Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1854-01-25
From the knckorbockcr Magazine.
\ COURT seen z AT PUDDLEFORD

a COURT Seen Z AT PUDDLEFORD.
FROM TIE PUDDLEroRD pAPERs.
My intercourse with the inhabitants Of
PuddIcford had been frequent during the
summer; and my acquaintance with them
had now become quite general One
morning, in the month OF September l
WAS visited by Il constable, who very au-
thorItatIvcly served upon me Ycnirc
which commanded me to be and appear
before Jonathan Longbow, Mt his office,
in the village of PuddIeford, at one ocIOck
2. NJ, to serve as a juryman in case
then and there to be tried between PhiIis-
ia FilkinS, plaintiff, and Charity Bcadlc,
defendant, in AN action Of SANDER, d1c.-
The constable remarked, after reading
this threatening legal epistlc to me, that
had better 'be up to time, as Squire
! LongbOw was Il man who would not be
tritlcd with; and then leisurely folding it
up, and pushing it deep down into his
We pocket, he mounted his horse and
hurried away in pursuit of the balance OF
the panel OF course, could not think
of being guilty of contempt Of court af-
ter having been so solemnly warned Of
the consequences and l was therefore
promptly on tho spot according to COM
mand.
Squire Longbow held his court at the
public house, in room ad Joining the bar
room, because the statute prohibited his
holding it in the bar-room itself. He
was aw-abiding man, and would not
violate a statute. found on my arrival
that the whole country for miles around,
had assembled to hear this interesting
Il, Loo. L
turned out and made perfect holiday of
it. All were attred in their best. The
men were dressed in every kind Of FASH
ion, or rather all the fashions Of the last
twenty years were scattered through the
crowd. Small-crown, steeple-crown, low
crown, wide -bIim, and narrow -brim hats;
wido-tail, stub-tail, and swallow tail, high
collar and low-collar coats bagging and
Shrunkcn breeches; every size and shape
of shirt-cOllar were there, all brought in
by settlers when they emigratcd. The
women had attempted to ape the fash
ions of the past; some of them mounted a
hustle about the size of a bag of bran,
and were waddling along under their load
with great satisfaction. Some of the less
ambitious were reduced to a mere bunch
of calico. One man, noticed, carried on
his head an old-fashioned bell-crowne
hat, with half-inch brim shirt collar
running up tight enough under his ears
to lift him from the ground; (this ran out
in front of his face to a peak, serving as a
kind of cutwater to his nose y faded
blue coat, Of the genuine swalIow-tail
breed pair of narrow fall breeches that
had passed so often through the wash tub,
and were so shrunken that they appeared
to have been strained over his limbs this
Individual, reader, was walking about
with his hands in his pockets, perfectly
satisfied, whistling Yankee Doodle and
other patriotic airs. Most Of the women
had something frizzled about their shoes,
which were called pantalettes, giving
their extremities the appearance of SO ma
ny bantam hens.
The men were amusing themselves
pitching coppers and quoits, running hor-
ses and betting upon the result of the tri-
al to come off, as every one was expected
to form some opinion of the merits of the
case.
The landlord of the Eagle was of course
very busy. He hustled about here and
there, making the necessary preparations.
Several pigs and chickens had gone the
way of all flesh, and were baking and
stewing for the table. About once a
quarter, old Stub 'moistened his clay as
he called it. with little rye, so as TO keep