"You will be interested to know something about the work done in this house. The kindergarten has been, perhaps, the central force of the establishment. Nothing has been so valuable in lasting results. A volume might be written about it. No one in Merton any longer questions the value of the kindergarten in the redemption of Freetown. "The housekeeping department has resulted in the increased number of faithful, competent cooks and servants who have been trained in the house. It is the common rule now, so I was told, for the graduates of the cooking and housekeeping classes in Freetown to be sought by the best families in the city; and these servants have even set the standard of prices for the best servants, and command higher wages than any other girls in Merton who go out to service. If the social settlement had not done anything else, it would be a great blessing to the housekeepers of Merton. It has helped to solve a large part of the servant-girl problem in this city. "The children's nursery has been a wonderful blessing to the mothers of Freetown. The mother who goes out to wash or work all day can leave her baby at the settlement and go off, knowing it will be cared for even better than the mother herself could do it. Formerly, many a child was shut up in a cabin with other children only a little older, or turned out into the street to play; and it was a wonder that more of them did not die. As it was, many babies used to grow up miserably neglected, and suffering was common and harmful. "I did not mean to describe so particularly the details of the work done by the settlement, but I have been so astonished by what I have seen that I do not know where to stop when I once begin to write. "I must mention one regular feature of the Freetown work; that is, the premium list for physical improvement of the place. "Premiums are offered every year for the best gardens, best-looking yard, finest flower-beds, neatest interior of cabin, most fruit on a place, most improvements during the season, etc. "You would be astonished to see what has been done along this line. Unsightly yards, dirty alleys, shiftless cabins, are a thing of the past. One of the prettiest parts of Merton is Freetown. The parks in front of the houses are arranged in original designs of flowers; the yards are ablaze with roses; and shade-trees, fruit-trees, vines, and lawns have so transformed the district that it is a favorite drive for Merton people to pass through Freetown. All this may seem impossible, but I believe you will see how it is within the reach of human effort when I tell you a little more about how it has all been secured.