THE COOKERY OF THE PHEASANT 247 



the monarchs of the House of Hanover, he enjoyed 

 a portentous appetite, and he grudged no means 

 of gratifying it. His starving subjects, who saw him 

 dining in public on the terrace, admired his powers as 

 they envied his opportunites. Dumas sketches liim 

 admirably in the 'Vicomte de Bragelonne,' where he 

 is delighted with the natural gifts of Porthos, Seigneur 

 de Bracieux. He sends down special dishes to the 

 gigantic musketeer from his own upper table, a 

 pheasant among the other things, and asks flatteringly 

 intelligent questions as to the dishes which Porthos 

 approved. It is an historical fact that the pheasant 

 was the favourite of the great king. His palate 

 was as fastidious as his appetite was large, and though 

 he loved to trifle with ortolans or beccaficos, his 

 serious affections were on more solid fare. He set a 

 fashion in pheasants, and his successors and their 

 courtiers developed it. The pheasant became the 

 plat de predilection at the famous suppers of the 

 Palais Royal during the Regency. The Regent, who 

 was an enthusiast in chemistry, did not confine his 

 researches and experiments to the retorts and crucibles 

 in the laboratory. He was not content with calling 

 up his chef to discuss his menus, but would descend 

 to the kitchen for more intimate consultations. 

 Under his reckless regime, and when Law was blowing 



