The Cook Book, by "Oscar" of the Waldorf

Select large oysters and drain them; mix one tablespoonful of flour smoothly with one-half teacupful of milk, grate some stale breadcrumbs on a sheet of paper and season with salt and pepper; roll the oysters first in the paste and then in the breadcrumbs, covering well but touching them as little as possible. Lay them on a plate and leave them for several minutes. Beat one or two eggs thoroughly, roll the oysters in it one at a time, then roll them again in the seasoned breadcrumbs. Put a large lump of lard in a frying pan over the fire and when blue smoke arises put in the oysters and fry them until nicely browned. Take each oyster as it is cooked out of the fat and lay it on a sheet of paper in front of the Are to drain. Spread a folded napkin or an ornamental dish-paper over a hot dish, pile the oysters upon it, garnish with fried parsley and serve. Fried Oysters and Bacon. Open and remove the beards from one dozen oysters, cut as many thin slices of bacon as there are oysters, trim neatly and lay an oyster on each, rolling them up and fasten with a skewer. Fry each roll carefully and nicely. Cut as many rounds of bread about a third of an inch thick and two inches in diameter as there are rolls of bacon, toast them evenly on both sides and butter them. Spread a folded napkin or fancy edged dish-paper on a hot dish, place the pieces of toast upon it with a roll on each, garnish with fried parsley and serve. Fried Deviled Oysters. Take one pint of oysters or suflicient to make a good dish, wipe them dry and lay them on a flat dish ; cover with butter well-warmed and mixed with cayenne pepper and lemon juice, turn them over and over in this mixture for ten minutes, then roll them in a paper of rolled crackers or sifted breadcrumbs; dip them into beaten egg and again roll them in the crumbs, fry them in boiling lard and butter mixed and serve as hot as possible. Fried Oyster Patties. Make some good puff paste, roll it out rather thin and cut it into round pieces. Chop some oysters, mix them with some chopped hard boiled egg, a little chopped parsley and a little grated lemon peel ; add a seasoning of pepper, salt and a little pounded mace, moisten the mixture with cream and a little oyster liquor, then put a good spoonful on each piece of paste, fold it over, moisten the edges with a little cream and press them together. Brush the patties over with the yolk of an egg and fry them for fifteen minutes. '»3 Fried Truffled Oysters. Chop six ounces of the cooked breast of a fowl and three ounces of raw fat salt pork, put this into a mortar with a little pepper and pound it. Chop a few truffles the size of peas and mix in. Put four dozen oysters on a cloth and with a sharp knife inserted at the edge of one of them make an opening up and down inside, but not to make the hole too large and fill them with the mixture. Put them when all done into a basin of flour, coat them well over, dip them into well-beaten egg, plunge them into a fryingpan of boiling fat and fry to a light golden color. Remove, drain on a cloth in a slow oven, sprinkle over with salt, arrange them on pieces of toast on a dish and serve. Oyster Fritters.