The Woodcraft Girls in the City Part 11

SUR LE PONT D'AVIGNON

Sur le pont d'Avignon, Tout le mondey danse; Sur le pont d'Avignon, Tout le mondey danse en rond, Les beaux messieurs font comm' ga, Et puis encor comm' ga: Sur le pont d'Avignon, Tout le mondey danse, danse Sur le pont d'Avignon Tout le mondey danse en rond.

Sur le pont d'Avignon, Tout le mondey danse, danse; Sur le pont d'Avignon, Tout le mondey danse en rond.

Les belles dames font comm' ga, Et puis encor comm' ga: Sur le pont d'Avignon, Tout le mondey danse, danse Sur le pont d'Avignon, Tout le mondey danse en rond.

Sur le pont d'Avignon, Tout le mondey danse, danse; Sur le pont d'Avignon, Tout le mondey danse en rond, Et les capucins font comm' ga, Et puis encor comm' ga, Sur le pont d'Avignon, Tout le mondey danse, danse Sur le pont d'Avignon, Tout le mondey danse en rond.

Thereupon Nita danced The Bridge song to the satisfaction of her audience. They applauded and encored until she laughingly consented to treat them to their favourite dances. Many of these were steps invented by Nita to improve upon the old folk dances. When the girl, breathless, finally sat down, the other girls complimented her to her heart's content.

"I wish we could learn that bridge song and dance it for Miss Miller as a surprise," suggested Zan.

"Let's do it!" abetted Elena.

"We ought to complete our carpentry work first," ventured May.

"We haven't any extra cla.s.s studies at home this week so we might carpenter in the afternoons and dance at night," eagerly said Nita.

"Why not come over to my house at eight and I will have the rugs and furniture moved out of the living-room. Anne and I will be all alone this evening as the others are going out," added Frances Mason.

"That's fine! Who can meet at the Masons' at eight to-night?" called Zan, looking about at the Woodcrafters.

"We surely will-every one of us," accepted Hilda.

"Well, don't waste our time making us wait for you. If someone can't come let her telephone before meeting-time," advised Anne Mason.

"Hoh! Anne doesn't know us yet! Catch a Woodcrafter being late when there's any fun going!" laughed Jane.

Every member was there before eight that night, Eleanor having been notified over the telephone. A merry evening was enjoyed with dancing and singing and most of the girls were sure the French Folk Song could be mastered for a private exhibition on Sat.u.r.day if they had one more evening's practise.

"To-morrow is Thursday and some of us are booked to go to those Burton-Holmes Lectures, but we might all meet again on Friday night?"

suggested Zan.

"Some of us could meet to-morrow and practise, and then all meet Friday," added Hilda.

"Where do you want to meet Friday-come to my house," invited Jane.

As the Huberts had a large house with a splendid living-room, it offered excellent facilities for dancing, so the girls gladly accepted the invitation.

Shortly after nine o'clock Friday night, while the Woodcrafters were cooling off and talking about their successful dancing lesson of the French song, Mrs. Hubert opened the door and peeped in.

"When you finish dancing maybe you'll come to the kitchen and help me make some fudge?" hinted she.

"We're all through!" cried Zan, jumping up and running for the door.

"So we are when there's fudge on the programme," laughed Elena.

But fudge was not the only candy made that night. As Sat.u.r.day morning was a "lazy day" for school-girls, they could sleep an hour later than usual. So there was no haste to get home and to bed that night.

"Mrs. Hubert, you always promised to give us the recipe for your fudge-it is so good!" exclaimed Elena.

"Why, I'll tell you right now, and you can watch me make it, too,"

replied Mrs. Hubert.

"Lena, write it down to enter in our Tally," said Zan.

As Mrs. Hubert itemised the ingredients for Elena to write down, she measured out the quant.i.ties for the candy.

"One cup of granulated sugar, one cup of powdered sugar, one and a half cakes of Baker's chocolate, a lump of b.u.t.ter about the size of a walnut, two-thirds of a cup of milk, and any flavour desired. I shall use vanilla to-night as most girls like that.

"Now I boil the milk and sugar, stirring all the time from when it is first placed over the fire. When it fairly hardens so as to form a ball when dropped in cold water, I remove it from the stove and add the chocolate which must be shaved very fine, or even grated as it is to-night.

"Next I add the vanilla, and the b.u.t.ter last. Quickly then, I beat it until it thickens but it must not sugar. Pour it in b.u.t.tered tins and when it is partly hardened we can cut it into squares.

"In case any of you do not have powdered sugar in the house you can use granulated but the powdered sugar makes it creamy and there is less danger of crystallising while beating."

The fudge was made and declared the finest ever tasted.

"Oh, but you girls say that every time I treat you," laughed Mrs.

Hubert.

"It's true, and that shows how you improve in candy-making every time you cook it for us," retorted Zan, quickly.

"Which interpreted means: 'Be sure and give us fudge every time we visit you,'" laughed Mrs. Hubert.

"You'd hear no kick coming from the Woodcrafters," added Jane.

"Jane! There you go again with your slang! I thought Miss Miller was curing you girls of that pernicious habit," said Mrs. Hubert.

"We were cured, Mother, but you see our brothers were still ill with the despised complaint and we caught it again, didn't we Zan?" said Jane, appealing to her compet.i.tor in slang.

Zan's mouth was too full of fudge to reply but she nodded her head vigorously to express her feelings about slang.

"Dear, dear, such girls!" sighed Mrs. Hubert, taking a recipe book from the shelf and turning to a page of candies.

"Girls, shall I show you how to make nougat?" asked she.

Naturally they cried "yes" and Elena prepared to make another entry in the Tally.

"Always blanch the almonds or other nuts to be used. I generally keep some on hand so we won't have to take time for that work to-night. Now some of you girls skin these nuts and some of you can chop them very fine.

"For the nougat, I melt some powdered sugar, using a dessert-spoonful of lemon juice to every pound of sugar. It takes double the weight of sugar in almonds. We have a pound of sugar, so I use two pounds of chopped nuts. They must be hot before dropping them into the sugar-syrup.

"We ought to have regular nougat moulds like confectioners use, but not having them, I have to take the flat tin we use for ginger-bread. That is why I had you chop the nuts very fine-so that the nougat when it is spread in the tin, can be cut with a knife.

"Into this b.u.t.tered tin, I press the nougat with the lemon skin until it is all smoothed out flat. Then I quickly cut the bars so they can be broken apart when it is cold. If we had regular moulds we could use the nuts in much larger pieces."