A Poor Man’s Soup: Pick a handful of parsley leaves, mince them fine, and strew over a little salt; shred six green onions, and put them with the parsley in a sauceboat. Add three tablespoons of oil and vinegar, with some pepper and salt.
A Cheap Rice and Meat Soup: Put a pound of rice and a little pepper and broth herbs into two quarts of water; cover them close and simmer very softly; put in a little cinnamon, two pounds of good ox-cheek, and boil the whole till the goodness is incorporated by the liquor.
MacKenzie’s Five Thousand Receipts in All the Useful and Domestic Arts
The New Year has arrived and I endeavour to keep the troubles of the world from my family but, in truth, I am concerned. There is much local disturbance with the price of grain and lack of basic foodstuffs. The harvest last year was poor and the early frozen ground yielded nothing. We are fortunate that women make the daily trek from Brighton with fresh fish. As South Farm is on their route over the downs we are lucky to get first choice. The one advantage of the heavy frost was that food did not spoil too soon. Mrs Fisher, though only a plain cook, makes the best of supplies and Esther is a great asset as she has skills with herbs and spices that improve our plain diet. The unrest in France is of great personal concern to me, my brother and uncle are both in the navy and I feel them to be at great risk. Piracy as well as smuggling is commonplace and the taking of boats, fully laden, by privateers is nearly as much a problem for the forces as is the smuggling. No one balks at the taking of Frenchies but many lawless men who have no allegiance to king or country roam our waterways.
When Esther came into our lives we were in great distress at the death of our first child. I feared for Cecilia’s health and state of mind as she was distraught and has no close family nearby to help ease her pain. Esther’s arrival came just in the nick of time and her gentle care of my fragile wife will stay with me. It was difficult to see and hear the child Beth in our own cradle and know that we might have had one such baby ourselves but for the cruelty of fate. As the weeks passed Beth wound herself round our fingers and hearts and Cecilia recovered. If I am honest, she did more than recover, she became stronger, happier and I had hopes that nature would take its course soon and we would be blessed with our own child. It is not unnatural to want sons to carry on our name, and work the good land that I am privileged to have inherited. But, a little girl is something different, something delicate and beauteous that needs protection and nurturing and I long for one such for Cecilia and me to cherish.
Since Noel, I have spent a number of evenings with my friend, Dr Grieve, who also happens to hold the office of coroner in Lewes. I am concerned as to why Esther is being charged with a murder when the coroner believes that young Becca, Beth’s mother, died of drowning before the dreadful injuries were inflicted. The Coad family clearly had the motive to hurt both the girls. Becca because she could talk and Esther as a scapegoat for the wicked deeds inflicted by Farmer Coad.
I am deeply indebted to Esther and I believe her story so with the agreement of my dear wife I decided to fund the girl’s defence. Dr Grieve has to appear impartial but I know him to believe in Esther and knew he would help with practical advice and his particular knowledge of the court’s machinations which, I am grieved to say, did not always come down on the side of the innocent. Esther’s simplicity could work for or against her and it was necessary to find a barrister who would present her case with clarity and be able to knock down the arrogance of the Coads. I relished the prospect of defeating this odious family who are a disgrace to civilised humanity.
It is February and I have a meeting with our chosen barrister, Mr Josiah Button.
‘Tell me again, Mr Elwood, about the bag that the money was handed over in – you have it in your house?’
‘Yes, it is kept safe in my study.’
‘We need to fetch it – I will take it with me and make enquiries. I will also need to speak with the young woman before the case comes to court.’
‘That is easily arranged. Tell me, do you think we have a good chance of acquittal?’
‘Ah, that is indeed a question. We have a legal system that requires the jury to understand the evidence and act accordingly. Regretfully, in my learned opinion, juries are largely drawn from the less educated classes for the simple reason that there are more of them. Because of that we also need a judge who can see the wood for the trees and direct the jury to the proper conclusion. Alas, this does not always happen. A jury can be swayed by many things, not necessarily pertinent to the case.’
‘Surely, the case depends on the evidence presented?’ Mr Button laughed at my words and I was discomfited to hear him. I wasn’t accustomed to people deriding my opinion.
‘My dear sir, clearly you have not been in touch with the courts before now. I congratulate you but regretfully the jury is often the Achilles’ heel of the system.
I banged my fist on the desk in frustration.
‘Well, what are we to do then? Why am I employing you, at great expense I must say, if you cannot be certain to win our case?’
Mr Button raised his silver topped cane to his mouth and tapped it against his teeth.
My dear fellow, you are employing me because I can out-think and then outwit any jury and certainly the public prosecutor.’
I was uncomfortable with this declaration but Dr Grieve seemed to think that Josiah Button was the best we could hope for in the defence of Esther.
Later, at home, I confided in Cecilia that it wasn’t as clear-cut as I had believed; that Esther’s very innocence made her a ‘sitting duck for the prosecution’ according to Mr Josiah Button.
‘But how can that be, my dear?’ A crinkle of concern had knotted her brow.
‘Her testimony can be manipulated by the prosecution because she hasn’t the knowledge of mankind to appreciate how wicked some people are. In other words, she is gullible in her innocence.’
‘Oh John, what are we to do?’
‘We must hand over the evidence – the stake, the bag, the money and prepare Esther for a rough ride. Mr Button will arrange investigators to seek out the facts and he will, God willing, find enough facts to carry the jury without putting Esther on the stand.’
Cecilia grasped my hands and we sat in sad silence at the unfairness of it all.