times faces burn while backs are freezing. Stools, benches, and spinning wheels hug the hearth. The boys are whittling teeth for rakes or reels for yarn. The father is reading a book of sermons. The mother is s knitting; the daughter, spinning. The room is lighted by burning pine knots. These are called candlewood.

ΙΟ

The light flickers uncertainly, sometimes showing wide stretches of the sanded floor and causing the strings of dried apples and herbs, dangling from the ceiling, to cast strange shadows. The crackle of the fire, the cheep of the knife, the whir of the wheel, give a sweet sense of home cheer, even in the wilderness. No one is anxious to break up the pleasant circle.

Cold as is the living room, the bedrooms are freezing. 15 On these nights the warming pan is in demand. This is a sort of brass saucepan with a cover and a very long handle. Live coals are placed in the pan and the cover is shut down. Then the warming pan is passed between the linen sheets to take off the chill. The 20 bedsteads are four-posters with testers and curtains. Still, nothing can keep out the cold. Ice must actually be broken in the water pails in the morning.

The Pilgrim dress was simple and sensible. The men wore long coats and breeches reaching to the knee, 25 woolen stockings, and heavy shoes. In the early days ruffs were worn but these gave way to the rolling, or falling collar, tied with a white string and tassels. Hats were large, with broad brims.

The gowns of the women were usually of wool, and sensibly short. The bodice was often slashed at the sleeves or shoulders to show the pretty white or colored underwaist. On gala occasions, a white handkerchief was folded over the neck and shoulders and deep lace- 5 edged cuffs were worn. A dainty white cap gave the final touch of grace. Out of doors the women wore a close velvet bonnet tied under the chin. Children were very quaintly dressed. They were like tiny copies of their parents. Very small boys, however, looked 10 much like girls. They wore shirts that reached to their ankles, and round, wide-brimmed hats that tied under their chins with ribbons.

1. Who were the Pilgrims? When and why did they come to America? Where did they make their first settlement?

2. As you read try to picture to yourself their houses; their furniture; their methods of living; their dress.

3. Test your pictures in this way. Imagine the Pilgrim father in front of you. Describe his clothes as you see them—hat, coat, trousers, shoes. Do not memorize the facts. Try similarly with the other topics in question 2.

4. These words may trouble you:

crāne — An iron arm at the back of a fireplace, used for supporting kettles over the fire.

ǎnd'i-rons

fireplace.

Metallic stands used to support wood in a

cheep- To chirp or creak.

ruff

A band or frill worn around the neck. bod'ĭce - An outer garment covering the waist. slashed Ornamented by cutting the cloth in slits. galȧ- Banquet; show; holiday.

IN OLD NEW YORK

BY FANNY E. COE

WHA

spring of 1664?

The town of fifteen hundred inhabitants occupied the southern end of Manhattan. At the extreme south s was the fort, no longer of wood, but of stone. It mounted twenty guns.

From Fort Amsterdam, the town stretched northward to the wall. Its eastern and western boundaries were the two rivers, East River and Hudson River.

Many houses were built along the river fronts, as the worthy Dutchmen loved to sit on their porches, or stoops, and smoke their pipes of a late afternoon.

The low houses of stone or brick were set comfortably

apart, with pleasant flower plots or vegetable gardens about each. Most of the houses were placed with their gable ends toward the street. These gables were built of small yellow and black bricks imported from Holland. Each roof was topped by one or two generous chimneys s and a weathercock.

The doors were divided midway into an upper and a lower door, each with its own hinge and lock. Small bull's-eye panes of glass sometimes appeared in the upper door. Those within could thus cautiously survey 10 the visitor before opening to him. The brass or iron knocker was often of fine design. Old Dutch custom gave to every New Amsterdam house its front porch, or stoop. Here the people liked to sit during mild evenings. Perhaps their view commanded an outlook over the 15 harbor, or perhaps a peep at a windmill lazily turning its great sails in the evening light. Canals crossed by little bridges were other pleasant reminders of the fatherland.

Within doors everything showed exquisite care, for 20 Dutch women are famous housekeepers. The wooden floors were covered with sand, in which a pattern was traced. On one side of the living room was the huge fireplace. This was, in many cases, bordered with tiles on which were pictures of Bible stories in bright »s colors. Sitting in the chimney corner, chubby Hans and flaxen-haired Gretel might trace Old Testament history from the garden of Eden to the prophet Jonah.

The flames might burn brightly, but the pink Joseph and his blue brethren held a greater charm.

Over the mantel hung racks of various kinds. Platters of wood and pewter were ranged in long rows sin the plate racks. The pipe rack was filled with quaint, long-stemmed pipes. Cupboards full of china and glass, carved chests, and the steady old Dutch clock with its curious moon face, added charm to the room. Such a home was only a few miles from New England, yet how marked was the difference!

The dress of the women of New Amsterdam differed much from the Puritan costume. The Puritans chose sad-colored hues, but the Dutch clothing was almost as gay as their own tulips. A housemother wore a loose 15 sack and many short petticoats of linsey-woolsey. On her head was a little cap of quilted calico. Her feet were clothed in blue worsted stockings with fine red clocks, and high-heeled leather shoes with shining silver buckles. About her waist was a girdle from 20 which fell red ribbons or chains of brass or silver. At the ends of the chains were scissors, a pincushion, and the household keys.

The men wore cloth breeches and coats with silver buttons, silver-buckled shoes, and broad-brimmed hats. 25 The hats were often of beaver and were worth several pounds apiece. The wealthy carried ivory-headed canes on state occasions, and a true Dutchman, whether rich or poor, was rarely separated from his long