"Capital salmon this," said the captain; "where does Billett get it
from? By the by, talking of that, did you ever hear of the pickled
salmon in Scotland?"
We all replied in the affirmative.
"Oh, you don't take. D----it, I don't mean dead pickled salmon; I mean
live pickled salmon, swimming about in tanks, as merry as grigs, and
as hungry as rats."
We all expressed our astonishment at this, and declared we never heard
of it before.
"I thought not," said he, "for it has only lately been introduced into
this country, by a particular friend of mine, Dr Mac----. I cannot
just now remember his d----d jaw-breaking Scotch name; he was a great
chemist and geologist, and all that sort of thing--a clever fellow
I can tell you, though you may laugh. Well--this fellow, Sir, took
nature by the heels and capsized her, as we say. I have a strong idea
that he had sold himself to the devil. Well--what does he do, but he
catches salmon and puts them into tanks, and every day added more and
more salt, till the water was as thick as gruel, and the fish could
hardly wag their tails in it. Then he threw in whole pepper corns,
half-a-dozen pounds at a time, till there was enough. Then he began to
dilute with vinegar, until his pickle was complete. The fish did not
half like it at first; but habit is every thing, and when he shewed me
his tank, they were swimming about as merry as a shoal of dace; he
fed them with fennel chopped small, and black-pepper corns.
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