brandy.  Should the compote of fruits, as is often the case, be intended for a garden party, where it will have to stand a long time, if possible get a small bowl, like those in which gold and silver fish are sold in the street for sixpence, and fill this with ice and place it in the middle of the larger bowl containing fruit, otherwise the melted ice will utterly spoil the juice that runs from the fruit, which is sweetened with the syrup and flavoured with the brandy.  If much brandy be added, old ladies at garden parties will be found to observe that the juice is the best part of it.

APPLES, STEWED.—­Peel and cut out the cores of the apples, and stew them gently in some syrup composed of about half a pound of white sugar and rather more than a pint of water.  A small stick of cinnamon, or a few cloves, and a strip of lemon-peel can be added to the syrup, but should be taken out when finished.  The apples should be stewed till they are tender, but must not be broken.  The syrup in which the apples are stewed should of course be served with them.  This syrup can be coloured slightly with a few drops of cochineal, but should not be coloured more than very slightly.  The syrup looks a great deal better if it is clear and bright.  It can be strained and clarified.  Apples are very nice stewed in white French wine, such as Chablis or Graves.

STEWED PEARS.—­Pears known as cooking pears take a long time to stew.  They should be peeled and the cores removed, and then stewed very gently in a syrup composed of half a pound of sugar to about a pint and a half of water; add a few cloves to the syrup, say two cloves to each pear.  The pears will probably take from two to three hours to stew before they are tender.  When tender add a glass of port wine and a little cochineal.  If the pears are stewed, like they are abroad, in claret, add cinnamon instead of the cloves.

STEWED RHUBARB.—­Stewed rhubarb is of two kinds.  When it first comes into season it is small, tender, and of a bright red colour, and when stewed makes a very pretty dish.  The red rhubarb should be cut into little pieces about two inches long.  Very little water will be required, as the fruit contains a great deal of water in itself.  The amount of sugar added depends entirely upon taste.  The stewed rhubarb should be sent to table unbroken, and floating in a bright red juice.

When rhubarb is old and green it is best served more like a puree, or mashed.  Very old rhubarb is often stringy, and can with advantage be rubbed through a wire sieve.  It is no use attempting to colour old rhubarb red, but you can improve its colour by the addition of a very little spinach extract.  A few strips of lemon-peel can be stewed with old rhubarb, but should never be added to young red rhubarb.

GOOSEBERRIES, STEWED.—­Young green gooseberries stewed, strange to say, require less sugar than ripe gooseberries.  It is best to stew the fruit first, and add the sugar afterwards.  The amount of sugar varies very much with the quality of the gooseberries.