Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1881-09-15
In Olden Times

Paper-hangings were originally JUS
what their name indicates-viz., strips
of paper suspended from the ceiling il
such manner as to cover the imper'
fections of the walls. They were used
exclusively in the houses Of the rich
the poor man in his hut had no such
device, but must needs patch hole to
keep the winds away. The carpets of
our forefathers once consisted of rushes,
among which the dogs hunted for the
bones that had been thrown upon the
floor.
In England, one end of the hall was
the kennel for the hounds, and above it
the perch for hawks. In the reign of
Queen Elizabeth, the host at table used
to hold the joint of beef with one hand
and the carving-knife with the other,
transferring the meat to the plates of
his guests with his fingers, as forks were
not yet in use. Those who first adopted
forks were much ridiculed. Some said
the Bible was opposed to it, and it was
an insult to the Almighty to use fork
when He had given them fingers.
The art of making glass is of high an
tiquity, but it belonged to modern in
genuity to develop the value of the in
vention, and to apply it to multitude
of important, and in some cases indis-
pensable, uses. Not many centuries
ago, window-glass was only found in the
houses of the very rich its use began
in palaces. For a long time it was so
scarce that at Alnwick Castle, in 1867,
the glass was ordered to be taken out of
the windows and laid up in safety when
the lord was absent.
There was another luxury, SO expen-
sive that for more than two thousand
years it remained completely above the
reach of the poor, and none but the
wealthy could indulge in its use. We
mean cotton CLOTH The material of
which the cloth was made was both
plenty and easily obtained, as is the
case with glass but the cost of manu-
featuring made it very dear. If a
Grecian lady could awake from her sleep
of two thousand years, her astonishment
would be unbounded to see a simple
country girl clothed with calico dress,
a muslin kerchief, and a colored shawl !!
Within the past one hundred years,
machinery has been invented which has
made printed cotton so perfect, so
plenty, and so cheap, that the humble
servant-girl can wear a better calico
gown than Cleopatra ever saw
When the whole stock of carpenters
tools was valued at one shilling, and
consisted altogether of two broadaxes,
an adze, square and spoke-shave, we
must expect to find rough work and
none but rough dwelling houses when
there were no chimneys, and the fire
was laid against the wall, with the smoke
to issue out at the roof, the door, or the
window, and the people slept on straw
pallets, with log of wood for pillow,
we naturally expect rough manners,
unwholesome food, and great lack of
tidiness. This was the condition of the
English people in the reign of Edward
III. Even the nobility went without
chairs and tables, and sat upon the
chests that contained their clothes and
linen. The skill of other trades was on
q level with that of the carpenter, and
agriculture was as low in the scale as
any of the arts. The first sawmill in
England was built by Dutchman, but
the opposition of the men who worked
by hand was so great that he had to pull
it down. In 1867 another was erected,
but mob tore it down. So progress
has everywhere had to overcome obsta-
cles. In 1890, some friars in Switzer-
land wished to build windmill, to save
the labor of grinding corn by hand but
a neighboring landlord, who had bought
the country around, forbade them, be-
cause, he said, he owned the winds.
The bishop was appealed to, who said
that the winds belonged to the church
and could not be used. A writer, of
good authority, speaking of the times of
Henry VIII, says there is no doubt
that the average duration of human life
was, at that period, not one-half as long
as it is at the present day. The kings
and nobility of few centuries age
possessed their crowns and high-so1nd-
ing titles; but there is not, in the
United States, prosperous mechanic,
possessing fair degree of refined taste
and education, who would desire to ex-
change his manner of life and living for
theirs, so far as the conveniences of life
are concerned Thus it is that art is
ever at work, breaking down the barriers
which stand between the rich and the
poor, and bringing both classes more
and more toward a common level-not
by degrading the wealthy, but by exalt-
ing both classes to a higher standard of
morality, refinement and education.
-SOS
Skull Measurement.
Professor Flower, the well-known En-