_The Pot au Feu_ is the popular soup of France, which is found in every house, from the prince to the peasant: it is made by putting a solid piece of beef into cold water, in the proportion of one pound of meat to a quart of water, and letting it simmer in an earthen pot on a hot hearth for six hours, taking off the scum as it rises. A little salt is thrown in after the liquor has begun to simmer, and carrots, cabbage, an onion or two, and any other vegetable that may be in season are put in, after the scum, caused by the addition of the salt, has been taken off. This pottage can never be made properly unless wood is burned in the kitchen, as it requires to be kept constantly simmering, but never boiling rapidly during the whole of the six hours; and this can scarcely be accomplished with a tin kettle or saucepan placed at the side of a coal fire. In France they generally use a piece of the rump for the _pot au feu_, as they have their meat (which they call _bouilli_) sent to table, with the best of the vegetables, taken carefully out of the liquor, laid round it. The soup is then strained off and poured quite hot on a slice of bread, either toasted or untoasted, according to taste, which is laid at the bottom of the tureen. Sometimes, instead of using bread, the pottage is served plain; or vermicelli is added in the proportion of from one to two ounces to each quart of soup. The vermicelli is put into a saucepan, and enough of the bouillon to cover it is strained over it, and it is stewed very gently for about half an hour, so as to be ready to add to the soup when it is put into the tureen. In winter, instead of vegetables, rice is frequently put into the _pot au feu_ about two hours before it is served up; or it is stewed for about an hour in a separate saucepan, and added when the pottage is served up. _Macaroni_ is the national dish of Italy, and it is prepared by covering it with ten times its volume of boiling water, and letting it remain till it becomes soft. When this is the case, some salt is thrown into the water, and the saucepan is held over the fire for a minute, till the liquid begins to bubble, when cold water is thrown in to stop the ebullition: the macaroni is then drained, and placed in a dish alternately with small bits of butter, pepper, and grated cheese; or, instead of butter, gravy of any kind may be used, or tomato sauce. The Italians use the same kind of soup as the French, but they always serve a dish of grated cheese to eat with it; and sometimes they add parsley chopped very small to the potage before serving it. The cheese used in Italy is either Parmesan or Gruyere, but any strong flavoured, dry cheese will do.