BEL. 245 
Church. Thus the Teal (Sarcel/e) was pronounced some years 
ago by a conference of their leading ecclesiastics to be permissible 
for eating in Lent. But actual'y this bird is in season only 
from September until February. 
EEL. 
BELONGING to the Anguillid@, or Snake tribe, the Eel shares 
in some respects the characteristics of the Anguis, (or Choker), 
named thus on the same foundation as the Boa Constrictor. 
It is the hero of many fables, having been worshipped as a deity 
by the Egyptians. Later on the Eel stews of Mahommed the 
Second kept the whole Turkish Empire in a state of nervous 
excitement ; and, again, one of the Eel pies which King Philip 
failed to digest caused the Revolt of the Netherlands. Jews 
decline to eat Eels, probably because of their similarity to 
serpents, which they formerly reverenced. An accolade of 
Eels on the spit used to be put every Saturday on the table of 
Anne of Austria, Queen of Louis XIII. The sea Hel contains 
9 per cent of fat, and the river Eel 25 per cent, with 34 per cent 
of nutritive substance ; this latter fish is well adapted as a food 
for the diabetic. For cooking, silver Eels should be chosen, fresh, 
brisk, and full of life; ‘‘ such as have been kept out of water 
till they can scarce stir are good for nothing.” Yellow Eels 
taste muddy. In order to kill the creatures (which are most 
tenacious of life) instantly, the spinal marrow should be pierced 
close to the back part of the skull with a skewer sharply pointed ; 
if this be done in the right place all motion will instantly cease. 
The humane executioner favours certain criminals by “ hanging 
them before he breaks them on the wheel.’ Eels were at one 
time a staple English food, since they supplied almost the only 
animal nourishment to which the poor could aspire. Likewise 
they were early favourites in the monasteries. About Italy 
Eels are eaten for breakfast, dinner, and supper by the masses ; 
they grow to a large size, and are reputed to be of excellent 
flavour. The Conger Eel, which is caught on our rocky coasts, 
and especially round the Channel Islands, is a much larger fish, 
with an average length of from three to four feet ; sometimes 
of even far more gigantic conditions—‘‘ Monstrum horrendum, 
informe, et ingens,” weighing from seventy to eighty pounds. 
These Eels are dried by the French, and Italians, in the sun, when 
