Litchfield enquirer., 1880-10-14
NEW ENGLAND BLYTHE BACKD00R.
As Looked Into by a Southerner
WuI1MANTIo.. Conn. Aug. 30. 1890.

WHLIMANTIo.- Conn, Aug. 30 $780,
! have lun up here for a day to look at the
mills and the camp-meeting, But hrst let me
| get through with Lebanon-no easy matter,
| for much remains to be told about the place
and its Inhabitants. Hearing that a Southernel
was in town, a lady who was born in Virginia,
and had lived there until she was Married,
did me the honor 10 call on me. We talked fol
an hour or two. Sine said that in Hartford,
the place of her residence, she had made many
warm friends, principally among the wives OF
professional men. her husband beinga physi
clan. 80, then," said l, ''you believe with
good people? '' II do; indeed I do,'' she re-
piled; land if you ever come to Hartford, ]
think can prove it to your entire satisfaction.
| You may not remember 1t. but the Geogia
/ soldiers who came North last year were SO
pleased with their reception in Hartford
that they left Boston to pay our city second
visit" e~EE TrFs 80.
This lady's health has not been good since
| she came, six or eight years ago, into this
1 harsh climate, and much as she likes New
| England and its people, in times of sickness
her thoughts 90 back to her old home in AL
! bemarle. .l'''' -
| Last evening l had quite prolonged con-
versation with young gentleman just gradu-
| ated at Yale Politics are but little discussed
in college. The few Southern students who
are there get along very well with the North
| ern boys. Doubtless there is some prejudice,
but it does not show itself Extensively. He
had often wished to visit the South was much
INTEREST," ed in what l. told him about the past
and the present condition of the people. The
desire to see the South has been expressed by
the majority of Northerners with whom have
talked, but few if any of them have said they
would like to live with us.
| Among other talks remember one that
| had with a young girl of IA, the Rose of Leb-
anon | call her. Her blooming cheeks, tiny
hands, perfect form, and the torrent of brown
hair that flows down to her waist, would be
envied by city belle; This child, born a
| year after the war ended, in the innocence OF
her heart believed that the whipping post was
the main cause of the war; Her parents are
strong republicans. 'Were you not taught to
| dislike Southerners, and to believe that they
are very bad peope?" l ventured to ask.
mo, not all of them; but those who stood
with whips in their hands aad made the slaves
work so hard in the hot cotton fields, they
must have been bad" AS to cooking and
washing, she said relative of hers had once
employed girl or woman to do the drudgery,
but after trial was 80 worried by her ineffi-
cheney that she dismissed her and did all the
work herself Not from motives of economy
only, bnt to escape annoyance-that It is
| which i.A-r~Ie Now England women to dis
pense with servants.
| Here let Inc say that more than one gentle
! man has invelghed against the uppishness of
the Yankee girls. They refuse not only to do
| homework, but of late years also decline to 90
| into the mills. In Willimantic, for example,
you will find that the mill-women, almost
| without exception, are Irish; but latterly,
French and Norwegians or Swedes are coming
in pretty freely. The Yankee girl, forsooth,
must be a milliner or nothing. These are al
most the words of a gentleman with whom
talked two days ago; and what he said was
confirmed; by the officer who showed me
through the mills this morning. ''They are
all Irish, you may say" was his remark, as we
paused in a room full of female operatives
Much the same expressions, only intensified
almost to bitterness, are used by the upper
classed in regard to the male Yankees .'The
Yankee has got to be so self-important that
he is good for nothing as workman" said
New Haven manufacturer to me. II wouldn't
give one Swede for a dozen of EN-" he added ;
their heads are full of politics, and they are
toosslnart for their own good. 1t is not so
with the Swede." In precisely the same tone
other gentlemen spoke of the Yankee farm
hands. do not call these house girls me-
chanics and farm hands yankees" The
men who talked to me so abusively about them
call them so. Pride in the New England
race may still exist; but pride in Yankee
simply because he is Yankee has ceased |
might almost say it has given place to con-
tempt. Nor is this hard to account fort is
the differentiation produced by increasing.
wealth. "4
If the Yankee is as deeply interested in poi
tice as the New Haven man alleged it is
strange he has NIT shown it to me in al. these
weeks. Morning, noon and night have re-
paired to the store in Lebanon, hoping to hear
political discussion, or at least an expression
of opinion. In vain. The talk has been
about the Wilimantic camp-neeting, the barn
that was struck by lightning and burnt to the
ground day before yesterday, the price of but
ter in Providence, ETC. anything except poll
tics. Last night, indeed, an attempt was
made to organize in the town hall Garfield
club OF 'Beys in Blue" and there was brief
political dialogue in the store between the vii
lage doctor and pronounced republican, talk
ing the ground that if the democrats carry In
diana Hancocks election is certain, with or
without Virginia, and the other man offering
to bet cigars that Indiana will not be carried,
&c. Gov. Andrews knew what he was
saying when he told me there would be no
political activity till the hay harvest was
over.
The best talk of all was with gentleman
who drove me into the country few evenings
ago. My invariable rule has been not to put
leading questions, but to wait for an unbidden,
and hence honest opinion about matters per-
tanning to the South but, my time being
short, did not put question on this occa-
sion. @ @pe<
'sYou say there is as much bitterness here
as in Massachusetts, how does 1t manifest it
self ?'' .&E~L>S @-S - -A~
There is as much bitterness here as per-
haps in any part Of New England, but that
bitterness is not what it was few years ago.
If occasion offers l will Introduce you to
man who cannot speak of the South or the
war without flying into passion"
f'What does he say ?"
''Oh, he says that the South is rebellious as
it ever was that it is absurd for the rebels to
nominate Union soldier like Hancock they
have tried everybody else, and now they try
him: it is ridiculous dodge" and SO on
What is his feeling toward Northern demo-
crats?'
My acquaintance laughed outright as he re-
piled: she hates them ten times worse than
he does the rebels. Why? Because they are
traitors now or they were during the war; 1t
is amusing to hear him declare that whenever
certain democrat of this town met him with
smirk on his face and a CHEEKY good morn
ing he knew that the Union army had met a
| reverse, and the more bland this democrat was
| the bigger the Federal defeat
~ ''Why is it that have encountered none of
this bitterness? Are people on their guard ?''
''Not at ALL / guess. Few know anything
about you; fewer still have any inkling of the
purpose. of your visit to New England"
ut Is likely that this bitterness will con-
tinue p
f.Among a certain class, yes. I have uni
| fornly voted with the republicans at the
| next election may vote for Hancock. But
| take number of papers and read both sides,
while the great bulk of country people take
their county paper, and possibly the Weekly
| Times or Tribune of New York. and get their
ODiniOns from them Travel sNou Enrlanr3