What remains of a roast will serve very well for a basis if you have no piece of fresh uncooked meat. Let the vessel in which the soup is to be made be provided with a close cover, and allow yourself plenty of time, so that the soup need only simmer for five or six hours, but never boil hard. As the water evaporates, add more, but always let it be boiling after the first, which should be poured cold over the meat. Add vegetables as you like - for instance a quart of ripe tomatoes scalded and peeled, but if you have not so many, a few will make their impression; a large handful of green corn, cut from the cob; another of young, tender okra, and another of Irish potatoes, peeled and cut small; lastly a handful of small lima beans. Season cautiously with salt and pepper, remembering that more can easily be added at table. In this kind of soup a pod of red pepper, not broken, is preferable to black pepper. Stir the soup frequently, lest the vegetables stick to the bottom and burn. Skim carefully and dish up hot. In the far South, where this soup is made to perfection, they let the vegetables cook so thoroughly as to form an indistinguishable mass, and strain it, so that the flavor is left without the substance.