The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1859-08-18
THF ART OF DINING.

apol"getc lor clevaslnT cookery into u
science. 1t is, in II point Of fact, a mere
branch Of economical chemistry, an.! tho
usual excuses which arc i..adc for treatin"
tho cooks art seriously arc OH. OF place.
Indeed, ono Of tho chief causes lu- the dis
like which serious people feel &C. tea, ise
Oh tho subject is the tone Of irony, ,,cyx:-
F"ye, and elaborate conlesccnsion in wl, h
they are written. If those who undertake.
I" treat 1t would bo at tho trouble Of writ
ING simply on simple subject, and on
simple mlc'l'glblo principles, they woald
attract and Influence II larger au,licncc.-
Whatever contributes to econ omizing food
Whatever makes Gods gifts 60 further
Whatever enables the poor m:n to ,,ct
tho greatest amount Of nourislincnt out of
Ills iood at the least cost--whatcvcr clia-
blcs every eater TO get his food not only
at the least dctrimcnL to tho vital powers
but with the hcaltliest exercise Of ,Lc
organs and functions Of direstiyn-,s
worthy of the consideration Of the moral
lst and economist. Men mus. liyc-tLcv
caEnot live without caiin"-thcv cauuo,
cat healthily without cooking. In tli,
sense, cookery is not only an mt hu, :,
master art. Like gymnastics, cookery
ought to enter into the Gu:uIriyi,im Of
education.
One Of tho objections urged by the Sc,
we're school Of mora aliSts a..tin.t Arts Of
Cookery is, that the advice address,, itself
to volurtuarics and in some quarters i; i,
argued that ii is the sign Of !. noble and
generous mind utterly 60 disregard wla.
Hro called the pleasures Of tie ta!.lc. The
model man is l,c whose sublime inIiji.r-
cnce to carnal comfort is ,!i>"la,cd i,v be-
ing utterly ignG.ah: Ct what he had y,s.cr
day for dinner and it is rcc.rn",! = .l.,.rs,.
III spiritual attainment to know no .i:t,,r
cnce between raw bui.cd mu.tnn :,,,I ,;:.
choicest dahe:; Of Philippe. Now, it is =
simple Fact, that human nature is SO con-
StItutcd that there IS n certain rl"s;cal
and animal pleasure attached t" Inc ,i...rc
process Of eating. Mt orly is hunger
rrovldentaly intended 10 compel Incl. t.,
Cat, but pleasure Of sYmc sort part O..
tho physiological nature Ct ,.a,:n.. /, is
SO in other things. :. certain ;,..,.rt of
natural pleasure is made )n,rt OF the an;
NAL functions, in order to force human ,.a-
ture to obey its natu:a' Instincts. I'D
there is just the same moral law which in
duccs tho wise and religious man to rreu
late hls pleasure and keep them in check
III ono case rs in the other. In other
words, nobody need be ASHAMED oc ll.inr
good dnncr-hc is constituted by the
author Of human nature TO like il. 1t dc.
pcnds upon himself whether he is run away
with by his passions bit hc is not TO con
slider his passions a disgrace or weak
ness. And it is on this account that We
object to the jcstins Which is always con.
sidcrcd dcrryie when writing about cook
cry. The subject wants clcva'ns in liter
ary aspect. I;rillat S;,varn, to do him
Justice, has perceived this Necessity; bat
whether it is owing to the Icvty Of his race
Or to his own individual tendencies, he
feels it to be his duty TO condcsccnI to the
popular taste, and the result IS that his
book will be accepted rather in its gossip
ing aspects than for ts scientific complctc-
ness.
The great FrcEchinan rather spoiIs his
case by attaching the term go"rwnn:';:m,
to an appreciation Of cpolcry-a mistake
when he had defined the perfection OF oru
Of the five scnacs That Of taste, as :. pre-
prtuna Of man. In fact, l.igl cookery is
only the result Of high civilization. It FOL,
lows education, Just as does Il KNOWLEDGE
Of what are called tic fine arts and it NAV
be debascd TO the purposes Of the yolul,-
tuary, just as painting and music may be.
But in its proper development it is inscp--
arabic from the educated mind. In all
high stages Of mental cultivation, cookery
follows the cthe: rclincmcnts Of the mind.
An educated man, in refined state Of So
cIety, can no more establish the complete
ness OF his character, if he affects 10 lie in.
different to or contcmptuons Of gaslronomy,
Than ho can by proclaming his indif;cr-
cnco to any other fine art. When we have
arrived at certain social pitch, a woman
cannot Indifferent to dress, because it is
the form in which the sense of beauty, the
appreciation Of color, and the adaptation
OF ornament presents itself to her in the
daily course Of life; and it is the same
with cookery. Tho prophecies Of the ia
ble are the domestic aspect under which
elegance, skill and fiittiugncss naturally pre-
schts themselves; and when one meets
with an educated man who prolcsscs him.