man, and which was delicious. "How long is it since it was given to you?" asked the English gentleman. "Oh! I don't know; it may be ten or twelve years ago!"

594 Chocolat (Chocolate).

It is difficult to get good chocolate. If it is old it will be rancid, and if it is good it is sure to be dear. It is impossible to get it good for less than three shillings a pound, and if you want the best quality you will have to pay from five to six shillings.

Chocolate at three or four shillings a pound is quite good enough for boiling, or making custards.

With a pound of chocolate you can prepare twenty cups. Break the chocolate in small pieces with your hands: never use a knife, for it gives it a disagreeable taste. Put it in a pan, with water enough to dissolve it; stir it with a wooden or silver spoon; when quite smooth, pour gradually into it the requisite quantity of milk; mix well, add a little sugar, and let the whole boil together for five minutes. Serve very

hot.

If you have got a chocolatière, whip the chocolate. to make it frothy.

You may use water instead of milk, but it will not be so rich.

595. Thé de fleurs d'oranger.

When orange-trees are in full blossom gather some of the flowers, and put the petals to dry in a shaded

place. Then, when required, put a table-spoonful of those dried petals in a tea-pot, and pour upon them a gill of boiling milk. Serve like tea, with sugar.

This is a most agreeable drink. It may be given at an evening party.

596. Lait d'amandes.

Break five almonds, with their shells, and put them in a gill of new milk; add a small piece of vanilla and some sugar. Boil the two together, pass it through a tammie, and serve hot in small glasses, at an evening party.

597. Bavaroises à la liqueur.

Boil a quart of milk with sugar, add to it two wineglasses of rum, kirschenwasser, anisette, or any other liqueur, and serve hot in small glasses, for an evening party.

598. Punch.

Rub two pounds of sugar, cut in pieces, upon the rinds of three lemons: put the sugar in a punchbowl; add two quarts of strong hot tea; stir, to make the sugar melt; add gradually a bottle of rum. Mix thoroughly and quickly. Set fire to the punch, and serve in small glasses.

599. Vin chaud.

Have ready two bottles of good red Burgundy wine; put them over the fire with two cloves, a small piece of cinnamon, and half a pound of sugar. Let it

Pass it

become very hot, but do not let it boil. through a silk tammie, then add to it three oranges cut in slices. Serve hot in small glasses, with a slice of orange in each glass. You may use lemons instead of oranges, and increase the quantity of sugar.

600. Cacao.

Take a tumblerful of cocoa-bark, and put it in a pan with a tumblerful of water; let it boil for twenty minutes, pour it through a sieve, and afterwards into a gill of boiling milk; add a little sugar. Let the whole boil together for five minutes, and serve hot.

This drink is very cheap and agreeable, but it would be dangerous for some persons to use it, for it is astringent and does not suit everybody's constitution.

CHAPTER XXI.

BONBONS DE MÉNAGE.

BEFORE giving receipts for making bonbons, I shall indicate how to make the different syrups of sugar: they are all made alike, and the only difference lies in the degree to which the sugar is boiled. Those degrees are very numerous, but I shall only give the requisite number for making preserves and bonbons de ménage, for it is extremely difficult to succeed after a certain degree; then, if you fail, the cost is very great, and it would be cheaper to buy bonbons ready made.

601. Sucre clarifié (To clarify sugar).

Let

Break coarsely four pounds of sugar and put it in a preserving pan (not tinned inside) with two pounds and a half of water. Beat the white of an egg with a few drops of water, add it to the water and mix thoroughly with it, when the sugar is melted. the white remain with the sugar until it begins to boil, then remove the pan from the fire, and when it ceases to boil, skim it with a copper skimming-spoon; being careful to remove all the egg.

Sugar in this state is ready for making liqueurs.

Put the sugar back on the fire and let it boil for a while, dip your skimming-spoon into it and blow hard upon it; if you see some bubbles on the opposite side it is then 1st degree, au petit boulé. If you leave it a little longer on the fire you will hear a noise, and see the surface covered with bubbles; dip the skimmingspoon into it and blow hard upon it, the bubbles will detach themselves from the spoon and float in the air like soap-bubbles; this is the 2nd degree, or grand boulé. When the syrup falls from the skimmingspoon as a smooth sheet, it is the 3rd degree, or à la nappe. When the syrup forms threads which solidify in cold water, it is the 4th degree, or cassé. When it becomes of a very light golden colour, 5th degree, or sucre d'orge; and when it becomes of a light brown, 6th degree, or caramel. When it is arrived at this degree, remove it quickly from the fire, or it would burn.

602. Soufflé de fleurs d'oranger.

For all kinds of bonbons use a very shallow copper pan, not tinned inside, with a handle on each side.

Boil au grand boulé, 2nd degree, four ounces of pounded sugar with three table-spoonfuls of water, throw into it a table-spoonful of petals of orangeblossoms, quite fresh; let them boil to the 4th degree, au cassé; then drop upon a sheet of white paper a portion as large as a half-crown; repeat, leaving a good space between each bonbon, until all the preparation is used up. Remove the bonbons as soon as they are cold, and put them in glass bottles, tightly corked.