I


WELSH RABBIT AND HUNTED HARES


Long, long ago, there was a good saint named David, who taught the
early Cymric or Welsh people better manners and many good things to
eat and ways of enjoying themselves.

Now the Welsh folks in speaking of their good teacher pronounced his
name Tafid and affectionately Taffy, and this came to be the usual
name for a person born in Wales. In our nurseries we all learned that
"Taffy was a Welshman," but it was their enemies who made a bad rhyme
about Taffy.

Wherever there were cows or goats, people could get milk. So they
always had what was necessary for a good meal, whether it were
breakfast, dinner or supper. Milk, cream, curds, whey and cheese
enriched the family table. Were not these enough?

But Saint David taught the people how to make a still more delicious
food out of cheese, and that this could be done without taking the
life of any creature.

Saint David showed the girls how to take cheese, slice and toast it
over the coals, or melt it in a skillet and pour it hot over toast or
biscuit. This gave the cheese a new and sweeter flavor. When spread on
bread, either plain, or browned over the fire, the result, in