The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-03-05

o ounuie 10 ory. When the time come
the first cold weather Ia the Fail. ou,
mother would get out the candle wick
and wind it round pair of cotton cards
cad ways and after q good deal was
wound would cut one end with the scis
snrs aud that made the wicks when
doubled just long enough for candle
Three or four canes were then interlaced
through the back of an old fashioned
chair to keep them steady while abe
ioooped the wicks around them and twis
ted their ends together. Seven wicka
were put on each cane and when the cane
was taken out aud held horisontat the
wicks hung down and were about two
inches apart. When all the canes were
iuii they were laid upon table ready for
dipping. The tallow was melted in a big
wash pot. Some beeswax was added and
little alum. Old plank were placed on
the floor where the dipping aud dripping
was to be. Two long poles or uuiItipe
frames were placed parallel on the backs
of chair and were wide enough apart to
let the candles between and hold up the
canes, The big po. had to be kept near.
~ full all the time. A cane Of vicks
was let down slowly in the pnt until the
cane rested on its edges. Then 1t was
lifted up and allowed 10 drip awhile and
then PLACED as number one between the
long poles where, if it d.ipped any more,
it was on the old plank. The first course
was long and tedious, for it took the loose
cotton wick some time to absorb the tai.
low. After that the process was rapid.
Tallow would harden on tallow quickly,
and at every dripping the little candlSs
got larger until after while they were
large enough at the bottom ends to GIL q
and that ended the lob.
They were left on the pules over night
and then slipped OFF the rods and placed
in the caudlebox or an old trunk.
Seven times sixty made 420 candles,
and that was the years supply. Only
one candle was usual for the table in the
family room. The reading and sewing
was all done by that. The boys were
allowed piece of one to go to bed by.
Nobody sat up until midnight then.
The night was believed to be created for
sleep and rest, and the day for work.
There were no theaters nor skating rinks
mo reading novels half the night, and
lying in bed until breakfast next morn.
ing. The rule was TO go to bed Mt nine
o'clock and get up with the chickens.
But now we couldn't read by candle light.
II takes at least two lamps, and ono lamp
is equal to ten candles. But we got
along pretty well. All the substantial
things were Us good ~ they ere now.
Good water-good af-good sunshine
and shower-good hea.h-goud warm
bread and meat. and milk
aud buiter-good peaches and apples
good horses to ride-good fishing and
swimming and huutiog. We dident
have railroads aud telegraphs aud tele.
phones aud sewing machines, and 70
forth, but we dideut need them. We
ueed them now for the world is 30 full of
people that the old ways wouldn't feed
and clothe them. The right thing always
comes along at the right time. If the
clock was set back ! wonder how this
generation would manage about the
cooking business. Fifty years sgo there
were no cooking stoves. The ovens and
'killets and sfiders were big heavy things
that had to be lifted on aud off the fire
with a pair of pot hooks They had
heavy lids and the cooking was done by
putting Goals underneath and Goals on
.op. 1t took bark and chips to make
Goals quickly aHd our old cook used to
say, snow git me some bark, little mas.
Ter, and l glib you bikket when he
lone" There was no soda or tartaric
acid or baking powder. The biscuit were
made by main strength. The dough
vas kneaded by strong arms, and some.
.imes 1t was beaten with the rolling pin
Until it blistered. When the dough bills.
cred it was good and made good biscuit.
can't say that we have any better cook.
ng now than we had then but the stove
makes it great deal easier to cook.
The boys had no baseball but they had
,ullpen and cat and town ball and rolly
lole and tag and sweepstakes and pull
,ver the mark and f,0t races and 90 forth,
md they thought there was nothing bet.
,er. They lad the best rubber balls in
he world and made them themselves.
Some of them could bounce thirty feet
,igh. They were made by cutting an
I'D rubber shoe into strings and winding
he striags into O ball and covering Il
With buckskin. But after while the rub.
Der shoes were not made of all rubber.
They were mixed with something shat
.ook some of the bounce out and our
ball degenerated. There was an old man
living near us who was called Living
Tom Turner" aud he told us boys ono
lay that when he was a boy he had q
rubber bsll that he was afraid to bounce
hard for fear it would 60 up out of sight
and he would lose it. We asked him
what became of bis ball, and he said he
bounced 1t one day most too hard and it
vent up in the clouds and was gone half
IN hour, aud when It cape down bis liz.
lie dog grabbed it in bis mouth and it re-
bounced and carried the dog up with 1t
,ut of eight, and he had never seen the
ball nor the little dog since.
Well, don't know which times are
he best, the old times or the new. II is
very nice to have nice home and nice
furniture and nice clolhes and lots of
nice story books and to ride on the cars,
put in tho old times, people didn't han.
ker after such things and they were easy
10 please and were in no hurry TO get
through life, and there wers no suicides
aud very few crazy folks. and no pistols
10 carry in the bip-packets. Nowadays
here I. skeleton 10 must every house.
don't mean real skeleton but some
great big trouble that throws q dark
shadow over the family. There were not