davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

But Gene only feels a grateful humil-
ility in being able to live day by day
in this domestic atmosphere of beauti-
FIJI things.
ut grows upon you," says Gene; cit
Is all like an environing poem"
My poem at Genes is the Chippen-
dale card table. L lost my heart to it
the first time I saw it and my affection
grows. 1t is mixed with reverence,
something like the admiration of boy
for beautiful lady. The Chippendale
Is not an intimate table. It's mahog-
any is dark, with a mysterious rich
ness. It's every line has the dignity of
grace, the aristocratic reserve Of beau
ty. 1t stands between the front win
dows Of the living room with half of
It's hinged top against the wall. 1t is
the table 1 use in an imaginative way
when I read an eighteenth-century
novel where there is always whist in
the evening.
One corner Of Genes living room has
a grandfather's clock. The three other
corners have tipped-back stand tables.
The base Of stand table consists Of a
pillar with three spreading feet. It's top
has a revolving pivot. When it is to
be used, it fastens down with a snap.
These stands were called Dutch tea
tables" early in the eighteenth century,
but later In the century, with the pass
ing Of the Dutch fashion, they were
made with the Chippendale claw and
ball and with carving on the pedestal
and knees. One of Genes tables is
very simple in detail with hoof1ike feet.
The handsomest is of very dark ma
hogany with claw and ball feet. It's
top Is carved out Of thick piece of
wood so as to leave rim to keep the
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

chair. 1t is SO very small that It re-
minds me of one of the little slave
boys in Paolo Veronese's magnificent
banquet scenes. 1t looks so diminutive
and yet contributes so markedly to the
effect Of the whole. It was used in its
day as kettle stand to accompany the
tea table. Its pillar has delightful
lines and it's top has an elaborate
"pie-crust'' rim, as the ogee-scauoped
edge is called. Some of the stand tops
had plain scalloped edges and some In
Of them all the 'tpie-crust" is consid-
cred the finest.
The stands were a common article of
eighteenth-century furniture and as tea
tables and as small center tables they
retain all their old-time usefulness.
They also used to serve as candle
stands. When they served in that ca
pacity for the high four-posters they
were sometimes four feet in height.
The card table with the silver can
d1esticks and the silver snufferS has the
straight legs and rounded top charac-
teristic Of, the Hepplewhite. 1t is OF
mahogany with inlay Of white holly.
Inlay or marquetry at this time super
seeded carving and brought into use a
variety Of delicate cabinet woods. Hep
plewhite himself mentions the fragrant,
1emon-colored satinwood of East India
in making small pieces, such as the
work table with the silk.pocket, in the
illustration. The king wood Of Brazil,
with its beautiful violet tints, the pur-
pie wood from tropical America, the
snake wood of Guiana, variegated rose
wood and many rare tropical tree
were used in these inlays with chaste
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20
OFFICIAL
POSITIONS
How a Middle Aged Mother
of a Family Got a Govern
ment Job and Interest
ing Work

Here is the story briefly told Of q
woman past middle age. mother OF
grown children, who was advised to
take an examination for government
position. She had done considerable
work as city missionary, but this was
her entire experience outside her
home She had as much to learn
about taking the examination as you
or 1 would, and she took it with fear
failed to pass. However, experience
and judgment count for so much in
government positions of certain kinds.
that Uncle Sam decided to place her
in his immigration service. When her
appointment came she was whisked
out of her small inland city to the
Barge Office in New York. where she
is a matron of the Boarding Division.
Her present life is hard, but, oh, how
interesting! Best of all. she is q
motherly woman, from whom SYM
pathy and love radiate, who says she
does not need any foreign language,
because "any one can understand the
language of love" It is her duty to
see that young girls and women and
children are met by their friends.
or are landed in respectable private
homes with respectable relatives, or
are sole in the homes sustained BY
their own nationality, or are placed
on board trains going to relatives.
often acts as maid Of honor at we'd
dings Of immigrants. If a young man
has sent for his sweetheart and prom
Uses to marry her as soon as she lands,
the matron takes no chances on his
putting off the wedding day or per-
haps forever. She stays right with
them until they are married.
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

who are already, or desire to become,
cooks and maids.
Pratt Institute OF Brooklyn, N. z,
conducts classes for cooks or women
classes fGr mattresses and classes for
laundresses. Each class meets once a
week. evenings. The cookery lasts for
six months and is given in two courses.
The tuition for each course is So. and
no certificates are awarded.
In Boston the Young WOmen'S Chris
tian Association offers a free course of
instruction, with board and rooms, to
girls sixteen years of age and upward
who can present testimonials of good
character, and who desire thorough
preparation for house service. The
course includes cooking and serving,
general housework, chamber work, par
lor work, laundry work, home nursing,
sewing and mending, reading and
spelling, penmanship and letter writ
ing, arithmetic and geography and
daily Scripture lessons.
Girls are admitted as members Of
this school only upon conditions signed
by themselves or their guardians, that
they remain at least six months. If
they leave before the expiration Of this
period they are to be charged at the
rate Of 81 per week from the time of
admission to that of leaving. And they
must agree to work as dOmeStics for
at least one year after leaving the
school. A certificate is awarded upon
completing the course.
The superintendent writes that they
have twelve pupils at present, most Of
them sent by social service workers or
former pupils, and the demand for
graduates far exceeds the supply. They
have very few girls from the immi-
grant class. Does any reader know Of
other institutions OF individuals who
train young women for domestic serv-
ice?
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

effect. There is never-failing charm
about the lightness and grace Of the
Hepplewhite tables.
Gorge Hepplewhite was a cabinet
maker and designer Of London. He
worked during the last Ch1ppendale
days and was a contemporary Of the
Adam brothers and Of Sheraton. He
died in 1885. Two years later his widow
published q book Of his designs called
the Cabinetmakers and Upholsterers'
Guide. His latest work has all the In
trinsic merits Of the Louis Seize. The
spirit of this new time in which Hep
plewhite worked is, perhaps, most
clearly learned from the life Of Robert
Adam. This designer travelled in Italy
with the longing to study tho dwelling
houses rather than the greater forms
Of architecture. He made drawings in
western Italy, in Rome, in Venice, but
found his inspiration at Spalato in Dali
malta, amidst the ruins Of Diocletian's
palace. It was there that he became
lmhued with the classic spirit which
was to have such an after effect upon
English taste.
Adam was an architect, but he de-
signed not only the exterior and in
terror, but every part OF the furnish
ings. with culture and brilliancy It
was evidently Adam who influenced
Hepplewhite in classic lines, and this
influence Hepplewhite used with erudi-
ton, but with a light-hearted, natural
grace Of manner. After the publica-
ton Of the Hepplewhite designs, they
had great vogue, which was cut short
by the political events that brought
the heavier Empire into fashion.
The round table with the drop leaves
Is called a Pembroke table, a name
that simply characterizes the drop
leaves which, when up, were held by
turning brackets. It is a small table
designed for breakfast use. At Genes
1T holds the reading lamp by the Chip
pendale great chair. It is of light-col-
ored mahogany with simple inlay. The
sewing table with the work basket and
candlesticks shows a quaint design of
this time. Who can be quite fancy
free at the sight of these dear work
tables with all their ingenious COM
partments? Does 1t not make us long
for the quiet days Of old-fashioned
needlework?
SILK pocket has the slender huted legs
which we associate with the Sheraton
style. The deep, oval sewing table
with the short pillar and the concave
legs with the wreath carving is also
IN the Sheraton style, and in all prob
ability it was made by the Connecticut
confreres Of Duncan Phyfe, one Of the
hnest cabinetmakers in New York at
the beginning Of the last century.
On this and the three pages follow
Ing are illustrated the tables herein de-
scr1bed. They are fascinating in them
selves, and in almost every case to
the JOY Of possession has been added
the delight Of discovery. One seldom
has too many Of these small tables.
There is always a corner or a niche
to which the new find seems especially
adapted. Moreover, a handsomely fin
ished table of good lines Is always a
delight to the eye.
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20
MASTERPIECES OF
FURNITURE MAKERS
Beautiful Specimens That Have Seen and Envied
Creations of Adam, Heppewhite and Chippendale
and Their Pecularities of Style and Design

conquest and Is still to be found in the
peasantNco cottages Of the TyroL 1t Is the
oak table that has outlasted time and
that has grown more beautiful in tone
and softened carving with the CEN
turtles. At present it is being revived
in America in many g. fine wainscoted
hall and library. A knowledge Of 1T
helps to a greater understanding of
the oak furniture Of our own day.
The history Of tables not only vivi-
fles the past; it helps us to understand
the tables Of our own homes. 1t helps
us to understand what is good. In
table construction, and what is beauti-
full in line and form. We all have our
table preferences-our own table
loves" A knowledge Of tables makes
these more trustworthy and enjoyable
and furthermore develops in US wider
appreciation, a cathoicity of taste.
One Of the charms Of Genes tables
is the ingenuity they show in making
Even the Sheraton dining table that
has a festive size in the dining room
can stand by the stairway, it's great
leaves vertically resting beside its
long narrow frame. 1t is quite Jump
in chair history from the thousand
legged table to the Sheraton, but only
few years between the Sheraton
and the Empire table that usually Is
the center table Of the dining room.
After the French Revolution there was
a reaction against everything that had
Empire furniture is largely a revival of
the Egyptian classic brought about by
Napoleon's campaigns. The dining
table with the lamp is American EN-
pire, and shows the acanthus carvings
and the claws used with refinement
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20
DESSERT
RECIPES
How to Make Puff Paste
Shortcake-A New En-
tree and Some Pa1at-
able Party Dishes

II r AXE pun paste or near-puff paste
"u In an oblong sheet about half
lvI an inch thick, spread with but
ter and cover with another lay
er. put In a pan and bake. While
hot split the two layers apart and fill
with apple sauce or any fresh or
canned fruit and cover with boiled
frosting and sprinkle this generously
with blanched almonds which have been
Drowned in a hot oven and minced fine.
Serve with or without whipped cream.
The apple sauce is made after the
following recipe:
Apple Sauce.
Make a rich syrup of one cup Of
sugar to a cup of water and cook
apple quarters in this until they are
tender Flavor with both lemon juice
and vanilla. The apples should absorb
all the syrup
Bread and custard Fruit Pudding.
Toast two large, thick, round slices
of fresh bread most delicately, spread
each slice with a little tart jelly, unless
the fruit to be used is very tart; then
cover each slice, placing one on top
of the ether with fruit, either fresh Or
canned. and cover all with a rich boiled
custard thickened slightly with gelatin
or cornstarch. Serve very cold with
whipped cream. The custard should
be favored TO suit the fruit used. For
instance. if the fruit be peaches, add
q very small amount of bitter almond
to cust1rd, OF a half cup of shredded.
blanche6 almonds. For a mild fruit
add vanilla and melted chocolate, or
either, to the cCstard.
Angel Pudding.
sift 1--WE times half a cup of pastry
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

nour with half a teaspoon Of cream of
tartar and an eighth Of teaspoon of
salt and add three-fourths of a cup Of
very fine granulated sugar and sift
again three times. Fold in the whites
Of five large eggs and pour into a
pan with a hole in the middle and
bake in a moderate oven. Serve when
not quite cold with either Of the fol-
lowing sauces, or If for very elab-
crate meal serve with both sauces.
custard Sauce.
scald one cup and a half Of rich
milk, with a dash Of salt, and pour it
over the slightly beaten yolks of four
eggs mixed with one-fourth cup of
sugar. Cook until the spoon is coated;
then add one teaspoon Of dissolved
gelatin and remove from fire at once.
Let this cool, then flavor with vanilla
aud put on ice or pack 1t in ice for
few hours. Serve this poured around
the pudding and put in the hole in GEN.
ire whipped cream mixed with some
rich preserved or candied fruit.
A Near-Puff Paste Entree.
Make patties of the paste and fill
them with a mixture Of turkey and
tongue, or chicken and ham, all cooked
Of course, and pour over them a rich
cream sauce favored with dried mush-
rooms and filled with chopped hard
soned with salt, paprika and dash Of
nutmeg.
For the Afternoon Gathering.
A popular dish in certain localities
during the past season for the after
noon affair was a
Chocolate BIancmange over Cake.
Make ordinary plain cake or sponge
cake in layers, having but two of them,
and fill and cover with the blancmange,
which in turn must be covered with
whipped cream. Serve with tea, iced
tea or coffee.
The BIancmanae.
Scald two cups of milk with one
teaspoon of butter and a dash of salt;
add two tablespoons of arrowroot dis
solved in a little of the milk and two
tablespoons of melted chocolate, or
more; cook ten minutes; now turn this
into two yolks mixed with half a cup
of sugar and return to double boiler
and cook for a moment. Pour this into
bowl and beat a few minutes, then
fold in the stiff1y beaten whites Of the
eggs and flavor with a teaspoon Of
vanilla This should be very cold be-
fore it is spread upon the cake and it
should be just stiff enough not to run
and yet not as stiff as jelly.
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20
SOCIETY COOKS RECIPES
By ELEANOR VAN HORN

slices of whole wheat spread with un-
sailed butter and filed with a mixture
of chopped raisins, almonds, orange
juice, a little grated orange rind and
enough olive Oil to blend the mass well
together.
Mrs. Grover Cleveland has a fine
recipe for the making Of koumiss at
home. The koumiss is made in a wine
bottle holding a quart. This is filled
to within two or three inches Of the
top with sweet milk in which have
been mixed two tablespoons Of granu-
lated sugar. Dissolve a quarter Of a
cake of compressed yeast in a little
warm water and add to the milk.
Shake the mixture thoroughly and tie
down the cork very tightly. Place in
temperature of 70 or 80 degrees for
six hours and then remove to the ice
box and let it remain all night. When
correctly fermented it should be of an
even consistency, creamy and foamy.
If it has curdled or formed a cheese
like mass it has been fermented too
long.
Mrs. Phelps Carol has Travelled the
world over and has lived in more
strange foreign countries, probably,
than any other woman in New York
society. When she was in China she
learned a rather complicated recipe
of chop suey. Here 1t is, and it is
delicious:
The meat. from eight pork chops
Qamb may be used, though it rarely Isl
is cut into small Jumps and fried in
hot olive oil until we'll Drowned. To
the meat are then added two cups of
mushrooms. two large onions, chopped
fine, a stalk of strong celery, also
chopped, and a cup of wheat sprouts
(These may be omitted if they cannot
be obtained In a Chinese quarter or
sprouted at honey Before the meat is
fried three dessertspoons of cornstarch
and two of sugar should be blended
in a cup of warm water, to which are
added three tablespoons Of Chinese
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

mates our modern table language. The
AnElo-Saxon name for table was board,
literally derived. from the movable
board which was mounted on trestles
at meal times. The picturesque Ger
man expression. tisch aufheben, for
clearing the table is the perpetuation
in language Of a long-ago custom.
times, the table was cleared away by
first removing the board and then it's
supports .
The name table" came into England
with the Norman invasion. By and by
the habit Of leaving the board on its
trestles encouraged calling 1t table in
its entirety. The table with trestles
continued to be the regulation table
for several centuries after the Norman
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

"a MONG fashionable society women
~ are found many accomplished
amateur cooks who originate de-
Tcious recipes; for. having feast
ed in many lands, they understand the
combining Of ingredients almost in
tuitive1y.
Mrs. George Jay Gould, who, with
her large family Of children, leads an
ideal domestic life at Lakewood, N. J.,
has a faculty for concocting savory
dishes.
One Of these is made as follows:
Boil for twenty minutes heaping
cup Of chicken livers. Cut them up
into small pieces and add a tender
sausage cut in thin Slices Mix well
together and add one tender onion
chopped very fine, several slices of
Spanish peppers, a teaspoon Of curry
powder, and some salt and pepper.
Have in the chatting dish pan a half
cup Of olive oil very hot and into this
pour the mixture. Cook until the sau-
sage is done and serve on hot toast
with sprigs Of watercress.
Mrs. George Vanderbilt is very fond
Of dainty sandwiches. For example,
here are sandwiches made of Parker
House rolls. The soft interior of the
rolls is removed and the cuplike cavity
in each Is filled with minced tongue
and little crisp bacon, with a little
chopped celery and Spanish peppers
and a dash Of mustard. The combina-
ton Of the sweet bread and the strong
ly favored bacon and peppers is de-
lectable.
Another novel sandwich is made Of
thin slices Of unsweetened Boston
brown bread, well buttered with sweet
butter and filled with delicious mix
ture of cream cheese, ground protoid
nuts, olive oil and a dash Of lemon
juice.
A sweet sandwich is made of thin
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

sauce, which can be obtained at a
Chinese shop This should be added
to the mixture just after the celery,
onion and wheat sprouts. The whole
should be cooked over very hot fire
and constantly stirred. The mass will
thicken and grow smooth. It should
be cooked half an hour.
Editors Note-Where Chinese sauce
is not available, try worcestershire
sauce.
, A recipe obtained in Ceylon was
that Of curried radishes, which may
easily be prepared in a chafing dish:
Large, firm radishes are cut in large
cubes impaired. These are thrown into
a chatting dish pan Of hot olive oil and
cooked briskly about half an hour,
moving constantly to prevent scorch-
ing. Just before they are removed
from the fire a teaspoon Of curry pow-
der is added. This is a bewildering
dish to the person who tastes 1t for
the first time; he has no idea what it
is, and it produces an entirely new
sensation in taste. being what cooks
call very 'snappy'' in flavor
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20
Training for Maids
Various Institutions in the
Country That Are Pre-
pairing Girls for Service

GCHOOLS and clubs are awaking
but slowly to the fate that training
- classes should be supplied for
maids. A few enterprising women
In some OF the smaller cities have taken
up the work. For instance. in Hart
ford. Conn.,. a well-known instructor
offers evening cooking classes for
maids, six lessons for 49, This woman
will also go to the homes and give in
dividual instructions to the maid. But
this Is merely the work Of an individ-
ual What we think should be done is
that schools that offer domestic sci
ence should present classes for the
training of young girls and women
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20
An UnderSkirt
You Can Adjust

One Of the most troublesome prob
lens in dressing little girls is to have
the petticoat the right length for the
dress. I have overcome the difficulty
by leaving the shoulder seam open on
the waist of the skirt and cutting
the back shoulder piece several inches
longer than the front This I overlap
and pin with small safety pin, and
the length Of the skirt can be varied
from one to four inches. Even if a
dress Of a growing child has to be let
down, a petticoat fixed in this way
can be adjusted to the proper length.
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

VhyE WE'RE sitting on the sofa In
w the hall counting upon o-r COM
w bined fingers the various MEM
bers of the family for the
Thanksgiving dinner party. The fam
fly II large. The combined fingers
needed duplicating to accommodate It..
But Gene has three dining tables. The
possession Of three modern dining ia
bleS would be painfully space-absorb-
ing. but It is different with the old ia
bles. They are not at all obstreperous.
They are made quite narrow in the
frame and modestly withdraw with
laps down to some small space at the
side OF the room when mealtime is
over. In Genes home, the thousand
legged dining table has a long, narrow
place In the hall near the front door.
Tho thousand-legged table, or, as we
often call 1t, the eight-legged or gate
legged table, was known in the old in
ventories simply as the oval table, the
round table or the walnut table. It
marks the dining transition from oak
to walnut, from the long table to the
curved edges. and incidentally 1t marks
the evolution from forms or benches
TO dining chairs.
The early history of the table illumi-
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

Is almost lost under the spreading
loops of ribbon, to the afternoon hats
that support the beautiful outlines Of
marvellous bows on wider spreading
brims.
No words can describe the smart
ness and skill with which these bows
are put together. their simplicity and
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

smartness putting to shame more pre-
tentious decorations. The newest bow
is an enormous affair Influenced by
airship outlines, spreading out on
either side from a centre knot in two
trast to which there are two Of the
tiniest possible pointed ends peeping
up from the knot. each finished off
by one wee tassel. These bows are,
as rule, in light tones. White vel
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

furnished with ornamental slides o4
gold, silver (either in the natural,
gray, or the oxidized f1nish). gum
metal, cut steel, Jet or rhinestone.
and are as pretty as they are utili-
tartan. Sometimes the ribbon IL sep
arated at the sides, and obtains an
added beauty by means of linked orna-
ments which cannot be displaced, as
can the movable slides.
A charming style Of collar for wear
The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-03-20

front on the edge Of the crown, its
loops reaching upwards and outwards
in a great flare.
Short neck-ribbons Of black MORE
in half-inch width are now worn for
carrying the lorgnon, which is con-
sidered more convenient for use when
it hangs only to the bust. These are