NEW-ENGLAND PRIMER.

T

Time cuts down all

Both great & small.

U

Uriah’s beauteous wife,
Made David seek his life.

W

Great Washington brave,

His country did save.

X

Xerxes the great did die,

And so must you and I.

Y

No Youth, you see,

From death is free.

Z

Zacheus, he

Did climb the tree,

His Lord to see.

Have communion with few ; be intimate with ONE ;

Deal justly with all ; speak evil of none.

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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The first settlers of New England brought primers with them from England where they had been in use for over a hundred years. Primers, also known as catechisms, began as devotional books containing simple instructions in Christian knowledge. Such books typically contained an illustrated alphabet along with informative pictures and stories with a heavy dose of moralism. This example includes both Biblical (e.g., Zacheus) and modern references (Washington). Even in this late edition, the Puritan preoccupation with death was impressed on young readers.

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