all, Chingford.
The "Merry Monarch" returned to this hospitable mansion for
Epping Forest literally "as hungry as a hunter," and beheld,
with delight, a huge loin of beef steaming upon the table. "A
noble joint!" exclaimed the king. "By St. George, it shall have
a title!" Then drawing his sword, he raised it above the meat,
and cried, with mock dignity, "Loin, we dub thee knight;
henceforward be Sir Loin!" This anecdote is doubtless
apocryphal, although the oak table upon which the joint was
supposed to hare received its knighthood, might have been seen
by any one who visited Friday-Hill House, a few years ago. It
is, perhaps, a pity to spoil so noble a story; but the interests
of truth demand that we declare that _sirloin_ is probably a
corruption of _surloin_, which signifies the upper part of a
loin, the prefix _sur_ being equivalent to _over_ or _above_. In
French we find this joint called _surlonge_, which so closely
resembles our _sirloin_, that we may safely refer the two words
to a common origin.

TO SALT BEEF.

660. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 round of beef, 4 oz. of sugar, 1 oz. of powdered
saltpetre, 2 oz. of black pepper, 1/4 lb. of bay-salt, 1/2 lb. of common
salt. _Mode_.--Rub the meat well with salt, and let it remain for a day,
to disgorge and clear it from slime. The next day, rub it well with the
above ingredients on every side, and let it remain in the pickle for
about a fortnight, turning it every day. It may be boiled fresh from the
pickle, or smoked.

_Time_.--1/2 round of beef to remain in pickle about a fortnight.
_Average cost_, 7d. per lb. _Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note_.--The aitch-bone, flank, or brisket may be salted and pickled by
any of the recipes we have given for salting beef, allowing less time
for small joints to remain in the pickle; for instance, a joint of 8 or
9 lbs. will be sufficiently salt in about a week.

THE DUTCH WAY TO SALT BEEF.

661. INGREDIENTS.--10 lbs. of lean beef, 1 lb. of treacle, 1 oz. of
saltpetre, 1 lb. of common salt.

_Mode_.--Rub the beef well with the treacle, and let it remain for 3
days, turning and rubbing it often; then wipe it, pound the salt and
saltpetre very fine, rub these well in, and turn it every day for 10
days. Roll it up tightly in a coarse cloth, and press it under a large
weight; have it smoked, and turn it upside down every day. Boil it, and,
on taking it out of the pot,