Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1883-09-01
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Secluded Corners OF the State Where
Quaint Notions ami Customs Pre-.
vail


Quaint Notions AMI Customs Pre-
vail.
Down in Virginia the people have a
few primary principles of philosophy
and life upon which they order their af.
fairs. The true Virginia is that which
the tohrlst never sees. Away back OF
the counties, off the line of railroad
travel, are the old plantations, where
life progresses in the quaintest and most
orderly and antiauated manner known
on this continent. The change made by
the war in these remote places are
over-estimated. Twenty years cannot
| change the characteristics of two centu-
ries. There is not halt so much of that
surprising fall from wealth to poverty rs
is imagined. The Virginia planters, as a
rule, never had any ready money in
slavery times, and the chief thing they
lack now is ready money. The
earth is as prolific, the climate
as kindly, the necessaries of life as
easily come at as ever but these people
cannot understand that they have sim"
ply narrowed the sphere of their OPP
erations. Formerly planter with fifty
or seventyhve slaves raised four or five
thousand bushels of wheat a year. He
groans over the fact that off of the same
land he can now hardly raise thousand
bushels; but it never daWns upon him
that he had to feed and clothe and house
the laborers who made his five thous.
and bushels of wheat, and that his net
profit in the first instance did not really
exceed that in the second instance. lie
gazes solemnly at you while you are re-
minding him of this fact, and evidently
thinks you are fool. On many of these
remote plantations the original owners
dwell, with their family servants settled
around them. With the minimum of
effort the planter CAL nave plenty to eat
and to feed his stock. He has no money,
but lays that to the account of the war;
he does not understand that agricul-
tural people are of necessity moneyless
people, and that he enjoys an
easy and luxurio us life in comparison
with the farmers of Minnesota and New
Hampshire, who are as hard pressed
for money as he. The world outside has
changed SO much that the little bits OF
ante-bellum life which survive are very
grotesque and amusing. Norfolk and
Fredericksburg are considered progress
siye towns in Virginia; but in Fred
ricksburg negro with wheel.
barrow collects the mail from the street
boxes, and another negro with large
pell in one land and red flag in the
other, perambulates the town to an
nounce an auction. In Norfolk notice
is stuck up in the bobtail street cars,
DRIVERS are prohibited from crediting
passengers for their fares" Where in
the world except Virginia would cor
poration have confidence enough in hui
man nature to let people ride in street
cars on credit? The 1eWregulation gave
great offence to the old citizens. 1--WE
don't want to beat the car company"
said they Indignantly, shut sometimes
u man forgets his pocket book, or the
are caught ont in the rain, and
the car company thinks we are not honest
enough to ride in their blamed cars and
then send them the money" The com
paDy soothed their wounded sensibili-
lies by explaining that it was owing to
the influx ofstrangers: as far as the cit
zens of Norfolk were concerned it
made no difference. When the propo-
,ition was made to introduce water into
The town, twelve years ago, some of the
solid and respectable burghers objected.
One who was ty pical old-fashioned
VirginiaR of elaborate manners, and
who had been collector of the Port for
many years expressed himself as fol-
ows: 81 don't see the necessity for the
expense. We all have good cisterns in
our yards, and when one gives out the
leighbors come forward and share
heirs with those who want water" To
'eturn to the street cars. A car will
wait any length OF time for passenger.
md in the case of Judge Scarburgh. the
most beloved and honored citizen in
he town, car driver, if notified that
he Judge wanted to take his car, would
,bligingly stop the car in front of the
'carburgh residence and await the
udge's convenience.-New York Sun.