ighed Betty. "Jane has such pretty gowns. But of course I
have only been a little school-girl until this year, and somehow it is
very hard for the mothers to think their girls are grown-up in any
respect except that of work."

Warren sighed as well, and secretly wished he had a regular salary, and
could do what he liked with a little money. His father was training him
to take charge of his own business later on. He gave him his board and
clothing and half a dollar a week for spending money. When he was
twenty-one there would be a new basis, of course. There was not much
call for money unless one was rich enough to be self-indulgent. One
couldn't spend five cents for a trolley ride, even if there was a
downpour of rain. And as Mr. Leverett had never smoked, he had routed
the first indications of any such indulgence on the part of his son.

The amusements were still rather simple, neighborly affairs. The boys
and girls "spent an evening" with each other and had hickory nuts,
cider, and crullers that had found their way from Holland to Boston as
well as New York. And when winter set in fairly there was sledding and
skating and no end of jest and laughter. Many a decorous love affair
sprang into shy existence, taking a year or two for the young man to be
brave enough to "keep company," if there were no objections on either
side. And this often happened to be a walk home from church and an
hour's sitting by the family fireside taking part in the general
conversation.

To be sure, there was the theater. Since 1798, when the Federal Street
Theater had burned down and been rebuilt and opened with a rather
celebrated actress of that period, Mrs. Jones, theater-going was quite
the stylish amusement of the quality. Mr. Leverett and his wife had gone
to the old establishment, as it was beginning to be called, to see the
tragedy of "Gustavus Vasa," that had set Boston in a furore. They were
never quite settled on the point of the sinfulness of the pleasure.
Indeed, Mr. Leverett evinced symptoms of straying away from the old
landmarks of faith. He had even gone to the preaching of that
reprehensible young man, Mr. Hosea Ballou, who had opened new worlds of
thought for his consideration.

"It's a beautiful belief," Mrs. Leverett admitted, "but whether you can
quite square it with Bible truth----"

"I'm not so sure you can square the Westminster Catechism either."

"If you must doubt, Foster, do be careful before the children. I'