The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1883-05-04
WHOLE NO. 2Oe
THE GENTLEMEN. TEAPARTY.
Written for THE TIMES.

Society in this city last Friday eve
ming, can without doubt be pro-
nounced splendid success. 1t was
in benefit to the "Ready Helpers" a
young ladies missionary society Of
the church. Feeling the pressing
need of a new church edifice, the
young ladies are devoting their "dues"
to missionary work and making a
special effort to increase the building
fund. They got the young men to
take hold of it, BY all their strength,
by all their pride in the attempt, once
committed to it Ga duty they freely
accepted) they determined to sue,
ceed. An efficient committee under
the management of Warren Woodard
had the general control.
The spacious apartments OF Mr.. G.
+. Shattuck were thrown open and
just alter o'clock the crowd COM
meneed to come. Having commenced
it continued-and continuing it kept
coming. Preparation had been made
for crowd. The only point that
could not be compassed was tables
sufficient to seat a large company.
In the dining room two extended
tables groaned beneath the weight Of
luxuries from nearly every cline.
Bread in variety of forms, meats as
well. Fruits, fishes, nuts, tea, coffee,
chocolate, mineral waters, ice cream,
and toothpicks, with pastry of the
most tempting and delicate appear
ance greeted the bemazeo beholder
as he sat down to eat.
All the cooking done by the men.
Was it? You say. A gentlemen of
prominence was asked if he cooked a
certain article. That's a leading
question was his reply. Well never
mind. II any one had fears of hor
rid dreams in which CHASTITY forms
rise up through the lurid channels of
poor cooking, one lingering lcok at
those tables would forever dispel the
terror. Who cooked jt' Well, we
did not press too closely the question.
The rising esquire cooked the pies
that we know, because he said he
spared and quartered the apples"
That enterprising grocer cooked the
pies because his determined wife made
him. That young news agent cooked
the cake, though he feared his cake
cooked, as tremblingly he wondered
whether he should own the mistake
that attached his name to another
kind. And even the minister, fresh
from the hills of Maine, insists that
he baked the beans. spite of the
ancient theory that beans contained
germs of the immortal and, being
the pastor, we accept the statement
Generally the cooking was done by
those, who nteR0ed to do it. Of
course men who are engaged in the
stern struggles of life had TO attend
to them, and perhaps, to enda1ger
good results, mothers, wives or sisters,
just cared for the fire or saw to it that
cayenne was not substituted for nut
meg or some such slight affair, while
they completed the other duties about
them. The extraordinary quantity of
imported articles, in spite of tariff,
was doubtless caused by a lack OF
time to attend to cooking, not inabili-
ty. After the first group had sampled
the bin of fare, McHardy and Phillips
were looked for. 1t was known they
had arrived safely from the frog ponds
and woodland streams, because the
frogs had been sent in. But when il
was known that no matter how great
the rush the frogs would not "run
out" the question of their physical
condition was canvassed. We are
pleased to say they seemed no worse
from the time taken to send all pre-
pared the frogs. The ice cream
well it was immense, in fact so was
everything. Those waiters-with
their dainty little aprons, and boquets
that we're "to utterly-ut' for anything
the embodiment of politeness, leav.
ing no want unmet-kindly, not
intrusively they would ask, what shall
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