The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-12-23

crabs, put kissing hot into the bowl-a
queer drink, but such as it was it was
liked.
As time went by the recipe was va.
ried till, perhaps 1000 years or so
later, the wassail bowl was filled with
wine. we'll warmed and spiced, with
toasted bread and roasted apples If
wine were not obtainable, ale WAS used,
but the apples were deemed indispensa-
BILE and really seem to have been an,
improvement on CRABS. Doubtless it
was the white pulp Of the apples that
gave wassail its nickname Of lambs
WOOL" and it was therefore an anach-
ronism that crept into tho account Of
King Arthur's feast when the boy with
the mantle cast spell over tho table,
for it is told that OH that occasion only
one knight found his sword sharp
enough to carve the boar 8 head or his
hand steady enough to lift the lambs
wool without splitting it.
1t will be noticed that King Arthur
had neither turkeys nor geese though
both of them are now distinctive fea-
lures of the Christmas feast. The tur-
key was not taken to England from
the east till the sixteenth century, and,
though the goose was known before, his
gastronomic value seems not to have
been discovered
But if Arthurs feast seems gargan-
tuan it was a frugal repast compared
with those that came later Gervase
Markham describes moderate din
her" of about A. D. 1900 that would
answer for Christmas in the following
amazing way:
1.-THE first course should consist Of l6
full dishes-that is, dishes Of meat that
are Of substance and not empty or for
show-as thus, for example: First,
shield of braun with mustard; second
ly, boyl'd capon; thirdly, a boyl'd
piece OF beef; fourthly, chine of beef
rosted filthy, meats tongue rosted;
sixthly, pig rosted; seventhly, chew
cts baked; eighthly, a goose rosted;
ninthly, swan rosted; tenthly, /. tur-
key rosted; the eleventh, haunch Of
venison rested; the twelfth pasty Of
venison; tho thirteenth, a kid with a
pudding in the belly; the fourteenth,
an olive-pye; the fifteenth, a couple Of
capons; the sixteenth, custard Or dow
sets Now, to these full dishes may be
added sallets fricases, quelque chooses
and devised paste, as many dishes more,
which make the full service no less
than two and thirty dishes, which is as
much as can conveniently stand on one
table and i'll one mess And after this
manner you may proportion both your
second and third courses, holding full
ness on one half of the dishes and show
in tho other, which will be both frugal
in the splendour, contentment to the
guest and much pleasure and delight to
the beholder.
Surely a "moderate dinner" like that
would make lord mayors banquet
seem stingy, yet there is ample evidence
that such feasts were not uncommon
in that elder day" Not every one,
however. set such table, even when he
could afford it. for Pepys records din
ner given to tho poor by Sir George
Downing one Christmas at which moth
ing was served but beef, porridge, pud-
ding and pork. 1t may have been better
than the recipients usually had for
everyday fare, but they voted it mean
entertainment for Christmas
The boar's head, as is well known,
was for hundreds of years the piece de
resistance of every we'll regulated Brit
ish Christmas feast, and it has been
held by some writers that it became the
favorite because of general desire to
protest against the Jewish prohibition
of pork A more probable reason is that
the boar was the tiercest of all the wild
beasts of the country, and killing him
was the highest achievement of tho
huntsman. Then, again, his head is
very good to eat.
Whatever the reason, the great dish
was served with great pomp 1t was
served in style A forgotten poet wrote:
II you would end up the bruwnels head
Sweet rosemary and bays around 1t spread.
HIS foamlng tuslss let some large p,ppin grace,
Or midst those laundering spears an orange
place
The rOgulsh mustard dangerous to the nose.
Sack and the well speed h,ppocras, the wine
WuSsnll. the bowl with ancient ribands fine
Porrdse with plums and turkeys with the
chine.
The mere dressing Of the dish did not
suffice, however The ceremony Of
bringing it into the banquet hall Of q
great house was most imposing, for 1t
was not brought without a procession.
First came runner in horseman's
coat with boar spear in his hand.
Then huntsnlau in green with a naked
and bloody sword. Then two pages in
sarcenot, each with mess Of mustard,
aud 19st the bearer himself, chosen for
his size and strength, proudly holding
the huge silver platter OH which the
boar S head lay.
Such was the plainest procession that
entered always with music, for
Christmas carol was always sung. What
the magnificcnce of the wealthest houses
was may be imagined from the fact that
King Henry II, having caused his son to
be crowned during his own lifetime,
himself served as bearer of the boar's
head at his sons table and was preceded
by the royal trumpeters as he entered.
The splendor Of these ancient feasts
would doubtless seem barbaric now, but
the profusion OF the viands seems Won
detful In comparison our modern
spreads seem small, and one wonders If
in the elder day all men were like the
ono who died only lately and who
made reputation by single remark,
"The turkey is an excellent bird with
one serious fault-he is too big for one
person to cat and not big enough for
two" DAVID A. CURTIs