The Portland daily press., 1892-03-09
THAT RECEIPT.

y
There was circus in town that day,
too, so he was feeling lonely and blue.
"Hallo, little one. How do you like
the looks of thoseY'
1t was Paul's Uncle Jack who spoke,
and as he came into the room he held
up on little pink platter three luscious
looking currapt jelly tarts.
..Oh, could eat one right now, Uncle
Jack"
ssGo ahead then and I'll wait and see
you do it."
"Can't you tell a story too? You do
make up such 'musing ones"
Perhaps What shall it be about"
Bout -'bout-'bout-let me think.
Oh, bout currant tarts, Uncle Jack"
"Currant tartsl Well, nowl Let me
think little"
And this is the story Uncle Jack told:
Did you know that the Heywards de-
scended from an ancient Irish family of
that name?
They did. The family crest was an
albatross rampant above currant tart,
and holding fast in one claw something
which looks like cigar lighter, or per-
haps little stick of macaroni.
Now, the currant jelly in these tarts
was made from receipt which has been
handed down from the first Heywards.
How they first came into possession of
the receipt, and why they should adopt
such a funny crest or coat of arms is
one and the same story. 'Steen hundred
years or more there ruled in China the
cruel emperor, Yuhwhan Khan.
It was the day before one of the en-
peror's birthdays, and he called his chief
counselor to him, saying:
..Chief counselor, listen to me. To
morrow is my birthday; see to it that it
is celebrated by a grand festival and
feast. And, r.srlz you. have something
then that is new and very entertaining.
..But, exalted ruler, it is too short a
time in which to arrange for feast,
but twenty hours until the morrow"
''That is not my lookout. You will
arrange for the feast. Now, begone"
And the chief counselor hurried away,
tearing his sillzen robe into shreds and
vowing that never did any chief coun-
selor before him have such an unpleas-
ant position, for the cruel emperor was
in the habit of ordering birthday feast
whenever he liked, whether it was real
ly his birthday or not, and the chief
counselor just had to hustle to keep
Yuhwhan Khan pleased or he himself
would be sure to lose his head and pig
tail.
Then Yuhwhan Khan called the head
cook of the cooking college to him and
said:
"Mignon-that was the head cooks
name, being short for Mignonette-
"Mignon, tomorrow is my birthday"
.Oh, s-s-sis-sire''
Mignon suffered.
"Yes it is. and no joking, either. Un-
less the cooking college prepares new
sweetmeat for that festival feast, you,
slave, will lose your head. Begone"
And the head cook of the cooking col
lege went away sorrowing, for the en-
,peror had had twenty-nine birthdays in
the previous two years. and by this time
his ingenuity was about played out.
Now, while both the chief counselor
and the head cook of the cooking college
are racking their brains to discover, the
one new attraction. the other a novelty
in pastry to set before the emperor, we
must go to little village in Tartary.
Before a small thatched hut is a lad
apparently just starting out on long
Journey A very old woman is bidding
him farewell.
"Nestri, hast thou with thee thy sill
very reed fiute::"
eyes, great-grandmother."
at is we'll Now, before thou start
est have two gifts for thee. They are
small presents, but am poor. This bag
contains cerch-circh (Which in Eng
lish is nothing more nor less than cur
rant jelly. Take good care of it, for
never has it been tasted by other than
members of your family, and of such
great rarity and exquisite flavor is it
that should strangers, even kings and
emperors, once taste it there would be
warning and strife among them for its
possession.
So Nestri took the precious bag.
..Also, Nestri, here is the receipt by
which the cerch-circh was compounded!'
And the old woman gave him a thin
shaving like sheet of ivorine painted
with queer Chinese letters, which he
carefully rolled and twisted up until it
looked about like cigar lighter, and
then for safety placed it inside of his
reed flute.
Then he set out on his journey, even
to the very city where the chief coun-
selor and the head cook Of the cooking
college were puzzlillg their brains to
please the emperor. Such was Nestri's
skill in playing upon his reed flute that
wherever he stopped and played the
people focked to hear him and filled
his valise with coppers and plugged ten
cent pieces.
It was while he was Thus playing that
the chief counselor CHANGED to hear him.
And the chief counselor leaped INTO
the air. waving his cue and knocking his
heels together for JOY, ssirnting:
'.Hour-la: WhooD lily head and