 Colonel Mavers: Discourse From (Not On) A Mountain
Text.—I've been roaming, I've been roaming.
My Hearers: since I last had the pleasure (for it always affords me pleasure to put it to you) of appearing before, and a little above you, I have been ‘away to the mountain's brow.' I was not taken there by the devil, but—excuse the epithet—by a set of devilish good fellows, whose praiseworthy desire seemed to be to place your poor preacher and humble servant upon a more elevated position than the one he has, for a long time past, so unworthily maintained.
My friends: if you would have your ideas enlarged and your natural vision extended almost to the outer edge of mundanity, you should go up ‘into an exceeding high mountain'—say, one of the most aspiring peaks of the Catskill, where I have been. There you are so near heaven that you intuitively turn your left ear up, like a duck's eye at a thunder-cloud, and listen for the songs of the seraphim or the soul-shivering cries of the cherubim; but you are more likely to hear the scream of a panther, or a musical rattle-snake submitting some delightful specimens of his scientific ‘shakes.' However, as you stand upon ‘the mountain's brow,' and overlook the tall trees that decorate the declivity, to look over the immense expanse of terra firma beyond, you feel as if you could criticize all creation upon half a sheet of foolscap. But you mistake—the longer you gaze, the more you are lost in wonderment. Weary Fancy soon throws her pencil at the feet of Reality, and the proud critic turns his back upon the scene with humiliation, astonishment, and awe. Talk about reading from the Book of Nature, where every day's travel turns over a new leaf for you—why, here is a whole newspaper spread for your perusal—a mammoth sheet, with long articles, short articles, paragraphs, and squares—conveying more to the soul, almost as a single glance, than an encyclopedia could do from day-dawn to sunset.
My friends: upon the mountains, about which I now discourse, you are solemnly impressed with the peace and quietness that pervade their precincts. All is still—beautifully still—save the occidental zephyrs humming ‘that same old tune' among the lone pines and cedars. Here seems to be a holy temple for worship, ‘not made with hands—ETERNAL IN THE HEAVENS:' a place where Christianity and catamounts, piety and wildcats, true religion and rattlesnakes, might dwell together in peace, love and harmony. Let the world below jar as much as Providence sees fit to let it—let the discordant elements of society clash as much as they like, and knock *Madame Restell out of her proper position—what care we, who are sufficiently elevated to be perfectly happy, independent, and free from such petty annoyances? Not a hooter. We look down with supreme contempt upon all who have the audacity to look up—despite the admonitions of five small carpet bags, and a much-abused writing-desk.
Originally published in Dow's Short Patent Sermons, Second Series
* An article about Madam Restell
Sandwich and Beverage Recipes from The American Family Receipt Book, 1902
Sandwiches are the sole dependence of the picnicker. They are also much used at luncheons, afternoon teas, etc. White, graham, brown bread, or rolls, may be converted into sandwiches, and each according to the individual taste. There is no limit to their filling, for eggs, meat, fowl, fruit, fish, salads, jams and chopped nuts are all pressed into service. Their shape can be varied; they may be cut in circles or rolled like omelets, but the most common form is the square or triangular.
The materials used in a sandwich should be minced or sliced as fine as possible so that they may be eaten with little trouble, and the seasoning should be added to the filling. Butter should be of the finest quality, and spread so smoothly that it will not flake off when the sandwich is handled. Graham, rye, or brown bread is very tender and nutritious, and many prefer them to the white. A square loaf cuts up nicely. But no sandwich should have the crust left on, and the slices composing it should be thin and of equal size.
When fish is used it should be pounded to a paste and mixed with another paste made of hard-boiled eggs, cream, and butter, seasoned.
Yummy Sandwiches
Lettuce Sandwiches
Sprinkle fresh crisp lettuce leaves with a little salt and lay them a few moments in a folded napkin, then lay them between slices of bread that have been buttered. Spread over a dressing of Mayonnaise or not, as preferred. * This was surprisingly tasty!
Olive Sandwiches
Stone and chop olives and mix with Mayonnaise. Butter the bread, which must be cut very thin. Either white or brown bread may be used.
Baked Bean Sandwiches
Beat one-half of a cup of baked beans to a smooth paste. Add one-half of a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and celery, one-quarter of a teaspoonful of onion juice and made mustard enough to just cover the end of a teaspoon. Spread between slices of graham or rye bread.
Egg Sandwiches
Pound the yolks of eggs with a small quantity of butter in a mortar and add cheese, also well pounded. Make into sandwiches.
Egg Sandwiches—No. 2
Boil six eggs ten minutes, throw them into cold water, take off the shells and cut them into slices; prepare thin slices of bread and butter, place the eggs between; season with salt, pepper, and a little dry mustard; trim and cut the sandwiches.
Boston Girl's Sandwich
One slice each of white and brown bread, cut thin and buttered, spread well with mashed Boston-baked beans, thinly strewn with finely-chopped mustard pickles, or salted water cress or the petals of nasturtium flowers.
German Sandwiches
Use graham or rye bread. Butter plentifully and put mustard on it. Then add a layer of chopped olives over and one of cottage cheese last.
Chicken and Ham Sandwiches
Mince cold chicken and add a little minced cold ham. Stir in a cup of boiling gravy. Set the whole before the fire for a few moments. Cut slices of old bread with a round tin cutter and fry them. Spread a layer of the fowl and ham between two of them, add a small piece of cheese and butter made into a paste. Run the sandwiches in the oven, which should be pretty hot, for five minutes. Serve them hot on a folded napkin at tea-time.
Apple and Celery Sandwiches
Peel and chop very fine two large, tart apples and one-half of a dozen of the small inside stalks of celery; sprinkle lightly with salt; spread between thinly cut slices of buttered brown bread. |
Refreshing Beverages
Iced Coffee
Take one quart of hot coffee and one quart of hot milk, but not boiled, and pour both into an ice-cream freezer. Sweeten, cover and place it in a tub of ice and rock salt. Turn the freezer for six minutes and serve in glasses with whipped cream.
Ginger Lemonade
Take one-half cupful of currant jelly, one-half cupful of sugar, two teaspoonfuls of ginger; stir well together, put in a quart pitcher and fill with ice water. If one wants it sweeter or sourer more of the ingredients may be put in. It is a cooling drink and almost as good as lemonade, some preferring it.
Lemonade
Lemonade should be made in the proportion of one lemon to each large goblet. Squeeze the lemons and take out any seeds. If you do not like the pulp strain the juice. Sweeten the drink well though that is a matter of taste. The pleasant tart taste should be preserved. Add water to the juice and when serving put cracked ice and a thin slice of lemon into each glass.
Milk Shake
Fill a glass two-thirds full of milk; sweeten it to taste with any fruit syrup or with sugar and then flavor with vanilla or orange water. Fill up glass with cracked ice and shake together until well mixed.
Grape Beverage
Two pounds of grapes, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, one cupful of water. Squeeze the grapes in a coarse cloth, to extract the juice; add the sugar, and when dissolved, the water, let stand for a few minutes on ice. Serve in glasses with shaved ice.
A Refreshing Summer Draught
Squeeze the juice of one lemon into one cupful of cold water, sweeten to taste. When well mixed put in one small teaspoonful of carbonate of soda; stir well, and drink while the mixture is in an effervescing state.
Roman Punch
Take five lemons, one quart of water, sweetened to taste. Freeze this. Take the white of an egg and whip to snow. Add sugar. Mix it thoroughly with the basis of the punch and add one-half pint of Jamaica rum and freeze.
Raspberry Shrub
Place raspberries in stone jar, cover with good cider vinegar, let stand over night; next morning strain and to one pint of juice add one pint of sugar; boil ten minutes; bottle while hot; use about one-half glassful of shrub to one-half glassful of pounded ice and cold water.
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Stories from Miss Mary's Library
THe following tale comes to you from my copy of The Lady's Cabinet Album, circa 1840. This leather-bound volume features stories, and poetry culled from the leading publications of the day.
Romantic Story Of A Cygani
The following is an extraordinary instance of the repugnance with which the Hungarian peasants, and even the more elevated class, regard the cygani [gypsies] of Hungary. The story occurs in an article on the subject of this peculiar race in “The British Magazine,” and is from the pen of the author of “Stories of a Bride.”
“A beautiful Hungarian girl, named Suzette, had formed a strong attachment for Maygar, a youthful gypsey, whose fine figure, and noble, nay, intellectual countenance, were certainly quite enough to justify her partiality. It is almost needless to add, that Maygar returned her passion with fervor; (for the vehement feelings of these children of the south are too well known to require remark;) still, however, there was no hope of the lovers being united. The father of Suzette, though nominally a vassal to his territorial lord, possessed a great wealth in stores and herds; and, priding himself upon the purity of his blood, shrank from the cygani as from creatures of a different genus, whilst the fathers of the tribe, the immediate and blood relations of Maygar, were equally opposed to what they also considered a degradation. Notwithstanding these obstacles, the young people's love remained unshaken, and the happiest moments of Suzette's life were those which she spent in the open wooden gallery which ran round the upper story of her father's house, listening to the wild songs which Maygar chanted to his cittern, or guitar, in the woods below.”
[ Read the "Romantic Story of a Cygani" ]
 Collecting and Laying Out Seaweed
Source: Treasures of Use and Beauty , 1883
First wash the seaweed in fresh water, take a plate or dish, the larger the better, cut your paper to the size required, place it on the plate with fresh water, and spread out the points with a good sized camel's hair pencil in a natural form—picking out with a pin gives the seaweed an unnatural appearance and destroys the characteristic fall of the branches, which should be carefully avoided. Then gently raises the paper with the specimen out of the water, placing it in a standing position for a few minutes, so as to allow the superabundant water to run off, after which place it the press. The press is made with either three pieces of board or pasteboard. Lay on the first board two sheets of blotting paper, on that lay your specimens; place over and smooth a piece of old muslin, fine cambric or linen, and then some more blotting paper; place another board on the top of that; continue in the same way till all the seaweed is on. The blotting paper and the muslin should be carefully removed and dried every day and then replaced; at the same time those specimens that are sufficiently dried may be taken away. Nothing now remains to be done but to write on each the name, date and location. You can either gum the specimens in a scrap-book, or fix them in as drawings often are, by making four slits in the page and inserting each corner; this is by far the best plan, as it admits of their removal, without injury to the page, at some future period. Some of the larger Algae will not adhere to the paper, and consequently require gumming. The following method of preserving them has been communicated by a botanical friend:
After well cleaning and pressing, brush the coarser kind of Algae over with spirits of turpentine, in which two or three pieces of gum mastic have been dissolved, by shaking in a warm place—two thirds of a small phial is the proper proportion—and this will make the specimens retain a fresh appearance.
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Miss Mary's Gazette, Content and Images © 2004 Mary B. Welsch
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