240 THE COOKERY OF THE PHEASANT 



pleasures of the table. They greatly appreciated the 

 solid side of the English cuisine : the turtle from 

 Painter's ; the turbot from the North Sea and the 

 Channel ; even the haunches of fallow venison from the 

 English parks ; and especially those British saddles 

 and sirloins which had been glorified by the enthusiasm 

 of ' The Druid.' They were generally disappointed in 

 the game, although the Highland grouse — certainly 

 not the Yorkshiremen — were a revelation to them. But 

 above all they were disappointed with the flavourless 

 pheasants. In moments of expansion over the wine 

 and dessert, they unbosomed themselves to an Eng- 

 lishman who was an habitue of the Embassy. He said 

 little, but his national pride being piqued, he thought 

 all the more. , Some days afterwards his Austro- 

 Hungarian friends were dining with him at a 

 famous dining club. It was rather as matter of 

 courtesy that they condescended to try the pheasants, 

 although seductively browned to a shade by one of the 

 most accomplished of rotisseurs. The second mouthful 

 changed civility into surprise, and the host was over- 

 whelmed with compliments, the sincerity of which 

 was unimpeachable, for the birds disappeared. They 

 had been sent specially for the occasion from the Welsh 

 woods of a peer who had domains in various Scotch 

 and English counties. But, as the entertainer knew. 



