the kitchen--one of the
dishes which did not appear at dinner."

"That is rather hard on the Colonel," said Van der Roet; "he did his
best, and now, see how hard he is trying to look as if he didn't know
what you are alluding to!"

"I never in all my life--" the Colonel began; but the Marchesa, fearing
a storm, interfered. "I have a lot more to tell you about my little
Neapolitan book," she went on, "and I will begin by saying that, for the
future, we cannot do better than make free use of it. The author opens
with an announcement that he means to give exact quantities for every
dish, and then, like a true Neapolitan, lets quantities go entirely,
and adopts the rule-of-thumb system. And I must say I always find the
question of quantities a difficult one. Some books give exact measures,
each dish being reckoned enough for four persons, with instructions to
increase the measures in proportion to the additional number of diners
but here a rigid rule is impossible, for a dish which is to serve by
itself, as a supper or a lunch, must necessarily be bigger than one
which merely fills one place in a dinner menu. Quantities can be given
approximately in many cases, but flavouring must always be a question of
individual taste. Latitude must be allowed, for all cooks who can turn
out distinguished work will be found to be endowed with imagination,
and these, being artists, will never consent to follow a rigid rule of
quantity. To put it briefly, cooks who need to be told everything, will
never cook properly, even if they be told more than everything. And
after all, no one takes seriously the quantities given by the chef of a
millionaire or a prince; witness the cook of the Prince de Soubise, who
demanded fifty hams for the sauces and garnitures of a single supper,
and when the Prince protested that there could not possibly be found
space for them all on the table, offered to put them all into a glass
bottle no bigger than his thumb. Some of Francatelli's quantities are
also prodigious, as, for instance, when to make a simple glaze he calls
for three pounds of gravy beef, the best part of a ham, a knuckle of
veal, an old hen, and two partridges."

Menu--Lunch

Maccheroni al sugillo. Macaroni with sausage and tomatoes.
Manzo in insalata. Beef, pressed and marinated.
Lingue di vitello all'Italiana. Calves' tongues.

Menu--Dinner.

Zuppa alla Modanese. Moden