COOKERY OF THE PARTRIDGE 265 



thick and velvety, and the solid part should seem to 

 have been naturally cooked in it, not suddenly 

 plumped into a bath of independent preparation. 



Of the many ordinary fashions of cooking par- 

 tridges it can hardly be necessary to speak here in 

 detail. Generally speaking, it may be said that what- 

 ever you can do with anything you can do with a 

 partridge. To no animal with wings (always except- 

 ing the barndoor fowl) do so many commonplace, but 

 not therefore despicable, means of adjustment lend 

 themselves. It is said that you may even boil a par-' 

 tridge, and that accommodated in this fashion it is 

 very good for invalids ; but I never tasted boiled par- 

 tridge, and I do not think that the chance of partak- 

 ing of it would be a sufficient consolation to me for 

 being an invalid. Partridge soup is not bad, and it 

 offers means of disposing of birds to those who in 

 out-of-the-way places happen to have more than they 

 can dispose of in any other way. But it is not like 

 grouse soup and hare soup, a thing distinctly good 

 and independently recommendable. Partridge pie, 

 on the other hand, is excellent. The place of the 

 steak which is used in the ruder pudding is taken by 

 veal, and in other respects it is arranged on the com- 

 mon form of pies made of fowl ; but it is better than 

 most of its fellows. There will always be bold bad 



