blade of mace; then add a gill of the best brandy and half a pint of
the very best sherry wine; let it simmer over a slow fire very gently.
About ten minutes or so, before you are ready to dish them, add half a
pint of rich cream, and half a pound of sweet butter, with flour, to
prevent boiling; two or three minutes before taking them off the fire
peel the eggs carefully and throw them in whole. If there should be no
eggs use the yolks of hens' eggs, hard boiled. This recipe is for four
terrapins.

_Rennert's Hotel, Baltimore._

[Illustration: BASTING THE TURKEY.]


OILED LOBSTER.

Put a handful of salt into a large kettle or pot of boiling water.
When the water boils very hard put in the lobster, having first
brushed it and tied the claws together with a bit of twine. Keep it
boiling from twenty minutes to half an hour, in proportion to its
size. If boiled too long the meat will be hard and stringy. When it is
done take it out, lay it on its claws to drain, and then wipe it dry.

It is scarcely necessary to mention that the head of a lobster and
what are called the lady fingers are not to be eaten.

Very large lobsters are not the best, the meat being coarse and tough.
The male is best for boiling; the flesh is firmer and the shell a
brighter red. It may readily be distinguished from the female; the
tail is narrower, and the two uppermost fins within the tail are stiff