“"Defiance is better than submission. Nature's a cruel jade. You know that. In the end she gets us all. That's why I hate the country. It's there that we see Nature unmasked. I stayed three weeks at a farm last summer, and from morning to night murder went on. A cat killed a cardinal, and a blue jay killed a grosbeak. One of the servants shot a squirrel. And when I walked out one morning to see the sheep, a lamb was gone and we had a roast with mint sauce for dinner. For lunch we had the squirrel in a stew. A hawk swept down upon the chickens, and all that escaped we ate later fried, with cream gravy."”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
1-1/2 pints of cold water. 1 tablespoonful of butter. 1 tablespoonful of flour. 1 teaspoonful of salt. 1/4 teaspoonful of pepper. The neck, liver, heart, and gizzard of the chicken. Wash the giblets—that is, the neck, liver, etc.—and put them in a stewpan with the water. When the water boils, skim it. Simmer for two hours or more. There should be about half a pint of liquid at this time. Take up the giblets. Mash the liver until perfectly fine, and return to the liquid. Put the butter in a small frying-pan and place on the fire. When hot, add the flour, and stir until brown. Pour on this, gradually, the liquid in the saucepan, stirring all the time. Season with the salt and pepper. Pour this sauce back into the saucepan; cover, and set back where it will keep hot. When the chicken is cooked, pour the gravy from the dripping-pan into this sauce. Serve in a hot dish. Turkey gravy is made in the same manner.
Sources: The passage is from Temple Bailey, Mistress Anne, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Parloa, Miss Parloa's Young Housekeeper of 1893, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — ochre cloth, amphora stamp.