The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-15


vember draws near it may be noted
that 100 years ago turkey was within
reach of all but the poorest.
The common people" were pretty
nearly as happy as in these crowded
days wo are likely to think they
ought to have been in those simpler.
more spacious times. There were lively
boxing bouts. crudely pulled on" but
the prize ring. like the racetrack, was
free. not of gamblers. but Of the rule Of
gamblers horscmen Eambled, where
now gamblers run The horses. And in
those good old days" the horses were
sturdicr; races were for a mile or two
miles or three, and the best horses went
the full distance in two heats at least.
sometimes in three or four. Cockhght-
ing was popular IN the South. and es-
pcclally in New orleans. Even the
most temperate people had hardly yet
begun 70 yearn for prohibition"
though temperance society was formed
near Saratoga in 1908 and another APP
pcarcd in Massachusetts five years later.
~ Morristown in 1926 a society was or
ganized VI which each member bound
himself to reduce his daily allowance
Of apple" onc-half: from quart TO a
pint. Degraded tipplers cracked tavern
ceilings with dlttles like this;
Nv father when last I from Guinea
Returned with abundance ~ wealth,
cried. Jack never Ne such a ninny
To drink" says l. Father. your health"
So / passed round the stun Soon he
twiggcI A.
And Il sct the old codEer aEoE,
And he sWisgcd, aud mother and sister and
brother
And I svirEed and all ~ ~ svlEEed -
And sworo there was nothing Hike rroE
The common people ate much salt
pork and other things that Conduce 10
thirst. and 1t was then. as to great
extent IL still is a land of the frying
pan. Outraged digcstions hankered for
rum. aud in those days rum was rum.
not rum" with more support for the
drinkcr and less for the rcformer than
the fiery fluids Of this dcgcncrat, day.
Women were kept pretty close 10 the
three rs Of the German theory Of wom-
ans place in tho scheme Of things. hi
vnrcc was almost unknown, and was
hold in horror: N some Of the States Il
could he decrecd only by tho Legislature
aud there was even then no harmonious
definition Of the grounds for it's grant.
Religion was for all tho talk OF tolcr-
auro. tremendously into'rrant. Barter
was a large factor in business. Amuse-
nIents nf the theatre were rather Gle
meniary: Baltimore and New Orleans
had French opera. The agreeable and
well selected society that had existed
in Washington oven before that city
was arch,t"cturalv finished or land
Sclp"d' was destroyed when Andrew
Jackson became President. In New
York tho commercial! element was ran
IDLY assuming prcdominance. Charles
ton was unsurpassed In gayety and
hospitality. II was not a hurried age.
and people had time 10 cultivate the
genial art Of Convcrsat on. but II Is not
20 ho forgotten that then as now. per-
haps more than now. the outlands were
unlike the cities in amusoments: quilting
bees. husl,ing bees and similar merry
foreCat herings were enjoyed. Web
s'er's spc'ler ruled the land: schools
were uncraded. colleges unathletici2ed
In whatever respects the new life may
be bigger or better than the old. Z Is
possible to wonder II the pronounced
variations in sectional character did NOT
lend n spice lost In the la;er miNup. Yam
kee, Quaker. Southron have been pretty
well levelled off. But perhaps the old
way Is more picturesque IN retrospect
than il was delightful in fact. At any
rate, ii has left a store OF tradition
Noah Webster did more than any
other individual TO give the American
nation an Independent property in the
English language" His classmate n
Yale, Joel Barlow $ said to have tried
20 render similar service for poetry. 80
give 1t the stamp Of the new national
ity.' hut, though tho "Columbiad" went
through four editions lsl2e not stated
and Barlow became famous as the au-
thor of tho book. the time came very
quickly when the book was famous only
because of him. In 1919 a District OF
Columbia writer called Il huge and
homogeneous mass of political monstrosi-
ties; and the description Is too accur-
ate and adequate to invite quarrel. The
/ reception given to the Knickerhocker
History emphasized the new lnsistence
of the people upon Amercanlsm in
their literature, and tho emphasis was re-
peated in the contrast between the slight
regard in which Cooper's "Precaution.'
copying English style, was held and the
. immediate success Of his Spy" The
newspapers Of tho day reflect popu-
lation remarkably argute In matters of
government. strong. even profound. in
It's theory and practice. Duelling flour
ished n practice moderately admirabl
for its evocation OF courage, even
though physical courage or cow
ardice he not proper measure
Of the Justice or falseness OF a mans
words and deeds. There was no "criml-
! nal class" for there were no breeding
places for It. Crime, like everything
else, was simpler than now; embezzle-
ment, for example, was comparatively
rare. Highway robbery was a much
more considerable crime. Debtors were
imprisoned. Public opinion had begun
to turn against retaliatory punishment,
especially corporal, and the penitentiary
Cellular" system was coming in.
Perhaps In no other practice have
methods so changed since the early
years Of the nineteenth century as in
medicine. George Washngtons death,
1t IL understood was caused by acute
pdematous laryngtis, inflammation Of
the wndpipe. The diseased part was
not treated at ell, for there were no in
struments with which the larynx could
be examined. BloodlettinG was the
medical malnstay; bleeding was freely
practised until about 1850. 1t was pre-
coded by a pleasant course of emetic,
| purge and mercury CDR. BENJAMIN
Y -