I called it the 'Female Club' instead of
'An Old Maids Club,' as Mr Zangwill did, for there were no old maids
waiting near the oven.
"Most of them come as early as 5 a.m., and none care to leave till they
have their cakes baked, for, if you do, your tins will be pushed aside
as you are not there to scream at and scold the baker--if someone slips
a copper into his hand he, on the quiet, puts their tins in first,
though they may have come later!
"Besides, if you are not there to watch carefully (for the tins are not
named or numbered), someone might take your tins in exchange for his
own, if the cakes, etc., look more tempting. During Purim this is not
looked upon as stealing, but merely as a joke or a bit of fun. The
youngsters will not move an inch unless they can trust someone to take
their place. So I leave you to try to imagine the noise and the chatter.
There is probably not a thing that has happened in Jerusalem during the
last two months that is not discussed around the public oven while
people are waiting for their cake-tins; and, as everyone wants to talk
rather than to listen, the noise is like the buzz in a factory.
"After all the cooking and so forth was finished, of course we had to
keep the Fast of Esther, and everyone, even babies went to Shule to hear
the Megilla (the _Book of Esther_) read; and, when the Chazan came to
Haman, the Gragers went off with just such a noise as they do in the
London Shules in Old Montague Street or Booth Street.
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