Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-24


4 who didn't get sent to prison wa
honest. OF course. I meant thi
only in big matters. I've always known
that. in the smaller things, you had to
allow yourself a little leeway. Why
take mother, for instance; she'll hole
up a story while she makes up hel
mind, for absolute certainty, whether
it was Tuesday or Wednesday that II
happened, and yet one of the earliest
things l remember is her trying 20
sneak me in on the street car as under
when I was almost 8. Of course, II
the conductor asked her point blank,
she wouldn't tell a lie. but If she just
passed me by. she merely felt it was a
blessing that l looked so young for my
age.
AS we all grew older. though, it got
harder to draw the line, once you
started noticing it. In our own crowd,
for instance.
There was Mrs. Long and her brown
bread Nobody in Montrose could
make brown bread quite like Mrs.
Longs. People always got her to make
it for church fairs and the different
society suppers and to sell at bazaars.
People always raved about it. and it
gave Mrs. Long quite a little social
standing. She would never give any
body her recipe.
A lot of people would have given a
good deal to get hold of the recipe,
and, when they decided to get out the
Water Street Church Cook Book, they
knew that their chance had come. All
the members gave their choicest recipes
to be published in the book. The pro +.
ceeds were to go to building a new
church. Mrs. Long is one of the pillars
of the Water Street Church, and she
wouldn't dare refuse any recipe. I was
on the committee, and Mrs. Long was
in my district.
I shall never forget her face when
I told her that we wanted her brown
bread recipe Honestly, she looked like
a trapped animal. Of course. she tried
to get cut of 1t by offering me recipe
for sour-cream cake. but, mercy. every
body's got good recipe for sour-cream
cake. and I was very firm.
why, Mrs. Long, we expect to sell
an extra hundred copies of this book:
Just on your brown-bread recipe alone"
I said, thinking, of course, that this
would f1atter her.
But she looked about as f1attered as
though a cannibal chief had told her
that he expected an extra hundred peo-
pie to come eat her for dinner. Hon
estly, felt sorry for her; but didn't
dare go back to the committee with
out that recipe, so I held as firm Us
Gibraltar
After a while. she gave in, saying
bitterly that some of those women in
the Water Street Church would take
the pennies off dead mans eyes.
Suddenly it was as though she had
an inspiration. Her shoulders straight
ened, her step got lighter and quicker
and she seemed to have taken 10 years
off her age She wrote down the recipe
almost gayly. hun1ming under her
breath as she wrote. She came back
and handed 1t to me with a smile.
I took the piece of paper with
very peculiar. uneasy feeling. I had
premonition that people who used that
recipe never would have good luck
with 1t.
THE cook book was a huge success
L 1t make over 500 for the build
ing fund. And practically every woman
who bought copy went home and
made brown bread, the first of ALL But
nobody's tasted anything like Mrs.
Longs. 1t was good enough brown
bread, but just like anybody else's.
The women were so disappointed, and
hadn't followed the recipe closely
enough But, the closer they followed
it. the less the bread tasted like Mrs.
Longs.
Lots of them spoke to her about it;
but she said she couldn't imagine why
they should have the least difficulty.
Were they sure they had carameliZed
the sugar? When they said they GER
tainly were, she just shook her head
as though completely baffied.
TITS funny thing" she said, COM
placently, 81 always did seem to have
a certain twist of the wrist with my
brown bread"
Twist of the wrist her grand
mother!" said Mother Horton, who is
very suspicious. "She can't tell me.
She's left something out of that
recipe!"
"Oh, I don't see how she could close
her eyes in Sleep" said gentle old Mrs.
Westerley, who is very conscientious,
'if she really had done such thing
as that, and to the church, of all
people!"
And yet dear old Mrs. westerley will
swear that black is white, to keep
from hurting somebody's feelings.
And that's the way it goes. Actual
ly, it used to seem TO me that nobody
in Montrose was entirely honest. ex-
cept Will. About Wills complete and
utter honesty had never had single
doubt That is why the affair with
r. T. Moffatt nearly killed me. Hon.
est-why, I'd always thought VIII was
TOO honest for his own good
He would do and say the most tact
less things, and seem to think that, If
they were true, that was all there was
to it, If I ever tried to put on the
least bit of dog when he had company,
for instance, could depend upon Will
to spoil it all. Like the time Mrs.
Curtis was calling late in the after
noon and. her husband being out of
town I asked her to stay for supper.
The Curtises live beautifully. and
fairly broke my neck getting that sup
per-it's not so easy, with twins to
give bread and milk TO and get to bed,
at the same time. If do say 1t my
self. I achieved quite result, too.
Just the combination wanted of SIM
pie elegance and casualness. Especial
~, casualness. OF all things, wanted
to give Mrs. Curtis the impression that
] hadn't done thing differently on
account of her being there.
Fortunately, had made gelatin
salad that morning-which always looks
elegant way beyond its cost-and ]
added little hot crackers with butter and
paprika, and fixed my sweet potatoes
with a marshmallow merigue, and put
little puffs of whipfped cream on the
tomato soup, and added ripe olives and
coffee, served in the living room after
wsrd-all the little touches.
Mrs. Curtis was so sweet and ap-
preciative.
"I1l tell you, Mr. Horton, I don't
often have such supper as this" she
said, beaming on Will
And if he didn't grin and say:
Neither do We
And then, with the pleased look of
making everything smooth and pleasant,
he added:
But Dot never minds-she just loves
fussing for company"
EonecfIv could hava killed him