The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-05-23
THE BAKERS DOZEN.
Six or Ono and Seven or the other OF the TIVE
Hair Dozens IL Contains.

Half Dozens IL Contains.
From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
Everybody knows that thirteen is a bakers
Dozen, but everybody does not know why. Tho
origin Of the phrase bakers DOZEN is COM
monty attributed to a custom that prevailed
among British bakers In the days when severe
penalties were inflicted upon tradesmen who
cheated their customers with short weight or
short measure. A dozen cakes or rolls or
loaves might easily fall short of the standard
weight. 80 in order to guard themselves
against the risk of inadvertently mourning
the penalties of the short-weight statutes,
without going to the trouble of Weighing every
thing they sold. the bakers added an extra cake,
or roll. or loaf. as q m~ake-weiRht. to every
dozen cakes. or rolls. or loaves delivered TO q
customer. This explanation is unsatisfactory.
1t is disappointingly prosaic and it utterly fails
to account for the fact that the bakers dozen"
is also commonly known as tho devils Dozen"
A better explanation is to be found In a legend
the reason why " bakers dozen" and devils
good moral With il. y The I story Is so@ewhat as
follows: In the middle OF the seventeenth cen.
lands was Jan Petersen. who had come to
Fort Orange from Amsterdam and was tho
n fSos. man AN in n,,o the new oeN. world to m make
with-carawiay-seed.iberal ly.besprinkled, crisp.
toothsom ,, cookies. i sa,m,ailia to all old New
under the name Of New Years cakes" Pfeter.
tempered with Iiberaiity. with him a dozen
was a dozen. neither moro nor less. Also q
R Ei9R NO psnn ySs TSr Il Z hRIs sn say. and Id d as Rs.ssa
y. On i The H. night 81. q II Be; 81; iss 81, $aRR Ristsssen
cakes provided for the expected demand Of tho
morrow; when a little old woman. bearing, all
marked ma Wo M ase out aea as p Witches. . ente re in demand anss
ing a dozen New Years cookies. Petersen care
Twelve WEI / want a a dozen, renenstra 1eif his G1 cus Sse
Ky Tsaf'i !. svs' s sssss'# III: :SSi,,; and jn. RsssSi
bis queer customer; "Give me- .hiFtssn':
But Petersen would not: He argued that
finding argument Of no syeil against the BEL:
asR 2 Pfs FOR the ssir ns e ss,f h'f Pr sS 81 t9 the eS diS
woman took his ADVICE for she left the shSp and
oiens power " '04 All 'SRIR s SeW Y eaF % cakes
turned stale q: and mSoIldy before morning. be
heavy that it fell through !.h'e'e oven. his
critical disposition and a tongue hung in the
middle, his children went wild. and his trade
against such q q eom adM %sn Of s0n misfo asys esaBB ns
ths %os1 a hsa m9e' sn ldid pS SE sna Rtet os 6n wss
baked stock ko was was able {, soI Provide i,% fOr sm a11 ed
Years eve. the old woman reappeared in Jan
thhiis 1tssnih eo %fe1.nfEs ssH time snsp 81. d sas ssn9 sn tns
to the devil. Jan Petersen was no fool. He
S fSs Ss see S e. far into a H aIm 8 fr as aHS !. man az, In IN
had been convinced Of the connection between
his refusal to count thirteen t9 the dozen and
has done his % %GtSe duty t @Sseni God % and
s tsTsiS to hi the n ist { OF the TA ian.1 h' But has at hl ss2.
SnS s1 his Ssyin 1o ~ Ne Sis al gone e. he SsI Rrq bim dOT ".
lsnders appeared. Tie saint sterniy rebuked
the trembling baker for the hard narrow;
ished him to b more careful IN ,the
one more chance to redeem himself. The
S %itS h dsS S 2 f In t Tslt s9t,s the oeof old TO women %afa
up Gp'f her aer d Ss@anG It t was 'n handed edssA to eo1 hsr 20 and hs she
s shsin' si%s On n, }hIsses ai i = s age y S jan $ls.s 'rSas
the dozen, and escri he his success sasI to that pra c.
tSei s sS a thir f I wa SG ths @bs she Gu doaen. 9! his
.h To-day the . liSef th. practice !. Sst has Sd long : since +. ln been
h %e"0 al. rsps stii to jan Z fRatasei SCI sela aHH and md
narrow creed. "a dozen 10 Q dozen" Our duty
toward our neighbor is fulfilled when we have
rendered unto him all that we can't decently
withhold from him, and nations and individuals
alike hold their duty toward themselves para
mount to thoir duty toward their neighbors
and make the strict letter of the law, the
supreIms rule Of life and and CONDUCT SSt. FoE 2
States earning the damnation OF the barren fig
tree by conducting itself. In the presence of a
crime being perpetrated within the shadow of
Its gates, a crime that 1t could stop by the lift
ing of a finger, a crime that II is hound TO stop
by every law of honor, OF philanthropy. of COM
mon charity and common decency, In strict ac-
with old Jan Pietersen's creed OF "a
dozen 10 a dozen" with a single, short-sighted
eye TO Its own sacred, present, passing "mate-
rial interests"