Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1901-12-12
AUNT
JURITHA'S
GIFT.
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By Sarah Bell Hackley.


Aunt Juritha pronounced with a long
j would give to our bonny bride-not
that we expected a princely gift, for
aunt, fathers oldest sister, was not inn
mensely wealthy-but she had what
most people were pleased to call pecu-
liarly sensible notions so when the day
before the wedding her black servant
drove up to the back door and with the
aid of Our man set in the shadow of the
crimson rambler that glorifed our back
porch an enormous pine box addressed
In aunt's prim, regular writing to Miss
Juritha Jasper Castleton," we could
hardly wait to open it.
Closely packed with excelsior were a
number of thick brown paper-covered
parcels, few of which were very large.
On top of all lay letter.
Dear Niece and Namesake Juritha, T"
it read, "in making my selection of a
present l have taken into consideration
two facts. First that your husband-to-
be, though "a rising lawyer in a
stirring country town, has not yet risen
high enough to enable his wife to keep a
servant; second, that you have been
employed as teacher in a high school
since your graduation three years ago, a
condition not conducive to the acquisi-
ton of much kitchen knowledge.
Your kitchen will be your workshop
for time at least, and my present shall
be something to make work easier in
that shop. My first intention was to
buy you a kitchen stove with the TWEEN
ty-fve dollars | felt l could put into a
gift, but after mature reflection, con-
cluded that your husband would pur-
chase what you deem the essentials, and
II would be better out of my age and ex-
perience to select and supply you with
some things that young housekeeper
might not think of CHASING among the
absolute necessarieS, or might through
inexperience forget to purchase until
the money saved for household furnish
ings was gone.
81 trust, niece, that you will be sensi-
placing my present beside your more
aesthetic gifts, since it is my wish that it
be displayed.
"Affectionately, your aunt,
"Juritha Jasper Castleton."
Wonderingly we unwrapped the par
cells and read the words of advice or ex-
PLANTATION written on the cards tied with
narrow white satin ribbons to each arti-
Gle. A plain little octagon walnut-cased
clock with a hook for hanging on the
wall, bore a card which said, "Punctu-
atty is the politeness of kings, and of
cooks. This timekeper, niece, will help
you to get the rising young lawyers
meals on time, and thereby aid mate
rally in keeping peace in the family"
A hand-woven bushel basket was la
beled, For chips and kindling," and
two smaller baskets, Useful receptacles
in the kitchen" A card tied to hearth
broom and a curved-back stove brush
read, when ashes settle on the bak-
ing-top of your stove and biscuits re-
fuse to brown, use the broom; when
rust crawls over its sides, use polish and
the brush"
A slate with a pencil tied to il had
written on its face, Hang this on the
kitchen wall, my dear, and when
needed purchase occurs to you, write II
down and copy when you start to mar
ket. It will save forgetting and Incl
dentally help keep the family life
smooth"
The words on the placard on the
mighty and sharp shears were, You
will find numberless uses for these in
the kitchen, niece Use them instead OF
a knife in dressing fowl, for they will
cut bones like knife will butter, and
YOU will escape cut fingers"
Keep the salt dry" spoke from the
hard wood salt-box, and Keep your
sugar from ants" from the polished
sugar cabinet.
A pasteboard box held polished
hard wood comb case, two wire comb:
and a walnut framed mirror, with wire
ready for hanging and the card tucked
In the mirror frame said, MY dear
when the door bell rings and finds yor
In the kitchen, these articles will BE-
useful, in that they will tell you wheth
er there is -four on your cheeks, and
enable you to straighten your hair be-
fore facing your guest
There were two lamps and Lantern
In the great box. One OF the lamps
was a fiat-bottomed glass lamp will
the bowl inclosed in tin and with tir
handle and reflector. The other laml
was of the light-spreading kind tina
rrocers hang from their ceilings, anc
The card attached to its tin shade said
hThere cannot be too much light II
the kitchen; suspend this so that IL
rays will fall most directly on you
stove"
In a satin-lined box of their own la,
. Christy set-a bread-knife, cake
knife, a parer. These are things
have found II impossible to keep hous
without" ran the aunts comment, and
niece, In addition to using the larg