Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-05-02

Of $500 inhabitants Poughkeepsie va
smaller, but a rival, and supported week
| ~ newspaper. At Albany the water was D
bad that its place was largely supplied b.
punch, Madeira and schnappa The houses
were built after the Dutch Gothic style
| three sides being of boards or roughly
hewn logs while the fourth, a gable Away,
| facing the street. was of yellow Holland
brick. with high pediment roof stepped
| off on each side like q fight of stairs. II
the middle of the gable was a stoop with
seats on each side. The cutters projected
| several fee from the roof. and whenever ii
rained passing pedestrians were treated t<
free shower-bath.
At the close of the revolutionary war Bos
ton lad less than Is COO Inhabitants and the
Charles river was not bridged till three
years lauer. In what is now the business
center the houses were generally mean and
squalid The streets were pitched" with
pebbles and the rider who galloped hil
horse was subjected to fine of three and
sixpence."
Before the war the commerce of New
York was surpassed by that of BOston's
alone. Her population was %, coo. At the
end of the war the city was almost ruined
her commerce gone, her treasury empty,
and her citizens starving in the wilds OF
street on the nvrth; Harrison was the last
street toward the Hudson, and Rutgers the
last toward the East river. AS late as 1871
fishermen dragged their seines upon the
beach where Greenwich street now is
Street lamps were few and far between and
were not much needed, as every body was
at home by nine O'clock in the evening The
practice Of keeping late hours had not then
come into vogue.
first. va1a 0fi I'm
portance reached was Philadelphia, then
the greatest in the country. In 17S6 It's
population was 80 205, while New York had
but q, 500 Inhabitants, and Boston Il, $40.
No other city was SO rich, SO extravaganza,
or 80 fashionable. 1t rejoiced in fine resi-
dences and sidewalks and filthy streets
Daily, when business was over, crowds of
pleasure-seekers gathered on Chestnut
street to enjoy the air and display their
rich clothes A gentleman of fashion and
means wore q three-cornered cooked hat
heavily laced. His hair was done up In q
cue and powdered. His short-caped and
long-backed coat was of a light colox and
the shining silver buttons bore his injtiala
His smallclothes reached scarcely t. the
knees; his stockings were striped; his shoes
pointed and adorned with huge buckles;
his waistcoat had flap pockets, and his cuffs
were loaded with lead AS to the ladies,
those were the days of gorgeous brooades
and taffetas, luxuriantly displayed over
cumbrous hoops which, fattened before
and behind, stood out for two feet on each
side; of tower-bu1lt hats ornamented with
tall feathers; of calash and muskmelon
bonnets; of high wooden heels, fancifully
cut; of gowns without fronts; of fine satin
petticoats and of implanted teeth.
Many OF the table customs were peculiar.
For instance, it was thought rude for q guest
to decline to be helped to any dish when
asked by the hostess to have hisp plate or cup
rep1en1shed, and there seemed at times to be
no limit to the number of her solicitations
But, happily, by kind of Freemasonry sig
nails he could convey his wishes by the posi-
ton of his plate knife and fork or spoon
This custom puzzled visiting foreigners.
The Prince de Broglie relates that when
dining with Mrs. Robert Morris, being re-
peatedly asked to take another cup OF tea,
he had twelve times consented, not know
ing how to decline without giving offense,
when compassionate gentleman at his
hide whispered that if he had drank enough
ne should indicate it by laying his spoon
across the cup else the hostess would go on
1rging him till the crack of doom.
While Washington was serving his first
term two stages and twelve horses sufficed
Tor carrying all the travellers and goods
passing between New York and Boston.
then the commercial centers of the coun-
Try, making from twenty-five to forty
miles day, according to the season. There
was no protection for the mails, and the in
luisitiye post-rider often beguiled time on
the road by reading all letters in his
charge. For a long time after the revolu-
ton business men and politicians wrote in
cipher Such was the practice of Madison,
Jefferson Monroe and Aaron Burr
In many cases packet sloops took the
place of coaches, plying between important
points along the coast and inland cities on
the banks of navigable streams. For in
stance, there was a line from New York to
South Amboy, where passengers would take
coaches to Burlington, N. j., and proceed
thence to Philadelphia by another line OF
packets. Another line ran to Provi dence,
where coaches were taken for Boston. Wit
favorable wind the sound coulU be trav-
ersed in three days, but not unfrequently
the voyage lasted fortnight. Ocean voy-
ages were rarely taken, as nothing short of
the most urgent business could induce a
man to shut himself up in a packet from one
to three months and breathe the foul air OF