to us only in the hardest weather, and therefore fel dom brought fat to our tables; that the chats come to us in April and breed, and about autumn return to Africk; that experience fhews us they may be kept in cages, fed with beef or wether mutton, figs, grapes, and minced filberds, being dainties not unworthy the care of such as would preferve our British dishes; the firft delighting in hodgepodge, gallimaufries, forced meats, juffels, and falmagundies; the latter in fpareribs, firloins, chines and barons; and thence our terms of art both as to dreffing and carving become very different; for they lying upon a fort of couch, could not have carved thofe dishes which our ancestors when they fat upon forms used to do: but fince the ufe of cushions and elbowchairs, and the editions of good books and authors, it may be hoped in time we may come up to them: for indeed hitherto we have been fomething to blame; and I believe few of us have feen a difh of capon-ftones at table, (lamb-stones is acknowledged by the learned annotator that we have) for the art of making capons has long been buried in oblivion. Varro, the great Roman antiquary, tells us how to do it by burning off their fpurs, which occafioning their fterility makes them capons in effect, though thofe parts thereby become more large and tender.

The fifth book is of Peafeporridge; under which are included, frumenty, watergruel, milkporridge, rice-milk, flummery, ftirabout, and the like. The La

tin orrather Greek name is aufprios; but my friend was pleafed to entitle it Pantagruel, a name used by Rabclais, an eminent physician. There are some very remarkable things in it; as, the Emperour Julianus had feldom any thing but spoonmeat at fupper; that the herb fenugreek, with pickles, oil, and wine, was a Roman dainty; upon which the annotator obferves that it is not used in our kitchens for a certain ungrateful bitterness that it has; and that it is plainly a physical diet that will give a ftool; and that mixed with oats it is the best purge for horfes: an excellent invention for frugality that nothing might be loft! for what the lord did not eat he might fend to his ftable.

The fixth book treats of Wildfowl, how to dress oftridges, (the biggeft, groffeft, and moft difficult of digeftion, of any bird) phenicopters, parrots,

c.

The feventh book treats of things fumptuous and coftly, and therefore chiefly concerning Hog-meat; in which the Romans came to that excefs, that the laws forbad the ufage of hogs-harflet, fweetbreads, cheeks, &c. at their publick suppers; and Cato, when Cenfor, fought to restrain the extravagant ufe of brawn by feveral of his crations. So much regard was had then to The Art of Cookery, that we fee it took place in the thoughts of the wifeft men, and bore a part in their moft important councils. But alas! the degeneracy of our prefent age is fuch, that I believe few befides the annotator know the excellency

of a virgin sow, especially of the black kind, brought from China, and how to make the most of her liver, lights, brains, and pettitoes, and to vary her into those fifty dishes which Pliny fays were usually made of that delicious creature. Befides, Galen tells us more of its excellencies; "That fellow that eats bacon for two

or three days before he is to box or wrestle shall be "much stronger than if he should eat the best roast "beef or bagpudding in the parish.”

The eighth book treats of such dainties as fourfooted beafts afford us; as, 1. The Wild Boar, which they used to boil with all its bristles on. 2. The Deer, dreffed with broth made with pepper, wine, honey, oil, and stewed damfons, &c. 3. The Wild Sheep, of which there are "innumerable in the mountains of "Yorkshire and Weftmorland that will let nobody "handle them;" but if they are caught they are to be fent up with an "elegant fauce, prescribed after a phy"fical manner, in form of an electuary, made of pep'per, rue, parfley-feed, juniper, thyme dried, mint, "pennyroyal, honey, &c." with which any apothecary in that country can furnish you. 4. Beef with onion fauce, and commended by Celfus, but not much approved by Hippocrates, because the Greeks scarce knew how to make oxen, and powdering-tubs were in very few families; for physicians have been very peculiar in their diet in all ages; otherwife Galen would fcarce have found out that young foxes were in feafon in autumn, 5. The Sucking Pig boiled in paper.

6. The Hare, the chief of the Roman dainties, its blood being the sweetest of any animal, its natural fear contributing to that excellence. Though the Emperours and nobility had parks to fatten them in, yet in the time of Didianus Julianus if any one had fent him one, or a pig, he would make it laft him three days; whereas Alexander Severus had oncevery meal, which must have been a great expenfe, and is very remarkable. But the most exquisite animal was referved for the last chapter; and that was the Dormouse, a harmlefs creature, whofe innocence might at least have defended it both from Cooks and phyficians. But Apicius found out an odd fort of fate for thofe poor creatures; fome to be boned, and others to be put whole, with odd ingredients, into hogs-guts, and fo boiled for faufages. In ancient times people made it their business to fatten them; Ariftotle rightly obferves that fleep fattened them; and Martial from thence too poetically tells us that fleep was their only nourishment. But the annotator has cleared that point; he, good man! has tenderly obferved one of them for many years, and finds that it does not fleep all the winter as falfely reported, but wakes at meals, and after its repast then rolls itself up in a ball to fleep. This dormouse according to the author did not drink in three years time; but whether other dormice do fo I cannot tell, because Bamboufelbergius's treatife of Fattening Dormice is loft: though very costly they

became a common dish at great entertainments. Pe tronius delivers us an odd receipt for dreffing them, and ferving them up with poppies and honey, which must be a very soporiferous dainty, and as good as owl-pie to fuch as want a nap after dinner. The fondnefs of the Romans came to be fo exceffive towards them that, as Pliny fays, "the Cenforian laws "and Marcus Scaurus in his confulfhip got them pro"hibited from publick entertainments." But Nero, Commodus, and Heliogabalus, would not deny the liberty, and indeed property, of their fubjects in fo reasonable an enjoyment; and therefore we find them long after brought to table in the times of Ammianus Marcellinus, who tells us likewife that "fcales were brought to table in thofe ages to weigh "curious fishes, birds, and dormice," to fee whether they were at the standard of excellence and perfection, and fometimes I fuppofe to vie with other pretenders to magnificence. The annotator takes hold of this occafion to fhew "of how great ufe fcales would "be at the tables of our nobility," efpecially upon the bringing up of a dish of wildfow!; "for if twelve larks (fays he) fhould weigh below twelve ounces, they would be very lean, and scarce tolerable; if "twelve and down-weight they would be very well; "but if thirteen they would be fat to perfection." We fee upon how nice and exact a balance the happinefs of eating depends!