Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1901-05-17
RESTAURANT SPONGE CAKE.
once mn object of Longing to a Man
who Now Could buy the
bakery.


Zone of the indelible impressions of |
my early youth" said rugged mil |
ionaire, who has fought his own way |
up TO fortune, lis of the sponge cake
in the railroad restaurant in my ma
tie town.
at was quite town, and a changing
place for engines and all that, and so
this was quite restaurant, where you
could get cold meats and sandwiches
ard Tread and butter and cake and
fruit and that surt of thing, and the
fruit and the cake were always dis
played aitractively on a counter that
ran along enc side of the room
The sponge cake on that restau-
rant counter fascinated me from the
first time | ever saw it through the res
taurant window. | saw il often after
that, Tor / was often at the station,
but 1t never failed to attract me. 1t
was high cake suppose baked in
deep pan, and they used to cut it in
rblong sections, In sort of tall blocks,
which were sold. as in the course Of
tine | discovered, at five cents apiece.
AS long as | knew that restaurant,
which was all through the days of my
bcyhood, they kept that sponge cake
just the same. 1t was always beau
tiful bright yellow in color, with
beautiful sort Of creamybrown deli
cate crust on tor, and il was always
Epnf tfnIar =. .at-iApc hinI- oh Apl ANAL
glass cover, oircclar in form, and with
high sides iSirg straight to n fat glass
top. al the ccn,er of which there was
u glass Enob.
There we're other attractive things
on This counter, one of which | shall
always remember, too, this being the
pyramid of oranges rising from
fruit dish that was supported upon
standard, giving the pyramid more al
titude still; but the sponge cake was
the great attraction for me. / didn't
envy anybody then, any more than do
now, not bit; but | did use to think
il was one thing to be traveller and
to have money and 20 be able TO saun-
Ter into the restaurant sort of care
less like and say:
"1'll take piece of the sponge
cake and then eat il there, or carryit
with you to eat it on the cars.
Occasionally used to see the man
behind the counter lift the glass off
to give somebody piece of the cake,
and ] wished he might do that for me.
But as matter of fact, my parents,
heaven bless them, were not so well
able to give their children five cents TO
spend as my childrens parents are to
give theirs; and so that cover was only
once or twice raised for me.
81 remember the first time wildly.
There was piece of the cake already cut
off. 1t looked beautiful through the
glass, and beautiful when got it, but 1t
seemed somehow smaller than | had
expected it to be, and much lighter;
and, do you know, that it was dry and
hard and crumbly and pretty nearly
tasteless. That's fact; but that didn't
shake my allegiance to the sponge
cake, not bit
81 was ready enough to make ex-
cuses for that. This particular cake
must have sold rather slowly, for one
thing, and it had happened that the
piece / got had been cut off for some
time. besides. / felt that I knew the
sponge cake better after that, but l
didn't worship it any the less the
beautiful yellow cake in the high
shouldered glass cover fascinated me
lust the same, and the impression it
made upon me then has abided with
me always.
''And it is, to me, anyhow, curious
fact that | am to-day just as fond OF
sponge cake as ever was. / always did
like sweet things, and sponge cake Is
nv favorite cake. Andwithout any dis
respect to the memory of the sponge
cake on the railroad restaurant coun-
ter, can say that what / get now is
lust the best that can be made. and
it is always fresh. But have, never
.heless. at one time and another, along
through life, bought various things
that looked very pretty, and for which
paid "a great deal more money, that
turned out to be just as dry and crumb-
Iy as my first piece of railroad res
taurant sponge cake"
Scarcely n Good P1cader-