THE CHUB. Ill 



near to his gills, as you may conveniently, and especially 

 make clean his throat from the grass and weeds that are 

 usually in it ; for if that be not very clean, it will make him 

 to taste very sour. Having so done, put some sweet herbs 

 into his belly ; and then tie him with two or three splinters 

 to a spit, and roast him, basted often with vinegar, or rather 

 verjuice and butter, with good store of salt mixed with it. 

 Being thus dressed, you will find him a much better dish of 

 meat than you, or most folk, even than anglers themselves, 

 do imagine ; for this dries up the fluid watery humour with 

 which all chubs do abound. 



But take this rule with you, that a chub newly taken and 

 newly dressed is so much better than a chub of a day's 

 keeping after he is dead, that I can compare him to nothing 

 so fitly as to cherries newly gathered from a tree, and others 

 that have been bruised and lain a day or two in water. But 

 the chub being thus used, and dressed presently, and not 

 washed after he is gutted (for note, that lying long in water, 

 and washing the blood out of any fish after they be gutted, 

 abates much of their sweetness), you will find the chub 

 (being dressed in the blood, and quickly) to be such meat 

 as will recompense your labour, and disabuse your opinion. 

 Or you may dress the chavender or chub thus : 

 When you have scaled him, and cut off his tail and fins, 

 and washed him very clean, then chine or slit him through 

 the middle, as a salt fish is usually cut ; then give him three 

 or four cuts or scotches on the back with your knife, and 

 broil him on charcoal, or wood-coal that is free from smoke, 

 and all the time he is a-broiling baste him with the best 

 sweet butter, and good store of salt mixed with it ; and to 

 this add a little thyme cut exceeding small, or bruised into 



