CHEESE SOUP.—­Light-coloured and dry cheese is necessary for this somewhat peculiar soup, but the best cheese of all is, undoubtedly, Gruyere.  Grate half a pound of cheese and spread a layer of this at the bottom of the soup-tureen.  Cover this layer of cheese with some very thin slices of stale crumb of bread.  Then put another layer of cheese and another layer of bread till all the cheese is used up.  Next take about two tablespoonfuls of brown roux, melt this in a small saucepan, and add two tablespoonfuls of chopped onion.  Let the onion cook in the melted roux over the fire, and then add a quart of water, and stir it all up till it boils, adding pepper and salt and a few drops of Parisian essence (burnt sugar) to give it a dark brown colour.  Now pour the boiling soup over the contents of the soup-tureen, and let it stand a few minutes so that the bread has time to soak, and serve.

CHERRY SOUP.—­Like most soups that are either sweet or sour, this is a German recipe.  Put a piece of butter, the size of a large egg, into a saucepan.  Let it melt, then mix it with a tablespoonful of flour, and stir smoothly until it is lightly browned.  Add gradually two pints of water, a pound of black cherries, picked and washed, and a few cloves.  Let these boil until the fruit is quite tender, then press the whole through a sieve.  After straining, add a little port, if wine is allowed—­but the soup will be very nice without this addition—­half a teaspoonful of the kernels, blanched and bruised, a tablespoonful of sugar, and a few whole cherries.  Let the soup boil again until the cherries are tender, and pour all into a tureen over toasted sippets, sponge-cakes, or macaroons.

CHESTNUT SOUP, OR PUREE OF CHESTNUTS.—­Take four dozen chestnuts and peel them.  This will be a very long process if we attempt to take off the skins while they are raw; but in order to save time and trouble, place the chestnuts in a stew-pan with a couple of ounces of butter.  Place them on a slack fire and occasionally give them a stir.  Heat them gradually till the husks come off without any difficulty.  Having removed all the husks, add sufficient stock or water to the chestnuts, and let them boil gently till they are tender.  Then pound them in a mortar and rub them through a wire sieve.  Add a very little brown roux, if the soup is to be brown, and a few drops of Parisian essence (burnt sugar), or a little white roux and a little cream if the soup is to be white.  Add also a little pepper and salt, sufficient butter to make the puree taste soft, and a little powdered sugar.  Fried and toasted bread should be served with the soup.

COTTAGE SOUP.—­Fry two onions, a carrot and a turnip, and a small head of celery cut up into small pieces, in a frying-pan, with a little butter, till they are lightly browned.  Then put them in a saucepan, with about two quarts of water and a tablespoonful of mixed savoury herbs.  Let this boil till the vegetables are quite tender, and then thicken the soup with two ounces of oatmeal or prepared barley.  This must be mixed with cold water and made quite smooth before it is added to the soup.  Wash a quarter of a pound of rice, and boil this in the soup, and when the rice is quite tender the soup can be served.  Some persons add a little sugar, and dried powdered mint can be handed round with the soup, like pea soup.