“Ha, ha! what magic is this? Our new housekeeper finds time on ‘moving day’ to lie down and improve her mind,” cried Harry, as he came into the room and sat down by her side. “I could have found plenty to do, although coming into a ready-furnished house, left in such perfect order as this was, really leaves one little, the first day, but to shake down into place and plan what one can do to-morrow. I have unpacked, put our own knick-knacks about up-stairs, and then I felt tired enough to lie down, and thought it wise to do so before I was over-tired.” “Of course it was. I have been looking about me out-of-doors, ordered a paper to be sent, and priced a brood of chickens.” “Oh, no, no, not yet, Harry! we’ll see about chickens when we are settled, unless, indeed, you want them badly.” “I? No, indeed! I thought of you.” “Then I would rather wait. I see some cabbages down at the end of the garden. I have longed to taste nice cabbage for months.” “You vulgar little person!” “You won’t say so when you eat it.” “No, but I shan’t eat it, my dear. I’ve too much respect for my digestion.” “What a pity!” Notwithstanding Harry’s determination, Molly went for a cabbage, and told Marta to put it in water. Then Molly took the fore-quarter of lamb, and with a sharp knife she made a deep incision, just where the neck ends and the shoulder begins, carrying the knife round nearly in a circle, always cutting as deeply as possible until the shoulder was free from the quarter. She had now before her the breast and rack, or ribs, the scrag, and the shoulder,—a nice, neat joint. All she had allowed the butcher to do to the quarter was to joint the chops and crack the breast across in the usual way, _but not to touch the shoulder_. Molly had seen this process of removing the shoulder so often in Europe (where it is a very choice joint), that she had felt sure she could manage it. She knew that the great thing was to have the shoulder as _thick_ as possible, therefore the knife must cut to the rib bones, and yet that the circle traced by the knife should go only within three inches of the edge on the rib side or back, and follow the line of the breast on the front, so that there remained five or six rib chops with the fat upon them, and several from under the shoulder up to the scrag, which would be excellent “French chops,” ready trimmed,—she would only have to scrape the bone. [Illustration]