FISH IN ROME.

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once imperial, and now degraded, Rome is seen spread outunder our feet. The monuments of ancient grandeur, ofvarious epochs, may be distinctly counted, and fill the mindwith crowding thoughts of valour, violence, iniquity, andvirtue. Here we may reflect with the illustrations beforeour eyes, on the instability—not as is usually too muchcanted of all human affairs, but on the instability of allpower, prosperity, and wealth, which is not founded uponjustice, industry, and the knowledge of the social science.

I must not forget to inform the lovers of delicateI dishes, that they have at Rome a method, not to my know-ledge practised elsewhere, of providing a supply of cray, fish, in a state or condition which greatly enhancestheir edible excellency. There are shops at Rome , inwhich a multitude of shelves are placed from the ceiling tothe floor; on these shelves are several thousand littleearthern pots with water, in each of which is one solitarycray fish. I think it is in May that the insects are placedin the pots, and singly on account of their irritable pugna-cious dispositions. Every day, they are fed upon bread ormaize, and thus grow very fast. The annual period soonarrives, at which they cast their shells, and such as arethus only covered with a thin skin, are selected for eachday’s sale. They are eaten either fried or boiled in salt andwater, or in wine ; or put into a pie of maccaroni, or rice,with eels, anchovies, oysters, or nightingales. But I thinkthem best either fried or boiled, which does not disguisetheir very delicate flavour. Another inhabitant of the sea,of most delicious eating, is the cuttle or ink fish, in Italian,Calamajo, which in England are not regarded as fit for theI table. The large ones are stewed and cooked in variousI ways ; but the little ones, not bigger than one’s thumb, arejreally exqjuisite eating when well fried. I have often foundthe largest, which I have bought occasionally in London ,