436 lewis' AMERICAN SPORTSMAN, 



it be to sit down to a mess of cold pork and brown bread, or 

 to a round of juicy roast-beef. But, at the same time, we must 

 acknowledge, on the other hand, that we equally despise an ig- 

 norant, low-minded fellow, who affects to prefer salt pork to 

 savory venison, or a Barn-yard Duck to a Chesapeake Canvass- 

 Back, or Eot-gut whisky to sparkling lieidsick. Such a savage 

 as this is more fit for the negro-quarter than the banquet-room 

 of the polished and refined. 



The rational gratification of a natural appetite with such 

 dainties as a kind Providence, in his infinite sroodness, has g-iven 

 us in this world cannot justly be called gluttony ; nor can a pro- 

 per attention or nice discrimination in serving them up be 

 termed sensuality^ as both the one and the other are the actual 

 gifts of the Almighty ; the different varieties of viands on the 

 one hand to tempt our palates, and the exquisite sense of taste 

 on the other to enable us to appreciate them when laid before 

 us. We have frequently observed that those among our ac- 

 quaintances who most often speak discouragingly of the plea- 

 sures of the table, and most vociferously disclaim all pretensions 

 to what they significantly term good eating — which, in truth, 

 means nothing more nor less than having go9d food cooked in 

 a wholesome and sensible manner ; these same individuals, we 

 say, when seated at the festive board, are the very foremost to 

 find fault if the dishes are not served up in becoming style, or 

 rather in accordance with their own peculiar, and sometimes 

 outlandish, notions. 



What gluttony, forsooth, or sensuality either, is there in pre- 

 ferring a plain roasted potato to a boiled one ? And pray 

 inform us what gluttony or sensuality is there in preferring rich 

 venison-soup to thin mutton-broth, or a larded Partridge to a 

 3^oung Squab, or mellow wine to tart cider ? 



Such differences as these are mere matters of habit or educa- 

 tion ; and a Cannibal may with equal propriety be termed a 

 sensualist, when greedily devouring the tender flesh of a young 

 infant, as a refined Epicure when warmly extolling the gamy 

 flavor of the leg of a Grouse. 



We do not profess to be a good Cook, either practically, sci- 

 entifically, or theoretically, nor do we aspire to so enviable a 

 distinction, although the Magnus Coquus of princely establish- 



