Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-02-23

disdain with which our ancestors of the seven
teenth century repudiated the Italian taDle-Iork
as a fantastic and even impious contrlVance.
Products of necessity the first culinary forks
were devised for the benefit of cooks bent on with
drawing meat from a boiling caldron. The Greek
credgra-a staff, fitted at the lower end with hook
or with prongs that bore distant resemblance 10
human fngers-was crude pot-fork, WHICH, thouSn
greatly serviceable to cooks, would have oeen OF
no convenience to reclining gourmand Fos-
sessng several varieties of this kitchen tool the
Romans notwithstanding their care for the caprice
as well the comfort of epicurian feasters never
produced a table fork. Caylus and Grignon, in
deed, maintain that table forks were not abso-
lutely unknown to imperial astronomers; but
their opinion, which never had the testimony OF
sufficient facts, has been altogether discredlted.
Had the luxurious Romans been users OF forks,
some specimens of the implement would certainly
have been found in the ruins of Herculaneum and
Pompei
But though they fed themselves with their fin
gers it must not be imagined that the mediavalsts
were altogether forkless. Forty years since,
fork, of Anglo-Saxon manufacture was discovered
in Wiltshire, England under circumstances which
leave no for doubt that it was made at
least early as the latter part of the ninth cen
fury. Another AngloSaxon fork, described in
Ackermans Pagan Saxondom, is a bone handled
implement that some foppish thane may have used,
to the mingled surprise and contempt of his
simpler acquaintance. And from that period to
the close of the Tudor time there is evidence that
our ancestors had few forks long before they
were commonly placed on the daily table as neces-
sary articles. Queen Elizabeth had at least three
forks one of crystal, garnished with gold and
sparks of garnets; another of coral, slightly gar
nished with gold, a third of gold garnished
with two little rubies, two little pearls pendant,
and little coral" But it is obvious that
these daintily set and jeweed tools never
meant for serious use. Presents from courtiers
who sought the royal smile with gifts curious for
their costly whimsicalness her highness regarded
them toys fitted for the jewel casket rather
taa. at fo1In Tho hnyn 1Cnd
of them to pick sweetmeat or candied fruit
from dish of syrup, but it certainly never occurred
to her to put them into sides of venison the
breast of Mchemas goose. To the last whether
eating in public private the virgin queen fin
gered her victuals, and would have imputed sheer
madness to any courtier who had prophesied that
another century had passed no member of
the royal family would be able to do likewise
without arousing the disgust of all behoders.
Our ancestors were still feeding themselves with
out forks on something more massive and heavy
than the medieval cuisine, when, in the time of
James l.. it entered the head of a Somersetshire
squire to start for five months tour to France,
Savoy, Italy, Rhetia, commonly called the Grisons
country, Helvetia, or Switzerland, some parts of
Germany and the Netherlands. When Tom COryate
declared his purpose to see the world on the other
side of the English channel and even to work his
way to italy there stir in "the hungry are
of Odcombe in the county of Somerset" Toms
neighbors alarmed for his health, his morals,
his religion. If he were not caught by the Jesuits
and to idolatry, he would return to
Somersetshire with vicious manners and broken
constitution. But their expostulations in
vain. Like other wilfu men, Mr. Coryate took
his own way and the consequences to society
noteworthy.
An epicure and lover of sights he partook freely
of foreign Dishes while he gathered materials for
his delightful narrative of travel. At Cremona
he ate frogs in way that astonished the natives.
He drank wine from the famous Heidelberg cask.
At Venice he without dsapprobation women
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