Cut into joints two ducks, put in a stewpan with one pint of rich gravy; let this come to a boil, and as the scum rises, remove; season with salt and cayenne and stew gently for three-quarters of an hour; mix until smooth two teaspoonfuls of ground rice with one wineglassful of port wine, stir it into the gravy and boil for seven or eight minutes longer; then turn the whole onto a dish, and serve very hot.

Stewed Duck With Chestnuts

Draw and prepare a duck, lard the breast with bacon and roast it in the oven; put into a saucepan one pint of beef gravy, two dozen roasted and peeled chestnuts, two onions sliced and fried in butter, a small sprig of sage and thyme, and season with pepper and salt. Cut the duck up and put it in the saucepan, cover, and stand the pan by the side of the fire and simmer for twenty minutes; then dish it, skim the gravy, take out the herbs, add one teacupful of sherry wine, thicken with flour and butter, and boil. Then pour it over the duck, and serve with the chestnuts around it.

Stewed Duck With Olives

Prepare and truss a duck, making it as plump as possible, and squeeze lemon juice over it, rubbing it in. Put the duck in a stewpan with a good-sized piece of butter, and brown it all over; stir in one dessertspoonful of flour, and when brown add one breakfast cupful of broth. Remove the kernels from some olives (by peeling them thick), scald them in boiling water, and when the duck is nearly done, add them to the stewpan and cook. When ready, dish the duck and arrange the olives around it; skim the fat off the gravy, pour it over the duck, and serve.

Duck With Marinaded Cucumbers

Place three salted cucumbers in a basin and pour one pint of water and half a teacupful of vinegar over them, and let them marinade for two or three hours. Then cut a small duck into eight pieces, peel and slice one onion and put it into a saucepan with a lump of butter, and fry for a few minutes; put in the pieces of duck, and fry them until lightly browned, pour over one breakfast cupful of stock, add a clove of garlic and a bay leaf, and stew gently at the side of the fire until tender, then drain the slices of cucumber and put them in with the duck to get hot. When prepared, turn all out on a hot dish, and serve.