French Beans.
Remove the strings and cut the beans into slices.
Put them into plenty of boiling water, with salt in the proportion of one tablespoonful to every two quarts of water, a little sugar, or, if the water is hard, a small piece of soda about the size of a pea.
Boil quickly for fifteen minutes or longer, according to their age.
Drain in a colander.
Then put them into a saucepan with a small piece of butter, pepper and salt, and shake them over the fire for a minute or two.