“The purveyor will not, I am certain, refuse that,” said he.
“Oh, I am aware of that; but I wish to manage it without increasing the expense. I must accomplish that, if possible.” Miss Nightingale and Dr. Macgregor, to both of whom I sent some, praised it even more than the others had done, particularly the meat, which they stated to be of a very excellent flavour, and they had the opportunity of tasting the former. Mr. Milton came in, and though I had not had the pleasure of seeing that gentleman, from the description I had heard of him, and his pleasing manner, I knew I was not mistaken in saying—“Mr. Milton, allow me to have the honour of tendering my best compliments and thanks for your prompt visit.”
“No person could be more welcome here than you are, Monsieur Soyer. I only regret I was not in my office when you called. I should have been happy to have accompanied you round the wards. Your very just remarks have been repeated to me and the plan you mean to adopt explained, but I fear you will meet with so many difficulties that you will get tired before you have achieved much good.”
“Not at all,” I replied; “you will see a great change by to-morrow, which must be attributed chiefly to the politeness and cordial assistance I have met with from the members of every department—especially your own—which to me is the most important.”
“I have given orders that everything you may require is to be placed at your disposal, if in store; and any alteration or suggestion which is likely to be beneficial will be immediately attended to. You have only to ask for anything you need in the way of cooking utensils, and it shall, if possible, be procured.”
“My great object and delight will be to effect a change with the daily allowance.”
“That would certainly be as well; but I fancy it cannot be done. The provisions here are of a quality very inferior to what we get in London.”
“You are quite right, if they are all like those I saw this morning. Favour me by tasting these two soups. Julien! please to give Mr. Milton two small basins of soup—one of mine, and one of that made at the hospital.” On tasting mine first he pronounced it very good and palatable, and of an excellent flavour. The other, although made with exactly the same materials, he could hardly swallow. It had no seasoning, had a blackish appearance, and was quite tasteless.
“There is no comparison,” said Mr. Milton.
“All the soup will in future be like the sample I have made, and I can greatly improve it by the addition of a few pounds of brown sugar and a little flour extra.”
“Monsieur Soyer, I beg you will not regard such trivial expenses, at any rate for the present; what is required you shall have.”
“I see the fresh vegetables are very bad—as you have a quantity of preserved ones, I shall mix them.”
“In future we must try and get better meat, poultry, and eggs; and, above all, charcoal. I am aware you have justly complained of them. Have you seen our bread?”
“Yes, I have, and very good it is too.”
“That is really all we can manage to my satisfaction. As regards the meat and poultry, I will send you the contractor; but the charcoal is in the commissariat department. I shall write an official letter respecting it. I see,” he continued, looking at some, “it is all dust, and seems quite wet.”
“Pray send off a letter; and if you will give me the name of the gentleman who is at the head of that department, I shall be happy to make his acquaintance; and beg of him not to allow any delay, as I consider this the most important matter of all.”
I repeated the reason for saying this which I have before mentioned.
After listening attentively to my remarks, Mr. Milton said:—
“You may well call it the most important, and the sooner it is altered the better.”
We parted. I then told the soldier cooks to have the boilers thoroughly cleaned, and everything in from the stores by eight o’clock the next morning, as I intended making the soup myself. I left Julien, my head man, with them to superintend matters.
Having called upon Doctor Taylor, I had a long conversation with him upon cookery. In the course of this he said,—
“On finding that the cooking was so badly done, I took upon myself, not only to superintend the men, but also to cook and teach them; and I must say I found them very willing. How could I expect them to know anything about it? they had never been taught to do it.”
“True, Doctor; and, as soon as they begin to know a little about it, they are recalled to their regiments, and replaced by new-comers as ignorant as they were themselves at first.”
“Exactly; and I tell you what, Monsieur Soyer, though we may be very good doctors, and possess a thorough knowledge of medical science, we still need the aid of culinary science; for the one without the other will produce but very unsatisfactory results. Since I have turned my attention to it, I am more and more fortified in the opinion which I have expressed before several medical boards, that a doctor, to be well qualified, should have some knowledge of the art of cookery, and this he ought to acquire in the first stage of his medical education.”
“Indeed, Doctor, it is not with the view of elevating my profession, to which I have now devoted my attention for more than twenty-seven years, that I say I am persuaded that this science has been too lightly treated. In corroboration of your just remark, I have, as you will find, already stated in my various works upon cookery, that to make a good cook it is of paramount importance that a man should possess some chemical as well as medical knowledge.”
“I agree with you, Monsieur Soyer,” said he.
“As soon as my kitchen is ready, Doctor, I hope you will favour me with a visit.”
“With much pleasure. Let me know when it is finished.”
To my great regret, I was obliged to see about returning to Pera, some delay having taken place in the completion of my house. On reaching the landing-place not a caique was to be had, the weather was so bad they could not cross. A friend offered me shelter for that night at a small restaurant kept by a Greek called Demetri. There were seventeen of us lying on straw sofas, with the privilege of covering ourselves with our great coats, if fortunate enough to possess one. Rooms were at a premium in Scutari. It was also necessary for anybody who wished to have the benefit of his great-coat to keep awake all night; for no sooner did you begin to doze than some of your sleeping partners, who happened to be wide awake, endeavoured to appropriate the coveted garment to their use; and the weather being very chilly, this proved anything but pleasant. Unfortunately, after passing an uncomfortable night, I did not feel much refreshed, and was almost unfit to undertake the difficult task I had before me. However, I was up at six, and in the kitchen by seven. None of my orders had been attended to. My own people were not there as they ought to have been; and the men told me they could not get the rations till ten o’clock, that being the usual time for issuing them.
“Really,” said I; “and pray who told you so?”
“The serjeant and some of the orderlies,” was the reply.
“We shall see all about that; come with me.”
The truth is, I did find it very difficult to get anything; but, in less than half-an-hour after I had been to the purveyor’s head-quarters my new regiment began to manœuvre admirably under my command. By eight o’clock everything was ready for the cooking, except my cooks, who had been sleeping in a store-room upon some straw, and had a regular fray with the allied rats. These animals, it appears, had come to welcome them