Singular, is it not, that, when you are in the coun-
try there is more pleasure waiting at the pasture
fence for the morning greeting to the soft-eyed
cows than there is to be found in a city flat ? I
had a great deal of honest happiness in rolling
through the autumn leaves with the big staghound
“ Sport,” who always seemed to be on the threshold
of conversation with me. The chestnuts and apples,
the cider and milk, that I digested made me
healthier than a Manhattan cocktail would have
made me, and the infantile delight I took in watch-
ing the cook at the kitchen step making a pumpkin
pie would not be understood by everybody.
One day Nym’s family went to town, and directly
afterwards the servants struck for higher wages.
They seemed to think that if they had to work 800
feet above the level of the sea they were entitled to
Nym Crinkle's Diapason.
39
correspondingly higher pay. We tried to figure
up just about what they should have on that line of
argument, but found it would take so much printed
matter in the way of pot-boilers to meet their de-
mands, that we resolved to boil the pot ourselves.
So Nym put aside his philosophy of dramatic criti-
cism and his deductions concerning the amenities
of men and things, and donned a gingham apron.
We couldn’t understand why the “ women folks ”
shirked the work we then assumed. Why, the
hours went by in a perfect rhapsody of happy
rhythm ! We cooked such juicy steaks, and then
we smothered them in the crispest of onions or the
freshest of mushrooms✪ Juicy Steaks with Onions or Mushrooms ! We boiled potatoes with
their jackets on✪ Boiled Potatoes that were simply dreams of mealy
whiteness ! As for our scrambled eggs in thick
cream✪ Scrambled Eggs in Thick Cream, they were beyond the criticism of a Savarin !
Talk about the drudgery of the kitchen wench !
Fudge ! Why, any woman with half an eye ought
to enjoy such occupation ! Why should she want
higher pay? No ; we actually couldn’t compre-
hend it. We could barely wait for the blue streaks
of morning, so eager were we to be up and doing,
and all day long ; whether we were rambling through
the woods and orchards, or visiting the pigs, or
cavorting with the puppies, it was only a matter
of pour passer le temps until it was the hour to begin
40
The Bachelor and the Chafing-dish.
operations on the next banquet. Of course you
couldn’t expect us to take time to wash all the
dishes ! We put those aside that we had used and
took new ones, because Nym had a lot of 'em, and
v/hat was the use ?
And then, how we did just enjoy the last hours
of the night thinking what we would have the next
day ! We concocted all sorts of arrangements, and
finally, as a last experiment, got up a batch of
bread✪ Batch of Bread. That was a solid success.
Page 13 · 6 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Singular, is it not, that, when you are in the country there is more pleasure waiting at the pasture fence for the morning greeting to the soft-eyed cows than there is to be found in a city flat ? I had a great deal of honest happiness in rolling through the autumn leaves with the big staghound “ Sport,” who always seemed to be on the threshold of conversation with me. The chestnuts and apples, the cider and milk, that I digested made me healthier than a Manhattan cocktail would have made me, and the infantile delight I took in watching the cook at the kitchen step making a pumpkin pie would not be understood by everybody.
One day Nym’s family went to town, and directly afterwards the servants struck for higher wages. They seemed to think that if they had to work 800 feet above the level of the sea they were entitled to
Nym Crinkle's Diapason.
correspondingly higher pay. We tried to figure up just about what they should have on that line of argument, but found it would take so much printed matter in the way of pot-boilers to meet their demands, that we resolved to boil the pot ourselves. So Nym put aside his philosophy of dramatic criticism and his deductions concerning the amenities of men and things, and donned a gingham apron. We couldn’t understand why the “ women folks ” shirked the work we then assumed. Why, the hours went by in a perfect rhapsody of happy rhythm ! We cooked such juicy steaks, and then we smothered them in the crispest of onions or the freshest of mushrooms ! We boiled potatoes with their jackets on that were simply dreams of mealy whiteness ! As for our scrambled eggs in thick cream, they were beyond the criticism of a Savarin ! Talk about the drudgery of the kitchen wench ! Fudge ! Why, any woman with half an eye ought to enjoy such occupation ! Why should she want higher pay? No ; we actually couldn’t comprehend it. We could barely wait for the blue streaks of morning, so eager were we to be up and doing, and all day long ; whether we were rambling through the woods and orchards, or visiting the pigs, or cavorting with the puppies, it was only a matter of pour passer le temps until it was the hour to begin
The Bachelor and the Chafing-dish.
operations on the next banquet. Of course you couldn’t expect us to take time to wash all the dishes ! We put those aside that we had used and took new ones, because Nym had a lot of 'em, and what was the use ?
And then, how we did just enjoy the last hours of the night thinking what we would have the next day ! We concocted all sorts of arrangements, and finally, as a last experiment, got up a batch of bread. That was a solid success.
Records on this page
Juicy Steaks with Onions or MushroomsJuicy Steaks with Onions or MushroomsBoiled PotatoesScrambled Eggs in Thick CreamScrambled Eggs in Thick CreamBatch of Bread