EDUCATION 59 



" to piece a patch, to patch a patch, to patch a pair 

 of trousers-knee." 



With ribbed mittens, long thick stockings, new 

 shoes and over-socks for warmth, a large fluffy 

 muffler, a new suit warmly lined and often padded, 

 we met the on-coming winter blasts without a 

 shiver, although we seldom wore overcoats. 



Being only a farm kid I cannot remember dis- 

 tinctly what the girls and women wore. Their 

 underwear was of necessity of tow and linen in 

 summer and some kind of thick wool in winter. 

 They wore linsey-woolsey skirts, while their outer 

 garments were of wool, home-produced, or calico 

 or gingham or, for the best dress of the well-to-do 

 women, silk. It was the invariable custom for the 

 purchaser of a farm to make a present of a dress 

 to the wife or eldest daughter of the seller. If the 

 amount of the realty was large, a silk dress; if 

 small then a gingham dress, discharged the obli- 

 gation demanded by the custom of the country. 



EDUCATION 



My mother taught me to read and to figure up 

 to and including the multiplication table. Often 

 my lesson was learned before the winter daylight 

 broke by the great fireplace, while she was knitting 



