=The Soup Tureen.=--That prologue to the banquet heralded and brought in with ceremony, from whose uncovered urn issues forth the incense to the feast, from which savoury and warming nectar, compounded of rare ingredients and rich essences, is dealt forth to titillate the palate, that forerunner of entrées and roasts, of baked meats and dainty sweets, marks the status of the _chef_--it is at this point that one determines whether or not he is a true _cordon bleu_. Hence the trappings of so great a caldron must fit the occasion. The soup tureen that is insignificant is a cruse that promiseth no oil. It betokeneth poverty of invention and it might better be an earthern crock which fortune might mayhap endow with golden contents. Perhaps the silversmiths have imagined all this or carried on a train of thought resulting in producing soup tureens of fine design and imposing character, and Sheffield has followed with her replicas and as the needle follows the pole. We must look to Paul Lamerie, to Peter Archambo in the early period and Paul Storr at the end of the century for silver prototypes. [Illustration: OLD SHEFFIELD PLATED SOUP TUREEN. With cover and tray. Tureen urn-shaped, the rim raised at two points, with lion masks and rings. Cover surmounted by strap handle. Date 1805. Tureen 9⅝ in. high. Cover 11 in. diameter. Tray 12¾ in. by 16 in. (_At the Public Museum, Sheffield._) (_Reproduced by permission of the Corporation of Sheffield._)] The Sheffield plated Soup Tureen illustrated (p. 221) with tray is typical of the fine stability of design which came as an inheritance from the Queen Anne period, soberness and reticence without that added touch of classic austerity which brought Greece and Rome to the English dinner table, and scattered the gods of Olympus throughout Staffordshire. The rim of the vessel is raised at two points, as is the tray. The godroon ornament is quietly sufficient to sustain the dignity of the design. The lion and mask handles complete a fine piece of restraint in composition. When this made its appearance at table depend upon it it was followed by sound cuisine, and the port of mine host was well chosen and from the right bin. The Tureen illustrated (p. 225) is of the year of Waterloo. It is oval and stands on scroll feet, and the beautiful graduated form of the lid is especially noticeable. The rim is richly, though not too lavishly, decorated for so fine a piece. The upper portion of the cover springs in dome-like fluted conformation and is surmounted by a handle with floriated base. The handles, a strong feature in well designed tureens, are practical, as are other portions of the ornament cleverly executed in die work. [Illustration: OLD SHEFFIELD PLATED SOUP TUREEN. Richly ornamented with scroll ornament. Date 1815. (_By courtesy of Walter H. Willson, Esq._)] [Illustration: OLD SHEFFIELD PLATED SOUP TUREEN.