Another article of the pepper kind, friend John, with which thou art fond of tickling thy delicate appetite, and of exhibiting on “gaudy days,” as the sons of Alma Mater phrase it, in thy well polished castors, to thy admiring guests, like a sparkling star to be found only in the remotest part of the heavens, is the subject of sophisticating roguery. What thinkest thou, John, of the “dear bought,” “far fetched,” “long sought,” “gentleman-like” Cayenne pepper, which thou often wrappest up in as many folds of paper as an onion hath coats, that it should not lose its virtue, being adulterated with “red lead,” to prevent the delectable mass of which it is composed from becoming bleached on exposure to the light. I was thinking, friend Bull, to furnish thee with a test for discovering the fraud, but as I know of no one better than that given by thy expatriated countryman, the much injured Accum, I must refer thee to his book, 4th edition, p. 247. Perhaps the following extract from that excellent work, (the only book on cookery extant, that can be safely trusted to; for the genius of cookery is, believe me, John, in colleague with the spirit of sophistication against thy health; and for a confirmation of this assertion thou needest only look to the formulæ given in cookery books for imparting a fresh and lively green colour or hue to pickles—not to mention the consequences of the concentration of the virtues of certain articles, which, though harmless, while used in their original and simple state, are, as the author of the “ORACLE OF HEALTH AND LONG LIFE” observes, in their concentrated state, potent poisons;) the _Cook’s Oracle_, by the late Dr. Kitchener, will be better adapted to thy wants and taste. “We advise those who are fond of Cayenne not to think it too much trouble to make it of English chillies—_there is no other way of being sure it is genuine_.—They will obtain a pepper of much finer flavour without half the heat of the foreign; and a hundred chillies will produce two ounces. The flavour of the chillies is very superior to that of the capsicums. Put them in a warm place to dry, then rub them in a mortar, as fine as possible, and keep them in a well stopped bottle.” Wholesome and economical receipts for making most of the other articles vended in oil shops will be found in the same useful work. Buy the work, John, thou wilt have no reason to begrudge the price; it is equally valuable to the man of “high” or “low estate;”—to him to whom dinner is the chief business of the day, who merely lives to eat, than eats to live—who seeth the sun rise with no other hope than that he should fill his belly, before it sets, who is not satisfied till he is surfeited; as well as to the man who lives according to old English hospitality, and eateth merely to satisfy nature and his better health. CLOVES.