Select these fishes very fresh, they being so very delicate they must
not be kept more than one day in summer or two in winter; their
appearance when fresh is very silvery, the eyes are very bright, and
they smell like violets or cucumbers, but if the belly looks at all
black they are not fresh, and consequently not wholesome; the most
common method of dressing them is to fry them; dry them well in a cloth,
and dip them in flour; then have half an ounce of butter melted in a
stewpan, into which break the yolks of two eggs, with which wash the
smelts over with a paste brush, dip them in bread-crumbs, fry in very
hot lard, dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve with
shrimp sauce in a boat.