onions, 2 lbs. of shin of
beef, 2 small slices of lean bacon (if at hand), salt and whole pepper
to taste, 3 cloves, 2 quarts of water. For thickening, 2 oz. of butter,
3 oz. of flour.

_Mode_.--Put the butter into a stewpan; set this on the fire, throw in
the onions cut in rings, and fry them a light brown; then add the beef
and bacon, which should be cut into small square pieces; season, and
pour in a teacupful of water; let it boil for about ten minutes, or
until it is of a nice brown colour, occasionally stirring the contents.
Now fill up with water in the above proportion; let it boil up, when
draw it to the side of the fire to simmer very gently for 1-1/2 hour;
strain, and when cold, take off all the fat. In thickening this gravy,
melt 3 oz. of butter in a stewpan, add 2 oz. of flour, and stir till of
a light-brown colour; when cold, add it to the strained gravy, and boil
it up quickly. This thickening may be made in larger quantities, and
kept in a stone jar for use when wanted.

_Time_.--Altogether, 2 hours. _Average cost_, 4d. per pint.

CLOVES.--This very agreeable spice is the unexpanded flower-buds
of the _Caryophyllus aromaticus_, a handsome, branching tree, a
native of the Malacca Islands. They take their name from the
Latin word _clavus_, or the French _clou_, both meaning a nail,
and to which the clove has a considerable resemblance. Cloves
were but little known to the ancients, and Pliny appears to be
the only writer who mentions them; and he says, vaguely enough,
that some were brought to Rome, very similar to grains of
pepper, but somewhat longer; that they were only to be found in
India, in a wood consecrated to the gods; and that they served
in the manufacture of perfumes. The Dutch, as in the case of the
nutmeg (_see_ 378), endeavoured, when they gained possession of
the Spice Islands, to secure a monopoly of cloves, and, so that
the cultivation of the tree might be confined to Amboyna, their
chief island, bribed the surrounding chiefs to cut down all
trees found elsewhere. The Amboyna, or royal clove, is said to
be the best, and is rare; but other kinds, nearly equally good,
are produced in other parts of the world, and they come to
Europe from Mauritius, Bourbon, Cayenne, and Martinique, as also
from St. Kitts, St. Vincent's, and Trinidad. The clove contains
about 20 per cent. of volatile aromatic oil, to which