Cobblestones Home : Colonial Lives : Life in a Colonial Tavern

“Well do you agree with the British laws?
I thought for a moment. “No, sir, I do not.”
   “Well, we men have been arranging these meetings for some time now. We all agree that this has gone too far. Have you heard of a word called freedom?”
   “Yes I have.”
   “Do you think we have much of this in the colonies?”
   “No sir.”
   “Well neither do we. Jane can you keep quiet about this?”
   “Yes sir.” He leaned forward.

Click play to hear my story

Sometimes I really wish that I did not work at the tavern, and at other times I feel this is the only place I can really be free from everything. Early evenings and late nights I work here at the Raleigh Tavern. I serve the Apollo Room and on other days I work at the main counter, washing it off and serving wine and ale to the men who come in. When we run out of the wine or ale I have to go down into the humid cellar. It smells greatly of mildew and decay. Rats scatter and rush to the corners where they cannot be seen. My hair, which is tightly braided, gets loose and strands hang over my face. The candle burns out on my way down so I have to shuffle around in the dark until I find the wine and carry it back up the wooden stairs. This takes a great deal of breath. When I get back up to the tavern the men are ready and impatient. They shout and yell with rolling eyes laughing a deal. Some tell me of times past with stories and myths and I cannot help but listen. They show me battle scars and the stories behind them.
        But tonight it is different. I was told not to go into the Apollo room because we were having very important guests. I was very curious, because normally that is the room I serve when we have guests. I stayed at the counter and served ale and I started to realize that the men coming in were not our usual guests. They were dressed more exquisitely than the others that came in and did not talk as much, a few words here and there and dainty sips of wine.
        Then two men came in with powdered wigs and long coats. They strode in and the room fell silent as everyone stopped to look. One was smiling, a wide smile. But the other one held a stony face and had a long scar under his left eye. When caught he me staring at it he turned his face away. As they walked closer to the counter I pulled the few strands of hair from my face even though moments later they would return.
   “Excuse me,” one of the men spoke. I turned and looked. He was smiling.
     “Yes sir” I asked the man.
   “If you don't mind of my asking, will you show William and I to the Apollo room?”
I breathed in deeply. Mr. Raleigh had said not to go in there, and yet again he also told me to attend to everyone’s needs. I chewed on the side of my lip and thought. The one he called William looked at me expectantly. I looked down at the floor boards and said, “Follow me over here.”
   William stared in awe. “Follow a tavern wench? Who in their-” the other man put up his hand. “I am sure that Miss.....” he stopped and looked at me . “Your name is?”
   “Jane McAllens,” I answered.
     “Well I am sure that Miss Jane McAllens knows what she is doing. Lead the way miss.” I went around the counter and brought them to the Apollo room. I stopped at the door, I could hear a murmur of voices and yet when I held my breath I could I clearly hear what they were saying.
     “This is us, we do not need their rules! We are not children! We are independent people, we should not live in fear of what they will demand of us next!”
   This is all I could hear before I knocked. I knocked twice and waited, and a loud voice called out, “Who is there?”
   William stepped in front of me.“It is Adam and I, William.”
   “Ah yes we thought you would never arrive,” the man on the other side replied. “You may enter.”
   I reached for the door knob but William tightly closed his hand over the knob. There was a silence. He stared at me sternly and raised one eyebrow. I stepped back and looked at Adam for a brief moment, his kind gray eyes meeting with mine. William stepped in the room and Adam took a moment to speak to me.   “I am terribly sorry about William. He got that scar from a tavern wench. She knocked him in the head with a stool. Ran off after that.”
   “If I would have known-” I started to apologize.
     “No, no its not your fault, Jane.” We stood there for a moment just staring at each other. He turned and smiled, “Goodbye for now Jane.”
        As soon as Mr. Raleigh told me to leave for the night I did not go home. I went to Mercy’s house instead. I tapped twice on the window and left to Margaret's to do the same. That was our symbol to meet. Margaret and Mercy were my best friends. I loved them like they were my sisters. I stood at the tall oak tree, looking at the branches stretching toward the sky. A twig snapped and I heard a slight screech I whipped around to see it was Margaret. Mercy was not too far behind her.
     “Are you okay?” I asked her. I took a step forward “Yes, darn these sticks though...” Mercy had a lantern and was running to catch up. When she got to us she flung herself on the ground next to us and put the lantern near Margaret's foot. Even though the light wasn't much it was still enough to see, her foot was bleeding from a small twig in the hole.
     “Oh my, close your eyes,” Mercy whispered. Margaret did so. She got a grip of the stick and pulled slowly   “Ow ow ow ,it burns and stings!” Margaret whined.
     “Just wait!” Mercy had a harsh tone to her voice. Mercy was normally not a harsh person, just a bit sarcastic. She normally had her hair in a tight bun, no strands hanging out of place or anything. She was pale, but glowed with a light and always had something to say about everything. But Margaret was different. She was light and rosy and never stopped smiling. She was squeamish and had a VERY high pitched voice. Even though the stick was out Margaret was still panicking. “It’s in and I’m gonna get sick and die and Pa is gonna get mad at me again and he’s gonna get the whip out and snap it and I don't wanna die!”
   “Well if you don’t wanna die then be quiet and no one will hear us!” Mercy snapped back. Margaret just stared.
   “Well, I got you here to tell you what happened today.”
   “What?” they both said at the same time.
   “Well....” and I started to tell them. I told them everything: the scar, the coats, the loud voice, and Adam.
   “Wow,” Margaret breathed. “That Adam sounds like he has a fondness for you.” Mercy announced.
   “Ooh Jane ooh,” Margaret giggled.
   “Well I have to go now,” I started. Mercy and Margaret just stood there. “Yes?” I asked them.
   “Well you’ve been acting different lately.” I was startled. Margaret kicked at the dirt with her toe, the moccasins scrapping the ground. She and her sister must have traded the shoes again.
   “How have I been acting different?” I asked. Margaret explained to me, “Well you seem to be, well enjoying the tavern You were the one that said you dreaded it.” Mercy crossed her arms.
   “Well believe it or not I actually do like working there,” I told them. Their mouths hung open.
   “You’re not serious, are you?” Margaret asked.
   “Well, yeah,” I slowly said.
   “Okay fine then, I-I don’t know what to say to that.” Mercy flailed her arms up. “No don’t get-”
“No, that's it. Bye now.” And with that Margaret and Mercy left.
   The next day I left for the Raleigh, very early. My younger sister was still sleeping. So were Ma and Pa. The grass was wet with dew and soaked the end of my skirt. When I got there nobody was in yet. Mr. Raleigh was wiping off the long wooden counter at the moment. He turned around.
     “Do you remember what I told you yesterday, about the Apollo room? Well it will be busy in there so please try to go quickly with their orders.”
   “Where will you be going today?” I asked him. Normally he is in the back room working on, well he never tells me. He smiled.
   “Jane you got something that makes me wonder, but that's why I like you. I chose you to work here for that very reason. You are very good listener and you got what we need here.” I blushed and looked down.
   “What would that be, Mr. Raleigh?” He put down the rag he was using and leaned on the counter and thought a second.
   “You got that light Jane, the one that makes any one smile. I mean God, if you weren’t here then this would be a sad, solemn place. But you make those old men feel special when you stop to talk to them, or listen to their stories. I watch you out there. Keep that Jane, don’t let it go.” He stood there and looked out the door for a moment. “Well you know what to do if a riot breaks out.” After he said that he went out he door.    I pulled over a stool and thought about what he said. Did he really mean that? I decided not to sit there and waste the time before we open. I went over to the corner, got the broom and started sweeping. There was a light pile of dirt and I went over to the door and opened it and swept all the dirt outside. I leaned against the door frame and watched the children hold their dice and merrily walk off to the school house.
The boys all had lumps of lead and quill pens. It was July, so none of them were carrying wood for the fire. Some of them stopped and looked at rocks they found and argued about whose were bigger.
   This became, as I realized, another waste of time so I made sure that we had enough wine and ale. There was. I got 13 glasses out and set them on the counter. Some men had thought ahead of time and brought their own. The Apollo room was neat and tidy, and I reached down into my pocket and pulled out a rag. As I wiped off the already clean table I thought of how entertaining this job was. I was done and I went back to the front. Nobody was in. The day was dragging on. It was nearly sunset before anyone came in.
   Three men came in. They went to a table near the windows and sat down. I walked over there.
   “Is there anyth-” I started to ask them.
   “Yes, just wine.” I looked to the other two men. They nodded. I walked over to the counter and got the bottle. I twisted off the cork and put it in a basket with many others. As I was carrying over the glasses a few other men walked in and went to the Apollo room. Anna, the other girl that works here, came in as well.
   “Why don’t you go serve the Apollo room and I’ll stay up over here?” she asked.
   “All right if you want me to.” I went back there and knocked on the door.
   “Yes?” a voice called out. I didn’t know what to say.
   “Good evening, I am Jane McAllens. I was told to come back here and serve you.”
   “Yes, yes come in.” I reached for the knob and thought about last night. The knob was cold and hard. I went in and went straight to the closet. I pulled out a bottle of wine and went to the large table. There were four men at the table. One of them had a piece of paper, a quill and a small bottle of ink. Three candles were lit, and they were talking in low voices. I got the glasses slowly hoping I would hear what they were saying.
   “Yes but it will take time, and not everyone agrees with our opinions.” I turned and looked trying to figure out who said that.
   “Most will not listen though. They are sure we are straight out of our right minds!” The man said this while slamming his fist on the table. This made me jump slightly, but I was not seen. As I was bringing the glasses over they stopped talking. Two more men came in then three more. As more time passed they were getting more and more frustrated. One man they called Henry had a hand on his head and his eyes closed. Another, Thomas, was leaning back in his chair, mumbling. A knock came at the door. Before I could say anything one big man turned and called out, “Who is there?”
A voice that was cold and familiar replied, “It is Adam and I, William.”
   “Yes, yes, come, come,” The man said.
   “Good evening Jebediah, Henry, Thomas, Samuel, Amos, James, Jacob.” Adam was warm and cheerful while he said this.   But William on the other hand quickly walked in, yanked a chair, and sat down.
   “If there’s anything I can get you, I’ll be sure to get it-” That is as far as I got before William cut me off.
   “No we do not need anything and if we do, we can manage by our selves. Good day to you.” Amos got up. “Never have I heard a man speak so disrespectfully to a woman like that, especially one who is going out of her way to offer to get you something.” Amos was an older man; you could tell by the wrinkles on his face. When he talked his top lip curled over his top row of teeth.
                   “William, these meetings you have been attending to; have you not been listening? We speak of peace, freedom, respect, independence and respect is the one of which you lack in.” This was Samuel speaking. His voice was loud and deep. This must be the man that has been answering when I knock.
   “Jane, do you know why we have been coming here?” James was staring right at me when he said this. I shook my head. “Well do you agree with the British laws?
I thought for a moment. “No, sir, I do not.”
   “Well, we men have been arranging these meetings for some time now. We all agree that this has gone too far. Have you heard of a word called freedom?”
   “Yes I have.”
   “Do you think we have much of this in the colonies?”
   “No sir.”
   “Well neither do we. Jane can you keep quiet about this?”
   “Yes sir.”                                               He leaned forward. “When I say this you can not repeat it. All of us are trying to get us our freedom that we deserve, that we need. We think it is time for change. We shall go to all measures to get independence from the British, to get the peace and freedom.”
   “Well aren’t you just the sons of liberty?” I said sarcasticly
   Jacob stared at me. “That is perfect. That is a what we should call our selves, the Sons of Liberty.” They continued to talk after that and Amos was looking at me. He slightly chuckled and turned back to the others, shaking his head.
I smiled and returned to getting their wine. “That is quite perfect,” I thought to myself. “That is quite perfect indeed.”

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