Lizzie Borden Society Forum

With Apologies to Clement Clarke Moore and Children of All Ages Who Still Believe in the Benevolence of Santa Claus


‘Twas the night before slaughter, behind Lizzie’s door,
Murder plans in the making, despite Morse’s snore;

The hatchet was stashed at the head of her bed,
In hopes wicked step-mother soon would be dead;

Bridget was restless in her wee attic room,
Her dreams overwhelmed by a sick sense of doom;

Both parents clad for Victorian nocturnal,
Passed one final time into sleep not eternal;

At dawn on the lawn with barely a care,
Andrew emptied his slops and then slurped down a pear;

Lizzie slept not at all for the damned find no peace,
‘Til brains, blood and bones give cathartic release;

Helios beamed down on a Greek chorus rhyme,
“To murder a parent - the MOST heinous crime;

The boatman refuses your parricide’s pay,
A Shade in the mud of the Styx you will stay.”

The chorus was faint, she heard no refrain,
Twas blood lust for vengeance that roared in her brain;

Gloves, aprons and hankies - Liz covered her all,
She crept through the doors and walked on down the hall;

"She’s sneaky! She’s snippy!
She’s snappish and needy!
She’s common! And stupid!
Conniving and greedy!
At the top of the stairs!
Through guest room door!
Now gash her! And bash her!
And smash her head more!"

“You betrayed us, step-mother! It’s time to atone!
To pay for your avarice! DIE HERE ALONE!!!"

Chopped in the neck, Abby’s fight or flight said,
“You’re trapped in a corner! Crawl under that bed!”

Abby tried to escape but the bed was too low,
Life faded to black with one last crushing blow;

Her heart lost its beat and her breath ceased to flow,
Blood seeped to a pool on the carpet below;

As she stared at the brains oozing out of the head,
Lizzie laughed with relief now that Abby was dead;

As the summer pear ripens and from the bough drops,
To be plucked from the ground all covered with slops;

And so Lizzie’s scheme of most recent fruition
Turned right into sh*t due to Bridget’s condition;

In stark revelation, she saw with pure dread,
There was no going back now that Abby was dead;

The alibi so perfect and planned with such malice,
Bridget would shop while she’d go visit Alice;

Like clockwork, father'd come home near eleven,
He'd find soot and flames on a stairway to heaven;

That infernal dwelling - Abby’s highway to hell,
The body burned crispy, the hair you would smell;

“Mrs. Borden went out to tend a sick friend,
The note?? Oh, it too met a fiery end!”

You can’t always get what you want, Lizzie knew,
There was grim satisfaction in what she would do;

No smoke on the water approached Mount Hope Bay,
A hatchet for father, no arson today;

A true ironmaiden, this black sabbath queen,
More human than human, a killing machine;

The hatchet her best tool for quick and the dead,
When he napped, she butchered his face from his head;

The blood tainted love of a daughter who kills,
Gave the men of Fall River a case of the chills;

If his daughter killed him, then mine could kill me,
"Not guilty," said the jury, and Lizzie walked free;

Not guilty and innocent are never the same,
So Lizbeth spent her lifetime taking the blame;

Twelve decades later still seeking the truths,
Merry Christmas to all you Bordenite sleuths!!!

WOW, this is really quite good, Debbie!!! Have you thought of having it published in Fall River’s, The Herald News?

Yes, we should publish all your rhymes and poems, debbie. Love 'em. They are very enjoyable.

I wonder what the Bordens had for their Chrismas dinner? Among the recipes BOBO, are there any for roast turkey and all the trimmings and pumpkin pie, or is pumpkin pie a Thanksgiving treat?

Thank you both. There are at least 15 references to rock and roll bands, songs and lyrics worked into the rhyme which was pretty fun trying to find a spot where another one would fit. I write this stuff for family, friends and for self-amusement. My username should be debbiedoggerel. This is also very close to what I think happened that morning.

I've seen other attempts at reworking this towards Lizzie, this one by FAR the best.

Thanks Anthony.

You're welcome, Debbie.

debbiediablo wrote:... This is also very close to what I think happened that morning.

I knew it!!! I know you and I think a lot alike regarding what happened that morning, and I just knew your poem was coming from your beliefs.

Aamartin wrote:I've seen other attempts at reworking this towards Lizzie, this one by FAR the best.

I whole-heartily agree, Anthony.

I think so too! Debbie, the poetic sleuth!

My childhood spent with grandparents included turkey with sage dressing and cherry and pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving while goose and apple and mincemeat pies (I totally hate mincemeat...bleagh...) were for Christmas. I love roasting a goose with oyster stuffing. Instead of the mincemeat we now have pumpkin, lemon meringue (made from actual lemons and cornstarch, not pudding!) and raspberry pie for both holidays. Once in awhile I make a sour cream raisin pie to please my husband and oldest daughter. My Mom made a whipped cream based salad with grapes and pineapple that I loved. She died young and the recipe somehow got lost. We also have salmon, pea and pasta salad which is a family favorite but not something everyone has a taste for. These traditions were passed down from my great-grandparents who would've been about 10 years younger than Lizzie. For Christmas Eve we have always had oyster stew and sometimes cherry dumplings (dumplings cooked in a thickened sauce made from tart cherries that are sweetened but not enough to eliminate the tart taste)...this is also an old family recipe. My husband prefers his cherries in pie...

I think old family recipes are great fun. The cherry dumplings sound especially delicious, Debbie. I've never heard of oyster stew, though. As Fall River was a port I wonder whether the Bordens ever had oysters? They don't seem to have been adventurous in their choices at all. They probably had mince pies at Christmas though (with the rose water pastry) and Abby would have made them.

BINGO! I'm still logged in on the Windows cloud but not on the google cloud. So though I've been lurking, I'm actually on her now.

Debbie just shared her fantastic work with me via email. Definitely worth publishing. Poetry is a real talent, to make everything fit.

Cherry dumplings???? Vareniki? Are you Slavic too? Do you put sour cream on the cherry dumplings?

Couldn't remember if I had posted the Christmas dinner menu from the Boston Cooking School cookbook. I did in 'Stay to Tea' at Thanksgiving time. I dug out my book before checking what I had written. Anyway on the back page of my book, in my mother-in-law's handwriting is an interesting little thing.

"To prepare 1% hydrochloric acid solution mix a pint of standard medicinal diluted hydrochloric acid with 9 pints of water to be used to clean vegetables."

I don't see any entries for prussic acid. No telling what was in the Borden family cookbook.

I checked my old book for a grape/pineapple/whipped cream salad and don't see anything like that.

The cherry dumpling recipe came from my very German grandmother, Genevieve Sophie Wilhelmina Musfeldt, although I'm clueless to as what part of Germany. My youngest aunt sent the recipe into Taste of Home which is a very popular cooking magazine published in this area. Here it is online...

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/cherry-dumplings

The fruit salad was real whipped cream mixed with a custard recipe and then fruit folded in. No jell-0. And coconut or nuts or marshmallows for coconut/nut/marshmallow lovers. She used pineapple and grapes but other fruits would work, too. I've seen something similar made with cherries. Then refrigerate over night. I've never found the exact custard recipe and am unsure what else she used...sugar? Vanilla? I sometimes wonder if any of the Bordens ever knew true happiness? Childhood memories of holidays are so precious to me, and my own kids go around checking out fruit pies and oven fried chicken to see if it's similar to my mother-in-law's. One of their food goals is to replicate both of these. My MIL also made superb mashed potatoes which involved cooking and mashing a very small diced onion right with the potatoes.

Debbie, the Cherry Dumplings look absolutely wonderful! I printed the recipe from the link you provided, and can't wait to try them!

Great recipe. I was thinking of folded dumplings with fruit filling which is vereniki. I think Scandinavians also make that sort of thing.

There are several kinds of custard. One is baked. Another is a custard sauce. I would think a stiff custard sauce would work for a base for the salad.

I don't suppose holidays were as big in Lizzie's day as they are today. I have read that Fourth of July was the biggest holiday in those times.

This is from Food Timeline...I had to laugh when they talk about a light breakfast!! And overdone dinners after which the menu looks like more than we eat in month!!! From the years 1890-1900. Some of these dishes are stuff I've never heard of. They do mention salmon salad...I'm going to look for the recipe they cite to see how it compares with mine.

http://www.foodtimeline.org/christmasmenu.html#1890s

[1880]
"Christmas Dinners. Clam soup; baked fish, Hollandaise sauce; roast turkey with oyster dressing and celery or oyster sayce, roast duck with onion sauce, broiled quail, chicken pie; plum and crab-apple jelly; baked potatoes in jackets, sweet potatoes, baked squash, turnips, southern cabbage, stewed carrots, canned corn, canned pease, tomatoes; Graham bread, rolls; salmon salad or herring salad, Chili sauce, gooseberry catsup, mangoes, pickled cabbage; bottled, French or Spanish pickles; spiced nutmeg-melon and sweet- pickled grapes, and pickled beets; Christmas plum-pudding with sauce, charlotte-russe; cocoa-nut, mince, and peach pies; citron, pound, French loaf, white Mountain and Neapolitan cakes; lady's fingers, peppernuts; centennial drops, almond or hickory-nut macaroons; cocoa-nut caramels, chocolate drops; orange or pine apple ice cream; coffee, tea, and Vienna chocolate."
---Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, revised and enlarged [Buckeye Publishing Company:Minneapolis MN] 1880 (p. 350-351)


[1886]
"Christmas Dinner This table should be laid as for any other company dinner, the necessary adjuncts being at had on the sideboard or another table, as heretofore directed. It is a modern fancy to introduce a centre cloth of embroidered linen, or squares and ovals of plush, on which the epergne is set; but practical housekeepers would generally prefer a low dish of ferns or scarlet geraniums mingled with white carnations, having for a base a round mirror whose outer edge could be hidden under a wreath of evergreen, and upon whose surface some stray leaves or blossoms have fallen as if by accident.

In cities and towns, where raw oysters can be had, they are often used as a first course. They should be opened and the shell washed an hour or so before dinner, and be put in a cold place. When wanted for the table, if one has not proper oyster-plates, arrange six of these shells, with an oyster in each, on a dessert-plate, with the narrow part of the shell inward, all meeting in the centre, where two or three slices of lemon are laid. Small crackers are passed, in addition to the bread on the napkin, and the pepper and the salt should be within reach.

The second course may be breaded mutton-chops, accompanied with canned French peas. A haunch of venison and boiled cauilflower, with drawn butter poured over the latter, would make an acceptable second course. The venison should be purchased several days in advance and hung in a cool place, and should be washed off five or six times with vinegar. On Christmas morning it should be washed with warm water, with a dash of cold water at the last. The wipe perfectly dry and enclose it in a covering of dough made of flour and water rolled into a thickness of not more than half an inch. Encase this in two layers of white wrapping-paper and secure with a string. Fill a dripping-pan a third full of hot water and baste ofen, adding to it from the tea-kettle as it evaporates. Frequent basting will keep the paper from scorching; and when thorougly cooked--which will require from two to three hours--take form the oven about three-fourths of an hour before dinner, remove all the coverings, rub well with butter and dredge with flour, and then return to the oven. Repeat this butter-basting two or three times, till the meat is nicely browned and a 'glaze' formed. Garnish the venison with alternate slices of lemon and pickled beet-root. Season the gravy with a large spoonful of currant jelly and the juice of half a lemon. Other suitable vegetables to be passed with venison are mashed turnips, mashed potato, or sweet potato.

If a turkey is thorugh to be a necessitiy to complete the Christmas dinner, he should be perpared for the table as directed on page 119. When dihsed, it will be an improvement to garnish him with oysters carefully crumbed and fried. Cranberry sauce should be passed with roast turkey. Chicken salad may follow this course, cheese and crackers coming next. Everything save the ornamental centre- pice will now be removed from the table, and the crumbs brushed from the cloth, making the entrance of the mince-pies, fruits, nuts, and raisins now in order. Ices will be reslished after highly-seasoned pastried, and light fancy cakes may be passed with them. Oranges, grapes, and the late pears are ordinarily offered, and last of all should com the little cups of black coffee, accompanied by cream and sugar. it sould be of good strength, as we fuly assent to the statement that 'well-bred and sensible people do not affect pale and watery decoctions after a hearty dinner.'"
---Kansas Home Cook-Book consisting of recipes contributed by ladies of Leavenworth and other cities and towns, compiled by Mrs. C.H. Cushing and Mrs. B. Gray, facsimile 1886 edition [Creative Cookbooks:Monterey CA] 2001 (p. 33-35)


[1888]
"Murray Hill Hotel Christmas Dinner, New York City: Cherrystones, Celery, Cream of Artichokes, Florentine, Consomme of Game, Quenelles, Terapene au Madere, Small Patties of Oyster Crabs, Fillet of Beef, Braise, Lithuanienne, Potatoes, Sprouts, Breast of Partridge, Truffle a la Toulouse, Timbale of Sweetbread, Victoria, Fresh Mushrooms on Toast, Punch a la Russe, Christmas Beef, Yorkshire Pudding, Turkey with Chestnuts, Canvas Back, Stuffed Quail, Samp Fritters, Lettuce, Asparagus, Hollandaise, French Peas, Baked Cauliflower, Plum Pudding Polonaise, Mince Pie, Nesselrode, Fantasie, Cream a la Moscovite, Marsala Jelly, Assorted Cakes, Fruits Glaces, Cheese, Fruits, Coffee."
---Tempting the Gourmands: Hotel Menus Appealing to Eye and Palate, The New York Times, December 26, 1888 (p. 8)


[1890]
Christmas Day, It has been our custom, as well as the custom of other household writers, to devote much time to Christmas dinners, their bills of fare and preparations, entirely losing sight of the fact that most people eat three times a day on Christmas, as well as on other days of the year, so in this article we will give three bills of fare. Let the breakfast be simple, plain and nutritious, served early, as on this morning the children of the house usually arise early, and a late breakfast makes too short a space before the heavy dinner, and the children, in consequence, suffer for perhaps a week to come from indigestion, cuase by cramping, and, by the way, I think as a rule Christmas dinners are too heavy to be thorougly enjoyed and digested. We are living in the days of civilization and refinement, and not in the days of King Richard II, at whose table thirty courses were served at a Christmas dinner and it is said that the fragments that remained were more than sufficient to serve a thousand persons. Of coruse, great numbers were invited; but imagine the waste and the heavy laden table with such a quantity of left over. The feast given in Westminster Hall, in 1399, was such a large and coarse affair, that twenty-six oxen, three hundred sheep, besides fowls without number, were put upon the table and consumed.

Breakfast, at 8 o'clock Fruits, Breaded Chops, Tomato Sauce, Baked Potatoes, Buckwheat Cakes, Maple Syrup, Coffee.
Dinner at 2 o'clock Oysters on Half Shell, Almond Milk Soup with Rice, Salted Almonds, Celery, Olives, Halibut baked with fine Herbs, English Drawn Butter, Persian Potatoes, Roast Trukey, Cranberry Sauce, Rice Croquettes, Asparagus Tips, Braised Duck, Baked Macaroni, Lettuce Salad, Wafers, Brie, English Plum Pudding, Brandy Sauce, Coffee, Nuts, Fruits, Sugar Plums.
Supper, at 8 o'clock Raw Oysters, Chicken Sandwiches, Coffee, Jelly, Cake."
---Table Talk, December 1890 (p. 459)


[1896]
Christmas Dinner, Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cook Book


[1897]
"Christmas Dinner: Oysters on the Half Shell, Clear Soup, Custard and Spinach Blocks, Olives, Celery, Deviled Spaghetti, Roasted Turkey, Chestnut Stuffing, Cranberry Jelly, Sweet Potato Croquettes, Peas Served in Turnip Cups, Ginger Sherbet, Lettuce Salad, Cheese Balls, Toasted Crackers, Plum Pudding, Hard Sauce, Coffee, Bonbons, Almonds.--The Ladies' Home Journal, December 1897"
---Savory Suppers & Fashionable Feasts: Dining in Victorian America, Susan Williams [Pantheon Books:New York] 1985 (p. 201)


[1900]
"Christmas Dinner Clam or Oyster Soup, Celery, Baked Fish, Hollandaise Sauce, Roast Turkey, Oyster Dressing, Celery or Oyster Sauce, Roast Duck, Onion Sauce, Baked Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Baked Squash, Mashed Turnips, Canned Corn, Stewed Tomatoes, Graham Bread, Rolls, Salmon or other Salad, Plum Pudding, Peach Pie, Fruit, Nuts, Coffee and Chocolate."
---Queen of the Household, Mrs. M. W. Ellsworth [Ellsworth & Brey:Detroit MI] 1900 (p. 531)

This had to be prepared by servants in households with substantial resources...not the Bob Cratchit home of Tiny Tim. I'm drenched in sweat just thinking about cooking all of these dishes over a wood stove. (being old enough to remember my mother cooking on a wood stove as a very young child.) For fun I marked in red the dishes we have enjoyed for holiday feasts...some but far from all of them! Mutton was popular for awhile as was venison which is a pain in the *ass to prepare without it tasting gamey! I wouldn't even consider it for a holiday...or a non-holiday

It all sounds absolutely wonderful, but I HOPE, Debbie, you were using a scanner and not typing that lot! Your hands will be dropping off! This food is very Mrs Beetonish, so same sort of thing in Britain, sans cherry dumplings (similar to ones Finnish friends made once.)

I like to think of Lizzie's employing a very good cook post 1893 and going to fine restaurants in New York and elsewhere and never sampling mutton broth again!

Another masterpiece from Debbie! Fantastic! I do enjoy reading about food!

Consider how the Bordens may have enjoyed mutton for Christmas! (Hopefully not leftover from August.)

I have never cooked mutton. I lived with Arabs and still eat a lot of lamb which is very different from mutton. My first husband had travelled in Australia and New Zealand and made various comments on billet. Care to comment, Curryong?

Aren't billets something to do with short lengths of sugar cane stalks? I'm afraid I don't know much about it. There's a lot of sugarcane grown up north in Queensland and nowadays the cutting of the cane is almost completely mechanised. In the 1950's and 60's however, teams of men used to cut it manually. It was a hard life and quite a colourful one by all accounts.

As I celebrate Christmas half a day before the rest of you (it's now 5:50pm on Xmas Eve) I would like to take the opportunity of wishing my fellow posters (friends) a very Merry Christmas, wherever you may be, and may you all get the gifts you wish for!

I also want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and hope that 2015 is a wonderful year here, in Lizzie land!

I know this image has been previously posted on the forum, but it is such a COZY Christmas picture!!!

Clink on the image to animate.

As I understand it billet is very old, tough sheep. Mutton by Borden standards I suppose.

I thought of you last night, Curryong. Thought it was probably already Christmas Eve yesterday. I think NASA tracks Santa Calus and he should begin delivering presents to Australia pretty fast I think.

So, Happy Christmas and do we say Joyous Boxing Day to follow?

That's really nice, Twins. Real pretty. Merry Christmas!

Thanks, Irina. That animated picture, is one of my favorite Christmas images.

Never heard it called that, irina. Not that mutton is eaten much in Oz any more! Yes, it is now 8:20 am on Christmas morning. A nice long four day holiday for most Australian workers.

What a really lovely and cosy winter's scene, twins, thanks for that! It almost makes me feel nostalgic for the snow and ice of my childhood, and coming in to a lovely roaring fire. Note I said almost!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Thanks, Curry; I'm glad you liked it. Unfortunately, in my area of Wisconsin, we are not going to have a white Christmas. IMO: Christmas just isn't the same without a covering of snow!

Northeast Iowa is without snow, too, and I also love a white Christmas...just not several feet of white! Merry Christmas to you all!!

It's still Christmas Eve here. About 9:30. News report said Santa was over the Caribbean a couple hours ago. That sounded too close but if it's already Christmas morning in Australia I guess it all works out. After he does Hawaii & the Galapagos & Siberia or wherever maybe he'll keep going west and take a vacation on the Australian beaches.

We had snow then rain and now black ice on walkways. Huge storm expected but we never get such brutal storms as the Midwest and East. The Pacific Ocean and Rocky Mts. regulate what we get. Sometimes something real bad blows down from Alaska and Canada, like we had in November already. Below zero but then it got warmer.

Well, Merry Christmas morning Curryong! Before we have our Christmas dinner you will already have Boxing Day, which we don't celebrate here.

I agree, Debbie; I enjoy a good covering of snow, but not a foot or more!!! Irina, I’m sorry to hear you are dealing with black ice – that is much worse than a foot of snow!!! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Chapeau! You are a genius, Debbiediablo.

Ice everywhere. Not pretty ice. Just sneaky black ice. I went out to get some firewood & wore my soft leather bottomed slippers. They get slightly damp then hold to the ice. I think it will warm up and melt.

Well, I'm going right off topic here, but I have to report that it was a very nice Christmas for me and the family. It was nice and warm but not too hot. Fourteen of us sat down for Christmas lunch around tables in the garden. We ranged in age from me down to the month old twins. Great stuff!

Wonderful meal, Turkey, vegs, pudding, but also prawns, salads and mousse, washed down with lots of wine. Afterwards, we went inside, exchanged gifts and played a couple of games of 'Name the Person' with names stuck on our heads! More food, more coffee then home by 8pm, full to bursting!

We got a lot of snow last night. The ice melted then it started to snow after dark.

Had turkey & dressing and berry pie from berries I picked this summer.

It would be wonderful to have Australian prawns for Christmas dinner. Jealous.

Me too re: the prawns.

Off-topic, but I decided to pop it on this thread. An AirAsia Airbus has lost contact with traffic controllers after the pilot reported bad weather and an unusual route to its destination, Singapore. Hoping for a different result to last time.

MALAYSIA STRIKES AGAIN!!!

No way would I fly or float through the Bermuda Triangle. Just saying.

And Asia based airlines are moving up on my S-list. (S = scared to fly)

It's still not been found. Australian and American ships are joining in the search for wreckage, or for something! Around Indonesia to the Southern ocean is starting to become a bit Bermuda Triangle-like itself. I have flown Malaysian Airlines, they're the mob that lost the last two planes including the one that's never been found. AsianAir is the cutprice offshoot of what was Malaysia Airlines.

Cutprice offshoot of Malaysian Airlines, given the recent past, would give me serious pause.