662,isthefollowingclause:—
  "Whoevershallwinorloseinthespaceoftwenty—fourhours,bygamingorbetting,thesumoftwenty—fivedollars,shallbefoundguiltyofamisdemeanour,anduponconvictionshallbecondemnedtopayafineequaltoatleastfivetimesthevalueofthesumlostorwon;whichshallbepaidtotheinspectorofthepoorofthetownship。Hethatlosestwenty—fivedollarsormoremaybringanactiontorecoverthem;andifheneglectstodosotheinspectorofthepoormayprosecutethewinner,andobligehimtopayintothepoor’sboxboththesumhehasgainedandthreetimesasmuchbesides。"
  Thelawswequotefromareofrecentdate;buttheyareunintelligiblewithoutgoingbacktotheveryoriginofthecolonies。Ihavenodoubtthatinourdaysthepenalpartoftheselawsisveryrarelyapplied。Lawspreservetheirinflexibility,longafterthemannersofanationhaveyieldedtotheinfluenceoftime。Itisstilltrue,however,thatnothingstrikesaforeigneronhisarrivalinAmericamoreforciblythantheregardpaidtotheSabbath。Thereisone,inparticular,ofthelargeAmericancities,inwhichallsocialmovementsbegintobesuspendedevenonSaturdayevening。Youtraverseitsstreetsatthehouratwhichyouexpectmeninthemiddleoflifetobeengagedinbusiness,andyoungpeopleinpleasure;andyoumeetwithsolitudeandsilence。Notonlyhaveallceasedtowork,buttheyappeartohaveceasedtoexist。Neitherthemovementsofindustryareheard,northeaccentsofjoy,noreventheconfusedmurmurwhicharisesfromthemidstofagreatcity。Chainsarehungacrossthestreetsintheneighborhoodofthechurches;thehalf—closedshuttersofthehousesscarcelyadmitarayofsunintothedwellingsofthecitizens。Nowandthenyouperceiveasolitaryindividualwhoglidessilentlyalongthedesertedstreetsandlanes。Nextday,atearlydawn,therollingofcarriages,thenoiseofhammers,thecriesofthepopulation,begintomakethemselvesheardagain。Thecityisawake。Aneagercrowdhastenstowardstheresortofcommerceandindustry;
  everythingaroundyoubespeaksmotion,bustle,hurry。Afeverishactivitysucceedstothelethargicstuporofyesterday;youmightalmostsupposethattheyhadbutonedaytoacquirewealthandtoenjoyit。
  AppendixF
  Itisunnecessaryformetosay,thatinthechapterwhichhasjustbeenread,IhavenothadtheintentionofgivingahistoryofAmerica。Myonlyobjectwastoenablethereadertoappreciatetheinfluencewhichtheopinionsandmannersofthefirstemigrantshadexerciseduponthefateofthedifferentcolonies,andoftheUnioningeneral。Ihavethereforeconfinedmyselftothequotationofafewdetachedfragments。IdonotknowwhetherIamdeceived,butitappearstomethat,bypursuingthepathwhichIhavemerelypointedout,itwouldbeeasytopresentsuchpicturesoftheAmericanrepublicsaswouldnotbeunworthytheattentionofthepublic,andcouldnotfailtosuggesttothestatesmanmatterforreflection。Notbeingabletodevotemyselftothislabor,Iamanxioustorenderiteasytoothers;and,forthispurpose,Isubjoinashortcatalogueandanalysisoftheworkswhichseemtomethemostimportanttoconsult。
  AttheheadofthegeneraldocumentswhichitwouldbeadvantageoustoexamineIplacetheworkentitled"AnHistoricalCollectionofStatePapers,andotherauthenticDocuments,intendedasMaterialsforaHistoryoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica,"byEbenezerHasard。Thefirstvolumeofthiscompilation,whichwasprintedatPhiladelphiain1792,containsaliteralcopyofallthechartersgrantedbytheCrownofEnglandtotheemigrants,aswellastheprincipalactsofthecolonialgovernments,duringthecommencementoftheirexistence。
  Amongstotherauthenticdocuments,weherefindagreatmanyrelatingtotheaffairsofNewEnglandandVirginiaduringthisperiod。ThesecondvolumeisalmostentirelydevotedtotheactsoftheConfederationof1643。Thisfederalcompact,whichwasenteredintobythecoloniesofNewEnglandwiththeviewofresistingtheIndians,wasthefirstinstanceofunionaffordedbytheAnglo—Americans。Therewerebesidesmanyotherconfederationsofthesamenature,beforethefamousoneof1776,whichbroughtabouttheindependenceofthecolonies。
  Eachcolonyhas,besides,itsownhistoricmonuments,someofwhichareextremelycurious;beginningwithVirginia,theStatewhichwasfirstpeopled。TheearliesthistorianofVirginiawasitsfounder,CaptainJohnSmith。CaptainSmithhasleftusanoctavovolume,entitled"ThegenerallHistorieofVirginiaandNewEngland,byCaptainJohnSmith,sometymesGovernorinthoseCountryes,andAdmirallofNewEngland";printedatLondonin1627。Theworkisadornedwithcuriousmapsandengravingsofthetimewhenitappeared;thenarrativeextendsfromtheyear1584to1626。Smith’sworkishighlyanddeservedlyesteemed。
  Theauthorwasoneofthemostcelebratedadventurersofaperiodofremarkableadventure;hisbookbreathesthatardorfordiscovery,thatspiritofenterprise,whichcharacterizedthemenofhistime,whenthemannersofchivalrywereunitedtozealforcommerce,andmadesubservienttotheacquisitionofwealth。ButCaptainSmithismostremarkableforunitingtothevirtueswhichcharacterizedhiscontemporariesseveralqualitiestowhichtheyweregenerallystrangers;hisstyleissimpleandconcise,hisnarrativesbearthestampoftruth,andhisdescriptionsarefreefromfalseornament。ThisauthorthrowsmostvaluablelightuponthestateandconditionoftheIndiansatthetimewhenNorthAmericawasfirstdiscovered。
  ThesecondhistoriantoconsultisBeverley,whocommenceshisnarrativewiththeyear1585,andendsitwith1700。Thefirstpartofhisbookcontainshistoricaldocuments,properlysocalled,relativetotheinfancyofthecolony。ThesecondaffordsamostcuriouspictureofthestateoftheIndiansatthisremoteperiod。Thethirdconveysveryclearideasconcerningthemanners,socialconditions,laws,andpoliticalcustomsoftheVirginiansintheauthor’slifetime。BeverleywasanativeofVirginia,whichoccasionshimtosayatthebeginningofhisbook,thatheentreatshisreadersnottoexercisetheircriticalseverityuponit,since,havingbeenbornintheIndies,hedoesnotaspiretopurityoflanguage。Notwiths...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看

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