Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1889-03-20
AUNT MAHALAH.
She Reveals What Transpired al
the Browning Club.

Iona, rusttcating at Au7st Mahalah's,
IS s1aartinsg a,,der a dels1siue sense of
Je'sny's indifference to him.
''How came you to 90 to the Brown
ing Club, Aunt Mahlah? I thought
you were too we'll up in that line to
need any help from the literary fell
lers'"
''What do you mean by that ine?' "
:. ''Why, the browning line, to be sure.
Who ever saw any thing to compare
with the hue of your roast-ducks or the
crust of pigeon pie? A-ah! my soul
melts within me only to think of
them"
"Wel. always said mans heart
was in his stomach. His soul may be
there, too, for any thing that know
to the contrary
''Oh, say! There's a hint for the
Society for Physical Research! Any
how, Aunt Mahalah, how came you to
60 to the Browning Club? That's the
question:
lit wasn't exactly ducks and pie
crust that took me there; but one day
when I was down at Maria's, I pickle
up book, and the very first piece in
it told how they cook little birds in
Italy, strung on a skewer with crust
of bread and sage-leaf between each
pair of 'em. Talk about melting your
soul! never read over recipe that
made my mouth water like that One
I've always meant to try it with squads,
and will, too, some day."
''Some day soon, hope"
''But that wasn't all. Some of the
words were SO curious, and they went
together so queer to make rhymes, and
p there was such a lot of dashes that
brought me up with a jolt, that I had
to read it through several times before
fairly sensed it; but 1 wasn't going
to give it up. These lines bothered
me considerable:
But through all these bite boldly-lo, the gust!
Flavor-no fixture
Flies permeating flesh and leaf and crust
what 'Lo, the gust!' meant was a
mystery to me, till happened to think
of gusto, and knew that with a gusto'
mean with a relish. But that Flies
permeatng flesh and leaf and crust
was most too much with me. knew
the Italians ate strange things, and
remembered the locusts and wild
honey, but the directions on the first
page didn't say word about flies, and
it's well they didn't. for should have
lost my interest straight off. I othered
and bothered till was tired, and then
I looked back to the line before:
'FlavOr-no fxture'-and I read that
with it, the way old Master Seavey
taught US: Flavor, pause. no fixture,
s. pause, flies permeatlng flesh and leaf
and crust Then I didn't see any
sense of that mo fixture there any,
way, so left that out and read right
over the pauses, this way: Flavor
flies permeating flesh and leaf and
crust. Well, I never! Was it kind
of italian flies used for favoring, or
h had you got to flavor the flies aUith
something? Somehow couldn't seem
to be reconciled to it, it spoiled the
whole thing so; and then, just like
. lightning, oh, ho! says I, 'zAe flavor
flies, that's what the favor does when
you bite through the bread and sage
and bird. goes through it all, of
course Then I read it over again
and put in No fixture, and that was
ii all right, for, of course, if the flavor
I flies it isn't a fixture; and then l leaned
back and took a long breath, for all
the world as if I had had tussle with
! the pig in the garden. >...
When I came to a little, / looked
back to see who wrote the book, and