. And in England those bas-reliefs, which are the treasure of
art students and the wonder of the world, were pulled from the pediment
of the Parthenon, like the pearly teeth from a fair mouth, the mournful
gaps remaining open in the sight of the unforgiving world. 'Thou art old
and decrepit,' said England. 'I am still in strength and vigor. All else
has gone, as well thy dower as thy earnings. Thou hast but these left. I
want them, so give them me.'...

"We were ushered into a well-sized room, in which lay heaps of cotton
underclothing and of calico dresses, most of them in the shape of sacks
and skirts. These were the contents of one or two boxes recently arrived
from Boston. Some of them were recognized by me as the work of a hive of
busy bees who used to gather weekly in my own New England parlor,
summoned thither by my daughter Florence, now Mrs. David P. Hall. And
what stress there was at those meetings, and what hurrying! And how the
little maidens took off their feathery bonnets and dainty gloves,
wielding the heavy implements of cutting, and eagerly adjusting the arms
and legs, the gores and gathers! With patient pride the mother trotted
off to the bakery, that a few buns might sustain these strenuous little
cutters and sewers, whose tongues, however active over the charitable
work, talked, we may be sure, no empty nonsense nor unkind gossip.

"For charity begins indeed at home, in the heart, and, descending to the
fingers, rules also the rebellious member whose mischief is often done
before it is meditated. At the sight of these well-made garments a
little swelling of the heart seized me, with the love and pride of a
remembrance so dear. But sooner than we could turn from it to set about
our business, the Cretans were in presence.

"Here they come, called in order from a list, with names nine syllables
long, mostly ending in _poulos_, a term signifying descent, like the
Russian 'witzch.' Here they come,--the shapely maiden, the sturdy
matron, the gray-haired grandmother, with little ones of all small sizes
and ages. Many of the women carried infants at the breast; many were
expectant of maternity. Not a few of them were followed by groups of
boys and girls. Most of them were ill clothed; and many of them appeared
extremely destitute of attire. A strongly-marked race of people, with
dark eyes, fine black hair, healthy complexions, and symmetrical
figures. They bear traces of suffering. Some of the infants have