The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-10-05
OlO-TlME VIRGINIA.
Regions Yet Untouched by Niseteent
Century Innovations.

Regions Yet Untouched by Nineteenth
Century Innovations.
The genuine. untouched Virginian OF
to-day has often been declared to be
the most complete survival of eight
eenth century England now in exist
ence. There are certain eighteenth
century customs and phrases and man
ners in common use here that have not
been heard of in hundred years in
England.
One of the ouaintest is custom of
the road which died out in England
when the post road and the travelling
chariot went out of vogue. In those
days it was considered almost an at
front for one traveller in carriage to
drive past another going the same way.
The travelling class was made up gem
orally of the rich and leisurely, and as
they bowled along in their coaches to
have another coach dash by and give
back its dust and perhaps incite the
cOachman to a race was considered
highly indecorous. To take ones
dust" was common expression of con-
tempt. The custom was not without
its uses in its day. But will it be be-
lieved that at the close of the nine
teenth century this etiquette of the
road is rfgidly maintained. and that
among well-bred people each eauipage
has to take the gait of the slowest?
True it is, some ieenoclasts and outsid-
ers drive past their fellow travellers
without compunction, but they, there
fore, prove their claim to be called
iconoclasts and outsiders. When il is
a very pressing case an apology is called
out, such as: '.Pray excuse se. but INV
horse is restless" or II am in haste TO
catch the boat" or something of the
kind. But to drive ruthlessly ahead
without word of apology is considered
the acme of fill-breeding.
The roads in this part of the world
are not interesting. except for their
natural beauty, as the people of
wealth, following their English an
cestors in practice, sought a proud Sc
clusion for their houses Only the
poorest people built their homes on the
main road. and one may travel from
one end of this fair country to another
and not find single handsome resi-
dence on the public highway. There
was another and very practical rea-
son for abjuring this public highway.
Every mans house was at the service
Of every man, woman and child ia the
country; an Arab hospitality obtained
and was enjoyed to the full. The peo-
pie who had undesirable homes were
-
pany upon their more fortunate neigh
bors, SO that it wouldn't do to be too
to the main arteries of
travel. Especially was this so when a
visit from a family meant the enter
tanning of two coach horses. coach
man, and a maid; for the negroes went
visiting with the white people, and en-
joyed it quite as much. Hospitality
was one of their great virtues, and is
still; for these people excel in social
and this particular virtue costs
little. 1t only meant the killing of
half dozen more chickens for dinner,
when there were hundreds, perhaps.
scratching about the poultry yard; and
the gardens were ovsrgrown with veg
stables, for which there was neither
sale nor consumption. There were ice
houses full of ice and meadows full of
COWS, and ice cream was manufactured
n big tin bucket turned about in a
seg Of ice and salt IL took two women
md q man and a boy to make ice
,ream. but it took that many to do
The ice houses are among the most
features in the Landscape
lerc. 4 mound OF earth, thirty or
'or:v feet high, was thrown up around !
place that was bricxed up and looked 1
ike a gigantic well This was finished
II the top BY circular roof This I
ides OF the mound were graded and /
urfed, and made nice places for boys /
md girls TO roll down when the short. /.
lippery grass was wet t--Bostcn Trans- I
srip..