Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1889-04-04
LIFE 4 CENTURY AGO.
Discomforts Our Ancestors Had to
Endure.
Without stoves or Coal. Gas. wsfrh-. or
Carpets Their Trial. Were HEAVY In
severe Winter westh~r-uodern
Comforts. and CaBvenl~ae~-

The people 90 to-day. with all the
comforts and convenience which sur
round them. with almost wonderful
means to meet every do
not realize the contingencies OF climate
and weather when their ancestors. a
hundred years ago. were annually
called upon to meet. and. we may say.
to suffer and endure. HOme-Iife in
New England a hundred years ago. to
say the least Of it. rs compared with
the present time. was a wonderful ex-
perience- At that time. and even for
some years later. the people were with
out stove and kue~othing Of the use
of coal The Franklin fireplace approx
imating toward the stove. for the use of
wood. was invented by DIR. Franklin in
the year l7+l He had given much at
tention To the subject OF warming
rOOms and apartments. and this iron
Fireplace WAS thought To be- a great
improvement upon the ordinary brick
fireplace. Count l;umford also made
some improvements in the matter. and
ia ls9I DR. Franklin. then in London.
completed and used a design for burn
ing bituminous coal and conSum-
ing the smoke Some years later
Count Rumfori made some val
TABLE improvements and sug-
sestious in the matter OF cooking
stoves. and in n few years cooking
stoves in great variety came into gem
erai Use In thousands % eases. At the
present time. the lei cooking
stoves Of years ago have given place
Ca he cooking range for kitchen use.
IN which all kinds If cooking il done
with great facility and convenience
with the use Of coal. For warming pur-
poses. day and night alike, the stove.
however enlarged and improved. now
gives place very extensively to the
furnace in the cellar. BY which Al the
rooms IN the house ar kept warn and
comfortable by a continuous coal lire.
Ihese are things 81 Invaluable Csc
ard benefit. relieving winter Of its
trials and dls,,onforts. to which the
people 81 a hundred years ago were SO
severely exposed In addition to all
these. in thousands Of cases in the
cities and larger towns Of the common
wealth. the use OF double windows has
been adopted to keep out the cold air
and max tas dwelIing-hoases still
more comfortable IA yer. cn tther.
NJ that. IN point Of fact. excepting ia
tn interior towns. brick freplaces
and wood fuel ara but little used in the
cities and populor1s towns.
Is a general thing. at the time of
which We speak. only 2 room In the
house was Kept warm during the day
time. and this vas in many eases tho
aitehen. where the cooking was done.
In case Of sickness 4 fire might oeea-
sioHally be made in n sIecping-room:
but otherv Sc the sIeepiug-rooms were
o. the temperature Of the atmosphere.
and IN winter weather often below
zero OF this. it IS said. the men and
%omen A hundred years uudressed
and went TO their beds in a tempera-
turs colder than that of our barns and
w~oodsheds. ard they never com
planned This was the case less than
tity year, ago. when it was a common
thing TO have the water in the bed
oom freeze every night, and the occu-
pants were obliged 10 dress themselves
each morning in L freezing tempera-
ture during the winter
In the matter Of lighting rooms.
apartments, public houses. etc. talIow
candles succeeded pine knots. until
lamps and Whale oil we're introduced
these last within the remembrance
OF the present generation. and candles
OF superior make are still very largely
used. together with kerosene oil lamps
IN great variety. Gas from coal ap-
Fears 70 have been first discovered and
used by Mr.. William Murdoch. FORE
man Of Bolt < Watt. engineers Of Biz
mlHgham. England. about tbs. wear
$50 He may b. said To have diseov-
erred the combustjble. and. when his
day worS was over. devoted him
sell 70 experiments On the nature
and use Of coal gas. Among other
th4as7 lac eOnlriVei a lantern with a
bladder filed with gas attached to il,
which be used u light himself about
the streets and lanes A. night. very
much % the auiazem-nt q the people.
to see a lamp without = wicS. The
first shop lighted with sss in London
was that Of Mr.. Ackerman in the
Strand in 1910. and it !, said that a
4ady OF rank was 50 delighted with the
briiiiancy Of the lamp on the counter
that she asked 10 be allowed to take il
home in her carriage The Lyceum
Ihe1ter IN London was lighted with
gas In 1857. and in ISIS Westminster
bridge was lighted with coal gas for
h arst time. and the next year some
OF the streets Eere lighted with gas.
Some OF the gases used at this time
and earlier were Sade of wood. Ia
this country tallOw candles and oil
continued 20 be used much later. in
many cas- : until 1850 or o. The first
attempts 10 introduce coal gas into the
ttiteG states Were made in 1916 or
ISL at Baltimore. and were saia 20