Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-02-12
THE GOOD OLD DAYS.
The EStrsvaEsnt spress Of Our CsI.b,
ted FOFefafhers

The EStrssaEant sprees Of Our CeIelr.
ted Forefafbsrs.
The following is from nm address bv
James Parton before the New York Uis.
torical Society: This venerable societv
has seen fit for many years 10 hold feas,s
especially in June, when the frstiyo
strawberry gladdens the heart of man
He had asked, why this collation. every
month"; What connection betweayS
sandwiches and history But a vencr'
able member had rebuked him, saying
gravely: Let no man speak disI esnert.
fully OF sandwiches here, Tor sandwicbes
built this house" One Of the first ar,o
Of the Puritans in 1870 WAS 10 nbo,ish
that most time-honored ana belsy.d
feast, Christmas. Some Of them nade
the Observance Of the day matter n
conscience, and the governor had spared
them It'll they should be better in.
formed" but he had forbidden public
games on that day. But in truth ,he
Puritans never succeeded in abolisLiny
Christmas, although they no longer oh.
served it openly, according To the old
chronicles. They had simply Changed
the date on which II had been observed
for 5000 years, and observed it after the
old fashion-on the last Thursday Of
November.
The Puritans had little 10 make rnerrv
with. For years they had nothing r.
drink but water; and often the onlv
Wand was lobster, with nothing n
make salad Of. Then it was tha, The
clam made It's appearance in history
But often. when the pilgrimshad made
ready feast of ground-n nuts and clans
the Indians would come and eat IT, To
put stop to these breaches OF ctiquct,e
the pilgrims hanged a man, not an In.
dian-that would not have been strange
OF original-but they hanged one of
their own number for stealing from an
Indian. In this tragic way the clam An
peared in history. In this proud and
naughty town the vender Of the clam
and even the horse who draws his load
are often mentioned in tones Of dispar.
agement; but II is far otherwise inNew
England. where they have grand an
nual Episcopal clam
When America began to export furs
and tobacco and Goldfish, the people o,
the country lived extravagantiy. Bring.
| ing molasses from the West Indies. tbey
soon learned 10 make rum OF it, and rum
| became a circulating medium; but rum
| and tobacco soon vitiated the fcasts Of
our iorefathers. Even AT the meetings
of the clergy the room was often. dark
with smoke of tobacco and the steam Of
hot rum. If anyone supposed tha, in
colonial times the people were more
austerely virtuous than they are now.
| let him examine the records Of the soci.
ETY.. and he would soon find the magni-
tude OF his error John Adams
| who began the temperance move
mcnt in this untry. records
that the price Of rum was in
those times shilling a gallon. though
sometimes Ii was raised 20 pistaree7.
and in small towns there would be
dozen rum taverns. which were alarm.
ingly injurious 10 the people. Other
records show similar facts. From read
ing Franklin's memoirs, the lecturer. in
common with others, had thought that
sage n temperance man. But the saga
| cious Franklin, who knew well what to
| tell, omitted 10 state that after be be-
came prosperous gentleman he was no
| longer teototalleT.
The absurd and barharous habit Of
| drinking healths was observed in all lis
| rigor, but even this was 10 be preferred
| TO the slangy habits of modern times.
Later, tea and coffee came into fashion.
though chocolate had preceded these
dainties in the popular favor. and tie
| chocolate was commonly boiled with
sausages and the whole mess eaten with
n spoon. The coffee in olden times was
probably very bad, and even as late as
John Randolph's time there was ground
for his immoral remark: Waiter, il
this is tea, bring me coffee; il this is
coffee, bring ME tea"
In the time of the revolution. while
the army was starving At Valley Forge
the people in the great cities were iv-
Ing in luxury and extravagancc: and
later, when the commerce Of the country
was pouring in wealth. the style Of iiy'
ing was incredibly luxurious. The con-
sequences of this extravagance were Sc
rious. For one thing ii broke up Pres
ident Washingtons cabinet. Dinners
did it. The salaries of the secretaries
were ali insufficient 10 keep up the style
| nf Evtnu that xUaa fhouuht pecpseary