PUMPKIN SOUP.—­Take half or a quarter of a moderate-sized pumpkin, pare it, remove the seeds, and cut the pumpkin into thin slices.  Put these into a stew-pan, with as much water or milk as will cover them, and boil gently until they are reduced to a pulp.  Rub this through a fine sieve, mix with it a little salt, and a piece of butter the size of an egg, and stir it over the fire until it boils.  Thin it with some boiling milk which has been sweetened and flavoured with lemon-rind, cinnamon, or orange-flower water.  It should be of the consistency of thick cream.  Put toasted bread, cut into the size of dice, at the bottom of the soup-tureen.  Moisten the bread-dice with a small quantity of the liquor, let them soak a little while, then pour the rest of the soup over them, and serve very hot.  Or whisk two fresh eggs thoroughly in the tureen, and pour the soup in over them at the last moment.  The liquor ought to have ceased from boiling for a minute or two before it is poured over the eggs.

RHUBARB SOUP.—­This is a sweet soup, and is simply juice from stewed rhubarb sweetened and flavoured with lemon-peel and added either to cream or beaten-up yolks of eggs and a little white wine.  It is rarely met with in this country.

RICE SOUP.—­Take a quarter of a pound of rice, and wash it in several waters till the water ceases to be discoloured.  Take an onion, the white part of a head of celery, and a turnip, and cut them up and fry them in a little butter.  Add a quart of stock, or water, and boil these vegetables until they are tender, and then rub them through a wire sieve.  Boil the rice in this soup till it is tender, flavour with pepper and salt, add a little milk boiled separately, and serve grated Parmesan cheese with the soup.

RICE SOUP A LA ROYALE.—­Take half a pound of rice and wash it thoroughly in several waters till the water ceases to be discoloured.  Boil this rice in some stock that has been strongly flavoured with onion, carrot and celery, and strained off.  When the rice is tender rub it through a wire sieve, then add some boiling milk, in which two or three bay-leaves have been boiled, and half a pint of cream, till the soup is a proper consistency.  Serve some egg force-meat balls with the soup.

SORREL SOUP.—­Take some sorrel and wash it very thoroughly.  Like spinach, it requires a great deal of cleansing.  Drain it off and place the sorrel in a stew-pan, and keep stirring it with a wooden spoon.  When it has dissolved and boiled for two or three minutes, let it drain on a sieve till the water has run off.  Next cut up a large onion and fry it in a little butter, but do not brown the onion.  Add a tablespoonful of flour to every two ounces of butter used, also a teaspoonful of sugar, a little grated nutmeg, also a little pepper and salt; add the sorrel to this, with a small quantity of stock or water, then rub the whole through a wire sieve, and serve.  In some parts of the Continent vinegar is added, but it is not adapted to English taste.