The times., 1897-04-18

| W
katherine and her sister gave an Easter
! spread the other day. They are both
| boarding school girls, and the word spread
is used advisedly. 1t Is species of enter
tainment which is not q luncheon. nor n
dinner, nor tea, nor a kettledrunl, nor q
picnic In its crude form it is the cause
Of headaches and Indigestion In it's re-
fined form it is delight.
The spread was given to half dozen
girls, that is, they were all under thirty:
and it was made possibly by the fact tina t
Katherine rents two rooms and keeps
house in them. She may therefore do
many things impossible In the average
boa rdnghoBse.
The guests dropped in one by one, after
4 o'clock, and took up various comfortable
positions OH the sofa and the ottomans. IN
easy-chairs, and on slsndry cushions scat
tered about. Somebody had been invited
to bring guitar and the sound of college
songs and popular melodies was soon
heard in the land. Presently the spread
began. The boarding school girl never w ats
very long for this. 1t is the principal
business of the day In her opinion, and
should he attendedt TO with mwearied mind
1t was ALL in brown and yellow and the
daffodiis which filled the vases all about
the room, and the yellow draperies which
had been put up here and there for the
occasion, were fit setting for the dainti-
ness of it, First came oranges, served on
pretty plates, with yellow Japanese nap
kins to match Brown bread and slices
of turkey were the substa ntials and the
yellowest Of eustards and the brownest Of
chocolate cakes followed these Ofcourse
pickles and olives were there, and also
fried oysters, brought hornein a box Then
a small screen in one corner was moved.
and small table appeared on which
was the dessert. A jar or darrodils formed
the centerpiece, and on each side was
shallow basket covered with friIls of yell
low crepe paper, and filled, one with maca-
rooms. Iady-fingers and other small cakes
the other with mixed nuts. These were
served with coffee and whipped cream,
the latter in the tiny cups of which every
girl nowadays has o store.
Last of all, small baskets were handed
about, on whose construction the girls
had spent one whole evening. The lltIe
paper shells, which you can buy for
cents each at a confectioncrs, were the
foundation There were covered with yell
low crepe paper, a double frrll being made
around the top. A, handle OF stiff paper
was wound with more of the yellow stuff,
and the baskets filled with chocolates.
While the candy was being eaten, small
candles were lighted here and there m
the soft gloom which pervaded the room,
and the girls told stories aud sang songs
TIL the party broke up, not very late in
the evening.
1t was au informal entertainments, but
ii was u success. The unconventionality
and gayety of 1t all made it charming.
Kate and Bertha cannot give formal lunches
and dinners, but they keep open house
every Saturday afternoon arter 4 clock,
and somehow or other many OF their
friends have gotten into the habit OF
dropping in, There is always tea. nrcWed
on the little O'Clock spirit lamp There
are always cakes. and now and then some
especial treat from somebody's home
box One day the little girl from Yer
mont, who lives on the floor below, re-
ceived from her fathers sugar orchard
a thirty pound tub of maple sugar. 10 was
the real maple sugar, unadulterated with
W est India rnolasses or last year
product, That night there was a tub
party" as Molly called it, in the room
Of Katherine and Bertha, Molly brought
her maple sugar upstairs, set it in the
middle of the floor. and gave each of |
laughing crowd OF half a dozen girls Il
lump laboriousIy carved from the mid |
die.
Meanwhile small stewpan was simmer |
ing on the stove. and when the girls were |
tired Of the solid sugar they were treated |
to maple wax" Did you ever eat maple |
wax? Probably not, unless YOU have lived /
IN a sugar-making town. 1t is made By |
melting the sugar in water, so THAT |
syrup Is formed. In the process OF sugar
making, of course. the maple wax Is made
while boiling down sap, When the syrup |
Is not quite as thick as molasses candy is
at the stage where it IS fit TO be pulled, |
it is ladled out with a spoon and spread,
a spoonful at time, upon q snowbanR.
Chopped ice will do if there is no snow
bank within reach. The syrup should be
allowed to drip from the spool, a little ut
a time, ali over the surface of The snow. or
the fee The result will be delicious
article, something like a honeycomb COM
posed of honey. waxy. tender, and melting
n the mouth. Try it and see.
There are people in Vermont said |
SolIie, "who make their coffee with
instead OF water, so that it is
sweetened in the making"
rs it good?'' asked the girls
"They seem to like it, said Molly.
'Once. when I was a little girl, made
L mistake which gave us n new idea in
cooking. You know, in the sugar season
we always had a great deal OF the sap
n the house, and It is almost colorless-
One day i filled up the tea-kettle with
t by mistake. Mother was baking beans
hat day, and there was no molasses in
5he house AMI it Just happened that some
,f the sap in the teakettle got into the
Deans. 1t was so good that we always
ised it after that; but I found ont the
mistake had made when went to wash
Jhe dishes. The water in the kettle was
na p1e syruD by that time |