The Press., 1891-12-31
New York Sun.( DRIED CURRANTS.

Mother wants pound of dried cur rants," said little girl who came into the learned grocer's store on Eighth av- enue.
 Il hain't GGtr-aa 6 dried 3ourrant in the store ~ thasa-,ldn't one in the city," = Sa Sasu9s3 grocer. "But know what you want, and I've got 'em." The learn grocer brought forth box of the little, sticky, sugary, dried fruit popularly known as dried entrants, and used in fruit cake, plum puddings. mince pies, buns, and the like.
 ssWhy, them's lem r said the little girl.
 'Yess them's lem, ,n assented the gro- cer; land if the Grecian maiden who trod this particular lot Of fruit into the pack age used little water on her feet befole she began, there wouldn't be so much sand and grit in lem as there is. She must have been having regular hoe down on the classic sands before she be- gan to dance on this box of fruit. There, sissy, tell your mother she must bathe lem in several waters before she uses lem, or she might just as well put lot of sandpaper in her fruit cake. And tell her they ain't dried entrants, either.'' "What's the, reason they ain't dried entrants p asked disputative customer.
 ''They ain't dried entrants any more than they're dried pumpkins" replied the grocer. "The reason they ain't dried entrants is that they weren't entrants be- fore they were dried. That's reason enough, ain't it?" :: ,
 "Yes," said the customer, less disputa- tive. ''But what does everybody call lem dried entrants for?"
 "'Cause they don't know any better p replied, the grocer. They'll go right on coming in here and asking for dried cur rants just the same after tell lem why they ain't dried entrants as they did be. | fore"
 "What should they ask for, then ?" in quired the customer.
 s'If any man should ever come in here and ask for dried corinths," said the gro. cer, "he would not necessarily be a gen. tleman, but I'd bet on him for being g scholar. Dried corinths is what yor should ask for when you want this little sugar-coated, gritty raisin, for Its rais in, pure and simple"
 Flows that?" the customer wanted te know. 4~es ss$s-~ss r Because it was grape before it was dried" said the grocer, ''and if dried grapes ain't'raisins, what are they?" But: you said these were dried cor inths!" said the customer. "What's ( corinth, anyhow2"
 "A corinth is the smallest grape thal grows, !" replied the *groeeryc and it los it's name years and years ago, because f was gradually corrupted into currant which became the name of the.acidulatet little berry of our garden, which yo, might dry from now until Gabriel sounds his horn without getting 1t any nearer tht condition of raisin than pea is. This little grape grows all over the islands O 1 the Grecian archipelago, and was first ex ported from Corinth, and that's wha, l gave it it's name. The punches don' grow much bigger than stem of red cur rants, and they are so full of sugar thar when they are picked and dried in thu sun they actually seem to melt and rur together, and 1t takes good deal of .cart and labor to separate them again. Aftel thav ara aenar atac} ta kha time whom ths Grecian maiden gets her work in on them .I for 1t is one of her pleasant duties to jump on heap of the sticky fruit with her bart feet until she has compressed enough O the little raisins to pile three boxes ints one. No hydraulic press could do it an, better. If 1t could, we wouldn't have thu sand and grit the maiden's feet mingl, with the fruit, without which no driet corinths are genuine.
 | 'sStill, shall expect folks to come Ii here and ask for dried entrants just tn, same," said the learned grocer, as h, went to wait on new customer.
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