the addition of two whisked whites of eggs for every pound of this damson jam, well mixed up with it. Then, folding up writing paper into small boxes, called by the confectioners coffins, the mixture is to be deposited therein as smoothly and finely as possible. These cheeses or biscuits are then to be placed in a stove, or other moderately warm situation, for about a week, or till sufficiently dry; when, the paper being torn from them, they are to be kept in proper boxes, lined with paper, like other dried sweetmeats for use.

Apricots, peaches, and even barberries, &c. are thus made into what are called biscuits of the respective fresh fruits; only, of course, adding more or less sugar, with other slight but obvious deviations in preparing the different sorts.

Compote of Apples.

Take a dozen of golden pippins, pare them nicely, and take the core out with a small penknife; put them into some water, and let them be well scalded; then take a little of the water with some sugar, and a few apples which may be sliced into it, and let the whole boil till it comes to a syrup: then pour it over your pippins, and garnish them with dried cherries and lemonpeel cut fine. You must take care that your pippins are not split.

Compote of Pears.

Let what quantity of pears you wish be nicely scalded till soft, then take them out, pare them, and throw them into cold water to harden; take some sugar, cinnamon, red wine, and cloves, and put your pears into it; let them gently boil till a syrup: you may add some cochineal to give them a fine

colour.

Raspberry Paste.

Mash a quart of raspberries, strain one half, and put the juice to the other half. Boil them a quarter of an hour, put to them a pint of red currant juice, and let them boil all together till your raspberries are enough. Then put a pound and a half of double-refined sugar into a pan. with as much water as will dissolve it, and boil it to a sugar again. Put in your raspberries and juice, give them a scald, and pour it into glasses or plates.

Then put them into a stove, and turn them at times till they are thoroughly dry.

Currant Paste.

Currant paste may be eitner red or white, according to the colour of the currants you use. Strip your currants, put a little juice to them to keep them from burning, boil them well, and rub them through a hair sieve. Then boil it a quarter of an hour, and to a pint of juice, put a pound and a half of double-refined sugar, pounded and sifted. Shake in your sugir, and when it is melted, pour it on plates. Dry it in the same manner as the raspberry paste, and turn it into any form you like best.

Gooseberry Paste.

Take some full grown red gooseberries, just on the turn for ripening, cut them in halves, and pick out all the seeds. Have ready a pint of currant juice, and boil your gooseberries in it till they are tender. Put a pound and a half of double-refined sugar into your pan, with as much water as will dissolve it, and boil it to sugar again. Then put all together, and make it scalding hot, but do not let it boil. Pour it into your plates or glasses, and dry it as before directed.

ORNAMENTS IN CONFECTIONARY.

Ornamental decorations in confectionary have a very pleasing effect on the sight, and are calculated principally to embellish grand entertainments. As the variety of these articles is endless, and depends entirely on the ingenuity of the artist, we have given only a few receipts, by way of illustration.

An elegant Hen's Nest.

Pour over an ounce of finely-shred isinglass, boiling water barely enough to cover it; and, in five minutes, pouring off the water, boil the isinglass in a gill each of cream and new milk, with a couple of spoonfuls of rose-water and as much sifted sugar. Strain it through a sieve, and keep stirring it till it stiffens. When it gets nearly cold, take off the top, and leave the sediment, which will fill seven or eight egg shells. In the

mean time, having blown out the contents of so many eggs, by the smallest holes possible, and washed the shells perfectly clean, fill them up with this blamange, and set them first in salt to stiffen, and afterward in cold water, till they are hard enough to peel. Then lay them in a basin, with a quantity of lemon-peel cut so as to resemble straw; pour next day some clear jelly almost cold over the blamange eggs; and, on the jelly's becoming quite stiff, turn the whole out into a dish, and serve up the hen's nest complete.

Rich Chantilty Basket.

In a dish shaped like a basket, stick around small ratafia cakes, or drops, with clarified syrup boiled to a carimel height. Then put at the bottom pieces of sponge biscuit, blanched almonds, and small macaroons, with apricot jam, or other sweetmeat; and, over these, a good covering of tart cream or thin custard, and a whipped cream froth at top, with a light sprinkling of rose leaves or coloured nonpareil comfits. By cutting ratafia cakes into squares, and dipping them in carimel to make them adhere, sometimes an elevation is raised several stories high.

A Dish of Snow.

Take twelve large apples, and put them into a sauce-pan with cold water. Set them over a slow fire, and when they are soft, pour them into a hair sieve; take off the skins, and put the pulp into a basin. Then beat the whites of twelve eggs to a very strong froth; beat and sift half a pound of double-refined sugar, and strew it into the eggs. Work up the pulp of your apples to a strong froth, then beat them all together till they are like a stiff snow. Lay it upon a china dish, and heap it up as high as you can. Set round it green knots of paste, in imitation of Chinese rails, and stick a sprig of myrtle in the middle of the dish.

Floating Island.

Take a soup-dish of size proportioned to what you intend to make: but a deep glass set on a china dish will answer the purpose better. Take a quart of the thickest cream you can get, and make it pretty sweet with fine sugar. Pour in a gill of

sack, grate in the yellow rind of a lemon, and mill the cream till it is of a thick froth: then carefully pour the thin from the froth into a dish. Cut a French roll, or as many as you want, as thin as you can, and put a layer of it as light as possible on the cream, then a layer of currant jelly, then a very thin layer of roll, then hartshorn jelly, then French roll, and over that whip your froth which you saved off the cream, well milled up, and lay it on the top as high as you can heap it. Ornament the rim of your dish with figures, fruits, or sweetmeats, as you please. This looks very pretty on the middle of a table, with candles round it; and you may make it of as many different colours as you fancy, according to what jellies, jams, or sweetmeats you have.

Chinese Temple or Obelisk. ·

Take an ounce of fine sugar, half an ounce of butter, and four ounces of fine flour. Boil the sugar and butter in a little water, and when it is cold, beat up an egg, and put it to the water, sugar, and butter. Mix it with the flour, and make it into a very stiff paste: then roll it as thin as possible, have a set of tins in the form of a temple, and put the paste upon them. Cut it in what form you please upon the separate parts of your tins, keeping them separate till baked; but take care to have the paste exactly the size of the tins. When you have cut all these parts, bake them in a slow oven, and when cold, take them out of the tins, and join the parts with strong isinglass and water with a camel's hair brush. Set them one upon the other, as the forms of the tin moulds will direct you. If you cut it neatly, and the paste is rolled very thin, it will be a beautiful corner for a large table. If you have obelisk moulds, you may make them the same way for an opposite corner. Be careful to make the pillars stronger than the top, that they may not be crushed by their weight.

PLEASANT AND RELISHING DISHES.

Omelettes, and various ways of dressing Eggs. THERE is no dish which in this country may be considered as coming under the denomination of a made dish of the second order, which is so generally eaten, if good, as an omelette; and no one is so often badly dressed: it is a very faithful assistant in the construction of a dinner.

When you are taken by surprise, and wish to make an appearance beyond what is provided for the every day dinner, a little portable soup melted down, and some zest, and a few vegetables, will make a good broth—a pot of stewed veal warmed up,an omelette, and some apple or lemon fritters, can all be got ready at ten minutes notice, and with the original foundation of a leg of mutton, or a piece of beef, will make up a very good dinner when taken by surprise in the country.

The great merit of an omelette is, that it should not be greasy, burnt, nor too much done: if too much of the whites of the eggs are left in, no art can prevent its being hard, if it is done. To dress the omelette, the fire should not be too hot, as it is an object to have the whole substance heated, without much browning the outside.

One of the great errors in the cooking an omelette is that it is too thin, consequently instead of feeling full and moist in the mouth, the substance presented is little better than a piece of fried leather: to get the omelette thick is one of the great objects. With respect to the flavours to be introduced, these are infinite: that which is most common, however, is the best, viz. finely chopped parsley, and chives or onions, or eschalots —however, one made of a mixture of tarragon, chervil, and parsley, is a very delicate variety; omitting or adding the onion or chives. Of the meat flavours, the veal kidney is the most delicate, and is the most admired by our neighbours the French: this should be cut in dice, and should be dressed (boiled) before it is added. In the same manner ham and an