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Lamb's Head and Mince

Scald, scrape, and wash the head thoroughly, and put both it and the fry into a stewpan, with a large onion stuck with three cloves, two bunches of parsley, a bunch of thyme, a carrot, a turnip, a bay-leaf, half a dozen peppercorns, a table-spoonful of salt, and two quarts of cold water. Let them boil up quickly, remove the scum as it rises, and simmer gently for an hour. Divide the head, take out the tongue and brains, and fold the two halves in a cloth to dry. Mince the heart, liver, half of the lights, the brains and the tongue (first taking off the skin), very finely. Season with a tea-spoonful of salt, half a tea-spoonful of pepper, and three or four grates of a nutmeg; put the meat into a sauce-pan with three-quarters of a pint of the strained gravy thickened with three ounces of butter rolled in flour, and add a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup. Cover the saucepan closely and simmer gently for half an hour; stir every now and then, to prevent the contents sticking. Brush the head over with beaten egg, sprinkle finely-grated bread-crumbs over it, and bake in a moderate oven, or place it before the fire, and let it remain until lightly browned, basting liberally with good dripping. Place the head in the middle of a hot dish, put the mince round, and garnish with parsley. The juice of a lemon should be squeezed over the head at the last moment. Time, two hours. Probable cost, 3s. Sufficient for half a dozen persons.