BEL. 247 
** And what did she do wi’ the fishie, 
My little wee croodlin doo ? 
She boiled it in a brass pan : 
Mak’ my bed, mammie, noo! 
** And what did ye do wi’ the banes o’t, 
My little wee croodlin doo ? 
I gi’ed them to my little dog : 
Mak’ my bed, mammie, noo ! 
** And what did your little doggie do, 
My little wee croodlin doo ? 
He stretched out his head, and feet, and dee’d : 
Mak’ my bed, mammie, noo!” 
The Lamprey (Petromyzon, stone-sucker) is in appearance 
like a small Eel, having a mouth like the large end of a funnel, 
and dotted all over with small hook-shaped teeth; also with 
tiny sacs instead of gills—seven on each side of the body near 
the head. It is found principally in the Severn, the Thames, 
and in Scotch waters. Formerly but little use was made of it, 
except to be dried, and burnt as a candle. The flesh is sweet, 
and good, and of much nourishment: it increases lust, and by 
reason of its richness easily causes surfeits if much eaten. The 
truth is that Lampreys, and Lamperns, contain an abundance 
of fish oil, and are most profitable for persons of vivacious hectic 
temperament needing much caloric, and who betray consump- 
tive tendencies, because of its rapid expenditure in their bodies. 
King Henry the First lost his life by eating Lampreys to excess. 
They should be stewed in their own moisture, with spices, and 
beef gravy added, and a little Port wine. A Lamprey is first 
a Lampron, then a Lampret, then a Lamprell, and finally a 
Lamprey. The Lampern is the river sort (fluviatilis). It has 
been related that the Romans fed Lampreys on the dead bodies 
of slaves, and that Pollio Vedius ordered a living slave who had 
maliciously broken a glass vessel to be “ thrown to the Lampreys ” 
(as if they were wild beasts). Platina reproved the Popes and 
great folks of Rome for their luxury in Lampreys, which they 
drowned in Cyprus wine, with a nutmeg in the mouth, and a 
clove in each gill-hole. The Lampern of the Thames is much 
smaller than the Lamprey of the Severn. Pliny tells that 
“Antonia, the wife of Drusus, had a Lamprey at whose gills 
she hung jewels, or ear-rings; and that other persons have been 
so tender-hearted as to shed tears at the death of fishes which 
they have kept, and loved.” 
