The French call green pease,petitspois or "little pease," "young pease." They must be gathered young. The English eat pease when they have grown hard as shot - that is to say, when they are no longer "young pease," but about seed-pease. So, then, we will take a quart of young and tender pease, freshly shelled; put them in a two-quart saucepan, with a quarter of a pound of first - quality butter (N.B. - You cannot achieve superfine cooking with poor butter. So-called kitchen-butter is an abomination. In the kitchen you need the finest and most delicate butter); a wineglassful of water; two ounces of white, small onions; a little salt, or no salt if the butter is already salt; one ounce of powdered sugar.

Cover your saucepan well, and stew over a moderate fire for half an hour. When they are cooked taste and add more sugar if needful, and about a quarter of a pound more butter mixed with half flour. Work your pease round in the saucepan over the fire, so that the flour and butter may get thoroughly distributed, and then serve.

This is a dish to be served and eaten alone, and not messed up on a plate with meat, gravy, okra, green-corn, and half a dozen other things.