I never saw any person so full of acknowledgment as Mrs. Barber is for Your Ladyship's continued favors to her, nor have I known any person of a more humble and gratefull spirit than her, or who knows better how to distinguish the Persons by whom she is favored. But I will not honor myself so far, or dishonor you so much, as to think I can add the least weight to your own naturall goodness and generosity. You must, as occasion serves, Present my humble respects to My Lord and Lady Carteret, and my Lady Dysert, and to Sr Robert Worsley. I am, and shall be ever, with the truest respect, esteem, and gratitude, Madam, Your Ladyship's most obedient and most humble Servant, Dublin, Nov. 4re, 1732. JONATH, SWIFT. I know not where my old friend Harry Worsley is, but I am his most humble servant. On the back of the letter is the following postscript:- Madam,-I writ this Letter two months ago, and was to send it by Mrs. Barber; but she falling ill of the gout, and I deferring from day to day, expecting her to mend, I was at last out of patience. I have sent it among others by a private hand. I wish your Ladyship and all your family many happy new years. THE EATING OF OLD. The food of the people must always be regarded as an important element in estimating the degree of civilization of a nation, and its position in the social scale. Mr. Macaulay, in his masterly picture of the state of England at the period of the accession of James II., has not failed to notice this subject as illustrative of the condition of the working classes of that day. He tells us that meat, viewed relatively with wages, was so dear that hundreds of thousands of families scarcely knew the taste of it. ... . . . The great majority of the nation lived almost entirely on rye, barley, and oats." (Hist. Eng. vol. i. p. 418, 4th ed.) Pepys, who was unquestionably a lover of good living, and never tired of recording his feastings off "brave venison pasty," or "turkey pye," has given in his Diary many curious notices of the most approved dishes of his day. The following "Bills of fare" of the period referred to speak, however, directly to the point; they are taken from a work entitled, The accomplisht Lady's Delight, in Preserving, Physick, Beautifying, and Cookery. London, printed for B. Harris, 1683. A BILL OF FARE FOR A GENTLEMAN'S HOUSE ABOUT CANDLEMAS. 1. A Pottage with a Hen. 2. A Chatham-pudding. 3. A Fricacie of Chickens. 4. A leg of mutton with a Sallet. Garnish your dishes with Barberries. Second Course. 1. A chine of Mutton. 2. A chine of Veal. 3. Larkpye. 4. A couple of Pullets, one larded. Garnished with orange slices. Third Course. 1. A dish of Woodcocks. 2. A couple of Rabbits. 3. A dish of Asparagus. 4. A Westphalia Gammon. Last Course. 1. Two orange tarts, one with herbs. 2. A Bacon Tart. 3. An apple Tart. 4. A dish of Bon-chriteen Pears. 5. A dish of Pippins. 6. A dish of Pearmains. A BANQUET FOR THE SAME SEASON. 1. A dish of Apricots. 2. A dish of marmalade of Pippins. 3. A dish of preserved Cherries. 4. A whole red Quince. 5. A dish of dryed sweetmeats. A BILL OF FARE UPON AN EXTRAORDINARY OCCASION. 1. A collar of brawn. 2. A couple of Pullets boyled. 3. A bisk of Fish. 4. A dish of Carps. 5. A grand boyled Meat. 6. A grand Sallet. 7. A venison pasty. 8. A roasted Turkey. 9. A fat pig. 10. A powdered Goose. 11. A haunch of Venison roasted. 12. A Neats-tongue and Udder roasted. 13. A Westphalia Ham boyled. 14. A Joll of Salmon. 15. Mince pyes. 16. A Surloyn of roast beef. 17. Cold baked Meats. 18. A dish of Custards Second Course. 1. Jellies of all sorts. 2. A dish of Pheasants. 3. A Pike boyled. 4. An oyster pye. 5. A dish of Plovers. 6. A dish of larks. 7. A Joll of Sturgeon. 8. A couple of Lobsters. 9. A lumber pye. 10. A couple of Capons. 11. A dish of Partridges. 12. A fricacy of Fowls. 13. 15. A dish of stewed A dish of Wild Ducks. 14. A dish of cram'd chickens. The fare suggested for "Fish days" is no less various and abundant; twelve dishes are enumerated for the first course, and sixteen for the second. Looking at the character of these viands, some of which would not discredit the genius of a Soyer or a Mrs. Glasse, it seems pretty evident that in the article of food the laboring classes have been the greatest gainers since 1687. The following morsel is copied from a small MS. volume of a very miscellaneous character, consisting of poetical extracts, epigrams, receipts, and family memoranda : A BIIL OF FFARE AT THE CHRISTNING OF MR CONSTABLE'S CHILD, RECTOR OF COCKLEY CLEY IN NORFOLK, JAN. 2, 1682. 1. A whole hog's head, souc'd, with carrotts in the mouth and pendants in the ears, with guilded oranges thick sett. 2. 2 ox.'s cheekes stewed, with 6 marrow bones. 3. A leg of veal larded, with 6 pullets. 4. A leg of mutton, with 6 rabbits. 5. A chine of bief, a chine of venison, chine of mutton, chine of veal, chine of pork, supported by 4 men. 6. A venison pasty. 7. A great minced pye, with 12 small ones about it. 8. A gelt fat turkey, with 6 capons. 9. A bustard, with 6 pluver. 10. A pheasant, with 6 woodcocks. 11. A great dish of tarts made all of sweetmeats. 12. A Westphalia hamm, with 6 tongues. 13. A jowle of sturgeon. 14. A great charge of all sorts of sweetmeats, with wine and all sorts of liquors answerable. The child, a girle; godfather, Mr. Green, a clergyman; godmothers, Mis Beddingfield of Sherson, and a sister-in-law of Mr. Constable's. ! The guests, Mr. Green, Mr. Bagg and his daughter, and the godmothers. The parishrs entertained at another house with rost and boil'd bief, geese, and turkeys. Soon after the child dy'd, and the funerall expences came to 6d. The following curious memorandum of the last century, appears to be a bill of fare for the entertainment of a party, upon the "flitch of bacon " being decreed to a happy couple. It is at Harrowgate, and not at Dunmow, which would lead us to believe that this custom was not confined to one county. The feast itself is almost as remarkable, as regards its component parts, as that produced by Mr. Thackarey, in his delightful "Lectures," as characteristic of polite feeling in Queen Anne's reign :— JUNE 25.—MR. AND MRS. LIDDALL'S DINNER AT GREEN DRAGON, HARROWGATE, ON TAKING FFLITCH BACON OATH. Beans and bacon. Cabbage, colliflower. Three doz. chickens. Bill Fare. Two shoulders mutton, cowcumbers. Two turbets. Rump beef, &c., &c. Goose and plumbpudding. Quarter lamb, sallad. Tarts, jellies, strawberries, cream. Cherrys, syllabubs, and blomonge. Leg lamb, spinnage. Crawfish, pickled salmon. Fryd tripe, calves' heads. Gravy and pease soup. Two piggs. Breast veal, ragoud. Ice cream, pine apple. Surloin beaf. Pidgeons, green peas. Lobsters, crabs. Twelve red herrings, twenty-two dobils. EPIGRAM BY SOUTHEY. On Queen Elizabeth's dining on board Sir Francis Drake's ship, on his return from circumnavigating the globe : Oh, Nature! to old England still Give us for all our Kings such Queens, And for our Dux such Drakes. SONG BY THOMAS OTWAY. In turning over a quantity of miscellaneous papers in MS. (some originals and some copies) of the latter half of the seventeenth century, the following song, by the unfortunate author of Venice Preserved, turned up. It may, possibly, have been printed in one or more of the numerous volumes of "miscellany poems" which teemed from the press at the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the following century; but it is not to be found after looking over a tolerable assemblage of these volumes of the time. The MS. does not appear to be an original, although the handwriting is of the author's period. The punctuation is as I found it : Health breeds care; love, hope and fear; Fight on and fear no sinking: Grave cabals that states refine, Makes ev'ry great commander. Be drunk with Alexander. |