This soup needs careful attention.  It may be made of beef alone, but, if desired very rich for a special dinner, requires the addition of either a chicken or a knuckle of veal.  Allow, then, for the best soup, a soup-bone,—­the shin of beef being most desirable,—­weighing from two to three pounds; a chicken; a slice of fat ham; two onions, each stuck with three cloves; one small carrot and parsnip; one stalk of celery; one tablespoonful of salt; half a saltspoonful of pepper; and four quarts of cold water.

Cut all the meat from the beef bone in small pieces; slice the onions; fry the ham (or, if preferred, a thick slice of salt pork weighing not less than two ounces); fry the onions a bright brown in this fat; add the pieces of beef, and brown them also.  Now put all the materials, bones included, into the soup-kettle; add the cold water, and let it very gradually come to a boil.  Skim with the utmost care, and then boil slowly and steadily for not less than five hours, six or even seven being preferable.  Strain, and set in a cold place.  Next day remove the fat, and put the soup on the fire one hour before it will be wanted.  Break the white and shell of an egg into a bowl; add a spoonful of cold water, and beat a moment; add a little of the hot soup, that the white may mix more thoroughly with the soup, and then pour it into the kettle.  Let all boil slowly for ten minutes; then strain, either through a jelly-bag, or through a thick cloth laid in a sieve or colander.  Do not stir, as this would cloud the soup; and, if not clear and sparkling, strain again.  Return to the fire, and heat to boiling-point, putting a lemon cut in thin slices, and, if liked, a glass of sherry, into the tureen before serving.  A poached egg, or a boiled egg from which the shell has been peeled, is often served with each plate of this soup, which must be clear to deserve its name.

WHITE SOUP.

Veal or chicken must be used for this soup; and the stock must always be prepared the day beforehand, having been flavored with two chopped onions and a cup of cut celery, or celery-seed and other seasoning, in the proportions already given.  On the day it is to be used, heat a quart of milk; stir one tablespoonful of butter to a cream; add a heaping tablespoonful of flour or corn-starch, a saltspoonful of mace, and the same amount of white pepper.  Stir into the boiling milk, and add to the soup.  Let all boil a moment, and then pour into the tureen.  Three eggs, beaten very light and stirred into the hot milk without boiling, make a still richer soup.  The bones of cold roast chicken or turkey may be used in this way; and the broth of any meat, if perfectly clear, can serve as foundation, though veal or chicken is most delicate.

MOCK TURTLE SOUP.

A calf’s head is usually taken for this soup; but a set of calf’s feet and a pound of lean veal answer equally well.  In either case, boil the meat in four quarts of water for five hours, reducing the amount to two quarts, and treating as stock for clear soup.