oven till the eggs are firm,--about ten minutes,--and turn out
on a round platter. Put around them the rest of the white sauce.
You can stand the little moulds on circles of toast if you wish.
This rule was given Margaret by her Pretty Aunt, who got it at
cooking-school; it sounded harder than it really was, and after
trying it once Margaret often used it.



FISH


One day some small, cunning little fish came home from market, and
Margaret felt sure they must be meant for her to cook. They were
called smelts, and, on looking, she found a rule for cooking them,
just as she had expected.


Fried Smelts

Put a deep kettle on the fire, with two cups of lard in it, to
get it very hot. Wipe each smelt inside and out with a clean wet
cloth, and then with a dry one. Have a saucer of flour mixed
with a teaspoonful of salt, and another saucer of milk. Put the
tail of each smelt through its gills--that is, the opening near
its mouth. Then roll the smelts first in milk and then in flour,
and shake off any lumps. Throw a bit of bread into the fat in the
kettle, and see if it turns brown quickly; it does if the fat is
hot enough, but if not you must wait. Put four smelts in the wire
basket, and stand it in the fat, so that the fish are entirely