The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1854-07-19
COUNTRY LIFE IN THE OLDEN
- TIME.

- " SArPAAS RANooA = "a SOohtAJ AALO
as experienced by the farmers in the good
old days that have now passed away for
ever. 1t is from The Albany Stat
Register, and is redolent of fields and
forests, of fire-side enjoyments and home
born delights. It will be read with pleas
ure by many New Englander in far
off lands, and will awaken within him
floods offeeling and affection, and cause
to come, rushing through the chambers
of his memory, thoughts that long have
slumbered. But read -
There are memories that come cluster
ing about these ''boys," these ''pippins, )"
and "the orchard" Do you remember
the old Cider Mill, friend Margins, and
the old horse as he travelled round and
round, moving with slow and dignifed
tread, "hitched" to the long lever that
turned the wooden mill, that crushed the
apples into pummice? Do you remem-
Der the great cheese in its bandage of
straw beneath the press, and how, when
the great screws were turned in the mas
sive gallows shaped frame, the rich juice
ofthe apple came gushing out and run
ming into the great tub placed to receive
it? Do you remember how, with straw
the urchins, as they came along on their
way home from school, filled themselves
with sweet cider from the bung of the
barrel ? Do you remember how, in the
long winter nights, you sat around the
fire place wherein logs were blazing, and
how the pitcher of cider, and the platter
of doughnuts, were placed upon the old
cherry table that sat out in the middle of
the kitchen, and how you helped yourself
to the cider and the doughnuts, and how
happy each one was, as he sat with his
pewter mug of cider in one hand and
doughnut in the other, before that old
fashioned kitchen Fireplace? Those
were pleasant times But they are
memories now. And the apple parings
or "bees," as they were called, when the
young men and maidens came together to
pare apples, and talk and laugh and play
old fashioned plays, and say soft things
to one another, and eat pumpkin pies and
be happy, after the fashion of the country
people when you and were young
Primitive times those were friend Mar
gins, and our proud daughters and city
danes would turn up their noses hugely
were they to be present at an old fash
ioned apple-bee, such as they used to
have out in old Steuben, when the coun-
try was new, and the fashions were prima-
tive.
We remember when We were young,
there was favoite tree in our fathers
orchard, which bore choice winter apples
1t was called the big tree; because it was
the largest in the orchard. The fruit
of this tree was always left until the last
and was gathered with great care. There
was worthless fellow living in the
neighborhood, who one year coveted a
portion of the fruit on the GO big tree ,"
and was not deferred from it's acquisition
by the divine commandments Thou
shalt not steal. - A quantity of the ap-
Piles disappeared one ight, and the tracks
of whoever stole them had strange re-
semblance to those made by the heelless
boots of dishonest neighbor. There
were two inseperable friends ON the old
homestead in their early days, the one
a eolored gentleman "by the name of
Shadrach, who came to our fathers pos
session in payment for a debt, and who
ran away regularly two or three times
year, and then as regularly ran, back again
just as his master began to indulge the
hope that he had got rid of him for good.
The other was great dog, half mastif
and half bull, of noble presence and
fearless courage Drive and Shadrach
were inseparable. They worked and
played together, slept together in the
same loft, and Shadrach never ate a
meal while the dog lived, at least at
home, without sharing it with his
canine friend. He would talk with Drive
for hours, when they were alone, although
the dog didn't say much himself, yet
Shadraeh said good many things, and
laid down and argued out great many
queer propositions, against which Drive
uttered not word Of dissent
One chilly night in October, Shadrach
and Drive had been out along the corn
fields on an unsuccessful coon hunt. On
their return the dog dashed off through
the orchard, and in minute or two COM
menced barking, and Shadrach of course
supposed he had traced coon on one of
the fruit trees Now Shadrach had an
abiding faith in spiritual manifestations,
and stood in mortal fear of " the gentle.
man in black, and all manner of spooks
in general Upon arriving at r the big
tree, "by the foot Of which Drive sat,