Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-05-25
WHEAT THE ANCIENTS ATE,
The Leading Dishes of To-Day the
same as ThOse served Up Before tn
Christian Era.


In the llanhattau magazine for Nav
Mr.. G. II. Sherburne Hill has an inter
esting essay on Cookery" in its msthe-
tic aspects, from which we make the fol-
lowing extracts
With the ancients whatever served to
delight the eye was added to the epicu.
rcan taste. Peacocks must have been
abundant in the days Of the Emperor
Vitelius, that heartless gourmand, who
otherwise cou Il. not have created the
enormous dish called ''the Bucklcr of
Minerva, which was macedoine of the
tongues OF tlamingoes, the brains and
tongues of pheasnnts and peacOcks and
the livers of the parrot fish. The peacock
was first eaten Mt Rome, by the famous
orator Hortensius, when he was consecra-
ted high priest and gave solemn feast ::
the solemniiy, however, not interfering ut
all with the extraordinary feastiug and
junketing that followed. At the marriage
of the heir of Sir Thomas Rocky and
Elizabeth Neville, in 1909, among the
courses at the feast was "Braun with
mustard served with malmsey roe
roasted for large dish young lamb,
whole, roasted swans, two of dish,
and peacocks, two of dish and for
night there was first II play, and straight
after the play mask, and when the mask
was done then the Banckett, which were
one hundred and ten dishes, and all Of
meat and then all the gentlemen and
ladies' danced and this was continued from
the Sunday to the Saturday"
Der Capon, Heron show and Crane
And princey Peacock's gildcd train,
AMI DER the ltoars head garnlshed brave
And CygnetS from ST. Mary's wave;
Otrfarnigan and Nenisln.
The priest did say his benis0n.
The dry, tough flesh of the peacock re-
quires an abundance of sauces. "The
City Madam, one of the productions of
the day, disgustcd with the extravagant
feasting, says: "Men may talk Of their
country and court gluttony, their thirty
pounds for buttered eggs, their carps'
tongues, their pheasants drenched vita
ambergris, their carcassqs of three fat
wethers bruised for gravy to make sauce
for single peacock, but their feasts were
fasts compared with the cities"
1t is true that there is nothing new but
VIII 1t is old. The dindonS aur HuGcs,
the pate dc Joie graS, the hrJot a Ia
creme and game pastries, disRed up to-
day by famous chJs, figured at the ban
quets of Cataline and Lucullus before
the Christian era. Unhappy geese were
gorged with figs until their livers were
forced to an enormous size peacocks
were stuffed with truffles, turbots fricas-
seed III cream; hogs were fattened on
chestnuts and acorns in cream and served
garnished with bay-lcaves and anchovies,
wine, olives, vinegar and white pepper.
Although the culinary skill of the present
age far exceeds the perfection of Roman
epicureanism, it will be long perhaps be-
fore their models in the science of hospi-
tality can be equaled. The grandest ban
quet OF to-day is comparatively baga-
telie compared.to the magnificent hospi-
tality OF the ancients, when hundreds of
thousands, even millions of money, were
expended at fetcs and dinners in the reign
OF the Roman emperors. The pride OF
the cooks consisted in concentration of
expense in the smallest compassion III
stance, the sacrifice of thousand pea-
cocks to create one small dish of tongues
The famous gourmet and gO,trmand Api-
Gus poured into the unsuitable depths of
his stomach an enormous fortune. A
humorous interview is described in the
dialogues of the Dead" between Api-
Gus and modern gourmet. Darteuf.
The Frenchman boasts Of the nature of
his own death by surfeit, and is filled
with envious amazement to hear the tale
from the ancient Roman, that he killed
himself in despair upon hearing from his
steward that he had but fourscore thou
sand pounds left in his Golfer "Alas ~
cried the distracted Apicius, ''it is not
enough for supper" and Astraightway
fell on his sword to avoid starvation.
"Sacre Dieu :" exclaimed the Parisian,
with us yeu might have lived twenty
years on it. Eighty Thousand pounds
Non Dieu Mon Dieu