No society is complete nowadays without a literary department. We might as well be out of the world as out of the fashion, so we have collected the brightest productions and most brilliant efforts of our respected sisterhood, and formed what we here present to you - A Cook Book - trusting that the long pent-up thoughts, that here find utterance, when thoroughly masticated and digested, may prove a source of untold happiness in many a family to which we hope our little work will prove a welcome visitor.

We do not claim originality of design in issuing this collection, nor have we been able in every case to trace our recipes to their original authority; but they have all been tested and found reliable by the ladies whose names accompany them, and, if any of them fail, upon fair trial, to produce the expected results, it will be because of the omission of that amount of perseverance, discretion and common sense which is essential to the success of any undertaking.

We are indebted to friends, not connected with our Society for valuable recipes and hints concerning our work, and we hereby acknowledge their kindness and offer them our sincere thanks.