Young folks' history of the United States . hercock,and sometimes many. The houses were kept veryclean inside and out, — as clean as they still are in Hol-land, where you may see the neat housekeepers scrub-bing their doorsteps, even when the rain is pouringdown upon their heads. The furniture in these houses Their fur<was plain and solid, — heavy claw-footed chairs, pol-ished mahogany tables, and cupboards full of old silverand china. Clocks and watches were rare; and the timewas told by hour-glasses and sun-dials. The floors were 94 YOUNG FOLKS UNITED STATES. covered with white sand, on w
Young folks' history of the United States . hercock,and sometimes many. The houses were kept veryclean inside and out, — as clean as they still are in Hol-land, where you may see the neat housekeepers scrub-bing their doorsteps, even when the rain is pouringdown upon their heads. The furniture in these houses Their fur<was plain and solid, — heavy claw-footed chairs, pol-ished mahogany tables, and cupboards full of old silverand china. Clocks and watches were rare; and the timewas told by hour-glasses and sun-dials. The floors were 94 YOUNG FOLKS UNITED STATES. covered with white sand, on which many neat figureswere traced with a broom. There were great openfireplaces, set round with figured tiles of different colorsand patterns, commonly representing scriptural sub-jects, — the ark, the prodigal son, and the childrenof Israel passing the Red Sea. In the evening theyburned pine-knots for light, or home-made tallow-can-dles. Every house had two or more spinning-wheels;and a huge oaken chest held the household linen, all. DUTCH HOUSE. Habits ofthe Dutch. of which had been spun upon these wheels by thewomen of the family. Many of the citizens had also country-houses, calledboweries, with porches, or stoeps, on which themen could sit and smoke their pipes ; for the Dutchcolonists did not work so hard as those in New Ens:-land : they moved about more slowly, and took moreleisure, and amused themselves more, in a quiet were not gay and light-hearted, and fond of dan OLD DUTCH TIMES IN NEW YORK. 95 cing, like the French settlers in Canada; but they likedplenty of good eating and drinking, and telling stories,and hearty laughter, and playing at bowls on smoothgrass-plots. It was the Dutch who introduced variousfestivals that have been preserved ever since in Amer-ica ; such as Santa Claus, or St. Nicholas, at , colored eggs at Easter, and the prac-tice of New-Years visiting. They kept very earlyhours, dining at eleven or twelve, and ofte
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