Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1885-05-28
FIFTY YEARS AGO.
GATHERING OF THE CLANS At AN
"OLD WRGIHNY, WEDDING.
The FeverisE Excitement of Expectation
Lavish DISQUALIFICATION Guests Game
Driving Four-in -Hsnd-"A Tisne
when weddin's Was weddin's"

fiUential families in Virginia. Weeks in ad-
vance the clans had been gathering from
the neighboring states 10 do honor q tho oc-
casion, and when the day Of the wedding ar
rived Oakland" the ancestral home of the
bride. was taxed 70 its utmost TO accommo-
dnte the numerous guests ~Peyton Hall"
the ad joining estate owned by a relative
also threw open it, hcspitabe doors, and
was soon filed TO overfowing by the we'd
ding company that came with big box. little
box, bandhOS and bundle Cots were placed
in parlors anu Libraries, pallets laid ON every
available floor, while each lounge and sofa
had one or more occupants
In those days wedding could not be man
aged as an impromptu affair, for the soil of
-Old Nirginny' not them as il now Is
crossed and recrossed by innumerable rail-
roads, and supplies had 10 be wag goned over
hundreds Of miles of territory. On this oc-
ca>ion the Confectionery and everything
| which could not be manufactured upon the
plantation was brought from Richmond by
canal boat q Lynchburg and from thence
10 Roanoke. "A distance OF several hundred
miles. and a week being consumed in the
operation. Nothing else was talked Of for
months in advance. and the old county was
stirred 10 its center, for naught so revolu-
tionizss a country place as a wedding. The
neighboring forests paid their tribute in
| holly, and the traditional mistletoe bough
was suspended on high, under which. IL any
victim was caught, she was compelled 20 pay
the accustomed forfeit. which could be
claimed by any cavalier in the room 30 in
clined.
/ Chickens ducks and turkeys. which had
! been kept in fattening coops for weeks, lost
their heads, while rotund pigs with apples
. In, hal ha tl.
\ preparations for their consumption New
\ gowns were given 10 the female servants
while the brass buttons on the livery Of the
males were Frightened TO a startling degree
/ Old Uncle Ben was the centre figure in
this last brigade, and the amount OF impor-
tance with which be was usually invested
] seemed TO have doubled itself on this occas-
/ ion and he became a most pronounced auto
/ erat, debating terms to his own color and
I Offering suggestions to his MASTER who, as
7 he had been n faithful old butler for many
years, listened % him with the utmost con-
sideration.
Oakland and Peyton hall stood side by
side. Each of these RICH estates retained
and respected the traditions which had been
handed down from generation to generation
by those with whose names they were idanti-
fed. Old landmarks we're carefully pre-
served; old trees, bending beneath the
weight Of years, were jealously kept in place
by artificial means, while from the walls Of
the immense salons looked many genera
tons in powdered wigs, rufiies and short
clothes. The owners of these estates were
gentlemen Of the "old school, cbivalrous,
honorable and high-toned quick to resent
an insult or TO aveage wrong and lust as
quick 10 pardon an offence where honor was
. = 81 -
gave TO Virginia her Light-Horse, Harry
Lee, John Randolph, Robert E. Lee, and
scores Of Cshers who have made that state
famous as the mother Of statesmen.
Many gay party of gentlewomen and
gallant cavaliers galopsd down those ave-
nues 10 the summons Of the hunters horn
calling them 10 a fox hunt or deer chase
70 return in the evening 70 brilliant ball or
whist party where egg-nog AMI hot apple
toddy were the features of the evening,
while the ~antlers' or the "brush,' trophies
Of the days sport, were prominent in the
decorations Preparations were made on
the most lavish scale, and although all the
accessories of the supper had 10 be wagoned
hundreds of miles this welding is referred
TO by octog .narians and cente arians Of the
county as one Of the finest evec witnessed IA
Old Roanoke. That was a time when we'd
din's was weddins,' recently said an ola
gray haired servant of the family who still
retains a vivid recollection OF the event.
When the night of the wedding arrived
the clans had gathered from far and near
and ii IS safe 70 say that never was there a
more brilliant assemblage in old ROano ke
county.
Many Of the guests came hundreds of
miles IN private c0nveyances. There were
no commodious hotels near by where com
Portable quarters could be obtained for man
and beast, consequently the hospitality of
both Oakland ana Peyton hall was severely
taxed. AT one time sixty extra horses stood
in the stables of Peyton hall alone a like
nlmber also testing the corn bins % Oak
land.
Col William c. Preston, the distinguished
southern statesman, whose wit and elo-
quence added brilliancy 70 more than one
presidential administration, drove all the
way from his home in South Carolina, four
in hand, while his baggage-wagon, contain
ing the maids and Wallets Of the party.
brought up the rear. Mrs Floyd, the wife
Of Governor Floyd. also came. driving four
in-hand In fact. this was the general style
at that time, and wo find that the people OF
fifty years ago were quite as tenacious IN re-
gard 10 these matters "a their descendants
of to-day. Snuff. colored equipages mounted
high in tbe air ON immense springs
werv enregle To attempt 10 de-
sceud from one or these swinging
conyeyances was tantamount t. leop-
ardizing a life insurance policy, for the
frail steps wiggled and turned at every
movement. and il required the skill of a
tactician 70 ascend and descend without
making a faux pas.
"How well / remember that wedding"
said a Virginia matron - me a few days
ago. II was only child then az 'Peyton
hall and children ON those days were not
as they now are prominent features OF such
occasions, but distinctly recollect my old
black nanny putt'7g clean apron on me.
taking me by the hand aud showing me all
the NICE things then promising If I'd be
gooC3.irl, tnist she'd give me an orange tho
the following day" Think of child in this
day and generation being contented with the
promise Of an orange the day after wed
ding