The Book of Household Management - Mrs. Isabella Beeton

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_Seasonable_ from September to March.

_Sufficient_ for 10 persons.

REGENCY SOUP.

182. Ingredients.--Any bones and remains of any cold game, such as of
pheasants, partridges, &c.; 2 carrots, 2 small onions, 1 head of celery,
1 turnip, 1/4 lb. of pearl barley, the yolks of 3 eggs boiled hard, 1/4
pint of cream, salt to taste, 2 quarts of stock No. 105, or common
stock, No. 106.

_Mode_.--Place the bones or remains of game in the stewpan, with the
vegetables sliced; pour over the stock, and simmer for 2 hours; skim off
all the fat, and strain it. Wash the barley, and boil it in 2 or 3
waters before putting it to the soup; finish simmering in the soup, and
when the barley is done, take out half, and pound the other half with
the yolks of the eggs. When you have finished pounding, rub it through a
clean tammy, add the cream, and salt if necessary; give one boil, and
serve very hot, putting in the barley that was taken out first.

_Time_.--2-1/2 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. per quart, if made with medium
stock, or 6d. per quart, with common stock.

_Seasonable_ from September to March.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

SOUP A LA REINE.

I.

183. INGREDIENTS.--1 large fowl, 1 oz. of sweet almonds, the crumb of 1
1/2 French roll, 1/2 pint of cream, salt to taste, 1 small lump of
sugar, 2 quarts of good white veal stock, No. 107.

_Mode_.--Boil the fowl gently in the stock till quite tender, which will
be in about an hour, or rather more; take out the fowl, pull the meat
from the bones, and put it into a mortar with the almonds, and pound
very fine. When beaten enough, put the meat back in the stock, with the
crumb of the rolls, and let it simmer for an hour; rub it through a
tammy, add the sugar, 1/2 pint of cream that has boiled, and, if you
prefer, cut the crust of the roll into small round pieces, and pour the
soup over it, when you serve.

_Time_.--2 hours, or rather more. _Average cost_, 2s. 7d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ all the year.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

_Note_.--All white soups should be warmed in a vessel placed in another
of boiling water. (_See_ BAIN MARIE, No. 87.)

II. (Economical.)

184. INGREDIENTS.--Any remains of roast chickens, 1/2 teacupful of rice,
salt and pepper to taste, 1 quart of stock No. 106.

_Mode_.--Take all the white meat and pound it with the rice, which has
been slightly cooked, but not much. When it is all well pounded, dilute
with the stock, and pass through a sieve. This soup should neither be
too clear nor too thick.

_Time_.--1 hour. _Average cost_, 4d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ all the year.

_Sufficient_ for 4 persons.

_Note_.--If stock is not at hand, put the chicken-bones in water, with
an onion, carrot, a few sweet herbs, a blade of mace, pepper and salt,
and stew for 3 hours.

STEW SOUP OF SALT MEAT.

185. INGREDIENTS.--Any pieces of salt beef or pork, say 2 lbs.; 4
carrots, 4 parsnips, 4 turnips, 4 potatoes, 1 cabbage, 2 oz. of oatmeal
or ground rice, seasoning of salt and pepper, 2 quarts of water.

_Mode_.--Cut up the meat small, add the water, and let it simmer for
23/4 hours. Now add the vegetables, cut in thin small slices; season,
and boil for 1 hour. Thicken with the oatmeal, and serve.

_Time_.--2 hours. _Average cost_, 3d. per quart without the meat.

_Seasonable_ in winter.

_Sufficient_ for 6 persons.

_Note_.--If rice is used instead of oatmeal, put it in with the
vegetables.

STEW SOUP.

I.

186. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of beef, 5 onions, 5 turnips, 3/4 lb. of
_rice_, a large bunch of parsley, a few sweet herbs, pepper and salt, 2
quarts of water.

_Mode_.--Cut the beef up in small pieces, add the other ingredients, and
boil gently for 21/2 hours. Oatmeal or potatoes would be a great
improvement.

_Time_.-21/2 hours. _Average cost_, 6d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ in winter.

_Sufficient_ for 6 persons.

II.

187. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of beef, mutton, or pork; 1/2 pint of split
peas, 4 turnips, 8 potatoes, 2 onions, 2 oz. of oatmeal or 3 oz. of
rice, 2 quarts of water.

_Mode_.--Cut the meat in small pieces, as also the vegetables, and add
them, with the peas, to the water. Boil gently for 3 hours; thicken with
the oatmeal, boil for another 1/4 hour, stirring all the time, and
season with pepper and salt.

_Time_.--3-1/4 hours. _Average cost_, 4d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ in winter.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

_Note_.--This soup may be made of the liquor in which tripe has been
boiled, by adding vegetables, seasoning, rice, &c.

TURKEY SOUP (a Seasonable Dish at Christmas).

188. INGREDIENTS.--2 quarts of medium stock, No. 105, the remains of a
cold roast turkey, 2 oz. of rice-flour or arrowroot, salt and pepper to
taste, 1 tablespoonful of Harvey's sauce or mushroom ketchup.

_Mode_.--Cut up the turkey in small pieces, and put it in the stock; let
it simmer slowly until the bones are quite clean. Take the bones out,
and work the soup through a sieve; when cool, skim well. Mix the
rice-flour or arrowroot to a batter with a little of the soup; add it
with the seasoning and sauce, or ketchup. Give one boil, and serve.

_Time_.--4 hours. _Average cost_, 10d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ at Christmas.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

_Note_.--Instead of thickening this soup, vermicelli or macaroni may be
served in it.

THE TURKEY.--The common turkey is a native of North America, and
was thence introduced to England, in the reign of Henry VIII.
According to Tusser's "Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry,"
about the year 1585 it begun to form a dish at our rural
Christmas feasts.

"Beef, mutton, and pork, shred pies of the best,
Pig, veal, goose, and capon, and turkey well dress'd,
Cheese, apples, and nuts, jolly carols to hear,
As then in the country is counted good cheer."

It is one of the most difficult birds to rear, of any that we
have; yet, in its wild state, is found in great abundance in the
forests of Canada, where, it might have been imagined that the
severity of the climate would be unfavourable to its ever
becoming plentiful. They are very fond of the seeds of nettles,
and the seeds of the foxglove poison them.

TURTLE SOUP (founded on M. Ude's Recipe).

189. INGREDIENTS.--A turtle, 6 slices of ham, 2 knuckles of veal, 1
large bunch of sweet herbs, 3 bay-leaves, parsley, green onions, 1
onion, 6 cloves, 4 blades of mace, 1/4 lb. of fresh butter, 1 bottle of
Madeira, 1 lump of sugar. For the _Quenelles a Tortue_, 1 lb. of veal, 1
lb. of bread crumbs, milk, 7 eggs, cayenne, salt, spices, chopped
parsley, the juice of 2 lemons.

_Mode_.--To make this soup with less difficulty, cut off the head of the
turtle the preceding day. In the morning open the turtle by leaning
heavily with a knife on the shell of the animal's back, whilst you cut
this off all round. Turn it upright on its end, that all the water, &c.
may run out, when the flesh should be cut off along the spine, with the
knife sloping towards the bones, for fear of touching the gall, which
sometimes might escape the eye. When all the flesh about the members is
obtained, wash these clean, and let them drain. Have ready, on the fire,
a large vessel full of boiling water, into which put the shells; and
when you perceive that they come easily off, take them out of the water,
and prick them all, with those of the back, belly, fins, head, &c. Boil
the back and belly till the bones can be taken off, without, however,
allowing the softer parts to be sufficiently done, as they will be
boiled again in the soup. When these latter come off easily, lay them on
earthen dishes singly, for fear they should stick together, and put them
to cool. Keep the liquor in which you have blanched the softer parts,
and let the bones stew thoroughly in it, as this liquor must be used to
moisten all the sauces.

All the flesh of the interior parts, the four legs and head, must be
drawn down in the following manner:--Lay the slices of ham on the bottom
of a very large stewpan, over them the knuckles of veal, according to
the size of the turtle; then the inside flesh of the turtle, and over
the whole the members. Now moisten with the water in which you are
boiling the shell, and draw it down thoroughly. It may now be
ascertained if it be thoroughly done by thrusting a knife into the
fleshy part of the meat. If no blood appears, it is time to moisten it
again with the liquor in which the bones, &c. have been boiling. Put in
a large bunch of all such sweet herbs as are used in the cooking of a
turtle,--sweet basil, sweet marjoram, lemon thyme, winter savory, 2 or 3
bay-leaves, common thyme, a handful of parsley and green onions, and a
large onion stuck with 6 cloves. Let the whole be thoroughly done. With
respect to the members, probe them, to see whether they are done, and if
so, drain and send them to the larder, as they are to make their
appearance only when the soup is absolutely completed. When the flesh is
also completely done, strain it through a silk sieve, and make a very
thin white _roux;_ for turtle soup must not be much thickened. When the
flour is sufficiently done on a slow fire, and has a good colour,
moisten it with the liquor, keeping it over the fire till it boils.
Ascertain that the sauce is neither too thick nor too thin; then draw
the stewpan on the side of the stove, to skim off the white scum, and
all the fat and oil that rise to the surface of the sauce. By this time
all the softer parts will be sufficiently cold; when they must be cut to
about the size of one or two inches square, and thrown into the soup,
which must now be left to simmer gently. When done, skim off all the fat
and froth. Take all the leaves of the herbs from the stock,--sweet
basil, sweet marjoram, lemon thyme, winter savory, 2 or 3 bay-leaves,
common thyme, a handful of parsley and green onions, and a large onion
cut in four pieces, with a few blades of mace. Put these in a stewpan,
with about 1/4 lb. of fresh butter, and let it simmer on a slow fire
till quite melted, when pour in 1 bottle of good Madeira, adding a small
bit of sugar, and let it boil gently for 1 hour. When done, rub it
through a tammy, and add it to the soup. Let this boil, till no white
scum rises; then take with a skimmer all the bits of turtle out of the
sauce, and put them in a clean stewpan: when you have all out, pour the
soup over the bits of turtle, through a tammy, and proceed as follows:--

QUENELLES A TORTUE.--Make some _quenelles a tortue_, which being
substitutes for eggs, do not require to be very delicate. Take out the
fleshy part of a leg of veal, about 1 lb., scrape off all the meat,
without leaving any sinews or fat, and soak in milk about the same
quantity of crumbs of bread. When the bread is well soaked, squeeze it,
and put it into a mortar, with the veal, a small quantity of calf's
udder, a little butter, the yolks of 4 eggs, boiled hard, a little
cayenne pepper, salt, and spices, and pound the whole very fine; then
thicken the mixture with 2 whole eggs, and the yolk of another. Next try
this _farce_ or stuffing in boiling-hot water, to ascertain its
consistency: if it is too thin, add the yolk of an egg. When the _farce_
is perfected, take half of it, and put into it some chopped parsley. Let
the whole cool, in order to roll it of the size of the yolk of an egg;
poach it in salt and boiling water, and when very hard, drain on a
sieve, and put it into the turtle. Before you send up, squeeze the juice
of 2 or 3 lemons, with a little cayenne pepper, and pour that into the
soup. THE FINS may be served as a _plat d'entree_ with a little turtle
sauce; if not, on the following day you may warm the turtle _au bain
marie_, and serve the members entire, with a _matelote_ sauce, garnished
with mushrooms, cocks' combs, _quenelles_, &c. When either lemon-juice
or cayenne pepper has been introduced, no boiling must take place.

_Note_.--It is necessary to observe, that the turtle prepared a day
before it is used, is generally preferable, the flavour being more
uniform. Be particular, when you dress a very large turtle, to preserve
the green fat (be cautious not to study a very brown colour,--the
natural green of the fish is preferred by every epicure and true
connoisseur) in a separate stewpan, and likewise when the turtle is
entirely done, to have as many tureens as you mean to serve each time.
You cannot put the whole in a large vessel, for many reasons: first, it
will be long in cooling; secondly, when you take some out, it will break
all the rest into rags. If you warm in a _bain marie_, the turtle will
always retain the same taste; but if you boil it often, it becomes
strong, and loses the delicacy of its flavour.

THE COST OF TURTLE SOUP.--This is the most expensive soup brought to
table. It is sold by the quart,--one guinea being the standard price for
that quantity. The price of live turtle ranges from 8d. to 2s. per lb.,
according to supply and demand. When live turtle is dear, many cooks use
the tinned turtle, which is killed when caught, and preserved by being
put in hermetically-sealed canisters, and so sent over to England. The
cost of a tin, containing 2 quarts, or 4 lbs., is about L2, and for a
small one, containing the green fat, 7s. 6d. From these about 6 quarts
of good soup may be made.

[Illustration: THE TURTLE.]

THE GREEN TURTLE.--This reptile is found in large numbers on the
coasts of all the islands and continents within the tropics, in
both the old and new worlds. Their length is often five feet and
upwards, and they range in weight from 50 to 500 or 600 lbs. As
turtles find a constant supply of food on the coasts which they
frequent, they are not of a quarrelsome disposition, as the
submarine meadows in which they pasture, yield plenty for them
all. Like other species of amphibia, too, they have the power of
living many months without food; so that they live harmlessly
and peaceably together, notwithstanding that they seem to have
no common bond of association, but merely assemble in the same
places as if entirely by accident. England is mostly supplied
with them from the West Indies, whence they are brought alive
and in tolerable health. The green turtle is highly prized on
account of the delicious quality of its flesh, the fat of the
upper and lower shields of the animal being esteemed the richest
and most delicate parts. The soup, however, is apt to disagree
with weak stomachs. As an article of luxury, the turtle has only
come into fashion within the last 100 years, and some hundreds
of tureens of turtle soup are served annually at the lord
mayor's dinner in Guildhall.

A GOOD FAMILY SOUP.

190. INGREDIENTS.--Remains of a cold tongue, 2 lbs. of shin of beef, any
cold pieces of meat or beef-bones, 2 turnips, 2 carrots, 2 onions, 1
parsnip, 1 head of celery, 4 quarts of water, 1/2 teacupful of rice;
salt and pepper to taste.

_Mode_.--Put all the ingredients in a stewpan, and simmer gently for 4
hours, or until all the goodness is drawn from the meat. Strain off the
soup, and let it stand to get cold. The kernels and soft parts of the
tongue must be saved. When the soup is wanted for use, skim off all the
fat, put in the kernels and soft parts of the tongue, slice in a small
quantity of fresh carrot, turnip, and onion; stew till the vegetables
are tender, and serve with toasted bread.

_Time_.--5 hours. __Average cost_,3d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

_Sufficient_ for 12 persons.

HODGE-PODGE.

191. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of shin of beef, 3 quarts of water, 1 pint of
table-beer, 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 turnips, 1 head of celery; pepper and
salt to taste; thickening of butter and flour.

_Mode_.--Put the meat, beer, and water in a stewpan; simmer for a few
minutes, and skim carefully. Add the vegetables and seasoning; stew
gently till the meat is tender. Thicken with the butter and flour, and
serve with turnips and carrots, or spinach and celery.

_Time_.--3 hours, or rather more. _Average cost_, 3d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ at any time. _Sufficient_ for 12 persons.

TABLE BEER.--This is nothing more than a weak ale, and is not
made so much with a view to strength, as to transparency of
colour and an agreeable bitterness of taste. It is, or ought to
be, manufactured by the London professional brewers, from the
best pale malt, or amber and malt. Six barrels are usually drawn
from one quarter of malt, with which are mixed 4 or 5 lbs. of
hops. As a beverage, it is agreeable when fresh; but it is not
adapted to keep long.

FISH SOUPS.

FISH STOCK.

192. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of beef or veal (these can be omitted), any
kind of white fish trimmings, of fish which are to be dressed for table,
2 onions, the rind of 1/2 a lemon, a bunch of sweet herbs, 2 carrots, 2
quarts of water.

_Mode_.--Cut up the fish, and put it, with the other ingredients, into
the water. Simmer for 2 hours; skim the liquor carefully, and strain it.
When a richer stock is wanted, fry the vegetables and fish before adding
the water.

_Time_.--2 hours. _Average cost_, with meat, 10d. per quart; without,
3d.

_Note_.--Do not make fish stock long before it is wanted, as it soon
turns sour.

CRAYFISH SOUP.

193. INGREDIENTS.--50 crayfish, 1/4 lb. of butter, 6 anchovies, the
crumb of 1 French roll, a little lobster-spawn, seasoning to taste, 2
quarts of medium stock, No. 105, or fish stock, No. 192.

_Mode_.--Shell the crayfish, and put the fish between two plates until
they are wanted; pound the shells in a mortar, with the butter and
anchovies; when well beaten, add a pint of stock, and simmer for 3/4 of
an hour. Strain it through a hair sieve, put the remainder of the stock
to it, with the crumb of the rolls; give it one boil, and rub it through
a tammy, with the lobster-spawn. Put in the fish, but do not let the
soup boil, after it has been rubbed through the tammy. If necessary, add
seasoning.

_Time_.--1-1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 2s. 3d. or 1s. 9d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ from January to July.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

[Illustration: CRAYFISH.]

THE CRAYFISH.--This is one of those fishes that were highly
esteemed by the ancients. The Greeks preferred it when brought
from Alexandria, and the Romans ate it boiled with cumin, and
seasoned with pepper and other condiments. A recipe tells us,
that crayfish can be preserved several days in baskets with
fresh grass, such as the nettle, or in a bucket with about
three-eighths of an inch of water. More water would kill them,
because the large quantity of air they require necessitates the
water in which they are kept, to be continually renewed.

EEL SOUP.

194. INGREDIENTS.--3 lbs. of eels, 1 onion, 2 oz. of butter, 3 blades of
mace, 1 bunch of sweet herbs, 1/4 oz. of peppercorns, salt to taste, 2
tablespoonfuls of flour, 1/4 pint of cream, 2 quarts of water.

_Mode_.--Wash the eels, cut them into thin slices, and put them in the
stewpan with the butter; let them simmer for a few minutes, then pour
the water to them, and add the onion, cut in thin slices, the herbs,
mace, and seasoning. Simmer till the eels are tender, but do not break
the fish. Take them out carefully, mix the flour smoothly to a batter
with the cream, bring it to a boil, pour over the eels, and serve.

_Time_.--1 hour, or rather more. _Average cost_, 10d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ from June to March.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

_Note_.--This soup may be flavoured differently by omitting the cream,
and adding a little ketchup or Harvey's sauce.

LOBSTER SOUP.

195. INGREDIENTS.--3 large lobsters, or 6 small ones; the crumb of a
French roll, 2 anchovies, 1 onion, 1 small bunch of sweet herbs, 1 strip
of lemon-peel, 2 oz. of butter, a little nutmeg, 1 teaspoonful of flour,
1 pint of cream, 1 pint of milk; forcemeat balls, mace, salt and pepper
to taste, bread crumbs, 1 egg, 2 quarts of water.

_Mode_.--Pick the meat from the lobsters, and beat the fins, chine, and
small claws in a mortar, previously taking away the brown fin and the
bag in the head. Put it in a stewpan, with the crumb of the roll,
anchovies, onions, herbs, lemon-peel, and the water; simmer gently till
all the goodness is extracted, and strain it off. Pound the spawn in a
mortar, with the butter, nutmeg, and flour, and mix with it the cream
and milk. Give one boil up, at the same time adding the tails cut in
pieces. Make the forcemeat balls with the remainder of the lobster,
seasoned with mace, pepper, and salt, adding a little flour, and a few
bread crumbs; moisten them with the egg, heat them in the soup, and
serve.

_Time_.--2 hours, or rather more. _Average cost_, 3s 6d per quart.

_Seasonable_ from April to October.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

OYSTER SOUP.

I.

196. INGREDIENTS.--6 dozen of oysters, 2 quarts of white stock, 1/2 pint
of cream, 2 oz. of butter, 1-1/2 oz. of flour; salt, cayenne, and mace
to taste.

_Mode_.--Scald the oysters in their own liquor; take them out, beard
them, and put them in a tureen. Take a pint of the stock, put in the
beards and the liquor, which must be carefully strained, and simmer for
1/2 an hour. Take it off the fire, strain it again, and add the
remainder of the stock with the seasoning and mace. Bring it to a boil,
add the thickening of butter and flour, simmer for 5 minutes, stir in
the boiling cream, pour it over the oysters, and serve.

_Time_.--1 hour. _Average cost_, 2s. 8d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ from September to April.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

_Note_.--This soup can be made less rich by using milk instead of cream,
and thickening with arrowroot instead of butter and flour.

II.

197. INGREDIENTS.--2 quarts of good mutton broth, 6 dozen oysters, 2 oz.
butter, 1 oz. of flour.

_Mode_.--Beard the oysters, and scald them in their own liquor; then add
it, well strained, to the broth; thicken with the butter and flour, and
simmer for 1/4 of an hour. Put in the oysters, stir well, but do not let
it boil, and serve very hot.

_Time_.--3/4 hour. _Average cost_, 2s. per quart.

_Seasonable_ from September to April.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

SEASON OF OYSTERS.--From April and May to the end of July,
oysters are said to be sick; but by the end of August they
become healthy, having recovered from the effects of spawning.
When they are not in season, the males have a black, and the
females a milky substance in the gill. From some lines of
Oppian, it would appear that the ancients were ignorant that the
oyster is generally found adhering to rocks. The starfish is one
of the most deadly enemies of these bivalves. The poet says:--

The prickly star creeps on with full deceit
To force the oyster from his close retreat.
When gaping lids their widen'd void display,
The watchful star thrusts in a pointed ray,
Of all its treasures spoils the rifled case,
And empty shells the sandy hillock grace.

PRAWN SOUP.

198. INGREDIENTS.--2 quarts of fish stock or water, 2 pints of prawns,
the crumbs of a French roll, anchovy sauce or mushroom ketchup to taste,
1 blade of mace, 1 pint of vinegar, a little lemon-juice.

_Mode_.--Pick out the tails of the prawns, put the bodies in a stewpan
with 1 blade of mace, 1/2 pint of vinegar, and the same quantity of
water; stew them for 1/4 hour, and strain off the liquor. Put the fish
stock or water into a stewpan; add the strained liquor, pound the prawns
with the crumb of a roll moistened with a little of the soup, rub them
through a tammy, and mix them by degrees with the soup; add ketchup or
anchovy sauce to taste, with a little lemon-juice. When it is well
cooked, put in a few picked prawns; let them get thoroughly hot, and
serve. If not thick enough, put in a little butter and flour.

_Time_.--hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 1d. per quart, if made with water.

_Seasonable_ at any time. _Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

_Note_.--This can be thickened with tomatoes, and vermicelli served in
it, which makes it a very tasteful soup.

[Illustration: THE PRAWN.]

THE PRAWN.--This little fish bears a striking resemblance to the
shrimp, but is neither so common nor so small. It is to be found
on most of the sandy shores of Europe. The Isle of Wight is
famous for shrimps, where they are potted; but both the prawns
and the shrimps vended in London, are too much salted for the
excellence of their natural flavour to be preserved. They are
extremely lively little animals, as seen in their native
retreats.

[Illustration]

FISH.

CHAPTER VII.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF FISHES.

199. IN NATURAL HISTORY, FISHES form the fourth class in the system of
Linnaeus, and are described as having long under-jaws, eggs without
white, organs of sense, fins for supporters, bodies covered with concave
scales, gills to supply the place of lungs for respiration, and water
for the natural element of their existence. Had mankind no other
knowledge of animals than of such as inhabit the land and breathe their
own atmosphere, they would listen with incredulous wonder, if told that
there were other kinds of beings which existed only in the waters, and
which would die almost as soon as they were taken from them. However
strongly these facts might be attested, they would hardly believe them,
without the operation of their own senses, as they would recollect the
effect produced on their own bodies when immersed in water, and the
impossibility of their sustaining life in it for any lengthened period
of time. Experience, however, has taught them, that the "great deep" is
crowded with inhabitants of various sizes, and of vastly different
constructions, with modes of life entirely distinct from those which
belong to the animals of the land, and with peculiarities of design,
equally wonderful with those of any other works which have come from the
hand of the Creator. The history of these races, however, must remain
for ever, more or less, in a state of darkness, since the depths in
which they live, are beyond the power of human exploration, and since
the illimitable expansion of their domain places them almost entirely
out of the reach of human accessibility.