Corn and Tomato Soup

Cut two pounds of beef into small pieces, put it into a saucepan with three
quarts of water, and boil gently at one side of the fire for two hours. Skim the
liquor, put in several large tomatoes, and boil them for an hour. When cooked,
drain and pass the tomatoes through a fine sieve, and return them to the soup. Boil
a few ears of corn in salted water ; when cooked, free the corn from the cob and put
it in the soup ; also put in a small lump of butter and season to taste with salt and
pepper. Boil the soup again, pour it into a soup tureen, and serve with a plate of
sippets of toast or croutons of fried bread.