610 



FRANCE. 



and hardened. They are laid in mortar, like stones. The cottages have, invariably, a garden, 

 and they are often ornamented with flowers. 



17. Food and Drink. French cookery is known throughout the world, and is unrivaled in 

 variety and delicacy. The expedients are innumerable for giving various flavors to the same 

 material, and it frequently requires a scientific palate to discover the original nature of this ma- 

 terial, under its various disguises. Monsieur Grimod de la Reyniere observes, in his Jlinia- 

 nach des Gourmands, " There are, in France, 685 ways of dressing an egg, without counting 

 the new methods, which our savans imagine daily." At the Hotel of this gentleman, a weekly 

 meeting used to be held, called the Jury Degustateur, where new sauces and dishes were sub- 

 mitted for their inspection, and sentence pronounced upon their merits. A French chef de cui- 

 sine, is considered an indispensable appendage in the establishment of a person of fortune in 

 Europe ; and the salary given to artistes, frequently exceeds that bestowed upon the private 

 tutor, or governess of the family. The names of Very and Beauvilliers, the famous French 

 Restaurateurs, are well i<nown. The. brother of Very, who was also a proficient in the art of 

 cookery, has a magnificent tomb in the Cimetiere Montmartre, with a pompous inscription, 

 concluding with these words : Toute sa vie Jul consacree aux arts utiles. The Cafe Hardy, in 

 Paris, is famous for the excellence of its dejeuners a la fourchette, where Cotelettes d^agneau 

 an points d''asperge, Rognons saute d la vin de champagne, &c., may be had in perfection ; 

 with Beaune, Chamberlin, coffee, parfait amour, and all the necessary ingredients of a French 

 breakfast. 



The patL'S de foie gras, made chiefly at Toulouse and Strasburg, are a celebrated article of 

 French cookery, and the cruel process by which the liver of the geese is enlarged, in order to 

 produce this renowned dish, is thus described in the Cours Gastronomique : " The geese are 

 plucked, placed before a slow fire, and fed for several days. Heat and captivity produce an 

 enlargement of the liver, which renders them peculiarly excellent." A stranger, visiting Paris, 

 finds some difficulty in seeing his way through a Restaurateur's carte, and in choosing between 

 the Pates de Perigord, the Thou marine (pickled tunny), a fish which is taken chiefly in the 

 Gulf of Lions, the Poulet d la Marengo, Langue de bceuf a la sauce piquante, pates d la finan- 

 ciere, Jlnguilles d la Tartare, Tranches de Bceuf aux Tomates, ^c, ^c, ^c. If he is a John 

 Bull, his national taste may be gratified by observing Bifstek aux pommes de terre, Bifstek au 

 mouton, or mutton-chop, and Rosbif d VJlnglaise, among these varieties. 



Frogs are esteemed a great delicacy. It is the legs and thighs only, of the animal, which 

 are dressed, and the flavor is somewhat like that of boiled chicken. They are caught in the 

 frog-ponds in the provinces, and sent up to Paris, where a dish of frogs is reckoned a rarity, 

 and is expensive in proportion. A dish made entirely of the combs of the domestic cock, is 

 also often served up. Tortoni's celebrated cafe glaciere, on the Itahan Boulevard, is well 

 known to all who have visited Paris, as a fashionable lounge, where the topics of the day are 

 discussed, over grappes d la jardiniere and ponche d la glace. Notwithstanding the importance 

 attached to cookery in France, there is no country in the world, where economy in that de- 

 partment is so well understood, and so universally practised. 



The proportion of animal food consumed there, is much less than in England. The climate 

 is milder in France ; there is a variety of delicious fruits, and the wines are cheap and invigo- 

 rating. Nothing can exceed the moderation and temperance of the laboring classes, in their 

 food. Bread, fruit, eggs, milk, coffee, and vegetables, form their chief subsistence. Even 

 among the better classes of farmers, animal food is scarcely ever in use, except on Sundays. 

 Their dinner generally consists of omelets, or vegetable soup ; pottage of onions, sorrel, or 

 cabbages. It is not uncommon to see a family of French children assembled to dinner, round 

 a dish of cherries, a loaf of bread, and a jug of water ; or a woman, who has labored all day 

 in the fields, dining upon an apple and a slice of bread. In the vintage provinces of France, 

 where the climate is good, this temperance probably conduces to the health of the peasantry ; 

 but on the sea-coast, and. marshy lands, where shaking fever and ague are very prevalent, these 

 maladies are attributed by the physician, in a great degree, to the extreme poorness of the 

 living. 



The French are temperate ; and with a cheerful temperament, with wines of great variety 

 and excellence, and wilh the best of brandies and liquors, it is, still, seldom that a person 

 3 seen intoxicated. The brandies are unrivaled, and they are generally made wherever the 

 wine is produced, though the best are at Nantz, Cognac, and Poitou. In the cities, beer is 

 mucli used, and it is made in France of an excellent quality. Where the grape does not flour- 



