Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-23
0LD-TIME VIRGINIA.
Regions Yet Untouched by Nineteenth
Century Innovations.
A.. NJ

Regions Yet Untouched by Nineteenth
Century innovations.
From the Boston Evening Transcript.
The genuine, untouched Virginian OF to-
day has often been declared to be the mos,
complete survival OF eighteenth century
England now in existence There are Ger
tain eighteenth century customs and phras-
es and manners in common use here that
have not been heard Of in a hundred years
in England.
One of the Quaintest is a 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 con-
sidered almost an affront for one traveller
in a carriage to drive past another going
the same way. The travelling class was made
up generally OF the rich and leisurely, and
and as they bowled along In their coaches.
TO have another coach dash by and give
back its dust, and perhaps incite the coach
man to race. was considered highly in
decorous. To take ones dust" was q CON-
mon expression OF contempt The custom
was not without its uses in it's day. But
will II be believed that at the close of the
nineteenth century this etiquette Of the
road Is rigidly maintained. and that among
well bred people each equipage has to take
the gait of the slowest? True IL is, some
iconoclasts and outsiders drive past their
fellow travellers without conjunction but
they. therefore. 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 me- but my horse is
restless" or II am in haste to catch the
boat" or something OF the kind But 10
drive ruthlessly ahead without a word OF
apology is considered the acme Of I'll breed
ing.
The roads in this part Of the world are
not interesting, except for their natural
beauty, as the people of wealth, following
their English ancestors I'm practice. sought
q nrln for bait H.
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
ma single handsome residence on the
public highway. There was another and a
very practical reason for abjuring this pub
lie highway. Every mans house was at the
service of every man. woman, and child In
the county; an Arab hospitality obtained
and was enjoyed to the full The people
who had undesirable homes were always
willing to bestow their company upon their
more fortunate neighbors, 80 that IL would
not DO TO be too convenient to the main
arteries OF travel Especially was this so
when a visit from a family meant the en-
tertaining Of two coach horses a COACH
man. and a maid: for the negroes went WIS.,
iting with the.white people. and enioyed n
quite as much. Hospitality was one of
their great virtues. and is still: for these
people excel in social virtues and this mar
ticular virtue costs little. II only meant
the killing of half a dozen more chickens
for dinner, when there We're hundreds ner-
haps. scratching about the poultry ward
and the gardens were overgrown with yeee-
tables. for which there was neither sa IL
nor consumption. There were ice houses
full OF ice and meadows full OF cows, and
Ice cream was manufactured in a big tin
bucket, turned about in a keg of ice and
salt. 1t took two women and a man and a
boy to make ice cream. but n toolr ,h.,
many to do everything.
The Ice houses are among the most pic
turesque features Of the landscape here A
great mound or earth, thirty or forty feet
high, was thrown uo around a Mace that
was bricked uD and looked like a gigantic
well This was finished at the top by a
circular roof. The sides Of the mound were
graded and turfed. and made nice places
for boys and girls to roll down when the
short. slippery grass was wet.