The bee. (Earlington, Ky.) 1889-19??, 1897-12-23

1t is almost impossible to say when
the custom began of celebrating Christ
mas with a sumptuous feast. 1t is GER
tain, however, that the observance has
never lapsed since English history be-
gan. Whistlecraft, writer who delved
deeply among the traditions and records
of the reign of King Arthur of the
Round Table, describes the Christmas
dinner of that day in verse;
They served up salmon venison and wild
boars
By hundreds and by dozens and by scores,
| Hogsheads of honey, klderkins of mustard,
Muttons and fatted beeves and bacon swine,
Herons and bitterns, peacock, swans and bus'
tard,
Teal, mallard pigeons, widgeons and, in fine,
Plum puddings, pancakes, apple pies and Gus
| tard.
And therewithal they drank good Gascon wine
With mead and ale and cider of our own,
For porter, punch and negus were not known
This bill of fare is doubtless more
poetic than accurate, yet it is not far
out Of the way. One notable omission
is that of the wassail bowl, for wassail,
though it was drink of the ancient
Druids of the third century and prob
ably earlier, was for many hundred
years favorite British drink and came
to be distinctive feature Of Christmas
feasts It was first made of ale, or what
was then considered ale, sweetened with
something that did duty for the more
modern sugar. Just what that was is
today unknown, but it was sweet. Then
there was toast, and there were roasted
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 "lamb's
wool, and it was therefore an anach-
ronism that crept into the account of
King Arthur's feast when the boy with
the mantle cast spell over the table,
for it is told that on that occasion only
one knight found his sword sharp
enough to carve the boar's head or his
hand steady enough to lift the lamb S
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 Arthur's feast seems gargan.
tuan it was q frugal repast compared
with those that came later. GervasG
Markham describes moderate din.
ner" of about A. d. 1900 that would
answer for Christmas in the following
amazing way:
1.-THE first course should consist of 16
full dishes-that is, dishes of meat that
are of substance and not empty or for
show-as thus, for example: First, q
shield of braun with mustard; second
ly, boyl'd capon; thirdly, 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 rosted; the twelfth, pasty of
venison; the thirteenth, kid with a
pudding in the belly; the fourteenth.
an olive-pye; the fifteenth, couple of
capons; the sixteenth, crstard or dow
sets. Now, to these full dishes may be
added sallets fricases, quelque chooses
and devised paste, as many dishes more,
which make tho full service no less
than two and thirty dishes, which is as
much as can conveniently stand ON one
table and in 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 the other, which will be both frugal
in the splendour, contentment to the
guest and much pleasure and delight to
the beholder. T"
Surely moderate dinner" like that
would make a lord mayors banquet
seem stingy, yet there is ample evidence
that such feasts were not uncommon
Gin that elder day" Not every one,
however, set such a table, even when he
could afford it, for Pepys records din
ner given to the 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
/ mi In
everyday fare, but they voted it mean
entertainment for Christmas.
The bonr's head, as is we'll known,
was for hundreds Of years the piece de
resistance Of every we'll regulated Brit
ish Christmas feast, and 1t has been
held by some writers that 1t became the
favorite because of a general desire to
protest against the Jewish prohibition
of pork A more probable reason is that
the boar was the fiercest Of all the wild
beasts of the country, and killing him
was the highest achievement Of the
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 brawneis head
Sweet rosemary and bays around it spread.
His foaming tuslls let some large pippin grace,
Or midst those laundering spears an orange
place.
Sauce, like himself, offensive to his foes,
The roguish mustard dangerous TO the nose.
Sack and the well splced hippocras, the wine
Wassail, the bowl with ancient ribands fine,
Porridge 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
great house was most imposing, for 1t
was not brought without procession.
First came a runner in horseman's
coat with a boar spear in his hand.