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Mark it, Cesario, it is old and plain. The spinsters and the knitters when they sit in the sun, and the young maids that weave their thread with bone, chant this song. It is silly, yet I love it, for it tells of the innocence of love in the old times." Come away, come away, Death, And in sad cypress let me be laid; Fly away, fly away, breath, I am slain by a fair cruel maid.
The blacksmith did all the ironwork required by the establishment, as making and repairing ploughs, harrows, teeth, chains, bolts, etc. The spinners, weavers, and knitters made all the course cloths and stockings used by the negroes, and some of finer texture worn by the white family, nearly all worn by the children of it.
"The curiosity of the world's people does not help their souls," said one of the knitters. "She thinks we walk in the Way to Peace," said the Eldress. "Yee; we do," said Brother George. "Shall I tell her 'nay'?" the Eldress questioned, calmly. "Yee," said Brother George; and the dozing sisters murmured "Yee." "Wait," said Brother Nathan; "her husband HE has something to him. Let her come."
But additional prizes were awarded by the young patronesses, to the best specimens of different work; to the best knitters, the best manufacturers of split straw, and the best performers in plain work, I think they called it. Three grown up young women, neatly dressed, and of modest manners, stood behind.
No one knows us; and, by giving a fictitious name, we can get money, without thanking any one for it." She was satisfied; and, taking a little basket, we went on our errand. I asked of the pawnbroker six dollars, under the name of Müller and received the money; after which we made our purchases, and went home in quite good spirits. On Monday morning, the knitters brought home their work.
Here the tobacco was rolled in casks; here rattled the anchor of the ship that was to take it to England and bring in return a thousand and one manufactured articles. There were no factories in Maryland or Virginia. Yet artisans were found among the plantation laborers "carpenters, coopers, sawyers, blacksmiths, tanners, curriers, shoemakers, spinners, weavers, and knitters."
The women are very good knitters, and are nearly always to be seen with knitting in their hands, even in their walks to and from the potato patches. I wish they could throw as much energy into cleaning their houses, only one or two of which are kept clean. They are made of one piece, with a seam up the front and at the heel.
An old lady was seated by a little ricketty round table, knitting; knitting very fast. Surely she did not always knit so fast, Germans are great knitters it is true, but the needles made quite a noise click, click, click against one another. The table was covered with a snow-white cloth.
Or she tried, since she was a poor worker herself her only jersey and muffler were really finished by her maid reading aloud to the knitters or stitchers, preferably from the works of Miss Charlotte Yonge or some similar novelist of a later date. But that was found to be too disturbing to their sense of the ludicrous.
Moreover, with amateur knitters there must always be allowed a margin for involuntary error. There were many cases during the war where our girls sent sweaters to their sweethearts which would have induced strangulation in their young brothers. The amateur sweater of those days was, in fact, practically tantamount to German propaganda. Peter and James were accordingly baffled.
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