THE WILD ROSE

That loves to grow in fragrant, tangled masses by the roadside was made to march in prim rows on this child’s quilt

American women rarely think of quilts as being made or used outside of their own country. In reality quilts are made in almost every land on the face of the earth. Years ago, when the first New England missionaries were sent to the Hawaiian Islands, the native women were taught to piece quilts, which they continue to do down to this day. These Hawaiian women treasure their handiwork greatly, and some very old and beautiful quilts are to be found among these islands. In creating their patchwork they have wandered from the Puritanical designs of their teachers, and have intermingled with the conventional figures the gorgeous flowers that bloom beside their leaf-thatched, vine-covered huts. To these women, also, patchwork fills a place. It affords a means of expression for individuality and originality in the same way that it does for the lonely New England women and for the isolated mountaineers of Kentucky.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, immortalized by “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” produced other stories, not now so familiar to us as to our countrymen of the Civil War period, which showed an intimate knowledge of the home life of the American people as well as the vital questions of her day. In her novel entitled the “Minister’s Wooing,” which ran first as a serial in the Atlantic Monthly in 1859, she describes a quilting supposed to have been given about the year 1800. Here we can view at close range a real old-fashioned quilting, and gain some insight into its various incidents of sociability and gossip, typical of an early New England seafaring village, as set forth in Mrs. Stowe’s inimitable style:

“By two o’clock a goodly company began to assemble. Mrs. Deacon Twitchel arrived, soft, pillowy, and plaintive as ever, accompanied by Cerinthy Ann, a comely damsel, tall and trim, with a bright black eye and a most vigorous and determined style of movement. Good Mrs. Jones, broad, expansive, and solid, having vegetated tranquilly on in the cabbage garden of the virtues since three years ago, when she graced our tea party, was now as well preserved as ever, and brought some fresh butter, a tin pail of cream, and a loaf of cake made after a new Philadelphia receipt. The tall, spare, angular figure of Mrs. Simeon Brown alone was wanting; but she patronized Mrs. Scudder no more, and tossed her head with a becoming pride when her name was mentioned.

“The quilt pattern was gloriously drawn in oak leaves, done in indigo; and soon all the company, young and old, were passing busy fingers over it, and conversation went on briskly.

“Madame de Frontignac, we must not forget to say, had entered with hearty abandon into the spirit of the day. She had dressed the tall china vases on the mantelpiece, and, departing from the usual rule of an equal mixture of roses and asparagus bushes, had constructed two quaint and graceful bouquets where garden flowers were mingled with drooping grasses and trailing wild vines, forming a graceful combination which excited the surprise of all who saw it.

“‘It’s the very first time in my life that I ever saw grass put into a flower pot,’ said Miss Prissy, ‘but I must say it looks as handsome as a picture. Mary, I must say,’ she added, in an aside, ‘I think that Madame de Frontignac is the sweetest dressing and appearing creature I ever saw; she don’t dress up nor put on airs, but she seems to see in a minute how things ought to go; and if it’s only a bit of grass, or leaf, or wild vine, that she puts in her hair, why, it seems to come just right. I should like to make her a dress, for I know she would understand my fit; do speak to her, Mary, in case she should want a dress fitted here, to let me try it.’

“At the quilting Madame de Frontignac would have her seat, and soon won the respect of the party by the dexterity with which she used her needle; though, when it was whispered that she learned to quilt among the nuns, some of the elderly ladies exhibited a slight uneasiness, as being rather doubtful whether they might not be encouraging papistical opinions by allowing her an equal share in the work of getting up their minister’s bed quilt; but the younger part of the company was quite captivated by her foreign air and the pretty manner in which she lisped her English; and Cerinthy Ann even went so far as to horrify her mother by saying that she wished she’d been educated in a convent herself, a declaration which arose less from native depravity than from a certain vigorous disposition, which often shows itself in young people, to shock the current opinions of their elders and betters. Of course, the conversation took a general turn, somewhat in unison with the spirit of the occasion; and whenever it flagged, some allusion to a forthcoming wedding, or some sly hint at the future young Madame of the parish was sufficient to awaken the dormant animation of the company.

MORNING GLORY

It must be “early to bed and early to rise” for the child who would see the sweet morning glory in all its loveliness, as it must be found before all the dew is gone

“Cerinthy Ann contrived to produce an agreeable electric shock by declaring that for her part she never could see into it how any girl could marry a minister; that she should as soon think of setting up housekeeping in a meeting-house.

“‘Oh, Cerinthy Ann!’ exclaimed her mother, ‘how can you go on so?’

“‘It’s a fact,’ said the adventurous damsel; ‘now other men let you have some peace, but a minister’s always round under your feet.’

“‘So you think the less you see of a husband, the better?’ said one of the ladies.

“‘Just my views!’ said Cerinthy, giving a decided snip to her thread with her scissors. ‘I like the Nantucketers, that go off on four years’ voyages, and leave their wives a clear field. If ever I get married, I’m going up to have one of those fellows.’

“It is to be remarked, in passing, that Miss Cerinthy Ann was at this very time receiving surreptitious visits from a consumptive-looking, conscientious young theological candidate, who came occasionally to preach in the vicinity, and put up at the house of the deacon, her father. This good young man, being violently attacked on the doctrine of election by Miss Cerinthy, had been drawn on to illustrate it in a most practical manner, to her comprehension; and it was the consciousness of the weak and tottering state of the internal garrison that added vigour to the young lady’s tones. As Mary had been the chosen confidante of the progress of this affair, she was quietly amused at the demonstration.

“‘You’d better take care, Cerinthy Ann,’ said her mother, ‘they say “that those who sing before breakfast will cry before supper.” Girls talk about getting married,’ she said, relapsing into a gentle melancholy, ‘without realizing its awful responsibilities.’

“‘Oh, as to that,’ said Cerinthy, ‘I’ve been practising on my pudding now these six years, and I shouldn’t be afraid to throw one up chimney with any girl.’

“This speech was founded on a tradition, current in those times, that no young lady was fit to be married till she could construct a boiled Indian pudding of such consistency that it could be thrown up a chimney and come down on the ground outside without breaking; and the consequence of Cerinthy Ann’s sally was a general laugh.

“‘Girls ain’t what they used to be in my day,’ sententiously remarked an elderly lady. ‘I remember my mother told me when she was thirteen she could knit a long cotton stocking in a day.’

“‘I haven’t much faith in these stories of old times, have you, girls?’ said Cerinthy, appealing to the younger members at the frame.

“‘At any rate,’ said Mrs. Twitchel, ‘our minister’s wife will be a pattern; I don’t know anybody that goes beyond her either in spinning or fine stitching.’

“Mary sat as placid and disengaged as the new moon, and listened to the chatter of old and young with the easy quietness of a young heart that has early outlived life and looks on everything in the world from some gentle, restful eminence far on toward a better home. She smiled at everybody’s word, had a quick eye for everybody’s wants, and was ready with thimble, scissors, or thread, whenever any one needed them; but once, when there was a pause in the conversation, she and Mrs. Marvyn were both discovered to have stolen away. They were seated on the bed in Mary’s little room, with their arms around each other, communing in low and gentle tones.

“‘Mary, my dear child,’ said her friend, ‘this event is very pleasant to me, because it places you permanently near me. I did not know but eventually this sweet face might lead to my losing you who are in some respects the dearest friend I have.’

“‘You might be sure,’ said Mary, ‘I never would have married, except that my mother’s happiness and the happiness of so good a friend seemed to depend on it. When we renounce self in anything we have reason to hope for God’s blessing; and so I feel assured of a peaceful life in the course I have taken. You will always be as a mother to me,’ she added, laying her head on her friend’s shoulder.

“‘Yes,’ said Mrs. Marvyn; ‘and I must not let myself think a moment how dear it might have been to have you more my own. If you feel really, truly happy, if you can enter on this life without any misgivings——’

“‘I can,’ said Mary firmly.

“At this instant, very strangely, the string which confined a wreath of seashells around her glass, having been long undermined by moths, suddenly broke and fell down, scattering the shells upon the floor.

“KEEPSAKE QUILT”

The sunbonnet lassies suggest an outing or a call from playmates on the morrow. These lassies may be dressed in bits of the gowns of the little maid, and the quilt thus become a “keepsake quilt”

“Both women started, for the string of shells had been placed there by James; and though neither was superstitious, this was one of those odd coincidences that make hearts throb.

“‘Dear boy!’ said Mary, gathering the shells up tenderly; ‘wherever he is, I shall never cease to love him. It makes me feel sad to see this come down; but it is only an accident; nothing of him will ever fall out of my heart.’

“Mrs. Marvyn clasped Mary closer to her, with tears in her eyes.

“‘I’ll tell you what, Mary, it must have been the moths did that,’ said Miss Prissy, who had been standing, unobserved, at the door for a moment back; ‘moths will eat away strings just so. Last week Miss Vernon’s great family picture fell down because the moths eat through the cord; people ought to use twine or cotton string always. But I came to tell you that supper is all set, and the doctor out of his study, and all the people are wondering where you are.’

“Mary and Mrs. Marvyn gave a hasty glance at themselves in the glass, to be assured of their good keeping, and went into the great kitchen, where a long table stood exhibiting all that plentitude of provision which the immortal description of Washington Irving has saved us the trouble of recapitulating in detail.

“The husbands, brothers, and lovers had come in, and the scene was redolent of gayety. When Mary made her appearance, there was a moment’s pause, till she was conducted to the side of the doctor; when, raising his hand, he invoked a grace upon the loaded board.

“Unrestrained gayeties followed. Groups of young men and maidens chatted together, and all the gallantries of the times were enacted. Serious matrons commented on the cake, and told each other high and particular secrets in the culinary art which they drew from remote family archives. One might have learned in that instructive assembly how best to keep moths out of blankets, how to make fritters of Indian corn undistinguishable from oysters, how to bring up babies by hand, how to mend a cracked teapot, how to take out grease from a brocade, how to reconcile absolute decrees with free will, how to make five yards of cloth answer the purpose of six, and how to put down the Democratic party.

“Miss Prissy was in her glory; every bow of her best cap was alive with excitement, and she presented to the eyes of the astonished Newport gentry an animated receipt book. Some of the information she communicated, indeed, was so valuable and important that she could not trust the air with it, but whispered the most important portions in a confidential tone. Among the crowd, Cerinthy Ann’s theological admirer was observed in deeply reflective attitude; and that high-spirited young lady added further to his convictions of the total depravity of the species by vexing and discomposing him in those thousand ways in which a lively, ill-conditioned young woman will put to rout a serious, well-disposed young man, comforting herself with the reflection that by and by she would repent of all her sins in a lump together.

“Vain, transitory splendours! Even this evening, so glorious, so heart cheering, so fruitful in instruction and amusement, could not last forever. Gradually the company broke up; the matrons mounted soberly on horseback behind their spouses, and Cerinthy consoled her clerical friend by giving him an opportunity to read her a lecture on the way home, if he found the courage to do so.

“Mr. and Mrs. Marvyn and Candace wound their way soberly homeward; the doctor returned to his study for nightly devotions; and before long sleep settled down on the brown cottage.

“‘I’ll tell you what, Cato,’ said Candace, before composing herself to sleep, ‘I can’t feel it in my bones dat dis yer weddin’s gwine to come off yit.’”

LIST OF QUILT NAMES

Arranged Alphabetically

Air Castle
Alabama Beauty
Album
All Tangled Up
Alpine Rose
American Log Patch
Apple Hexagon
Arabic Lattice
Arkansas Traveller
Art Square
Ashland Rose
Aunt Eliza’s Star Point
Aunt Sukey’s Patch
Autograph Quilt

Bachelor’s Puzzle
Barrister’s Blocks
Base Ball
Basket of Lilies
Basket Quilt
Bat’s Wing
Bear’s Foot
Bear’s Paws
Bedtime
Beggar’s Blocks
Big Dipper
Bird’s Nest
Blackford’s Beauty
Blazing Star
Blind Man’s Fancy
Block Album
Bluebird
Boston Puzzle
Bounding Betty
Bouquet
Box Blocks
Boxed I’s
Boy’s Nonsense
Brick Pile
Brickwork Quilt
Broken Dish
Brown-tailed Moth
Brunswick Star
Bunnies
Bunnies and Baskets
Butterflies

Cactus Blossom
Cake Stand
California Oak Leaf
California Rose
California Star
Capital I
Carolina Lily
Carpenter’s Rule
Carpenter’s Square
Cats and Mice
Centennial
Charm
Charter Oak
Cherry Basket
Chicago Star
Children’s Delight
Chimney Swallows
Christmas Tree
Chrysanthemums
Churn Dash
Circle Within Circle
Circuit Rider
Cleveland Lilies
Cluster of Stars
Coarse Woven Patch
Cockscomb
Cog Wheel
Columbian Puzzle
Columbia Star
Combination Star
Compass
Complex Rose
Confederate Rose
Continental
Corn and Beans
Cottage Tulip
Country Farm
Coxey’s Camp
Crazy Ann
Crazy Quilt
Crib Quilt
Cross, The
Cross and Crown
Crosses and Losses
Crosses and Stars
Crossed Canoes
Cross Roads to Texas
Cross Within Cross
Crow’s Foot
Cube Lattice
Cube Work
Cypress Leaf

Daffodils and Butterflies
Daisies
Democrat Rose
Devil’s Claws
Devil’s Puzzle
Diagonal Log Chain
Diamond, The
Diamond Cube
Diamond Design
Diamonds
Diamond Star
Disk, The
Dogwood
Domino
Domino and Square
Double Irish Chain
Double Peony
Double Squares
Double Wrench
Double X, No. 1
Double X, No. 2
Double X, No. 3
Double X, No. 4
Double Z
Dove in the Window
Dutchman’s Puzzle
Dutch Rose
Drunkard’s Patchwork
Drunkard’s Path
Ducks and Ducklings

Ecclesiastical
Economy
Eight Hands Around
Eight-point Design
Eight-pointed Star
Enigma
Evening Star
Everybody’s Favourite

Fan
Fan and Rainbow
Fan Patch
Fanny’s Fan
Fantastic Patch
Feather Star
Ferris Wheel
Field Daisies
Five-pointed Star
Five Stripes
Fleur-de-Lis
Flower Basket
Flower Pot
Flutter Wheel
Flying Bat
Flying Star
Fool’s Puzzle
Fool’s Square
Forbidden Fruit Tree
Forest Pattern
Four E’s
Four Frogs Quilt
Four Little Birds
Four Points
Four Stars Patch
Four X Star
French Basket
Friendship Quilt
Fruit Basket

Garden of Eden
Garfield’s Monument
Gentleman’s Fancy
Georgetown Circle
Girl’s Joy
Globe, The
Golden Gates
Goose in the Pond
Goose Tracks
Gourd Vine
Grandmother’s Choice
Grandmother’s Dream
Grandmother’s Own
Grape Basket
Grapes and Vines
Grecian Design
Greek Cross
Greek Square

Hairpin Catcher
Hand, The
Hands All Around
Handy Andy
Harrison Rose
Harvest Rose
Hearts and Gizzards
Hen and Chickens
Hexagonal
Hickory Leaf
Hobson’s Kiss
Home Treasure
Honeycomb
Honeycomb Patch
Hour Glass
House That Jack Built

Ice Cream Bowl
Imperial Tea
Indiana Wreath
Indian Hatchet
Indian Plumes
Interlaced Blocks
Iris
Irish Puzzle

Jack’s House
Jacob’s Ladder
Job’s Tears
Johnny Around the Corner
Joining Star
Jonquils
Joseph’s Coat
Joseph’s Necktie

Kansas Troubles
King’s Crown
King’s Crows

Ladies’ Beautiful Star
Ladies’ Delight
Ladies’ Wreath
Lady Fingers
Lady of the Lake
Leap Frog
Letter H
Letter X
Lily of the Valley
Lily Quilt Pattern
Lincoln’s Platform
Linton
Little Beech Tree
Little Red House, The
Live Oak Tree
Lobster, The
Log Cabin
Log Patch
London Roads
Love Rose
Lover’s Links

Magic Circle
Maltese Cross, No. 1
Maltese Cross, No. 2
Maple Leaf
Mary’s Garden
May Berry Leaf
Mayflower, The
Memory Blocks
Memory Circle
Mexican Rose
Missouri Beauty
Mollie’s Choice
Moon and Stars
Morning Glory
Morning Glory Wreath
Morning Star
Mosaic (More than 25)
Mother’s Fancy
Mrs. Cleveland’s Choice
Mrs. Morgan’s Choice

Needle Book
Necktie
New Album
New Four Patch
Nine Patch
New Star
No Name Quilt
None Such
Novel Star

Oak Leaf and Acorns
Oak Leaf and Tulip
Ocean Waves
Octagon
Octagon File
Odd Fellows’ Chain
Odd Patchwork
Odd Pattern, An
Odds and Ends
Odd Star
Ohio Beauty
Oklahoma Boomer
Old Homestead, The
Old Maid’s Puzzle
Old Patchwork, An
Old Scrap Patchwork
Old Bachelor’s Puzzle
Old Tippecanoe
Olive Branch
Orange Peel

Paving Blocks
Pansies and Butterflies
Peacocks and Flowers
Peony Block
Persian Palm Lily
Philadelphia Beauty
Philadelphia Pavement
Philippines, The
Pickle Dish
Pilgrim’s Pride
Pincushion
Pincushion and Burr
Pineapple Patterns (3 in number)
Pine Tree
Pinwheel Square
Poinsettia
Poppy
Prairie Rose
Premium Star
President’s Quilt
Princess Feather
Priscilla, The
Pullman Puzzle
Puss-in-the-Corner
Puzzle File
Pyrotechnics

Quartette, The

Radical Rose
Railroad, The
Rainbow
Red Cross
Ribbon Squares
Ribbon Star
Right and Left
Rising Sun
Road to California
Robbing Peter to Pay Paul
Rockingham’s Beauty
Rocky Glen
Rocky Road to California
Rocky Road to Kansas
Rolling Pinwheel
Rolling Star
Rolling Stone
Roman Cross
Roman Stripe
Rose
Rose Album
Rose and Feather
Rosebud and Leaves
Rose of Dixie
Rose of LeMoine
Rose of St. Louis
Rose of the Carolinas
Rose of Sharon
Rose Sprig
Royal, The
Royal Japanese Vase

Sarah’s Favourite
Sashed Album
Sashed Star
Sawtooth Patchwork
Scissor’s Chain
Seven Stars
Shelf Chain
Shield
Shoo Fly
Shooting Star
Simple Design
Single Sunflowers
Sister’s Choice
Snail’s Trail, The
Snowball
Snowflake
Solomon’s Temple
Solomon’s Crown
Spider’s Den
Spider’s Web
Spools
Square and a Half
Square and Swallow
Square and Triangle
Square Log Cabin
Squares and Stars
Squares and Stripes
Star, A
Star and Chains
Star and Cross
Star and Cubes
Star and Squares
Star of Bethlehem
Star of Many Points
Star of Texas
Star of the East
Star Lane
Star Puzzle
Star-Spangled Banner
Stars upon Stars
State House Steps
Steps to the Altar
St. Louis Star
Stone Wall
Storm at Sea
Strawberry
Stripe Squares
Sugar Loaf
Sunbonnet Lassies
Sunburst
Sunflowers
Sunshine
Swarm of Bees
Sweet Gum Leaf
Swinging Corners
Swing in the Centre

Tangled Garter
Tassel Plant
Tea Leaf
Temperance Tree
Texas Flower
Texas Tears
Three-flowered Sunflower
Tick-Tack-Toe
Tile Patchwork
Toad in the Puddle
Tree of Paradise
Triangular Triangle
Triangle Puzzle
True Lover’s Knot
Tufted Cherry
Tulip Blocks
Tulip in Vase
Tulip Lady Finger
Tulip Tree Leaves
Tumbler, The
Twin Sisters
Twinkling Star
Twist and Turn
Twist Patchwork
Two Doves, The

Union
Union Calico Quilt
Union Star
Unknown Star

Valentine Quilt
Variegated Diamonds
Variegated Hexagons
Venetian Design
Vestibule
Vice-President’s Quilt
Village Church
Virginia Gentleman

Washington’s Puzzle
Washington’s Plumes
Washington’s Sidewalk
Watered Ribbon
Way of the World
Wedding Knot
Western Star
W. C. T. Union
Wheel, The
Wheel and Star
Wheel of Fortune
Whig Pattern
Whig Rose
White Day Lily
Widower’s Choice
Wild Goose Chase
Wild Rose
Wind-blown Tulips
Winding Walk
Wind Mill
Wonder of the World
Workbox
World’s Fair, The
World’s Fair Blocks
World’s Fair Puzzle
Wreath of Roses

X quisite, The

Yankee Puzzle

LIST OF REFERENCES