THE DAY AND THE DISH.

Te Aroha News, Volume XII, Issue 1762, 24 August 1895, Page 3

THE DAY AND THE DISH.

The Christmas Plum Pudding—“A Mixture Strange of Suet, Currants, Sweets.” Good Friday has its hot cross buns, paster its eggs, Halloween its apples and nuts, . Thanksgiving its pumpkin pie, and to Christmas alone belongs the plum pudding. There may be a Christmas without holly and mistletoe, there may be a Christmas without stocking or tree, there are, alas, Christmases -without presents, but there could not be a Christmas without its dinnter, and of this the glory is the plum pudding. Here is a recipe for the genuine old English article, and tradition tells us that to have the true holiday flavor each one in the family, from the grand sire to his last descendant, must give at least one stir of the spoon during its concoction: Eight ounces of stoned raisins, 8 ounces of sultanas, a pound of currants, a pound of beef suet chopped fine, 4 ounces of powdered sugar, 4 ounces of. flour, a pound of bread ■naiffibs, a nutmeg grated, 4 ounces of candied citron, the peel of a lemon chopped fine, 24 - bitter almonds blanched and chopped. Over all this pour 8 well beaten eggs and 8 gills of brandy. Mix these together Christmas eve and let stand over night. Then add a gill of milk, stirring all well together. Slightly butter a cloth and sprinkle a little flour on it, put in a basin and pour your mixture in. Let it boil slowly for three hours. Serve with brandy or any rich sauce.

Brewing the Tea.

The excellence of all teas depends much upon the method of brewing. Freshly boiled water poured quickly upon the leaves, covered tjghtly and allowed to stand In a hot place (but never where it can boil) for five minutes jg the accepted time for perfect tea making. Cream Bhoald not be served with tea, a slice Of lemon in. the cup, and either with or without sugar as pref'M'rsd, ranrasants the correct faahtnn

Inventor of the Steamboat.

Governor Fuller’s paper before the Professional club Monday evening was Of unusual public Interest, from the fact that it presented in a concise and connected way the indisputable record of facta which show that Samuel Morey of Fairleo was the first man who ever invented, built and ran a steamboat, There is a vague impression in the public mind that Morey xnnde some sort of an imperfect attempt to run a steamboat on the Connecticut river at Faiilee, but itris not generally known] that, besides his experiments thereat his' ■ r ©wii;home, he ran a steamboat from Jlartford to New ‘Haven, and that he built at Bordentown, N. J., a larger boat Vihich he ran between that place and Philadelphia. . A model ,of his boat was exhibited in No# Ybrfc ,/city, and his invention .at- - traoted the attention of Robert Fulton, the Livingstons and others who were studying the problem of steam navigation. Fulton indeed made practical application of the invention to commercial use, but Morey, the Vermonter, was the original inventor beyond any question, —Brattieboro Phoenix. ' . j

- Evil Communications. •> ' M&S. Backbay—-I never would have believed my little boy could use such language. Been playing with bad children again, haveh’tybu? • Algernon—Nb'mv Teddy Bacon and I have been playing with a parrot his uncle . cent him from Chicago.—Truth.

Hurt- to tiso Item mints of Soap. Collect all the odcl3 and ends of toilet soap, crumble them fine or break into shreds and put them in a double boiler. Fill the outside vessel with boiling water, set over the fire and keep it boiling until the soap in the inside vessel is melted. Stir until perfectly smooth; then pour into a small, shallow dish to mold. If more than enough for one cake of soap, pour into other molds. If the remnants, the new cake will probably have a delicate odor of its own, or a few drops of favorite perfume may be added. If without a double boiler, seta small pail or pan inside a large one. How to Mate Frosting Without Eggs. Take a hali' pound of powdered sugar, a tablespoonful of boiling water, the grated yellow rind of an orange and enough orange juice to moisten it. Put the sugar in a bowl, then add the rind, next the water and lastly the juice and use at once. She Objected. Mr. Fastley (making a Sunday evening call)—I understand, Miss Kostick, that you are an expert mind reader. Won’t you please experiment upon me? Miss K.—Excuse me, Mr. Fastley, but I don’t regard your mind as a proper subject for Sunday reading.—Life. A Useful Decorative Scheme. Cozy corners and odd nooks in rooms ara a fad that shows no signs of diminishing. Many are the schemes for the same, but It Is seldom that one is found at once so simple, so artistic and so practical as a corner for a bedroom suggested by The Decorator and Furnisher: It is a common box arrangement measuring, with cushion; about 17 inches high, 28 inches deep and length to conform with space available. The cushion may be made in three parts, the piece in the angle being stationary. The boxes should be provided with hinged or sliding covers, which, when

opened, will disclose a grand receptacle for one’s magazines, pamphlets or for general storage purposes. Such a corner as this looks lovely treated in cretoune, particularly those patterns showing large figures, such' as cabbage roses or poppies. The wall guard should be of india silk attached to the wall by brass sash rods, top and bottom, on which the material should be shirred. The pillows may be cretonne or India silk. For the india silk, some of the various imitations may be substituted; cheese cloth, madras or any soft dress material maybe employed. Denim makes a very good covering for cushions and pillows, especially the figured goods that can be had in various colors. Some handsome sofa pillows have recently been shown made up in bed typing. These had rosettes at.the four cornera .and were decorated with applique work ahd,eutlin'o embroidery. A* Curious Custom. The qiistom of bottling tears is peculiar to the people of*P.§rsiq. There it constitutes an important paft.pf tpe obsequies of the dead.. As the moumergijgje sitting round and weeping, the nies presents each iyith a piece of: cotton wool or sponge with which to wipe away the tears. This cottonwool or sponge js. afterward squeezed into a bottle, and the tears are preserved as a powerful and efficacious restorative for those whom eycry other medicine has failed to revive. It is to' this custom that allusion is made in Psalms lvi, B—“ Put thou thy tears into thy. bottle.”