men, there must be found a better market
for female labor than the slop-shops, and a more honorable race of
employers. To this questioning of her doctrine she made no reply,
knowing that she had us all to herself, and that a doubt from father,
only now and then uttered, would make no impression. But I remember it
all now.

I can remember, too, how proud I felt when mother called me to her, one
day, and gave me a piece of cotton cloth, of which she said I was to
make father a shirt. It was of unbleached stuff, heavy and strong, but
still nice and smooth. Father wore only one kind; and as it was to serve
for best as well as for common wear, I was to make it as nicely as I
could.

That afternoon all of us children were to go on a little
fishing-excursion to the meadows on the Delaware, among the ditches
which run all round the inside of the great embankment that has been
thrown up to keep out the river. There was a vast expanse of beautiful
green meadow inclosed by this embankment, on which great numbers of
cattle were annually fatted. As viewed from the bank, it was luxuriant
in the extreme; in fact, it was a prairie containing hundreds of acres,
trimmed up and cared for with the utmost skill and watchfulness, and
intersected with clean, open ditches, to secure drainage. Into these
ditches the tide flowed through sluices in the bank, and thus they were
always full of fish.

These beautiful meadows were the resort of thousands who resided in the
lower section of the city, for picnics and excursions. The roads through
them were as level as could possibly be, and upon them were continual
trotting-matches. In summer, the wide flats outside the embankment were
over-grown with reeds, among which gunners congregated in numbers
dangerous to themselves, shooting rail and reed-birds. On Sundays and
other holidays, the wide footpath on the high embankment was a moving
procession of people, who came out of the city to enjoy the fresh breeze
from the river. All who lived near resorted to these favorite grounds.

Several other little boys and girls were to come to our house and go
with us. We had long been in the habit of going to the meadows to fish
and play, where we had the merriest and happiest of times. Sometimes,
though the meadows were only half a mile from us, we took a slice or two
of bread-and-butter in a little basket, to serve for dinner, so that we
could stay all day; for the meadows and ditches extended several miles