HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1915-12-17, Page 4lif:C,lyUK4r0PriTjfITT}T55,11,'.41 F.', OP 0,14.•
PHOEBE ANN'S l
CIIRISTMAS TREE
Ikea T r vituu mat
y
C;)11 a pmt of land that stretches
far outs tie the sea and ends in a
great radar"., there stands a tall white
lightl'karsse, and cuddled close up to
it, as iI' to keep waren in the cold
winds wleiele roar in :From the ocean,
are a white house, built very strong
of great stones, and some other little
buildings, lwn which are kept a boat
and bare:ale. of oil and other things
]needed! hip She lightheas e -keeper and
his fani<t:
The great rock is "nigh and bare,-
Not
are.Not a trio, laor even al blade of grass,
grows /aldrin it, but a?I round iss the
sea; and sometimes, in the winter
storms, the great waves clash against
is till the, .spray reaches almost to the
light. They seen" like a pack of
white wolves climbing up and up, to
k'ar the ?doper from his little room.
It l: oiely at certain tine: that one
.can nes .'>"n+om the lighthouse to the
mina;:d. When the keeper has a
than with hkn to help hien launch the
he eau row across the bay, but
$it other times the only way is to walk
:across the emrrow neck of land which
connects th,; point with the mainland;
:end this is covered with water except
when the 'icide is very low and the sea
i quiet. Sometimes there are weeks
when ne sem.e can reach the shore.
For a long time the keeper's little
daughtee, Phoebe Ann, had been look-
ing forward to Christmas, and count-
ing the dogs. There were so many
things that she wanted that she had
not dared to tell Santa Claus of all
of therm bait she had finally made up
her "linea bout those that she wanted
Most, and had written Santa Claus
two It tters about them. She had left
:he let;t.ees on the mantelpiece when
she weet to bed, and in the morning
they were gone. So he must have got
them. Phoebe Ann had had an an -
sliver, and was a little afraid some-
thing had gone wrong; but her father
told her Santa Claus was always so
busy, espeeially just before Christmas,
that he seldom had time to answer
letters. die thought the old gentle-
man would come on time if the wea-
ther was not too bad.
But the weather was bad all Christ-
mas week—so bad that Phoebe Ann's
father could not get over to the main-
land, and the day before Christmas
was the veorst of all. It blew so hard
that the wester swept clear across the
point, cvma1 at low tide, and it Looked
as if Santa Claus could not get out
-o the lighthouse.
ouse.
F,ariy in the morning the keeper
d: his faiei'ly had seen a great ship
awing up the coast. It was plain
`hat she wad having a hard time in
the high. seas and strong head wind,
end se, they were not surprised when,
about nom, she carne to anchor a
-tic way out, in the shelter of the
pont 13ut they were very "much sur-
prised a little later to see a boat with
six or seven men in it put off from
The ehip and start toward the light.
They watched it tossed up on the
nave:. like a cork, and then dropped
down • again out of sight, till they
thought it was lost; but all the time it
kept coning nearer, till at last the
keeper nae down to the landing, and
helped the ashen pull the boat up.
They had come for help. The ship
va just home from China and the
n
I'aC Indite, The captain had
been
taken ,ii} k, and was very weak and
7sev, and the officer in charge of the
!;oat hard come to see if he could get
some fresh, nourishing food for him.
While the lighthouse -keeper and
`lie officer went up to the house,
Phoebe Ann stayed down by the boat
end talked with the sailors. She told
them bout the letters she had written
to Sante. aus, and how afraid she
,vin that he could not get to the lights
house n:w. But the sailors cheered
leer all. '.ilbey said that perhaps in-
etead e earning with his team of
reindeer, be would put on his diving
suit and swim out. They said he had
wel fret and could swim like a fish,
e X11+ay : and even if he did not get
then r juet. on time, he would probably
eened il,,, things later, and she must
net ".ire! -a little delay.
1'he ere.. ,inn stayed by the boat un -
ill her father and the officer calve
hack, c'arry-ing two live chickens and
ileseet. cif eggs and some vegetables.
Thor_ the boat rowed back to the ship
ao l I'}ioelie Ann went into the house
to hep her mother, There was a
good deal to do that day in getting
ready fax tine Christmas dinner, and
so Phoebe Min did not know that the
?oat came hack again and left a big
box oe the landing, which her father
covered with an old sail and brought
up to the house that evening, after
dark. She went to bed early, and
rether sad, because she was sure new
that Santa Claus could not come.
13n1 Online next morning/ Phoebe
Alin, junvped out of bed and rushed
into the dialing -room"; where she had
hung her stockings by the chimney.
The stocking was gone, but there Were
two stockings, both very . fat': and
'bunchy, I:anging on the funniest little
Christmas tree that stead in a great
The Star of Hope
green pot. •It was not like a common
Christmas tree, but had big, thick,
rubbery green leaves.
From branch to branch stretched
strings of pop -corn, and here and
there were little sparks of fire, from
sticks that burned only at the end,
and sent up a. delicious, sweet smell.
On. one limb was a little gray goose
that danced up and down and flapped
its wings gently. On another was a
brown monkey, hanging by one hand,
and holding a little dish in the other.
At the foot of the tree was a pile of
funny nuts, all bubbly on the outside,
but very sweet and chewy inside.
There were two beautiful fans, and
three funny Japanese dolls, with
slanting black eyes and a queer little
topknot of hair; and there were beau-
tiful things to make dresses for the
dolls. Last of all, and most astonish-
ing, was a letter from Santa Claus'
himself, saying that Ire just happened
to be corning up the coast on the
China ship, and had stopped to leave
the things before he went ashore.
"Just to think, papa," said Phoebe
Ann, at dinner, "how wonderful it is
that Santa Claus should come just in
time, on that ship!"
"Yes," said her father, "Santa Claus
is one of the most wonderful things in
the world."
FATHER'S PREDICAMENT.
When mother asks me what I want,
In truth I'd like to say
I want a set of briar pipes,
Three b of double a.
I'd like a watch of solid gold
With something 'graved therein,
But every year I answer her:
"My socks are getting thin."
When daughter Jane looks up to me,
And mutters: "Father, dear,
It is so hard to buy for men,
What do you want this year?"
I fain would tell the things I crave,
But let my thoughts revert
Unto the custom of the time,
And say, "Another shirt."
A hundred trivial things I want,
I'd count it joy to get
A. solid -headed walking cane,
Likewise a poker set.
But gifts like this are not for me,
And so 'I make reply,
When I ami asked What I desire,
"Jost pick me out a tie."
Thus has it been and e'er will be
When Christmas time draws round
And loved ones sinning come to me
Their questions to propound.
I dare not tell them what I'd like,
It would be vain indeed,
For what I v'ant I substitute
The things I really need.
At a Distance.
Mother—I hear that Barry Smith
is the worst boy in school, and I
want you to keep as far away from,
him as possible.
Tommy—I do, Ma., Re is always
at thehead of our class.
:tY
HOLIDAY
SWEETMEATS
There is no culinary secret so dear
to the feminine heart as a recipe been
queathed by one's ;great -great -grand --
mother. The recipes for these little
cakes have been used for generations
by the Moravians whose quaint Old
World religious customs have with-
stood our fin-de-siecle civilization for
a century and a half. To them the
neighborly exchange of Christmas
cakes is an institution as honored as
the singing of carols, and much more'
gratifying to the youngsters who re-
vel in edible birds and beasts cut
after the grotesque Moravian pat-
terns. The cutters used to form these
unusual shapes are now found in
some house -furnishing stores, but
they can be made by any tinsmith.
Cakes made from these recipes will
keep for weeks if they are put in a.
stone crock in a cool place. Pepper
nuts are especially good for long
keeping, because they contain no
shortening to -become rancid. If they
are made before Christmas they. will
keep perfectly until late in the spring.
of
All of these cakes are better if they
are mixed one day and baked the
next, The dough should be covered
and kept in a cool place overnight.
Pepper Nuts.—Mix one pound and a
quarter of brown sugar, two table-
spoonfuls of cinnamon, one table-
spoonful of cloves and one teaspoonful
of baking powder. Stir into this three
eggs and add as much flour as it is
possible to work in. The dough must
be very stiff. Roll it out moderately
thin, and cut the cakes no larger than
a silver quarter. Bake in a very cool
oven. These cakes will puff up round,
and are more attractive if the flat side
is spread with a hard icing. This re-
cipe will make between three and
four quarts of cookies.
Bethlehem Spice Cakes. — Cream
one pound of brown sugar and ono
pound of butter, add to this one quart
of molasses, one ounce of cinnamon,
one ounce of ginger, one ounce of all-
spice, half an ounce of cloves, the
grated rind of one orange and fine
enough to make a dough stiff enough
to roll out very thin.
Moravian Chocolate Cakes. — Mix
together two cupfuls of light brown
sugar and half a cupful of butter and
lard nixed. Add two eggs, a half
cupful of grated chocolate that has
been melted over hot water and one
teaspoonful of soda. Stiffen this with
flour and form into a long roll as.
large around :as a small baking pow-
der can. Slice this down very thin,
dip one side in granulated sugar, and
bake in a moderate oven. '
Nazareth Chocolate Cakes. --Crean
two cupfuls of granulated sugar and
a scant three-quarters of a cupful of
butter. Stir into this one cupful of
water, two eggs, two small teaspoon -
fuls of baking powder, half a cake of
melted chocolate and four large cup-
fuls` of flour. Roll very thin and bake
slowly: -
Almond Cakes. Rub together a
quarter of a pound of powdered su-
gar and a half a pound of butter, acid
the Yolks of four eggs, three table-
tp.eenfuls , of cream and one pound of
flour. Mix sufficient sugar and flour
in equal parts to sprinkle over the
dough board. Roll the dough on this
until it is a quarter of an inch thick,
then cut in, diamonds, and when the
cakes are baked ice them with the
following icing: Beat together the
yolks of two eggs and two tablespoon-
fuls of water and thicken with confec-
tioner's sugar. Spread this on the
cakes and sprinkle thickly with al-
monds that have been blanched and
cut fine, then set in the oven a few
minutes to dry.
Crisp Molasses Cakes. — Mix a
pound and a quarter of dark brown
sugar, half a pound of butter and
half a pound of lard. Add to this
ane • quart of molasses, two table-
spoonfuls of ginger, two tablespoon-
fuls . of cinnamon, one tablespoonful
of cloves and a small teaspoonful of
soda. Work in enough flour to stiffen
and roll very thin.
Bavarian Christmas
res.— Mix
k
Cookies.—
half a pound of butter with a quarter
of a pound of granulated sugar, add
three-quarters of a pound of flour and
]moisten with three tablespoonfuls of
orange juice. Roll the dough thin,
cut into small round cakes and spread
a little of the well -beaten yolk of an
egg in the centre of each. Sprinkle
pulverized sugar and a little cinna-
mon over the egg, and bake in a slow
oven.
White Christmas Cakes. — Cream"
one pound of butter, and one pound of
sugar, add five eggs and one cupful of
sour cream in which has , been dis-
solved a teaspoonful of soda. Stir in
flour enough to make a soft dough,.
roll thin, cut into round sakes and
press half of a hickory nut meat in
the centre. •
Rice Cakes. Rub together one
pound of butter and one pound of su-
gar, add two eggs and one pound of
rice flour. After the dough is rolled
thin and cut, spread a little beaten
'egg an each cake and sprinkle with
sugar and cinnamon.
Vanilla Wafers. — One-third of a
cupful of butter and lard mixed, one
cupful of granulated sugar, half a
teaspoonful of salt, one,egg, a quarter
of 'a cupful of sweet milk, two and a
quarter cupfuls of flour, ono teaspoon-
ful of baking powder and two tea-
spoonfuls of vanilla. Bake in a mod-
erate oven.
A First Sign.
"It's beginning to look like Christ-
mas at our house:"
"Why?"
"I found my clean shirts on the
floor this morning and the drawer in
which they're.usually kept filled with
opera, bags and Irish crochet."
THE ANNUAL TROUBLE.
"Alas," she sighed,
"I'm sore and sad;
The time has come
Which drives me mad-
The. days when fag
Grips hard my brain,
When life is one .
Long thinking pain.
"These are the days
.When one must :try
With least of cash
The most to buy
Of Christmas gifts
For all one's friends—.
A task whose pang,
It never elide. •
"A list I draw
Which longer grows
With every thought
Which to it goes;
Then when'I sort
Allotted chink—
It is a sweet
Job ---I don't think!"
OLD CHRISTMAS CARDS.
Have Become Modified Into the Usage
of Modern Civilization:
It is interesting to note that many
of the Christmas customs which have
endeared themselves to the people
scattered all over the world have
their origin in many case among those
ancient men and women who worship-
ped strange gods before they heard
the message of peace brought to thein
by the early Christian Fathers. The
holly, the mistletoe, the wassail bowl,
the Yule log, and the Christmas tree
are remnants of olcl customs that
have become annalgamated and modi-
fied into the usage of modern civiliza-
tion.
The Druids of Great Britain, whom
the Romans discovered there when
they conquered. the Celts, were a
priesthood ruling the people by cruel
watchcraft. They worshipped the
oak, the mistletoe, and the holly.
Their altars on their feast days were
decorated with the branches of white
and red berries, and one of the most
important of these festal occasions
was the celebration of the winter sol-
stice when the sun began its backward
journey.
Fuge logs were brought from the -
forests, and fires were built in great
heaps and in fireplaces in the homes,
while the wassail bowl was passed
around among neighbors and guests
amidst great feasting.
When the early Christian Fathers
came over to Britain they found .that.
it was easier to amalgamate the feast
days of the pagans with their own
customs and teachings than it was forgetting that the day may came
to eradicate them from the minds of when the child, grown wiser through
the people who, like" all men and wo- I•• •Qr experience will 'curse the well -
men, loved their recreation days. The' meaningfolly which made his own
wishes his parents' law. The child's..
wishes should be consulted, but the
parent's judgment and experience
must not be ignored.
Another mistake lies in confining
our Christmas gifts to our own little
circle.: If the Christian church in
Canada were fully alive to this, there
need be no family in the whole land
without a goodly measure of Christ-
mas cheer. If each one would only
look after his own corner! It would
mean a little "lore time, a little more
money, but a good deal more happi-
ness, both to those who give and to
those who receive. The Christmas
time, if it is to realize what it seems
to us it is divinely intended to rea-
lize, should make the whole world of
nanlcind, at least for a little time,
one great family, of which no mem-
ber should be left out in loneliness or
neglect.
1 CHRISTMAS GIF a S
:moi E +' 2:c lfetafv aitle2'U�Mii mai
There is a good deal of blunderin
in Christmas giving. There aro
number of delusions in relation t
this subject which itis worth while t
discover and avoid. One. delusio
which prevails is that all our gifts aid
to be valued at the dollar 'and nee
rate, At this rate the gift which cos
$1.00 will be worth to the • recipien
just a hundred tines as "rush at th
ono Which only cost one dollar. Thi
is surely a bad blunder. The value o
the gift depends comparatively littl.
upon its monetary value. It depend
very much more upon its, suitabilit
and most Of all upon the person wh
gives it. While Christmas is no : tine
for extreme and unnecessary . eco
omy, it is just as. ,little •a time fo
ostentatious display of wealth. Th
emphasis must not be laid upon th
dollar, for, if. it is, the value o
Christmas will be sadly impaired, an
possibly wholly destroyed.
Another blunder is to allow- ou
Christmas giving to worry us. I
seems strange that this should hap
pen, and yet we are persuaded tha
there are not a few who every Christ
mas really suffer from nervous ex
haustion an account of the worry in
cident to their Christmas shoppini,
This probably may be largely avoided
if we take plenty of time to. shoos
our gifts, and purchase them as w
have opportunity. And if the gift
are largely our own handiwork w
can probably commence them mac
earlier and escape the , penalty .o
Christmas weariness.
Another mistake is harder to tern
edy. -It consists in giving peopl
what we think they ought to .like r in
stead of what they really do like. Th<
boy would like a top or a sleigh; th
father gives him Baxter's ..Saint's
Rest. The girl' would:like a book or ,a
brooch; the mother gives her a pair
of boots. In all giving we have a
right to consider what is best for the
recipient, but we have an equal right
to consider what he (or she) would
most prefer. The tragic element in.
such cases too often lies in this, that
the giver is woefully out of sympathy
with the one he wishes to please.
Probably the heart is grayer than
the hair. Christmas, rightly used,
should help to keep us young.
Another blunder lies in foolishly
giving what our better judgment con-
demns. There are fathers and moth-
ers:who are too fond to be kine", anei
at Christmas they seek only to get
that which the children mast desire,
Christian missionaries merely
changed the name of the feast of the
winter solstice to that of Christmas,
and so the people paid tribute in the
old way to the new God, which, to
their simple minds, was quite com-
patible. •
Santa on the Way.
I can hear him singing faintly,
As he urges on his deer,
And his song is mellowed quaintly,
As the measures strike the ear,
And the lilt of it is jolly,
And the words of it are gay;
"Get the mistletoe and holly;
I have started on the way,"
thudding,
I can hear th.,Q
hoof-beatst 1
g,
As the snow is flung behind,
While the laden sleigh is scudding
With the swiftness of the wind,
And the echoes now are flinging
Broken murmurs of the song,
That old Santa Claus is singing
While the reindeer speed along:
"Little fellow, little fellow, while you
sit and dream of me,
And the marvel of the morning that
shall show the wondrous tree,
For you trust in all the fancies of the
shadow and the gleam,
I am starting on my journey down
the highway of your dream.".
'zq
Mistletoe Means Marriage.
Once more we are in the midst of
the festive scasbn. For lovers, Christ-
tnastide is a time of no. small moment,
for it is tolerably safe to say that far
more questions are popped at Christ-
mas than at any either time in all the
year. •
As clergymen can testify, for a
month after Christmas there are more
banns of marriage published than in
any other two months of the year,
and they will probably add, with a
genial smile, that it must be due to.
the benign influenceof the mistletoe.
After all, it's only natural that a
young fellow, kissing a pretty girl
for the first time at Christmas, should
make up his hind to possess her per-
manently, so that he can repeat his
osculatory performance whenever The
chooses.
Mistletoe, it will thus be Seen, is re-
sponsible for a good many marriages
in spring.
A full-grown sheep averages 152 .lb.
in. weight.
Christmas Tree Cakes.
Little anise seed cakes are often.
called Christmas tree cakes. The
prettiest of these are made with white
of egg only, and thick enough to roll
out and be cut out in all sorts of
fancy shapes, and often they are
sprinkled with red sugar. A simple
yellow anise =drop cake may he made
as follows Two eggs [whites and
yolks beaten separately], four table-
spoons of sugar, one-half cap of well
sifted flour, and one scant teaspoon-,
ful of pounded anise seed. Beat the
yolks thoroughly and then beat with
the sugar, and add the flour, 'and
finally the anise seed; drop little
pieces on a pan at a good distance
apart, let stand an hour, and bake for
ten or twelve minutes in a moderate
oven. Anise seed is dirty as we buy
it. Pick out the debris and shake it
in. a fine strainer to remove the dust,
then wash and again pick over, drain
carefully, spread out on a tin to dry,
picking out any foreign seeds or dirt,
iridescent bugs, etc., then sop with a
dry cloth to further clean and dry,
and Finish drying in a "warm place.
The flavor is dainty if not too much
is used and, is worth the trouble,
With some people, the presence of
a cat in the room induces an attack of
asthma.
Out of the frying pan of courtship
a ratan often steps into the fire of
matrimony.
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