Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-07-17
HIS STOMACH FIRST.
THE ENGLiSHMAN A HEARTY LIVER
AND HAS SIX MEALS A DAY.
How an American Fared In an English
Middle Glass House With Breakfast ut
I, supper at 8 and Your Meals In Be
, tween-An Abiding Horror of Hot Bread

! in his country that IAN Enrlishman CON
| siders his stomach first and his back after
ward, " but no American can realize how
| universally true the love of good living is
all over England, unless he has been for
tunate enough 20 be invited TO spend sew
eral months as guest in a middle class
English home.
| The house where such stay was had,
and TO which the writer will always look
back with longing for a return of the de-
| lightful days spent there, was presided
over by IL typical English hostess, round,
rudy and so jolly that, though she must
have been 60, one always thought of her as
young,
| Breakfast began at 7o'clock, and we al
ways found our hostess waiting for us in
the breakfast room, in her place at the
head of the table. English etiquette de-
mands that each person as he enters tho
breakfast room should shake hands with
the hostess first, and then with every one
| else in the room. This practice was, of
course, new to the American guest, but it
was soon acquired, though more difficult
was the getting used to interruptions half
a dozen times in the course Of the meal to
| shake hands with the late risers as they
| came in, one by one
| Although it. was summer, we never had
| fruit for breakfast, nor is it eaten at any
time as generally as here Nor, of course,
did we have hot rolls or warm cakes, or
| even oatmeal, which was a surprise since
| the Scotch use it so much. OF hot bread
| of any kind the Britons have an abiding
| horror. There would always be two or
| three kinds of cold meat, beef, mutton,
| ham, etc, left over from the day before,
hot sausage or'cggs and, in season. a Mel
ton Mowbray pork pie Along with these
would be the most delicious of toast and
tea. Coffee was little drunk and was
not particularly good, but the tea was al
ways so much nicer than any tea which
can be had in this country that one easily
preferred it.
About IL o'clock comes what they call
"a bite and a snatch" This is merely
bread and beer and a bit of pastry, set in
formally on an end OF the dining table and
eaten as one chooses. 1t follows one about
the house or into the garden, u maid bring
ing your share on tray. This luncheon
was to be lodged when possible, as it only
spoiled the appetite for dinner, which, in
this house. was served at 1890.
Dinner Is o substantial meal, beginning
with an enormous roast of beef, a leg of
mutton or boiled ham. There was very
seldom soup, but whenever the roast was
of beef or mutton there was always deli
cious Yorkshire pudding, which was serv-
ed before or with the roast To make this
dish, comparatively unknown in America,
the roast is put to cook upon an iron frame
called "horse, which raises it from the
bottom of the roasting pan. An hour or
SO before the roast is done tho pudding
batter, made of -four milk and eggs, is
poured into tho pan and left to cook be-
meath the drippings of the meat, the juices
of which penetrate and flavor it.
OF course everything is carved on the
table. The Englishman has lofty con-
tempt for side dishes, and your meat, pc
tato, Yorkshire pudding and two kinds of
vegetables are always heaped upon one
plate, which fortunately is a large one.
BY the middle of the afternoon, when
our hostess was fairly relieved of her do
nestle duties for the day, she liked to have
us drop in at her own little sitting room
for bit of cake, some fruit and glass of
her homemade wine. Imposition as it was
felt this was upon ones digcsti7c organs,
her delicious Wines for the making of
which she was famous all over the country,
could seldom be resisted Her collar
seemed inexhaustible, and the kinds were
various.
AT o'clock. by which time we natu-
rally needed something to eat, came tea
and this was 10 "a o'clock" affair, with
tiny cups and waters of paper thinness
The table was spread in the dining room,
and we sat down to u generous meal Of
pottcd meat, salad, big plates piled high
with thin slices of bread and butter, moro
toast, tea and pastry. The way in which
the salad was served at this meal is new to
an American While the heads of lettuce
/ growing in the garden the leaves are
thero& tightly together and tied with
S 'ings This makes the heads grow as
hard and crisp and white as cabbage
When served, the strings and outer leaves
are cut away, and the heads quartered like
an apple and sent to the table to be eaten
plain, with bread and butter.
At o'clock comes supper next to din
ner the most solid meal of the day. This
is also the social meal, when conversation
is at its best, and we were apt to lingcr,
loath to leave. If q ncighbor dropped in,
or more than one as was often the case,
extra plates were put on, and they must
have at least a mouthful, for the sake Of
hospitality.
The cold roasts from dinner and usually
from dinner of the day before, always
came up for supper, with roast potatoes or
bubble and squeak, " made regularly aft
er the first night because the traveller
liked it so well. Bubble and squeak" is
simply the cold potato and cabbage from
dinner chopped together and then done in
frying pan to a crisp brown. 1t doesn't
sound nice, but try it and see how good it
is. This is not the notion of one partcu-
lar house, for directions for cooking it
were found in an old cook book published
in 1887.
Supper brings more ale, or alf and 'alf,
drawn cold and sparkling from barrels in
the cellar.
The bread for supper is always put on
the table in the loaf, one of those round
cottage loaves which look as if the baker.
As an afterthought. had added second
story to them. 1t was cut for this meal.
not in slices, but in hunks" accom-
plished by tipping the loaf on edge, cut
ting off a section, and then cutting this
again, so as to give a piece shaped like
three corncred pyramid.-New York
Times
Zenobia.