The Colfax chronicle., 1900-12-15
W HY THE MIN CE
PIES WERE FAILURES
nAPA HUDGENs says that he ap-

preciates the beauties of the fall
Of the year about as much as the next
one. 1t does him good, he says, to see
the woods in their expiring blaze of
crimson and gold, to walk through the
rustling leaves, to inhale the bracing
freshness Of the air, with now and then
a Whit of burning brush, or to tramp
through the stubble with gun and a
dog that knows his business, but that
which he chiefly delights in is the ad-
vent of mince pie.
The mince-pie season opens in the
Hudgens family about the first of Oc-
tober, sometimes a week or two later,
but never a day before; Mrs. Hudgens
Is infexible on this point, one reason
being that in her fine Judgment the
apples have to attain a certain degree
of mellowness on the hay before they
are fit to be used in the meat. Then
q mince pie must be served hot; not
merely warm, but so that it is necessary
to raise the upper crust to allow the
escape of the aromatic steam, thus
agreeably tintillating the olfac-
tories and exciting the salivary glands
for the reception of the first morsel.
Also, Mrs. Hudgens says, If she did
not put time limit somewhere they
would have her making mincemeat the
year around; which is not improbable,
for the children all take after their
father in their fondness for this deli
cacy. Buckingham Hubbard, the
young man who is domesticated with
the family by virtue of friendly finan-
cial arrangement and distant rela-
tionship, is the worst one of the lot.
None of them could be blamed, for
Mrs. Hudgen's mincemeat was some
thing to wonder at and remember. 1t
was her speciality, and there was moth
ing in the culinary line she ever at
tempted that did not impress her
guests as chef d'oeuvre. And it was
an event in the household when she
began to make her mincemeat. Every
body was anxious to help. Hudgens,
who had previously selected the beef,
pared the apples, which he did very
neatly; Clinton stoned the raisins, for
raisins ready-stoned were disapproved
of; Ethelinda sliced the citron and
buckingham offered suggestions un-
til driven away. Under a less COM
petent overseer this division of labor
might have resulted disastrously, but
there had been only one failure in the
family annals, not counting the pres
ent season.
That was last year. Apparently ev-
erything had been done as usual. and
the jars were filled and put away with
a promise of pies on the Sunday follow
ing. The Sunday came at last, and
the family gathered around the table,
gladand gluttonousa anticipation gleam-
ing in every eye. There was particu-
larly prime and juicy sirloin of beef
for dinner. with accompaniments of
roasted potatoes, Brussels sprouts and
Yorkshire pudding, but nobody made
any more than a pretense of eating
any Of these, and Mr.. Hudgens' exhor-
tation to the company in general to save
a corner for q piece of pie was received
with shouts of derisive laughter.
Mr.. Hudgens got the first piece. and
his face beamed as he raised the upper
crust with his fork. Cautiously he
severed small piece and put it in his
mouth; then his brows grew together
in frown.
'Pour your father . glass of milk.
Ethelinda; he's burned HIS mouth" !"
said Mrs. Hudgens, who had been
watching him anxiously.
NO, haven't" said Hudgens. 81"
He stopped and took another mouthful
and his expression of pain deepened.
what is this you've got in the pie.
mothera 1t doesn't seem right, some
how"