Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1915-09-08
TtiElRHopEFuEETHoD

"You1i get your meals ut Aunt
Mary's won't you. 50hnr'' and John.
proceeding along the lines az least
resistance, had nodded his head nfitrm-
atively but had mentally rakurned IN
emphatic nNo." For John did not
like the menus OF HIS wife'H adorod
Aunt Mary and. he bad fully made up
his masculine mind that while bis
wife was On her vacation, ne. John
Davis, was going to DO some cooking
| for himself He fDndiy imagined that
| he had taste that way, and this OBJ
session OF his had caused more or less
| OF domestic friction, for he had driven
away more than one incensed cook By
what she termed his "meddlesome-
ness
Now he had his chance Mildred was
| to be gone q month. In this interim
he could, and would. enjoy his sup
posed talent to exhaustion. He would
be monarch OF all he surveyed in the
culinary region with none to dispute
or deride or disturb his reign. When
stated with original connections there
were restaurants and hotels 20 which
he could repair. though he doubted Il
/ he should care TO patronize one Of
them. SO strong was his faith in has
/ powers as a cook.
For awhile, matters went peaceably
There had been some cold stuffs in the
| ice chest. and bread and cake In the
closet. and Johns economical inclina-
| lions disposed him to use these until
| the supply was exhausted
John was a loyal Bostonian. The
baked beans that had been served &C
him under the name Of his native
city's famed food had been loathsome
to his palate and faded to his eyes
He would have some beans worthy the
name. Then rice. John was lovel
Of rice in any form. and Mildred
scorned It; consequently IL had beer
anathema on the home bill OF fare
He would revel in rice for awhile unit
his taste should be stated with 1t. On
cool Saturday he built roaring rang
fire. Happily, he set on the able thu
various ingredients for his cominI
feast. Let's see. Molasses-
He must use lots of that in tn
beans. Those white-livered things hi
. folks called baked beans" never saw
a drop OF the saccharine element, h
could bet on that. Well, he'd shoy
them! He discovered. to his disgust
that there were no beans and no rtc
} in the larder. Obstacle number one
Never mind. the telephone wah handy
| Let's see, again. He pondered. AS I
amounts he was eineulariy ignoran
. though well up on ingredients. Fl
wanted plenty, anyhow, for had he nc
,, invited Smith. Hines and Thomson 1
for dinner that should be a Dime
good things and plenty of them"7
1
I and five pounds Of rice would be aboJ
1 enough. That wou1d>be a quart. an
! a pound apiece. and some left ovt
, for Sunday.
The foods were soon delivered, an
l John, Tuning little at the della
: placed them in kettles and over
d sizzling blaze.
Then he turned his attention to otf
er household matters, for, 1t must
confessed John was a bit Of .'Bett,
5 and loved to attend to matters usual
supposed to concern the feminiI
alone.
J. A smoke and odor Of burning a
o tracted him to the kitchen where,
/" his surprise and concern, he saw boi
o kettles boiling over. and covering Il
q stove with their surplus contents.
= rushed for more kettles, removed po
tons Of each softening and swelii1
= edible and returned to the sittinl
room. only, in few moments to
: summoned again to a similar al
ri sinister occurrence. More pots al
kettles. and to Johns surprise the
IS too. filed and fumed over in a Re
: Surely" thought the harass
man, some imp of mischief is
'9 thenI Why. there were only fl
le quarts of beans at first and If the
= aren't over bushel here now, ] mi
l. my guess-and what's worse, he T
IA garded the mess with puzzled ey,
= there's more on the way"
AS for the rice! In utter deSps
N John scraped out all the many ke
d, ties full and deposited the whole
1T the wash-boiler which, in an unpH
l. cedently short space Of time was I'LL
Is to the top with the cooked edible.
r Beans? Every pot in the house W
in use and still he was compelled
=, scoop them out as the utensils fill
VI almost fiendishly, he thought, and !
( the surplus in bowls and plates on I
st table
IS, The bean-pot looked disgracefu
1t small as the cook regarded, with hS
a. rified eyes, the mountainous pile
> beans. But anyhow, some must
=. cooked. Company was coming. 10
= plunged a pot full into the oven af
L deauging them with quart
tn molasses. hesitating as to whetl
t. more might not be better, but dec
1t ing that as the quart nearly covel
he the beans. 1T would do for the time
Guilty. carrying the mass Of T
and beans down cellar, John
moved all traces of his mishap Fl
sight and sat down to await the sc
IT. ening of the beans for which his hi