The last lingering rays of the sun idealized the surrounding fields and woods with that wonderful afterglow seen only at the close of day.  The saffron moon appeared to rise slowly from behind the distant tree-tops, and rolled on parallel with them, and then ahead, as if to guide them on their way, and the stars twinkled one by one from out the mantle of darkness which slowly enveloped the earth.  The trees they swiftly passed, when the moonbeams touched them, assumed gigantic, grotesque shapes in the darkness.  Mary quoted from a favorite poem, “The Huskers,” by Whittier: 

    ’Till broad and red as when he rose, the sun
      Sank down at last,
    And, like a merry guest’s farewell, the day
      In brightness passed.

    And lo! as through the western pines,
      On meadow, stream and pond,
    Flamed the red radiance of a sky,
      Set all afire beyond.

    Slowly o’er the eastern sea bluffs,
      A milder glory shone,
    And the sunset and the moon-rise
      Were mingled into one!

    As thus into the quiet night,
      The twilight lapsed away,
    And deeper in the brightening moon
      The tranquil shadows lay.

    From many a brown, old farm house
      And hamlet without name,
    Their milking and their home tasks done,
      The merry huskers came.

“You mean ‘The Merry Picknickers Came,’” said Fritz Schmidt, as Mary finished, “and here we are at home.  Good night, all.”

CHAPTER XIX.

Mary is taught to make pastry, patties and “Rosen kuchen.”

Mary’s Aunt taught her to make light, flaky pastry and pies of every description.  In this part of Bucks County a young girl’s education was considered incomplete without a knowledge of pie-making.  Some of the commonest varieties of pies made at the farm were “Rivel Kuchen,” a pie crust covered with a mixture of sugar, butter and flour crumbled together; “Snitz Pie,” composed of either stewed dried apples or peaches, finely mashed through a colander, sweetened, spread over a crust and this covered with a lattice-work of narrow strips of pastry laid diamond-wise over the top of the pie; “Crumb” pies, very popular when served for breakfast, made with the addition of molasses or without it; Cheese pies, made of “Smier Kase;” Egg Custard, Pumpkin and Molasses pie.

Pies were made of all the different fruits and berries which grew on the farm.  When fresh fruits were not obtainable, dried fruits and berries were used.  Pie made from dried, sour cherries was an especial favorite of Farmer Landis, and raisin or “Rosina” pie, as it was usually called at the farm, also known as “Funeral” pie, was a standby at all seasons of the year, as it was invariably served at funerals, where, in old times, sumptuous feasts were provided for relatives and friends, a regular custom for years among the “Pennsylvania Germans,” and I have heard Aunt Sarah say, “In old times, the wives of the grave-diggers were always expected to assist with the extra baking at the house where a funeral was to be held.”