Sarah’s letters detail their every-day occupations, their division of labor, their culinary experiments, often failures,—­for of practical domestic economy they had little knowledge, though they enjoyed the new experience like happy children.  She tells of rambles and picnics along the Hudson, climbing rocks to get a fine view, halting under the trees to read together for a while, taking their simple dinner in some shady nook, and returning weary but happy to their “dear little No. 3,” as she designates their house.

“Oh, Jane,” she writes, “words cannot tell the goodness of the Lord to us since we have sat down under the shadow of our own roof, and gathered around our humble board.  Peace has flowed sweetly through our souls.  The Lord has been in the midst, and blessed us with his presence, and the daily aspiration of our souls is:  Lord, show us thy will concerning us.”  And in another letter she says, “We are delighted with our arrangement to do without a girl.  Angelina boils potatoes to admiration, and says she finds cooking much easier than she expected.”

During the summer they were gratified by a visit from their good friend Jane, who, it appears, gave them some useful and much-needed lessons in the art of cookery.  But about this time Sarah became converted to the Graham system of diet, which Mr.  “Weld had adopted three, and Mrs. Weld two years before.  Sarah thus writes of it:—­

“We have heard Graham lectures, and read Alcott’s ‘Young Housekeeper,’ and are truly thankful that the Lord has converted us to this mode of living, and that we are all of one heart and one mind.  We believe it is the most conducive to health, and, besides, it is such an emancipation of woman from the toils of the kitchen, and saves so much precious time for purposes of more importance than eating and drinking.  We have a great variety of dishes, and, to our taste, very savory.  We can make good bread, and this with milk is an excellent meal.  This week I am cook, and am writing this while my beans are boiling and pears stewing for dinner.  We use no tea or coffee, and take our food cool.”

She then tells of the arrival one day of two friends from the city, just as they had sat down to their simple meal of rice and molasses.  “But,” she says, “we were very glad to see them, and with bread and milk, and pie without shortening, and hominy, we contrived to give them enough, and as they were pretty hungry they partook of it with tolerable appetite.”  Answering some inquiries from Jane Smith, Angelina writes:—­

“As to how I have made out with cooking, it so happens that labor (planting a garden) gives Theodore such an appetite that everything is sweet to him, so that my rice and asparagus, potatoes, mush, and Indian bread all taste well, though some might think them not fit to eat.”

They had but one cooking day, when enough was generally prepared to last a week, so that very little time and mind was given to creature comforts; in fact, no more than was necessary to the preservation of health.  Their motto literally was “to eat to live,” and this they felt to be a part of that non-conformity to the world of which the apostle speaks, and after which Sarah, at least, felt she must still strive.  Their furniture corresponded with the simplicity of their table.  Angelina writes shortly after her marriage:—­