Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1907-07-12
ANCESTRAL. APPETITES.
Table Feats Of Some Famous Feeders
Of Bygone Days.

A genefatlOn holding critical views
on mans Intelligent, or unwise,
choice Of parents is not likely to in
dulge in ancestor worship. But there
are at least one or two things in which
our ancestors were truly greater than
we OF the present day can ever aspire
to be. Take them, for instance, at ia
BILE. If ancient books on table eti-
quette are to be taken seriously, and
there is no reason why they should
not be, the ancestor was in the habit
of gnawing bones a la CHEN and Of
dispOsing of them by the simple means
of throwing them under the table or
over his shoulder. He worked hard
with his hands in the dishes, when a
succulent but slippery morsel refused
to come to him by means Of knife and
fork. He used his table napkin for
unspeakable purposes and his fork in
utter forgetfulness as comb or tooth
brush. In one sense, therefore, he did
not know how to eat. Meanwhile, in
another, he was truly great for the
quantities of food which he caused to
disappear at single meal were moth
ing short Of marvellous.
The records preserved of the ances-
tors feats of the fork land the finger,
are woefully thin, but now and again
one OF these very human documents
In the form of menu is unearthed
and tells its own story. Such is the
following list Of dishes served in 1884
to worthy citizen of Valencia on the
occasion of his taking unto himself Il
wife. Across the space of close upon
the six centuries the cranes and lam.
preys, the Deacocks and boars head of
the feast made fine display. This is
the order In which the fourteenth cen
tury wedding breakfast was served:
MENU.
Roast crane. venson. lamprey.
Peacock, pheasant guinea fowl, osprey
snlpe pike.
Baked pomegranates, burnt almonds, veg
etables, fish.
Eel pie and toast.
Galantine of sprats and cheese cakes.
Peacock, crane, pheasant.
Crayfish. boar's head and savouries.
Figs, medlars and waters.
| Wines.
Saint Jangon, Branne, Burgundy ant
Hook.
The Italians also were famous feed
ers and seem to have distinguished
| themselves in particular during thu
| early days of the renaissance. Th,
| Bourbons valiantly followed suit, on,
| of the most distinguished successes be
ing scored by Louis XIV, Of whom al
| eyewitness wrote: Il often saw hin
eat four plates Of soup, whole pleas
ant, a guinea fowl, a large dish o
salad, several slices Of mutton will
garlic sauce, two large slices of ham.
dish of cake and dessert" The threat
of his physicians finally reduced hi
majesty to such meager fare as tw
plates of pigeon broth and three roas
fowls. According to Arenberg, th
great king was later in life subject t
attacks Of indigestion.
| The little suppers in the reign of th
next Louis, though on a slightly les
| gigantic scale. are still sufficiently i'm
pressive. The Marquise d'Artenay, TO
instance, put before her guests afte
they came from the theater and befor
they went ON to dance this collation.
Pigeon soup, with lentils and carrots.
| Chicken broth.
Patties of fowl. veal. capon, pheasants
| guinea fowl.
| Sweetbread and roast poulets.
Baked starlings. wood pigeons, wild due
| and snipe.v
| Cakes. Sweets. Fruit
It seems a pity no record is preserve
of what happened at the dance follow
ing this supper party.