Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-02-25

10 ms latest Gays man is deeply, and some
times poignantly, concerned about his eating
The habit of eating is well-nigh universal
1t comprehends much OF the joy and mos
of the tragedy in the human lot. Let hin
that hath too much, and him that hath toe
little to eat, foregather and debate which
OF them suffereth the greater woe.
The Joyous Aspects of Eating
But for this one brief moment let us put
behind us woe Let us forget the excuses
of last nights rabbit, and concern ourselves
with none but the joyous aspects of eating
Let us ponder the poetry of pudding and
prunes. Let us not forget that the Wand, as
well as the violet has its appointed place in
verse. Has any of you forgotten how Homer
smacks his lips over the bills Of fare of his
gods? How Rabeais trolls upon his tongue
the imaginary morsels of Gargantua's feasts2 2
You who love him, have you forgotten how
many pages your Dickens consecrates to the
transports of the human soul, while its gross
physical habiliments are being replenished
about the bounteous and boisterous board?
How many OF you have read the mighty
masterpiece which Alexandra Dumas wrote
upon "The Art of Cookery" teemlng with
tasty recipes and larded with luminous, lus-
ctous and alluring strophes?
member OF that fraternity doomed to pass
from earth with too little acclaim.
For there died in Boston the other day a
lady whose name will never-aye, but need
neVer-be craven upon immemorial marble
or oronze. 1t is emblazoned rather upon
material far more durable than that. Thou
sands of blushing brides and happy BRIDE
grooms, millions of elderly housewives, long
loved and lauded of their worshipful hus-
bands, have craven Upon the inner secret
portals of their hearts the simple syllables
of Fannie Farmers name.
The Longfellow Of the Gas Range
Great women have lived before, and will
live after this. Some of them have written
great poems, great plays and novels. Some
of them have founded empires, or have born
and reared the men who did the coarse work
of founding an empire. Others have sum-
moned their peerless powers to reform. Still
others, unhappily, to waste and wreckage.
But certainly not among these latter belongs
Fannie Farmer. She was the Henry Wads-
worth Longfellow Of the gas range.
Yet do not scoff, conjure you. In her
sweet and simple volumes on the art OF broil-
ing steak. of panning the impassive oyster,
of rendering mealy and miraculous the meat
may have sounded no high note OF passion
But let Sophoces and Shakespeare walk
their lonely paths aloft in peace. Longfellow
at least, will welcome Fannie to the Elyslan
Fields, and there present to her his Black
smith. Like the poet of the quiet Charles,
Fannie Farmer ministered to the humble emo
tions of the average Not for her the glitter
ing effrontery of the "a las" the tinkIing
ttmbales of this or of that, the lordly cham
pignon. the aristocratic olgnon, nor the
sybaritic sauce supreme. No, as 1t Is not the
Lucullus of ancient Rome, nor yet his modern
counterpart at Newport, who makes the
world, Fannie Farmer saw that the real
furtherance OF human destiny rests upon the
broad and capable shoulders of the Joseph
Smiths and the BENJAMIN Browns, who do
the worlds work and who need their evening
steak to keep them brave and blithe and
strong. And for them she wrote accordingly.
Steaks the Fount of Progress
And who shall say that her Accomplishment
is less than a great poem written, battle
won? Stoutly Fannie stood at the very fun
damentals of society. Do not all poems, all
lofty passions, all brave ideals spring. after
all. by that marvellous alchemy ordered of
Nature, from the steaks we eat? Aye, the
dinner table is the very cornerstone of civili-
cation. 1t is the fount OF progress II is the
laboratory from which, as by magic leap all
the grand achievements Of man. For does
not the beef you eat today become tomor-
rows brilliant thought, and the next days
brilliant accomplishment? All bridges, all
skyscrapers are built of steak. The potato
is the real Shakespeare. Dante was an onion
And therefore who shall rise TO deny that
Fannie Farmer has sponsored more noble
actions, more permanent contributions 10
human greatness, than all your Elizabeth
Tudors your Queens Of sheba. Joan OF Arc
liberated France But Fannie Farmer ban
ished dyspepsia, and nourished a nation!
And who shall compute the boundless hap
piness she dispensed along her path mean
while dropping her benefits as casually as
-he rose its petals, the violet its scentl Come.
ye happy brides and bring your garlands and
your tributes! How many young households,
without the indispensable Fannie, could have
oeen so happy How many bowers of bliss
has Fannie Farmer not created She wrote
recipes for broiling steak-we read them as
recipes for happiness She caused the ten
ierest, timidest tyro bride to bake as mother
lsed to bake The toughest ham, that might
have toppled 10 the ground the fran fabric
of the home had only 70 80 into the pot. ac-
;ording 70 the infalible rules OF Fannie and
ol Il issued good. meet for man and his
vile promoter of peace ana concord and
esteem betk kho'-theuL Who knows how much
.ncroachln iizapetb r. EaraIe7 has bid !
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