ANTIQUITIES, 
might not be left to the mercy of 
the venders. 
Se as 
The beft plaice = - - O1fF 
A dozen of beft foles - - 0 3 
Beit frefh mulvil, i. e. Mol- 
va, either cod or ling - 0 3 
Beft haddock - - a sap 
Belt barkey - . - O¢ 
Be& mullet —s- - 02 
Beft dorac, John Doree ? Po. O05 
Beftconger  - - =". 0 
Beft turbot = - - 06 
Beft bran, fard, and betale - 03 
Bet mackrel, in Lent its 
And out of Lent - - 0 of 
Beft gur nard - ol 
Beft freth merlings, i. e. 
merlangi, wines four 
for = Ol 
Beft powdered ditto, 1 12 for o1 
Bett pickled herrings, twenty o1 
f This fhews that the invention of 
pickling was before the time of 
William Benkelen, who died 
in 1397. See Brit. Zook iii. 
article Herring. 
Saas 
Belt frefh ditto, befpre Mi- 
. chaelmas, fix for - Sime 
Ditto, after  aciees 12 
for =a OI 
Beft eiained or Séveti 
_ lampre © 4 
Bef freth oytters, a | gallon far 02 
A piece of rumb, grofs and 
fat, I fufpect holibut, which 
is ufually foldin pieces,at o 4 
Beft fea-hog, i.e. porpefie - 68 
rt eels, a ftrike, or + hun- 
dred - - . oz 
Beftlampreys, in winter, the 
hundred - - - 98 
“Ditto, at othertimes - - 0 6 
* Thefe, by their cheapnefs, mutt 
have been the little lampreys 
now u*rd for bait. 
But we alfo imported lampreys 
107 
| $4, 
from Nantes: the firft 
which came in was fold 
for notlefsthan ~ - 14 
A month after, at = - - 08 
Beft frefh falmon, from 
Chriftmas to Eafter, for 5.0 
Ditto, after ditto = - - 30 
Beft fmeits, the hundred - 0 8 
Bett roche, in fammer - o1 
Beft lucy, or pike, at - 68 
By the very high price of the 
pike, it is very probable that 
this fifh had not yet been in- 
troduced into our ponds, but 
was imported at this period as 
a luxury, pickled, or fome way 
preferved. 
Among thefe fifh, let me obferve; 
that the conger is, at prefent, never 
admitted to any good table; and to 
fpeak” of ferving up a porpetfe 
whole, ‘or in part, would fet your 
guefts a ftaring. Yet, fuch is the 
difference of tafte, both thefe fifhes 
were in high efteem. King Rich- 
ard’s mafter cooks have left a moft 
excellent receipt for congur iz 
Jawjfe; and as for the other great 
fifh, it was either eaten roafted, or 
falted, or in broth, or furmente with 
porpeff. The learned doctor Caius 
even tells us the proper fauce, and 
fays, that it fhould be the fame 
with that for a dolphin; another 
difh unheard of in our days. From 
the great price the lucy or ‘ies 
bore, one may reafonably fufpect 
that it was at that time an exotic 
fifh, and brought over at a vaft ex- 
pence. 
~ I confefs myfelf unacquainted 
with the words darkey, bran, and 
betules fard was properly the far- 
dine or pilchard: I am equally at 
a lofs about croplings and rumb: 
but the pickled éal/enes were cer- 
tainly the pholms dactylus of Lin- 
nus, 
