DEC 10 
850 
for fUomrn. 
CONDUCTED BY MIS? KAY CLARK. 
SKETCHES OF 1 GERMAN LIFE. 
BERTIIA A ZED! WINKLER. 
CHRISTMAS. 
To the entire Christian world this is the one 
joyful day peculiarly theirs. Seas may divide 
people; localities, circumstances, conditions 
may Rive rise to various ways of celebrating 
it, but it is still one universal rejoicing at the 
birth of the Saviour. We, with our extrava¬ 
gant banquets, gorgeous decorations, aud ex¬ 
pensive gifts, are not more happy than the 
German peasant with his nuts, and apples, 
and juniper twigs, lie is content, knowing 
nothing better. All he requires is snow on 
the ground, aud juniper fragrance in his 
dwelling. The peculiar odor of evergreens is 
the invariable herald of Christum* the world 
over, an everlasting, ever-renewed j>eace- 
offeriug, us it were, of the Prince of Peace. 
We Americans have our nostrils too often 
tilled with kitchen savors, as if Thanksgiving 
dinners had been but the opening course of a 
winter’s feast; our sentiments are spoiled in 
glutted stomachs, and nothing but rich gifts, 
aud gilt ornamented trees from floor to ceil¬ 
ing, can sutbfy the cravings of luxury. Let 
us go back to the primitive town* aud villages 
from whence the ancestors of our German 
citizen* came, and see what Christmas joys 
they have whose luxuries are counted among 
our barest necessities. 
Christmas Eve, the sand that covers the 
floor of every well-kept living room is swept 
away, and a green carpet of pine-needles 
spread over it instead. It is the only decora- 
tiou besides the Christmas tree, which, for 
want of room is often fastened by its top 
branches to the ceiling. An insignificant 
affair, on the whole, with its few gilt nuts, 
candies, toy pans, and other children’s ware 
dangling from its branches. It* beauty and 
importance increases, however, wheu the next 
morning a half dozen wee ones dance around 
it. During the “ho y eve,” as it is called, 
while children dream the old, old dreams of 
feverish delight, uud parents scheme to realize 
them, towns aud villages are hushed iu holy 
quiet. The marketing is over, aud shops are 
all but closed. Only a few poor women search 
through the deserted streets for unsold trees, 
odds and ends, lost, or rejected in the bustle of 
traffic, that tnay serve for a Christina* deco¬ 
ration. They are always seen, these women, 
too proud to beg, too poor to buy, uud too 
anxious to provide their little ones with some 
pleasure. Happily, no generous shop-keeper 
will close his doors oil that night without pur¬ 
posely forgetting to house some trifle of his 
salable*, to make happy some loue image of 
Him iu the manger. Each hour of the night 
the watch man’s voice announces with Christ¬ 
mas curols Audit he wishes to do himself 
credit he fails not. to hire a guitarist to uecom- 
pauy him before thosa houses where pecunia¬ 
ry rewards may be expected the next morn 
iug. So it happens tnat those who will pay 
have a more musical ’’peace on earth and 
good w ill to men” offered them. Let us not 
find fault, however; human nature is the 
same the world over, aud the music that is 
heard from next door is better than none at 
all; and lar better than the free conceit of 
Youug America’s tin horns. 
God parent's visit* upon this morning gen¬ 
erally mean* substantial gift* of wearing ap¬ 
parel and school books. They, in turn, are 
invited to enjoy the day’s hospitality, consist¬ 
ing of children’s kis.se* washed down with 
wine, if their love for god-children is not 
geuuiue. For, iu truth, gifts here, as every¬ 
where, are ofieu only forthcoming for tne 
sake of appearance. To stand as god-parents 
is a duty rather thuu a pleasure, for it in¬ 
volve* responsibility without putting the real 
parents under any obligations save those of 
gratitude. God parents most pagerly sought 
for are childless, they are then better able to 
take eare of other people's. We have knowu 
two aged, childless couples to stand as god¬ 
parents for every child born Iu the village. 
Of course, the gifts to each were proportion¬ 
ately small. 
Let us not think that German children are 
distinguished for good behavior duriug the 
holidays. The joy and excitement is too 
great to subside without some juvenile nui¬ 
sance. While we American#are afflicted wit h 
tin horn#, German folks must submit to be 
“peppered,” which is done iu this way: 
“1’epjier Day” is the second after Christmas. 
Well to do people in general and shop-keepers 
iu particular, are siugled out by the young 
population w hich turns out r»t muaac, armed 
with pine switches, to "pepper” every store¬ 
keeper for a gift from his unsold Christmas 
goods. As the sensation of having a pine 
switch playing over one's hands and 
neck is not particularly pleasant, the pro¬ 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
prietor hastens to throw a dozen small 
toys and candies among the crowd. In 
the scramble which ensues, some neces¬ 
sarily come out empty handed. They make 
a rush for the next shop, and those who 
continue unfortunate, get reckless. They en¬ 
ter the store with their threatening pepper- 
twigs, and unless the proprietor is especially 
good-natured, remembering hi* own “pepper- 
days,” the pepperer gets “peppered” out 
with his own pepper. Then there are shouts 
aud jeers. Now,if the unsuccessful shop pirate 
has courage for another raid upon the next 
stopping place, he is the hero of the day, 
with whom the rest finally have to share their 
spoils. 
Another custom is less boisterous and more 
beneficent. Three young men brown their 
faces, dress in Oriental style of white,flowing, 
bespangled gowus aud steeple-shaped head 
coverings, to represent the “the three wise 
men of the East ” They have good voices, 
and as they pass slowly’ through the streets 
singing, 
“Three wlxe men, 'ueatb the guiding star. 
Come traveling from the East afar, 
Ask gifts of friend and stranger 
For the poor of Christ In the manger,” 
The doors of t he houses open on all sides, and 
charity issues in the shape of the good house¬ 
wife with alms, which are given to the w ise 
men for the poor. The morning is devoted to 
collecting, and the afternoon to distributing 
the goods to the needy. A touching sight is 
the knocking of the three white figures at 
some lowly but. their entrance, their silent 
depositing of gifts, and their departure amidst 
the tears and blessing* of the happy recipients. 
So well do they disguise themselves, and draw 
their hood over their laces, that it, is S' ldom 
know n to any but the magistrate, of whom 
they have to ask permission, and a few chief 
families, who they are. This mystery adds 
to the awe, the veneration iu which this cus 
tom is held. And the appeuranee of the three 
wise men of the East is always the most in¬ 
spiring event of the holidays. Mothers raise 
their little ones to the windows for a sight of 
those flowing white robes, and caps are doffed 
everywhere a* they pass, aud the meanest 
miser opens bis palm with superstitious fear. 
Thus is the advent of the Christ child in the 
manger honored with gifts of charity’. 
CHRISTMAS IN “MERR1E ENGLAND.” 
SARAH n. ROWELL. 
“Oh, Grandma! do tell us what you used to 
do in Englund on Christmas Day,” said Etta 
Sinclair, as she anti her little sister come into 
the old lady’s room a few days before the ‘»‘-'>th 
of December. “Mother said we were to stay 
till eight o’clock, if you were willing to keep 
us.” 
“Grandma is always happy to have her 
darlings come aud stay with her when they 
are good,” said the old lady, as she took off 
her spectacles aud laid them upon the table. 
The little ones each drew’ up a hassock and 
seated tbemsdves one on each side of their 
grandmother, with a hand on the ami of her 
easy chair. 
“Please now, Grandma, tell us a nice, long 
story, about when you were a little girl on 
Christmas.” 
“Let me think a minute, dear. It is most 
70 y ears since I was a little girl of Etta’s age. 
Do you suppose 1 eau remember so long agof” 
“Oh, yes! for the other night you told us 
about the fox chase; you remembered that 
easy." 
“1 reckon I cau tbiuk of something about 
Christmas, iu England we always had roast 
beef, a goose, and pluui pudding for Christ 
mas dinner; then we had pies, cakes aud 
nuts, 1 ’ .-he saiil, smiling. 
“Why, that is just what we have here! I 
thought you had different things in England,” 
said Etta. 
“Your father keeps up the custom of his 
forefathers pretty well: 1 think he does it on 
my account" 
“Did you have lots of pretty presents. 
Grandma ?” 
“Not very uiauy; children did not have so 
many playthings in my day as they have 
now. Once 1 bad a wooden doll iu my stock¬ 
ing Christmas morning.” 
“A wooden doll! Oh, ain’t that funny! Did 
you like it? Was it nice? Ours are wax 
ouas.” 
“It was the first doll I ever saw. I thought 
it was splendid! I kept it for years and years, 
and can remember now just how it looked!” 
she said. 
“What did you think when you pulled it 
out of your stocking, Grandma?” 
“I thought it was a real, live baby. Your 
uncle had a wooden horse, and he thought it 
was alive! We had lots of fun with our 
Christmas presents.” 
“I should have thought you would have 
known better.” 
“They were the flrst toys we ever had seen, 
and they were wonderful iu our eyes. I re¬ 
member all about that Christmas, just as if it 
were yesterday; ami it is sixty-eight, years 
ago! It was a hard year for poor folks! and 
my father gave all his tenants a dinner in the 
Hall. He had been very prosperous, and 
made lots of money, so the Lord put it in his 
heart to be good to the poor, and he had al¬ 
most two hundred there to eat dinner.” 
“Wbat are tenants, Grandma asked Hat¬ 
tie. 
“The men who worked for him in the mines 
and on bis lauds, and their wives and chil¬ 
dren." 
“There were lots of them, I should think!" 
“Yes; he owned some oven works, besides 
his farms, and he had about seveuty cottages 
for his work people to live in. My father was 
a rich man,” 
“I heard papa say that. But what did the 
folks do after dinner? They had enough to 
eat. 1 expect!” 
“I expect so too! And they bad a barrel of ale 
also; aud lie gave all the men new coats, and 
each woman had cloth for a new gown, and 
what victuals there were left after dinuer he 
gave them to carry home. The Rector was 
there, and asked a blessing, and gave them a 
Christmas talk, aud they all cheered and 
shouted, before they left, till the whole house 
echoed again with cheers. Then in the evening 
we bad a ball, aud all the gentlefolks in the 
couuty were there, and they danced till after 
midnight. I held my doll tight in my arms, 
till nurse put moiu bed ’’ 
“Oh, Grandma! how funny, to think you 
were ever a little girl like us, aud had a 
wooden doll!” 
“I suppose one reason I remember that 
Christmas so well, is, that the next Fall, our 
mines were blown up aud a great many of the 
tenants wore killed by the explosion, aud it 
was such a heavy loss of property, that my 
father never gave any more Christmas din¬ 
ners or balls afterwards. But he was al waj s 
good to the poor; he used to say that it was 
“more blessed to give than to receive,” aud 
he would tell his eOildren “to remember the 
poor, aud that he that gave to the poor, lent 
to the Lord, and it was money put to good in¬ 
terest." 
“I heard Papa say that in England, they 
always had egg-nog at breakfast; did you 
like it?” said Hattie. 
“Not vary much, but it was the fashion, 
aud they had a silver punch bowl that they 
mixed it In. It was only on Christmas and 
New Year’s mornings that they drank it. It 
was an English custom handed down for gen¬ 
erations,” said the old lady. 
“Our Christinas days are almost always 
alike, we go to church after breakfast,” said 
Etta. The best, time is iu the morning, Grand¬ 
ma. It is such fun to empty our stockings. 
Papa said he hung up hi* stocking every- year 
till he was twelve year* old. 1 would like to 
see Santa Claus; but I always go to sleep be¬ 
fore be gels to our house.” 
“Children always do if they are good. We 
used to hang the Mistletoe bough over the 
parlor doer In the Old Countiy, and had a 
merry time under it, uud then we always 
burned the Yule log in the large fire place iu 
the hall, and hud ever so much fuu roustiug 
nuts and seeing them pop off. 1 really think 
that they used to have a merrier time at 
Christmas in England, than they do here. 
The poor people certainly were remembered 
better.” 
“Well, Grandma, dont you suppose it is be 
cause there are more poor people, very poor, 
I mean here iu the city, than there was there? 
Papa says, that there is not a place large 
enough for a rat hole, but what has somebody 
living in it., 1 wonder w hat poor people stay- 
in the city for. They would be so much bet 
ter off iu the country, and jieople would know 
about thorn, and see that they did not starve 
to death, aud they could get work to do and 
earn a living," said Etta. 
“My little girls, our blessed Saviour said, 
‘That the poor you have always with you,’and 
we can do* them good wheu w-e will. It is 
sad to think, that in this laud of plenty, there 
are people suffering with hunger and cold. 
Yet so it is. and we must remember 4 to do 
good, as we have opportunity.’ Now what 
are these little girls going to do on Christmas 
this year?” 
“ Have just as nice a time as we can, of 
course. We shall go to church iu the morn¬ 
ing, as we always do. I like the chanting 
ever so much.” 
“I like the dinner better,” said Hattie. 
“It is time for the little girls to kiss Grand¬ 
ma good night. The cluck ha* struck eight.” 
After the little ones left, Mrs. Sinclair put 
on her spectacles, and taking the Bible off the 
table read the old, old story of the Nativity of 
Christ, the anniversary of which event is cel¬ 
ebrated throughout the whole of Christendom. 
“Glory to God iu the highest. Pence on earth, 
good will to man," is the angelic song. May 
it rise upon all our lips, from hearts full of 
praise. 
Domestic Cconom^ 
CONDUCTED BY EMII-Y MAPLE. 
LEAVES FROM A WESTERN HOUSE¬ 
KEEPER’S JOURNAL. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
We were frosting some cake during the 
visit Aunt Dorcas paid us, and she said that 
“Out West” they generally put a spoonful of 
sweet milk among the frosting, as it made it 
stick better. Sure enough it did on trial, and 
seemed smoother. One day she made up a 
mixture for rheumatism, that seemed simple 
yet proved very effectual. Three eggs were 
well beaten and mixed with a little olive oil 
and half a pint of vinegar, and the same of 
turpentine, and a quarter of a pint of ammo¬ 
nia. It wa* very strong, but the oil and vine¬ 
gar and beaten eggs made it soft and lubri¬ 
cating. While she remained with us a small 
boy came to stay, who was very’ fond of 
gravy, and sometimes the Amateur Cook was 
at her wits’ end* to supply that commodity 
with gravyless meat* Aunt Dorcas noticed 
it, and w hen iu the kitchen she searched for a 
stew-pan. and said, as if to herself, “Dear me! 
I must get some gravy made for that boy; 
he’s ell the time a shoutin’ an’ botherin’ 
for gravy, and 111 give him enough,” and 
with that she took the remnant of a fowl, 
some tough bits of cartilage aud some beef 
gristle. Having placed these in the stew-pan, 
they were covered with cold water, and not 
seasoned till they had simmered a long time. 
This was afterward strained and put a>ide to 
be used in a diluted form wheu gravy was 
scarce. 
I noticed that while there was a great deal 
less fancy cookery in her recipes, they were 
thoroughly- practical and w’holesome. She 
doctored those who took an autumn cold with 
a mixture that was very beneficial, the recipe 
being: One gill of Jamaica spirits, one of mo¬ 
lasses and two ounce# of red spruce gum. 
This last is dis olved in alcohol and mixed 
with the other ingredients. Adda teaspoon - 
ful of alum, one of paregoric and two ounces 
of liquorice dissolved in water. Mix and give 
half a teaspeonful when the cough is trouble¬ 
some. 
But I think the corn-bread Aunt Dorcas 
male was the most palatable of all her cook¬ 
ery. though she did think our Northern meal 
could not compare with that in her Western 
home. The raised corn-bread was made by 
scalding a pint of Indian meal w’lth warm 
water, and then stirring iu a cup of raised 
sponge from the baking, and half a cup of 
molasses. A tablespoouful of lard was melted 
and with it was mixed a teaspoonful of soda 
that had beeu dissolved in hot water. Beat 
up welt aud stiffen to a batter with wheat 
flour. Set to rise in a buttered mold and then 
bake one hour. Some times she used all eoru 
meal aud m xed with thickened milk or but¬ 
termilk. and put iu sugar iustead of molasses. 
This was very nice stoumed, theu put in the 
oven a few minutes and turned out on a hot 
plate. “It's the healthiest kind of meal you 
can have," she said; “but it is likely to heat 
aud get musty if kept iu u warm place.” But 
if it is sound aud sweet it acts as a corrective 
of bile, and is strengthening, aud I am sure 
every one will agree that it is a plesant kind 
of bread if always prepared by such skillful 
fingers. _ * _ 
CONCERNING A VERY HUMBLE DISH. 
MARY WINCHESTER. 
Many persons affect, or really feel, a great 
contempt for the article of food known as 
‘•hash.” Would-be wits and humorists fiud in 
the word an unfailing inspiration to their 
pens, equaliug even that perennial theme, 
“the mother in law." 
Some forms of this preparation no doubt 
deserve all the opprobrium bestowed upon it. 
The more than doubtful, greasy, unsavory 
compound served under that mine to the 
patrons? of cheap boarding-houses aud restau¬ 
rants, may well be regarded with disfavor. 
Not so that prepared by the careful house¬ 
keeper, who cuts and trims off all gristle aud 
superfluous fat from the cold meat to be used 
