Fire-places and Kitchen Utensils. 339 



the tin might perhaps be attacked, and some part of 

 it dissolved by the acid of the pears, or by that of the 

 sugar which was mixed with them. In order that I 

 might be able to enjoy my favourite dish free from all 

 apprehensions of being poisoned, I ordered it to be 

 always prepared in future in a stewpan of porcelain; 

 but, several of these vessels having been destroyed in 

 a short time by the fire in this process, I found myself 

 obliged to abandon this scheme on account of these 

 frequent accidents ; and I now had recourse to my 

 roaster. 



The pears, being previously cut in quarters, and freed 

 from their skins, seeds, and cores, were put, with a suffi- 

 cient quantity of water and sugar, into a shallow glass 

 basin fitted with a glass cover, and this basin, being 

 placed upon a brick, was put into the roaster ; and, a 

 small fire being made under it, the water in the basin 

 was soon brought to boil, and in less than three hours 

 the pears were found to be sufficiently done. 



When they were served up, I observed that their 

 colour was different from what it had always been 

 before ; and, inquiring into the cause of it, I was let 

 into a secret which explained the matter completely. 

 The cook informed me that it was absolutely impossible 

 to give a beautiful red colour to stewed pears without 

 some metal, and that their colour would not have been 

 so fine as it was when they were cooked in porcelain, 

 had not the precaution been taken to boil a pewter spoon 

 with them. The reader can easily imagine how much I 

 was surprised at receiving this unexpected information. 



This ingenious contrivance is similar to one some- 

 times used in this country, that of boiling half-pence 

 with greens to give them a fine colour. 



