The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-12-21

tomary at the end of each meal to ''re- turn thanks in silence and with due reverence, although I am afraid this latter quality was somewhat impaired for three of the congregation when a sly wink from the Irish farmland John broke in upon the solemnity of the thanksgiving. After that the men re- tire from the dining room and make room for another relay, while the wo- men replenish the stock on the tables and make few minor changes in the chinaware.
 And the Amish children! Where can they be more picturesque? The young sters have the same procliVities for sport that others have, and the quaint ness of the situation strikes one, as he sees them playing tag, or teaching the dog or chasing butterflies. yThey dress exactly like their grandfathers or grandmothers; it seems rather beneath the dignity of those sober-loolling little people to be cavorting around the yard, raising the same kind of racket that you'd expect from St. Mary street kids.
 As soon as the girl can walk around she appears in long skirts to which a white cap, white kerchief and a white apron add their unique finish. The dresses worn by the girls are of various colors for various girls, the skirt and waist being the same in every case. Deep purple is much affected, while dark brown, drab and black are also popular. There is only one style of wearing the hair, and there can be no improvement on it for the Amish girls. It is parted accurately in the middle and combed smoothly down toward the temples, where two small plaits start, which are carried around and gathered into knot just under the edge of the white null cap above the nape of the neck.
 As soon as the little Amishman is en- titled to his first pants" he is jumped at once into long trousers of the "broadfall front" variety, and with drawing strings around the waist to keep them attached to his person, just like his older brothers, his fathers and his grandfather He starts in very early, too, to get his hair into the style he is to wear through life. It is rather difficult to say which is he and which Is his girl cousin when you see them to- gether at an early period in their lives, just as it is the world over, but if you happen to note the abruptness of his haircut at the back of his neck, or to observe that her hair is covered by a cute little cap, you will not make any foolish mistakes when you want to talk to the mother about the baby A group of four children-two demure girls in charge of two smaller boys-of whom was lucky in stealing a picture during the progress of the meeting, suggested question which brought out that in | formation from a. neighbor.
 It may be rather far-fetched idea to l seek for, any of Lancaster county's greatness in the dressing of these juve- nile Amish. There is little Rebecca, fol instance, in purple dress that has two tucks in the sleeve, one at the hips oi her skirt and two just above the hem Diminutive Aaron has plait in the bottoms of his trousers; the top ot | them is way up under his arms, while his skirt sleeves are similarly decora- 1 ted. As the youngsters grow the clothes are heightened to suit, and il | they outlast their use then they are re- stored to their abbreviated shape ant l turned over to advancing generations | The styles don't change with the l AniSh. It seems to me that the plar