This religious festival, which is even now
observed in most of the States of the Union with a strictness that is
little heeded in the rest of Christendom, was then reverenced with a
severity suited to the austere habits of the Colonists. The circumstance
that one should journey on such a day, had attracted the observation of
all in the hamlet; but, as the stranger had been seen to ride towards the
dwelling of the Heathcotes, and the times were known to teem with more
than ordinary interests to the Province, it was believed that he found his
justification in some apology of necessity. Still, none ventured forth to
inquire into the motive of this extraordinary visit. At the end of an
hour, the horseman was seen to depart as he had arrived, seemingly urged
on by the calls of some pressing emergency. He had in truth proceeded
further with his tidings, though the lawfulness of discharging even this
imperious duty on the Sabbath had been gravely considered in the Councils
of those who had sent him. Happily they had found, or thought they had
found, in some of the narratives of the sacred volume, a sufficient
precedent to bid their messenger proceed.
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