and quartered; put these ingredients into
a pint of mushroom ketchup, or walnut pickle, and let them steep for a
fortnight, and then strain it.

_Observe_.--A teaspoonful or two of this is generally an acceptable
addition, mixed with the gravy usually sent up for chops and steaks;
or added to thick melted butter.

2234. Mock Crab.

Take any required quantity of good fat mellow cheese, pound it well in
a mortar, incorporating made mustard, salad oil, vinegar, pepper
(cayenne is the best), and salt sufficient to season and render it
about the consistence of the cream of a crab. Add and mix well half a
pint or more of pickled shrimps, and serve in a crab-shell, or on a
dish, garnished with slices of lemon.

2235. Female Dress.

It is well known that a loose and easy dress contributes much to give
the sex the fine proportions of body that are observable in the
Grecian statues, and which serve as models to our present artists,
nature being too much disfigured among us to afford any such. The
Greeks knew nothing of those ligatures and bandages with which our
bodies are compressed. Their women were ignorant of the use of stays,
by which ours distort their shape instead of displaying it. This
practice, carried to excess as it is in England, is in bad taste. To
behold a woman cut in two in the middle, as if she were like a wasp,
is as shocking to the eye as it is painful to the imagination. Such a
deformity would be shocking in a naked figure; wherefore, then, should
it be esteemed a beauty in one that is dressed? Everything that
confines and lays nature under restraint is an instance of bad taste.
This is as true in regard to the ornaments of the body as to the
embellishments of the mind. Life, health, reason, and convenience
ought to be taken first into consideration. Gracefulness cannot
subsist without ease.

2236. How to take care of your Hat.

i. Should you get caught in a shower, always remember to brush your
hat well while wet. When dry, brush the glaze out, and gently iron
it over with a smooth flat iron.

ii. If your hat is VERY wet, or stained with _sea_ water, get a
basin of clean cold water, and a good stiff brush; wash it well all
over, but be careful to keep the nap straight; brush it as dry as
you can, then put it on a peg to dry. When dry, brush the glaze
out, and gently iron it over as above.

iii. Sho