THE BEGINNING OF WARMTH AND COMFORT 73 



mounted on a handle and having a cover. Live coals were 

 placed in the pan and it was then moved about between the 

 sheets till the chill and the dampness were removed. 



In the living room in Whittier's old home, at Haverhill, 

 Massachusetts, can be seen today the fireplace and its old 

 andirons upon which once rested the blazing logs. The crane 

 fastened to the left-hand jamb supports numerous pot-hooks 

 and pots. Two pairs of tongs lean against the jambs. In the 

 wall at the right is the oven with its iron door. Hanging at 

 the left of the fireplace is the warming pan and the lantern. 

 The latter consists merely of a tin can with many small holes 

 punched in its sides and a socket within to hold the candle 

 upright. On the floor beneath them is the foot-warmer. 

 Beyond the door is the flax wheel and the desk at which 

 Whittier wrote all of his earlier poems. The candlesticks and 

 candles are on the desk. 



"And for the winter fireside meet, 

 Between the andiron's straddling feet, 

 The mug of cider simmered slow, 

 The apples sputtered in a row." 



This old living room has been restored till it accurately 

 represents the home conditions in which the Quaker poet lived 

 and wrote his earlier poems. 



For two centuries after the landing of the Pilgrims the 

 people of New England shivered throughout the long, bleak 

 New England winters. Most of the colonists had come from 

 much milder climates and the icy blasts which met them were 

 most trying. In many instances the suffering was intense. 

 In the first place, many of the houses were not well constructed 

 and the cold wind would creep in. In the second place, the 

 huge fireplaces but poorly heated the one room which was 

 supposed to be warmed. Even though Whittier wrote: 



"What matter how the night behaved! 

 What matter how the north wind raved! 

 Blow high, blow low, not all its snow 

 Could quench our hearth-fire's ruddy glow," 



