he verse
embroidered on it reads:--

"Lorea Standish is My Name.
Lord Guide my Heart that I may do thy Will,
And fill my Hands with such convenient skill
As will conduce to Virtue void of Shame,
And I will give the Glory to thy Name."

Similar verses, and portions of hymns, are often found on these
samplers. A favorite rhyme was:--

"When I was young and in my Prime,
You see how well I spent my Time.
And by my sampler you may see
What care my Parents took of me."

A very spirited verse is:--

"You'll mend your life to-morrow still you cry.
In what far Country does To-morrow lie?
It stays so long, is fetch'd so far, I fear
'Twill prove both very old, and very dear."

Strange trees and fruits and birds and beasts, wonderful vines and
flowers, were embroidered on these domestic tapestries.

In the hands of a skilful worker, the sampler might become a thing of
beauty and historical interest; and the stitches learned and practised
on it might be used on more ambitious pieces of work, which often took
the shape of the family coat of arms. Such was the work of Mary Salter
(Mrs. Henry Quincy), who was born in 1726, and died in 1755. It is the
arms of Salter and Bryan party per pale upon a shield. Rich in embossed
work in gold and silver thread, it is a beautiful testimonial to the
deft and proficient hand of the young needlewoman who embroidered it.

Sometimes pretentious pictures representing events in public or family
history, were embroidered in crewels on sampler linen. The largest and
funniest one I have ever seen was the boarding-school climax of glory
of Miss Hannah Otis, sister of the patriot James Otis. It is a view of
the Hancock House, Boston Common, and vicinity, as they appeared from
1755 to 1760. Across its expanse Governor Hancock rides triumphantly;
and the fair maid looking over the garden wall at the Charles River is
Dorothy Quincy, afterwards Madam Hancock. This triumph of school-girl
affection and needle-craft, wholly devoid of perspective or proportion,
made a great sensation in Boston, in its day.

Another large piece of similar work is here represented. The original is
in the library of the American Antiquarian Society at Worcester,
Massachusetts. It is a view of the Old South Church, Boston; and with
its hooped dames and coach and footman, has a certain value as
indicating the costume of the times. It is dated 1756.

Familiar to the