head being
thrust through a hole cut in one end of a barrel, the other end of which
had been removed; and the poor fellow 'loafed' about in the most
disconsolate manner, looking for all the world like a half-hatched
chicken. Another defaulter had heavy weights fastened to his wrists,
his hands and feet being chained together." In conclusion, we are told
that the punishments were as various as the crimes, but the man in the
pillory-like barrel was deemed the most ludicrous.

[Illustration: PUNISHMENT OF A DRUNKARD.]

The early English settlers in America introduced many English customs
into the country. The pillory, stocks, ducking-stool, etc., were
frequently employed. Drunkards were punished in various ways; sometimes
they had to wear a large "D" in red, which was painted on a board or
card, and suspended by a string round the neck.

At Haddon, Derbyshire, is a curious relic of bygone times, consisting of
an iron handcuff or ring, fastened to some woodwork in the banqueting
hall. If a person refused to drink the liquor assigned to him, or
committed an offence against the convivial customs at the festive
gatherings for which this ancient mansion was so famous, his wrist was
locked in an upright position in the iron ring, and the liquor he had
declined, or a quantity of cold water, was poured down the sleeve of his
doublet.

Whipping and Whipping-Posts.

The Anglo-Saxons whipped prisoners with a whip of three cords, knotted
at the end. It was not an uncommon practice for mistresses to whip, or
have their servants whipped, to death. William of Malmesbury relates a
story to the effect that when King Ethelred was a child, he on one
occasion displeased his mother, and she, not having a whip at hand,
flogged him with some candles until he was nearly insensible with pain.
"On this account," so runs the story, "he dreaded candles during the
rest of his life to such a degree that he would never suffer the light
of them to be introduced in his presence." During the Saxon epoch,
flogging was generally adopted as means of punishing persons guilty of
offences, whether slight or serious.

For a long time in our history, payments for using the lash formed
important items in the municipal accounts of towns or parish accounts of
villages.

Before the monasteries were dissolved, the poor were relieved at them.
No sooner had they passed away than the vagrants became a nuisance, and
steps were taken to put a stop to beggi