An omelette ought never to be stiff enough to retain a rolled-up appearance. Being so rapidly cooked, it ought to be too light to present a fixed form, and, on reaching the hot dish, should spread itself rather, on account of its very frothiness. Books that counsel you to turn an omelette, to fold it, to let it brown on one side, to let it fry for about five minutes, etc., are not to be trusted. If you follow such advice, you will only produce, at best, an egg pudding.

Timed by the seconds hand of a watch an omelette of six eggs, cooked as I have described, took forty-live seconds from the moment of being poured into the pan to that of being turned into the dish.

The omelette we have just discussed is that generally known as "aux fines herbes":- the ordinary one is simply made of eggs flavoured with salt. Though cream is an improvement, it is not essential. I confess that I like a very little minced onion in all savoury omelettes, but this is a matter of taste, and where ladies are concerned, the fragrant bulb ought perhaps to be omitted. The general rules to be observed in omelette-making, then, may be thus summed up :-

1. Use a proper utensil, with narrow, well sloping sides; see that it is clean, and quite dry.

2. Do not overdo the amount of butter, or salad oil, that you use for the frying.

3. Mix, do not heat the eggs, and never use more than six as in the Pennaconda omelette. It is better to make two of six, than one of twelve eggs.

4. Three eggs, mixed whole, make a nice sized omelette.

5. Be sure that your pan is ready to receive your mixture. If not hot enough, the omelette will be leathery, or you will have to mix it in the pan like "scrambled eggs" - (oeufs brouilles).

6. The moment the butter ceases to fizz, and assumes a pale brown tint, the pan is ready.

7. Instantly lift up the part of the omelette that sets at the moment of contact, and let the unformed mixture run under it; repeat this if the pan be very full, keep the left hand at work with a gentle sea-saw motion to encourage rapidity in setting, give a finishing shake, and turn it into the hot dish before the whole of the mixture has quite set.

8. The omelette will roll over of its own accord, if the sides of the pan be sloped as I have described: it will not require folding.

9. Three quarters of a minute is ample time for the whole operation, if the pan be properly hot when the mixture is poured into it.

10. Have the hot dish close by the fire, so that you can turn the omelette into it instanter. A little melted butter, with some chopped parsley, may, with advantage, be put into the dish.

It is above all things necessary to have a very brisk fire under the pan while the omelette is being cooked. A brasier filled with live charcoal is the best kind of fire, and the fan must be vigorously plied from the moment that the mixture is poured into the pan.

As I said before, omelettes may be varied in many ways If "aux fines herbes," curly parsley and shallot are necessary; minced marjoram or thyme, garden-cress (the companion, I mean, of mustard) or celery leaves, are agreeable, and many are fond of a spoonful of finely chopped green chilli, omitting the seeds of course.

Chopped ham, chopped tongue, chopped bacon, and chopped corned beef are added to omelettes with good effect. The words "au jambon," "au lard" "au langue de boeuf" etc., specify the addition. I have found it better to fry the minced ham, etc., independently, keeping it handy for addition to the omelette during the rolling over stage, as it goes into the dish.

Cold cooked vegetables, cut up and tossed awhile in melted butter separately, may be thus added with success. I recommend pieces of the flower of the cauliflower, artichoke bottoms cut into dice, or Jerusalem artichokes sliced, and cut up. Peas, the grains of Indian corn, chopped French beans, or the seeds of the bandecai or moringa pod are thus very pleasantly treated. In the case of an "omelette aux legumes," a dust of grated cheese gives a pleasing finishing touch when the omelette reposes in the hot dish.

" Omelette aux tomates:" - Cut three or four ripe tomatoes into quarters, pick out the seeds, and let the watery juice run off. Cut a sweet onion into the thinnest slices possible. Melt a table-spoonful of butter in a small saucepan, cast into it the onion slices; let them cook without browning; then add the drained tomato quarters, pepper and salt; toss the sauce-pan about till the tomatoes are cooked which will be in about ten minutes. Keep the mixture hot, and pour it over the surface of an ordinary omelette just as you are on the point of turning it out of the frying-pan. The omelette will roll over of its own accord enveloping the tomatoes within it as it passes into the dish.

The "omelette au Parmesan" (or any mild dry cheese) is a specialite, as simple as it is delicious. A table-spoonful of grated and finely sifted cheese to three ordinary eggs, salt and black pepper to taste, and a dessert-spoonful of rich cream, if possible, or new milk, compose the mixture. Incorporate the ingredients, and proceed as recorded in the previous directions. Remember that it should be served just before all the juicy mixture on the surface quite sets, so that there may be an exudation of creamy moisture in the dish, and don't forget to dust over the surface a canopy of grated cheese. This must go from the fire to the plate, as it were. Delay in serving is hard on any omelette.

And, now, we come to the Cure's piece de resistance, concerning which I spoke at the beginning of this chapter. The salient feature of this plat was the combination of tunny, and carp's roes by which it was flavoured. Half a slice of preserved tunny, and the soft roes of two herrings a la sardine very finely minced together, with a little shallot, and a dessert-spoonful of parsley, should be tossed in butter awhile, and then stirred into a basin containing six well mixed eggs. Cook the mixture as already explained, and turn it out, when ready, into a hot dish containing a little melted butter, a few drops of lime juice and some minced shallot, and parsley. If you cannot get preserved tunny, a piece of lax, or nicely tinned salmon will be found an agreeable substitute, and cod's roes will form a pleasant companion thereto. The Cure used fresh tunny, and fresh roes, but we may follow his recipe with preserved substitutes, if not too salt, and achieve a very fair result.

Kippered seer-fish, made at home, with Madras fish-roe well soaked, ought to make a capital omelette of this kind. The seer-fish should be split, washed, and dried with a cloth; salt, sugar, and lime-juice being well rubbed in immediately; the next day the rubbing must be repeated, and the fish artificially smoked by being hung over a fire constantly replenished with damp straw, etc. After this, it should be hung in the cook-room over the fire, and it will be ready for the table the third evening. If you can get fresh roe so much the better; if not, Madras preserved roe, well soaked and boiled till tender, will be found an excellent substitute.

Omelettes may be cooked aux fines herbes, served upon a bed of tomato puree, and dusted over with grated cheese. They may also be laid upon a puree of green peas, or of spinach. They may be improved with minced game, and be associated effectively with mince of any kind. Chopped mushrooms or truffles (previously cooked, minced, and tossed in butter) are, of course, very delicious additions to them; and oysters may be introduced in the same way. Savoury omelettes are sent up with rich Espagnole, Peri-giieux, and Bechamel sauces, and may contain some finely minced kidney stewed in champagne. Almost all fish, prawns, lobster, etc, go well with them, and whether simple or elaborate, plain or rich, an omelette rarely fails, - if properly made, - to win appreciation, and be thankfully accounted for.