The Lafayette gazette., 1895-11-02
MoOEL HOUSEWIVES.
,a..astFy and f,ety 81 tho WSt'ioa D.


ArmcniA.
The school of the Armenian wdinnii l
+ the home, and the first character
site Of the home, after its picty, Is its
Industry. The households arc large,
sons bringing home their wives and
often of from forty to sixty persons.
In the interior villages among tho
pcasantry, the number is often much
larger, This condition is relic of
Biblical times, and is still necessary IN
many parts OF Armenia for mutual
country where life is often dependent
upon resistance to barbarous tribes
and money and food products are sub
ject to the justice (?) of Turkish taxa
ton.
With primitive utensils and incon-
venient methods of living 1t may ne
seen that industry is necessity in
such great esta blishmcnts, and abso-
lutte cleanliness goes with it.
Erenchwoman, Nine. Chantre, who
spent months in Armenia with her
husband, an oculist. and had an un-
usual opportunity to study the ways OF
the people, speaks emphatlcally OK
this element of the Armenian home.
1.-THE Armenian women" says she,
..arc perfect housekeepers. Their
houses are marvelously clean"
The servant problem docs not exist
employ servants who come from the
peasantry. and are trained in the
service of a family and become part
of it. They 'sknow their place" as is
said here, and yield all respect to their
masters and mistresses; on the other
hand, their "place" is known and re-
spected by every member of the
| family
The Armenian women are expert
| and slsillful cooks. A prominent for
| e;gncr who has travelled much through
| the country has said: 'No one has
eaten d good dinner who has not T.
eaten one cooked by an Armenian"
| The chief meal of the day is eaten in
the evening after the work of the day
| is done. At this are served rich cereals
and vegetables cooked with sur
| passing delicacy and relish, and
fruits, preserved and In their sea
son, of the most luscious and tempting
! varieties. Meat is used, but not so much
! as here. Armenia is a land of fruit and
| flowers, and the Armenian woman is
deeply skilled in the art of preserving
| fruits and making CONNECTIONS from
flowers The time of such compound
ing and preparation IS a sort OF non
| day. The whole household gathers for
the ceremony; the fruit is prepared
| and put into great caldrons over which
presides some experienced aunt OF
other relative specially secured for tho
| OCCASION. Inc resi- OF Che "o"cH Us
sist according to the degree of thei1
| expertness, down to the younger
daughters of the home, who can only
| earnestly watch and admire the skill
which it is their ambition to emulate
some day. At the critical moments o.
the operation, when a drop more o.
less of lemon juice or an added degrc<
of heat too soon or too late may b<
fatal, care and watchfu1ness are in
tensified to the superlative degree
Silence reigns while tastes and tests
are taken, and the weight OF a natio1
can hardly burden its bearer more
than the responsibility of her on whom
rests the final decisive step
| For the children it is a holiday pure
and simple. Fruits and sweets aoount
and saucerfuls of the confections a
various stages of the process are gen
erously dealt out.
These preserves arc offered to al
who are guests of the household
| Ceremouious visits would not be com
plete without them. Two fine glas
bowls are set out containing each
choice variety of the sweetmeats, wit
an ample supply of silver spoons an
an array of crystal goblets filed wit
water. A spoonful of the sweet
taken by each guest and a sip of wa
ter, then Turkish coffee is hande
round.-N. Y. Times.