Out of this earthen pot comes the favorite soup and bouilli, which has been everlastingly famed as having been the support of several generations of all classes of society in France; from the opulent to the poorest individuals, all pay tribute to its excellence and worth. In fact, this soup and bouilli is to the French what the roast beef and plum-pudding are on a Sunday to the English. No dinner in France is served without soup, and no good soup is supposed to be made without the pot-au-feu. The following is the receipt:-

Put in the pot-au-feu six pounds of beef, four quarts of water, set near the fire, skim; when nearly boiling, add a spoonful and a half of salt, half a pound of liver, two carrots, four turnips, eight young or two old leeks, one head of celery, two onions and one burnt, with a clove in each, and a piece of parsnip; skim again, and let simmer four or five hours, adding a little cold water now and then; take off part of the fat; put slices of bread into the tureen, lay half the vegetables over, and half the broth, and serve the meat separately with the vegetables around. The remainder of the broth from the pot-au-feu may be used for any kind of soup instead of the stock. The best part of the beef for the pot-au-feu is the mouse-buttock, tops of the ribs, clod and stickings.