Litchfield enquirer., 1880-09-16
NEWENGLAND BLYTHE BACK DOOR.
As Looked Into by Southerner
Correspondence of the Baltimore Sun.

Correspondence of the Baltimore Sum-
LEBANON, CT. August 90, 1880.
While am waiting here, like Mrs. Burdell's
counsel, Mcssrs. Dodson Sc Fogg, to be kick
ed, knocked down or Yankee kluAed in some
| way, may as well tell you how the people
live insthis part of the world. But first let me
say a word or two about New Haven: | stop
ped for a day, parity to see the city, which in
itself richly repays visit, but more to look at
TIE democratic State convention that met there
last Wednesday ard nominated, as you know,
English and Fonda good ticket, they tell
me-; barrel against barrel, ;" as republicans
declare. Well, suppose it is we but follow
the practice of our English cousins, who pay
On an average S11, 000 for a seat in Parliament
some seats cushing 800, 600 and upwards. 7l.st.
Many of us in the South are in The habit of
saying and believing that if we lived at the
North We would he republicans. because there
republicanism represents intelligence, proper
ty and conservatism, just as democracy rep
rese:rts them in the South. Town that I my
sell haye been a yictimEof that belief When
| told in confidence bya Connecticut 'republi-
| can That the democratic party of this State
was ''composed you know, of the irish and
he whisky drinking Americans" | really
believed it, although Governor Andrews had
assured me that, $50 far as Connecticut is con-
cerned. tire preponderance of wealth, certain
ly, if of nothing else, is on the side of the DEM
Gratis" But | wanted to see with my own
eyes. So, without letting my business be
known, mingled with the crowd at the Ton
| tine Hotel (headquarters) lodged at the New
Haven Hotel, where w. Ell. Barnum andother
| leaders lodged; went upon stand No. 2'on the
Common, when il was full of people, listening
to the speeches at night; mixed with the
| throng below the stand took my seat on the
stage when the convention WASH session at
| the Opera House; got down into the body of
| the hall, in the very midst of the delegates,
and walked twice through the aisles, using all
the while the best vision and: Intelligence at
my. command. And now can assure South
ern people who have believed as l. have be.
leyed that, like myself, they have been gross
ly imposed upon and deluded. Had the CON-
| position of that convention been what had
been led to expect, and did to an extent, /
would have said so in the f1attest way. What
we of the South, and of the North as well,
want to know and ought to know, is the exact
truth in regard to each other. If the two Sec
| tions, or the wings of either party in the two
| sections, are made up of r0gues, the sooner we
| know it the better. 1t was not in the power
of any man to deceive me, for but one man
knew me even by sight. was not deceiy-
ed. -..-.,...
In the smoking car On the Naugatuck road,
| on Tuesday, l had been sandwiched for a
| couple Of hours between knots of delegates on
| their way to the, convention. Unknown to
them | studied their faces and listened to their
talk. This enabled me to form some idea of
| what the assembled body would be-. What I
further saw in New Haven confirmed the half-
formed opinion reached on the @Naugatuck
road, and here declare that 10 its compost
ton, in its speeches, ID its behavior and in its
proceedings throughout twas as reputable an
assemblage as ever saw gathered for political
or for other purposes. i was particularly struck
with the number of old or middle. aged men,
and the Difference shown them in the conduct
and management Of the convention. In this
respect it resenlbled more an agricultural than
a political meeting. 1n4~vain searched the
galleries for, the unwashed. One solitary man
? in his shirtsleeVes was there. Yet New Haven
is democratic city, with large foreign. born
contingent. The country mark was strong on
many faces and many habiliments. Icounted
two or three red noses, but saw no mandrunk,
in the convention or out of it. Late at night
some young men entered the room next To
mine made merry for few minutes, but the
noise soon subsidized and theirinquisitive neigh
Dor, a poor sleeper, heard no more Senator
Eaton presided with ease, dignity and fair
ness. His purpose to be thoroughly and i'm
partially just was especially noticeable. The
convention met at 10 A. NJ, dispatched its
business by or i P. NJ, and quietly dispers-
ed, a number of the delegates taking the
Shore Line train with me that same after.
noon -N
IT, Some or my readers will exclai,n, sob. it is
abundantly evident that you went Into New
England determined to see only the bright side
of things Not SO. While circulating through
hepress of men, women and children on the
New Haven Common, could but hope that a
few bitter remarks would be dropped in my
hearing, for they would have given to- my
letters spice which they lack, but nothing OF
the kind happened Never has a hate hunter
been more disappointed But what think yon
must have been the feeling of Southern man
alone there in that immense Yankee crowd on
hearing one speaker after another get I'D in
defence of the South, the solid South-made
solid and kept SO, as they all well and truly de-
~clared, by unjust and oppressive rule. Put
yourself in my place and ask, or rather you
will not ask, ii l was touched? / was deeply
moved. 1t seemed to me that felt, as never
before, the immensely of the republic Cat the
moment was on stand No. 3, looking the full
length of the crowded Co..lmon) and the pow
er of ideas The s.solid. South lis not 8, light
load to tote. Think of the antipathies gen
ueFcQ Wy uedrly NAH CENTURY OF alterCatlOn
.over slavery and intensified by great war,
the greatest civil war recorded in history and
fancy yourself as a. Northern man compelled
% take up that gauntlet every time Il is hurled
at your feet or in your face. Yet the demo-
Gratis of the North, of the whole North, do take
it up with manly defiance that tome, IN the
thick Of that crowd, was simply splendid.
Fire bells began to ring the throng rapidly
thinned, the air struck chill as the gapsswidens
ed. Much musing, walked slowly back to
i my hotel and had cigar in my lonely room.
But about the Yankee way Of living;z in
Cornwall we bneakfasted at n, dined AZ 129
and supped at or 81; at the, hotel in Litch-
field the hours were much the same; here in
Lebanon webreakfast and dine just half an
hour earlies, that is at Z and at 70, which /
presume are the hours for those meals in all
the farming towns Coffee zaIld Tea are used
at alfmeals; my landlady in Cornwall made
both equally welL0, MIlke is vmucA iIkssI used
than with US in the country towns, and this is
true also of the farm houses in the dairy dis
tricts. You will hear strange questions at
dinner time. ssWll you have some tea this
noon ?" ''Shall I season [sweeten1 your tea for
you. or should you like 70 season it for your
selfl?" Of breads there is nothing like such
variety as with us, nor iss the bread 50 well
risen or so fnesiri texture, but It is generally
sweet and wholesome. That served to me at
the farm, however, was heavy and sobby, but
not sour. The high, hot loaf Is unknown, but
hot rolls, invariably called biscuit, are not un-
common. Corn bread in the form Of pones,
hoecakes, batter cakes, &C., is unheard of J;
1 Al =