Even that surly lexicographer, Doctor Samuel Johnson (who, by the way, claimed the same city for his birthplace as does the writer), who could not be induced to recognise the merits of Scotch scenery, and preferred Fleet Street to the Trossachs, extolled the luxury of a Scotch breakfast above that of all other countries. And Sir Walter Scott, who never enthused much about meat and drink, is responsible in _Waverley_ for a passage calculated to make the mouths of most people water: "He found Miss Bradwardine presiding over the tea and coffee, the table loaded with warm bread, both of flour, oatmeal, and barley meal, in the shape of loaves, cakes, biscuits, and other varieties, together with eggs, reindeer ham, mutton and beef ditto, smoked salmon, and many other delicacies. A mess of oatmeal porridge, flanked by a silver jug which held an equal mixture of cream and buttermilk, was placed for the Baron's share of the repast." "And," as Mr. Samuel Weller would have observed, "a wery good idea of a breakfast, too." A beef-ham sounds like a "large order" for breakfast, even when we come to consider that the Scotch "beastie," in Sir Walter Scott's time, was wanting in "beam" and stature. I have seen and partaken of a ham cut from a Yorkshire pig, and weighing 52 lbs.; but even a Scotch beef-ham must have topped that weight considerably. Fortunately the sideboards of those times were substantial of build. Missing from the above bill-of-fare is the haddock, _The Fin'an Haddie_, a bird which at that period had probably not been invented. But the modern Scottish breakfast-table is not properly furnished without it. The genuine "Fin'an" is known by its appetising savour and by its colour--a creamy yellow, which is totally distinct from the Vandyke browny hue of the haddock which is creosoted in the neighbourhood of the Blackfriars Road, London, S.E. "Strip off the skin," says the recipe in one cookery book, "and broil before the fire or over a quick clear one." Another way--_my_ way--is _not_ to strip off the skin and to _steam_ your haddies. Place them in a dish which has been previously heated. Throw boiling water on them, and cover closely with a plate; place on a hot stove, and in from 10 to 15 minutes the Fin'ans will be accomplished. Drain, and serve hot as hot, buttered, with a sprinkling of cayenne, and, maybe, a dash of Worcester sauce. Salmon is naturally a welcome guest at the table of the land of his birth, served fresh when in season, and smoked or kippered at all times. _A Salmon Steak_