Forty Years Ago

Fortv years ago, wrltes Prentice JNlulford in The San Francisco Chronicle. the lecturer and lecture course had iiot made thoir appearance. The village debating society was a regulas winter occurrencc, discussing "Which was the greatcst man Georgo Washington or Christopher Columbus?" or "What mvention has been the most useful to mankind, the art of painting or the mariner's eompassP" The land was free for all to slioot over. Breech-loaders and '-shells" orB "eartridges" werc uutliought of. Gun-B uers out tbeir own wadfl, poured thf ¦ charge of powder into the muzzle, thenB ahandfulo! shot, adj usted the percus-B sion cap, and banged away. But if thtB fowling-piece was not improved, thc-B crame of cvery deseription was for morel plcntiful. Forty years ago deer wen! still nativo to the pino foresta of LonpB Island, and a yearïy hunt for them was! organized by the aporting element oij the country. I The trunk of the period was coveredH with soal skin, thebristly hair outward.B and studded with mail brass nails, Thel baggage-smasher had barely been de-j vefoped. Valisesj -ere long and n;r-J row. Saddle-bags werc not out of date.j City hotels oalled the guests to mealí I üy the gong or dinner-bell. The land-l lord sat at' the hcad of the table andl carved the breakfast steak. The guestsl dined together all at the same hour.l Uinner was served with great parade! and formality. The waitara removodl the covers froni tha chaffing dishes at a given signal, bore them aloft out of the room, then reappeared again and called off the dishes to be carvéd at side tables. The splendors of the Astor house were almost reverently talked of in country homes. Hordes of ragged girls and boys infested the hotel corridors ofte ring toothpicks for sale. Without older boy.s besetthecountryrnan, whisking under his nose copies of dubious bo'oks filled with colojed prints. Thej cariied thcir stock wrapped in brown paper, by the baskclful. The sinful eountryniau oa buying, w:ts often handed a eopy so tiod üp with twine and paper, supposcd to be idéntica) with the ono displayed, whicb, wheÈ ünally opened in the privacy of his room, turjed out to be a Baxter' f "Saint's Rest" or some other religious work purchased íor a few cents at a geoona-hand book-stall. The oystcr saloon of that time was-B furnished with "Btalk" and curtaineda reoesses, affording partios more seclu-l sion and (juiet than those of to-day. Itï hung without a cloth-covered baloon-1 shaped sign, painted red, inside ofl which a candle was stuck at night. The bar of Ihe period was more dingy than that of the present, but the liquor was bfitter. Brandy Uien was not obsolete. In the city drinks were 3 cents "beforetho screen," and 6 cents liehiad it. Six-eent drinks werc deemed extravagant, and so' were 3-cent cigars. Aniong o);l and prosperóos families could be found more cutglass decanters and port orMaderia eitlier in the closet or on the sideboard than to-day. Hundreds of the smaller agricultural villages forty ycars ago maintained one or two "taverns" wneré uow there art none. Tippling and intemperan.ee among our natíve population was far more general. The "solid men" of the town belonged to engine companies, and pumped faithfully at fires. A village lire of ten terminated in a subdued and respectable drank. Exhaustion justities unusual recourse to stiinulants at unaccustomed hours, and therestfollowed. The village eugine was always onder repair after a. Ere, and always broko clown at one. Housekeepers were reqvdred b} law to keep leather buckets, to be useil at lires. They hungin the ballway, and had the owuer'e name painted oa them in white letters. The "temperance causo"' had jus; commenced. lts adherents were termed "Washingtonians." Washington gave his 'name to a good man y thing.gooift bad. and indifferent - from the vitlage tavein to tlie latest born, tow-haired, snub-oosed urebin. England and the Euglish are still unpopuplar in the rural districts. Old vevolntionary soldiers added to the alIractions of the Fourth of July platforms, and the orator of the day ways whipped Che ' 'red coate" bef ore he íinished hi.oration. Soldiers of the war of 181 were ï'elatively as plentiful as soldiers of the rebelliou are to-day. The libertv pole of the period was uurmounted by the Phrygian eau of libcrly. Boys were apprentioed or "boimd" to trades at 15 or 16 aud serrad out theii time till 21. Hunaway appivntices wort advertiscd in tlie papers and all persons "l'orbidden to trust or harbor them. ! The notice was always preceded by i stereotyped ent of the runaway niakins off, oarrying hiá bundie of eloihes on stick over his shouldor. The s;me sivli of cut had answered for the runawaj negro slave of New York a generatioD previous. A church organ was a grand ftffair and quite unknowniu country churohea. Musical instrumenta of auy describtion made their way vvith difflcultv into the choirs of certain denominations. A bass viol was only tolerated in out Presbyterian church. When old -'Traman Smith heardtheiirst catgut scraped in the Methodist church be stalked soleain and indignan!, down the aisle in his long black cloak, and was nevel seeu there again. A steamboat was a euriosity in man of the small ports ani harbors. Crowdi flocked to see one arrived from New York, anti the first rush of steain from the eseape-pipe sent every small boj soampering iu frigbt up the wbarf, anti the grown people quaked a little internallj' Tliousar.ils had nevcr secn a ruilroaii or train of cars, and never were tO see them. Villagers living one hundred miles from Nèw York could ouly reach the city by stage, tiie trip occupyingfroni two tothree days. 'l'he letter postage to Illinois has boen 30 and 40 cents, and 10 cents did not earry a letter mucb over ono hundred miles. Photographing, then just entured onï its oareer. was termed "daguerreotyp-B ing." Vhe impressions were not tixedj on the metal piales, and people wkhingl to remove a speek from the picturdï woiild 8om&timea remove the glf.ss 1 fore and biusli off the head, to their dismay. I A house of six Stories was deemedl 'ery lofty, and a 700-ton stip was i narrel of gigantic marine architecture ?antaloons were knowu as "breeches,' mil opeued in front horizontal]}-, aftei ,he old Btyle. The present perpendicu ar cut was looked upon at lirst wit] jreat disfavor, and gentlemen of tht 'old school" nevcr tolerated t'iem Blue dress coats and brass buttons wer much worn by such as aft'ected preten sion in dress." The vest was more often termed a "woistcoat." The iirst feit bats were known as "Kossuths," and same into fashiun with the landing o) the Hungarian patnots. Justices of tlie peace were térinod "sqnires." and the appolation alwayi reniained with them. Kvery faniily owned its warniing-pau. These on cold nights, previous to retiring, were filled with live coals,passed up and down the bed betwecn the sheet.to givo itamorccndurabletemperature. So obsolete has the warming pan become that rnoently a lady from the citj at an old-fashioned farm-house desrired to buy one to add to her parlor orna pnents. [The farnily bed of 1842 was doublé Itho present height, and the bed usuaiïy sustained by a support of rope, or as it was termed "corded." Heated bedrooms were not common, and retiring on winter nights was a martyrdorr. for manv. There was moro family sdverware than now.and ii, was genuino and heavj'. Plated ware was scarce. Weddingrino-s wero of "guinea gold." The family ra'gs were saved, thro-vn into the rag bag. then out into narrow strips, these rolled into big ballí, a_ttractive to the infant eye through thcir varigated lnies, and when eaough had accunmlated they were taken to somp local weaver and made into rag carpet Iriie domestic rag carpet suggestled in appearanco the Turkish Inig, when new it was a pretty Itloor covering, and in durability IvTOtild last a geaaration. The goose-quill was still in use for Svvriüng. Steel-peos were aninnovation. ¦To "mako" or "mend" tbe quill was a Inecessary accomplishment for the writler. "Blotting sand" was used in place lof blotting-paper. Gunimed envelopes ¦were not in use. To fold a letter propBerly was another rftqBisite aocomulishBment, and when sealed it was secured ¦by a wafer or sealing-wax. A careful. ¦precise, round iiand was mostiy taught l:lt SCllOOl. Journeys from many of the smaller Ipurts near New York were ruade b ¦sloop packet. The fare was ?1 and ¦meáis a shilling each. Some üloops ¦ wero famoao for their ehowders, and Bparties on board made mm punch bj ¦ the pailful. Billiard's were unkuown ia the small[towns. The very word sounded IkuIIv to the peoplo of the time Itconveyed the idea of sornething foreign and wicked. Carda also were coudeinncd. The younsr people played "whist' er "sevup" at secret places and generally in a state of delightful alarm and trepidation. The boys committed thi.s sin iu the barn, amid the recesses of tlie haymoiv. Wood was a eommoii article of fuel. E very family kept its "san--buek" and "buck-saw." The demand for telegrapb poies and railroad ties had not depleted rmr forests. Iron or brass "andirons" inaintained the architectual formation of wood Ure, built of the big "back.loof," the smalle] 'top-log," and the "foro-stick,"' on ivhich were piled green and seasoned rood - a eonibinationjofjwet andjdry fuel that made the lire last Jonger and sene! out more heat. Chimneya caught firc Ifrequently i'rom the aceumulaiion o! lioot. Chimncy-sweeps abounded in th liaro-cr towiis. In rainy wóather om igraüdmotliei'á would set the chimnej Ion flre, the wet roofs rendered the gparks Ihannloas. A blazing sheet of pauer 01 j.visp of straw was held up the ehimney'r cnouth on a stick and the ronring of tbc llames when f airly kiodJed was awesonj( lo our childish earsWood ashes' werc saved aud sold to the farreéis for fertilizing material; il served also as au important factor in hc "leach-tub " Every family kept a 'leacli-tub for the mamifasture of '-lye." 'Lye" was made b}r al'owiug water to drain tbrongh ashes at the top of the leac h-barrel and accumulate in a cavitv urepared for it at the bottom. Once a year tüe tainily callcü thiinto requisition in the making ot Üieii barrel of sof t-soap, for which the refute fat (soap-fat) had been saved. Soap-making, putting up swect-rueatf and hog-killing were important perioilin tbc yearly family hisj;qry. "Span ribs" and pigs' livcr rraced the table on hog-killing days. Sausage-making followed. The faaiily sausage was put up in lone bags and hung iu the cellar. The sausage was out ofl for cooking in ;lices, the cloth adherinsr to the rim of ach süce, Nor were these sauiages reckles.-ily ;uul mechanically put togetlier. The proper lixtures of beef, (jork (fat mul lean) añil the seasonin wil h sage. suinmer savory and other berba were matters to the housewifc of (leep and careful study. The "swill" for the family pig was a clean rtiele compared with modern lown or city swill. or the last four weeks of hls life the victim was allowed ali the corn he could eat. Pig-feeding vi:s then almostasthetif metliods.