Easter & Easter Eggs

Finding accounts of Easter activities for this blog has taken a bit of time. However, I found a few excerpts from different sources about different aspects of Easter Celebrations. I hope you enjoy and that you and your family enjoy this year's Easter celebrations and the reason for the season.

We have an interesting account of the Easter celebration at the Old Ladies' Home in Roxbury, Mass. We cannot print it at length, but it gives so pleasant an expression of the good cheer in a home where the heart helps the hand that we should be sorry not to copy a few words from it.—" The household is up with the robins, who sing their carols around, and the old ladies appear at the breakfast table in best 'bib and tucker." Just as the morning exercises are concluded and the Easter eggs distributed, the city missionary and party arrived and met with a hearty welcome from the family gathered in the parlors. Quavering voices, supported by the full tones of cheery friends, joined heartily in 'Praising God from whom all blessings flow ;' then followed a short Easter service. Easter cards and hymns were distributed, and then goodbyes were said with the hearty response, 'God bless you in your good works and labor of love to-day.'" Source: Lend a Hand Vol. I June 1886

HUNTING FOR EASTER-EGGS.
The Easter-egg is a painted or colored egg used for a present at Easter, a day which occurs on Sunday, the second day after Good-Friday.
The term "Easter" is said to be derived from a Saxon word meaning rising; and Easter is a festival of the Christian Church to commemorate the resurrection.
In the picture, the children are hunting for Easter-eggs, which the good mother has hidden in different parts of the room. The child who finds the most eggs will have the pleasure of making presents of them to whom he or she may choose.
Baby has set his eyes on the egg that lies on the floor. If he takes it up, I hope he will not let it fall, and break it. The other children will not be slow to find the painted eggs. There must be a dozen, or more, of them hidden away. Source: The Nursery Vol. 17-18 pg100 ©1875

And the Easter Parade down 5th Ave. New York City was not really a parade as such but it soon became a tradition. The earliest record I found was in 1865. If you have an additional source, please let us know.

Lamps

I thought I'd post a simple item on lamps but my, oh, my, there is a lot to say about lamps during the 19th century. So, as time goes by I'll be posting more on lamps. But for now, here's a taste into the world of lamps.

Encyclopedia Britannica ©1824 has this to say. The link brings you to Google books and should bring you to the page. The article starts on page 207.

At the beginning of the 19th century lamps were primarily oil lamps of some sort. Argand lamps were developed during the last quarter of the 18th century. The Argand lamp included a burner and a chimney. The reservoir was on the bottom then the wick was feed into the oil.

We have a variety of oil lamps developed with this simple system during the early part of the 19th century. As the Victorian era came into vogue the lamps became more fashionable. In other words, the more elaborate the lamp the more your wealth and good taste showed to those around you. That did not negate the need for practical lighting.

Below are two images from the 1890 Encyclopedia Britannica. The first is a reading lamp. Generally as writers we might have a tendency to think in only table top lamps. But these reading lamps could stand on the floor or be mounted to a wall. The second image is of an 1838 invention by M. Franchot called the moderator lamp. This helped to pull the oil up to the end of the wick for a brighter flame.

A further invention of the flat wick was developed in the image below. In an 1865 patent Messgrs. Hinks claimed it could have two or more flat flames.

The other key ingredient for these lamps was the oil. We've all read and heard about the whaling industry and how whale oil was the best oil for burning. Animal and Vegetable oil were the first oils used. Mineral oil began being used in the 1830's, specifically because of the invention of the moderator lamps. Another names for these lamps is "Camphine, Vesta and Paragon lamps. They light given off by these lamps were brighter and less smokey. However they produced soot-flakes which made people nervous about them being more dangerous.

Clip Boards of the 19th Century called Letter-Clips

A question a while back on a historical writer's loop was searching for when clipboards were in use during the 19th century. Thanks to Carla for her links to the email loop with the answers that gave me further direction in answering this question.
Here are Carla's references:
1880
An Attorney General's report 1880 lists the item.
1887
The Writer Vol. 1-2 referencing a letter-clip with a description of the board.

I found some earlier references:
1842
Below is an image of a letter clip in 1842 from The Practical Mechanice & Engineer's Magazine Vol. 1 Page 32.

The same image is in another magazine a year earlier 1841.

1865
Referenced in the Household documents of an estate.
1871
Referenced in a Patent book as similar to a letter-clip.
1874
A Practical Dictionary with a description of the item.
1883
The New Letter-Clip

Elephant Rusks in Vermont

Below is an article from Country Gentleman ©1865 Vol.26

The Tusk of an Elephant found in Brattleboro'
The tusk of a fossile elephant was found in a muck bed about five feet below the surface, on the farm of D. S. Pratt, in this town, on Saturday, Sept. 2, by a workman who was digging muck. The tusk is 44 inches in length, and 18 inches in circumference at the largest end, and 11 inches at the smallest. It is in a fair state of preservation, although some parts of it crumbled after being exposed to the air. The workman on discovering it took a piece to Mr. Pratt, remarking as he handed it to him. that he had found a curious piece of wood. Mr. Pratt on looking at it discovered its true nature. This tusk belonged to a species of elephant long since extinct, supposed to be the Elephas Primogenius (or mamir»th) Bhimeitback, that inhabited the northern parts of North America, having wandered across the Siberian plains to the Arctic Ocean and Behring Straits and beyond to this country south to about the parallel of 40°. Their bones show them to have been about twice the weight and one-third taller than our modern species.

The remains, (tusks, teeth, and several bones.) of one of these elephants were found at the summit of the Green Mountains, at Mount Holly, in 1848, by workmen engaged in building the railroad from Bellows Falls to Rutland. These remains were found in a muck-bed, 11 feet below the surface and at an elevation of 1415 feet above tide water. Most of the bones found, including a molar tooth, were taken by the workmen and others and carried out of the State. The most perfect tusk was secured by Prof. Zadock Thompson and is lodged in the State Cabinet at Montpelier. This tusk was 80 inches long and four inches in diameter. The molar tooth, now in possession of Prof. Agassiz, weighs 8 pounds and presents a grinding surface of 8 inches long and 4 broad. A plaster cast of it is on exhibition with the tusk at our State Cabinet.

Mason Jar Ad 1865

This ad was in an 1865 publication of Country Gentleman, Vol. 26. Note that they looked a little different than what we are used to today.

Mason Jars were actually patent Nov. 30 1858.

John L. Mason also filed in Nov. 19, 1872 this:
Improvement in Screw-Neck Bottles, granted to Johs L Mason, November 30, 1858.
Claim.—1. A screw nock or nozzle of a jar or bottle, in combination with a groove separating the thread from the shoulder of the bottle or jar, as described.
2. A screw on the exterior of the neok of a bottle or jar, In which the neck extends above the screw-thread and tbe thread vanishes into the neck of the bottle or jar, substantially as described.

19th Century Medical Books

Below is a resource list of Medical books folks had available to them during the 19th century. This is not a complete list but something to start from.

1827 The Medical Companion

1831 A Treatise on Family Medicine

1845 A Family Medicine Directory

1860 Homoeopathic Family Medicine

1865 Household Medicine Surgery Sick Room

1871 The Family Medical Guide

1883 The Indian Household Medicine Guide

Itch Ointment

Itch Ointment.—Unsalted butter 1 lb.; Burgundy pitch 2 oz.; spirits of turpentine 2 ozs.; red-precipitate, pulverized, 1 1/4 ozs.; melt the pitch and add the butter, stirring well together; then remove from the fire, and when a little cool add the spirits of turpentine, and lastly the precipitate, and stir until cold.

This will cure all cases of psora, usually called "The Itch," and many other skin eruptions, as pimples, blotches, &c.

Dr. Beach thinks the animal which infests the skin, in real itch, is the result of the disease, whilst most authors think it the cause.
Source: Dr. Chase's Recipes ©1865

Shrimp Sauce

A secondary character in a novel I worked on, went shrimping. In Florida, shrimp go through canals, play in the shoals of the shore line and during the fall, they run in large groups. The fact that my character is fishing for shrimp, I was dwelling on what he would do with all that shrimp and how he'd eat it. Below are a couple of recipes from the 19th century for Shrimp Sauce.

Shrimp sauce is made as follows: make some melted butter, with which mix a little essence of anchovies; throw in the shrimps, some cavice, and send up in a sauce-boat. The French Cook by Louis Eustache Ude © 1822

Cavice is a traditional British recipe for a classic Victorian sauce of anchovies, and shallots with spices and lemon zest in a white wine and white wine vinegar base. 


SHRIMP SAUCE. Wash half a pint of shrimps very clean—mince and put them in a stew-pan, with a spoonful of anchovy liquor, and a pound of thick melted butter; boil it up for five minutes, and squeeze in half a lemon. Toss it up, and put it in a sauce-boat. 
The Virginia housewife: or, Methodical cook
By Mary Randolph ©1838


SHRIMP SAUCE, for Various Kinds of Fish
Ingredients.—1/3 pint of melted butter, 1/4 pint of picked shrimps, cayenne to taste. Mode.—Make the melted butter very smoothly, shell the shrimps (sufficient to make 1/4 pint when picked), and put them into the butter; season with cayenne, and let the sauce just simmer, but do not allow it to boil. When liked, a teaspoonful of anchovy sauce may be added. Time.—1 minute to simmer. Average cost, 6d. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. 
Mrs. Beeton's Dictionary of every-day cookery By Mrs. Beeton ©1865

Death of Abraham Lincoln

While researching a post that will come up in December for Christmas I came across a Rev. J. E. Rankin, D.D. He delivered a sermon Moses & Joshua (A Discourse on the death of Abraham Lincoln) at Winthrop Church, Charlestown, Ma. while serving as the pastor. The sermon was delivered at noon on Wednesday, Apr. 19, 1865. You can find this sermon at The Martyred President website. On this website you'll find approximately 59 sermons. Sermons often reflect and encourage people in the where do we go from here phase that happens with the death of a relative or in this case the death of the leader of the United States.

For those of you writing during this time period you might find some helpful insights to what the "people" were feeling at this great time of mourning.

19th Century Photography

Wikipedia has a great overview of the history of the camera. There are a few dates that should be noted for those of us who write historical fiction.

In 1839 the first commercially produced camera, a Daguerreotype Giroux was sold.

1840 an American Chamfered daguerreian was made

Daguerrotypes are shown at the Great Exhibit in London in 1851 by 1853 New York Daily Tribune estimates that in the US 3 million daguerrotypes are being produced yearly.

The first studio that took portrait shots opened in 1853 in Paris.

In 1854 a boom of portrait studios worldwide over the next decade.

1859 a panoramic camera was invented.

1861-1865 Civil War is photographed by Mathew Brady and staff creating 7000 negatives.

Color Photography is introduced to the world in 1868

Eastman sets up Dry Plate Company in 1880

In 1887 a detective camera was patented by Eastman.

1888 First Kodak camera containing 20 foot roll of paper.

1889 first Kodak camera containing film

1900 Brownie camera introduced.

And behind every camera there is a photographer. I stumbled on this page and thought it might be helpful as well. It is a list of 19th century photographers, along with the dates they were in operation and where. Wikipedia has a great overview of the history of the camera. There are a few dates that should be noted for those of us who write historical fiction.

In 1839 the first commercially produced camera, a Daguerreotype Giroux was sold.

1840 an American Chamfered daguerreian was made

Daguerrotypes are shown at the Great Exhibit in London in 1851 by 1853 New York Daily Tribune estimates that in the US 3 million daguerrotypes are being produced yearly.

The first studio that took portrait shots opened in 1853 in Paris.

In 1854 a boom of portrait studios worldwide over the next decade.

1859 a panoramic camera was invented.

1861-1865 Civil War is photographed by Mathew Brady and staff creating 7000 negatives.

Color Photography is introduced to the world in 1868

Eastman sets up Dry Plate Company in 1880

In 1887 a detective camera was patented by Eastman.

1888 First Kodak camera containing 20 foot roll of paper.

1889 first Kodak camera containing film

1900 Brownie camera introduced.

And behind every camera there is a photographer. I stumbled on this page and thought it might be helpful as well. It is a list of 19th century photographers, along with the dates they were in operation and where.

Walking Machine

Baron von Drais invented a walking machine in 1817 to help him get around the garden faster. The device was two in-line wheels of equal size, a steerable front wheel, both wheels were mounted to a frame which you straddled. This device was the beginning of what we now call a Bicycle.

Eventually this Walking machine became known as the Draisienne or hobby horse.

The fad faded in popularity. The Walking Machine was quite heavy and the frame made out of wood.

The next 2 wheeled riding machine was introduced in 1865 and had pedals attached to the front wheel. It was called the Velocipede or Boneshaker.

The high wheel Bicycle we most often think of with regard to the history of the bicycle was introduced in 1870. These bicycles were expansive but enjoyed by young men of means. They cost an average of six month's pay. They were a bit dangerous because they had a tendency to flip the rider over if the bike hit a rock in the road.

By the 1880's the High Wheeled Bicycle was invented. It was a tricycle giving more stability and the rider sat between the two rear wheels. These were more affordable and doctors and clergy would often used them. This invention also brought into use, rack and pinion steering, the differential and band brakes, all of which were used when the automobile was invented.

3 cent piece

Yes, you read that correctly back in 1851 a three cent piece was minted. Postage rates had gone down from 5 cents to 3 cents giving people the ability to have a single coin to make small purchases with. The coin was smaller than our current dime and was minted from 1851 - 1873. They were made of silver but also included with cooper so folks wouldn't melt them down for their silver value.

There were two different three cent pieces. The three piece silver and the three cent nickel. The later was produced during the Civil War to help stop the hoarding of silver coins. The nickel was produced from 1865-1889.

You can read more about this at Wikipedia

A three cent piece became the discussion of politicians again in 1911 but that isn't our century of focus.

You can also do a search at Google books and come up with several references of three cent pieces. Along with the "Laws of the United States relating to loans, paper money, banking, and coinage, 1790 - 1895. In there you'll find the percentage of metals to use to produce the coin.

Oil Discovery

Here is a brief outline sketch of the oil history in the 19th century.

1846 Kerosene as fuel was introduced by Canadian Abraham Gesner
1853 a Russian sea captain noted the oil along the shoreline of Cook Inlet, Alaska.
1854 the North American Gas Light Company was formed.
1859 NW Pennsylvania an important well is drilled for the soul purpose of finding oil.
1862 first commercial oil well in Canon City, Colorado.
1865 first oil pipeline was constructed.
1865 California's first productive well was drilled.
1866 First well in Texas drilled by Lyne T. Barret. wasn't exploited until 1888 when a crew of drillers from the PA came to lend a hand.
1872 Robert Augustus patents Vaseline from the unwanted goop of the PA wells.
1892 First well strike in Southern California was drilled by Edward L. Doheny indowntown LA
1896 some marginally successful wells were drilled in Corsicana, Texas.
1897 500 wells in LA, California
1897 oil discovered in Oklahoma
1898 Oil drilling begins in Alaska

Shad

Hi all,

Here's another tidbit I found while on a research trip. A newspaper article on Shad. I hadn't heard of this type of fish but here's what the article excerpt said. "The first shad of this season was caught on the 6th, in Savannah Back River, by Frank O. Louis. The run of shad this season, from present indications, will be large in spite of the Yankee blockade." Jan. 9, 1862 in the Daily Morning News.

If you'd like to read a bit more about this fish here's a link to Wikipedia. There is a pen & ink sketch of fishing for shad in the 19th century in South Carolina.

And another link to Google books from 1865 Introducing Shad to the Alabama River

Measles

In the Medical Lexicon of 1865 Measles is described as:
MEASLES, ( [G.] Mase, 'a spot,' masern, 'spotted.') Rubeola. Also, a diseased condition of pork — measly pork — which bus been ascribed to the presence of cysticcrcus collulossc; and may be owing to trichina); see Trichiniasis.

In the The family medical guide: ©1871 a description of the disease and treatment is:
MEASLES.
This is an infectious fever, affecting the skin and also the mucous membrane, especially that of the eyes, nostrils, throat, and air-tubes.

This disease is met with chiefly in youth, but it may occur in advanced age. It is one of those diseases to which, as a rule, we are subject once only during life; but to this, exceptions occur occasionally, and we meet with patients having measles who are reported to have suffered from it before. But as the first attack had not been seen by me in any of the cases I allude to, and as they were said to be very mild, without cough, or weakness of the eyes, it seemed possible that the special fever was also absent; and that the former disease had been more allied to rose-rash than measles.

The fever does not set in immediately after the person is exposed to contagion. The poison generally remains latent in the system from ten to fifteen days, which period is called the term of " incubation."

The first symptoms of the effects of the poison acting on the blood are a feeling of lassitude, sensation of chilliness, loss of appetite, and a rigor or shivering fit, followed by a hoarse cough, discharge from the nostrils, and weak eyes.
Most patients complain also of pain of back or head, and some of both, while the skin is hot and dry, and the pulse full and quick.

Next we notice an eruption or rash upon the forehead and face, but so little distinctive, that but for the weakness of the eyes, and tendency to cough, we could not yet recognize the disease to be measles. The eruption, however, soon extends to the chest and extremities; the small, dry vesicles coalesce; the face becomes swollen; and the peculiar purple colour of the skin declares the nature of the disease.

In some cases the eruption appears only partially, and the inexperienced fancy, therefore, that the disease is mild ; but the reverse is the fact, for either a slight eruption or the sudden disappearance of the eruption is always the harbinger of evil.
Treatment.—In this and every other fever, the patient, from the first symptoms, should be confined to bed. The horizontal position does much to quiet the action of the heart, and equalize the circulation of the blood, while complete exemption from muscular exertion places the constitution in a favourable position to contend with the disease.
A uniform temperature, suited to the nature of the case, can only be ensured in bed; and, in measles especially, to avoid chilling draughts is necessary.

On account of the weakness of the eyes, the room should be kept darkened by a green shade to the windows ; and, owing to the irritability of the air-tubes, currents of cold air must be guarded against; because weakness of eyes, hoarseness, or loss of voice, remaining after convalescence, is almost certain to be permanent for life.
The quantity of bed-covering should be regulated by the feelings of the patients ; just enough to keep them comfortably warm; while the feet should be carefully attended to, and a footpan of hot water applied, if it be necessary, or bags of heated salt.

To drink freely of toast-, barley-, or rice-water, or rennet whey, or apple-tea, made by pouring hot water on raw apples, sliced, is sufficient nourishment for the first two or three days, till the cough and fever abate ; ten grains of nitre, and three grains of the carbonate of ammonia, being given in such drink, alternately, every four hours.
The popular idea is that persons when sick require to eat to be able to bear the disease, but this impression is very erroneous ; for while fever is in the system, the power of digesting food is held in abeyance, and, consequently, solid food taken into the stomach must aggravate the disease, and increase the weakness of the sufferer. It is only by fluids such as can be absorbed without being digested, that patients can be nourished during the continuance of fever.

When fever abates, the tongue cleans, and appetite begins to return, farinaceous food, as ground rice, arrowroot, sago, or maizena, boiled in water, and eaten with a little milk, is proper food; but tea, coffee, and all alcoholic stimulants are injurious.
At the commencement of fever, it is always salutary to unload the biliary ducts, liver, and bowels. Calomel was formerly the medicine for this purpose, but podophylline does the same service, and is a safer remedy. Half a grain of the latter, with ten grains of Epsom salts, in syrup or pills, taken every night, for two nights in succession, is sufficient; the bowels being afterwards regulated by two grains of aloes and ten of Epsom salts, given as often as required. But as the fever subsides, diarrhoea generally sets in, and renders aperients unnecessary.

In mild cases, with proper care, the nitre and carbonate of ammonia, in which I place great confidence, are all the medicine that is required, except for the bowels. For children, the acetate of ammonia does equally well, and it is more palatable. It is made by dropping the carbonate of ammonia into a two-ounce bottle of table vinegar, until effervescence ceases, when the bottle should be corked for use, and a teaspoonful should be given in place of the carbonate to a child of twelve years, and half that quantity to one of six years.

But if the cough be troublesome, six grains of Dover's powder should be given in a little syrup, at night, to a male adult, five grains to a female, and less in proportion to age ; one grain being sufficient for a child of two years. And if pain of chest be present, a mustard plaster should be applied, kept on till the skin is red, and repeated evening and morning till pain is relieved.

After fevers causing an eruption on the surface, the cuticle or scarf skin exfoliates, and the true skin, in which so many nervous fibrils terminate, is denuded of its wonted covering. Getting out of bed too soon, or any chill, is therefore calculated, owing to sympathy with the skin, to increase the irritability of the air-tubes, and cause determination also to the lungs, which may destroy life.

A week after the eruption disappears is soon enough for the patient to get up ; and during that week the diet should be altered to a lightly-boiled egg, with a cup of tea and dry toast for breakfast; chicken broth, beef or mutton tea, with stale bread, for dinner ; and ground rice or maizena, boiled in water, and eaten with milk, in the evening.
When the patient gets out of bed, solid animal food can be returned to, taking care that it be light and easily digested at first, and only in moderate quantity ; and half a grain of quinine should now be taken after breakfast and dinner, unless it causes headache, and if so, a wineglassful of infusion of chiretta or quassia should be substituted for it.
To prepare the patient for exposure to the open air, a tepid shower bath should be taken every morning, and cooled down gradually to a cold bath.

1865 Travel

Below you'll find an excerpt from Last journal of the Rt. Rev. George Burgess, D. D.: bishoop of Maine,

Dec. 27,1865. — After several mild snows and rains, as the year was drawing towards its close, a westerly wind scattered the clouds, and gave us a gentle entrance on our voyage. The friends who attended us to the vessel, and lingered on board, saw gladly the bright omens towards the setting sun. How various a scene, and sometimes how touching, is the pier from which a steamer, bound for a foreign port, swings herself off, true almost to the minute! There stands a family group in mourning; all serious, the younger in tears : how easy to guess the history of their parting ! There are young men and women who have come down to give a cordial farewell to some companion whom they almost envy the delight of travel. The mercantile gentlemen, well-trimmed, intelligent, prompt, mount to the deck as if they took their places in the omnibus. The choked train of vehicles on the pier, with the sometimes swearing drivers, has been released. The last policeman has finished his work about the vessel, whatever it was. The plank is drawn ashore; the great mass moves ; the voyage is begun. As she wheels around, and leaves behind her all those friendly faces, and hats are lifted, and white handkerchiefs are waved as long as the eye can discern them, it is one of those scenes which the merest stranger would love to retain in memory.

The departing and arriving steamers cross each other's way with a whistle of proud and kind salute. A few moments have carried us beyond the sight of the familiar towers, steeples, and lines of ships. Half an hour more bears us beyond the suburban houses on the shore, the hospitals, the fortresses; and now we pass that long sandy line with its termination of white waves, and we are out, with the boundless sea on one side, and on the other the receding shores, over which, as evening closes in, a light-house now and then glitters. It is a moonlight night, neither cold as winter might claim, nor rough beyond the mildest usage of ocean ; and all this transient household of various bloods, who sleep to-night within these floating walls, lie down with little discomfort, though mostly satisfied with the attitude of repose. I write with ease till a late hour. *

Dec. 28. —So passed the first night; and the second day bore us easily upon a sea that still tossed but gently. The sky was a little overcast; a little rain fell; but those who were not sick could walk the deck pretty freely; and the air was mild: no need of gloves for warmth. We were far out of sight of the shore; and we saw no vessel. The ladies of the party were generally absent from the table, but without great suffering. The wind drew towards the west; and the western sky, at sunset, was red with the hues of promise. " Glory to thee, my God ! this night."

People in the same ship become easily acquainted. The universal need of companionship makes itself felt; and, when the ordinary restraints are lifted for a time, something appears of the sentiment which " makes the whole world kin." Conversation which might at other times be little courted is then agreeable; and characters which would otherwise have been never appreciated, become objects of real regard.

Dec. 29. — The second night carried us quietly beyond Cape Hatteras; and, at noon on the following day, it appeared that more than five hundred miles had been accomplished. A little rain would drive us to shelter; and then, again, we could sit and walk, and see the low waves, with their white crests, rise and fall around us as far as the horizon. Other vessels passed us, from Wilmington, perhaps, or Charleston. I delivered letters of introduction to two passengers, and read a large part of a book on " Adam and the Adamite," lent me by an English gentleman from Barbadoes. Between sleep and the four meals, a little conversation, a little reading and writing, and the sources of private meditation, the day and the night glide on easily, if not rapidly, and mingle themselves with eternity.

Dec. 30. — The fourth day brought us to warmer skies, and to seas about as calm as a lake, but traversed by no visible bark but ours. We saw the little nautilus sail; we passed among the fleets of leaping porpoises ; we noticed the tracks of the flying-fishes; we admired the white pinions of the sea-gull, which had followed us all the way ; and we exulted in the glory of the tropical clouds ranged like white Alpine battlements all around the horizon, or attending the magnificent sunset. Down plunged the sun indeed in haste beneath the waters; but the soft, rich, green metallic hues which were left along his path in the west were such as were never quite known at the north.

I became acquainted on that day with a gallant general of the United States army ; and with a lady who was my townswoman, and nearly allied by marriage to a family to which my family was similarly allied.

Dec. 31.— The next day was the Lord's Day, and both the last day of the year and, in effect, of our voyage, which closed a little after midnight. We had passed in the forenoon close along the Florida Reef, with the long, low shore, and occasionally a tall beacon in sight. A fine ship, lately wrecked, lay near us on her beam-ends, stripped and worthless. We saw several steamers, and seemed to be on a highway of the seas. Although ill prepared for so much exertion of the vocal organs, still, when I found that some were expecting from me a service, I could not but offer one, brief and imperfect; but it may have its blessing. In the afternoon, we ran at once from the fair green waters that skirt the coast and hide the shoals, into the deep and very beautiful depth of the Gulf Stream. The sea became rougher, and the western sky was hidden at sunset; but a glorious moonlight filled the night and ended the year.

Jan. 1. — At a quarter past one, on the morning of the first of January, the whistle of the steamer bade her strong arms rest, and announced the land, " the harbor, the Havana." There she lay quietly till the morning light, when she steamed in between the strong castle of the Morro, on the left, and a work of some strength on the right. The passage is narrow ; and the harbor deep, long, but not otherwise very spacious. It was pretty well thronged with vessels of different nations ; but the red and yellow of Spain and of Cuba much predominated. The steamers are obliged to anchor at a distance from the pier, so that they have still to land their passengers by small boats.

But once landed, without unusual bustle or confusion, and having submitted to the Custom-House examination, and parted from several friends of the voyage, we have leisure to look around on the strangely foreign scene. For, at first sight, Havana is not only Spanish, but Moorish, Oriental, Chinese, American : all races and all hues mingled in its population, and crowding each other in its narrow streets. The cooley helped to land our baggage ; the Chinaman was there, with his peculiar look of old acquaintance: negroes of every degree of blackness ; mulattoes with that blackness softened down to every degree ; the dark olive of the tropics, the light hair of the North, — all not only meet us, but are thrown together as if in one crowd, to the eye of the stranger.

We arrive at our hotel. The broad, high passage at the entrance leads into the court or quadrangle ; and we ascend, on the right, a staircase equivalent to two stories of most well-built houses. The whole front is occupied with a handsome drawing-room; the rear, with a pleasant parlor: and a gallery connected with these goes around the court, and opens on each side into the rooms of the guests. From this gallery we look down into the court below, where, as well as under the adjoining arches which uphold the chambers, the tables are spread for each group of guests, all thus having their repasts in the open air. Above, a ceiling of windows were all opened to the sky. The house, once the residence of a noble Spanish family who own it, continually suggests thoughts of a palace, a fortress, or a prison. The windows, like all others here, are heavily grated; the shutters and doors are massy and thick ; brick or stone pillars sustain the galleries ; marble or brick pavements form the floors ; the flat roofs are tiled ; and on one of these, for the time, a room was assigned to us, where the welcome breeze comes from the sea above the houses of the city. We look down upon a wilderness of ragged battlements and picturesque walls, every house being painted with some bright color, — blue, yellow, white, green, red, — all that loves the sunshine.

I was obliged to take a boat, and return to the steamer for a very precious Bible which I had left behind ; and, after this, contented myself with resting from the voyage. After dinner, which is after dark, the gentlemen and ladies are accustomed to ride for pleasure, which, in the present moonlight, is more endurable. This day was excessively warm, even for Havana ; the mercury being at 85° in the shade.

1865 Port au Prince Haiti

I found this passage in the Last journal of the Rt. Rev. George Burgess, D. D.: bishoop of Maine, when he traveled down to Port au Prince. In light of all the news the past few weeks, I thought it might bring light to another tragedy that hit the island of Haiti in 1865.

March 18. — Weary and jaded, yet thankful for a safe and smooth voyage, we entered the Gulf of Port au Prince, and approached the city in the middle of Sunday forenoon. Its site is extremely low, where it lies along the sea-side, but its streets rise steadily behind for a considerable distance. It had suffered most widely from a severe conflagration some eighteen months before ; nor is the eye arrested at the entrance by any very stately edifices. We, however, enjoyed a few hours of absolute delight, when, in the spacious precincts of the Consul, we were permitted to wash, to eat, to drink, to lie down and to take our rest, for a couple of hours. We arrived too late to allow of any morning services, and it is not usual to hold any in the afternoon. So we performed our offices of devotion at home; and tried to " rest, according to the commandment."

March 19. — Our first entire day in Port au Prince dawned brightly; but within an hour a tremendous calamity had begun. The city was on fire. In the very heart of one of its wealthiest regions of wellstocked warehouses and handsome mansions, the hand of the incendiary, as it seemed, threw in the seed of destruction. All the morning the land-breeze blew, and wafted the raging flame, which swallowed everything in its path, and widened its path on both sides. There was nothing like effective resistance; generally none at all; goods were removed, but the houses went down like stubble. A multitude of wild men and women, boys and girls, friends and pillagers, carried off all to which the owners could not look, and which the fire did not too soon ingulf. There were no engines of any force; and what was to me most fearful of all, if true, it was said that some of the people cut the hose of the engines. There was no organization; and, notwithstanding the presence of the President and his ten aides-de-camp, in uniform and on horseback, there was no real leadership. So the conflagration swept out of existence all that broad, best part of the town which covered the plain towards the edge of the sea ; and, when this was exhausted, the wind also lulled, and the dreadful work seemed over. But at this crisis all the residents said that when the seabreeze should spring up an hour or two later, it must waft the flame back upon its track, and towards other parts of the city still uninjured. Was anything then, done, attempted, proposed, or encouraged ? Nothing ; and the whole people waited in silence or in noise the coming of the sea-breeze which carried the flame just where it was expected, and, having rolled and roared over streets and squares, made its path up the hill, and in the evening died for lack of fuel. Oh what a mournful day for those who were wealthy, and in a few hours had not a change of raiment! What a tremendous blow to the city, the nation, all trade, all credit, all confidence! I was told that half the wealth of Port au Prince was no more.

March 20. — The night passed quietly, to the relief of many anxious hea_rts, which trembled lest in the depth of night the flames might revive, or some wretch might kindle them afresh. In the forenoon, I rode with my host, on horseback, through the desolated district, picking our way. It extended all along the plain to the right from the harbor, and to the foot of the higher ground, and a little up the slight ascent, and embraced, in general, the best dwellings and the busiest stores. The buildings were commonly reduced to utter ruin; being constructed with a thin brick wall and wooden casing, with an appearance of firmness which fire too soon shrivels away. Beyond this region, and outside of the town, we came to the Palace, which stands apart, and is spacious, but not handsome, and only one story high. Still beyond was a fine level plain, over which a horse could run with delight, and to which, even so far, houseless people had brought some of their goods, finding a sleeping-place under the open sky. The Cathedral, a large, white edifice, of plain.architecture, escaped the flames.
After our return home, the venerated President of the Wesleyan Missions in Hayti paid us a visit. He had lived at Port au Prince twenty years and more, and had never been seriously ill. He speaks, though not without Christian hope, yet in a spirit of depression, of the island and all its prospects.

March 21. — The cheerfulness of the sufferers, under their great losses, was something altogether surprising, and perhaps not to be lasting. We walked on the day after through a part of the ruins. President Geffrard rode by as we sat in our gallery, followed by two or three officers. He was in black, and appears to be about sixty years old; carefully and genteelly dressed, and riding a good horse.

Our friend, the Consul-General, whose guests we were, in conjunction with the Consul, at whose house we were, had just taken for his more peculiar residence a house commanding a glorious prospect from the heights, but three miles from the city, and almost inaccessible. There was no road fit for a carriage, scarcely for a cart. A person on horseback ascended without any serious difficulty, if his horse were surefooted and obedient. We were expecting much pleasure from a visit, if we could get there; but the great fire compelled Mr. Peck to open his doors to certain ladies who had lost their own roofs and all beside. They went out in a carriage, which broke down ; and they were compelled to struggle up the mountain on foot.
We had, in the evening, a most welcome rain, which quenched the remaining life of the flames.

Thanksgiving 1865

This is the first Thanksgiving after the Civil War, it is two years after Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclaimation. Primarily it was a day of prayer and praise of thanking God for all his good provisions. Below is a letter written Dec. 7, 1865 (Thanksgiving) by Amos A. Lawrence to his Uncle.

December 7, 1865. Thanksgiving Evening.

My Dear Uncle, — On these anniversary days the memory runs back to the days long passed away, and it requires a great effort for any except the very young to avoid an overpowering feeling of sadness. I think of you in what was not many years ago your " new home," surrounded with all that makes life sweet. The glad voices of your children, the tender smile of their mother, all united to warm your heart and to make you thank God for so much happiness.

Now in your " old home " you sit by your hearth, an old man, the lamp growing dim, the bright lights of former days gone out. The forms so dear are not seen; their cheerful voices are not heard. Yet in your own imagination you do see them, and you do hear their voices. But their forms are more heavenly, and their voices are calling on you to prepare to rejoin them. No doubt you will gladly obey the summons when in God's good time it shall come. Meantime you will live for those who remain to you, cheerful and cheering, in the service of the Lord, and in communion with his saints.

All this reminds me of my own life, so filled with blessing, yet fast gliding away. All my dear ones remain with me. My good wife, seven children, and one grandchild, all are here under this roof. I see their forms, to me the most beautiful on earth, and I hear their voices on this Thanksgiving evening. Indeed, I have cause for thankfulness, though the black clouds of sorrow should gather from this very hour ; still I could be thankful, for my cup of blessing has long been full and running over. Who that has lived fifty years can enjoy these family days without some sadness, if those cannot who have been prospered all the time.

Sunday 10th. My note was stopped by the influx of some twenty young people, chiefly nephews and nieces, who assembled here to have " high jinks " on Thanksgiving evening. There were two families of Uncle William L.'s grandchildren (Sprague and Whitney), two families of Uncle Abbott's grandchildren (Abbott L.'s and Rotch), and an equal number of Appleton grandchildren. They soon had possession of my sanctum where this is written, and turned me out to help play the " elephant," to " wind the bottle," to see "the dwarf" and the "giant." The sport ran high from six o'clock till nine, and then they disappeared into the snow-storm to their homes. They like to come to Uncle Amos's ; they think, no doubt, that I have been here always, and that I am as lasting as the hills. If the new heaven and the new earth are to be our everlasting home, then in our human weakness some might pray that this present home may be ours hereafter. Certainly I should be one to ask to live right here.

Your affectionate nephew,

A. A. L.

Gatling Gun

From what I can see, the Gatling Gun was created and patented in 1861 by Dr. Richard Gatling during the Civil war. It was the first machine gun since it was crank-perated and multi-barreled. In 1862 the gun used steel chambers and percussion caps. In 1866 or 67 (I've seen both dates) Gatling redesigned the gun and this version was purchased by the U.S. army. The Gatling gun was obsolete in 1911 after 45 years of service with the army.

Below is a copy of the patent Gatling presented in 1865

Dr. Gatlin describes the gun:
The gun consists of a series of barrels in combination with a grooved carrier and lock cylinder. All these several parts are rigidly secured upon a main shaft. There are as many grooves in the carrier, and as many holes in the lock cylinder, as there are barrels. Each barrel is furnished with one lock, so that a gun with ten barrels has ten locks. The locks work in the holes formed in the lock cylinder on a line with the axis of the barrels. The lock cylinder, which contains the lock, is surrounded by a casing, which is fastened to a frame, to which trimmers are attached. There is a partition in the casing, through which there is an opening, and into which the main shaft, which carries the lock cylinder, carrier, and barrels, is journaled. The main shaft is also at its front end journaled in the front part of the frame. In front of the partition in the casing is placed a cam, provided with spiral surfaces or inclined planes.

" This cam is rigidly fastened to the casing, and is used to impart a reciprocating motion to the locks when the gun is rotated. There is also in the front part of the casing a cocking ring which surrounds the lock cylinder, is attached to the casing, and has on its rear surface an inclined plane with an abrupt shoulder. This ring and its projection are used for cocking and firing the gun. This ring, the spiral cam, and the locks make up the loading and firing mechanism.

" On the rear end of the main shaft, in rear of the partition in the casing, is located a gear-wheel, which works to a Kinion on the crank-shaft. The rear of the casing is closed by the cascable plate. There is hinged to the frame in front of the breech-casing a curved plate, covering partially the grooved carrier, into which is formed a hopper or opening, through which the cartridges are fed to the gun from feed-cases. The frame which supports the gun is mounted upon the carriage used for the transportation of the gun.

" The operation of the gun is very simple. One man places a feed-case filled with cartridges into the hopper; another man turns the crank, which, by the agency of the gearing, revolves the main shaft, carrying with it the lock cylinder, carrier, barrels, and locks. As the gun is rotated, the cartridges, one by one, drop into the grooves of the carrier from the feedcases, and instantly the lock, by its impingement on the spiral cam surfaces, moves forward to load the cartridge, and when the butt-end of the lock gets on the highest projection of the cam, the charge is fired, through the agency of the cocking device, which at this point liberates the lock, spring, and hammer, and explodes the cartridge. As soon as the charge is fired, the lock, as the gun is revolved, is drawn back by the agency of the spiral surface in the cam acting on a lug of the lock, bringing with it the shell of the cartridge after it has been fired, which is dropped on the ground. Thus, it will be seen, when the gun is rotated, the locks in rapid succession move forward to load and fire, and return to extract the cartridge-shells. In other words, the whole operation of loading, closing the breech, discharging, and expelling the empty cartridge-shells is conducted while the barrels are kept in continuous revolving movement. It must be borne in mind that while the locks revolve with the barrels, they have also, in their line of travel, a spiral reciprocating movement ; that is, each lock revolves once and moves forward and back at each revolution of the gun.

"The gun is so novel in its construction and operation that it is almost impossible to describe it minutely without the aid of drawings. Its main features may be summed up thus : ist.—Each barrel in the gun is provided with its own independent lock or firing mechanism. 2nd.—All the locks revolve simultaneously with the barrels, carrier, and inner breech, when thel,Tin is in operation. The locks also have, as stated, a reciprocating motion when the gun is rotated. The gun cannot be fired when either the barrels or locks are at rest.

There is a beautiful mechanical principle developed in the gun, viz., that while the gun itself is under uniform constant rotary motion, the locks rotate with the barrels and breech, and at the same time have a longitudinal reciprocating motion, performing the consecutive operations of loading, cocking, and firing without any pause whatever in the several and continuous operations.

The small Gatling is supplied with another improvement called the "drum feed." This case is divided into sixteen sections, each of which contains twenty-five cartridges, and is placed on a vertical axis on the top of the gun. As fast as one section is discharged, it rotates, and brings another section over the feed aperture, until the whole 400 charges are expended.

The Economic aspects of Horseshoeing

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF HORSESHOEING.

There is nothing like leather, removes, and bishops.—So say the metropolitan blacksmiths and coachmen, who laugh in their sleeves at the simplicity of horse proprietors, and care not a jot how soon a good piece of horse-flesh is set up on stilts instead of retaining the elasticity and freedom of four sound legs. Horseshoeing is a science and an art. Its science has been neglected, and is foully vilified by those who assert that the connection with the forge is the curse and degradation of the veterinary profession. A good cloak for ignorance this, and the argument appears plausible when we take into consideration the crooked practices which butter the groom's or coachman's bread, and enable the farrier to eke out a miserable pittance. There is probably no branch of skilled labour more inadequately remunerated than that of shoeing horses. To acquire great dexterity in the art calls for many years' toil and practice, and after all, when thoroughly learned, the amount of hard work which the farrier has to go through is probably not equalled by that of any other mechanic. A horse has to be shod, and two men are engaged for a whole hour, and sometimes more, in making, fitting, and applying shoes to feet which are as various in form as men's faces, and which call for great intelligence to avoid mutilation and irretrievable destruction. By fair means this slow and laborious work cannot be made to pay. Five shillings for a set of shoes is a miserable recompense, and in many a country district the charge is two-and-eightpence, three and four shillings. The country smith makes up the deficiency by jobbing, mending or making rails, gates, ploughs, and every other object of which iron forms part. The horseshoeing is done as a necessity and introduction for other work. In large cities veterinarians open up forges, that they may get horses to treat and drug. They acknowledge that the forge does not pay, but they try to scrape odds and ends together even in the forge. Thus there is a prevailing notion that iron is not a good thing when applied directly against the hoof, and if a horse is ' going short,' they propose leather soles. This is a grand institution. In two minutes a piece of leather is cut to the shape of the foot, nailed between the shoe and hoof, and an extra shilling per shoe covers a multitude of sins. In order to make the foot look neat, and to avoid the entire and unsightly leather sole, a portion is often cut to the shape of the shoe and nailed in a similar manner. It is so much the better if this tends to favour the loosening of the shoe and its displacement. The horse must then visit the forge for removes or new sets. London coachmen do not like substantial shoeing. To get the bill heavy enough for a good per centage, there must be removes every fortnight, and a new set of shoes every three weeks. ' It won't do,' say thev, ' to ' keep the shoes on too long.' The feet must be pared out frequently, or the horse has a ' nasty corn,' which requires cutting, and everything is done which favours the destruction rather than the preservation of horses' feet. We have been told that it would not do to put on shoes which a horse can wear a month. Light shoes are best to add weight to the pocket where per centages are going. We have known on more than one occasion that there was an understanding between a blacksmith and coachman, that whether horses were shod every three weeks or not, the sets of shoes were to be marked in the bill with great regularity. The plunder was shared, of course. Another system adopted is that of turning old shoes into new, bypassing them through the fire. They have a red, rusty look, and are well known in the trade as bishops. They are the * cardinals' of the Italian smiths, and the red stockings of prelates doubtless suggested the names at home and abroad. The petty swindles we are anxious to expose, hurt the pockets of owners less directly than indirectly. They necessitate a frequent tampering with horses' feet, and the adoption of a practice in the case of leather soles which cannot, as a rule, be too strongly condemned. Show us a lot of horses with leather soles, and some with bar shoes on their feet, and no other proof is wanting to indicate that the farrier is a bungler, or that, in the case of the leather appendages, there is a quiet understanding between the tradesman and the servant. Veterinary colleges can do much to correct these abuses, as, indeed, they can to protect the owners of horses from the extravagant charges made by some practitioners. In illustration of this a case may be mentioned. A gentleman owning a mare worth under 50l, had occasion to send her to a veterinary infirmary. She remained there six weeks, and was sent home cured, with a bill amounting to 27l, This is a common case ; and the best safeguard against such a process of extortion, is to subscribe two guineas to a veterinary college, and get medical advice and treatment for animals without charge, except for keep. John Gamgee.

Albert Veterinary (.'olleyr, Bnyswatcr,
Dreembtr, 1865.

This comes from: Baily's magazine of sports and pastimes, Volume 36 ©1866