10 ALIMENT. 



that will at once combine the most nourishment with the 

 least unnecessary action of the stomach. Crude, hard sub- 

 stances thrown into the stomach tax it to its utmost limit, 

 "^if " there is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at 

 the flood, leads on to fortune," so also there is a crisis in the 

 cooking operations, which should be anxiously watched for 

 by all honest cooks and philanthropic, well-disposed persons. 

 That the dissolving and reducing powers of the stomach 

 have a limit, the frequent visits of disease too surely demon- 

 strate. "We would not advocate a fantastic regimen with 

 regard to diet; man's instinct, and his superior digestive 

 organs, suggest and authorize an extensive variety in the 

 matter of food ; we only wish to recommend care with re- 

 gard to the chemical properties of materials, and their care- 

 ful preparation for the human stomach. The elegance and 

 graceful lightness of French dishes is not often attained by 

 us : but let us abjure France's brandy sauces, and crude 

 sugar sauces, her cloying cordials, her raw oils ; and, on the 

 other hand, let us refuse to eat meat half cooked, and to 

 swallow soups that require the habits of a Hottentot prop- 

 erly to digest. Our climate and our politics are both highly 

 exciting, and therefore we should endeavor to propitiate so 

 powerful an agent as this same human stomach. The effects 

 of diet, both negative and positive, on the physical and men- 

 tal constitution of man, are known to be very considerable. 

 " Know thyself," is the sublime injunction often thrown in 

 people's faces. No one can obey in full ; but he can begin 

 by not despising the day of small things ; he may modify 

 his temper, correct his health, when he simply thought to 

 modify his food and correct some habits bearing upon the 

 use of stimulants and narcotics. Let the wise, however, be a 

 law unto themselves in these things. Franklin may be great 

 on a bowl of gruel ; my neighbor on the hill -has gorgeous 

 fancies on a bowl of coffee ; my friend who lives just below 



