The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1901-12-21
SOUTHERN c~ANDY-PULL.
Ante. Bellum Pastims of Dixie Revived
in New York

IN VIEW ANlk
Come 10 the ~caudy-puu tonight
For southern beauties viii be there.
With lassss candy In their hands
Au6 garlaudS in their hair.
This paraphrase Of an old poem
was on the invitations sent out by a
southern woman, whose home is up
in the Nineties. The guests are mem
bcrs of The southern colony in New
York.
The party was a revival Of social
custom in the south before the war.
To its renaissance in New York the
young women came wearing Bingham
aprons, The hostess furnished the
molasses, which had been sent up es-
pecially for this event from New Or
leans.
After the necessary boiling down
of the sweet, each guest and her beau
took a buttered plate on which was
laid a roll of the candy. 1t was the
young woman's part to get the roll
into pulling condition.
This she did after the manner of
kneading dough. After this prepare
ton she took one end of the roll and
passed the other to her young man.
Then began the pull.
When the roll was extended the
ends were put together by the two
pullers joining hands. This process
left a rope of candy, the lower end of
which was taken up by one of the pull
ers, and they repeated the pull.
This was continued until the candy
became brittle, when it was placed
on another plate. The plates we're
hen put in a cool place, and the
young people proceeded to the draw
ing room where they INDUCED in the
old play, known in the south at all
candy-pulls as king William"
The guests formed a circle, joining
hands. One remained within the cir
Gle, This one, Of course, was a young
man. As the guests revolved around
the center they sang the old words
sung by their mothers and grand
mothers, and to the same air.
King william was King James son
And from a royal race he come.
Upon his breast he wore a star
Which pointed to the northwest far.
Go choose your east, go choose your west
Go choose the one that you love best.
At the conclusion Of the last line
the young man in the center made his
choice. As she stepped to the cen
ter of the circle the guests closed the
gap and circling around the twain
they continued singing:
Down on this carpet you must kneel
oult as Alt kIdrc kIbNh III the ltsus
Salute your bride with a sweet kiss
And rise upon your feet in bliss.
At the tuneful injunction Salute
your bride with a sweet kiss" there
was the usual scuflle and resistance
as there always was in the olden times
Then the twain in the center Joined
the circle and the next young mai
stepped to the center and the pro.
gramme was repeated until every
young man had chosen the one thai
he loved best.
After this each young woman in
the circle stood in the center, by turn
and the words Of the third line Of
the last stanza we're changed to "Sa.
lutte your young man with a kiss"
After each couple had knelt anC
kissed, the circle broke. Each young
man went TO the cooling room for thu
plate of candy he had assisted in pull.
ing ard returned with it to the draw.
ing room. The candy was then eaten
and the pull was over.
at no doubt seems a simple sor
Of amusement" said the hostess, "tC
you northern people, but our motheri
and grandmother INDUCED in it, anC
the pleasure consists in doing what
amused them"
Then the hostess related that many
Of the old-time statesmen in the south
had, in their time, played king vii
liam" at candy pullings. So far a,
the hostess knew, says the New Yorl
Sun, this is the first old-fashionet
candy pull to take placein New York
A Marriage Epidemic.