Mock Oyster Soup

Wash a quarter of a pound of salt codfish; simmer gently for thirty minutes with a quart of water; and six roots of salsify that have been scraped and cut into slices. Remove the codfish; add a pint of milk, a level teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of pepper and two level tablespoonfuls of butter rubbed with three of flour. Stir the mixture until it reaches the boiling point, and serve with oyster crackers.

Egg Soup

Put four tablespoonfuls of washed rice in a quart of good stock and simmer gently for twenty minutes. Press through a sieve, return to the kettle; add a saltspoonful of pepper and half a teaspoonful of salt. Beat the yolks of two eggs; add a little of the hot soup, and then turn the mixture into the kettle. Stir for a moment, do not boil, take from the fire, and serve with large squares of toasted bread.