Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1910-06-01
A QUAINT OLD TAVERN
The Old Cheshire Cheese, In
the Heart of London.
SERVES A FAMOUS PUDDING.
A Noble Pastry II Is. and u Was
Sampled BY Such Men as Gladstone.
Dickens, Thaekeray. Tennyson, Troi-
lope and Whistler.


IoPe and Whistler.
Nearly all Americans when they 20
TO London make Il n point 20 visi; that
quaint Old tavern I'm the heart of the
newspaper aud printing business the
Old Cheshire Cheese. TO partakc OF
its famous pudding
1t is the Londoner's delight when he
gets back 20 Fleet street TO make
rush for the pudding aud II Is almost
the last thing be eats before leaving
II. Travellers in the Sahara have seen
mirages OF that pudding.-nnd during
the Boer war the men shut up in
Ladysmith and Mafeking dreamed OF
IL at regular intervals.
Precisely at I O'Clock p. IN. Tom con-
veys the pudding from the first TO the
main floor. Ii is big pudding and
the price OF II Is Just shillings-that
is TO say. n feed OF It Is > shilllngs, as
much as you please. as many shares as
you ask for. cut and come again. all
for IS cents OF American coin. Cheap.
aye. and. oh. how good Il IS. II is
worth crossing the Atlantic to get
snln OF IL. aud the aroma fingers I'm
the memory for many day.
Big? The dimensions are Falstafiian.
IL Is round earthen vessel something
more than two dozen inches deep. with
diameter OF abou, eighteen inches.
a noble pastry. my masters.
When II Is placed upon the service
table sn ellipticaI white crust meets
the hungry gaze. Tom aud his niyr-
midons take their places i'm front fac
ing the host. who. knife and spoon I'm
hand. poses with gentle dignity and
benignant mien. IL is moment OF
solemn thought when every man hopes
thar his portion will be larger than his
friends and that be will he blessed
with an abundance OF gravy. But
they ought from years Of acquaintance
with the host TO understand that his
hand Is as steady MS his Judgment is
impartial.
No more and nothing better for one
than for another. He waves his weap-
ons. and the first onslaught Is made.
The room IL full OF delicious steam
bearing with IL the concentrated es-
sences OF ambrosial substances The
guests snlff IL up and murmur choice
blessings on the cook. the original in
ventor. the house and the host. 1t is
a time when men feel good. one to-
ward the other.
One smell of that pudding makes
the whole world kin. This famous
pudding. which has tickled the palates
OF thousands. is thus compounded:
A crust OF -four. water and suet.
Becfsteak.
Sleeps kidneys.
L.arks.
Mushrooms freshly gathered).
Oysters
Stock.
Pepper and salt
But II is the boiling that does 1t.
For at least twelve hours this heaven
sent pudding Is kept slowly simmerlng
in an immense copper specially con-
structed for the purpose. II must not
boil quickly. but the same temporal
ture be kept up the whole period. The
steak assumes n juicy tenderness: the
larks-not sparrows. rs some malig-
nant spirit has suggested. although
sparrow pudding is not 10 be despised
are seethed 10 the bone and you
can chew up each little songster with
out an effort: the kidneys are soft and
mushy and offer no resistance to the
digestive organs, and the oysters. de-
spite their heightened cooking. are not
leathery. The amalgamation and as
similation OF the variety OF conStitu-
ents are perfect: the result is bliss.
There Is story told OF one eminent
litterateur who had seven helpings OF
the pudding and still yearned for more.
and there il another remarkable mar
ding OF the regulation size and finished
II among them.
J. Pierpont Morgan praised the pud-
ding. and Theodore Roosevelt was de-
lighted with IL. Lord Bcaconsfield be-
slowed his appreciation thereon. and
Gladstone thought II far superior 10 his
famous three courses" Dickens.
Thackeray. Meredith. Swinburne Zen
nyson, Trollope. Whistler. Leighton.
SaIa. Phil May-aIl sorts ~ the best
OF men OF their day have fed upon the
pudding. and II no doubt helped to
inspire their work.
Apparently any cook can fashion II.
mix II. fix 1t, boil It. Let any cook try
IL. Lots OF cooks haze tried Il. but the
results have not been satisfactory.
There was a man who once ran the
Old Cheshire Cheese. and In his day
the pudding first achieved its great
fame. When he sold the old hosielry
and took house in the financial dis
trict he announced that the same pud-
ding-the same In every respect-would
be served every Saturday.
Many of the CheeSe'S old patrons
came around TO celebrate. There was
the size. but the aroma was wanting:
there were the identical materials. but
the flavor was not in them. II was not
the same. not bit OF II. There was
something missing. II may have been
the shades OF the departed great ones
OF bygone time. And so II is that
today the famous dish OF the Old
Cheshire Cheese tastes as OF old. and
Its devotees cannot be seduced by any
designing Invitation based upon lust
as good" simply because there Is moth
Ing just as good. Philadelphia Ledger.