squeeze of a lemon, is well worth the trial.

The eels should

be thoroughly done; and if of a large size should be parboiled previous to being either fried or broiled.

To stew Eels.—Cut the eel in pieces; put it into a stewpan with pint of port wine, and pint of gravy, 1 large onion cut in slices, 2 blades of mace, 3 bay-leaves, a few corns of allspice, 2 cloves, 2 slices of lemon, a little parsley and thyme, pepper and salt, and let it simmer gently over the fire until the eels are done; then strain the sauce, thicken with flour and butter, and add anchovy-sauce and ketchup.

Or :-Cut the eels in pieces, fry them a little until they are a fine brown; let them remain until cold; take an onion, a little parsley, a leaf of sage chopped very finely; put them in some gravy, with a clove, a blade of mace, pepper and salt, a glass of port wine, and a little lemon-juice; strain the sauce and thicken it with butter and flour, adding a little anchovy essence and ketchup; stew the eels until they are tender.

Or:-Take a pint each of port wine and beef-gravy or gravy-soup, with a few fried onions sliced and lb. of butter, and let the eels stew in it for an hour, carefully stirring, and having previously seasoned it with spice, soy, and ketchup.

Eels stewed in the French way.—Skin the eels, and skewer them round; put them into an earthen pan with all sorts of roots cut small, a few peppercorns, cloves, and a little salt, about a pint of vinegar and ketchup, with as much broth : bake them 1 hour in the oven uncovered with pie-crust, and in the mean while thicken the stock with some good cream flavoured with a grate of nutmeg. The other modes are more in the difference of sauce than the methods of dressing, though put under various names.

Eels spitchcocked.-Split the eels down the back, but do not skin them; wash, dry, and flour them; spread on the inside a little butter, then egg them, and strew rather thickly parsley, thyme, marjoram, and lemon-peel, all finely chopped; season with pepper, salt, a little cayenne, and a very little nutmeg; dip them in bread-crumbs, cut them in pieces, and broil them of a light brown; serve with melted butter. The proportions should be marjoram 1 part, lemon-peel 2, thyme 3, and parsley 4 parts.

To roast an Eel.-The mode directed by old Izaak Walton, as mentioned in his Life, is so quaint and characteristic, that we

give it here:-"First wash him in water and salt; then pull off his skin below his vent or navel; having done that, take out his guts as clean as you can, but wash him not; then give him 3 or 4 scotches with a knife, and then put into his belly, and into those scotches, sweet herbs, an anchovy, and a little nutmeg grated, or cut very small, and mixed with good butter and salt. Having done this, then pull his skin over him, all but his head, which you are to cut off, to the end you may tie his skin to the part where his head grew, and it must be so tied as to keep all his moisture within his skin; and having done this, tie him with tape or packthread to a spit, and roast him leisurely, and baste him with salt and water till his skin breaks, and then with butter; and having roasted him enough, let what was put into his belly and what he drips be his sauce." To which we would add

Chop as small as possible 2 large spoonfuls of capers and 2 unwashed anchovies: put them into a saucepan with lb. of butter, 2 spoonfuls of water boiling hot, and 1 of caper-vinegar: shake the pan over the fire until all be completely mixed, and serve it separately as sauce.

LAMPREY,

274.-Though but little known in London, are rather plentiful in the neighbourhood of Worcester, and thence frequently sent, as presents, to various parts of the kingdom.

To stew Lamprey.—After cleaning the fish carefully, remove the cartilage which runs down the back, and season with a small quantity of cloves, mace, nutmeg, pepper, and allspice; put it into a small stewpot, with as much strong beef-gravy, and madeira or sherry, in equal quantities, as will cover it. Cover close stew till tender, then take out the lamprey and keep it hot, while you boil up the liquor with 2 or 3 anchovies chopped, and some flour and butter; strain the gravy through a sieve, and add lemon-juice and some made mustard. Serve with sippets of bread and horse-radish. When there is spawn it must be fried and put round.

It will take twice as much stewing as an eel of the same size; and if to be either fried or broiled, it ought to be first partially boiled.

SMELTS,

275.-Though not strictly "fresh-water fish," are caught in large quantities in the estuaries and rivers that discharge them

selves into the British Channel; but those found in the Thames and Medway are the best. They are in season from the 1st of November until the end of May, after which time they are protected by law. They are a small fish; if good, are of a fine silvery hue, are very firm, have a refreshing smell, like cucumbers newly cut, and are much used as a garnish to turbot and boiled cod; but they are also excellent when eaten alone and simply fried in lard or oil, without any other sauce than a squeeze of lemon, as any other addition destroys the delicacy of their flavour. They should be perfectly fresh, and this can be readily ascertained by the redness of their gills and the fulness of the eyes, which, if sunk, show that they are stale.

They are always dressed whole; and in gutting them they should be as little handled as possible, nor should they be washed, but merely wiped gently with a towel and dusted with flour, then egged and crumbed.

WHITE BAIT.

276. Have an iron frying-pan about 4 inches deep; put into it lard sufficient to cover it about 1 inch. Lay a cloth on the dresser, spread over it a quart of flour; take the white bait out of the water, and sprinkle it thinly on the flour; put the whole into a sieve, sift the flour from the white bait, whip them into the boiling lard; when crisp take them out; sprinkle a little salt over them; serve with brown bread and butter, cayenne, and lemon.

ROACH, DACE, AND GUDGEON,

277.—Are chosen by the same rules as other fish; are taken in running streams; come in about midsummer, and are to be had for 5 or 6 months. The roach is the largest, and is sometimes baked for hours in a slow oven, with vinegar and water seasoned with mace and allspice, and covered with bay-leaves; or stewed in layers with sliced onions, to improve its insipidity. Gudgeons, though very small, are nicely flavoured, but are seldom used in any other manner than fried as a garnish to boiled fish. All these small fry may be dressed in the same manner as smelts.

CHAPTER XVI.

SHELLFISH.

278.-ALTHOUGH crabs and lobsters may be seen at the fishmongers' the whole year round, they are yet only in high season and plentiful from the month of April till the close of October. They should be always purchased alive, for many are found dead in the cobles in which they are brought from Norway, and are then boiled and sold under pretence of their having been just killed.

If lobsters have not been long taken, the claws will have a strong motion when you put your finger on the eyes and press them. The heaviest, if of good size, are the best, but the largest are not the best. When you buy them ready boiled, try whether their tails are stiff, and pull up with a spring; if otherwise, they are either watery or not fresh. The "cocklobster," as the male is called, is known by the narrow back part of his tail, and the 2 uppermost fins within it are stiff and hard; but those of the hen are soft, and the tail broader. The male, though generally smaller, has the highest flavour; the flesh is firmer, and the colour, when boiled, is a deeper red; but the female has that fine coral so highly prized by cooks for the improvement of their sauces, which appears with the rudiments of the spawn.

To boil Lobsters.-Put them alive, with their claws tied together, into the water when boiling hot, and keep it so until the fish is done, which, if of a pound weight, will take about

of an hour, and if larger will require not quite the same proportion of time, for if boiled too long the meat will be stringy. Many people are shocked at the apparent cruelty of thus killing them, but death takes place immediately, and life cannot be taken away without pain.

When sent to table to be eaten cold, the tail and body should be split from end to end, the claws cracked, but not unshelled,

and the meat may be made into salad, or mixed in such manner as each person pleases, and many persons add a teaspoonful of white powdered sugar, thinking that it gives a mellowness to the whole. It is scarcely necessary to mention that the head of a lobster, and what are called the "lady-fingers," are not to be eaten.

To stew Lobsters.-Take the meat out of the shells of 1 or 2 boiled lobsters. Put the shells into a pint of water with some whole pepper, salt, and a little mace. Let it boil till all the goodness is extracted from the shells; then strain it. Mix with a little cream, or thin melted butter, the rich portion of the lobster, and the coral: add a small quantity of lemon-juice and 2 tablespoonfuls of wine, mix it with the gravy, and warm the lobster in it; a few minutes will suffice.

Or :-Cut the meat of a boiled lobster into pieces, and put them into a covered metal dish with a bit of butter, 2 large spoonfuls of any sort of gravy, 1 of soy or walnut-ketchup, a little salt and cayenne, with a glass of port wine, and warm it. If there be a lamp under the dish, you may do it at your own table within a few minutes.

Another mode of stewing lobsters is :-Take the meat of 2 lobsters, mince it small, and put it into a pint of beef-soup. Let it stew a little; thicken it with a piece of butter rolled in flour; add a glass of white wine, with a little pepper; add salt and nutmeg, a spoonful of ketchup, 1 of anchovy, and 1 of lemon-juice. Let the whole stew together, and serve up, garnishing the dish with the small claws.

To fricassee Lobster.—Parboil it, extract the meat from the shell, and cut it into small pieces; season it with white pepper, salt, and nutmeg, and put it into the stewpan, with as much cream or richly-made white sauce as will cover it. Keep the lid close, set the pan on hot coals, and stew it slowly for about as long a time as it was previously boiled.

Croquettes of Lobster.-Take the meat from the shell, chop it finely, mix it with a little salt, pepper, and pounded mace; take part of fine bread-crumbs, make it up into balls with melted butter, brush the balls with yolk of egg, and dredge them with bread-crumbs, and fry them, serving with or without gravy: if dry, they must be sent up with crisped parsley.

Lobster Fritters.-Pick out the meat, chop it, and warm