202 THE RIGHT TO BE WELL BORN 



IN OLD NEW YOEK. 



As a small boy, it was my wont to ride 

 around with my mother on her social calls ; 

 and many were the old Dutch, English and 

 Scotch families, in addition to the Puritan 

 and Quaker families that we used to visit. 

 I remember them all well, their peculiai:i- 

 ties and much of their family histories. In- 

 sanity and consumption were much more 

 prevalent in the old families of New York 

 in those days than they are today. 



My mother was a Puritan. Her ances- 

 tors were English, but had lived in Delft, 

 Holland, before coming with the Hartford 

 Colony in America. In the homes of 

 these old proud Dutch families, she was 

 exceptionally welcome. They always had 

 something mysterious to talk about, and I 

 was generally banished to the yard to climb 

 the grape-arbor or to play with the dog. 

 Here the black man would bring me cookies 

 and sweetmeats out of a blue jar. All these 

 respected family names have disappeared. 



How well I remember these visits. The 

 ladies were all very old and distinguished 

 looking. They dressed in black with white 



