The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-04-21

&c. C. Coffin in Atlantic for May

"A nail century ago large part Oh tne
people of the United States lived in
houses unpainted, upholstered and ut
tcrly devoid OF adornmeht. A well-fed
fire in the yawning chasm of a huge
chimney gave partial warmth to single
rOom and it was common remark that
the inmates were roasting one side while
freezing the other In contrast, ma
jority Of the people of the older States
now live in houses that are clapboarded,
painted, blinded, and comfortably
warmed. Then, the household furni-
ture consisted of few plain chairs, a
plain table and bedstead made by the
village carpenter. Carpets there were
none, To-day, few are the homes, in city
Or country, that do not contain a
carpet of some sort, while the average
lahorcr by weeks work may earn
enough to enable him to repose at night
upon spring bed.
Fifty years ago, the kitchen ''dressers'
were set forth with a shining row of
pewter plates. The farmer ate with a
juck-handled knife and an iron or pew
ter spoon, but the advancing civilization
has sent the plates and spoons to the
melting pot, while the knives and forks
have given place to nickel or silver
plated cutlery.
In those days the utensils for cooking
were dinner-pOt, tea-kettle, skillet,
Dutch oven, and frying pan; to-day there
is no end of kitchen furniture.
The people OF 1880 sat in the evening
ing the glowing light Of pitch-knot fire,
or read their weekly newspapers by the
pickering light Of Il "tallow Dip" now,
in city and village, their apartments are
bright with the fame of the gas jet or
the softer radiance of kerosene. Then,
if the fire went out upon the hearth. it
was rekindled by coal from a neigh
boring hearth, or by flint, steel, and ten,
der. Those who INDUCED in pipes and
cigars c5uId light them only by somt
hcarLhatone; to-day we light fire anc
pipes by the dormant fireworks in the
match safe, at cost Of one hundreth OF
a cent.
In those days we guessed the hour OF
noon, or ascertained ii by the creeping Of
the sunlight up TO the moon mark
drawn upon the floor; only the well-to
do could afford a clock. To-day whc
does not carry watch? and as for clocks
you may purchase them at wholesale, by
lie cart-load, at sixty-two cents apiece
Fifty years ago, how many dwelling
were adorned with pictures? How many
are there now that do not display /;
print, engraving, chrome or lithograph
How many pianos or parlor organs wer
there then? Reed organs were not in
vented till 1910, and now they are il
every village
Some who may read this article vii
remember that in 1880 the Bible, the al
manac, and the few textbooks used il
school were almost the only volumes o
the household. The dictionary was
volume four inches square and an inc
and half in thickness. In some Of tn
country villages few public-spirite
men had gathered libraries containin
from three to five hundred volumes; j
contrast, the public libraries Of the pre-,
ent, containing more than ten thousan
volumes, have an aggregate Of ten milliO
six hundred and fifty thousand five hun
dred volumes, not including the SUNDAY
school and private libraries of the cour
try. 1t is estimated that altogether tn
number of volumes accessible to the pul
lie is not less than twenty millions! {
Websters and Worcester's dictionarie
it may be said that enough have bee
published TO supply one to every one hun
dred inhabitants of the United States.