The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-02-10
UNULE NnBLE ANu AuNr NANoY.
Writ III for the chi, rem

Nriit "a Tor tue NDii rem
Now that these long Winter evenings
have come, we often run in to see Uncle
Noble and Aunt Nancy. They are both
notle. and good, in their plain, old-fash-
toned way, preaching by their lives many
homily to their neighbors. But their
peculiarities are without number, and
often cause smile. Uncle and Aunt
are as ready to smile as any one-iEdeed
that is why we are 50 fond of going to
Oldcastle-they are invariably good
tured. Uncle N. thoroughly believes in
the maxim that every mans house is
his castle" and as their house is old, we
call their place Oldcastle. The people
and things there are delightfully."-, not
disagreeably old.
When we dropped in last evening,
Waitstill, the chOre boy, was fussing
over the fire with some popcorn. which
obstinately refused to pop Uncle No
BILE observed that the climate wasn't
warm enough for that corn tn develop.
"Wait IL bit, Waitstill, and I'll show YOU
said Aunt Nancy. Go get that thick
iron kettle in the pantry with three legs
to It," Il didn't know that our pantry
had three legs" interrupted Uncle No
BILE. II have been told that what |
didn't know would make quite a respect
able tome" Aunt Nancy remarked, as
she cheertully proceeded to put a spoon
full of grease" in the kettle-then she
poured in the corn and stirred it a jitfy,
and soon the naturalization of the corn
was heard against the Tin root" of tue
kettle, making a very pleasant sound.
The corn was now in full bloom, SO to
speak; and while we enjoyed trencher
full of these "tritles light us air. (but
more satisfying to chew On), Uncle No
bic was moved to relate "reminiscences
of all sorts, Unfortunately. when l
was boy" he said, Mother use to pop
corn in skillet-that was small, three
legged kettle in the pantry with a long
handle to it," explained Uncle, empha-
sizing the ''handle" for Aunt Nancy's
benefit.
"NOw l don't ruu down modern i'm
prOvements," he resumed, but you see
some old-fashioned ways are as good as
new. | must say that this corn is heap
bettern that we had then, as there was
only field corn in those days. And the
JUhnny-cake we had to day is much bet
ter than water Johnny-cake baked in a
bake-kettle' set on Goals, with Goals piled
Oh the cover. That was the way my
mother did. She did the best she could,
though" he said meditatively. And
she made it point never to quarrel with
anyone. There was one person, how
ever, who tried her patience almost be-
You'd endurance, and that was old Mis-
Whitten.' She had plenty to eat at home
if she chose to cook it, but she liked
sponge cake at the neighbors' best"
Then Uncle went on to tell us how his
mother, wearicd at last by Mrs. WIS i'm
pertinenent pernacity, determined one
day not to ask her to stay to supper, and
gave the others a hint. SO the taUle
wasn't set and the kettle didn't boil, and
nothing was said about supper. But
Mrs. Written stayed on. Seven o'clock
came and still she stayed. AT last the
guide man" brought in the milk and
set it in the pantry. Then Mrs. Wmtten
arose to the occasion, and calmly lifting
the cover off the bake-kettle on the
hearth, sho s'roke off a stable piece of
Johnny-cfl g and going into the pantry,
helped hfi &c to basin of milk. What
her retiCf ri ms were as she in the fire
light, at ner 'imprOvised' meal, are
unknOwl but as soon as the basin was
empty d g lifted the latch-string and
went "f leaving the amazed housewife
to colly,t her wits aud such crumbs of
comfort aud Juhnny-cake as were left.
Here Aunt Nancy WAS reminded of a
Johnny-cake episode. She said that
when the little Armstrong; were here
from New York last summer they had
never eaten any of that sort of cake, and
couldn't remember the name, but they
soon learn to admire this good old
fashion sort of bread very much, and
would often beg for a piece (aud piece
after piece), in this fashion: Aunt
Nancy please give us some more of that
stuff-and-buttern
81 remember one time" said Uncle
Noble, when mother got out of salera-
tus, and had nothing to tighten her
''stuff with, and what to you s'pose she
did 2"
We couldn't "spose," so he told us
that he was directed to shell some corn,
and burn the cubs; the ashes we're used
to ''lghten" the bread-stuf.
Watstill, who had hitherto maintained
a discreet silence, being absorbed in
grinding" his portion of popcorn, here
volunteered a remark to the effec' that
she was a-thinkin' about them air bake
pans and things, of whaG his GraDdmam
told him about, the ole drippin' pan that
hangs up garrett" His "Grandmam" had
told him that they used to hang large
spare-rib Def ore the fire, and place a
pan underneath TO catch the ''drippings"
wherewith to haste the meat Hence
the dripping pam" This explanation
was new to us, though of course not to
the ''Oldcastleites, as we called Uncle
and Aunt; but CHANGING at ''Grandfath-
er's clock" in the corner we realized that
we must not wait to hear any more rem
iniscenreS, and after Aunt Nancy'S cor
dial assurance that the latchstring was
always left out for us, we babe the old
people kindly Good Night" and now
we bid you the same.
MARJORIE MARCH.
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