Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1875-06-17
THE FOOD OF GREAT MEN.

THE FOOD OF GREAT MEN.
! Mr.. Buckle has traced the physical
moral and intellectual degeneraey Of
the Hindoos to the element Of starch in
fie. If only their remote ancestors had
lived on wheaton bread and good roast
beef, instead Of rice, the history of the
world would have been changed. Sir
James Macintosh used to say he be.
lieved the difference between one man
and another was produced BY the quan.
tity Of coffee he drank Who, then,
win deny that it is worth our while To
ask what has generally been the food q
great menp If, says Mr.. Carlyleg e.
Fcism be sineefityy Days p11<1o
heroes? If, say we, greatness is the re-
suit of good living, may we not all be-
come great? Unfortunately it is ex.
tremely difficult to lay down any prope-
sition on the subject with scientific ac-
curacy. Facts there are in abundance;
no attempt as yet at classification. I'VE
are in the experimental sta ge of new
science-for such it NAV claim to be, in
these days, when it is sought to refer
all spiritual effects to physical causes.
Yet It is surely Interesting to gather
a few of these fats, even if we attempt
to deduce no theory from them, at least
for the pre- sent, leaving that task to the
phil"so,. ner of the future.
&c reat men are great eaters" would
probably be the first exclamation of one
who was given to over hasty generaliza.
tion. There would indeed be many ex-
amples to support such rule. Charles
", for instance, was an enormous eat
er. We are told that "he breakfasted
at 5 on fowl seethed in milk and
dressed with sugar and spices. After
this he went to sleep again. He dined
at IL; partaking always of 90 Dishes
He supped twice; at first soon after ves-
pers, and the second time at midnight
or ! o'clock, which meal was perhaps
the most solid of the four. After meat
he ate a great quantity of pastry and
sweetmeats, and he irrigated every re-
past by vast drafts of beer and wine.-
His stomach, originally a wonderful
one, succumbed after 40 years of such
labors." (Motley, Rise of the Dutch
Republic).
After all, Charles died at an age
about Sat which we are accustomed
IN these days to consider q statesman as
still in the prime of life. True love Of
pastry appears to have been hereditary
in the House of Hapsburg. Philip H.,
the same historian tells us, "looked ha-
bitual!y on the ground when he con-
.versed, was chary of speech, embar-
rassed, and even suffering in manner.
This was ascribed partly to ~ habit
ual pains in the stomach, occasioned by
his inordinate foodness for pastry. -
Philip ordering an asto-dd .fe after a
meal of gooseberry tart, which had dis
agreed with him, is a subject for an
historical picture.
Frederick the Great is another illus
tration of the rule. Though he could
dine on cup of chockolate in war time,
he loved good eating and drinking, and
undoubtedly fastened his death by re-
fusing to conform in any way to proper
rules of diet. The King" wrote
Mirabeau. who was in Berlin at the
time, 'eats every day of ten or twelve
dishes at dinner, each very highly sea-
soned; besides, at breakfast and sup
per, bread-and-butter covered with salt
ed tongue and pepper. We are at the
last scene" No owonder. A short time
before a gentleman dined with Freder-
lex, when an eel-pie was brought to the
table which he declared was so hot THAT
it looked as if it had been baked in hell. "
The King was immoderately fond OF
these eel-pies, peppered to excess. But
, about six weeks before his death We
have the record of breakfast such rs
sick man has rarely eaten. Our au.
thority is again Mirabeau. "On the 4th
of July, when the DOCTOR" the celebra-
ted Zimmerman from Hanover, "saw the
King in the afternoon, all had again
changed for the worst. He had APP
piled himself to public business from
half-past in the Ircrning till z. He
then ate for his breakfast q plate of
sweetmeats, composed of sugar, white
of eggs, and sour cream; then straw
, berries, cherries and cold meat" Fred
erick's illness was dropsy. He died on
the 18th of August, 1856. Every school
/ boy will remember the parallel of the
English King who died of eating too
, many lampreys. King John, too, ID
said to have died of a surfeit of peach
es and new ale. The verdict of modern
epicures will probably be ''Serve him
, right"
Most Of the English Kings, we sus-
; pect, were fair trencher- men, as most
; of them were also men of ability. There
| is curious anecdote of Henry VII
bearing on this subject. The King had
been out hunting in the neighhorhood
of Winsor. His eagerness in the pur-
; suit of the chase had carried him out
of eight and hearing of his rstinue.-
Night vas falling; return to the castle
: that day was impossible, for close al
hand lay the Abbey of Reading. Thith.
er, accordingly. the King turned his
, steps. His habit was simple, and the
| good monks took him for one of the
. royal forestcrs, while Henry for reasons
Of his own, did not care to underceivt
them. He was Hospitality entertained
/ and che lord abbot looked on with anap.
: proving smile at the hearty perform.
: ance Of his guest. At last he said
/ Truly would give his grace you,
. master the half Of my revenues for 50
. good an appetite" Three days passed
the abbot was suddenly arrested in the
= Kings name and hurried to the Tower
where a diet of bread and water wa.
assigned him. The end of the story
L.