The Washington herald., 1907-03-17

From Frances festive metropolis comes
by cable the announcement Of the i'm
pending celebration there Of the six
hundredth anniversary Of the Invention
OF the table fork, alleged 70 have been
first used on the banks Of the Seine 10y
Duke John Of Brittany in 1877. a num-
Der Of elaborate banquets. attended By
members Of the government. are TO be
given in honor of the occasion. and il
seems particularly fitting that the prin-
eipal observance Of the solemnity should
take place in Paris. the city renowned
above all others in the world for its
cult Of the art Of gastronomy. It is an
anniversary which Will excite the SYM
pathetic interest OF gourmets on both
sides Of the Atlantic. But more particu-
larly VIII It appeal 10 people Who. Ike
myself. have resided in the Orient, where
forks are an unknown luxury. and where
one is compelled to either waste much
precious time in maneuveTing with chop
sticks. or else to depend on fingers that
are not always Immaculate. For in many
parts of Asia, the native host, when anx-
ious to pay particular honor to a guest
grabs a piece OF meat from the dish. and
after kneadIng II with his gravy-smeared
digits until it has assumed the shape Of
an enlarged pin thrusts II into the
mouth Of the person in question. Even
the most savOry roast lamb Is apt 10
lose its taste when treated in this fash
ion. and after an extended course or
Oriental hospitality. the white man de-
yelops an almost insane longing fer a
fork, and learns to appreciate for the
FIRST time the value Of that-to us-so
commonplace table utensil, and ifs in
comparable superiority. not only TO chop
sticks, but also TO dusky-hued fingers.
That the table fork should be virtually
unknown. and. at any rate. unused in the
Orient, is the more strange when # is
borne IN mind that 1t originally comes
from Constantinople- Long before the
fork made It's appearance in France e
was IN use at Venice, where it had been
introduced in 1895, on the occasion of the
wedding Of Don Pietro Oricola Argilo.
son Of the DoGe Of Venice. TO q princess
Of the Imperial House Of Byzance. Peo-
pie at Venice were astouished at the
marriage feast 10 see the bride make
use Of a small gold fork for conveying
the food from her plate to her mouth,
instead Of spoons and fingers. The bride
groom vas so delighted with the idea
that he az once had "a whole stock Of
gold forks made for his own use. and for
that OF his relatives. and before many
months were past there was not a pa
trician in Venice VINO did not employ a
fork al his meals.
The use Of the fork spread very slowly
through Italy. and over the remainder Of
Europe. II was not until some 90 years
afterward that Il was introduced into
France by Duke John OF Brittany But it
does not seem to have met with any
particularly favorable reception. and in
an official list of the French sovereign's s
gold and silver plate, compiled in 1873,
and which IS preserved TO this day in the
BibliOtheque Rationale at Paris. there are
only a very few forks mentioned. and
they are set down therein not as articles
OF use. but as Oriental bric-a-brac, from
the Levsnt
Probably this odd delay in the general
adoption OF the fork for table use was
due TO the opposition manifested thereto
by the Roman Catholic Church From the
twelfth until the sixteenth century the
Papacy frowned upon the fork. and
strictly forbade its use by the clergy
and in all ecclesiastical establishments.
such as monasteries, converts. and semi
naItes. Il is difficult TO ascertain the ex-
act reason for this aversion on the part
Of the church TO the fork But so far as
I ghf "a
search. 1t seems to have been due in the
first place 10 the fact OF its resemblance
to the oouble-pronged spear with which
the Prince Of Darkness and his myrmi-
dOns have from time immemOrial been pic
t0rially represented. Moreover, the very
circumstance that II came from Constan-
tinopIe, that IS to say, that il originated
with those Christian schlsmatics of the
Orient whom Rome held in greater abhor-
renee than any Pagans was sufficient TO
prejudice the Papacy against the table
fork. Nor was it until at the beginning
Of the seventeenth century. that is to say.
about the time OF the settlement of
jamestown. which is being eommemorated
this spring, that the ban on the use of
forks in converts and monasteries was
finally removed.
VI course, tnere are some or the princes
or the Church who, affecting independ-
ence of the Supreme PontifH. did not hesi-
tate TO disregard his commands by using
forks at their tables. But Charles .Reade.
whose novels are characterized by more
industry Of research than by genius or
imagination. furnishes US in his .'Cloister
and the Hearth with q Teeting glimpse
Of the manner in which the lower clergy
regarded this indifference OF the members
of the Sacred College TO the directions
OF the Holy Father. In Chapter XII.
Gerard. addressing the monk, Fra Co