“Spite of all her opposition, Schillie knew very well we must have a house, and the more she grumbled I knew the harder she would work. So everybody was ordered to use their best wits, and give their opinions as to the kind, size, situation, and other things belonging to the intended mansion, and at tea-time the sense of the company was to be taken. In the meantime I compared our list of goods, with what the captain had made out for us, and found that we had suffered considerably by the rain. Out of seven barrels of flour four were nearly spoilt; a cask of cheese and ship's biscuit was all that remained of those commodities; not a bit of the salted beef and pork could be touched, we had to throw it all away, but some bacon and hams were quite good. We had four or five cases of preserved meats, but, as Jenny observed, we could eat those up in a week, and then what were we to do for meat. I gave her clearly to understand that we must do without meat for the future, which caused her to drop one of our saucepans in surprise and dismay, while she exclaimed, "Whatever, Ma'am, shall we do about Master Felix if he has no meat, and he growing so fast?" "Whatever, Jenny, shall we do if you knock holes in the saucepans in such a careless way?" said I. Jenny apologised as best she could, but it was evident all the saucepans in the world might get punched into holes provided her little master had meat for his dinner every day; she comforted herself very much, however, thinking of the ducks and chickens, though she bewailed over his great affection for mutton chops and beef steaks, and now for the future that weakness of his would run no chance of being gratified.”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
Choose the tenderest cuts and broil over a clear hot fire with your wisest skill. Let the steak be rare—the chops well-done. Salt and pepper, lay between two _hot_ plates three minutes, and serve to your patient. If he is very weak, do not let him swallow anything except the juice, when he has chewed the meat well. The essence of rare beef—roast or broiled—thus expressed, is considered by some physicians to be more strengthening than beef-tea, prepared in the usual manner.
Sources: The passage is from Julia de Winton, Yr Ynys Unyg, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Harland, Common Sense in the Household of 1871, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — oxblood cloth, cheese stamp.