Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1830-11-10
From the New-England Weekly Review.
TIE QUILTING PARTY.

of heart!-Their memory fingers around
us like sunshine upon ruins, or like the
incense Of flowers whose beauty has
been trampled beneath the feet of the
spoilcr. We fear the glorious days of
New England have gone by-that the
characteristics of her children have de-
parted-that the luxuries and the vices
and the fashions of strangers, have usur-
ped the beautiful plainncss and simplicity
the freedom, the generosity, and the
bravery Of New England. A false and
evil spirit has gone over the land, under
minn. the foundations of her strength,
and dcspoiling her real bcauty-lopping
away the noble oaks Of her lorcsts-the
roug gh-lcaturcd but useful products Of her
own soil, to give place to the graceful
but worthless exotic. 1t has penetrated
every whcrc-irom the throngcd village
to the isolated farm house; and the plough
has been exchanged for the insignia Of
professional life, and The spinning wheel
for the piano.
Ills an evil changc-and we fear there
is no going back to our original ground.
Strange-that the young tarmcr-hc,
whose associations OF llic's purcst and
dearest cnloyncnts are with the home
stead OF his ancestors, should SO readily
leave the beaten and proved track OF hon
orablc industry for the uncertainty, and
danger, and modification Of more fashion,
bic pursuits. Strange-that he can thus
leave the hills and streams OF his boy
hood-the blue skies that bent like Il blcs-
sing above his childhood the sanctuary
Of his fathers fireside-thc open COM
munion of his neighbors-the playmatcs
Of his iniancy--the companions Of his o.
pcning manhood-the very graves of his
fathers! Where will he again find the
deep affection ofthe friends he is leaving?
Where again will the eye of love beam
SO kindly on him, and where will the
grasp of friendship be as warm and as
sincere as in his own loved birthplace; !;
Does he hope to find them in the gay
circles of fashionable folly? Miserable
will be his disappointment. For him
there will be vexation-and changing
hopc-and iear-slight, indignity, resent
mcnt, and hatc-conhdcncc misplaced, =,
and VOWS broken, and affection outraged.
1t is in the solitude and awful beauty of
nature that heart answers to heart, thrill
ling with a passionate touch the myste-
rious cords of human sympathy-rather
than in the artificial beauty and the heat
cd atmosphere of fashionable existence.
Rcader-wcrc you ever at q quilting
party-an old fashioned quilting party?
If not, you will do well to read our de-
scription, which, of course, must fall far
short of the rcality-and this reality, as
the thing is nearly obsolete, you may
never have the satisfaction Of witnessing.
Ills one Of the plcasantest things in the
whole round of IA country life, to attend
one of these gatherings together of the
young and light hearted Let it be under
stood in the first place that these outings
are indispensable. The quilt, and so
forth, must be madc-the girls must have
their things ready as the phrase is, or
they will assuredly meet with no atten-
ton from the marriage-sccking young
men. This preparation of the requisites
of domestic life, is sort of implied de-
claration of readiness to receive the ad-
dresses of the lover, and to encounter
the perils of matrimony, and is understood
and acted upon accordingly:
When quilting is to take place, the
respectable young ladies Of the neigh
borhood arc all inyitcd-therc is no ars-
tocracy, no singing out of favored indi-
viduals. They assemble early at the
dwelling of their friend, and Immediate
ly fall to work, as if their very lives de-
pended upon their cxcrtions. They
consider it absolutely necessary to for
ward their work in such manner as
to prevent any material encroachment
Of it upon the hilarity and mirth of the
evening. The evening, it must be ac-
knowlcdgcd, is always looked forward to
with a great deal of satisfaction, and
many fine eye glanccs impatcntly at
the slowly setting sun, whose tardncss
seems to mock the icverish anticipation
ol the fair qultcrs.
Night at length comcs--a Ncw-Eng-
land winter night, (ior the quilting is u
sually III the long evenings Of winter
with its gorgeous stars-clcar, beautiful
ly clear in the dark coloring sily--moon-
light resting like a universal smile upon
the white lustrc of the snow-strcaming
through the naked branches of the wild
forest trces-and flashing like pale fire
upon the distant icy hills. The merry
sound of bells now rings upon the cars
ofthc fair listeners within doors. "ihe
fellows are coming, comlng," cries some
eager voice, and sudden smile steals
like electricity around the apartment.
There is moment of rapid preparation
a hasty glancing nt the small mirror--a
e 4