26 A BOOK OF THE RUNNING BROOK: 



The ways of cooking pike are as many and 

 various as his quality deserves. He can be 

 roasted, boiled, braised, stuffed ; he can be 

 disguised " a la Chambord," with mushrooms, 

 onions, and cockscombs; "a l'Egyptienne," 

 with gherkins, eggs, truffles, and port wine ; " a 

 la meuniere," " a la maitre-d'hotel," " en mate- 

 lote," and a hundred other ways; in all of 

 which he is superexcellent. And if he is thus 

 savoury and delightful in his last hour, how 

 much more is he worthy of all praise when he is 

 alive from the angler who loves true sport. He 

 is no miserable little trout, who will even allow 

 himself to be tickled out of his native stream. 

 The angler who means to compass the death of 

 a water-wolf, " this solitary, melancholy, and 

 bold fish," as Walton calls him, must have iron 

 nerves; for fishermen have been known to 

 "drop their rods in sheer terror" at the first 

 rush of a pike on its prey. 



As to what that prey may be the pike is not 

 particular. Literally "all is fish that comes to 

 his " jaws, with only two exceptions, a tench and 

 a toad. There is a fond superstition that 



