r that is the grettest helpe that ye may have now
to your helthe ward."

The wife was the companion of her husband when he was at home, and in
his absence entertained his guests with all the graces of hospitality.
The duties of the day did not leave her a great deal of time for
leisure, for, besides directing the conduct of the establishment and
looking after her maidens, teaching them the arts of housewifery,
spinning, weaving, carding wool and hackled flax, embroidery, and
garment making, there were the pet birds and squirrels in cages to be
looked after and fed. But life was not all labor, nor were the maidens
of the household surfeited with instruction. In their periods of
relaxation, they danced, played chess and draughts, and read the
latest thing in romances with as keen interest as the modern society
girl evinces in the most recent novel. To be informed in all such
matters was essential to the standards of culture of the day.

One of the pleasantest features of the country life of the period
was the garden. The English women of to-day are no fonder of outdoor
recreation and exercise than were their predecessors of the fifteenth
century. Alone, or in parties of their own sex, or with male company,
they wandered over the fields, gathering wild flowers and picnicking
in the woods, spreading upon the grass their lunch of bread, wine,
fish, and pigeon pies. They rode on horseback, and went hunting,
hawking, and rabbit chasing. Their presence at the tournament gave
it its greatest interest, and the successful contestants considered
the awards that were made them by their ladies doubly valuable, as
indicating at once their prowess upon the field and their conquests in
that no less interesting sphere of sentiment where Cupid bestows the
favors.

Perhaps at no other time in English history have ladies shown such
fondness for pets as in the fifteenth century. There are frequent
references to them in the literature of the day, and they appear in
many of the illustrations; parrots, magpies, jays, and various singing
birds are often mentioned among domestic pets. Various kinds of small
animals were also tamed and kept in the house, either loose or in
cages, squirrels being especially in favor because of their liveliness
and activity. Gambling was one of the most popular vices of the day.
It was not until after the middle of the fifteenth century that cards
came into very general use, but by the beginning of the following