The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-07-05

to laugh. You know now some ndnG-
writings announce that they are bills
just as plainly on the address as they
do on the inside. Some tell Of their be
ing begging letters. while others insist
upon their frendlinesS. and once IN a
wn..e a clear handwriting seems to say,
Hurry. Mr.. Postman: she Is expecting
| me-" and that means Il love letter. There
is a great deal to be discovered in
| handwriting. but / knew what this was
even before l read it. 1t was a note
from Molly asking me to come TO lun-
cheon to near Il letter from her boy.
Said boy had gone off to annlhllate he
Spaniards, though just at the present
time he was enjoying the delights of
Florida water, and he confessed that
time hung heavy on his hands, though
he was very much IN love, consequently
very brave and perfectly certain that no
| Spaniard could ever get the better Of
him-no, not If he traced his pedigree
! back to the grandfather of Christopher
Columbus.
We had a good luncheon. Women now
adays are educated up to good food.
Then Molly read extracts from lacks
letter. She skipped whole paragraphs,
when she blushed and said something
about matters that would not interest
| you, purely personal" and we all look
ed as knowing as people do who have
gone through the same thing themselves,
and wish they could do SO again. Jack
wrote among other things:
APPETITE AND COOKERY.
you would really be surprised at the
appetite | am developing. You know
when | was at home how you and moth
er We're continually giving me Quinine
and cod liver oil and other nasty stuffs
for the encouragement of the swallow
ing of food, but noW-well, now l can
eat meat that the average New York
beggar would scorn, and drink coffee
that really tastes as if it We're the rims
irgs out of Il cup that had held coffee.
But when YOU feel that you are serving
your country you don't care about such
little things as terrapin and chicken 4
Ia casserole or champagne cooled to
the proper temperatures. You forget all
about those things, and, my dear Molly,
You would be almost startled to see
what a wonderful cook Tom Crichton
has got TO be. You remember him-the
little fellow whose clothes were always
so immaculate that they almost made
your teeth ache. Well, he can cook
| eggs, not only boil them. but fry and
do other things to them III 4 way that
| would cause Il blush to come upon the
face of the best lief in NcW York, and,
as for some Of his mcsHrs made up of
oatmeal and such stuff. really the boys
viii do no end for him if tie viii promise
a treat Of this sort. What Il gift, that is
the ability to cook, | mean! ] shall ii
ways reproach mother for not having
taught me. Think how much use /
might he to my country, whereas, now,
while we are waiting around for some
thing to happen, | can only enjoy the de
lights of another mans ability. When 1
say cooking, | do not mean just under
standing how to make cake-sO many
girls are dabs at that, though q bit
of plum cake is a good thing-but l
mean the realities of life. rare mutton,
potatoes without bones in them and,
best Of all, that kind of soup that is
thickish and seems to stick to your bone
and encourage your muscle
Here we did laugh.
Think Of Jack the exquisite. Jack the
elegant, Jack the pride OF the most
fashionable clubs, finding delight in boil
ed eggs and Il soup that he described as
"%thickish." Oh, ali! After Il little more
laugh and Il little more cordial, Molly
read on:
WHAT THEY DO IN CAMP.
"You ask me what we do. Every
day we are hoping to sail, but, pending
that time, and after the work of TIE
day is done and everything cleaned up
(and, by the by. l might tell you as Il
tip to your maid that there is nothing
quite so good for leather as yellow
vaseline, when | can get it / use it on
TIC harness, and, applied with a consid-
cradle amount of elbow grease, it makes
it as soft us your white hand and as
brilliant rs your dark eyes,. we just
loaf around and Ia k and talk. Women
have rot he monopoly of talking in
tins Wo"ii. though probably that's the
future they are hoping for. We tell
stories, discuss important questions ard
then come down to riddles. BY the by,
have YOU heard the last? How can you
make one good American out Of Two
bad Spaniards? In this way, of course:
DE LONE,
WEY Ter.
rs that a chestnut? II it is, fne lie
for any poor box you are running now.
L suppose you girls are getting up
things to send to Us fellows, bus ! be-.
II YOU do spend your money on sensible
things. Billy Nontmorenci go & box
f''m home the other day, AID i: It
were a large silver mounted desk pad.
with everything Belonging - Il desk
mounted in silver; three pounds Of candy
,hat had melted to about thu thickness
Of ink, Il box Of cream fer his com
pleXion and two bottles of the finest per
fume- My dear, it is a dreadful thing.
but | assure You that William of the
MontmorcnciS INDUCED in strong lam
suagc and fired things around in q way
that was decidedly child-like, but Eot i
bit bland. What we really want are
those COMMON cheap writing pads, some
kInd OF Il fountain pen and one Of those
tiny little medicine cases that hold a
few bottles of arnica. witch hazel. ctc.,
an installment of quinine pills and soule-
thing to read. Billy got one of the last
new novels among his gifts. but it was
bound in gloss of satin and for that
reason entirely useless. We want a 10.
paper books and magazines that can
be and around among our friends,
and ii necessary left behind for the
enemy without there being Il single re-