New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-07-04
THE RECORD OF FIFTY YEARS
"REMINISCENCES OF A JOURNALIST.
BY CHARLES 7. CoNGDoN.
OLD TIMES AND TRAITS.


XXX.
OLD TINES AND TRAITS.
NEw-YoRK nALB A CENTURY sINCE-AN OLD NEW
ENGLAND TowN--MY FIRST TRAoEDY-socIAL
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES COACH TRAVELLING
ANCIENT ADJUSTMENTS "A FINE OLD LADY
MANNERS THEN.
Fifty wears do not seem to be much, especially
when one has lived them ana mas no ike
term of life before him. IL has Deen my
fortune to exist during a time III whicn tnere
have been astonishing changes; indeed, upon
n little cursory reflection. / have been unable
to fix upon any other half century IN wnich
there have been so many. ms comes parity,
indeed may say mostly, OF material discoveries
and inventions. Even where these we've then
already under practical experiment, theIe
have been such improvements mat the olo
seems almost childish and clumsy | remem-
Der, for instance, about the year 1873, 10 nave
seen the old Chancellor Livingston, the
first OF our palace boats, come hall salllng
and half s,eamlng into our narooi, ner Gtla
above il were mainsai and foIesail and topsall
in fact full ship-rg., She was the nrst
great steamer which we had seen, and much
dislocated our jaws with wonder and admir-
alton in looking at her, for we were very
primitive, even at that late day, down III our
little seaport of New Bedford. we had
vessels enough, Dut hothiDS Inc Vn".' w
had ships and banks and bries, schooners
and slOops, and all manner OF boats Dut ~, we
had never seen a large steamer peiOre me
BENJAMIN Franklin, the twin. boat OF the
Chancellor Livingston, came the next year,
and again we had an excitement. l suppress
that there are some NewYorkers left who
remember Captain Coggeshall, OF the
Chancellor and Captain Bunker, OF OF e the
Franklin The former was a New Bedford
man, and the last, by his name, should have
come either directly or through his ancestors
from Nantucket. We had very close nautical
relations with New-York at that t,me.
Several of the old Liverpool liners among, .neln
the George Washington and the ra,IlcS
Henry. think were built 10y our own clever
shipwrights; and more than one OF the masters
of these celebrated ships were our tOWhsmehI
PIERS will recall the names of Croeker ana ana
I'VE and Delano. The Grinnell III the OLD
house of Fish, Grinnell g. Co., was. New
Bedford man, and the name OF Iowlana'
famous III the commercial Annals Oh new, 10, o.
is New Bedford name, ard so are inc names
OF Hathaway and of Russell. "a
| have before me the MS. diary, OF an Ola
New Bedford merchant who visited New l ork
In 1928 He was Quaker, but Quakerlsm
Just then, while the fierce fights of the Orthodox
and the Hicksites were raging, sat very
loosely upon some shouldersj and am hot
surprised to find OUT friend recording now ne
Mathews in "Mons. Tonson." He notices
what | do not exactly understand that a the
glass curtain of the theatre had fine effect
In dancing" The next night he went to me
theatre again, and notes the doleiuly .nla
house" only eleven persons in the boxes
when the first act was performed" lie saw
something which was not so pleasant ms
was the treadmill, (which was in full opera
ton" There were thirty persons on the
wheel at a time, and as many more seated
Every half minute bell rang by machinery
Then one came off and another took his place.
Oar friend was fortunate in filing the old
ship which he had brought round WITH MN
with freight for Hamburg and notes that
John Jacob Astor was the principal shipper
Among the curious things which the visitor
saw was the LIBERALIZATION OF Prince Mulat, VINO
arrived from Hamburg. Mustaches were
then unknown and the unsbaven appearance
of His Highness gave him rather a savage
look. Soap and raZOrs III those days were
tho absolutely necessary moral concOmitanus
of civilization And so, after seeing various
other sights. our diarist went In the steamboat
to Newport, and " in gig" home TO MS natVe
village = where be found spelm oil worth from
thirty to forty cents gallon. inc sc who nave
had occasion to buy it know what 1t has sold
for at different periods since.
1t is easy to grow sentimental over the past ;
TO talk of the virtues of our foretathtrs, OF
their simple methods of life. and OF new tney
kept the even tenor of their way. but am
honestly inclined to the opinion that the good
old times" exist only in the brooding imagl-
nations of those who regret them. Making
allowance for opportunity, do not belieVe that
men fifty years ago were any oetter Inun IneS
are now. nor do | think that the jewellers III
small towns were then any better than the
inhabitants of large cities. have seen wOhoer-
full changes, and most OF them nave been I'm
provements. l hardly think that the people
fifty wears ago were any more moral III theI
habits though the cost OF living mas un
dOnbedy been enhanced. 1t is possible to
spend more money. but then there Is more money
to spend. A e. cd many things, for instance,
have been carelessly said about the temperance
reform and the matter of hard drinking. When
q total abstinence orator is upon his legs, WITH
none to contradict him or make him cautious,
. he is apt to declare that there Is more VINE
bibbino and spirit-selling now than ever
But | can remember when II was not
particular disgrace to be drunk, and score OF
tragedies which came OF incompetence when
every country tavern was grog,shop ana was
expected to be when there could DE no narVes
inc. no house raising, no fire aud 10 funeral,
and not even the ordination of a minister OF the
pospel without some indulgence III alcOnonc
bibacity. Never shall forget horror wnlCn
/ experienced when | was but little begga1
of q boy Gong upon some GRAND, saw d
crowd gathered about the house OF nelghDor,
and was half frightened out OF my small
senses by being told that, IN drunken Ut, nc
had killed himself with his razor some
goTrnIous woman, with cruel kindness gave
me all the particulars, and ned my soul WIN
honor for weeks She told me how the
wretch got under the bed TO 40 rue deeo, anu i1
after he had done 1t. carefully deposited the
razor between the bed and toe bed cord 30
had my first lesson in tragedy then and there
upon that cold winter morning, and 1t was MOI
the frosty air alone which made me shake
Much Of that same tragedy have l since
pelused in many books and seen II
macy theatres. l have wrestled with many hany
disuuistions upon terror and pity l nave
LEANED something of grim Hschylus, of swee
monthed sophocles, and of Euripides philos
optical even in his frenzies; | have, hearc
the knocking in Macbeth" and read wha
the astute DE Quincy says of 1t so finely; bu
ali these together have not filed me with suci
n sense OF destiny and of human helplessness
as came to me wines saw the pale faces OF tn.
bystanders and caught /" the cry OF women
within those humble walls. 1t WAS jill sleeping
for me that night, and for many night after