The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1867-01-11
Old Newspapers.

tHt IiIc'ub Nhg III ih"iiN 'N li'i t"hO
particulars Then there were no telo-
graph lines 70 bring the news with
lightning speed from the most distant
pnrts of the country. There were no
railroads, and passengers and mails
were conveyed from one point to an
other in the slow stage coach, which
after all was not unfrequently n pleas
ant mode of travelling, 1t required
months time to hear from England,
four or five days from New York, and
three from Boston. How different
now The telegraph and the railroad
place us in close and constant commu-
nication with all parts of the country;
md what transpires i'll England to-day
is printed in our papers tomorrow
thanks to the indomitable persever-
ance of Cyrus X. Field These i'm
portant means of communication and
others that might be enumerated,
give the newspapers Of to-day, as a
natural consequence, advantages that
were little dreamed of forty years ago.
Still the newspapers of that period
fully answered their end; and who
does not like to read them if not so
well printed and edited as now? Who
cannot CLEAN much from them that
will both instruct and amuso?
We have before us the American
Repertory for the years 1S26-7-S-9,
published in St Adams by J. Spooner,
editor and proprietor, in reading
which we have passed many q leisure
hour pleasantly and proftably. In
the numbers for the first named year
we find the advertisements of Law
renee Brainerd, Orange Adams, Or
ange Ferriss, l.. L. butcher, S. p.
Eastman, VIM. o. Gadcomb, VIM.
Bridges, i. i. Jones, Bildad Paul
Richard s. Locke, VIM. Fuller John
Whittemore, David Read, and Horace
Livingston, all of whom are still alive,
and residents of st. Adams except Mr..
Ferriss and Mr.. Read, the former OF
whom resides in Geneva, n. Y, and
the latter in the city of Burlington. -
There are other advertisements of
persons deceased, of n. w. Kingman,
Julius Hoyt, VIM. Farrar, who was a
partner of his brother, H. B. Farrar,
now living at Swanton Falls, G. w.
Wetmore, Jonathan Todd, Henry Sey
mour, N. b. & H. Wells, John Watson,
Joseph Weeks and others.
Lotteries were evidently popular in
those days. if the advertisements are
any criterions to Judge by; for they
occupy considerable space in the Re-
pertory Phoenix Lottery" is an
nounced to be drawn "under the SUI
perintendence of the judges of the
Windsor County Court, or persons
duly appointed by them" Mr., Spoon
er, the publisher, kept a LOTTERY
Office" where "wholes, halves, and
quarters" could be had by immedi-
ate application" Mr.. Spooner poe
ties thus:
Hpoyerty haunt you, to srooNER then fy
In ticket or two your luck quickly try
But iffortune by chance should jilt You Just then
Don't give up the ship, man, Juthyher again.
AT the head of some of the adver-
tisements we read "From the lot
teries hereafter to be drawn, the State
will derive handsome sum for the
support of Common Schools. Such
language would read queerly in these
latter days when lotteries are so gen
orally discountenanced. But in those
days they were iegalized and it was not
considered out of character by many
OF our best citizens to patronize them
nor is 1T now to buy tickets in the
HAVANA Lotteries, on he ay
The Fourth of July was celebrated
with as much, if not more enthusiasm
forty years ago than it is at the pres
ent day, and at far less expense. W,
read in the Repertory that July 4th
1926 was appropriately observed il
Fairfield. At IL o'clock, procession
was formed under the direction o
Col Burr, Marshal of the day, proceed
ed by the st. Adams and Fairdel,
Rifle Companies under the comman,
OF Captains Spooner and Soule, as al
escort, and proceeded to the Tow
House. where, with other appropriat
exercises, an Grafton was pronounce,
by the Rev. Benjamin Wooster whic
did honor to the heart of the age
veteran" The day was also celebrate
IN Sheldon, the Grafton being delivere
by the Rev. Moses Bingham. Tn
following year. 1927, the day was b,
comingly observed at st. Adams. Tn
exercises we're held in the "ineetin
house. The Declaration of Ind,
pendence was read by j. H. Brainer,