First, put the rabbit into cold water, with about a tablespoonful of salt to a quart, to soak for a couple of hours, or longer. This gets rid of the blood, and makes the meat whiter and more tender.

Next, chop up the knuckle of veal into several pieces; remove any fat, and. also particularly any marrow that may have been in the bone. Get a large gallon saucepan, be careful it is thoroughly clean, especially the lid round the rim. Take a little piece of butter and grease the bottom; then place in it the chopped-up veal, part of one head of celery (some of the best part should be kept for handing round with the cheese), one onion (in which you may stick four cloves), one carrot, one turnip, two leeks, and a bunch of parsley. All these vegetables must be thoroughly clean. Fill the saucepan half full with cold water (two quarts), or, still better, the liquor in which fresh meat has been boiled, add a saltspoonful of salt, and put the saucepan on the fire, and let it simmer gently, occasionally skimming it, for four or five hours, or even longer. Be careful it does not boil. Next, take the rabbit out of the salt and water. Cut it in half through the back, wash it carefully from any clots of blood that may appear, and place it in the saucepan to simmer gently for from half an hour to three quarters, according to the size. Add also to the stock, if possible, a slice of raw lean ham, about half a pound. When the rabbit is done, take it out carefully without stirring up the stock, and place it on a dish and carefully cut it up, taking all the meat from the bones. Place the meat on a clean plate, cover it over, and put it by for curried rabbit.

(See Rabbit, Curried.) Next, put back into the stock-pot or saucepan the rabbit-bones, and any gravy that may have run into the dish, and let them simmer for half an hour longer.

Now take a cup - a breakfast cup is best - and ladle out the stock, which we suppose has not boiled, into another saucepan. You must first move the saucepan to the side of the fire. Ladle out the stock by pressing the cup gently on to the meat and vegetables that are left, but be careful not to stir it up. If you have followed these directions you will get out probably about three pints of stock or broth; this will make the soup. Now bring these three pints that have been ladled to a boil in another clean saucepan. Let it boil for two or three minutes, and then strain off the liquor through a fine sieve into a basin, and put it by in a cool place till the next day.

In the meanwhile add a quart of water to the bones and vegetables left in the saucepan, bring it to a boil, and let it boil for an hour or two more; then strain it off through a sieve, and press the meat and vegetables in the sieve so as to drain as much as possible all the liquor away. Put this by to settle in a basin.

The first basin in the morning will be found to contain three pints of clear stock - a jelly, or very nearly one; remove any fat that may be on the top, also any sediment that may be at the bottom. This sediment may be added to the thick stock; make it hot, and add a little pepper and salt to taste, and, say, a good-sized teaspoonful of extract of meat - this will give it the required colour. Before adding the extract of meat see if it is sufficiently bright; if not, proceed to clear it according to the directions given in No. 18. The second basin will contain a quart of stock also probably a jelly, but not bright, still very strong and good. This can be used for making the curry sauce for the rabbit, for making any rich, thick, brown gravy, etc., as afterwards directed; but as it will not be clear it will come under the heading of Stock No. 3.

This clear stock is the basis of all clear soups. Macaroni soup is macaroni washed and boiled tender, and then put into Stock No. 1. The same with vermicelli soup. Spring soup is young vegetables boiled, and put into Stock No. 1. Sago soup is sago washed and boiled separately, and put into Stock No. 1, etc., etc.

The two principal things to remember are - first, to skim the stock carefully, especially in the early part of simmering. Secondly, - don't let it boil while the meat is in it.

There are various ways of completely spoiling this nice soup. I will give you a few of the ways most commonly pursued, so as to show you "How not to do it." You can make the soup lose all taste of the meat by adding ketchup. If this is not sufficiently wicked, you can add a little Worcester sauce. I have known it done.

Under the stupid impression that soup is not good unless it is dark, you can add a lot of burnt sugar, or boil burnt onion in it in large quantities. This will give the nice straw-coloured soup the appearance of beer. But the ways of "flavouring soups" are infinite. I will give my one receipt: -

How to flavour soups - Don't !