Alice Morse Earle's The Sabbath in Puritan New England opens a window onto a world where religion governed daily life, social order, and even defense. With vivid detail and dry irony, it traces the Sabbath from the meeting-house and church seating to psalm singing, discipline, worship, and the practical burdens of observance. Puritan churchgoing emerges as both devout and deeply human: families traveled long distances by saddle and pillion or "ride and tie," horses and clothing signaled class and fashion, and the meeting-house itself could resemble a fortress, with muskets, powder, swords, sentinels, and even cannon guarding against attack. The book also illuminates the culture that sustained this stern society. It explores the wide use of Sternhold and Hopkins's metrical Psalms, the hard-pressed lives of ministers and their resourceful families, and the pulpit's power to rebuke, amuse, and shape conduct in matters from wigs and tobacco to women's dress. Together, these scenes create a rich portrait of Puritan New England as disciplined, inventive, pious, and unexpectedly colorful. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.