_ Dr. Harte, in his Essay on Diet, 1633, fol. p. 91, protests, "a
red herring doth nourish little, and is hard of concoction, but very
good to make a cup of good drink relish well, and may be well called
'the drunkard's delight.'"

_Smelts, Gudgeons, Sprats, or other small Fish, fried._--(No. 173.)

Clean and dry them thoroughly in a cloth, fry them plain, or beat an egg
on a plate, dip them in it, and then in very fine bread-crumbs that have
been rubbed through a sieve; the smaller the fish, the finer should be
the bread-crumbs--biscuit powder is still better; fry them in plenty of
clean lard or drippings; as soon as the lard boils and is still, put in
the fish; when they are delicately browned, they are done; this will
hardly take two minutes. Drain them on a hair-sieve, placed before the
fire, turning them till quite dry. _Obs._ Read No. 145.

"Smelts are allowed to be caught in the Thames, on the first of
November, and continue till May. The Thames smelts are the best and
sweetest, for two reasons; they are fresher and richer than any other
you can get: they catch them much more plentiful and larger in
Lancashire and Norfolk, but not so good: a great many are brought to
town from Norfolk, but barely come good, as they are a fish which should
always be eaten fresh; indeed, all river fish should be eaten fresh,
except salmon, which, unless crimped, eats better the second or third
day: but all Thames fish, particularly, should be eaten very fresh; no
fish eats so bad kept."

_Potted Prawns, Shrimps, or Cray-fish._--(No. 175.)

Boil them in water with plenty of salt in it. When you have picked them,
powder them with a little beaten mace, or grated nutmeg, or allspice,
and pepper and salt; add a little cold butter, and pound all well
together in a marble mortar till of the consistence of paste. Put it
into pots covered with clarified butter, and cover them over with wetted
bladder.

_Lobster._[187-*]--(No. 176.)

Buy these alive; the lobster merchants sometimes keep them till they are
starved, before they boil them; they are then watery, have not half
their flavour, and like other persons that die of a consumption, have
lost the calf of their legs.

Choose those that (as an old cook says, are "heavy and lively," and) are
full of motion, which is the index of their freshness.

Those of the middle size are the best. Never take them when the shell is
incrusted, which is a sign they are old. The male lobster