127. The Governor's Reception at Williamsburg. The greatest social event in any colony was the governor's reception and ball. To be invited was to receive the highest honor.

In no colony was the old-world pomp and pride kept up better than in the "Old Dominion." The great reception occurred at Williamsburg, the capital town, to cele

THE GOVERNOR'S RECEPTION IN THE COLONIAL DAYS, ONE OF THE GREAT
EVENTS OF THE YEAR

brate the meeting of the House of Burgesses. The families of the planters looked forward to this reception for months, and the mothers and daughters made great preparations. It was the most interesting subject for talk for many days before the event. Among the heirlooms of some of the old families of Virginia are letters written at the time that some of these festivities took place, and describing what occurred.

In his great coach, decorated with the family coat. of arms and drawn by fine horses, the planter and his family journeyed toward the capital. Before them rode negro servants and behind them came others, all proud

to belong to such a man as their master. What busy and noisy scenes the old capital town presented, as the great planters with their families and trains of servants came pouring in! How grand and stately was the reception! The governor and his family received the officers of the colony, the burgesses, and other distinguished people. Everybody was dressed in his best, and all bowed low to the governor and his wife and then backed stiffly away, because no one might turn his back upon the king's representative. How happy and proud were the planter and his family if the governor smiled and spoke with more than usual friendliness!

128. Rent Day on the Hudson. On the great estates owned by the patroons, events took place which were seen nowhere else in the colonies. The patroon's house, usually made of brick or stone, was of great size, often three stories high. The rooms were many and large, and frequently finely decorated. The furniture and the diamond-shaped windows spoke of great wealth. Around the mansion ran wide, well-cared-for walks lined with beautiful shrubbery. Farther away lay the gardens and the orchards, sometimes extending down to the Hudson. Near by stood the great barns where the grain was stored and where horses and cattle found comfortable quarters. Nearer still were the plainer houses for the white and the black servants belonging to the patroon. How like the estate of some European lord all this appears!

Once or twice a year rent day came around. Then all the small farmers living on the patroon's vast estate gathered with rent money in their pockets, and in their wagons they brought the patroon's share of what they had raised. It was a holiday and every farmer and his family were dressed in their best clothes. A great feast was prepared. An ox, sheep, and pigs had been roasted.

Dozens of servants, white and black, hastened to and fro, waiting upon the people, who ate, drank, and made merry. Everybody declared that the patroon was a kind-hearted man. But when the farmers went to their homes to begin again their hard labor, they could not help wishing that the farms were their own and that they did not have to pay rent.

HOME LIFE AND PASTIMES

129. Colonial Houses. The first settlers lived in log cabins, and down to the end of the colonial period the majority of houses were made of roughly dressed logs. After the introduction of saw mills the well-to-do people began to have houses built of lumber. Later, a few of

A MANSION OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES-THE BEVERLY CHEW HOME

the rich had stone or brick houses. From 1700 on, colonial homes grew larger and more elegant, especially in the towns and cities.

After the families of the first settlers were made comfortable the men hastened to build a church and a blockhouse. The latter was made of great logs and

had portholes and an overhanging second story. Sometimes a watchtower was added. Whenever an Indian

alarm was given, the people for miles around ran to the blockhouse for safety. For over two hundred years the log cabin and the blockhouse followed the march of settlement westward.

The long winters of the northern colonies compelled the people to build houses in which to keep warm, while the long summers of the southern colonies compelled them to build houses in which to keep cool ($54). The northern dwellings were closely built and did not have many doors or windows, while the southern houses were often divided by long, wide halls, and had verandas and balconies. Window glass came into use slowly, many houses having nothing better than oiled paper to let in the light and keep out the storm.

One important part of every colonial home, whether rich or poor, was the great fireplace, the only means of heating. In the smaller homes the fireplace occupied a large part of one side of the house. If the family had a separate room for a kitchen, it, too, had a fireplace where the cooking was done, for there were no cooking stoves in colonial times. The kitchen had very few of the many conveniences now used by the poorest housewife.

130. Furniture and Light. Aside from the furniture brought from Europe, the colonists had to depend on

that which they made themselves. In hundreds of homes in every colony stools served as chairs, and benches as settees, while rude tables were made with ax and saw. Outside of the towns, tables were furnished with wooden dishes, and the well-to-do more often ate from pewter plates than from china. Instead of the smooth solid floors which the poorest have to-day, the settlers then often used the hard earth for a floor. Instead of carpets, even those better off had only the bare floor, with here and there a home-made mat.

WHALE

A

OIL
LAMP

To light the finest houses there was neither electricity nor gas, nor even kerosene lamps, but only tallow candles. When these were wanting, the "tallow dips," whale-oil lamps, or the light of the great fireplace drove away the darkness. When the

fire accidentally went out, some one had to bring live coals from a neighbor's or "strike fire" from a flint, for matches were yet unknown.

131. Clothing. The settler's rifle and dog secured not only food for the table, but clothing for the body. The skin of the deer was dressed and made into breeches for the men and into

CARRYING FIRE FROM THE NEIGHBOR'S