THE PHYSIOLOGY OF

TASTE

BRILLAT SAVARIN∗

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TRANSLATED FROM THE LAST PARISEDITION BY FAYETTE ROBINSON.

CONTENTS.

APHORISMS of the Professor to serve asProlegomena to his work, and Eternal basis

∗PDF created by pdfbooks.co.za2

of the Science,DIALOGUE, between the Author and

his Friend,BIOGRAPHY,PREFACE,MEDITATION I. THE SENSES,Number of the Senses,Action of the Senses,Perfectness of the Senses,

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Powers of the Taste,Object of the Action of the Senses,MEDITATION II. TASTE,Definition of Taste,Mechanism of Taste,Sensation of Taste,Flavors,Influence of Smelling on the Taste,Analyses of the Sensation of Taste,

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Order of the Impressions of Taste,Enjoyments due to the Taste,Supremacy of Man,Method of the Author,MEDITATION III. GASTRONOMY,Origin of Sciences,Origin of Gastronomy,Definition of Gastronomy,Different objects of Gastronomy,

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Utility of Gastronomical Knowledge,Influence of Gastronomy on Business,Gastronomical Academy,MEDITATION IV. APPETITE,Definition of Appetite,Anecdote,Great Appetites,MEDITATION V. FOOD IN GERMS–

Section First,6

Definitions,Analyses,Osmazome,Principle of Aliments,Vegetable Kingdom,Difference between Fat and Lean,Individual Instance,MEDITATION VI. FOOD IN GERMS–

Section Second,7

Specialities,I. Pot-au-feu, Potage, etc.,II. Bouilli,III. Fowls,IV. The Turkey,Dindoniphiles,Financial Influence of the Turkey,Exploit of the Professor,V. Game,

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VI. Fish,Anecdote,Muria–Garum,Philosophical Reflection,VII. Truffles,Erratic Virtue of Truffles,Are Truffles Indigestible,VIII. Sugar,Indigenous Sugar,

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Uses of Sugur,IX. Origin of Coffee,Different Modes of preparing Coffee,Effects of Coffee,X. Chocolate–its origin,Properties of Chocolate,True Method of preparing Chocolate,MEDITATION VII. THEORY OF FRY-

ING,10

Allocution,I. Chemistry,II. Application,MEDITATION VIII. ON THIRST,Varieties of Thirst,Causes of Thirst,Example,MEDITATION IX. ON DRINKS,Water,

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Quick effect of Drinks,Strong Drinks,MEDITATION X. AN EPISODE ON

THE END OF THE WORLD,MEDITATION XI. ON GOURMANDISE,Definitions,Advantages of Gourmandise,Sequel,Power of Gourmandise,

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A Lady Gourmand,Anecdote,Are Women Gourmands?The effects of Gourmandise of Sociabil-

ity,Influence of Gourmandise on Conjugal

Happiness,Note of a Patriot Gastronomer,MEDITATION XII. GOURMANDS,

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All who wish to be are not Gourmands,Napoleon,Gourmands by Destiny,Gourmands by Profession,Financiers,Physicians,Objurgation,Men of Letters,Devotees,

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Chevaliers and Abbes,Longevity of Gourmands,MEDITATION XIII. GASTRONOMI-

CAL TESTS,First Series–Income of 5,000 francs,Second Series–Income of 15,000 francs,Third Series–Income of 30,000 francs, or

more,MEDITATION XIV. ON THE PLEA-

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SURES OF THE TABLE,Origin of the Pleasures of the Table,Difference between the Pleasures of Eat-

ing and the Pleasures of the Table,Effects,Accessories,The 18th and 19th Century,Summary,MEDITATION XV. HALTES DE CHASSE,

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Ladies,MEDITATION XVI. ON DIGESTION,Ingestion,Duty of the Stomach,Influence of Digestion,MEDITATION XVII. REPOSE,Time of Rest,MEDITATION XVIII. SLEEP,Definition,

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MEDITATION XIX. DREAMS,Nature of Dreams,System of Dr. Gall,First Observation,Second Observation,Result,Age,Phenomena of Dreams,First Observation,

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Second Observation,Third Observation,Do as you will be done by,MEDITATION XX. INFLUENCE OF

DIET ON REST, SLEEP AND DREAMS,Effects of Diet on Labor,Dreams,Consequence,Result,

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MEDITATION XXI. OBESITY,Causes of Obesity,Sequel,Sequel,Anecdote,Inconvenience of Obesity,Examples of Obesity,MEDITATION XXII. PRESERVATIVE

TREATMENT AND CURE OF OBESITY,20

Generalities,Sequel of the Regimen,Dangers of Acids,Antiobesic Belt,Quinquina,MEDITATION XXIII. THINNESS,Definition,Varieties,Effects of Thinness,

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Natural Predestination,Fattening Regimen,MEDITATION XXIV. FASTING,Definition,Origin,How people used to Fast,Origin of the removal of Restriction in

Fasting,MEDITATION XXV. EXHAUSTION,

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Treatment,Cure by the Professor,MEDITATION XXVI. DEATH,MEDITATION XXVII. PHILOSOPHI-

CAL HISTORY OF THE KITCHEN,Order of Alimentation,Discovery of Fire,Baking,Oriental Entertainments–Grecian,

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Roman Festivals,Resurrection of Lucullus,Poetry,Irruption of the Barbarians,MEDITATION XXVIII. RESTAURA-

TEURS,Establishment,PHYSIOLOGY OF TASTE–Part Sec-

ond,24

TRANSITION,VARIETIES, I. L’omelette du Cure,Omelette au Thon,Observations,II. A National Victory,III. Mystification of the Professor and

Defeat of a General,IV. The Snare,V. The Turbot,

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VI. Pheasants,VII. Gastronomical Industry of the Emi-

gres,VIII. Recollections of the Emigration,The Weaver,The Starving,Sojourn in America,Asparagus,Fondue,

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Recipe for Fondue, Copied from the Pa-pers of M. Trollet, Bailli of Mondon in Berne,

Disappointment,Wonderful Effects of a Classical Dinner,Effects and Danger of Strong Drinks,Chevaliers and Abbes,Miscellany–Wine,Strawberries,Judgment,

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Raisins,A Day with the Bernardines,Prosperity en route,H. ... DeP ...,Conclusion,BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.The excellent man to whom we are in-

debted for this book has described himself,with so much charm, nature and truth; the

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principal events of his life have been recordedin such an agreeable and faithful mannerthat very few words will suffice to finish thestory.

Brillat Savarin (Anthelme) Counsel ofthe Court of Cassation, member of the Le-gion of Honor, member of the Society forthe Encouragement of National Industry, ofthe Antiquarian Society of France, of the

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Philoselic Society of Bourg, &c., &c., wasborn, 1st of April, 1755, at Belley, a littleAlpine city, not far from the banks of theRhine, which at this place separates Francefrom Savoy. Like his forefathers, who hadbeen for several generations devoted to thebar, the profession which pleased him, inconsequence of his possession of great elo-quence, he practised with great success.

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In, 1789, the unanimous vote of his fel-low citizens deputed him to the Constituentassembly, composed of all that was mostbrilliant in the youth of France at that day.Less attached in practice to the philosophyof Zeno than that of Epicurus, his namedoes not figure very conspicuously, but al-ways appears at epochs, which show thathe acted with the good and moderate.

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His legislative functions being determinedby the expiration of the Constituent As-sembly, he was first appointed President ofthe Superior Civil court of the Departmentof Ain, and subsequently a Justice of theCourt of Cassation, newly instituted; a manof talent, perfectly incorruptible and un-hesitating in the discharge of his duty, hewould have been precisely calculated for the

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place to which he had been appointed, hadthe warmth of political discussion made prac-ticable the advice either of moderation or ofprudence. In 1793, he was Mayor of Belley,and passed in anxiety there, the season ofthe reign of Terror; whence he was forced tofly to Switzerland for an asylum against therevolutionary movement. Nothing can bet-ter man, without a personal enemy, should

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be forced to pass in a foreign land the dayshe purposed to devote to the improvementof his country.

This is the point when the character ofBrillat Savarin assumes its grandest propor-tions; proscribed, a fugitive, and often with-out pecuniary resources, frequently unableto provide for his personal safety, he wasalways able to console his companions in

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exile and set them an example of honestindustry. As time rolled on, and his sit-uation became more painful, he sought tofind in the new world a repose which Europedenied him; he came from Europe, and inBoston, New York, Philadelphia, and Hart-ford passed two years teaching the Frenchlanguage, and for a time playing the firstviolin in the orchestra of the Park Theatre.

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Like many other emigres, Brillat Savarinever sought to make the pleasant and theuseful coincide. He always preserved verypleasant recollection of this period of hislife, in which he enjoyed, with moderate la-bor, all that is necessary for happiness, lib-erty sweetened by honest toil. He might sayall is well, and to be able to enjoy the breathof my native land would alone increase my

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happiness; he fancied that he saw brighterdays with the commencement of Vendemi-aire year 5, corresponding to September, of1796. Appointed by the Directory, as Sec-retary of the General in Chief of the Re-publican armies in Germany, then Commis-ary of the government in the department ofthe Seine and Oise, (this appointment heheld at the epoch of the 18th Brumaire, in

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which France fancied she exchanged libertyfor repose,) sustained by the Senate and theCourt, Brillat Savarin passed the remainingtwenty-five years of his life respected by hisinferiors, loved by his equals, and honoredby all. A man of mind, a pleasant guest,with a deep fund of humor, he delighted ev-ery body. His judicial labors did not at allinterfere with the composition of this book,

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which he esteemed the great one of his life.To the very facility of its composition,

the ”Physiology of the Taste,” owes its suc-cess; one would form a very erroneous opin-ion of it, were he to estimate it at all aswe do Montaigue’s writings on the Gueule.Savarin was naturally a thoughtful man, thesimplest meal satisfied him, all he requiredwas that it should be prepared artistically;

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and he maintained that the art of cookeryconsisted in exciting the taste. He used tosay, ”to excite a stomach of Papier Mache,and enliven vital powers almost ready todepart, a cook needs more talent than hewho has solved the INFINTESIMAL CAL-CULUS.”

The world was much surprised by find-ing in a book by Brillat Savarin, a man it

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had always looked upon as simply a verypleasant person, such a vast collection ofgeneral information; after his laborious pro-fession he had always seemed to expend therest of his time with the muses and graces,and none could divine where he obtained somuch information, as almost to recall thestory of some gray-haired sage of Greece.He had however already composed more than

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one work unrecognised, if we except the twoopuscula ”Critical and Historical Essay onDuel, with Relation to our Legislation andMorals,” and a work on judicial practice.They were successful, but he was just thenattacked by a violent cold, contracted bybeing present at the annual ceremony, [Footnote:Not only Brillat Savarin, but Robert De St.Vincent, and Attorney General Marchangy,

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contracted their death in consequence of thesame ceremonial.] the 21st of January at theChurch of St. Dennis. In spite of every careand attention, on the 2d of February, 1826,he died. For many years gifted with robusthealth and athletic constitution, made themore remarkable by his tall stature, BrillatSavarin had a presentiment of the approachof death; this feeling, however, did not in-

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fluence the tenor of his life, for his habitualgaity was maintained unimpaired. Whenthe fatal point was reached, he died tan-quam convivia satur, not without regret,certainly, for he left many kind friends towhom his memory could not but be dear.

APHORISMS OF THE PROFESSOR.TO SERVE AS PROLEGOMENA TO

HIS WORK AND ETERNAL BASIS TO44

THE SCIENCE.I. The universe would be nothing were

it not for life and all that lives must be fed.II. Animals fill themselves; man eats.

The man of mind alone knows how to eat.III. The destiny of nations depends on

the manner in which they are fed.IV. Tell me what kind of food you eat,

and I will tell you what kind of man you45

are.V. The Creator, when he obliges man to

eat, invites him to do so by appetite, andrewards him by pleasure.

VI. Gourmandise is an act of our judg-ment, in obedience to which, we grant apreference to things which are agreeable,over those which nave not that quality.

VII. The pleasure of the table belongs to46

all ages, to all conditions, to all countries,and to all aeras; it mingles with all otherpleasures, and remains at last to console usfor their departure.

VIII. The table is the only place whereone does not suffer, from ennui during thefirst hour.

IX. The discovery of a new dish confersmore happiness on humanity, than the dis-

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covery of a new star.X. Those persons who suffer from indi-

gestion, or who become drunk, are utterlyignorant of the true principles of eating anddrinking.

XI. The order of food is from the mostsubstantial to the lightest.

XII. The order of drinking is from themildest to the most foamy and perfumed.

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XIII. To say that we should not changeour drinks is a heresy; the tongue becomessaturated, and after the third glass yieldsbut an obtuse sensation.

XIV. A dessert without cheese is like abeautiful woman who has lost an eye.

XV. A cook may be taught, but a manwho can roast, is born with the faculty.

XVI. The most indispensable quality of49

a good cook is promptness. It should alsobe that of the guests.

XVII. To wait too long for a dilatoryguest, shows disrespect to those who arepunctual.

XVIII. He who receives friends and paysno attention to the repast prepared for them,is not fit to have friends.

XIX. The mistress of the house should50

always be certain that the coffee be excel-lent; the master that his liquors be of thefirst quality.

XX. To invite a person to your house isto take charge of his happiness as long ashe be beneath your roof.

DIALOGUE between the author and hisfriend. (after the usual salutations.)

FRIEND. As my wife and myself were51

at breakfast this morning, we came to theconclusion that you should print, as soon aspossible, your Gastronomical Observations.

AUTHOR. What the wife wishes Godwills. In six words that is the charta ofParis. I, though, am not subject to thatlaw, for I am an unmarried man.

FRIEND. Bachelors, though, are as sub-ject to the law as others are, sometimes

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much to our injury. Single blessedness here,however, will not save you. My wife saysshe has a right to order, because you beganyour book at her country-house.

AUTHOR. You know, dear Doctor, howI defer to the ladies; more than once youhave found my submission to their orders.You also were one of those who said I wouldmake an excellent husband. I will not, how-

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ever, print my book.FRIEND. Why not?AUTHOR. Because being devoted, from

the nature of my profession, to serious stud-ies, I fear that those who only know the titleof my book will think that I devote myselfto trifles.

FRIEND. A panic terror! Thirty-six yearsof constant toil and labor for the public,

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have made you a reputation. Besides, mywife and I think every body would read you.

AUTHOR. Indeed!FRIEND. The learned will read your book

to ascertain what you have to tell.AUTHOR. Perhaps.FRIEND. Women will read your book

because they will see—AUTHOR. My dear friend, I am old, I

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am attacked by a fit of wisdom. Misereremei.

FRIEND. Gourmands will read you be-cause you do them justice, and assign themtheir suitable rank in society.

AUTHOR. Well, that is true. It is strangethat they have so long been misunderstood;I look on the dear Gourmands with pater-nal affection. They are so kind and their

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eyes are so bright.FRIEND. Besides, did you not tell me

such a book was needed in every library.AUTHOR. I did. It is the truth–and I

would die sooner than deny it.FRIEND: Ah! you are convinced! You

will come home with me?AUTHOR. Not so. If there be flowers

in the author’s path, there are also thorns.57

The latter I leave to my heirs.FRIEND. But then you disinherit your

friends, acquaintances and cotemporaries.Dare you do so?

AUTHOR. My heirs! my heirs! I haveheard that shades of the departed are al-ways flattered by the praise of the living;this is a state of beatitude I wish to reservemyself for the other world.

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FRIEND. But are you sure that the praiseyou love so, will come to the right address?Are you sure of the exactness of your heirs?

AUTHOR. I have no reason to thinkthey will neglect a duty, in considerationof which I have excused them the neglect ofso many others.

FRIEND. Will they–can they have foryour book the paternal love, the author’s

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attention without which every work alwayscomes awkwardly before the public?

AUTHOR. My manuscript will be cor-rected, written out distinctly, and in all re-spects prepared; they will only have to printit.

FRIEND. And the chapter of events?Alas! such circumstances have caused theloss of many precious books,–among which

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was that of the famous Lecat, on the stateof the body during sleep, the work of hiswhole life.

AUTHOR. This doubtless was a greatloss; but I anticipate no such regrets for mybook.

FRIEND. Believe me, your friends willhave enough to do-to arrange matters withthe church, with the law, and with the med-

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ical faculty, so that if they had the will, theywould not have the time to devote them-selves to the various cares which precede,accompany, and follow the publication of abook,–however small the volume may be.

AUTHOR. But, my friend, what a title!Think of the ridicule!

FRIEND. The word Gastronomy makesevery ear attentive; the subject is a la mode,

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and those who laugh are as great votaries ofthe science as any others are. This shouldsatisfy you. Do you remember too, that thegreatest men have sometimes written bookson very trivial subjects,-Montesquieu, forexample. [Footnote: M. de Monjucla, knownas the author of an excellent history of math-ematics, made a Dictionary of GourmandGeography; he showed me portions of it

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during my residence at Versailles. It is saidthat M. Berryat-Professor of legal practice,has written a romance in several volumeson the subject.]

AUTHOR. (Quickly.) On my word, thatis true. He wrote the Temple of Gnidus,and it would not be difficult to sustain thatthere is more real utility in meditating onwhat is at once a necessity, a pleasure, and

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an occupation every day of our lives, thanin telling what was done and said a thou-sand years ago by two mad people, one ofwhom pursued through the woods of Greecethe other, who had not the least dispositionto escape.

FRIEND. Ah! ha! Now you yield?AUTHOR. Not I. The ass’s ear of the

author only was shown; and this recalls to65

my memory a scene of English comedy, whichamused me very much; it is, I think, in theplay called the Natural Daughter. You shallsee, however, for yourself. [Footnote: Thereader will observe that my friend permitsme to be familiar with him, without takingadvantage of it. The reason is, that the dif-ference between our ages is that of a fatherand a son, and that, though now a man of

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great note and importance in every respect,he would be completely overcome with griefif I changed my bearing towards him.] Thesubject relates to the Quakers, that sectwhich uses ”thee” and ”thou” to everybody,which dresses simply, never go to war, neverswear or act with passion, and who neverget angry. The hero of this piece is a youngand handsome Quaker, who appears on the

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scene in a brown coat, a broad-brimmedhat, and slick hair! All this, though, doesnot keep him from being in love.

A fool who is his rival, emboldened byhis exterior, ridicules and outrages him sothat the young man gradually becoming ex-cited, and finally made furious, gives his as-sailant a severe thrashing.

Having done this he at once resumes his68

habitual deportment and says, sadly, ”Alas!the flesh is too mighty for the spirit.”

Thus say I, and after a brief hesitationresume my first opinion.

FRIEND. That is impossible. You haveshown your ear; you are a prize, and I willtake you to my bookseller. I will tell youwho has gotten wind of your secret.

AUTHOR. Do not; for I would speak of69

yourself, and who knows what I would say?FRIEND. What could you say? Do not

think you can intimidate me.AUTHOR. I will not say that our na-

tive city [Footnote: Belley, capital of Bugey,where high mountains, hills, vines, limpidstreams, cascades, dells, gardens of a hun-dred square leagues are found, and where,BEFORE the revolution, the people were

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able to control the other two orders.] is proudof having given you birth. At the age oftwenty-four you published an elementary book,which from that day has become a classic.A deserved reputation has attracted confi-dence to you. Your skill revives invalids;your dexterity animates them; your sensi-bility consoles them. All know this; but Iwill reveal to all Paris, to all France, the

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sole fault of which I know you guilty.FRIEND. (Seriously.) What do you mean?AUTHOR. An habitual fault which no

persuasion can correct.FRIEND. Tell me what you mean! Why

torment me?AUTHOR. You eat too quickly.(Here, the friend takes up his hat and

leaves, fancying that he has made a con-72

vert.)BIOGRAPHYThe Doctor I have introduced into the

dialogue we have just read, is not a crea-ture of imagination like the Chloris of otherdays, but a real living Doctor. Those whoknow me, will remember RICHERAND.

When I thought of him I could not buthave reference to those who preceded him,

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and I saw with pride that from Belley, fromthe department of Ain, my native soil, fora long time physicians of the greatest dis-tinction had come. I could not resist thetemptation to erect a brief monument tothem.

During the regency Doctors Genin andCivoct were in full possession of practice,and expended in their country a wealth they

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had honorably acquired. The first was alto-gether HIPPOCRATITE; he proceeded se-cundum artem; the second was almost mo-nopolized by women, and had as his de-vice, as Tacitus would have said, res novasmolientem.

About 1780 Chapelle became distinguishedin the dangerous career of a military sur-geon. About 1781 Doctor Dubois had great

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success in sundry maladies, then very mucha la mode, and in nervous diseases. Thesuccess he obtained was really wonderful.

Unfortunately he inherited a fortune andbecame idle, and was satisfied to be a goodstory-teller. He was very amusing, and con-trived to survive the dinners of the newand old regime. [Footnote: I smiled whenI wrote the above, for it recalled to me an

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Academician, the eulogium of whom Fontenelleundertook. The deceased knew only howto play at all games. Fontenelle made avery decent oration, however, about him.]About the end of the reign of Louis XV.,Dr. Coste, a native of Chatillon came toParis; he had a letter from Voltaire to theDuc de Choiseuil, the good wishes of whomhe gained as soon as he had seen him.

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Protected by this nobleman, and by theDuchess of Grammont, his sister, young Costeadvanced rapidly, and in a short time be-came one of the first physicians of Paris.

The patronage he had received took himfrom a profitable career to place him at thehead of the medical department of the armywhich France sent to the United States, whothen were contending for their independence.

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Having fulfilled his mission, Coste re-turned to France, and almost unseen livedthrough the evil days of 1793. He was electedmaire of Versailles, and even now the mem-ory of his administration, at once mild, gen-tle and paternal, has been preserved.

The Directors now recalled him to thecharge of the medical department of thearmy. Bonaparte appointed him one of the

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three Inspectors General of the service; theDoctor was always the friend, protector, andpatron of the young men who selected thatservice. He was at last appointed Physicianof the Invalides, and discharged the dutiesuntil he died.

Such service the Bourbons could not ne-glect, and Louis XVIII. granted to DoctorCoste the cordon of Saint Michel.

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Doctor Coste died a few years since, leav-ing behind kind recollections, and a daugh-ter married to M. Lalot, who distinguishedhimself in the Chamber of Deputies by hiseloquent and profound arguments.

One day when we had dined with M.Favre, the Cure of St. Laurent, DoctorCoste told me of a difficulty he had, the daybefore, with the Count de Le Cessac, then a

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high officer of the ministry of war, about acertain economy which the latter proposedas a means of paying his court Napoleon.

The economy consisted in retrenchingthe allowances of hospital, so as to restrictmen who had wounds from the comfortsthey were entitled to.

Doctor Coste said such measures wereabominable, and he became angry.

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I do not know what the result was, butonly that the sick soldiers had their usualallowances, and that no change was made.

He was appointed Professor of the Fac-ulty of Medicine. His style was simple andhis addresses were plain and fruitful. Hon-ors were crowded on him. He was appointedPhysician to the Empress Marie Louise. Hedid not, however, fill that place long, the

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Emperor was swept away, and the Doctorhimself succumbed to a disease of the leg,to which he had long been subject.

Bordier was of a calm disposition, kindand reliable.

About the 18th century appeared Bichat,all of the writings of whom bear the impressof genius. He expended his life in toil toadvance science, and joined the patience of

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restricted minds to enthusiasm. He died atthe age of thirty, and public honors weredecreed to his memory.

At a later day came Doctor Montegre,who carried philosophy into clinics. He wasthe editor of the Gazette de Sante, and atthe age of forty died in the Antilles whitherhe had gone to complete his book on theVomite Negro.

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At the present moment Richerand standson the highest degree of operative medicine,and his Elements of Physiology have beentranslated into every language. Appointedat an early date a Professor of the Facultyof Paris, he made all rely fully on him. He isthe keenest, gentlest, and quickest operatorin the world.

Recamier, a professor of the same fac-86

ulty, sits by his side.The present being thus assured, the fu-

ture expands itself before us! Under thewings of these mighty Professors arise youngmen of the same land, who seek to followtheir honorable examples.

Janin and Manjot already crush the pave-ment of Paris. Manjot devotes himself tothe diseases of children; he has happy inspi-

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rations, and soon will tell the public whathe has discovered.

I trust my readers will pardon this di-gression of an old man, who, during an ab-sence of thirty years, has neither forgottenhis country nor his countrymen. I couldnot however omit all those physicians, thememory of whom is yet preserved in theirbirth- place, and who, though not conspicu-

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ous, had not on that account the less meritor worth. [Footnote: The translator thinksseveral have made world-renowned names.]

PREFACE.In offering to the public the work I now

produce, I have undertaken no great labor.I have only put in order materials I hadcollected long ago. The occupation was anamusing one, which I reserved for my old

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age.When I thought of the pleasures of the

table, under every point of view, I saw thatsomething better than a common cookerybook could be made out of it, and thatmuch might be said about essential and con-tinuous things, which have a direct influ-ence on health, happiness, and even on busi-ness.

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When I had once gotten hold of the idea,all the rest came naturally. I looked around,took notes, and amidst the most sumptu-ous festivals looked at the guests. Thus Iescaped many of the dangers of convivial-ity.

To do what I have undertaken, one neednot be a physician, chemist, physiologist,or even a savant. All I learned, I learned

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without the least idea that I would ever bean author. I was impressed by a laudablecuriosity, by the fear of remaining behindmy century, and by an anxiety to be able tosit at table on equal terms with the savantsI used to meet.

I am essentially an amateur medecin,and this to me is almost a mania. Amongthe happiest days of my life, when with the

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Professors, I went to hear the thesis of Doc-tor Cloquet; I was delighted when I heardthe murmur of the students’ voices, each ofwhom asked who was the foreign professorwho honored the College with his presence.

One other day is, I think, almost as dearto me. I refer to the meeting of the soci-ety for the encouragement of national in-dustry, when I presented the irrorator, an

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instrument of my own invention, which isneither more nor less than a forcing pumpfilled with perfumes.

I had an apparatus fully charged in mypocket. I turned the cock, and thence pressedout a perfume which filled the whole room.

Then I saw, with inexpressible pleasure,the wisest heads of the capital bend beneathmy irrigation, and I was glad to see that

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those who received most, were the happiest.Thinking sometimes of the grave lucubra-

tions to which I was attracted by my sub-ject, I really as afraid that I would be trou-blesome. I have often read very stupid books.

I did all that I could to escape this re-proach. I have merely hovered over sub-jects which presented themselves to me; Ihave filled my book with anecdotes, some of

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which to a degree are personal. I have omit-ted to mention many strange and singularthings, which critical judgment induced meto reject, and I recalled popular attentionto certain things which savants seemed tohave reserved to themselves. If, in spite ofall these efforts, I have not presented to myreaders a science rarely understood, I shallsleep just as calmly, being certain that the

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MAJORITY will acquit me of all evil inten-tion.

It may perhaps be said that sometimes Iwrote too rapidly, and that sometimes I be-came garrulous. Is it my fault that I amold? Is it my fault that, like Ulysses, Ihave seen the manners and customs of manycities? Am I therefore blamable for writ-ing a little bit of autobiography? Let the

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reader, however, remember that I do not in-flict my political memoirs on him, which hewould have to read, as he has many others,since during the last thirty years I have beenexactly in the position to see great men andgreat things.

Let no one assign me a place amongcompilers; had I been reduced thus low, Iwould have laid down my pen, and would

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not have lived less happily.I said, like Juvenal:”Semper ego auditor tantum! nunquamne

reponam!”and those who know me will easily see

that used to the tumult of society and to thesilence of the study I had to take advantageof both one and the other of these positions.

I did too many things which pleased me99

particularly; I was able to mention manyfriends who did not expect me to do so, andrecalled some pleasant memories; I seizedon others which would have escaped, and,as we say familiarly, took my coffee.

It may be a single reader may in somecategory exclaim,—-”I wished to know if—-.” ”What was he thinking of,” etc., etc. Iam sure, though, the others will make him

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be silent and receive with kindness the ef-fusions of a praiseworthy sentiment.

I have something to say about my style,which, as Buffon says, is all the man.

Let none think I come to ask for a favorwhich is never granted to those who needit. I wish merely to make an explanation.

I should write well, for Voltaire, JeanJacques, Fenelon, Buffon, and Cochin and

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Aguesseau were my favorite authors. I knewthem by heart.

It may be though, that the gods orderedotherwise; if so, this is the cause of the willof the gods.

I know five languages which now are spo-ken, which gives me an immense refectoryof words.

When I need a word and do not find it102

in French, I select it from other tongues,and the reader has either to understand ortranslate me. Such is my fate.

I could have acted otherwise, but wasprevented by a kind of system to which Iwas invincibly attached.

I am satisfied that the French languagewhich I use is comparatively poor. Whatcould I do? Either borrow or steal.

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I did neither, for such borrowings, can-not be restored, though to steal words isnot punishable by the penal code.

Any one may form an idea of my audac-ity when I say I applied the Spanish wordvolante to any one I had sent on an errand,and that I had determined to GALLICISEthe English word TO SIP, which means todrink in small quantities. I however dug out

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the French word siroter, which expressesnearly the same thing.

I am aware the purists will appeal toBosseux, to Fenelon, Raceri, Boilleau, Pas-cal, and others of the reign of Louis XIV. Ifancy I hear their clamor.

To all this I reply distinctly, that I donot depreciate the merit of those authors;but what follows? Nothing, except that if

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they played well on an inferior instrument,how much better would they have done ona superior one. Therefore, we may believethat Tartini would have played on the violinfar better than he did, if his bow had beenlong as that of Baillot.

I do not belong to the neologues or evento the romanticists; the last are discover-ers of hidden treasures, the former are like

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sailors who go about to search for provisionsthey need.

The people of the North, and especiallythe English, have in this respect an im-mense advantage over us. Genius is neverrestricted by the want of expression, whichis either made or created. Thus it is thatof all subjects which demand depth and en-ergy, our translations make but pale and

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dull infusions.Once I heard at the institute a pleas-

ant discourse on the danger of neologism,and on the necessity of maintaining our lan-guage as it was when the authors of thegreat century wrote.

”Like a chemist, I sifted the argumentand ascertained that it meant:

”We have done so well, that we neither108

need nor can do better.”Now; I have lived long enough to know

that each generation has done as much, andthat each one laughs at his grandfather.

Besides, words must change, when man-ners and ideas undergo perpetual modifi-cations. If we do things as the ancientsdid, we do not do them in the same man-ner. There are whole pages in many French

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books, which cannot be translated into Latinor Greek.

All languages had their birth, their apogeeand decline. None of those which have beenfamous from the days of Sesostris to thatof Philip Augustus, exist except as monu-ments. The French will have the same fate,and in the year 2825 if read, will be readwith a dictionary.

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I once had a terrible argument on thismatter with the famous M. Andrieux, atthe Academie Francaise.

I made my assault in good array, I at-tacked him vigorously, and would have beatenhim had he not made a prompt retreat, towhich I opposed no obstacle, fortunately forhim, as he was making one letter of the newlexicon.

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I end by one important observation, forthat reason I have kept it till the last.

When I write of ME in the singular, Igossip with my reader, he may examine, dis-cuss, doubt or laugh; but when I say WE Iam a professor, and all must bow to me.

”I am, Sir Oracle,And when I ope my lips, let no dog bark.”Merchant of Venice.

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PHYSIOLOGY OF TASTE.MEDITATION FIRST.THE SENSES.The senses are the organs by which man

places himself in connexion with exteriorobjects.

NUMBER OF THE SENSES.1. They are at least six–Sight, which embraces space, and tells

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us by means of light, of the existence andof the colors of the bodies around us.

Hearing, which, by the motion of theair, informs us of the motion of sounding orvibrating bodies.

Scent, by means of which we are madeaware of the odors bodies possess.

Taste, which enables us to distinguishall that has a flavor from that which is in-

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sipid.Touch informs us of the consistency and

resistance of bodies.The last is genesiac or physical love, which

attracts the sexes to each other, and theobject of which is the reproduction of thespecies.

It is astonishing that, almost to the daysof Buffon, so important a sense was mis-

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understood, and was confounded with thetouch.

Yet the sensation of which it is the seat,has nothing in common with touch; it re-sides in an apparatus as complete as themouth or the eyes, and what is singular isthat each sex has all that is needed to expe-rience the sensation; it is necessary that thetwo should be united to reach nature’s ob-

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ject. If the TASTE, the object of which isthe preservation of the individual, be incon-testibly a sense, the same title must indu-bitably be preserved on the organs destinedto the preservation of the species.

Let us then assign to the genesiac thesensual place which cannot be refused to it,and let us leave to posterity the assignmentof its peculiar rank.

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ACTION OF THE SENSES.

If we were permitted, even in imagination,to refer to the first moments of the existenceof the human race, we would believe thatthe first sensations were direct; that is tosay that all saw confusedly and indirectly,smelled without care, ate without tasting,etc.

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The centre of all these sensations, how-ever, being the soul, the sensual attribute ofhumanity and active cause of perfectibility,they are reflected, compared, and judgedby it; the other senses then come to the as-sistance of each other, for the utility andwell-being of the sensitive; one or individ-ual.

Thus touch rectifies the errors of sight;119

sound, by means of articulate speech, be-comes the interpreter of every sentiment;taste is aided by sight and smell; hearingcompares sounds, appreciates distance; andthe genesiac sense takes possession of theorgans of all the senses.

The torrent of centuries rolling over thehuman race, has continually brought newperfections, the cause of which, ever active

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though unseen, is found in the demandsmade by our senses, which always in theirturns demand to be occupied.

Sight thus gave birth to painting, to sculp-ture, and to spectacles of every kind.

Sound, to melody, harmony, to the dance,and to music in all its branches, and meansof execution.

Smell, to the discovery, manufacture and121

use of perfumes.Taste, to the production, choice and prepa-

ration of all that is used for food.Touch, to all art, trades and occupa-

tions.The genesiac sense, to all which pre-

pares or embellishes the reunion of senses,and, subsequently to the days of Francois I.,to romantic love, to coquetry, which origi-

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nated in France and obtained its name there,and from which the elite of the world, col-lected in the capital of the universe, taketheir lessons every day.

This proposition, strange as it seems, isvery susceptible of demonstration; we can-not express with clearness in any ancientlanguage, ideas about these three great mo-tives of actual society.

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I had written a dialogue on this sub-ject, but suppressed it for the purpose ofpermitting the reader, each in his own way,to think of the matter for himself. Thereis enough to occupy the mind and displayintelligence and erudition during a wholeevening.

We said above, that the genesiac sensetook possession of the organs of all the oth-

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ers; the influence it has exerted over all sci-ences is not less. When we look closer, wewill find that all that is most delicate andingenious is due to the desire, to hope, orto gratitude, in connexion with the unionof the sexes.

Such is, indeed, the genealogy of thesenses, even the most abstract ones, all be-ing the immediate result of continuous ef-

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forts made to gratify our senses.PERFECTNESS OF THE SENSES.These senses, our favorites, are far from

being perfect, and I will not pause to proveit. I will only observe, that that etherealsense–sight, and touch, which is at the otherextremity of the scale, have from time ac-quired a very remarkable additional power.

By means of spectacles the eye, so to126

say, escapes from the decay of age, whichtroubles almost all the other organs.

The telescope has discovered stars hith-erto unknown and inaccessible to all ourmeans of mensuration; it has penetrateddistances so great, that luminous and nec-essarily immense bodies present themselvesto us only like nebulous and almost imper-ceptible spots.

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The microscope has made us acquaintedwith the interior configuration of bodies; orhas shown the existence of a vegetation andof plants, the existence of which we wereignorant of.

Animals a hundred thousand times smallerthan any visible with the naked eye havebeen discovered; these animalculae, how-ever, move, feed and multiply, establish-

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ing the existence of organs of inconceivabletenuity.

Mechanics have multiplied our power;man has executed all that he could conceiveof, and has moved weights nature made in-accessible to his weakness.

By means of arms and of the lever, manhas conquered all nature; he has subjectedit to his pleasure, wants and caprices. He

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has overturned its surfaces, and a feeblebiped has become king of creation.

Sight and touch, being thus increasedin capacity, might belong to some speciesfar superior to man; or rather the humanspecies would be far different had all thesenses been thus improved.

We must in the meantime remark, thatif touch has acquired a great development

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as a muscular power, civilization has donealmost nothing for it as an organ of sensa-tion. We must, however, despair of noth-ing, but remember that the human race isyet young, and that only after a long se-ries of years can the senses aggrandise theirdomain.

For instance. Harmony was only dis-covered about four centuries ago, and that

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celestial science is to sound what paintingis to colors.

Certainly, the ancients used to sing andaccompany themselves in unison. Their knowl-edge, however, ended there. They knewneither how to decompose sounds, nor toappreciate their relations. [Footnote: Weare aware that the contrary has been main-tained; the idea though cannot be supported.

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Had the ancients been acquainted with har-mony, their writings would have preservedsome precise notion on the matter, insteadof a few obscure phrases, which may be tor-tured to mean anything. Besides, we can-not follow the birth and progress of har-mony in the monuments left to us; this obli-gation we owe to the Arabs, who made usa present of the organ, which produces at

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one time many continuous sounds, and thuscreated harmony.]

Tone was only reduced to system, andaccords measured in the fifteenth century.Only then it was used to sustain the voiceand to reinforce the expression of sentiments.

This discovery, made at so late a day,yet so natural, doubled the hearing, andhas shown the existence of two somewhat

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independent faculties, one of which receivessound and the other appreciates resonance.

The German Doctors say that personssensible of harmony have one sense morethan others.

Of those persons to whom music is buta confused mass of sounds, we may remarkthat almost all sing false. We are forcedto think that they have the auditory appa-

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ratus so made, as to receive but brief andshort undulation, or that the two ears notbeing on the same diapason, the differencein length and sensibility of these constituentparts, causes them to transmit to the brainonly an obscure and undetermined sensa-tion, like two instruments played in neitherthe same key nor the same measure, andwhich can produce no continuous melody.

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The centuries last passed have also giventhe taste important extension; the discov-ery of sugar, and its different preparations,of alcoholic liquors, of wine, ices, vanilla,tea and coffee, have given us flavors hith-erto unknown.

Who knows if touch will not have itsday, and if some fortuitous circumstancewill not open to us thence some new enjoy-

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ments? This is especially probable as tac-tile sensitiveness exists every where in thebody, and consequently can every where beexcited.

We have seen that physical love has takenpossession of all the sciences. In this respectit acts with its habitual tyranny.

The taste is a more prudent measure butnot less active faculty. Taste, we say, has

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accomplished the same thing, with a slow-ness which ensures its success.

Elsewhere we will consider the march.We may, however, observe, that he who hasenjoyed a sumptuous banquet in a hall deckedwith flowers, mirrors, paintings, and stat-ues, embalmed in perfume, enriched withpretty women, filled with delicious harmony,will not require any great effort of thought

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to satisfy himself that all sciences have beenput in requisition to exalt and to enhancethe pleasures of taste.

OBJECT OF THE ACTION OF THESENSES.

Let us now glance at the system of oursenses, considered together, and we will seethat the Author of creation had two ob-jects, one of which is the consequence of

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the other,–the preservation of the individ-ual and the duration of the species.

Such is the destiny of man, consideredas a sensitive being; all his actions have ref-erence to this double purpose.

The eye perceives external objects, re-veals the wonders by which a man is sur-rounded, and tells him he is a portion ofthe great whole.

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Hearing perceives sounds, not only as anagreeable sensation, but as warnings of themovement of bodies likely to endanger us.

The sense of touch watches to warn usby pain of any immediate lesion.

That faithful servant the hand has pre-pared his defence, assured his steps, buthas from instinct seized objects it thoughtneeded to repair losses caused by the use of

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life.The sense of smell explores; deleterious

substances almost always have an unpleas-ant smell.

The taste decides; the teeth are put inaction, the tongue unites with the palate intasting, and the stomach soon commencesthe process of assimilation.

In this state a strange languor is per-143

ceived, objects seem discolored, the bodybends, the eyes close, all disappears, andthe senses are in absolute repose.

When he awakes man sees that nothingaround him has changed, a secret fire fer-ments in his bosom, a new organ is devel-oped. He feels that he wishes to divide hisexistence.

This active unquiet and imperious sen-144

timent is common to both sexes. It attractsthem together and unites them, and whenthe germ of a new being is fecundated, theindividuals can sleep in peace.

They have fulfilled the holiest of theirduties by assuring the duration of the species.[Footnote: Buffon describes, with all thecharms of the most brilliant eloquence, thefirst moments of Eve’s existence. Called

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on to describe almost the same subject, wehave drawn but one feature. The reader willcomplete the picture.]

Such are the general and philosophicalprinciples I wished to place before my read-ers, to lead them naturally to the examina-tion of the organ of taste.

MEDITATION II.TASTE.

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DEFINITION OF TASTE.Taste is the sense which communicates

to us a knowledge of vapid bodies by meansof the sensations which they excite.

Taste, which has as its excitement ap-petite, hunger and thirst, is the basis ofmany operations the result of which is thatthe individual believes, developes, preservesand repairs the losses occasioned by vital

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evaporation.Organized bodies are not sustained in

the same manner. The Author of creation,equally varied in causes and effects, has as-signed them different modes of preservation.

Vegetables, which are the lowest in thescale of living things, are fed by roots, which,implanted in the native soil, select by theaction of a peculiar mechanism, different

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subjects, which serve to increase and to nour-ish them.

As we ascend the scale we find bodiesgifted with animal life and deprived of lo-comotion. They are produced in a mediumwhich favors their existence, and have spe-cial and peculiar organs which extract allthat is necessary to sustain the portion andduration of life allotted them. They do not

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seek food, which, on the contrary, comes toseek them.

Another mode has been appointed foranimals endowed with locomotion, of whichman is doubtless the most perfect. A pecu-liar instinct warns him of the necessity offood; he seeks and seizes the things whichhe knows are necessary to satisfy his wants;he eats, renovates himself, and thus during

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his life passes through the whole career as-signed to him.

Taste may be considered in three rela-tions.

In physical man it is the apparatus bymeans of which he appreciates flavors.

In moral man it is the sensation whichthe organ impressed by any savorous centreimpresses on the common centre. Consid-

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ered as a material cause, taste is the prop-erty which a body has to impress the organand to create a sensation.

Taste seems to have two chief uses:1. It invites us by pleasure to repair the

losses which result from the use of life.2. It assists us to select from among the

substances offered by nature, those whichare alimentary.

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In this choice taste is powerfully aidedby the sense of smell, as we will see here-after; as a general principle, it may be laiddown that nutritious substances are repul-sive neither to the taste nor to the smell.

It is difficult to say in exactly what thefaculty of taste consists. It is more compli-cated than it appears.

The tongue certainly plays a prominent153

part in the mechanism of degustation–for,being endued with great muscular power, itenfolds, turns, presses and swallows food.

Also, by means of the more or less nu-merous pores which cover it, it becomes im-pregnated with the sapid and soluble por-tions of the bodies which it is placed incontact with. Yet all this does not suffice,for many adjacent parts unite in completing

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the sensation –viz: jaws, palate, and espe-cially the nasal tube, to which physiologistshave perhaps not paid attention enough.

The jaws furnish saliva, as necessary tomastication as to the formation of the di-gestible mass. They, like the palate, aregifted with a portion of the appreciative fac-ulties; I do not know that, in certain cases,the nose does not participate, and if but

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for the odor which is felt in the back of themouth, the sensation of taste would not beobtuse and imperfect.

Persons who have no tongue or who havelost it, yet preserve the sensation of taste.All the books mention the first case; thesecond was explained to me by an unfortu-nate man, whose tongue had been cut outby the Algerines for having, with several

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of his companions, formed a plot to escapefrom captivity.

I met this man at Amsterdam, wherehe was a kind of broker. He was a personof education, and by writing was perfectlyable to make himself understood.

Observing that his whole tongue, to thevery attachment, had been cut away, I askedhim if he yet preserved any sense of taste

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when he ate, and if the sense of taste hadsurvived the cruel operation he had under-gone.

He told me his greatest annoyance wasin swallowing, (which indeed was difficult;)that he had a full appreciation of tastes andflavors, but that acid and bitter substancesproduced intense pain.

He told me the abscission of the tongue158

was very common in the African kingdoms,and was made use of most frequently topunish those thought to be the leaders ofany plot, and that they had peculiar instru-ments to affect it with. I wished him todescribe them, but he showed such painfulreluctance in this matter, that I did not in-sist.

I reflected on what he said, and ascend-159

ing to the centuries of ignorance, when thetongues of blasphemers were cut and pierced,I came to the conclusion that these pun-ishments were of Moorish origin, and wereimported by the crusaders.

We have seen above, that the sensationof taste resided chiefly in the pores and feel-ers of the tongue. Anatomy tells us that alltongues are not exactly alike, there being

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three times as many feelers in some tonguesas in others. This circumstance will explainwhy one of two guests, sitting at the sametable, is delighted, while the other seems toeat from constraint; the latter has a tonguebut slightly provided. These are recognizedin the empire of the taste–both deaf anddumb.

SENSATION OF TASTE.161

Five or six opinions have been advancedas to the modus operandi of the sensationof taste. I have mine, viz:

The sensation of taste is a chemical op-eration, produced by humidity. That is tosay, the savorous particles must be dissolvedin some fluid, so as to be subsequently ab-sorbed by the nervous tubes, feelers, or ten-drils, which cover the interior of the gasta-

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tory apparatus.This system, whether true or not, is sus-

tained by physical and almost palpable proofs.Pure water creates no sensation, because

it contains no sapid particle. Dissolve, how-ever, a grain of salt, or infuse a few dropsof vinegar, and there will be sensation.

Other drinks, on the contrary, createsensation because they are neither more nor

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less than liquids filled with appreciable par-ticles.

It would be in vain for the mouth to fillitself with the divided particles of an insol-uble body. The tongue would feel by touchthe sensation of their presence, but not thatof taste.

In relation to solid and savorous bodies,it is necessary in the first place for the teeth

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to divide them, that the saliva and othertasting fluids to imbibe them, and that thetongue press them against the palate, so asto express a juice, which, when sufficientlysaturated by the degastory tendrils, deliverto the substance the passport it requires foradmission into the stomach.

This system, which will yet receive otherdevelopments, replies without effort to the

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principal questions which may present them-selves.

If we demand what is understood bysapid bodies, we reply that it is every thingthat has flavor, which is soluble, and fit tobe absorbed by the organ of taste.

If asked how a sapid body acts, we re-ply that it acts when it is reduced to sucha state of dissolution that it enters the cav-

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ities made to receive it.In a word, nothing is sapid but what is

already or nearly dissolved.FLAVORS.The number of flavors is infinite, for ev-

ery soluble body has a peculiar flavor, likenone other.

Flavors are also modified by their sim-ple, double, or multiple aggregation. It is

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impossible to make any description, eitherof the most pleasant or of the most unpleas-ant, of the raspberry or of colocynth. Allwho have tried to do so have failed.

This result should not amaze us, for be-ing gifted with an infinite variety of simpleflavors, which mixture modifies to such anumber and to such a quantity, a new lan-guage would he needed to express their ef-

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fects, and mountains of folios to describethem. Numerical character alone could la-bel them.

Now, as yet, no flavor has ever been ap-preciated with rigorous exactness, we havebeen forced to be satisfied with a limitednumber of expressions such as SWEET, SUG-ARY, ACID, BITTER, and similar ones,which, when ultimately analyzed, are ex-

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pressed by the two following AGREEABLEand DISAGREEABLE, which suffice to makeus understood, and indicate the flavor of thesapid substances referred to.

Those who come after us will know more,for doubtless chemistry will reveal the causesor primitive elements of flavors.

INFLUENCE OF SMELLING ON THETASTE.

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The order I marked out for myself hasinsensibly led me to the moment to ren-der to smell the rights which belong to it,and to recognise the important services itrenders to taste and the application of fla-vors. Among the authors I have met with,I recognise none as having done full justiceto it.

For my own part, I am not only per-171

suaded that without the interposition of theorgans of smell, there would be no com-plete degustation, and that the taste andthe sense of smell form but one sense, ofwhich the mouth is the laboratory and thenose the chimney; or to speak more exactly,that one tastes tactile substances, and theother exhalations.

This may be vigorously defended; yet as172

I do not wish to establish a school, I ventureon it only to give my readers a subject ofthought, and to show that I have carefullylooked over the subject of which I write.Now I continue my demonstration of theimportance of the sense of smell, if not asa constituent portion of taste, at least as anecessary adjunct.

All sapid bodies are necessarily odorous,173

and therefore belong as well to the empireof the one as of the other sense.

We eat nothing without seeing this, moreor less plainly. The nose plays the partof sentinel, and always cries ”WHO GOESTHERE?”

Close the nose, and the taste is para-lyzed; a thing proved by three experimentsany one can make:

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1. When the nasal membrane is irri-tated by a violent coryza (cold in the head)the taste is entirely obliterated. There isno taste in anything we swallow, yet thetongue is in its normal state.

2. If we close the nose when we eat,we are amazed to see how obscure and im-perfect the sense of touch is. The mostdisgusting medicines thus are swallowed al-

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most without taste.3. The same effect is observed if, as soon

as we have swallowed, instead of restoringthe tongue to its usual place, it be kept de-tached from the palate. Thus the circula-tion of the air is intercepted, the organs ofsmell are not touched, and there is no taste.

These effects have the same cause, fromthe fact that the sense of smell does not

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co-operate with the taste. The sapid bodyis appreciated only on account of the juice,and not for the odorous gas which emanatesfrom it.

ANALYSIS OF THE SENSATION OFTASTE.

Principles being thus determined, I lookon it as certain that taste has given place tosensations of three different orders, viz: DI-

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RECT, COMPLETE and REFLECTED.Direct sensation is the first perception

emanating from the intermediate organs ofthe mouth, during the time that the sapidbody rests on the tongue.

Complete sensation is that composed ofthe first impression which is created whenthe food abandons this first position, passesinto the back of the mouth, and impresses

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all the organ with both taste and perfume.Reflected sensation is the judgment which

conveys to the soul the impressions trans-mitted to it by the organ.

Let us put this system in action by ob-serving what takes place when a man ei-ther eats or drinks. Let a man, for in-stance, eat a peach, and he will first beagreeably impressed by the odor which em-

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anates from it. He places it in his mouth,and acid and fresh flavors induce him tocontinue. Not, though, until he has swal-lowed it, does the perfume reveal itself, nordoes he till then discover the peculiar flavorof every variety. Some time is necessary forany gourmet [Footnote: Any gentleman orlady, who may please, is at perfect liberty totranslate the word gourmet into any other

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tongue. I cannot. As much may be said ofgourmand.- -TRANSLATOR.] to say, ”It isgood, passable, or bad. It is Chambertin,or something else.”

It may then be seen that in obedienceto principles and practice well understood,true amateurs sip their wine. Every mouth-ful thus gives them the sum total of plea-sure which they would not have enjoyed had

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they swallowed it at once.The same thing takes place, with how-

ever much more energy, when the taste isdisagreeably affected.

Just look at the patient of some doc-tor who prescribes immense doses of blackmedicine, such as were given during the reignof Louis XIV.

The sense of smell, like a faithful coun-182

sellor, foretells its character. The eyes ex-pand as they do at the approach of danger;disgust is on the lips and the stomach atonce rebells. He is however besought to takecourage, gurgles his throat with brandy, closeshis nose and swallows.

As long as the odious compound fills themouth and stuns the organ it is tolerable,but when it has been swallowed the after

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drops develop themselves, nauseous odorsarise, and every feature of the patient ex-presses horror and disgust, which the fearof death alone could induce him to bear.

If the draught be on the contrary merelyinsipid, as for instance a glass of water, thereis neither taste nor after taste. Nothing isfelt, nothing is experienced, it is swallowed,and all is over.

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ORDER OF THE IMPRESSIONS OFTASTE.

Taste is not so richly endowed as thehearing; the latter can appreciate and com-pare many sounds at once; the taste on thecontrary is simple in its action; that is tosay it cannot be sensible to two flavors atonce.

It may though be doubled and multipled185

by succession, that is to say that in the actof swallowing there may be a second andeven a third sensation, each of which gradu-ally grows weaker and weaker and which aredesignated by the words AFTER-TASTE,perfume or fragrance. Thus when a chordis struck, one ear exercises and dischargesmany series of consonances, the number ofwhich is not as yet perfectly known.

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Those who eat quickly and without at-tention, do not discern impressions of thesecond degree. They belong only to a cer-tain number of the elect, and by the meansof these second sensations only can be classedthe different substances submitted to theirexamination.

These fugitive shadows for a long timevibrate in the organ of taste. The profes-

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sors, beyond doubt, always assume an ap-propriate position, and when they give theiropinions they always do so with expandednostrils, and with their necks protruded faras they can go.

ENJOYMENTS DUE TO THE TASTE.Let us now look philosophically at the

pleasure and pain occasioned by taste.The first thing we become convinced of

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is that man is organized so as to be far moresensible of pain than of pleasure.

In fact the imbibing of acid or bittersubstances subjects us to sensations moreor less painful, according to their degree. Itis said that the cause of the rapid effectsof hydrocyanic acid is that the pain is sogreat as to be unbearable by the powers ofvitality.

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The scale of agreeable sensations on theother hand is very limited, and if there,be a sensible difference between the insipidand that which flatters the taste, the in-terval is not so great between the good andthe excellent. The following example provesthis:–FIRST TERM a Bouilli dry and hard.SECOND TERM a piece of veal. THIRDTERM a pheasant done to a turn.

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Of all the senses though with which wehave been endowed by nature, the taste isthe one, which all things considered, pro-cures us the most enjoyments.

1. Because the pleasure of eating is theonly one, when moderately enjoyed, not fol-lowed, by fatigue.

2. It belongs to all aeras, ages and ranks.3. Because it necessarily returns once

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a day, and may without inconvenience betwice or thrice repeated in the same day.

4. It mingles with all other pleasures,and even consoles us for their absence.

5. Because the impressions it receivesare durable and dependant on, our will.

6. Because when we eat we receive acertain indefinable and peculiar impressionof happiness originating in instinctive con-

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science. When we eat too, we repair ourlosses and prolong our lives.

This will be more carefully explainedin the chapter we devote to the pleasuresof the table, considered as it has been ad-vanced by civilization.

SUPREMACY OF MAN.We were educated in the pleasant faith

that of all things that walk, swim, crawl, or193

fly, man has the most perfect taste.This faith is liable to be shaken.Dr. Gall, relying on I know not what

examinations, says there are many animalswith the gustatory apparatus more devel-oped and extended than man’s.

This does not sound well and looks likeheresy. Man, jure divino, king of all na-ture, for the benefit of whom the world was

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peopled, must necessarily be supplied withan organ which places him in relation to allthat is sapid in his subjects.

The tongue of animals does not exceedtheir intelligence; in fishes the tongue is buta movable bone, in birds it is usually a mem-branous cartilage, and in quadrupeds it isoften covered with scales and asperities, andhas no circumflex motion.

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The tongue of man on the contrary, fromthe delicacy of its texture and the differentmembranes by which it is surrounded andwhich are near to it announces the sublim-ity of the operations to which it is destined.

I have, at least, discovered three move-ments unknown to animals, which I call SPI-CATION, ROTATION and VERRATION(from the Latin verb verro, I sweep). The

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first is when the tongue, like a PIKE, comesbeyond the lips which repress it. The sec-ond is when the tongue rotates around allthe space between the interior of the jawsand the palate. The third is when the tonguemoves up and down and gathers the parti-cles which remain in the half circular canalformed by the lips and gums.

Animals are limited in their taste; some197

live only on vegetables, others on flesh; oth-ers feed altogether on grain; none know any-thing of composite flavors.

Man is omnivorous. All that is edibleis subjected to his vast appetite, a thingwhich causes gustatory powers proportion-ate to the use he has to make of them. Theapparatus of taste is a rare perfection ofman and we have only to see him use it to

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be satisfied of it.As soon as any esculent body is intro-

duced into the mouth it is confiscated hope-lessly, gas, juice and all.

The lips prevent its retrogression. Theteeth take possession of it and crush it. Thesalva imbibes it; the tongue turns it overand over, an aspiration forces it to the tho-rax; the tongue lifts it up to suffer it to pass.

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The sense of smell perceives it en route, andit is precipitated into the stomach to un-dergo ulterior transformations, without themost minute fragment during the whole ofthis escaping. Every drop every atom hasbeen appreciated.

In consequence of this perfection, gour-mandise is the exclusive apanage of man.

This gourmandise is even contagious, and200

we impart it without difficulty to the ani-mals we have appropriated to our use, andwhich in a manner associate with us, suchas elephants, dogs, cats, and parrots even.

Besides taste requiring to be estimatedonly by the value of the sensation it com-municates to the common centre, the im-pression received by the animal cannot becompared to that imparted to man. The

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latter is more precise and clear, and nec-essarily supposes a superior quality in theorgan which transmits it.

In fine, what can we desire in a facultysusceptible of such perfection that the gour-mands of Rome were able to distinguishthe flavors of fish taken above and belowthe bridge? Have we not seen in our owntime, that gourmands can distinguish the

202

flavor of the thigh on which the partridgelies down from the other? Are we not sur-rounded by gourmets who can tell the lati-tude in which any wine ripened as surely asone of Biot’s or Arago’s disciples can fore-tell an eclipse?

The consequence then is that we mustrender to Caesar the things which are Cae-sar’s and proclaim man the great GOUR-

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MAND OF NATURE, and not be surprisedif the good Doctor does sometimes as Homerdid:–”Much zumeilen ichlafert der gute.”

METHOD OF THE AUTHOR.As yet we have treated the taste only

from the physical point of view, and in someanatomical details which none will regret,we have remained pari passu with science.This does not however conclude the task

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we have imposed on ourselves, for from itsusual attributes especially does this repara-tory sense derive its importance.

We have then arranged in analytical or-der the theories and facts which composethe ensemble of this history, so that instruc-tion without fatigue will result from it.

Thus in the following chapters, we willoften show how sensations by repetition and

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reflection have perfected the organs and ex-tended the sphere of our powers. How thewant of food, once a mere instinct, has be-come a passion which has assumed a markedascendency of all that belongs to society

We will also say, how all sciences whichhave to do with the composition of sub-stances, have agreed to place in a separatecategory all those appreciable to the taste;

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and how travellers have followed in the samepathway when they placed before us sub-stances nature apparently never meant usto see.

We will follow chemistry to the very mo-ment when it penetrated our subterraneouslaboratories to enlighten our PREPARERS,to establish principles, to create methodsand to unveil causes which had remained

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occult.In fine we will see by the combined power

of time and experience that a new sciencehas all at once appeared, which feeds, nour-ishes, restores, preserves, persuades, con-soles, and not content with strewing hands-full of flowers over the individual, contributesmuch to the power and prosperity of em-pires.

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If, amid the grave lucubrations, a pi-quante anecdote, or an agreeable reminis-cence of a stormy life drips from my pen, wewill let it remain to enable the attention torest for a moment, so that our readers, thenumber of whom does not alarm us, mayhave time to breathe. We would like to chatwith them. If they be men we know theyare indulgent as they are well informed. If

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women they must be charming. [Footnote:Here the Professor, full of his subject, suf-fers his hand to fall and rises to the seventhheaven. He ascends the torrent of ages, andtakes from their cradle all sciences, the ob-ject of which is the gratification of taste. Hefollows their progress through the night oftime and seeing that in the pleasures theyprocure us, early centures were not so great

210

as those which followed them: he takes hislyre and sings in the Dorian style the elegywhich will be found among the varieties atthe end of the volume.]

MEDITATION III.GASTRONOMY.ORIGIN OF SCIENCES.THE sciences are not like Minerva who

started ready armed from the brain of Jupiter.211

They are children of time and are formedinsensibly by the collection of the meth-ods pointed out by experience, and at alater day by the principles deduced from thecombination of these methods.

Thus old men, the prudence of whomcaused them to be called to the bed-side ofinvalids, whose compassion taught to curewounds, were the first physicians.

212

The shepherds of Egypt, who observedthat certain stars after the lapse of a certainperiod of time met in the heavens, were thefirst astronomers.

The person who first uttered in simplelanguage the truth, 2 + 2 = 4 created math-ematics, that mighty science which reallyplaced man on the throne of the universe.

In the course of the last sixty years, many213

new sciences have taken their place in thecategory of our knowledge, among which isstereotomy, descriptive geometry, and thechemistry of gas.

All sciences cultivated for a long timemust advance, especially as the art of print-ing makes retrogression impossible. Whoknows, for instance, if the chemistry of gaseswill not ultimately overcome those, as yet,

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rebellious substances, mingle and combinethem in proportions not as yet tempted,and thence obtain substances and effectswhich would remove many restrictions inour powers.

ORIGIN OF GASTRONOMY.Gastronomy has at last appeared, and

all the sister sciences have made a way forit.

215

Well; what could be refused to that whichsustains us, from the cradle to the grave,which increases the gratifications of love andthe confidence of friendship which disarmshatred and offers us, in the short passage ofour lives, the only pleasure which not beingfollowed by fatigue makes us weary of allothers.

Certainly, as long as it was confided to216

merely hired attendants, as long as the se-cret was kept in cellars, and where dispen-saries were written, the results were but theproducts of an art.

At last, too late, perhaps, savants drewnear.

They examined, analyzed, and classifiedalimentary substances, and reduced themto simple elements.

217

They measured the mysteries of assimi-lation, and following most matter in all itsmetamorphoses saw how it became vivified.

They watched diet in its temporary andpermanent effects, for days, months and lives.

They even estimated its influence andthought to ascertain if the savor he impressedby the organs or if it acts without them.From all this they deduced a lofty theory

218

which embraces all mankind, and all thatportion of creation which may be animal-ized.

While all this was going on in the stud-ies of savants, it was said in drawing-roomsthat the science which fed man was at leastas valuable as that which killed him. Poetssang the pleasures of the table and books,the object of which was good cheer, awak-

219

ened the greatest and keenest interest in theprofound views and maxims they presented.

Such were the circumstances which pre-ceded the invention of gastronomy.

DEFINITION OF GASTRONOMY.Gastronomy is a scientific definition of

all that relates to man as a feeding animal.Its object is to watch over the preserva-

tion of man by means of the best possible220

food.It does so by directing, according to cer-

tain principles, all those who procure, searchfor, or prepare things which may be con-verted into food.

To tell the truth this is what moves cul-tivators, vine-dressers, fishermen, huntsmen,and the immense family of cooks, what-ever title or qualification they bear, to the

221

preparation of food.Gastronomy is a chapter of natural his-

tory, for the fact that it makes a classifica-tion of alimentary substances.

Of physics, for it examines their proper-ties and qualities.

Of chemistry, from the various analy-sis and decomposition to which it subjectsthem.

222

Of cookery, from the fact that it pre-pares food and makes it agreeable.

Of commerce, from the fact that it pur-chases at as low a rate as possible what itconsumes, and displays to the greatest ad-vantage what it offers for sale.

Lastly it is a chapter of political econ-omy, from the resources it furnishes the tax-ing power, and the means of exchange it

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substitutes between nations.Gastronomy rules all life, for the tears

of the infant cry for the bosom of the nurse;the dying man receives with some degree ofpleasure the last cooling drink, which, alas!he is unable to digest.

It has to do with all classes of society, forif it presides over the banquets of assembledkings, it calculates the number of minutes

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of ebullition which an egg requires.The material of gastronomy is all that

may be eaten; its object is direct, the preser-vation of individuals. Its means of execu-tion are cultivation, which produces; com-merce, which exchanges; industry, which pre-pares; and experience, which teaches us toput them to the best use.

DIFFERENT OBJECTS OF GASTRON-225

OMY.Gastronomy considers taste in its plea-

sures and in its pains. It has discovered thegradual excitements of which it is suscepti-ble; it regularizes its action, and has fixedlimits, which a man who respects himselfwill never pass.

It also considers the action of food oraliments on the moral of man, on his imagi-

226

nation, his mind, his judgment, his courage,and his perceptions, whether he is awake,sleeps, acts, or reposes.

Gastronomy determines the degree of es-culence of every alimentary subject; all arenot presentable under the same circumstances.

Some can be eaten until they are en-tirely developed. Such like as capres, as-paragus, sucking pigs, squabs, and other

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animals eaten only when they are young.Others, as soon as they have reached all

the perfection to which they are destined,like melons, fruit, mutton, beef, and grownanimals. Others when they begin to decom-pose, such as snipe, wood- cock and pheas-ant. Others not until cooking has destroyedall their injurious properties, such as thepotato, manioc, and other substances.

228

Gastronomy classifies all of these sub-stances according to their qualities, and in-dicates those which will mingle, and mea-suring the quantity of nourishment they con-tain, distinguishes those which should makethe basis of our repast, from those which areonly accessories, and others which, thoughnot necessary, are an agreeable relief, andbecome the obligato accompaniment of con-

229

vivial gossip.It takes no less interest in the beverages

intended for us, according to time, placeand climate. It teaches their preparationand preservation, and especially presents themin an order so exactly calculated, that thepleasure perpetually increases, until gratifi-cation ends and abuse begins.

Gastronomy examines men and things230

for the purpose of transporting, from onecountry to another, all that deserves to beknown, and which causes a well arrangedentertainment, to be an abridgement of theworld in which each portion is represented.

UTILITY OF GASTRONOMICAL KNOWL-EDGE.

Gastronomical knowledge is necessary toall men, for it tends to augment the sum of

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happiness. This utility becomes the greaterin proportion as it is used by the more com-fortable classes of society; it is indispens-able to those who have large incomes, andentertain a great deal, either because in thisrespect they discharge an obligation, followtheir own inclination, or yield to fashion.

They have this special advantage, thatthey take personal pleasure in the manner

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their table is kept; they can, to a certainpoint, superintend the depositories of theirconfidence, and even on many occasions di-rect them.

The Prince de Soubise once intended togive an entertainment, and asked for the billof fare.

The maitre d’hotel came with a list sur-rounded by vignettes, and the first article

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that met the Prince’s eye was FIFTY HAMS.”Bertrand,” said the Prince, ”I think youmust be extravagant; fifty hams! Do youintend to feast my whole regiment?”

”No, Prince, there will be but one onthe table, and the surplus I need for myepagnole, my blonds, garnitures, etc.”

”Bertrand, you are robbing me. Thisarticle will not do.”

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”Monsigneur,” said the artist, ”you donot appreciate me! Give the order, and Iwill put those fifty hams in a chrystal flaskno longer than my thumb.”

What could be said to such a positiveoperation? The Prince smiled, and the hamswere passed.

INFLUENCE OF GASTRONOMY INBUSINESS.

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In men not far removed from a state ofnature, it is well known that all importantaffairs are discussed at their feasts. Amidtheir festivals savages decide on war andpeace; we need not go far to know thatvillages decide on all public affairs at thecabinet.

This observation has not escaped thoseto whom the weightiest affairs are often con-

236

fided. They saw that a full stomached indi-vidual was very different from a fasting one;that the table established a kind of alliancebetween the parties, and made guests moreapt to receive certain impressions and sub-mit to certain influences. This was the ori-gin of political gastronomy. Entertainmentshave become governmental measures, andthe fate of nations is decided on in a ban-

237

quet. This is neither a paradox nor a nov-elty but a simple observation of fact. Openevery historian, from the time of Herodotusto our own days, and it will be seen that,not even excepting conspiracies, no greatevent ever took place, not conceived, pre-pared and arranged at a festival.

GASTRONOMICAL ACADEMY.Such, at the first glance, appears to be

238

the domain of gastronomy, a realm fertile inresults of every kind and which is aggran-dized by the discoveries and inventions ofthose who cultivate it. It is certain that be-fore the lapse of many years, gastronomywill have its academicians, courses, profes-sors, and premiums.

At first some rich and zealous gastronomerwill establish periodical assemblies, in which

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the most learned theorists will unite withartists, to discuss and measure the variousbranches of alimentation.

Soon (such is the history of all academies)the government will intervene, will regu-larise, protect, and institute; it will seizethe opportunity to reward the people forall orphans made by war, for all the Ari-anas whose tears have been evoked by the

240

drum.Happy will be the depository of power

who will attach his name to this necessaryinstitution! His name will be repeated fromage to age with that of Noah, Bacchus, Trip-tolemus, and other benefactors of human-ity; he will be among ministers what HenriIV. was among kings; his eulogy will be inevery mouth, though no regulation make it

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a necessity.MEDITATION IV.APPETITE.DEFINITION OF APPETITE.MOTION and life occasion in the ani-

mal portion of all that lives a constant lossof substance, and the human body, thatmost complicated machine, would soon beunfit for use, did not Providence provide it

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with a mark to inform it of the very momentwhen its power is no longer in equilibriumwith its wants.

This monitor is appetite. By this wordwe understand the first impression of thewant of food.

Appetite declares itself by languor in thestomach, and a slight sensation of fatigue.

The soul at the same time busies itself243

with things analogous to its wants; mem-ory recalls food that has flattered its taste;imagination fancies that it sees them, andsomething like a dream takes place. Thisstate is not without pleasure, and we haveheard many adepts say, with joy in theirheart, ”What a pleasure it is to have a goodappetite, when we are certain of a goodmeal.”

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The whole nutritive apparatus is moved.The stomach becomes sensible, the gastricjuices are moved and displace themselveswith noise, the mouth becomes moist, andall the digestive powers are under arms, likesoldiers awaiting the word of command. Af-ter a few moments there will be spasmodicmotion, pain and hunger.

Every shade of these gradations may be245

observed in every drawing- room, when din-ner is delayed.

They are such in nature, that the mostexquisite politeness cannot disguise the symp-toms. From this fact I deduced the apothegm,”THE MOST INDISPENSABLE QUALITYOF A GOOD COOK IS PROMPTNESS.”

ANECDOTE.I will sustain this grave maxim by the

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details of an observate, made at an enter-tainment where I was,

”Quorum magna pars fui,”and where the pleasures of observation

preserved me from the anguish of misery.I was invited to dine with a high public

functionary. The hour was half past five,and at the appointed time all were present.We knew he liked exactness, and always

247

scolded the dilatory.I was amazed, when I came, at the con-

sternation which pervaded the party. Peo-ple whispered together, and looked into thecourt-yard through the window–all betokenedsomething extraordinary.

I approached the one of the guests I thoughtbest able to satisfy my curiosity, and askedhim what the news was.

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”Alas!” said they, ”Monsieur has beensent for to the Council of State; he has justgone, and none know when he will return.”

”Is that all!” said I. ”Be of good cheer,we will be detained only a quarter of anhour; something particular has happened.All know to-day is his regular dinner, andwe will not have to fast.” I was not, how-ever, easy, and wished I was away.

249

The first hour passed well enough, andthose who were intimate sat together. Com-mon places were exhausted, and conjectureswere formed as to what could have calledthe Prince to the Tuilleries

At the commencement of the second hourthere were many signs of impatience; peoplelooked anxiously at each other and the firstwho murmured were three or four guests

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who, finding no place to sit in, were not ina convenient position to wait.

At the third hour, the discontent be-came general, and every symptom becameexaggerated. ”When will he return?” saidone. ”What can he be thinking of?” saidanother. ”This is death,” said a third. Thisquestion was then put, but not determined,”Shall we go or not?”

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At the fourth hour every symptom be-came aggravated. People stretched out theirarms without the slightest regard whetherthey interrupted their neighbors or not. Un-pleasant sounds were heard from all parts ofthe room, and everywhere the faces of theguests bore the marks of concentration. Noone listened to me when I remarked thatbeyond doubt our absent amphytrion was

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more unhappy than any one of us.Our attention was for a moment arrested

by an apparition. One of the guests, bet-ter acquainted with the house than the oth-ers, had gone into the kitchen, and returnedpanting. His face looked as if the day ofjudgment had come, and in an almost inar-ticulate voice, which announced at once boththe fear of making a noise and of not be-

253

ing heard, ”Monsigneur went away withoutgiving any orders, and happen what may,dinner will not be served until his return.”

The terror caused by what he said couldnot be exceeded by that to be expected atthe last trump.

Among the martyrs, the most unfortu-nate was D’Aigrefeuille, whom all Paris knew.His whole body seemed to suffer, and the

254

agony of Laocoon was marked on his face.Pale, terrified, he saw nothing but sank in achair, grasped his hands on his round stom-ach, and closed his eyes, not to sleep but todie.

He did not though. About ten o’clocka carriage drove into the yard. All were onthe qui-vive and a arose spontaneously. Hi-larity succeeded suffering, and in five min-

255

utes we were at the table.Appetite however was gone, all seemed

amazed to sit down to dinner at such an un-usual hour; the jaws had not that isochronousmeasure which announces a regular busi-ness. I know many were sufferers thus.

The course to be taken is not to eat im-mediately after the obstacle has ceased, butto drink a glass of eau-sucree, or take a plate

256

of soup to sustain the stomach, and thenin ten or fifteen minutes to begin dinner,to prevent the stomach being oppressed bythe weight of the aliments with which it issurcharged.

GREAT APPETITES.When we see in early books a descrip-

tion of the preparations made to receive twoor three persons, and the enormous masses

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served up to a single guest, we cannot refuseto think that those who lived in early ageswere gifted with great appetites.

The appetite was thought to increase indirect ratio to the dignity of the personage.He to whom the saddle of a five year oldox would be served was expected to drinkfrom a cup he could scarcely lift.

Some individuals have existed who tes-258

tified to what once passed, and have col-lected details of almost incredible variety,which included even the foulest objects.

I will not inflict these disgusting detailson my readers, and prefer to tell them twoparticular circumstances which I witnessed,and which do not require any great exertionof faith.

About forty years ago, I made a short259

visit to the cure at Bregnier, a man of im-mense stature and who had a fearful ap-petite.

Though it was scarcely noon I found himat the table. Soup and bouilli had beenbrought on, to these two indispensables hadsucceeded a leg of mutton a la Royale, acapon and a salad.

As soon as he saw me he ordered a plate260

which I refused, and rightly too. Withoutany assistance he got rid of every thing, viz:he picked the bone of mutton and ate up allthe salad.

They brought him a large white cheeseinto which he made an angular breach mea-sured by an arc of ninety degrees. He washeddown all with a bottle of wine and glass ofwater, after which he laid down.

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What pleased me was to see that dur-ing the whole of this business, the venerablepastor did not seem busy. The large mouth-fulls he swallowed did not prevent him ei-ther from laughing or talking. He dispatchedall that was put before him easily as hewould have a pair of birds.

So it was with General Bisson who drankeight bottles of wine at dinner every day,

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and who never appeared the worse for it.He had a glass larger than usual and emp-tied it oftener. He did not care for thatthough, for after having swallowed six ouncesof fluids he could jest and give his orders asif he had only swallowed a thimble full.

This anecdote recalls to me my towns-man, General P. Sibuet, long the chief aideof Napoleon, and who was killed in 1813 at

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the passage of the Bober.He was eighteen years old, and had at

that time the appetite by which nature an-nounces that its possessor is a perfect man,and went one night into the kitchen of Genin,an inn keeper of Belley, where the old menof the town used to meet to eat chestnutsand drink the new white wine called in thecountry vin bourru.

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The old men were not hungry and paidno attention to him. His digestive powerswere not shaken though, and he said ”I havejust left the table, but I will bet that I eata whole turkey.”

”If you eat it I will pay for it,” saidBouvier du Bouchet, a rich farmer who waspresent, ”and if you do not I will eat whatis left and you shall pay for it.” [Footnote:

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This sentence is patois, and the translatorinserts the original. ”Sez vosu meze, z’upayo, repondit Bouvier du Bouchet, grosfermier qui se trouvait present; e sez voscaca en rotaz, i-zet vo ket paire et may ketmezerai la restaz.”]

They set to work at once, and the youngathlete at once cut off a wing, he ate itat two mouthfulls and cleaned his teeth by

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gnawing the bone and drank a glass of wineas an interlude.

He then went into the thigh which he ateand drank another glass of wine to preparea passage for the rest. The second went thesame way, and he had come to the last limbwhen the unfortunate farmer said, ”alas! Isee it is all over, but Mr. Sibouet as I haveto pay, let me eat a bit.” [Footnote: This

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also is patois. ”Hai! ze vaie praou qu’izetfotu; m’ez, monche Chibouet, poez kaet zudaive paiet, lesse m’en a m’en mesiet onmocho.”]

Prosper was as good a fellow as he wasa soldier, and consented. The farmer hadthe carcass at spolia opima, and paid forthe fowl with a good grace.

General Sibuet used always to love to268

tell of this feat of his youth. He said thathis admitting the farmer to eat was a purecourtesy, and that he could easily have wonthe bet. His appetite at forty permittednone to doubt the assertion.

Brillat-Savarin, says in a note, ”I quotethis fragment of the patois of Bugey withpleasure. In it is found the English ’th andthe Greek 0, and in the word praou and oth-

269

ers, a dipthong existing in no language, thesound of which no character can describe.”(See 3d Volume of the Memoirs of the RoyalSociety of Antiquarians of France.)

MEDITATION V.FOOD IN GERMS.SECTION FIRST.DEFINITIONS.WHAT is understood by aliments?

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POPULAR ANSWER. All that nour-ishes us.

SCIENTIFIC ANSWER. By aliments areunderstood the substances which, when sub-mitted to the stomach, may be assimulatedby digestion, and repair the losses which thehuman body is subjected to in life.

The distinctive quality of an aliment,therefore, is its liability to animal assim-

271

ulation.ANALYSIS.The animal and vegetable kingdoms are

those which until now have furnished foodto the human race.

Since analytical chemistry has becomea certain science, much progress has beenmade into the double nature of the elementsof which our body is composed, and of the

272

substances which nature appears to have in-tended to repair their losses.

These studies had a great analogy, forman is to a great degree composed bothof the substances on which animals feed,and was also forced to look in the vegetablekingdom for affinities susceptible of animal-ization.

In these two walks the most praisewor-273

thy efforts have been made always as minuteas possible, and the curious have followedeither the human body or the food whichinvigorates it, first to their secondary prin-ciples, and then to their elements, beyondwhich we have not been permitted to pen-etrate.

Here I intended to have given a littletreatise on alimentary chemistry, and to tell

274

my readers, to how many thousands of hy-drogen, carbon, etc., may be reduced thedishes that sustain us. I did not do so, how-ever, because I remembered I would onlyhave to copy many excellent treatises onchemistry in the hands of every body. Ifeared, too, that I would relapse into verybarren details, and limited myself to a veryreasonable nomenclature, which will only

275

require the explanation of a small numberof very usual terms.

OSMAZOME.The greatest service chemistry has ren-

dered to alimentary science, is the discoveryof osmazome, or rather the determination ofwhat it was.

Osmazome is the purely sapid portion offlesh soluble in cold water, and separated

276

from the extractive portion which is onlysoluble in boiling water.

Osmazome is the most meritorious in-gredient of all good soups. This portion ofthe animal forms the red portion of flesh,and the solid parts of roasts. It gives gameand venison its peculiar flavor.

Osmazome is most abundant in grownanimals which have red or black hair; it

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is scarcely found at all in the lamb, suck-ing pig, chicken, and the white meat of thelargest fowls. For this reason true connois-seurs always prefer the second joint; instinctwith them was the precursor of science.

Thus a knowledge of the existence of os-mazome, caused so many cooks to be dis-missed, who insisted on always throwingaway the first bouillon made from meat.

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This made the reputation of the soupe desprimes, and induced the canon Chevrier toinvent his locked kettles. The Abbe Chevrierwas the person who never would eat untilFriday, lobsters that had not been cookedon the previous Sunday, and every interven-ing day placed on the fire with the additionof fresh butter.

To make use of this subject, though yet279

unknown, was introduced the maxim, thatto make good bouillon the kettle should onlysmile.

Osmazome, discovered after having beenso long the delight of our fathers, may becompared to alcohol, which made whole gen-erations drunk before it was simply exhib-ited by distillation.

PRINCIPLE OF ALIMENTS.280

The fibre is what composes the tissue ofthe meat, and what is apparent after thejuices have been extracted. The fibres re-sist boiling water, and preserve their form,though stripped of a portion of their wrap-pings. To carve meat properly the fibresshould be cut at right angles, or nearly so,with the blade of the knife. Meat thus carvedlooks better, tastes better, and is more eas-

281

ily chewed.The bones are composed principally of

gelatine and the phosphate of lime.The quantity of gelatine diminishes as

we grow older. At seventy the bones arebut an imperfect marble, the reason whythey are so easily broken, and why old menshould carefully avoid any fall.

Albumen is found both in the flesh and282

the blood. It coagulates at a heat above40 Reaumur, and causes the scum on thepot-au-feu.

Gelatine is also found in the bones, thesoft and the cartilaginous parts. Its dis-tinctive quality is to coagulate at the or-dinary temperature of the atmosphere; toeffect this only two and a half per cent. areneeded.

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Gelatine is the basis of all jelleys, ofblanc manges, and other similar prepara-tions.

Grease is a concrete oil formed in the in-terstices of the cellary tissue. It sometimesagglomerates in animals whom art or na-ture has so predisposed, such as pigs, fowls,ortolans and snipe. In some of these an-imals it loses its insipidity and acquires a

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slight and agreeable aroma.Blood is composed of an albuminous serum

and of fibrine, some gelatine and a little os-mazome. It coagulates in warm water andis most nourishing, (e. g.) the blood pud-ding.

All the principles, we have passed in re-view, are common to man and to animalswhich feed.

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All the principles we pass in review arecommon both to man and animals whichhe eats. It is not then surprising that ani-mal food is eminently restorative and invig-orating. The particles of which it is com-posed having a great similitude with thoseof which we are formed may easily be ani-malized when they are subjected to the vi-tal action of our digestive organs.

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VEGETABLE KINGDOM.The vegetable kingdom however presents

not less varied sources of nutrition.The fecula is especially nutritious, espe-

cially as it contains fewer foreign principles.By fecula we mean farina or flower ob-

tained from cereals, from legumes and vari-ous kinds of roots, among which the potatoholds a prominent place.

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The fecula is the substance of bread,pastry and purees of all kinds. It thus en-ters to a great degree into the nourishmentof almost all people.

Such food diminishes the fibres and eventhe courage. [Footnote: The H. E. I. Co.Sepoys, however, fight well. It may be doubtedthough if either Ireland or Italy will be free,until the one gives up the potato and the

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other macaroni. The reason why Irishmenfight better in other countries than theirown, is possibly that abroad they are bet-ter fed than at home.] We must, to sustainthis, refer to the Indians (East) who liveon rice and serve every one who chosea tocommand them.

Almost all domestic animals eat the fec-ula, and are made by it extremely strong;

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for it is a more substantial nourishment thanthe dry and green vegetables which are theirhabitual food.

Sugar is not less important, either as aremedy or as an aliment.

This substance once obtained, either fromthe Indies or from the colonies became in-digenous at the commencement of this cen-tury. It has been discovered in the grape,

290

the turnip, the chestnut, and especially inthe beet. So that speaking strictly Europeneed appeal neither to India or America forit. Its discovery was a great service ren-dered by science to humanity, and furnishesan example which cannot but have the hap-piest results. (Vide enfro Sugar.)

Sugar, either in a solid state or in thedifferent plants in which nature has placed

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it, is extremely nourishing. Animals arefond of it, and the English give large quan-tities to their blood-horses, and have ob-served that it sustained them in the manytrials to which they were subjected.

Sugar in the days of Louis XIV. wasonly found in apothecary shops, and gavebirth to many lucrative professions, suchas pastry-cooks, confectioners, liquourists,

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&c. Mild oils also come from the vegetablekingdom. They are all esculent, but whenmingled with other substances they shouldbe looked on only as a seasoning. Glutenfound in the greatest abundance in cheese,contributes greatly to the fermentation ofthe bread with which it is united. Chemistsassign it an animal nature.

They make at Paris for children and for293

birds, and in some of the departments formen also, patisseries in which gluten pre-dominates, the fecula having been removedby water.

Mucilage owes its nourishments to themany substances of which it is the vehicle.

Gum may be considered an aliment, nota strong thing, as it contains nearly thesame elements as sugar.

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Vegetable gelatine, extracted from manykinds of fruits, especially from apples, goose-berries, quinces, and some others, may alsobe considered a food. It is more nutritiouswhen united with sugar, but it is far inferiorin that respect to what is extracted frombones, horns, calves’ feet and fish. Thisfood is in general light, mild and healthy.The kitchen and the pharmaceutist’s labo-

295

ratory therefore dispute about it.DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FAT AND

LEAN.Next to the JUICE, which, as we have

said, is composed of asmazome and the ex-tractus, there are found in fish many sub-stances which also exist in land animals,such as fibrine, gelatine, albumen. So thatwe may really say JUICE distinguishes the

296

flesh diet from what the church calls mai-gre.

The latter too has another peculiarity.Fish contains a large quantity of phospho-rus and hydrogen, that is to say of the twomost combustible things in nature. Fishtherefore is a most heating diet. This mightlegitimate the praise once bestowed on cer-tain religious orders, the regime of whom

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was directly opposed to the commonly es-teemed most fragile.

INDIVIDUAL INSTANCE.I will say no more on this physiological

fact, but will not omit an instance whichmay be easily verified.

Some years ago I went to a country house,in the vicinity of Paris, and on the Seine,near St. Denis, near a hamlet composed

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chiefly of fishing huts. I was amazed at thecrowd of huts I saw swarming in the road.

I remarked it with amazement to theboatman who took me across the river.

”Monsieur,” said he, ”we have eight fam-ilies here, have fifty- three children, amongwhom are forty-nine girls and four boys.That one is mine.” As he spoke he pointedtriumphantly to a little whelp, of about five

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years of age, who was at the bow of the boateating raw craw-fish.

From this observation I made ten yearsago, and others I could easily recall, I havebeen led to think that the genesiac sense ismoved by fish-eating, and that it is ratherirritating than plethoric and substantial. Iam inclined to maintain this opinion themore, because Doctor Bailly has recently

300

proved, by many instances, that when everthe number of female children exceeds themale, the circumstance is due to some de-bilitating circumstances. This will accountto us for the jests made from the beginningof time, whenever a man’s wife bears him adaughter instead of a son.

I might say much about aliments con-sidered as a tout ensemble, and about the

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various modifications they undergo by mix-ing, etc.; I hope, though, that the preced-ing will suffice to the majority of readers. Irecommend all others to read some book exprofesso, and will end with the things whichare not without interest.

The first is that animalization is affectedalmost as vegetation is, that is that thereparative current formed by digestion, is

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inhaled in various manners by the tubeswith which the organs are provided, and be-comes flesh, nails, hair, precisely as earth,watered by the same fluid, becomes radish,lettuce, potato,–as the gardener pleases.

The second is that in the organizationof life, the same elements which chemistryproduces are not obtained. The organs des-tined to produce life and motion only act on

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what is subjected to them.Nature, however, loves to wrap herself in

veils, and to stop us at every advance, andhas concealed the laboratory where new trans-formations are affected. It is difficult toexplain how, having determined that thehuman body contained lime, sulphur, andphosphorous iron, and the other substances,all this CAN be renewed every ten years by

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bread and water.MEDITATION VI.FOOD IN GERMS.SECTION SECOND.SPECIALITIES.WHEN I began to write, my table of

contents was already prepared; I have ad-vanced slowly, however, because a portionof my time is consecrated to serious labors.

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During this interval of time much of mymatter has escaped my memory, or beenwrested from me. Elementary books onchemistry or materia medica have been putinto the hands of every body, and things Iexpected to teach for the first time, havebecome popular. For instance, I had de-voted many pages to the chemistry of thepot-au-feu, the substance of which is found

306

in many books recently published.Consequently, I had to revise this part

of my book, and have so condensed it that itis reduced to a few elementary principles, totheories which cannot be too widely propa-gated, and to sundry observations, the fruitsof a long experience, which I trust will benew to the majority of my readers.

Section I. POT-AU-FEU, POTAGE, ETC.307

Pot-au-feu is a piece of beef, intended tobe cooked in boiling water, slightly salted soas to extract all the soluble parts.

Bouillon is the fluid which remains afterthe operation.

Bouilli is the flesh after it has undergonethe operation.

Water dissolves at first a portion of theosmazome; then the albumen coagulates at

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50 degrees Reaumur, and forms the foamwe see. The rest of the osmazome, with theextractive part of juice, and finally a por-tion of the wrapping of the fibres detachedby the continuity of ebullition.

To have good bouillon, the water mustbe heated slowly, and the ebullition mustbe scarcely perceptible, so that the variousparticles necessarily dissolved, may unite

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ultimately and without trouble.It is the custom to add to bouillon, veg-

etable or roots, to enhance the taste, andbread or pates to make it more nourishing.Then it is what is called potage.

Potage is a healthy food, very nourish-ing, and suits every body; it pleases thestomach and prepares it for reception anddigestion. Persons threatened with obesity

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should take bouillon alone.All agree that no where is potage made

so well as in France, and in my travels I havebeen able to confirm this assertion. Potageis the basis of French national diet, and theexperience of centuries has perfected it.

Section II. BOUILLI.Bouilli is a healthful food, which satis-

fies hunger readily, is easily digested, but311

which when eaten alone restores strengthto a very small degree, because in ebullitionthe meat has lost much of its animalizablejuices.

We include in four categories the per-sons who eat bouilli.

1. Men of routine, who eat it becausetheir fathers did, and who, following thispractice implicitly, expect to be imitated by

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their children.2. Impatient men, who, abhorring in-

activity at the table, have contracted thehabit of attacking at once whatever is placedbefore them.

3. The inattentive, who eat whateveris put before them, and look upon theirmeals as a labor they have to undergo. Allthat will sustain them they put on the same

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level, and sit at the table as the oyster doesin his bed.

4. The voracious, who, gifted with anappetite which they seek to diminish, seekthe first victim they can find to appease thegastric juice, which devours them, and wishto make it serve as a basis to the differentenvois they wish to send to the same desti-nation.

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Professors of gastronomy never eat bouilli,from respect to the principles previously an-nounced, that bouilli is flesh without thejuices. [Footnote: This idea which beganto make its impression on bouilli has disap-peared. It is replaced by a roasted filet, aturbot, or a matelote.]

Section III. FOWLS.I am very fond of second courses, and

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devoutly believe that the whole gallinaceousfamily was made to enrich our larders andto deck our tables.

From the quail to the turkey, wheneverwe find a fowl of this class, we are sure tofind too, light aliment, full of flavor, andjust as fit for the convalescent as for theman of the most robust health.

Which one of us, condemned to the fare316

of the fathers of the desert, would not havesmiled at the idea of a well-carved chicken’swing, announcing his rapid rendition to civ-ilized life?

We are not satisfied with the flavor na-ture has given to gallinaceous fowls, art hastaken possession of them, and under thepretext of ameliorating, has made martyrsof them. They have not only been deprived

317

of the means of reproduction, but they havebeen kept in solitude and darkness, and forcedto eat until they were led to an unnaturalstate of fatness.

It is very true that this unnatural greaseis very delicious, and that this damnableskill gives them the fineness and succulencewhich are the delight of our best tables.

Thus ameliorated, the fowl is to the kitchen318

what the canvass is to painters. To char-latans it is the cap of Fortunatus, and isserved up boiled, roasted, fried, hot, cold,whole or dismembered, with or without sauce,broiled, stuffed, and always with equal suc-cess.

Three portions of old France disputedfor the honor of furnishing the best fowls,viz: Caux, Mans, and Bresse.

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In relation to capons, and about thisthere is some doubt, the one on the table al-ways seeming the best. Bresse seems, how-ever, to have pre-eminence in pullets, forthey are round as an apple. It is a pitythey are so rare in Paris!

Section IV. THE TURKEY.The turkey is certainly one of the most

glorious presents made by the new world to320

the old.Those persons who always wish to know

more than others, say that the turkey wasknown to the ancients, and was served upat the wedding feast of Charlemagne. Theysay it is an error to attribute the importa-tion to the Jesuits. To these paradoxes buttwo things can be opposed:

1st. The name of the bird proves its321

origin, for at one time America was calledthe West Indies.

2d. The form of the bird is altogetherforeign.

A well informed man cannot be mistakenabout it.

Though already perfectly satisfied, I mademuch deep research in the matter. I willnot inflict my studies on my readers, but

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will only give them the results:1. The turkey appeared in Europe about

the end of the seventeenth century.2. That it was imported by the Jesuits

who sent a large number especially to afarm they had near Bouges.

3. That thence they spread graduallyover France, and in many localities a turkeyto this day is called a Jesuit.

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4. Only in America has the turkey beenfound in a wild state, (it is unknown inAfrica.)

5. That in the farms of North America,where it is very common, it has two origins,either from eggs which have been found andhatched or from young turkeys caught inthe woods. The consequence is they are ina state of nature and preserve almost all

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their original plumage.Overcome by this evidence I bestow on

the good fathers a double portion of grati-tude, for they imported the Quinquina yetknown as ”Jesuit’s bark.”

The same researches informed us thatthe turkey gradually became acclimated inFrance. Well informed observers have toldme that about the middle of the last cen-

325

tury of twenty young turkeys scarcely tenlived, while now fourteen out of every twentymature. The spring rains are most unfortu-nate to them; the large drops of rain strik-ing on their tender heads destroy them.

DINDONOPHILES.The turkey is the largest, and if not the

finest, at least the most highly flavored ofthe gallinaceous family.

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It has also the advantage of collectingaround it every class of society.

When the virgin dresses, and farmersof our countries wish to regale themselvesin the long winter evenings, what do theyroast before the fire of the room in whichthe table is spread? a turkey.

When the mechanic, when the artist,collects a few friends to enjoy a relief which

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is the more grateful because it is the rarer;what is one of the dishes always put on thetable? a turkey stuffed with Lyons sausageand with chestnuts of Lyons.

In the highest gastronomical circles, inthe most select reunions, where politics yieldto dissertations on the taste, for what dopeople wait? What do they wish for? adinde truffe at the second course. My se-

328

cret memoirs tell me that its flavor has morethan once lighted up most diplomatic faces.

FINANCIAL INFLUENCE OF THE TURKEY.The importation of turkeys became the

cause of a great addition to the public for-tune, and occasioned a very considerablecommerce.

By raising turkeys the farmers were ablethe more surely to pay their rents. Young

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girls often acquired a very sufficient dowry,and towns-folk who wished to eat them hadto pay round prices for them.

In a purely financial point of view turkeysdemand much attention.

I have reason to believe, that betweenthe first of November and the end of Febru-ary, three hundred dindon truffees are con-sumed per diem. The sum total is 30,000

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turkeys.The price of every turkey in that condi-

tion is at least twenty francs, and the sum ofthe whole is not less than 720,000 francs– avery pretty sum of money. One must add asimilar sum for the fowls, pheasants, pulletsand partridges, suffered in the same way,and which are every day exhibited in theprovision shops, as a punishment for be-

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holders who are too poor to buy them.EXPLOIT OF THE PROFESSOR.While I was living at Hartford, in Con-

necticut, I was lucky enough to kill a wildturkey. This exploit deserves to be trans-mitted to posterity, and I tell it with espe-cial complaisance as I am myself the hero.

An American farmer had invited me tohunt on his grounds; he lived in the re-

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motest part of the State, [Footnote: Brillat-Savarin uses the French words ”derrieresde l’etat” and translates them in English,in parenthesis ”Backwoods.”] and promisedme partridges, grey squirrels and wild turkeys.[Footnote: He also translates in the samemanner ”dindes sauvages” welp cocks.] Healso permitted me to bring a friend or twoif I pleased.

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One fine day in October, 1794, there-fore, with a friend, I set out with the hope ofreaching the farm of Mr. Bulow, five mortalleagues from Hartford, before night.

Though the road was hardly traced, wearrived there without accident, and werereceived with that cordial hospitality ex-pressed by acts, for before we had been fiveminutes on the farm, dogs, horses and men

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were all suitably taken care of.About two hours were consumed in the

examination of the farm and its dependen-cies. I would describe all this if I did notprefer to display to the reader the four buxomdaughters of Mr. Bulow, to whom our ar-rival was a great event.

Their ages were from sixteen to twenty-four, and there was so much simplicity in

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their persons, so much activity and aban-don, that every motion seemed full of grace.

After our return from walking we sataround a well furnished table. A superbpiece of corned beef, a stewed goose, and amagnificent leg of mutton, besides an abun-dance of vegetables and two large jugs ofcider, one at each end of the table, madeup our bill of fare.

336

When we had proven to our host, thatin appetite at least, we were true hunts-men, we began to make arrangements forour sport. He told us where we would findgame, and gave us land-marks to guide uson our return, not forgetting farm-houseswhere we could obtain refreshments.

During this conversation the ladies hadprepared excellent tea, of which we drank

337

several cups, and were then shown into aroom with two beds, where exercise and fa-tigue procured us a sound sleep.

On the next day we set out rather late,and having come to the end of the clearingsmade by Mr. Bulow, I found myself in avirgin forest for the first time. The soundof the axe had never been heard there.

I walked about with delight, observing338

the blessings and ravages of time which cre-ates and destroys, and I amused myself bytracing all the periods on the life of an oaksince the moment when its two leaves startfrom the ground, until it leaves but a longblack mark which is the dust of its heart.

My companion, Mr. King, reproachedme for my moodiness, and we began thehunt. We killed first some of those pretty

339

grey partridges which are so round and sotender. We then knocked down six or sevengrey squirrels, highly esteemed in America,and at last were fortunate enough to find aflock of turkeys.

They rose one after the other, flying rapidlyand crying loudly. Mr. King fired on thefirst and ran after it. The others were soonout of shot. The most sluggish, of all arose

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at last, not ten paces from me. It flewthrough an opening, I fired and it fell dead.

One must be a sportsman to conceivethe extreme pleasure this shot caused me.I siezed on the superb bird and turned itover and over for a quarter of an hour, un-til I heard my companion’s voice calling forassistance. I hurried to him and found thathe called me to aid him in looking for a

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turkey he claimed to have killed, but whichhad disappeared.

I put my dog on the scent but he led usinto an under growth, so thick and thornythat a snake could scarcely penetrate it; Ihad then to give up the search, and my com-panion was in a bad humor all day long.

The rest of the day scarcely deserves thehonors of printing. On our return we lost

342

ourselves in boundless woods, and we werein not a little danger of having to stay outall night, when the silvery tones of Mr. Bu-low’s daughters, and the deep bass of theirfather, who had come to look for us, guidedus home.

The four sisters were fully armed withclean dresses, new ribbons, pretty hats, andso carefully shod that it was evident that

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they had formed a high opinion of us. Itried to make myself agreeable to the oneof the ladies who took my arm, a thing shedid as naturally as if it had belonged to herjure conjugali.

When we reached the farm supper wasready, but before we sat down to the ta-ble we drew near to a bright and brilliantfire which had been lighted for us, though

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the season did not indicate that such a aprecaution was necessary. We found it verycomfortable, fatigued as we were, and wererested as if by enchantment.

This custom doubtless comes from theIndians who always have a fire in their huts.It may be, this is a tradition of St. Francisde Sales, who said that fire was good elevenmonths of the year (non liquet).

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We ate as if we were famished; a largebowl of punch enabled us to finish the evening,and a conversation, which our host madeperfectly free, led us far into the night.

We spoke of the war of Independence, inwhich Mr. Bulow [Footnote: The M. Bulowof whom Savarin speaks, is none other thanLieut. Col. Bellows of the ConnecticutLine, many of whose relations yet remain in

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the Valley of the Connecticut.] had servedas a field officer of M. de La Fayette, whoevery day becomes greater in the eyes ofthe Americans, who always designate himas ”the Marquis” of agriculture, which atthat time enriched the United States, andfinally of my native land, which I loved themore because I was forced to leave it.

When wearied of conversation the father347

would say to his eldest daughter, ”Maria,give us a song.” She without any embarrass-ment sung the American national airs. Thecomplaints of Mary Stuart and of Andre,all popular in America. Maria had takena few lessons, and in that remote countrypassed for a virtuosa; her singing though,derived its charm from the quality of hervoice, which was at once clear, fresh and

348

accentuated.On the next day, in spite of Mr. Bulow’s

persuasions, we set out. I had duties todischarge; and while the horses were beingprepared, Mr. Bulow took me aside andused these remarkable words.

”You see in me, sir, a happy man, ifthere be one under heaven; all that yousee here is derived from my own property.

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My stockings were knit by my daughters,and my cloths were furnished by my flocks.They also, with my garden, furnish me withan abundance of healthy food. The greatesteulogium of our government is, that in theState of Connecticut there are a thousandfarmers as well satisfied as I am, the doorsof whom have no locks.

”Taxes are almost nothing, and as long350

as they be paid any one can sleep calmly.Congress favors national industry as muchas it can, and merchants are always readyto take from us whatever we wish to sell.I have ready money for a long time, for Ihave just sold at twenty-four dollars a bar-rel, flour I usually receive eight for.

”All this is derived from the liberty wehave acquired, and established on good laws.

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I am master of my own house; and you willnot be astonished when you know that wenever fear the sound of the drum, and, ex-cept on the 4th of July, the glorious anniver-sary of our Independence, neither soldiers,uniforms, nor bayonets are seen.”

On my way back I seemed absorbed byprofound reflection. Perhaps the reader maythink I mused on my host’s parting words;

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I had very different thoughts, however, for Iwas studying how I should cook my turkey.I was in some trouble, for I feared I wouldnot find all I needed at Hartford, and wishedto make a trophy of my spolia opima.

I make a painful sacrifice in suppressingthe details of the profound science I exhib-ited in the preparation of an entertainment,to which I invited several friends. Suffice it

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to say that the partridge wings were serveden papillote, and the grey squirrels stewedin madeira.

The turkey, which was our only roastdish, was charming to the sight, flatteringto the sense of smell, and delicious to taste.Therefore, until the last fragment was eaten,there were heard around the table, ”Verygood;” ”Exceedingly good;” ”Dear sir; what

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a nice piece.” [Footnote: The flesh of thewild turkey is more highly colored and moreperfumed than the domestic fowl. I amglad to learn that my amiable colleague, M.Bosc, had killed many in Carolina, which hefound excellent, and far better than thosein Europe. He therefore recommends thatthey be allowed the largest liberty, that theybe driven into the woods and fields, to en-

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hance the flavor and bring it as nearly aspossible back to the original species.–Annalesd’Agriculture cah. du 28 Fevr. 1821.] Bygame we mean all wild animals which arefit to eat, and live in a state of natural lib-erty.

We say fit to eat, because many animalswhich are in a state of nature are not fitto eat. Such as foxes, crows, pies, wild-

356

cats, etc. They are called in French Betespuantes vermin.

Game is divided into three series.The first contains all birds, from the

grive to the smallest of the feathered tribe.The second ascends from the rail to the

snipe, partridge, and pheasant, includingthe rabbit and the hare; it is divided intothree categories, of the marsh, hairy, and

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feathered.The third, which bears the name of veni-

son, is composed of the wild-boar, kid, andall other horny-footed cattle.

Game is one of the great luxuries of ourtables; it is a healthy, warm, highly-flavoredand high tasted flesh, easily digested, when-ever one is hungry.

These qualities, however, are not so in-358

herent as not to a certain degree to dependon the skill of the cook. Put some water,salt and beef into a pot, and you can ob-tain from them a very good soup. Substi-tute venison for the beef, and the result willnot be fit to eat. Butcher’s meat, in this re-spect, has the advantage. Under the manip-ulation, however, of a skilful cook, game un-dergoes various modifications and transfor-

359

mations, and furnishes the greater portionsof the dishes of the transcendental kitchen.

Game derives, also, a great portion ofits value from the soil on which it is fed.The taste of a Perigord partridge is verydifferent from that of one from Sologne, andthe hare killed in the vicinity of Paris is avery different dish from one shot on the hillsof Valromey or upper Dauphiny. The latter

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is probably the most perfumed of all beasts.Among small birds, beyond all doubt,

the best is the ”beccafico.”It becomes at least as fat as the red-

throat or the ortolan, and nature has be-sides given it a slight bitterness, and a pe-culiar and exquisite perfume, which enablesit to fill and delight all the gustatory organs.Were the beccafico as large as a pheasant,

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an acre of land would be paid for it.It is a pity this bird is so rare, that few

others than those who live in the south-ern departments of France, know what it is.[Footnote: I am inclined to think the bird isutterly unknown in America.–TRANSLATOR.]Few people know how to eat small birds.The following method was imparted confi-dentially to me by the Canon Charcot, a

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gourmand by profession, and a perfect gas-tronome, thirty years before the word gas-tronomy was invented:

Take a very fat bird by the bill and sprin-kle it with salt, take out the entrailles, Imean gizzard, liver, etc., and put it wholein your mouth. Chew it quickly, and theresult will be a juice abundant enough topermeate the whole organ. You will then

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enjoy a pleasure unknown to the vulgar.”Odi profanum vulgus et arceo.” HO-

RACE.The quail, of all game properly so-called,

is the nicest and the most pleasant. A veryfat quail is pleasant both to eat, see, andsmell. Whenever it is either roasted, orserved en papillote, a great folly is com-mitted, because its perfume is very volatile,

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and when ever in contact with a liquid, itsflavor is dissolved and lost.

The snipe is a charming bird, but fewpeople know all its charms. It is in its gloryonly when it has been cooked under thehuntsman’s eyes; and the huntsman musthave killed it. Then the roast is perfectedaccording to rule, and the mouth is inun-dated with pleasure.

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Above the preceding, and above all oth-ers, the pheasant should be placed. Fewmortals, however, know exactly how to cookit.

A pheasant eaten only a week after itsdeath is not good as a partridge or a pullet,for its merit consists in its aroma.

Science has considered the expansion ofthis aroma, experience has utilised science,

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so that a pheasant ready for the spit is adish fit for the most exalted gourmands.

In the varieties will be found a recipefor roasting a pheasant, a la Sainte Alliance.The time has come when this method, hith-erto concentrated in a small circle of friends,should be made known for the benefit ofhumanity. A pheasant with truffles is notgood as one would be apt to think it. The

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bird is too dry to actuate the tubercle, andthe scent of the one and the perfume of theother when united neutralize each other–orrather do not suit.

Section VI. FISH.Savants, in other respects orthodox, have

maintained that ocean was the common cra-dle of all that exists, and that man him-self sprang from the sea and owes his actual

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habits to the influence of the air, and themode of life he has been obliged to adopt.

Be this as it may, it is at least certain,that the waters contain an immense quan-tity of beings of all forms and sizes, whichpossess vitality in very different proportions,and according to mode very different fromthat of warm blooded animals.

It is not less true that water has ever369

presented an immense variety of aliments,and that in the present state of science itintroduces to our table the most agreeablevariety.

Fish, less nutritious than flesh and moresucculent than vegetables, is a mezzo ter-mine, which suits all temperments and whichpersons recovering from illness may safelyeat.

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The Greeks and Romans, though theyhad not made as much progress as we havein the art of seasoning fish, esteemed it veryhighly, and were so delicate that they couldeven tell where it had been taken.

Large fish ponds were maintained, andthe cruelty of Vellius Pollis who fed his lam-preys on the bodies of slaves he caused to beslain is well known. This cruelty Domitian

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disapproved of but should have punished.There has been much discussion as to

which is the best fish.The question will never be decided, for

as the Spanish proverb says, sobre los gus-tos no hai disputa. Every one is effected inhis own way. These fugitive sensations canbe expressed by no known character, andthere is no scale to measure if a CAT-FISH

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(!), a sole, or a turbot are better than asalmon, trout, pike, or even tench of six orseven pounds.

It is well understood that fish is lessnourishing than meat, because it containsno osmazome, because it is lighter in weight,and contains less weight in the same vol-ume. Shell-fish, and especially oysters, fur-nish little nutrition, so that one can eat a

373

great many without injury.It will be remembered that not long ago

any well arranged entertainment began withoysters, and that many guests never pausedwithout swallowing a gross (144). I wasanxious to know the weight of this advanceguard, and I ascertained that a dozen oys-ters, fluid included, weighed four ounces averdupois.Now look on it as certain that the same per-

374

sons who did not make a whit the worse din-ner, on account of the oysters would havebeen completely satisfied if they had eatenthe same weight of flesh or of chicken.

ANECDOTE.In 1798 I was at Versailles as a commis-

sary of the Directory, and frequently met M.Laperte, greffier of the count of the depart-ment. He was very fond of oysters, and used

375

to complain that he had never had enough.I resolved to procure him this satisfac-

tion, and invited him to dine with me onthe next day.

He came. I kept company with him tothe tenth dozen, after which I let him go onalone. He managed to eat thirty-two dozenwithin an hour for the person who openedthem was not very skilful.

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In the interim, I was idle, and as that isalways a painful state at the table, I stoppedhim at the moment when he was in fullswing. ”Mon cher,” said I, ”you will notto-day eat as many oysters as you meant–let us dine.” We did so, and he acted as ifhe had fasted for a week.

Muria-GarumThe ancients extracted from fish two highly

377

flavored seasonings, muria and garum.The first was the juice of the thuny, or to

speak more precisely, the liquid substancewhich salt causes to flow from the fish.

Garum was dearer, and we know muchless of it. It is thought that it was extractedby pressure from the entrailles of the scom-bra or mackerel; but this supposition doesnot account for its high price. There is rea-

378

son to believe it was a foreign sauce, andwas nothing else but the Indian soy, whichwe know to be only fish fermented withmushrooms.

Certainly, people from their locality areforced to live almost entirely upon fish. Theyalso feed their working animals with it, andthe latter from custom gradually grow tolike this strange food. They also manure

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the soil with it, yet always receive the samequantity from the sea which surrounds them.

It has been observed that such nationsare not so courageous as those that eat flesh.They are pale, a thing not surprising, forthe elements of fish must rather repair thelymph than the blood.

Among ichthyophages, remarkable instancesof longevity are observed, either because

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light food preserves them from plethora, orthat the juices it contains being formed bynature only to constitute cartilages whichnever bears long duration, their use retardsthe solidification of the parts of the bodywhich, after all, is the cause of death.

Be this as it may, fish in the hands ofa skilful cook is an inexhaustible source ofenjoyment. It is served up whole, in pieces,

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truncated with water, oil, vinegar, warm,cold; and is always well received. It is,however never better than when dressed enmatilotte.

This ragout, though made a necessarydish to the boatmen on our rivers, and madein perfection only by the keepers of cobaretson their banks, is incomparably good. Loversof fish never see it without expressing their

382

gratification, either on account of its fresh-ness of taste, or because they can withoutdifficulty eat an indefinite quantity, with-out any fear of satiety or indigestion. Ana-lytical gastronomy has sought to ascertainwhat are the effects of a fish diet on the an-imal system. Unanimous observation leadsus to think that it has great influence on thegenesiac sense, and awakens the instinct of

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reproduction in the two sexes. This effectbeing once known, two causes were at onceassigned for it:

1st. The different manner of preparingfish, all the seasoning for it being irritating,such as carar, hering, thon marine, etc.

2d. The various juices the fish imbibes,which are highly inflammable and oxigenisein digestion.

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Profound analysis has discovered a yetmore powerful cause: the presence of phos-phorous in all the portions, and which de-composition soon developes.

These physical truths were doubtless un-known to the ecclesiastical legislators, whoimposed the lenten diet on different commu-nities of monks, such as Chartreux, Recol-lets, Trappists, and the Carmelites reformed

385

by Saint Theresa; no one thinks that theywished to throw a new difficulty into theway of the observance of the already mostanti-social vow of chastity.

In this state of affairs, beyond doubt,glorious victories were won, and rebellioussenses were subjected; there were, however,many lapses and defeats. They must havebeen well averred, for the result was the re-

386

ligious orders had ultimately a reputationlike that of Hercules and the daughters ofDanaus, or Marshal Saxe with M’lle Lecou-vreur.

They might also have been delighted byan anecdote, so old as to date from the cru-sades.

Sultan Saladin being anxious to mea-sure the continence of devises, took two into

387

his palace, and for a long time fed them onthe most succulent food.

Soon all traces of fasting began to dis-appear, and they reached a very comfort-able embonpoint. At that time they weregiven as companions two odalisques of greatbeauty, all of whose well- directed attacksfailed, and they came from the ordeal pureas the diamond of Visapor.

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The Sultan kept them in his palace, andto celebrate their triumph fed them for sev-eral weeks on fish alone.

After a few days they were again sub-mitted to the ordeal of the odalisques, and.........

In the present state of our knowledge,it is probable that if the course of eventswere to establish any monastic order, thesuperiors would adopt some regimen better

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calculated to maintain its objects.PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION.Fish, considered in general, is an inex-

haustible source of reflection to the philoso-pher.

The varied forms of these strange ani-mals, the senses they are deprived of, andthe limited nature of those they have, theirvarious modes of existence, the influence ex-

390

erted over them by the medium in whichthey live, move, and breathe, extend therange of our ideas and the indefinite modifi-cations which result from their nature, mo-tions and lives.

For my part, I entertain to them a sen-timent very like respect, resulting from mybelief that they belong to antediluvian races.The great convulsion which doomed our an-

391

cestors, in the eighteenth century of the world,to fish was a season of joy, triumph and fes-tivity.

Section VII. TRUFFLES.Who ever says truffle, pronounces a great

word, which awakens eratic and gourmandideas both in the sex dressed in petticoatsand in the bearded portion of humanity.

This honorable duplication results from392

the fact that the tubercle is not only de-licious to the taste, but that it excites apower the exercise of which is accompaniedby the most delicious pleasures.

The origin of the truffle is unknown; theyare found, but none know how they vege-tate. The most learned men have soughtto ascertain the secret, and fancied theydiscovered the seed. Their promises, how-

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ever, were vain, and no planting was everfollowed by a harvest. This perhaps is allright, for as one of the great values of truf-fles is their dearness, perhaps they would beless highly esteemed if they were cheaper.

”Rejoice, my friend,” said I, ”a superblace is about to be manufactured at a verylow price.”

”Ah!” replied she, ”think you, if it be394

cheap, that any one would wear it?”ERATIC VIRTUE OF TRUFFLES.The Romans were well acquainted with

the truffle, but I do not think they wereacquainted with the French variety. Thosewhich were their delight were obtained fromGreece and Africa, and especially from Li-bia. The substance was pale, tinged withrose, and the Libian truffles were sought for

395

as being far the most delicate and highlyperfumed.

...... ”Gustus elementa per omnia quaerunt.”JUVENAL.

From the Romans to our own time, therewas a long interregnum, and the resurrec-tion of truffles is an event of recent occur-rence. I have read many old books, in whichthere is no allusion to them. The genera-

396

tion for which I write may almost be saidto witness its resurrection.

About 1780 truffles were very rare inParis, and they were to be had only in smallquantities at the Hotel des Americans, andat the Hotel de Province. A dindon truffeewas a luxury only seen at the tables of greatnobles and of kept women.

We owe their abundance to dealers in397

comestibles, the number of whom has greatlyincreased, and who, seeing that their mer-chandise was popular, had it sought for through-out the kingdom. Sending for it by eitherthe mail or by couriers, they made its searchgeneral. As truffles cannot be planted, care-ful search alone can obtain it.

At the time I write (1825) the glory ofthe truffle is at its apogee. Let no one ever

398

confess that he dined where truffles werenot. However good any entree may be, itseems bad unless enriched by truffles. Whohas not felt his mouth water when any al-lusion was made to truffles a la provincale.

A saute of truffles is a dish the honorsof which the mistress of the house reservesto herself; in fine, the truffle is the diamondof the kitchen.

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I sought the reason of this preference; itseemed to me that many other substanceshad an equal right to the honor, and I be-came satisfied that the cause was that thetruffle was supposed to excite the genesiacsense. This I am sure is the chief qualityof its perfection, and the predilection andpreference evinced for it, so powerful is ourservitude to this tyrannical and capricious

400

sense.This discovery led me to seek to ascer-

tain if the effect were real or imaginary.[The Translator here has thought it best

to omit a very BROAD dialogue, which Brillat-Savarin introduced into his book.]

.......... I made ulterior researches, col-lected my ideas, and consulted the men whowere most likely to know, with all of whom

401

I was intimate. I united them into a tri-bunal, a senate, a sanhedrim, an areopa-gus, and we gave the following decision tobe commented upon by the litterateures ofthe twenty-eighth century.

”The truffle is a positive aphrodisiac,and under certain circumstances makes womenkinder, and men more amiable.”

In Piedmont white truffles are met with,402

which are very highly esteemed. They havea slight flavor, not injurious to their perfec-tion, because it gives no disagreable return.

The best truffles of France come fromPerigord, and upper Provence. About themonth of January they have their highestperfume.

Those from Bugey also have a high fla-vor, but can not be preserved.

403

Those of Burgundy and Dauphiny areof inferior quality. They are hard, and aredeficient in farinacious matter. Thus, thereare many kinds of truffles.

To find truffles, dogs and hogs are used,that have been trained to the purpose. Thereare men, however, with such practised eyesthat by the inspection of the soil they cansay whether it contains truffles or not, and

404

what is their quality.ARE TRUFFLES INDIGESTIBLES?We have only to ascertain if the truffle

be indigestible or not.We say no.This decision is ex cathedra, and well

sustained.1. By the nature of the substance. The

truffle is easily masticated, is light, and has405

nothing hard nor cartilaginous in its com-position.

2. During our observations for fifty years,we have never known any indigestion to re-sult from truffles. [Footnote: The transla-tor has known several such indigestions. Heonce nearly became a martyr to a galatinede Perdrix truffee, at the restaurant of thelate M. Dandurand.]

406

3. The attestation of the most eminentof the faculty of Paris, a city eminently gour-mande and trufflivorous, sustains this idea.

4. From the daily conduct of the doctorsof the law, who, caeteris paribus, consumemore truffles than any other class of citi-zens. Doctor Malonet used to eat enoughto give an elephant the indigestion. He how-ever lived to be eighty-six.

407

We may therefore look on it as certain,that the truffle is a food healthy as it isagreeable, and that when taken in modera-tion it passes through the system as a letterdoes through the post office.

One may easily be indisposed after agreat dinner, where other things than truf-fles have been eaten; such accidents, how-ever, only happen to those who, after the

408

first service, were already stuffed like canons,and who failed in the second, leaving theluxuries offered them untouched.

This is not then the fault of truffles,and we may be sure they had swallowedso many glasses of pure water or eaten thesame number of potatoes.

Let us conclude by a circumstance whichshows how easily we may be mistaken with-

409

out careful observation.One day I invited Mr. S–, a very pleas-

ant old man, to dine with me. He was also agourmand of the highest grade. Either be-cause I knew his tastes, or to satisfy all myguests that I wished to make them happy,I was not sparing in truffles, and they ap-peared under the egis of young turkeys mostcarefully stuffed.

410

Mr. S–ate with energy, and as I knewhe could not injure himself I left him alone,persuading him not to hurry himself be-cause no one would attack the property hehad acquired.

All passed off very well, and we sepa-rated at a very late hour. When we reachedhome, however, Mr. S– was attacked by aviolent cholic, a disposition to vomit, con-

411

vulsive cramp, and general indisposition.This state of things lasted some time,

and all said he suffered from the indiges-tion caused by truffles; at last nature cameto the patient’s aid, and Mr. S– openedhis mouth and threw up a single truffle,which struck the wall and rebounded, luck-ily without injury to the by-standers.

All unpleasant symptoms at once disap-412

peared, tranquility was restored, digestionrecommenced its course, the patient wentto sleep and awoke in the morning perfectlywell.

The cause was easily understood, Mr.S–had been eating a long time, and his teethwere unable to sustain the labor imposed onthem. He had lost many of those preciousmembers, and those he had left did not al-

413

ways meet together.A truffle had thus escaped mastication,

and almost whole had been swallowed. Di-gestion had carried it to the pylorus whereit was momentarily detained, and this me-chanical detention had caused all his trou-ble, as expulsion had cured it.

Thus there was no indigestion, but merelythe interposition of a foreign body.

414

This was decided on by the consultingbody, which saw the corpus delicti, and whichselected me as its reporter.

Mr. S– did not on this account remaina whit less fond of truffles. He always at-tacked them with the same audacity, butwas very careful to swallow them with moreprudence. He used to thank God that thissanitary precaution had prolonged his life

415

and his enjoyments.Section VIII. SUGAR.In the present state of science we un-

derstand by sugar a substance mild to thetaste, crystalizable, and which by fermen-tation resolves itself into carbonic acid andalcohol.

By sugar once was understood only thecrystalized juice of the cane, (arundo sac-

416

charifera.)A few pages of old authors would induce

us to think the ancients had observed incertain arundines a sweet and extractibleportion. Lucanus says:

”Qui bibunt tenera dulces ab arundinesuccos.”

Between water sweetened by the juice ofthe cane, and the sugar we have, there is a

417

great difference. Art in Rome was not farenough advanced to accomplish it.

Sugar really originated in the coloniesof the New World. The cane was importedthither two centuries ago and prospered,and effort was made to utilize the juice whichflowed from it, and by gradual experimentsthey accomplished the manufacture of allthe variety of its productions we know of.

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The culture of the sugar cane has be-come an object of the greatest importance;it is a great source of wealth both to thecultivators and the vendors, and also to thetaxes of governments who levy an importon it.

INDIGENOUS SUGAR.It has long been thought that tropical

heat was not needed to form sugar. About419

1740 Morgroff discovered that many plantsof the temperate zones, and among othersthe beet contained it.

Towards the beginning of the nineteenthcentury, circumstances having made sugarscarce, and consequently dear, the govern-ment made it an object for savants to lookfor it.

The idea was successful, and it was as-420

certained that sugar was found in the wholevegetable kingdom; that it existed in thegrape, chestnut, potato, and in the beet es-pecially.

This last plant became an object of thegreatest culture, and many experiments provedthat in this respect, the old world could dowithout the new. France was covered withmanufactories, which worked with different

421

success, and the manufacture of sugar be-came naturalized; the art was a new onewhich may any day be recalled.

Among the various manufactories, themost prominent was that established at Passy,near Paris, by Mr. Benjamin Delassert, acitizen, the name of whom is always con-nected with the good and useful.

By means of a series of extensive oper-422

ations, he got rid of all that was doubtfulin the practice, and made no mystery of hisplan of procedure, even to those who werehis rivals. He was visited by the head of thegovernment, and was ordered to furnish allthat was needed at the Tuilleries.

New circumstances, the restoration ofpeace, having again reduced colonial sugarto a lower price, the French manufacturers

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lost the advantages they had gained. Many,however, yet prosper, and Delassert makessome thousands every year. This also en-ables him to preserve his processes untilthe time comes when they may again heuseful. [Footnote: We may add, that atthe session for the general encouragementof national industry, a medal was ordered tobe presented to M. Crespel, a manufacturer

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of arrus, who manufactures every year onehundred and fifty thousand pounds of beetsugar, which he sells at a profit, even–whenColonial sugar is 2 francs 50 centimes thekilogramme. The reason is, that the refuseis used for distillation, and subsequently fedout to cattle.]

When beet sugar was in the market, partymen, up-starts and fools, took it into their

425

heads that its flavor was unpleasant, andsome even said it was unhealthy.

Many experiments have proved the con-trary, and the Count de Chaptal, in his ex-cellent book, Chemistry Applied to Agricul-ture,” (vol. ii. page 13,) says:

”Sugars obtained from various plants,says a celebrated chemist, are in fact of thesame nature, and have no intrinsic differ-

426

ence when they are equally pure. Taste,crystalization, color, weight, are absolutelyidentical, and the most acute observer can-not distinguish the one from the other.”

An idea of the force of prejudice is af-forded by the fact, that out of one hundredBritish subjects, taken at random, not tenbelieve in the possibility of obtaining sugarfrom the beet.

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USES OF SUGAR.Sugar was introduced by the apothecaries.

With them it was a most important article,for when a person was greatly in want ofany article, there was a proverb, ”Like anapothecary without sugar.”

To say that it came thence, is to saythat it was received with disfavor; some saidthat it was heating, others that it injured

428

the chest; some that it disposed persons toapoplexy. Calumny, however, had to giveway to truth, and for eighty years this apothegmhas been current, ”Sugar hurts nothing butthe purse.”

Under this impenetrable aegis the use ofsugar has increased every day, and no ali-mentary substance has undergone so manytransformations. Many persons like sugar

429

in a pure state, and in hopeless cases thefaculty recommend it as a substance whichcan do no possible harm, and which is notunpleasant.

Mixed with water, it gives us eau su-cree, a refreshing drink, which is healthful,agreeable, and sometimes salutary.

Mingled in large quantities with water itconstitutes sirops, which are perfumed, and

430

from their variety are most refreshing.Mingled with water, the caloric of which

is artificially extracted, it furnishes two kinds,which are of Italian origin, and were intro-duced into France by Catharine de Medici.

With wine it furnishes such a restorativepower that in some countries roasted meatstaken to the bride and groom are coveredwith it, just as in Persia soused sheeps’ feet

431

are given them.Mingled with flour and eggs, it furnishes

biscuits, maccaronies, etc., etc., ad infini-tum.

With milk it unites in the compositionof creams, blanc-mangers and other dishesof the second course, substituting for thesubstantial taste of meat, ethereal perfumes.

It causes the aroma of coffee to be ex-432

haled.Mingled with cafe au lait, a light, pleas-

ant aliment is produced, precisely suited tothose who have to go to their offices imme-diately after breakfast.

With fruits and flowers it contributes tofurnish confitures, marmalades, preserves,pates and candies, and enables us to enjoythe perfume of those flowers long after they

433

have withered.It may be that sugar might be advanta-

geously employed in embalming, an art ofwhich we know little.

Sugar mingled with alcohol furnishes spir-ituous liquors, such as were used, it is said,to warm the old blood of Louis XIV., which,by their energy, seized the palate and thetaste by the perfumed gas united to them,

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the two qualities forming the ne plus ultraof the pleasures of the taste.

Such is the substance which the Frenchof the time of Louis XIII. scarcely knew thename of, and which to the people of thenineteenth century is become so important;no woman, in easy circumstances, spendsas much money for bread as she does forsugar.

435

M. Delacroix, a man of letters, who isas industrious as he is profound, was oneday complaining of the price of sugar, whichthen cost five francs a pound, ”Ah!” said he,”if sugar should ever again be thirty sous apound, I will drink nothing but eau sucree.”His wishes were granted; he yet lives, and Itrust he keeps his word.

Section IX. ORIGIN OF COFFEE.436

The first coffee tree was found in Ara-bia, and in spite of the various transplan-tations it has undergone, the best coffee isyet obtained there. An old tradition statesthat coffee was discovered by a shepherd ofold, who saw that his flock was always inthe greatest state of excitement and hilar-ity when they browsed on the leaves of thecoffee tree.

437

Though this may be but an old story,the honor of the discovery belongs only inpart to the goat-herd. The rest belongs tohim who first made use of the bean, andboiled it.

A mere decoction of green coffee is amost insipid drink, but carbonization de-velops the aroma and forms an oil which isthe peculiarity of the coffee we drink, and

438

which would have been eternally unknownbut for the intervention of heat.

The Turks excel us in this. They employno mill to torturate the coffee, but beat itwith wooden pestles in mortars. When thepestles have been long used, they becomeprecious and are sold at great prices.

I had to examine and determine whetherin the result one or the other of the two

439

methods be preferable.Consequently, I burned carefully a pound

of good mocha, and separated it into twoequal portions, the one of which was passedthrough the mill, and the other beaten Turk-ish fashion in a mortar.

I made coffee of each, taking equal weightsof each, poured on an equal weight of boil-ing water and treated them both precisely

440

alike.I tasted this coffee myself, and caused

others who were competent judges to doso. The unanimous opinion was that coffeewhich had been beaten in a mortar was farbetter than that which had been ground.

Any one may repeat the experiment. Inthe interim I will tell you a strange anecdoteof the influence of one or the other kind of

441

manipulation.”Monsieur,” said Napoleon, one day to

Laplace, ”how comes it that a glass of wa-ter into which I put a lump of loaf sugartastes more pleasantly than if I had put inthe same quantity of crushed sugar.” ”Sire,”said the philosophic Senator, ”there are threesubstances the constituents of which are identical–Sugar, gum and amidon; they differ only in

442

certain conditions, the secret of which na-ture has preserved. I think it possible thatin the effect produced by the pestle somesaccharine particles become either gum oramidon, and cause the difference.”

This remark became public, and ulteriorobservations has confirmed it.

DIFFERENT MODES OF PREPARINGCOFFEE.

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Some years ago all directed their atten-tion to the mode of preparing coffee; thereason doubtless was that the head of thegovernment was fond of it.

Some proposed not to burn nor to pow-der it, to boil it three quarters of an hour,to strain it, &c.

I have tried this and all the methodswhich have been suggested from day to day,

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and prefer that known as a la Dubelloy,which consists in pouring boiling water oncoffee placed in a porcelain or silver vesselpierced with a number of very minute holes.This first decoction should be taken andbrought to the boiling point, then passedthrough the strainer again, and a coffee willbe obtained clear and strong as possible.

I have also tried to make coffee in a445

high pressure boiling apparatus; all I ob-tained however was a fluid intensely bitter,and strong enough to take the skin from thethroat of a Cossack.

EFFECTS OF COFFEE.Doctors have differed in relation to the

sanitary properties of coffee. We will omitall this, and devote ourselves to the moreimportant point, its influence on the organs

446

of thought.There is no doubt but that coffee greatly

excites the cerebral faculties. Any man whodrinks it for the first time is almost sure topass a sleepless night.

Sometimes the effect is softened or mod-ified by custom, but there are many personson whom it always produces this effect, andwho consequently cannot use coffee.

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I have said that the effect was modifiedby use, a circumstance which does not pre-vent its having effect in another manner. Ihave observed persons whom coffee did notprevent from sleeping at night, need it tokeep them awake during the day, and neverfailed to slumber when they had taken it fordinner. There are others who are torpid allday when they have not taken their cup in

448

the morning.Voltaire and Buffon used a great deal of

coffee. Perchance the latter was indebtedto it for the admirable clearness we observein his works, and the second for the harmo-nious enthusiasm of his style. It is evidentthat many pages of the treatise on man, thedog, the tiger, lion and horse, were writtenunder a strange cerebral excitement.

449

The loss of sleep caused by coffee is notpainful, for the perceptions are very clear,and one has no disposition to sleep. Oneis always excited and unhappy when wake-fulness comes from any other cause. This,however, does prevent such an excitement,when carried too far, from being very inju-rious.

Formerly only persons of mature age took450

coffee. Now every one takes it, and perhapsit is the taste which forces onward the im-mense crowd that besiege all the avenues ofthe Olympus, and of the temple of memory.

The Cordwainer, author of the tragedyof Zenobia, which all Paris heard read a fewyears ago, drank much coffee; for that rea-son he excelled the cabinetmaker of Nevers,who was but a drunkard.

451

Coffee is a more powerful fluid than peo-ple generally think. A man in good healthmay drink two bottles of wine a day for along time, and sustain his strength. If hedrank that quantity of coffee he would be-come imbecile and die of consumption. Isaw at Leicester square, in London, a manwhom coffee had made a cripple. He hadceased to suffer, and then drank but six

452

cups a day.All fathers and mothers should make their

children abstain from coffee, if they do notwish them at twenty to be puny dried upmachines. People in large cities should payespecial attention to this, as their childrenhave no exaggeration of strength and health,and are not so hearty as those born in thecountry.

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I am one of those who have been obligedto give up coffee, and I will conclude thisarticle by telling how rigorously I was sub-jected to its power.

The Duke of Mossa, then minister ofjustice, called on me for an opinion aboutwhich I wished to be careful, and for whichhe had allowed me but a very short time.

I determined then to sit up all night,454

and to enable me to do so took two largecups of strong and highly flavored coffee.

I went home at seven o’clock to get thepapers which had been promised me, butfound a note telling me I would not getthem until the next day.

Thus in every respect disappointed, I re-turned to the house where I had dined, andplayed a game of piquet, without any of the

455

moody fits to which I was ordinarily sub-ject.

I did justice to the coffee, but I was notat ease as to how I would pass the night.

I went to bed at my usual hour, think-ing that if I did not get my usual allowance,I would at least get four or five hours, suf-ficient to carry me through the day.

I was mistaken. I had been two hours in456

bed and was wider awake than ever; I wasin intense mental agitation, and fancied mybrain a mill, the wheels of which revolved,grinding nothing.

The idea came to me to turn this fancyto account, and I did so, amusing myself byputting into verse a story I had previouslyread in an English paper.

I did so without difficulty, and as I did457

not sleep I undertook another, but in vain.A dozen verses had exhausted my poeticfaculty, and I gave it up.

I passed the night without sleep, andwithout even being stupified for a moment,I arose and passed the day in the same man-ner. When on the next night I went tobed at my usual hour I made a calculation,and found out that I had not slept for forty

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hours.Section X. CHOCOLATE–ITS ORIGIN.The first visiters of America were im-

pelled by a thirst of gold. At that timenothing was appreciated but the productsof the mines. Agriculture and commercewere in their infancy, and political economywas as yet unborn. The Spaniards foundthen the precious metals, an almost ster-

459

ile discovery, for they decreased in valueas they became more abundant. We haveother and better ways to increase wealth.

In those regions, however, where a ge-nial sun confers immense fruitfulness on thesoil, the cultivation of sugar and coffee wasfound advantageous. The potato, indigo,vanilla, guano, cocoa, were also discovered;these are its real treasures.

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If these discoveries took place in spite ofthe barriers opposed to curiosity by a jeal-ous nation, we may reasonably hope thatthey will be multiplied ten-fold in the courseof the years to come; and that the explo-rations of the savants of old Europe will en-rich the three kingdoms with a multitudeof substances which will give us new sen-sations, as vanilla has, or augment our ali-

461

mentary resources, as cocoa.It has been determined to call choco-

late the result of the paste of cocoa burntwith sugar and the bark of the cinnamon.This is the technical definition of chocolate.Sugar is the integral part, for without sugarthe compound is cocoa and, chocolate. Tosugar, cinnamon and cocoa is joined thedelicious aroma of vanilla, and thus is ob-

462

tained the ne plus ultra to which this prepa-ration can be carried.

To this small number of ingredients hasbeen reduced the number of things soughtto mingle with cocoa in the manufactureof chocolate. Pepper, pimento, anise seed,ginger and others, have necessarily been tried.

The cocoa tree is a native of South Amer-ica, and is found both in the islands and

463

on the continent. It has been confessed,however, that the best fruit is produced bythe trees which grow on the banks of Mora-caibo, in the valleys of Caracas, and in theprovince of Sokomusko. The fruit is larger,the sugar less bitter, and the taste higher.Since these regions have become accessible,a comparison may be made every day andthe palate will never be deceived.

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The Spanish women of the new worldare passionately fond of chocolate; and notsatisfied with taking it two or three times aday, have it even sent after them to church.This sensuality has often drawn down thecensure of their bishops, who, however, grad-ually closed their eyes to it. The reverendfather Escobar, the metaphysics of whomwas subtle as his morals were accommodat-

465

ing, used to declare that chocolate madewith water did not break a fast; thus forthe use of his penitents reproducing the oldadage, ”Liquidum non frangit jejunium.”

Chocolate was brought to Spain aboutthe end of the seventeenth century, and theuse became at once common. Women es-pecially showed great fondness for it. Man-ners have not changed in this particular as

466

yet, and now throughout all the peninsulachocolate is presented on all occasions whenit is usual to offer any refreshment.

Chocolate crossed the mountains withAnne of Austria, the daughter of Philip II.,and wife of Louis XIII. The Spanish monksalso made it known, by presents to theirbrethren in France. The Spanish ambas-sadors also made it popular, and during the

467

regency it was more universally used thancoffee, because it was taken as an agreeablefood, while coffee was esteemed a luxury.

Linnaeus calls the cocoa cacao theobroma,(cocoa, the drink of the gods). A cause forthis name has been sought. Some assignhis passionate fondness for it, and the otherhis desire to please his confessor; there arethose who attribute it to gallantry, a Queen

468

having first introduced it. (Incertum.)PROPERTIES OF CHOCOLATE.Chocolate has given occasion to profound

dissertations, with the object of determin-ing its nature and properties, and to place itin the category of warm, cold, or temperatedrinks. We must own all their lucubrationshave contributed but slightly to the eluci-dation of truth.

469

It was left for time and experience, thosetwo great masters, to show that chocolateprepared with care is as healthful as it isagreeable. That it is nourishing, easily di-gested, and is not so injurious to beauty ascoffee said to be. It is very suitable to per-sons who have much mental toil, to profes-sors and lawyers, especially to lawyers. Italso suits certain feeble stomachs, and has

470

been thought most advantageous in chronicdiseases. It is the last resource in affectionsof the pylorus.

These various properties chocolate owesto nothing but an eloesaccharum. Few sub-stances contain in the same volume morenutrition. It becomes almost entirely ani-malised.

During the war, cocoa was rare and very471

dear. Substitutes were sought for, but allefforts were vain. One of the blessings ofpeace was that it rid us of all those humbugsone was forced to taste, but which were nomore chocolate than chicory is mocha.

Some persons complain that they can-not digest chocolate. Others say that itdoes not nourish them, and that it passesaway too quickly.

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The probability is that the first haveonly to blame themselves, and that the choco-late they use is of bad quality. Good andwell made chocolate can be digested evenby the weakest stomach.

The others have an easy remedy, andthey need only strengthen their stomachsby a pate, a cotelette, or a jerked kidney.Then let them take a bowl of sokomusko,

473

and thank God for such a powerful stomach.Here I have an opportunity to give two

examples, the correctness of which may berelied on.

After a good breakfast one may drink afull bowl of chocolate, and digestion in threehours will be perfect, so that one may dineat any hour that is pleasant. ... In zeal forthe advancement of the science, I tried this

474

experiment on many ladies who assured methey would die. They did not, though, andlived to glorify the professor.

Those who use chocolate, ordinarily en-joy the most perfect health, and are theleast subject to the multitude of ailmentswhich destroy life; their embonpoint is sta-tionary. These two examples any one canverify in society by a scrutiny of those the

475

regimen of whom is known.This is the true place to speak of the

properties of chocolate, which I have ver-ified by many examples and experiments,which I am delighted to exhibit to my read-ers. (See varieties at the end of the volume.)

Now, then, let any man who has in-dulged too much in the cup of volupte; letevery man who has passed in toil too much

476

of the time when he should have slept; letevery man of mind, who finds his facultiestemporarily decay; every man who finds theair humid and the atmosphere painful tobreathe; let every man who has a fixed ideawhich would deprive him of the liberty ofthought; let them each take a demi litre ofchocolate ambre, (sixty grains of amber tothe kilogramme), and they will see wonders.

477

In my way of distinguishing things, Ihave called this chocolate des affliges; be-cause in all the conditions I have referredto, there is something very like affliction.

Very good chocolate is made in Spain;one is indisposed to send thither for it, forall manufacturers are not equally skillful,and when it comes it has to be used as it is.

Italian chocolates do not suit the French,478

for the cocoa is burned too much. Thismakes the chocolate bitter, and deprives itof its nourishment. A portion of the beanhas been reduced to carbon.

Chocolate having become common in France,all sought to learn how to make it. Few,however, approximated to perfection for theart is not easy.

In the first place it was necessary to479

know good cocoa and to use it in all its pu-rity. There is no first quality case that hasnot its inferiorities, and a mistaken inter-est often causes damaged beans to be putin, which should have been rejected. Theroasting of the cocoa is also a delicate oper-ation, and requires a tact very like inspira-tion. Some have the faculty naturally, andare never mistaken.

480

A peculiar talent is necessary to regu-late the quantity of sugar which enters intothe composition. It is not invariable and amatter of course, but varies in proportionto the aroma of the bean and the degree oftorrefaction.

The trituration and mixture do not de-mand less care, and on them depends thegreater or less digestibility of chocolate.

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Other considerations should also presideover the choice and quantity of aromas, whichshould not be the same with chocolate madefor food and those taken as luxuries. Itshould also be varied according if the massis intended to receive vanilla or not. Infine, to make good chocolate a number ofvery subtle equations must be resolved, andwhich we take advantage of without sus-

482

pecting that they ever took place.For a long time machines have been em-

ployed for the manufacture of chocolate. Wethink this does not add at all to its perfec-tion, but it diminishes manipulation verymaterially, so that those who have adoptedit should be able to sell chocolate at a verylow rate. [Footnote: One of those machinesis now in operation in a window in Broad-

483

way, New York. It is a model of mechan-ical appropriateness.] They, however, usu-ally sell it more dearly, and this fact demon-strates that the true spirit of commerce hasnot yet entered France; the use of machinesshould be as advantageous to the consumeras to the producer.

TRUE METHOD OF PREPARING CHOCO-LATE.

484

The Americans [Footnote: South Americans.–TRANSLATOR.] make their chocolate with-out sugar. When they wish to take choco-late, they send for chocolate. Every onethrows into his cup as much cocoa as itneeds, pours warm water in, and adds thesugar and perfumes he wishes.

This method neither suits our habits norour tastes, for we wish chocolate to come to

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us ready prepared.In this state, transcendental chemistry

has taught us that it should neither be raspedwith the knife nor bruised with a pestle,because thus a portion of the sugar is con-verted into starch, and the drink made lessattractive.

Thus to make chocolate, that is to say,to make it fit for immediate use, about an

486

ounce and a half should be taken for eachcup, which should be slowly dissolved in wa-ter while it is heated, and stirred from timeto time with a spatula of wood. It shouldbe boiled a quarter of an hour, in order togive it consistency, and served up hot.

”Monsieur,” said madame d’Arestrel, fiftyyears ago, to me at Belley, ”when you wishgood chocolate make it the evening before

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in a tin pot. The rest of the night givesit a velvet-like flavor that makes it far bet-ter. God will not be offended at this littlerefinement, for in himself is all excellence.”

MEDITATION VII.THEORY OF FRYING.It was a fine morning in May; the sun

shed his brightest rays on the smoky roofsof the city of enjoyments, and the streets

488

(strangely enough) were filled neither withmud nor dust.

The heavy diligences had long ceased toshake the streets; the heavy wagons hadceased to pass, and only open carriages wereseen, in which indigenous and exotic beau-ties under beautiful hats, cast disdainful lookson ugly, and smiling ones on good- lookingcavaliers.

489

It was three o’clock when the professorsought his arm chair to meditate.

His right leg rested vertically on the floor,his left formed a diagonal angle with, andrested on it. His back was comfortably sup-ported, and his hands rested on the lions’heads which terminated the arms of the ven-erable piece of furniture in which he sat.

His lofty brow indicated intense study,490

and his mouth a taste for pleasant amuse-ment. His air was collected, and any one tohave seen him would have said, ”that is asage of ancient days.” The professor sent forhis preparateur en chef, (chief COOK) andthat officer arrived, ready to receive orders,advice or lessons.

ALLOCUTION.”Master la Planche,” said the professor

491

with that deep grave accent which pene-trates the very depth of our hearts, ”all whosit at my table pronounce your potages ofthe first class, a very excellent thing, forpotage is the first consolation of an emptystomach. I am sorry to say though thatyou are uncertain as a friturier. [Footnote:Anglice. Fryer.]

”I heard you sigh yesterday over that492

magnificent sole you served to us, pale, wa-tery and colorless. My friend R. [Footnote:Mr. R– -, born at Seyssel, in the districtof Belley, in 1757, an elector of the grandcollege. He may be considered an exampleof the good effects of prudence and probity.]looked disapprovingly of it, M.H.R. turnedhis gastronomical nose to the left, and thePresident S. declared such a misfortune equal

493

to a public calamity.”This happened because you neglected

the theory, the importance of which you areaware of. You are rather obstinate, thoughI have, taken the trouble to impress on youthe facts, that the operations of your lab-oratory are only the execution of the eter-nal laws of nature, and that certain thingswhich you do carelessly, because you have

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seen others do so; yet these are the results ofthe highest science. Listen to me, therefore,with attention, that you may never againblush at your works.”

Section 1. CHEMISTRY.”Liquids which you subject to the ac-

tion of fire cannot all receive the same quan-tity of heat. Nature has formed them dif-ferently, and this secret, which we will call

495

CAPACITY FOR CALORIC, she has keptto herself.

”You may, therefore, with impunity dipyour finger in boiling spirits of wine; youwould take it very quickly from boiling brandy;more rapidly yet from water; while the mostrapid immersion in boiling oil would heatyou easily.

”Consequently warm fluids act differently496

on the sapid bodies presented to them. Thosesubject to water soften, dissolve, and reducethemselves to boilli. The result is bouil-lon and its extracts. Those on the contrarytreated with oil harden, assume a color moreor less deep, and finally are carbonized.

”In the first instance, water dissolvesand conveys away the interior juices of thealimentary substances placed in it. In the

497

second the juices are preserved, for they areinsoluble in oil. If these things dry up it isbecause a continuous heat vaporizes the hu-mid parts.

”The two methods have different names,and FRYING is BOILING in oil or greasesubstances intended to be eaten. I think Ihave told you that officially oil and greaseare synonymous; heating the latter being

498

but a concrete oil.”Section II. APPLICATION.”Fritures are well received in entertain-

ments into which they introduce an agree-able variety. They are agreeable to the taste,preserve their primitive flavor, and may beeaten with the hand, a thing women are al-ways fond of.

”Thus cooks are able to hide many things499

that have appeared on the day before, andremedy unforeseen requisitions on them. Ittakes no longer to fry a four pound chopthan it does to boil an egg.

”All the merit of the friture is derivedfrom the surprise, or the invasion of theboiling liquid which carbonizes or burns atthe very instant of immersion of the bodyplaced in it.

500

”To effect a purpose, the liquid must behot enough to act instantaneously. It doesnot, however, reach S this point until it haslong been submitted to the action of a blaz-ing and hot fire.

”By the following means it may be as-certained if the friture be heated to the wished-for degree, cut a piece of bread in the formof a cube, and dip it in the pan for five or

501

six seconds, if you take it out firm and darkput in what you wish to prepare immedi-ately. If it be not, stir the fire and beginagain.

”The surprise being once effected, mod-erate the fire that the action may not betoo hurried, and that by a prolonged heatthe juices it contains may be changed andthe flavor enhanced.

502

”You have doubtless observed that frit-ures dissolve neither the sugar nor salt theirrespective natures require. You should notfail then to reduce those substances to avery fine powder in order that they may ad-here the more readily, and season the dishby juxtaposition.

”I do not tell you about oils and greasesfor the different treatises I have put in your

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library give you sufficient light.”Do not forget, however, when you get

one of those trout which do not weigh morethan half a pound, and which come frommurmuring streams, far from the capitol,to use the finest olive oil. This delicate dishduly powdered and garnished with slices oflemon is fit for a cardinal. [Footnote: Mr.Aulissin, a very well informed Neapolitan

504

lawyer, and a good amateur performer onthe violoncello, dining one day with me,and eating some thing that pleased him,said–”Questo e un vero boccone di cardi-nale.” ”Why,” said I, in the same tongue,not say ”boccone in Re.” ”Seignore,” saidhe, ”we Italians do nothing; a king cannotbe a gourmand, for royal dinners are tooshort and solemn. With cardinals things

505

are very different.” He shrugged his shoul-ders as he spoke.]

”Eperlans (smelt or sprat) should be treatedin the same manner. This is the becfique ofthe water, and has the same perfume andexcellence.

”These two prescriptions are founded inthe very nature of things. Experience tellsus that olive oil should only be used with

506

things which are soon cooked, and whichdo not demand too high a temperature, be-cause prolonged ebullition developes an empyreumaticand disagreable taste produced by a fewparticles of pulp, which can, being impossi-ble to be gotten rid of, carbonize.

”You tried my furnace, and were thefirst person who ever succeeded in produc-ing an immense fried turbot. On that day

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there was great rejoicing among the elect.”Continue to be coeval in all you at-

tempt, and never forget that from the mo-ment guests enter the salon WE are respon-sible for their happiness.”

MEDITATION VIII.ON THIRST.THIRST is the internal feeling of a wish

to drink.508

A heat of about 32 [degrees] Reaumur,constantly vaporizing the different fluids thecirculation of which sustains life, the diminu-tion they undergo would unfit them for theirpurposes, if they were not renewed and re-freshed. The necessity of this renewal iswhat we call thirst.

We think the seat of thirst is in the di-gestive system. When athirst (we have of-

509

ten felt the sensation when hunting) we feeldistinctly that all the inhaling portions ofthe nostrils, mouth and throat are benumbedand hardened, and that if thirst be some-times appeased by the application of fluidsto other parts of the body, as in the bath,the reason is that as soon as they are ab-sorbed they hurry rapidly to the seat of theevil and become remedies.

510

VARIETIES OF THIRST.Looking at the subject in all its bear-

ings we may count three varieties of thirst:latent, factitious and permanent.

Latent or habitual thirst, is the insen-sible equilibrium established between tran-spiratory vaporization and the necessity ofsupplying what is lost. Thus, though weexperience no pain, we are invited to drink

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while we eat, and are able to drink at al-most every moment of the day. This thirstaccompanies us every where, and is almosta portion of our existence.

Factitious thirst is peculiar to man, andresults from the instinct which impels himto seek in drink the strength he needs. Itis an artificial enjoyment rather than a nat-ural want. This thirst is really governless,

512

because the fluids we take have the facultyof reviving it, and this thirst becomes habit-ual, makes drunkards in every country. Theconsequence is, that they drink as long asliquor lasts, or until they are utterly over-come.

When, on the other hand, thirst is ap-peased by pure water, which seems the mostnatural remedy, we never drink more than

513

we actually need.Hardening thirst is the result of the in-

crease of the want, and of the impossibilityto satisfy latent thirst.

It is so called because it is accompaniedby hardness of the tongue, dryness of thepalate, and a devouring heat in all the body.

The sensation of thirst is so intense, thatin all tongues it is synonymous with exces-

514

sive desire, and irrepressible longing: thuswe thirst for gold, wealth, power, science,&c., expressions which never would havebecome common had men not have beenathirst and aware of their vengeance.

Appetite is pleasant when it does notreach the point of hunger. Thirst is not so,and as soon as we feel it we are uncomfort-able and anxious. When there is no possi-

515

bility of appeasing it, the state of mind isterrible.

To compensate us for this, the sense ofthirst procures us great pleasure; and whengreat thirst is appeased, or a delicious drinkis offered to one moderately athirst, the wholepapillary system is aroused, from the tip ofthe tongue to the extremity of the stomach.

We die of thirst more rapidly than of516

hunger. Men with an abundance of wa-ter, have lived for eight days without bread.Without water, the system succumbs on thefifth.

The reason is that in starving, man diesmore of weakness; in thirst of a burningfever.

People are not always able to resist thirstso long: in 1787, one of the hundred Swiss of

517

Louis XVI., died from having been twenty-four hours without drink.

He was at a cabaret with some of hiscomrades, and as he was about to carry hisglass to his lips, he was reproached withdrinking oftener than the rest, and with notbeing able to do a moment without it.

He then made a bet of ten bottles ofwine, that he would not drink for twenty-

518

four hours.He ceased at once, and sat by, for two

hours, seeing the others drink.The night passed well enough, but at

dawn he found it difficult to do without hishabitual glass of brandy.

All the morning he was uneasy and trou-bled; he went hither and thither withoutreason, and seemed not to know what he

519

was about.At one o’clock he laid down, fancying

he would be calmer: he was really sick, butthose about him could not induce him todrink. He said he could get on till evening:he wished to gain his bet, and it is probablealso, that some military pride was mingledin the matter, which prevented him fromyielding to pain.

520

He kept up until seven o’clock, but athalf-after seven was very sick and soon died,without being able to swallow a glass ofwine which was presented to him.

I was informed of all these details thatvery night, by the Sieur Schneider, the fiferof the hundred Swiss, in the house of whomI lived at Versailles.

CAUSES OF THIRST.521

Many circumstances, either united or sep-arate, contribute to thirst. We shall men-tion some which are not without influenceon our habits.

Heat augments thirst. Whence comesthe disposition men have always had to buildtheir habitations near the sea.

Corporeal labor augments thirst. Per-sons who employ labourers, always gratify

522

them by drink–hence the proverb that winegiven them is always well sold.

Dancing increases thirst, and for thisreason the ball-room is always supplied withinvigorating drinks.

Declamation also increases thirst, whichaccounts for the glass of water readers al-ways seek to drink with grace, and whichis always beside the white handkerchief on

523

the desk.Genesiac pleasure excites thirst, and ac-

counts for the poetical descriptions of Cyprus,Amathonte, Gnidus, and other homes ofVenus, in which there are always shady grovesand murmuring streamlets.

Song augments thirst, and therefore allvocalists are said to be such huge drinkers.A musician myself, I protest against this

524

assertion, which has neither rhyme nor rea-son.

The artists in our saloons drink withas much prudence as sagacity; what theylose in this, however, they atone for on theother side; if not given to drink, they areuntiring gourmands, so much so, that I amtold at the Circle of Transcendental Har-mony, [Footnote: A well known ”Musical

525

Society.”] the festivals of St. Cecile lastedtwenty-four hours.

EXAMPLE.Exposure to a rapid current of air, causes

a rapid augmentation of thirst, and I thinkthe following observations will be read withpleasure by all the lovers of the chase.

It is well known that quail are fond ofhuge mountains, where their broods are in

526

more safety, from the fact that the harvestsare later.

When the rye is cut, they go into thebarley and oats; and when the latter is be-ing harvested, they go into that portion whichis less matured.

This is the time to shoot them; becausein a small number of acres, are found allthe birds which a few months before were

527

strewn through a whole commune and areat that time fat as possible.

I went with some friends for the purposeof shooting to a mountain in the arrondis-siment of Nantua, in the canton known asplan d’Hotonne, where we were about tocommence the day’s work under a brightersun than any Parisian badaud ever saw.

While we were at breakfast a violent528

north wind arose which was much in theway of our sport: we however continued.

We had scarcely been out a quarter ofan hour, when the most effeminate of theparty said he was thirsty. We now, doubt-less, would have laughed at him, had we notall experienced the same sensation.

We all drank, for an ass loaded with re-freshments followed us, but the relief af-

529

forded was of brief duration. The thirstsoon appeared with increased intensity, sothat some fancied themselves sick, and oth-ers were becoming so, and all talked of re-turning. To do so was to have travelled tenleagues for no purpose.

I had time to collect my ideas, and sawthe reason of this strange thirst; and toldthem we suffered from the effects of three

530

causes. The dimunition of atmospheric pres-sure made our circulation more rapid. Thesun heated us, and walking had increasedtranspiration. More than all these–the winddried up this transpiration, and preventedall moistness of the skin.

I told them that there was no danger,that the enemy was known, and that wemust oppose it.

531

Precaution however was ineffectual, fortheir thirst was quenchless. Water, wineand water, and brandy, all were powerless.We suffered from thirst even while we drank,and were uncomfortable all day.

We got through the day, however; theowner of the domain of Latour entertainingus, joining the provisions we had, to his ownstores.

532

We dined very well and got into the hay-loft, where we slept soundly.

The next day’s experience showed mytheory to be true. The wind lulled, the sunwas not so warm, and we experienced noinconvenience from thirst.

But a great misfortune had befallen us.We had very prudently filled our canteens,but they had not been able to resist the

533

many assaults made on them. They werebodies without souls, and we all fell intothe hands of the cabaret-keepers.

We had to come to that point, not how-ever without murmuring. I addressed anallocution full of reproaches to the wind,when I saw a dish fit to be set before aking, ”D’epinards a la graisse de cailles,”destined to be eaten with a wine scarcely

534

as good as that of Surene. [Footnote: Avillage two leagues from Paris, famous forits bad wine. There is a proverb which saysthat to get rid of a glass of Surene, threethings are needed, ”a drinker and two mento hold him in case his courage fail.” Thesame may be said of Perieux, which peoplehowever will drink.]

MEDITATION IX.535

ON DRINKS. [Footnote: This chapteris purely philosophical: a description of dif-ferent kinds of wine does not enter into theplan I have marked out for myself. If it was,I would never have finished my book.]

By drinks we mean all liquids which min-gle with food.

Water seems to be the natural drink.Wherever there is animal life it is found,

536

and replaces milk. For adults it is as nec-essary as air. WATER. Water is the onlyfluid which really appeases thirst, and forthat reason only a small quantity of it canbe drank. The majority of other fluids thatman drinks are only palliatives, and hadhe drank nothing else he never would havesaid that he drank without being thirsty.QUICK EFFECT OF DRINKS. Drinks are

537

absorbed by the animal economy with themost extreme facility. Their effect is promptand the relief they furnish is almost instan-taneous. Give the most hungry man youcan meet with the richest possible food, hewill eat with difficulty. Give him a glass ofwine or of brandy, and at once he will findhimself better.

I can establish this theory by a very re-538

markable circumstance I received from mynephew, Colonel Guigard, a man not dis-posed to tell long stories. All may rely uponthe accuracy of what he has said.

He was at the head of a detachment re-turning from the siege of Jaffa, and was buta few hundred paces from the place wherehe expected to find water, and where he metmany of the advanced guard already dead

539

with heat.Among the victims of this burning cli-

mate was a carabinier who was known tomany persons of the detachment.

Many of his comrades who approachedhim for the last time, either to inherit whathe had left, or to bid him adieu, were amazedto find his limbs flexible and something flex-ible around his heart.

540

”Give him a drop of sacre chien” saidthe lustig of the troupe. ”If he is not toofar gone into the other world, he will comeback to taste it.”

At the reception of the first spoonful ofspirits he opened his eyes: they then rubbedhis temples and gave him a drop or two.After about an hour he was able to sit upin the saddle.

541

He was taken to a fountain, nursed dur-ing the night, and carefully attended to. Onthe next day he reached Cairo.

STRONG DRINKS.There is one thing very worthy of atten-

tion; the instinct which leads us to look forintoxicating drinks.

Wine, the most pleasant of all drinks,whether due to Noah who planted the vine,

542

or to Bacchus who expressed the juice ofthe grape, dates back to the infancy of theworld. Beer, which is attributed to Osiris,dates to an age far beyond history.

All men, even those we call savages, havebeen so tormented by the passion for strongdrinks, that limited as their capacities were,they were yet able to manufacture them.

They made the milk of their domestic543

animals sour: they extracted the juice ofmany animals and many fruits in which theysuspected the idea of fermentation to exist.Wherever men are found, strong liquors aremet with, and are used in festivities, sac-rifices, marriages, funeral rites, and on allsolemn occasions.

For many centuries wine was drank andsung before any persons had an idea that it

544

was possible to extract the spirituous por-tion, which is the essence of its power. TheArabs, however, taught us the art of distil-lation, invented by them to extract the per-fume of flowers, and especially of the rose,so celebrated in their poems. Then personsbegan to fancy that in wine a source of ex-citement might be found to give taste a pe-culiar exaltation. By gradual experiments

545

alcohol, spirits of wine, and brandy werediscovered.

Alcohol is the monarch of liquids, andtakes possession of the extreme tastes ofthe palate. Its various preparations offer uscountless new flavors, and to certain medic-inal remedies, it gives an energy they couldnot well do without. It has even become aformidable weapon: the natives of the new

546

world having been more utterly destroyedby brandy than by gunpowder.

The method by which alcohol was dis-covered, has led to yet more important re-sults, as it consisted in the separation andexhibition of the constituent parts of a body,it became a guide to those engaged in analo-gous pursuits, and made us acquainted withnew substances, such as quinine, morphine,

547

strychnine and other similar ones.Be this as it may, the thirst for a liquid

which nature has shrouded in veils, the ex-traordinary appetite acting on all races ofmen, under all climates and temperatures,is well calculated to attract the attention ofthe observer.

I have often been inclined to place thepassion for spirituous liquors, utterly un-

548

known to animals, side by side with anxi-ety for the future, equally strange to them,and to look on the one and the other asdistinctive attributes of the last sublunaryrevolution.

MEDITATION X.AN EPISODE ON THE END OF THE

WORLD.I said–last sublunary revolution, and this

549

idea awakened many strange ideas.Many things demonstrate to us that our

globe has undergone many changes, each ofwhich was, so to say, ”an end of the world.”Some instinct tells us many other changesare to follow.

More than once, we have thought theserevolutions likely to come, and the comet ofJerome Lalande has sent many persons to

550

the confessional.The effect of all this has been that every

one is disposed to surround this catastro-phe with vengeance, exterminating angels,trumps and other accessories.

Alas! there is no use to take so muchtrouble to ruin us. We are not worth somuch display, and if God please, he canchange the surface of the globe without any

551

trouble.Let us for a moment suppose that one

of those wandering stars, the route and mis-sion of which none know, and the appear-ance of which is always accompanied by sometraditional terror; let us suppose that it passesnear enough to the sun, to be charged witha superabundance of caloric, and approachnear enough to us to create a heat of sixty

552

degrees Reaumur over the whole earth (ashot again as the temperature caused by thecomet of 1811.)

All vegetation would die, all sounds wouldcease. The earth would revolve in silenceuntil other circumstances had evolved othergerms: yet the cause of this disaster wouldhave remained lost in the vast fields of air,and would never have approached us nearer

553

than some millions of leagues.This event, which in the main, has ever

seemed to me a fit subject for reverie, andI never ceased for a moment to dwell on it.

This ascending heat is curious to be lookedafter, and it is not uninteresting to followits effects, expansion, action, and to ask:

How great it was during the first, sec-ond, and subsequent days.

554

What effect it had on the earth, and wa-ter, and on the formation and mingling, anddetonation of gasses.

What influence it had on men, as faras age, sex, strength and weakness are con-cerned.

What influence it has on obedience tothe laws, submission to authority, and re-spect to persons and property.

555

What one should do to escape from dan-ger.

What influence it has on love, friend-ship, parental affection, self-love and devo-tion.

What is its influence on the religioussentiments, faith, resignation and hope.

History can furnish us a few facts on itsmoral influence, for the end of the world has

556

more than once been predicted and deter-mined.

I am very sorry that I cannot tell myreaders how I settled all this, but I willnot rob them of the pleasure of thinkingof the matter themselves. This may some-what shorten some of their sleepless hours,and ensure them a few siestas during theday.

557

Great danger dissolves all bonds. Whenthe yellow fever was in Philadelphia, in 1792,husbands closed the doors on their wives,children deserted their fathers, and manysimilar phenomena occurred.

Quod a nobis Deus avertat!MEDITATION XI.ON GOURMANDISE.I HAVE looked through various dictio-

558

naries for the word gourmandise and havefound no translation that suited me. It isdescribed as a sort of confusion of gluttonyand voracity. Whence I have concluded thatlexicographers, though very pleasant peoplein other respects, are not the sort of mento swallow a partridge wing gracefully withone hand, with a glass of Laffitte or clos deVougeot in the other.

559

They were completely oblivious of so-cial gourmandise, which unites Athenian el-egance, Roman luxury and French delicacy;which arranges wisely, flavors energetically,and judges profoundly. This is a preciousquality which might be a virtue and whichis certainly the source of many pure enjoy-ments.

DEFINITIONS.560

Let us understand each other.Gourmandise is a passionate preference,

well determined and satisfied, for objectswhich flatter our taste.

Gourmandise is hostile to all excesses:any man who becomes drunk or suffers fromindigestion is likely to be expunged from thelists.

Gourmandise also comprehends, frian-561

dise (passion for light delicacies) for pastry,comfitures, etc. This is a modification in-troduced for the special benefit of women,and men like the other sex.

Look at gourmandise under any aspectyou please, and it deserves praise.

Physically, it is a demonstration of thehealthy state of the organs of nutrition.

Morally, it is implicit resignation to the562

orders of God, who made us eat to live, in-vites us to do so by appetite, sustains us byflavor, and rewards us by pleasure.

ADVANTAGES OF GOURMANDISE.Considered from the points of view of

political economy, gourmandise is the com-mon bond which unites the people in recip-rocal exchanges of the articles needed fordaily consumption.

563

This is the cause of voyages from onepole to the other, for brandy, spices, sug-ars, seasonings and provisions of every kind,even eggs and melons.

This it is which gives a proportional priceto things, either mediocres, good or excel-lent, whether the articles derive them outof, or from nature.

This it is that sustains the emulation564

of the crowd of fishermen, huntsmen, gar-deners and others, who every day fill thewealthiest kitchens with the result of theirlabours.

This it is which supports the multitudeof cooks, pastry-cooks, confectioners, etc.,who employ workmen of every kind, andwho perpetually put in circulation, an amountof money which the shrewdest calculator

565

cannot imagine.Let us observe that the trades and oc-

cupations dependent on gourmandise havethis great advantage, that on one hand it issustained by great misfortunes and on theother by accidents which happen from dayto day.

In the state of society we now have reached,it is difficult to conceive of a people subsist-

566

ing merely on bread and vegetables. Such anation if it existed would certainly be sub-jected by carnivorous enemies, as the Hin-doos were, to all who ever chose to attackthem. If not it would be converted by thecooks of its neighbors as the Beotiens were,after the battle of Leuctres.

SEQUEL.Gourmandise offers great resources to

567

fiscality, for it increases customs, imports,etc. All we consume pays tribute in one de-gree or another, and there is no source ofpublic revenue to which gourmands do notcontribute.

Let us speak for a moment of that crowdof preparers who every year leave France,to instruct foreign nations in gourmandise.The majority succeed and obedient to the

568

unfasting instinct of a Frenchman’s fever,return to their country with the fruits oftheir economy. This return is greater thanone would think.

Were nations grateful, to what ratherthan to gourmandise should France erect amonument.

POWER OF GOURMANDISE.In 1815, the treaty of the month of Novem-

569

ber, imposed on France the necessity of pay-ing the allies in three years, 750,000,000francs.

Added to this was the necessity of meet-ing the demands of individuals of variousnations, for whom the allied sovereigns hadstipulated, to the amount of more than 300,000,000.

To this must be added requisitions of allkinds by the generals of the enemies who

570

loaded whole wagons, which they sent to-wards the frontier, and which the treasuryultimately had to pay for. The total wasmore than 1,500,000,000 francs.

One might, one almost should have feared,that such large payments, collected fromday to day, would have produced want inthe treasury, a deprecation of all fictitiousvalues, and consequently all the evils which

571

befall a country that has no money, whileit owes much.

”Alas,” said the rich, as they saw thewagon going to the Rue Vivienne for itsload; ”all our money is emigrating, nextyear we will bow down to a crown: we areutterly ruined; all our undertakings will fail,and we will not be able to borrow. Therewill be nothing but ruin and civil death.”

572

The result contradicted all these fears;the payments, to the amazement of financiers,were made without trouble, public creditincreased, and all hurried after loans. Dur-ing the period of this superpurgation, thecourse of exchange, an infallible measure ofthe circulating of money, was in our favor.This was an arithmetical proof that moremoney came into France than left it.

573

What power came to our aid? What di-vinity operated this miracle? Gourmandise.

When the Britons, Germans, Teutons,Cimmerians, and Scythes, made an irrup-tion into France, they came with extremevoracity and with stomachs of uncommoncapacity.

They were not long contented with thecheer furnished them by a forced hospital-

574

ity, but aspired to more delicate enjoyments.The Queen City, ere long, became one im-mense refectory. The new comers ate inshops, cafes, restaurants, and even in thestreets.

They gorged themselves with meat, fish,game, truffles, pastry and fruit.

They drank with an avidity quite equalto their appetite, and always called for the

575

most costly wine, expecting in those un-known enjoyments, pleasures they did notmeet with.

Superficial observers could not accountfor this eating, without hunger, which seemedlimitless. All true Frenchmen, however, rubbedtheir hands, and said, ”they are under thecharm; they have spent this evening moremoney than they took from the treasury in

576

the morning.”This epoch was favorable to all those

who contributed to the gratification of thetaste. Very made his fortune, Achard laidthe foundation of his, and Madame Sullot,the shop of whom, in the Palais Royal, wasnot twenty feet square, sold twelve thou-sand petits pates a day.

The effect yet lasts, for strangers crowd577

to Paris from all parts of Europe, to restfrom the fatigues of war. Our public mon-uments, it may be, are not so attractive asthe pleasures of gourmandise, everywhereelaborated in Paris, a city essentially gour-mand.

A LADY GOURMAND.Gourmandise is not unbecoming to women:

it suits the delicacy of their organs and rec-578

ompenses them for some pleasures they can-not enjoy, and for some evils to which theyare doomed.

Nothing is more pleasant than to see apretty woman, her napkin well placed un-der her arms, one of her hands on the table,while the other carries to her mouth, thechoice piece so elegantly carved. Her eyesbecome brilliant, her lips glow, her conver-

579

sation is agreeable and all her motions be-come graceful. With so many advantagesshe is irresistible, and even Cato, the cen-sor, would feel himself moved.

ANECDOTE.I will here record what to me is a bitter

reflection.I was one day most commodiously fixed

at table, by the side of the pretty Madame580

M—-d, and was inwardly rejoicing at hav-ing obtained such an advantageous position,when she said ”your health.” I immediatelybegan a complimentary phrase, which how-ever, I did not finish, for turning to herneighbor on the right, she said ”Trinquons,”they touched each others glasses. This quicktransition seemed a perfidy, and the passageof many years have not made me forget it.

581

ARE WOMEN GOURMANDS?The penchant of the fair sex for gour-

mandise is not unlike instinct; for gourman-dise is favorable to beauty.

A series of exact and rigorous examina-tions, has shown that a succulent and del-icate person on careful diet, keeps the ap-pearance of old age long absent.

It makes the eyes more brilliant, and582

the color more fresh. It makes the musclesstronger, and as the depression of the mus-cles causes wrinkles, those terrible enemiesof beauty, it is true that other things beingequal, those who know how to eat, are tenyears younger than those ignorant of thatscience.

Painters and sculptors are well aware ofthis, for they never represent those to whom

583

abstinence is a matter of duty, such as an-chorites and misers, except as pale, thin,and wrinkled.

THE EFFECTS OF GOURMANDISEON SOCIABILITY.

Gourmandise is one of the principle bondsof society. It gradually extends that spiritof conviviality, which every day unites dif-ferent professions, mingles them together,

584

and diminishes the angles of conviviality.This it is, which induces every amphit-

ryon to receive his guests well, and also ex-cites the gratitude of the latter when theysee themselves well taken care of: here is theplace to reprobate those stupid masticators,who with the most guilty indifference to thegreatest luxuries, and who with sacrilegiousindifference inhale the odorous perfume of

585

nectar.GENERAL LAW.–Every display of high

intelligence, makes explicit praise necessary.Delicate praise is necessary, wherever a wishto please is evident.

INFLUENCE OF GOURMANDISE ONCONJUGAL HAPPINESS.

When gourmandise is shared with an-other, it has the greatest influence on con-

586

jugal happiness.A gourmand couple have at least once

a day a pleasant occasion to meet, for eventhose who sleep apart (and there are many)dine together. They talk of what they haveeaten, of what they have seen elsewhere, offashionable dishes and of new inventions,etc., etc. We all know how full of charmsthis CHIT CHAT is.

587

Music, doubtless, has many charms forthose who love it; but to succeed, one mustmake a business of it.

Besides, sometimes one has a cold, mis-places the score, has the sick headache orfeels inert.

One necessity calls each of the coupleto the table, where the same feeling retainsthem. They exhibit naturally slight atten-

588

tions to each other, which evinces a desireto please, and the manner in which they actto each other speaks loudly of the mannerof their lives.

This observation, though new in France,has not escaped the attention of the Englishnovelist, Fielding, who in Pamela gives thewell-known instance of the manner in whichthe heroine and her husband lived on the

589

one hand, and the more magnificent but un-happy life of the elder brother and his wife.

Honour then to gourmandise as we presentit to our readers, inasmuch as it diverts manneither from occupation nor from duty; foras the dissoluteness of Sardanapulus did notcause the world to look on woman with hor-ror, neither did Vitellius’ excesses inducethe world to turn aside from a well-ordered

590

entertainment.When gourmandise becomes gluttony, vo-

racity or debauchery, it loses its name andattributes, falling into the hands of the moral-ist who will treat it by advice, or the medi-cal man who will treat it by remedy. Gour-mandise, as the professor has described it,has a name only in French; neither the Latingula, English ”gluttony” nor German lus-

591

ternheit, expresses it, and we recommendall who attempt a translation of this in-structive book to preserve the word, chang-ing the article which produces it only. Thusthey did with coquetterie.

NOTE OF A PATRIOT GASTRONOMER.”I observe with pride, that gourmandise

and coquettery, the two great modificationswhich society has effected in our imperious

592

wants, are both of French origin.”MEDITATION XII.GOURMANDS.ALL WHO WISH TO BE ARE NOT

GOURMANDS.THERE are individuals to whom nature

has refused a fineness of organs and a de-gree of attention, without which the mostsucculent food passes unperceived.

593

Physiology has already recognized thefirst of these varieties, by exhibiting the tongueof those unfortunate men who are badlyprovided with the means of appreciating fla-vors and tastes. Such persons have but anobtuse sensation, for to them taste is whatlight is to the blind.

The second of these varieties is com-posed of absent minded men, of ambitious

594

persons, and others, who wish to attend totwo things at once, and who eat only to eat.

NAPOLEON.Such was Napoleon; he was irregular in

his meals and ate quickly. When hungry, hisappetite had to be satisfied at once, and hewas so completely served, that at any hourhe could have fowl, game or coffee.

GOURMANDS BY DESTINY.595

There is however, a privileged class, whichorganic and material organization invites tothe enjoyments of the taste.

I was always a disciple of Lavater andGall, and believe in innate ideas.

As persons have been born who see, walk,and hear badly, because they are near-sighted,lame, or deaf, why may there not be othersinclined to peculiar sensations.

596

To the most careless observer there willever be presented faces which bear the un-deniable expression of some dominant senti-ment, such as disdainful impertinence, self-satisfaction, misanthropy, sensuality, &c. Avery meaningless face may express all this,but when the face has a determined expres-sion, one is rarely mistaken.

Passions agitate the muscles, and often597

when a man is silent, the various feelingswhich agitate him may be read on his face.This tension, though habitual leave sensibletraces, and give the face a permanent andwell defined character.

SENSUAL PREDESTINATION.The persons predestined to gourmandise

are in general of medium stature. Theirfaces are either round or square, and small,

598

their noses short and their chins rounded.The women are rather pretty than beauti-ful, and they have a slight tendency to obe-sity.

Those who are fondest of friandises havedelicate features, smaller, and are distin-guished by a peculiar expression of the mouth.

Agreeable guests should be sought foramong those who have this appearance. They

599

receive all that is offered them, eat slowly,and taste advisedly. They do not seek toleave places too quickly where they havebeen kindly received. They are always infor all the evening, for they know all games,and all that is neccessary for a gastronom-ical soiree.

Those, on the contrary, to whom naturehas refused a desire for the gratifications of

600

taste, have a long nose and face. Whateverbe their statures, the face seems out of or-der. Their hair is dark and flat, and theyhave no embonpoint. They invented pan-taloons.

Women whom nature has thus afflicted,are very angulous, are uncomfortable at thetable, and live on lenten fare.

This physiological theory will, I trust,601

meet with not many contradictions: anyone may verify the matter. I will, however,rely on facts.

I was sitting one day at a great enter-tainment, and saw opposite to me a verypretty woman with a very sensual face. Ileaned towards my neighbor and said, thatthe lady with such features must be gour-mande. ”Bah!” said he, ”she is not more

602

than fifteen; she is not old enough–let ussee though.”

The beginning was not favorable, andI was afraid of being compromised. Dur-ing the first two courses, the young womanate with a discretion which really amazedme. The dessert came, it was brilliant as itwas abundant, and gave me some hopes. Iwas not deceived, for she not only ate what

603

was set before her, but sent for dishes whichwere at the other end of the table. Shetasted every thing, and we were surprisedthat so small a stomach could contain somuch. My diagnostics succeeded and sci-ence triumphed.

Two years after I met this same lady,who had been married a week. She had be-come far more beautiful, was something of

604

a coquette, for fashion permitted her to ex-hibit her charms. Her husband was a manworth looking at, but he was like one ofthose ventriloquists who laugh on one sideof the face and weep on the other. He wasvery fond of his wife, but when any onespoke to her, quivered with jealousy. Thelatter sentiment prevailed, for he took hiswife to one of the most remote departments

605

of France, and I, at least, can write no moreof her biography.

I made a similar observation about theDuke of Decres, long minister of marine.

We knew that he was large, short, darkand square; that his face was round, thathis chin protruded, that his lips were thick,and that he had a giant’s mouth. I thereforehad no hesitation in proclaiming him fond

606

of good cheer and of women.This physiognomical remark I whispered

to a woman I thought very pretty and verydiscreet. I was mistaken though, for she wasa daughter of Eve, and my secret was madeknown. One evening his excellency was in-formed of the idea I had deduced from hisface.

I ascertained this the next day, by a607

pleasant letter which I received from theDuke, in which he insisted that he had notthe two qualities I had attributed to him.

I confessed myself beaten. I replied thatnature does nothing in vain; that she hadevidently formed him for certain duties, andthat if he did not fulfil them he contra-dicted his appearance. That besides, I hadno right to expect such confidence, etc., etc.

608

There the correspondence terminated,but a few days after all Paris was amused bythe famous encounter between the ministerand his cook, in which his excellency did notget the best of the matter. If after such anaffair the cook was not dismissed, (and hewas not,) I may conclude that the duke wascompletely overcome by the artist’s talents,and that he could not find another one to

609

suit his taste so exactly, otherwise he wouldhave gotten rid of so warlike a servant.

As I wrote these lines, during a fine win-ter evening, Mr. Cartier, once first violinistof the opera, entered my room and sat bythe fire. I was full of my subject, and lookedattentively at him. I said, ”My dear Pro-fessor, how comes it that you, who have ev-ery feature of gourmandise, are not a gour-

610

mand?” ”I am,” said he, ”but I make absti-nence a duty.” ”Is that an act of prudence?”He did not reply, but he uttered a sigh, a laWalter Scott.

GOURMANDS BY PROFESSION.If there be gourmands by predestina-

tion, there are also gourmands by profes-sion. There are four classes of these: Fi-nanciers, men of letters, doctors, and devo-

611

tees.FINANCIERS.Financiers are the heroes of gourman-

dise. Hero is here the proper name, forthere was some contention, and the menwho had titles crowd all others beneath theirtitles and escutcheons. They would havetriumphed, but for the wealth of those theyopposed. Cooks contended with genealo-

612

gists; and though dukes did not fail to laughat their amphitryon, they came to the din-ner, and that was enough.

Those persons who make money easilymust be gourmands.

The inequality of wealth produces in-equality of wants. He who can pay everyday for a dinner fit for an hundred per-sons, is often satisfied after having eaten the

613

thigh of a chicken. Art then must use wellits resources to revive appetite. Thus Mon-dar became a gourmand, and others withthe same tastes collects around him.

PHYSICIANS.Causes of another nature, though far

less baneful, act on physicians, who, fromthe nature of things, are gourmands. Toresist the attractions set before them they

614

must necessarily be made of bronze.One day I ventured to say, (Doctor Corvis-

art was at the end of the table–the time wasabout 1806):–

”You are,” said I, with the air of an in-spired puritan, ”the last remnant of a com-position which once covered all France. Themembers of it are either annihilated or dis-persed. No longer do we see farmers gen-

615

eral, abbes, chevaliers, &c. Bear the bur-den they have bequeathed to you, even ifyou take the three hundred Spartans whodied at Thermopylae; such a fate should beyours.”

Nobody contradicted me.At dinner I made a remark which was

worthy of notice:–Doctor Corvisart was a very pleasant

616

man when he pleased, and was very fondof iced champagne. For this reason, whileall the rest of the company were dull andidle, he dealt in anecdotes and stories. Onthe contrary, when the dessert was put on,and conversation became animated, he be-came serious and almost morose.

From this and other observations, I de-duced the following conclusion: Champagne,

617

the first effect of which is exhilarating, inthe result is stupefying, on account of theexcessant carbonic gases it contains.

OBJUGATION.As I measure doctors by their diplomatu,

I will not reproach them for the severitywith which they treat their invalids.

As soon as one has the misfortune to fallinto their hands, one has to give up all we

618

have previously thought agreeable.I look on the majority of these prohi-

bitions as useless. I say useless, becausepatients never desire what is injurious tothem.

A reasonable physician should never losesight of the natural tendency of our incli-nations, nor forget to ascertain if our pen-chants are painful in themselves, or improv-

619

ing to health. A little wine, or a few dropsof liquor, brings the smiles to the most hypochon-driac faces.

Besides, they know that their severe pre-scriptions are almost always without effect,and the patient seeks to avoid him. Thosewho are around him, never are in want ofa reason to gratify him. People, however,will die.

620

The ration of a sick Russian, in 1815,would have made a porter drunk. Therewas no retrenchment to be made, for mili-tary inspectors ran from day to day throughthe hospitals, and watched over the furnish-ment and the service of the various houses.

I express my opinions with the more con-fidence, because it is sustained by much ex-perience, and that the most fortunate prac-

621

titioners rely on my system.The canon Rollet who died about fifty

years ago, was a great drinker; and the firstphysician he employed, forbid him to usewine at all. When, however, he came again,the doctor found his patient in bed, andbefore him the corpus delicti, i.e., a tablecovered with a white cloth, a chrystal cup,a handsome bottle, and a napkin to wipe

622

his lips with.The doctor at once became enraged, and

was about to withdraw, when the canonsaid in a lamentable voice, ”doctor, remem-ber, if you forbade my drinking, you did notprohibit my looking at the bottle.”

The physician who attended M. Montlusinde Point de Veyle was far more cruel, for henot only forbid his patient to touch wine,

623

but made him drink large quantities of wa-ter.

A short time after the doctor had left,Mme. de Montlusin, anxious to fulfil therequisition of the prescription, and contributeto her husband’s recovery, gave him a greatglass of water, pure and limpid as possible.

The patient received it kindly and soughtto drink it with resignation. At the first

624

swallow, however, he stopped, and givingthe glass back to his wife, said, ”Take this,dear, and keep it for the next dose; I havealways heard, one should never trifle withremedies.” Men of letters in the world ofgastronomy, have a place nearly equal tothat of men of medical faculty.

Under the reign of Louis XIV., men ofletters were all given to drink. They con-

625

formed to fashion and the memoirs of theday, in this respect, are very defying. Theyare now gourmands,–a great amelioration.

I am far from agreeing with the cynicGeoffroy, who used to say that modern workswere deficient in power because authors nowdrank only eau sucree.

I think he made two mistakes, both inthe fact and the consequences.

626

The age we live in is rich in talents; theyinjure each other perhaps by their multi-tude; but posterity, judging with more calm-ness, will see much to admire. Thus we dojustice to the great productions of Racineand Moliere which when written were coldlyreceived.

The social position of men of letters wasnever more agreeable. They no longer live

627

in the garrets they used to inhabit, for thefield of literature has become fertile. Thestream of Hippocrene rolls down golden sands:equals of all, they never hear the languageof protection, and gourmandise overwhelmsthem with its choicest favours.

Men of letters are courted on account oftheir talent, and because their conversationis in general piquant, and because it has

628

for some time been established, that everysociety should have its man of letters.

These gentlemen always come a littletoo late: they are not however received themost on that account, for they have beenanxiously expected: they are petted up toinduce them to come again, are flattered tomake them brilliant, and as they find allthis very natural, they grow used to it and

629

become genuine gourmands.DEVOTEES.Among the friends of gourmandise are

many very devout persons.By the word devotee, we understand what

Louis XIV. and Moliere did, persons thepiety of whom consists in external obser-vances; pious and charitable persons havenothing to do with this class.

630

Let us see how they effect this–amongthose who work out their salvation, the great-est number seek the mildest method. Thosewho avoid society, sleep on the ground andwear hair cloth, are always exceptions.

Now there are to them certain damnablethings never to be permitted, such as balls,plays, and other amusements.

While they and those who enjoy them631

are abominated, gourmandise assumes analtogether different aspect, and becomes al-most theological.

Jure divino, man is the king of natureand all that earth creates was produced forhim. For him the quail becomes fat, themocha has its perfume, and sugar becomesbeneficial to the health.

Why then should we not use with suit-632

able moderation the goods which Providenceoffers us, especially as we continue to lookon them as perishable things, and as theyexalt our appreciation of the Creator.

Other not less weighty reasons strengthenthese–can we receive too kindly those per-sons who take charge of our souls? Shouldwe not make a meeting with them pleasantand agreeable?

633

Sometimes the gifts of Comus come un-expectedly. An old college companion, anold friend, a penitent who humbles himself,a kinsman who makes himself known or aprotege recalls them.

This has ever been the case.Convents were the true ware-houses of

the most adorable delacies: for that reasonthey have been so much regretted. [Footnote:

634

The best liquors in France were made ofthe Visitandines. The monks of Niort in-vented the conserve of Angelica, and thebread flavoured with orange flowers by thenotes of Chiteau-Thierry is yet famous. Thenuns of Belley used also to make a deli-cious conserve of nuts. Alas, it is lost, Iam afraid.]

Many monastic orders, especially the Bernardins635

paid great attention to good cheer. Thecooks of the clergy reached the very limitsof the art, and M. de Pressigny (who diedArchbishop of Besancon) returned from theconclave which elected Pro Sesto, he saidthe best dinner he ate in Rome was givenby the General of the Capuchins.

CHEVALIERS AND ABBES.We cannot bring this article to a better

636

end than to make an honourable mention oftwo corporations we saw in all their glory:we mean the Chevaliers and the Abbes.

How completely gourmand they were.Their expanded nostrils, their acute eyes,and coral lips could not he mistaken, nei-ther could their gossiping tongue; each class,however, ate in a peculiar manner.

There was something military in the bear-637

ing of the Chevaliers. They ate their delica-cies with dignity, worked calmly, and casthorizontal looks of approbation at both themaster and mistress of the house.

The Abbes however, used to come to thetable with more care, and reached out theirhands as the cat snatches chestnuts fromthe fire. Their faces were all enjoyment, andthere was a concentration about their looks

638

more easy to conceive of, than to describe.As three-fourths of the present genera-

tion have seen nothing like either the Abbes,or Chevaliers, and as it is necessary to un-derstand them, to be able to appreciate manybooks written in the eighteenth century, wewill borrow from the author of the Histori-cal Treatise on Duels, a few pages which willfully satisfy all persons about this subject.

639

(See Varieties, No. 20.)LONGEVITY OF GOURMANDS.I am happy, I cannot be more so, to

inform my readers that good cheer is farfrom being injurious, and that all things be-ing equal, gourmands live longer than otherpeople. This was proved by a scientific dis-sertation recently read at the academy, byDoctor Villermet.

640

He compares the different states of soci-ety, in which good cheer is attended to, withthose where no attention is paid to it, andhas passed through every scale of the lad-der. He has compared the various portionsof Paris, in which people were more or lesscomfortable. All know that in this respectthere is extreme difference, as for instancebetween the Faubourg St. Antoine and the

641

Chaussee d’ Antin.The doctor extended his research to the

departments of France, and compared themost sterile and fertile together, and al-ways obtained a general result in favor ofthe diminution of mortality, in proportionuniversally as the means of subsistence im-prove. Those who cannot well sustain them-selves will be at least wise, to know that

642

death will deliver them soon.The two extremes of this progression are,

that in the most highly favored ranks oflife but one individual in fifty dies, whileof those who are poorer four do.

Those who indulge in good cheer, arerarely, or never sick. Alas! they often fallinto the domain of the faculty, who callthem good patients: as however they have

643

no great degree of vitality, and all portionsof their organization are better sustained,nature has more resources, and the bodyincomparably resists destruction.

This physiological truth may be also sus-tained by history, which tells us that as of-ten as impervious circumstances, such aswar, sieges, the derangement of seasons, etc.,diminish the means of subsistence, such times

644

have ever been accompanied by contagiousdisease and a great increase of mortality.

The idea of Lafarge would beyond a doubthave succeeded in Paris, if those who hadadvanced it had introduced into their cal-culations the truths developed by DoctorVillermet.

They calculated mortality according toBuffoon’s tables, and those of Parcieux and

645

others, all of which were based on the ag-gregate of all classes and conditions. Thosewho made the estimate, however, forgot thedangers of infancy, indulged in general cal-culations, and the speculation failed.

This may not have been the only, hut itwas the principal cause.

For this observation, we are indebted tothe Professor Pardessus.

646

M. de Belloy, archbishop of Paris, had aslight appetite, but a very distinct one. Heloved good cheer and I have often seen hispatriarchal face lighten up at the appear-ance of any choice dish. Napoleon alwayson such occasions paid him deference andrespect.

MEDITATION XIII.GASTRONOMICAL TESTS.

647

IN the preceding chapter, we have seenthat the distinctive characteristics of thosewho have more pretension than right to thehonors of gourmandise, consists in the fact,that, at the best spread table, their eyes aredull and their face inanimate.

They are not worthy of having treasures,when they do not appreciate what is exhib-ited to them. It, however, was very interest-

648

ing for us to point them out, and we havesought every where for information on soimportant a matter, as who should be ourguests and our hosts.

We set about this with an anxiety whichensures success, and, in consequence of ourperseverance, we are able to present to thecorps of amphitryon, gastronomical tests, adiscovery which will do honor to the nine-

649

teenth century.By gastronomical tests, we mean dishes

of so delicious a flavor that their very ap-pearance excites the gustatory organs of ev-ery healthy man. The consequence is, thatall those who do not evince desire, and theradiancy of ecstasy, may very properly beset down as unworthy of the honours of thesociety and the pleasures attached to them.

650

The method of TESTS duly deliberatedon, and examined in the great council, hasbeen described in the golden book, in wordsof an unchangeable tongue, as follows:

Utcumque ferculum, eximii et bene notisaporis appositum fuerit, fiat autopsia con-vivoe; et nisi facies ejus ae oculi vertanturad ecstasim, notetur ut indignus.

This was rendered into the vernacular,651

by the translator of the grand council, asfollows:

”Whenever a dish of a distinguished andgood flavor is served, the guests should beattentively watched, and those, the faces ofwhom do not express pleasure, should bemarked as unworthy.”

Tests are relative, and should be propor-tioned to the various classes of society. All

652

things considered, it should be arranged soas to create admiration and surprise. It isa dynameter, the power of which should in-crease as we ascend in society. The test fora householder in La Rue Coquenard, wouldnot suit a second clerk, and would be unno-ticed at the table of a financier, or a minis-ter.

In the enumeration of the dishes we think653

worthy of being considered as tests, we willbegin at the lowest grade, and will grad-ually ascend so as to elucidate the theory,so that all may not only use it with bene-fit, but also invent a new series calculatedfor the sphere in which they chance to beplaced.

We will now give a list of the dishes wethink fit to be served as tests; we have di-

654

vided them into three series of gradual as-cents, following the order indicated above.

GASTRONOMICAL TESTS.FIRST SERIES.–INCOME OF 5,000 FRANCS.A breast of veal baked in its own juice.A turkey stuffed with Lyons chestnuts.Baked pigeons.Eggs a la neige.Sourkrout, with sausages dressed with

655

lard, fume de Strasburg.EXPRESSION. ”Peste; that looks well;

let us pay our devoirs to it.”SECOND SERIES.–INCOME 15,000 FRANCS.A filet de boeuf pique, and baked in its

juice, with pickles.A quarter of Chevreuil.Turbot plain.A Turkey Truffee.

656

Petits pois.EXCLAMATION. ”My dear sir, this is

pleasant indeed!”THIRD SERIES.–INCOME 30,000 FRANCS,

OR MORE.A fowl weighing seven pounds, stuffed

with truffles, so that it has become a spheroid.A patte perigord in the form of a bas-

tion.657

A cask a la Chambord richly dressedand decorated.

A pike stuffed with craw-fish secundumartum.

A pheasant dressed a la sainte alliance.Asparagus, large as possible, served up

in osmazome.Two dozen ortolans a la provencale, as

the dish is described in the Cook’s Secre-658

tary.A pyramid of sweet meats, flavored with

rose and vanilla.EXPRESSION. ”Monsieur, or Monseigneur,

your cook is a man of mind. Such dishes weeat only at your house.”

MEDITATION XIV.ON THE PLEASURES OF THE TA-

BLE.659

MAN of all the animals who live on theearth, is beyond doubt, the one who expe-riences most suffering.

Nature condemned him to suffering byrobbing him of hair, by giving him such apeculiar formation of his feet, also by theinstinct of destruction, and of war whichhas followed man every where.

Animals have never been stricken with660

this curse, and with the exception of a fewcontests, caused by the instinct of reproduc-tion, harm would be absolutely unknown tothe lower animals of creation. Man, thoughhe cannot appreciate pleasure except by asmall number of organs, may yet be liableto intense agony.

This decree of destiny was engraved by acrowd of maladies, which originated in the

661

social system. The result is that the mostintense pleasure one can imagine, cannotatone for certain pains, such as the gout,the tooth-ache, etc., acute rheumatisms, stric-tures, and many other diseases we mightmention.

This practical fear of pain has had theeffect, that without even perceiving it, manhas rushed into an opposite direction, and

662

has devoted himself to the small number ofpleasures nature has placed at his disposal.

ORIGIN OF THE PLEASURES OF THETABLE.

Meals, as we understand the word, be-gan at the second stage of the history of hu-manity. That is to say as soon as we ceasedto live on fruits alone. The preparation anddistribution of food made the union of the

663

family a necessity, at least once a day. Theheads of families then distributed the pro-duce of the chase, and grown children didas much for their parents.

These collections, limited at first to nearrelations, were ultimately extended to neigh-bors and friends.

At a later day when the human specieswas more widely extended, the weary trav-

664

eler used to sit at such boards and tell whathe had seen in foreign lands. Thus hospital-ity was produced, and its rights were recog-nized everywhere. There was never any oneso ferocious as not to respect him who hadpartaken of his bread and salt.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PLEA-SURE OF EATING AND THE PLEASURESOF THE TABLE.

665

Such from the nature of things, shouldbe the elements of the pleasures of the tablewhich, where eating is a necessity, of coursetakes the precedence.

The pleasure of eating is a peculiar sen-sation directed to the satisfaction of a ne-cessity. The pleasures of the table is a re-flected sensation, originating in various facts,places, things and persons.

666

We share with animals in the pleasureof eating. They and we have hunger whichmust he satisfied.

It is peculiar to the human race, for itsupposes a predisposition for food, for theplace of meeting, and for guests.

The pleasures of the table exact, if nothunger, at least appetite. The table is oftenindependent of hoth the one and the other.

667

This we may see at every entertainment.At the first course every one eats and

pays no attention to conversation; all ranksand grades are forgotten together in thegreat manufacture of life. When, however,hunger begins to be satisfied, reflection be-gins, and conversation commences. The per-son who, hitherto, had been a mere con-sumer, becomes an amiable guest, in pro-

668

portion as the master of all things provideshim with the means of gratification.

EFFECTS.The pleasures of the table afford neither

ravishing pleasure, ecstasy, nor transport,but it gains in intensity what it loses induration. It is the more valuable becauseit exposes us to all other gratifications andeven consoles us for their loss.

669

After a good dinner body and soul enjoya peculiar happiness.

Physically, as the brain becomes refreshed,the face lightens up, the colors become height-ened, and a glow spreads over the wholesystem.

Morally, the mind becomes sharpened,witticisms circulate. If La Farre and SaintAulaire descend to posterity with the rep-

670

utation of spiritual authors, they owe it es-pecially to the fact that they were pleasantguests.

Besides, there are often found collectedaround the same table, all the modificationsof society which extreme sociability has in-troduced among us: love, friendship, busi-ness, speculation, power, ambition, and in-trigue, all enhance conviviality. Thus it is

671

that it produces fruits of all imaginable fla-vors.

ACCESSORIES.An immediate consequence of all these

antecedents is that human industry has toiledto augment the duration of the gratifica-tions of the table.

Poets complain that the throat is tooshort for the uses of degustation, and others

672

lament the want of capacity of the stomach.Some even regret that digestion is accom-plished in a single act and not divided intotwo.

This was but an extreme effort to am-plify the enjoyments of taste; in this re-spect, however, it is impossible to exceedthe limits imposed by nature, and an ap-peal was made to accessories, which offered

673

more latitude.Vases and goblets were crowned with

flowers; crowns were distributed to the guests,and dinners served beneath the vault of heaven,in groves, and amid all the wonders of na-ture.

Music and song were made to increasethe pleasures of the table. Thus while theking of the Pheacians ate, the singer Phemius

674

sang the praises of the wars and warriors ofother days.

Often dancers and pantomimists of bothsexes, in all possible costumes, occupied theattention without injuring the pleasure ofthe meal. The most exquisite perfumes werediffused in the air, and guests were oftenwaited on by unveiled beauty, so that everysense was appealed to.

675

I might consume many pages in provingwhat I advance. The Greek authors andour old chroniclers only need to be copied.These researches, however, only need to bemade to be evident, and my erudition wouldbe of little value

THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURY.We have adopted to a greater or less

degree various methods of enjoyment, and676

have, by new discoveries, somewhat enhancedthe number.

The delicacy of our tastes would not per-mit the vomitoria of the Romans to remain.We did better, however, and accomplishedthe same object in a more pleasant manner.

Dishes of such an attractive flavor havebeen increased that they perpetually repro-duce the appetite. They are so light that

677

they flatter the appetite without loadingthe stomach. Seneca would have called themNUBES ESCULENTAS.

We have advanced so far in alimentationthat if business called us from the table,or if it became necessary for us to sleep,the duration of the meal would have beenalmost indeterminable.

One must not, however, believe that all678

of these accessories are indispensable to thepleasures of the table. Pleasure is enjoyedin almost all its extent when the follow-ing conditions are united: good cheer, goodwine, a pleasant company, and time.

I have often, therefore, wished to havebeen present at one of those pleasant repastswhich Horace invited one of his neighbors toshare, viz: a good chicken, a lamb (doubt-

679

less fat,) and as a desert, grapes, figs andnuts. Uniting these to wine, made whenManlius was consul, and the delicious con-versation of the poet, I fancy I could havesupped very pleasantly.

At mihi cum longum post tempus ven-erat hospes Sive operum vacuo, longum con-viva per imbrem Vicinus, bene erat non pis-cibus urbe petitis, Sed pullo atque hasdo,

680

tum [Footnote: Le dessert se trouve pre-cisement designe et distingue par l’adverbeTUM et par les mots SECUNDAS MENSAS.]pensilis uva secundas Et nux ornabat men-sas, cum duplice ficu. Thus it was only yes-terday I regaled six friends with a boiled legof mutton and a kidney A L’PONTOISE.They indulged in the pleasures of conver-sation so fully that they forgot that there

681

were richer meats or better cooks.On the other hand, let persons make as

much research as possible for good cheer;there is no pleasure at the table if the winebe bad, and the guests collected withoutcare. Faces will then be sure to seem sad,and the meal will be eaten without, consid-eration.

SUMMARY.682

But perhaps the impatient reader willask how, in the year of grace 1825, can anytable be spread which will unite all of theseconditions?

I will answer this question. Be attentive,readers. Gasterea, the most attractive ofthe muses, inspires me. I will be as clearas an oracle, and my precepts will live forcenturies:–

683

”Let the number of guests never exceedtwelve, so that the conversation may be gen-eral.

”Let them he so chosen that their occu-pations may be varied, their tastes analo-gous, and that they may have such pointsof contact that introduction may be useless.

”Let the dining-room be furnished withluxury, the table clean, and the tempera-

684

ture of the room about 16 degrees Reau-mur.

”Let the men be intelligent, but not pedantic–and the women pretty, but not coquettes.

”Let the dishes be of exquisite taste, butfew in number at the first course; let thoseof the second be as pleasant and as highlyperfumed as possible.

”Let the coffee be hot, and let the mas-685

ter select his own wines.”Let the reception-room be large enough

to permit those who cannot do without theamusement, to make up a card party, andalso for little COTERIES of conversation.

”Let the guests be retained by the plea-sures of society, and by the hope that theevening will not pass without some ulteriorenjoyment

686

”The tea should not be too strong, theroast dishes should be loaded artistically,and the punch made carefully.

”None should begin to retire before eleveno’clock, and at midnight all should havegone to bed.

”If any one has been present at an en-tertainment uniting all these conditions, hemay boast of having witnessed his own apotheo-

687

sis. He will enjoy it the more, because manyother apotheosis have been forgotten or mis-taken.”

I have said that the pleasure of the table,as I have described it, was susceptible oflong duration, and I am about to prove itby the history of the longest meal I everwas present at. It is a BONBON I give thereader as a reward for patient attention to

688

me. Here it is:-I had a family of kinsfolk in the Rue

de Bac, constituted as follows: a doctor,who was seventy-eight; a captain, who wasseventy-six; and their sister, Jeannette, whowas sixty-four. I used to visit them some-times, and they always received me kindly.

”PARBLEU!” said Doctor Dubois, ris-ing on his toes one day to tap me on the

689

shoulder; ”you have a long time been brag-ging about your FONDUES, (eggs and cheese,)and you always make our mouths water.The captain and I will come to dine withyou, and we will see what your famous dishis.” (This took place about 1801.) ”Will-ingly,” said I, ”and to enable you to see itin all its glory, I will cook it myself. I amdelighted with your proposition, and wish

690

you to come punctually at ten to-morrow.”At the appointed time my guests came,

clean shaved, and with their heads pow-dered. They were two little old men; yetfresh, however, and well. They smiled withpleasure when they saw the table ready,set with three covers, and with two dozenoysters by each plate. At the two ends ofthe table were bottles of Sauterne, careful-

691

lly wiped, except the cork, which indicatedthat it had been long bottled. Alas! Ihave gradually seen oysters disappear frombreakfast, though they were once so com-mon. They disappeared with the ABBES,who never ate less than a gross; and theCHEVALIERS, who ate quite as many. Iregret them but as a philosopher. If timemodifies governments, how great must be

692

its influence over simple usages. After theoysters, which were very good, grilled kid-neys, a PATE of FOIE GRAS with truffles,and then the FONDUE.

The elements had been put in a chafing-dish, and brought to the table with spiritsof wine. I set at once to work, and my twocousins watched every motion I made.

They were delighted, and asked for the693

recipe, which I promised, telling them twoanecdotes, which the reader will perhapsmeet with elsewhere.

After the FONDUE we had the vari-ous fruits which were in season, and a cupof real mocha, made A LA DU BELLOY,which was then becoming fashionable. Weended with two kinds of LIQUEURS.

Breakfast being over, I invited my two694

kinsmen to take a little exercise, and to ac-company me through my lodgings, whichare far from being elegant, and which myfriends, in consequence of their size and splen-dor, prefer to the gilding and OR MOLU ofthe reign of Louis XV.

I showed them the original bust of mypretty cousin, Mme. Recamier by Chinard,and her miniature by Augustin. They were

695

so much pleased, that the Doctor kissed thelatter with his thick lips, and the Captaintook a liberty with the bust of the first, forwhich I reproved him. Were all the admir-ers of the original to do as he did, the bustwould soon be in the condition of the fa-mous statue of St. Peter at Borne, whichthe kisses of pilgrims have worn away.

I showed them afterwards, casts of old696

statuary, some pictures, which are not with-out merit, my guns, my musical instruments,and several fine editions of the French andforeign classics.

They did not forget the kitchen in theirvoyage of discovery. I showed them my eco-nomical furnace, my turnspit by clock-work,my roasting apparatus, and my vaporiser.They were much surprised, as every thing

697

in their house was done in the style of theregency.

Just as we were about to enter the room,the clock struck two. ”Peste!” said the Doc-tor, ”the dinner time and Jeannette awaitsus; we must go, not because I wish to eat,but I must have my bowl of soup like Ti-tus DIEM PERDIDI.” ”My dear Doctor,”said I, ”why go so far? what is here? Send

698

some to my cousin and remain here, if youwill, and accept my apology for a somewhathasty dinner and you will delight me.”

There was an ocular consultation on thematter between the two brothers, and I atonce sent a messenger to the Faubourg St.Germain. I also told my cook what I wished.After a time, in part with his own resourcesand from the neighboring restaurants, he

699

served us up a very comfortable little din-ner.

It was a great gratification to me, tosee the SANG FROID and quiet nerve withwhich my kinsmen sat down, unfolded theirnapkins and began. They met with twosurprises which I did not anticipate; I gavethem PARMESAN with soup, and a glassof dry Madeira. These two novelties had

700

just been introduced by M. De Tallyrand,the first of our diplomatists, to whom weare indebted for so many shrewd expres-sive words, and whom public attention hasalways followed with marked interest evenwhen he had retired.

Dinner passed very comfortably, and asfar as the substantiate and the accessorieswere concerned, my friends were as agree-

701

able as they were merry.After dinner, I proposed a game of PI-

QUET, which they refused, preferring, asthe Captain said, IL FAR NIENTE of theItalians, and we sat around the fireplace.

In spite of the pleasures of the FAR NIENTE,I have often thought that nothing enlivensconversation more than any occupation whichdistracts but does not absorb all coversa-

702

tion.Tea was a novelty to the French at that

time. They however took it; I made it intheir presence, and they took it with greaterpleasure, because, hitherto they had onlylooked on it as a remedy.

Long observation had informed me, thatone piece of complaisance ever brings on an-other, and that after one step there is no

703

choice but to continue in the same route.”You will kill me,” said the Doctor. ”You

will make me drunk,” said the Captain. Imade no reply, but rang for rum, sugar, andlemons. I made some punch, and while Iwas preparing some, excellent well butteredtoast was also prepared.

My cousins protested that they couldnot eat a morsel more; but, as I was famil-

704

liar with the attraction of this simple prepa-ration, I insisted, and the Captain havingtaken the first slice, I had no hesitation inordering more.

Time rolled on, and the clock was onthe stroke of eight. ”Let us go,” said theworthies, ”for we must eat a salad with oursister, who has not seen us to day.”

I did not object, and accompanied the705

two pleasant old men to their carriage, andsaw them leave.

Perhaps, the question may be asked, iftheir long visit did not annoy me.

I answer, no. The attention of my guestswas sustained by the preparation of the FON-DUE, by their examination of my rooms, bya few novelties after dinner, by the tea, andespecially by the punch, which was the best

706

they had ever tasted.The Doctor, too, knew all the geneal-

ogy and history of the people of Paris. TheCaptain had passed a portion of his life inItaly, either as a soldier or as envoy to theCourt of Parma. I had travelled much, andconversation pursued its natural bent. Un-der such circumstances time could not butfly rapidly.

707

On the next day, a letter from the Doc-tor informed me, that their little debauchhad done them no harm, but that after aquiet night’s rest, they awoke convinced thatthey could go over the whole matter again.

MEDITATION XV.HALTES DE CHASSE.AMID all the circumstances in life, when

eating is considered valuable, one of the most708

agreeable is, doubtless, when there is a pausein the chase. It alone may be prolonged themost without ennui.

After a few hours exercise, the most ea-ger huntsman feels a necessity for rest. Hisface needs caressing by the morning breeze:he halts, however, not from necessity, butby that instinctive impulse which tells himthat his activity is not indefinite.

709

Shade attracts him, the turf receives him,the murmur of the rivulet advises him toopen the flask he has brought to revive him-self I with. [Footnote: For such purposes, Iprefer white wine; it resists heat better thanany other.] Thus placed, he takes out thelittle well baked loaves, uncovers the coldchicken some kind hand has placed in hishavresack, and finds the piece of gruyere or

710

roquefort, which is to represent a dessert.While he makes these preparations, he

is accompanied by the faithful animal Godhas created for him; co-operation has over-come distance. They are two friends, andthe servant is at once happy and proud tobe the guest of his master.

It is an appetite equally unknown to theworldly and devotees: the first do not allow

711

hunger time to come: the second never in-dulge in exercises which produce it.

The repast being prepared, each has itsportion; why not sleep for a while? Noon isan hour of rest for all creation.

The pleasures are decuples by being sharedwith friends. In this case, a more abundantmeal is brought in military chests now em-ployed for both purposes. All speak of the

712

prowess of one, the messes at the other, andof the anticipations of the evening.

What if one should come provided withone of those vases consecrated to Bacchus,where artificial cold ices the madrin, thestrawberry, and pine-apple juice, those deli-cious flavors which spread through the wholesystem a luxury unknown to the profane.

We have not, however, reached the last713

term of progression of pleasure.LADIES.There are times when our wives, sis-

ters, and cousins are invited to share inthese amusements. At the appointed hour,light carriages, prancing horses, etc., hear-ing ladies collect. The toilette of the ladiesis half military, and half coquette. Theprofessor will, if he be observant, catch a

714

glimpse of things not intended for his eye.The door of the carriages will soon be

opened, and a glimpse will be had of patesde Perigord, the wonders of Strasburg, thedelicacies of d’Achard, and all that the bestlaboratories produce that is transportable.

They have not forgotten foaming cham-pagne, a fit ornament for the hand of beauty.They sit on the grass–corks fly, all laugh,

715

jest, and are happy. Appetite, this emena-tion of heaven, gives to the meal a vivacityforeign to the drawing-room, however welldecorated it may be.

All, however, must end; the oldest per-son present gives the signal; all arise, mentake their guns, and the ladies their hats--all go, and the ladies disappear until night.

I have hunted in the centre of France,716

and in the very depths of the departments.I have seen at the resting places carriageloads of women of radiant beauty, and oth-ers mounted on a modest ass, such as com-poses the fortunes of the people of Mont-morency. I have seen them first laugh atthe inconveniences of the mode of trans-portation, and then spread on the lawn aturkey, with transparent jelly, and a salad

717

ready prepared. I have seen them dancearound a fire lighted for the occasion, andhave participated in the pleasures of thisgypsy sport. I am sure so much attractionwith so little luxury is never met with else-where.

Les haltes de la chasse are a yet vir-gin subject which we have only touched, weleave the subject to any one who pleases to

718

take a fancy to it.MEDITATION XVI.ON DIGESTION.We never see what we eat, says an old

adage, except what we digest.How few, however, know what digestion

is, though it is a necessity equalizing richand poor, the shepherd and the king.

The majority of persons who, like M.719

Jourdan, talked prose without knowing it,digest without knowing how; for them I makea popular history of digestion, being satis-fied that M. Jourdan was much better satis-fied when his master told him that he wroteprose. To he fully acquainted with diges-tion, one must know hoth its antecedentsand consequents.

INGESTION.720

Appetite, hunger, and thirst, warn usthat the hody needs restoration; pain, thatuniversal monitor, never ceases to tormentus if we do not obey it.

Then comes eating and drinking whichare ingestion, an operation which begins assoon as the food is in the mouth, and entersthe oesophagus.

During its passage, through a space of a721

few inches much takes place.The teeth divide solid food, the glands

which line the inside of the mouth moistenit, the tongue mingles the food, presses itagainst the palate so as to force out thejuice, and then collects the elements in thecentre of the mouth, after which, resting onthe lower jaw, it lifts up the central por-tion forming a kind of inclined plane to the

722

lower portion of the mouth where they arereceived by the pharynx, which itself con-tracting, forces them into the oesophagus.

One mouthful having thus been treated,a second is managed in the same way, anddeglutition continues until appetite informsus that it is time to stop. It is rarely, though,that it stops here, for as it is one of theattributes of man to drink without thirst,

723

cooks have taught him to eat without hunger.To ensure every particle of food reaching

the stomach, two dangers must be avoided.It must not pass into the passage behind

the nose, which luckily is covered by a veil.The second is that it must not enter

the trachea. This is a serious danger, forany particle passing into the trachea, wouldcause a convulsive cough, which would last

724

until it was expelled.An admirable mechanism, however, closes

the glottis while we swallow, and we havea certain instinct which teaches us not tobreathe during deglutition. In general, there-fore, we may say, that in spite of this strangeconformation, food passes easily into thestomach, where the exercise of the will ceases,and digestion begins.

725

DUTY OF THE STOMACH.Digestion is a purely mechanical oper-

ation and the digestive apparatus, may beconsidered as a winnowing mill, the effectof which is, to extract all that is nutritiousand to get rid of the chaff.

The manner in which digestion is effctedhas been so long a question for argument,and persons have sought to ascertain if it

726

were effected by coction, fermentation, so-lution, chemical, or vital action.

All of these modes have their influence,and the only error was that many causeswere sought to be attributed to one.

In fact food impregnated by all fluidswhich fill the mouth and oesophagus, reachesthe stomach where it is impregnated by thegastric juices, which always fill it. It is then

727

subjected for several hours to a heat of 30[degrees] Reaumer; it is mingled by the or-ganic motion of the stomach, which theirpresence excites. They act on each other bythe effect of this juxtaposition and fermen-tation must take place. All that is nourish-ing ferments.

In consequence of all of these operations,chyle is elaborated and spread over the food,

728

which then passes the pylorus and entersthe intestines. Portion after portion suc-ceeds until the stomach is empty, thus evac-uating itself as it was filled.

The pylorus is a kind of chamber be-tween the stomach and the intestines, soconstructed that food once in it can ascendonly with great difficulty. This viscera issometimes obstructed when the sufferer, af-

729

ter long and intense agony, dies of hunger.The next intestine beyond the pylorus is

the duodenum. It is so called because it istwelve fingers long.

When chyle reaches the duodenum, itreceives a new elaboration by being min-gled with bile and the panchreatic juice.It loses the grey color and acidity it previ-ously possessed, becomes yellow and com-

730

mences to assume a stercoral odor, whichincreases as it advances to the rectum. Thevarious substances act reciprocally on eachother; there must, consequently, be manyanalagous gasses produced.

The impulse which ejected chyle fromthe stomach, continues and forces the foodtowards the lower intestines, there the chyleseparates itself and is absorbed by organs

731

intended for the purpose, whence it pro-ceeds to the liver, to mingle with the blood,which it revives, and thus repairs the lossesof the vital organs and of transpiration.

It is difficult to explain how chyle, whichis a light and almost insipid fluid, can beextracted from a mass, the color of which,and the taste, are so deeply pronounced.

Be that as it may, the preparation of732

chyle appears to be the true object of di-gestion, and as soon as it mingles with thecirculation, the individual becomes aware ofa great increase of physical power.

The digestion of fluids is less compli-cated than that of solids, and can be ex-plained in a few words.

The purely liquid portion is absorbed bythe stomach, and thrown into circulation;

733

thence it is taken to the veins by the arteriesand filtered by urethras, [Footnote: Theseurethras are conduits of the size of a pea,which start from the kidneys, and end atthe upper neck of the bladder.] which passthem as urine, to the bladder.

When in this last receptacle, and thoughrestrained by the spinchter muscle, the urineremains there but a brief time; its exciting

734

nature causes a desire to avoid it, and soonvoluntary constriction emits it through canals,which common consent does not permit usto name.

Digestion varies in the time it consumes,according to the temperament of individ-uals. The mean time, however, is sevenhours, viz., three hours for the stomach,and the rest of the time for the lower in-

735

testines.From this expose which I have selected

from the most reliable authors, I have sep-arated all anatomical rigidities, and scien-tific abstractions. My readers will thencebe able to judge where the last meal theyate is: viz., during the first three hours inthe stomach, later in the intestinal canal,and after seven hours, awaiting expulsion.

736

INFLUENCE OF DIGESTION.Of all corporeal operations, digestion is

the one which has the closest connectionwith the moral condition of man.

This assertion should amaze no one; thingscannot be otherwise.

The principles of physiology tells us thatthe soul is liable to impressions only in pro-portion as the organs subjected to it have

737

relation to external objects, whence it fol-lows that when these organs are badly pre-served, badly restored, or irritated, this stateof degradation exerts a necessary influenceon sensations, which are the intermediatesof mental operations.

Thus the habitual manner in which di-gestion is performed or affected, makes useither sad, gay, taciturn, gossiping morose

738

or melancholy, without our being able todoubt the fact, or to resist it for a moment.

In this respect, humanity may be ar-ranged under three categories; the regular,the reserved, and the uncertain.

Each of the persons who belong to eachof the series, not only have similar disposi-tions, and propensities, but there is some-thing analagous and similar in the man-

739

ner in which they fulfill the mission fromwhich chance during their lives has sepa-rated them.

To exhibit an example, I will go into thevast field of literature. I think men of let-ters frequently owe all their characteristicsto their peculiar mode of life. Comic poetsmust be of one kind, tragic poets of another,and elegiac, of the uncertain class. The

740

most elegiac and the most comic are onlyseparated by a variety of digestive functions.

By an application of this principle tocourage, when Prince Eugene of Savoy, wasdoing the greatest injury to France, someone said, ”Ah, why can I not send him apate de foie gras, three times a week I wouldmake him the greatest sluggard of Europe.”

”Let us hurry our men into action, while741

a little beef is left in their bowels,” said anEnglish general.

Digestion in the young is very often ac-companied by a slight chill, and in the old,by a great wish to sleep. In the first case,nature extracts the coloric from the surfaceto use it in its laboratory. In the second,the same power debilitated by age cannotat once satisfy both digestion and the ex-

742

citement of the senses.When digestion has just begun, it is dan-

gerous to yield to a disposition for men-tal work. One of the greatest causes ofmortality is, that some men after havingdined, and perhaps too well dined, can nei-ther close their eyes nor their ears.

This observation contains a piece of ad-vice, which should even attract the most

743

careless youth, usually attentive to noth-ing. It should also arrest the attention ofgrown men, who forget nothing, not eventhat time never pauses, and which is a pe-nal law to those on the wrong side of fifty.

Some persons are fretful while digestionis going on. At that time, nothing should besuggested to and no favors asked of them.

Among these was marshal Augereau, who,744

during the first hour after dinner, slaugh-tered friends and enemies indiscriminately.

I have heard it said, that there were twopersons in the army, whom the general-in-chief always wished to have shot, the commissary-in-chief and the head of his general staff.They were both present. Cherin the chiefof staff, talked back to him, and the com-missary, though he said nothing, did not

745

think a bit the less.At that time, I was attached to his gen-

eral staff, and always had a plate at his ta-ble. I used, however, to go thither rarely,being always afraid of his periodical out-breaks, and that he would send me to din-ner to finish my digestion.

I met him afterwards at Paris, and as hetestified his regret that he had not seen me

746

oftener, I did not conceal the reason. Welaughed over the matter and he confessedthat I was not wrong.

We were then at Offenbourg, and a com-plaint was made by the staff that we ate nogame nor fish.

This complaint was well founded, for itis a maxim, of public law, that the con-querors should always live at the expense

747

of the conquered. On that very day I wrotea letter to the master of the forests to pointout a remedy.

This official was an old trooper, whodoubtless was unwilling to treat us kindlylest we should take root in this territory.His answer was negative and evasive. Thegame keepers, afraid of our soldiers, hadgone, the fishermen were insubordinate, the

748

water muddy, etc. To all this, I said noth-ing, but I sent him ten grenadiers to belodged and fed until further orders.

The remedy was effective; for early onthe next day after, I saw a heavily loadedwagon come. The game-keepers had comeback, the fishermen were submissive; we hadgame and fish enough to last for a week.

We had kid, snipe, lark, pike, etc.749

When I received the offering, I freed thesuperintendent from his troublesome guests,and during the whole time we remained inthat part of the country, we had nothing tocomplain of.

MEDITATION XVII.REPOSE.MAN is not made to enjoy an indefi-

nite activity; nature has destined him to a750

variable existence, and his perceptions mustend after a certain time. This time of activ-ity may be prolonged, by varying the natureof the perceptions to be experienced, and acontinuity of life brings about a desire forrepose.

Repose leads to sleep, and sleep pro-duces dreams.

Here we find ourselves on the very verge751

of humanity, for the man who sleeps is some-thing more than a mere social being: thelaw protects, but does not command him.

Here a very singular fact told me byDom Duhaget, once prior of the Chartreuseconvent of Pierre Chatel, presents itself.

Dom Duhaget was a member of a verygood family in Gascogne, and had servedwith some distinction as a captain of in-

752

fantry. He was a knight of St Louis. I neverknew any one, the conversation of whomwas more pleasant.

”There was,” said he, ”before I went toPierre Chatel, a monk of a very melancholyhumor, whose character was very sombre,and who was looked upon as a somnambu-list.

”He used often to leave his cell, and753

when he went astray, people were forced toguide him back again. Many attempts hadbeen made to cure him, but in vain.

”One evening I had not gone to bed atthe usual hour, but was in my office lookingover several papers, when I saw this monkenter in a perfect state of somnambulism.

”His eyes were open but fixed, and hewas clad in the tunic in which he should

754

have gone to bed, but he had a huge knifein his hand.

”He came at once to my bed, the posi-tion of which he was familiar with, and af-ter having felt my hand, struck three blowswhich penetrated the mattrass on which Ilaid.

”As he passed in front of me his browswere knit, and I saw an expression of ex-

755

treme gratification pervaded his face.”The light of two lamps on my desk made

no impression, and he returned as he hadcome, opening the doors which led to hiscell, and I soon became satisfied that hehad quietly gone to bed.

”You may,” said the Prior, ”fancy mystate after this terrible apparition; I trem-bled at the danger I had escaped, and gave

756

thanks to Providence. My emotion, how-ever, was so great that during the balanceof the night I could not sleep.

”On the next day I sent for the somnam-bulist and asked him what he had dreamedof during the preceding night.

”When I asked the question he becametroubled. ’Father,’ said he, ’I had so strangea dream that it really annoys me; I fear al-

757

most to tell you for I am sure the devil hashad his hand in it.’ ’I order you to tell me,’said I, ’dreams are involuntary and this mayonly be an illusion. Speak sincerely to me.’’Father,’ said he,’ I had scarcely gone tosleep when I dreamed that you had killedmy mother, and when her bloody shadowappeared to demand vengeance, I hurriedinto your cell, and as I thought stabbed

758

you. Not long after I arose, covered withperspiration, and thanked God that I hadnot committed the crime I had meditated.’’It has been more nearly committed,’ saidI, with a kind voice, ’than you think.’

”I then told him what had passed, andpointed out to him the blows he had aimedat me.

”He cast himself at my feet, and all in759

tears wept over the involuntary crime hehad thought to commit, and besought meto inflict any penance I might think fit.

”’No,’ said I, ’I will not punish you foran involuntary act. Henceforth, though Iexcuse you from the service of the night, Iinform you that your cell will be locked onthe outside and never be opened except topermit you to attend to the first mass.’”

760

If in this instance, from which a mir-acle only saved him, the Prior had beenkilled, the monk would not have suffered,for he would have committed a homicidenot a murder.

TIME OF REST.The general laws of the globe we inhabit

have an influence on the human race. Thealternatives of day and night are felt with

761

certain varieties over the whole globe, butthe result of all this is the indication of aseason of quiet and repose. Probably wewould not have been the same persons hadwe lived all our lives without any change ofday or night.

Be this as it may, when one has enjoyedfor a certain length of time a plentitude oflife a time comes when he can enjoy noth-

762

ing; his impressibility gradually decreases,and the effects on each of his senses arebadly arranged. The organs are dull andthe soul becomes obtuse.

It is easy to see that we have had so-cial man under consideration, surroundedby all the attractions of civilization. Thenecessity of this is peculiarly evident to allwho are buried either in the studio, travel,

763

as soldiers, or in any other manner.In repose our mother nature especially

luxuriates. The man who really reposes,enjoys a happiness which is as general asit is indefinable; his arms sink by their ownweight, his fibres distend, his brain becomesrefreshed, his senses become calm, and hissensations obtuse. He wishes for nothing,he does not reflect, a veil of gauze is spread

764

before his eyes, and in a few moments hewill sink to sleep.

MEDITATION XVIII.SLEEP.THOUGH some men be organized that

they may be said not to sleep, yet the greatnecessity of the want of sleep is well definedas is hunger or thirst. The advanced sen-tinels of the army used often to sleep though

765

they filled their eyes with snuff.DEFINITION.Sleep is a physical condition, during which

man separates himself from external objectsby the inactivity of his senses, and has onlya mechanical life.

Sleep, like night, is preceded and fol-lowed by two twilights. The one leads toinertion, the other to activity.

766

Let us seek to elucidate these phenom-ena.

When sleep begins, the organs of thesenses fall almost into inactivity. Taste firstdisappears, then the sight and smell. Theear still is on the alert, and touch neverslumbers. It ever warns us of danger towhich the body is liable.

Sleep is always preceded by a more or767

less voluptuous sensation. The body yieldsto it with pleasure, being certain of a promptrestoration. The soul gives up to it withconfidence, hoping that its means of fictionwill he retempered.

From the fact of their not appreciatingthis sensation, savants of high rank havecompared sleep to death, which all livingbeings resist as much as possible, and which

768

even animals show a horror of.Like all pleasures, sleep becomes a pas-

sion. Persons have been known to sleepaway three-quarters of their life. Like allother passions it then exerts the worst influ-ences, producing idleness, indolence, slothand death.

The school of Salernum granted only sevenhours to sleep without distinction to sex

769

or age. This maxim was too severe, formore time is needed by children, and moreshould, from complaisance, be granted towomen. Though whenever more than tenhours is passed in bed there is abuse.

In the early hours of crepuscular sleep,will yet exists. We can rouse ourselves, andthe eye has not yet lost all its power. Nonomnibus dormio, said Mecenes, and in this

770

state more than one husband has acquired asad certainty. Some ideas yet originate butare incoherent. There are doubtful lights,and see indistinct forms flit around. Thiscondition does not last long, for sleep soonbecomes absolute.

What does the soul do in the interim?It lives in itself, and like a pilot in a calm,like a mirror at night, a lute that no one

771

touches, awakes new excitement.Some psycologists, among others the count

of Redern, say that the soul always acts.The evidence is, that a man aroused fromsleep always preserves a memory of his dreams.

There is something in this observation,which deserves verification.

This state of annihilation, however, is ofbrief duration, never exceeding more than

772

five or six hours: losses are gradually re-paired, an obscure sense of existence man-ifests itself, and the sleeper passes into theempire of dreams.

MEDITATION XIX.DREAMS.Dreams are material impressions on the

soul, without the intervention of externalobjects.

773

These phenomena, so common in ordi-nary times, are yet little known.

The fault resides with the savants whodid not allow us a sufficiently great num-ber of instances. Time will however remedythis, and the double nature of man will bebetter known.

In the present state of science, it mustbe taken for granted that there exists a fluid,

774

subtle as it is powerful, which transmitsto the brain the impressions received bythe senses. This excitement is the cause ofideas.

Absolute sleep is the deperdition or in-ertia of this fluid.

We must believe that the labors of di-gestion and assimulation do not cease dur-ing sleep, but repair losses so that there is

775

a time when the individual having alreadyall the necessities of action is not excited byexternal objects.

Thus the nervous fluid–movable from itsnature, passes to the brain, through thenervous conduits. It insinuates itself intothe same places, and follows the old road.It produces the same, but less intense ef-fects.

776

I could easily ascertain the reason of this.When man is impressed by an external ob-ject, sensation is sudden, precise, and in-voluntary. The whole organ is in motion.When on the contrary, the same impressionis received in sleep, the posterior portion ofthe nerves only is in motion, and the sen-sation is in consequence, less distinct andpositive. To make ourselves more easily un-

777

derstood, we will say that when the man isawake, the whole system is impressed, whilein sleep, only that portion near the brain isaffected.

We know, however, that in voluptuousdreams, nature is almost as much gratifiedas by our waking sensations; there is, how-ever, this difference in the organs, for eachsex has all the elements of gratification.

778

When the nervous fluid is taken to ourbrain, it is always collected in vats, so tosay, intended for the use of one of our senses,and for that reason, a certain series of ideas,preferable to others, are aroused. Thus wesee when the optic nerve is excited, andhear when those of the ear are moved. Letus here remark that taste and smell arerarely experienced in dreams. We dream

779

of flowers, but not of their perfume; we seea magnificently arranged table, but have noperception of the flavor of the dishes.

This is a subject of enquiry worthy ofthe most distinguished science. We mean,to ascertain why certain senses are lost insleep, while others preserve almost their fullactivity. No physiologist has ever taken careof this matter.

780

Let us remark that the influences weare subject to when we sleep, are internal.Thus, sensual ideas are nothing after theanguish we suffer at a dream of the deathof a loved child. At such moments we awaketo find ourselves weeping bitterly.

NATURE OF DREAMS.Whimsical as some of the ideas which

visit us in dreams may be, we will on exam-781

ination find they are either recollections, orcombinations of memory. I am inclined tosay that dreams are the memory of sensa-tions.

Their strangeness exists only in the odd-ity of association which rejects all idea oflaw and of chronology, of propriety and time.No one, however, ever dreamed of any thingabsolutely unknown to him.

782

No one will be amazed at the strangenessof our dreams, when we remember, that,when awake, our senses are on the alert,and respectively rectify each other. Whena man sleeps, however, every sensation isleft to his own resources.

I am inclined to compare these two con-ditions of the brain, to a piano at whichsome great musician sits, and who as he

783

throws his fingers over the keys recalls somemelody which he might harmonize if he useall his power. This comparison may be ex-tended yet further, when we remember thatreflection is to ideas, what harmony is tosounds; that certain ideas contain others, asa principle sound contains the others whichfollow it, etc. etc.

SYSTEM OF DR. GALL.784

Having followed thus far a subject whichis not without interest, I have come to theconfines of the system of Dr. Gall who sus-tains the multiformity of the organs of thebrain.

I cannot go farther, nor pass the limits Ihave imposed on myself: yet from the loveof science, to which it may be seen I amno stranger, I cannot refrain from making

785

known two observations I made with care,and which are the more important, as manypersons will be able to verify them.

FIRST OBSERVATION.About 1790 there was in a little village

called Gevrin, in the arrondissement of Bel-ley a very shrewd tradesman named Lan-dot, who had amassed a very pretty fortune.

All at once he was stricken with paral-786

ysis. The Doctors came to his assistance,and preserved his life, not however with-out loss, for all of his faculties especiallymemory was gone. He however got on wellenough, resumed his appetite and was ableto attend to his business.

When seen to be in this state, all thosewith whom he ever had dealings, thoughtthe time for his revenge was come, and un-

787

der the pretext of amusing him, offered allkinds of bargains, exchanges, etc. Theyfound themselves mistaken, and had to re-linquish their hopes.

The old man had lost none of his com-mercial faculties. Though he forgot his ownname and those of his servants, he was al-ways familiar with the price-current, andknew the exact value of every acre and vine-

788

yard in the vicinity.In this respect his judgment had be en

uninjured, and the consequence was, thatmany of the assailants were taken in theirown snares.

SECOND OBSERVATION.At Belley, there was a M. Chirol, who

had served for a long time in the gardes ducorps of Louis XV. and XVI.

789

He had just sense enough for his pro-fession, but he was passionately fond of allkinds of games, playing l’hombre, piquet,whist, and any new game that from time totime might be introduced.

M. Chirol also became apoplectic andfell into a state of almost absolute insen-sibility. Two things however were spared,his faculty for digestion, and his passion for

790

play.He used to go every day to a house he

had been used to frequent, sat in a cornerand seemed to pay no attention to any thingthat passed around him.

When the time came to arrange the cardparties, they used to invite him to take ahand. Then it became evident that the mal-ady which had prostrated the majority of

791

his faculties, had not affected his play. Notlong before he died, M. Chirol gave a strik-ing proof that this faculty was uninjured.

There came to Belley, a banker fromParis, the name of whom I think was Delins.He had letters of introduction, he was aParisian, and that was enough in a smallcity to induce all to seek to make his timepass agreeably as possible.

792

Delins was a gourmand, and was fondof play. In one point of view he was easilysatisfied, for they used to keep him, everyday, five or six hours at the table. It wasdifficult, however, to amuse his second fac-ulty. He was fond of piquet and used to talkof six francs a fiche, far heavier play thanwe indulged in.

To overcome this obstacle, a company793

was formed in which each one risked some-thing. Some said that the people of Parisknew more than we; and others that allParisians were inclined to boasting. Thecompany was however formed, and the gamewas assigned to M. Chirol.

When the Parisian banker saw the longpale face, and limping form opposed to him,he fancied at first, that he was the butt

794

of joke: when, however, he saw the artis-tic manner with which the spectre handledthe cards, he began to think he had an ad-versary worthy of him, for once.

He was not slow in being convinced thatthe faculty yet existed, for not only in that,but in many other games was Delins so beatenthat he had to pay more than six hundredfrancs to the company, which was carefully

795

divided.RESULT.The consequences of these two observa-

tions are easily deduced. It seems clear thatin each case, the blow which deranged thebrain, had spared for a long time, that por-tion of the organ employed in commerceand in gaming. It had resisted it beyonddoubt, because exercise had given it great

796

power, and because deeply worked impres-sions hatf exerted great influence on it.

AGE.Age has great influence on the nature of

dreams.In infancy we dream of games, gardens,

flowers, and other smiling objects; at a laterdate, we dream of pleasure, love, battles,and marriages; later still we dream of princely

797

favors, of business, trouble and long departedpleasures.

PHENOMENA OF DREAMS.Certain strange phenomena accompany

sleep and dreams. Their study may per-haps account for anthropomania, and forthis reason I record here, three observations,selected from a great many made by myselfduring the silence of night.

798

FIRST OBSERVATION.I dreamed one night, that I had discov-

ered a means to get rid of the laws of grav-itation, so that it became as easy to ascendas descend, and that I could do either as Ipleased.

This estate seemed delicious to me; per-haps many persons may have had similardreams. One curious thing however, occurs

799

to me, which I remember, I explained verydistinctly to myself the means which led meto such a result, and they seemed so simple,that I was surprised I had not discovered itsooner.

As I awoke, the whole explanation es-caped my mind, but the conclusion remained;since then, I will ever be persuaded of thetruth of this observation.

800

SECOND OBSERVATION.A few months ago while asleep I experi-

enced a sensation of great gratification. Itconsisted in a kind of delicious tremor ofall the organs of which my body was com-posed, a violet flame played over my brow.

Lambere flamma comas, et circum tem-poro pasci.

I think this physical state did not last801

more than twenty seconds, and I awoke witha sensation of something of terror mingledwith surprise.

This sensation I can yet remember verydistinctly, and from various observations havededuced the conclusion that the limits ofpleasure are not, as yet, either known ordefined, and that we do not know how farthe body may be beatified. I trust that in

802

the course of a few centuries, physiology willexplain these sensations and recall them atwill, as sleep is produced by opium, andthat posterity will be rewarded by them forthe atrocious agony they often suffer fromwhen sleeping.

The proposition I have announced, to adegree is sustained by analogy, for I have al-ready remarked that the power of harmony

803

which procures us such acute enjoyments,was totally unknown to the Romans. Thisdiscovery is only about five hundred yearsold.

THIRD OBSERVATION.In the year VIII (1800,) I went to bed as

usual and woke up about one, as I was in thehabit of doing. I found myself in a strangestate of cerebral excitement, my preception

804

was keen, my thoughts profound; the sphereof my intelligence seemed increased, I satup and my eyes were affected with a pale,vaporous, uncertain light, which, however,did, not enable me to distinguish objectsaccurately.

Did I only consult the crowd of ideaswhich succeeded so rapidly, I might havefancied that this state lasted many hours;

805

I am satisfied, however, that it did not lastmore than half an hour, an external acci-dent, unconnected with volition, however,aroused me from it, and I was recalled tothe things of earth.

When the luminous apparition disappeared,I became aware of a sense of dryness, and,in fact, regained my waking faculties. As Iwas now wide awake, my memory retained

806

a portion of the ideas (indistinctly) whichcrossed my mind.

The first ideas had time as their subject.It seemed to me that the past, present andfuture, became identical, were narrowed downto a point, so that it was as easy to lookforward into the future, as back into thepast. This is all I remember of this firstintuition, which was almost effaced by sub-

807

sequent ones.Attention was then directed to the senses,

which I followed in the order of their per-fection, and fancying that those should beexamined which were internal as well as ex-ternal, I began to follow them out.

I found three, and almost four, when Ifell again to earth.

1. Compassion is a sensation we feel808

about the heart when we see another suf-fer.

2. Predilection is a feeling which at-tracts us not only to an object, but to allconnected with it.

3. Sympathy is the feeling which at-tracts two beings together.

From the first aspect, one might believethat these two sentiments are one, and the

809

same. They cannot, however, be confounded;for predilection is not always reciprocal, whilesympathy, must be.

While thinking of compassion, I was ledto a deduction I think very just, and whichat another time I would have overlooked.It is the theory on which all legislation isfounded.

DO AS YOU WILL BE DONE BY.810

Alteri ne facias, quod tibi fieri non vis.Such is an idea of the state in which I

was, and to enjoy it again, I would willinglyrelinquish a month of my life.

In bed we sleep comfortably, in a hor-izontal position and with the head warm:Thoughts and ideas come quickly and abun-dantly; expressions follow, and as to writeone has to get up, we take off the night cap

811

and go to the desk.Things all at once seem to change. The

examination becomes cold, the thread ofour ideas is broken; we are forced to lookwith trouble, for what was found so easily,and we are often forced to postpone studyto another day.

All this is easily explained by the effectproduced on the brain by a change of posi-

812

tion. The influence of the physic and moralis here experienced.

Following out this observation, I haveperhaps gone rather far, but I have beeninduced to think that the excitability of ori-ental nations, was, in a manner, due to thefact, that, in obedience to the religion ofMahomet, they used to keep the head warm,for a reason exactly contrary to that which

813

induced all monastic legislators to enjoinshaven crowns.

MEDITATION XX.INFLUENCE OF DIET ON REST, SLEEP

AND DREAMS.WHETHER man sleeps, eats, or dreams,

he is yet subject to the laws of nutrition andto gastronomy.

Theory and experience, both admit that814

the quantity and quality of food have a greatinfluence on our repose, rest, and dreams.

EFFECTS OF DIET ON LABOR.A man who is badly fed, cannot bear for

a long time, the fatigues of prolonged labor;his strength even abandons him, and to himrest is only loss of power.

If his labor be mental, his ideas are crudeand undecided. Reflection contributes noth-

815

ing to them, nor does judgment analyze them.The brain exhausts itself in vain efforts andthe actor slumbers on the battlefield.

I always thought that the suppers of Au-teuil and those of the hotels of Rambouilletand Soissons, formed many of the authors ofthe reign of Louis XIV. Geoffrey was not farwrong when he characterised the authors ofthe latter part of the eighteenth century as

816

eau sucree. That was their habitual bever-age.

According to these principles, I have ex-amined the works of certain well known au-thors said to have been poor and suffering,and I never found any energy in, them, ex-cept when they were stimulated by badlyconceived envy.

On the eve of his departure for Boulogne,817

the Emperor Napoleon fasted for thirty hours,both with his council and with the variousdepositories of his power, without any re-freshment other than two very brief meals,and a few cups of coffee.

Brown, mentions an admiralty clerk, who,having lost his memorandum, without whichhe could not carry on his duty, passed fifty-two consecutive hours in preparing them

818

again. Without due regimen, he never couldhave borne the fatigue and sustained him-self as follows:–At first, he drank water, thenwine, and ultimately took opium.

I met one day a courier, whom I hadknown in the army, on his way from Spain,whither he had been sent with a govern-ment dispatch. (Correo ganando horas.)

He made the trip in twelve days, having819

halted only four hours in Madrid, to drink afew glasses of wine, and to take some soup.This was all the nourishment he took duringthis long series of sleepless nights and fa-tigues. He said that more solid sustenancewould have made it impossible for him tocontinue his journey.

DREAMS.Diet has no trifling influence on sleep

820

and dreams.A hungry man cannot sleep, for the pain

he suffers keeps him awake. If weaknessor exhaustion overcome him, his slumber islight, uneasy and broken.

A person, however, who has eaten toomuch, sinks at once to sleep. If he dreams,he remembers nothing of it, for the nervousfluid has been intercepted in the passages.

821

He awakes quickly, and when awake is verysensible of the pains of digestion.

We may then lay down, as a generalrule, that coffee rejects sleep. Custom weak-ens and even causes this inconvenience en-tirely to disappear. Europeans, wheneverthey yield to it, always feel its power. Somefood, however, gently invites sleep; such asthat which contains milk, the whole family

822

of letuces, etc., etc.CONSEQUENCE.Experience relying on a multitude of ob-

servations, has informed us that diet has aninfluence on dreams.

In general, all stimullkt food excites dreams,such as flock game, ducks, venison and hare.

This quality is recognised in asparagus,celery, truffles, perfume, confectioneries and

823

vanilla.It would be a great mistake to think that

we should banish from our tables all som-niferous articles. The dreams they produceare in general agreeable, light, and prolongour existence even when it is suspended.

There are persons to whom sleep is alife apart, and whose dreams are serial, sothat they end in one night a dream begun

824

on the night before. While asleep they dis-tinguish faces they remember to have seen,but which they never met with in the realworld.

RESULT.A person who reflects on his physical life

and who does so according to the principleswe develop, is the one who prepares saga-ciously for rest, sleep and dreams.

825

He distributes his labor so that he neverover-tasks himself, he lightens it and re-freshes himself by brief intervals of rest, whichrelieve him, without interrupting its conti-nuity, sometimes a duty.

If longer rest is required during the day,he indulges in it only in a sitting attitude;he refuses sleep unless he be forced irre-sistibly to use it, and is careful not to make

826

it habitual.When night brings about the hour of re-

pose, he retires to an airy room, does notwrap himself up in curtains, which makehim breathe the same air again and again,and never closes the blinds so that when hewakes he will meet with at least one ray oflight.

He rests in a bed with the head slightly827

higher than the feet. His pillow is of hair;his night cap of cloth and his breast un-incumbered by a mass of coverings; he iscareful, however, to keep his feet warm.

He eats with discretion, and never re-fuses good and excellent cheer. He drinksprudently, even the best wine. At desserthe talks of gallantry more than of politics,makes more madrigals than epigrams. He

828

takes his coffee, if it suits his constitution,and afterwards swallows a spoonful of liquor,though it he only to perfume his breath.He is, in all respects, a good guest, and yetnever exceeds the limits of discretion.

In this state, satisfied with himself andothers, he lies down and sinks to sleep. Mys-terious dreams then give an agreeable life;he sees those he loves, indulges in his fa-

829

vorite occupations, and visits places whichplease him.

Then he feels his slumber gradually passaway, and does not regret the time he haslost, because even in his sleep, he has en-joyed unmixed pleasure and an activity with-out a particle of fatigue.

MEDITATION XXI.OBESITY.

830

Were I a physician with a diploma, Iwould have written a whole book on obe-sity; thus I would have acquired a domicilin the domain of science, and would havehad the double satisfaction of having, aspatients, persons who were perfectly well,and of being besieged by the fairer portionof humanity. To have exactly fat enough,not a bit too much, or too little, is the great

831

study of women of every rank and grade.What I have not done, some other per-

son will do, and if he be learned and pru-dent, (and at the same time a good-fellow,)I foretell that he will have wonderful suc-cess.

Exoriare aliquis nostris ex ossibus ho-eres!

In the intereim, I intend to prepare the832

way for him. A chapter on obesity is a nec-essary concomitant of a book which relatesso exclusively to eating.

Obesity is that state of greasy conges-tion in which without the sufferer being sick,the limbs gradually increase in volume, andlose their form and harmony.

One kind of obesity is restricted to thestomach, and I have never observed it in

833

women. Their fibres are generally softer,and when attacked with obesity nothing isspared. I call this variety of obesity GAS-TROPHORIA. Those attacked by it, I callGASTROPHOROUS. I belong to this cat-egory, yet, though my stomach is ratherprominent, I have a round and well turnedleg. My sinews are like those of an Arabhorse.

834

I always, however, looked on my stom-ach as a formidable enemy: I gradually sub-dued it, but after a long contest. I am in-debted for all this to a strife of thirty years.

I will begin my treatise by an extractfrom a collection of more than five hundreddialogues, which at various times I have hadwith persons menaced with obesity.

AN OBESE.–What delicious bread! where835

do you get it?I.–From Limet, in the Rue Richelieu, baker

to their Royal Highness, the Due d’Orleans,and the Prince de Conde. I took it fromhim because he was my neighbour, and havekept to him because he is the best breadmaker in the world.

OBESE.–I will remember the address. Ieat a great deal of bread, and with such as

836

this could do without any dinner.OBESE No. 2.–What are you about?

You are eating your soup, but set aside theCarolina rice it contains! I.–Ah: that it isa regimen I subject myself to.

OBESE.–It is a bad regimen. I am fondof rice pates and all such things. Nothingis more nourishing.

AN IMMENSE OBESE.–Do me the fa-837

vor to pass me the potatoes before you.They go so fast that I fear I shall not bein time.

I.–There they are, sir.OBESE.–But you will take some? There

are enough for two, and after us the deluge.I.–Not I. I look on the potatoe as a great

preservative against famine; nothing, how-ever, seems to me so pre-eminently fade.

838

OBESE.–That is a gastronomical heresy.Nothing is better than the potatoe; I eatthem in every way.

AN OBESE LADY.–Be pleased to sendme the Soissons haricots I see at the otherend of the table.

I.–(Having obeyed the order, hummedin a low tone, the well known air:)

”Les Soissonnais sont heureux, Les hari-839

cots font chez eux.”OBESE.–Do not laugh: it is a real trea-

sure for this country. Paris gains immenselyby it. I will thank you to pass me the En-glish peas. When young they are food fitfor the gods.

I?–Anathema on beans and peas.OBESE.–Bah, for your anathema; you

talk as if you were a whole council. I.–(To840

another.) I congratulate you on your goodhealth, it seems to me that you have fat-tened somewhat, since I last saw you.

OBESE.–I probably owe it to a changeof diet.

I.–How so?OBESE.–For some time I eat a rich soup

for breakfast, and so thick that the spoonwould stand up in it.

841

I.–(To another.) Madame, if I do notmistake, you will accept a portion of thischarlotte? I will attack it.

OBESE.–No, sir. I have two things whichI prefer. This gateau of rice and that Savoybiscuit–I am very fond of sweet things.

I.–While they talk politics, madame, atthe other end of the table, will you take apiece of this tourte a la frangipane?

842

OBESE.–Yes; I like nothing better thanpastry. We have a pastry- cook in our houseas a lodger, and I think my daughter and Ieat up all his rent.

I.–(Looking at the daughter.) You bothare benefitted by the diet. Your daughteris a fine looking young woman.

OBESE LADY.–Yes; but there are per-sons who say she is too fat.

843

I.–Ah! those who do so are envious, etc.,etc. By this and similar conversations I elu-cidate a theory I have formed about the hu-man race, viz: Greasy corpulence alwayshas, as its first cause, a diet with too muchfarinacious or feculent substance. I am surethe same regime will always have the sameeffect. Carniverous animals never becomefat. One has only to look at the wolf, jackal,

844

lion, eagle, etc.Herbiverous animals do not either be-

come fat until age has made repose a neces-sity. They, however, fatten quickly whenfed on potatoes, farinacious grain, etc.

Obesity is rarely met with among savagenations, or in that class of persons who eatto live, instead of living to eat.

CAUSES OF OBESITY.845

From the preceding observation, the causesof which any one may verify, it is easy to as-certain the principle causes of obesity.

The first is the nature of the individual.Almost all men are born with predisposi-tions, the impress of which is borne by theirfaces. Of every hundred persons who die ofdiseases of the chest, ninety have dark hair,long faces and sharp noses. Of every hun-

846

dred obese persons, ninety have short faces,blue eyes, and pug noses.

Then there are beyond doubt personspredestined to obesity, the digestive pow-ers of whom elaborate a great quantity ofgrease.

This physical fact, of the truth of whichI am fully satisfied, exerts a most impor-tant influence on our manner of looking at

847

things.When we meet in society, a short, fat,

rosy, short-nosed individual, with round limbs,short feet, etc., all pronounce her charm-ing. Better informed than others, however,I anticipate the ravages which ten years willhave effected on her, and sigh over evilswhich as yet do not exist. This anticipatedcompassion is a painful sentiment, and proves

848

that a prescience of the future would onlymake man more unhappy.

The second of the causes of obesity, isthe fact that farinacious and feculaferousmatter is the basis of our daily food. Wehave already said that all animals that liveon farinaceous substances become fat; manobeys the common law.

The fecula is more prompt in its action849

when it is mingled with sugar. Sugar andgrease are alike in containing large quanti-ties of hydrogen, and are both inflammable.This combination is the more powerful, fromthe fact that it flatters the taste, and thatwe never eat sweet things until the appetiteis already satisfied, so that we are forced tocourt the luxury of eating by every refine-ment of temptation.

850

The fecula is not less fattening when insolution, as in beer, and other drinks of thesame kind. The nations who indulge themost in them, are those who have the mosthuge stomachs. Some Parisian families whoin 1817 drank beer habitually, because ofthe dearness of wine, were rewarded by adegree of embonpoint, they would be gladto get rid of.

851

SEQUEL.Another cause of obesity is found in the

prolongation of sleep, and want of exercise.The human body repairs itself much dur-ing sleep, and at the same time loses noth-ing, because muscular action is entirely sus-pended. The acquired superfluity must thenbe evaporated by exercise.

Another consequence is, that persons who852

sleep soundly, always refuse every thing thatlooks the least like fatigue. The excess ofassimilation is then borne away by the tor-rent of circulation. It takes possession, bya process, the secret of which nature hasreserved to herself, of some hundredths ofhydrogen, and fat is formed to be depositedin the tubes of the cellular tissue.

SEQUEL.853

The last cause of obesity is excess of eat-ing and drinking.

There was justice in the assertion, thatone of the privileges of the human race isto eat without hunger, and drink withoutthirst. Animals cannot have it, for it arisesfrom reflection on the pleasures of the table,and a desire to prolong its duration.

This double passion has been found wher-854

ever man exists. We know savages eat tothe very acme of brutality, whenever theyhave an opportunity.

Cosmopolites, as citizens of two hemi-spheres, we fancy ourselves at the very apogeeof civilization, yet we are sure we eat toomuch.

This is not the case with the few, whofrom avarice or want of power, live alone.

855

The first are delighted at the idea that theyamass money, and others distressed thatthey do not. It is the case, however, withthose around us, for all, whether hosts orguests, offer and accept with complaisance.

This cause, almost always present, actsdifferently, according to the constitution ofindividuals; and in those who have badlyorganized stomachs, produces indigestion,

856

but not obesity.ANECDOTE.This one instance, which all Paris will

remember.M. Lang had one of the most splendid

establishments of the capital; his table espe-cially, was excellent, but his digestion wasbad as his gourmandise was great. He didthe honors with perfect taste, and ate with

857

a resolution worthy of a better fate.All used to go on very well, till coffee

was introduced, but the stomach soon re-fused the labor to which it had been sub-jected, and the unfortunate gastronomer wasforced to throw himself on the sofa and re-main in agony until the next day, in expia-tion of the brief pleasure he had enjoyed.

It is very strange that he never corrected858

this fault: as long as he lived, he was sub-jected to this alternative, yet the sufferingsof the evening never had any influence onthe next days’ meal.

Persons with active digestion, fare aswas described in the preceding article. Allis digested, and what is not needed for nu-trition is fixed and turned into fat.

Others have a perpetual indigestion, and859

food is passed without having left any nour-ishment. Those who do not understand thematter, are amazed that so many good thingsdo not produce a better effect.

It may be seen that I do not go veryminutely into the matter, for from our habitsmany secondary causes arise, due to ourhabits, condition, inclinations, pleasures, etc.

I leave all this to the successor I pointed860

out in the commencement of this work, andsatisfy myself merely with the prelibation,the right of the first comer to every sacrifice.

Intemperance has long attracted the at-tention of observers. Princes have madesumptuary laws, religion has moralized forgourmandise, but, alas, a mouthfull less wasnever eaten, and the best of eating everyday becomes more flourishing.

861

I would perhaps be fortunate in the adop-tion of a new course, and in the exposi-tion of the physical causes of obesity. Self-preservation would perhaps be more power-ful than morals, or persuasive than reason,have more influence than laws, and I thinkthe fair sex would open their eyes to thelight.

INCONVENIENCE OF OBESITY.862

Obesity has a lamentable influence onthe two sexes, inasmuch as it is most inju-rious to strength and beauty.

It lessens strength because it increasesthe weight to be moved, while the motivepower is unchanged. It injures respiration,and makes all labor requiring prolonged mus-cular power impossible.

Obesity destroys beauty by annihilating863

the harmony of primitive proportions, forall the limbs do not proportionately fatten.

It destroys beauty by filling up cavitiesnature’s hand itself designed.

Nothing is so common as to see faces,once very interesting, made common-placeby obesity.

The head of the last government did notescape this law. Towards the latter portion

864

of his life, he (Napoleon) became bloated,and his eyes lost a great portion of theirexpression.

Obesity produces a distaste for dancing,walking, riding, and an inaptitude for thoseamusements which require skill or agility.

It also creates a disposition to certaindiseases, such as apoplexy, dropsy, ulcers inthe legs, and makes all diseases difficult to

865

cure.EXAMPLES OF OBESITY.I can remember no corpulent heroes ex-

cept Marius and John Sobieski.Marius was short, and was about as broad

as he was long. That probably frightenedthe Cimber who was about to kill him.

The obesity of the King of Poland hadnearly been fatal to him, for having stum-

866

bled on a squadron of Turkish cavalry, fromwhich he had to fly, he would certainly havebeen massacred, if his aids had not sus-tained him, almost fainting from fatigue onhis horse, while others generously sacrificedthemselves to protect him.

If I am not mistaken, the Duc de Ven-dome, a worthy son of Henry IV., was alsovery corpulent. He died at an inn, deserted

867

by all, and preserved consciousness just longenough to see a servant snatch away a pil-low on which his head was resting.

There are many instances of remarkableobesity. I will only speak, however, of myown observations.

M. Rameau, a fellow student of mineand maire of Chaleur, was about five feettwo inches high, but weighed five hundred

868

pounds.The Duc de Luynes, beside whom I of-

ten sat, became enormous. Fat had effacedhis handsome features, and he slept awaythe best portion of his life.

The most remarkable case, though, I sawin New York, and many persons now inParis will remember to have seen at thedoor of a cafe in Broadway, a person seated

869

in an immense arm-chair, with legs stoutenough to have sustained a church. [Footnote:Many persons in New York remember theperson referred to. The translator has heard,that as late as 1815, he was frequently to beseen at the door of a house near where theAtheneum Hotel was. Brillat Savarin is saidscarcely to exaggerate.]

Edward was at least five feet ten inches,870

and was about eight feet (French) in cir-cumference. His fingers were like those ofthe Roman Emperor, who used to wear hiswife’s bracelets as rings. His arms and legswere nearly as thick as the waist of a manof medium size, and his feet were elephan-tine, covered by fat pendant from his legs.The fat on his cheek had weighed down hislower eye-lid, and three hanging chins made

871

his face horrible to behold.He passed his life near a window, which

looked out on the street and drank fromtime to time a glass of ale from a hugepitcher he kept by his side.

His strange appearance used to attractthe attention of passers, whom he used al-ways to put to flight by saying in a sepul-chral tone ”What are you staring at like

872

wild cats? Go about your business, youblackguards,” etc.

Having spoken to him one day, he toldme that he was not at all annoyed and thatif death did not interrupt him, he would beglad to live till the day of judgment.

From the preceding, it appears that ifobesity be not a disease, it is at least a verytroublesome predisposition, into which we

873

fall from our own fault.The result is, that we should all seek to

preserve ourselves from it before we are at-tacked, and to cure ourselves when it befallsus. For the sake of the unfortunate we willexamine what resources science presents us.

MEDITATION XXII.PRESERVATIVE TREATMENT AND

CURE OF OBESITY. [Footnote: About874

twenty years ago I began a treatise, ex pro-fesso, on obesity. My readers must espe-cially regret the preface which was of dra-matic form. I averred to a physician that afever is less dangerous than a law suit; forthe latter, after having made a man run, fa-tigue, and worry himself, strips him of plea-sure, money, and life. This is a statementwhich might be propagated as well as any

875

other. ]I WILL begin by a fact which proves

that courage is needed not only to preventbut to cure obesity.

M. Louis Greffulhe, whom his majestyafterwards honored with the title of count,came one morning to see me, saying that hehad understood that I had paid great atten-tion to obesity, and asked me for advice.

876

”Monsieur,” said I, ”not being a doctorwith a diploma, I might refuse you, but Iwill not, provided you give me your wordof honor that for one month you will rigor-ously obey my directions.”

M. Greffulhe made the promise I requiredand gave me his hand. On the next day, Igave him my directions, the first article ofwhich demanded that he should at once get

877

himself weighed, so that the result might bemade mathematically.

After a month he came to see me again,and spoke to me nearly thus:

”Monsieur,” said he, ”I followed yourprescription as if my life depended on it,and during the month I am satisfied that Ihave lost three pounds and more; but havefor that purpose to violate all my tastes

878

and, habits so completely, that while I thankyou for your advice I must decline to followit, and await quietly the fate God ordainsfor me.”

I heard this resolution with pain. M. Gr-effulhe became every day fatter and subjectto all the inconveniences of extreme obesity,and died of suffocation when he was aboutforty.

879

GENERALITIES.The cure of obesity should begin with

three precepts of absolute theory, discretionin eating, moderation in sleep, and exerciseon foot or horseback.

These are the first resources presentedto us by science. I, however, have little faithin them, for I know men and things enoughto be aware that any prescription, not lit-

880

erally followed, has but a light effect.Now, imprimus, it needs much courage

to be able to leave the table hungry. As longas the want of food is felt, one mouthfulmakes the succeeding one more palatable,and in general as long as we are hungry,we eat in spite of doctors, though in thatrespect we follow their example.

In the second place to ask obese persons881

to rise early is to stab them to the heart.They will tell you that their health will notsuffer them, that when they rise early theyare good for nothing all day. Women willplead exhaustion, will consent to sit up late,and wish to fatten on the morning’s nap.They lose thus this resource.

In the third place, riding as an exerciseis expensive, and does not suit every rank

882

and fortune.Propose this to a female patient and she

will consent with joy, provided she have agentle but active horse, a riding dress in theheight of the fashion, and in the third placea squire who is young, good-tempered andhandsome. It is difficult to fill these threerequisites, and riding is thus given up.

Exercise on foot is liable to many other883

objections. It is fatiguing, produces perspi-ration and pleurisy. Dust soils the shoesand stockings, and it is given up. If, too,the patient have the least headache, if a sin-gle shot, though no larger than the head ofa pin, pierce the skin it is all charged to theexercise.

The consequence is that all who wishto diminish embonpoint should eat moder-

884

ately, sleep little, and take as much exer-cise as possible, seeking to accomplish thepurpose in another manner. This method,based on the soundest principles of physicsand chemistry, consists in a diet suited tothe effects sought for.

Of all medical powers, diet is the mostimportant, for it is constant by night andday, whether waking or sleeping. Its effect

885

is renewed at every meal, and gradually ex-erts its influence on every portion of the in-dividual. The antiobesic regimen is there-fore indicated by the most common causesof the diseases, and by the fact that it hasbeen shown that farina or fecula form fatin both men and animals. In the latter, thecase is evident every day, and from it wemay deduce the conclusion that obtaining

886

from farinaceous food will be beneficial.But my readers of both sexes will ex-

claim, ”Oh my God, how cruel the professoris. He has at once prescribed all we like, thewhite rolls of Limet, the biscuit of Achard.the cakes of ... and all the good things madewith sugar, eggs, and farina. He will spareneither potatoes nor macaroni. Who wouldhave expected it from a man fond of every-

887

thing good?””What is that?” said I, putting on my

stern look which I call up but once a year.”Well, eat and grow fat, become ugly, asth-matic and die of melted fat. I will make anote of your case and you shall figure in mysecond edition. Ah! I see, one phrase hasovercome you, and you beg me to suspendthe thunderbolt. Be easy, I will prescribe

888

your diet and prove how much pleasure isin the grasp of one who lives to eat.”

”You like bread? well, eat barley-bread.The admirable Cadet de Vaux long ago ex-tolled its virtues. It is not so nourishing andnot so agreeable. The precept will then bemore easily complied with. To be sure oneshould resist temptation. Remember this,which is a principle of sound morality.

889

”You like soup? Eat julienne then, withgreen vegetables, with cabbage and roots. Iprohibit soup au pain, pates and purees.

”Eat what you please at the first courseexcept rice aux volailles and the crust ofpates. Eat well, but circumspectly.

”The second course will call for all yourphilosophy. Avoid everything farinacious,under whatever form it appears. You have

890

yet the roasts, salads, and herbacious veg-etables.

”Now for the dessert. This is a new dan-ger, but if you have acted prudently so far,you may survive it. Avoid the head of thetable, where things that are dangerous toyou are most apt to appear. Do not lookat either biscuits or macaronies; you havefruits of all kinds, confitures and much else

891

that you may safely indulge in, accordingto my principles.

”After dinner I prescribe coffee, permityou liqueurs, and advise you to take tea andpunch.

”At breakfast barly-bread is a necessity,and take chocolate rather than coffee. I,however, permit strong cafe au lait. Onecannot breakfast too soon. When we break-

892

fast late, dinner time comes before your di-gestion is complete. You eat though, andeating without appetite is often a great causeof obesity, when we do so too often.”

SEQUEL OF THE REGIMEN.So far I have, like a tender father, marked

out a regimen which will prevent obesity.Let us add a few remarks about its cure.

Drink every summer thirty bottles of893

Seltzer water, a large glass in the morn-ing, two before breakfast and another atbed-time. Drink light white acid wines likethose of Anjon. Avoid beer as you wouldthe plague. Eat radishes, artichokes, as-paragus, etc. Eat lamb and chicken in pref-erence to other animal food; eat only thecrust of bread, and employ a doctor whofollows my principles, and as soon as you

894

begin you will find yourself fresher, prettier,and better in every respect.

Having thus placed you ashore, I mustpoint out the shoals, lest in excess or zeal,you overleap the mark.

The shoal I wish to point out is the ha-bitual use made by some stupid people ofacids, the bad effects of which experiencehas demonstrated.

895

DANGERS OF ACIDS.There is a current opinion among women,

which every year causes the death of manyyoung women, that acids, especially vine-gar, are preventives of obesity. Beyond alldoubts, acids have the effect of destroyingobesity, but they also destroy health andfreshness. Lemonade is of all acids the mostharmless, but few stomachs can resist it

896

long.The truth I wish to announce cannot be

too public, and almost all of my readers canbring forward some fact to sustain it.

I knew in 1776, at Dijon, a young ladyof great beauty, to whom I was attached bybonds of friendship, great almost as those oflove. One day when she had for some timegradually grown pale and thin (previously

897

she had a delicious embonpoint) she told mein confidence that as her young friends hadridiculed her for being too fat, she had, tocounteract the tendency, been in the habitevery day of drinking a large glass of vinai-gre.

I shuddered at the confession, and madeevery attempt to avoid the danger. I in-formed her mother of the state of things

898

the next day, and as she adored her daugh-ter, she was as much alarmed as I was. Thedoctors were sent for, but in vain, for beforethe cause of her malady was suspected, itwas incurable and hopeless.

Thus, in consequence of having followedimprudent advice, our amiable Louise wasled to the terrible condition of marasmus,and sank when scarcely eighteen years old,

899

to sleep forever.She died casting longing looks towards

a future, which to her would have no ex-istence, and the idea that she had invol-untarily attempted her own life, made herexistence more prompt and painful.

I have never seen any one else die; shebreathed her last in my arms, as I lifted herup to enable her to see the day. Eight days

900

after her death, her broken hearted motherwished me to visit with her the remains ofher daughter, and we saw an extatic ap-pearance which had not hitherto been visi-ble. I was amazed, but extracted some con-solation from the fact. This however is notstrange, for Lavater tells of many such inhis history of physiogomy.

ANTIOBESIC BELT.901

All antiobesic tendencies should be ac-companied by a precaution I had forgotten.It consists in wearing night and day, a gir-dle to repress the stomach, by moderatelyclasping it.

To cause the necessity of it to be per-ceived, we must remember that the verte-bral column, forming one of the walls in thecavity containing the intestines, is firm and

902

inflexible. Whence it follows, that the ex-cess of weight which intestines acquire assoon as obesity causes them to deviate fromthe vertical line, rests on the envelopes whichcompose the skin of the stomach. The latterbeing susceptible of almost infinite disten-tion, would be unable to replace themselves,when this effort diminishes, if they did nothave a mechanical art, which, resting on the

903

dorsal column, becomes an antagonist, andrestores equilibrium. This belt has there-fore the effect of preventing the intestinesfrom yielding to their actual weight, andgives a power to contract when pressure isdiminished. It should never be laid aside,or the benefit it exerts in the day will bedestroyed in the night. It is not, however,in the least troublesome, and one soon be-

904

comes used to it.The belt also shows when we have eaten

enough; and it should be made with greatcare, and so contrived as to diminish as theembonpoint decreases.

One is not forced to wear it all life long,and it may be laid aside when the incon-venience is sufficiently reduced. A suitablediet however, should be maintained. I have

905

not worn it for six years.QUINQUINA.One substance I think decidedly antiobesic.

Many observations have induced me to thinkso, yet I leave the matter in doubt, and sub-mit it to physicians.

This is quinquina.Ten or twelve persons that I know, have

had long intermittent fevers; some were cured906

by old women’s remedies, powders, etc. Oth-ers by the continued use of quinquina, whichis always effective.

All those persons of the same category,gradually regained their obesity. Those ofthe second, lost their embonpoint, a cir-cumstance which leaves me to think the quin-quina which produced the last result hadthe effect I speak of.

907

Rational theory is not opposed to thisdeduction, for quinquina, exciting all thevital powers, may give the circulation animpetus which troubles all, and dissipates,the gas destined to become fat. It is alsoshown that quinquina contains a portion oftannin which is powerful enough to closethe cells which contain grease. It is possiblethat these two effects sustain each other.

908

These two ideas, the truth of which anyone may understand, induce me to recom-mend quinquina to all those who wish to getrid of troublesome embonpoint. Thus dum-modo annuerit in omni medicationis generedoctissimi Facultatis professores. I thinkthat after the first month of any regimen,the person who wishes to get rid of fat,should take every day before breakfast, a

909

glass of white wine, in which was placed aspoonful of coffee and red quinquina. Suchare the means I suggest to overcome a verytroublesome affection. I have accommodatedthem to human weakness and to our man-ners.

In this respect the experimental truth isrelied on, which teaches that in proportionas a regime is vigorous, it is dangerous, for

910

he who does not follow it literally, does notfollow it all.

Great efforts are rare, and if one wishesto be followed, men must be offered thingsvacile, if not agreeable.

MEDITATION XXIII.THINNESS.DEFINITION.THINNESS is the state of that individ-

911

ual, the muscular frame of whom is notfilled up by strength, and who exhibits allangles of the long scaffolding.

VARIETIES.There are two kinds of thinness; the first

is the result of the primitive disposition ofthe body, and is accompanied by health,and a full use of the organic functions ofthe body. The second is caused by the fact

912

that some of the organs are more defectivethan others, and give the individual an un-happy and miserable appearance. I onceknew young woman of moderate stature whoonly weighed sixty-five pounds.

EFFECTS OF THINNESS.Thinness is a matter of no great trouble

to men. They have no less strength, andare far more active. The father of the young

913

woman I spoke of, though, very thin, couldseize a chair by his teeth and throw it overhis head.

It is, however, a terrible misfortune towomen, to whom beauty is more impor-tant than life, and the beauty of whom con-sists in the roundness and graceful contourof their forms. The most careful toilette,the most, sublime needle-work, cannot hide

914

certain deficiencies. It has been said thatwhenever a pin is taken from a thin woman,beautiful as she may be, she loses some charm.

The thin have, therefore, no remedy, ex-cept from the interference of the faculty.The regimen must be so long, that the curemust be slow.

Women, however, who are thin, and whohave a good stomach, are found to be as

915

susceptible of fat as chickens. A little time,only, is necessary, for the stomach of chick-ens is comparatively smaller, and they can-not be submitted to as regular a diet aschickens are.

This is the most gentle comparison whichsuggested itself to me. I needed one, andladies will excuse me for the reason for whichI wrote this chapter.

916

NATURAL PREDESTINATION.Nature varies its works, and has reme-

dies for thinness, as it has for obesity.Persons intended to be thin are long drawn

out. They have long hands and feet, legsthin, and the os coxigis retroceding. Theirsides are strongly marked, their noses promi-nent, large mouths, sharp chins and brownhair.

917

This is the general type, the individualelements may sometimes vary; this howeverhappens rarely.

Thin people sometimetimes eat a greatdeal. All I ever even talked with, confessthat they digest badly. That is the reasonthey remain thin.

They are of every class and tempera-ment. Some have nothing salient either in

918

feature or in form. Their eyes are inex-pressive, their lips pale, and every featuredenotes a want of energy, weakness, andsomething like suffering. One might almostsay they seemed to be incomplete, and thatthe torch of their lives had not been welllighted.

FATTENING REGIMEN.All thin women wish to be fat; this is a

919

wish we have heard expressed a thousandtimes. To render, then, this last homage tothe powerful sex, we seek to replace by foldsof silk and cotton, exposed in fashion shops,to the great scandal of the severe, who turnaside, and look away from them, as theywould from chimeras, more carefully thanif the reality presented themselves to theireyes.

920

The whole secret of embonpoint consistsin a suitable diet. One need only eat andselect suitable food.

With this regimen, our disposition tosleep is almost unimportant. If you do nottake exercise, you will be exposed to fat-ness. If you do, you will yet grow fat.

If you sleep much, you will grow fat, ifyou sleep little, your digestion will increase,

921

and you will eat more.We have then only to speak of the man-

ner they who wish to grow fat should live.This will not be difficult, according to themany directions we have laid down.

To resolve this problem, we must offer tothe stomach food which occupies, but doesnot fatigue it, and displays to the assimilantpower, things they can turn into fat.

922

Let us seek to trace out the daily diet ofa sylph, or a sylph disposed to materializeitself.

GENERAL RULE. Much fresh bread willbe eaten during the day, and particular carewill be taken not to throw away the crumbs.

Before eight in the morning, soup aupain or aux pates will be taken, and after-wards a cup of good chocolate.

923

At eleven o’clock, breakfast on fresh broiledeggs, petit pates cotelettes, and what youplease; have eggs, coffee will do no harm.

Dinner hour should be so arranged thatone should have thoroughly digested beforethe time comes to sit down at the table.The eating of one meal before another isdigested, is an abuse.

After dinner there should be some ex-924

ercise; men as much as they can; womenshould go into the Tuilleries, or as they sayin America, go shopping. We are satisfiedthat the little gossip and conversation theymaintain is very healthful.

At times, all should take as much soup,potage, fish, etc., and also meat cooked withrice and macaronies, pastry, creams, etc.

At dessert such persons should eat Savoy925

biscuits, and other things made up of eggs,fecula, and sugar.

This regimen, though apparently circum-scribed, is yet susceptible of great variety:it admits the whole animal kingdom, andgreat care is necessarily taken in the season-ing and preparation of the food presented.The object of this is to prevent disgust,which prevents any amelioration.

926

Beer should be preferred–if not beer, winesfrom Bourdeaux or from the south of France.

One should avoid all acids, except sal-ads. As much sugar as possible should beput on fruits and all should avoid cold baths.One should seek as long as possible, to breathethe pure country air, eat many grapes whenthey are in season, and never go to the ballfor the mere pleasure of dancing.

927

Ordinarily one should go to bed abouteleven, P. M., and never, under any circum-stances, sit up more than an hour later.

Following this regime resolutely, all thedistractions of nature will soon be repaired.Health and beauty will both be advanced,and accents of gratitude will ring in the earsof the professor.

Sheep are fattened, as are oxen, lobsters928

and oysters. Hence, I deduce the generalmaxim; viz: ”He that eats may be madefat, provided that the food be chosen cor-rectly, and according to the physiology ofthe animal to be fattened.”

MEDITATION XXIV.FASTING.DEFINITION.FASTING is a moral abstinence from

929

food, from some religious or moral influ-ence.

Though contrary to our tastes and habits,it is yet of the greatest antiquity.

ORIGIN.Authors explain the matter thus:In individual troubles, when a father,

mother, or beloved child have died, all thehousehold is in mourning. The body is washed,

930

perfumed, enbalmed, and buried as it shouldbe–none then think of eating, but all fast.

In public calamites, when a general droughtappears, and cruel wars, or contagious mal-adies come, we humble ourselves before thepower that sent them, and mortify ourselvesby abstinence. Misfortune ceases. We be-come satisfied that the reason was that wefasted, and we continue to have reference to

931

such conjectures.Thus it is, men afflicted with public calami-

ties or private ones, always yield to sadness,fail to take food, and in the end, make avoluntary act, a religious one.

They fancied they should macerate theirbody when their soul was oppressed, thatthey could excite the pity of the gods. Thisidea seized on all nations and filled them

932

with the idea of mourning, prayers, sacri-fice, abstinence, mortification, etc.

Christ came and sanctified fasting. AllChristian sects since then have adopted fast-ing more or less, as an obligation.

HOW PEOPLE USED TO FAST.The practice of fasting, I am sorry to

say, has become very rare; and whether forthe education of the wicked, or for their

933

conversion, I am glad to tell how we fastnow in the XVIII. century.

Ordinarily we breakfast before nine o’clock,on bread, cheese, fruit and cold meats.

Between one and two P. M., we takesoup or pot au feu according to our posi-tions.

About four, there is a little lunch keptup for the benefit of those people who be-

934

long to other ages, and for children.About eight there was a regular sup-

per, with entrees roti entremets dessert: allshared in it, and then went to bed.

In Paris there are always more magnif-icent suppers, which begin just after theplay. The persons who usually attend themare pretty women, admirable actresses, fi-nanciers, and men about town. There the

935

events of the day were talked of, the lastnew song was sung, and politics, literature,etc., were discussed. All persons devotedthemselves especially to making love.

Let us see what was done on fast days:No body breakfasted, and therefore all

were more hungry than usual.All dined as well as possible, but fish

and vegetables are soon gone through with.936

At five o’clock all were furiously hungry,looked at their watches and became enraged,though they were securing their soul’s sal-vation.

At eight o’clock they had not a goodsupper, but a collation, a word derived fromcloister, because at the end of the day themonks used to assemble to comment on theworks of the fathers, after which they were

937

allowed a glass of wine.Neither butter, eggs, nor any thing an-

imal was served at these collations. Theyhad to be satisfied with salads, confitures,and meats, a very unsatisfactory food tosuch appetites at that time. They went tobed, however, and lived in hope as long asthe fast lasted.

Those who ate these little suppers, I am938

assured, never fasted.The chef-d’oeuvre of a kitchen of those

days, I am assured, was a strictly apostoliccollation, which, however, was very like agood supper.

Science soon resolved this problem bythe recognition of fish, soups, and pastrymade with oil. The observing of fasting,gave rise to an unknown pleasure, that of

939

the Easter celebration.A close observation shows that the ele-

ments of our enjoyment are, difficult priva-tion, desire and gratification. All of theseare found in the breaking of abstinence. Ihave seen two of my grand uncles, very ex-cellent men, too, almost faint with pleasure,when, on the day after Easter, they saw aham, or a pate brought on the table. A de-

940

generate race like the present, experiencesno such sensation.

ORIGIN OF THE REMOVAL OF RE-STRICTION IN FASTING.

I witnessed the rise of this. It advancedby almost insensible degrees.

Young persons of a certain age, were notforced to fast, nor were pregnant women, orthose who thought themselves so. When in

941

that condition, a soup, a very great temp-tation to those who were well, was servedto them.

Then people began to find out that fast-ing disagreed with them, and kept themawake. All the little accidents man is sub-ject to, were then attributed to it, so thatpeople did not fast, because they thoughtthemselves sick, or that they would be so.

942

Collations thus gradually became rarer.This was not all; some winters were so

severe that people began to fear a scarcityof vegetables, and the ecclesiastical powerofficially relaxed its rigor.

The duty, however, was recognised andpermission was always asked. The priestswere refused it, but enjoined the necessityof extra alms giving.

943

The Revolution came, which occupiedthe minds of all, that none thought of priests,who were looked on as enemies to the state.

This cause does not exist, but a newone has intervened. The hour of our mealsis totally changed; we do not eat so often,and a totally different household arrange-ment would be required for fasting. Thisis so true, that I think I may safely say,

944

though I visit none but the best regulatedhouses, that, except at home, I have notseen a lenten table, or a collation ten timesin twenty- five years.

We will not finish this chapter withoutobserving the new direction popular tastehas taken.

Thousands of men, who, forty years agowould have passed their evenings in cabarets,

945

now pass them at the theatres.Economy, certainly does not gain by this,

but morality does. Manners are improvedat the play, and at cafes one sees the jour-nals. One certainly escapes the quarrels,diseases, and degradation, which infalliblyresult from the habit of frequenting cabarets.

MEDITATION XXV.EXHAUSTION.

946

BY exhaustion, a state of weakness, lan-guor or depression, caused by previous cir-cumstances is understood, rendering the ex-ercise of the vital functions more difficult.There are various kinds of exhaustion, causedby mental labor, bodily toil and the abuseof certain faculties.

One great remedy is to lay aside the actswhich have produced this state, which, if

947

not a disease, approximates closely to one.TREATMENT.After these indispensable preliminaries,

gastronomy is ready with its resources.When a man is overcome by too long

fatigue, it offers him a good soup, generouswine, flesh and sleep.

To a savant led into debility by a toogreat exercise of his mental faculties, it pre-

948

scribes fresh air, a bath, fowl and vegeta-bles.

The following observation will explainhow I effected a cure of another kind of ex-haustion. [The translator thinks it best notto translate this anecdote, but merely toappend the original.]

CURE BY THE PROFESSOR.J’allai un jour faire visite a un de mes

949

meilleurs amis (M. Rubat); on me dit qu’iletait malade, et effectivement je le trouvaien robe de chambre aupres de son feu, et enattitude d’affaissement.

Sa physionomie m’effraya: il avait le vis-age pale, les yeux brillants et sa levre tombaitde maniere a laisser voir les dents de la ma-choire inferieure, ce qui avait quelque chosede hideux.

950

Je m’enquis avec interet de la cause dece changement subit; il hesita, je le pressai,et apres quelque resistance: ”Mon ami, dit-il en rougissant, tu sais que ma femme estjalouse, et que cette manie m’a fait passerbien des mauvais moments. Depuis quelquesjours, il lui en a pris une crise effroyable,et c’est en voulant lui prouver qu’elle n’arien perdu de mon affection et qu’il ne se

951

fait a son prejudice aucune derivation dutribut conjugal, que je me suis mis en cetetat.–Tu as done oublie, lui dis-je, et que tuas quarante-cinq ans, et que la jalousie estun mal sans remede? Ne sais-tu pas furensquid femina possit?” Je tins encore quelquesautres propos peu galants, car j’etais en col-ere.

”Voyons, au surplus, continuai-je: ton952

pouls est petit, dur, concentre; que vas-tufaire?–Le docteur, me dit-il, sort d’ici; il apense que j’avais une fievre nerveuse, et aordonne une saignee pour laquelle il doitincessamment m’envoyer le chirurgien.–Lechirurgien! m’ ecriai-je, garde-t’en bien, outu es mort; chasse-le comme un meurtrier,et dis lui que je me suis empare de toi, corpset ame. Au surplus, ton medecin connait-

953

il la cause occasionnelle de ton mal?–Helas!non, une mauvaise honte m’a empeche delui fairs une confession entiere.–Eh bien, ilfaut le prier de passer cher toi. Je vais tefaire une potion appropriee a ton etat; enattendant prends ceci.” Je lui presentai unverre d’eau saturee de sucre, qu’il avala avecla confiance d’Alexandre et la foi du char-bounier.

954

Alors je le quittai et courus chez moipour y mixtionner, fonctionner et elaborerun magister reparateur qu’on trouvera dansles Varietes, avec les divers modes que j’adoptaipour me hater; car, en pareil cas, quelquesheures de retard peuvent donner lieu a desaccidents irreparables.

Je revins bientot arme de ma potion, etdeja je trouvai du mieux; la couleur reparais-

955

sait aux joues, l’oeil etait detendu; mais lalevre pendait toujours avec une effrayantedifformite.

Le medecin ne tarda pas a reparaitre; jel’instruisis de ce que j’avais fait et le maladefit ses aveux. Son front doctoral prit d’abordun aspect severe; mais bientot nous regar-dant avec un air ou il y avait un peu d’ironie:”Vous ne devez pas etre etonne, dit-il a mon

956

ami, que je n’aie pas devine une maladie quine convient ni a votre age ni a votre etat,et il y a de votre part trop de modestie aen cacher la cause, qui ne pouvait que vousfaire honneur. J’ai encore a vous gronderde ce que vous m’avez expose a une erreurqui aurait pu vous etre funeste. Au sur-plus, mon confrere, ajouta-til en me faisantun salut que je lui rendis avec usure, vous a

957

indique la bonne route; prenez son potage,quel que soit le nom qu’il y donne, et si lafievre vous quitte, comme je le crois, de-jeunez demain avec une tasse de chocolatdans laquelle vous ferez delayer deux jaunesd’oeufs frais.”

A ces mots il prit sa canne, son chapeauet nous quitta, nous laissant fort tentes denous egayer a ses depens.

958

Bientot je fis prendre a mon malade uneforte tasse de mon elixir de vie; il le but avecavidite, et voulait redoubler; mais j’exigeaiun, ajournement de deux heures, et lui servisune seconde dose avant de me retirer.

Le lendemain il etait sans fievre et presquebien portant; il dejeuna suivant l’ordonnance,continua la potion, et put vaquer des lesurlendemain a ses occupations ordinaires;

959

mais la levre rebelle ne se releva qu’apres letroisieme jour.

Pen de temps apres, l’affaire transpira,et toutes les dames en chuchotaient entreelles.

Quelques-unes admiraient mon ami, presquetoutes le plaignaient, et le professeur gas-tronome fut glorifie.

MEDITATION XXVI960

DEATH.Omnia mors poscit; lex est, non poena,

perire.God has subjected man to six great ne-

cessities: birth, action, eating, sleep, repro-duction and death.

Death is the absolute interruption of thesensual relations, and the absolute annihi-lation of the vital powers, which abandons

961

the body to the laws of decomposition.These necessities are all accompanied and

softened by a sensation of pleasure, and evendeath, when j natural, is not without charms.We mean when a man has passed throughthe different phases of growth, virility, oldage, and decrepitude.

Had I not determined to make this chap-ter very short, I would invoke the assistance

962

of the physicians, who have observed ev-ery shade of the transition of a living toan inert body. I would quote philosophers,kings, men of letters, men, who while onthe verge of eternity, had pleasant thoughtsthey decked in the graces; I would recallthe dying answer of Fontinelle, who beingasked what he felt, said, ”nothing but thepain of life;” I prefer, however, merely to

963

express my opinion, founded on analogy assustained by many instances, of which thefollowing is the last:

I had a great aunt, aged eighty-threewhen she died. Though she had long beenconfined to her bed, she preserved all herfaculties, and the approach of death wasperceived by the feebleness of her voice andthe failing of her appetite.

964

She had always exhibited great devotionto me, and I sat by her bed-side anxiousto attend on her. This, however, did notprevent my observing her with most philo-sophic attention.

”Are you there, nephew?” said she inan almost inaudible voice. ”Yes, aunt! Ithink you would be better if you would takea little old wine.” ”Give it to me, liquids

965

always run down.” I hastened to lift her upand gave her half a glass of my best andoldest wine. She revived for a moment andsaid, ”I thank you. If you live as long asI have lived, you will find that death likesleep is a necessity.”

These were her last words, and in halfan hour she had sank to sleep forever.

Richerand has described with so much966

truth the gradations of the human body,and the last moments of the individual thatmy readers will be obliged to me for thispassage.

”Thus the intellectual faculties are de-composed and pass away. Reason the at-tribute of which man pretends to be theexclusive possessor, first deserts him. Hethen loses the power of combining his judg-

967

ment, and soon after that of comparing, as-sembling, combining, and joining togethermany ideas. They say then that the in-valid loses his mind, that he is delirious. Allthis usually rests on ideas familiar to theindividual. The dominant passion is eas-ily recognized. The miser talks most wildlyabout his treasures, and another person isbesieged by religious terrors.

968

”After reasoning and judgment, the fac-ulty of association becomes lost. This takesplace in the cases known as defaillances,to which I have myself been liable. I wasonce talking with a friend and met withan insurmountable difficulty in combiningtwo ideas from which I wished to make upan opinion. The syncopy was not, how-ever, complete, for memory and sensation

969

remained. I heard the persons around mesay distinctly he is fainting, and sought toarouse me from this condition, which wasnot without pleasure.

”Memory then becomes extinct. Thepatient, who in his delirium, recognized hisfriends, now fails even to know those withwhom he had been on terms of the great-est intimacy. He then loses sensation, but

970

the senses go out in a successive and de-terminate order. Taste and smell give noevidence of their existence, the eyes becomecovered with a mistful veil and the ear ceasesto execute its functions. For that reason,the ancients to be sure of the reality of death,used to utter loud cries in the ears of the dy-ing. He neither tastes, sees, nor hears. Heyet retains the sense of touch, moves in his

971

bed, changes the position of the arms andbody every moment, and has motions anal-ogous to those of the foetus in the womb.Death affects him with no terror, for hehas no ideas, and he ends as he begun life,unconsciously. ”(Richerand’s Elements onPhysiology, vol. ii. p. 600.)

MEDITATION XXVII.PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY OF THE

972

KITCHEN.COOKERY is the most ancient of arts,

for Adam must have been born hungry, andthe cries of the infant are only soothed bythe mother’s breast.

Of all the arts it is the one which hasrendered the greatest service in civil life.The necessities of the kitchen taught us theuse of fire, by which man has subdued na-

973

ture.Looking carefully at things, three kinds

of cuisine may be discovered.The first has preserved its primitive name.The second analyzes and looks after el-

ements: it is called chemistry.The third, is the cookery of separation

and is called pharmacy.Though different objects, they are all

974

united by the fact that they use fire, fur-naces, etc., at the same time.

Thus a morsel of beef, which the cookconverts into potage or bouilli, the chemistuses to ascertain into how many substancesit may be resolved.

ORDER OF ALIMENTATION.Man is an omnivorous animal: he has in-

cisors to divide fruits, molar teeth to crush975

grain, and canine teeth for flesh. Let it heremarked however, that as man approachesthe savage state, the canine teeth are moreeasily distinguishable.

The probability was, that the humanrace for a long time, lived on fruit, for itis the most ancient food of the human race,and his means of attack until he had ac-quired the use of arms are very limited. The

976

instinct of perfection attached to his nature,however, soon became developed, and thesentiment attached to his instinct was soonexhibited, and he made weapons for him-self. To this he was impelled by a carniver-ous instinct, and he began to make prey ofthe animals that surrounded him.

This instinct of destruction yet exists:children always kill the animals that sur-

977

round them, and if they were hungry woulddevour them.

It is not strange that man seeks to feedon flesh: He has too small a stomach, andfruit has not nourishment enough to reno-vate him. He could subsist on vegetables,but their preparation requires an art, onlyreached after the lapse of many centuries.

Man’s first weapons were the branches978

of trees, and subsequently bows and arrows.It is worthy of remark, that wherever we

find man, in all climates and latitudes, hehas been found with and arrows. None cansee how this idea presented itself to individ-uals so differently placed: it must be hiddenby the veil of centuries.

Raw flesh has but one inconvenience. Itsviscousness attaches itself to the teeth. It is

979

not, however, disagreeable. When seasonedwith salt it is easily digested, and must bedigestible.

A Croat captain, whom I invited to din-ner in 1815, was amazed at my prepara-tions. He said to me, ”When in campaign,and we become hungry, we knock over thefirst animal we find, cut off a steak, powderit with salt, which we always have in the

980

sabretasche, put it under the saddle, gallopover it for half a mile, and then dine likeprinces.”

When the huntsmen of Dauphiny go outin Septemher to shoot, they take both pep-per and salt with them. If they kill a veryfat bird they pluck, season it, carry it sometime in their caps and eat it. They say it isthe best way to serve it up.

981

If our ancestors ate raw food we havenot entirely gotten rid of the habit. Themost delicate palates like Aries’ sausages,etc., which have never been cooked, butwhich are not, on that account, the less ap-petising.

DISCOVERY OF FIRE.Subsequently to the Croat mode, fire

was discovered. This was an accident, for982

fire is not spontaneous. Many savage na-tions have been found utterly ignorant ofit.

BAKING.Fire having been discovered it was made

use of to perfect food; at first it was madeuse of to dry it, and then to cook it.

Meat thus treated was found better thanwhen raw. It had more firmness, was eaten

983

with less difficulty, and the osmazome as itwas condensed by carbonization gave it apleasing perfume.

They began, however, to find out thatflesh cooked on the coals became somewhatbefouled, for certain portions of coal willadhere to it. This was remedied by pass-ing spits through it, and placing it aboveburning coals at a suitable height.

984

Thus grillades were invented, and theyhave a flavor as rich as it is simple. Allgrilled meat is highly flavored, for it mustbe partially distilled.

Things in Homer’s time had not advancedmuch further, and all will be pleased hereto read the account of Achilles’ reception ofthe three leading Greeks, one of whom wasroyal.

985

I dedicate this story to the ladies, forAchilles was the handsomest of all the Greeks,and his pride did not prevent his weepingwhen Briseis was taken from him, viz:

[verse in Greek]The following is a translation by Pope:”Patroclus, crown a larger bowl, Mix

purer wine, and open every soul. Of all thewarriors yonder host can send, Thy friend

986

most honours these, and these thy friend.”He said: Patroclus o’er the blazing fire

Heaps in a brazen vase three chines entire:The brazen vase Automedon sustains, ’Whichflesh of porket, sheep, and goat contains:Achilles at the genial feast presides, Theparts transfixes, and with skill divides. Mean-while Patroclus sweats the fire to raise; Thetent is brightened with the rising blaze:

987

Then, when the languid flames at lengthsubside, He strews a bed of glowing emberswide, Above the coals the smoking frag-ments turns And sprinkles sacred salt fromlifted urns; With bread the glittering can-isters they load. Which round the boardMenoetius’ son bestow’d: Himself, opposedto Ulysses, full in sight, Each portion parts,and orders every rite. The first fat offerings,

988

to the immortals due, Amid the greedy Pa-troclus threw; Then each, indulging in thesocial feast, His thirst and hunger soberlyrepress’d. That done, to Phoenix Ajax gavethe sign; Not unperceived; Ulysses crown’dwith wine The foaming bowl, and instantthus began, His speech addressing to thegodlike man: ”Health to Achilles!”

Thus then a king, a son of a king, and989

three Grecian leaders dined very comfort-ably on bread, wine, and broiled meat.

We cannot but think that Achilles andPatroclus themselves prepared the entertain-ment, if only to do honor to the distin-guished guests they received. Ordinarilythe kitchen business was abandoned to slavesand women, as Homer tells us in Odysseywhen he refers to the entertainment of the

990

heralds.The entrails of animals stuffed with blood

were at that time looked on as very greatdelicacies.

At that time and long before, beyonddoubt, poetry and music, were mingled withmeals. Famous minstrels sang the wondersof nature, the loves of the gods, and war-like deeds of man. Theirs was a kind of

991

priesthood and it is probable that the di-vine Homer himself was sprung from one ofthose men favored by heaven. He would nothave been so eminent had not his poeticalstudies begun in his childhood.

Madame Dacier observes that Homer doesnot speak of boiled meat anywhere in hispoems. The Jews had made much greaterprogress in consequence of their captivity

992

in Egypt. They had kettles. Esau’s mess ofpotage must have been made thus. For thishe sold his birthright.

It is difficult to say how men learned theuse of metals. Tubal Cain, it is said, was theinventor.

In the present state of knowledge, weuse one metal to manufacture another. Weovercome them with iron pincers; cut them

993

with steel files, but I never met with anyone who could tell me who made the firstfile or pair of pincers.

ORIENTAL ENTERTAINMENTS.–GRECIAN.Cookery made great advances. We are

ignorant however of its utensils, whether ofiron, pottery or of tin material.

The oldest books we know of make hon-orable mention of oriental festivals. It is

994

not difficult to believe that monarchs whoruled such glorious realms abounded in allthat was grateful. We only know that Cad-mus who introduced writing into Greece,was cook of the king of Sidon.

The idea of surrounding the table withcouches, originated from this voluptuous prince.

Cookery and its flavors were then highlyesteemed by the Athenians, a people fond

995

of all that was new. From what we read intheir histories, there is no doubt but thattheir festivals were true feasts.

The wines of Greece, which even nowwe find excellent, have been estimated byscientific gourmands the most delicious thatwere.

The most beautiful women that ever cameto adorn our entertainments were Greeks,

996

or of Grecian origin.The wisest men of old were anxious to

display the luxury of such enjoyments. Plato,Atheneus, and many others, have preservedtheir names. The works of all of them, how-ever, are lost, and if any remember them,it is only those who have heard of a longforgotten and lost book, the Gastronomy[Greek word]–the friend of one of the sons

997

of Pericles.Such was the cookery of Greece, which

sent forth a few men who first establishedthemselves in the Tiber, and then took pos-session of the world.

ROMAN FESTIVALS.Good cheer was unknown to the Ro-

mans as long as they thought to preservetheir independence or to overcome their neigh-

998

bors, who were poor as they were. Theirgenerals therefore lived on vegetables. His-torians have never failed to praise these times,when frugality was a matter of honor. When,however, their conquests had extended intoAfrica, Sicily and Hellas, when they hadto live as people did where civilization wasmore advanced, they brought back to Romethe tastes which had attended them in for-

999

eign lands.The Romans sent to Athens a deputa-

tion charged to bring back the laws of Solon.They also sent them thither to study belleslettres and philosophy. While their man-ners became polished they became awareof the attractions of festivals. And poets,philosophers, orators, etc., all came to Romeat once.

1000

As time advanced, and as the series ofevents attracted to Rome almost all the richesof the world, the luxury of the table becameincredible.

Every thing was eaten–the grass-hopperand the ostrich, the squirrel and the wild-boar–all imaginable vegetables were put inrequisition.

Armies and travellers put all the world1001

in requisition. The most distinguished Ro-man citizens took pleasure, not only in thecultivation of fruits once known, such aspears, apples, etc., but sought out thingsLucullus never dreamed of. These importa-tions which naturally had a great influence,prove at least that the impulse was general,that each one sought to contribute to theenjoyment of those around him.

1002

Our drinks were not the object of lessattention, nor of less attentive cares. TheRomans were delighted with the wines ofItaly, Greece, and Sicily. As they estimatedtheir value from the year in which they weremade, we may understand Cicero’s muchabused line,

Oh tortuna tam, natura, me consule Ro-man.

1003

This was not all. In consequence of aninstinct hitherto referred to, an effort wasmade to make them more highly perfumed,and flowers, aromatics, etc., were infused.Such things which the Romans called con-dita, must have had a very bad effect on thestomach.

Thus the Romans came to dream of al-cohol, which was not discovered until long

1004

after they were born.RESURRECTION OF LUCULLUS.The glorious days of old might arise again,

and nothing but a Lucullus is needed, tobring this about. Let us fancy that anyman, known to be rich, should wish to cele-brate any great act, and give in this manneran occasion for a famous entertainment.

Let us suppose that he appeals to every1005

one to adorn his entertainment, and ordersevery possible resource to be prepared.

Let him make every imaginable prepara-tion and Lucullus would be as nothing com-pared with the civilized world as it is.

Both the Romans and the Athenians hadbeds to eat on. They achieved the purposebut indirectly.

At first they used beds only for the sa-1006

cred festivals offered to the gods. The mag-istrates and principal men, adopted the cus-tom, and ere long, it became general andwas preserved until in the beginning of thefourth century.

These couches were at first, only boxesfilled with straw, and covered with skins.Gradually, however, they became more lux-urious, and were made of the most precious

1007

woods, inlaid with ivory, and sometimes withgems. Their cushions were soft and theircovers magnificently embroidered.

People only laid down on the left elbow.Three usually slept together.

This the Romans called lectisternium.It is not a very bad name.

In a physical point of view incubitationdemands a certain exhibition of power to

1008

preserve equlibrium, and is not without adegree of pain; the elbow supporting an un-due proportion of the weight of the body.

In a physiological point of view, some-thing also is to be said. Imbuccation (swal-lowing) is effected in a less natural manner.The food is passed with more difficulty intothe stomach.

The ingestion of liquids, or drinking, is1009

yet more difficult. It required particular at-tention not to spill the wine from the largecups on the tables of the great. Thencecame the proverb:

”Between the cup and lip,There is often time a slip.”None could eat comfortably when re-

clining, especially when we remember thatmany of the guests had long beards, and

1010

that fingers, or at least only knives wereused. Forks are an invention of moderntimes, for none were found at Herculaeneum.

Some violations of modesty must alsohave occurred at repasts which frequentlyexceeded the bounds of temperance, andwhere the two sexes have fallen asleep, andwere mingled together. A poet says:

”Nam pransus, jaceo, et satur supinus,1011

Pertimdo tunicamque, palliumque.”When Christianity had acquired some

power, its priests lifted up their voices againstintemperance. They declaimed against thelength of meals which violated all prudenceby surrounding persons by every species ofvoluptuousness. Devoted by choice to anaustere regimen, they placed gourmandisein the list of capital sins, and rigidly com-

1012

mented on the mingling of sexes and the useof beds, a habit which they said producedthe luxury they deplored.

Their menacing voice was heard; couchesdisappeared, and the old habit of eating sit-ting, was restored. Fortunately this did notviolate the demands of pleasure.

POETRY.Convivial poetry then underwent a new

1013

modification, and in the mouths of Horaceand Tibullus assumed a languor the Greekswere ignorant of.

Dulce ridentem Lalagem amabo,Dulce luquentem.HOR.Quaeris quot mihi batiationesTuae, Lesbia, sint satis superque.CAT.

1014

Pande, puella, pande capillulosMavos, lucentus ut aurum nitidum.Pande, puella, collum candidumProductum bene candidis humeris.GALLUS.IRRUPTION OF THE BARBARIANS.The five or six centuries we shall run

over in a few pages, were glorious days forthe cuisine; the irruption however of north-

1015

ern men overturned and destroyed every-thing.

When the strangers appeared, alimen-tary art made its appearance, as did theothers that are its companions. The greaterportion of the cooks were massacred in thepalaces they served. The foreigners cameand they were able to eat as much in anhour as civilized people did in a week.

1016

Although that which is excessive is notdurable–conquerors are always cruel. Theyunited themselves with the victors, who re-ceived some tints of civilization, and beganto know the pleasures of civilized life.

About the seventeenth century, the Dutchimported coffee into Europe. Solyman Agu,a Turk, whom our great, great grandfathers

1017

well remember, sold the first cups in 1760.An American sold it in 1670, and dealt itout from a marble bar, as we see now.

The use of coffee then dates from theeighteenth century. Distillation, introducedby the crusades, remained arcana, with fewadepts. About the commencement of thereign of Louis XIV, alambics became morecommon, but not until the time of Louis

1018

XV., did the drink become really popular.About the same time the use of tobacco

was introduced. So that sugar, coffee andtobacco, the three most important articlesof luxury in Europe, are scarcely two cen-turies old.

[The translator here omits a whole Med-itation. It would now be scarcely pleasant.]

MEDITATION XXVIII.1019

RESTAURATEURS.A restaurateur is one, the business of

whom is to offer a dinner always ready, andwith prices to suit those that consume them.

Of all those who frequent restaurants,few persons cannot understand that a restora-teur is not necessarily a man of genius.

We shall follow out the affiliation of ideaswhich has led to the present state of affairs.

1020

ESTABLISHMENT.About 1770, after the glorious days of

Louis XIV., and the frolics and tranquilityof the regency of Cardinal Fleury, foreignershad few means of good cheer.

They were forced to have recourse toinn-keepers, the cookery of whom was gen-erally very bad. A few hotels kept a tabled’hote which generally contained only what

1021

was very necessary, and which was alwaysready at an appointed hour.

The people we speak of only orderedwhole joints, or dishes, and consequentlysuch an order of things could not last.

At last a man of sense arose, who thoughtthat an active cause must have its effect.That as the same want sent people everyday to his house, consumers would come

1022

whenever they were satisfied that they wouldbe served. They saw that if a wing was cutfrom a fowl for one person, some one wouldbe sure to taste the thigh. The separation ofone limb would not injure the flavor of therest of the animal. More pay the least at-tention to the increase of prices, when oneconsiders the prompt service of what wasserved.

1023

This man thought of many things, whichwe may now easily devise. The one who didso was the first restaurateur and the inven-tor of a business which is a fortune to allwho exercise it promptly and honorably.

[The translator here omits a whole chapter.]From the examination of the bills of fare

of different restaurants, any one who setsdown at the table, has the choice of the fol-

1024

lowing dishes:–12 soups.24 side dishes.15 or 20 preparations of beef.20 of mutton.30 of fowl or game.16 or 20 of veal.12 of pastry.24 of fish.

1025

15 roasts.50 side dishes.50 desserts.Besides the fortunate gastronomer has

thirty kinds of wine to select from, pass-ing over the whole scale from Burgundy toTokay, and Constantia, and twenty variouskinds of essences, without taking into con-sideration such mixed drinks as punch, ne-

1026

gus, sillabubs and the like.Of the various parts of a good dinner,

many are indigenous, such as butcher’s meat,fowl and fruits. Others for instance, thebeef- stake, Welch rare-bit, punch, etc., wereinvented in England. Germany, Spain, Italy,Holland, all contribute, as does India, Per-sia, Arabia, and each pay their quota, insour-krout, raisins, parmera, bolognas, cu-

1027

racao, rice, sago, soy, potatoes, etc. Theconsequence is, that a Parisian dinner isperfectly cosmopolitan.

[The translator here omits two Medi-tations, which refer exclusively to Paris is1825. Few Frenchmen NOW would under-stand them, and none but a Frenchman could.]

PHYSIOLOGY OF TASTE

1028

PART SECOND.

TRANSITION.If I have been read with the attention

I wished, all must have seen that I had adouble purpose in view. The first was toestablish the theoretical basis of Gastron-omy, so as to place it among sciences whereit should doubtless be. The second was to

1029

define gourmandise, and to separate this so-cial character, as free from gluttony andintemperance, with which it is often con-founded.

This equivoque has been introduced byintolerant moralists, who, deceived by toomuch zeal, saw excesses where there wasonly innocent enjoyment. The treasures ofcreation were not made to be trodden under

1030

the feet. It was afterwards propagated bygrammarians who defined it as blind mendo, and who swore in verba magistri.

It is time that such an error should cease,for now all the world understand each other.This is true, for there never was a personwho would not confess to some tincture ofgourmandise, and even would not boast ofit, none however would not look on gluttony

1031

as an insult, just as they do on intemper-ance and voracity.

About these two cardinal points, it seemsthat what I have described should satisfy allthose who do not refuse conviction. I mightthen lay down my pen and look on the taskI have imposed on myself as finished. Ashowever, I approached those subjects whichbelong to every thing, I remembered many

1032

things which it did not seem to me fit towrite, such as anecdotes, bon mots, recipes,and other odd things.

Had they been put in the theoreticalportion of the book they would have takenthe connection; place them all together, theywill not be disadvantageous because theycontain some experimental truths and use-ful explanations.

1033

I have also inserted personal biography,but when I read them over, I feel to a degreeuneasy.

This anxiety originated in my last lec-tures and glossaries, which are in the handsof every body. I think, however, that I maybe tranquil, having sheltered myself underthe mantle of philosophy, I insist that myenemies have uneasy consciences and sleep

1034

badly.VARIETIES.I.L’OMELETTE DU CURE.All know that twenty years ago, Madame

R—- was the most beautiful woman in Paris.All know that she was very charitable andtook an interest in the various enterprises,the object of which was the alleviation of

1035

misery, perhaps greater in the capital thanelsewhere.

Having business with the cure of—-, shewent thither about five P. M., and was sur-prised to find him at dinner.

She believed that every body dined atsix P. M., and was not aware that ecclesi-astics dined earlier, from the fact that theywere used to take light collations.

1036

Madame R—- wished to retire, but thecure would not permit her to do so, eitherbecause the matter under discussion wouldnot interrupt conversation, or that a prettywoman never disturbs any entertainment.

The table was very well arranged; oldwine sparkled in a chrystal flagon, and theporcelain was faultless. The plates werekept hot by boiling water, and an old house-

1037

keeper was in attendance.The meal was half way between luxury

and abstinence. A soup of ecrevisses wasremoved and a salmon trout, an omelette,and a salad were placed on the table.

”My dinner tells you,” said the priest”what you do not know, that to day is afast day.” My friend assented with a blush.

They began with the trout, the shoul-1038

ders of which were soon eaten. The saucewas made by a competent person and thepastor’s brow was irradiated with joy.

Then the omelette, which was round anddone to a point, was attached.

As soon as the spoon touched it, theodor and perfume it contained escaped, andmy friend owns that it made her mouth wa-ter.

1039

The curel had a sympathetic movementfor he was used to watch my passions. Inreply to a question he saw Madame R—-was about to ask, he said, ”It is an omeletteau thon. My cook understands them sim-ply, and few people ever taste them withoutcomplimenting her.” ”I am not amazed,”said his lady guest, ”for I never ate any-thing so delightful.”

1040

Then came the salad. (I recommend itto those who have confidence in me. It re-freshes without exciting. I think it makespeople younger.)

Dinner did not interrupt conversation.They talked of the affair which had occa-sioned the visit, of the war, of business, ofother things which made a bad dinner pass-ably good.

1041

The dessert came. It consisted of sept-moncel cheese, of apples and preserves.

At last the house-keeper brought for-ward a little round table, such as once wascalled a gueridon, on which was a cup ofstrong mocha, the perfume of which filledthe room.

Having sipped it, the cure said grace,and arose, adding ”I never take spirits, though

1042

I offer them to my guests. I reserve themas a succor for extreme old age.”

While all this was progressing, time hadpassed, and as it was six o’clock, MadameR—- was anxious to get into her carriage,for she had several friends to dine with her.She came late, and told her guests, of whomI was one, what she had seen.

The conversation passed from subject to1043

subject, but I, as a philosopher, thoughtthe secret of the preparation of such a dishmust be valuable. I ordered my cook to ob-tain the recipe in its most minute details. Ipublish it the more willingly now, becauseI never saw it in any book.

OMELETTE AU THON.Take for six persons the roe of four cash

[Footnote: the translator has followed this1044

recipe with shad, pike, pickerel, etc., andcan recommend it with a quiet conscience.Any fish is a substitute for tunny] and steepthem for a few minutes in salt water justbelow boiling point.

Put in also a fresh tunny about as largeas an egg, to which you must add a char-lotte minced.

Mix the tunny and the roes together,1045

and put the whole in a kettle with a por-tion of good butter, and keep it on the fireuntil the butter has melted. This is the pe-culiarity of the omelette.

Take then another piece of butter andmix it with parsely and sage. Put it in thedish intended to receive the omelette, coverit with lemon juice and put it on hot coals.

Then beat twelve eggs, (fresh as possi-1046

ble), pour in the fish and roe so that all maybe perfectly mixed.

Then cook the omelette as usual, mak-ing it thin and firm. Serve it up hot.

This dish should be reserved for break-fasts, where all the guests are connoisseurs.It is caviare to the vulgar.

OBSERVATIONS.1. The roes and fish should be warmed,

1047

not boiled. They will thus mingle more eas-ily with the eggs.

2. The plate should be deep.3. It should be warm, for a cold porce-

lain plate would extract the caloric of theomelette and make it insipid.

II. A NATIONAL VICTORY.When I lived in New York I used every

once in a while to pass the evening in a1048

kind of tavern kept by a man named Little,(the old lank coffee house) where one couldalways get turtle soup and all the dishescommon in the United States.

I often went thither with the Vicomtede la Massue and M. Fehr, an old broker ofMarsailles; all three of us were emigrants,and we used to drink ale and cider, and passthe evening very pleasantly together.

1049

There I became acquainted with a Mr.Wilkinson, who was a native of Jamaica,and a person he was very intimate with,for he never left him. The latter, the nameof whom I do not remember was one of themost extraordinary men I ever met. He hada square face, keen eyes, and appeared tolook attentively at everything, though hisfeatures were motionless as those of a blind

1050

man. When he laughed it was with whatthe English call a horse-laugh, and immedi-ately resumed his habitual taciturnity. Mr.Wilkinson seemed about forty, and, in man-ner and appearance, seemed to be a gentle-man.

The Englishman seemed to like our com-pany, and more than once shared the frugalentertainment I offered my friends, when

1051

Mr. Wilkinson took me one evening asideand said he intended to ask us all to dinewith him.

I accepted the invitation for three o’clockon the third day after.

The evening passed quietly enough, butwhen I was about to leave, a waiter came tome and said that the West Indian had or-dered a magnificent dinner, thinking their

1052

invitation a challenge. The man with thehorse-laugh had undertaken to drink us French-men drunk.

This intelligence would have induced me,if possible, to decline the banquet. It was,however, impossible, and following the ad-vice of the Marshal de Saxe, we determined,as the wine was uncorked, to drink it.

I had some anxiety, but being satisfied1053

that my constitution was young, healthyand sound, I could easily get the better ofthe West Indian, who probably was unusedto liquors.

I however, went to see Messrs. Fehr andMassue, and in an occular allocution, toldthem of my plans. I advised them to drinkas little as possible, and to avoid too manyglasses, while I talked to our antagonists.

1054

Above all things, I advised them to keep upsome appetite, telling them that food hadthe effect of moderating the fumes of wine.

Thus physically and morally armed, wewent to the old bank coffee house, where wefound our friends; dinner was soon ready. Itconsisted of a huge piece of beef, a roastedturkey, (plain) boiled vegetables, a saladand pastry.

1055

Wine was put on the table. It was claret,very good, and cheaper than it then was inFrance.

Mr. Wilkinson did the honors perfectly,asking us to eat, and setting us an example,while his friend, who seemed busy with hisplate, did nothing but laugh at the cornersof his mouth.

My countrymen delighted me by their1056

discretion.After the claret came the port and Madeira.

To the latter we paid great attention.Then came the dessert composed of but-

ter, cheese and hickory nuts. Then camethe time for toasts, and we drank to ourkings, to human liberty, and to Wilkinson’sdaughter Maria, who was, as he said, theprettiest woman in Jamaica.

1057

Then came spirits, viz., rum, brandy,etc. Then came songs, and I saw thingswere getting warm. I was afraid of brandyand asked for punch. Little brought a bowl,which, doubtless, he had prepared before.It held enough for forty people, and waslarger than any we have in France.

This gave me courage; I ate five or sixwell buttered rolls, and I felt my strength

1058

revive. I looked around the table and sawmy compatriots apparently fresh enough,while the Jamaican began to grow red inthe face, and seemed uneasy. His friend saidnothing, but seemed so overcome that I sawthe catastrophe would soon happen.

I cannot well express the amazement causedby this denouement, and from the burdenof which I felt myself relieved. I rang the

1059

bell; Little came up; I said, ”see these gen-tlemen well taken care of.” We drank a glassto their health. At last the waiter came andbore off the defeated party feet foremost.Wilkinson’s friend was motionless, and ourhost would insist on singing, ”Rule Britan-nia.” [Footnote: The translator is sorry tosay, that at the time Savarin speaks of, ”RuleBritannia” was not written.]

1060

The New York papers told the story thenext day, and added that the Englishmanhad died. This was not so, for Mr. Wilkin-son had only a slight attack of the gout.

III.MYSTIFICATION OF THE PROFES-

SOR AND DEFEAT OF A GENERAL.Several years ago the newspapers told

us of the discovery of a new perfume called1061

the emerocallis, a bulbous plant, which hasan odor not unlike the jasmin.

I am very curious, and was, therefore,induced in all probability to go to, the FoubourgSt. Germain, where I could find the per-fume.

I was suitably received, and a little flask,very well wrapped up, was handed me, whichseemed to contain about two ounces. In ex-

1062

change for it I left three francs.An etourdi would at once have opened,

smelled and tasted it. A professor, how-ever, acts differently, and I thought mod-esty would become me. I took the flagonthen and went quietly home, sat on my sofaand prepared to experience a new sensation.

I took the package from my pocket anduntied the wrappings which surrounded it.

1063

They were three different descriptions of theemerocallis, and referred to its natural his-tory, its flower, and its exquisite perfume,either in the shape of pastilles, in the kitchen,or in ices. I read each of the wrappings. 1.To indemnify myself as well as I could forthe price I have spoken of above. 2. To pre-pare myself for an appreciation of the newand valuable extract I have spoken of.

1064

I then opened, with reverence, the boxI supposed full of pastilles. To my surprise,however, I found three other copies of theedition I had so carefully read. Inside Ifound about two dozen of the cubes I hadgone so far for.

I tasted them, and must say that I foundthem very agreeable. I was sorry though,that they were so few in number, and the

1065

more I thought of the matter, the more Ibecame mystified.

I then arose with the intention of carry-ing the box back to its manufacturer. Justthen, however, I thought of my grey hairs,laughed at my vivacity, and sat down.

A particular circumstance also recurredto me. I had to deal with a druggist, andonly four days ago I had a specimen of one

1066

of that calling.I had one day to visit my friend Bouvier

des Eclats.I found him strolling in a most excited

state, up and down the room, and crushingin his hands a piece of poetry, I thought asong.

He gave it to me and said, ”look at this,you know all about it.”

1067

I saw at once that it was an apothecary’sbill. I was not consulted as a poet, but asa pharmaceutist.

I knew what the trade was, and wasadvising him to be quiet, when the dooropened, and we saw a man of about fifty-five enter. He was of moderate stature andhis whole appearance would have been stern,had there not been something sardonic about

1068

his lips.He approached the fire-place, refused to

sit down, and I heard the following dialogueI have faithfully recorded.

”Monsieur,” said the general, ”you sentme a regular apothecary’s bill.”

The man in black said that he was notan apothecary.

”What then are you?” said the general.1069

”Sir, I am a pharmaceutist.””Well,” said the general, ”your boy–””Sir, I have no boy.””Who then was the young man you sent

thither?””My pupil–””I wish to say, sir, that your drugs–””Sir, I do not sell drugs–””What then do you sell?”

1070

”Remedies.”The general at once became ashamed at

having committed so many solicisms in afew moments, and paid the bill.

IV.THE SNARE.The chevalier de Langeac was rich, but

his fortune was dispensed as is the fortuneof all rich men.

1071

He funded the remnants, and aided by alittle pension from the government, he con-trived to lead a very pleasant life.

Though naturally very gallant, he hadnothing to do with women.

As his other powers passed away, hisgourmandise increased. He became a pro-fessor and received more invitations than hecould accept.

1072

Lyons is a pleasant city, for there onecan get vin de Bourdeaux, Hermitage andBurgundy. The game of the neighborhoodis very good, and unexceptionable fish istaken from the lakes in the vicinity. Everybody loves Bresse chickens.

Langeac was therefore welcome at allthe best tables of the city, but took espe-cial delight in that of a certain M. A.

1073

In the winter of 1780, the chevalier re-ceived a letter, inviting him to sup ten daysafter date, (at that time I know there weresuppers) and the chevalier quivered withemotion at the idea.

He, at the appointed time, made his ap-pearance, and found ten guests. There wasat that time no such A grand dinner wassoon served, consisting of fish, flesh, and

1074

fowl.All was very good, but the chevalier was

not satisfied with the hopes he had enter-tained.

Another thing amazed him. His guestsdid not seem to eat. The chevalier wasamazed to see that so many anti-convivialpersons had been collected, and thinkingthat he had to do justice to all these fasting

1075

people set to work at once.The second service was solid as the first.

A huge turkey was dressed plain, flavoredby salads and macaroni au parmesan.

When he saw this, the chevalier felt hisstrength revive; all the other guests wereoverpowered, excited by the changes of wines,he triumphed over their impotence, and dranktheir health again and again. Every time he

1076

drank their health, he took a slice from theturkey.

Due attention was paid to the side-dishes,and the chevalier stuck to business longerthan any one would have thought possible.He only revived when the becfigues appeared,and became fully aroused when truffles wereput on the table.

THE TURBOT.1077

Discord one day sought to effect an en-trance into one of the most harmonious housesof Paris. A turbot was to be cooked.

The fish was on the next day to be servedto a company of which I was one; it wasfresh, fat, and glorious, but was so largethat no dish in the house could hold it.

”Let us cut it in half,” said the husband.”Would you thus dishonor it?” said the

1078

wife.”We must, my dear.””Well, bring the knife, we will soon do

it.””Wait though, our cousin, who is a pro-

fessor, will soon be here. He will relieve usfrom the dilemma.”

The gordian knot was about to be re-leased, when I came in hungry, as a man

1079

always is at seven P. M.When I came in I tried in vain to make

the usual compliments. No one listened,and for that reason no one replied to me.The subject in discussion was at once sub-mitted to me.

I made up my mind at once, went tothe kitchen, found a kettle large enough toboil the whole fish, and did so. There was

1080

a procession composed of the master, mis-tress, servants, and company, but they allapproved of what I did. With the fish weboiled bulbous root and other vegetables.[Footnote: From the above it is very clearthat Brillat Savarin made what the late D.Webster called a ”chowder.”] When the fishwas cooked we sat down at the table, ourideas being somewhat sharpened by the de-

1081

lay, and sought anxiously for the time, ofwhich Homer speaks, when abundance ex-pells hunger. [The translator here omits avery excellent recipe for a fish-chowder. Ev-erybody knows it.]

VI.PHEASANTS.None but adepts know what a pheasant

is. They only can appreciate it.1082

Everything has its apogee of excellence,some of which, like capers, asparagus, par-tridges, callow-birds, etc., are eatable onlywhen they are young. Others are edibleonly when they obtain the perfection of theirexistence, such as melons and fruits, andthe majority of the beasts which furnish uswith animal food. Others are not good un-til decomposition begins, such as the snipe

1083

and pheasant.When the pheasant is eaten only three

days after its death, it has no peculiarity;it has not the flavor of a pullet, nor theperfume of a quail.

It is, however, a highly flavored dish,about half way between chicken and veni-son.

It is especially good when the pheasant1084

begins to be decomposed– an aroma and ex-citing oil is then produced, like coffee, onlyproduced by torrefaction.

This becomes evident by a slight smelland change of color. Persons possessed, how-ever, of the instincts of gourmandise see itat once, just as a good cook knows whetherhe should take his bird from the spit or giveit a turn or two more.

1085

When the pheasant is in that conditionit should he plucked, and not before.

The bird should then he stuffed, and inthe following manner:

Take two snipe and draw them so as toput the birds on one plate, and the livers,etc., on another.

Take the flesh and mingle it with beef,lard and herbes fines, adding also salt and

1086

truffles enough to fill the stomach of thepheasant.

Cut a slice of bread larger, considerably,than the pheasant, and cover it with theliver, etc., and a few truffles. An anchovyand a little fresh butter will do no harm.

Put the pheasant on this preparation,and when it is boiled surround it with Floridaoranges. Do not be uneasy about your din-

1087

ner.Drink burgundy after this dish, for long

experience has taught me that it is the properwine.

A pheasant served in this way is a fitdish for angels, if they visited the world asthey did in Lot’s day.

What I say, experience has already proved.A pheasant thus stuffed by Picard at La

1088

Grange [Footnote: Does he refer to La Fayette’sestate?] was brought on the table by thecook himself. It was looked on by the ladiesas they would have looked at one of MaryHerbault’s hats. It was scientifically tasted,and in the interim the ladies eyes shone likestars, and their lips became coral.

I did more than this; I gave a similarproof to the judges of the supreme court.

1089

They are aware that the toga is sometimesto be laid aside, and I was able to show toseveral that good CHEER was a fit compan-ion and reward for the labors of the senate.After a few moments the oldest judge ut-tered the word excellent. All bowed, andthe court adopted the decision. I had ob-served that the venerable old men seemedto take great delight in smelling the dish,

1090

and that their august brows were agitatedby expressions of extreme serenity, some-thing like a half smile hanging on their lips.

All this thing, however is naturally ac-counted for. The pheasant, itself, a verygood bird, had imbibed the dressing andthe flavor of the truffle and snipe. It thusbecomes thrice better.

Thus of all the good things collected,1091

every atom is appreciated and the conse-quence is, I think the pheasant fit for thetable of a prince.

Parve, nec invideo, sine me liber, ibis inaulam.

VII.GASTRONOMICAL INDUSTRY OF THE

EMIGRES.Toute Francaise, a ce que j’imagine,

1092

Salt, bien ou mal faire, un peu de cui-sine.

Belle Arsene, Act. III.In a chapter written for the purpose, the

advantages France derived from gourman-dise in 1815, were fully explained. Thiswas not less useful to emigres; all those,who had any alimentary resources, receivedmuch benefit from it.

1093

When I passed through Boston, I taughta cook, named Julien, who in 1794 was inhis glory, how to serve eggs with cheese.Julien was a skilful lad, and had, he said,been employed by the Archbishop of Bour-deaux. This was to the Americans a newdish, and Julien in return, sent me a beauti-ful deer he had received from Canada, whichthose I invited to do honour to it, thought

1094

admirable.Captain Collet also, in 1794 and 1795

earned much money by the manufacture ofices and sherbets.

Women always take care to enjoy anypleasures which are new to them. None canform an idea of their surprise. They couldnot understand how it could remain so cold,when the thermometer was at 26 [degrees]

1095

Reaumur.When I was at Cologne, I found a Bre-

ton nobleman, who thought himself veryfortunate, as the keeper of a public house;and I might multiply these examples indef-initely. I prefer however to tell of a French-man, who became very rich at London, fromthe skill he displayed in making salad.

He was a Limousin, and if I am not mis-1096

taken, was named Aubignac, or Albignac.Poor as he was, he went, however, one

day to dine at one of the first restaurantsof London. He could always make a gooddinner on a single good dish.

While he was discussing a piece of roastbeef, five or six dandies sat at the next ta-ble, and one of them advanced and said,”Sir, they say your people excel in the art

1097

of making a salad. Will you be kind enoughto oblige us?”

After some hesitation d’Albignac con-sented, and having set seriously to work,did his best.

While he was making his mixture, hereplied frankly to questions about his con-dition, and my friend owned, not withouta little blushing, that he received the aid

1098

of the English government, a circumstancewhich doubtless induced one of the youngmen to slip a ten pound bank bill into hishand.

He gave them his address, and not longafter, was much surprised to receive a letterinviting him to come to dress a salad at oneof the best houses in Grosvenor square.

D’Albignac began to see that he might1099

draw considerable benefit from it, and didnot hesitate to accept the offer. He tookwith him various preparations which he fan-cied would make his salad perfect as possi-ble.

He took more pains in this second effort,and succeeded better than he had at first.On this occasion so large a sum was handedto him that he could not with justice to

1100

himself refuse to accept it.The young men he met first, had exag-

gerated the salad he had prepared for them,and the second entertainment was yet louderin its praise. He became famous as ”thefashionable salad-maker,” and those who knewanything of satirical poetry remembered:

Desir do nonne est un feu pui devore,Desir d’Anglaise est cent fois piri encore.

1101

D’Albignac, like a man of sense, tookadvantage of the excitement, and soon ob-tained a carriage, that he might travel morerapidly from one part of the town to theother. He had in a mahogany case all theingredients he required.

Subsequently he had similar cases pre-pared and filled, which he used to sell bythe hundred.

1102

Ultimately he made a fortune of 80,000francs, which he took to France when timesbecame more peaceful.

When he had returned to France, he didnot hurry to Paris, but with laudable pre-caution, placed 60,000 francs in the funds,and with the rest purchased a little estate,on which, for aught I know, he now liveshappily. His funded money paid him fifty

1103

per cent.These facts were imparted to me by a

friend, who had known D ’Albignac in Lon-don, and who had met him after his return.

VIII.RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EMIGRA-

TION.THE WEAVERIn 1794, M. de Rostaing, my cousin and

1104

friend, now military intendant at Lyons, aman of great talent and ability, and myselfwere in Switzerland.

We went to Mondon, where I had manyrelations, and was kindly received by thefamily of Troillet. I will never forget theirhospitality.

I was there shown a young French offi-cer who was a weaver, and who became one

1105

thus:–This young man, a member of a very

good family, was passing through Mondon,to join Condes army, and chanced to meetan old man with one of the animated headsusually attributed by painters to the com-panions of the famous Tell.

At their dessert, the officer did not con-ceal his situation, and received much sym-

1106

pathy from his new friend. The latter com-plained that at such an age, he had nowto renounce all that was pleasant, and thatevery man should, as Jean Jacques, says,have some trade to support themselves inadversity.

The conversation paused there; and ashort time after, he joined the army of Conde.From what he saw there, however, he saw he

1107

never could expect to enter France in thatway.

Then he remembered the words of theweaver; and finally making up his mind, leftthe army, returned to Mondon, and beggedthe weaver to receive him as an apprentice.

On the next day the officer set to work,dining and sleeping with the weaver, andwas so assiduous, that after six months, his

1108

master told him, he had nothing to teachhim, thought himself repaid for the care hehad bestowed, and that all he earned hence-forth was his own profit.

When I was at Mondon, the new arti-san had earned money enough to purchasea shop and a bed. He worked with great as-siduity, and such interest was taken in him,that some of the first houses of the city en-

1109

quired after him every day.On Sunday, he wore his uniform, and

resumed his social rights. As he was verywell read, all took pleasure in his company,and he did not seem discontented with hisfate.

THE STARVING.To this picture of the advantage of in-

dustry, I am about to add an altogether dif-1110

ferent one.I met at Lausanne, an emigre from Lyons,

who to avoid work used to eat but twice aweek. He would have died beyond a doubt,if a merchant in the city had not promisedto pay for his dinner every Sunday, andWednesday of the week.

The emigre came always at the appointedtime, and always took away a large piece of

1111

bread.He had been living in this manner some

three months, when I met him; he had notbeen sick, but he was so pale that it wassad to see him.

I was amazed that he would suffer suchpain rather than work. I asked him onceto dine with me, but did not repeat the in-vitation because I believe in obeying that

1112

divine precept, ”By the sweat of thy browshalt thou earn thy bread.”

SOJOURN IN AMERICA.From Switzerland I went to America.

ASPARAGUS.Passing one day in February, by the Palais

Royal, I paused before the shop of MmeChevet, the largest dealer in comestibles in

1113

Paris, who always wished me well. Seeinga large box of asparagus, the smallest ofwhich was large as my finger, I asked theprice. ”Forty francs,” said she. ”They arevery fine, but only a king or prince couldeat at such a rate.” ”You are wrong sir,”said she, ”such things never go to palaces,but I will sell the asparagus.

”There are now in this city at least three1114

hundred rich men, capitalists and financiers,retained at home by gout, colds, and doc-tors. They are always busy to ascertainwhat will revive them and send their valetsout on voyages of discovery. Some one ofthem will remark this asparagus, and it willbe bought. It may be, some pretty womanwill pass with her lover, and say, ’what fineasparagus. How well my servant dresses it.’

1115

The lover then does not hesitate, and I willtell you a secret, that dear things are soldmore easily than cheap ones.”

As she spoke two fat Englishmen passedus. They seemed struck at once. One seizedhold of the asparagus and without askingthe price paid for it, and as he walked awaywhistled ”God save the King.”

”Monsieur,” said Madame Chevet, ”a1116

thousand things like this happen every day.”FONDUE.Fondue is a soup dish, and consists only

in frying eggs in cheese in proportions re-vealed by experience. I will give the recipe.It is a pleasant dish, quickly made and eas-ily prepared for unexpected guests. I referto it here only for my peculiar pleasure, andbecause it preserves the memory of things

1117

which the old men of Belley recollect.Towards the end of the 17th century M.

Madot became bishop of Belley, and tookpossession of the diocese.

Those to whom his reception had beenconfided had provided an entertainment wor-thy of the occasion, and made use of all thepreparations then known in the kitchen, towelcome my lord.

1118

There was an immense fondue, to whichthe prelate paid great attention; to the sur-prise of all he ate it with a spoon, insteadof a fork, as people had been used to do.

All the guests looked at each other witha perceptible smile on every face. A bishopfrom Paris, however, must know how to eat.On the next day there was a great deal ofgossip, and people that met at the corners,

1119

said ”Well did you see how our bishop atehis fondue? I heard from a person who waspresent that he used a spoon!”

The bishop had some followers, innova-tors who preferred the spoon, but the ma-jority preferred the fork, and an old grand-uncle of mine used to laugh as if he woulddie, as he told how M. de Madot ate fonduewith a spoon.

1120

RECIPE FOR FONDUE, COPIED FROMTHE PAPERS OF M. TROLLET, BAILLIOF MONDON IN BERNE.

Calculate the number of eggs in propor-tion to the guests.

Take one-third of the weight of Gruyereand one-sixth of the weight of butter.

Beat the eggs and mingle them with thebutter and cheese in a casserole.

1121

Put the kettle on a hot fire and stir ituntil the mixture is perfect. Put in more orless salt in proportion as the cheese is old ornew. Serve it hot, with good wine, of whichone should drink much. The feast will seesights.

DISAPPOINTMENT.All one day was quiet at the Ecu de

France, between Bourg and Bresse, when1122

the sound of wheels was heard, and a su-perb English berline drove up, on the boxof which were two pretty Abigails, wrappedin blue and red cloths.

At the sight, which announced a noble-man on his travels, Chicot, that was hisname, hurried to the door of the equipage.The wife stood at the door, the girls nearby, while the boys from the stable hurried

1123

forward satisfied that they would receive ahandsome gratuity.

The women were unpacked and therecame from the berline, 1st, a fat English-man, 2d, two thin, pale, red-haired girls,and 3d, a lady, apparently in the first stageof consumption.

The last spoke:”Landlord,” said she, ”take care of the

1124

horses, give us a room and the women re-freshments. All must cost only six francs;act accordingly.”

Chicot put on his bonnet, madame wentinto the house, and the girls to their garrets.

The horses were, however, put into thestable, the Englishman read the papers, andthe women had a pitcher of pure water.The ladies went up stairs. The six francs

1125

were received as a poor compensation forthe trouble caused.

WONDERFUL EFFECTS OF A CLAS-SICAL DINNER.

”Alas! how much I am to be pitied,”said the elegiac voice of a gastronomer ofthe royal court of the Seine. ”Hoping to besoon able to return home, I left my cookthere; business detains me at Paris, and I

1126

have to depend on an old women the prepa-rations of whom make me sick. Anythingsatisfies my wife and children, but I ammade a martyr of the spit and pot.”

Luckily a friend heard the complaint,who said, ”You will not, my friend, be amartyr. Deign to accept a classical dinnerto-morrow, and after a game of piquet wewill bury all in the abyss of the past.”

1127

The invitation was accepted, the mys-tery was solved, and since the 23d June,1825, the professor has been delighted athaving one of his best friends in royal court.

EFFECT AND DANGER OF STRONGDRINKS.

The artificial thirst we previously alludedto, is that which for the moment appealsto strong drinks as a momentary relief. It

1128

gradually becomes so habitual that thosewho grow used to it cannot do without iteven through the night, and have to leavetheir bed to appease it.

This thirst then becomes a real disease,and when he has reached that point, it maysafely be said that he has not two years tolive.

I travelled in Holland with a rich Dantz-1129

ick merchant, who had for fifty years keptthe principal house for the sale of brandy.

”Monsieur,” said he ”none in France areaware of the importance of the trade in brandy,which for nearly a century my father andmyself have carried on. I have watched withattention the workmen who yield to it astoo many Germans do, and they generallydie in the same manner.”

1130

”At first they take simply a glass in themorning, and for many years this suffices.It is a common habit with all workmen, andany one who did not indulge in it wouldbe ridiculed by his companions. Then theydouble the dose, that is to say, take a glassat morning and night. Thus things continueabout three years, when they begin to drinkthree times a day, and will only taste spirits

1131

in which highly scented herbs have been in-fused. Having reached that point, one maybe sure they have not more than six monthsto live, for they go to the hospital and areseen no more.”

CHEVALIERS AND ABBES.I have already referred to these cate-

gories of gourmandise destroyed by time.As they disappeared thirty years since,

1132

few of the present generation ever saw them.About the end of the century they will

probably reappear, but as such a phenomenondemand the coincidence of many future con-tingencies, I think few who live will everwitness this palingenesia.

As a painter of manners I must give thelast touch to my portrait, and will borrowthe following passage from an author, who,

1133

I know, will refuse me nothing.”The title of Chevalier was only correctly

granted to persons who had been decorated,or to the younger sons of noble houses. Manyof the Chevaliers of other families wouldtake the title for themselves, and if they hadeducation and good manners, none doubtedthe accolade.

”They were generally young, wore the1134

sword vertically and kept a stiff upper lip.They gamed and fought and were a portionof the train of any fashionable beauty.”

At the commencement of the revolutionmany of the Chevaliers joined the army ofthe emigres, enlisted or dispersed. The fewwho survive can yet be recognized by theirmilitary air; almost all of them, however,have the gout.

1135

When any noble family had many chil-dren, one was dedicated to the church; atfirst some benefice, barely sufficient to payfor the expenses of education, was obtained,and ultimately he became Prince, Abbe, orBishop, as circumstances dictated.

This was the real Abbe; but many youngmen who disliked the perils of the Chevalier,called themselves Abbes when they came to

1136

Paris.Nothing was so convenient, for, with a

slight change of dress, they could appear aspriests and the equals of anybody. Therewas a great advantage in this for every househad its Abbe

They were generally small, round, welldressed and agreeable. They were gour-mands, active and pleasant. The few that

1137

remain have became very devout and veryfat.

None could be more comfortable than arich prior or abbot. They had no superi-ors and nothing to do. If there be a longpeace, the priors will turn up again, butunless there be a great change in the ec-clesiastical organization, the Abbes are lostfor ever.

1138

MISCELLANY.–WINE.”Monsieur,” said an old marquise to me

one day, ”which do you like best, Burgundyor Bordeaux?” ”Madame,” said I, ”I havesuch a passion for examining into the mat-ter, that I always postpone the decision aweek.”

STRAWBERRIES.The Count de la Place recommends that

1139

strawberries should always be dressed withorange juice.

JUDGMENT.”He is not a man of mind,” said the

Count de M—- ”Why?” ”Ah! he does noteat pudding a la Richelieu, nor cutlets a laSoubise.”

RAISINS.”Take a raisin–”

1140

”No I thank you; I do not like wine inpills.”

A DAY WITH THE BERNARDINES.It was about one A. M., on a fine sum-

mer night, and I set out after having beenserenaded by many who took an interest inus. This was about 1782.

I then was the chief of a troop of ama-teur musicians All of whom were young and

1141

healthy.”Monsieur,” said the abbe of Saint Sulpice

to me one day, and he drew me into a win-dow recess, ”you would enjoy yourself verymuch if you come some day to play for usat Saint Bernard’s. The Saints would bedelighted.”

I accepted the offer at once, for it seemedto promise us an agreeable evening. I nod-

1142

ded assent, and all were amazed.Annuit, et totum nutu tremefecit olym-

pum.Every precaution had previously been

taken, for we had yet to go four leagues,a distance sufficient to terrify the personswho had ascended Mont Martre.

The monastery was in a valley, enclosedon the west side by a mountain, and on the

1143

east by a hill that was not so high.The eastern peak was crowned by a for-

est of immense pines. The valley was onevast prairie, and the beech grows much likethe arrangements of an English garden.

We came about evenfall, and were re-ceived by the cellarer who had a nose veryrich-like an obelisk.

”Gentlemen,” said he, ”our abbe will be1144

glad when he hears you have come. He isyet in bed; but come with me, and you willsee whether we have expected you or not.”

We followed him, and besought him totake us to the refectory.

Amid the display of the table arose apate like a cathedral; on one side was aquarter of cold veal, artichokes, etc., werealso on the eastern range.

1145

There were various kinds of fruits, nap-kins, knives and plate; at the foot of thetable were many attentive servants.

At one corner of the refrectory was seenmore than an hundred bottles, kept coolby a natural fountain. We could snuff thearoma of mocha, though in those venerabledays none ever drank mocha so early in themorning.

1146

The reverend cellarer for a time laughedat our emotion, and then spoke to us asfollows:

”Gentlemen,” said he, ”I would be pleasedto keep you company, but as yet I have notkept my mass. I ought to ask you to drink,but the mountain air dispenses the neces-sity. Receive, then, what we offer you. Imust to matins.”

1147

He went to matins.We did our best to eat up the abbe’s

dinner, but could not. People from Siriusmight, but it was too much for us.

After dinner we dispersed. I crept intoa good bed until mass; like the heroes ofRocroy, who slept until the battle began.

I was aroused by a great fat friar, whohad nearly pulled my arm out of its socket,

1148

and went to the church where I found all attheir posts.

We played a symphony at the offertoryand sung a motet at the elevation, conclud-ing with four wind instruments.

We contrived, in spite of the jests usu-ally expended on amateurs, to get out ofthe difficulty very well.

We received with great benignity the praises1149

heaped on us, and having received the ab-bot’s thanks went to the table.

The dinner was such as people used toeat in the fifteenth century. There were fewsuperfluities, but the choice of dishes wasadmirable. We had plain, honest, substan-tial stews, good meats, and dishes of veg-etables, which made one regret they werenot more general.

1150

The dessert was the more remarkable, asit was composed of fruits not produced atthat altitude. The gardens of Machuras, ofMorflent and other places had contributed.

There was no want of liqueurs, but cof-fee needs a particular reference.

It was clear, perfumed and strong, butwas not served in what are called tasses onthe Seine, but in huge bowls, into which the

1151

monks dipped their lips and smacked themwith delight.

After dinner we went to vespers, and be-tween the psalms executed antiphones I pre-pared for the purpose. That style of musicwas then fashionable. I cannot say if minewas good or bad.

Our DAY being over, my orchestra wasenabled to look and walk around. On my

1152

return the abbe said, ”I am about to leaveyou, and will suffer you to finish the night. Ido not think my presence at all importunateto the fathers; but I wish them to do as theyplease.”

When the abbot had left, the monksdrew more closely together, and a thousandjokes were told, not the less funny becausethe world knows nothing of them.

1153

About nine a glorious supper was served,long in advance of the dinner.

They laughed, sang, told stories, andone of the fathers recited some very goodverses he had himself composed.

At last a monk arose, and said, ”FatherCellarer, what have you to say?”

”True,” said the father, ”I am not cel-larer for nothing.”

1154

He left, and soon returned with threeservitors, the first of whom brought someglorious fresh buttered toast. The othershad a table on which was a sweetened prepa-ration of brandy and water–vulgo, punch.

The new comers were received with ac-clamation; the company ate the toasts, drankthe toddy, and when the abbey clock strucktwelve, all went to their cells to enjoy a re-

1155

pose they had richly earned.PROSPERITY EN ROUTE.One day I rode a horse I called la Joie

through the It was at the worst era of therevolution, and I went to see Mr. Prot toobtain a passport which, probably, mightsave me from prison or the scaffold.

At about 11 P. M., I reached a littlebourg or village called Mont St. Vaudrey,

1156

and having first attended to my horse, wasstruck by a spectacle no traveller ever sawwithout delight.

Before a fire was a spit covered withcock quails and the rails that are alwaysso fat. All the juice from the quails fellon an immense rotie so built up that thehuntsman’s hand was apparent. Then cameone of those leverets, the perfume of which

1157

Parisians have no faith in though they fillthe room.

”Ah ha!” said I; ”Providence has not en-tirely deserted me. Let us scent this per-fume and die afterwards.”

Speaking to the landlord who, while Iwas making my examinations, walked upand down the room, I said, ”Mon cher, whatcan you give us for dinner?”

1158

”Nothing very good, Monsieur. You canhave potatoes. The beans are awful. I neverhad a worse dinner.”

The landlord seemed to suspect the causeof my disappointment. I said, however, ”forwhom is all this game kept?”

”Alas, Monsieur,” said he, ”it is not minebut belongs to some lawyers and judges whohave been here several days on a business

1159

which concerns a very rich old lady. Theyfinished yesterday, and wish to celebrate theevent by a revolt.”

”Monsieur,” said I, ”be pleased to saythat a gentleman asks the favor of beingpermitted to dine with them, that he willpay his portion of the expense, and also bemuch obliged to them.”

He left me and did not return, but after1160

a few minutes a little fat man entered, whohovered around the kitchen, lifted up thecovers and disappeared.

”Ah, ha!” said I. The tiler has come tolook at me. I began to hope, for I knewmy appearance was not repulsive. My heartbeat quickly as a candidate’s does after theballot-box is opened, and before he knowsthe result, when the landlord told me the

1161

gentlemen only waited for me to sit down.I went at once, and was received in the

most flattering manner.The dinner was glorious, I will not de-

scribe it, but only refer to an admirablefricassee of chicken not often seen in suchperfection in the country. It had so manytruffles that it would have revived an oldTitan.

1162

We sang, danced, etc., and passed theevening pleasantly.

[The translator here omits half a dozensongs, which are essentially French, and whichno one can do justice to in another tongue.]

H. ... DE P ...I believe I am the first person who ever

conceived the idea of a gastronomical academy.I am afraid, however, I was a little in ad-

1163

vance of the day, as people may judge bywhat took place fifteen years afterwards.

The President, H. de P., the ideas ofwhom braved every age and era, speakingto three of the most enlightened men ofhis age, (Laplace, Chaptal, and Berthollet,)said ”I look in the history of the discoveryof a new dish, which prolongs our pleasures,as far more important than the discovery of

1164

a new star.”I shall never think science sufficiently

honored until I see a cook in the first classof the institute.

The good old President was always de-lighted when he thought of his labor. Healways wished to furnish me an epigraph,not like that which made Montesquieu amember of the academy. I therefore, wrote

1165

several verses about it, but to be copied.Dans ses doctes travaux il fut infatiga-

ble;Il eut de grands emplois, qu’il remplit

dignement:Et quoiqu’il filt profond, erudit et sa-

vant,Il ne se crut jamais dispense d’etre aimable.CONCLUSION.

1166

My work is now done, yet I am not a bitout of breath.

I could give my readers countless stories,but all is now over, and as my book is for alltime, those who will read it now will knownothing of those for whom I write.

Let the Professor here end his work.

1167