The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1920-12-21


the Metropolitan Mngazine
entitled ""Christmas and Children" IN
the course of It's lines Mr., Martn In.
troduces n suggestion that Is extreme
~ unpleasant, but he clears, It away de-
lightfully. He says:
Consider, II there were to- De q
lapse Of new bnbies for even so short
q time as ten years, Santa Claus would
fade out Of active existence and be-
come mere tradition to be rend
about in books. A failure of the
infant crop for fifteen years would
result In the decay CT the habit of
hanging up stockings, and only an
tiqunrians would my longer take the
trouble to have Christmas trees. OF
course, In such an unthnknble con-
tingency as that our world would he in
such a desperate state Of detection
that It would have no fun, though 1t
would go through the motions of ex-
istence from habit. But the kind Of
Christmas keeping we are used to
would be Knocked on the head. That
lasts simply and solely because there
are children. The people who have
the children maintain the current
Christmas practices for their chill
dren's sake. the older children main
tain them for their own sake and the
folks who have no children keep them
up for old times sake and because II
Is the custom OF the country.
"Whnt an intolerable suggestion that
is. of there being no children to be had
under fifteen years old; no babies to
blink and coo at the Christmas tree
candles; no five-year-olds to come
downstairs In their nightgo after
their stockings; no sevcn-year-olds to
wake up everyone In the house hours
before breakfast; no ten-year-olds to
sit Mt the Christmas board and be
warned against Over-intlulgencc in
plum pudding. No consuming interest
in dolls and no market for them; no
laborious searching of the toy shops.
and harnssing indecislon whether to
get the same old toys or the new ones |;
no active concern about jack knives
and sleds and roller skates. No hav-
ing in-but II Is much too awful to
60 on about. Let us he devOutly thank
full that it Is only an awful idea with
out basis; that there are lots and lots
of children In commission. of all kinds
and ages, and myriads more coming,
whatever crOaks there may be about
race suicide"
..>>s' ~t.'.<..
Plum Pudding Of Other Days.
A great deal has been said, written
and sung about the plum pudding of
old England, but centuries ago it had a
formidable rival for epicurean favor
known as. plum-pottage or porridge.
1t consisted Of beef or mutton nude
into broth. thickened with brown
bread, which was then thoroughly
boiled after raisins, currants, prunes.
cloves, mace AMI ginger had been add
ed. This dish Is now entirely obsolete.
though "Poor Richards Almanac"
mentions 1t rs late as 1850, and Mrs.
Frazer, who published a cookbook in
Edinburgh in 1891, announcing her.
self on its title page as the only teach
er Of the great art of cookery in that
city, gives recipe for making 1t.
while Brand, the. popular antiquary,
tells how he partOok Of 1t at Christ
mas dinner in the mansion Of an old
English gentleman in 1901, but 1t has
long since been wholly supplemented
by plum pudding. The origin Of the
latter is yelled into obscurity. The
earliest cookbook which makes any
reference to 1t Is the ore by Mrs.
Frazer already referred to as contain
Ing recipe for plum pottage.