The Complete Servant, by Samuel and Sarah Adams

No. 1. represents a glass, calculated to measure any quantity from two drachms to eight ounces.

No. 2. From one drachm to two ounces.

No. 3. From half a drachm to one ounce.

Note.—Sixty drops or minims make one drachm.

Scales and weights should also be kept at hand, not only for weighing heavy articles, such as butcher’s-meat, grocery, &c. but also such as will weigh small quantities with accuracy. (See the Appendix.)

Before breakfast, or as soon as possible after, the Cook having seen that her assistants in the kitchen are getting forward all things preparatory to the principal dinner, and having also given the kitchen-maid directions for the servants’ dinner, her attention will next be directed to

The Larder.

The situation of the Larder should be dry, airy, and shady; it should be well ventilated, and kept perfectly clean, cool, and free from smells of all kinds.

The freezing point, or about 32° of Farenheit’s Thermometer, is the most perfect temperature of the atmosphere for preserving animal food.

Moist and close weather is very bad for keeping meat, poultry, &c. A southerly wind is also unfavourable;—and lightning will quickly destroy it.

MEAT.

A large Safe, pierced with holes on every side, to be hung up in an airy situation, would be a very valuable appendage to every Larder.

Management of Butcher’s Meat, &c. before it is dressed.

BEEF.

Management.—When the meat first comes in, trim it neatly and carefully, by cutting out all the bloody parts and the fly-blowings, if any; cut out also the kernels in the thick end of the sirloin, in the fat of the rump, in the pope’s-eye, the thick fat of the buttock, and wherever else they are to be found. Cut off the skirt under the ribs, and as much of the suet from the sirloin and rump as will leave them handsome for dressing. Cut off also the spare suet in the loins of veal and mutton; and the spare fat of necks, or loins of mutton, makes much lighter puddings than suet. Be careful also to take out the pipe which runs along the chine-bone, and the pith which is in the back-bone in the sirloin, rump, &c.; the whole should then be wiped dry, all the holes filled up with salt, and the roasting pieces should be sprinkled with salt and hung up till wanted. In winter, the boiling meat, that is frozen, should be soaked in cold water, two or three hours before it is dressed; but the best way to thaw a roasting joint is to let it be in the warm kitchen several hours before it is put to the fire.

SALTING.

The boiling pieces, if the weather permit, will be the better for hanging a day or two before they are salted. In warm weather, it is best to let them lie an hour, rubbing well every part that is likely to be fly-blown, and then wiping them dry with a cloth, and having salt ready, rub it into every part, taking care to fill the holes where the kernels and skewers have been. Turn them and rub them well with the pickle every day, and in three or four days they will be fit to dress, if wanted. Wash all the boiling pieces before dressing; and its colour will be the better for soaking; but never wash roasting joints before they are dressed, as it robs them of their best juices and finest flavour; it is, therefore, much better to wipe them well with a dry cloth, and pare off the dry parts on the outside.

VEAL.

Management.—Examine and trim the several joints when they come in; take out the skewers and wipe all the parts dry, particularly round the kidney and udder; cut out the pipe that runs along the chine-bone in the loin and neck; take out the spine in the back-bone, and the kernels in the leg and the chump end of the loin, and cut off the skirt within the breast.

MUTTON.

Management.—In warm weather, trim the meat as soon as it comes in, as directed for beef: cut out the kernels in the leg, the chine, and near the tail in the loin; cut out also the pipe that runs along the chine-bone, and take out the pith in the chine; cut off the skirt of the breast; wipe all dry with a clean cloth, and hang it up till wanted.

LAMB.

Management.—Lamb, whether in quarters or joints, should be managed like mutton and beef, as directed.

PORK.

Management.—Examine and trim it, when brought in, as you do all other kinds of meat. Sprinkle the joints intended for roasting with a little salt, to improve their relish. Cut the joints intended for boiling into suitable pieces, and rub them well with salt as you put them into the salting-pan.

VENISON.

Management.—To prevent venison from tainting, take the kernel out of the haunch, wash the whole with vinegar and water, then wipe it quite dry, and dust it with ground ginger or pepper, to keep off the flies.—Thus managed, it may be kept a fortnight.

General Business of the Larder.

Joints of meat, game, &c. should be hung where there is a current of dry air, till they are tender. If they be not kept long enough, they will be hard and tough;—if too long, they lose their flavour. Much loss is sustained by the spoiling of meat in warm weather; to prevent which, as far as possible, it must be turned daily, end for end, and wiped every morning and night, with a clean, dry cloth, to free it and keep it from damp and moisture. If it be feared that any of the ripe meat will not keep till wanted, it should be parboiled, or part-roasted, by which means it may be kept a day or two the longer. Pieces of charcoal should also be put over meat, and a plug of charcoal put into the vents of fowls, &c. a string being tied round their necks. Before dressing meat it must be well washed and wiped dry; except roasting-beef, the dry outsides of which must be pared off. When meat indicates the least degree of putridity it should be dressed with out delay, else it becomes unwholesome. In the latter case, however, even fish, as well as meat, may be reclaimed, by putting pieces of charcoal into the water with it, when boiled or parboiled.—Tainted meat may also be restored by washing it in cold water, and afterwards in strong chamomile tea, and rubbing it dry with a clean cloth; after which it may be sprinkled with salt, and suffered to remain till the next day, if necessary.

In frosty weather all meat should be brought into the kitchen over night, or at least several hours before it is to be dressed.

Early in the morning remove the cold meat into clean dishes; change also, all the broths, soups, gravies, stock, cullis, &c. that require it, into clean scalded stone-pans; and never leave any eatables in copper or brass vessels, for if touched with salt or vinegar, or any acid, and left wet, they will corrode and gather poison.

Turn and rub the meat that is in salt; after which let the Larder be well scoured and cleaned out.

Dried meats, hams, tongues, bacon, &c. must be hung up in a cool, dry place, otherwise they will become rusty.

Bread should be kept in an earthen pan, with a cover, to exclude the air;—it should not be cut till it is a day old.

The vigilant Cook, having attended to the minutiæ of the larder, and directed that the shelves and floor be well scoured and washed, and every part made perfectly free from smells, will next, if it be in her department, prepare to go to market, and consult her mistress or the housekeeper accordingly.[15]

Having seen that all the marketing is properly disposed of,—the parlour lunch, nursery and servants’ dinners getting forward, or got out of the way, then commences the principal preparations for the day.

In families where great dinners are seldom given, it will be better, when it can be conveniently done, to make an arrangement, as to the principal dishes, a day or two, or more, before hand. The Cook should never quit her post, on such an occasion, as it requires not only great skill but the utmost attention and exertion to send up the whole of a great dinner, with all its accompaniments, in perfect order.

When there is an opportunity of getting forward the soups, sauces, and made dishes, on the preceding day, it should, by all means, be done; but if not, the soups, &c. should be forwarded early in the morning, and while these are preparing, the joints of meat, cutlets, and other articles should be trimmed, the poultry and game, &c. trussed and made ready for dressing; the vegetables picked quite clean, trimmed, and well washed, and laid separate, in dishes or cullenders. The shalots, onions, sweet-herbs, spices, &c. should also be prepared, and laid quite at hand.

The Bill of Fare being made out, and the hour of active operation approaching, the clock must be consulted, and the different articles prepared and laid to the fire, in succession, according to the times they will take, that all may be ready in due time.—A scene of activity now commences, in which you must necessarily be cool, collected, and attentive.—Have an eye to the roast meat, and an ear to the boils,—and let your thoughts continually recur to the rudiments of your art, which at this moment must be called into practical requisition. You will endeavour that every kind of vegetable, and of sauce, be made to keep pace with the dishes to which they respectively belong—so that all may go up stairs smoking hot together, and in due order.

Let a clean cloth be laid on the kitchen-table, and with the bill of fare for your guide, if neither housekeeper nor the butler be present, let the dishes, intended to be used, be placed on this table, exactly as they are meant to stand on the table in the dining-room, and let every article be taken off the table in the kitchen, by the footman, and proper assistants, in regular order, by which means the butler cannot fail to set them in their proper places above stairs.

In some families, the soups are sent up first; and next, after a few minutes, the fish, then the removes, vegetables, sauces, and the whole of the first course:—mean time the entremets, or second course, will be dished and sent up, precisely in the same way. This would be done in all families, at all times, were it not deemed necessary frequently to sacrifice convenience, comfort, and every other consideration, at the shrine of fashion and elegance of appearance.

When the dinner things are brought down, the meat must be removed into clean common dishes; and as many things, such as fricandeaus, stews, &c. may remain untouched, or can be made to do again, when tossed up afresh, in different ways; they must be taken out of the gravies, the garnish, &c. picked clean off them, and the meat put by in clean dishes, and covered with thin slices of bacon. These gravies, and those from the roast meats of different kinds, must all be saved in separate stone pans, as all things of this kind serve to make a rich kitchen, and may be converted or applied to various useful purposes. The soups that are left should be strained through sieves to take out the bread and other vegetable matters, which, if left in, would turn them sour.

What sweets are left, such as Blancmange, Jellies, &c. may be melted and run into smaller moulds or shapes, and made to do again. Such management as this is highly commendable in all families, as thereby you are at all times provided for extra visiters.

Potted Meats, Collared articles, Anchovies, Oysters and other shell-fish, mock Brawn, cold Hams, Tongue, Stewed Peas, Black Caps, Sweets of various kinds, and some sorts of Tarts, should also be kept ready for suppers and extra occasions.[16]

The kitchen fire being reduced, and made up for ordinary occasions,—The dishes and every other article that has been used in the course of the day, and particularly the pots, kettles, sauce-pans, and other culinary utensils, being all scoured, and made perfectly clean, dried, wiped out, and put in their proper places;—the dressers and tables scoured down, and the whole kitchen made quite clean and put into perfect order, the principal business of the day may be considered at an end, as little more, of consequence, will seldom be required on the part of the Cook, except what further attention the larder, in hot weather, may demand, before she retires.

Useful Hints.

With the utmost attention of the Cook, she can gain no credit, if she send up more than one dish, with all its accompaniments, at a time, and that as quickly as possible.

Old meats do not require so much dressing as young, because they may be eaten with the gravy in them.

Pickled pork requires longer dressing, in proportion, than any other meat.

Hashes and minces should be only simmered, if boiled, they become hard.

Meat hastily boiled or roasted is, thereby, made the more indigestible, and its juices are wastefully extracted.

The warmer the weather, and the staler the meat, the less time it will take in dressing.

When meat is overdone it is spoiled, and the fault can never be corrected;—when neither overdone nor underdone it is most digestible and most nutritious;—and when thoroughly done, it eats short and tender.

In dressing Meats, be as correct as possible as to quantities, qualities, and time.

Meat that is not to be cut up till cold must be well done, particularly in the summer time.

The greatest skill of the best cook will avail nothing, unless the provisions are good.

The present taste is simply to boil both carp and tench; and serve up with plain or savoury sauce, or rather, with Dutch sour sauce, which does not destroy the flavour of the fish.

All fish should be sent up as hot as possible, and particularly the sauces. In fact, all sauces ought to be set on the table quite hot.

Essence of anchovies is a very good fish-sauce, alone—or otherwise.

To prepare meat in a hot-bath is a most excellent mode of cookery; as it makes it tender without the loss of its juices.

A conjuror or Papin’s digester is a very economical Utensil. It will dress a steak deliciously, with the addition of a little catsup, or with oysters, &c.—It boils water in a few minutes.

To keep meat hot, when done, take it up, set the dish over a pan of boiling water, put a deep cover over it, and throw a clean cloth over that.

Broiled beef steaks, mutton-chops, &c. should always be sent to the table hot and hot.

Whole peas are better than split peas for soup, in winter. It is a good practice to steep them an hour or more in cold water, before they are boiled.

Wines and spices should not be put into soups, stews, &c. too early, as the heat evaporates both the spirit and the flavour.

Vermicelli, when used in soups, &c. should not be suffered to remain in it more than fifteen minutes, as it will become a paste.

Dripping will do as well as butter to baste any thing.

A small quantity of cream is better than flour and water, in melting butter.

Much butter is not to be recommended on all occasions.

When the palate is become dull by frequent tasting, wash the mouth with milk;—or eat an apple.

A bit of bread stuck upon the point of the knife with which you peel or cut onions, will prevent their disagreeable effect on the eyes.

A kettle of water kept boiling, over a charcoal fire, will effectually prevent its deleterious effects in the room.

Coals. Judicious Cooks will perform their culinary operations with much less coal than those who erroneously conceive that the greater the fire, the greater the dispatch. Time, rather than a fierce fire, answers best both for roasting and boiling meats.—Round coals are best for use, and small coal should never be thrown on a weak fire, as it will stop the progress of the air through the fire; and perhaps extinguish it. But small coal, or culm, a little wetted, and thrown at the back of a good fire, will become cinders or coke, and greatly improve it.

All the ashes of the kitchen and other grates should be sifted, and the cinders saved, to be used under the boilers in brewing and washing, or in the ironing stove.

A simple and excellent contrivance for sifting cinders may be purchased at the Ironmongers.

Omelets should be made to eat full and thick at the mouth. They should be sent up quite hot, after dinner, and are wholesome, and great favourites in most countries.

A little sugar much improves the taste of green peas.

Potted meats make excellent sandwiches.

Sandwiches should be neatly cut in mouthfuls, so as to be taken up with a fork.

Maxims.

Do every thing in the proper time.

Keep every thing in its proper place.

Use every thing for its proper use.

Never use any boiling or stewing utensil, pot or pan, spit, cookhold, spoon, ladle, or skewer, sieve, tammy or pudding cloth, jelly bag, net, tape, or other kitchen article, that have not been well scalded or washed with boiling water, and thoroughly dried.

The Cook’s Catechism.

Browning	A preparation of white sugar, browned over the fire, and then diluted to the consistency of soy, for the purpose of colouring soups, gravies, &c.
Bechamel	A simple white gravy or sauce
To Braize	To stew over a slow fire
Consommé	A rich soup or gravy consumed over the fire to the consistency of a jelly, to be diluted and converted, when wanted, into soup
Cullis	A rich brown gravy, made in various ways, according to the purpose for which it is intended
Entrés	Dishes for a first course
Entremets	Dishes for a second course
Esculents or Edibles	Animal or Vegetable food—any article that may be eaten
Fricandeau	A sort of Scotch collops
Fricassee	Fowls, rabbits, or other things cut to pieces and dressed with a strong white sauce
Garnishes	Articles laid round a dish by way of ornament, and generally, but not always, intended to be eaten therewith
Glaze	A very rich sauce or gravy boiled to a thick substance, and preserved in pots, to be laid on with a long-haired brush, over high-seasoned dishes
To Glaze	To cover the outsides of hams, tongues, and all stewed dishes, with glaze or braize, to give them a rich appearance
Harrico	Veal, mutton, &c. stewed with vegetables
Hot-Bath	A pan or other vessel filled with water, and placed in a pot, which is kept boiling over the fire, for the purpose of scalding fruits, or preparing meats
Maigre	Soup, or any other dish, made without meat or gravy
To Pass	To dress a thing partially, by setting on, or shaking it over the fire for a short time
Ragoût	Or stewing or boiling meat or other articles, to preserve their juices
To Sheet	To line the inside of a dish with paste
Stock	A preparation from gravy meats, &c. always to be kept at hand, for the purpose of making soup or gravy

We have now initiated our honest candidate for culinary fame, by regular and easy gradations, into the whole arcana of the profession,—taught her to judge of the natures and qualities of provisions, and their comparative values;—the best seasons and methods of purchasing, and of managing undressed animal and vegetable food; and the general economy of the larder;—Have given her the plainest elementary principles and precepts, and a few of the most simple examples, for practice, in all the various branches of boiling, roasting, baking, broiling, frying, &c.—the best methods of making soups, gravies, sauces, and salads: and, lastly, the modern mode of preparing a good dinner, with all its most approved accompaniments. In fine, we have been anxious, not only to instruct the common cook in the rudiments, and all the ordinary operations of her art, but how to combine, both in principle and practice, the most elegant with the most useful results; so as to enable her to please both the man of taste and the man of temperance;—the economist and the epicure;—the whimsical and the wise;—those who eat to live, and those who live to eat.—Under the head Housekeeper, we have also given ample instructions for making Pastry, Confectionary, Preserves, and Pickles, which frequently fall within the province of the cook. The whole comprises, as it were in a nut-shell, a complete compendium of culinary knowledge, chiefly valuable for its comprehensive brevity, and which, we trust, will be found, by the ingenious practitioner, full as useful as many, more elaborate volumes, professedly written on this subject only, and published at not less, if not more than the whole price of this little Work.

Dean Swift’s ironical directions to the Cook.

Although I am not ignorant, that it hath been a long time since the custom began among people of quality to keep men cooks, and generally of the French nation; yet because my treatise is chiefly calculated for the general run of knights, ’squires, and gentlemen both in town and country, I shall therefore apply to you, Mrs. Cook, as a woman; however, a great part of what I intend may serve for either sex: and your part naturally follows the former; because the butler and you are joined in interest; your vails are generally equal, and paid when others are disappointed; you can junket together at nights upon your own prog, when the rest of the house are a-bed; and have it in your power to make every fellow-servant your friend; you can give a good bit or a good sup to the little masters and misses, and gain their affections: a quarrel between you is very dangerous to you both, and will probably end in one of you being turned off, in which fatal case, perhaps, it will not be so easy in some time to cotton with another. And now, Mrs. Cook, I proceed to give you my instructions, which I desire you will get some fellow-servant in the family to read to you constantly one night in every week when you are going to bed; whether you serve in town or country, for my lessons shall be fitted for both.

If your lady forgets at supper, that there is any cold meat in the house, do not you be so officious as to put her in mind of it; it is plain she did not want it; and if she recollects it the next day, say she gave you no orders, and it is spent; therefore, for fear of telling a lie, dispose of it with the butler, or any other crony, before you go to bed.

Never send up a leg of a fowl at supper, while there is a cat or a dog in the house, that can be accused for running away with it: but if there happen to be neither, you must lay it upon the rats, or a strange hound.

It is ill house-wifery to foul your kitchen rubbers with wiping the bottoms of the dishes you send up, since the table-cloth will do as well, and is changed every meal.

Never clean your spits after they have been used; for the grease left upon them by meat is the best thing to preserve them from rust; and when you make use of them again, the same grease will keep the inside of the meat moist.

If you live in a rich family, roasting and boiling are below the dignity of your office, and which it becomes you to be ignorant of; therefore leave that work wholly to the kitchen-maid, for fear of disgracing the family you live in.

If you are employed in marketing, buy your meat as cheap as you can, but when you bring in your accounts, be tender of your master’s honour, and set down the highest rate; which, besides, is but justice, for nobody can afford to sell at the same rate that he buys, and I am confident that you may charge safely; swear that you gave no more than what the butcher and poulterer asked. If your lady orders you to set up a piece of meat for supper, you are not to understand that you must set it up all; therefore, you may give half to yourself and the butler.

Good cooks cannot abide what they justly call fiddling work, where abundance of time is spent and little done: such, for instance, is the dressing of small birds, requiring a world of cookery and clutter, and a second or third spit, which by the way is absolutely needless; for it will be a very ridiculous thing indeed, if a spit which is strong enough to turn a sirloin of beef, should not be able to turn a lark; however, if your lady be nice, and is afraid that a large spit will tear them, place them handsomely in the dripping-pan, where the fat of roasted mutton or beef falling on the birds, will serve to baste them, and so save both time and butter: for what cook of any spirit would lose her time in picking larks, wheat-ears, and other small birds? Therefore, if you cannot get the maids, or the young misses to assist you, e’en make short work, and either singe or flay them; there is no great loss in the skins, and the flesh is just the same.

If you are employed in marketing, do not accept a treat of a beef-steak and a pot of ale from the butcher, which I think in conscience is no better than wronging your master; but do you always take that perquisite in money if you do not go in trust, or in poundage when you pay the bills.

The kitchen bellows being usually out of order with stirring the fire with the muzzle to save the tongs and poker, borrow the bellows out of your lady’s bed-chamber, which being least used, are commonly the best in the house; and if you happen to damage or grease them, you have a chance to have them left entirely for your own use.

Let a blackguard boy be always about the house to send on your errands, and go to market for you on rainy days, which will save your clothes, and make you appear more creditable to your mistress.

If your mistress allows you the kitchen-stuff, in return for her generosity take care to boil and roast your meat sufficiently. If she keeps it for her own profit, do her justice, and, rather than let a good fire be wanting, enliven it now and then with the dripping, and the butter that happens to turn to oil.

Send up your meat well stuck with skewers, to make it look round and plump; and an iron skewer rightly employed now and then will make it look handsomer.

When you roast a long joint of meat, be careful only about the middle, and leave the two extreme parts raw, which may serve another time, and will also save firing.

When you scour your plates and dishes, bend the brim inwards, so as to make them hold the more.

Always keep a large fire in the kitchen, when there is a small dinner, or the family dines abroad, that the neighbours, seeing the smoke, may commend your master’s house-keeping: but when much company is invited, then be as sparing as possible of your coals, because a great deal of the meat, being half raw, will be saved, and serve next day.

Boil your meat constantly in pump water, because you must sometimes want river or pipe water; and then your mistress, observing your meat of a different colour, will chide you when you are not in fault.

When you have plenty of fowls in the larder, leave the door open, in pity to the poor cat, if she be a good mouser.

If you find it necessary to go to market in a wet day, take out your mistress’s cloak, to save your clothes.

Get three or four chair-women to attend you constantly in the kitchen, whom you pay at small charges, only with the broken meat, a few coals, and all the cinders.

To keep troublesome servants out of the kitchen, always leave the winder sticking on the jack, to fall on their heads.

If a lump of soot falls into the soup, and you cannot conveniently get it out, stir it well, and it will give the soup a high French taste.

If you melt your butter to oil, be under no concern, but send it up; for oil is a genteeler sauce than butter.

Scrape the bottoms of your pots and kettles with a silver spoon, for fear of giving them a taste of the copper.

When you send up butter for sauce, be so thrifty as to let it be half water; which is also much wholesomer.

If your butter, when it is melted, tastes of brass, it is your master’s fault, who will not allow you a silver saucepan; besides, the less of it will go the farther, and new tinning is very chargeable: if you have a silver saucepan, and the butter smells of smoke, lay the fault upon the coals.

Never make use of a spoon in any thing that you can do with your hands, for fear of wearing out your master’s plate.

When you find that you cannot get dinner ready at the time appointed, put the clock back, and then it may be ready to a minute.

Let a red-hot coal now and then fall into the dripping-pan; that the smoke of the dripping may ascend, and give the roast meat a high taste.

You are to look upon the kitchen as your dressing room; but you are not to wash your hands, till you have gone to the Privy, and spitted your meat, trussed your fowl, picked your salad, nor indeed till after you have sent up your second course: for your hands will be ten times fouler with the many things you are forced to handle; but when your work is over, one washing will serve for all.

There is but one part of your dressing that I would admit while the victuals are boiling, roasting, or stewing; I mean, the combing your head, which loseth no time, because you stand over your cookery, and watch it with one hand, while you are using the comb with the other.

If any of the combings happen to be sent up with the victuals, you may safely lay the fault upon any of the footmen that hath vexed you: as those gentlemen are sometimes apt to be malicious, if you refuse them a sop in the pan, or a slice from the spit, much more when you discharge a ladle-full of hot porridge on their legs, or send them up to their masters with a dish-clout pinned at their tail.

In roasting and boiling, order the kitchen-maid to bring none but the large coals, and save the small ones for the fires above stairs: the first are properest for dressing meat; and when they are out, if you happen to miscarry in any dish, you may fairly lay the fault upon the want of coals; besides, the cinder-pickers will be sure to speak ill of your master’s house-keeping, where they do not find plenty of large cinders mixt with fresh large coals: thus you may dress your meat with credit, do an act of charity, raise the honour of your master, and sometimes get share of a pot of ale for your bounty to the cinder-woman.

As soon as you have sent up the second course, you have nothing to do (in a great family) until supper: therefore scour your bands and face, put on your hood and scarf, and take your pleasure among your cronies, till nine or ten at night—but dine first.

Let there be always a strict friendship between you and the butler, for it is both your interests to be united: the butler often wants a comfortable tit-bit, and you much oftener a cool cup of good liquor. However, be cautious of him, for he is sometimes an inconstant lover; because he hath great advantage to allure the maids with a glass of sack, or white-wine and sugar.

When you roast a breast of veal, remember your sweet-heart the butler loves a sweet-bread; therefore set it aside till evening; you can say, the cat or the dog has run away with it, or you found it tainted or fly-blown; and besides, it looks as well at the table without it.

When you make the company wait long for dinner, and the meat be over-done, which is generally the case, you may lawfully lay the fault upon your lady, who hurried you to send up dinner, that you was forced to send it up too much boiled or roasted.

If your dinner miscarries in almost every dish, how could you help it? You were teazed by the footmen coming into the kitchen; and to prove it true, take occasion to be angry, and throw a ladle-full of broth on one or two of their liveries; besides Friday and Childermas-day are two cross days in the week, and it is impossible to have good luck on either of them; therefore on those two days you have a lawful excuse.

When you are in haste to take down your dishes, tip them in such a manner, that a dozen will fall together upon the dresser, just ready for your hand.

To save time and trouble, cut your apples and onions with the same knife; well-bred gentry love the taste of an onion in every thing they eat.

Lump three or four pounds of butter together with your hand; then dash it against the wall just over the dresser, so as to have it ready to pull by pieces as you have occasion for it.

If you have a silver sauce-pan for the kitchen use, let me advise you to batter it well, and keep it always black; this will be for your master’s honour; for it shews there has been constant good house-keeping: and make room for the sauce-pan by wriggling it on the coals, &c.

In the same manner, if you are allowed a large silver spoon for the kitchen, let half the bowl of it be worn out with continual scraping and stirring; and often say merrily, this spoon owes my master no service.

When you send up a mess of broth, water-gruel, or the like, to your master in a morning, do not forget, with your thumb and two fingers, to put salt on the side of the plate; for if you make use of a spoon, or the end of a knife, there may be danger that the salt would fall, and that would be a sign of ill luck. Only remember to lick your thumb and fingers clean, before you offer to touch the salt.

In this satire, much useful instruction is conveyed, and many faults exposed which could not be so well noticed in any other form. A valuable servant will, of course, not lay herself open to the Dean’s irony.

Above all things, a cook should avoid all cruelty, and no custom or usage should be an excuse for any practices, by which living and sensitive creatures are to be put to wanton and unnecessary torture.

N.B. In the previous article it has not been attempted to give a detailed system of cookery, which alone would have filled a volume; but the object has been so to condense as to give the substance of the art in a few general rules, applicable to all cases, and therefore more useful than detailed instructions, for, applied with good sense, they cannot fail to make a complete cook.