Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-03
CHAPTER VIu.-Continued.

out d AluO vi Imaginary hhu6uohi hNS
Eppenwelzen-Sarkeld or Grunewald or
Zenda, or an extinct place in Asia where
lions crouch upon the ruins In the moon
light"
Indiana said Miss Octavia sternly.
lis commonwealth for which I have
a., VS. had the greatest veneration. and
which. in due course. l hope to visit.
In the early seventies my father. the
late Hezekiah HOLSTER. invested q con-
siderable part OF his fortune I'm Indiana
farm mortgages. On these investments
the interest was paid with only the great
est reluctance and in the most fitful fash
ion. This. think, argues for a keen
sense of humor In the Hoosier people.
interest fs something that / should never
think Of paying in any circumstances. as
! have always considered 1t immoral, My
father, keenly enjoying the playfulness
of the Hoosiers in this particular. saved
himself from loss merely by raising the
price Of baby caps throughout the world.
and gave the mortgages as free gift
to the Society for the Amelioration of
the Condition of Good Indians. All the
good Indians being dead the society had
no expenses except officers salaries. and
as the Hoosiers gave up politics for
season and raised enough corn to pay
their debts the society became enormous
ly rich
AS We rose from the table Miss Octavia
declared that she must show me the pie
pantry. l was now SO accustomed to
her ways that / should not have been
in the least surprised II she had pro-
posed opening steel vault filled with
mummifed Egyptian dynasty.
The gentleman who built this house."
she explained. had already grown rich
in the manufacture of the famous ribless
umbrella before he acquired second for
tune from nostrum warranted to cure
dyspepsia. He was Unfortunately fond of
pies. and in order that this form of
pastry might never be absent from his
home he had a special pantry built to
which he might adjourn at his pleasure
without any fear Of finding the cupboard
bare"
She led the way through the buffers
pantry and into a small cupboarded room
adjoining the table-lnen closet. At her
command the butler threw open the
doors. and disclosed lines of shelves SO
arranged as to accommodate, in the most
several dozens of pies. These pastries. In
the pans as they had come from the
oven. peeped out invitingly. Miss Oc-
tavia explained their presence in her
usual impressive manner
/ 1T was one Of the conditions of the
sale Of this house to me by the original
owners executors that the pie vault
should be kept filled at all times. whether
I am in residence here or not. He felt
greatly indebted to pie for the success
Of the dyspepsia cure. 1t had widened
and steadily increased the market for
the cure. and pie was to him a conse-
Grated and sacred food. 1t was his habit
to eat a pie every night before retiring.
and on the Nightmares thus inspired he
had planned the strategy of all his cam
paigns against dyspepsia. The man had
elements Of greatness and these shelves
are monument to his genius. In order
to keep perfect my title to this property
it is necessary for me to maintain a pas
try cook, and as l do not myself care
greatly for pie-though, contrary to COM
mon experience. / have found 1t q splen-
did antephialtic-the total output is dis
tribused among the people of the neigh
bOrhood every second day. The station
agent at Bedford is a heavy consumer
and retired physician at Mount Kisco
has standing order for a dozen a week
My niece Hezekiah. OF whom you have
heard me speak. is partial to a particular
type of pie, and one only. 1t is the
gooseberry that delights Hezekiah's pail
ate, and under G in file 3. in a corner
behind you. there is even now a goose
berry pie that shall send to Hezekiail,
who. for reasons 1 need not explain. does
not now visit here
But the dyspepsia man-you speak of
him as though he were dead"
Your assumption Is correct, Mr.. Ames.
The builder Of HOpefield died only a few
weeks after he had established himself
In this house. Having entered upon the
enjoyment Of his we'll earned leisure. and
uiddc IL UNNECESSARY tHdt lie SnOulQ ever
go pieless to bed. he gave himself up for
fortnight to a mad indulgence in me-
ringues. and died after great suffering,
steadily refusing his own medicine to the
end
We still fingered in the pie crypt after
this diverting recital, while Miss Octavia
entertained me with her views on pies
The soul color Of pies varies greatly.
Mr.. Ames. 1t has always seemed to me
that apple pie stands for the homelier
virtues Of our civilization: it is substan-
tial, nutritious and filling. The custard
and lemon varieties are feminine, and do
not, perhaps for that reason, appeal to
me. Cherry pie at its best is the last
where cooks have been careful In elimi-
mating the seeds. and the Juice hasn't
made sodden dough of the crust, a cherry
pie meets the souls highest demands
index expurgatorius: I consider them
neither palatable nor respectable. But
rhubarb is the most odious pie of all, in
my judgment. 1t suggests the pharma-
will pardon me for mentioning the mat
ter. but one OF my gardeners. a Swiss,
crawled in here two nights ago and stole
a rhubarb pie. which, I rejoice to say
made him hideously i'll. The RS. you
will notice. are placed near the floor and
within easy reach Of any larcenous hand
The ease OF his approach was his I'M
doing. The pumpkin variety reaches al
iiioSt the same lOIty heights the
cherry. When not overdosed with spices
pumpkin pie conveys a sense of the
october landscape that is the despair of
the best painters. In the gooseberry l
find certain raciness. or. If l may use
the expression, zip. that is highly stimu-
lating. Both qualities you will observe
in Hezekiah IL you come to know her
well. The thought Of blackberry or rasp-
berry depresses me, but huckleberry
ouoys the spirit again. The huckleberry
seems to me to voice a protest. and un-
less managed with the greatest neatness
and circumspection 1t is bound to stimu-
late the laundry business. AS any one
who would eat a cooked strawberry would
steal a sick baby's rattle. I need hardly
say that the strawberry pies. even in
their season, shall have no place on these
Shelves
so it is the gooseberry that Miss
Hezekiah prefers" remarked with
feigned carelessness, as we walked to-
ward the library
1T is. Mr.. Ames: and 1 trust that your
inquiry implies no reflection on Heze- J
kiah's Judgment
Quite the reverse, Miss Hollister. 1t
is not going too far to say that / have
formed a. high opinion of Miss Hezekiah.
and that l should deal harshly with any
one who ventured to criticise her in any |
particular"
Will you kindly inform me Just when
you made the acquaintance of my young
er niece? / should greatly dislike to be- |
lieve you guilty Of discrimination. but |
when HeZRkiQh WAS nentionad ha