Litchfield enquirer., 1880-09-16

filAt Yankee chickens are tough, but they are
peSnitted to enjoy life longer than with US,
and for that reason. no doubt, they are not
deprived of existence till the day of their
death, as an Irishnsan would say; that is, till
The day they are brought to the table. Beef
ateaks also offer saeh gallant resistance to the
knife that they can seldom be carried by as
sanlt, but have to be reduced by slow and
solemn approaches and masticating siege
train. The best beef of course, goes to the
cities, and in this respective Yankeeland is no
worse and no better than other parts of the
world. At q farm house in Lebanon Igot ten
deier cold beef thai: got at the New Haven
Hotel, one of the best of its class; but at that
same breakfast there was apple pie, of which
was fool enough to eat slice. There was
nohiag the matter with the pie, but in about
hfteeu1ninutes there was with the man who
haheaten it 1t will not always do to do in
Rome as the Romans do, unless you want to
make dodo of yourself. -. ,.t..,.i.
s4ssPicked up Goldfish" sort of chowder, will
be new to you. So will 'succotash, sort Of
soup, in which great plenty of beans and
greenyi nrn is found, and of which the natives.
are very fond. Every morning the butchers
cart, appropriately colored red, drove through
Cornwall, and on Thursdays came the fish
monger with supply of halibut, bay mack
-
this particular our Northern friends are great,
ly blessed above even the rich in the country
parts OF the South. An ample supply of ice,
railroads everywhere, and the coast very near,
they are much to be envied. | heard a deal
OF talk about clans, but. saw comparatively
little of them. Everybody here loves these
bits of bleached sole leather. Perhaps the.
queerest sight of all is a goblet of milk and
huekieberries, half land half not eaten with
spoon, but drunk down, berries and all. This
came under my observation several times
AT no private house except of a man of
wealth in Bridgeport have seen : hired cook.
My landlady in Cornwall did all the cooking
herself: here in Lebanon the lady of the house
is assisted by her daughter of 10; so it is
wherever the girls are old enough to render
efficient aid At one of the farm houses in
which stayed, the mistress, being DID, had
hired ''help," in the person of pretty girl of
10. AS rule, in the farming towns and in
the washing too, is done by the wives not
only of farmers, but also of merchants and
professional men-men abundantly able to en-
ploy cook and washerwoman. But it is the
habit OF the country not to employ at all if the
work in and about the house can be done by
the husband and wife, assisted by the children,
when they get old enough. talked With Mr..
A--on this subject my wife and L." said
he, shaving no children, needed no help and
we never had any, except when we lived in
the country and was engaged in large farm
ing operations, My neighbor, B., does
mercantile business in addition to his farming,
and he needs help; but at the boarding house
just as soon as the bearders leave, the help will
all be dismissed. Look Git was Sunday after
noon) there goes the help of the next house.
How nicely and in what good taste she is
dressed. You would never take her to be
cook or chambetmaid, would you?" Il
''No, indeed" replied Il thought she was
one of the young ladies from New York or
Brooklyn" -'''.'''' ''.'
II don't know it to be a fact, he continued
"but think it quite likely that she takes one
or two magazines. She is Massachusetts
girl, think, and has been employed by that
family for a number of years" .vs.---~
Putting crucial Questions, will you demand
to know exactly how these housekeeping,
clothes washing, women look and act, and what
impression they made upon me? l answer
that If in coming to New England had been
actuated by base motives, and had, while pry-
ing into back doors, seen anything which if
set down in print would have wounded and
grieved the people thus taken unawares, my
course would not have been clear. Bound to
tell the TRUTH if i tell anything at all, would
have been compelled either to bring my letters
to an abrupt close or else to give such offense
as would have placed me outside the pale, not
merely of gentility, but of human nature.
Happily | am in no such quandary. There IS
nothing Objectionable to report. In my mind
are six women, all of slender build and ap-
parenty physically incapable of cooking,
much less of washing, and one of them old
enough to+be grandmother. OF these only
one came from the kitchen to the table with
hair little dsortlered and dress not abso.
lutely fresh. One, / remember, appeared at
every meal, morning, noon and night, always
pale and tranquil, never worried, or cross or
overneated by the stove, her hair and her
whole attire thoroughly cared for Her tea and
coffee and her dessert she LETT in the kitchen
to be kept warm. AS each cup needed filling
she rose, took the cup to the kitchen, filled it
andresumed her place at the table, composed
in feature, untaxed in strength. And 90 with
the dessert. las soon as we finished our meat
and vegetables size changed our plates and
helped each inssuccession from the hot dishes
On the stove, without furry or impotence.
Yet she was seemingly themost delicate of the
six. She however, had no washing to do
VISA Ea,s*rfaib =. 4.zlsf" 'a-i '".
The lady who 90 TRANQUILITY went back and
NJ VA shO ouN oiHS Ni'>'ho
en-, though not herself literary was the sister
If an authoressT Of some distinction in the
North. Half-a-dozen or more of her books,
u proseand verse, were on the shelves OF the
'tag9H inathe parlor. And even the lady who
did the family washing complained, while
playing on the organ, that on Monday nights
Ter fingerswere always stiff, and that she
never felt in the humor for singing. She has
an uncommonly good voice, which has been
iairly well trained. Hes house is fun of piet-
ayes, her porches and windows are adorned
BY great variety of pretty flowers, and she
has an aviary of twenty or more canaries, be-
,ides an aquarium gaia' 1t i1iFA 1a'T.3 81
Does it not seem as if a conspiracy had been
formed to show me the best side of New Eng
and life? Yet, as my letters prove, I have
dumped downs upon the people as If had
dropped fromthe skies, and in every Instance
have found lodging where did not at first
seek it, chance being my only guide. 5i"J = 80.
j, But how did these women impress you? Il
shah answer that question with absolute frank
ness, but not in this letter, which is already
too long..tUs seitagatI 4 t@ast-at ga 3. -
79-jstr u. ..El..l 81 ~ .. - e3esi 9d5