The Tale of the Spinning-Wheel

Home , Spinning wheel, Twine

T HE T A LE

OF T HE

SP IN N ING-WHEEL

ELI'ABET H C' N T HIA BARNE' B'EL

” e ent Ma'r Flo d Ta llma d e Chc ter Da u hters R g y y g qo , g of the A merica'n Revo bwtian

ILL' STRATED B'

EMIL' N O'ES V A N DERP OEL

A'T HOR OF COLOR P ROBLEMS A N D CHRONICLES OF A P IONEER SC HOOL

F ELD C N N IC T LIT CH I , O ECT ' MCMIII T HE Ll B RA RV O F

C O N G RES S,

(3v sum

C P ' IG T 1 903 B ' O R H , , ELI'ABET H C' NT HIA BA RNE' B'’EL

' NIV ERSIT ' P RE SS 0 J OHN W ILSON DEDICA TED

IN G RA T E F' L AFFEC T IO N

T HE MAR' FLO' D TALLMADGE CHAP TE R DA'G HTERS OF T HE AME RICAN RE V OL'TION

W HOSE READ' S' MP AT H' A N D ENT H' SIASM HAVE N EVER FAILED IN W ORK FO R “ HOME A N D CO' NT R'

INTROD' CTORY NOTE

HE Tale o f t he Spinning-Whe e l is rev ised and enla rged from a paper rea d b efo re t he Lit c hﬁe ld Historical

e t Lit c hﬁe ld e En Soci y , , Conn cticut ; New g la nd in t he Of N e w Society City York ,

f- N e w Waldor Astoria, York City ; Mary

e . R . Floyd Tallmadg Chapter, D A . , Litch

ﬁe ld J e e A R s t ; ud a Chapt r, D . . Wa hing on, Conne cticut ; Massachuset t s Socie t y o f the

me o f m s K t Colonial Da s A erica, Bo ton ; a h

e e . R . s e . rin Gaylord Chapt r, D A , Bri tol , Connecticut ; Connecticut Society o f the

o f N e w n Colonial Dames America, Have ,

t f e e and also in Har ord ; D nv r Chapter , d R . a n . . e D A , Denv r, Colorado ; Warren

t ss s R . st Pre cot Chapter, D . A . , Bo on , Ma a Vl l INTROD' CTORY NOTE

h tt c use s f s R . ; Or ord Pari h Chapter, D . A . ,

M s e t t n South anche ter, Conn c icu ; Natio al

N e w e Arts Club , York ; Esth r Stanley

N B a n n e . . R . e w Chapt r, D A , rit i , Con ec t ic ut n f ; Annual Spri g Con erence, Connec t t ic ut . . R . a t e D A , Middl own ; Dorothy

e . . R . t Co n Ripley Chapt r, D A , Sou hport , l k ne c t ic ut W i t w c t e . . R ; y Chap r , D A

K s N e w Lit c hﬁe ld ing ton , York ; Club ,

Lit c hﬁeld e e t c . . , Conn cticut , , etc

viii THE TALE OF THE SPINNING WHEEL ueens o Ho mes un o ut o w ho m w e draw ' f p , f B o ur ro ya l HORA CE ' SHN ELL. THE TALE OF THE SPINNING —WHEEL — HE s pmnmg-wheel symbol o f the dig ’ T - nity o f W oman s labor . What wealth o f memory gathers around the homely im plement , homely indeed in the good Old — sens e o f the word because belonging to - a nd - the home . Home made home spun are r honorable epithets , eplete with significance , for in them w e l find the epitome o f the lives ' o f o ur and labors foremothers . The plough and the axe are not more symbolic o f the winning o f this country from the W ilder s o f w n o f ne s , nor the musket the i ning its m n - W w o m freedo , than is the spinni g heel in ’ o f SO a n s hands the symbol both . sym ’ ’ b o lic o f w n o f w is it also oma s toil , oman s n a nd disti ctive universal occupation , nay , “ ' o f n dis t a fi s woma herself, that the ide ” o f the hous e ha s al w ays been expres sive o f ’ “ ” w m n s is s the o a family , and spinster till the legal title o f unma rrl e d w omen in the m n la w o f n n o com o E gla d . Most ancient f ha s s all household implements , it been u ed 3 THE TALE OF

o ne f o r in orm another by queen , princess , ’ - and serving maid, by farmer s wife and ’ n - noble s daughter , until it sta ds to day a silent witness to the fundamental democracy o f mankind .

hen da m de e d a nd Eve s an W A lv p , Where w a s then the ge ntle ma n '

The mutual dependence O f spinning and ’ ’ Of agriculture , woman s work and man s , is also strikingly illustrated by a carving o n an o ld o f St sarcophagus in the Church . John n Lateran in Rome , depicting the Eter al Father giving to Adam an instrument of ' di t a fi s . tillage , and to Eve a and spindle ’ s n o n Thus , coeval with man s fir t appeara ce o f no this earth , no written page history , o r musty parchment sculptured stone , is so O ld that we cannot find upon it some traces ' of the spindle and dis t a fi with their tale o f joys and sorrows spun into the thread by the fingers o f patient women whose hearts beat o ur o w n - as to day , in tune with the common o f throb humanity . Though we may strain our eyes into the darkness o f prehistoric ages , when primeval woman used the tree

41 THE SPINNING—WHEEL

' fo r dist a ﬂ trunk Of the forest a , we will still ﬁnd there some evidence Of the use o f

ﬂax and hemp for threads and ropes . Even - o f b e in the lake dwellings Switzerland , n s e e longi g to the Stone Age , we their use in various ways — in the ﬁshing lines and

n fo r ets , in the cords carrying heavy ves e s s l , and in the ropes necessary to the erection o f these very lake-dwellings them u selves . Rough or nworked flax , says “ K e lle r n - , is fou d in the lake dwellings d ma e into bundles , or what are technically called heads , and it was perfectly clean and ready fo r use . S O f tepping across the threshold history , we learn that sixty - five centuries ago there lived in Egypt a king o f the recently dis d covered first ynasty , who , as his name , Me rne it - Ata , signifies , put his trust in the

- O f goddess Neith , the all sustaining mother 5 THE TALE OF t he universe ; and in his tomb to-day has been found a large upright slab , five feet o f high, whereon are carved the emblems — this goddess two arrows crossed o n a n ' di t s a fi. n upright Here , in the dim mor ing o f ff n history , we find the dista already ho ored a s the sacred symbol of this fe mmme divin l n W E ity , hose eternal motherhood the gyp tians vaguely recognized that mysteriou s h Power from which all things proceed . T is no s O f s m was prehi toric age barbari , for in the ' niversity Museum in London are now to be seen the relics of this long lost firs t n w t he s dynasty , u earthed at Abydos ithin la t n — four years by Dr . Fli ders Petrie relics o f n a civilization already far adva ced . We stand face t o face with their weapons of war d 1m le and of the chase, their househol p s a nd ments , their exquisitely carved ivorie a nd n gold jewelry com , their very clothi g Of n n o f ns s o f h s fine li e , the work the spi ter t o e a nd h days , the brain reels with the thoug t that even before them there were generations upon generations of human beings living in organized societies and practi sing the arts and engaged in the occ upations of a high 6 THE SPINNIN(SP—WHEEL

z u order o f C l Vl li e d life . The whole co rse o f is no w the ﬁrst dynasty laid bare to us ,

n 4 700 . and we find that its beginni g in B C . is modern his tory compared with the periods o f n developme t that must have gone before , for there is proof positive that even before in this dynasty , ten other kings reigned a nd n o n Egypt , other ha ds grew flax the banks Of the Nile and spun a nd wove it into ’ - n Egypt s far famed linen . In a cient Egypt linen occupied a most important place ; it was worn by all classes , alive or dead , and it was the only material that the priestly w orders were allo ed t o wear . We have all seen the beautiful mummy linen found wrapped around the mummies even of the mos t remote antiquity ; and we know that only the b est that Egypt could produce would be wound around the sacred bodies m - n no t of their dead . This mum y li en was o n w o n - f spun a heel , but a hand dista f, called m me s m o f so eti a rock , such as the wo en India use to this day in s pinning the fine s n a nd s thread of India mu li , uch as was als o us ed by the children o f o ur American colonists while tending s heep and cattle in 7 THE TALE OF

nn n - the field . The spi i g wheel as we know s e it is Of much later date . It doe not app ar — until the fifteenth century , although the date Of the first wool -wheel is placed by one authority in the four t e e nt h n — ce tury , before which time all spinning o f wool , flax , and cot ton was done o n the ' primitive dist a fi tucked under the left arm in the way s o familiar to u, M’ c entur ‘ W y us in pictures Of peas 'll ant girls and Greek ’ m n maidens spinning as they walk . Wo a s ' first dist a fi was the trunk of a tree ; her n o n s he spi dle a rude stick , which wound and twis ted the yarn as her fingers labori o us ly pulled and shaped it from the flax n t he n wrapped arou d tru k . From this dis ' t a fl o f nature it was but a step to the man ' ' ufa c t ure d dist a fl h dis t a fi Of history . T is was a staff about three feet long the low er e nd was held between the left arm a nd the side ; t he upper e nd w a s wrapped with T he w a the material to be spun . thread s 8 THE SPINNING—WHEEL

passed through , and guided by , the fingers o f n the left hand , and was draw and twisted o f o n by those the right , and wound the so a s suspended spindle , made to be revolved its like a top , which completed the twist by o w n u impet s and weight . The illustration ' shows a dist a fl o f the fifteenth century s up a ported by rude stand , leaving the left arm f t o ree hold the spindle . In this slow and simple fashion the clothing o f all the world was spun before the fifteenth century , and i - still s spun to day in many lands . The ' Spinning-wheel simply took the dis t a fl as it was , and attached a wheel and treadle to revolve the spindle ; and t h e v ast m a c h in es o f m modern industry' erely el aborate and m u ltip ly into many Spindles this simple device Of previous ages . The principle re mains absolutely thesame , s o much s o that we may s a y t h at fr o m t r e e trunk to modern factory the methods Of preparing 9 Woman c e‘nluinj T HE TALE OF and spinning flax have changed the least Of t he n all i dustries , the sculptures Of ancient Egypt depicting processes which are eas ily

‘ recognizable as t ho s e pra c tis e d to day not n In b o n o ly Egypt , but also y the m dern Fi n , - n fl a x . Lapp , Norwegia , and Belgian grower The paintings in the grotto of El K a b Show t the pulling , s ocking , tying , and rippling Of flax just as it is done in Egypt no w ; a nd our o w n colonists of a hundre d years ago followed precis ely the same methods as the ’ him w Egyptian , who preceded in the orld s ’ s -fiv e n history by ixty hundred years . Pli y s des cription o f Egyptian fla x-culture and preparation reads like an account o f the labors o f our o w n foremothers ; a nd the walls O f ancient tombs are covered with u s t he E pict re of old familiar process . gyp tian flax w ent to all parts o f the world and occupied a foremost place a s a n article o f fo r commerce , linen was , the staple fabric for n o f clothi g all the ancient peoples. Pieces o f linen are still found clinging to skeletons in s n the tomb of the Chaldea s , and it was the national dress o f the Babylonians and

Persians . All who are familiar with t he 10

THE TALE OF embroidered woollen and linen cloth around about the tabernacle ' “ Thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains o f fine w m o f o ne t e d linen . The length cur tain shall be eight and twenty cubits , and the breadth o f one curtain four cubits And ’ thou shalt make curtains o f goats hair to be a covering upon t he tabernacle ' eleven curtains shalt thou make . The length of o ne curtain shall be thirty cubits , and the ” o breadth of ne curtain four cubits . A hanging for the door was also made of ” fine twined linen . A cubit was about o ne and eight tenths o f a foot ' the amount o f laborious spinning represented by those curtains will be better understood when we see later o n the s lowness o f the pro cess and yet so much was sent in that w a s Moses obliged to give commandment , saying , Let neither man nor woman make any more work fo r th e offering Of the ” sanctuary . Thus the Hebrew sanctuary o f o f God , the sacred place the ark , was built up , in this fifteenth century before ’ s o n n C hri t , the fo und ations Of woma s labor . 12 THE SPINNING—WHEEL

Let us turn fo r a moment to Greece . Once more we find woman ’ s handiwork holding an honorable place , for the patron goddess of spinning , weaving , and needle work is none other than Pallas Athene , the o f f warrior goddess wisdom , ounder and f protector of Athens , and hersel a spinner acknowledging no rival o r among gods men . Who does not know how the full fury o f her godhead was let loose upon the h w o luckless Arac ne , that mortal man who dared challenge her to a competition in Spinning and w e a v ’ ing ' Overhearing Arachne s boast that not even Pallas Athene herself o f could surpass the beauty her handiwork , and that s he would try her skill with the o r ff o f goddess , su er the penalty defeat , the wrathful divinity assumed the form of an o ld n woman , and tried to i duce the reckless girl to desist . Arachne persisted in her defiance , even when the goddess revealed herself in all her majesty . They then proceeded to the competition . Ovid tells us how they s t he wrought , each surpa sing t he other in 13 THE TALE OF wonderful living pictures woven into the d web , until at last the insulted god ess s hat ’ t e re d m re the mortal s loom to ato s , and vealed t o Arachne the full extent o f her impiety . 'nable to endure the thought of s he n s her guilt and shame , ha ged her elf forthwith . The goddess pitied her as she “ ' ' hung , and touching her said Live and that yo u may preserve the memory o f this s s o u le on , continue to hang , both y and your ” descendants , to all future times . To this ’ day the spider, Nature s busy spinner , bears witness to her fate , and to the outraged dignity o f the goddes s w ho thus honored the ’ Spins ter s art by competing therei n with a mortal . Surely the much abused epithet Of “ ” s e s pinster is entitled to respect , more pe c ia lly as this divine spinster honored also the unmarried state in choosing eve r to pursue h e r maiden meditations fancy ” free . Thus does Theocritus apostrophize the ' dist a fi

' O dist aﬂ rac t se d in w o o -s nn n ft o f the , p i l pi i g, gi ue-e e d M ner a bl y i v , 14 THE SPINNING—W HEEL

Labo r a t the e is ﬁtting to w ive s w ho se ek the go o d o f their husbands ' T rustfully c o me tho u w ith me t o the far famo us c o f N e eus ity l ,

' So that O distaﬂ o f o r c unn n fash o ne d I , iv y i gly i , give the e Int o the ha nds o f the w fe o f N ic ia s the s led i , kil a nd the le arned ' SO shalt tho u w e ave mantles fo r men and trans

pare nt tissues fo r w o men.

' A nd at the s ht 0 m distaﬂ sha o ne w o man ig , y , ll say t o a no the r ' Sure reat rac e e s in triﬁes and fts fro m ly g g li , gi ” friends are mo st prec io us '

’ This recalls A lc a ndra s gift O f a golden ' dist a ﬁ to Helen Of Troy ; and an interesting companion picture to these ancient Greeks is o w n w h o our Benjamin Franklin , thus presents a spinning -wheel to his sister in 6 1 73 6 a letter dated Jan . ,

A R T R DE SI S E , I am highly pleased with the account Captain Freeman gives me o f you . I always judged from your behavior o u when a child , that y would make a good , 15 THE TALE OF

o u n agreeable woman , and y k ow you were ever my peculiar favorite . I have been thinking what would be a suitable present f or me to make , and for you to receive , as I o u w hear y are gro n a celebrated beauty . I had almos t determined o n a tea-table ; but when I consider that the character o f a good hous e-wife was far preferable to that n n m c o n Of o ly bei g a pretty gentlewo an , I n s innin - w he el cluded to se d you a p g , which I hO pe you will accept a s a small token O f m n a nd ff . s y si cere love a ection Si ter , fare m s a s well , and reme ber that mode ty , it makes the mos t homely virgin amiable and s o n charming , the want of it i fallibly renders the most perfect beauty dis agreeable and h o f odious . But when t at brightest female v irtues shines among other perfections of a nd body mind , in the same person , it makes w n m the oma ore lovely than an angel . Excuse this freedom a nd us e the same with nn me . I am , dear Je y , n Your lovi g brother ,

R A L . B . F N K I N

’ Compare Franklin s sentiments e mpha sized still further in Poor Richard ’ s Almanac

16 THE SPINNING—WHEEL

’ Old England s Law s the pro udest Be a uty name he n s n e S nster and w hen marr ed Da me W i gl pi , i , ’ Fo r Ho use w ife ry is Wo man s no ble st Fa me . The w ise st ho useho ld Care s to Wo men yield

ar e a n use fu and a ra e fu F e d . A l g , l g t l i l

Fancy the horror which would congeal the soul o f Poor Richard to- day at the sight o f woman stepping boldly outside that “ large Field o f the kitchen and spinning room ' In the eyes o f both Greek and

American , the woman plying spindle and ' dis t a ﬂ was more nobly and graciously em ployed than the spoiled beauty gossiping over the teacups , for , says Richard ,

Ma n e st ate s are s o ed in the ett n y p il g i g,

Sinc e w o men fo r t ea fo rso o k spinning a nd knitting.

Nor should we forget th e august Fates themselves , who spin the thread of human n desti y , weaving it into the web Of universal life , and cutting here and there a thread as each mortal fulﬁls his allotted hour ,

A nd s n t o tho se w ho ho d the t a she ars i g l vi l , A nd turn the adamant ne s nd e ro und i pi l , On w h c h th f d w o und i e fat e o go s and men is . 2 1 7 T HE TALE OF Here we see the spindle as the emblem Of s w human de tiny , and al ays in the hands of n wome . Witness the three Norns , likewise, o w n w ho s it Of our northern ancestors , around the tree Igdrasil and spin o ut the ’ o n world s life their whirring spindle . If we a s k more we need only turn to c us Homer , the inimitable reﬂector Of the O f toms his day . In his verse the spinner she lives again , as spins the ﬁne white linen and gorgeous colored wool . Beautiful are t he s s he picture weaves into the cloth ,

- stories o f gods and demi gods and heroes . s n o f Ody seus , entering the feasti g hall the ae w Ph acians , is transﬁxed with onder at its splendor ; its seats , throughout all their length , were spread with the marvellous O f a n w n work the Ph eacian maide s , sho i g in a radiant the torchlight , for the Ph eacian women far exceeded all others in this house ae n n hold art . Did not the Ph acia quee recognize o n Odysseus the very garments s he hers elf a nd her maidens had made ' And all the while loyal -hearted Penelope sat at home and w ove her w e b to keep o ff S suitors , not to catch them , though hake. 18

THE TALE OF

Penelope sees through the wiles o f the false O dys s eus when he des cribes the garments h s he had made for the real o ne . T is cus tom o f the matron weaving the household cloth has thus given the Greek poets a favorite means of recognition of los t rela t iv e s which is certainly more poetic than “ the worn - o ut device O f the strawberry ” ” - mark on the long lost brother . Even the w ater nymphs practise weaving ; Circe a ls o a nd m , . Calypso ortals and immortals ; yea , the mighty Hercules himselfthrew down his club and spun fo r love of Omphale ' thus do Greek mythology a nd literature reﬂect the importance o f spindle and dis ff - o f ta in the home life the Greeks , who , as we have learned , recognized the value ’ and the dignity of woman s labor in b e lie v ing it to be under the particular tutelage and protection o f the dread daughter of

' eus . T he Romans C opied the Greeks in this as in many other things . They borrowed the s pinster-goddes s outright and called her Minerva to hide the plagiarism . O ur friend Poor Richard says ' 20 THE SPINNING —WHEEL

hen re at u ustus ru e d the o r d and Ro me W g A g l W l , The C o th he w o re w a s s un and w o e at Ho me l p v , ’ ” His EMP RESS ply d the Dist aff and the Lo o m.

o ut an Richard is borne by other authority , “ who s tates that Cae sar Augustus wore ” o r clothes made by his wife daughter . C o lla t inus The hapless Lucretia , wife of , ’ Tarquin s nephew , and Consul of Rome “ 509 B . C . in , was found spinning when ” s f her hu band visited her rom the camp . o f R O Gracious pictures these , haughty ma n o f C matrons , wives onsuls and emper ’ o rs i e , sp nning and w aving their husbands ft togas . It is not o en that we get such s Of co y and homelike thoughts Rome , whose very name recalls naught but ﬂ a sh ing legions and the clash o f swords on brass . Of And the women the north , where the family w a s the unit of society and the vi' lage was a clus ter of homes teads knit to gether by the ties of kindred — was the spinning -w heel heard in this land of our o w n ances tors ' In the poetic diction O f s the Nor emen , with its expressive double is substantives , we ﬁnd that the maiden 21 THE TALE OF

“ - s he called the linen folded , that is , who o r in In is clothed draped linen . the saga ” G unnla u - called g the Worm tongue , it is written '

Dead in m ne arms she dro o eth i p , ’ M de ar o ne o d-r n s e are r y , g l i g b ; Fo r G o d hath c hange d the life -days

Of this la dy o f the linen.

She who wa s folded in linen was the maker o f that linen ; a nd the beautiful ﬂowing draperies of Norse and Saxon women and the tunics of the men are as true witnesses to their homely occupations as the drapery o f no t the Greeks . Was it the doom o f the s n warrior maiden Brynhild , the di obedie t a nd sit Valkyr , to become a woman hy the ﬁre and spin ' For the rough nature o f the n North revolted from femi ine occupations , and this warrior daughter o f Wotan s a w in spinning only deep humiliation and disgrace . Thus the ancient northern literature is also full of pictures o f the women spinning their u n n w d ho sehold linen , spin i g their e ding n n O f li en , spinni g the linen husbands and o f sons. Noble ladies in the halls earl 22 THE SPINNING—WHEEL a nd w o f thane , ives in the lowlier homes a nd simple freemen , in the cots Of peasant and thrall they all spun a nd wove for the

- needs of the home . What music lover can ’ ever forget Wagner s picture Of the north ern maids o f later days assembled in a spin ning-bee to spin the wedding line n fo r o ne o f their number ' The merry hum of the wheels s o exquisitely C opied by orchestra a nd chorus , interrupted now and then by ’ Senta s plaintive song of the supernatural lover who ha s drawn her thoughts away — n from her betrothed , surely this spi ning chorus from the Flying D utchman will w live as long as music lives , and ill remain a representative instance o f this beautiful northern cus tom . - o f Again , in the rush strewn hall medi ae va l n o r k ight baron hung with tapestry , o f a nd n s the work his lady her dependa t , depicting his deeds and those Of his a n c e st o rs t he o f in , we read same tale the sp ning -wheel a nd distaff with its allied arts a nd Of weaving embroidery . s he s Nay , did not write hi tory , too , this l s n nob e spin ter , with her Spi dle and loom , 23 THE TALE OF

Who a s she e d the d staff , pli i , In a sw e et o c e and lo w v i , St san o f no e ho use s ill g bl , A nd ﬁghts fo ught lo ng ago

As Helen embroidered th e combats of n s o no w t w o Greeks and Troja s , , thousand s year later , ' ueen Ma tilda and her maidens are seen spinning a nd weavi ng the Norman C onquest Of Eng land into the Bayeux Tapes S the s try . urely mu e n Tro o s for the Mama at Enqla t ft om p C ll 0 might W ield Spin the Ba eur Ta estr . g —p= y fi dle as well as stylus as a symbol of her w a s m patronage O f his tory . It no sha e to ' those high -born w omen to ply the dist a fl and figure in the songs O f chivalry as the

makers of all manner Of household fabrics .

M o e t o ﬁ ht the Saxo n o es y l v g g , A nd bra vely shine s his sw o rd o f steel ; ’ A hero n s fe athe r dec s his ro w s k b , A nd a spur o n eithe r heel ;

24s THE SPINNING—WHEEL

His st ee d is ac er ha n a s o e bl k t l , A nd ﬂe eter than the fa lling star ; ’ Amid the surging ranks he 11 go

A nd sho ut fo r jo y o f w ar.

Tw n e tw n e rett s nd e i kl , i kl , p y pi l , Le t the w hit e w o o l drift and dw indle ; Oh w e w eave a da ma sk do ublet ’ Fo r m o e s c o at o f st e e y l v l . Hark 'the timid t urning t rea dle Cro o n n so ft o ld-fash o ne d d es i g i itti , To t he lo w s o w murmu o f the , l r ” B ro w n ro und w he e . , l

SO s a o sang an Iri h maid Of long g , and to -day we still look to Ireland for some o f the ﬁnest spinning and weaving in ex

ist e nc e .

t o It would be trite refer to Margaret , n O f dreami g Faust over her spinning , were s he not eminently typical . What maiden o f the ﬁfteenth and sixteenth centuries did not s it in the garden idly spinning her a l lotted tas ks while her thought s were far w ' a ay It is a picture based on fact , as all great literary pictures are . But o ur o w n immediate foremothers us beckon , and we must linger no longer 25 TALE OF

THE TALE OF

, n in 1 7 3 m on Harris Plai s 2 . He had arried O f Mary Hopkins West Hartford , and lived s S n ju t below the ymingto Cottage . His daughter Abigail married a cous in Asa a nd m Hopkins , their son Harris arried

Margaret Peck , sister of Paul Peck , the ” a nd m o f mighty hunter, beca e the father m t he nn n -w Willia Hopkins of spi i g heel . m n William was a clever echa ic , and made ’ t o N ic s n this wheel suit y particular fa cy . o f o ne — a ne w It has two heads instead , O ld o ne and an fashioned , and the edge of the wheel is narrow a nd has a little groove n N in it instead Of bei g broad and flat . icy n f Meli da married John A . Woodru f, and lived o n a farm this side o f the Town - house first ; then they sold o ut there and came n Lit c hfie ld s i to , where they took up a re i S She n n o n i 1888 . de ce West treet . died ’ She w a s f s s n a nd Woodru f eco d wife , her ' - rs dru M . . W o o fl step daughter , Abbie M m Lit c hfie ld Newco b , has loaned to the Historical Society a collection o f linen a nd n ns s o f spun wove by her . It co i ts

- s s sheets , pillow lip , as they were called , and — table cloths and there is also a red broad 28 THE SPINNING—WHEEL

- cloth cloak entirely home made . Her reel in ha s is also still existence , and been pre sented to this Society . The illustration sho w s the marking on the linen w orked by n - d her in black sewi g silk , the ﬁne threa s being counted at every stitch . Think Of

‘ ‘ ‘ s Xx a ‘ ( ‘ fl K s, t h e lab or represented by every inch o f this i l nen , whose sheen is hardly surpassed by n o r o n n the fi est silk satin , made a lo ely n m m n Co necticut far by a busy wo a , for whom it was only o ne O f innumerab le other tasks . Perhaps we had best pause here to n o f n n outli e this process li en ma ufacture , that we may the better understand what the work Of women like Nicy Melinda meant to o ur in e country her time , but more parti ula rly in the earlier times of the colonies and the Revolution. In speaking o f the 29 THE TALE OF patriotic devotion o f the men in o ur war fo r n n o f indepe de ce , their bravery in battle, their dignity a nd wis dom in the council n hall , their patie t endurance Of every hard s no t ship and privation , we mu t forget that their ability to meet thes e demands and to w n be hat they were , was due to the i de pe nde nc e of their homes o f every outside s o f l help in upplying the necessaries ife , and this independence was due solely to n s the patient industry, the u cea ing and volu minous manual labor o f our grandmothers t h o from their earlies child ood t their death . Every home farm supplied it s o w n food a nd n n n a nd dri k , medicine , fuel, lighti g , clothi g , “ T he n Shelter . very term li en as em o ur n n o ployed by a cestors , mea t the h me “ ” n made article , holland always signifyi g that w hich w a s imported Almost every o f us e article , in short , household and con s n w a s - a nd - umptio home made , home made m ’ by the wo en . Women s hands made all t he supplies of soap and candles ; they dis tilled all the medicines from the herbs Of the field they stocked the larder with pies s m and pickle , ja s and jellies and preserves ; 3 0 THE SPINNING —WHEEL

they brewed the mead and metheglin , and all other household drinks ; they churned the butter a nd made the cheese ; they ran w Lit c hﬁe ld bullets , as we very well kno in , w here the leaden statue of G eorge III . , w w torn do n from the Bo ling Green , New

, a nd , York hurried thither ' was melted by ’ Lit c hﬁe ld s patriot women 1n the back o r h o f a nd c ard Oliver Wolcott ; lastly, they s pun into thread and yarn the ﬂ ax and w a s o n wool that raised the farm , and then t o f knit ed every pair stockings and mittens , n Of n wove every i ch li en and woolen cloth , a nd cut and made every stitch Of clothing worn by a family which generally num bered ten o r a dozen Johns and Hezekiahs a nd Josiahs and Hepzibahs and Mehitable n w a o A ns . No onder man could g to the ’ e war for his country s independenc , when he left Independence herself at home m the pers on of his wife . NO properly brought up maiden o f those days w ould think herself prepared to marry ” until s he had collected in her linen- chest ne c e s s a rl e s n all the of housekeepi g spun , a nd s s Often woven , by her elf, be ides all 3 1 THE TALE OF

t o things necessary complete her trousseau . Ten pairs o f linen sheets at leas t s he mus t she w - f have , and must knit a pillo slip ull ” Of stockings before she could even think

Of the happy event . Thus the time Of a young girl was largely used in spinning her o w n o r wedding outﬁt , whether rich poor , ff h s it made no di erence . The wealt ie t Spun t he with the poorest , and you will ﬁnd Spinning -wheel o f both kinds in the musty o ld n n o f s i ve tories e tates of every value , - o f and in the setting out every bride , ’ whether she left a farmer s lonely home o r o f stead , the proud colonial mansion the well-to -do the millionaire w a s an unknown species then . Let us now s e e how much work there n n o ne was in this spin i g , which was only Of those numberless other things our grand o mothers had t do .

Flax was sown in May , and when the plants were three or four inches high , they d were weeded by the women and chil ren , walking barefoot on account o f the tender o f o r stalks . At the end June , in July , it was pulled up very carefully by the roots 3 2 T HE SPINNING—WHEEL

o ut by men and boys and laid to dry , being turned several times in the sun ' this Oper “ ” n ation was called pulling and spreadi g . m “ ” Then ca e the rippling , a process by which the stalks of ﬂax were drawn with a quick stroke through an iron wire comb

HETC

with coarse teeth ' this broke O ff the seed bolls , which were caught in a sheet and ’ saved for the next year s crop . The flax w a s w a s still in the field , where it now tied “ ” ” n “ in bu dles , called beats or bates , and stacked in a tent-shaped stack called a “ ” st o c k W dr . hen the stacks were y they were again treated with water to rot the “ w a leaves . This s called retting the bates o f flax were piled in running water in f fo r a solid heap , and le t about five days , when they were taken up a nd the rotting leaves removed . When cleaned and dried 3 3 3 THE TALE OF

the flax was once more tied in bundles . It w a s then broken by me n on the great fl a x - brake in order to separate the fibres a nd n d get out from the ce tre the hard , woo y “ “ ” s s in r hexe or b un. Thi clum y s t u m f ent need not be described here , urther than to s ay that a heavy beam set with n n s e t slats , hi ged to an u der beam also with s lats corresponding to the intervals of o ne w a s a nd w the upper , weighted allo ed to o n in fall the flax laid between . The flax w a s n w n usually broke t ice , the scutched o r sw ingled with a s w ingling block and knife to remove any remaining bits o f bark . The clean fibres were then made “ ” n into bu dles called strikes , which were w s ingled again , the refuse from the pro fo r cess being used coarse bagging . The “ ” “ o r strikes were sometimes beetled , pounded in a wooden trough over a nd over until soft . The flax was now ready for the s s o f o r he t c he lin proce hackling g, which required great dexterity o n the part Of the h e t c he le r . The flax fibres were carefully drawn tow ards the he t c he le r through the o f s e e s s teeth the hetchel ( illustration , page 3 4

THE TALE OF taff ; the spinner seated herself at this fa m m n iliar imple e t and spun out a long , even s s o n thread from the ma of ﬁbre the distaff. This thread s he wound o n bobbins as s he s n pun it , and when the bobbi s were full , she wound it O ff o n a reel into knots and s - keins . This was the clock reel , which ticked when a certain number Of strands “ had been wo und in a knot then the nn spi er would pause and tie the knot , and if at that moment some ardent admirer were w atching this pretty and graceful o c c u a t io n p , it is not at all likely that the busy spinster could escape a more tangible proof o f his admiration , for it is written that He kissed Mistress Polly w hen the clock -reel ” ticked . Doubtless John Alde n improved his Opportuni ties when he was told to speak for himself ; at

least , let us hope that Priscilla did no t have to

hint about everything . It was a good day ’ s work to spin t w o skeins 3 6 T HE SPINNING—WHEEL

o f twenty knots each , every knot having usually forty threads For this work a woman earned eight cents a day and her o f keep . In the valley Wyoming , where s o many Connecticut families emigrated to meet their terrible doom later on at the hands of the Indians, a woman was paid six shillings a week for her labor at spinning . Before the threads could be woven they ha d s till to pass through a long a nd labori o us process O f bleaching by soaking them in many waters , then with hot water and a nd ashes over over again , then in clear water again for a week , then a ﬁnal seeth ing , rinsing , beating , washing , drying , and n n wi di g on bobbins , when they were at last ready for the loom . Such was the far from simple process o f ﬂ a x- culture and spinning on the farm when w e remember that wool culture and n Spi ning was scarcely less laborious , and that the home weaving o f both kinds Of thread has not yet been taken into the account , we shall begin to realize what ’ it meant to the women O f 76 when they voluntarily took oath to wear naught but 3 7 T HE TALE OF

a nd i homespun , they and their sons the r s daughter . But there was much social enjoyment in it too , and much interest excited by the Offering o f prizes to efﬁcient and ra pl d s pin w a s st e rs . It not unusual for a woman in those days to tuck her baby under o ne O ff arm , tie her wheel behind her , and trot o n horseback to spend the day in s pinning

- - with a neighbor . Many a well to do matron “ had a to uch so skilful that s he could t w o spin threads , one in each hand , while s he kept the treadle o f her fl a x -wheel mov ing with her foot , held the baby asleep s k acro s her knees, and tal ed with her vis ” itors . Or , when weather permitted , the n wide hospitable door would be throw open , and the thrifty house- wife in afternoon dress ’ o f mull o r ‘ taffety and a fine cambric a nd apron , would step back forth before the great wool -wheel set in the space w a y Spinning fine yarn w hile neighbors ” dropped in . o f - s find Speaking two handed wheel , I the following quaint advertisement in t he Hart fo r n 5 1801 ford Courant Ja uary , 3 8 THE SPINNING —WHEEL

A L L kinds Of S P I N N I N G W H E E L S and RE E L S made and repaired by JOE L B A L D W IN O f Bristol living o n the road from - Cambridge Meeting House to Farmington . JV' B . . Two handed wheels are highly recommended to young Women , as they o ne f o n can spin third aster them .

R T L . B I S O , Dec

And then the spinning -bees and spinning — classes the sewing circles of those days . Both Connecticut and Massachusetts a s early as 1640 took legal steps t o encourage n O f the culture and spin ing flax , and every family was ordered to spin a certain amount o n o f f Of flax a year penalty a fine , and o ten ff fo r prizes were O ered quantity and quality . On Boston Common the spinsters would s it sometimes meet with their wheels , and — them down to spin rich and poor alike , to o f the number , once , three hundred . Think yo u the haughty spinsters of Boston would do the like to - day ' On o ne occasion they were preached to by the minister in a long n o f and profitable sermo , and a collection 4 £ 53 was taken up . This most e difying e 1 754 vent took place in . 3 9 THE TALE OF

S e rmons and spinning evidently went

fo r . Lit c hﬁe ld hand in hand , I ﬁnd in the ” “ fo r 16 1 798 f Monitor May , , the ollow ing item Of news '

' T H A R M 7 . SO F S , May 2d On Wednesday , the instant visited ﬁ mo s Cha s e o f . at the house the Rev , about 60 Of his female friends parishioners Who made the very acceptable presenta tion o f seventy run o f Yarn to his family . In the course o f the decent and cordial s o c ia ltie s o f f n the a ternoo , the ladies were entertained by their Pastor with a sermon s n — adapted to the occa io , from these words , 4 3 W ha t c a n I th da . do is Gen xxxi . , , y, unto thes e my da ught ers

From an address by the Rev . Grant Pow ers on the occasion Of the centennial o f w G C o n anniversary the to n of oshen , ne c tic ut 183 8 w , in , I quote the follo ing account o f a great spinning -match among the ladies about 1 772

s innin -ma t c h There arose a p g , among o f the young married ladies , at the house N ehemiah Lewis . The trial was at the 40 THE SPINNING—WHEEL

- foot wheel in spinning linen . The con ditio ns were previously defined and agreed t he to , viz . They might spin during whole - twenty four hours if they chose . They ffs fo r were to have their dista prepared them , and their yarn reeled by others . ' pon the ’ l first trial at Lews house many did wel . o f n t s The wife Stephe Tu tle pun five runs , which were equal to two and a half days ’ o n labour when hire . Several others spun Mr Off four runs each ; but s . Tuttle came o f victor . But this aroused the ambition some of the unmarried ladies , and Lydia

o f . Beach , the daughter Dea Edmund o f - Beach , East street , was the ﬁrst to come forward and take up the gauntlet . ’ She spun from early dawn to nine o clock in the evening . She had her distaffs pre f pared , her yarn reeled , and her ood put n i to her mout h . She spun in this time ’ seven runs , three and a half days labour , a nd f r took the wreath rom the brow Of M s . ” Tuttle .

- Mr . Powers adds in a foot note ,

Some o f o ur Matrons s a y that ten runs ’ were a week s labour ; if s o Miss Lydia performed the labour o f four days and one ” ﬁfth o f o ne a day in day . 4 1 THE TALE OF

'pon hearing o f the exploit Of Miss Beach 'he continues in his address'the wife of Capt . Isaac Pratt , of the South part of the town , came upon the arena . Between early dawn and the setting Of the s un s he s ix , had actually spun runs , but at this moment her husband interfered , and peremptorily forbade her proceeding further . Sh e s a t down , and wept like a child , when o s she ought to have rejoiced , that she p sessed a husband , in whose eyes her future health and happiness were more precious , than the brief applause which might arise ” from success in that contest .

He goes o n to s a y that Lydia Beach b e s o n came the wife of Jesse Buel , of Capt . w a s Jonathan B uel , while her garland yet fresh upon her brow ; but the doating husband was destined to see it wither down n to the grave , for Lydia never e joyed health ” from the hour of her triumph . From this it is evident that the spinning wheel as well as the sewing -machine has h a d t W i s victims . It was ell for these toil ing women Of the pioneer towns if they had husbands thoughtful enough to stop in time -s a c riﬁc e o f the self daily labor at the wheel , 42

THE TALE OF

O f with a thorn . Think that , all ye modern women to whom sewing is enough o f a “ thorn in itself without using another to s e w with . Everywhere these Daughters met together to spin , once to the number Of seventy in

' o ne . place In Rowley , Massachusetts , “ ” - s thirty three respectable ladie , as the story runs , met at sunrise with their w heels to s pend the day at the house O f the e de dia h the Reverend J Jewell , in laudable ” - design of a spinning match . Of course the Rev . Jedediah preached to them ; but they were als o given bodily sus tenance in “ the form o f a polite and generous re ” n s o f past . All ho or to the e Daughters the olden time w hose spinni ng - wheels did ’ surely spin o ut their country s glorious de s “ ” ' s o f s n tiny ' ueen Home pu , Horace w w Bushnell called such omen , out of hom ” A nd we draw our royal lineage . to o f day , another patriotic society forty thou n n sa d modern Daughters , their descenda ts , have s urely honored thems elves in choos ing for their ins ignia this very spinning -wheel ' dis t a ﬂ l and , this symbo Of their grand 4 4 THE SPINNING—WHEEL

’ mother s toil and self- s a c riﬁc e and patriot ism for in that little emblem are embodied all the blood and tears , the sorrow , the rejoicing , and the patient , steadfast labor o f the women Of t he American R e vo lu w tion . The Rev . Mr . Po ers in his cen t e nnia l ft address , a er eulogizing the men , thus speaks o f these patriot women Of o ur land

o f men Nor do we speak these only , mo thers w ives a nd but their , their their h s u da ug ter were like them . They s s t a ine d their full share in all the trials a nd o f s dangers the Ocean , of the wildernes , and o f war ' Their courage in times of t he l r peril , and fortitude in trials never for sook them ' They gave up their husbands “ and their sons for the cause o f God and their country , and their example was all

. n powerful And this was true , not o ly o f P il rim o f in g women , but women the s Revolution . This town posse sed them . I will give one instance of this that it ma y be a memorial o f her . Abraham Parmele w a s a warm patriot in the Revolution w t he but in this it is said , he was thro n into s hade by the patriotism o f his wife Mary 45 THE TALE OF

Stanley that was . She was fixed in the s O f righteousness of the cau e the colonies , s he d h and when war broke out , sai t ey would prevail ' She said she could pray for the . cause of America ; a nd not in the s O f darke t period the conflict , when many b a nds o faces were pale , and many were n ’ n their loi s , did this woman s confidence fail — a nd her in the least , her actions corre s o nde d ff p with her words . Four di erent times did she fit o ut her own son Theodore for the battlefield , and gave him her parting bless ing ; and with her o w n hands did she ’ no t make five soldiers blankets , to sell , but sent them a present to the poor soldiers , who , the da after the battles Of y, had neither bed nor covering for the night . Could soldiers thus sus tained ever relinquish the cause of their country ' Never '

In Townsend , Massachusetts , it is said that a devoted mother a nd her daughters

' did in a day a nd a night shear a black a nd a s w white heep , card from the ﬂeece a gray ool , n a nd o f spi , weave , cut , make a suit clothes fo r the boy whom they were sending o ff to ” ﬁght for liberty . W . J . Stillman in his Autobiography tells o f a similar instance 46 THE SPINNING—WHEEL

’ e W o rt occurring in the pastor s family in N p , h R ode Island , in whose home his mother grew up . Coming from such homes as these , no ’ o f 76 wonder that the boys won that fight . But New England was not alone in her o f fl a x encourage ment and wool culture . ro fu Virginia , where wild flax grew in p sion , was even earlier than Massachusetts fl a x - in arousing an interest in spinning . In 1646 - , two spinning schools were established ff in Jamestown , and prizes were o ered for w a s e n the best work , until the whole colony gaged in this home industry . Every great

- and little plantation had its spinning house , where the female slaves were kept busily spinning , the mistress herself joining in the o f f work . We are course reminded o the

- spinning house at Mount Vernon , where Lady Washington marshalled her dusky n s he spi ners . It is said that ravelled and o ld dyed her silk gowns and silk scraps, and - had them woven into chair covers . Some s he e a times did the r verse , w eaving dress for herself out o f ravelled cushions and the ’ General s Old silk stockings . o f Madame Pinckney , another dame high 4 7 T HE TALE OF

degree , was actively instrumental in start S ing the ﬂax industries of outh Carolina . The German settlers Of Germantown were ﬂ a x - also great growers , as attested by their w - to n seal , the device of their leader , Fathe r

Pastorius . And what we now know as

COTTON IN

Germantown still testifies to their pro fic ie nc In y the wool industries . The wives and daughters o f the S w edis h 1673 colony , as early as , employed them s ih s nn n a nd flax n selve pi i g wool , and ma y in weaving ; a nd the excellence shown by the wool a nd flax workers of New York o c c a s io ne d s - unea iness in the mother country , which rightly s a w in it the possible inde pe nde nc e of the colonies O f all English n cloth a d clothing . The productio n and manufacture of cotton w a 1 770 s not taken up in this country until , 48 THE SPINNING—W HEEL three years after the invention o f the spin - t he ning jenny by Hargreaves . Cotton , in e fla x o n earliest times , was spun lik , first ff the hand dista , and then on a wheel like the fl a x Fo r e wheel . some tim after its introduction into this country , it was far m ore expensive , and con s ide re d more o f a lux w a s ury , than linen . It called by the East In dian name Of hum ” - hum . A work pocket in the Lit c hfie ld His t o ric a l Society (s e e illustration'contains a piece o f the first cotton cloth made in h America . T e po c ke t is large and was worn at the side , evidently to hold flax in while spinning , for some flax still remains in it . n o f The growi g and spinning cotton cannot , however , be counted among the truly colo n s nial i du tries . 49 THE TALE OF The Stamp Act soon stirred all patri otic Philadelphians to the resolve to eat no “ ” — a meat Of the mutton kind , resolve rendered still more stern in 1 775 . A wool Mr f s . actory was fitted up , and , to quote 1 w a s Alice Morse Earle , an appeal made to the women to save the state . In a month four hundred wool -spinners were at work . In the same year the Provincial Congress made an appeal to the people for thirteen thousand warm coats fo r the Con t ine nt a l army , to be ready for the soldiers when winter came . It was a time when all preparations for the war seemed to be in the most hopeless snarl , and army sup plies were scarce and Often lacking . To day a contractor would make nothing o f the s job , po sibly in more senses than one but a hundred years ago the wool -wheels and hand - looms were s e t humming by hundreds

- Of hearth stones , and , writes Mrs . Earle “ again , the order was ﬁlled by the handi o f In work patriotic American women . the record book o f some New E ngland towns

1 T o w h o se c h a rmin b o o k Ho me L e in Co lo nia l Da s I am g , if y , nd bt o t i e ed f r many fa c t s relat ing o c o lo nial spinning . 50

THE TALE OF

. on, equal footing over their work Home spun became s o universal a commodity that imported woolens w ere not missed when the time came to forbid them the country . It w a s a process o f many months o f hard labor to convert the ra w fleece into the “ ” all-wool goods a yard wide which w e s o — e o ld cut up recklessly to day . Anoth r an saying , dyed in the wool , represents o f other laborious process , that dyeing the h o wool wit homemade dyes . All kinds f w homely flo ers were used for these dyes , a beautiful green being made from goldenrod mixed with indigo . Blue, made from the O ld - blue paper that wrapped the sugar loaf, and from indigo bought fro m travelling pedlers , was the favorite color , possibly because the easiest to Obtain ; and the old blue dye-pot sto od constantly in the chim ’ ney corner like the Frenchwoman s p o t - a u e n n f u . We ca not help wo dering if the ” coats of the Homespuns were blue . And the familiar blue of the patriot army ' ’ W a s that also women s work ' h After t e dyeing came the carding , a very deft process , and also a very dirty one , for 52 THE SPINNING —WHEEL the wool had first t o be rubbed with melted ’ — s w ine s grease three pounds of grease to s ten of wool . Thi process corresponded in purpose and method to the he t c he ling Of w a s flax , as the wool drawn into parallel fibres through bent wire teeth s e t in a leather or wooden rectangle , called a wool

- card . Here are the wool cards of Maria o f Tallmadge , second wife Colonel Ben jamin Tallmadge , the famous major Of ’ n Connecticut s Second Light Dragoo s , the friend of Lafayette and confidant o f Wash ingt o n they belong to the valuable collee o f Lit c hfie ld tion the Historical Socie ty . By these clumsy- looking implements the w a s wool was twisted into little rolls , and mm then ready for sp ng. This wool-spinning called for the most o f to alert and graceful series movements , w hich our foremothers o w e in large part their poise and dignity of carriage . The o f little roll wool was placed on the Spindle, the great wheel was given a quick turn , and the spinner stepped quickly backward three o r four steps , holding the twisting yarn in her left hand high above her head then with a 53 THE TALE OF quick forward movement s he let it w md around the bobbin , and the process was repeated . An active spinner could spin six skeins a day , and to do this it is estimated that she walked with her backward and fo r ward steps Over twenty miles . Yarn was wound from the spindle o n - o n - clock reels , and also hand reels called “ nidd - s y noddie . To be knitted it had also to be washed and cleaned . To spin the finest yarn was a much de w sired accomplishment among house ives , It is said that o ne Mistres s Mary Prigge once spun a pound Of wool into eighty -four

— - thousand yards that is , nearly forty eight miles . All these different manipulations lasted h e many months , thoug they could be a com plis he d in much shorter time ; they also s a n n furni hed occupation for e tire family , w n from the grandmother do to the children , when o n long winter evenings they all as sembled before the kitchen ﬁre . It is impossible here to go into the home process Of weaving this wool and linen thread ; but it was no less laborious than 54 THE SPINNING-a W HEEL

Suﬂic all that had gone before . e it to say that in almos t every house throughout N e w n n Engla d , Pe nsylvania , and Virginia the

' w a s f hand loom to be ound , and every ’ farmer s daughter could weave as well as spin, although weaving was not so wholly ’ woman s work as was spinning . Homespun

linen after being woven had to undergo about forty processes Of bleaching , as it was still It light brown in color . was often kept out o n i the grass for weeks at a time , unt l at leas t sixteen months had elapsed since the planting o f the ﬂ a xs e e d to the ﬁnal evol a

- tion Of the finished sheet or pillow case . n What modern li en is as firm , solid , and - close woven , and capable Of being used a hundred years hence as this can be used to day ' W hat needle-work so fine ' One can hardly believe that the same b a nds which made the soap and gre ased the wool could hem like that , embroider the finest edging 55 THE TALE OF

- and other work , make bead bags , and knit - the daintiest lace . All around women they must have been to pass back and forth from the coarsest to the ﬁnest labor , and to keep their minds alert a s well . Listen to one ’ 1 775 Abigail Foote s diary , in the year , and she a young girl

’ ’ Fix d — gown for Prude , Mend Mother s ’ - u Fix d Riding hood , Sp n short thread , ’ w two go ns for Welsh s girls , Carded t o w o n , Spun linen , Worked Cheese ’ Ha t c he l d basket , ﬂax with Hannah , we 1 - — n 5 . a did lbs piece , Pleated and iro ed , ’ D o ddrid e s Read a sermon of g , Spooled n a piece , Milked the cows , Spu linen , 50 did knots , Made a Broom Of Guinea w — t o w wheat stra , Spun thread hiten , — Set a Red dye , Had two Scholars from ’ Mr — o f s . I Taylor s , carded two pounds a tio nl whole wool and felt N y, Spun har ness twine , scoured the pewter .

n w e a v All this besides washing , cooki g , n ing tape , knitting , weedi g , picking geese , and making social visits . And yet we talk about modern rush and hurry , and the ” is strenuous life . It merely a change 56 THE SPINNING—WHEEL o f e occupation . W hear it constantly said ’ o f n - our a cestors ﬁne needle work , delicate

- “ hand writing , etc . , Oh , they had more ” time to do such things . Would not Abi o u ' gail Foote dispute that , think y Also

T AP E LOOM

Ma Mrs . John y, a prominent Boston woman , who writes in her diary for o ne day

A large kettle of yarn to attend upon .

Lucretia and self rinse , scour through many n waters , get out , dry , atte d to , bring in , do up and sort 1 10 score of yarn ; this with baking and ironing . Then went to hackling ” ﬂax .

’ Now she was not an over-worked farmer s f o f wi e , but a city woman , the wife a colonel . I do not believe they had o ne bit more time than we have . Manners and customs 57 THE TALE OF

change , but this busy world was always “ ’ is busy , and it true of all ages that woman s work is never done . There are those who regret the disuse o f these homely occupa s ff tions , aying that the home has su ered “ ’ with the modern broadening o f woman s ” sphere . They forget that a sphere must f o ut round itsel on all sides , leaving the centre at the same point ' the rounding o ut ’ o f woman s sphere leaves her centre still the home . And the home still centres in the woman ; the country still centres in the o f o c home , and no mere change womanly ’ c upa tio n can alter God s fundamental law O f human society . But for the comfort of those who would still see woman spinning ” o ld w o f as in the good times , it is orthy note that in Deer Isle , Maine , the spinning match is still extant . True to patriotic l- tradition , the woo spinners there have formed a Martha Washington Benevolent ” Society , which for ﬁfty years , without a n n - break , has held an a nual spin ing match in o r August , twenty more women assembling n with their great wheels , and spi ning with - o f all the Old time dexterity . One their 58

THE TALE OF artistic possibilities of the Old spinning and weaving were recognized a fe w years ago by

. s um Mrs Volk while living at Lovell , her in mer home Maine , and she has success fully established there her new indu s try o f

- home rug making , every process of which is marked with the sincerity Of hand -work a noble handicraft indeed . Thus this time n ho ored occupation still thrives in the East , while in the remote and mountaino us regions in the South , handweaving and Spinning are still household arts as also in many foreign countries . But here must end the tale Ofthe spinning in n wheel ma y ages and climes , though the tale is not half told . We have seen the centuries bear witness to the dignity Of ’ n o f o ld woma s manual labor , which the dus ty s pmmng-wheel is a s glorious a sym bol as are the tattered battle - fl a gs a token ’ - o f the soldier s hard fought field . Patriot is m - , self devotion , sacrifice all speak to us ’ o ne from the and from the other . Woman s labor has supported the home , has filled the

- breach in war time , has clothed the world , n s o o Fo r u and co tinues to do t day . tho gh 60 THE SPINNING—WHEEL

- the spinning wheel is mute , the sewing f no t machine and the actory are , and the

Song of the Shirt goes o n forever . The Daughters O f Liberty spun for their country ’ 76 in the days of , and they have lived again ’ in every pe rl o d Of their country s need in ’ w the Sanitary Commission , in the omen s “ ” in Red Cross Auxiliaries , the Dames _ - and Daughters o f t o day . Let us thank God that we had such foremothers ; thank Him that they and the forefathers gave us a country o f which we may still be proud ; thank Him that their spirit is still alive in o ur fo r s midst , as the upri ing Of that spirit o ur s 1 776 drove the tyrant from shore in , so it ha s n ever Since arise , and still will rise to de liver o ur country from the perils o f the hour - the peril from the greedy and corrupt o f politician , the perils popular ignorance

- and luke warm patriotism , and all other perils consequent upon the loss o f o ur fore ’ fathers ideals . May this spirit never die , fo r the day o f its disappearance is the day ’ o ur he Of country s doom . It is t duty and the privilege o f o ur great Society to s e e “ ” N e w that Old England never fails us , 61 TALE OF THE SPINNING—WHEEL for it is her spirit that has burned high in the breast of American womanhood from a nd it s Bunker Hill till now , there stands n s - wit e s . Honor the Old spinning wheel and n all it sig iﬁes , and to the spinster

Give her o f the fruit Of her hands a nd let her works praise her in the gates .