MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE. 513 



tinguished man in his day, and one of the great improvers of la cuisine Fran- 

 caise. 



" The count was accustomed to boast that he had acquired the fulness of 

 culinary science, and yet he every day made some new discovery in the pro- 

 vince of good eating. As an experimentalist he was indefatigable, devoting as 

 much time and toil to find out a new dish as the alchymist did to discover the 

 immortal elixir or the philosopher's stone. He could so disguise the natural 

 taste of fish, flesh, and fowl that nobody could tell what he was eating. 

 Whenever he had produced a new combination of sauces, or made any other 

 lucky hit in gastronomy, he invited the friends of whose taste he had the 

 highest opinion, to deliberate and pass judgment on the dish ; and this was 

 done with more solemnity, and with much more sincerity, than people felt in 

 criticising an epic poem or a new tragedy. With the count, the word gout, or 

 taste, had only its single, original, and physical meaning ; and he esteemed 

 men according to the delicacy and discrimination of their palates. His fa- 

 vourites were the duke de Lesdiguieres and the count d'Olonne, who were cri- 

 tical and erudite in the science of cooking. When he had to give what he 

 called a repas d' erudition, (a learned dinner) to the duke and count, he was up 

 by four o'clock in the morning, directing, ordering, counter-ordering, feeling, 

 seeing, smelling, and tasting ; now puzzling himself as to the precise season- 

 ing for a soup, and now racking his inventions to produce a new gout in an en- 

 tremet. Like most good eaters, he was a good-natured man ; but woe unto 

 the chef, garcon de cuisine, or other servant, that neglected or disobeyed his 

 orders on these occasions. He would storm like a madman ; the least of his 

 threats to the delinquent being to whip him, send him to the pillory, and cut 

 off his ears. 



"Nor did the count's cares end with the cooking of the dinner, he was equally 

 particular as to the manner of its serving up ; and, above all things, he was 

 anxious that the table should stand most mathematically horizontal, as he had 

 discovered that the least deviation from the straight line the slightest dip on 

 this side or that, affected the flavour and delicacy of some dishes. He was 

 therefore to be seen with rule and line, compasses and level in hand, setting 

 the dinner-table on what he called its proper legs. 



" One day, when, as we may suppose, the erudite duke and count were not 

 present, he said solemnly to his guests, " Gentlemen, do you taste the mule's 

 hoof in that omelette aux champignons ?" The guests were all astonished at 

 this apostrophe. ' Poor ignorant creatures !' rejoined Broussin, ' must I 

 teach you that the champignons employed in this omelette have been crushed 

 by the foot of a mule ? That brings champignons (mushrooms) to the last 

 point of perfection ! ' 



" Despreaux, who tells this story, was once obliged to give the savant gour- 

 mand a dinner. The poor satirist was terrified at the idea. ' You must send 

 me a fairy,' said he, ' to enable me, with my simple household, to regale you 

 according to your superiority of taste/ ' Not at all, not at all!' replied the 

 count, ' give us just what you like ; we shall be satisfied with a poet's dinner.* 

 The duke de Vitry and Messrs, de Barillon and de Gourville, were of the party, 

 which went off marvellously well. As he took his leave, Broussin said with 

 much emotion, ' My dear Despreaux, you may boast of having given us a din- 

 ner without a fault.' 



" Diners-out. Some men, again, with a taste that might do honour to a 

 prince," are so unfortunately situated that they can only afford to pay for the 

 dinner of a peasant. Nothing, therefore, is left for them but to dine at the 

 expense of other people, like Monsieur Pique-assiette in the admirable French 

 farce of that name. But it is not every man that can gain an easy access to the 

 tables of the givers of good dinners, or keep it when he has got it. To do this, 

 patience, watchfulness, steadiness of purpose, complacent humour, and a va- 

 riety of peculiar talents are required. There is, however, one little rule which 



