Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-24
WITCH'S SAUCE
ALMOST FATAL
MIXTURE PRosTRATES POLISH
NOBLE AND GUESTS
superstltlous Cook Meant Well-De-
oootlon Of stosps Liver, Mice
Tails, Rabbits Eyes and
Hearts Of Rats

WARSAW, Poland, March 2s.-Never
perhaps, unless 1t be the brew of
dogs tongue, adder's fork and
baboon's blood" made by the weird
sisters" in Macbeth" has a more un-
savory mixture been concocted than
that recently prepared by a simple-
minded Polish cook in the hope of re-
tanning his threatened billet.
The new story, which is now anus
Ing all Poland, recalls the old, In fact,
for 1t appears to have been at the ad-
vice of witch that old Dlmitri Pavoff
produced the Sauce" which came
within an ace of killing his master and
his guests when served up to them the
other day. The scene of this incident
was an isolated dvor, manor house, and
1t was because his ancient cook had
latterly grown almost incapable that
the lord of the manor declared he must
be pensioned off This did not please
the venerable "cordon bleu," who liked
mis- quarters at the dvor far better
than a crowded village hut. So obtain
Ing a half holiday Pavoff visited n
witch, who lived some versts off and
sold love potions and life elixirs to the
leighboring peasantry. He returned at
midnight, tired but triumphant. with
small bundle tucked under his sheep
skin.
Next day there were guests to dinner
at the dvor. A dish of hare was served
up with sauce for which the cook
was famous throughout the district.
All praised it; and if some detected
a peculiar flavor they thought It was
because the hare had been kept too
long. But before they had finally set
tied down to their afternoons game of
cards to get an appetite for supper thew
all became i'll, so i'll in fact that most
OF them lay groaning on the floors and
sofas, crying for a doctor and declar-
ing they were killed.
AT last doctor came said they had
been poisoned and gave them large
doses OF salt and warm water. Then
ne walked across the courtyard to see
II the COOK would tell him what had
been served for dinner A strange sight
met his eyes. An old 2opper pot, long
condemned as unfit for use, hung over
the fire. The cook, grooms and kitchen
maids were executing a kind of death
dance around it, hand in hand, and
singing some nonsense to the tune of
folk song.
What are you doing there?" roared
the doctor, for they made such a noise
that they did not hear him. The cook
looked round and the others fled. "Why
do you use that old thing?' the doctor
went on. Its not fit to be in the
kitchen!"
Please, doctor, she told me to boil
it in all old copper pot" replied the
cook
who told you to boil what?" asked
the doctor. you've killed the gentle
folk as it is."
Then the cook with many tears and
protestations, confessed. The witch
had given him a recipe for regaining
his masters favor. 1t consisted of
stoats liver, mice's tails, rabbits eyes
and the hearts of water rats. These
were to be boiled down in a copper
pot to the singing of incantations, and
few drops of the mixture were to
be put in one dish at every meal until
the full moon came. The famous sauce
had contained a good dose of the con-
coction The victims of this magic
cookery recovered, but neither the cook.
the grooms nor the maids, to say moth
ing of the witch, can be induced to
believe that "the gentlefolks" were i'll
from the sauce. They put their indis-
position down g. a well-merited pun
ishment for want of faith.