blooming with the fragrant exotics of every clime. This is what the riches of England can do.*

BALLS.

As balls are more general, and can be decorated with less expense, we shall speak more fully of them, as such a public breakfast as that described above will require the assistance of the confectioner and able cooks, to whom we do not pretend to give any instructions.+

A handsome private ball may be very well managed at home with the assistance of a good cook or two for two days before; but the mistress and cook must be preparing for some time previous, particularly if it is necessary to economize, as many things with the cold meats may be preparing long before, and much of the small pastry, such as dry meringles, almonds, biscuits of all kinds, wafers, bon bons, gum paste ornaments, with caramels, and a great deal of stock for jelly, which may be prepared eight days before.-See Receipts. Eight cowheels, which can be bought at the highest charge for eight shillings, will cover a splendid table, with sweet and savory jelly; isinglass, fruits, and flower jellies, blamanges, and egg-creams, may all be done two days before, but not turned out of the moulds till necessary to dish. In Roman Catholic countries they have a piece montée, wherein the marriage bread is taken to church to be blessed; which is surmounted by an incense burner; some of them have more than one, according to the design; they certainly would be a great ornament to finedrest dessert or ball-tables, but not as those used by the French, but mounted upon elegant light stands, from which they would hang, and could be taken down to fumigate the different apartments filled with company; it would be an angel-like office for a young lady, as the air of such apartments must be entirely exhausted, not only by the company, but by the wax. A very little

An idea of the sumptuousness and expense of some of these breakfasts may be drawn from 6004. being paid alone for the hire of exotics on one occasion.

+ Public, or à la fourchette breakfasts, may always be served in the different forms of collations, with the addition of the usual beverages and breads.

In a small chapel at Rome, that had been lighted up with a quantity of wax, and filled with a crowded audience, having the doors immediately closed on the wax lights being extinguished, next day was so suffocating that those who attempted to enter fainted on the threshold.

bit of the sash of the window let down in such cases would be of great service.

If the cook is not accustomed to make ices, they had better be got from the confectioner, and two large cakes.

TEA.

Two ounces of tea is the general allowance to each person in the week, and is, perhaps, just what one person, drinking it twice a day, ought to have, though less will do, if properly managed, in a family.

The Chinese generally put in just what will make a cup, which has a cover, and leave it till the flavour and virtues of the tea are extracted, which they drink off the leaves, without sugar or cream; but such as cannot afford it in this way, use a tea-pot.

If the tea was infused, and allowed time to extract all the flavour and virtue, and then reduced to a proper strength with boiling water, the nauseous taste that is extracted by water being again poured over the tea would be avoided.

There is another very necessary thing to be attended to, which is, that the greater the quantity of tea put into the tea-pot, of course greater will be the strength and flavour of the first water, as it will take first the volatile and finest parts of the tea, as a certain quantity of water will only receive a certain quantity of matter, leaving the coarser for a second infusion, which may be more deeply tinged with the colouring matter, and though sometimes actually stronger than the first, is ill-flavoured and earthy-tasted, and it should be remembered, that the last cup will be that which will leave the impression.

For the economist who wishes to have good tea, where there is a family, it would be recommendable to use two tea-pots, and to put the half of the tea into each.

The cups being half filled, a little water will take out the remainder of the tea to fill them up, and the fresh tea will be ready for the second cup. And if the tea-pots are again filled up and left till morning, and poured off into a tea-kettle, and just allowed to come to the boil, it will be an excellent breakfast tea. This makes a saving of nearly one half, as it may be made with a spoonful of fresh tea to raise the flavour.

COFFEE.

As there are few that do not think themselves competent to make coffee, and will seldom, if ever, look for a better method in a receipt, let their attention be arrested for a moment to this:-Our neighbours upon the Continent will not be imposed upon as we are; they purchase their coffee raw, and roast and grind it just before using, which ensures their having it genuine and high-flavoured, In purchasing it roasted, we are not either able to judge of the kind or healthiness of the grain, while the flavour is entirely lost.

If it is purchased ground, two-thirds of it may be peas, beans, or any thing else, and if they were sound grains it would be of less consequence; but daily experience shows us that every sort of bad and blighted grain, that is not fit for any other use, is burnt for coffee.

A poor person pays two-pence, or two-pence halfpenny, for an ounce of coffee, when, with a very little trouble, when she is sitting over her own fire, she might roast a pound of peas that would not cost more than three-pence; she wants a mill, that is true, but how soon would she save one, if any one would put her upon the way?

The French also use chiccory, which is sold cheap, and is so easily raised, that there would hardly be any room for adulteration.

French families, after the coffee is poured off, put the chiccory into the coffee pot for the children and servants, if they have coffee; sometimes the families drink it half and half, and whenever coffee is found too heating it corrects it. Health, more than economy, ought therefore to make every one that uses coffee attend to these observations.

We all know that foreigners cannot touch our coffee, for it wants flavour and strength, and they would rather drink bad tea, as they use so much sugar, that it is to them an eau sucrée.

To make Coffee.

Measure the number of cupsful of water, and allow one over it, for the quantity to be made; put an ounce, or a

large heaped table-spoonful for each cup, into the cold water, and stir it with a wooden spoon kept on purpose; continue to stir it to prevent its rising over the pot; let it boil ten minutes, when the coffee will fall to the bottom and clarify itself, when it is poured off; put immediately as much boiling water upon the grounds as will be wanted for the next making; stir and boil it a few minutes, let it settle, pour it off, rinse out the coffee-pot, and return it into it.

If the same quantity as was made at first is to be made again, put only two-thirds of coffee in, and make it as before, and leave it to infuse till wanted, and so proceed from time to time.

This is the Café Noir of the French, and is generally made the night before.

Café au Lait-Milk Coffee.

Requires two spoonsful of coffee to every cupful of water, and is made as Café Noir, only of double the strength; many receipts are given, with directions to boil milk and coffee together, but to such as know any thing of extracting essences, surely milk or cream will not appear a fit vehicle, and the French know better.

The cream and milk are boiled and served separately, and mixed as the taste of the drinker directs.

No foreigner would taste milk coffee made of half an ounce of coffee boiled in a pint of milk, which is not the fourth of the strength they drink it, as the measure with them is one pound of coffee to sixteen cups, a third is saved by boiling the grounds to be put into the next making. See the foregoing account.

This article shall be finished with a paragraph from Death in the Pot, which ought to be in every housekeeper's hands, as hourly experience teaches that no exposure will intimidate the hardy from imposition.

Advice given by a retired grocer to a friend, at no distant period:

"Never, my good friend," he said, "purchase from a grocer any thing which passes through his mill; you "know not what you get instead of the article you ex"pect to receive. Coffee, pepper, and allspice, are all "mixed with substances which detract from their own "natural qualities."

Persons keeping mills of their own, cannot at all times prevent these impositions, for that is not sufficient, as substances are imitated even in grain, and nothing but chipping and the use of a magnifying glass can detect them.

Pounded sugar-candy and fine Brazil sugar ought to be served with coffee. This also ought to be pounded at home and mixed together, which the grocers not only do, but mix with them the refuse of the candy-boxes.

The sugar-candy is seldom in fine enough powder, which is not to be regretted so much for economy as the disappointment of the drinker.

The coffee in England being generally served so cold, that although it melts loaf sugar, it loses the relish in the mawkish half heat.

CHOCOLATE.

Rasp or slice a cake of chocolate into a pint of boiling water, mill it off the fire, simmer it for some time, and mill it again; if it can be made some time before it is wanted, it is the better, and not the worse for being kept some days in a covered jar or basin.

Boil any quantity of it so prepared in milk, or cream and sugar, and mill it well before serving.

Boiling Water.

Too little attention is paid to the water we use, which may accidently contain much poisonous matter from the substances it passes over, so that, if it is not filtered, it ought to be strained through a thick linen bag, with a sponge in it.

In boiling water no attention is paid to the long ebullition, which forces out the fixed air, and renders it very unhealthy, and that which is generally used for tea is boiled half away.

This is worthy the attention of all tea-drinkers, and particularly those who drink a great deal; as when the spirit of the water is gone, it is not so fit to extract the flavour.