262 COOKERY OF THE PARTRIDGE 



very good for brazing, and may be served with any 

 ragout, stewed greens, and all kinds of pure"e.' 



This is simple enough and correct enough, but a 

 little vague. The truth is that perdrix auxchoux is a 

 dish which, especially in the serving, admits of a great 

 deal of taste and fancy. For instance, take three of 

 the most recent of French-English cookery-books- 

 that of an estimable and very practical lady, Madame 

 Emilie Lebour-Fawssett (who is often beyond praise, 

 but who thinks Heaven help her ! that the only 

 reason why English people prefer the grey partridge 

 to the red-leg is ' because they are English '), the 

 famous ' Baron Brisse,' and M. Duret's ' Practical 

 Household Cookery.' There is no very great dif- 

 ference in their general directions, but the lady 

 recommends the partridge and bacon to be, above 

 all things, hidden in the cabbage : the Baron directs 

 the cabbage to be put round the birds ; and the ex- 

 manager of St. James's Hall orders it to be made 

 into a bed for them. The last arrangement is, I 

 think, the more usual and the best. There is also 

 a certain difference in the methods ; for while the 

 Baron directs the cabbage to be nearly cooked before 

 it is combined with the partridges, which have been 

 separately prepared in a saucepan, Madame Lebour- 

 Fawssett prefers a mere scalding of the cabbage first, 



