The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1865-04-19
Soft Tommy.

OOlum to sed WhSu was S-' 80 Z
! the height of capstan bar, was very
! different affair in several respects from
going to sea in these flying clipper and
ocean steamer days. The bread feature
1 hes perhaps undergone more radical
! change than any other. Now we eat
4"hard tack" at sea for rarity. Then we
East India goers saw loaf or biscuit SO
seldom that we forgot the names entirely
1 and called everything that was not hard
tack soft tommy.
In my eighth year, I should think, we
went to Providence with our cargo ofteas
one voyage, and couple of days after
aour arrival, my father took the steward
ashore with him, and sent down aboard
.by that official FIVE great round loaVes OF
Yankee brown bread, still warm from the
,oven, and two rolls of the incest, richest
yellow butter | had ever seen.
Depositing the loaves and rolls of but
ter on the cabin table, and saying
s"Dick, you look out for that bread and
butter, while I 90 hunt a washer-woman
for the ship" off he went, leaving me the
guardian of the FIVE loayes and two rolls
3of butter
30, yes" I said, in soliloquy, "Dck
will take precious good care of that pre-
lcious bread aud butter some of it at least
And forthwith, provided with a carving
knife, | slahed one of the huge loaves
square through the centr, and then cut.
jting a slice fully an inch thick, and |
should judge about the size of a door mat
Z laid on to the best Of my judgement
three quarters of an iuch OF butter, and
prepared to take care of the material.
| had Gully bitten out the first horse
shoe when a tramp on deck announced
| the arrival Of my father and company
with him.
What was I to do? How or where
could | hide my plundcr? My father was
on the stairs, and to rue to the pantry
wonld be to run directly under his eye
Help me mother wit, now if ever A
bright idea occurred to me. With the
great slab Of bread 10 my hand, butter
side up, l spatted it up underneath the
table,, leaf aud it stuck there.
Down came my father, and down after
him came foar fellow sea captains, whom
Ihe had invited to lunch with Kim. Seat
ling himself at the table, I was ordered to
Hay on knives aud the great cheese, aud
'at it they went, disposug of brown bread
and butter at such rate that I, after a
jIittle while, began to whisper softly to
myself:
Dick you're lucky dorg to have Sc
cured just taste for yourself "
But hadn't quite done that, for after
they had been gormandising a half hour
or SO, my father suddenly called:
"Boy, Dick !"
"Slr," l said promptly, standing up as
straight as a stick close to his left shoul-
der
Boy, do You love soft Tommy" ?" my
father inquired, very earnestly.
'No-sir-I-don 't-ike-soft--Tom |
my"
"Ah-hem-no-T s'pose not. I say
boy, do you like bread and butter %
"Don't know sir; never ate any"
"Eh ! what! never ate any bread and
butter? Upon my word, that's too bad
Here, my lad, I'll give you taste" and
just then fetching away my moustrous
slab of brown bread from under the table
he spatted the slice, butter side to, slap
all over my face, and then said, very qui
,etly:
There, my lad, eat your way cut Of
that, and you'll likely be able to tell me if
you like bread aud butter And took We
there, my son, so long as you're cabin boy
ION this ship, and take fancy for first
cut into anything, it will be we'll to ask
permission to do So"