"Twelve!" I cried. "My dear, we should be ill. We should die of biliousness. Six eggs apiece!"
"Twelve fresh eggs, Archie. I'm giving you Filippini's recipe. You break the eggs into a silver dish, and cook them on the stove for two minutes. Then cut six mutton kidneys in halves—"
"Six kidneys and twelve eggs!" I exclaimed. "Surely this is a recipe for—for—horses."
"We are not obliged to eat it all at once, silly! After cutting the mutton kidneys in halves, you broil or stew them according to taste, then add them to the eggs and serve with half a pint of hot Perigueux sauce, thrown over."
"What's Perigueux sauce?"
"See No. 191," continued Letitia, in a somewhat stupefied tone. "How confusing! No. 191. Here it is. Perigueux sauce: Chop up very fine two truffles. Place them in a sautoire with a glass of Madeira wine. Reduce on the hot stove for five minutes. Add half a pint of Espagnole sauce. For Espagnole sauce, see No. 151."
"What a labyrinth!" I said, feeling quite muddled; "it's like following a maze. We may as well see the thing through. What does No. 151 say?"
"No. 151. Sauce Espagnole. Mix one pint of raw, strong, mirepoix—"