supreme In its excellence. Pepys, who was a tlioroughgoing epicure, makes frequent allusions in his Diary to a veni- son pasty as the solitary dish at a dinner which he distinctly states to have been a ver}^ good one ; but in modern England the venison pasty is scarcely ever seen, save at hunting breakfasts, at the seats of country squires. The raised pie, ^when it does find a place in the modern bill of fare, is usually of game or oi foie gms truffled. Turkey pie, again, a very noble form of pasty, is all but obsolete ; and the same may be said of that once universal ftivourite, goose pie. King George IV., according to the CJironique Bcandaleuse, was lunching on goose pie and Dublin whisk}^ on board the Royal yacht in Kingstown Harbour Avhen a messenger from London entered the cabin and informed his Majesty that Queen Caroline Avas dead. " Is she ? by Jove ! " exclaimed the amiable monarch, and went on eating goose-pie. Although raised pies have in ordinary life been almost entirely superseded by pies made in dishes and covered with a, cupola of crust, the castellated pie, or "coffin," as our ancestors used to call it, still holds its oAvn at the hunting breakfasts aforesaid and at fashionable suppers ; while curiously enough, our old partiality for the raised pasty as a kind of national dish still dimly survives in those most convenient and palatable edibles, the Watling and Melton- Mowbray pork pies, which are really pasties or raised pies in miniature. In one respect they may be considered more relishable than their mediaeval prototypes, since the cheap and modest little pork pie up-to-date — an entire one may be purchased for eightpence — contains between the undercrust and the pork itself a layer of aspic or jelly, which does not seem to have been an ingredient in the ancient pasties. . The American pie, when composed of meat, is, of course, covered with a crust ; and pigeon pie, or one made of " squabs," is a standing dish at most transatlantic table CHATS ABOUT COOKEIIY. 41 d'hotes. The transatlantic fruit pie, on the other hand, is rarely covered, although the Americans persist in calling- it pie or " poy," and are passionately fond of it. Britishers "would usually call it a tart Avith a thick under-crust. Pumpkin pie may be considered as the essentially national type of pastry and fruit in which brother Jonathan delights, iinless indeed you question the right of the pumpkin to be called a fruit at all ; in which case I must bring to your notice huckleberry-pie, cranberr3'-pie, and pear-pie, all of which we should term fruit tarts.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

supreme In its excellence. Pepys, who was a thoroughgoing epicure, makes frequent allusions in his Diary to a venison pasty as the solitary dish at a dinner which he distinctly states to have been a very good one ; but in modern England the venison pasty is scarcely ever seen, save at hunting breakfasts, at the seats of country squires. The raised pie, ^when it does find a place in the modern bill of fare, is usually of game or of foie gras truffled. Turkey pie, again, a very noble form of pasty, is all but obsolete ; and the same may be said of that once universal favourite, goose pie. King George IV., according to the Chronique Scandaleuse, was lunching on goose pie and Dublin whiskey on board the Royal yacht in Kingstown Harbour Avhen a messenger from London entered the cabin and informed his Majesty that Queen Caroline was dead. " Is she ? by Jove ! " exclaimed the amiable monarch, and went on eating goose-pie. Although raised pies have in ordinary life been almost entirely superseded by pies made in dishes and covered with a, cupola of crust, the castellated pie, or "coffin," as our ancestors used to call it, still holds its own at the hunting breakfasts aforesaid and at fashionable suppers ; while curiously enough, our old partiality for the raised pasty as a kind of national dish still dimly survives in those most convenient and palatable edibles, the Watling and Melton- Mowbray pork pies, which are really pasties or raised pies in miniature. In one respect they may be considered more relishable than their mediaeval prototypes, since the cheap and modest little pork pie up-to-date — an entire one may be purchased for eightpence — contains between the undercrust and the pork itself a layer of aspic or jelly, which does not seem to have been an ingredient in the ancient pasties. . The American pie, when composed of meat, is, of course, covered with a crust ; and pigeon pie, or one made of " squabs," is a standing dish at most transatlantic table d'hotes. The transatlantic fruit pie, on the other hand, is rarely covered, although the Americans persist in callingit pie or " poy," and are passionately fond of it. Britishers "would usually call it a tart Avith a thick under-crust. Pumpkin pie may be considered as the essentially national type of pastry and fruit in which brother Jonathan delights, unless indeed you question the right of the pumpkin to be called a fruit at all ; in which case I must bring to your notice huckleberry-pie, cranberry-pie, and pear-pie, all of which we should term fruit tarts.

The thorough good cook