The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-07-07
rorr,h ~ ..Chanye Of Customs.


Fourth OF Iuiy..Change Of Customs.
In very few of the customs OF the country
Is the change more perceptioie 'thah IN 'he
manner OF celebrating the Fourth OF july
Thirty years ago there was ceiebrauoh Ga
some sort In nearly every neighoorheou, ~
every county in the State. Sometimes 'heIe
was = grand ball at the Courthouse, atWn'eh
all the county was present. On sucn oces-
sions the neigh borhood celebrations were
geperelly swallowed up by the naH'"o'" &C.
tival. If not at the CouTt-House, al so'.'
other SPOT in the county-at geh"e' w..
known tavern. or at a famous spIihk-
she eustom TO have dance aud ali ''e -,
~ would be present. Those were oe' 80.
crea, endowment Paris, they say,
md .Richu.ond Is fast ge''ne ~ y" =,
=, sn,,e of provincial jeaIousies,
- a certain want OF enterprise
.rurai beau ties now all come TO
n..h,,,rd 10 show off their charms. 1t was
1T 40 thep. The majority of them were vast
10 ,yeu satisfied If they could manage TO make
short ,rip here once in year, and 1t was
felicity accorded TO few to spend whoie winner
sin town" as Big Richmond was theh ca'ieo
When we take in - consideration ina. hhihan
nature-especiaily female human hature-""S
the same then that IL is now, we can very wen
understand that these ann Nersary les'N"'s
were much more apt TO be eniifeheo oy 'No
presence OF the more beautiful portion Oh hu-
mautty than they are now. Ihey were tue
best opportunities many Oh theih ehJoSeo Vi
seeing life on a large scale. Young ieuies were
then-as we think 1t probable they are ho"-
very foud of the society OF young eeh'iene"
They delighted also ia dancing, and every hino
of innocent gaiety, and here was liieii oe6'
chance tor gratifying all their TASTES d. oNe
They fiocked to these balls from All Pai . Va
the county. Adjoining counties eoh'1
their quota and At all OF them there We're al
WAYS some half dozen very pretty girls, VINO
set the heads OF all the beaux 10 WOOL gather
ing for at least Il week after the frolic. Ii must
be acknowledged that we thought 1t, In those
days, a charming way TO spend the Fourth
for we were young then-nor, TO tell the
truth. do yee think il altogether bad one even
now.
These agreeable customs of past genera
ton have faded entirely away. We never
hear. now. of a dance in the country on the
Fourth unless it be al q watering place. Per-
Sons from the country, who wish TO spend the
ath of July in a manner different from that
in which they spend the other three hundred
and sixty -four days of the year, come INTO
soou Even in town the festivities are noras
hearty as they used to be thirty years ago
We never hear of a citizens dinner, and, very
nationally, the military are beginning 10 cut
the ceremonies short as possible. We do
not deny that all this may be for the better
but 10 persons who are growing old-and we
claim no credit for extraordinary penetration
when we say, every man will grow old if he
only live long euoueh-to persons who are
growing old, we say, every change from the
old custom is a source of melancholy reflec-
ton. A very worthless piece of clear stone
glitters like diamond in the eyes of him who
beholds it from a distance basking in the light
of the sun. And so will even a very worthless
custom appear to man, when he looks back at
it, bathed in the rosy light of his early youth,
from The point of view offered him by middle
age. We confess we regret the 4th OF July
amusements of our youth-the ball, the dim
ner, the merriment, "the exulting sense, the
pulse, maddening play which whilom sent
the blood thrilling with an ecstacy it can
never know again through our VEINS.
From the commencement of the Federal
Government until within the last thirty
years, politicians Were accnst toned TO study
the reports OF the 4tn OF July dinners as
closely as they studied the debates in Con-
gress or the messages of the Governors of
States. Everybody went TO these dinners
eyeryb body gave toast, and each toast was
sure to contain an expression of the coasters
political sentiments. rendered as brief, as
pointed, and as strong as il could possibly be
made. These toasts were, indeed, what the
players were in HAMLET's time, what the bal
lads were in the time Of FLETCHER, of Salto-
reso, (who said, let me write the ballads, and
l care not who makes the laWs,'') what the
pamphleteers were III the time OF WALPoLE,
what the newspaper press is at the present
day. They were the abstract and brief chroni-
cles of the times They were the barometer
by which the political weather could he most
accurately studied. THOMAS JEFFERSON bore
firmed il. All that is changed now. Political
sen timents have long since been banished
from the 4th Of July dinner table The test
has lost its value-the barometer has been
broken Those slow coaches of the olden
time, the political newspapers, used to be
filled for several succeeding weeks, with the
toasts drunk at various dinners in different
parts of the country. They were highly
amusing to read and we somet times almos
wish we could sec batch Of them once more
But the times have changed.