Scrape the stalks till they are clean; throw them into a pan of cold water, tie them up in bundles, of about a quarter of a hundred each; cut off the stalks at the bottom all of a length, leaving enough to serve as a handle for the green part; put them into a stew-pan of boiling water, with a handful of salt in it. Let it boil, and skim it. When they are tender at the stalk, which will be in from twenty to thirty minutes, they are done enough. Watch the exact time of their becoming tender; take them up that instant. While the asparagus is boiling, toast a round of a quartern loaf, about half an inch thick; brown it delicately on both sides; dip it lightly in the liquor the asparagus was boiled in, and lay it in the middle of a dish; melt some butter, but do not put it over them. Serve butter in a boat.