Denton and Haughton Examiner, etc. — 1892-05-14 (Denton, Greater Manchester, England)

LIGHT SUPPERS.—The value of a light gruel or other food taken just before retiring is not generally appreciated. People who enjoy a night clipper are quite apt to do it surreptitiously, as if they were doing something which was not quite proper from a hygienic point of view. As a matter of fact, however, when the powers of the body have been taxed beyond the usual home of retiring food is necessary. It should not be heavy food, of course, such ss will induce restlessness era leaden sleep full of unhappy nightmares, but light, wholesome food taken just before retiring. This is a very excellent thing for women of a delicate, nervous physique who are inclined to sleeplessness. A bowl of oatmeal gruel, delicately made of half milk, a glass of hot milk, or of warm clam broth, or of almost any other light broth, will often bring a night of sleep and sweet dreams when nothing elm wilL A great manypeople who eat sparingly at their meals require such food no this before they retire, and require also a cup of coffee before they rice in the morning; and such extra food will do more to build up their strength than dozen tonics. A great deal of sleeplessness is said by physicians to be caused by an uncomicious craving for food, which a light broth at bedtime will satisfy. Properly prepared, an oatmeal gruel is delicious. Stir two tablespoonfuls of oatmeal into • boiling mixture of half a pint of milk and half a pint of water. Let it cook slowly for two hours, where it will not burn but will merely simmer. If the steam-cooked oatmeal commonly sold is used, it will require but half an hour's cooking. A scant half teaspoonful of salt should be added to the oatmeal when it is put over to cook. It may be cooked inn double boiler, but if so, the inner dish which contains it most be set for a few minutes on the stove-lid at the beginning. The gruel is all the better, however, for being cooked in a single porcelain-lined kettle, if you are willing to take care to stir it occasionally. A double kettle is a very excellent thing for 801110 kinds of cookery, but there are many dishes which cannot be prepared successfully with it. Oatmeal is rather bmter cooked in a single porcelain-lined kettle, which is the way it is cooked in Scotland, though there the kettle is apt to be one of plain iron.  Senna was a philosopher, who argued that patience is a great quality in nice. But Seneca never had a cartful of coal suddenly dumped on his feet. A crarceliss was chiding Lis son for staying out late at nights—or rather early neat morning—and said : "Why, rhen I was of your age, my father would not allow me to go out of the house after darl‘r Then you had a deuce of a father, you had," sneered the young profligate. Whereupon the father very rashly vociferated, "I had a confounded site better n than you, you young rascal" °MIMING a rough-looking customer in the custody of a policeman, and followed by a large mob, a gentlemen inquired of one of the crowd, a verdant. looking son of Erin, what offence the culprit had been guilty of. "Sure, an' he attempted to eommit suicide, be did," wee the reply, ." Suicide!" said the gentlet man, hi great surprise. "By what .tuesnar,.," By batin' his poor old father over the head wia a club till he lay for dead," rejoined his informant.