Wellesley College - Legenda Yearbook (Wellesley, MA)

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being a P. G., and concerned through the evening with French I and History of Art, could not be expected to give more than counsel and advice. The others, Freshmen, floundering in German and History I, had miserably caught each other ' s eyes, — astraddle the lamp chimney between them, — and read apiece, two bottomless yearnings for that which was not speculation, — two soulful desires for that which no board bill includes, no housekeeper furnishes, and no scholarship supports. The stifled cry of the fasting flesh had been heard, the eye responded, caught an answering gleam, and the moment was ripe. Mem ory was instantly active with the one recipe which was to toucl the aching spot with its healing fingers in the endless days t come. The contents of a tea-table offered themselves for trial and the movement had begun ! She of the P. G. work was asked to relinquish her shan of the lamp, which was placed conveniently in the center of tin floor. Into a large tin box was rattled a score or so of sugar lumps, bedewed with a thin mixture of condensed milk and water and a scant sprinkling of Huyler ' s cocoa; this en- sconced comfortably, though with some nec- essary display of talent in balancing, upon the = lamp chimney. i r r She of the German grammar took her place on one side of this edifice — she of Division and Reunion on the other, a microscopic teaspoon alternating between them. P. G. work, redoubled by such frivolous Freshman interruptions, went on by the light of a superior lamp in the bedroom. For five minutes the silence was unbroken. The kneeling worshipers, the fragrant incense arising from the altar, lent a peacefulness to the scene which was most profoundly marred by her of History I. A quivering palate had given to the hand of necessary gentleness a force incompatible with the object upon which it was expended. A resisting lump of sugar, a vicious squash, — and Division and Reunion in the lap of its owner was submerged in a flood of the Ideal Mixture. The horror of that silence was only broken by the slamming of the bedroom door. It was no tragedy to the P. G. With the Higher Criticism thus beyond the pale, the search for perfection was taken up afresh, ending in the crowning success which has set the whole academic world aglow with the fire of emulation. In the face of the repeated and suggestive unresponsive- ness of the Higher Criticism — which was confined, it ap- peared, to investigations of the end, not the means of the search — it was continued ; other seekers were admitted to the circle, the fire of the altar was transferred to a fitter shrine, the incense arose from a nobler casket, and the day when a C. Dish received the whole, marks the first step in modern advancement. The result of these experiments, the fudge of this period, was typ- ically New England, — stern, hard and cold. Cast into narrow quarters, it was molded un- alterably to one form, stamped indelibly with the pattern of its environment, usually three fluted teacup saucers, from which, deftly loosened by the insertion of a knife blade, it rolled off, round, ribbed and rocky. From the primitive enjoyment derived from devouring these simple dain- ties, composed of such ingredients as circumstances offered — revolved like a horizontal pin wheel, and nibbled into an infinitesimal circle — one passes with regret to the advancing and final stages of this art. Practice and experiment during the summer vacation, the proffered skill of trained cooks among the upper classes, introduced Epicurean tastes which soon metamorphosed the simple

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Evolution of Fudge Making RE we, indeed, unwise to sigh for a saddened space over this fading phase of the career of ' 98? Should we heed that inner voice which whispers of official lips compressed over The less said of this the better! and the raised eyebrow and curling lip of alumnae, whose records point so unswervingly to their superior use of time and taste? Shall we attribute our action in this mel- low drama to the unconscious atmospheric tendency toward dabbling in sweets, left by departed spirits, and rusted, unused chafing dishes — senior gifts? Shall we defend our action by pointing suggestively to the balloon-like disappearance of the standard during our course, increasing the reactionary relaxation at every possible moment, or shall we, with the quiet dignity learned only by companion- ship with the C. Dish, assume our rightful responsibility in a movement which has exceeded any other in maintaining that balance of mind and body, so nearly destroyed by the Academic Council, and so essential to the 19th century ideal of a broadened and sweetened womanhood? Prehistoric forms of Fudge were unknown to us as Freshman in ' 94 — that is, in the college menu, although to what extent it had been indulged in, appears at times to be a mooted question. But an habituee of the college cor- ridors for the last three years will, I am sure, uphold us in our mild allusion to the change in the chemical consistency of the atmosphere thereabouts, — a consistency which is in turn being replaced by elements of the new order of Penuci. Tis at just this point that a brief and softened glance at the Rise (and Fall?) of the old order seems apropos. That that rise and fall is bound up with the personal history of a few of us seems no excuse for withholding it from a public whose interest in its development took so lively and material a form. All infringement of the privacy of personal records cannot fail to be pardoned in the light of so great a service to modern history. One reads with streaming eyes and quickening pulse of the origin of the English drama in the solemn and mysterious liturgical service of the early church (cf. ones in Lit. IX), but can simplicity be approached, can pathos be equaled, can grandeur be excelled, in the first representation of the creation of Fudge by its humblest but most constant devotees? There were three of them, two active, one passive but most inspiring. She

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pursuit. Its mobility of character was at an end, for its ingredients became fixed and known quantities : cream, fresh butter, granulated sugar, Baker ' s chocolate, — without such a combination it was deemed impossible to make it. When done, it was snatched as a brand plucked from the burning, and consumed almost before its last bubbles had ceased to rise. ' Twas made the center and sole entertainment of large and eager parties, instead of being introduced inci- dentally into the quiet of an evening ' s pastime among a small and select group of congenials (three is the ideal number). It was also desecrated by improper motives which inspired its use as a gift to both equals and superiors, a habit diminishing, however, on account of non-return of china, etc., etc. Such phase of the movement one cannot but regret. One longs with Rousseau to return to a state of nature and non-civilized pursuits, where con- densed milk, lump sugar, cocoa, and mature butter conduce to perfect enjoy- ment. And in the height of the flood tide one sees the possibility. Palled by the over-sufficiency of this cordial for failing physiques, the inconstant crowd is swaying in another direction. And as they gloat over the glories of Penu- ci, simpler natures may resort again to the innocent pleasures of Freshman year. We cannot in truth restore the old flame which burned beneath the tin box. It has been replaced by the confining bulb. The inspiration of a Higher Criticism Behind Closed Doors is also beyond our reach (c. f. Wellesley Magazine, ' 96). But the old-time materials, the fluted teacup saucers — three of them — and the rocky rings, are still happy possibilities. NIBBLING BEGUN.