the cinders, mixed with a little damped coal-dust, must be
put at the back on the knobbly pieces of coal, and that is all."

"Very good indeed, Mary," said Mrs. Herbert, "you evidently know all
about this part of the business."

"But I don't see the good," said Margaret. "Why do we not make up the
fire when we are ready for it? It would last all the longer."

"Because we want to have the fire clear and bright, not dull and smoky.
It must be kept bright all the time too, and it must not be allowed to
get hollow in places. Can you tell us, Mary, what you are to do if the
fire needs to be mended before the joint is finished?"

"The live coal must be drawn to the front, ma'am, gently, so as not to
let any cinders go into the dripping-tin," said Mary. "But we ought not
to let the fire need mending; we must watch it and keep putting cinders
and pieces of coal on to keep it up."

"You see now, Margaret, how important it is to have the right kind of
fire," said Mrs. Herbert. "Have you heard that red meat which is to be
roasted should hang for a while before being cooked?"

"At any rate I have heard people say 'This meat is not tender; it has
not been hung long enough.'"

"Just so. It is very important that red meats which are to be roasted
should be left to hang till tender. When we have a cool airy larder, we
can hang meat for ourselves, when there is no such larder the butcher
will hang it for us. The time which the meat must hang depends upon the
weather. In dry cold weather it may hang a long time--two or three
weeks--but in hot weather it must be quickly cooked, or it will not
keep. In frosty weather, too, it should be put in a warm kitchen for
some hours before being roasted, or it will not be tender."

"What do you mean by red meats, ma'am?"

"I mean, Mary, meats red in colour when cut, such as beef, mutton, and
game. What are called white meats, such as veal, lamb, and pork, will
not keep, and they therefore have to be cooked when fresh. Can either of
you tell me what is the first thing to be done when you are going to
roast meat?"

The little girls thought for a minute, then Mary said, "When we were
going to boil the leg of mutton we weighed it, that we might know how
long we were to let it simmer."

"Quite right, Mary. So you must do with this piece of beef. Weigh it and
then allow for roasting a quarter of an hour for every pound, and a
quarter of an hour over. If the joint is thick and solid we allow tw