The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1910-10-20
EIJMORING
THEM


naturally a door mat. 1t would have
demanded one of these two traits to
enablee any woman to endure unfincA-
ingly the vagaries of her family.
She had herself alone to- blame for
these vagaries- Visitors to the Hop
kins' home gazed unbeliewingly and
wonderingly upon the dinners until
time and repetition allayed their sur
prise. Then they would take Mrs.
Hopkins into a corner, if they were
women, and would tell her that ii
was sin aud shame to give liz
so to the foolish whims of mascu-
Unity and that. she was running her
boys.
In spite of this Mrs Hopkins kept
right on ordering meals according to
her own ideas. There were three
nearly grown sons and one daughter.
and no two of them liked the same
things to eat.
Alexander refused positively to
touch any meat but steak and roast.
Ernest would not eat beef if he
starved to death. Eugene, who had
delicate appetite. which had to be
coaxed, insisted on chops, chicken or
sweetbreads. Josie turned up her nose
at anything except creamed dried
beef, sardines or lamb.
1t was just as bad about the break
fast eggs. Eugene had to have his
poached. Alexander stuck to soft
boiled. Josie preferred 0melets. Ern-
est insisted on having his eggs scram-
bled.
Two Of the four wanted toast served
buttered and the other two wouldn't
eat 1t unless they adjusted the butter
to suit themselves. AS for desserts
that was what made nearly all the
cooks leave after struggling three
days or so. Therefore Mrs Hopkins
perforce did most of her own cook
ing.
If one of the family liked pie an
other insisted on cake, and somebody
else refused to finish on anything but
pudding. AS for Hopkins, the only
sweet he liked was ice cream. Mrs.
Hopkins was always too exhausted by
dessert time to yearn for anything ex-
cept merciful oblivion.
The human constitution being what
1t is, of course it was impossible to let
everybody else starve while Alexan-
der RECALLED himself on beef or while
Josie toyed with an on1elet. Every
body wanted food several times day
and SO Mrs. Hopkins generally man.
aged to have "a little bit OF each ones
preference on the table, &C meal ttmes
inscruRble reason. never wanted any
butter or that Ernest dfsliked cream
and liked plain milk in his coffee and
on his berries.
1t made an outsiders head whirl to-
take a meal with the Hopkins family,
because there was such an avalanche
of various kinds Of food that one lost
count Besides, it is firing to have to-
choose between six kinds of meat and
everything else accordingly three
times day.
Mrs. Hopkins always said that she
would rather do these things than
have the children fuss, and that; any
grained to be broken. 1t was, Of
course, troublesome, but anything to
keep peace in the family was her
slogan. She said she was sure she
did not know what the boys would do
If they ever married, because no girl
would love them as much as their
mother did or would be willing to
f<r- no, md
that she knew they would be unhappy,
but she couldn't help it-she had done
her best.
Everybody else said it was all TOM
myrot and that the Hopkins children
imposed upon their mother.
In course of time Alexander and
Ernest and Josie married and set up
homes of their own and Eugene went
into, business in different city. Mrs.
Hopkins never could fill up the spare
time she now had since her culinary
labors were so simplified. A lifelong
slavery had spoiled her capability for
other pursuits. So she went visiting
among the children.
When she got to- Alexander's-he
who would eat nothing but beef and
eggs soft-boiled and pie-she was par
alyzed the crst night to have chicken
and rice pudding come on the table.
In former times Alexander would
have stormed at the sight Of pud-
ding. Now he remarked that the
chicken was cooked to turn and the
pudding delicious.
isn't Sadie fine cook?" he asked
his mother, beaming.
When she got to Eugene's, he of the
capricious stomach, she sat at his
boarding house table and saw him
stow away corned beef and cabbage
till she fed aghast.
Ernest had married a pretty little
| thing, who knew no more about cook
ing than she did about the history of
| the stone age. She set forth a soggy
dinner, warranted to knock out Cupid
In the first round a
| AT Josie's Mrs. Hopkins found her
| fair young daughter who loved omelets
I ~.%sre o0Oc hnf1o1 and chfrrod ho-