lours, and the different
materials included fine woollen cloth, camlet, grosgrain silk, and
satin. Of all the articles of feminine attire of that period the
quilted petticoat was the most important. They were worn short,
displaying the low shoes with high heels and coloured hose with
scarlet clockings; silken hoods partially covered their curled and
powdered hair; altogether a charming and delightful picture."

The low, flat land of South Manhattan lying along the Hudson, because
of its similarity to their mother country, was a favourite
dwelling-place in New Netherlands. This region, known as Flatbush, was
quickly covered with Dutch homes and big, orderly, flourishing
gardens. A descendant of one of the oldest Dutch families which
settled in this locality, Mrs. Gertrude Lefferts Vanderbilt, in her
book, "The Social History of Flatbush," has given many interesting
details of early New York life. She tells of the place quilt making
held in the community, and how the many intricate patterns of
patchwork pleasantly occupied the spare moments of the women, thus
serving as a means of expression of their love of colour and design.
The following little domestic picture shows how conveniently near the
thrifty housewife kept her quilt blocks: "A low chair with a seat of
twisted osier, on which was tied a loose feather-filled cushion,
covered with some gay material. On the back of these chairs hung the
bag of knitting, with the little red stocking and shining needles
plainly visible, indicating that this was the favourite seat of the
industrious mother of the family; or a basket of patchwork held its
place upon a low stool (bankje) beside the chair, also to be snatched
up at odd intervals (ledige tyd)."

One reliable source of information of the comforts and luxuries that
contributed to pleasant dwelling in old New York is found in old
inventories of household effects. Occasionally complete lists are
found that throw much light on the furnishings of early days. Such an
inventory of the household belongings of Captain John Kidd, before he
went to sea and turned pirate, mentions over sixty different kinds of
house furnishings, from a skillet to a dozen chairs embellished with
Turkish embroidery. Among the articles with which John Kidd and his
wife Sarah began housekeeping in New York in 1692, as recorded in this
inventory, were four bedsteads, with three suits of hangings,
curtains, and valances to go with them. Feather beds, fea