Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book

are considered delicacies. Put them into fast-boiling water, and boil them for ten minutes. Then take them out, drain them, wipe them very clean, and prepare them for frying by removing the spongy part inside and the sand-bag. Put plenty of fresh lard into a pan; and when it boils fast, lay in the crabs, and fry them well, seasoning them with cayenne. As soon as they are done of a nice golden color, take them out, drain off the lard back into the pan, and lay them on a large _hot_ dish. Cover them to keep warm while you fry, in the same lard, all the best part of a fresh lettuce, chopped small. Let it fry only long enough to become hot throughout. When you serve up the crabs cover them with the fried lettuce. Stir into the gravy some cream, or a piece of nice fresh butter rolled in flour; and send it to table in a sauce-boat, seasoned with a little cayenne. Soft crabs require no other flavoring. They make a nice breakfast-dish for company. Only the large claws are eaten, therefore break off as useless the small ones. Instead of lettuce, you may fry the crabs with parsley--removed from the pan before it becomes brown. Pepper-grass is still better. TERRAPINS.--In buying terrapins select the largest and thickest. Like all other delicacies, the best are the cheapest in the end. Small poor terrapins are not worth the cost of the seasoning. A poor terrapin, poorly dressed, is indeed a poor thing, and is always recognized as such, by those who are expected to eat it. _Get fine terrapins only._ Put them into a pot of water that is boiling very hard at the time, and let them boil for about ten minutes. Immediately on taking them out, proceed to rub, with a coarse clean cloth, all the skin from the head, neck, and claws--also, the thin shell, as it comes loose. Having washed them in warm water, put the terrapins into a clean pot with fresh water, and a table-spoonful of salt, and boil them again