COOKERY OF THE PARTRIDGE 259 
partridge or who, in the words of a proverb too well 
known for it to be lawful to cite it just yet, object to 
roast partridge always. 
The universality of these facts, or of some of them, 
seems to be established by the other fact, that in the 
case of no game bird are there so many receipts for 
cooking as in the case of the partridge, which is also 
of unusually wide distribution. It is true that the 
Continental partridge is usually, though not always, a 
red-leg, and that the American partridge is, unless 
imported, only a big and rather plebeian quail. But 
these facts are only a greater reason for applying the 
counsels of zmperfection—the various devices for 
disguising the intrinsic incompleteness of the subject 
under a weight of ornament. It must be confessed 
that the result is by no means always contemptible— 
with the proper appliances and in the hands of a 
skilful artist it could hardly beso. But with some 
exceptions to be noticed presently, it is always some- 
thing like a crime in the case of the best birds, and 
something like a confession in the case of the others. 
To the best of my belief there are only two forms 
of what may be called the secondary cookery of the 
partridge which bear distinct marks of independence 
and originality. One is the English partridge pudding, 
and the other is the French Perdrix aux choux. 
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