GRACE (viz. grease) BEFORE MEAT. 425 



concoction. But for the benefit of all or any of those 

 intendifig to set np a school, I will give the promised 

 receipt for the pudding (the old stagers know it well 

 enough) : — flour (not of the best quality) in propor- 

 tion to the number of boys or young ladies (for 

 the latter the quality somewhat less bad, but not 

 much) ; water a discretion (of anj^body) ; fruit a dis- 

 cretion of the mistress (who is always in this most 

 discreet) ; suet or any unctuous matter (the produce 

 of last week's cooking) to help down the delicious 

 composition ; to be, in forma medici, " taken" before 

 the meat — (Mem. as a choker to save the latter.) 

 What a blessing of Providence the same hand does 

 not make the leg of mutton ! All that can be done 

 here is to get it tough enough ; but young teeth are 

 tough as well as the mutton, and mutton can only be 

 got tough to a certain degree, otherwise the young 

 gentlemen and ladies would all come home feather 

 weight " in spite of their teeth." On whatever sub- 

 ject I venture to write, I always do so from practical 

 experience, the only excuse I can make for writing at 

 all ; so I do in this matter, having paid close upon a 

 hundred a-year for such indulgence in two different 

 schools ; in return for which I shall write something 

 illustrative of my opinion of those finger-posts to 

 juvenile minds yclept preceptors and preceptresses 

 — Messieurs, Mesdames, et Mademoiselles, au i^evoir. 



Let us now see what ingredients we want to make 

 a gentleman. If we ascertain that, we may possibly 

 do a something to alleviate those heart-burnings so 

 often felt on the occasion of races to be ridden by 

 gentlemen, and those by gentlemen -jocks — for I 

 really consider the qualification or disqualification of 

 a man to ride where gentlemen only are intended to 



