152 THE COMPLETE ANGLER 



pike's belly, and then his belly so sewed up, as to keep all 

 the butter in his belly, if it be possible : if not, then as 

 much of it as you possibly can ; but take not off the scales : 

 then you are to thrust the spit through his mouth out at his 

 tail ; and then take four, or five, or six split sticks or very 

 thin laths, and a convenient quantity of tape or filleting : 

 these laths are to be tied round about the pike's body from 

 his head to his tail, and the tape tied somewhat thick to 

 prevent his breaking or falling off from the spit : let him 

 be roasted very leisurely, and often basted with claret wine 

 and anchovies and butter mixed together, and also with 

 what moisture falls from him into the pan : when you 

 have roasted him sufficiently, you are to hold under him, 

 when you unwind or cut the tape that ties him, such a 

 dish as you purpose to eat him out of ; and let him fall 

 into it with the sauce that is roasted in his belly ; and 

 by this means the pike will be kept unbroken and com- 

 plete : then, to the sauce which was within, and also that 

 sauce in the pan, you are to add a fit quantity of the best 

 butter, and to squeeze the juice of three or four oranges : 

 lastly, you may either put into the pike with the oysters 

 two cloves of garlick, and take it whole out, when the 

 pike is cut off the spit ; or to give the sauce a haut-gout 

 let the dish into which you let the pike fall, be rubbed 

 with it : the using or not using of this garlick is left to 

 your discretion. M. B. 



This dish of meat is too good for any but anglers, 

 or very honest men ; and I trust you will prove 

 both, and therefore I have trusted you with this 

 secret. 



Let me next tell you, that Gesner tells us there are no 

 pikes in Spain ; and that the largest are in the Lake 

 Thrasymene in Italy ; and the next, if not equal to them, 

 are the pikes of England ; and that in England, Lincoln- 

 shire boasteth to have the biggest. Just so doth Sussex 

 boast of four sorts of fish ; namely, an Arundel Mullet, a 



