Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1897-04-29

Special Correspondence i Gazetteand journal
New York. April 49, Tho change
was forced before me in rather an odd
way. My maternal parent was edu.
Gated ir the old school--that school
which teaches that you cannot com
mand unless you are able to fill your
own orders; that there must always be
shown a certain respect to anything
masculine, and there must always come
from anything masculine the utmost
sympathy aud most perfect considera.
tion to lady. or course, this school
is old.fashioned nowadays, but ii was
good school, ana school that taught
its graduates to be good housekeepers.
devoted mothers and faithful wives.
1t was a school in which the word
divorce" was counted decidedly i'm
proper for young lady to speak.
Since when God himself united two
people together in the holy bonds of
matrimony until death did them part,
there was no suggestion that these
two, even il they had made mistake,
could he separated by civil laws. 1t
ia true that, occasionally, when
woman had borne brutality, unfaith-
fulness and drunkenness from a man,
~
him caused scandal, to 60 away from
him and take her little children with
her; but no social law ever limited at the
possibility of either OF these two people
marrying again. In fact, how could
they marry againY Then, too, the
woman who had suffered much before
she left the man whom she had chosen
to be her husband and the father OF
her children. though given a certain
sympathy, never quite reclaimed nor
position among tho other matrons. for
it was believed she ought to have shown
more wisdom in the beginning. Harsh?
Well. perhaps it was; but in those
days people married for better or for
worse, and nut merely to enjoy each
othsr's society for short time and
then to separate.
But all this is getting away from
what my maternal parent said. We
we're at luncheon, the table was
charlningly decorated, although ! con-
TESS to not caring for ribbons as table
trimming, since all it's decorations,
with the exception of the flowers,
should assert themselves as being
capable Of standing hard rubbing and
plenty OF soap and water I do not
mean that hard rubbing should be
given to fine cut glass;. Well, after
the luncheon was over and we were
back in "The Hut my maternal
parent surprised me by saying: "My
dear, think shall write note to
Theodore, asking her to send me the
recipe for that cream soup, because it's
the first time I've ever seen YOU enjoy
a soup OF that kind did not want
to laugh at her. for she's bit tender.
hearted. In little while she got out
the writing implements. wrote her re.
quest in her simple quaint fashion,
sealed the envelope with wax, and sent
it on it's mission. Then l asked her:
do you suppose that your hostess
knows anything about the making of
that soup? 1t either came from some
| famous restaurateur, or her chef COM
posed it, but no matter how it had it's
birth, she will be more surprised at
getting your letter than if you asked
her for one OF her babies.
But" continued my mater, chow
| can good housekeerer give orders
unles she fully understands the manner
of their execution? Aud, il, as you
say, her chef made it, then l know
exactly what she will do. She will go
to the kitchen armed with bit OF
paper and q pencil, ask him for the
desired information, write it down
very carefully. and l shall get it.
probably by the next mail" Again /
laughed. And my mother said: ~
wish yopswouldn't laugh in that way |;
it isn't respectful"
Mater" answered I, in my most
respectful tone, "if Theodore nslseu
her chef to teach her anything about
cooking, he would, with the greatest
| prnmptness, notify her of his im-
mediate departure. The old, old school,
in which you were trained. appealed,
wisely enough, to the appetites of thcir
mankind, and when you had concocted.
specially fine dish the greatest com.
pliment as paid you if your neighbors
and friends asked for copy of the
recipe, wrote it out in the family cook
book, and underneath it added: This
was given me by my dear friend and
neighbor, Elinor James, who vouches
for its goodness. Nowadays the ex-
change OF opinions about dishes is
counted bad form. We have taken
from the French their idea of serving
dinners, hut we have not taken from
them the simplicity which governs any
private household in France, no matter
how great his wealth may be-
Take the woman whose husband ia
said 10 make good iucome-that very
vague description of affairs and you
will find that his wife has her dinner
table most deliberately dressed. when d
few flowers in a graceful vase would
have been much more artistic, that
she serves many courses, including a
great many vegetables and great
many sweets. ! would be willing to
take my oath that man, tired out
after his busy day. is bored with such
a dinner. He'd rather have good
soup, joint from the hest part of the
meat, done to the proper turn, not
more than two vegetables with it, bit
of cheese, with the heart of a head of
lettuce, and then that mysterious dish
that | believe every man likes, and
which no vaguely calls "puddin' T"
This may be made of rice, or bread,
of tapiooa, of custard, of all the mauy
things that are within the reach Of
any A merican woman. Then he likes
cup of coff9s, aud then sits at his
ease, is proud Of his wife, and never
realizes how his pride has increased as
the dinner progressed. Who hash I
dined in house where, having one
servant, and an over ambitious mis-
tress, an attempt was made to serve an
over-elaborate dinner? Who hasn't had
that horror of horrors. smoky soup,
overdone fish, meat that 10 rags and
sweets gotten from a Gonfectioner' s.
and upon which hungry people must
ill up? You probably think that be-
| enusa / tallS eo fnuoh abnut III ;noa o.,