Colonial recipes, from old Virginia and Maryland manors

Kingston Hall, 67-72 Mt. Vernon, 13-15 Oak Hill, 42-44 Ravensworth, 26, 27 Ringgold Manor, 13, 14 Shirley, 29-31 The Cottage, 42 The Rocks, 36-41 Waverly, 58 Weldon, 90-102 Westover, 34-35 White House, 26 Williams' Port, 84-86 Winston, 63-66 PART I VIRGINIA " / wish I was in the land of cotton, Old times dar am not forgotten, Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land." MOUNT VERNON Mount Vernon — the home of Washing-ton — why, the world knows it by heart, and how we all love to catch a breath of it at times ! This time it is a savory breath, for, through the kindness of Mrs. Henry Onderdonk, of Ringgold Manor, we have a famous old recipe from Mount Vernon. The " Recipe for a Rich Black Cake " is so suggestive of a Colonial wedding in the South that we can almost see the wide old kitchen at Mount Vernon, with its brick floor, and the gracious " Lady Washington," as she was called in those days, her Recipe Book in hand, giving orders to her faithful servants for the wonderful preparations going forward, preparations for the wedding of her granddaughter, Nellie Custis, to Major Lawrence Lewis, the favorite nephew of the General. This wedding was solemnized in the drawing-room at Mount Vernon on February 22, 1799, the last birthday that Washington spent on earth. It was a brilliant occasion, and General Wash- 14 Mount Vernon ington himself gave the bride away. This famous old recipe was an inheritance to Mrs. Onderdonk from her great-grandmother, Mrs. Hazelhurst, of Philadelphia, to whom it was given by Mrs. Washington herself. General and Mrs. Washington were at that time living in Philadelphia, for General Washington was filling the office of President of the United States. Mrs. Washington and Mrs. Hazelhurst were devoted friends, and, after the death of General and Mrs. Washington, Mrs. Lawrence Lewis gave to Mrs. Hazelhurst, as a little memento of her grandmother, a china sugarbowl which had been used daily at Mount Vernon by General and Mrs. Washington, and which is now numbered by Mrs. Onderdonk, of Ringgold Manor, among her Colonial heirlooms. And not less precious to her is the little recipe from Mount Vernon — such a homely, human little thing. Yet the magnificent silver cake basket and the Peale miniature of her great-grandmother, Mrs. Hazelhurst, which were buried during the Revolutionary War to insure their safety, are not more sacred to her than this little recipe. Before her marriage Mrs. Onderdonk was Mount Vernon 15 the beautiful and accomplished Miss Mary Latrobe of Baltimore, the daughter of Mr. Benjamin H. Latrobe, the great engineer, and granddaughter of Mr. Benjamin H. Latrobe, the famous architect and engineer, who was the first architect of the Capitol building at Washington, and other noted buildings. This is the famous recipe : TO MAKE A RICH BLACK CAKE {Mount Vernon) Take 20 eggs; divide the whites from the yolks, and beat the whites to a froth. Then work 2 pounds of butter to a cream, put the whites of eggs to it, a spoonful at a time, until well mixed. Then put 2 pounds of sugar, finely powdered, in it in the same manner. Then add the yolks of eggs, well beaten, 2.\ pounds of flour, and 5 pounds of fruit. Add to this \ ounce of mace, a nutmeg, \ pint of wine, and some French brandy. Five and onequarter hours will bake it. Mrs. Washington, Mount Vernon. AUDLEY