PARLOR AMUSEMENTS . - RECEIPTS . which the boy holds at the other end. Taking his place at the side of the room, he calls out, "The blind man's bride sits alone in her bower, As yet undecked by a single flower." Upon this, another person comes forward, and being placed at eight feet distance from the challenger, and carefully blinded, takes a small wand in his right hand, and manfully steps forward, in hopes of walking straight to the bouquet, which, if he succeeds in hitting the board so as to shake it to the ground, becomes his to present to a young girl, previously selected and seated on the sofa, or an easychair. Should he fail, the challenger takes off the covering from his eyes, saying, "Go, worthless knight, and banish'd be, From this noble company." Others try to do better, and the game is closed by tying as many bouquets as have been won into a wreath, which is then placed on the head of the same young girl, the rest of the party singing or saying, "Gentle bride, we bind thy hair With a wreath both sweet and fair: She who's sworn the blind to cheer, Unto every heart is dear; So upon thy youthful brow Place the crown of honor now. May thy life-time, strew'd with flowers, Be happy as these evening hours."
TABLE RECEIPTS . CRUMPETS. To a pint and a-quarter Of warm milk and water Add one tablespoonful of yeast, An egg, and a small Pinch of salt, and beat all Up for twenty-two minutes at least ; Then set by the batter, To rise or grow fatter, And, when it is ready, procure A large ring that will take In a cupful, and bake Till the top of it looks of a pure Auburn color; then turn it, Lest the oven should burn it; And, as soon as the other side's brown, You may take it away Without further delay, And, in like manner, put others down. BeefFritters.-Take the remains of cold roast beef, pepper and salt to taste, three-quarters of a pound of flour, half a pint of water, two ounces of butter, the whites of two eggs. Mix very smoothly, and, by degrees, the flour with the above proportion of water; stir in two ounces of butter, which must be melted, but not oiled ; and, just before it is to be used, add the whites of two well-whisked eggs. Should the batter be too thick, more water must be added. Pare down the cold beef into thin shreds, season with pepper and salt, and mix it with the batter. Drop a small quantity at a time into a pan of boiling lard, and fry from seven to ten minutes, according to the size. When done on one side, turn and brown them on the other. Let them dry, for a minute or two, before the fire, and serve on a folded napkin. A small quantity of finely-minced onions, mixed with the batter, is an improvement. The fritter will take from seven to ten minutes to cook. Haricot of Mutton.- Take the remains of cold neck or loin of mutton, two ounces of butter, three onions, one dessertspoonful of flour, half a pint of good gravy, pepper
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and salt to taste, two tablespoonfuls of port wine, one tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, two carrots, two turnips, one head of celery. Cut the cold mutton in moderate-sized chops and take off the fat; slice the onions, and fry them, with the chops, in a little butter of a nice brown color; stir in the flour, add the gravy, and let it stew gently nearly an hour. In the meantime boil the vegetables until nearly tender, slice them and add them to the mutton about a quarter of an hour before it is to be served. Season with pepper and salt, add the ketchup and port wine, give one boil, and serve. Cook for one hour. To Preserve Oysters.-Take good fresh oysters, take them out of the shells, put them into a saucepan, and add water just enough to cover them ; put the saucepan on the fire, and, when the oysters are firm, take it off. Put them on a wicker frame about two feet and a-half from the ground, and light a fire of green wood beneath ; the smoke will dry the oysters and give them a yellow color; turn them from time to time; thus prepared, put them in a dry place exposed to the air till they are quite dry, then pack them in barrels with a little salt and saltpetre. When the oysters are wanted for use, soak them for some hours in water ; they may then be used in various dishes ; they are very good fried in batter, in stews, and different sauces, either white or brown. Portable Lemonade.-Take of tartaric acid, half an ounce ; loaf-sugar, three ounces ; essence of lemon, half a drachm. Powder the tartaric acid and the sugar veryfine in a marble or Wedgwood mortar (observe never to use a metal one), mix them together, and pour the essence of lemon upon them, by a few drops at a time, stirring the mixture after each addition, till the whole is added ; then mix them thoroughly and divide it into twelve equal parts, wrapping each up separately in a piece of white paper. When wanted for use, it is only necessary to dissolve it in a tumbler of cold water, and fine lemonade will be obtained, containing the flavor of the juice and peel of the lemon and ready sweetened. A Delicate Omelette.-Break eight eggs in a stewpan, to which add a teaspoonful of very finely-chopped parsley, half ditto of salt, a pinch of pepper, and three good tablespoonfuls of cream; beat them well together; then put two ounces of butter in an omelette-pan, stand it over a sharp fire, and, as soon as the butter is hot, pour in the eggs, stir them round quickly with a spoon until delicately set ; then shake the pan round, leave it a moment to color the omelette, hold the pan in a slanting position, just tap it upon the stove to bring the omelette to a proper shape, and roll the flap over the spoon ; turn it upon your dish , and serve as soon as done. Take care not to do it too much. Apple Marmalade.- Pare, core, and cut the apples into small pieces. Put them into water with a little lemonjuice to keep them white. After a short time take them out and drain them . Weigh and put them in a stewpan. If for present use, half a pound of sugar will be sufficient for each pound of apples; but if for keeping, double that quantity will be necessary. Add to it a stick of cinnamon and the juice of a lemon. Put the stewpan over a brisk fire and cover it. When the apples are pulped, stir the mixture till of the proper consistence, and then put the marmalade into pots. A French Beverage.-Boil four ounces and a-half of pow dered ginger in fourteen quarts of water, wine measure. Then beat up four whites of eggs to a froth, and mix them, together with nine pounds of white sugar, in the preceding. Then take nine lemons and peel them carefully; add the juice and the rind to the foregoing ingredients. Put the whole into a barrel ; add three tablespoonfuls of yeast. Bung down the barrel, and, in about twelve days, bottle it off. In fifteen days it will be fit for drinking; but it improves by keeping.
