rd that the kitchen hankers after it inordinately;
indeed, its ultimate destination is one of the unexplained mysteries of
housekeeping. I hold that never, under any circumstances, should it be
cooked with the sirloin, but always cut off and marinated and braized as
we had it yesterday. Thus you get two hot dishes; our particular sirloin
has given us three. The parts of this joint vary greatly in flavour, and
in texture as well, and by accentuating this variation by treatment
in the kitchen, you escape that monotony which is prone to pervade the
table so long as the sirloin remains in the house. Mrs. Sinclair is
sufficiently experienced as a housekeeper to know that the dish of
fillets we had for dinner last night was not made from the under cut
of one sirloin. It was by borrowing a little from the upper part that I
managed to fill the dish, and I'm sure that any one who may have got
one of the uppercut fillets had no cause to grumble. The Filetto di Bue
which we had for lunch to-day was the residue of the upper cut, and,
admirable as is a slice of cold beef taken from this part of the joint,
I think it is an excellent variation to make a hot dish of it sometimes.
On the score of economy, I am sure that a sirloin treated in this
fashion goes a long way further."

"The Marchesa demolishes one after another of our venerable institutions
with so charming a despatch that we can scarcely grieve for them," said
Sir John. "I am not philosopher enough to divine what change may come
over the British character when every man sits down every day to
a perfectly cooked dinner. It is sometimes said that our barbarian
forefathers left their northern solitudes because they hankered after
the wine and delicate meats of the south, and perhaps the modern Briton
may have been led to overrun the world by the hope of finding a greater
variety of diet than he gets at home. It may mean, Marchesa, that this
movement of yours for the suppression of English plain cooking will mark
the close of our national expansion."

"My dear Sir John, you may rest assured that your national expansion, as
well as your national cookery, will continue in spite of anything we
may accomplish here, and I say good luck to them both. When have I ever
denied the merits of English cookery?" said the Marchesa. "Many of its
dishes are unsurpassed. These islands produce materials so fine, that no
art or elaboration can improve them. They are best when they are cooked
quit