The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1886-02-11
An Old Salem Cupboard.
BY ELEANOR PUTNAM.

most delicious odOr came forth when the
door was opened: a hint of the spiciness of
rich cake, a tingling sense of preserved ginger,
and ii certain inetlable sweetness which no 9TH
er closet ever possessed, and which l know not
how to describe 1t might well have proceeded
from the walls and shelves of the cupboard it.
! self, for they We're indeed embems of purity
The paint was vanished to a high degree Of
gossness, and was so eNquisitely kept as to
! look like white porcelain.
The china here as in all genuine Salem cup
boards, was chiefly of the honest old blue Can :
ton ware. There were shining piles of those
| plates which, while they are rather heavy to
handle, always surprise one by being so thin at
| the edges. There We're generous teacupS like
| small bowls. squat pitchers with big noses, and
tureen whose cover had the head of a boar
for handle. And in all this the blue was dull
and deep in tint, with a certain ill-defned,
vaporous quality at the edges of the lines, and
the white of the cool greenish tinge of duck S
| egg. on can buy blue Canton to-day, but it is
not old blue Canton. Such china is matchless
now, but in this cupboard there were shelves
of it.
Cousin Susan possessed also another set of
! china. which She valued far above her blue.
! 1t was always singulary attractive to us as
| children, though have come to believe that it is
far less beautiful than the Canton. 1t was pure.
| thin white ware, delicatey fluted at the edges
and decorated with little raised lilac sprigs. 1t
was used only upon occasions of solemn com
pany tea-drinkngs, and cousin Susan ALWAYS
washed it herself in her little cedar ,lisi-tub
| We children considered this china so choice
and desirable that a bit of broken saucer
which included one of the pale, tiny sprays,
was cherished far above our real dolls dishes.
| We lent it from one to another, each of us
keeping it one day; but it was always one of
! those unsatisfactory treasures of childhood for
which we could never find any adequate use.
We could think Of nothing to do with this bit
of china which seemed at all worthy of SO
| lovely an object.
| At the left hand of cousin Susan's shelves of
china was little cupboard with diamond
pancd glass door. This was the Sdnctun sane
t0rum,-a cupboard with cupboard and
here one might have expected, were stored
the choicest treasures of all. 1t was not the
domestic preserve closet. Cousin Susan was
thrifty, and had good store of homemade dain-
ties, but they were kept in the cool secuSion of
a dark cellar store-room. This little glass cup
board held the stock of foreign sweetmeats:
the romd->houdered blue jars, inclosed in
network of split bamboo, which contained the
fiery, amber ginger; the fiat boxes of guava
jelly, hCt curry powders, chilli sauce, and chol
erie Bengal chutney. Here We're two minia-
ture casks of tamarinds, jolly and black, cousin
Su>anS fayoriteS. She had certain air of dis
approval toward most of these strange conseryes.
They We're not good for little people," she
averred; and indeed she always maintained
that these ardent sweetmcats were filter for
the delectation of rude men than for the deli
cate paates of gentlewomen. OF tamarinds.
however, cousin Susan did approve. Properly
diluted with cool water, they made what she
| caec a Every pretty drink She fond of
sending a glass to any neighbor who was i'll
and ievcriSh, and she was always following
our cousin the sea-captain about with blue
china bowl Of the mixture, begging him to
partake of it.
">u>an. hate tamarind-watcr," our cousin
would protest.
1T will cool your blood, William" his sister
would urge.
but | don't want my blood cool. | want it
warm the captain would reply.
As general thing, however, cousin Susan
came off triumphant. The captain grumbingly
partook of his dose, and was always most gen
erou> i'll sharing it with us children. The
beautiful little brown stones also fell to our lot.
and we boarded the useless things with great
care. although it always seemed to us great
oversight on the part of nature that tamarind
seeds did not have holes through them. that
one might string them as beads.
Cousin Susan's cupboard also contained
stronger waters than tamarnd, for side by side
sat two cOrpulcnt cut-glaSS decanters, of which
one was half filled with madeira wne and the
other with honest rum. A variety of sweet
cakes near by. to be served with the Wine
TO any chance visitor. There We're black fruit
cake in a japanned box; "hearts and rounds
of rich yellow pound cake; and certain delicate
but nane little sponge biscuit, of which our
cousin spoke 10y the older-fa>hioned name of
diet-or. a. She chose to pronounce it, 'dier''
bread. She always called the sponge cakes
''litle dier Breads Pound and fruit cakes
were forbidden 10 our youth. but we might
have our ladyike ill of ''dier Breads and
also of delightful >eed-cakeS, which were cut
III the shape of an oak-leaf. and We're maryels
of >ugary thinnes>. February Atlantic.