Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-02-12
IN EATING.
Pet Fads and Aversions as Dis
played at Table.
ODDITIES OF FAMOUS MEN.


Byron's Dinner Of Mashed Potatoes
and Vinegar and What Came After.
Erasmus Could Not Eat Fish, and Its
odor Threw Him Into a Fever.
Most of us have met some eccentric
diner whose differences from those Of
the other guests were noticeable. And
eccentricity is an elastic word, which
may be applied, as will be shown, in
various directions. Sometimes it is
genuine. within or characteristic
which is inherent Sometimes it is the
result of desire to appear singular
and attract notice. To this latter mo-
tive probably was due Byron's eccen-
tricity at some dinner tables when, re-
fusing, to everybody's establishment,
the ordinary dishes Of each course, he
simply mashed potatoes on his plate
and poured vinegar over them, eating
them in silence and drinking only soda
water with them. The chronicler Of
this episode dryly adds that In the
evening Lord Byron went to club
and there had an excellent supper.
such as a commonplace people would
enjoy. The great bard's eccentricity
at dinner led to various minor ones
initiating 1t under the idea that it
conferred distinction, even as for a
similar reason they copied his turn
down collar and loosely knotted tie.
Condiments are among the common
est illustrations of this popularity.
There is very old story nearly a
century old, In fact-of diner In a
coffee room who ate no mustard, which
SO irritated another who held the gen.
eral opinion about it that after Offer
ing it at intervals to the other he
jumped up with the cruet and said,
'Confound it. sir, you shall have mus
tard" Some few people. dislike salt,
which most deem necessity. Indeed,
some years ago letter appeared In
print from lady who expressed her
opinion that salt was most injurious
and was never used in her household.
saying, indeed, IL we remember right
ly, that even her bread and butter
were homemade to avoid particle of
the mineral being used at her table.
Some people eat salt instead Of sugar
with buildings, whether from actual
preference or the wish for singularity
seems doubtful. Others repudiate the
mere suggestion Of pepper. On the
other hand, cayenne is sometimes eat
en- with everything. Edmund Kean In
| his latest years used, it is said, tt
drink brandy with cayenne In It, !,
beverage which is mentioned as hav
ing been liked also by Peter tn
Great when staying at Saye's court
Mint sauce everybody likes with roas
lamb, but some eccentric diners have
it served with every joint. which is {
peculiar taste, indeed, and one which
would have been a fine theme fol
Charles Lamb. The eating of rasp
berry jam with roast veal is another
popularity. variant of the genera
custom Of having red currant jelly
with saddle of mutton, which is in
deed an exquisite combination.
Other strange antipathies for com
monplace edibles are recorded. Thus
Cardan loathed eggs. Neither boiled
nor poached had they for him the
agreeable associations they have 70,
most of us. The mere sight of them
made his gorge rise. What would
Charles Lamb have said of a Han.
! oVerian gentleman who was distin,
guished for his feats In hunting, Herr
Vanghuin, who tainted at the sight of
roast pig? NJ. Chesne, secretary to
Francis L., detested that general IA
vor1te. the apple, as the sight of one
made bis nose bleed. The learned
Erasmus could never eat fish Indeed,
1t is said that it's odor even was so in
furious to the great Dutchman that it
caused feverish symptoms. On the
other hand, Quin, the actor. every year
in the latter part of his life journeyed
to the west country to eat John Dory
fresh from the sea. The famous
scholar Scaliger blanched even at the
sight of water crosses.
Very often the unfortunate man who
really is the victim of internal whims
is not believed to be so, but privately.
II not aloud. is characterized as fad
dish, not to say impertinent. But while
such peculiarities as these are due to
the stomach, that imperious organ,
there are others in diners which are
those of prejudice. habit and occasion
ally the liking for unpopular views.
Such diners by no means add to the
enjoyment of ordinary people at
"hospitable board" as the old world
phrase runs. Thus there is the guest
who Is worrying himself and every
body else about possible drafts. anoth
er who ostentatiously declines fish and
soup and limits himself to the roast
and also has the foolish but by no
means uncommon idea that it is I'M
wholesome unless dried up to an arid
brown. IT salt be thing to be shun-
ned by some gastronomes, others have
the same notion-which they do not
Keep to themselves as to pepper. To-
matoes are bugbear to some, mack
erel to others. Some eye in disap-
proving silence the others who eat In
the ordinary manner, they themselves
dining by strict rule with various omis-
sions In the courses; also there is the
diner who experiments, as it were, on
his food, tasting each morsel tentative