M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1858-03-11
PnsIponing.n Goose.

lNhA fhS 20 feoih3 Nihh q WV " fos@f
ing a dollar or two, ordered the men
to bring out their fishing g-tackle and
TRY their lnck, This was done. and a
Quantity Of the hnny tribe was soon
transferred from their aqueous abode
Ito the deck Of the ship.
The captain enlarged upon the deli.
cacy of the fish, and closed by asking {;
E"What say youto a fish dinner to-day,
ladies and 'gentlemen2" Everybody
said "Oh, by all means !"
Attached to the ship was a negro
cook, called Centaur.
"Centaur!' cried the captain.
"Aye, aye, sa I!
Cook mess of fish for the passen
gers dinner; and, dye hear, postpone
that goose !"
"All right, sa !"
Centanr seemed troubled, and
scratched hs head vigorously. "What
he mean BY cookin' de fish and post.
ponia' de goose | ben on seberal
voyages, if not more | ben in big
hotels and little hotels, man and boy,
for eber SO long, if no longer dan dat,
and dis is dc fust time ! eber hearn oh
postpOnin' a goose. Dere's pickin' a
goose, an drawin' a goose, an stutfin'
q goose, an roastin' a goose, an bak-
in goose, an bilin' a goose, bct
pOStponin' a goose, don't believe dat
eben Mrs. Glass, de great cook dey
talk bout, eber hearn Of 1t must be
done, though. Wonder if. Jimmy
Ducks ever heard Of it! He knows
ebery ting"
just SO Centaur concluded, Jimmy
and two Others Of the crew passed the
galley door, and the hewildered cook
anXiously inquired Of the oracle if he
knew show to postpone a gooseW
"De case is dis, you see. Cap'n
says to me jis now, says he, "Cook a
large mess ob fish for de passengers
dinner to-day, ard postpone de goose.
Now, dat is just what dis nigger can't
git through his wool, no how, what
postpouin' goose is |"
"Ohw said Jimmy, winking at his
companion, "that is easy enough. |
thought every fool knew that"
81 fought SO, too" said Centaur,
"an' SO | says to myself, Jimmy
Ducks'll know.
"Well, You see, said Jimmy, look.
! ing serious, "it isn't common way Of
cooking a goose;' but when it is
served up after fish, at the nobility's
dinners, they 'postpone'it. Now. this
is the mode: After drawing the bird,
stuff it with a mixture Of 'ard boiled
eggg, chopped fine: onions ditto; APP
pies ditto; biscuit into bits, and por.
tions OF Il fish previously Drowned on
the fire. Then put the goose into a
pot, boil it tOr 'all an our; place it in
the oven, and bake it tor 'alt' an hour;
then put it on your spit, roast it until
done, and serve it with gravy"
Ceptapr listened with attention, and,
noting upon the tablet Of his brain
Jimmy's directions, started for the
galley, highly elated.
Dinner time arrived, and Centaur
won honors by the style in which he
served the fish. Dish after dish dis
appeared; and, when every one sup
posed the meat to be concluded. an.
other dish was placed before the cap
tain, who, on removing the coyer, 10
his Indignation, discovered the goose!
His wrath was not TO be suppressed,
and, in d passion, he shouted: "Send
that Internal rascal aft"
Centngr entered the cabin very
good, bumoredly, having no suspicion
Of anything wrong, and was startled
by the question:
"What do you mean, scoundrel, by
disobedience of orders!"
"Beyed orders, sa done jes what
you SAID, sa."
"Obeyed orders, yon rascal! Didn'
| tell you to postpone the goose"
"Oonrse you did, sa; and did it.
"Did what!" shouted the captain
postponed de goose, SD, 'cordin' t,
directions.
The passengers saw the joke, ant
burst into laugh. The captain wa:
somewhat modified. and requested
Centaur to explain himself.
"Well, sa," said he, you ordered me
to cook &c fish and postpone de goose
Now, neber postponed in all my life
an OBJ course didn't know nothin' bout
it; but Jimmy Ducks frightened me
on de suLjeck, an foller 'xactly his
'scription. l had trouble enough
don't want to postpone anoder, nc
how"
Everybody laughed at Centaur's ex-
planation and even the captain smiled.
"Be of, you blockhead!" he said,
'and send Jimmy Ducks here"