or
cessation of daily work throughout the neighborhood. Kindly assistance
was at once given at the house of mourning. Women flocked to do the
household work and to prepare the funeral feast. Men brought gifts of
food, or household necessities, and rendered all the advice and help
that was needed. A gathering was held the night before the funeral,
which in feasting and drinking partook somewhat of the nature of an
Irish wake. Much New England rum was consumed at this gathering, and
also before the procession to the grave, and after the interment the
whole party returned to the house for an "arval," and drank again. The
funeral rum-bill was often an embarrassing and hampering expense to a
bereaved family for years.

This liberal serving of intoxicating liquor at a funeral was not
peculiar to these New Hampshire towns, nor to the Scotch-Irish, but
prevailed in every settlement in the colonies until the
temperance-awakening days of this century. Throughout New England bills
for funeral baked meats were large in items of rum, cider, whiskey,
lemons, sugar, spices.

To show how universally liquor was served to all who had to do with a
funeral, let me give the bill for the mortuary expenses of David
Porter, of Hartford, who was drowned in 1678.

"By a pint of liquor for those who dived for him. 1_s._
By a quart of liquor for those who bro't him home. 2_s._
By two quarts of wine & 1 gallon of cyder to jury
of inquest. 5_s._
By 8 gallons & 3 qts. wine for funeral. L1 15_s._
By Barrel cyder for funeral. 16_s._
1 Coffin. 12_s._
Windeing sheet. 18_s._"

Even town paupers had two or three gallons of rum or a barrel of cider
given by the town to serve as speeding libations at their unmourned
funerals. The liquor at the funeral of a minister was usually paid for
by the church or town--often interchangeable terms for the same body.
The parish frequently gave, also, as in the case of the death of Rev.
Job Strong, of Portsmouth, in 1751, "the widow of our deceased pasture a
full suit of mourning."

A careful, and above all an experienced committee was appointed to
superintend the mixing of the funeral grog or punch, and to attend to
the liberal and frequent dispensing thereof.

Hawthorne was so impressed with the enjoyable reunion