Punch: Punch (70.1876)

90 PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. [March 11, 1876.

UNITED AT LAST!

A Novelette for the Drawing-Room and the Kitchen

Chapter II— All Right!
It was a'very Happy party. Edwin and FRANCES were seated at

In one case I wanted to keep the juices inside the joint, in the
other to get the juices out into the soup. In future (following the
advice of Mr. Buckmaster) I shall turn the liquid in which the
meat is boiled into soup." This was said with a pretty little air of
determination.

How good these 'potatoes are ! " cried Edwin, enthusiasti-

a table upon which was ,__.__,__ cally. "I am sure you

took the advice of Mr.

spread a snowy white
cloth, upon which were
placed some hot-house
flowers. He was eating
heartily';.; she. was all
aglow with excitement.
In the background
Atalanta stood like a
presiding genius, the
very impersonification
of contentment. The
faithful creature was
employed in removing
the dishes. The soup
had been praised; the
fish had been excel-
lent ; the joint was on
the table.

"Come" said Ed-
win, " this is some-
thing like a dinner. I
will be bound no dirty
fork was used to re-
move this boiled beef
from the pot to the
dish."

" I should think not,"
replied the now happy
mistress of the house,
pouting. "I followed
the directions of the
great master."

" You mean Buck-
master P" put in
Edwin.

"I do mean Mr.
Buckmaster," replied
Frances, smiling. '' A
piece of tape was tied
round the joint. The
dirty fork lets out the
gravy."

"It is beautifully
cooked ! " murmured
Edwin.

" It is," returned his
wife, with conscious
pride. " Thoroughly
agreeing with Mr.
Bu( k viASTER that it is
a gi eat mistake to keep j
the pot bubbling away,
I got a receptacle large
enough to receive the
meat in, the clean soft
water I had heated to
about 190 degrees to
receive it. The meat
was boiled a quarter
of an hour to every
pound. I carefully
(with the assistance of
my faithful Atalanta)
removed the scum every
now and then, and you
see the result."

" I do indeed!' cried
Edwtn, laughing mer-
rily, and holding out
his plate for a second
helping. " How good
the soup was],'! "

" Yes," murmured Frances, dreamily, "I followed the direc-
tions of Mr. Buckmaster. I put the meat in cold water, and set
it on the hob to simmer for three or four hours."

"Did you say cold water, my angel ? Another potato, please ! "
It was Edwin who was speaking.

les. Ihe joint was plunged into hot water, the meat forming
(with oatmeal) the nourishment of the soup, was thrown into cold.

Buckmaster on this
subject, too ? "

'' I am not ashamed
to say I did," was the
reply of the sweet young
wife. "I selected po-
tatoes of the same size
and same variety, I
washed and scrubbed
them with a hard
brush."

'' Did you remove the
skin before cooking ? "

" Certainly not," she
cried. "If I had, all
the delicate flavour of
the potatoes would have
been lost. If a raw
potato is peeled, the
part giving the dis-
tinctive taste of the
different varieties •—
which lies just under
the , skin — is wasted.
No, Sir, I packed them
as tightly as possible in
a saucepan, and covered
them with the smallest
quantity of rain-water.
I brought them quickly
to the boil, and when
they did boil I set them
aside till they were
tender. I soon ascer-
tained that they were
tender by using a knit-
ting-needle—not, mark
me, a dirty fork. When
I knew that the pota-
toeswere indeed tender,
I put them on the fire
to boil for two or three
minutes quickly. Then
I poured all the water
I could away, gave the
potatoes a shake, and
took off the lid to allow
the remainder of the
water to evaporate.
Then, and not until
then, the potatoes were
peeled, and sent up to
table.'*

Edwin was silent for
a long time, thinking
deeply and gravely ;
then he rose from the
table, went to his
desk and wrote a short
note. All this while
Frances was watching
him anxiously and ea-
gerly. Then he came
to her, and smilingly
placed the letter in her
fair hands.

"My soul! " he mur-
mured, as he embraced
her, " it is my resigna-
tion of the Club. In
future I dine at home
with a darling little angel who knows how to cook. Thanks to
Mr. Buckmaster's teaching, this is now a. happy house — and,
darling, we are united at last! "

Our story is over. Edwin and Frances (now Marquis and Mar-
chioness of Brompton and Islington) are the most contented
couple to be found in the pages of Burke—their dinners are the

MR. PUNCH'S DRESS DESIGNS (AFTER NATURE).

Costume du Soir—Kobe en Homard.

[A Suggestion for Tight Dresses.