Such were the curious contradictions of customs and morals found among our Puritan forefathers: a man might not kiss his wife in the street, but an unmarried woman might, if clothed, spend the night in bed with her lover. There were many other contradictions of manners. For instance, what could be more suggestive of utter simplicity than the diary of Abigail Foote, to which reference has just been made? I will quote an extract from it as an example of the life spent by young girls of her time. Abigail wrote in 1775, and she lived in Colchester, Connecticut. Here is a record of one of her days: "Fix'd Gown for Prude Just to clear my teeth,--Mend Mother's Riding-hood,--Ague in my face,--Ellen was spark'd last night,--Mother spun short thread,--Fix'd two Gowns for Welch's girls,--Carded tow--spun linen--worked on Cheese Basket,--Hatchel'd Flax with Hannah and we did 51 lb a piece,--Pleated and ironed,--Read a sermon of Dodridge's,--Spooled a piece--milked the cows--spun linen and did 50 knots--made a broom of Guinea wheat straw,--Spun thread to whiten,--Went to Mr. Otis's and made them a swinging visit,--Israel said I might ride his jade,--Set a red Dye,--Prude stayed at home and learned Eve's Dream by heart,--Had two scholars from Mrs. Taylor's--I carded two pounds of whole wool and felt Nationly,--Spun harness twine,--Scoured the Pewter." The information concerning Ellen is to us more suggestive than interesting, and why to card two pounds of wool should make anyone feel "Nationly" is not clear; but we can gather from the candid diary of young Mistress Foote a fair idea of the life of the young lady of that day. Varying with section in customs and application, it was yet typical in its way and speaks volumes of the simple and admirable training of the women of the period. But, being on the search for contradictions at this time, look upon this picture of the elaborate headdresses worn at that period, found in a letter from Anna Green Winslow: "I had my heddus roll on. Aunt Storer said it ought to be made less, Aunt Deming said it ought not to be made at all. It makes my head ach and burn and itch like anything Mama. This famous Roll is not made wholly of a Red-Cow Tail but is a mixture of that & horsehair very coarse & and a little human hair of a yellow hue that I suppose was taken out of the back part of an old wig. But D. made it, all carded together and twisted up. When it first came home, Aunt put it on, and my new cap upon it; she then took up her apron and measured me & from the roots of my hair on my forehead to the top of my notions I measured above an inch longer than I did downward from the roots of my hair to the end of my chin. Nothing renders a young person more amiable than Virtue and Modesty without the help of fals hair, Red-Cow Tail or D. the barber."