When staying on the Hills some time ago, a question one day arose touching what could be done with the remains of a fine saddle of mutton. There was a piece of good cold-boiled pickled pork in the house, about a pound of gravy beef could be spared from the soup meat, and a nice chicken was also available. I decided upon making a pie. Having called for the saddle, I began by cutting as many slices as I could from the meat that remained untouched at the tail end : each slice was trimmed free from burnt skin, etc, and laid upon a separate plate. About a pound and a half of these slices having been obtained, I next cut off all remnants of good lean that still adhered to the bones, and put them into a bowl. The bones were then broken up, and cast into a large stew-pan with every atom of skin, fat, gristle, etc, that I could find left in the dish after the trimming operation. The whole saddle was thus disposed of. Into the stew-pan with the mutton bones, and scraps, I threw six shallots, a dozen pepper corns, the peel of a lime, two carrots cut up, a bunch of parsley, a coarse stalk of celery with its leaves, a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup, a bouquet of sweet herbs, the aforesaid pound of gravy beef cut up, and all the trimmings of the chicken, - neck, legs, feet, pinions and giblets. Having been covered with warm water, and simmered gently, in about three hours these various ingredients produced a pint and a half of very excellent broth which was strained off, and set to cool. The lean remnants which had been saved in the bowl were now pounded with a couple of anchovies in the mortal, and passed through the sieve. When the broth was quite cold, the fat was skimmed off, and a regular puree made with it and the pounded mutton. It was now time to pack the pie-dish, which was done in this way:- first a sprinkling of finely minced parsley, then a double layer of sliced mutton, over that a layer of sliced lean pork, another of mutton, and so on alternately, till there was just enough space left to accommodate the joints of the raw chicken : these were neatly disposed on the top, with little bits of lean pork dotted in between them : the surface was garnished with hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters, and then the puree was patiently poured over everything, time being given for the liquid to settle in and amongst the contents of the pie-dish : when finished, the gravy came within an inch of the top of the pie : parsley minced small was shaken over the surface as a last touch. The cook now made the paste, and covered in the 'pasty'; it was baked, and at the end of the baking, some of the puree, which had been saved for the purpose, was gently poured into the pie through the vent in the centre of the crust. An ornamental flower cut in paste was placed over the aperture, the crust was glazed, and in due course the dish was ready for the table.

Observe the absence of any ready-made sauce in the concoction of this simple composition. A little 'spiced pepper' was sprinkled over the layers of meat, and some very finely chopped thyme and marjoram, - about a tea-spoonful in all, - was shaken over them also. The joints of chicken were those usually cut up for a curry. When cold, this pie was really excellent; there was not a bit of grease in it; the meat lay prettily embedded in a delicious jelly; and the flavour was exactly that of an ordinary home-made pie in England. I did not put in any wine; I had no mushrooms, and nothing expensive was used. Instead of the lean pickled pork, - ham, leanish bacon, tongue, sliced Bologna sausage, or even slices of juicy corned beef, might have been used. A little consideration will enable the composer to vary both the contents and the flavour of his pies from time to time.

Loch up the Worcester sauce, and trust to the meat, herbs, and good gravy to produce a happy result.

Bearing in mind the rules I have given, and remembering what was done in the case of the "Domestic Fie" just described, I think you may undertake any of the following standard pies without any apprehension :-

1. "Beef-Steak And Oyster Fie"

Follow the recipe given in Menu No. 28 as far as the cutting up of the beef is concerned, and the rolling up within each collop of a nice piece of boiled bacon. Place at the bottom a layer of beef collops, then a layer of oysters drained from the tin liquor, beef again, oysters again, and so on, till the dish is packed: season with "spiced pepper" and finely minced lime peel. The gravy must be made thus :- To about a pint of good beef gravy, add the liquor you strained from the tin of oysters, the rind of a lime, a blade of mace, a glass of sherry and a table-spoonful of walnut or mushroom ketchup; heat up gently, skimming off the scum which the oyster liquor may throw up, and when thoroughly blended, strain the gravy off, and pour it into your packed pie-dish, reserving about a coffee-cupful to pour through the top of the crust at the end of the baking.

2. "Chicken And Tongue Pie"

A chicken, an oxtongue, and six mutton cutlets from the neck. Cut up a chicken as if for curry, slice up a cold-boiled, home-cured tongue, and trim six nice mutton cutlets from the neck as if for an entree. Throw the chicken scraps, the tongue skin and trimmings, and all the remnants of mutton left after shap-ing the cutlets, into a large sauce-pan with the materials for gravy flavouring recommended in the recipe for the "Domestic Pie" and make a nice broth with them; when the broth is nearly ready, give it half a glass of Madeira, and strain when it is finished. Pack the pie thus :- a dust of chopped parsley at the bottom, then the mutton cutlets, above them the slices of tongue, and the chicken at the top. Pour in the gravy, garnish the top with hard-boiled eggs, cover the pie with a good crust, and bake.

3. "Rabbit Pie"

One good sized rabbit, half a pound of bacon, forcemeat, and a pound of gravy beef. Skin and wash a fine rabbit, cut it up in the usual way as if for a stew, and put the pieces to soak in cold water. When quite clean, drain them, wipe them dry with a clean cloth, and set them aside. Put the head, the lower joints of the legs, and all scraps of the rabbit, with the beef, and the usual ingredients for flavouring a gravy already laid down, into a large sauce-pan, and make the best gravy you can with them for the pie. When this has been done to your satisfaction, and the fat has been skimmed off the surface of the liquor, proceed in this way :- Make a plain forcemeat as described for turkey, mingling with it the liver and kidneys of the rabbit very finely chopped, and spread a thin layer of it at the bottom of the pie-dish; immediately above it put a layer of bacon slices, then the coarser joints of the rabbit, dusting them with "spiced pepper," and filling the interstices between the pieces with forcemeat; put a second layer of bacon over the rabbit, and rabbit again above that, repeat the forcemeat dressing, and when the pie-dish is full, pour in the gravy till it almost reaches the level of the topmost layer. Garnish as usual, cover the pie with paste, and bake; time, if the oven be in a proper condition, about one hour and a quarter,