Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1882-01-28
Educational.
Old Hnes W9

A half century agQa sfargeRpaI5O OF
the people Of the United States lf~ed
in houses implanted, upholstered and
utterly devoid of adornment. A
well-fed fire. in the yawningr chasia 81
aihlgeehilmey gave partial warmth
to a single room, and it was q com
mon remark that the inmates were
roasting one side while freezing the
other; in contrast, a majority Of the
people of the older States now liyein
houses that are clapboat1ded, painted,
blinded and comfortably warm
Then, the household furniture con
sisted Of a few PLAIN chairs. plain
table, bedstead made by the village
carpenter. Carpets there were meme.
To-day, few are the homes, in city o.
country, that do not contain carpet
Of somesort,lwhile the average labor
er by weeks work may earn
enough to enable him to reposc at
nightsupon spring bed
Fifty yearsago the Kitchen "dress-
ers" were set forth switlsa shining
row Of pewter plate. The farmer ate
with "a buck handled knife and an
iron pewter spoon, but the advanc-
ing civilization hassent the plates and
spoons to the melting poi. while the
knives and forks have given place to
niekle OF silyer plated cutlery.
In those days The utensils for cook.
ing were dinner pot, tea Kettle,
skillet, Dutch oven and frying pan
to-day, there is no end of kitchen fur.
niture.
The people Of 1880 sat in the even
ing in the glowing light OF pitch
knot fire, or read their weekly news.
papers by the Pickering light Of a
"tallow dip ;''now, in city and village,
their apartments are bright with the
flames Of the gas jet or the softer ia
dance of kerosene. Z Then, if the
fire went out on the hearth it was
rekindled by coal from a neighbor-
ing hearth, or by flint, steel and tin.
der. Those who INDUCED in pipes
and cigars could light them only by
some hearthstone; today we light
fire and pipes by the dormant fire
works in the match safe at cost, of
a hundredth of a cent. 2 a.is sslbas Z
In those days we guessed the hour
of noon OF ascertained it by the
creeping ofTthe sunlight up to the
"noon mark = drawn upon the floor /;
only the we'll to do could afford q
clock. To-day who does not carry a
watch and for clocks, youmay pur-
chase them at wholesale, by the cart
load at sixty7two cent piece. 8lsfIa
Fifty years ago, how many dwell
ings were adorned with pictures !?
How many are There now that do not
display a print, engraving, chrome
or lithograph? How many pianos or
parlor organs were there then I
Reed organs were not inFented till
1910, and now they are in every vii
lage.
Some who aaay read this article
will remember that in 1880 the Bible,
the almanac and the few textbooks
used in the school were almost the
only volumes of the household. The
dictionary was a volume four inches
square and an inch and half in
thickness. In some OF the country
villages few public-spirted men had
gathered, libraries containing from
three to FIVE hundred volumes; in
contrast, the public Libraries of the
present, containing more than ten
thousand volumes, have an aggre-
gate of 10,65O,000 volumes, not in
Guiding the Sunday-School and pri-
waite libraries of the country. 1T is
estimated that the number OF vol
umes accessible to the public is not
less than 2O,OOO,OOO OF Webster's
and Worcester's dictionaries, it
may be said that enough have been
published to supply one to every one
hundred inhabitants Of the United
States.-Atlantic Monthly. ..,,