1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
German Christmas Dainties. 
America has its turkey and mince pie; 
England its plum pudding, and Germany 
its goose, honey cake and marzipan, 
says What to Eat. The celebration is 
one, but the modus operandi differs, 
especially in the culinary department. 
The German baker must begin months 
before Christmas time with his manu¬ 
facture of honey cake; for without it, a 
German Christmas would be no Christ¬ 
mas at all. Honey cake is a sort of sec¬ 
ond cousin to our gingerbread and spice 
cake, but has a more delicate flavor, as 
honey is substituted for molasses. The 
chief ingredients are sugar, honey, 
spices, almonds and chocolate, together 
with butter and flour. It is wonderful 
to see the almost infinite variety of 
forms which these ingredients assume. 
It is a sort of unending problem in per¬ 
mutation and combination. All the 
changes are rung on honey, spices, choc¬ 
olate, almonds. By varying the flavor, 
adding a chocolate or a white icing, or 
adjusting the ingredients in different 
proportions, a bewildering variety re¬ 
sults, especially as the shapes are so 
many and various. Every conceivable 
geometrical form is brought into requisi¬ 
tion, and we have cakes round and 
square, rectangular, conical and rhom- 
boidal. There are shops opened up in 
the cities with honey cake as the sole 
article in stock. The window of one of 
these shops sometimes displays 30 dif¬ 
ferent varieties of such multifarious 
forms as to remind one of Gulliver’s 
mathematical banquet with the inhabi¬ 
tants of Laputa. 
The pepper nut, which is very similar 
to a ginger snap, shares the popularity 
of the honey cake. Here is a recipe in¬ 
dorsed by an excellent Hausfrau: Four 
pounds flour, two pounds molasses, one 
pound butter, two spoonfuls of lard, cin¬ 
namon, ginger, mixed spices, almonds, 
chopped fine, lemon rind and two des¬ 
sertspoonfuls of potash. The molasses, 
butter and lard are melted together. 
The spices and almonds are mixed with 
the flour. Make a hole in the center of 
the pan containing the flour and pour in 
the syrup when it has cooled slightly. 
Last of all dissolve the potash in water 
and stir into the mixture. 
Another most necessary addition to 
the Christmas Dainties is the marzipan. 
It is an almond paste made on this wise: 
Blanched almonds are rubbed to a 
smooth powder with mortar and pestle; 
then an equal weight of sugar is added 
with just enough rose water to mix 
smoothly. It is then rolled out like 
pie-crust and cut into various forms. 
These are laid upon a sheet of tin and 
covered with a pan. Hot coals are 
spread upon the pan and are kept glow¬ 
ing by repeated fanning or blowing till 
the cakes are nicely browned and thor¬ 
oughly baked. It is a long and tedious 
process demanding all the painstaking 
and patience which characterize the Ger¬ 
man. Marzipan in the simple form is 
made at home, but the confectioner dis¬ 
plays his art in most elaborate designs. 
Fruits, flowers and animals of all sorts 
are made of this paste with coloring 
matter added. Even portraits in relief 
of distinguished people appear in this 
same marzipan. 
The most laborious task which Christ¬ 
mas brings to the housewife is the 
housecleaning. No German house is 
deemed ready for the Christmas ti*ee un¬ 
til it has been swept, scrubbed and pol¬ 
ished from parlor to kitchen. Each 
house is, as Irving says of the Dutch 
homes, “in a state of inundation, under 
the discipline of mops and brooms and 
scrubbing brushes.” Some one speaks 
• of the housecleaning in America as 
“semi-annual insanity.” The mania for 
cleanliness seizes the German housewife 
three times a year; not only in the 
Spring and Fall, but also at Christmas 
time. Though it taxes the temper and 
patience of the housewife, it is a fitting 
preparation for this glad festival, and 
carries with it a beautiful lesson. The 
hearth is swept and the home made 
fresh and clean to receive the Christmas 
guest. So our hearts Should be swept 
and garnished, punned of all evil 
thoughts, if the Christmas joy is to be 
received in them and the Christmas 
peace to abide there. 
A Novel Church Fair. 
The Woman’s Home Companion de¬ 
scribes a very successful church 
fair, which consisted of an indoor repre¬ 
sentation of a street fair, such as many 
of our readers are familiar with. A 
mimic repetition of the street fair within 
the armory was the committee’s new 
idea, and it was surprising at what little 
expense and effort this was carried out. 
A carpenter divided all the wall space 
around the armory into booths by a 
skeleton framework. Those intended 
for exhibits were four by six feet, and 
were rented to the merchants of the 
town undecorated, who vied with each 
other in making their booths attractive 
and donated liberally to the committee. 
The church committee reserved the re¬ 
maining spaces for refreshment booths, 
these being a tea-bazaar representing a 
Japanese tea-house, a coffee-room hung 
in rich Oriental effects, a homemade- 
candy booth presided over by a sprightly 
band of Brownies (the half-grown boys' 
Sunday-school class), and the ice-cream 
and cake booth, which seemed a fairy 
dell all atwinkle with fairy lights, and 
enticing the passer-by with the soft 
tinkle of a mellow-toned music-box. The 
young ladies constructed a very clever 
flower-booth made from cardboard, rep¬ 
resenting a quaint Swiss cottage, with 
the flower-girls in attendance wearing 
the Swiss peasant costume. 
Probably the most-frequented booth, 
and certainly very novel for all its ap¬ 
pearance of homeliness, was Aunt 
Dinah’s kitchen and laundry, made ad¬ 
joining booths. In the first was placed 
a good-sized range, but built up around 
with brick to simulate an old-fashioned 
bake-oven. It was so managed that the 
fire-box was turned from the spectator, 
so all that could be seen was Aunt 
Dinah herself, a buxom colored woman, 
moving between an immaculately neat 
kitchen table and the oven door, mixing 
and baking the most appetizing ginger¬ 
bread, which she sold piping hot from 
the oven for a penny a slice. Next door 
was a perfectly-fitted laundry, the ex¬ 
hibit of a leading plumber, where Aunt 
Dinah’s lively twelve-year-old daughter, 
Sweet Cicely, glibly discoursed on the 
value of the soaps, starches, kitchen- 
aprons and all the paraphernalia of 
washing, ironing and mending she had 
for sale. The lemonade-stand was dec¬ 
orated in white and gold, and the lemon¬ 
ade served in pretty glasses from a mas¬ 
sive punch-bowl which stood in the cen¬ 
ter of a beautiful polished-oak table. 
The “Brownie” candy booth was deco¬ 
rated with Sheaves of corn, and in one 
corner an industrious “Brownie” popped 
the corn while you waited. The doors 
were open every afternoon and evening 
during the three days, and an orchestra 
made plenty of music at night. At a 
certain time each evening the curtain 
was raised and ten of the young people 
gave the ever-popular cake-walk, so that 
there was something to amuse the peo¬ 
ple all the time. 
A drawing feature of the street fair 
was the parade given each afternoon at 
four o’clock. This was composed en¬ 
tirely of children with all sorts of out¬ 
fits, and decorated baDy-carriages, bicy¬ 
cles and go-carts. Heading the proces¬ 
sion were two diminutive policemen six 
years old, with helmets and clubs; then 
came the king and queen in an elab¬ 
orately-decorated carriage drawn by 
boys; this was followed by a princess of 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use “Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothling Syrup” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adv. 
I I 
India in her sedan-chair. The Chrysan¬ 
themum queen was a pretty little blonde 
in flower-bedecked invalid-chair. Carts 
and wagons were decorated, carrying 
out designs both pretty and original. 
“Mother Goose” and many of her sub¬ 
jects were represented; a company of 
militia; a clown in a little cart drawn 
by a dog; a Klondike outfit, and Uncle 
Sam and Farmer Hayseed with his wife 
Sal were constantly bobbing up in the 
throng. Each afternoon the sidewalks 
were cleared and the little folks given 
the right of way. Every one went out 
to see them, and thus the street fair was 
well advertised. After parading the 
town they led the way to the armory, 
decoying the crowd with them. 
Irdflfi 
Candles 
Nothing else adds so much" 
to the charm of the drawing 
room or boudoir as the soft ly radi¬ 
ant light from CORDOVA Candles. 
Nothing will contribute more to the 
artistic success of the luncheon, 
i tea or dinner. The best decorative 
~ candles for the simplest or the 
most elaborate function—for cot¬ 
tage or mansion. Made in all colors 
and the most delicate tints by 
STANDARD OIL CO. 
and sold everywhere. 
B.*B. 
....The pessimists who cry that all the 
big opportunities are gone should have 
heard the testimony of these experienced 
men from all parts of the world. In¬ 
variably they stated that the richness of 
their resources were just beginning to be 
known. Diamond fields are being dis¬ 
covered, gold mines are yielding more 
than ever, prices of timber are higher. 
It would seem from the facts which 
were presented that the world has really 
not begun to grow rich—Saturday Even¬ 
ing Post. 
_True chivalry rests on the knowl¬ 
edge of the dignity of man. Because a 
woman is a woman, because in every 
woman dwells the divine, it is that she 
deserves courtesy. The divine in me 
responds to the divine in her, and ac¬ 
cords to that divine treatment which one 
equal renders to another. Good man¬ 
ners which rise to the height of courtesy 
depend on a view of human nature un¬ 
known a few centuries ago, when men 
really believed what the priests told 
them, that God, the Father of all men, 
had divided them not only into saints 
and sinners, but into rich and poor, 
high-born and base-born, that every¬ 
one must be content with the place as¬ 
signed him, that what was right for 
one class was wrong for another.— 
Christian Register. 
YIT’E BUY lamp-chimneys 
by the dozen ; they go 
on snapping and popping and 
flying in pieces; and we go 
on buying the very same 
chimneys year after year. 
Our dealer is willing to sell 
us a chimney a week for every 
lamp we burn. 
Macbeth’s “pearl top’’and 
“pearl glass” do not break 
from heat; they are made of 
tough glass. Try them. 
Our “Index” describes all lamps and their 
trophy chimneys. With it you can always order 
the right size and shape of chimney for any lamp. 
We mail it FREE to any one who writes for it. 
Address Macbeth, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
qeabmbo IMPROVED KNITTER 
WITH RIBBING ATTACHMENT. 
Knits everything, from homespun 
or factory yarns,equal tohand knit¬ 
ting. Cheap, Practical, 81m pie 
Illustrated Instruction teaches 
you all aboutit. Only machine 
made with RIBBING ATTACH 
M E N T. Ahead of all competitors 
r . _ satisfaction guaranteed. Mod 
tti for agents. Plain and ribbed samples free. Address 
J- 'Me GEARHART, CLEARFIELD. PA 
we're emptying the shelves 
and it’s being done at a loss. 
Odd lots and surplus lines of 
Silks, Dress Goods, Black Goods 
and every other department in 
the store, being cleared out abso¬ 
lutely. 
1899 business far surpassed all 
records — won with goods and 
prices. 
Hence broken lots and parts of 
lines more numerous. 
Price has power—and reduced 
prices being used with a vigor 
never before attempted. 
75c. and dollar Dress goods, 
50c. 
Splendid all-wool Dress goods 
25c., 35c. 
See what fine Black goods 
underprice 50c., 75c. 
And silks for waists, gowns, 
petticoats and linings—and rich 
beautiful evening silks. 
A shelf-emptying that means 
business. Goods and prices to 
prove it. 
BOGGS & BUHL, 
Department C, 
ALLEGHENY, PA. 
Dyes for Rag Carpets. 
DIAMOND DYES MAKE COLORS THE 
SUN CANNOT FADE. 
They Do the Most Dyeing for 
the Least Money. 
When you dye rags or yarns for carpets and 
rugs, you want colors that will hold till the goods 
are worn out. Diamond Dyes are the only pack¬ 
age dyes that will make such colors. 
For cotton or mixed goods, be sure to get the 
special fast dyes for cotton or mixed goods, and 
for wool, the fast wool dyes, and you will have the 
brightest, fastest colors there are. 
If you use dyes that claim to color both cotton 
and wool with the same dye, you run the risk of 
spoiling your goods, or of getting colors that will 
fade right out. They may dye cotton, but they 
will only stain wool. Diamond Dyes will always 
give satisfaction. 
J if~ Sample card of colors and direction book for 
home dyeing mailed free on request.— Wells, Rich¬ 
ardson & Co., Burlington, Vt 
* 90 °-° 
MONTHLY 
KASIJjY KARNKII BY LADIES, GIRLS and ROYS 
taking3 orders per day for each of our Brands 
of Soaps, Perfumes, etc. Particulars & Catalog 
of premiums. Bicycles. Watches, (’apes, 3tc., 
sent free. K. Parker, 806 (Hinton Si., Chicago. 
A COMPLETE SEWING OUTFIT 
of high-grade Needles and Pins for family use. 
Great variety. Very useful. Send 10c., and we will 
forward G. II. Ho.brook Jr. 70 W.50th St.. Nevr York 
The Singer No. 15. 
Sold on Instalments. 
DOUBLE LOCK-STITCH. 
OSCILLATING SHUTTLE. 
A sewing-machine specially adapted for high¬ 
speed operation, producing greatest quantity of 
fine stitching, and requiring least effort by the 
operator. Has unusually large bobbin for lower 
thread and finest adjustment in all mechanical 
movements. Greatest range of work and lightest 
running lock-stitch sewing-machine in the world. 
Every genuine machine carries the trade-mark. 
You can try one Free. Old machines taken in exchange. 
SINGER SEWING-MACHINES ARE MADE AND SOLD ONLY BY 
The Singer Manufacturing Co. 
OFFICES IN EVERY CITY IN THE WORLD. 
