Four pounds of lean beef;
four quarts of water;
one teaspoonful of celery seed;
two small onions;
two small carrots;
one bunch of parsley;
six blades of mace;
sixteen whole cloves;
the white of four eggs;
salt and pepper to taste.
Cut the beef in pieces of the size of a walnut, taking care not to leave a particle of fat on them. Pour on it the water and let it boil up three times, skimming well each time; for if any of the grease is allowed to go back in the soup, it will be impossible to get clear.
Scrape the carrots, stick four cloves firmly into each onion, and put then in the soup. Then add the celery-seed, parsley, mace, pepper and salt. Let this boil until the vegetables are tender, then strain through a bag, return to the soup-pot, and stir in the well-beaten whites of the eggs. Boil until the eggs gather to one side, skim off, and color a delegate amber by burning a dessertspoonful of brown sugar and stirring it into the soup until sufficiently colored. Wash the bag in warm water, pour the soup through again, and serve.