, 1876-09-09
Eni,uenCr OF Food Upon -.
Intellect.

tnCe IMAM II NNL'h usually Hpp'"I '. ..
considered by people i'll general Jo,-
ing from appearances, we are mriH.1 -
say that there is a widcly.sprrat and
profound Indifference prevailing I.p..r
ing the matter. There can be ru' .Et.r
doubt hut that what people eat an 01aN
affects their character. PhysiolOg! rriis
Us that the brain and sto nICI are tOp
intma tely connected for there to he any
question MS 10 the correctness of tie AS
sertion. Indeed the brain is the slave
of tie stomach and the former ut,r.a
What the latter dictates.
That such is the design of an ali.5 So
Creator is very evident. Rctcrring 10
the Mosaic record of the fall OF mag, We
read that when the serpent temple I've
through her palate, lie also appeal to
the benefits her understanding would dc
rive from eating the forbidden iruiC i
was "a tree to be desired to mas one
wise" How fatally true the story wa,
we know from its result. Ancient cu-,
ical writers give us very minute acCUunts
of the barbaric magnifcenrc Of the ban
qucts of ancient Greece and Rome. Iuc
incongrous ingredients Of the pLats aio
strangely typical of eccentric atrCci.ie,
perpetrated hy the partukcrs OF sucn
dishes. Thousands of nightingalcS' tom
CUES entered into the composition Of AN
especially tavorite dish OF the Roman
Emperor who caused the streets oi his
capital to be illuminated by the burning
bodies Of the christian slaves. Looking
at matters from the standpoint which
we have erected, the diet of monarch, IL
the days OF despoAc power must have
been amatter OF no slight Importance
What hasty decisions, what bewildering
political complications may not have
been caused by a fit ofindigestion on the
part OF the powers that were9 1t is a
established fact that leg of mutton
caused revolution in the affairs of
Europe Napoleon the Great, just before
the battle of Leipzig, insisted upon din
ing upon boiled mutton, contrary to the
advice of his chet.ke cuisine, who seems
to have properly understood his business
and to have been somewhat of physi.
cian as well as cook. The Emperor's
brain resented the liberty taken with lis
colleague-the stomach--the monarch's
equilibrium was overturned, the battle
lost, and Il new page opened in history
who drinks beer, thinks beer" says the
time-honored proved, and its truth is
well e1emplitied in the literature of the
Tudor period, when beer was the Gus.
tomary drink. Il was the ordinary bev-
erage drunk by the virgin Queen herself.
The literature of the era is like the strong
fluids and solids which nourished the
brains of the writers, 1t is coarse, pun
gent and vigorous, full of the sensuality
of thought and expression which gross
manner Of living tends to foster. Yet,
withal, what glorious literature!
There were no diJettdati writers in those
days, no second serving up of the
thoughts of others in an adulterated
form. All was fresh and original, per-
fectly cOinciding with the modes OF liv-
ing in those mediGval times.
Pursuing this train of thought, we
naturally glance at the great writers of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Here We find notable difference in the
style Of living;a difference which has
had most remarkable influence upon
the literary productions of the age. The
French Queen of Charles l., Henrietta
Maria, introduced more refined system
OF dietary amongst the upper classes.
This, taken in connection with the more
habituai use OF wine--particularly Port
had its influence upon minds OF the
greater thinkers of the time. The style
of writing had become more refined and
polished; lacking in the coarseness of
Elizabethan era, whilst preserving its
vigor and freshness. With the introduc.
tiOn OF tea commenced the age of ephcm.
eral literature. The Tattlsr and THE
Spectator were the ofsprings of coffee
house chat. They are remembered and
quoted nov because they are almost the
chief records of the everyday life of the