Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-05-13
MOTHERS COOKING.

urally. Judge Baker was known all over
western Massachusetts as the sage of
Plainfield, and Lute's mother-she was a
Kellogg before the judge married her-she
had more faculty than a dozen Of your
girls nowadays, and her cooking was
talked about everywhere; never was an
other woman, as folks said, could cook like
Mis- Baker. The boys-Lute's friends
used to hang around the back porch Of
mornings just TO get some of her dough-
nuts; she was always considerable and lib
eral to growing boys. Maybe Lutte
wouldn't have been So popular If il hadn't
been for these doughnuts, and maybe he
wouldn't have been so smart if it hadn't
been for all the good things his mother fed
into him. Always did believe there was
piety and wisdom in New England victuals.
LuteAwent TO Amherst college and did
well; then he taught school a winter, for
Judge Baker said that nobody could
amount 10 much I'm the world unless he'd
taught school spell Lutte set ON being
a lawyer, and 50 presently he went down
TO Springfield aud read and studied in
Judge Morris Office, and Judge Morris
wrote letter home TO the Bakers once
testifying TO Lute's 'probity" and "acu-
men"-things that are never heard tell of
How Lutte came TO get the western fever
I can't say, but get it he did, and one
winter he up and pikcd of to Chicago and
there he hung ont his single and joined
literary social and proceeded to get rich
and famous. The next spring Judge
Baker fell OIL the Woodshed while he was
shinglug IL. and IL Jared him so he kind
Of dropped and piucd around a spell, and
then one day up and died. Lutte had TO
come back home and settle up the estate.
When he went west again he took wife
with him-Emma COwles that was (eyery-
body called her En- for short) pretty as a
picture and as likely girl as there was in
the township, Lrte had always had a
hankering for En-, and En- never thought
there was another such young fellow as
Lutte; she understood him perfectly, hav-
ing sung in the choir with him two years.
The young couple went west well pro
vided.
Lutte and En- went 10 housekeeping in
Chicago En- wanted to do her own work,
but Lutte wouldn't hear TO it, so they hired
German girl that was just over from the
vineyards Of the Rhine country.
Lutte" says En-, "Hulda doesn't know
much about cooking"
$50 see, says Lutte feeiingly. She's
as green as grass; you'll have to teach
her."
Hulda could swing a hoe and WELD a
spade deity, but Of the cuisine she knew
somewhat less than nothing En- had lots
of patience and pluck, but she found teach
ing Hulda how to cook precious hard Job.
Lutte was nmiable enough at first; used to
laugh it of with cordial bet that by and
by En- would make u famous cook Of the
backing buoyed I'm up considerable until
one evening in m unguarled moment Lutte
expressed pining for some doughnuts
like those mother makes" and that cas-
ual remark made En- unhappy. But next
evening when Lutte came home there were
doughnuts on the table-beautifnl, big
plethoric doughnuts that fairly reeked
with the homely delicious sentiment Of
New England. Lutte ate one. En- felt
hurt.
81 guess it's because I've eaten sopuch
else" explained Lutte, but somehow or
other they don't taste like mothers"
Next day En- fed the rest of the dough-
nuts to a poor man who came and said he
was starving. THANK you, marm," said
he, with his heart full Of gratitude and his
mouth full Of doughnats; Il ha'n't had
anything as good as this since left Con-
necticut, twenty years ago"
That little subtlety consoled En-, but
still she found il hard to bear up under
her apparent inability TO do her duty by
Lute's critical palate. Once when Lutte
brought Colonel Hi Thomas home to din
ner they had chicken pie. The colonel
praised IL and passed his plate third
time.
'Oh, but you ought to eat some Of moth
er's chicken pie, said Lutte Mother never
puts an undercrust in her chicken pies
and that makes 'em juicier"
Same way when they had fried pork and
potatoes; Lutte couldn't understand why
the aesh Of the wallowiug. carnivorous
western hog shouldn't be as white and
firm and sweet rs the meat Of the swill fed
Yankee pig And why were the Hubbard
squashes 50 tasteless, and why was maple
strip 50 very diferent2 Yes, amid all his
professional duties Lutte found time to note
and remark upon this and other similar
things, and Of course En- was-by implica-
ton. at least-held responsible for them all.
And I'm did try 50 bard. so very hard to
correct the evils and to answer the hyper
critical demands Of Lute's foollshy petted
and spoiled appetite. She warred valor-
ously with butchers, grOcers and buck
sters; she sent down east to Mother Baker
for all the famous family receipts; she
wrcstied in speech and in practice with
that awful Hulda; she experimental long
and patiently; she blistered her pretty face
and burned her little hands over that
kitchen range-ycs, a slow. constant mar
tyri0m that conscientious wife willingly
endured for years In her enthusiastic de
termination 20 do her duty by Lutte.
Doughuuts, chicken pies. boiled dinners.
layer cakes, soda biscuits, napjacks. fish
balls. baked beans. squash pies. oorned beef
hash, dried apple sauce, currant wine, sue
cotash. brown bre1d-how valorously En-
toiled over them. only 70 be rewarded with
some cruel reminder Of how mother" used
70 do these thingsi u was terrible-a
tedious martyr,lom.
f.ute-mind you-Lute was not wflfufIy
cruel No: he was simply and irrcdeem-
ably a needless idiot Of man. just as
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