THE BLOOMER PARTY.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 828, 13 December 1900, Page 4

THE BLOOMER PARTY.

ft was on tho morning of August 16th that thore was a gnat chutlering in the Somer■cVJritchen—all about the city folkß that had taken the Burrs' place for the summer. The SomerSeS' kitchen was a wonderful place. Mr. and Mrs. Somen always called each ether pa and ma. This particular morning pa did not feel very well, was threatened with ague chills, and sat in the kitchen an near the stove SB ma would let him, considering it was one of hor baking-days. They did their own work, but then there Was a regular Bhow of women folks in that house. Mrs. Somen made the fried cakes, for in tbat house they bad fried cakes summer and winter. Then she made apple picß and Lawton blackberry pies that morning, getting tho fruit all from their own place. Cousin Liza was making her summer visit there, and when sho came she made "soft ginger cake. They had her recipe written in a book, with all the particulars, but no one" could inako the cake with just the tremble and the shake that Cousin Liza could. The s recipe was plain: " Two ejgs, butter the size of an egg, tnhlospoon of ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg to taste, a cup of durk molasses, a cup cf brown sugar, a good bowl of sour milk, with dessertspoon of soda, and flour to make s thin dough." - Cousin Liza said mnybe the florir business m'nde'the trouble; some people put so much in that it mado a stiff cake, or so little- that it would fall flat as a pancake in tho big dripping pan in which it was to be baked. Or it might be the o^ en, for it needed a good d al of judgment about tbe oven. Aunt Lois lived there too, and she was a martyr to the dishwashing on those important days. She started ..promptly after breakfast to trash dlshes.and thero would be an additional pyramid from tho baking department every now and then, until at half-past eleven she sometimes saw the thickest of them cleured away. Mrs. Somer's daughter Jane was putting tho house to rights, and after a little would come to iron with the baking fire, for tirewood was never wasted in that house. The throe sons were up on the farm, a mile away, attending to tbo hay and mending the fence, and at noon would come down, hungry as sharks, in view of which a big kettle of boiled victuals was being prepared ; but with all the work thero was a Babel of talking. Cousin Liza did not know anything about the newcomers from the city, so everything had to be ox plained tn her. " Pa, -how many calves did you say had to be killed by the butchers in the two villages wben the Sloanes were getting ready for that tally-ho party from the city ?" called out Mrs Somers. " They must have calvoß' head jelly, you know, and, positively, they expect that cream flows almost in the streets here. It is all right to sell to them, but you can't sell what you want yourself— at leust, I'm not going to do," rattled on Mrs. Somers, never waiting for any answer to questions. Mr. Somers roused himself and spoke up: " What .'ore you women always bothering your ht-ads about those people for 1 Why don't yon let tliem alono ? What has started you now !'.'»' " Why, pa, don't you know about our invitation ? You must get over your ague before night, if -you want the honour of paying a visit." •' Pity, isn't it.euch people don't have some work to do.Bo they wouldn't make themselves ■o ridiculouß getting up things !'.' was another of Ma Somen's wise sayings, as she added more and mora to her store of baking. In the afternoon the neighbours dropped into Mrs. Somers's as sort of' headquarters, and talked ovcrtho whole question of dress, and of city people thinking country people did not know anything. They decided ; tbey would not go near the house. •' Did you hear the joke on Mra. Sloane?" asked ono of the neighbours. " No, what was it?" all exclaimed. " Well, she was at the Corners, and asked if there was a library here. Joe Green, of course, was on hand, aud he said yes, he believed there was, and that it was in charge of tho cobbler, over the way. Mr. Forbes, the cobbler, told the rest of the -story tho other day. He said she came and asked him, and he said he reckoned thero were some books iv the cellar. Seems the old library that wns startcjl and failed was moved around to get it out of the way, until it was put in the cellar thero of the old house where ho has his shop. He got a candle and told her to come on in the cellar and not full over the old stairs, and then he put his hand into an old cheese safe, and hauled out two musty books — the ' Life of Washington ' and ' Life among I lie Mormons.' And will you believe it t Sho took home ' Life among the Mormon?.' What did she want of that; do you think?" Mrs. Somen suggested that Mrs. Sloane just wanted to see what they had there, and by-tind-bye would make out they were sort of heathen. I'a Somers tried to quiet the jargon by saying that the city lady seemed very kind and nice to him. But he was silenced by a volley of words from his wife, who said that Martha Sbaftor and pa seemed to be champions of the now people, and it must be they expected pay for their trouble. However pa ventured once more to say that Mr. Sloane .talked of. buying the Burrs' place, and if he did that he would likely do something nice for their town, if the women did not make it too uncomfortable for his family. " What if we "write an anonymous letter to Mrs. Sloane, and tell her we have some senße, and don't need to be invited to see her in bloomers ?" said one of the afternoon visitors. Grandma Somen, a lady of the old school, sat in her corner. mending, and calm as a June day. Nobody remembered to have ever seen her stirred lip. In the civil war days, when there wermwar meetings and people were excited, she would say: "Oh, this, iß nothing like the time of the great alarm!" Her memory went back to that time. She seldom joined in the conversation when the neighbours gathered in; but now she raised' her head from her work and said: " You'd better go to Mrs. Sloane's to-night and decide after about your letters. Long ago, when I was a' girl an anonymous letter was considered a mark of ill-breeding. I don't know what people hink about thorn nowadays; I did not know but they were a lost art." - ' Evening came, and tbey did all go to Mrs 3loane's, and she had a beautiful "night . booming cereua "to shew tbem. It seemed that in the morning she felt sure the plant would blossom tbat night, - and she ' told her coachman to get word around to have "anycome to see it who wished to.do so. The coachman saw Martha Sbafter, and .thought it would save him all the bother if he told, her to tell the people. . Martha Baid in explanation that N ave told it a» she understood it, and she was sure-she was not hard of bearing. .Nobody .could ever make out how "night Woo^gc«reiis'''con^ftQa^lika ,, 4i^a(d

In bloomers "to-night " ; but the party ooncluded.to be friends with Mrs. Sloane, if she would let them, from thot time forth. (The End.)