If you can afford to indulge occasionally in a little picturesqueness and elegance in the service of your table, get some pewter fruit moulds imitating pineapples, small melons, pears, peaches, and so forth. Each species of mould should be filled with a preparation in accordance with its nature and colour. AVhen the moulds are filled, they should be well closed, wrapped each in a sheet of paper, set on a thick layer of pounded ice, strongly salted and sulphuretted, and then covered over with another thick layer of the same mixture. In an hour's time the fruit-ices should be sufficiently frozen. Free the moulds from the paper, dip them in cold water, carefully open them, and dish your fruit-ices with such elegant surroundings as may suggest themselves to you. The tuft of the pineapple may be imitated with angelica. Of course you have heard of " surprises " in ice-creams. I have seen some astonishingly ingenious things done in this way at Vienna, where they will send you up ices simulating with marvellous closeness lobsters, oysters, bundles of as- paragus, and even mutton cutlets and small hams. One year, having a little birthday dmner at Brighton, to which a few very old friends were invited, we tried, with the brightest success, a cream-ice " surprise," the recipe of which I now freely offer to the great body of my readers. Tell your cook to obtain as many large long potatoes as you in- tend to invite guests. Let the potatoes be baked a very dark brown, so that their skins shall be rather corrugated CHATS ABOUT COOKERY. 73 than smooth. Then cut the potatoes in halves, scoop theui out thoroughly, wipe the inside of the skins quite dry, and varnish with white of egg; fill each half with ice, make it perfectly level at the top, flatten it, join the halves together, and serve the seeming "praties" on a napkin in a dish. Of course you will announce them in the bill of fare as " baked potatoes a la tin can." AVe managed at the outset to deceive every one of our guests ; we even heard murmurs of "Oh! really!" "I could not possibly!" "Who ever heard of such a thing ! " and I am afraid that one lady said " Shocking ! " But one wily male guest said he would try a " pratie." He touched one with the forefinger of his dexter hand, nodded his head sagaciously, and winked a knowing wink. He duly opened his surprise potato and revealed the ice within ; there was a roar of laughter, and ten baked skins were at once emptied of their contents. How had he discovered the trick ? we afterwards asked him. " Baked potatoes," he sententiously replied, " are not served cold ; and the guests, when potatoes come round, do not have glass plates with ice spoons set before them." For the Children. The well-bemg, as well as the good behaviour, of children depends to a very large extent on the dietary prepared for them. They should not — whether they be inclined to be hons vivants or not — be tempted by the sight of food which is not suitable to their tender years and to their tender digestions ; but they should take their meals chiefly apart from their elders until they are at least ten years old. My experience in catering for young people has not been large, but I am enabled to speak from the experiences related to 74 THE THOROUGH GOOD COOK. me by many friends whose olive-branclies have been and are numerous.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

If you can afford to indulge occasionally in a little picturesqueness and elegance in the service of your table, get some pewter fruit moulds imitating pineapples, small melons, pears, peaches, and so forth. Each species of mould should be filled with a preparation in accordance with its nature and colour. AVhen the moulds are filled, they should be well closed, wrapped each in a sheet of paper, set on a thick layer of pounded ice, strongly salted and sulfuretted, and then covered over with another thick layer of the same mixture. In an hour's time the fruit-ices should be sufficiently frozen. Free the moulds from the paper, dip them in cold water, carefully open them, and dish your fruit-ices with such elegant surroundings as may suggest themselves to you. The tuft of the pineapple may be imitated with angelica. Of course you have heard of " surprises " in ice-creams. I have seen some astonishingly ingenious things done in this way at Vienna, where they will send you up ices simulating with marvellous closeness lobsters, oysters, bundles of asparagus, and even mutton cutlets and small hams. One year, having a little birthday dinner at Brighton, to which a few very old friends were invited, we tried, with the brightest success, a cream-ice " surprise," the recipe of which I now freely offer to the great body of my readers. Tell your cook to obtain as many large long potatoes as you intend to invite guests. Let the potatoes be baked a very dark brown, so that their skins shall be rather corrugated than smooth. Then cut the potatoes in halves, scoop them out thoroughly, wipe the inside of the skins quite dry, and varnish with white of egg; fill each half with ice, make it perfectly level at the top, flatten it, join the halves together, and serve the seeming "praties" on a napkin in a dish. Of course you will announce them in the bill of fare as " baked potatoes a la surprise." We managed at the outset to deceive every one of our guests ; we even heard murmurs of "Oh! really!" "I could not possibly!" "Who ever heard of such a thing ! " and I am afraid that one lady said " Shocking ! " But one wily male guest said he would try a " pratie." He touched one with the forefinger of his dexter hand, nodded his head sagaciously, and winked a knowing wink. He duly opened his surprise potato and revealed the ice within ; there was a roar of laughter, and ten baked skins were at once emptied of their contents. How had he discovered the trick ? we afterwards asked him. " Baked potatoes," he sententiously replied, " are not served cold ; and the guests, when potatoes come round, do not have glass plates with ice spoons set before them." For the Children. The well-bemg, as well as the good behaviour, of children depends to a very large extent on the dietary prepared for them. They should not — whether they be inclined to be hons vivants or not — be tempted by the sight of food which is not suitable to their tender years and to their tender digestions ; but they should take their meals chiefly apart from their elders until they are at least ten years old. My experience in catering for young people has not been large, but I am enabled to speak from the experiences related to me by many friends whose olive-branches have been and are numerous.

The thorough good cook