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442 The Book of Indoor and Outdoor Games |
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ure to recall old times together! It was the apotheosis of family life.
"When the care-wearied man sought his mother once
more, And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before."
The youths and maidens enjoyed the pleasant cousinly intercourse that combines the freedom of kinship with the charm of the unfamiliar, and the rollicking youngsters made the rafters ring with noisy glee.
The next morning, after devout and decorous attendance at the meeting-house, they returned to enjoy the bountiful midday dinner, the preparation of which was not left to the uncertain skill of any hired domestic without the intelligent supervision of one of the family.
Happily there are many still living whose memories can furnish the menu on such an occasion.
After a soup of clams or chicken, the turkeys in state were brought in, one boiled, the other roasted. This last was not baked in an oven, as in these degenerate days, but was roasted before the fire. Rutabaga turnips, squash, beans, onions, celery, sweet potatoes, succotash, chicken pie—all were placed on the table at once, after which the children's eyes sparkled at sight of deep, luscious pumpkin and mince pies, baked in oblong dishes —and the famous "pandowdy." Grapes, pears, apples, and nuts followed, and then, after a devout "grace" pronounced by the family patriarch, the party scattered in the directions that their several tastes might dictate. The men visited the barns, gardens, and pens; the women chatted in the house and compared recipes, needlework, and children, while the young folk went for |
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