Colonial Days in Old New York by Alice Morse Earle

Sunday was not observed in New Netherland with any such rigidity as in New England. The followers of Cocceius would not willingly include Saturday night, and not even all of the Sabbath day, in their holy time. Madam Knight, writing in 1704 of a visit to New York, noted: "The Dutch aren't strict in keeping the Sabbath as in Boston and other places where I have been. " This was, of course, in times of English rule in New York. Still, much respect to the day was required, especially under the governing hand of the rigid Calvinist Stuyvesant. He specially enjoined and enforced strict regard for seemly quiet during service time. The records of Stuyvesant's government are full of injunctions and laws prohibiting "tavern-tapping" during the hours of church service. He would not tolerate fishing, gathering of berries or nuts, playing in the street, nor gaming at ball or bowls during church time. At a little later date the time of prohibition of noise and tapping and gaming was extended to include the entire Sabbath day, and the _schout_ was ordered to be active in searching out and punishing such offenders.

Occasionally his vigilance did discover some Sabbath disorders. He found the first Jew trader who came to the island of Manhattan serenely keeping open shop on Sunday, and selling during sermon time, knowing naught of any Sunday laws of New Amsterdam.

And Albert the Trumpeter was seen on the Sabbath in suspicious guise, with an axe on his shoulder, -- but he was only going to cut a bat for his little son; and as for his neighbor who did cut wood, it was only kindling, since his children were cold.

And one Sunday evening in 1660 the _schout_ triumphantly found three sailors round a tap-house table with a lighted candle and a backgammon-board thereon; and he surely had a right to draw an inference of gaming therefrom.

And in another public-house ninepins were visible, and a can and glass, during preaching-time. The landlady had _her_ excuse, -- some came to her house and said church was out, and one chanced to have a bowl in his hand and another a pin, but there was no playing at bowls.

Still, though he snooped and fined, in 1656 the burgomasters learned "by daily and painful experience" that the profanation of "the Lord's day of Rest by the dangerous, Yes, damnable Sale or Dealing out of Wines Beers and Brandy-Waters" still went on; and fresh Sunday Laws were issued forbidding "the ordinary and customary Labors of callings, such as Sowing, Mowing, Building, Sawing wood, Smithing, Bleeching, Hunting, Fishing. " All idle sports were banned and named: "Dancing, Card-playing, Tick-tacking, Playing at ball, at bowls, at ninepins; taking Jaunts in Boats, Wagons, or Carriages."

In 1673, again, the magistrates "experienced to our great grief" that rolling ninepins was more in vogue on Sunday than on any other day. And we learn that there were social clubs that "Set on the Sabbath," which must speedily be put an end to. Thirty men were found by the _schout_ in one _tap-huys_; but as they were playing ninepins and backgammon two hours after the church-doors had closed, prosecution was most reluctantly abandoned.

Of course scores of "tappers" were prosecuted, both in taverns and private houses. Piety and regard for an orderly Sabbath were not the only guiding thoughts in the burgomasters' minds in framing these Sunday liquor laws and enforcing them; for some tapsters had "tapped beer during divine service and used a small kind of measure which is in contempt of our religion and must ruin our state," -- and the state was sacred. In the country, as for instance on Long Island, the carting of grain, travelling for pleasure, and shooting of wild-fowl on Sunday were duly punished in the local courts.

I do not think that children were as rigid church attendants in New York as in New England. In 1696, in Albany, we find this injunction: "y^e Constables in eache warde to take thought in attending at y^e church to hender such children as Profane y^e Sabbath; " and we know that Albany boys and girls were complained of for coasting down hill on Sunday, -- which enormity would have been simply impossible in New England, except in an isolated outburst of Adamic depravity. In another New York town the "Athoatys" complained of the violation of the Sabbath by "the Younger Sort of people in Discourssing of Vane things and Running of Raesses. " As for the city of New York, even at Revolutionary times a cage was set up on City Hall Park in which to confine wicked New York boys who profaned the Sabbath. I do not find so full provisions made for seating children in Dutch Reformed churches as in Puritan meeting-houses. A wise saying of Martin Luther's was "Public sermons do very little edify children" -- perhaps the Dutch agreed with him. As the children were taught the Bible and the catechism every day in the week, their spiritual and religious schooling was sufficient without the Sunday sermon, -- but, of course, if they were not in the church during services, they would "talk of vane Things and run Raesses."

Before the arrival of any Dutch preacher in the new settlement in the new world, the spiritual care of the little company was provided for by men appointed to a benign and beautiful old Dutch office, and called _krankebesoeckers_ or _zeikentroosters_, -- "comforters of the Sick," -- who not only tenderly comforted the sick and weary of heart, but "read to the Commonalty on Sundays from texts of Scripture with the Comments. " These pious men were assigned to this godly work in Fort Orange and in New Amsterdam and Breuckelen. In Esopus they had meetings every Sunday, "and one among us read something for a postille. " Often special books of sermons were read to the congregations.