USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume I > Part 42
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We had been under way for some time, and the most profound silence still reigned in the carriage, for the American, although he is supposed to be
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curious and inquisitive towards strangers, is, however, reserved among his compatriots, and will not lend himself to the conversation until after having made a sort of facial study of the companions which chance has given him. The usual way of beginning a conversation is just as banal as it is with us,- always the rain or the fine weather which serves as a pretext. "Fine day, voila un beau jour, une belle matinee," these are the sacred words which serve as an obligatory preamble to all conversation. We must not, however, forget an important variation, which they substitute if the day happens to be a Sunday. It is then the question : "Have you been to church?" which serves as an introduction to the discourse.
Conversation, once established in our Boston coach, soon became general and principally revolved around the merits of the various natural or manu- factured products exhibited at Worcester. They passed in review the numer- ous sales which were concluded on that occasion between the manufacturers and the wholesale merchants of the various localities, or the "peddler," little foreign or itinerant hawkers who sell at retail to the country people. They made especially a multitude of speculations on the value of the objects, and the probable profits which the buyers might hope to realize from their pur- chases. I was again reminded of a peculiarity in this regard which had more than once struck me, and that is, that, in the conversation of this race of speculators, all of whose ideas revolved around business and profits, the word dollar, the name of the principal coin of the country, is that which oftenest strikes the ear of the stranger. One might, in borrowing the pleasantry of Figaro, say that in America that word "sounds the depth of the language."
The daylight which soon succeeded the dawn, allowed us to enjoy the view of the country and to notice the early morning activities of the farmers who, on all sides, were making their way to their fields. This moving picture was followed by that of numerous groups of travellers who, like us, were leaving Worcester, where the exposition had attracted them, or who were on their way there, the greater number mounted on excellent horses, others travelling with their families in fine, well-equipped wagons, and all contribut- ing, as their numbers multiplied on all the roads, to give an air of festivity to the country.
The road which we were following rose considerably in negotiating the hills which surround Worcester on all sides. These hills might be considered as the end of the lesser chain of a collateral ridge which joins the central range of the State of New Hampshire. It had been necessary to use explo- sives in order to open the road in this granite mass, in spite of which it still went up hill. Its heaped up debris strewed both sides of the road, and partly disappeared under the garlands of bind-weeds and clusters of fragrant
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shrubs. Arriving at the crest of the hill, we examined a country a little less rugged, although cut off in the distance by elevations and dense forests, which joined themselves gradually to the magnificent valleys, tapestried with meadows, which extend almost to the seashore.
We continued our journey from there into a vast country open on all sides, and cut by a great number of roads which crossed each other while following different directions. (Here follows a digression of five pages describing the American system of roads.)
After having ascended the hills, we had descended as I have said, into a magnificent cultivated plain, better settled than the savage ridges we had just crossed. From time to time, on one side or other of the road, we encount- ered farm houses the simplicity of which did not exclude a certain elegance and an exquisite search after neatness. They were for the most part sur- rounded by little gardens and separated from the public way by fences built of stone or wood, with more or less of art and symmetry. Seven miles from Worcester we encountered the fine village of Shrewsbury, situated in an undulating plain which forms the east shoulder of the hill which we had crossed some moments before. The soil, as fertile in this village as anywhere in the country around, contributes to the rapid growth of the population which had already grown, at the time of my journey to 1,300 inhabitants, farmers, manufacturers or traders.
On leaving this place, the soil became a little rebellious but showed itself more and more fertile by the time we reached Southboro, which one could discern at a distance along the road, with its houses painted entirely in white, grouped in a picturesque manner, and dominated by the pointed steeple which surmounted its church. (A two-page digression on American church archi- tecture is omitted.)
The coach stopped some moments at Southboro in order to let a woman and her daughter get down, who had travelled with us up to this point. They lived in the State of Connecticut, where the woman's husband, a former sea- faring man, busied himself with the exploitation of a farm which had a considerable revenue. The young lady without being precisely beautiful, was endowed with a very agreeable face; her natural spirit, her sprightly char- acter without the least affectation, contributed to render her charming. I admired the security of these women who travelled without any escort in a public carriage, without fear of the least impoliteness or the slightest incon- venience on the part of all these unknown men, in whose company they found themselves casually thrown. But their tranquility proved that they knew perfectly the character of their nation. In fact, even if the Americans, and especially the country people, are little polished, if they do not have the
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brilliant varnish of politeness which characterizes us (i. e., the French), they at least do not really mean to offend. All, moreover, profess for the sex, without gallantry, at least a respect full of regard, and, in spite of their rude exterior, they always know how to keep a proper distance in order not to be at all improper.
(The author arrived at Boston after dark that night, having set out from Worcester at four in the morning, a journey which at the present time takes us little more than an hour.)
CHAPTER XXXII.
Taverns and Tavern Life in the County
The transition through the generations of the Worcester County hostelry from the rude cabin, with shake-down and rough fare for the traveler, to the luxurious hotel of the twentieth century, is a marvel of social evolution. The inn was recognized by the Puritan fathers as a vital necessity. They even went so far as to compel every town to maintain a place of entertain- ment for the wayfarer, and by law imposed punishment upon the community that should prove delinquent. The inn is almost as old as the first settlement of the Nipmuck country.
Gradually the comforts grew. When roads became passable for vehicles patronage increased. With better highways came the stage coach, and the tavern was profitable. Their number grew, and they were found not only in the villages but at intervals along the way. The cross-roads knew them. In the rivalry, or perhaps in the enterprise of their landlords their quality improved, in their rooms and beds, in their table, and in the quality of their liquors, malt and spirit. Finally, at the height of coaching days, in the decade or two before the railroads came, our county taverns attained a standard of hospitality and entertainment which was as high as the civilization of the time permitted.
In the new conditions which were created in the middle of the last cen- tury many of the taverns languished. There were no passing coaches to empty their passengers for the noon dinner or for supper and the night. Landlords went the way of all men. But many of the ancient buildings still stand. A few, in the older villages, still welcome the coming and speed the parting guest, and in summer reap profit from vacation sojourners and passing motorists. Some serve as attractive tea-rooms. Others have been remodelled as summer homes of the well-to-do. Yet others have fallen upon evil days. But, even about these, to the imaginative, there still lingers a sug- gestion of the good old days when the coaching horn heralded the approach
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of hungry and thirsty guests, and the bar-room smelt of old Medford rum, and the whinny of horses came from the stable yard, while the landlord stood expectant at the open door, ready with his welcome.
The inn-keeper of the early Colonial days in Worcester County was usually the man having the largest house and therefore the best able to take in the passing traveler. He made no special preparation for entertaining his guests, beyond obtaining the necessary license, nor was he expected to offer more than the simple fare of the day. He was more of a farmer than a tavern keeper. His guests were received as members of the family, and were treated with generous Yankee hospitality. Most of the landlords bore a mili- tary title, won by service in war or in the local militia.
The first inns were licensed by the General Court, and carried with them the privilege to draw wine and beer for the public. The landlord was not only amenable to the laws, but he was protected by them. The price of almost every commodity of life was regulated by law, and a twelvepence was the legal charge for a "meal of victuals," and a penny for a quart mug of beer- the landlord being liable to a fine of ten shillings if a greater charge was made,-or if the quality of the liquor was not up to a given standard. Being forbidden by law to charge more for a meal than a twelvepence, he never charged less.
From the records of the General Court of Massachusetts for the year 1640 we learn that "Richard Cluffe, for saying, 'Shall I pay twelvepence for the fragments which the grandiury roages have left?' was bound to his good behavior, and fined three pounds six shillings and eight pence, which was discounted by Robert Saltonstall upon account. It seems that Cluffe was so unfortunate as to come to dinner after the grand jury, and, finding only fragments altogether unsatisfactory, demurred at the landlord's bill. He might have come off easily if he had expressed himself circumspectly, for the Puritan did not dislike the spirit that resisted imposition. But to allow the grand jury to be called 'roages' was not to be thought of."
Here is the way the General Court laid down the law for innkeepers in 1645: "It is ordered that no man shall be allowed to keep a public house of entertainment for strangers or travellers, nor shall any one be a common victualer, taverner, innkeeper, or keeper of a cook shop, vintner, or public seller of wines, ale, beer, strong waters, without allowance in some quarter court, in the shire where such do dwell, under pain of forfeiture of twenty shillings per week, while they continue with such license; nor shall any such persons as have public houses of entertainment and have licenses, sell beer above two shillings an ale quart; nor shall any such person or persons, formerly named, suffer any to be drunk or drink excessively, or continue
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tippling above the space of half an hour, in any of their said houses under penalty of five shillings ; for every person found drunk in the said houses or elsewhere shall forfeit ten shillings; and for every excessive drinking above half an hour he shall forfeit three shillings, four pence; for sitting idle and continuing drinking above half an hour, two shillings, six pence; and it is declared to be excessive drinking of wine when above half a pint of wine is allowed at one time to any person to drink ; provided it shall be lawful for any strangers, or lodgers, or any person or persons, in an orderly way, to continue in such said houses of common entertainment during meal times, or upon lawful business, what time their occasions shall require."
Not only were the laws at that time very severe, but the conduct of those who resorted to the public tavern was a matter of official oversight. In 1649 a statute was passed, ordering that no person at the tavern should play at shuffleboard or any other play, under pain of forfeiture of twenty shillings from the innkeeper and five from every person playing. On the same date, another law was laid down: "Nor shall any take tobacco in any inn, or com- mon victual house, except in a private room there, as the master of said house, nor any guest there shall take offence thereat ; which if any do, then such per- sons shall forbear, upon pains of two shillings and six pence for every such offence."
The forefathers did not accept easily the use of tobacco, which one of them designated as the "Creature called Tobacko." Magistrates and elders deemed smoking far more sinful and degrading, as well as physically more harmful, than indulgence in strong liquors. Not only was the use of tobacco prohibited or restricted, but it was made unlawful even to grow the plant excepting "for mere necessities for phisick, for preservance of the health, and that the same be taken privately by ancient men." But tobacco would not down, and gradually it came into common use. No longer, as once hap- pened, were pious members of the congregation caught red-handed in the act of smoking behind the meetinghouse between services. And evidently the women became addicts, for one recalls the words of Mary Rowlandson, wife of the Lancaster minister, in her narrative of Indian captivity in 1675: "I remember with shame how formerly, when I had taken two or three pipes, I was presently ready for another, such a bewitching thing it is."
Even as late as the early 1800's, the tavern-keeper had to conform to strict regulations. To secure a license he must present to the court ample testimony from the board of selectmen as to his character. Here are extracts from a bond which landlords were compelled to give: "That he shall not suffer or have any playing of cards, dice, tally, bowls, nine-pins, billiards, or any unlawful game or games, in his said house, or yard, or garden; nor shall
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suffer to remain in his house any person not being of his family Saturday night after dark, or on the Sabbath day, or during the time of God's public worship; nor shall he entertain as lodgers in his house any strangers, men or women, above the space of forty-eight hours, but such whose names and surnames he shall deliver to one of the selectmen, or constable of the town, unless they be such as he well knoweth for his or their forth coming; nor shall he sell any wine to Indians or Negroes, or suffer any children, or servants, or other person to remain in his house tippling or drinking after nine o'clock in the night; nor shall buy or take to preserve, any stolen goods ; nor willingly or knowingly harbor in his house, barn, stable, or otherwise, any rogues, vagamonds, thieves, sturdy beggars, masterless men and women, nor notorious offenders whatsoever."
In 1656 the General Court made the towns liable to a fine for not sustain- ing an ordinary; and in 1660, the town of Concord, for not having a com- mon house of entertainment, was "presented" to the grand jury, fined 2s. 6d. and admonished "to have a meet person nominated at the next court for such purpose, or it would be subject to a penalty of £ 5."
These Worcester County hostels of Puritan days were little like those of Old England of that period, the haunts of Shakespeare and Marlowe and Izaak Walton, and the innumerable others whose names still live, who made the inns their clubs. Here the tithing-man inspected the taverns and made complaint of any disorder he there discovered, and gave in the names of "idle tipplers and gamers," and warned the tavern keepers to sell no more liquor to any persons he knew or believed were drinking too heavily. John Jos- selyn complained with bitterness that during his visit to New England in 1663, "at houses of entertainment into which a stranger went, he was pres- ently followed by one appointed to that office, who would thrust himself into his company uninvited, and if he called for more drink than the officer thought in his judgment he could soberly bear away, he would presently countermand it and appoint the proportion, beyond which he could not get one drop."
Tavern as Church and School-The tavern established in 1750 by Samuel Hunt near the old Page garrison in Fitchburg was typical of the importance of the village hostelry in the life of the community. Here in the winter of 1764-65, the first religious services were held, the scattered families assembling for six Sabbaths. Torrey, historian of Fitchburg, said of it: "The people of those days were less scrupulous in regard to the place where they met for public worship than we of today are. A tavern then was not better than a tavern now, but they probably thought their Maker regarded more the feelings with which His creatures offered up their petitions and adoration, than the place in which they assembled."
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Thomas Cowdin, destined to be one of the pillars of the new town of Fitchburg, purchased the Hunt tavern the following year, and during his long tenancy the town meetings continued to be held under his hospitable roof, until the erection of a meetinghouse, for which Landlord Cowdin gave the land. The rooms of the tavern also served for the first village schools, and the first court of justice was held there, Landlord Cowdin having been given "a commission in the peace." One of the offenders who appeared before him was tried "for not duly and constantly attending meeting on the Sabbath."
We cite the Cowdin tavern to illustrate how important and how diversified was a good tavern-keeper's place in one of our towns.
It was the custom in the noonings between morning and afternoon services at the church, for the worshippers to resort to the tavern. In the summer time it was an agreeable change to step over from the somber atmosphere of the meetinghouse and there in the shade to discuss the news and gossip of the town, and incidentally, among the men, to partake of the comfortable bever- ages of the tap room. In the winter, this noon shelter was a necessity. The tavern fire was a welcome, indeed an indispensable interruption to the icy chill of the church, in which no fire was ever kindled. The women brought from home with them their little foot-warmer stoves, metal boxes on legs, filled with hot coals, which afforded a trifling warmth in the early hours of the sermon, but by noon were as cold as their owners. The kind-hearted landlord permitted replenishment with coals from his great fireplace.
The women and children ate their luncheons in the tavern parlor, while the men collected in the bar-room and purchased gingerbread and cheese and warming drink. It was a familiar sight after morning service to see the old men seated in a semi-circle about the fire, passing a great mug of steaming flip from one to another, and talking of the old days, which, with these veter- ans of Indian wars, was more likely to be their old campaigns than reminis- cences of the church.
The Tavern Was the Village Club-In the early decades of the county, newspapers were unknown. Then came the news letters, and through them, though probably more often by word of mouth of traveler, news of the world filtered in, and it all came first to the tavern. The landlord was usually a subscriber to whatever publications there were. But these contained little of what today we know as news. Word of great events abroad was not received until months after they occurred, and news from the other Colonies was almost as slow in coming. But such information as seeped in from the outside world was free to all who patronized the tavern.
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When men had gathered, it was the custom for one of them to read aloud, while the others lined the wall in tipped-back chairs, and absorbed his words with deepest attention. More often than not, his subject was the contents of long letters from Europe or extracts from foreign newspapers.
The taverns of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century were rightly named Public Houses. Men naturally flocked to them in the evenings. It was their only place for discussion of village news and politics and coming town meetings and other matters of common interest. In the tavern were posted legal notices of all kinds-coming elections, new laws, auctions, and bills of sale. The place was more than a news center. It was the original business exchange. Its importance was recognized in the old almanacs, in which distances were given, not from town to town, but from tavern to tavern.
It was to these isolated communities what the club is to the twentieth century city. Any stranger might mingle in the conversation and good- cheer of the bar-room without fear of being considered an intruder, and as the poor Irishman once told Goldsmith, when relating how to live in London on thirty pounds a year, "By spending two pence at a coffee house, you might be in very good company several hours every day."
As one famous writer said: "The best old fashioned New England inns were superior to any modern ones. There was less bustle, less parade, less appearance of doing a great deal to gratify your wishes ; but much more was actually done, and there was more comfort and enjoyment. In a word, you found in these inns the pleasures of an excellent private house. If you were sick, you were nursed and befriended as in your own family, and your bills were always equitable, calculated on what you ought to pay."
Most of the landlords were men of kindly though thrifty ways, and were popular among their hearty, boisterous, ever-changing housefuls of guests, There were no servants. The helpers were all native-born and equals. The landlord's wife superintended the kitchen, and generally was the cook. Their own and their neighbors' daughters waited on the table, the boys worked in the stable, and men's work and women's work was never done.
Upon the mistress of the house fell the chief responsibility. Upon her depended the success or failure of the tavern, for that was largely measured by the excellence of the table,. Therefore, a large share of her time was given to the cooking.
One old lady, who had had years of experience as wife of a tavern keeper, expressed it truly when she said: "If it was not one task, it was another." There was little of change and amusement in her life. She was not privileged to attend church, for no sooner was she dressed for meeting
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than unexpected guests would arrive, and not even the demands of religion could be permitted to interfere with the duties of the kitchen. Instead of listening to an hour's-long sermon, she cooked meat. The church-going with which she had the most comfort was in getting her children ready for Sunday school. What kept her alive she said was the stir and excitement of tavern life, and contact, superficial though hers must have been, with the stream of coming and departing guests.
It is pleasant to read the impressions made by our inn-keepers, as told in the writings of English travelers. Lieutenant Francis Hall, who was here in 1817, said: "The innkeepers of America are in most villages what we call vulgarly, topping men-field officers of militia, with good farms attached to their taverns, so that they are apt to think what, perhaps, in a newly settled country, is not wide of the truth, that travellers rather receive than confer a favour by being accommodated in their houses. The daughters of the host officiate at tea and breakfast and generally wait at dinner."
Another Englishman, who visited America shortly after the Revolution, expressed it : "They will not bear the treatment we too often give ours at home. They feel themselves in some degree independent of travellers, as all of them have other occupations to follow; nor will they put themselves into a bustle on your account ; but with good language, they are very civil, and will accom- modate you as well as they can."
Brissot, writing in 1788, said: "You will not go into one without meeting neatness, decency, and dignity. The table is served by a maiden well-dressed, and pretty ; by a pleasant mother whose age has not effaced the agreeableness of her features; and by men who have that air of respectability which is inspired by the idea of equality, and are not ignoble and base like the greater part of our own tavern-keepers."
In fact the best of blood flowed in the veins of some of the inn-keepers. John Adams, describing a host and hostess of a tavern where he stopped, wrote in his Diary: "Landlord and landlady are some of the grandest people alive; landlady is the great-granddaughter of Governor Endicott and has all the notions of high family that you find in the Winslows, Hutchinsons, Quincys, Saltonstalls, Chandlers, Otises, Learneds, and as you might find with some propriety in the Winthrops. As to landlords, he is as happy and as big, as proud, as conceited, as any nobleman in England, always calm and good-natured and lazy, but the contemplation of his farm and his sons, his house and pasture and cows, his sound judgment, as he thinks, and his great holiness as well as that of his wife, keep him as erect in his thoughts as a noble or a prince."
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