The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1868-12-02
CuriositieS of Diet.

good living in their perfection, il
scarcely half a century old and is
of course, due to the French, who
compounded it, with their usua
skill in, adaptation, from the Greek
From the indiscrilninate and vul
gar gluttony of Vittelius and Hell
iogabalus, those old .heathens ot
the decline and fall, to the refined
and delicate taste of the epieur1a
Lucullus there isa wide interval
Yet no human being is wholly
without interest in the science o.
gastr onomy, since there are none
but must eat to live. They who
reverse the rule and only live tc
cat are not gourmands in the true
sense. and lose the zest of pleas.
ure in the everlasting Of the pal
ate. One of the most refined and
philosophic Of modern writer's . Ia
ments with pathetic earnestness
the dire necessities that compel
us to pay tribute to the cupboard,
in the declaration, II can get rid
of everything but this. perpetual
stomach ; he must eat, and I can
not make him respectable"
The most graphic and thought
full Of modern historians, far from
despising such trifes as the per
sonal traits and foibles of great
mon, dwell upon all such items
with interest, as among the best
revelations Of character. When
we read Of the reformer Luther,
that he was full of habit and a
hearty eater, thatohe loved Rhine
wine and Torgan beer, we get at
once an insight into the life and
spirit Of the man that is worth
whole volumes in folio of contro-
versial theology. = H.
/ Charlemagne, the first Western
Emperor, who died in s14, although
a very frugal liver, was extremely
fond Of game. On ordinary: occa-
sions, writes Cape6gne, there
were but four plates on his dinner
table, besides a piece Of game
which the hunters brought to the
Emperor ready spitted, since they
knew this was his favorite meat.
The historian adds that this s>prinee
used rarely to drink more than
three times at his repast. . =. :,
Augustus Caesar was fond Of
brown bread, little fish, cheese
made of new cows milk, and fresh
figs. Suetonius relates that he
drank habituaHy but three glasses
at: each meal, which shows him to
have been Of mach more sober
and simpler tastes than most Of
his successors.
Apicius, the celebrated Roman
gourmand whose name, has fur
nished a proverbial phrase to the
literature of dietetics, was passion
ately fond of Holsters. Small blame
to him for that, since this is. the
most delicate and delicious of shell
fish next to, the oyster, which
must ever bear away the palm.
Having heard that the coast of
Africa yielded Holsters larger and
more delicate than the Italian,
Apicius Immediately chartered a
vessel and set sail to ascertain the
fact and bear home the prize
across the Mediterranean. A rich
old fellow was this old Apicius
who spent on his table a hundred
million sesterces (about 100000
of our money! and one fine day,
having cast up his accounts: and
found if his debts were paid, he
should have left but ten million of
sesterces (s5OO,Ooo) he quietly
swallowed poison, through fear of
dying of hunger:
The latin poet Martial, who
died in the year 105 of our era,
had a special taste for the thrush
and the hare, preference which
he himself declared in his epigram {:
-"Inter aves turdus, 81 quis, me
judice, certen. Inter quadrunedes
gloria prima lepus."
The Emperor Alexander seve-
rus was so fond of rabbits that,
according to his biographer,, Lam
pridius, he ate one at every meal.
Frederick, Emperor Of Germany,