Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 July 1875 — Our Young Folks. [ARTICLE]

Our Young Folks.

NELLY’S GRAND DINNER PARTY.

BY SARAH O. JEWETT.

I wonder if you remembei- a story, printed in St. Nicholas for last September, ciUled “My Friend the Housekeeper?” It was about a girl named Nelly Ashford, whose father had a playhouse built for her in the garden, which play-house was like a real hduse, only smaller, with a little entry-parlor and kitchen in it. This was Marigold House. It might have beeri better to have said in the first story that Nelly wished her house to have a name, and that it took a whole evening to make Choice of one. Finally Aunt Bessie happened to think that the housekeeper was very fond of marigolds, and that Mrs. Ashford had told the gardener to plant some under the windows and in the borders near by; so she said: “Suppose we call it Marigold House?” And this mime suited everybody. I think I must tell you about the day of the grand dinner part}’. Itri’aswhen Nelly had been at housekeeping several weeks. Mr. and Mrs. Ashford were away, and Miss Bessie had gone to spend the day with a friend, and on the way asked Edith and Mary Talbot, two nice girls, to go down to Marigold House to lunch. Alice Dennis was already there, of course; and, after they had ail been talking for a few minutes, making various plans for the work and enjoyment of the day, Alice said: “ I mean to have a dinner party instead of lunch; mamma said we might have what we pleased." Nelly’s guests were usually entertained in the kitchen on such an occasion as this and, indeed, would have felt defrauded if they had not been allowed to help with the cooking. Nelly looked in file closet to see what was needed, and then ran into the great house to get supplies from the cook. Nora was particularly good-natured and gave her potatoes to bake, some cold roast chicken and bread, filled her grocery-boxes and the big milk-pitcher, and then gave her some strawberries that had been left from breakfast; so my friend the housekeeper and one of the others had to make two voyages to carry everything out. It was a very busy morning. They made a plum-pudding of extra size and superior sweetness ana fruitiness, and stoned all the raisins for it, which they commonly omitted tp do. Then they undertook to make some soup. Alice had watched the cook at home do it Several times and was sure she knew how. 8o she and Edith went over to the vegetable garden, and came back with carrots, onions, beets and radishes, though she wasn’t quite sure the last-named two belonged with the rest. There must be some potatoes and meat and a little rice. The cook had used beefbones, she thought, but it was likely any meat would do as well; so our friends took some of the roast chicken and put it on to boil. Then each took a knife to slice the vegetables. Nobody wished to crit up the onions, for they make one’s eyes smart so dreadfully; so they chopped them a little oh the outside with a knife and dropped them in whole. The other things w’ere cut as fine as possible, and as fast as they were ready Alice stirred them in. There was a great deal of tasting done, but for some time there was no flavor, when they remembered it ought to have pepper ana salt, and it is not surprising that they got in altogether too much, so that it was worse than when it had no taste at all. Poor Mary Talbot had the bad luck to swallow a large lump of dry pepper which had not been stirred in, and so it seemed to her more highly seasoned than it did to the rest, and she said, as soon as she could speak: “Can’twe put more waterin’” This seemed to be a sensible idea, but the little kettle was already full, so they dipped half the soup out into the other kettle, and filled both up with water. The potatoes and the pudding were baking well, so they went into the parlor and enjoyed the society of the dolls for a season, then began to set the table and get readv for dinner.

“Now we must have some names,” said Nelly. “ I am going to be Queen Victoria, and you are great ladies come to dine with me.” It was finally decided that Alice should be the Princess of Wales; Edith, Mary Queen of Scots ; and Mary, the Empress Eugenie. And then, with great state and majesty, Queen Victoria went out to the kitchen to take up the soup. She was veiy sorry that she had no din-ner-set, for the tea-set was, in some respects, inconvenient, though she could manage well enough except in the question of a soup-tureen; but one Could easily pretend that the bright tin pan she was obliged to use was silver, and the only trouble about the saucers was that they were small and shallow; but, as it was a State banquet, there was no hurry dt all, so they could be filled often. The company were seated, and just ready to begin, when there was a loud ring at the door. “ Your Majesties will please excuse my leaving the table,” said Queen Victoria; “ but niv servants are all busy. I hope it is nobody coming to call; but I shall ask them into the kitchen, unless it is somebody very nice.” On the* door-step stood an odd-looking little old woman, with a big black bonnet, and a wide white cap-frill underneath and a pair of huge green spectacles. “How do you do, miss?” said she, with a sudden courtesy, which nearly made Nelly laugh; but she managed to say: “ I’m very well, thank you.” “ Wouldn’t ye take pity on a poor ould ooman as has to travel all the way. to Bostin by her lone self, an’ had nothin’ to ate since ’arly this mornin’, an’ her heart failin’ her intirely wid hunger? I can see it’s a fine, kind little shild ye are, by yer two blue little eyes; and sure, I’ll tell ye a fine story while ! rist mesilf.’’ “Won’t you please wait a minute?” said Nelly, and she ran in to ask the others what she had better do. “ She’s a clean old woman,” said our friend,and she says she will tell us a story. We have ever so much more dinner than we can eat,’’ adding,virtuously: “Mammanever wishes beggars to go away hungry, and she always tells me to be very kind and polite to poor people. I shouldn’t like to be hungry and tired if I were a poor old woman.”

Their Majesties thought it would be great fun, and Her Royal Highness ot Great Britain and Ireland turned to go out and ask the guest to come in, but first had the thoughtfulness to say that perhaps they had better not tell her who they were, as she might be frightened. “We have cooked most of the dinner ourselves,” said Nelly, “but we hope if is good, and, at any rate, there is chicken and bread and butter.’.’ “My heart! my heart!” said the old woman, as she came in at the door; “ and ain’t this the swate little house? Wouldn’t I like the mate to it to be restin’ me old bones in? and I wanderin’ about the highways, that might be grandmother to

all of yez. Och! but I had the tidy little house in ould Ireland, with my bit of a pi" in a pate sty forninst the door. Indade, miss, and the likes of me would niver make bould to sit down at the same table with yez. Give me a bit of bread in me hand.” “ Oh, no!” said Nelly, hospitably; “you can sit right here. I’ll move the dolls closer together. I’m glad you-happened to come to-day, for I have a better dinner than usual—there are five courses!” at which information the old woman looked rather blank. So the hostess explained that there were —first, soup and then chicken and potatoes, and next, plum-pudding, strawberries. and, lastly, “ little-biscuit” and milk. “May the saints preserve ye!” said the Kest. “My heart! and ain’t it the weary W day since I had a dinner like that?” and, without any more urging, she sat down at the table. ' Nelly thought as she was so hungry that she would like more soup at once than the saucers held, so she went to the kitchen and found a nice white pint bowl which the cook had lent her. She filled this with hot soup, and, remembering that Nora was fond of onions, she generously dipped out the two big ones that had been put in for flavoring, and carried it in triumphantly with both hands, the onions floating conspicuously on top. The beets, which had, unfortunately, been tailing longest, had given it a most uninviting color, and there were bits o carrots and raddish and turnip, not to speak of potatoes and chicken-bones. ‘ 1 Here is some nice hot soup for you, and I gave you all the onions,” said my friend the housekeeper, while the other guests looked on admiringly. The Irishwoman hesitated a minute, then tasted the undesirable-looking stew, but was instantly seized with a severe fit of coughing, and buried her face in her calico apron, while the children sat in great suspense, fearing she might choke. “ Wirra, wirra!” said she after awhile, “ but the pepper in it was near the death of me, and what would I dOand no praste near ? Bless your pretty hearts, it’s a fine soup; but I had a cough this tin years back, and the docther said mesilf could ate no bit of pepper at all, at all; and—well, I’m ’shamed to be turning away from yer kindness, but I’d best ate no more.” “It is strong of pepper,” said Alice, looking quite crest-fallen;” and it’s wry strong of those horrid onions! I wish we hadn’t put them in; but never mind, I shall know’ how exactly, next time.” The cold chicken was eaten by all the company with great satisfaction; the potatoes were baked just right, and the pudding was a grana success, for the old woman asked if she might make so bold as to ask for another piece, which compliment was graciously received. By the time the strawberries were served she was chattering in the most amusing way and seemed to have quite forgotten her weariness; in fact, the children thought her one of the most charming persons they had ever seen. Sometimes they could hardly sit in their chairs they laughed so hard. She praised everything extravagantly and told them proudly that she once cooked for a gentleman’s family, and if anybody knew a good dinner when she saw it it was Biddy Sullivan. And then she went on to tell a long story about her husband, one Larry Sullivan, who had been dead (“Hiven rist his soul!”) thirteen years come Christmas. The children were very sympathizing, and, after some further particulars of her life in the old country, she gave them their choice of two stories: “The Little Cakeen” or “ The Bad Son and the Good Son.”

“ Oh, I don’t want to hear the Cakeen story!” said Nelly. “ I’m so tired of that. I used to like it, and now Aunt Bessie tells it to tease me. I’ve heard the other one too, but I like that ever so much.” T. “ Whist, thin!” said Mrs. Biddy Sullivan. “ I likes the other best mesilf, an’ it having such a fine ind to it.” Then she drew a long breath, afterward putting her tongue out at the corner of her mouth in a meditative way, and then began. She had left the dinner-table, and was sitting with her back to the light, which she said hurt her eyes. She still wore her big green spectacles, and had refused to take off her big reddish cotton gloves. I believe I have not told you that she said she was going to Boston to have her eyes doctored, and had requested them to give her money. “ That’s a nice story,” said Edith, when the story was finished, and Nelly remarked that it was exactly the way that Aunt Bessie used to tell it. “I must be going now,” said the widow Sullivan. “ Bless your innocent hearts!” “Oh, I wish you could stay a little longer!” said Nelly. “My Aunt Bessiewill soon be home. She has lots of money, and I know she will give you some, so you needn’t walk to Boston.” But now, to their great astonishment, the guest laughed and pulled Nelly into her lap and kissed her, and taking off the big gloves threw them at Alice with a very small white hand; and next off came the green glasses and the bonnet, and there sat Miss Bessie herself! “Yoi\dear little geese!” said she. “I mustn’t cheat you any longer; but it has been such fun! I supposed you would find me out in the first ten minutes.” And then there was such a frolic! “ I came nearest laughing when you came in with that odd red soup with the big onions,” said Aunt Bessie, “ for you know I don’t like onions at all. And I was sure you would suspect when I asked if you would like to hear the Cakeen story. But the best part of it was that you were all so sweet and kind and lady-like, and did your very best to make a poor old woman comfortable. I couldn’t help feel- ‘ ing a little ashamed at being only a naugholder girl who was deceiving you. But 'll help you clear away the dinner if you like, and then we will have a drive.” “ Oh, darling Aunt Bessie! you meso funny!” said Nelly, and then they all laughed again. It began to rain, so they couldn’t go to drive; but Miss Bessie stayed at Marigold House all the afternoon, ana “ My Friend the Housekeeper” and her cronies had some capital fun.— St. Nicholas jor July.

A man wearing a nice “ plug” hat tvas arrested and incarcerated in the Providence (R. I.) lock-up, the other day, and was very- anxious that no one should know of his disgrace. After his release he was observed about town with his nice hat on, having upon it the tell-tale legend. “ This hat belongs to man in cell No. 17,” the officers having been very careful of his property, but having forgotten to remove the label. Eight hundred thousand - acres of Indian soil are now under jute cultivation, producing nearly 8,000,000 maunds of fiber, which ultimately takes the.form of gunny bags, and an enormous quantity of matting, twine and paper. Speaking of the round world, much can. be said on both sides.