Chapter 1

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_THE OLDEN-TIME SERIES._

16mo. Per vol., 50 cents.

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There appears to be, from year to year, a growing popular taste for quaint and curious reminiscences of "Ye Olden Time," and to meet this, Mr. Henry M. Brooks has prepared a series of interesting handbooks. The materials have been gleaned chiefly from old newspapers of Boston and Salem, sources not easily accessible, and while not professing to be history, the volumes contain much material for history, so combined and presented as to be both amusing and instructive. The titles of some of the volumes indicate their scope and their promise of entertainment:--

CURIOSITIES OF THE OLD LOTTERY. DAYS OF THE SPINNING-WHEEL. SOME STRANGE AND CURIOUS PUNISHMENTS. QUAINT AND CURIOUS ADVERTISEMENTS. LITERARY CURIOSITIES. NEW-ENGLAND SUNDAY, ETC.

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"It has been the good fortune of the writer to be allowed a peep at the manuscript for this series, and he can assure the lovers of the historical and the quaint in literature that something both valuable and pleasant is in store for them. In the specialties treated of in these books Mr. Brooks has been for many years a careful collector and student, and it is gratifying to learn that the material is to be committed to book form."--_Salem Gazette._

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_For sale by all Booksellers. Sent, post-paid, upon receipt of price. Catalogues of our books mailed free._

TICKNOR & CO., BOSTON.

THE OLDEN TIME SERIES

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THE DAYS OF THE SPINNING-WHEEL IN NEW ENGLAND

_"To say that the past is of no importance, unworthy of a moment's regard, because it has gone by, and is no longer anything, is an argument that cannot be held to any purpose; for if the past has ceased to be, and is therefore to be accounted nothing in the scale of good or evil, the future is yet to come, and has never been anything."_--HAZLITT.

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"_In my young days, when I was_ leetle, _The only steam came from the kettle._

....

"_The_ Gals _on good old Dobbins rid then, But folks don't do as they used to_ did _then._

....

_"Heigho! I grieve, I grieve For the good old days of Adam and Eve._"

From HENRY J. FINN'S "Good Old Times,"

October, 1827.

THE OLDEN TIME SERIES

GLEANINGS CHIEFLY FROM OLD NEWSPAPERS OF BOSTON AND SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS

SELECTED AND ARRANGED, WITH BRIEF COMMENTS

BY

HENRY M. BROOKS

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The Days of the Spinning-Wheel in New England

"Old and new make the warp and woof of every moment. There is no thread that is not a twist of these two strands. By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote."--EMERSON

BOSTON

TICKNOR AND COMPANY

1886

_Copyright, 1885,_

BY TICKNOR AND COMPANY.

_All rights reserved._

University Press:

JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE.

INDEX OF NAMES.

PAGE

ABERDOUR, JOHN LORD 71 Adams, Samuel 71 Amherst, General 38 Amiel, John 53 Amory, Jonathan 79 Apthorp, Charles Ward 30 Apthorpe, Charles 33 Apthorpe, Rev. Mr. 33 Apthorpe, Susan 33 Ashton, John 35 Avery, John 55, 56

BALCH, Rev. Mr. 29 Balkum, Daniel 89 Barnard, Benjamin 61 Belknap, Jeremiah 29 Bernard, Gov. Francis 35, 36, 37, 46 Blanchard, Caleb 84 Bollan, William 9 Bowditch, Nathaniel 42 Bowdoin, Hon. James 33 Bowdoin, Miss 33 Brattle, William 63 Breck, Samuel 88 Brenton, Benjamin 54 Britt, Thomas 59 Brown, B. 97 Brown, Obadiah 64 Bulfinch, Dr. Thomas 33 Butler, Mr. 21

CALDWELL, JAMES 68 Carpenter, Captain 19 Carr, Colonel 68 Chase, Samuel & William 21 Clark, John 68 Clark, Stephen 13 Clarke, Richard 59 Clarke, Sukey 59 Cole, Patrick 68 Colman, Rev. Henry 97 Cooper, William 20 Copeland, E. Jr. 86 Copley, John Singleton 59, 72 Crocker, Cornelius 10 Crosby, John 60

DALAND, B. 97 Dalrymple, Colonel 68 Dana, Rev. Mr. 81 Darley, Arthur 57 Davis, Joshua 60 Deane, Rev. Samuel 93 Deane, Mrs. 93 Deshon, Moses 15 Douglass, Mr. 39, 41

EASTLAKE, SIR CHARLES 6 Edes & Gill 11,16,32,43 Elliot, Sally 33 Elliot, Simon 33, 85, 86 Ellis, Mrs. 91 Ellis, Rev. Mr. 90 Elwell, Edward H. 93 Emerson, R.W. 6 Erving, John 67

FLEMMING, ALBERT 98 Flynt, Henry 17, 18 Fowle & Draper 48 Franklin, Dr. Benjamin 24 Franklin, Elizabeth 24

GAY, MARTIN 59 Gordon, James 79 Gorham, Joseph 10 Gray, Samuel 68 Green & Russell 34, 47, 52 Greene, John 68 Gwin, Captain 56

HANCOCK, JOHN 69 Haskell, Philemon 91 Hawthorne, Nathaniel 42 Henshaw, Joshua, Jr. 59 Hickling, William 61 Hill, Colonel John 59 Hill, Katherine 59 Holyoke, Edward 14 Hudson, James 9 Hurd, John 62, 63

INCH, JOHN 16

JOHNSON, MR. 68

KING CHARLES I. 5 King George II. 10 King George III. 37, 44

LEE, FRANCIS H. 86 Lewis, Phillip 71 Loyal, Paul 35

MACAULAY, T.B. 5 Marshall, Thomas 29 Mason, Colonel David 39, 40 Maverick, Samuel 68 Micklefield, William 86, 87, 88 Minot, George R. 70 Monk, Christopher 68 Morgan, Captain 34, 35 Morton, Captain 68 Murray, Mrs. 82 Murray, Rev. Mr. 82

OLIVER, ANDREW 37

PAINE, WILLIAM 50 Parker, David 68 Parkman, Samuel 80 Payne, Edward 68 Peirce, Benjamin 42 Pelham, Charles 72 Pelham, Mrs. 72 Perkins, Thomas H. 33 Phenix, John 4 Pickering, Colonel Timothy 42, 46 Pickering, John 42 Pickering, Timothy, Sr. 44, 46 Pope of Rome 85 Poynton, Thomas 51, 52 Prescott, John 39 Prescott, William H. 42 Preston, Captain 68 Prince of Wales 28

QUEEN ANNE 6

READ, THOMAS 16 Revere, Paul 71 Rhodes, Captain 84 Rogers, Rev. Mr. 13 Rowe, John 54 Ruskin, John 99 Russell, Benjamin 25 Russell, Daniel 65

SALISBURY, ELIZABETH 67 Salisbury, Samuel 67 Savage, Samuel Phillips 63 Scott, William 94 Shays, Daniel 89 Shirley, General William 28 Spencer, Herbert 6 Stevens, Captain 80 Storr, Marmaduke 60 Story, Joseph 42 Story, William W. 42

TEMPLE, HON. JOHN 33 Thorn, Dr. 50 Treadwell, Jonathan 92

UPHAM, CHARLES W. 47

WASHINGTON, GEORGE 4 Waters, Josiah 29 Watson, Mr. 21 Webb, Joseph, Jr. 71 Whipple, Joseph 90 Whitefield, Rev. George 57, 58 Whitmore, Major-General 66 Wickham, Captain 56 Winter, Joshua 80 Willard, Joseph 75, 78 Williams, Jonathan 70 Wolfe, General James 25, 27 Wood, William 13

THE DAYS OF THE SPINNING-WHEEL

IN NEW ENGLAND.

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WITHIN the last few years many young ladies have searched country houses or ransacked old garrets to find spinning-wheels, which, like old chairs, tall clocks, and warming-pans, have now become objects of curiosity and interest to those who take a fancy to antique articles. It has become fashionable to have these things to adorn our Queen Anne houses. And brass andirons and shovels and tongs have come into request, so that we may enjoy the luxury of an open wood fire, which, to our mind, is one of the most cheerful things in this world. Some one has remarked "that to be well-dressed gives a feeling of satisfaction that religion fails to give;" but to us, to sit before a blazing wood fire on a dull, cold evening, gives a feeling of comfort and delight which surpasses anything we know of. What charming companionship in a wood fire! Better than the company of uncongenial persons.

"Old wood to burn," "Old books to read:"

these are enough; we will leave out the "old wine to drink."

"This bright wood fire, So like to that which warmed and lit My youthful days, how doth it flit Back on the periods nigher! Re-lighting and re-warming with its glow The bright scenes of my youth,--all gone out now."

Glance backward to some years before the Revolution, and we shall find a spinning-wheel in every house, and then, probably, in constant use. Now its place in our homes is taken by the piano. This instrument had not then come into use. Something resembling it,--namely, the spinnet or the harpsichord,--was to be found in some instances; but it was by no means common to find these, for there was but little knowledge of music in America in those days. A hundred years ago, only one or two churches in Boston had organs, and the public taste, except in rare cases, was decidedly against music of all kinds, especially sacred music. To show how this was, we have heard an old lady say that when she was young, some eighty years or so ago, "musicians, for the most part, were not thought much of" by the most cultivated people of that time; and she assured me that even at a later date, members of military bands, as well as organists and violinists (then called fiddlers) were too often low characters and men much addicted to drinking. The times were too hard for the New England people of those days to cultivate music or indulge in entertainments of any kind except "going to meeting." There was but little money in circulation, and that was almost always in the form of a depreciated currency. Gold and silver were scarce articles, and a large proportion of the necessities of life and luxuries--if luxuries they could be called; they would hardly be so considered by us--were imported from England or elsewhere. The leading occupations were farming, fishing, making New England rum, importing rum, sugar, and molasses from the West Indies, and dry goods from England. The common people were poor enough, in comparison with the condition of the same class at the present time, when they make as good an appearance as the wealthy did a hundred years ago. It would be safe to say that they have more comforts and conveniences in their homes to-day than the more prosperous had at the time of the Revolution. The humorist, John Phenix, said that "Gen'l Washington never saw a steamboat, nor rode in a railroad car;" and possibly his house was not heated by steam, or furnished with pipes for hot and cold water. Nor did he ever use gas, or the telegraph or telephone. Whether the people who lived then would have shown the extravagance which characterizes our time if they had possessed the means, is a question not easily to be answered; but it is certain they were more frugal than we are, if not more industrious. The Revolution left the masses of the people in rather a destitute condition, and they were forced to be economical. Their habits were so entirely different from modern habits that it would exceed our limits to undertake to draw a careful comparison. It is said that the people of those days bewailed the degeneracy of the times, and spoke of the industry and frugality of earlier periods.

NORWICH, May 6, 1784.

A correspondent observes, that the extravagances of the present day are fully demonstrated in the broadcloth coats and silk gowns,--the powder and feathers, the ruffles and cardinals, the silk stockings and feet trappings--In the feasts, the dancing parties and select companies--and what is the more melancholy, all orders and degrees help form the circle.--Where is the simplicity in dress and manners; temperance in meats and drinks, which formed the virtuous characters of our illustrious ancestors?--O! the degeneracy of the times!

_Salem Gazette._

Just as our ancestors did, as Macaulay says, in the days of Charles the First; they thought they were not as good as their ancestors had been. This habit of looking back to a time so remote that "distance lends enchantment to the view," seems to be almost universal. It is this feeling of reverence for the old that makes it so interesting to us, and leads us to look at things of the past poetically rather than practically; although it is true that sometimes the interest taken in inconvenient and uncomfortable articles arises rather from their age than from anything else. But oftentimes the very simplicity, solidity, and strength of old furniture, for instance, is charming, in contrast with the elaborate, unmeaning carvings and flimsy character of more modern productions. We are beginning to see how much more sensible the Chippendale and other styles commended by Eastlake and some other writers on household art are to much that has been produced in later times. Yet we must allow that prejudice and fashion go a great way in determining our likes and dislikes, in furniture as well as in dress and other things. Very likely in a few years we shall tire of the Queen Anne houses and furniture, and hard floors, and have a surfeit of _Anglomania_, especially if we carry the taste too far. In this country, as Emerson says, "Every rider drives too fast." It is hard to be simple and slow. We must build fast, eat fast, and live fast. But Emerson says again, "Nature has no respect for haste." Herbert Spencer has given us in a kindly spirit some hints on this score which it would be well to heed. But we are wandering from our immediate subject. Our desire is to illustrate, in the very words of the people of the period we refer to, the views they entertained of economy and industry, and how they carried them out. We will begin, then, in the year 1759, with a curious letter to the "Boston Gazette" of June 11 of that year, in which the writer gives some account of the cost of provisions at that period.

_To the Trading and Farming People of_ New England.

GENTLEMEN.

I Have been coming and going among you since the Year 1745. I am now once more on Service in this Part of the World, and not a little surprized at the Alteration in the Value of your Provisions, since my Knowledge of your Country. When I first came among you, I could have bought a Pound of Beef for a Penny, a Goose for a Shilling, a Fowl for three Pence, and so in Proportion. It now is, I think, four Pence Sterling for a Pound of Beef, eighteen Pence Sterling for a Fowl, and three Shillings for a Goose. Pray Gentlemen, when that is the Price at _Boston_, what must we pay for it at _Louisbourg_, after it has gone thro' the Hands of many different People that are to live out of it. Our Pay is not increased.

I would say nothing to influence you to sell cheaper, from Motives disinterested or publick spirited, as that weighs but little with the Generality of Mankind. But consider your own Interest, the War can last but little longer: This Campaign, in all Probability, will put an End to it, then where will you find a Market for your Stock you raise. Consider with the Fall of this present Summer, its pretty certain the Soldiers and Seamen at present employed for your Defence, will be called to Britain: Take the Market while it holds Gentlemen. We have Beef found us, that is to say, the Publick purchases it; let us now and then taste of your Veal, Mutton and Fowls for our Money, and we will spend all among you; and we expect both Interest and Inclination will prompt you to give us an ample Supply.

I am your Friend, _An_ ANTI-CANADIAN.

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In the same paper is an auction advertisement, showing how they mixed the different kinds of _property_.

TO be Sold by publick Vendue on _Scarlet's_ Wharff, at the North End of _Boston_, THIS AFTERNOON, at IV o'Clock, Sundry Hogsheads of Sugar, four likely Negro Men, and a Parcel of old Copper; Prize Goods lately brought into this Port.

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On the 19th November we are shown how remittances were made in those days.

We hear that the Treasurer of this Province has received a Bill of Lading for two Boxes of Portugal Gold, ship'd by Mr. Agent Bollan, on board the Mercury Man of War, amounting to Twenty thousand six hundred and eighty Pounds, seventeen shillings and six Pence; being Part of the £27,000 granted by Parliament in 1757, to this Province, to recompence them for the Expences they were at in the Expedition in 1756.--Said Ship may be daily expected.

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And here is a description of a vessel of the time.

Mr. James Hudson came Passenger in the Vessel that arriv'd at Cape-Ann, mention'd in our last, which saw a Wreck in Lat: 36, he says, she was a Frigate built Ship of about 200 Tons burthen, had a Lion Head painted yellow, a short Topgal on Quarter-Deck, a small Tafrail painted yellow, Quarters and Stern painted blue, had a large Trophies painted on her Stern and gilt, full of Water, and no living Person on board.

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On the 5th February in that year, this was the way they advertised for recruits for the Government service, offering among other inducements, "a Crown to drink the King's health."