large fortune by the manufacture and sale of oil and candles.
Miss Lydia Kane, a sister of the elder De Lancey Kane and a noted wit of
the day, upon a certain occasion was showing some strangers the sights
of New York, and in passing these houses was asked by whom they were
occupied. "That one," she responded, indicating the one in which the
Pennimans themselves lived, "is occupied by one of the _illuminati_ of
the city."

Robert L. Stuart and his brother Alexander were proprietors of a large
candy store on the corner of Chambers and Greenwich Streets, under the
firm name of R. L. & A. Stuart. Their establishment was a favorite
resort of the children of the day, who were as much addicted to sweets
as are their more recent successors. "Broken candy" was a specialty of
this firm, and was sold at a very low price. Alexander Stuart frequently
waited upon customers, and as a child I have often chattered with him
over the counter. He never married.

The principal markets were Washington on the North River, and Fulton on
the east side. The marketing was always done by the mistress of each
house accompanied by a servant bearing a large basket. During the season
small girls carried strawberries from door to door, calling out as they
went along; and during the summer months hot corn, carried in closed
receptacles made for the purpose, was sold by colored men, whose cries
could be heard in every part of the city.

Mrs. Isaac Sayre's bakery was an important shop for all housewives, and
her homemade jumbles and pound cake were in great demand. Her plum cake,
too, was exceptionally good, and it is an interesting fact that it was
she who introduced cake in boxes for weddings. Her shop survived for an
extraordinary number of years and, as far as I know, may still exist and
be kept by some of her descendants.

I must not omit to speak of a peculiar custom which in this day of
grace, when there are no longer any old women, seems rather odd. A
woman immediately after her marriage wore a cap made of some light
material, which she invariably tied with strings under her chin. Most
older women were horrified at the thought of gray hairs, and immediately
following their appearance false fronts were purchased, over which caps
were worn. I well recall that some of the most prominent women of the
day concealed fine heads of hair in this grotesque fashion. Baldheaded
men were not tolerated, and "scratches" or wigs provided the remedy.
Marriag