New-York tribune., 1895-06-23
HOUSEKEEPING IN ITALY.
crrrDY IN COOKS.

cTI7DY IN COOhS'
49,. ,o,sskeeper italy is a land OF peace ana
n,easantness Her way is carpeted win e"a. s,s
- orL .ro unknown visitors at her .hres'o'u'
anu WIN a'e d,.,on of things Is largely due to
80, ~, 49,, 4, tho country of the owe ana 'he
a. - ,h .eervant question Is non-eAis'e"''
I.,ar sorvants are invariably respectful sooo-.e"
nered and docile: affinity and na'urai se' 49,,
them to accept work as thelr noi ina' rosa ,ra as
thev work diligently and cneerlu"9' - :.
near perfection as is poss'oe .,eao,,rg 'o II has
During long experience IN houseNee'ne o.d
-, o,r LOT N come In contact WIN ihahy o''
haracters for although uniformly good as 'e''"'
they are widely different as 'fu'''aua's ,'.,r.r We
Alfredo our first cook. was an auVe''
, hin, on hoard the steamer which leaves 0uesi'
on the Lago Maggiore. ana carries p,"s on foot
ward He had tramped over the olrp'o' ~
h,.in, lately crossed the Atlantic after Vist u
the two Americas and was then on MS way ~ ~
heart Of Italy, where he hoped 10 iiii' " -
az superntendent and purveyor genera ~ ~
b.,,,ess and hapless "forestere. lie couiu 'u'"
his hand TO any trade. ana the ls' Vi "'' -
plishments included many usefui a'oo'"
a. o,ok waiter cicerone. Interpreter, carpenter ann
numerous timely qualifications for any asree'o'o
post He was free lance uark anu .
alert and active We engaged him at his' sio"'
We were at that period, in the early STAB . u ~
nocence abroad and If mans race were ia'i
and pleasing to behold 1t did not occur 10 10 ~
study the complexion of his heart But we never
regretted our confidence In Alfredos external iea'
ures He filled his post with capacity anu u's"'''
entrenchcd within the walls OF the "hi'e paper Nap
of the "chef" the proud insignia OF every mac
cook of character The sphere OF AHe'o h""'
edge was wide; he had journeyed over '"e
r mar, of the earth's civilized surface. ne nad an
sorbed much heterogeneous learning ana hiu az
auircd several languages In Inherent "'s''0' Va
nucncy which gave him formidable power o'''
the ,efenceess "forestere." AS 10 his natiohdlIy
disclose IT, We did not, In those days spean i''a'
but English rolled of of Afredo's tongue Ike Lucea
OIL and the advantage OF his position over Us ''A''
consequently be estimated ! have no d's''e ~ Ia
siuuate that he took unfair advantage Oh u.s. e''''
would | be so bold as TO declare in d court OF justice
that he did not: this Is point when must REMAIN"
unsettled. Alfredo drove ali our bargains ior Us,
hold the strings Of purse Tor US. executed al
our commissions for us, how many francs o"s'"
unconsclously at the midway station ol HIS p'ONe''
we did not care ascertain. The street OH ""'0''
we lived when Alfredo took charge OF Us had oeen
m 1e AZ the expense OF the facade Of the mouse IN
which We had apartment. slice had Deem cut
az, rom the front at such angle taat no room
WAS SQUARE, ami the end room was III 'he
form Of a small triangle; Alfredo sept III the
point OF the triangle. Toward the close oil 'he
sea son he must have grown restless, and his row
ing spirit doub; reasserted itself; ne must nave
dreamed dreams on ms pallet in the point, OF
greater fortunes in other parts. for one morning
We found the triangle empty. Alfredo disappeared
like bird OF passage. and was never hea'd o'
after
our second incumbent in the office OF cook was
a Gried-up Neapolitan, who bore the name OF MI
cneie In his white linen jacket, white apron ana
whit. paper cap he looked Immaculate. and fully
capable OF concocting the delicious batter en're-
il.el wlin fo.s gras and COCKS COMBS which
he would send in from his primitive domain lie
was culinary prince. When he came In the morn
INK FOR orders. know the 'paicere OF his pa
drona" he would always bow low and kiss her
hand IN token OF homage and respect But he mad
his own ideas about subjects In his special depart
ment. and while appearing thoroughly suoser'lei''
would eventually sain his point BY quiet ana oo-
stnate persistence. When not IN his white pontil-
Gals he appeared more than ever wizened ana
creased; his yellow skin puckerei IN countless
lines Tx. an Old parchment and looked as though
II might rattle II YOU touched IT, He was ''furbo
Sly and cunning and purring as venerable cat
one or the Advantages which Michele brought us
came yearly In the shape OF friend from Sorrento;
he was q picturesque figure he stood at our 'front.'
door Offering US for sale packets OF "ouva secca'
raisns prepared the peculiar fashion or the Sor-
r.n,ese The rasins are wrapped In bay leaves and
then baked. being thus permeatei with the aromatic
fragrance OF the leaves. We and Mchele bore one
another and rOrcbore with one another as long as
It was poss!b do. then agreed 70 separate
he returning 20 the place Of his nativity. and we
acquiring our next In once III 'he pe'so" VI "S
qGale and Pepina
I sneak OF these ns one. for they were one. Ac-
coriing to his wife. Pasquale was the better half
II WAS not a question OF her better half or or MS
better half T. was simply the better hait, the typi-
cal representative better half. an example TO all
future generations. and an embodiment OF al! mat
rmonal perfectons. The better half was gentle
mild and apologize little man. with a shufiling
rau and a good heart: he rarely expressed an
op Mon OF his own. and would not Ike TO accuse
him Of having had one. Peplna ruled him complete
IT, but IL did not require anything so strong as
rod Of iron TO accomplish X. she would roll up her
eyes and shake her head with naive eNpressiveness.
declaring that ne was too good for this world
and the saint would eXemplify his goodness by In
torcctng at every comma a "corpo delIa luna py
way Of punctuation But the body of the moon
did not always come TO his assistance TO deliver him
from misfortune. for on one occasion he left MS
trlpe hanging the faucet over night to give 1t
Thorough washing and succeeded IN flooding our
apartment to tho extent Of ;wo feet ot water for
ma,utinal bath. Although We often heived longing
sighs as tho memory OF cold bath rose entlclngly
before us in n land which knows neither bath
tub a bathroom. II was not Hooded floors oeiore
breakfast that We cravcd But Pasquales heart
WAS good and as overfowlng with sympathy as the
faucet was with water. remember how he
tried the efforts OF one OF the youngest
members OF the family in his ot-repeated and ever
unsuccessful attempts to manufacture wine. FRANKIE
would squeeze the grapes ann P"' ''' J"'NS '"' :"
small glass bottle called "boccietta. and would
then day by day. hopefully wa,ch the liquid. fondiy
supposlng that 1t would fcrment. And then. when
hundreds Of tiny files would gather around the sour
dccocion. Pasquae would declare with uniaii hs
Junction and with "A pecU!la: inward motion or ms
curlci-up fingers which he brought close to MS
face while he pccred at the nuterng winged thihss
essence OF the wine itself" meaning that the tiny
flies had been generated by the fernenting grape
juice and sure indication OF success. And
Frankie believed him. poor Frankie. and went on
concoctins grape juice wine through countless IAN
ures until years OF sorrow taught him that fas-
quale piots fraud
Pcpina's speciality. besides cooking. to be sure.
was the lottery 70 play I'm the lottery her con
stant ana unconquerablc desire; for THIS she sacri
feed everything. was guilty OF every msdemeauor.
and brought into requsition all the energies OF her
! ircrtInlla fccnnN hrnln. A llttle matter OF