The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1872-11-14

Ro.o 7e1.nessee e. orentea }. -.

- ANfSfsSSoCC NAFt OTGCLtEI q koS1sNff049
memphis Cor of the C,ourier-Journal.
heard Of a young lady the other dav
up IN Middle Tennessee who. as river
men say, has taken another chute ~
story told about her did nv soul GOOD
and for the comfort of other balf-stsrved
dyspeptics ike myself, whose tardv ens-
tensatIon Is effected by means of fried
chicken, soggy biscuits, greasy hash and
sole-leather fritters, I'll relate il. Fer
years past, as mere matter of form
something handed down from remote an
tiquity-the officers of the county fair
held IN the neighborhood where this
young lady lived have been in the habit
OF offering a premium TO the lady Gun
marrled) cooking the best dinner. II
was dead letter. Nobody had contested
for the premium within the memory of
the Oldest inhabitant. This year. how
ever, the young lady of whom I am
speaking determined to compete for-tbe
prize. Her name-I wish [ could inn
mortalIze twas Kate Janaway. The
far men set up stove for her, stretched
canvas to shield her from the sun. and
| about IL o'clock of the last dav she went
to work. The matter had been talked
about by every one in the neighborhood
ana curiosity Iwas on tip-toe A crowd
collected around the place where the
sroVe was set up early in the morning,
and kept increasing, but when Miss Kate
| herself, a buxom, handsome girl of nine
teen, daughter of the ex-AIayor of the
town, appeared on the ground, and, put
| ting on white apron and rolling up her
sleeves, commenced operations, all other
attractions were nothing. Every one
was eager to see so novela sight There
was tree near by which soon became
black with spectators who had climbed up
to get u better view The branches
were, finally, 50 burdened that one by
one they broke, precipitating those upon
them to the gound, until only one man
was left in the tree. He sat in lofty
fork, with eyes riveted on the scene be-
low. No amount of persuasion by those
| beneath, envlous of his better view, could
induce him to come down-even a bride
Of SO failed. He said he was bound to
see or die. Meanwhile the dinner prep
paratlons went on apce.
The savory smell of the cooking food
| seemed to intoxicate the crowd, which
pressed nearer 1t took all the police
force on the grounds to keep order -
The time arrived for the trotting-match,
announced as the sport OF the day, but
the amphitheater was empty. The
judges with the exceptionzQf one crab
bed old widower,) the timers, all were
missing, and so nothing could be done
At haif-past two the dinner was announc-
ed ready, and judges, happy men, seat
/ ed themselves at the table-the crowd re-
garding them with ill-disguised envy. A
roast of beef, delicately done, was put
steaming hot upon the table, then fol
lowed corn pudding, whose delicate
aroma fell upon the alfactories of the ex-
cited crowd, like breezes of Araby the
| blest;" profusion Of vegetables cooked
| to perfection followed next. The judges
ate and ate, praising the flavor of the
food and the skill Of the cook at every
mouthful. But when a desert OF piping
hot apple-dumplings made its appearance
| the forbearance of the crowd was ut an
end. They broke through the ropes in
| to the ring with one accord, and the
/ dumplings disappeared in a trice.
One old fellow, proprietor of a store
and owner of big saw mill, proposed 10
the young lady on the spot, but he was
quickly collared and led off the grounds
by two younger aspirants, who made
common cause against the aged sutton,
saw-mill and all. That young lady was
the centre of attraction in her town after
the cooking feat. She received twenty
five offers of marriage the first week, and
her fame spread through all the country
round. And old bachelor fellow down
in Grundy county, with farm so big
that it takes him all day to ride around
it, and cattle on a hundred hills, heard
Of her, and made a pilgrimage all the
way to that town to learn the truth. He
got the girl, too, although some of the
young men of the place sued out a writ
of habeas corpus to prevent her being
carried out of the county. They were
too late.
This is, | am aware, q rather sad end
ing for so good story, but devotion e
the truth compels me to give nothing but
the simple, unvarnished reality.
She ought'to have married that fellow
who set up there in the crotch OF tbs
tree so long, and at such fearful discom
fort. He wanted her, and he was a poor
bilious dyspeptic, whom her splendid
cooking would have soon restored to use
fulness and society, but he was poor
All