The Portland daily press., 1891-12-26


AH SNNFU until after New
Years, period
in which master and slave enjoyed relax
alton from every care. True, there are at
present family gatherings at which egg
nog and all the good things are dispensed
with generous hand; the little people
have their Christmas eve and Santa
Claus pays his midnight visit; the small
boy regards it as his religious duty and
ancient right to usher in the day by fill
ing the air with frecrackers and making
all the noise on toot horns of which his
lungs are capable; marvellous dinner
is eaten with the usual result of pills
and paregoric; "charity trees" abound
in the church chapels and some of the
large mansions, from which useful dona-
tons are made to the poor, and the peo-
pie perpetuate the memories of the time
in many ways, but the old order of
things. the genuine plantation Christ
mas, has long passed into the realm of
legend and tradition.
Christmas in the country then meant
a great deal, for every planter kept open
house, and the idea of his city friends
spending the season in town was some
thing not to be entertained. Prepare
lions were begun early in December.
With "hog killing time" came the great
stores of hams, spareribs, sausages and
cracklings that went to enrich the
larder. The chosen turkeys, geese and
ducks were inclosed in special pens, to
be fattened for the sacrificial day; the
aunties who presided over the kitchens
plunged into the depths of ancestral re-
cipes, and housekeepers busted them
selves in piling upon the pantry shelves
assortments Of preserves, jellies and
other delicacies that were to tempt the
tastes of guests.
When these arrived the mansion was
usually filed to overlooking, but "com-
pany" I'm those days was no trouble; hos
pitallty was as easy as breathing, and
when bedtime came the girls were con-
tent 10 bunch" in the big spare rooms,
while the gay gsllants slept on the cotton
seed spread elsewhere on some conven-'
lent floor. After supper-and such sup
perl-the plantation fiddler took his
place, and then the fun began. ''Fore
an back two; tu'n yo' palmer at de corner;
Bhasha all 'roun; my Lor, ole massa, yo'
Spite eberything!" and away the young
people, led by the host and hostess, would
go in the mazes of cotillon and country
dance until the Virginia reel announced
sport ended for the night.
Before the faintest streak of dawn ap-
peared to warrant the assumption that
Christmas had really come, Santa Claus
himself could not be more alert than old
Daddy Ben, when with stalwart arms
piled high with cut wood and a flaming
slight 'ood" knot in his hand he crept
through the never locked doors of the
big house into the chamber where the
master and mistress were still asleep
and threw his burden on the floor. But
Daddy Bens noisiness is well under
stood maneuver to break the slumber of
the "w'ite folks" so that he may catch
them with his "Chrismus gif', massa;
Chrismus gift, missus," and the slightest
rustic of the bedclothes is warrant
enough for the suspension of the fire
building process, while he rises to his
feet and in stentorian tones shouts his
greeting.
Then he goes off chuckling to the
other bedchambers in the house to re-
peat his ruthless enterprise there. Close
behind follows old Aunt 'Riah, and as
she thrusts her turbaned head in the
door there's another glad cry of s'Chris-
mus gif', lnassa; Chrismus gif', rnissus."
By this time, July finds pretext for in
trusion in gathering up the family shoes
to blacken, and he, too, makes the grand
rounds. Then come Judy and Bee and
Car'line and Phillis and Cynthy and
Scipio, the carriage driver, and the rest
Of the army Of house hands who so
clogged the domestic machinery in those
lavish days, each repeating the formula
of Daddy Ben, until the angel of sleep
is fairly routed and the family good
naturally resign themselves to the fusil-
lade of Christmas greetings from the
woolly heads that have grown gray in
faithful service.
Before breakfast the guests have been
refreshed with cup of coffee, milk
punch or 'peach and honey" After
ward they assemble on the piazza to
witness the distribution of the gifts.
First come the ''yard folks" according
to seniority, and next the "feld hands,"
the latter frequently numbering hun
dreds, and each receives a useful pres
ent. The women receive bandannas,
dresses, shawls and articles in bright
colors; the men receive jackets, trousers,
comforters, fancy pipes and tobacco; the
children caps, shoes, calico dresses,
worsted hoods and sacks, in addition to
which are needles, thread, buttons, scis-
sors, etc., for the heads of families. Then
warm punch and eggnog, previously
provided in huge buckets, are set out on
the lawn, and as the people file by, each
to quaff his cupful, there is again the
''Merry Christmas" and "God bless yo'"
from every lip.
Still one more custom remains, in
which hosts and guests alike participate,
namely the throwing of handfuls of dimes
to the youngsters, and the leaping, heap
ing, squirming, scrambling mass of legs
and arms and woolly heads and shining