Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1893-01-12
Young and Old.
1913.
1893,
BY II. NJ. EATON.
MIDpLEBORO,

MDDLEBoRo Mass.
Before the flood, many people lived to
be very old-even hundreds Of years. Why
they should have lived to such an advanced
age, cannot be correctly accounted for.
once heard a physician express the opin-
ion. that probably they had no doctors
then, and lived the longer on that ac-
count" He could hardly have been ser-
ious. and If he was, it was simply an opin-
ion and by no means reliable evidence.
All speculations upon this subject are
without foundation and probably untrue
Since the flood the term Of life has
been much shorter than before. The
psalmist says. that the days Of man are
three score years and ten" If he lives
beyond that limit he will have Labor and
sorrow" When a man reaches seventy
years, he is called an old man. But few
people reach the age of seventy years, and
fewer still go beyond that. As my sOth
birthday will occur Sept. Sd of the present
year. 1898. have lived nearly ten years
hey yond mans allotted time. Sept. 3. 1898,
will be the 54th anniversary of my minis
try. | was licensed to preach the gospel
on my 26th birthday. 1t seems to me but
a very little while since preached my
first sermon in Trenton, Maine. But the
large pile of my sermons, written express
ly for the pulpit, lead me to different con-
clusion. have not been idle during the
last 81 years.
| | was born in Sedgwick. Hancock Coun-
". Maine, Sept. Sd. 1873. l am one of
eleven children and the only one living
| My birth occurred during the second war
with England. My parents had large
family to provide for They were indus
trious, temperate and pous people.
When | was eight years old, was sent
to Southwest Harbor. Mount Desert. Me-,
to live with my grandfather, Rev. Eben-
ezer Eaton, pastor of the Congregational
church, and who for sixty one years, was a
minister of the gospel. | remained In his
family six consecutive years. Afterwards
| was there a portion of the time. In a
very short time after leaving my fathers
home my mother died. In the month of
March in my twentieth year, | became
christian. as | then believed, and have had
no occasion to change my opinion since.
| That change in my life occurred sixty
years ago last March. | was on nv knees
with my father, while engaged in family
prayer The following autumn left home
to study for the ministry. and entered the
classical department of the Bangor Sem
mary. / studied faithfully while there
and have endeavored to be studious ever
since.
| Many changes have taken place on
Mount Desert Island, since | first knew
the place. seventytwo years ago, pro
| pose to speak Of some of them, as 1t NAV
! interest the young people who have not
history of those early days. In nv ear
| Iy boyhood days the children had but few
| school privileges. The schools were of
short duration and teaching very imper-
| feet. In some districts there were no
>chool-houses, and 4 room in a private
house was secured for the purpose of hold
ing school Sermons or lectures for the
| benefit Of the children were thing un-
known.
| When first went to the Island there
were no Sunday schools in either town on
| The Island. The Sabbath as then observed
| BY the stTicter class Of church members,
vas trying day to children. If the Sab.
|
| bath is II type of heaven, the children IN
those days could have had but little desire
| TO go to heaven. Many OF them would
| have preferred the othrr place When the
| Sunday school was started by Miss Mary
| Wascatt. at Norwood's Cove, | was not
! allowed to go, for fear | might pick ber
ries or play on the way. | went once only
that year. 1t was some time after, that
saw the first Sunday school paper The
Sunday school books were written by good
people giving an account of extra good
children who died young. Some young
people thought it was not best to be very
good, as they too might die young.
In those early days houses and stores
were lighted with tallow candles. few
people were beginning to use little oil
At that time there were no good carriage
roads on the Island and for several wears
dldn't see carriage drawn by horse, ex-
cept once or twice year, saw a tin ped
dler's cart. There were some half dozen
horses aud those who rode at all used the
saddle.
The sermons in those DAYS were Iona,
dry and doctrindl. The most interesting
and comfortable part of the sermon to the
young people was the "an,en." They had
no means of warming church in cold
weather In the severest weather, meet
ings were held in private houses.
In my early boyhood days about every
body drank liquor of some kind. The
most of them drank Medford rum Near
my grandfather's church was a liquor
store, kept by A. Rafnel. His only sign
was 'spirtuous liquors." At the hour of
recess (they had two long sermons In those
days) the congregation generally went to
Mr.. Rafnell's store for liquor, women as
well as men. Then the price Of a glass of
rum was only three cents. A man was
poor indeed If he had not three cents to
buy him "a dram" The men who had
money enough treated the ladies. They
generally took gin or wine. The people
who attended church did not get drunk on
Sunday, and but few of them got drunk
ON other days, though many Of them drank
to great excess. Strong drink was in gen.
eral use then and kept in about all the fam
lilies on the Island. 1t was not 1.-THE staff of
life" but was considered as ..life itself"
1t was freely used at raisings, launchings,
training days, funerals, weddings and
during the hayine season. Rum and other
liquors were generally sold in all the stores
and shops on the Island. As the price
was low, most any one could obtain it,
At this time the most Of the people on the
Island we're poor. Many were kept poor
by the free use Of rum. There were few
men on the Island Of some wealth, but not
great many. l well remember the first
man that ever heard refuse to take
glass Of LIQUOR. l think his name was