a little sugar, merely by way of restoring what has been lost, and the rules given for bread include this. The present paper does not aim to include every known method for bread or yeast in its various forms, but the best methods, long tested and absolutely certain to give the best results. For this reason "salt risings" and "milk emptins" are omitted, as giving a compound always variable in quality and likely to fail save in experienced hands. take them from the pans, wrap them in thick cloths kept for the purpose and stand them tilted up against the pans till cold. Never lay hot bread on a pine table, as it will sweat and absorb the pitchy odor and taste, but tilt so that the air will pass around it freely. Keep well covered in a tin box or large stone pot, which should be wiped out every day or two and scalded and dried thoroughly in the sun once a week. Pans for wheat bread should be greased very lightly; for graham or rye, much more, as the dough sticks and clings. Instead of mixing a sponge, all the flour may be moulded in and kneaded at once, and the dough set to rise in the same way. When light, turn out. Use as little flour as possible and knead fifteen minutes, less time being required, as part of the kneading has already been done. WHOLE-WHEAT BREAD.-Two methods of making this are given, one with wheat sponge, the other without. For the first, take one quart of sponge; one quart of whole-wheat flour; half a teacupful of brown sugar or molasses; half a teaspoonful of salt, and YEAST.-Ingredients: One teacupful of lightly broken hops, or if the Shaker packages are used, half a teacupful; one pint of sifted flour; one teacupful of granulated sugar; one tablespoonful of salt; four large or six medium-sized potatoes; two quarts boiling water. Boil the potatoes; drain off the water when done, and let them dry off a few minutes, precisely as for table. At the same time, having tied the hops in a cloth, boil them half an hour in the two quarts of water, renewing it if it boils away. Mix the flour, sugar and salt well together in a large mixing bowl, and pour on the boiling hop-quarter of a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little hot water. water slowly, stirring constantly. Now add enough of this to the mashed potato to thin it till it can be poured, and mix it all together, straining it through a sieve to avoid any possible lumps. Add to this, when cool, either a cupful of yeast left from the last, or of bakers' yeast, or a cake of compressed yeast dissolved in a little warm water. Let it stand two hours or so till partly light, then stir it down two or three times in the course of five or six hours, as this makes it stronger. At the end of that time it will be light. Keep in a carefully corked stone jug, or in glass cans, the last being the best, and in all cases be particular to have whatever holds it, perfectly sweet and well scalded. Be as careful with stopper or cover as with the vessel itself. For dry yeast, stir in corn-meal till a dough is made, form it in small, thin cakes and dry them carefully in the sun. For hot weather this is a convenient form, as it does not sour. Crumb and soak in warm water half an hour before using. Potato yeast is made by omitting hops and flour, but mashing the potatoes fine with the other ingredients, and adding the old yeast when cool, as before. The number of potatoes can be doubled or left the same. It is very nice, but must be made fresh every week, while the other, kept in a cool place, will be good a month. BREAD.-For four medium sized loaves of bread allow as fol lows: Four quarts of flour; one large cup of yeast (half a pint); one tablespoonful of salt, one of sugar, and one of butter or lard; one pint of milk mixed with one of warm water, or one quart of water alone for the "wetting." Sift the flour into a large pan or bowl. Put the sugar, salt and shortening in the bottom of the bread-pan or bowl and pour on a spoonful or two of boiling water, enough to dissolve all. Add the quart of wetting and the yeast. Now stir in, slowly, two quarts of the flour, beating well; cover with a thick cloth, and set in a temperature of about 75 degrees, to rise until morning. Bread mixed at nine in the evening will be ready to mould into loaves or rolls by six the next morning. In summer it would be necessary to find a cool place; in winter, a warm one, the chief point being to keep the temperature even. If mixed early in the morning, it is ready to mould and bake in the afternoon, from seven to eight hours being all that it should stand. This first mixture is called a sponge, and if only a single loaf of graham or rye bread is wanted, one quart of it can be measured and thickened with either flour as in the rules given hereafter. To finish as wheat bread, stir in flour from the two quarts remaining to make å dough. Flour the molding-board very thickly, and turn out. Now begin kneading, flouring the hands, but after the dough is gathered in a smooth lump, using as little flour as may be, knead with the palm of the hand as much as possible. The dough quickly becomes a flat cake. Fold it over and keep on kneading not less than twenty minutes, half an hour being better. Make into loaves; put into the pans; set them in a warm place and let them rise from thirty to forty-five minutes, or until they have become nearly double in size. Bake in an oven hot enough to brown a teaspoonful of flour in five minutes, spreading the flour on a bit of broken plate that it may have an even heat. The pan is an important point, the best being made of block tin or Russia iron. A brick loaf bakes | most easily and it is quite worth while to have a set of bread pans made to order, ten inches long by four wide and four deep. Loaves of this size will bake in from forty-five to sixty minutes. Then Pour the sponge in a deep bowl, stir in the molasses, etc., and lastly the flour. The mixture should be so stiff that the spoon moves with difficulty. Bake in two loaves for an hour or an hour and a quarter, this bread requiring longer baking than ordinary wheat bread. For the second form make as follows: One quart of milk or water, or a mixture of both; half a cup of sugar or molasses; half a cup of yeast; one tablespoonful of salt; one pint of wheat flour; three pints of whole-wheat flour. The wheat may be omitted if preferred. Warm the milk or water slightly; add the yeast and other ingredients and then the flour; and set in a cool place— about 60 degrees Fahrenheit-over night, this bread souring more easily than wheat. Early in the morning stir well; put into two well-greased pans; let it rise an hour in a warm place and bake an hour. Treat in all points like wheat bread. If graham bread is desired, follow either of these rules. RYE BREAD.—This bread is made by nearly the same rule as the whole wheat, either using wheat sponge, or setting one over night, but is kneaded slightly. Follow the rule just given, substituting rye for graham, but use enough rye to make a dough which can be turned out. This will require a little more than a quart. Use wheat flour for the molding-board and hands, as rye is very sticky; and knead only long enough to get into good shape. Raise and bake as in rule for whole-wheat bread. BOSTON BROWN BREAD.-Sift together into a deep bowl one cup of Indian meal, one of wheat or whole-wheat flour, two cups of rye flour, one teaspoonful of salt and one of soda. To one pint of hot water, or the same amount of sour or sweet milk, add one cup of molasses and stir till well mixed. Make a hole in the middle of the meal and stir in the wetting, beating till all is smooth. Butter a tin pudding-boiler, or a three-pint pail, and put in the mixture, setting the boiler into a kettle or saucepan of boiling water. Boil steadily for four hours, keeping the water always at the same level. At the end of that time take out the boiler and set in the oven, uncovering it, that it may dry off and form a crust. Turn out and serve hot. This mixture may be raised over night with half a cup of yeast and then steamed, and it can be used for muffins by adding two tablespoonfuls of shortening, and baking in muffin or gem pans. This rule also applies to graham and whole-wheat bread. PLAIN ROLLS.-A pint-bowlful of bread dough will make twelve small rolls. Increase the amount of dough if more are desired. Flour the molding-board lightly, and work into the dough a piece of butter the size of an egg. Knead not less than fifteen minutes, and cut into round cakes, which may be flattened and folded over, if folded or pocket rolls are desired. In this case put a bit of butter or lard the size of a pea, between the folds. For a cleft or French roll, make the dough into small round balls, and press a knife handle almost through the center of each. Put them about an inch apart in well-buttered pans, and let them rise an hour and a half before baking. They require more time to rise than large loaves, as, being small, heat penetrates them almost at once, and thus there is very little rising in the oven. quick oven twenty minutes. Bake in a For "Parker House Rolls," one of the most delicate and delicious forms of breakfast rolls, proceed as follows: Ingredients: two quarts of flour, one pint of milk, butter the size of an egg, one = tablespoonful of sugar, one teacupful of good yeast; one teaspoonful of salt. Boil the milk and add the butter salt and sugar. Sift the flour into a deep bowl and when the milk is merely blood-warm stir together, with enough of the flour to form a batter or sponge. Do this at nine or ten in the evening, and set in a cool place, about 60°. Next morning mix the remainder of the flour: turn on to the molding-board and knead twenty minutes using as little flour as possible. Return to the bowl and set in a cool place again till about four in the afternoon. Knead again for fifteen minutes; roll out about three-quarters of an inch thick and cut into rounds, folding each over as directed for pocket rolls. Let them rise one hour and bake for twenty minutes in a quick oven. One kneading makes a good breakfast roll, but, to secure the peculiar delicacy of the "Parker House roll," two are essential. If baked in biscuit form, make the dough into a long roll on the board; cut off small pieces and make into round balls with the hand, setting them well apart in the pan. If intended for breakfast the sponge must be set the day before, and the final kneading given early in the morning. To freshen stale rolls, steam for ten minutes in a steamer and then dry off in the oven, or dip each roll for an instant in cold water and then heat thoroughly in the oven. spoonful of salt with one of soda dissolved in a little warm THE BROKEN THREAD. As the changeable hues of the skies o'erhead. GEMS.—These are the simplest form of bread, and if properly Original in GOOD HOUSEKEEPING. made are certain to be light and sweet. A hot oven and hot pans are prime essentials, and there must be no delay between making and baking. The coldest water, ice-water preferred should be used. Use either whole wheat flour or graham, three parts of flour to one of water being the right proportion. For a dozen gems allow one large cup—a half-pint—of ice water; one even teaspoonful of salt, and three cups of flour, Stir in the flour slowly beating hard and steadily, not less than ten minutes. The pans should have been set on top of the stove and oiled or buttered. Fill them two-thirds full and bake about half an hour. If properly made, they are very light and have the full flavor of the wheat. Hygienic cook-books give the same rule as practicable for bread, but none tested by the writer has ever been really eatable. They can be freshened by dipping in cold water and heating quickly, but it is best to make no more than will be eaten at once. Rye can be used but with less certainty of a good result. These forms include the most usual and the most desirable varieties of bread. The housekeeper who has once mastered them, will naturally experiment in fresh directions and find that many changes can be rung. The rule for Parker House rolls, for instance, makes delicious "sticks," to be eaten with chocolate, or used as dinner bread, simply by making the dough into a long roll, say six inches or more long and about the size of an ordinary thumb. Let them rise an hour, brush with melted butter, and bake in a quick oven. Muffins, Sally Lunns', and countless other forms will add themselves, but nothing can take the place of the perfect loaf, nor should hot bread be allowed save as an occasional luxury. If bread is cut on the table there is far less danger of an accumulation of dry pieces, and the pretty wooden plates and bread-knives sold everywhere at present, are almost essential additions to any table. If pieces have accumulated, not one need be lost. Break them in bits and brown in the oven every scrap that is left, seeing that it does not scorch. Roll while hot and crisp, as it crushes them much more easily, and sift, using the fine crumbs for breading cutlets, croquettes, etc., and the coarse ones for pancakes or puddings. Brewis can be made of all bits of brown or whole-wheat bread, and if the bread cloths and jar are cared for as directed, no chance of mould is possible. For Brewis, take one pint of the browned bits of bread, before rolling. Boil a quart of milk with one tablespoonful of butter and one even teaspoonful of salt, and when boiling add the bread, simmering for fifteen minutes or until perfectly soft. It is very nice. White bread can be used, but is not as good. For pancakes, take one cup of the coarse crumbs and soak them over night in one quart of warm milk or milk and water, in the morning mash very fine, add two well-beaten eggs, a cup of flour, one tablespoonful of sugar and an even tea Over her glasses grandmother looked The thread that runs so steady and still, "'Tis truly a beautiful thought and one That has come to me many and many a time, "And yet, "her voice grew soft and low And her dear eyes dreamy with thought," I feel Then she grew silent, and I, too, sat No kindly light, and her gentle face Mute and awe-struck I stood and gazed, -J. K. Ludlum. Original in GOOD HOUSEKEEPING. HOW I LEARNED HOUSEKEEPING. AND REMEMBERED WHEN LEARNED. II. UNT Belle is fond of company and not a week has passed since I came here that we have not entertained a few guests to dinner or tea, oftener the latter. My pre-conceived ideas respecting farmers have met with many changes. Either this is an exceptional community or I have much to unlearn. That Auntie's house should be pretty and well appointed, her lawn clean shaven and her grammar excellent was not a matter of surprise to me for she had passed her girlhood in a large city, had received a liberal education and it was to be expected that she would have pleasant surroundings, but when the neighbors began calling on me I expected to see the most laughable ignorance and I was mistaken. Some there were, many of the older people who tripped in their grammar and who were not posted on all points of etiquette, but for genuine good manners and common sense I never saw more forcible examples. My first acquaintances were Mrs. Taylor and her daughter Julia and they came during house-cleaning time. The house was in order except the sitting room and the large adjoining bed room, but Auntie and I had our sleeves above our elbows washing paint, while Bridget at the back of the house was whipping a carpet. Auntie only took time to roll down her sleeves when she saw her guests tying their horse. Her hair was neat as it always is, and she had the hall door open before her friends had reached it. I heard her say "Yes, we are house-cleaning, but none the less glad to see you. Both Arel and I are tired and you shall stay to tea and rest us." In a moment she came out to tell me to leave my work and come and meet her friends as soon as I was dressed. There was no flurry or excuses and if the work was delayed a day we were all the better able to do it afterwards. Mrs. Taylor had a charming plan for a picnic which promised much pleasure and Miss Julia sang some sweet old ballads which made us quite forget our fatigue. I slipped out for a few moments early in the afternoon and arranged the table for tea. I found the dainty white china cups hanging from brass screw hooks from the top of the china closet thus leaving room for plates, saucers and other flat dishes on the shelf. There was but little silver, only knives, forks, and spoons; but they were bright and shining as only silver can be which is never neglected or allowed to blacken. I picked a few flowers for the table and they, with the pretty dishes and colored glass made a charming picture. Half an hour before tea time Auntie went out and with Bridget's aid she produced a wonderful cake which seemed for the most part to be composed of whipped cream and figs with some light cake fabric to hold them together. I asked her afterwards how she made it so quickly. She told me that Bridget broke four eggs, saving out the white of one, and beat the whites and yolks separately. While she was doing this Auntie put three teaspoonsful of baking powder into two cups of flour and sifted the mixture into a bright pan. To this she added one and one-half cups of sugar and the beaten eggs. Bridget stirred them together while Auntie buttered three jelly tins. When mixed she added half a cup of boiling water to the dough, and flavored it with vanilla, after which she put it into the tins. While it was baking Bridget whipped a cup of thick sweet cream, which had stood for a little while on ice and Auntie chopped some figs while she watched her cake. When the layers came from the oven she left them for a moment on the back of the stove to settle. They were loosened from the tins with a long pliable knife and piled up with a layer of the whipped cream, previously sweetened with a small cup of sugar and a layer of chopped figs between the layers of cake. She sometimes uses the white of one egg left out for boiled frosting but did not have time on this occasion. The boiled frosting is made by boiling one cup of granulated sugar with a little water till it hairs. Pour the hot syrup gradually into a bowl containing the white of one egg previously beaten to a stiff froth. Beat briskly with a Dover egg-beater while the sugar is being poured in, flavor and add powdered sugar if not stiff enough as is often the case. Bridget fried some potatoes a delicate brown and Auntie arranged a plate of canned salmon with crisp lettuce leaves around the edge and a garnish of sliced lemon. There was a plate of delicate bread, a pat of fresh butter, steaming tea with an accompaniment of rich cream and these with a generous dish of canned pineapple completed our bill-of-fare. I thought I had nevers een so pretty a tea table. I was allowed to make Auntie's cream cake for the picnic and I did it all alone in thirty minutes. The picnic was a delightful affair. Uncle John took Auntie and me in the family carriage, picking up Uncle's widowed sister, Mrs. Reed, on the way. He always has every seat taken in his carriage and often inconveniences himself to give pleasure to others. Our destination was a deep natural forest on the bank of a river. We caught fish which we cooked for our supper and I met a host of young people, many of whom I hope may prove delightful acquaintances. One of the most delicious of the solid dishes prepared for the picnic supper was a pan of escalloped chicken. I heard Auntie ask for the recipe, and here it is: Divide a fowl into joints and boil till the meat leaves the bone readily. Take out the bones and chop the meat as small as dice. Thicken the water in which the fowl was boiled, with flour and season to taste. Fill a deep dish with alternate layers of bread crumbs and chicken, having crumbs on top. Pour the gravy over the top, add a few bits of butter and bake till nicely browned. There should be gravy enough to moisten the dish. We found some lovely ferns in the woods which we took home and planted around the edges of the pond. We were surprised to find that we had ten varieties when they became Auntie is sufficiently established to show what they were. very enthusiastic over ferns and as I know them better I begin to share the feeling. Original in GoOD HOUSEKEEPING. A NOVEMBER DAY. A damp gray blanket hides the mountain's blue, The day is sad and long; The east wind blows no hint of sunshine through, And hushed the wild bird's song. Brown leaves are prest against the pavements wet, The coal man, with his load on shoulder set, Ah, doleful noises, mist, and falling leaves, Her passing sceptre sobbing Fall bereaves, Blaze thou! and warm my saddened heart, O fire, -Arel Lane. Original in GoOD HOUSEKEEPING. WHAT WE EAT FOR BREAKFAST. WITH THE VIEW OF KEEPING DYSPEPSIA OUT OF THE HOUSE. RECIPES APPENDED. "The straight way to a man's heart is through his stomach."-Experto Crede. REAKFAST to begin with. Once a week we have pickedup codfish, nobody gets tired of this once in seven days; we have on other mornings, frizzled dried beef; dried beef with eggs, scrambled together; minced beef; lamb hash; poverty cakes; salt shad or mackerel; baked omelet; dropped eggs on toast with fried bacon; baked eggs; minced ham scrambled with eggs; scalloped fish; stewed clams; cold fried fish; minced chicken; always chopped potato; often whatever fruit is in season; sometimes corn bread, and once or twice a year muffins; in winter sometimes fried Indian meal mush, or cakes made of stale bread; always good bread and butter. Breakfast at my house is the principal meal as may be inferred from its variety. For dinner we are restricted to a few dishes, as veal and fresh pork are forbidden to this household, and we never have any dessert, except for guests. We go from beef to lamb and lamb to beef, with poultry on Sunday, all the year except when shad arrive; very rarely we have baked halibut, as one member of the family will neither eat fresh fish (shad excepted), or Irish stew. Often and often in this monotony I long for some new animal to vary our meals with different flesh, or wish that I could install a vegetable diet in my house; but the varying tastes of the family forbid. Potatoes and corn are almost the only vegetables we all cat. Baked beans are not enjoyed by the head of the family, yet two of us are so fond of them that they recur frequently on the bill of fare. Celery is acceptable to the same two, but one of them cannot eat cranberry sauce, and broiled liver is doubtful in that quarter also. So it will be seen that some difficulty is found in suiting even three people at one meal. Six months in the year we have a late dinner and no formal lunch; the younger member eats something at noon, but not the elders; when we have three meals the tea-table is a barren board; one cup of tea! no cake, bread and butter, some berries or cooked fruit, now and then toast, plenty of cold, pure water, this is all. Not that we demand of our friends any such abstemiousness, we can have as nice and tasteful a tea-table as other people, and it is my delight to see guests enjoy the dishes I have cooked for them which I cannot eat myself. Dyspepsia is a tyrant that holds vigilant reign, and I dread going out to tea, much as I enjoy seeing my friends, for I must either neglect entirely the entertainment they have prepared, or suffer for the next twenty-four hours such tortures as dyspeptics only know. Now for the recipes. And I must say to begin with, that cookery must be done as the celebrated painter mixed his colors: "With brains, my lord!" I cannot give weights or measures for many things, and they would not be of use if I did; seasoning must be done at the cook's own judgment; there are people who do not like onion, or celery salt, or clove, or any spice at all in their food; there are many who like what I dislike. Herein I only propose to give my own methods as simply as I can, and to begin with BREAKFAST DISHES. PICKED-UP CODFISH.-Select carefully the white part of the fish, pick out every particle of the skin and every bone, put as much as will serve for your family into a clean frying-pan and covering it with cold water, let it stand on the back of the stove till tender, take out a piece and see if this is done; then pour off the water and put in enough milk to cover it, pepper it well, and if it is not as salt as you like it add a little salt; melt a piece of butter as large as you think proportioned to the fish, (and this you must learn by experience), add to it flour in the measure of two spoonfuls of flour to one of butter, and stir till smooth; when the milk boils on the fish add this thickening and stir thoroughly, then cover the pan and keep hot till served. FRIZZLED DRIED BEEF.-Cut your beef very thin, then pull it into small pieces, taking out all the strings of sinew, fat, and bits of outside; put it in a frying-pan and cover with cold water; let it simmer on the back of the stove till perfectly tender, then pour off the water and cover the beef with cream, add pepper, celery-salt, and salt if needed, mix one tablespoonful of melted butter with one heaped tablespoon of flour and stir into the hot cream, cover and keep very hot till served. DRIED BEEF AND EGGS.-Cut the dried beef very thin, pick out all strings and thick pieces, cover in the pan with cold water and set on the stove; when tender pour off the water and put in fresh hot water, enough to cover it about half way; pepper it well, put in a piece of butter as large as you like, the size of an egg to a tea-cup of the meat at least; as soon as this is melted pour in six eggs to a cup of meat, previously broken into a bowl and salted, but not beaten; now draw them from the bottom of the pan toward you, breaking the yolks with the spoon as you do so; do not chop or stir them round and round, but draw them always toward you; when they are cooked as you like them turn them into a warm dish and serve. The goodness of this dish depends on the cooking; the pan never must stand unstirred after the eggs are put in. MINCED BEEF.-Cold roast beef or cold steak should be cut from the bone, every particle of gristle or fat removed, minced very fine in a chopping bowl, seasoned with pepper, salt and just a pinch of cloves, then put into a frying pan with only enough hot water to keep it from burning; melt a tablespoonful of butter, and add to it a heaped tablespoonful of flour, stir till smooth, then mix it in the mince, let it boil up, stir well and keep hot till served. Cold lamb is good done in this way; the pinch of cloves serves to remove the rank taste of the re-warmed meat. Serve on toast dipped in hot salt and water for a moment and well buttered. Poultry of any kind is good in this way, but add nutmeg in place of clove. LAMB OR BEEF HASH.-Remove all fat and gristle, cut in small mouthfuls, add twice as much potato as meat, cut up like the meat and well dredged with flour, add salt, pepper and a tiny pinch of clove; toss all together with a fork, (a spoon mashes the potato), put into a pan with a little hot water, cover and heat on the back of the stove; just before serving add some butter cut in small bits, and mix again with the fork carefully. This hash also requires judgment that it may not be too moist or too dry. POVERTY CAKES.-For this dish take any scraps of good food you happen to have left that are not enough to warm up by themselves. As example, I will give a list of what was used this morning for our breakfast: A couple of spoonfuls of frizzled beef and cream, the lean meat of one mutton chop, one spoonful of minced beef, two cold, hard-boiled eggs, a little cold, chopped potato, a little mashed potato, a chicken drumstick, all the gristle and hard outside taken from the meat. These things were well chopped, seasoned, mixed with one egg and a little flour and butter mixed and thickened with boiling water; then made into round cakes, thick, like codfish balls, and browned well on the griddle. I have used in these cakes scraps of hash, cold rice, rolled wheat left over from breakfast, every kind of fresh meat that we use, bits of salt tongue, bacon, pork and ham, bits of poultry, and crumbs of bread; they must be made with care not to have them too dry to be palat able or too moist to cook in shape. They are a favorite break- Original in GOOD HOUSEKEEPING. fast here and "gather up the fragments." SALT FISH.-Soak the fish in cold water all night, wipe it dry the next morning, and put on a wire gridiron well greased, and kept exclusively for fish; broil slowly till well browned, lay on a hot platter, the skin side down, and pour a little hot cream all over it; if you have no cream, melt a small piece of butter in some milk. Serve very hot. BAKED OMELET.-Beat six eggs, separating the yolks and whites before beating, add to the yolks one tablespoonful of flour rubbed smoothly in a small cup of milk, season with pepper and salt, a little celery-salt if you like, pour into a deep, well-buttered baking dish and bake in a steady oven. Serve at once. It takes much longer to bake this omelet than would be supposed, and the baking powers of ovens are so different each person must experiment for herself. I bake mine half an hour. DROPPED EGGS WITH BACON.-Cut the bacon into very thin slices, and put into a hot frying pan; as the fat fries out turn it off into a cup; when the bacon is dry and crisp, (as it never will be if you leave the fat in the pan), take it up on a hot platter; never cover it, or it loses crispness. Into a large frying pan set as many muffin rings as you have eggs to cook, fill the pan with boiling water well salted, and drop each egg, as you carefully break the shell, into the middle of a ring, this keeps them in nice shape; as soon as cooked to your liking lift each egg on a skimmer, draining off the water thoroughly, and slip on to pieces of hot, buttered toast arranged on a platter. Serve at once with the bacon on another platter. MINCED HAM AND EGGS.-Mince scraps of cold boiled or fried ham very fine, pepper well, moisten thoroughly with hot water, add a little celery salt, and when thoroughly heated in the pan put in a large piece of butter and proceed as in recipe for beef scrambled with eggs. BAKED EGGS.-Butter a shallow baking dish or a tin pie-plate and break the eggs on it, one at a time, being careful not to break the yolks; put on each egg a bit of butter cut or pressed out flat, so it will not slip off, a small pinch of pepper and one of salt, bake in the oven from four to six minutes, as you like them soft or hard. SCALLOPED FISH.-Any cold fresh fish, or cold boiled salt codfish, must be pulled into fine flakes, carefully taking out skin and bones and dark parts, mix in a bowl with equal quantity of bread or cracker crumbs, season with salt, pepper, celery-salt, a little nutmeg, a very little juice squeezed from a cut onion, and a very little red pepper if preferred, moisten the mixture well with a gravy made of melted butter, flour and hot water, put into a baking dish, cover with dry crumbs and thickly strewn bits of butter, bake till brown. This is a pretty dish for supper, baked in small tin or earthen shells, or in the great sea-clam shells found on the ocean shore, or in the blue crockery dishes that are sold for such purposes. Serve very hot. STEWED ROUND CLAMS.-Wash the clams very clean, using a brush if necessary, pile them in a large iron pot with half a cupful of hot water in the bottom and put over the fire; as soon as the shells open take out the clams, cut off the hard uneatable "fringe" from each, with strong, clean scissors, put them in a stew pan with the broth from the pot, and boil slowly till they are quite tender, pepper well, and thicken the gravy with flour stirred into melted butter as described in above recipes. COLD FRIED FISH.-Needs no recipe, only a recommendation; few people know how nice it is for breakfast in a hot day, accom panied with a fresh salad or some crisp radishes. Cold trout is particularly good. -Rose Terry Cooke. LIVE IN PEACE. Fretting, worrying, fault-finding, borrowing trouble, giving away to temper, and holding long, bitter grudges-all these things affect the liver, poison the blood, enlarge the spleen, carve ugly lines on the face, and shorten life! Try to be half as wise as that little creature, the bee, who takes all the honey she can find, and leaves the poisons to themselves.-Mrs. E. H. Leland. HOW ELNATHAN AND I WENT TO HOUSEKEEPING. BEARING THE BURDEN AND HEAT OF THE DAY. T is many years now since Elnanathan and I set up our few bits of furniture in the little white cottage on the corporation land. I sat at my sewing, last week, musing, a little sadly withal, on the way in which time fled and the children had grown up, for I was making a kilt for Rob, the youngest of the clan, who would soon be ready for more boyish habiliments, and my baby would be gone. I was just thinking how hearty and happy the whole group was, when Laddie came and leaned over my chair, and I knew he wanted mother. I leaned back and looked up at the tall, lithe young fellow, and a little thrill of pride ran through me as I marked the clear eye and manly bearing. My bonnie Laddie! "Little mother," said he, bending down to kiss me, "I want to go away. Mr. Hernshaw says I am worth more than he can pay me, and that I am doing as answer. "Laddie," said I, as a suspicion flashed through my mind, "that pretty niece of Mrs. Hernshaw's lives in Lake City." The color rose in his cheek a little, but the clear gray eyes never faltered, but only took on a tenderer light as he made "I know it mother, and she knows all I hope and all I dare to wish, and by and by, perhaps-" Here a step sounded in the hall, and my bashful boy was off in a twinkling. Elsie put her bright head in at the door, and seeing no one but myself, came in and seated herself on the little stool she called "her confessional," and locked her arms around my knee. "Mother, dear," she began, "may I go away to teach this winter? Mr. Eliot told me yesterday that he could get me a place which I was quite fitted to fill, and there was no reason why I could not keep up with my class and graduate with it in June. And you know if I go to the Normal next year, I shall be glad to have earned a part of my outfit myself. Margery can do all I have done at home, even to teaching Rob. She is baking splendid rolls now for tea." Here there was a cry from the kitchen for "Elsie, Elsie," and she was gone. The tea table had been left to Elsie and Margery for a long time now, so I sat still and mused with my work in my lap till Elnathan came in. "Why so sorrowful, little mother," said he, drawing my |