Morning journal and courier., 1893-08-31
A Famous Cook.

re-. A Sala In the London Telegraph
One afternoon in the autumn of 1850
was strolling through Hungerford mar
ket with my brother. We had had a ram
BILE into Lambeth msrsh and had returned
by way of Brunels POLITICALLY graceful ae-
rial suspension bridge which now spans
the Avon at Clifton. We had regaled on
''gsuffres," hot and hot, cooked by an In
dustrious italian who had formerly, Ii WAS
whispered, been brigand, and ultimately
took to stereotyping, and who kept little
hut for the sale of those crisp delicsoies
in q street by the side of the market going
down to the river. l can see the bubbling
batter being poured into the moulds and
scent the odor of the cooked "gsufres" as
they were swiftly baked over a charcoal
FIRE now; and then promised my relative
to take him to the Swan and introduce him
to the man in the cloak
But lust as we were beginning to wend
our way Swanward my eyes lighted on
gentleman who was bargaining for lobs-
ters at one of the shops In the Central
avenue. "Who can that extraordinary In
dividual BET" l asked my brother. The
stranger was o stoutish, tsllish gentleman,
cropped gray hair and a stubbly gray
moustaohs; and but for his more than Pc
culiar costume he might have been mis-
taken for the riding-msste of foreign
circus, Yho had been originally In the
army. he wore kind of paletot of light
camlet cloth. with voluminous lspels and
deep cuffs of lavender watered silk; very
baggy trousers, with a lavender stripe
down the seams; very shiny boots and
hia hafn
| pieted by tightly fitting gloves of the hue
/ known in Paris as beurre frsis-that is TO
say, light yellow. All this you may think
was odd enough; but an extraordinary
| oddity was added to his appearance by the
| circumstances that every article of his at
tire, save, suppose, his gloves and boots,
| was cut on what dressmakers call "biss, I"
| or as he himself, when l came to know
him we'll. used to designate as la zoug-
| zoug He must have been the terror of
his tailor, his halter and his maker of era
| vsts and under linen, since he had TO all
appearances an unconquerable aversion to
any garment which, when displayed on the
human figure exhibited either horizontal
or perpendicular lines. His very visiting
cards, his cigar case and the handle of his
cane took n slightly oblique inclination.
He evidently knew all about shell-hsh; for
/ he took the Holsters up one by one, criti-
cally scanned them, poised them In one
hand after the other to ascertain their
weight, examined their claws, raped
them on the back, poked their sides and
offered terms for them in a mildly author
itative tone; terms which were at length
and not very ruefully accepted by the hsh-
monger, who wac possibly desirous OF
keeping on the best of terms with the for
eign gentleman whose hat, coat, crayat
and psntsloons were all stuhiously sWry.
"Who is thstp said my brother, repeat
ing my question. "Why, of all people on
earth who could that be but Soyeri How
do you do, Soyeri1 1t WAS in good sooth
the noted Alexis Soyer, best chef of the
Reform club, to whom 1 was then and
there introduced, and with whom, for
some years afterwards, l smicably fore
| gsthered He had then, / believe, just
quilted the service of the pslstisl estsb'
lishment in Pail Mall where q handsome
salary and the fees which he was permit
ted to take from 'improvers," brought
bim an income. 1t was said, of not less
than thousand q year. There was MOI
the slightest ll-feeling between himself
and the committee when he left; and many
members of the club, including Thscke
ray, Sir John Easthope, Mr.. Fox haule
Afterwards Lord Pznmure. Mr.. Edward
-, Ellice, and Lord Marcus Hill, remained
his fast friends Alexis Soyer, however
WAS a very ambitious artist, and when
} fret met him was on the point of organi
zlng q grand culiasry enterprieo on hi
owo account, of which enterprise 1 shsl
, have presently something to cay. In sd
= dition to this undertaking he was, like Mr
Rudyard Kipling, q dealer In many In
ventions" His "Gastronom,c Regeners
tor" q Costly cookery book, of which b
teok csrs to preserve the copyright
brought him In q large annual income
and even larger annual gains accrued {
him from the sale of bis Modern Hous,
wife, or AensseTe," which Comprised,
the way, a bill of fare for - nursery dir
ner, which Sir Erasmus Wilson said Wa
one of the most valuable psges that b
ever read on the subject of diet, and wa
Calculated to confer al everlasting bsnt
fit on society" Then, again, he had d.
vised numerous condiments and ssucs
among which l especially remember $50,
er's Relish" which was sold In vast Qual
titles by a well-known firm of msnufa
turers in London, who paid him liber
royalties for his recipes. He once told n
in confidence what the relish was made o
and committed the prescription to psps
but I am sorry to cay that I lost IL lor
years ago. remember, however, that Il
foundation of the sauce was garlic.