Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-11-16
AT TABLE
Henry Clay and Buttered Watermelon
John G.. Demands Postum.

Clay a greatmany years, because | waited
on him, both at the National Hotel and at
Hancock's restaurant, as well, as at a
great many other places. Mr.. Clay was a
great lover of broiled oysters and baked
pumpkins. He was the most singular
man | eve saw about his eating. People
said he wanted to be eccentric for effect,
Perhaps you don't know that Mr.. CLAW
used to eat butter on his watermelOns:
Well, sir, he did. 1 recollect very
well that on a certain day, when
there was a great many famous
men at the table, including Mr.,
Corwin, Mr.. Calhoun, Gen. Tay-
Tor and Gen. Carey, of Michigan, Mr..
Clay had his watermelon set out before
him. After having the melon sliced, he
said: Now, gentlemen. you have before
you the most magnificent product of the
vegetable kingdom; now, here.is the most
d~om-butterr Then he proceeded to but
ter a slice of melon, and he put the butter
on thick, and l can tell you that he did
not stop at n slice. In fact, | may say
that he never did stop at four or five slices
ofbuttered watermelon every time they put
watermelon on the table. But l can say
that nom of the other gentlemen ever fol-
lowed his advice. One of Mr.. Claws
friends, a Kentucky Colonel, tried it once,
UuJ AOu OuEul " bCC ntAu lay Tic MdGEI-
melon down real quick. No, sir, l never
see nobody 'cept Mr.. Clay
TAKE TO BUTTERED WATERMELON.
Somehow or other all these great men
had their peculiaritieS about what they
wanted 20 eat. There was Mr.. Calhoun,
who always had his 'pOssum and sweet
potatoes when he could get them. He
used to- say to me: Now, Steve, you get
me a nice fat 'possum, cook it the day af-
ter it is killed, parbOil it, then put it in a
hot oven with boiled yam potatoes laid
around it in the oven, and then let it
slowly brown. If you can get a coon,
Steve, you make plenty of coon gravy,
very brown, and pour it over the pOssum.
And don't you fail to have the 'pOssum
well favored with pepper, salt and sage
Well, sir, you just ought to see Mr.. Cal
hOun sit down to a dish of 'pOssum with
coon gravy. He wasn't a big man, but he
was mighty thin, and there was plenty of
room about his vest. He would make that
'pOssnm very sick before he got through
with it. He used to say that it reminded
him of old South Carolina to eat 'pOssum,
and that's the reason he liked it so well.
Many a time he's told me about going
ont SpOssum hunting at night, with
colOred boys and dogs and an ak, freeing
the 'pOssam, cutting the tree down end
roasting the 'pOssUm before a log fire.
Mr.. CalhOun's neighbOrs down there used
to send him boxes of persimmOns, and
these he would distribute among his
friends here as one OF the great products
of South Carolina. OF course, Mr.. Cal
houn had all the Old Southern habit. He
wanted his coffee in the morning before
be got out of bed. For breakfast he
wanted hot corn bread or biscuits and the
breast Of a chicken. He wouldn't eat any
other part of the chicken. For dinner he
didn't care much for anything eX-
cept soup and fish. 1t was at night that
HE WANTED HIS 'POSSUM
or any extra dish he might fancy.
Senator Benton, of Missouri, was a
mighty funny man about his eating" con-
tinued Uncle Steve. 81 was at the Ma
tiOnal Hotel for a long time while he
boarded there, and | can say that he was
about as fussy a man as you ever saw.
He could talk more and pay his walters
less than any Congressman | ever waited
on. In the morning he would say to me:
Steve, you black rascal, bring me a Mis-
souri, cocktail That would mean whis-
ky straight, two drinks in one. He would
call for pretty much everything on the
bill of fare, but he didn't touch much of
it. What do you suppose was his favor
lite dish? Bacon and mOlasses, as sure as
you are born! He would have a big dish
of bacon fried crisp, with the gravy at
the bottom. Then he would pour a pint
of mOlasses over it, and l tell you, when
he got through there wasn't anything left
but the dish. That's the reason Mr.. Ben
ton had his meals mostly in his room. He
did o want people to know that he was
so fond Of bacon and mOlasses.
There's President Harrison, who died
80 quick after h. go r.. 4 ,.nnee White Hgt,e.
They all say that he died from excite
ment, nervous pTOstratiOn and all that.
But the man who waited on him said that
he died from too much dinner. He had
been in the White House but a few days
when he told the waiter he had brought
from Indiana to get him up what be called
a regular Old-fashiOned North Bend din
ner. That was Mr.. HarrisOn's home in
Indiana, and his order meant cabbage,
picked pork, fresh roast pork, peas,
cucumbers and sweet potatoes, with corn
meal fritters for dessert. That was on a
day that Mr.. Webster had a long talk with
him. Mr.. Webster was in his Cabinet,
and he said: Harrison, if these id
oflice-seekers don't kill you, that dinner
WILL Well, sir, he
NEVER SAW A WELL MINUTE
after that dinner. He had indigestion,
headaches and swimming in the head,
dl0 LACI say bh0b IAO AAAH0 NACh = AAS9N
till he died. 1t might have been sOme-
thing else, but L believe that it was that
dinner that caused his death. The old
cook at the White House said that he had
cooked for five Presidents, but that MIR.
Harrison could eat more than all of them
put together. Why. sir, he could eat two
whole whitehead caObages and pork to
correspond, with corn cakes and mOlasses,
at one time. The story at that time was
-. - --a. - AZ 49,, ha aTrvnr1
eat double r~ations, and the cOmmissarY
did not charge HIM extra for it. While
he was fighting in the army his favorite
dish was raw pork and bareback, and
the other officers used to set aroUnd and
watch him get away with it.
"WhO was the smallest eater | ever
knew? Well, Fve known a good many
small eaters, but l believe that Mr.. jeff
Davis was about the smallest l ever saw
He was always so thin you could almost
see through him, and they used to say it
was because he did not eat enough. l
waited on him at Welcker's before he was
Secretary of War-it must have been
about '37, or may be forty years ago. He
looked sickly and pa.e, and seemed to eat
because he was obliged to. He drank tea
instead of coffee, but he never drank more
than half a cup. About two or three
mouthfuls of toast finished his breakfast.
For dinner he had a halt plate of soup, a
thin slice of roast beef, which he had
hardly tasted, and a glass of claret. He
read papers nearly all the time he was
sitting at the table,, and never noticed
anybody without he was spoken to. l
have often seen him get up from the table
without touching anything. They say he
used to make it up on brandy just before
he went to bed, but l didn't know any
thing about that. we walters wondered
how he could live, but he seemed healthy.
One day | handed him a bill Of fare and
asked him if he wouldn't have some of the
oyster patties. he said he would, but
when | got back he was gone, though
there was a two dollar and a half gold
piece
ON THE EMPTY PLATE.
president johnson was another curl
u eater. l did not know much about
him when he was President, but about
twenty years before, when he first came
to Congress, be boarJed at the National
awhile, and l waited or him. He was an
old-fashiOned healthy eater, and his table
manners made a good many people laugh.
He never got over the ways he was used
to in the backwOods of Tennessee. He
had a way of smelling everything before
he tasted it, and sometimes he would sniff
so YOU could hear him clear across the
table. He always used a red handker-
chief to wipe his mouth; he wouldn't have
a napkin. He always drank about five
glasses of water while he was eating, and
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