Deviled Crabs

Put one-half pound of butter into a saucepan with one tablespoonful of flour, and
cook together, stirring it continually to prevent its burning; add to it one large tumblerful
of rich cream, one boiled soft onion mashed to a paste or pulp, a little grated nutmeg,
and season with salt and cayenne pepper. Then put in the crab meat, enough
to fill eight crab shells and a raw egg or two, stir all together well and cook until it
begins to thicken, which will only take a few minutes; then pour it all on a flat dish
and allow it to stand until cold. Now fill the back crab shells with the mixture, egg
them over with a brush and cover with grated breadcrumbs or cracker dust. Place
them in a bakingpan, put a small lump of butter on top of each, and bake in a slow
oven to a light brown color, or fry them in plenty of hot lard.