Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1907-05-29
THE BAKERS DOZEN.
TWO Different Accounts of the
Origin of the Phrase.
ONE PR0SAIC, ONE ROMANTIC.

Everybody knows that thirteen 1, a
bakers dozen" but everybody does
not know why. The origin OF tho
| phrase bakers dozen" Is commonly
attributed TO a custom that prevailed
among British bakers In the days when
severe penalties were inflicted upon
tradesmen who cheated their custom
ers with short weight or short meas
ure. dozen cakes or rolls or loaves
might easily fall short OF the stand
ard weight, SO IN order TO guard them
selves against the risk OF inadvertently
mourning the penalties Of the short
weight statutes without going to the
| trouble OF weighing everything they
sold the bakers added an extra loaf or
roll as a make weight to every doz-
en- cakes or rolls or loaves delivered to
customer This explanation is uu
satisfactory. 1t IS disappointment pro-
sale. and II utterly fails to account
for the fact that the bakers dozen" "a
also commonly known as the devils
dozen"
y better explanation IS 70 be found
| IN legend that gives the phrase an
! American origin 1t IS not wholly de-
/ void Of picturesqueness. 1t suggests
| the reason why bakers dozen" and
/ devils dozen" are synonyms. and it
carries rather a good moral with It.
The story Is somewhat rs follows: In
the middle OF the seventeenth century
| the most famous baker In the New
| Netherlands was Jan Petersen. who
lad come to Fort Orange from Amster-
dam and was the FIRST man In the new
world TO make those fat. oblong. orna-
mentally stamped. with caraway seed
literally besprinSled. crisp, toothsome
| Cookies familiar In the days before all
the old Dutch customs sank into dis
use under the name Of New Years
cakes" Petersen was just man. but
his Justice was never tempered with
! Lberality. With him 4 dozen was Z
dozen, neither moro nor less: also 4
pennyworth was worth u penny. and
he parted with no pennyworth of his
save IN consideration OF n penny had
and received IN exchange.
On the night Of Doc. 81. 1893. Ian
Petersen sat IN his shop. we'll stocked
with New Years cakes provided for
The expected demand II the morrow
when little old woman bearing al
the marks OF age and poverty that *
those days marked women out rs
witches. entered. demanding a dozen
New Years cookies. Petersen care
fully counted out twelve cakes. Her
are but twelve. 7 want 4 dozen" re
moustrated HIS customer. Twelve Is q
dozen" said Jan. Ion New Years eve
tween rich and poor. thirteen Is &
dozen shrilly insisted his queer Gus
toner. Give me thirteen" But Pie
terSen would not. He argued that no
body ever heard the like: that at nj
' times and on al occasions u dozen wa.
q dozen. Finally. finding argument o,
; no avail against the beldome's persist
ence. lie told her 10 40 to der tuyfeI'
FOR the extra cooky. Probably the oil,
woman took his advice, for she left III,
shop. and from that instant Petersen
found himself pursued by some super
natural and malevolent power. All hi
New Years cakes turned stale an,
l. moldy before morning. he lost his ski
as Z baker. all his dough was 50 lich
that X flew Up the chimney or 81
J heavy that IL fen through the oven
Z his journeynen robbed him. his wifi
, developed q critical disposition and
! tongue huns IN the middle. his chill
e dren went Wild and his trade won
I elsewhere. Few men could have Tough
I, against such . combination OF misfoI
+ tunes. but Petersen had money loi
D 10y, and Petersen was the most or
5 stinate and phlegmatic Of Dutchr,er
80 be kept his shop open though no
body came 20 buy. and the scanr. Il
made and III baked stock he was ADJ
To provide for Il nodded on his hands.
During three years on each success
S!Ve New Years eve the old wor2o
reappeared In Jan Pietersen's melau
cAoiy shop. demanding the thirteeut
t cooky. Each time she was sent aney
, 10 the devil Jan Petersen was III
e fool. He could sec IS far into q mil
f, stone rs any man in the New Nethc-
D lands. Almost from the first he ha
? been convinced Of the connection Id
tween his refusal 10 count thirteen I
4 The dozen and HIS misfortunes. But b
would not violate his lie creed. e..
dozen Is = dozen. \ man has don
his whole duty toward God and toyvar
his neiGhbor when he has kept Strictl
20 the letter OF the law" But NJ last
4 when his savings were all gone p
broke down and appealed 10 s.. Mich
T. olaS 10 help him. Instantly the vener
- able guardian OF all good Hollander
appeared. The saint sternly rebvke
, the trembling baker Tor the hard M.
, rowness and self Righteousness tha
had given the foul fcnd power owe
him. admonished him 10 be more care
ful IN the future and concluded b'
> promising him one more chance % Ia
: deem himself. The saint departed I,
walked the old woman with he- Ge
mand for the extra cooky 10 make u,
! her dozen 1t was handed 10 her. am.
, she vanished. crying: The spell g.
broken, From this time ON thirteen q
q dozen" Jan Petersen never for-c
his lesson. Through long and pros
, porous career be always gave Thrice.
60 The dozen and ascrlbed his SucccS
% That practise. SO his custom bc.au,
'bc custom Of his trade. and thrice,
was the bakers dozen"