The Exeter Times, 1890-12-18, Page 11THE CHURCH TWA
small desires were satisfied, No happy girl
could have a merrier Christmas then this old
"woman with her little measure full of gifts.
That Christmas Eve Hetty lay down under
her sunflower quilt, and all her old hard-
ships looked dim in the distance, like lex-
away hills, while her new joys came outlike
stars,
She wase light sleeper ; the next learning
she was up early. She opened the meeting-
house doorand stood looking out, The smoke
from the village chimneys had not yet begun
to rise blue awl rosy iu the clear frosty air,
There was no snow, but over all the hill
there was a silver rime of frost ; the bare
branches of the trees glistened. Betty stood
loolciYti+ "Why, it's Christmas moruin',"
she said, suddenly. Christmas had never
been a gala.day to this old evoman. She was
led to think of it now only in connection
with the r�e1inner Mrs. Gale had promised to.
bring herbto-da . •
Mrs. Gale had told her she should have
some of her Christmas dinner, some turkey
and plunepudding. She called it to mind
now with a thrill of delight. Her face grew
momentarily more radiant, There was a cer-
tsbi beauty in it, A finer morning light than
that which lit up the wintry earth seemed
to shine over the furrows of her old face.
tr I:m goin' to have turkey an' plum-puddin'.
to day," saki she ; "it's Cnristmas,'" Sud-
denly she started, and went into the meet-
ing,ltouse, straight up the gallery stairs.
There in 4 clear space hung the bell -rope,
Hetty grasped it. Never before had a
Christmas bell been Lung in this village,
'Hetty had probably never heard of Christ-
masbells.:alto was promptedby pure artless
enthusiasm and grateful happiness, Her
old arms pulled on the rope with a will, the
bell sounded peal on peal, Down ill the vil-
lage, curtains rolled up, letting in the morn-
ing light, happy faces looked out of the win-
dows. Hetty had awakened the whole vil-
lage to Christmas Day.
MTNCE PIE.
A Qc•ve.N's Disu, Fon Oen AND Yor iu,
WEAK AND STnoNo.
;dines pie and Christmas are inseparable,
Both are rich contributions to enjoyment.
Rev. -ever high the tide of reverence for
menus may rise we are, sooner or later, sure
to come (lows from our devotional eyrie, to
this queen of pie. Now there are mince
pies that savor of anything but enjoyment'
;after eating them. When one starts out to
perform an artistic piece of work, it is ne-
cesseey to know how the achievement is to
he accomplished. Like building a house,
there are the preliminary arrangements to
the proper construction of this, festive diel.
No wonder a 'ilium pie is associated with
royal sang and musical birds. 'Prue, some
vandal minds bare tried to link mince pies
with ghosts, hobgoblins, and night horses
but a genuine, delicious, and healthy pie is
formed " on this wise." The butcher is the
tii..t actor in this culinary scene ; from his
stall must be selected a firm, good piece of
juiey lean beef off" the round. " ill 1" I
hear one say, " tihat is too expensive."
Cheapest in the end, as all good articles
are ; no gristle, surplus fat, and suspicious
portions ttr be (lenounceds a nice' piece off
un
the rod is most reliable. This should be
boiled until tender. It should always be a
part of a cook's religion to skim a boiling
tress often. When done, chop very flue,
reserving a little of the rich liquid in which
it was prepared for the chopping -knife, to
mix in when fine enough. A two -bladed
chopper is best ; I have seen, and used a
six -bladed one, but they are a nuisance,.
as the melt will lodge among the steelwork-
ers. Use the greening apples, byall means,
also chopped line, but not as line as the
meat, One quart of apples to two pounds
of meat ; citron, also chopped, not sliced ;
raisins (box) seeded and dropped•--•clo not
put them in whole ; cinnamon moderately,
cloves scant, nutmeg plentiful, aed molas-
ses and sugar ; no currants—these are the
little imps of mischief that stake the modern
pie coarse, and common. They have no
right in our little crown jewel of kitchen art.
Currants fulfil their mission on the bush, in
the garden; from, their native shrub they
should be transferred to the mouth, table, or
preserve -kettle, perchance, but never dried.
Cider is an old standard for mince pie, as
well as brandy; the former is best.
Should both conic under a ban, then a good
substitute arises in the form of legion juice
freely disguised in the stoek,—no peel of
orange or lemon, We aro now building a
healthy dish. The crust—ah ! "now collies
the' tug of war ;" in that little word hides the
dyspeptic's nightmare, and the : dear little
one's self-denial is whc n enforced in a house-
hold where the Christmas pie is texnptingly
displayed. It is as harmless as your prettily
lighted tree of bon -bons, if the crustisprop-
erly made.
Prepared flour should always be used for a
mince crust. It maybe bought, or arranged
from the barrel by incorporating, evhen dry,
baking -powder freely with the plain article;
pure, white, clean lard (sometimes lard has
arsenic in it which gives it a superficial
whiteness). See to it that your lard is not
adulterated. Mix thoroughly with. the
flour ; let the process be performed with
both hands. A skilled pastry cook must
know how to use her hands to advantage.
Let the crust mixture be moistened with
cool water, ancl a little richer than ,yetu
make for short -cake. If tough, the pie is a
failure. Always bake a trial pie as a test of
its richness. ' Both upper ands under crusts
shouldbe thick—never make either thin.
Line.tlie plate, which must not be deeper
than;a dinner plate and about the size •of .a•
large
a-
large one. See that the edges are well
.snugged and free from air crevices. The pie
mixtie,'after being stirred well, should be
very moist. Taste it. Stir again, then
taste again, until you are sure that the in-
gredients are evenly distributed. Submit
it finally to some critic that has not before
tasted. When you conclude that nothing
is lacking, then spoon into the plate, press-
ing the mince near the edges,bnt not too near.
One inch sleep makes a well filled"pie. Now
roll out the upper crest, flour, and fold it,
and with a jigger -iron cut the fold prettily,
then strike off a spray on the balance with a
clash. of cuttings to resemble leaves. Un-
fold the dough and ley carefully over 'the
fire, press the edges together, and use the
. jigger again on them as fancy dictates. leave
the oven ready, and evenly heated. Let the
pastry brown nicely, baking first on the
bottom. They should be well baked. The
-principle of nine days old applies to this de-
lieious dish, for they improve with ag'e
Ciomweil's Baby Clothes,
Oliver Cromwell .was really once a baby;
his baby clothes ate still to be'seen at the
famous heuee of,;eliequere, in Buekingltam-
slime. They, are earefullycherislaed by the
pre eint'eiefers. The e costlysatin 'n
P s" t robe > n
which,he,.wee ehristeiie''d has since beenused
for many of iis"lescenclants,as well as for
the babies of the familythat now; owns
,Chequers. Six tinycaps, 10
q p., sea l pe d round
the :edges and bound with ribbon that is
now yellow with age, form pert of the col-
lection.
err
ROFESSOR DRIle,R herewithsends
A,Christmas greeting to his friends
King Baba, Lite queen, and theroy-
al heir
Whose godfather he was last year,
And these few gifts also presents,
With all the season's compliments,,,
So Jack declares and. sails away,
For his time is short be cannot stay.
And his scanty costume it com-
pletes.
With its rather►videaecordion-
plaits
But soca be spoils his gorgeous
skirt
With a plastering thatlookstikedirt;
For he finds a packet of choceeete creme,—
Which is 'sexy Windt to his taste it seems.
The absorbing interest it creates,
His pictured petticoat illustrates
With big usual fine and kindly tact,
professor Drier has carefully peeked
Some cracker bonbons in the box ;
But the kine adorns his woolly leeks
With rho irtngled=out ende, anal the lasses
cats,.
AB if the Mongol lights were sweets.
Four do:engiltand colored balls.
For the Christmas -tree, it now befalls,
Are quite enough to, for once, content
The family taste for ornament.
The king and queen with joy receive
The box of gifts, you may believe ;
And as it quickly is undone,
Eagerly curious, earl% one
Conies crowding, every dusky dame.
The donor's face in guilder) frame
Is first unpaeked--This gift—hisown
King Baba appropriates for a crown.
He gives a most delighted laugh,
And tearing outtho photograph,
Ilio sticks the frame on his woolly hair:
'" Such a beautiful crown for Sunday Wear 1"
The queen's quick search rewards her haste,
And she finds a gift to her royal taste ;
She was never so pleased before nor since.
'Tis a drum, that was sent to the youngest
prince,
But she puts it upon her queenly bead,
And a charming coiffure it makes instead.
In the height of fashion she now appears,
With the drum -sticks thrust through her
pretty ears.
The kite was passed from hand to hand,
13ut the Princess Bubu fastened its band
Aroundher delicate dusky waist,
And as a.tournure herform it. graced.'•
She wears it, indeed, with infinite " chic,"
And gives its tail the `° court -train kiol.."
A net to catch specimen butterflies,
King Baba considered a royal prize
And appointed a slave thehet to bear
Over his had as he takes the air.
The lace-like cap on its slender pole
He takes for his ensign, and every soul
Must bow him low to the royal Crest
Thus borne aloftat the king's behest.
Prince Bobo is happy : only look 1
He has seized on a wonderful picture -book,
Il ith the last gift their joy increased ;
`lavas a life•st-cil doll, "'though last, n
least,"
It has as most lovely golden hair,—
The Professor's wife as not more fair.
The delighted king into raptures goes,
Whereat the queen turns up her ease.
The king with ardor clasps the child,
The queen with jealous rage is wild.
She grabs the doU, he holds it fast,
They pull and tug, until, at last,
By chance she pulls a string, and --ah
The unlucky baby cries "iia -ba 1"
Now, horror-struck, King Babastands,
Stares at the queen, who, with twitching
hands
And gleaming teeth, shrieks out : " Aha'
'Beebe 1' I thought so 1—Ha ha iia -ba!
Fi'rious with wrath, for blood athirst,
She grasps poor baby to cls her worst :
Its little arm by her teeth is crushed,
And she fills her mouth with—fine saw-
dust l
At this terrible sight King Baba turns,
Bat the gunpowder now in lois stomach
burns.
He roars with pain, the gem) 'roars; too,
The little rtnces weep i Boo-hoo 1"
1? p,
The court is in a hullabaloo,
And Christmas winds up with a general
row:
Thus sometfnes morel not knowingbow
To appreciate blessings—though muh acl-
mirocl
Leaves much,—•verY nneeln,—to be desired.
Talk about women being flighty, ! Look at
bank cashiers. e
Never
eats
niuce ecie hotfrom the oven
In extreme cold. weather let them war gent-
ly, th - warm a
�ug . ro oh . Acandid trial of this dish will
prove satisfactory. It can beartalcen of
by old and young, weak and strong ; poor
digestions must eat sparingly. What' a va-
cuum would life present were fate to abolish
he dear old Christmas pie ?
The Czar objects to. Russian drugs. He
will take no'physic but what comes from a
private lnedieine chest which is kept in an
iron safe`ii the Empress's room„and of which
she l etereiellas the key ::'This ehest„liythe
way, was ordered in Paris, and when any of
the drugs run outernew-slippier` - g 3t
g is bought in
Paris by the Empress's French. sister-in-law,
the Prin;ess Waldemar, auri is Smit to'Russia,
by el—ere.) messenger.
THE SWITCHMAN"S OHRIST1VIAS STORY,
$e t1fE AUTfiolt oa! " 1 l T l.> JOE,”
Yes, it's a quiet station, but it suits the well enough ;
I want a bit of the smooth now, for I've had my share o' rough,
This berth that the company gave me they gave as the work was light;
I was never fit for the signals after one awful night,
I'd been on the line from a younker, and I'd never felt the strain
Of the lives at nay right liana's mercy in every passing train.
One clay there was something happened,,atrui it made nay nerves go queer,
And it's all through that as you find see the station -raster here.
I was on the switch down yonder --that's where we turn the mails
And specials and fast expresses on to the centre tails ;
The side's for the outer traffic ---the freight and the local slows,
It was rare have seerk «k Christmas, when double the traffic grows.
I've been on duty down, yonuer nigh sixteen hours a day,
Till my eyes grew dim and heavy and my thoughts went all astral ;
But I've worked at the switch half sleeping, and once I slept outright,
Till the roar of the Limited woke me and I nearly died with fright.
Then. I thought of the livesin peril and what might have ben their fate
Had I sprung to the points that evening a tenth of a tick too late ;
And a cold and ghastly shiver ran icily through my frame
As I fancied the public clamor, the trial and bitter shame.
I could see the bloodywreekage—I could seethe mangled slain—
And the pictures was seared forever, blood red, on any heated brain.
That moment my nerve was shattered, for I couldn't shut out the thought
Of the lives that I held in my keeping and the ruin that anight be wrought.
Titat night in our little cottage, as I kissed our sleeping child,
My wife looked up from her sewing and told use, as she smiled,
That Johnny had made his mind up ----he'd be a switchman too,
(a Hix says when he's big, like daddy, he'll work on the line with you.”
I
frowned, for my heart was heavy, and any wife she saw the look;
Lord bless you . my little Alice could read me like a hook,
l'd to tell her of what had happened, and I said that I must leases,
Fora switchman's carni ain't steady when terror lurks in his sleeve.
But she cheered me up in a Minute, and that night, ere we went to slee
She made me give her a promise, which swore that I'd always keep—
It was always to do away duty. "Do that, and then, come what will
You'll have ata worry," said Alice, if things go well or ill.
There's something that; always tells us the things that we ought to do "
My wife was a bit religious and in with the chapel crew ;