The Amish woman’s garb is likewise interesting. Her headdress consists of a bonnet and a white cap. The bonnet in the case of adult women is black. Children often wear blue, purple, green bonnets. It is rather big, covers virtually all of her hair. “The hair is woman’s crowning glory” and to expose it, would be vain. There is a long skirt on the bonnet, extending down to the shoulders, over the nape of the neck. Underneath the bonnet, the Amish woman will wear a white cap, which she knows as her prayer cap. This she wears at all times. The cap has white strings which she ties in a neat bow when she is dressed up. When she is working the strings will probably float down her back. The prayer cap has good Scriptural authority, provided we are literalists in interpretation. St. Paul tells us that we are to “pray without ceasing” and that women are not to pray with head uncovered. Her dress is always a solid color—blue, purple, violet, green, lavender, red—indeed any solid color. Over her shoulders she wears a cape, which comes to a point at the waist, front and back. The cape may be black or the same color as the dress. The young women may wear a white cape when they go to church. A black apron completes her garb. In the case of the young woman the apron is white when she attends morning worship. They do have virtues that the rest of us would do well to emulate, to our own profit and the profit of society in general. For example, in the Amish community the writer knows an Amish blacksmith, one of the most God-like gentlemen that it has been his privilege to know. The blacksmith does more work, takes in more money on a Saturday than any other day of the week. Some years ago, his neighbor, a “gay” farmer, was ill. It was Saturday morning. The farmer’s hay was lying in the field, ready to be taken into the barn. What did the blacksmith do? He locked up his shop, took himself and his son into the hayfield and by evening the hay was in the barn of the ill farmer. The blacksmith sacrificed his best day’s wages to help his neighbor and brother. [Illustration: Photo by Jim Hess AMISH GIRL’S BONNET, AMISH WOMAN’S BONNET, PRAYER CAP AND DRESS]