238 CULINARY REFLECTIONS.. 



for British adoption, on reference to the political tenets of the nations 

 which sanction such peculiar dainties. 



The connection of Pork and Politics may be somewhat elucidated 



by the case of General M , not long since the representative of 



a Schedule of Scottish boroughs,, who, at his election dinner, took the 



earliest opportunity of urbanely soliciting of Mr. Provost , 



" the honour of taking a glass of wine with him." " I prefer taking 

 a slice of that Pork by you, sir, if you please," was the somewhat un- 

 sophisticated recognition of the candidate's politeness. But in no 

 dish was the fertile invention of our venerated ancestors, and the 

 skill of their cooks more displayed than in the preparation of pies 

 and pasties, which were generally substantial of composition, as mag- 

 nificent in extent, as much to be compared to the diminutive con- 

 structions of our day, as Windsor Castle to Bute Cottage, Lord 

 Chatham to Mr. Hume, or Sheridan to Lord Poltimore. In honour of 

 the first James, a superb pasty was exhibited, from which came forth 

 the celebrated dwarf, Jeffery Hudson, armed with sword and buckler ; 

 and it was haply well for a brilliant but diminutive author, of our 

 own day, that a succeeding sovereign, in menacing him with insertion 

 in the wine-cooler, had it not present to his mind, as, although supe- 

 rior to a puff, the witty poet might have been deemed worthy of the 

 paste. Flights of birds from pies were also formerly deemed an 

 elegant and curious pleasantry ; but we have it on record that a Lord 

 Mayor improved in his civic imaginings on the practical wit of 

 others, in having a live hare enclosed in crust, the agility of which, 

 on recovering its liberty, so provoked the Nimrod passions of the 

 multitudinous guests, that quitting the table, with one consent, noble 

 and cockney joined in the pursuit, until puss, escaping into Cheap- 

 side, was followed by her napkin-decked suit, armed with knife, 

 fork, ladle, and spoon, to the equal enjoyment of the hunters, and 

 astonishment of the people. But no one ever acquired greater or 

 juster celebrity than the famous Kitcat, who was so renowned for 

 his relishing pies, that his house became the resort of men of rank, 

 and taste, and wit ; who at length formed a club, the chairmen of 

 which had their portraits taken, by the first artists, of uniform size, 

 to adorn the walls of the room, whence the denomination of Kitcat 

 sketches ; but which body was yet more honourably distinguished by 

 its attachment to the constitution, and an ardent support of its prin- 

 ciples. Hence, in leaving puffs for the exclusive use of certain legis- 

 lators of this day, a return to the venerable pasty of the olden time, 

 may be safely recommended as of no unimportant consequence to the 

 consideration of our best institutions. To vegetable diet, little of 

 praise may be afforded ; but as cabbage formed the first dish of an 

 ancient Egyptian meal, it should not be wholly contemned ; while as- 

 paragus, from having been introduced amongst us, subsequently to 

 the accession of the Stuarts, may be regarded as a modern plant ; 

 and Johnson and Parr were even of different sentiments as to its or- 

 thography. Cucumbers were, in old time, appropriated to tailors, 

 and even the Beggar's Opera treats them with scorn, although they 

 were occasionally produced on the table of our ancestors, boiled with 

 oil, vinegar, and honey, and a salad was served up, accompanied by 



