Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-05-12
THE ART OF EATING
Not Improved Upon by the Experiments OF
Modern EpfcUres dn0 Wouid-be
cOnHofSSeurS.

contains some very interesting in
formation about food and the art OF
eating. 1t is well written and
spicy article and will repay the
reader for careful perusal:
Various definitions have been
given of man. He has been called
a biped without feathers. Gen.
Custer and other military heroes
long since changed this definition
by the wearing of huge plumes,
while woman has fleeced the ostrich
and other birds of plumage of their
feathers until she has entirely
plucked off all the ornamentatiOn of
this quaint illustration. One of the
best definitions ever given Of man is
that he is an animal that cooks his
food. Some disputants may en-
deavor to relieve this description of
its chief point by asserting that Il
monkey did on one occasion COOK
chestnuts by the aid of cat, but
there is no recorded proof that
Jocko placed the chestnuts in the
fire; ergo he did not cook them,
though he engaged in the pleasant
pastime of eating them after they
were cooked. The chief attribute
to distinguish man from the brute
creation is that he cooks his food.
| From the
DAYS OF OUR FOREFATHERs
to the present time, cooking has
been one of the indispensable neceS-
saries to life. Homer is mentioned
as man who took care to feed his
heroes, and his banquets were given
upon the most extensive plan. The
ancient Scotch and English laid
great stress upon quantity OF food
as an illustration of hospitality. A
herd of dun deer, or hectacOmb of
oxen, fiayed and roasted, were the
leading features in their bills of fare.
The table manners then, though
not equal to those practiced by the
American snobs of to-day, were
exceedingly peculiar. After eating,
they wiped their fingers on the soft
part or crumb of their bread, and
cast it under the table for their dogs.
In all probability this custom pre-
vailed in the days OF Lazarus, who,
when he would eat the crumbs from
the rich mans table, would kill two
birds with one stone by giving the
dogs an opportunity to kiss his
sores. The SpartanS had their
black broth, which would not be
tolerated to-day, unless by those
epicures whose tastes run in a chan
mel leading to OX-tail soup, to green
turtle loblolly or some other OF the
many dishes of that ilk, exceedingly
nauseous to the plain and unsOphis-
ticated lovers of good living.
AMONG THE ROMANS
was a field where the epicures could
riot and luXuriate to his stomach's
content. Meat cooked with asafet-
ida might not tempt the appetite of
the fashionable gluttOn of to-day,
whose highest aims are to secure
invitations to dine with tony peo-
pie, but steak and onions are now
considered diStiRglte. The boar
killed during the prevalence of
south wind, in the early spring,
while considered great delicacy
among the ancient, would not pre-
sent a very sweet-smelling para
graph in the bill of fare of a "Swell
wedding" yet the highly perfumed
Goldfish balls of New England are
one of the chiefest attractions at a
wedding breakf fast in that cultured
no bull beef should be exposed
for sale until it had first been baited
was not made for the purpose, as
some have supposed, to encourage
the chase, but to make the carcass
of the animal more juicy and ten
der; hence, we see the butcher of |
to-day running his scrawny blue
beef almost to death before he |
slaughters it for the market, but in |
nine cases out of ten without pro-
ducing the desired effect.
The fOllies of cooking were as
much in vogue, or perhaps rnore so,
among the ancients than at the pres
ent day.
THE BRAINS OF NIGHTINGALEs
and other song birds were deemed |
great luXuries, and were obtained |
on "sWell" occasions in large guam |
titles and at great expense. Thrush
es were caught and fattened with |
great care. Geese, nailed through |
their feet to the floor and placed |
near the fire, were stuffed and cram
med with food to secure an enlarge |
ment of the liver. Probably the |
goose that cackled and saved Rome |
was in this epicurean predicament |
is why she cackled. In some places |
it is now in order to cram geese, as |
did the ancients, for the purpose OF
tickling the palate with Il pate de
fOie grdS. One of the leading dishes
among ancient epicures was one
called gurum. 1t has puzzled the
learned to find out its construction
since the days of Elagabulas. 1t has
been surmised that it was prepared
from the viscera of any of the fish
tribe, but is more generally believed
by epicurean scientists of the pres
ent day that it was made solely from
certain parts of the funny fish, an
of the deepest parts of
the mighty ocean. At any rate,
this dish sold among the Romans
for its weight in gold. Mulse, too,
was "a Roman dish, and, though
not as expensive as the garum, it
was, one that only the wealthy
could procure; composed as it was
of wine, oil and hOney-SOmething
similar TO the pure peach and honey
of the present day-it was believed
to promote longevity, and, in fact,
it was claimed by the Romans that
ii was
DRINK WITH MATHUSE-
LAH
and other patriarchs. The Roman
banquets have no parallel in this
Although it is not record
Ell that any of the Emperors Or mil
lionaires of the Romans held as
much as forty million of L. S. four
per cent. registered cOnsOls, fire.
luently a single feast prepared for
only few would cost more than
sl50,0OO. Read this, We Vanderbilts,
etc, and be miserable. This ,
would, of course, include the costly ]
perfumes which were waited about
he room, and dishes like the gar I
Inn, which cost their weight in
gold. No flowers adorned the room, {
put fragrant oils such as the Ottar of 6
'Oses-price S75 per drop in Roman i
made from the distilla- {
ion of billions and trillions of flow s
srs culled from every section of the ]
Roman empire. How gratifying t
% the impecunious to learn these 7
acts and to know now that these L
I'D mummies could beat the rich {
Al6 nohph1 Of faar 70 | J