The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-06-01
NURSERY COOKERY.
THE HALF-GRowN CHILD Al
TABLE-HIS MANNERS.
BY Christine Tcrhune Herrick.
CONTINUED from last week.)


This sounds like a hard saying. per-
haps. Yet who can mentally run over
the list of the small children she knows
and single out from among them even
half dozen whose table manners 90
not leave much TO be desired This Is
serious matter and well worth consiu-
Grafton when one is treating of the half
crown child at table while he was but
a baby. and even in the days OF his kits
and first trousers, people were willing
10 make allowances for him. When ne
had unpleasant tricks of eating and
drinking they assured themselves ana
each other that he would soon outfrow
them. "An children are naturally little
pigs" they said.
Unfortunately. the unframed trend OF
animal nature is not towards perfection.
The small child who Is allowed. un-
checked, to follow the manners-or the
lack Of manners-of the sty. does not.
as a rule, improve Of his own motion.
When he is grown he may. perhaps. be
shamed into reform, by contrasting his
own conduct with that OF others, al
though the chances are that by this time
he will be SO confirmed In his habits that
he will take them as matter OF course,
and not notice that they differ from
those of others. This lack of psrcc ption
is more likely to be found with boys than
with girls. The latter are more prorlpt
to mark novelties, whether in dress or
in bearing and possess sensitiveness
that leads them to adapt themselves to
their surroundings. A woman rarely
needs to have a fault of behavior point
ed out to her a second time, while man,
under ordinary circumstances, can have
this or that carlessness OF manner In
dicated a score of times and yet fail to
recognize it when he repeats it.
The time for training in table manners
should as surely be done In the first II
years of a child's life as his instruction
In morals, in religion or in any branch
Of decency. II he does not learn these
then it is unlikely that they will ever
become second nature to him.
The most perfect gentleman ever had
the honor of knowing lost his mother
when he was but 10 years of age, and
from that time on, for II years, never
knew what it was to have home. Dur
ing that period he was first lad on a
farm, then a student at a preparatory
school, then in college boarding house;
after that he lived in restaurants ana
hotels. Not until he married did he, ex-
cept as an occasional guest, know what
1t was to be a member of family or 20
take his meals at a home table.
But his mother had trained him well.
During those first years he had been
drilled in manners. checked in careless
a f,. ,~snu
observe the small conyentionalities OF
well-bred people. The effect of the
tuition never departed from him. His
table manners, after his long course or
association with the eaters at college
restaurants and boarding house tables,
were those OF man who had never been
out of the current OF social amenities.
He was eminently good form" And all
of 1t he laid to the account Of the mother
who had instructed him in the principles
of good breeding.
As a matter of course, there are few
families in which certain measure OF
correct behavior is not practised. The
child is no more allowed to eat with his
knife than he would be permitted to pick
his teeth in public after the meal,-al-
~
which it was taken for granted that
either of these, or the use by the'small
child of his fingers as substitutes for
fork or spoon was quite permissible.
Noisy eating is sometimes checked, but
infrequently. Rapid and greedy feed
ing is overlooked. The proper fashion
of holding the fork, knife or spoon. Is
rarely insisted upon, and the child is al
lowed to gnaw from a large slice OF
bread and butter instead of breaking 1t
in pieces of correct size. Hot biscuit and
mullins are devoured In the same man
ner. and bones are picked with an aban-
don that is almost overwhelming to the
adult guest.
Something has already been said in
these chapters about the inadvisability
of giving children hot bread, but 1t may
not be amiss to speak another word or
two concerning 1t. The caution applies
especially to yeast-raised breads of va
rious sorts. Mullins of cornmeal, hon.
iny of rice are less harmful than the
breads raised with yeasts, and whole
wheat biscuit and mullins may be eaten
freely, II thoroughly cooked and we'll
Unless the salivary dia-
stase is given a chance to do its share in
digesting the starch on its way through
the mouth, an undue proportion of work
Is imposed upon the intestines.
RICE MUFFINS.
Work tablespoonful Of butter and
two tablespoonfuls Of white sugar into
one cupful Of cold boiled rice. To this
add one cupful of milk. two cupfuls of
flour. sifted. two eggs, the whites and
yolks beaten separate and very light,
and. last of all. two teaspoonfuls Of
baking powder. Beat hard for mo-
ment before turning into well creased
muffin tins. Bake in a rather quick
oven.
HoMINY GEMS.
Into a cupful Of cold boiled hominy
work a tablespoonful OF melted butter.
Stir In a teaspoonful Of salt and beat
In hard two well whipped eggs and q
cupful Of milk that has been slightly
warmed. To this add a rounded oupful
Of -four and two teaspconfuls Of baking
powder. and after a vigorous stirring
pour into gem pans that have been heat
ID and creased. Raks mi bot ever and