The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-12-19
BAB'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE.

are absolutely making love to the girls,
While husbands are growing affection
ate to their wives. Before you realize
it Is Christmas eve you are asked If
you want to help get the presents
ready and feeling yourself young
again, off you go. prepared to tie up the
many packages. You don't know what
1t means. you from the north. There
are hundreds of packages to tie up.
There is an apron for this one. a hand
kerchief for that one, a gown for the
other. tiny purse holding a little
money, pouch filed with tobacco, and
always there are to be fixed bags for
holding candy nuts and raisins. Who
are they for? For the innumerable
darkes who have never recognized
that they have no claim upon that fam
lily with whom they We're born. They
all come trooping home at Christmas
time and expect that the madame of to-
day will be as generous as the madame
of SO years ago, who owned them And
this madame feels the responsibility.
for as You stand with her tomorrow
morning, helping her to give out her
presents, you will see a boy come up,
who will say. Madame. don't you know
me? Use Celestine's Tom" the afore-
said Celestine having betrayed the hid
ing place of her mistress silver during
the war, but returning after it expect
ing to be cared for when i'll and getting
just what she expected. There will ap-
pear an old man. who will say, Honey,
YOU didn't spec to see ole Uncle Jake,
but Ise done come for my Christmas
money" All the year around Uncle
Jake goes out saving wood. and he
would not do a quarter of a cord for the
household unless he Were paid for it..
Yet they all feel that they belong to the
Cary household. and when they are
talking will say with an air of PRIDE
"Oh. you amt nuthin; you amt nuthin
'cept Yankee! Ise been attached to
the Carys fob generations" And these
southern ladies'. remembering that aft
er all. the darkies are only grown up
children. forget their faults. remember
their virtues. give to them generously
and honestly wish them merry Christ
mas and a happy New Year.
1t is nearly time for dinner. We all
have on our finest frocks and are only
waiting to see the dignified old butler
roll back the doors and open the very
gates of delight for that Is what a
good dinner means. You who in the
! north are sitting down to turkey. the
driest bird that was ever eaten: who
find delight in pumpkin pies the fiat
test pastry that was ever made. ought
to be with me Our dinner is COM
menced with terra pin and this terrapin
is not served after the fashion peculiar
to many fashionable restaurants in
New York. where 1t is so deluged with
wine that the flavor of the terrapin is
lost. No. Here 1t is cooked simply with
butter favored with pepper and salt,
and if you don't know just what ter
rapin means and how perfect its flavor
Is you can throw little madeira into
your own special portion. but somebody
who knows better will look at you with
surprise If you do. Then we have can
vasback ducks at one end of the table.
just high enough and so perfectly cook
ed that when the carving knife goes in
the blood spurts out. They have truly
been cooked in the ideal way-carried
through a hot kitchen by coolheaded
cook. At the other end there are roast
capons, fanked as they should be, by a
home cured ham, the outside of which
is a delicate brown. the result of its
having been smeared with the yolk of
an egg mixed with q little wine that
has some sugar in it. The southern
housekeeper knows, as does the Eng.
lish one that with white meat there
must always be eaten ham or bacon.
Consequently the chicken never ap-