RHENISH COOKING----VEGETABLES.

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or duck, or partridge—for all, whether flesli or fowl, areput into the earthen pot alike, to wabble the entire Juicesand llavour out of them on the stove, and then placed in atin pan to be dried up and soddened in tlie steam of aclose oven —open fires being known only at the palace inCoblenz.

Now the consequence of this barbarous mode of cookingis, that in order to give something like flavour to the tastelessmass of string to which the meat is reduced, it has to be eatenwitli fruit instead of vegetables; so that it is not at all unusual,in Rhenish Prussia, to be served with boiled beef and ehernes,—pigeons and hot boiled strawberries—pork and oranges—■tongue and currants—veal and stewed prnnes — and, indeed,an infinity of such messes as positively nauseate an Englishstomach to think of, much more to see and taste.

The vegetables, again, are as badly treated as the viandsthemselves. Green peas are often boiled and eaten in theshells, though we in England consider the pods fit only forpigs; and even when the peas alone are cooked in Deutschland,they are stewed in butter and sugar. Then, new potatoes areboiled and dished up with caraway seeds — the wiseacre pro-fessors declaring they do this to keep away the cholcra; andto bring the matter to a fitting climax, the rotten aeid cabbage,known by the narne of " Sauer-Jcraut," is eaten with wine,and when mixed with " Champagne,'' it is " sehr delicat," saythe Prussian polypes — creatures of mere stomach withouteither palate or brain to direct it.*

* The price of potatoes is about 3s. for 110 lbs., which is at the rate of 3 lbs.for a penny. Cabbages average from 10 to 15 gros (ls. to ls. 6d.) the hundredplants. Carrots (which are sold by weight) are about the same price as potatoes,whilst turnips cost 4 gros (5ä. ) for a large basketful, holding about 3 Englishbunches, and peas fetch about 3 gros (3^d.) the half-peck. The Rheniahvegetables, however, are poor dwarfed things in comparison with oui' own.

Fruit is even cheaper than the " green stufF." Peaches may be had at the