The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1886-04-03

ding, with bridesmaids and ali, the rest
Of topfP..iit,"murlnured the bride, spasmodi-
cally. 55fs ss.s., .a..a ...,, =. : y
q flFsslllANTUIeE ~ ll'NT1U OF COUNTRY HISTORY.
Tho Country Store of tho Past and
. 7'"F5tS Its Influence. t. &tii,
< Scattered through the rural districts Of
this country are placeslof resort which,
In their retlex'in1uence, are widely and
deeply felt. When the first sharp frost
comes and the December woods stand
gaunt and naked on the hillsides, new,
fresh life, as Of spring time, blossoms
forthsin the country store. The sum-
mer's accumulation Of dust Is swept
neatly back behind the barrels, and a
clean GOAT of sawdust is spread in the
inclosure in the middle of, the floor, and
ajolly wood fire crackles Hospitality in
the great cylinder stove, for the pro-
prletor knows that six days in the week
Tor the next three months large por-
tion OF the male population Of the vic
Unity will be his daily guests. The social
instinctis universal. The same subtle
magnetism that fills the cafes Of France,
the beer gardens Of Germany, the public
rooms IN England's rural inns, and the
club-houses Of our American cities,
draws men out In Erie county, and all
the counties Of the state, during. winter
months, into picturesque and cosy
group around the stove of the country
store. 49,. -.
1t is, to some extent, impossible to
understand the historical development,
not of Erie county, Pa, alone, but Of tt Q
Whole state Of Pennsylvania, without
taking into consideration the part which
these country stores have had in shaping
1t. IT can hardly be disputed that it
J mas l;' been the thought and Sentiment Of
the rural population yTathers, than city
dwellers that have given distinctive
color both our county and state his
tory. And it is not too much to say
that up to recent period few laws We're
placed upon the statute books that had
not been first discussed and approved in
country stores. Before the days Of
farmers clubs and newspapers in every
house-and even now in the remote
towns-they were the only places where
the townspeople could get themselves
into the current of human thought.
There they met to talk about everything.
Men like Associate Judge Vincent and
Capt. Strong, Of Waterford; John j. and
Richard Swan, Of Fairview; James Miles
and Henry Teller, Of Girard; and the
Browns, McCreary's Loves, Evanses,
Russells, Parkers, Eatons,: Goulds,
Devores, Dnnns, Wilson's, Chambetses,
Blaines, Wagners, Moorheads, Salts
mans, Warfels, Shenks, Burtons, ect. :.
of various localities, were heard with at
tention and their utterances duly consid-
cred. Scattered and uniformed opinions
crystalized and took shape in the de-
bates around the stove, leading to a
lasting force IN our cival polity. .
AS the brown winter twilight deepens
to darkness the old men, one by one
mufile up their faces, and with reluct-
ant feet leave the warm and CHEEKY store
for home. BY and by, when the chores
are done, young men, from neighboring
farms come in to occupy the vacated
chairs. But they cannot adequately
fill them-the life ane wit and wisdom
Of the store have gone with the old ones.
They sit around in heavy silence, these
youths with pipes wedged tightly in the
cornor Of their mouths, or chewing
tobacco with bovine stolidity. Now
and then there is a bit Of buffoonery, q
little talking Of traps and guns, and per-
haps q story Of dubious taste and more
doubtful aye. But the conversation no
longer glows: is only shoulders. Over
these fellows, as over many young men
on farms at this period, glamour, as
Of Mednsa's head, has fallen, turning
them all to stone. So the early evening
hours pass duly, and the venerable
owner Of the store, who lives chiefly in
the past, withdraWs deeper into his COR
ner among the tall Pickering shadows
that the single lamp casts. At length
the little clock sharply strikes nino
times, when those who compose the
gathering knock the ashes from their
pipes and stride Out into the keen air,
somewhat to the relief Of their indulgent
host, who at once rakes the fire, empties
the money-box into his pocket, locks
the door, and trudges brislsly homeward
down the white, frozen road. Tho moon,
that from the eastern sky, shines bright.
'ly across the valley. and imparts to the
cluster Of locusts over the way. spec
trial and grisly aspect, is perhaps now,
at present writing, illuminating State
street and ITS moving throng. But out
there the days life is over, for the
country store has closed. &4u& @g
t------s--rzf.-e-- ss------~------
Lieutenant G:'eely has arrived at n
firm conviction that tce in the sea never
forms to a depth Of more than five feet
to ten feet The hoebergs and icebergs
OF great thickness that are encountered
floating out at sea, lie maintains, are
mare detached portions Of the great