The record-union., 1897-08-30
LITTLE JAMSEY.
HE BECAME A FAMOUS COOK IN
A CURIOUS WAY.
How a Misbap That Occurred
Turned Out a Great Piece
OF Fortune.

generosity, she was welcomed by the
society of that downtown district.
Her name was Mary. Her family
name was somewhat obscure. Once,
when arrested, she gave it as Jones,
another time as Schmidt, a third as
Bonaparte, and a fourth time as Wash
ington. This variety showed her to
be a woman of some information, il
nothing else.
The baby was a bright eyed little
| thing, which was lame. The woman
was kind enough to it in her own
rough way, and left the child largely
to its own resources.
1t was clever and soon found out
which of the neighbors We're kind and
liked children, and which did not
Jamsey, for so it was called by its
mother managed to get along like
thousands of others in the submerged
Tenth. He grew, but on account of his
infirmity grew in a different way from
| the other children of the neighborhood
He did not care much for playing, but
liked housekeeping, dolls and other girl
ish recreations. When he was four he
could make himself quite useful in the
kitchen. and was so careful that he
and tumblers. When he was six his
mother died.
| No one appeared to claim the body
and the city buried it without ado. The
kind hearted policeman talked of taxi
| ing the boy to a nice orphan asylum,
where the children are all dressed in
a uniform and are trained to walk
alike, talk alike, eat alike, read alike
&c
behave and die alike.
! He found to his surprise that even
down in Rivington street there was an
invincible antipathy to asylums. Mrs.
Mueller, childless German woman,
said that the baby should stay with
| her as long as she lived, and that no
| Irish policeman should take it away
and have it ruined in an asylum. So
Jamscy became a member of the Muel-
Ter family, which consisted ofthe lady
in question and her husband, who was
employed in an uptown brewery.
| Mrs Mueller, like all German house
wives. had a mania for cleanliness. In
her particular religion it preceded god
illness. She had the same reverence for
| scrubbing brush that poor Hindu
has for Juggernaut, while a bar of soap
gave her more pleasure than the heav-
| lest black silk dress.
Undoubtedly the cornerstone of her
love fer Jamsey was his taste for
household pleasures, and they made a
fine pair.
Although lame, he would lend a fair
hand to her, scrubbing up the floors
and polishing the windows and in doing
the family ironing. He was invaluable
in washing and wiping the dishes, and
| by degrees he came to cook all her ia
vorite dishes as we'll as she herself
did.
Once or twice she let him cook by
himself when he surprised her by the
| tastiness of his finished work. After
that, when she had what she consider
| ed leisure, she would teach him all the
secrets of old German country cooking
as she had learned it in her youth, of
| fashionable Berlin cooking, where she
had been a cook some eight years be-
! fore marrying and coming to this
country.
Jamsey made wonderful progress, and
at 13, as Mrs. Mueller fondly admitted,
was almost as good, if not very much
| better. than herself The old lady had
not neglected Jamsey's education. He
had gone to the public schools, and had
learned German from Mrs. Mueller and
her husband and had picked up a cap
| ital Smattering of French from Mon
| sieur Bonhomme, the poor little cob
| bier in the basement of the tenement.
| About this time Jamsey heard of the
cooking school 1t was conducted by
some charitable ladies who lived up
town, and was held one evening week.
He obtained Mrs. Muellers consent
and applied for admission He was a
pretty boy, though poor. was as clean
and neat as if he had been a million
aires son. Although older than the
other children, he was admitted to the
class.
Before the first lesson was over the
| teacher found in amazement that in
many respects the boy knew more of
cooking than she did After three
months had passed, she said to him one
day:
"Jamsey, you better go to a higher
| school,
Jamsey knew of none
Didn't his friends know?'
Jamsey had no friends.
| The teacher thought herself and gave
him letter to an eminent teacher of
| cookery uptown. He was very we'll
received when he presented the letter,
but was broken hearted when told that
the instruction cost SO a quarter.
Jamsey had never had more than as
many cents in all his life He unused
a little while and then he said:
| Please, ma'am, l want to learn
cooking with you, and l haven't got any
money. But if you'll teach me what
you know I'll teach you what I know,
| and I'll wash your dishes and clean
your kitchen BESIDES in the bargain
The professor of culinary art laughed
very heartily, and being a good-na-
tured soul took Jamsey in upon those
| terms. One day pupil desired to learn
| how TO make two or three German
dishes. Her husband expected to en-
tertain some friends from Berlin, and
wished to surprise them The pro-
fessor was at a loss to answer, being.
as matter of fact, utterly unfamiliar
with Teutonic cooking Jamsey. see
/ ing the dilemma, whispered to the
/ teacher:
Il know how. You let me teach her -
The professor said: Thanks. Jamsey.'
and told the pupil that her assistant
had made a speciality Of German cook
ing, and would be only too glad to
give her the requisite tuition
The lady accepted, and Jamsey was
unspea kably happy. He gave three
lessons, and did it so well that both
professor and pupil were deeply pleased.
Better still, the pupil, who was very
well TO do, gave the little cripple a s.
bill. He thanked her. chuckled. and
| then went home as fast as his lame