THE MARGATE HOY. 487 



to which was added two fairish slices of ham. The first stroke of his 

 " engine " proved its terrific mechanical power; and it was chiefly in 

 the extensive range of the " lateral" movement of his lower jaw, that 

 the mechanist could trace the destructive energy of its action. The 

 contents of the first plate were replaced by three ribs of lamb, including 

 the kidney of the loin. With these he decided to eat three slices of 

 tongue, having observed that the " best cuts" of this latter were likely 

 to be lost to him, from the great " run" upon that dish. He was now 

 evidently regaining his confidence and spirits, and his eye was detached 

 upon a silent reconnoitre of the state of esculents. A cheque at sight 

 was now drawn upon the brisket and ribs of veal, to which he again 

 added two slices of tongue, and one slice of ham, as the tongues began 

 now to cut up very " scanty," and threatened shortly to wane into the 

 state of Mr. Irving's " unknown." Still there was an evident restless- 

 ness exhibited by him, as his glance hovered in the direction of the 

 pigeon-pies ; but his decision was promptly taken, by asking the at- 

 tendant steward for a plate, and sending him with a request for a portion 

 of the pies, while he, at the same time, got forward with the demolition 

 of the contents of the plate already before him. 



On the return of his messenger with the pigeon-pie, he deliberately 

 covered the plate over beside him, and requested another " small cut 

 of the leg of lamb, near the " pope's eye," with a little of the fat of the 

 loin." Emptying the boat of mint-sauce beside him, and pricking his 

 fork into a huge cauliflower, which he deluged with melted butter, he 

 appeared to enjoy a degree of moral tranquillity hitherto unknown to 

 him All was now secure ; and taking leisurely three successive glasses 

 of sherry, and two tumblers of bottled porter, he gained an opportunity 

 of cursorily looking over the table, to see if he had missed any desirable 

 dish. But no he had done pretty well and, after slightly reminding 

 the company, that " courtesy" allowed the " carver" an extra quarter 

 of an hour, he confined his present attention to the apple-tarts, custards, 

 and other parts of the dessert. 



I have often mentally reflected, that no being in existence suffers the 

 horrors of <( Tantalus" so acutely as the out-manoeuvred, embarrassed, 

 and undecided glutton. Ranking gluttony, as I do, among the lowest 

 grades of sensuality, I have felt a sincere satisfaction in witnessing the 

 agonies of a baffled disciple of this class, and in endeavouring to figure 

 to myself the intensity of his disappointment. At a public dinner, the 

 irritation and anxiety, inseparable from calculating the chances of pos- 

 session of the best " cut" of each dish or joint, while each is hot, must 

 prove a powerful drawback upon the greedy luxuriance of enjoyment. 

 The very race against time, upon these occasions, must of itself be seri- 

 ously heart-breaking. Neither the eye nor the heart of the " Apicius " 

 is ever at rest while one good dish remains untasted, or unsecured. 

 Each successive plateful is simply a preface to the work, until the last 

 chance is in his power and possession : then, and then only, do his emo- 

 tions subside into any thing like calm and leisurable fruition. 



While I gazed in astonishment upon the elaborate performance of the 

 favoured artist before me, I was curious to know how far nature would 

 accommodate herself to so excessive an ingress of material matter ; my 

 mind dwelt upon the chances of invasion of some rapidly fatal disorder : 

 apoplexy, paralysis, or soffocation naturally presented themselves to 

 my imagination ; but my meditations were soon dispersed by the loud 



