1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



483 



THE DAIBTTIES OF OUR ANCESTORS. 



OST of the books on 

 which we depend for 

 our knowledge of the 

 history of the world 

 and of the successive 

 generations of men 

 which have peopled it, 

 give us full details of 

 the march of armies 

 and of the succession 

 of potentates, while the 

 facts which illustrate 

 the history of the com- 

 mon people are meagre 

 indeed. A perusal of portions of a recent 

 book entitled "Our English Homes," has, 

 however, led us to reflect a little upon the 

 contrast between those homes in the four- 

 teenth and fifteenth centuries, and our Ameri- 

 can Homes at the present day, and especially 

 the homes of a large portion of ih& farmers in 

 New England, 



It is doubtful whether so many of the neces- 

 saries and luxuries of life were even found 

 clustering around any other community of 

 people, as can be found among the middle 

 and northern States of our country. Their 

 dwellings, in the first place, are substantial, 

 tight, commodious, and generally comfortably 

 warmed in cold weather. Usually, the rooms 

 are furnished with a view to the highest 'de- 

 gree of utility, and in thousands of instances 

 in nearly all classes, some of them are fitted 

 up with elegance and taste. The stiff, 

 straight-back chairs, with solid wooden bot- 

 toms, of a generation scarcely yet passed 

 away, have given place to those which are 

 lighter and of better form to afford rest when 

 sitting down. The old wooden settle, six feet 

 long and five high, with a tight back like a 

 board fence, has lost its office. It had a seat 

 which would accommodate five or six grown 

 persons, or half as many more children, and a 

 box under it containing something less than 

 half a cord of wood for a single evening's fire ! 

 It was used to protect the family from the 

 cold air constantly rushing in through the 

 cracks in the outer walls of the house, and 

 made ten times more fierce by the heated cur- 

 rents which were ever rushing up the chimney. 

 The huge old fireplace is closed up, and a 

 cooking stove stands before it, — one of the 



greatest blessings yet conferred upon man by 

 science and art. 



To this inestimable boon has been added 

 numerous other contrivances which tend to 

 facilitate and alleviate human toil, — such as 

 the sewing and washing machine, the wringer, 

 clothes dryer, mangle, conveniences for all 

 sorts of cooking, lighting and warming, and 

 in thousands of instances the introduction of 

 hot and cold water all over the house. All 

 these tend to health and profit. They pro- 

 mote quiet and calmness of mind, by prevent- 

 ing anxiety and fatigue 



Nearly all the furniture of our houses is 

 well adapted to its uses. Carpets are on the 

 floors of nearly every house, and are heathful 

 and economical. Beds are comfortable, tables 

 abundant and convenient, lounges, bureaus, 

 drawers, closets, and clothes presses, common. 

 The walls are papered, and adorned more or 

 less with paintings or pictures, according to 

 the taste or ability of the occupants. And 

 what is a crowning glory to all these, is the 

 presence of books in nearly every household, 

 — often selected with excellent judgment^ 

 and among these, on the centre-table, or in 

 some convenient place, is the Holy Bible. 



Among the farmers, and quite often among 

 mechanics and others, there may be added a 

 good horse and comfortable carrfage, which 

 may be used for business or for recreation by 

 all the family. Added to these rich and va- 

 ried blessings we have the most wise and 

 humane laws, the most ample means of educa- 

 tion in all the departments of learning, includ- 

 ing religious advancement, and all the liberty 

 of speech and conscience that any people can 

 desire, besides these civil and social bless- 

 ings, we have the finest climate in the world — 

 all things considered — and a most healthful 

 fertile and beautiful country. 



Our tables are spread as bountifully, as out 

 other blessings are abundant, with the pro- 

 ducts of our own and foreign lands. Surely, 

 our lot is cast in pleasant places. Was there 

 ever a people so favored of heaven before ! 



Now let us look at some of "i/te dainties of 



our ancestors,'''' as described in the book on 



English Homes, to which we have alluded. 



It says : — 



"The whale was eaten by the Saxons; and 

 when men were lucky enough to get it, it appeared 

 at table late ia the 15th century. In 1246 Henry 

 III. directed the sheriffs of London to pu chase 

 one hundred pieces of whale for his table. Whales 



