[To "Voices from 19th-Century America"]

In Popular Amusements, the Rev. J. T. Crane (1819-1880) discusses the pros and cons (mostly cons) of various forms of recreation. His comments are intended mainly for members of his church, since they were expected to live according to a straiter code than that of the culture at large: "The Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church has always required its members and probationers, as an evidence of religious earnestness," he points out, "to refrain from 'such diversions as can not be used in the name of the Lord Jesus,' and also from 'singing those songs or reading those books which do not tend to the knowledge or love of God.'" (p. 9)

Crane takes on the traditional targets: dancing, parties, billiards, horse-racing, card-playing, the theater (a later critic would include the theater as a major influence in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln). Less traditional targets include chess (it "wastes" time and brain-power) and baseball (the pay of professional players was "ridiculously high, considering the service rendered," he points out).

Perhaps most famous is Crane's section on books and reading; Crane hits the usual highlights with regard to the dangers of "improper reading," though it's startling to see "total abstinence" being urged when it comes to novels. The "usual highlights," however, have an added layer of entertainment when coming from the man who would be best known to later generations for fathering Stephen Crane, novelist.

Page images of Popular Amusements are available online from Making of America.