This is a convent soup greatly in repute with invalid nuns.

Cut an old fowl into joints and put them, together with the heart, gizzard, and liver, into two quarts of water, to which add two cups of barley, three onions, a carrot, a small bunch of thyme, parsley, and marjoram, and - if obtainable - a small handful of marshmallow root. Let the whole simmer gently for three hours, after which strain the broth and press the barley through a sieve. Add pepper and salt to taste, the yolk of one egg, and a tablespoonful of brandy. The whole should be reduced to about a quart, and will be found very nourishing.