rs,
salt-cellars, knives, and spoons. The table plenishings of the planters
were somewhat more varied, but still simple; when our Pilgrim fathers
landed at Plymouth, the collection of table-ware owned by the entire
band was very meagre. With the exception of a few plate-silver tankards
and drinking-cups, it was also very inexpensive. The silver was handsome
and heavy, but items of silver in the earliest inventories are rare. By
the beginning of the eighteenth century silver became plentiful, and the
wills even of humble folk contain frequent mentions of it. Ministers,
doctors, and magistrates had many handsome pieces. By the middle of the
century a climax was reached, as in the possessions of Peter Faneuil,
when pieces of furniture were of solid silver.

The salt-cellar was the focus of the old-time board. In earlier days, in
England, to be seated above or below the salt plainly spoke the social
standing of a guest. The "standing salt" was often the handsomest
furnishing of the table, the richest piece of family plate. Comfort
Starr, of Boston, had, in 1659, a "greate Siluer-gilt double
Saltceller." Isaac Addington bequeathed by will his "Bigges Siluer Sewer
& Salt." A sewer was a salver. As we note by the list of Judith Sewall's
wedding furniture in 1720, standing salts were out of date, and
"trencher salt-cellars" were in fashion. Four dozen was a goodly number,
and evinced an intent of bounteous hospitality. These trencher-salts
were of various shapes and materials: "round and oval pillar-cut Salts,
Bonnet Salts, 3 Leg'd Salts," were all of glass; others were of pewter,
china, hard metal, and silver.

The greater number of spoons owned by the colonists were of pewter or of
alchymy--or alcamyne, ocamy, ocany, orkanie, alcamy, or occonie--a metal
composed of pan-brass and arsenicum. The reference in inventories,
enrolments, and wills, to spoons of these materials are so frequent, so
ever-present, as to make citation superfluous. An evil reputation of
poisonous unhealthfulness hung around the vari-spelled alchymy (perhaps
it is only a gross libel of succeeding generations); but, harmful or
harmless, alchymy, no matter how spelt, disappears from use before
Revolutionary times. Wooden spoons also are named. Silver spoons were
not very plentiful. John Oxenbridge bequeathed thirteen spoons in 1673,
and "one sweetmeat spoon," and "1 childs spoon which was mine in my
infancy." Other pap-spoons and caudle-spoons are named in