Dougherty writes, “…Both passengers and crew stood awed, believing that this was none other than the just hand of God upon his wickedness.” One young sailor, even more profane than the others, joked that he hoped to throw the bodies of half of them overboard (the usual method of burial at sea.) Not long afterwards, the sailor himself sickened and died. The author is explaining the deep reverence the Puritans had for God and the teasing they received from British sailors who delighted in their horror at the sailors’ cursing and blaspheming. Here’s an example from The Landing of the Pilgrims, a book written for an older audience than Three Young Pilgrims. They were free to write what really happened, even when it conflicted with what might seem nicer, more fair, more racially unbiased, or less likely to injure someone’s self-esteem. Why is it that older books, those written, say, in the 1950’s or earlier are often so much better than recent books? I think one big reason is that those authors felt less pressure to be politically-correct.
The Landing of the Pilgrims, James Dougherty, 1950 The Landing of the Pilgrims, James Dougherty, Random House, 1950
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