The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-11-18
FORMER DAYS.
Plea for Good Times.

"Hard Times! Hard Times Come
again no more! !"
We all sing it, we all hope it, but do
we know what hard times are? we
sing it while we eat beef steak at
twenty cents pound, oysters at fifty
cent dozen, and three kinds OF bread
at the same meal we shout it while
we smoke cigars, two for a
quarter; we think it while
we stretch our comfortable legs
on Brussels carpet, before a blazing
CRATE, with we'll -groomed boys and eX-
1ensively clad girls around us; we
shout it to our neighbors across our
smooth lawns, or through our plate.
glass windows we groan it as we read
our morning and evening papers, our
plentiful magazines and our costly
libraries we dream of it in our soft
and springy beds while our coal-fed
furnace keeps the whole house warm !;
we maunder about it in our we'll
equipped offices, shout it through our
telephones, ring the changes on it as
we send kilograms and take expensive
summer outings. We meet in our
political, social, literary and business
conventions, and ring the changes on
it while we are spending fortunes with
railroads, hotels, restaurants and places
of amusement.
And yet, in these days we do not
know what hard times are; we THINK
we do, but we do not.
The writer knows of time within
his remembrance, and he is nopatriach
when, in one of the richest parts Of one
of the most favored states in the Union,
the whole town of some two thousand
Inhabitants possessed altogether not
over $500 in money, all exchange was
by barter; there was no cash payment
because there was nothing to pay with.
Among the best and richest families
land there were many who them.
selves well-to-do) beef steak wasa once
a-week visitor; round beef was a lux
ury oysters were an unheard of dain-
ty; corn bread was the usual, wheat
the rare food ; the cheapest pipe tobac-
co was a dissipation cold bed rooms,
scanty wood fires, woolsey and calico
were in the house 6XS window panes
were helped out by hats, old papers
and bags; weekly paper was an ex-
travagance, and served families. Ten
books made good, fair library; beds
were Slated or corded rag carpets
were occasional, ingram scarce, and
Brussels tradition the sole vacation
was q ride to the annual picnic in the
one horse shay; nobody had time,
money or heart for conventions or
amusements. We men worked from
5 A. M. to p. M. (the aristocrats
shortened the time by two hours) and
the women worked at all hours.
And yet it is doubtful if there was
| in those times such universal spirit
of unrest and discomfort, such con-
cert of growing, as to day.
Is it fair? Are we just? Can we
afford to waste time in bewailing hard
times, when times are easy Oh us and
treat us far better than we deserve.
A manager once said with chuckle
''the mails have been good to our house
to-day the first one brought an order
in every letter, and the last one brought
remittance in every letter" We al
know (mayhap we are) persons who
would have said: "Also, we have
fallen on evil times the first mai
brought no money aud the last mai
brought no trade"
Let US put aside these ugly tempers
of ours look toward the sun smile
at the shadow; all sunshine makes the
desert; ''it's pretty world, senior !;
enjoy its beauties, let us borrow ne
trouble, shed light on our neighbors
quite us like men, and times will seen
las they are) good.