The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-02-18
AN OLD SALEM CUPBOARD.

A most delicious odor came forth
when the door was opened; hint of
the spiciness of rich cake, a tingling
sence of preserved ginger, and certain
ineffable sweetness which no other clos
ct ever possessed, and which know not
how to describe. 1t might well have
proceeded from the walls and shelves of
the cupboard itself, for they were indeed
emblems of purity. The paint was var
nished to a high degree of glossiness,
and was so exquisitely kept as to look
like white porcelain.
The china here, as in all genuine Sa-
lem cupboards, was chiefly of the hon.
est old blue Canton 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. These were generous teacups
like small bowls, squat pitchers with big
noses, and a tureen whose cover had the
head of boar for handle. And in
all this the blue was dull and deep in
tint,swith certain ill-defined, vaporous
quality at the edges of the lines, and
the white of the cool greenish tinge OF a
ducks egg. You 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 singularly at
tractive to us as children. though | have
come to believe that it is far less beauti-
ful than the Canton. 1t was pure, thin
white ware, delicately fiuted at the edges
and decorated with little raised lilac
sprigs. 1t was used only upon occasions
of solemn company tea-drinkings, and
cousin Susan always washed it herself
in her little cedar dish-tub. We chill
dren considered this china SO choice and
desirable that 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 for one
day; but it was always one of those un-
satisfactory treasures of childhood for
which we could never find any ade-
quate use. We could think of moth
ing 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-paned glass door. This
was the Sdnctune sdnct0r1tn,-a cup
board within cupboard; and here, as
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 dainties, but they were
l-n,, IN ba ano1 caol,,rio,, <~f, a., Il
lar store-room. This little glass cup
board held the stock of foreign sweet
meats: the round-shouldered blue jars,
inclosed in a network of split bamboo,
which contained the fiery. amber GIN
ger; the boxes of guava jelly, hot curry
powders, chilli sauce, and choleric Ben
gal chutney. Here were two miniature
casks of tamarinds, jolly and black,
cousin Susan's favorites. She had
certain air of disapproval toward most
of these strange conserves. "They were
not good for little people" she averred;
and indeed she always maintained that
these ardent sweetmeats were filter for
the delectation of rude men than for the
delicate palates of gentlewomen. OF
tamarinds, however, cousin Susan did
approve. Properly diluted with cool
water, they made what she called a
every pretty drink" She was fond of
sending glass to any neigh6or who
was i'll and feverish, and she was al
ways following our cousin the sea-cap-
tain about with blue china bowl of
the mixture, begging him to partake of
it.
Susan, hate tamarind-water,n 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 re-
ply.
AS a general thing, however, cousin
Susan came off triumphant. The cap
tain grumblingly partook of his dose,
and was always most generous in shar-
ing 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 a 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 con-
tanned stronger water than tamarind,
for side by side sat two corpulent cut
glass decanters, of which one was half
filled with madeira wine, and the other
with honest rum. A variety of sweet
cakes was near by, to be served with the
wine to any chance visitor There were
black fruit cake in japanned box;
'hearts and rounds of rich yellow
pound cake; and certain delicate but in
ane little sponge biscuit, of which our
cousin spoke by the older-fashioned
name of diet-or. as she chose to pro-
nounce it ''dier''-bread. She always
called the sponge cakes little der
breads" Pound and fruit cakes were
forbidden to our youth, but we might
have our ladylike fill of 'dier breads, "
and also of delightful seed-cakes. which
were cut in the shape of an oak-leaf,an
were marvels of sugary thinness.-
Eleanor Putnam, IN February Atlantic