Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

Page 31 text:

THE BRAXKSOME SLOGAN. 37 An expansive grin and then, Tt was hard on the poor girl, I thought ' Humph! You seem to be deeply concerned about her now. You should not have gone if you felt that way about it ' said I, aloud. To myself I remarked, This accounts for your interest in domestic science. ' ' What I said, however, did not have the slightest effect of reproof, for Harry went on talking as serenely as if no interruption had occurred. We had four courses that I remember emphatically. The bouillon tasted as if it had ginger in it, and I didn ' t venture farther than the first spoonful. B} the time the meat course came I was hungry. It was spring lamb, browned potatoes and peas, with trimmings that I can ' t recall now. The meat looked very fine. Evelyn ' s father made an encouraging remark, then cut off two or three slices. I began to look forward to mine with fear and trembling. The fourth slice was a delicate pink, the fifth old rose, and the sixth (the one I should get) was still more impossible. I hoped the potatoes were done, and even went so far as to think peas were always good. As I had calculated, the sixth slice fell to my lot, a generous-sized potato and some peas. I saw a nice brown spot on the potato, and so I ate in its immediate vicinity — but no farther. The peas tasted like sawdust as nearly as I could imagine. The salad course found me genuinely ravenous, but not knowing what was in store for us I dared not anticipate. It looked tempting. They certainly teach you how to make things look attractive at that institute. I recognized its distinguishing flavor, and my mind reverted to childhood and the olive oil bottle. My mother said it was beautiful Mayonnaise. Happily I remembered my long ' short story, ' and the scheme worked well. I digressed occasionally, and by the time I concluded it was time for the next course. It was an ice, and it was supreme. I felt as if I could have repeated it ad infinitum had 1 been pressed. There are special instructions given on the way to pack freezers at the Institute. You use one part salt to two parts ice for a smoioth mixture, for instance, ice cream. Let me see, is that right? Anyway, it is very important. Evelyn said when she was packing it she mistook a bag of sugar for tlie salt bag, and had used half of it before discovering the mistake. The cofi ' ee was good, too. Evelyn ' s mother apologized for its not .laving been made scientifically, but I thought I was rather glad about that.

Page 30 text:

2(5 THE BEANKSOME SLOGAN. COACHED IN DOMESTIC SCIENCE BY M. A. A. Henry S. Redmond walked into his clnb and,, with the judgment of one who knows, selected a large leather chair, and complacently began to enjoy life. There was nothing remarkable in this. I had seen him do it many times, with the slight difference that on other occasions he glanced around to see whom his companions were. He had been away for two months, and I had not heard from him in half as long, so I was not a little chagrined at this show of utter disregard. I won ' t speak till he does, I thought, and resumed my magazine, secretly watching him from behind my iscreen. Why, hello, Tom ; it ' s months since I ' ve seen you, said he, rising and coming towards me. I came back last night. Thought I ' d see you here. How are you ? You are about the most ungrateful dog I know. You prowl around a whole month without letting a soul know where 3 ' OU are. I couldn ' t even find out here. N ow, own up, what scheme have you been floating lately ? Sit down and I ' ll tell you. After I finished up a little business affair in Winnipeg I thouglit I ' d go home for a week or so and see everybody. They were glad to see me, Tom. He smiled a little reminiscently, I thought, so with an audible effort I suppressed a yawn and waited for him to continue. Suddenly he brightened up. The fact is, I ' ve been taking quite an interest in Domestic Science. I think it is a training that every mother ' s davighter should have. Why, man, does not the prosperity of the nation depend on its citizens, and surely the health and happi- ness of the citizens depends on the home life. It is a glorious train- ing. I see that in Denmark a girl has to have a certificate showing that she has had a course in Household Science and Economics before she can marry. That is what we ought to ha ve here, with the cost of living soaring as it is now. With this burst of eloquence Harry subsided rather shamefacedly, but volunteered his services in coaeliing me, saying he had studied under an excellent instructor. One of tlie girls has just come home from a Domestic Science Institute. Slie thought when slie came home that what she did not know would be scarcely worth the paper it was written on. I didn ' t know her well, but our mothers were good friends. Of course her mother wanted to display her culinary accomplishments, and a little impromptu dinner was arranged for the evening after I got home.

Page 32 text:

28 THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN. Evelyn disappeared after dinner. She telephoned the next day and asked me to dinner on Sunday. She said she would try and make up for the awful time I had had. I went the next Sunday, and the Sunday after that, so you see I stayed longer than I planned. Evelyn says she can see the funny side now, but she enjoined me not to tell anyone but you. But I am forgetting what I came here for, said he, glancing at Ms watch. We want you to come down lat Christmas and be best man. Evelyn likes you already. I must be olf. I have an appoint- ment in ten minutes. Good-bye. ' ' He was gone, and hadn ' t even waited for an answer. I sat down and began wondering if I didn ' t really need coaching in Domestic Science. Then and there I resolved to take a trip Home at my first opportunity. A DOUBTFUL INSPIRATION BY LORRAINE IRWIN. This was the third day, and it was still raining ! How could any- one stand it? Ruth felt desperate. What was the good of being in the country at all if that was the way you were treated. If despera- tion is sufficiently genuine it is sure to find an outlet, and Ruth, feeling this to be her case, sighed all morning for an inspiration in the way of a good excuse to get ont regardless of weather. But the hours passed by uneventfully until after lunch. Passing through the kitchen, Ruth heard the maid say that the cow was out, adding a remark about the wet. On enquiry she found that everyone who might be sent for it was out too. Here was the very thing for her to do. With a serious face, she pleaded with her mother to let her go out of consideration for the cow ' s health, and at last a very hesi- tating permission was extracted. With happy heart and a feeling of unusual courage, Ruth set out for the pasture. I ought to explain that cows possessing the name of Judy are no ordinary ones. In the first place, this Judy was an avowed woman-hater, and, in the next place (and this was even more exciting), she had been known to bunt. Surely no suffragette ever felt so consciously brave in assaulting the enemy as Ruth! Perhaps all of you do not know the state of country thoroughfares after a few days ' rain. Picture to yourselves a rather narrow road, the earth inclined to be clayish, affectionate enough to stick to your boots in respectable lumps, and a good many puddles, then you will have a fair idea.