es,
alternate red and white, with thirteen white stars in a blue field, the
committee in charge consulted with Washington, then in Philadelphia,
concerning the matter. Knowing Mrs. Ross, Washington led the way to her
house and explained their mission. In her little shop under their eyes
she cut and stitched together cloths of the three colors we love so well
and soon produced the first version of the Stars and Stripes.

The tale is a pretty one, and it is a pity that it should not be based
on some good foundation, especially as the records show that
subsequently Betsy Ross did make numerous flags for the government. How
the story started is unknown, but none of the historians who have given
the matter any attention believe it. John H. Flow in "The True Story of
the American Flag" condemns it utterly, and the United States Government
refused to adopt the Betsy Ross house as a national monument after a
thorough investigation. Notwithstanding the facts, however, this ancient
little building still continues to be a place of interest to many
tourists every year.

[Illustration: PLATE XXII.--Hooded Doorway, Johnson House, Germantown;
Hooded Doorway, Green Tree Inn.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXIII. Pedimental Doorway, 114 League Street;
Pedimental Doorway, 5933 Germantown Avenue.]

CHAPTER IV

LEDGE-STONE COUNTRY HOUSES

The use of natural building materials available on or near the site,
when they are suitable or can be made so, always elicits hearty
commendation; it gives local color and distinctive character. And so we
look with particular admiration at the fine old countryseats of local
rock-face and surfaced stone which abound in the neighborhood of
Philadelphia, especially at Germantown, finding among them the most
homelike and picturesque stone dwellings of the past and the best
prototypes for present-day adaptation. Nowhere can one discover better
inspiration for rock-face stonework, and nowhere have the architects of
to-day more successfully preserved and developed the best local
traditions of Colonial times.

Wherein lies the superlative picturesque appeal of the typical ledge
stonework of Germantown? As distinguished from surfaced stonework, it
possesses that flexibility in use so essential to the many and varied
requirements of domestic architecture imposed by the personality and
mode of living of the owner. In a measure this ready adaptability is due
to the irregular lines and rock face of the stone