OCR Text |
Show 'SOME QUAINT LITTLE WAYS OF THE J J QUAINT LITTLE JAPS ' f X teikiksk & ate afc & sfesfej$c;fe I A a O 0 O o B TT T Is difficult for tho occidental mind n to appreciate to tho full the sim- pliclty and plctureaqucncss of M. Jananese home life. In spite of I the procrcsslveness of the Japo, they still cling- in the domestic circle to all their old customs and traditions. And pretty Mme. Chrysanthemum, toddling: tod-dling: around with tiny, short steps like a butterfly on a shaking bouph. In a fascinating little body who can give points to her western sisters In the management of a household. She is truly the mistress of her husband's home, responsible for and controlling everything. She anticipates the smallest small-est wish of her august and honorable lord while it Is just coming Into his mjnd and Is content to work simply for his sake Indeed, the life of all women in Japan, except the successful geishas, who live like princesses, le not one that would be envied by the buttorfllcs who rule things In the west. Japanese ladles of the highest caste busy themselves with the affairs of their household and always superintend the work of the servants. These servants serv-ants arc ideal and take the most tremendous tre-mendous Interest in whatever they have to do. Even In the washing of dishes the little maid will put all she knows Into the work and seems to revel in the most arduous duties. But what a queer place the Japanese housewife has to manage! Put up In ii day, or so on a few supporting poles, with flimsy walls, without a cellar and jrenerally only one story high, with narrow balconies running along the sides and fitted with paper windows and panels for doors, It is Indeed the least permanent thing in the world. BuL Its very lightness Is Us strength, for earthquakes In the mikado's country coun-try are not infrequent, and It is less unoomforlable to be squashed under a pack of cards than beneath a load of brlrk. The furnishings of the home arc very tfimple. consisting largely of mats. Indeed, In-deed, the size of a room Is judged by the number of mats It will hold. The JargoBt room would be described in the Jap's picturesque stylo as "the hall with a thousand mats." When luxuriously luxu-riously fitted up a room possibly boasts r. ctisst of drawers, a small desk and a box to hold the charcoal used for heating heat-ing purpoaes. Ir. eplte of the fragile and unstable iivtr.re of tho houses, the Japanese feel Uk- faim afCfCtion for thorn as we do for ours and devote a great deal of loving lov-ing thought to the decorations of the walls If not to actual furniture. They work is done. The upper section Is covered with matting and has in the middle a hearth filled with pebbles and ushes, over which hangs a kettle, while around the coals are iron spits. The room has no chimney,, but a hole in the roof supplies this omission. In the matter of appointments the Japanese kitchen is as bare as the other rooms. A small stove and a few cooking utensils uten-sils supply the equipment. There Is no privacy between the members of a family inside the house, though everything Is jealously guarded from public view. Private houses, as a rule, turn a blank side to the ntrect and are surrounded by shrubbery to keep out the curious gaze. In a simple household life begins with the rise of the sun. and the children are off to school at 7 in the morning. A i never overload their walls, however, with pictures In the -inartistic fashion that unfortunately prevails in other countries. There are usually a few long banner shaped pictures and one which hangs In the sacred recess. Flowers, however, occupy the principal place In a decorative scheme. These blossoms are natural or embroidered upon panels In the walls and upon screens. Japanese Japa-nese children arc taught when quite young the artistic method of arranging flowers, and so sensitive do they become be-come to anything tho least ugly that they willingly spend considerable time in posing a single bough that seems to less trained eyes perfectly beautiful in any position in which chance may place it. A Japanese kitchen is a funny sight, most unorthodox to the western chef. It is built in two sections, one lower than the other. The flodr of the lower section Is of beaten earth, on which stand tubs of water. Hero all the rough EVEItYDY SCENES - IN ,A JAPANESE HOME. breakfast scene is p qbslnt sight, the family sitting in a semicircle on mats before little tables, the rice pot occupying occu-pying the center of the group. The children of the family down to the baby greet their parents In the morning by bowing to the ground In a most reverential rever-ential manner, and when the meal la finished they bow politely and make a complimentary remark about tho repast. re-past. The demands of social etiquette In the llfo of a lady of Japan are as endless end-less as those of the most popular society socie-ty woman In Americ. In chrysanthemum chrysanthe-mum land a person of exquisite politeness polite-ness when bidden to an entertainment arrives an hour or two before the appointed ap-pointed time to show her extreme eagerness ea-gerness to meet the delightful hostess. Imagine the horror of an American upon being obliged to play the polite for two hours before the feast! When refreshments are served the guest must accept averythUic that Is offered and must praise the dishes aloud and utter long sighs of satisfaction satisfac-tion as she partakes of them. What cannot be eaten is carefully put up In a silk handkerchief and sent to her home. After the meal the guest must not lose a minute In making her adieus and taking tak-ing her departure. Di?i.oo rlRKING These very ceremonious hostesses always al-ways serve tea and cakes to a lady caller, no matter at what hour the visit may be paid, and as the ladles of the Land of the Rising Sun are sociable and "at home" days are not observed It may be Imagined what a tax this hospitality hos-pitality can become. The visitor must drink0 a tiny cup of pale yellow tea guiltless of sugar or milk, must accept a dainty cake, although It Is never consumed, con-sumed, but wrapped in a piece of fine nllk paper, a wad of which la always carried In the bosom of the kimono. The cake Is bestowed as something very precious in the bottom of the long sleeve, which serves the oriental woman wo-man as a pocket. These Japanese ladles have their Innocent Inno-cent social shams, and when dlsLncllned to receive a visitor a coniidcntlal maid is sent to the door, who, bowing profoundly, pro-foundly, explains in the most natural way in the world that her mlstrc&3 Ig overcome with sorrow at not being able to see the honorable caller, but she Is at that moment engaged in taking a bath, an oriental variation of the western west-ern "not at home" excuse. Traveling civilities are strange In this topsy turvy country. If versed In etiquette a traveling companion opens conversation by asking where you come from and your destination. She will politely Insist upon knowing your age among othor family matters and will require full particulars as to your children, chil-dren, If you have any. If an okusarna (honorable lady) is being Interviewed her dress will be admired and gently touched, and she will be asked If the material washes. Tho life of a Japanese girl. In spite of the self effacement demanded of her, Is full of Interest. She is taughX to make her own clothes, and an odd thing about her work Is that Instead of pushing push-ing her needle through the stuff, as Is our western mode, she pushes the stuff on to the needle a3 she goes along, and an exquisitely neat and swift worker she Is. The almond eyed maidens are very fond of poetry and are often verse makers themselves. Indeed, many of the best Japanese writers of Imaginative Imagina-tive novelettes are women. A famous authoress was Ichyo San, who unfortunately unfortu-nately died not long ago. Going to the play In Japan Is a serious se-rious undertaking. The whole family puts In an appearance, from the grandfather grand-father down to tho baby, and even the servants. The performance often lasts twelve hours, tho audience meanwhile eating and smoking, and the atmosphere atmos-phere Is stifling, the theaters being lighted by long, guttering candles, which have to be constantly snuffed. Tragedies and sensational pieces are most In favor. These arc some quaint little ways of the quaint little Japs, and, although their country has been called the paradise para-dise of the married man, the women appear merry and contented. A Japanese Jap-anese lady always looks as If she were only keeping back a smile, and the Japanese Jap-anese smile Is the daintiest in the world. GRACE'' GRISCOM. Not In ihc Kitchen. "Did I understand you to say that you didn't have any company in the kitchen while I wa3 out. Kato?" "Yis. mum, that's what I said." "But I smell the tobacco from a pipe all through the houne." "YIs, mum; the policeman was In for half an hour, mum, but we were In the dining room." $ . PEACH BETTY. Sprinkle a layer ' 'i . of buttered breadcrumbs In a ! buttered baking dish Cut peach- es In quarters and put them over the crumbs. Sprinkle with granulated sug- i ,' ar. Continue with alternate layers un- f til the dish Is full. Have the buttered f i crumbs on top. Bake In a moderate ' , oven twenty minutes. Serve with tV sweetened cream. jj Chocolate Cream. Mix five level ta- blespoonfuls of cornstarch, half a cup- 1 K ful of sugar and a pinch of salt Rub E smooth In one-third of a cupful of milk, 1 K add two cupfuls of scalded milk, stir f H and cook over hot water ten minutes. B Melt one and a half nquare9 of choco- j R Into and add It to the cornstarch mix- t B ture, stirring until smooth, Add whites iB of two eggs beaten stiff and one table-. B spoonful of vanilla. Turn Into a mold, f B put on Ice and serve with cream. ' W Bitter Almond Cornstarch. Put one JM pint of milk in a double boiler; rub two uW level tablespoonfuls of cornstarch m" smooth In a little cold water and add lOf ' to the scalding milk. Stir until thlck'J ened. Beat the yolks of two eggs, adlvJ two tablespoonfuls of maple or brott(fK" sugar to the milk and cornstarch, ill By vor with bitter almond extract QiLljfi turn Into a pudding dish. Beat the? whites of two eggs .stiff with two ta- HfW blespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Spread VjVm this over the pudding and brown slight- ' jB ly in the oven. m Cottage Pudding. Mix two level tea- JR spoonfuls of baking powder In one cup- Hi ful of Hour: cream two tablespoonfuls fjl of butter, add half a cupful of sugar wl ' and one egg. half a cupful of milk and a jjl I pinch of salt. Add the flour, beat well, h turn Into a cake tin and bake twenty- til five minutes In a moderate oven Serve' ill with chocolate sauce made by melting Jjl three ounces of chocolate over hot wa- til ter. a half cupful of sugar and a half II cupful of boiling water. Stir until dls- fj solved, then flavor with a little vanilla. j To IloauHfj- the Pic. 11 To give a pie a beautifully brown, H flaky appearance, when the pie Is fj ready to bake put about onp and a half fj tablespoonfuls of sweet milk or cream II on the top and spread It over all the f surface. No more white crusts if thla l Is done. TH |