Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1866-08-21
For the Spectator.
gttauntcn in Old irimes.


see That a youth whom I happened to meet
a few weeks ago, near Stanton, has undertaken
to publish some things told him. 1t is true
/ did take the lad for his father, being struck
with the resemblance between the two, and for
getting at the moment that the father was no
longer among the]iying. must confess that
| sometimes find myselflaboring under strange
confusion of mind, mingling the past with the
present. and it was under the influence Of such
a spell. that, on a late visit to town, [ went
about calling on nay friends Of fifty years ago.
Very likely too, i appear somewhat old-fash-
loned to stEplings like 'Gulhyer, = who, SO re-
Gently as the last war with England, were IL
their sWaddiing clothes. 80"
AS ''GuLiver' s publication seems to have in
terested the readersrof the Spectator, I will
give them few Of my reoollections of an ear
her date. But first let me go o little further
back, and speak ofisolne people and things my
father used to tell about. He first came to
Staunton In the year 1852, just eleven years. ,af-
ter the town was laid off by Mr. Beverly. He
entered the town, as well remember hearing
him say, over what is now called CARRIER Hill,
and traces Of 2 road there may still be seen.-
At that time there were few wagons and no
carriages in this'region Of country, and, unlike
the present degenerate race, the people thought
nothing OF climbing hills offorty- five edegrees. :
Nowadays you must go round all the hills, or
through them. The fact is, however, that
when my father arrived here, in 1852, the
weather was very bad and the low ground
through which the road then ran, as it does
now, was SO sWampy that neither man nol
beast could enter town that way. l-
And speaking Of roads, / ana reminded of a
thing | have heard my father tell He said the
Sheriff OF Augusta county, sometime before
62, had an execution to levy upon one Brown,
and made return mot executed by reason
there is no road to the place where he lives. -
How Brown himself got there is the wonder
He was like the apple in the dumping, which
puzzled King George the Third SO much.
BY the way, the Sherifs did some funny
things in those days One Of them made this
return {: Not executed by reason of an oc1.
Another, having a process Of some sort to serve
npon'a man named Miller, endorsed upon the
Miller not found by Humphrey Marsha" -
But enough Of Sheriffs. The less body has
to do with them the better. Many poor fel-
low would be gladi excess Of weather.. Or
even,''the fux in the house, y would keep them
off nowadays. IS. f.,g# 3a ia3alua Z. sas B5Gt
I was telling about Staunton when my father
came here, in 1862 The town was rather
smaller than it is nov. There were only few
wooden houses, all in the fiat, and about every
other house was an Ordlnary--none of your
Hotels, where they give you half-cooked meat
to eat, and make you pay for the fine carpets
on the floor and the pictures and big looking
glasses hung about generally but snug, home
ike places. My father put up at Sampson
Mathew Ordinary He kept in the long low
house where Tremper, the Postmaster, after
wards lived. This was the fashionable Ordi-
nary in town at that day, although Robert Nc
Canadians was a very genteel house. Law
yer Jones stopped with Squire McClanahan
when he came to Court. Colonel Mathews had
the Rates fixed by the County Court, posted
In his bar-room. A hot diet wei dressed" cost
one shilling. HLodging with clean sheets" cost
six pence. Whisky was six shilingsa gallon =
4 man could live them if he had any money
at all. My father always said he got the worth
of the money. he laid out with the Colonel At
a Hotel in these days, they charge you about
twelve shillings for hot dict--so | am told .