One quart oyster liquor. Two dozen oysters. One quart milk. Two tablespoonfuls butter. Two tablespoonfuls flour. Juice of half a lemon. Salt, pepper, and a tiny pinch of mace.

Heat the milk and the strained oyster liquor in separate vessels. *Rub the butter and flour together, cook them in a saucepan until they bubble, and pour on them the hot milk, stirring until the mixture is thick and smooth. Add the oyster liquor, drop in the oysters and cook three minutes. Season and serve at once, adding the lemon-juice after the soup is in the tureen.

CLAM SOUP is made in the same way, using only the soft parts of the clams and cooking them half an hour in the liquor.

OYSTER BISQUE. (Delicious.)

Strain the liquor from a quart of oysters into a porcelain or agate-iron saucepan, and set over the fire. Chop the oysters quite fine and having seasoned the liquor with paprica or cay-enne and salt, stir in the chopped oysters, and bring to a steady boil. Have ready in another saucepan a cupful of hot milk into which put a great spoonful of butter rolled in a teaspoonful (even) of corn-starch, and half a cupful of finely powdered crackers. Boil one minute, pour into the tureen, add the oyster soup, and serve.

You may, if you like, enrich this soup by beating an egg into the thickened milk. Do not forget to drop a bit of soda into this last while heating it.