Evening Star Newspaper, November 16, 1889, Page 9

Written for Tux Eventec Stan. GAMBLERS’ TRICKS AT CARDS. Kellar, the Magician, Explains How Some of Them Are Done. {RICKS AT FARO, PORER AND EUCHER—STACKING CARDS FROM THE BOTTOM—SINGLE AND DOUBLE SHIFTS THAT WOULD DEFY AN EXPERT—A LESSON TAUGHT AN ENGLISH ARMY OFFICER. In 1830 I was giving performances in Port Louis, on the isiand of Mauritius, in the Indian ecean. Among my intimate acquaintance! were Capt. Powers of the British forces, in com- | mand of the island, and Geueral, then Colonel, Chinese Gordon, the lamented hero of Kuar- toum. Capt. Powers is a member of the titled English family of Beresford, and he certainly | proved his good breeding by his open-hearted | Benerosity and bis rare hospitality. He was, | besides being a “good fellow” in the best sense | of that term, extremely fond of a good joke. Were it not for that peculiarity this incident | could not have been related. | Now I have never devoted much time to card playing. Of course m my profession I am | forced to be dexterous in my movements and ve become rather skillful in certain card tricks useful on the stage. I often visited the Ofticers at their club rooms and frequently took hand at the card table. It appears that Capt. Powers was an expert amateur curd trickster, | though at the time I did not know it On the | evening of which Iam writing it was arranged between the captain and his fellow-officers that I was to be swindled in a game of casino, chosen | out of compliment to my American citizensbip. | Of course the money was to bg returned after enough of the ill-gotten winuings had been ro- moved to buy a suitable supper to topple off the evening's sport. TURNING THE TABLES. 5 : I was unsuspicious, ) and I think I had lost GN) two or three hundred =¥ rupees, to the great — amusement of the spec- tators, before I realized that I was being tricked. Then came my revenge, and I canassure you that ( 1) it was a pretty one. I determined to teach | Capt. Powers @ lesson ne should remember, and I did. I beat him at his own game. and the supper we had early in the morning was paid for the conspirators after I bad loaned them the money from my wonings. Altogether I took im 3,000 rupees (about $1,500), and the beauty of it was my cheating was not discovered until the next day, when I invited them to dine with me and ex- plained the trick and returned their money. This is the way the trick was done. [ stacked the cards from the bottom of the pack in the following-de- scribed menner: I man- aged, in picking up the cards, to put at the bot- tom of the pack such ood cards as I needed, en I took the pack in my right hand and shnffied the cards. in al rently awkwardly, but really very skillfully. I drew one of the good cards from the bottom and one of the others from the top simuita- neously. I continued | this maneuver until all the good cards that I hadselected were placed | alternately with a poor | card at the bottom of the pack. Then I in- serted the tip of my little finger between these cards and the rest of the pack and shuffled the rest of the pack thoroughly. After I had fin- ished I adroitiy shifted the arranged cards to the top of the pack and asked the captain to| cut. After he had cut the cards I shifted the cards, by a single movement I shall ‘ibe here- after, back to their orig- imal place and it the bands. The good cards came to me and the alternate poor cards went to him. With a mew pack of cards this trick can be done with ease and after a little practice it can be done | 80 neatly that it is absolutely unuoticeable. | ‘This stacking from the bottom is a new trick | with gamblers and it will deceive any one who is not on the lookout for it. THE DOUBLE-HANDED SHIFT. This is the way Ishift- ed the cut: I held the pack between the thamb and finger tips of my left hand, with my little finger inserted in the center of the pack —_ ber Ppp Le 2. en graspe ‘ae ow half of the pack so divided through the center with the thumb and second finger of the right hand. Then pressing the lower half of the pack against the thumb, forming a binge. I brought the top half adroitly underneath, thus Pe the cards in their original gy alter- pated this trick with the old trick of Lire | certain selected cards which were plac sdroitly on the top of my opponent's cut, I have now described (3) to you the double- handed shift. There is a single-handed shift that is equally effective, and when tre by an expert card sharper it wil defy the detection of the keenestere. This is the way it is done: Hold the pack in the left haud, with the second and third fingers between the cards on top of those that hace been “stacked” or previously arranged, as shown in gure 6. Then throw the lower half up and cover the under half, as in figure 7, until the cards are im the position indicated by figure 8. Then, withdraw the fingers, close the pack in the | hand and the shift is accomplished. This can | be done with lightning-like rapidity, and none at lis a player experienced in the wicked wiles of | low-man would suspect the trick. j & SINGLE-EANDED suirT. Here is a pretty sin- Rle-Landed shift that is seldom used by a gam- bler; but is, neverthe- rp) less. very neat, It is called the single-handed twist shift, and is done as follows: Insert the little fiuger between the cards, as is showu in figure 1. Then lift off the top cards between | the little and third fingers, and turn them un- derneath, a in cut 9. I have made these shifts frequently in ex- plaining card tricks to @ party of gentlemen, and in spite of the fact that they were looki for it they have foun it impossible to detect me. When you con- sider that I am not a professional card player, and have only taken up card tricks ass = of my sleight-of-hand profession, and when you understand that there are men who do nothing else but bandie cards, you can readily see how little chance an unsuspecting player has when he is playing for mouey with a skilled and unscrupulous sharper. By this ander-stack which I described I can j myself every trump in a game of whist, and in poker I can give myself any hand I de-| sire. In playing with three, four or five per- sons, I shuffle simultaneously oue card from (8) the bottom and top and then two, three or four more from the top, depending on the number of players in the game. so thut when I deal the cards the bottom card goes tome and my op- ments get the poor ones that came from the of the pack. In shifting the ent you may wonder how I can keep track of the top card that the man places underneath the cards he takes off of the pack, That is easily: done. Isimply turn up one corner of the top card just enough to in- dicate its tion to me when I have the cards in my hand. It is Bot noticeable to those who watch me, but it is easily found by the sense of touch. KEEPING THE RUN OF THE CARDS. know the position of every card in the pack. ‘There are thousand and one ways of doing this. One of the simplest is by following this Ree Lay the cards face upward on the table. fhen select them with spparent care | and place them in the pack. If It is quickly done no one will notice that they are bei chosen according to rule. But y are this is the rule: Pack the cards up in this order: 6, 2, 10, 9, 3, king. 8. 4, ace (or 1), Jack, 7, 5, queen, Suits must run as follows: Clubs, spades, hearts and diamonds. Then the first card will be ais of clubs; the next the deuce of spades, | every day the ten of hearts, and next the nine of dia- monds, Foilow this role until all the cards are arranged. The rule can be retained in the mind by memorizing the following verse: Sixty-two hundred and ninety-three kt Eigtty-four sand men and seventy-five women. The ‘hundred’ refers to the tens; the “thousand” to the aces; the “men” to the Jacks and the ‘“‘women” to the queens. When you see the first card you know just what fol- lows. The tricks of the faro dealer are largely mechanical, but they are not less skillfully done on that account. The commonest is the “skin” box from which the dealing is done, The honest faro box is generally of German silver, It is a small frame, made to hold a ack of cards tightly. ‘The deaier pushes with Bis finger the top card through a narrow slit in the side of the frame. just large enough to allow one card to slip through atatime. The opposite side of the frame is open, and through it the pack is slipped into place. There is a spring at the bottom of the box that pushes the pack tightly against the top of the frame unti the last card is dealt. ‘The dishonest or “skin” box has a spring operated on one side of the box that enlarges the slit through which the cards are deait at the dealer's pleasure. In ® dishonest game the dcaler always has his cards arranged in advance. For instance he places a Jack next toa five spot. The five spot is ontop and the buck of the card is sanded so that the Jack will stick closely to it, and if the two cards are allowed to escape from the box atthe same instant they will not be- come separated on the table and betray the trick. Now we will say that the deuler finds that the five is the top card and will come out | next. There is very heavy betting that the Jack will foliow it, What is easier than to ress the spring and let the Jack be covered up y the five’ If the betting is in his favor he can run out the five singly and follow it with the Jack. We will suppose that he chooses to con- ceal the Jack. but there are several players around the table who are keeping close watch of the cards, and if the Jack does not appear before the deal is ended the deception will be detected. To prevent this the dealer hasin his other hand another Jack, which lics in a small V-shaped frame with a narrow slit at the sharp point. This frame he manages to place against the exposed edge of the cards in the faro box, and by pushing the card he forces it back in:o the pack. Like all other gaming tricks this must he skillfully done, aud when it is thus performed it would require a sharp pair of eyes to detect it. ‘This is a very neat trick: Suppose a gambler wanted to transfer the top card uf the pack to another ‘ition. He holds the cards in his left hand. He pushes with his thuisb the top card forward upon the tips of his fing by raising up the remaining e the top card into phe dexterously that not one in ten thousand would notice it, Very often it is unsafe for a gambler to at- tempt the shift; then he resorts to palming. ‘Tue selected cards are concealed ia the paim of the right hand. He offers the remainder of | the pack to his opponent tocut. After that is done he picks up the cut with his right hand placing his cards on top and then adroitls them to the rest of the pack and his desire is ac- complished. One of the commonest devices to prevent an honest cutis the use of “strippers.” Strippersare apack of cards a trifle wider ut one end than at the other, After the cards are cut the dealer turns one-half around so that the narrow ends are uppermost when the cards are stood on end, The other half are left with their wide ends up- | permost. Then the two halves are put together | and pulled through each other as the teeth of a comb pass throu ha lock of hair. This leaves the cards in their origina! position and he deais as though no cut had been made. Marked packs of cards are frequently found, The markings consist of minute changes in tho scroils or decorations on their backs that would not be detected by the unsuspicious, but are of great significance to those who use them. There are several old tricks. once popular, but now entirely superseded by the newer and more skillful methods that Lhave described, One of these old tricks was to deal cards from the bottom of the pack. This was too clamsy for use, except with the most unsuspicious of piayers, and has been almost entirely aban- doned. A common trick in the game of eucher is to secrete one of the Jacks. By this means a player secured an advantage of at least 25 per ceut over his opponent, for he thus had ex- elusive information of great value. For in- stance, he kuew that his left bower and ace were the largest cards of the suit of the missing Jack, and he could use this kuowledge with telling force against his opponent. I would ad- vise all amateur eucher players, when pitted against strangers, to see that all four Jacks are im the pack, Ihave never been a gambler, but I have learned enough tricks at cards and have watched enough games of chance to unhesitat- ingly advise ail my readers to let gaming alone, No matter how expert they may be at card tricks they will stand very little chance against @ professional mamipulator of the fascinating pasteboards, H. Kerian, ——_——-+ee Saturday Smiles. Chicago is 173 miles square and, when it is right muddy, about knee deep.—Jndianapolis Aews. “Lemon parties,” are becoming popular in a number of Hudson river towns, It isstated that every young man is expected to bring a lemon, a girl and a squeezer.—Aingston Free- man, An Autumnal Proposal.—He (as they stand on the balcony)—“It is very bright within and ‘eary without, is it no! She—*Without Guspired) — “You."—Harper’s Mrs. Grover Cleveland is very fond of col- lecting old china, She has been known to smile sweetly ou a mug-wump.—Losion Trans- cript, McCorkle—‘If Chicago got the World’s fair where would she hold it?” McCrackle—‘'I understand the intention is to fence in a footprint of one of that city’s maidens.”—New York Sun, “You will never win in the race of life, my son, You are too slow.” “All right; I will try being fast for a while.” Aud still the parent appeared no more hope- ful than before.—Chicago Globe. Of all the aud nad gloomy words ‘That inankind ever writ, There ars no sad.ter ones to me ‘Than these (wo: “Fiease vet." —Punsauawney Sptrit, There is an amusing story told of a Dela- ware county man, who received a “‘horning” because he married within a month after his first wife's death. He told the serenaders that he didn’t think it showed good taste to come banging around @ man’s house so soon after a funeral.—Alvany Argus. Getting There.—He—“Do is any truth in the adage by the company he keeps? She— you believe there ata man is known ertainly, We see its truth illustrated He—“I believe in it myself and I intend to act upon it.” Sbhe—**A wise resolution if it is good com- pany you intend to keep.” He—*Tho very best; that is to say, if I can get into the company I would like to keep. ‘The fact is, I want to keep your company.” Then she smiled a sweet smile and said it could no doubt be managed.—Boston Courier. They say the County dewiocracy is buried in thought, “Rather shallow grave, isn't it~—New York Tribune, The hotel guest has a winsome Ashe quietty books his name. ‘Two hours later b When he strikes t) But he gets there, — Kearney (Neb.) Enterprise. We republicans won't feel much like buying Thanksgiving turkeys this year. Crow will be pretty slick,— Tombstone (Ariz,) Epitaph, Mrs, Beacon Hill (in an icy whisper)—“I beg | Your pardon, but this is my pew. The Intruder (gently reproachful)—“T am a sister in Christ and this is my Father's house.” ~Er—doubtless, But I have to pay the rent, you know."—. Times, Woerptor old becucloret ‘When at nicht we go to bed, No curtain lectures e'er ace No widows left when we are vor old bachelors! —F.K.G. in Courier Journal, Had Been Duck Shooting.—Mrs, Blinks—‘‘See here, Mr. B., 1 thought you said you had been duck shooting.” Mr. Blinks—“Yes, m'dear, been duck (hic) shooting. ‘ a ducks you brought home are tame lacks. “Y-e-s, m’dear, I tamed ‘em after I shot "em." —New York Weekly. (hie) Football Player (feebly)—“Did we win?” Sympathizing Comrade--“+We did,old fellow.” Foor Player (excitedly)—‘Never miud that dislocated thigh, doctor. Take these broken teeth outof my mouth sol can boller!"— Chicago Tribune. ————+e2+______ The Winter Girl Growing. ‘The summer grit Oh! where is she, Gaihe "rset, he the in the amen aig, ‘She Craws us, sways us as she wills, — Boston Cvsrier, 3. Then | Written for Tax Evexmxe Star, WHAT OUR ANCESTORS ATE. Feasts that May Have Produced Nine- teenth Century Dyspepsia. THE DIET OF SHAKESPEARF—ANGLO-SAXON AND NORMAN DISHES—QUEEN ANNE'S DINNER TABLE—-HOW THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF HAMILTON ATE FROM THE 8AME PLATE, The most interesting part of history is that which the historians almost invariably omit to notice. The wars and the laws, and who made them, we know. They are what the historian chiefly cares for. But, while these are im- portent, scarcely less so and far more interest- ing are the social customs, the dress and food and the every-day life of past centuries, Who, for instance, would not like to sit down to a table such as Shakespeare was wont to meet; to sew the very dishes served on which he fed. To know them weil is to kuow the age and time, for we have his word for it that upon tne food depends the ebaracter, In his “Julius Cesar” he way ow, in the names of all the grds at once, Upon what meat duce this our Cesar toed, ‘Tuat he is Krown 90 Kreatt” been famous he has not always been able to employ it upow the same material, in Anglo- the multitude was bread, butter and cheese. A few of the coarser vegetables were added, and | it was only on occasions that this was diversi- | tied by “salted bacon and pancakes, b | fish.” “The meat, when it was to be had, usually boiled over a tripod. “The ket which this was done, says the author of | Cookery Books,” was “the universal ¥ | boiling purposes; nnd the bacon larder, was the warehouse for the win of provisions,” In almost all the foods strong condiments like gurlic aud pepper wore freely used. Philology shows that the Saxon food | was bread, butter and cheese, for beef, veal, mutton. pork and bacon reiain the names given by the Normans, IS KING ALFRED'S TIME. | “In the tenth century colloquy of Archbishop Altri,” says Mr, Carew Huziitt, “the boy is made to say that he is too young to eat meat, bat subsists on cabbages, ezgs, fish, cheese | butter, beans,” aud the drink,which was rar ale,’ was usualiy water, Tue uurst tells us of King Alfred's “bag puddy at ley meai with raisins and meat.” Tho teying preceded the grill, “just as the fork lagged behind the spoon, trom which itisa seeming evolution England there was a pr } Which displaced the ting sud forks at first were the privilege only of kings, When Coryat | employed one after his visit to where the iustrument originated ia the nti con- For centaries in 3h it in England, ain generai uso, ts his bacon or his her gers, justas Charies XI of Sweden buttered his bread with his royal thumb.” A countr, sf | Itis said that the origin of washing the hands | before eating arose from the fact tuat food ut eaten wholly—all around the table into one dish—with the hands. how, finger bowl, an ablution ends as well recedes the meal. Carving knives, like the rk, were at first a Inxury, and aa late as the | close of the fifteenth century were coutined to king’s tables and those of the nobility, Butter wes not much used in England before the Norman conquest, although the Engli unlike the Italian, had no oil for a suv. Of the introduction of sugar there is no certain date given. Mr. Hazlitt thinks it must have been scarce and dear in 1246, “when Henry IIL asked the inayor of Winchester to procure him three pounds of Alexandria sugar, if so x could be got, and also some rose and vi colored suger; nor hadit grown more plentiful | when the same prince ordered the sheriffs of | London to send him four loaves of sugar to Woodstock.” Before the end of tho thirteenth ceutury, however, it gained ground and could generally be produced. It was then sold by the loat or pound at what would be 37}¢ to 75 cents per pound in American currency, KARLY ENGLISH RREAD. There were several kinds of bread used in the fifteenth century, Palm-main was bread made of very white flour. In addition to this there was to be had coarser ‘‘wheat bread; also barley-meal bread, bran bread, pease bread, oat bread or oat cakes, hard bread and unleavened Rye lentils and oat meal were some- times mixed for bread for the poor. Certain coarse fish were once eaten which have not been in modern times much esteemed, Por- poise pie, ouce eaten, was finally ridiculed in | the time of James I as “‘a dish which not even | a dog would eat;” although in our own times on the Hudson river it is the sturgeon—“very like a porpoise,” that used to be called “Albany beef.” Perhaps so called because the earl Dutch settlers may have gone to that city’s market to get it. IN SHAKESPEARE’S TIME, says the author of “The England of Shake- speare,” good, solid eating was the habit. “The | farmer always had hia bacon and his flitches of salt mutton on hand, in addition to salt beef and barreled herrings from Yarmouth. In ail good houses there was an imposing array of salting tubs, ‘The art of stall feeding was almost unknown and fresh meat if procurable in winter was very lean, It cost from halfa penny to @ penny a pound, which was equal to a penny or two pence of our money.” Wheat bread was extravagantly dear,th ough its price, as well as that of beer, was regulated by law. ‘There was @ sort of bread called horse bread soidin packs, ‘Cakes of oats and spice were on all good tables,” “Hot venison pastry” isspoken of by Shake- speare. It was to this repast that Page in- vited Falstaff, and it was rounded off by “pip- kins and cheese.” The author from whom I gather this Shakespearian bill of fare says that “the fee farm rent of Norwich consisted of twenty-four herring pastries of the new sea- son fish, flavored with ginger, pepper, cloves, galingals and other spices, On one occasion Kiug James I's servant complained that four instead of five herring were in each pastry, aud that they were not baked in good and strong paste as they ought to be. Artichokes were among the few vegetables used and they were made into pies. Among the pastries were those made of pilchards, It is curious to find that vegetables three hundred years ago were regularly imported, cabbages and onions being seut from Holland to Hull. And such vegetables as were used were salted down extensively. Lettuce was s supper dish, Capers made a salad when boiled in oil and vinegar. Rhubarb was called “patien It was brought from China to England a little over three centuries ago, Carrots were then known and eschalots served “to smear the plate before putting meat on it.” A salad which Shakespesre may have eaten was made of turmp leaves. The roots of the turnip were also used by roasting on wood ashes, SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT VEGETABLES, ‘There was a superstition prevalent that vege- tables produced certain extraordinary effects, “Watercresswas believed to restore the bloom to young ladies’ cheeks,” green ginger was good for the memory and conserve of roses (not the salad of roses immortalized by Apuleius) was a capital posset against bedtime. A conserve of rosemary and , accord: to Vermex, should be used by students, as it “doth greatly delight the brain.” Ben Jonson spokeof ‘‘the laudable use of forks,” which he saw come into vogue. Queen Elizabeth hada jeweled one, "Pechaps she used it for her breakfast of goose, which, it is said, she was eating when she heard of the de- feat of the Spanish Armada. This meal of which she partook was called a dinner then, and it is thought to have occurred about 11 o’clock in the morning, Tea was not drank in England until 1610 and coffee was introduced in 1652. Fy Chocolate these drinks, but was largely dis: Faced by them. At tables where they re ge afforded beer and wine were invariably foun Both vegetables and tobacco when they began to be used were exploited by empirics 4s remedies for this and that ailment. All of tomato pills tions of celery as a peskijen are to be hed or are remessberedia our own time, m thus from one trencher.” Walpole relates that ‘‘so late as the middle of the century the old duke and ‘duchess of ton occ the head of the room and the manner by the same plate,” TWO MEALS 4 Da¥. E g& E HE | i If in all eras the Englishman's appetite bas | | Saxon times and long after the staple food of | stthe fork, | }, | began to improve and took hints from the con- eee SATURDAY, N bp yy aie account of a Titcbea ot Hag arg merchant or private gentleman bad usually from one to three dishes on the table when there were no visitors and from four to six when there was ey The yeoman's every-day diet he does not rist he had brawn usabout, “But at Christmas — and souse with mustard, beef. mut- ton and pork, shred pies, goose, pig, capon, tarkey, veal, cheese, apples, &c., with good drink and a blazing fire ca the hall. The ne er’s bill of fare varied aceording to the season. In Lent, red herrings and salt fish; at veal and bacon: at Martinmas, salted beef midsummer, fresh beef, peas and sain Michaelmas, fresh herrings and fat mutton; at All Saints, pork and peas and fish, and at Christmas the same dainties as our yeoman, with good cheer and pastime.” ROYAL FEASTS. There were, of course, at the tables of wealth and royalty certain superb feasts. At Henry LY's marriage, in 1403, there were six courses, But | they reversed the modern order, three courses | of solid meat with no preface of soup coming | rst, followed by three courses of fish and | sweets. Eighteen years later at Henry V's coronation three mixed courses were served, aud among the sculpturesque dishes were « pelican sitting on her nest with her young, and an image of St. Catherine holding a book and disputing with the doctors, And this is the they served & peacock four hundred years ag The bird was first skinned, and the feathers, tail, head and neck ing been laid on a table and sprinkled with cummin the body i raw egg-yolk, and i was sewn back again brought to the as ; 6, at the enthrouement rchbisuop Neville, no fewer than 104 pea- , cocks were dressed. A was roasted, glazed w after being leit to cc ra L cannot identify describes | some of the “sweil dinners,” as he terias them, of the middle ages, At “adinner after the | faneral of Albrecht IV of Bavaria, in 1509, at the royal palace in Munich, the show dishes represented the seven ages ofthe worid.” The first figure reprezented Adam and Eve in the garden, the tree of knows the snake and the apple. Confections of sugar and almonds were on this to be eaten, The second was made of boiled pig's head. hen foliowed boiled meat with capons, fowl and smoked fish. A fourth itroduced Noah's ark “surrounded With wafers baked in sugar, Hot salmon and graylings composed the fifth course. The next dish brought on the tavle was garnished cabbage he seventh dish represented 's Btcrifice, “including a town mude and almonds.” The eighth was a lughly ausperent jelly displaying within pickled fish, ‘The ninth was fresh cooked and pickled grouse,” And there were twent in all, including tableaux of David Gollah, the tower of 1 and other serip- tural sc e fifteenth was a leg of mut- been preceded by w bird piv. orian here remarks that ing to get bungr, and yet after tus came bear pie, fish, game 2 st course represented ne last and tw three e { ned feature is not the only proof 16 nursery chime so familiar has sons of sixpence, full of it was opened to atu nt that a dainty To set before a king! In a work entitled ‘“Epuiario, or the Italian Banquet,” a reccipt is found “to make a pie that the birds may be alive initand fly out | when it is cut up.” AN IMPROVEMENT IN ENGLISH COOKERY. In the seventeenth century English cookery | tinental nations. Travel increased, and tour- | ists brought home receipts like the following: | “Lo make a Portugal dish;’ ‘To make a Vir- | | givian dish,” “A Persian dish,” “A Spanish | | olio,” &c. The following also were probably | by tra To make the Lady Abergav- enry’s cheese” and ‘Lord Conway's receipt for amber puddings,” “To make a posset the carl of Arundel’s way.” When the fame of foreign | dishes was well established French and Italian cooks came to England and entered service, But the opposition to French cookery was heard from more than one voice, Mr. Hazlitt says Charles Lamb in more modern times did not like it, The critics of the time said it dis- guised tho real flavor of the meat, It might do for a hot climate, but “it is here,” says the anthor of *Antiquitates Culinariac,” “the art of spoiling good meat.” Addison says that living in the days of Queen Ann was plain and plentiful, A dinner was only two courses. ‘“T'wo plain dishes,” he says, “with two or three good-natured, cheerful, in- genious friends would make me more pleased and vain than all that pomp and luxury can bestow.” Dinner then, aa later, was tho main meal. Misson says: ‘The English eat a great deal at dioner; they rest a while and to it again till they have quite stuff’d their paunch. Then supper is moderate; gluttons at noon and abstinent at night. I beard that they were great flesh eaters and I found it true.” Many opie in England, he says, “never eat any Rees, while they chew meat by whole mouth- fuls. Their vegetables fairly swim in grease.’ Deep potations were common everywhere, You see so late as in Dickens’ novels bow good cheer in eating and drinking is really an English inheritance, The English pudding came down from t or more centuries ago and it was made, 8 Misson, “fifty different ways,” but always with meats and sweets. And he describes it 200 years a; most excellent. “To come in pudding time” is as much as to say to come in the most lucky moments in the world. Blood puddings and marrow puddings abounded. A poet of the day says: “Blood stuff'd in skins is British Christian food." Mr. John Ashton says ip his “Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne” that “milk was pro- duced from cows kept in London and was car- ried rovud by women or milkmaids,” who chalked on doors their charge. Milch-asses also went round, Their milk was greatly liked and was thought medicinal. Its price was 3s, 6d. per quart. It would probably bear a good deal of watering. ANCIENT COOK BOOKS. Some of the ancient cook books that I pos- sess are very curious. The two before me that are most noted are Patrick Lamb’s and Mrs. Glasse’s, ‘The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy; which far exceeds everything of the kind yet published.” This last book is famous for a certain alleged remark not to be found in it— that in which sho is credited with saying that “you must first catch your hare before you cook it.” Mrs. Glasse is both voluminous and amusing, In her preface she the purpose of her book is “to improve the servan' id save the ladies a great deal of trouble.” She has heard of a French cook ‘that used six pounds of butter to fry twelve eggs in, when everybody knows (that understands cooking) | evidently lived in well ventilated houses, fur- ! to maintein this regimen the disease doesn’t Hash’t loave, of Pallets, Shoulder of Mutton act blood and =o> as “Secon It easants, 6 Partridges, cold Leber Gaited Crawfish buttered, Turkies, Artichocks, Morre! Cream Puffs. Sweetbreads, Machroons, Tongues, Cold Lamb and Chickons, Cheesecakes, Duich Beef, 12 Quailes, Cherry tarta, Lamba, Stones, Ram- kins, Mushrooms, Pease Sallad, Souced Salmon, —— butter’d and boyled, 4 Rabbets, 6 ‘ckens.”” Some of these dishes are not only unknown to the modern menu, but are rendered obscure by the evok’s capricious and uncertain orthog- raphy. ‘‘Morrells,” with an extra r, are a course kind of bitter cherry; ‘“Pulpatoons” are a kind of half confectioned fruit cake, and “Ramkins,” which should have an e after the mare small slices of bread covered witha preparation of cheese and eggs, ‘The reflection which forces itself upon us in a survey of this ancient cookery is that our an- cestors were strong and heavy feeders. They cd with broad fireplaces and capacions brick ovens, and kuew littie, I think, of our modern dyspepsia. Their bills of fare were | crammed with meat, their eg and pies were of meat, and their dishes fairly swam in gravy, When they took something light it was a fruitcake heavy with sugar and spices. 1 find in the “Complete Housewife” of Queen | Aunv's time that there is a receipt given fora | “whetstone cake” and one of the ingredients is “anbergrease.” There is no doubt it was prop- eriy named, Jor Bextox. eee QUEER OILS FROM MANY LANDS. Made From Cod Livers, Crocodiles, Whales, Reptiles, Birds and Bugs. This is the chilly season of the year, when the delicate chest of pretty Miss McFlimsy ex- cites the apprehensions of her ever-solicitous | mamma, who calls in Dr, Boldus, against the young lady's protest, and that favorite physician feols the little pulse, makes a few smiling In- quiries with that suave gentleness of manner which has done more than anything eise to widen his practice among the women and pre- seribes—cod liver oil. “There is always boom in the stuff about October,” said a down-town apothecary to a Sram reporter, pointing toa shelf filled with big jars of golden yellow liquid, “The first cold weather brings shoals of purchasers for it —people with wenk lungs. thin blood or gen- eral debility. All medical men agree that cod liver oil is a wonderful strengthener; it acts in some mysterious Way upon the nutritive pro- cesses, so as to cause the formation of healthy tix-ue and tmereares the size of the red corpus- cles in the blood. I have heard that the only sure cnre for consumption is for the patient to oand live in the Arctic regions with the Ea- imo aud feed almost exclusively on biubber in long strips; so long as he is willing have a show. Presumably cod liver oil works in somewhat the same way as blubber. The only trouble is that, whereas you can cat un- limited blubber, if you are hungry enough and there is nothing else, you cannot protitably | consume more than three tablespoonfals a day of vod liver oil, inasmuch as it will not be as- similate: But those three tablespoonfuls do anastonishing amount of good, It im often given exiernally by rubbing it into the patient's skin, which absorbs it,” WHERE IT COMES FROM. “Where does the oil come from?” “The cod: that supply the livers are mostly canght off the North Atlantic coast by means of trawis, which are lines miles in length with anchors at the ends, floats at intervals to hold them up and hooks all along at intervals of 6 feet, baited twice a day, when the game that catches itself is taken off. The shallow *banks’ fur outat seaare the chief ing grounds, sinall boats being used to tend the trawls. When a vessel hasaload of cod it puts into Gloucester, Boston or some other convenient port, The fish it has caught have all been split, cleaned and dried in the sun at sea, if the trip has been along ono, for they would not keep otherwise, aud the livers have been thrown into barrels on deck to putrify, Fishermen don’t mind bad smells, The processes of de- composition liberate some of the oil, which rises to the tops of the barrels and is skimmed off, to be subsequently sold as a fair article. Upon reaching land the residue is disposed of to the manu- facturers, who boil the mess with water, sirain it, draw off the oil from the top of the water, strain itagain and ee it up in that shape for market. But this oi] made from decomposed livers is not the superfine stuff you see in those bottles on the shelf. The first-quality oil, for medicinal purposes, must be made from fresh livers, brought by boats that bring in fresh fish caught on short voyages. The fresh livers, upon the value of which the fisherman count for quite a percentage of their gains, are boiled with water, then put into canvas bags and pressed in hydraulic machines, until the pure oil is all forced out through the fabric of the bags, leaving inside the bags a tallow-like mass of stearin and liver refuse, which is sold to the | tern would tone the brightness of the ligt ‘Written for Tas Evexrve Bran. ATTRACTIVE HOMES. How Bare Corners May Be Converted Into Beauty Spots. COZY SXUGGERIES WHERE COLOR PLEASES THE EYE AND GOFT CUSHIONS INVITE TO REPOSE—a BED ROOM IN PINE AND SILVER—DECORATED WASH BENCHES—BEAUTIFYING CHEAP CHAIRS, ‘These is an attraction, s suggestion of comfort about corners which is making them prominent in many a scheme of home decoration at the present time. To some people the suitable cbaracteristic for such nooks secms to be warmth thrown into relief by contrast to arctic surroundings, These corners are covered, floor, seat and walls, with skins of leopard, bear or fox, more or less costly, as the owner is qualified in a financial sense to gratify such whims. The foundation for all these snug- Series is made by adjusting two rods against | the walls of the corner with one acroas, mak- ing atriangle, from which fall the hangings, whether of furs or some textile fabric. ‘ihe banging from the cross rod are really por- tieres, which may be looped or pushed back on the rod, thus making the attractions of the place open to the gaze of all, or as secluded as ossible, to suit the requirements of a veritable jovers’ nook, A three-cornered seat or divan, made quite deep and covered to correspond with the hangings, really makes the comfort and cozineas of the place. This is piled with pillows of all kinds and sizes and covered with ali sorts of materials. A rug is spread on the floor in front of this divan, and the size of this fixes the boundary of the niche, the portieres being bung at its outside edge. The fur-iined corner is, maybe, the most costly, for the skins must be fine ones or continaal discom- fort from the bair coming out is the resuit, ‘there are other tastes, however, which treat a corner in quite another way. It isa pretty fashion to have such places furnished in A DECIDED CONTRAST to the neighboring rooms, taking the striking features of some country as the key note of the decoration, Such « nook, for instance, has been made very effective by choosing a Turk- ish treatment with oriental hangings and rugs, onl a swinging lamp to light it, Still another might have quite a Japanese appearance with bamboo rods, on which gold-stamped crepe can be gathered in fuil folds as the wail covering, while bead portieres in front partially conceal its attractions. The pillows could be covered, some with the crepe, some with the beautiful gold-embroidered silk squares that come to the Japanese stores, or with figured silk. A lan- while some corner shelves of lacquered wood, with a vase or two for flowers and a place for one’s books, would help to make a charming little retreat atsmall cost. In Mrs, Cleveland s new home in New York there is one of these niches made by a jog in the walls of the ball, Before the opening hang pink and yellow por- tieres, with a Venetian lamp between. The divan is covered with yellow silk and the walls are bung with rich old vestments of the prints of the Greek church. For an ordinary house such a corner could be fitted up for constant use in dark rich coloring that would be hand- some and yet durable. Dark hangings of velour or turcoman im terra cotta, red, or dull blue for instance, with pillows covered in brighter colors and a variety of shades, with portieres of cross stripes and ‘Turkey rugs on floor and divan would be serv- iceable as well as inviting. Thix would make # convenient lounging place, probably, without fear of consequences. ‘This comfortable feel- ing of security would make up for some lack of delicacy of coloring or beauty of effect. in al- most every house may be found some corner which a little ingenuity might transform from abare right angie toa cosy suuggery, sure to be popular with all, especially the young peo- ple of the family, A CHARMING BED ROOM for a young girl has lately been decorated in pink and silver, The walls are covered with pink paper, with a frieze of brown and green orchids on pink ground. The ceiling is cream color with silver etars over it and the picture rail is silver, The woodwork is finished in enamel white paint, The hangings at the windows are of China silk, in cream color.with green and brown rings, The bed is of brass, xilvered, and has a lace spread over pink, ‘The fire-place has its belongings in silver and is surrounded with cream-colored tiles with pink figures on them. The mantelpiece is in the colonial style in white and silver. The large rug ou the floor is of plain terra-cotta with one or two smaller ones of Persian lambs’ wool. A little Chippendale table is used for writing instead of a desk and is fitted up with silver inkstand, paper cutter and all the other imple- ments of a correspondence as large as a young lady just out of school is apt to have. A iarge chair and lounge are covered with Pompadour brocade of pink and cream color, A large chiffonier stands ina corner, and a dressing table has all its knick-knacks of silver. A swinging glass is between the windows and there are several small chairs anda low 5 soap makers. The oil thus separated is then re for bottling. The very best cod liver oil of all, however, is only made in the winter; the cooked re are frozen solid and put in con- gealed masses into the bags, which are then submitted to pressure as in the other case.” GOOD AND BaD, ‘And how is one to tell good oil from bad?” “Very easily. The oil from really frosh livers must be a very light yellow, the lighter the better. Oil from decomposed livers is brown, and the slightest dark tinge is good evidence that the livers were stale, The lighter the oil is—that is to say, the fresher the livers—the less taste it has, so that the finest quality has searce any disagreeable flavor at all. The darker the oil the nastier its smell and the more nauseating its taste, for obvious reasons, Some people imagine that the brownish oil has a better elfect, but that is nonsense, of course. The brown oil is used for leather dressing chiefly and to a very greatextent, You will notice once in a while a pair of boots that has a horrible smell like fish oil, and now you will know the reason why. Cod liver oil is some- times adulterated, and if it has much of a fishy smell you may reasonably suspect it of having other fish oils combined with it.” “Very curious stuff, is it not?” “Not nearly so curious as some other oils, of which we have small quantities here in stock,” said the apothecary, ‘In this little bottle, for instance, is melon oil, so called because its flavor resembles that of the musk melon—a secretion from the nose of the pilot whale, It is an admirable lubricant for delicate machinery, as is also this porpoise oil, from that mammal’s jaw bone, so much used by watch makers, The congealing point of melon oil is so low, by the way, that it remains liquid atzero, Fahrenheit. And here is another queer oil, from the fat under the legs of the Indus river crocodile, the congealing point of which is so high that it will freeze where ice melts; it is a famous leather dressing. I have col- that half OY pee is full enough, or more than need be used; but then it would not be French.” She gives a receipt for stewing peas and lettuce together, But the book is not by any means a badone, In her receipt giving ‘‘a certain cure of the bite of amad dog” the patient is to be bled to the extent of 8 or 9 ounces and take a prepara- tion of liverwort and black pepper in half a pint of warm cow's milk. The patient must then “go “into a cold spring or river every morning, fusting for a month. After this he must go in three times a week for a fortnight longer.” If he survived all this it is not at all likely the mad dog's poison would hurt him in the least degree. But Mr. Patrick Lamb was undoubtedly Mrs, Glasee’s equal, He published in 1710 his ““Roval aptly ok the Complate Court Cook.” He says on his title page that he was ‘near fifty Years master cook to their late bagg tuen King Charles II, King James II, King William an Queen Mary, and to her present majesty, Queen Anne, hora at a =o his oo oe says—alluding long service to ro; . “As to the author of these sheets, his name and character are 80 well known and established in all the courts of Christendom that I need ob- serve no more of him, than that he lived and died a very great rarity, having maintained his station at court and the favor of his prince for about fifty years together; which whoever does after him may boast of one of the two fortunate and long-lived courtiers which pate hundred ages before have not juced.”” I give below one of his receipts, which Mr, Ashton thinks few people now would care to follow, It is a “patty of calves’ brairs.” The calves’ brains being clean scald them, then blanch some asparagus and put it in a sauce; with a little butter and vy bety cold nes bog esgert tater tt — 4 hve or six yol and forc'd meat Season it with pepper cad salt, When it is Lo ppl eta tpl .- — drawn butter gravy. serve Lamb gives tes dias ae eens fer sing we on 4 KINa's DINKER, lected these oils for curiosity’s sake, begit with some kinds that are sup to have medicinal value. For example, I have in this bottle about four ounces of alligator which is much used as a remedy for certain complaints in Brazil, as well as for an illuminant. The oil in the next vial to the right is from the big sea sunfish, and this other is from the fat beneath the turtle’s up- per shell; ear are both recommended for rheumatism. oil in the flat bottle is tried out of the entrails of eels and pickerel, and some folks believe that it is good tor deafness. 1 had some oil from the fat of the young guacharo bird of Equador, which people in that country think is equal to olive oil for the table, but, unfortuna’ ly a careless clerk of mine broke the bottle and i have not beenable to get any more. The most in! of all the oils I have here, however, is this — — fluid, obtained by the natives of Yuca- from an insect no yy papdere ee that yields two-thirds of its weight in oil. It is d the “niin,” and feeds upon the sap of @ resinous plant, which is extensively culti- vated for the sake of its parasite, The bugs cling to the plants by their long beake, m: the branches look as if they were driven full o! nee: r-looking tacks. When they are thickest are scray off by the bug farmers and d. they are treated with ether in strained oil is used varnish and also for the mixing of o'clock tea tabl Some bookshelves are in one corner and a stand of blossoming plants is under a bird cage by one of the windows, A few pretty photographs of good pictures aud one or two water-colors are framed in silver. It is a lovely room, well suited in its dainty col- oring to the fresh beauty of its youthful occu- pant. CHAIRS AS ART OBJECTS. Although divans are so popular for corner or side wall there has never been a time when pretty chairs of all kinds could so easily be obtained, Of the inexpensive sort there is certainly all the variety one could ask for. The comfortable rocking chairs. with old oak finish and cane seats, seem within the reach of even a slender purse, while a little feminine handiwork will beautify them toa great de- gree. A cushion for the head, another for the seat, or to fit in the hollow of the back, and a really ornamental piece of furniture is the re- sult. A chairof thiskind for use ina room | where pink predominates has the double pil- lows tied together as the head cushion. These are so easily adjusted that they give equal comfort toa tall or short person. In this in- stance they are covered with sateen of a cream white ground with small pink flowers scat- tered over it and tied together with three bows of wide satin ribbon in two shades of old pink. By turning such pillows and changing the rib- bons about one really gets the use of four pil- lows, thus having freshness as to covering for an almost incredible time. A very smail pil- low covered with the same sateen is tied to the chair just sbove 2 slipping on each side, With a hassock for the feet and a good book in the hands this simple outfit is capable of giving hours of pleasure to the occupant, The stiff, ‘aight chairs, suggesting the old-fashioned “kitchen” chairs, are made into reception chairs that are really charming. One seen for sale recently of this kind was painted white and touched up with gold, The seat was stuffed rather giv- ing a rounding effect to the covering, which was cream-white silk sateen, em- broidered in a beautiful and elaborate pattern, in several shades of blue silk with a little gold thread as a relief. The back was covered with the embroidery also, the covering being tightly stretched over the frame work. Any home worker could accomplish a similar one, even painting the chairitself if desired, for they can be bought for a trifle unpainted, and paint of an epame! finish comes in small cans ready to apply. Small rocking chairs of the same kind are for sale. These would be prett painted in delcate colors to correspond wi the tones of a bed room, and are very easily trimmed up. They can be bought also painted and untrimmed at small prices, and would make vi tty and useful Christmas gifts. Re painted in old pink of a light shade, with cushions, for instance, of furniture corduroy, which comes in a delightful tone of old pink. This would be very serviceable as well as attractive to look at, avd the back cush- ion might be ornamen' with « little em- iieage pretty, chougn nonovelty, for fastening alwa: , for pion lapel Morn oran invisible finish may make it though plain in effect, The coverings of white ground work are love! when fresh, but are troublesome to take off ani wash when soiled, rh the should be fast colors so launder ee ee © The for novelty and home “art wor! scalbiaaas eas take > grotesque or absurd, andin derision the “Decorative Sisters” are made to expend their energies in painting arms, which prevent its | together linen fosses | each side legally northern city by tasteful cushions. The shape of the low ones was straight-backed, without rockers. and quite slender looking. W ite was the favorite at used. The cushioned in various ways, the cushion cut out to fit around the front round of the arms and tied on the outside of the round with ribbons, Some had em ed seat coshions: and some were of pretty stamped materials, with no bandwork on them. Little bigh chair were quite charming to behold, with the white finish and dainty cushions tied on like the low ones, vanen See rounding backs of these were narrow cushions, just overing the fastened at int of four inches wih ford drawn tightly over the cushion and tied at the back. giving the effect of a series of little puffs and making ® soft, comfortable finish at the back for the restless little occupants, A SMALL RATTAN SORA was effectively trimmed with scat and back cushions of yellow plush, Down the center of each long cushion was a puff of golden brown plush, while large rings crocheted around with yellow silk were fastened so that a yellow laced throagh gave the effect of two square cushions, fastened by this lacing, on seat and back. QUEER THINGS ABOUT OYSTERS. Some Bivalvular Facts Which are Not Generally Known. HOW THEY ARE FED ON CORN MEAL AND saLT WATER—LYNN HAVENS, BLUE POINTS AND NoR- FOLKS—PLANTING THE DELICACIES & BIG BUSI NESS—SOME ENEMIES THE OYSTER Bas, The big oyster on the top of the barrel opened its jaws wearily and closed them with a snap, asif in response toa scarcely audible gurgie from the bottom of the keg. “He's dry ana hungry, too, I guess,” said the dealer, im explanation. “It’sabout time to give him and the other fellows some dinner,” and he poured over the oystersa bucket{ul of salt and water. “Do you call that dinner?” asked Tux Stam reporter. “More after the style of a lunch,” was the re- ply. “You see, sir, it isn't possible, for some uuknown reason, to feed oysters in Washington as they do in the north. Up there a man will buy a barrel of lean oysters, without any flesh at all ou their bones, as you might say, and feed them three square meals a day of coru meal and salt water, poured over them, and at the end of a month they will be as fat as butter. But oysters won't take hearty grub like that down’ here, and two weeks is as long as they can be kept alive and in good condition on salt and water plain, it's a funny thing that if one hundred bushels of real salt oysters are put on top of one hundred bushels of fresh oysters for four or five days. so that the drainage from the salt oysters will drip down over the fresh ones, at the end of that time the fresh oysters—suppos- ing them thin at the beginning—will be asplamp as possible and properly salt, while the salt oys- ters remain pretty much as before. Of course, salt water must have been thre over the whole stack daily. But,on the other hand, if the fresh oysters are put on top of the saltones, everything else being as in the other case, both the salt oysters and the fresh oysters will lose and become thin. When you see oysters on top of a pile opening their mouths it is because they are thirsty, the water having drained off them. Oysters, » way, will keep longer and better in a dry cellar than in a wet or damp one; they want an equable temperature, neither | too high nor too low that freezes is a dead oyster. e oysters in the barrel now; you can hear their jaws go as they eat, In New York [have often seen snow put on top of the open barrels to keep the oysters cool and moist,” OYSTERS AS CURIOSITIFS, “That is all very queer,” said the newspaper man, “There are lots of queer things about oysters, } Thousands of people come to Washington from the west who have never scen an oyster in their lives, and oysters are the first thing they order a hotels when they come here, for curi- Some stran, P | | ] crabs, asked me it they were oysters, too, such visitors eat as many an while they are in the \ they teel that they n another chance to get the luxury. It will surprise you, I suppose, to hear me say that there are more oysters eaten in Washington than in any other } city in the world, with the possible exception | of New York. and Tam not so sure of the ex- ception vither. The favorite oyster in Washing- ton is the Lynn Haven, for thoxe who canafford to buy it; but it is the most expensive by far. Lynn Haven oysters cost €6t0 €8 a barrel, while Blue Points fetch 23 or £9. That seems a con- tradiction; but it isn't. for there-are only about four hundred oysters in a barrel of Lynn Hav- | ens, while a barrel of Blue Points holds 1,000 | to 1,500 oysters, owing to their sm size. The Lynn Haven, a8 you know, is a very big vster; itis used for stewing a great deal in chating dishes, Blue Points. from Long Irland, and Norfolk oysters are,with the Lynn Havens, the kinds chiefly used at th al. I myself | think that the Norfolk is good as the | Lynn Haven, but people have fancies and fash- | ion has a good deel to do with things to eat. | The Blue Point trade is mainly for dinner par- ties, where a small oyster is considered the thing.” REAL BLUE POINTS STILL PLENTIFOI. “But I was reading an article the other day by Charles Delmonico, in which he ssid that there were no more real Blue Points; that they had been all used up years ago,” “With all deferen ir. Delmonico, I as- nsense. What he wters that grew Usuall, as th eCRUKO 0 sert that he was talking meant was that the origi in the Blue Point beds had been all eaten up and replaced with other oysters from else- where. True enough: but the oysters planted in the Blue Point waters spawned there, and the young oysters 60 spawned were necessarily real Blue Points. For the spawn of one kind of oyster doesn’t differ in any respect from the spawn of another kind; it’s not like a seed that | Way apparently. The water makes the oyster, | and an oyster that is born end brought up, 60 | to speak, in the Blue Point water, wherever | its mamma came from, has got to be a Biue Point and can’t be anythi else; it will be email, just such a shape, and have one peculiar flavor. Why, there is just as much reason for saying there ‘are no real Lynn Havens as that there are no reai Blue Points. The natural de- posit of oysters in the Lynn Haven beds was exhausted long ago, and oysters from elsewhere were planted SS eens; eo spawn of the new oysters grew up, and thet is the way in which the Lynn Havens of today have been and are still produced, Don't you know that all oys- ters are propagated in that same wey, by plant- ing the exhausted beds every now and then with supplies from other places? And does any one ever discover any difference in the oye- | ters; are they not always the same, wi the spawn comes from?" 4 MILLION YOUNG ONES AT A BIRTH. “The oysters transplanted do not change their kind?” “No; but they are only a few, comparatively, ins breed—it is estimated that each oyster produces a million of young each season—and the spawn — up to be whatever the water indicates. Water, to produce the finest Fagen | should be three things—deep, very salty perfectly clear, In the early summer, when the oyetermen are thrown out of their regular employment by the off season, they turn their attention to gathering oysters and shells for | planting. The shells are for the young oysters to faster to when they are starting in the world, Oyster farmers hire the tongmen to bring so many thousand busbels of oysters and shells from any where they please and them on beds which need plenishing, The fermer trusts tongman’s account of bushels and pays so much ® bushel. Most pian! oysters are got from the which is the greatest producing ~— ters known, The river is free to an; tong in and take as many oysters as except near the ehore, inside the eigh: of The water out ss far as that considered the property of those — but beyond it is free to ail. tele “—_ i i : i i flowers on the milk pans and decorating the| “The fact that each oyster produces a million " under 2 favor do vances» fly whey ve enemies. while about for the Saas 3 5 bi i ft i