THE BARBEL. 265 



least its exact whereabouts ! I have found September 

 and the early part of October the best times for Thames 

 barbel-fishing. 



As to the gastronomic merits of the barbel, I have not 

 a word to say in his favour. He is simply detestable in 

 any cooked form, being the very worst of our fresh-water 

 ■fish, and inferior even to a wretched white bream from 

 muddy waters. Ausonius ventured to say that an old 

 barbel was better than a young one ; but this is doubtful 

 praise. The taste of our ancestors does not couut for 

 much, considering how many nasty, insipid dishes they 

 highly esteemed; and therefore the fact that in Queen 

 Elizabeth's day barbel were in sufficient repute to be pro- 

 tected by statute law does not modify my opinion of them ; 

 nor, again, am I influenced by the fact that our neigh- 

 bours across the Channel, who are authorities on many gas- 

 tronomic matters, hold them in esteem. The inhabitants 

 of Tours and other inland places on rivers may rejoice in 

 the well-known sign of " Les Trois Barbeaux," and store 

 these fish in water-cages ready for use as we do eels ; but 

 we Britishers will have none of them ; neither will we be 

 cajoled by recondite recipes for cooking them, nor by 

 the sauces with which they are recommended to be served. 

 For once in a way I utterly disagree with that eminent 

 ichthyologist and ichthyophagist, Dr. Badham, who " begs 

 to assure citizen anglers and others who may be incredu- 

 lous that these fish, simply boiled in salt and water, and 

 eaten cold with a squeeze of lemon -j uice, will be found by 

 no means despicable fare ; " nor will I be seduced by 

 Bloch's recommendation to "boil them with a bit of 

 bacon to heighten the flavour." The only way to make 

 them eatable at all is to salt and dry them, and then they 



