The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-03-16
Gbe 8OusebuIo.


Dear Helen:-I dropped into china
store the other day. Oh, how briyht
and pretty the dishes looked, of every
hue, shape and size. How apt are we
to criticise each new fad when ii first
comes out, pronouncing it useless or
fussy until we try it, when we often re-
verse our first judgment, and find we
can hardly get along without it. | re-
member when individual buffers came
in use, / bought half dozen to try,
thinking that | ight not like them
well enough to invest any more money
in them, but | soon found out that they
were very useful, even if they did
make few more dishes to handle.
We now find in the stores quaint little
china tubs, in shape like the very old
wooden wash tubs, with handles that
are cut in the slaves instead of those
that fold down against the sides. Those
are for either pounded ice or the pretty
little butter balls, that are made by TAX
ing about one ounce of butter and roll
ing it between two grooved wooden
paddles that have been wellsoaked in
water, as you would your butter ladle.
These golden balls are put on the table
by the tubful and dished up on the but
ter dishes by the aid of small silver
fork, while the butter knife is retired
from some tables with the old-fashioned
castor; but presume it will not stay
away as long as the castor will. Berry
dishes this winter take on new and at
tractive shapes; some in a milky white
glass outside, with delicate tint inside,
the edge puckered and fluted Oike we
do ,,,l a.,
binding of clear glass. 1t seems to me
that such dish filled with ripe, red
strawberries will be too sweet for any
thing. Salad dishes in shape of seal
lop shells and oyster plates with de-
pressionsl for six oysters in each, are of
pure white, Haviland's best, and when
filled with biva,ves, each one cuddled
in its china cradle, their soft gray color
forming such pretty contrast to the
white dish, | almost wish liked oys
tiers. l begin to think that china
decorators make a mistake in their
work when they ignore the fitness of
things. Painting on China should be
simply decorative, and that mostly
confined to the outside of dishes. If
we paint our dishes only to look at,
why then, put on what we please and
either hang or stand them up on walls
or shelves behind glass doors to be ad.
mired. If we intend them for use
why not make them accessory to what
we want them for. If we paint upon
our dessert plates bright colored fruits,
they may be very pretty in themselves,
but when we come to use those same
plates to hold the highly tinted fruits
lo
war between art and nature, in which
both are killed; but when we place our
ruby cherry, purple grape, blushing
peach and glowing orange in our clear
or tinted glass, shining silver or milk
white china dishes, we unconsciously
make beautiful work of art. | am
quite inclined to laugh at myself when
l think how l used to admire these
same things that now do not suit me
at all, and hereafter when l buy china
l am going to choose it in reference to
the use intend it for. l think it must
have been the monstrosities in the
form OF fish and game sets now so pop.
ular that have opened my eyes (and
maybe that is their mission) to their
incongruties. We might be willing
to use clean leaf from vine or tree to
hold our handful of fresh picked Der
ries, our scrap of cheese or slice of
bread and butter, but who would not
shrink from eating their meat gravy
and vegetables from the scaly sides Of
a fish held fast in net, the back of a
deer, duck, bee, bug or butterfly.
Flowers we never drive from us, and
while they are always welcome we will
put them on the outside so as not to
soil their beauty. Perhaps l am no.
tional and old fogyish, but like Saman-
tina Allen, them's my opinions. -
Aunt Lucy," in Rural Life.