In this 1854 poem Peggy, the cook, starts the fire an hour before sunrise to fry the cakes (pancakes, hoecakes?). After breakfast and cleanup, she starts roasting some fowl or a haunch of meat... which has to be turned. and turned. Then, there is a pudding. By the end of day, and the poem, she is "in such a toast" that "You scarce could tell which's done the most. Myself, or what I roast!" Ever had that feeling after a day at the hearth? or brick oven? or... at home in the kitchen before a holiday or big dinner?
Song of the discontented cook
Song of the discontented cook
Oh, who would wish to be a cook,
To live in such a broil?
With all one’s pains, to cook one’s brains,
And lead a life of toil?
‘T is, Stir the pudding, Peggy,
And give those ducks a turn;
Be quick, be quick, you lazy jade!
Else one or both will burn.
An hour before the rising sun
I'm forced to leave my bed,
To make the fires, and fry the cakes,
And get the table spread.
'Tis, Stir the pudding, Peggy,
And give those ducks a turn;
Be quick, be quick, you lazy jade!
Else one or both will burn.
The breakfast's scarely over,
And all things set to rights,
Before the savory haunch, or fowl,
My skill and care invites.
'T is, Stir the pudding, Peggy,
And give those ducks a tum;
Be quick, be quick, you lazy jade!
Else one or both will burn.
And here I stand before the fire,
And turn them round and round;
And keep the kettle boiling—
I hate their very sound!
'T is, Stir the pudding, Peggy,
And give those ducks a turn;
Be quick, be quick, you lazy jade!
Else one or both will burn.
And long before the day is spent,
I'm all in such a toast,
You scarce could tell which's done the most.
Myself, or what I roast!
'T is, Stir the pudding, Peggy,
And give those ducks a turn;
Be quick, be quick, you lazy jade!
Else one or both will burn.
Pictorial Miscellany for Boys and Girls, edited by Mark
Forrester. Boston: 1854
©2015 Patricia Bixler Reber
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