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Show THE EATING AND DRINKING OF DICKENS. (By C. M. Jackson.) Of all the noted authors of fiction, Dickens was pre-eminent in a knowledge knowl-edge of what is good to eat and drink. None of them seem to havo been endowed en-dowed with his artistic ideas upon the subject; none display the-fund of Information In-formation relative to tho satisfying of tho hunger and thirst of that imaginary imagi-nary individual we designate "the inner man." Ho was extremely epicurean epi-curean in his taste, although he many times demonstrates a familiarity with the democracy of diet and drink, for ho was at homo, equally In the cheap eating eat-ing house or the more expensive and elaborate cafe. His schooling in the economy of living was obtained, It is fair to presume, when he was working as a reporter at a moderate salary, while his education in tho costlier style of nourishment was doubtless acquired after he became, In a measure, famous, necauso it is in Martin Chuzzlewlt written after his reputation was secured, se-cured, that ho displays the greatest erudition in the science of breakfasting, breakfast-ing, lunching and dining. Eating appears ap-pears to havo been a duty; a ruling passion, which was strong, even when death approached, for the last word of his last novel, which ho never lived to complete, "Tho Mystery of Edwin Drood," was 'appetite;" his last description de-scription was that of a man sitting down at table. Ho was a bachelor of arts in the university uni-versity of drinking, his familiarity with decoctions calculated to increase hilarity, hilar-ity, or provoke a desire for sleep, being vast and complete. Nor was he at all selfish In this scholarship; ho wove It into tho fabrics of his many charming stories in such tasty patterns that ho who roads cannot fail to be Impressed. Half an hour with some of his books the most of them, In fact is a tonic sufficient to provoke an appetite for something tasty and substantial in tho way of victuals, whilo some of his descriptions de-scriptions of what is good to imbibe are graphic enough to provoke a desire for strong waters in tho heart of a total abstainer. Ho was conversant with tho food and drink of the rich and the poor, for he handles with equal facility tho "slam bang" dinner of Messrs. Guppy, Small-weed Small-weed and Jobllng, and the expensive noonday lunch of Montaguo Tigg. Ho discourses learnedly aye, and affectionatelyon affec-tionatelyon the fifty-year-old port of Mr. Tulklnghorn, and displays an almost al-most pathetic fondness when ho mentions men-tions "straight, stand-up English beer." lie was appreciative when fino old Ma-deria Ma-deria or choice Burgundy was under discussion and poetically erudite in his narratives of Rev. Mr. Stiggin's pine applo rum toddy or Dick Swiveller's "choice purl." Ho wrote learnedly of Wardlo's old wino and was cneerful when ho described Bob Cratchlt's gin and lemons. On light lunches course dinners and heavy meals ho was an encyclopedia, and his idea of tho eternal fitness of things was charming. His eating wa3 correctly dono and his drinking of a sort that appeals to tho educated. Ho never ate supper dishes in tho morning or took a cocktail after noonday. It will bo romembord that Thomas Pinch, one winter day, drove Mr. Pecksniff's Peck-sniff's horso, attached to Mr. Pecksniff's Peck-sniff's gig, down to Salisbury for tho purpose of bringing homo yum, v,ar tin Chuzzlewlt, tho latest pup,, , I gent o pastime of archiie,,,,,, " j taught by the hypocritical per-,,,, rae' I tioned. There was a long and 7.", 1 drive ahead of Mr. Pinch on th, . I trip, and ho accordingly ate a ,nZr I calculated to fortify him ago.:,- 1 " I chilly ride, for wo read: I "So he had his little table tirn n out I close beforo tho fire and fell i , lVl I upon a well cooked steak and n,okin-hot n,okin-hot potatoes with a strong apn- it n of their excellence and a ve y keen sense of enjoyment. Ucsi' him too, stood a mug of most tren , ndon, Wiltshire beer and the effort ,,f th u was so transcendent that h. w, obliged, every now and then t0 lav down his knife and fork, rub h.s hand, and think about it." Mr. Ph,,, i,a(, j also some cheese and celery alter his steak, potatoes and beer, but os if m3 wero not sufficient, tho author made further provision for his comfort be cause he relates that when y0unE Chuzzlewlt arrived each had a "glass of punch, as hot as it could bo made " What wonder then that Mr. Pinch was willing to let his legs hang out 0f the I gig in order that tho luggage of lils I now-found friend might have room' I No man, after eating and drinking as i had Mr. Pinch, need stand In dread of a ten-mile drive. n When the spirit of tho Christmas I Past took Ebeneezer Scrooge across country to a number of tho scenes of tho latter's boyhood, it landed the hard-fisted hard-fisted and hard-hearted old man in the warehouse of jolly old Fczzlwig, where he was at one time an apprentice. It was evening and a Christmas evening at that. Tho placo was cleared for a frolic, participated in by the Fezzlwlg family, Scrooge and his fellow apprentice appren-tice and a number of tho neighbors. They had a fiddler and they danced, and danced vigorously. That they might refresh themselves thero was something to eat. "Thero was cake, and 1 there was negus, and there was a great piece of cold roast and there was a great piece of cold boiled and thero wero mince pies, and plenty of beer." No wonder the fiddler artful dog that ho was struck up "Sir Roger do Cov-orly" Cov-orly" after a lunch liko that. What nightmares might havo followed had not some such vigorous exercise been furnished to aid tho digestion of the ' assembled company! But as Is invariably invari-ably the custom in Dickon's hooks, having created a condition, ho is equally equal-ly facile in supplying an antidote. Readers of Oliver Twist will recall I tho visit of Fagin, Charlie Bates and j" Lummy Jack, (The Artful Dodger) to I Bill Slices tho burglar, when tho latter R was ill. Let Charlie Bates describe tho I eatables in his own language: I "Sitch a rabbit nio. Bill; sitch I delicate creetures, with sitch tender ten-der limbs, Bill, that the wery bones melt in your mouth and tho wry bones melt in your mouth and there's no occasion to pick 'em; half a pound of soven-and-slx-penny green, so precious strong that if you mix It with boiling water it will go nigh to blowing tho lid of tho teapot oil; a pound and a half of moist sugar that the niggers didn't work at all afore they got it up to sitch a pitch of goodness good-ness oh no! Two half quartern brans, pound of best fresh, pieco of doublo Glo'stor, and to wind up all, somo of tho best sort you over lushed." Those who dine at hlgh-clnss cafes may feel Inclined to turn their noses up at a meal beginning with a stiff drink of whiskey and comprising a rabbit pio, fresh bread and butter, cheese and tea, but if thero ho any such let tho lunch at tho Anglo-Bengalee Disinterested Loan and Life Assurance oillco consolo them. "Tho appearance of tho porter and tho under porter with a pair of com roast fowls flanked by somo Pott(? meats and a cool salad, enhanced still further by a bottle of excllent Madoria and another of champagne put an end to tho discussion." Any ono having f an Idea of a better lunch on a mid summer day ought to disseminate same for the benefit of humanity. Guppy, Smallweed and Jobllng, the three law clerks In "Bleak House," ro paired to a restaurant of the variety known as "slam bang," for dinner. Job-lirig, Job-lirig, It will bo' recalled, had been down to the market gardens by Dept-ford Dept-ford and was hungry. Jobllng had fasted fast-ed for a day or two and had a right to hi hungry. So when Guppy, "conscious "con-scious of the elfin power of Small-weed," Small-weed," deferred to him and Smallweed ordered "veal and ham and French beans, and don't you forget the stuffing stuf-fing Polly,' together with the ever pro3 cut pot of porter, Guppy and Jobllng i took the same. Jobllng made such short work of his that he was given another and afterward took "summer cabbage.' i Three small rums and three cheap ci gars finished th meal. "Oho," exclaim, thoman of taste, "what a climax. Rum I after dinner!" None of the "eternal fitness' In that. But softly there was. It was a fitting climax. Recall the j viands disposed of and then bo cer- j tain that rum and only rum would havt filled the bill. It would have been I sheer wickedness to have drank cog nac or even a demi-tasse. Guppy Smallweed and Jobllng did the right thing at the right time. Leaving this trio smoking thei. "three Cheshires," let us turn to the little dinner given by John Wostloclc, at his apartments In Furnivals Inn High Holborn. "Salmon, lamb, peas, Innocent In-nocent young potatoes, a cool salad, sliced cucumber, a tender duckling anu a tart; all were there." Who would as, anything better, especially when tie waiter, "who was a grave and quiet man," produced everything at the proper time; who "handed round the I sauces reverently and discoursed en dearingly upon their flavor and excl-I excl-I lonce," and who, when the meal prc-i o. was ended, placed the- wine and frull upon the table and quietly disappeared. No reason for Tom Pinch declaring that his friend was "a tremendous fellow fel-low In his housekedeplng." Hunger overtook Dick Swiveller and Fred Trent In their discussion of the supposed fortune of Little Nell, in the apartment' of the former. The light-hearted light-hearted scapegrace sent out for "boiled beef and greens." Let tho fact that he Jmado more efforts than one before ho obtained what he desired, pass. Sufficient Suffici-ent to say tho provender was forthcoming. forth-coming. Boiled beef and greens in ou American vernacular means a "New England boiled dinnr," of which the principal portion is "corned beef and cabbage." That Dickens was familiar with this sort of food ought to endear him to every American heart, for Now England boiled dinner is a savorj mess, and no one, save invalids or sell expatriated parties ever declines it In public or in private. Mrs. Lupin, tho landlady of tho Bins Dragon, put up a lunch for Tom Pinch when the latter started to seek his fortune for-tune In London. That lunch demonstrates demon-strates Dickens' Idea of a snack to to eaten by a traveller. Ah, but It was superb! "A cold roast fowl, a packet of ham in slices, a crusty loaf, some biscuits, a screw of salt some applo3 and a botttle of sherry." Who would patronize a wayside road house with a basket n.to that; who would enter a dining car, knowing ho was possessed of such good things? Who will ox-prss ox-prss surprise that tho guard's bugle sounded clearer after ho. had partaken of tho eatables and had a puli or two at tho bottle, or that tho driver put his horseflesh on their mottle- for the greater glory of what ho was eating and drinking? That was the sublimity of satisfying tho material wants of a man on a journey. Mrs. Todgers Commercial Boarding house was tho scene of a hilarious banquet ono 'evening, tho two Misses Pecksniff being the star attractions, and in wh6so honor the feast was spread. The meat and drink was not such as ono woulu expect at a political blithering In tliesu motiern tunes, or at a lndinoiiaule wending breaktasi, uut u wild a dinner just Hie same aim in some sorts or society would be regain-du regain-du us a LUilnary success, lie toils us J...0 tables groaned benuaiu uiu weight, notably the ached-c.od ached-c.od wnoreof tho Miss 1'euk--inns igreat writers sometimes err m cue eonsiuctlon of sentences, ami -lcutiis was no exception), him beoii previously lorewarneu (1. e. llsh anil -owij but ot boileu beer, roast veai, oacon, pies, and an aouuuanco oi suco aeavy vegetables as are lavorauiy .viiown to houboueepers tor their satis-lyuig satis-lyuig qualities. iNor were beverages .rtcnmg, lor ne lelates that "there were outiiea ot stout, bottles ol wine, holies hol-ies ot ale, anil divers other strong arniKs, both native and lore.gn, - not m mention a great uowi ot i.uncli, brewed by tho gentleman gentle-man of a debating turn ol iiiiiid. It was a great euting and drink-.ng drink-.ng ostival, was that, and smail reason .fc Caere to marvel tnat atlerward iur. iJecKsniit' was so intoxicated that he expressed a uesire to see Airs, lodger b notion ot a wooden leg, providing that feoou lady had no objections. i nat ijickens loved to take his time ut table is manliest from the manner in which ho scored we Americans on our mode of dining. Take the noon-uay noon-uay meal at Mrs. Pawkm's in New xorit City lor an example: nwasa numerous company olglit-teen olglit-teen or twenty perhaps; all the knives and fonts were working away nt a rate that was quito alarming; very low words wore spoken, and everybody seemed to eat his utmost in solf-de-lanse, as If a famine were expected to set In beoro breakfast time and It had become high time to assert the first law ol nature. Tho poultry, which may, perhaps, bo considered to have formeu the staple of the entertainment for there was a turkey at tho top, a pair of ducks at the bottom and two fowls ii the miiitile disappeared as rapidly as if eacii bird had tho use of Its wings and had flown in desperation down a human throat. The oysters, stowed and pickled, leaped from their capacious reservoirs and slid by scores into tho mouths of tho assembly. The sharpest pickles vanished, whole cucumbers cu-cumbers at once, like sugar plums, and no man winked his eye. Great heaps cf indigestible matter melted as ice be-1-re tuc noondny sun. Dyspeptic Individuals In-dividuals bolted their food In wedges, ieedlng, not themselves, but whole broods of nightmares whp were con-Lnually con-Lnually standing at livery within thjm, opare men with lank and rigid cheeks came cut from tho destruction of heavy dishes and glared with watchful oyos upon the pastry." He naively adds: "It must have been a great relief to Airs. Pawkins, in that It was scon over." This criticism of American table manners is repeated in the same hook twice, although with less detail, notably not-ably In the dinner at the National hotel ho-tel and on the steamboat where Elijah Pogram, M. C., defended his countryman country-man for first licking off Ills knife nnd Lien taking some butter, declaring that Chu.Jowit's protest was an exhibition of "the morbid hatred of our Institutions." Institu-tions." Mark Tapley and friend returned to England to Mrs. Lupin's, on a wet night. That good woman displayed a knowledge of suppers for damp men that was as delighuul as her education i i tho matter of putting up lunches. She first cleared tho kitchen of thoso who would have lingered and then provided for tho comfort of her guests. Listen: "The kitchen fire burned clear and red; tho tablo was spread out; tho slippers slip-pers were there; tLie boot Jack, too; tlioets of ham were there, cooking on the gridiron; half a dozen ogs were there, poaching In the frying pan; a plethoric cherry brandy bottle was there, winking at a foaming jug of beer; rare provisions were there," etc. Vhlnk of it. Cherry brandy before such ii meal, under such conditions. Is not that description hie very music in refreshment? OickciiH mid the English appetite to.' bed, both boiled, broiled ami roasted. He displays it In tue elder Woilor tircaUiast, betore moiinUn,; tne i,ox ot the coach nnil where I'lckWidt and v in die were sitting down to supper, as well as in a bcoio ol otner piiicos. He was fond of mutton, buiiou or roasted, cold or hot; lot he has John Westtock berate t'ocKsnllf lor not lur-nishing lur-nishing enough legs tor Hie gulden sliiti he piled on ins table; no ultudcb to miKton as ho tells ot I'lcKWicits li.i eramy toward Jon i rotter and Jingle; ho talks mutton at the servants' banquet, ban-quet, wnero the junior Wellor made such a hit, and weaves mutton into ftirs. i-eeiyblnglo's lunch at tho toy shop ot Uruff and Tnckloton. Ho loveu buttered toast, for his descriptions of Rev. fauggins making It; the desire ot Noah Ulnypolo for it; the evening meal ol l'ecksmlf ami -dimly and the ministerial minis-terial lunch of Rev. Chadband, indt-cdte indt-cdte it. Ho liked chicken, lor he put the word pronounced "chicking'' into t..o mouth of Muggle, the waif in Little Lorrit, a dozen ot tunes, and lie caused Jinglo to suggest ' broiled lowl and mushrooms capital thing," in PIck-wlck PIck-wlck papers. Veal and ham pie wu3 rare eating with him, as witness the visit of Silas Wcgg to Bollin, to redd to the newly rich man "The Rise and Fa off the Rooshan Empire,' and Alrt. Peerybinglo again. Beer and cheese were favorite lunches, because he in dulgcs many times in his books, lieu, steak pudding was his delight, as ma., bo seen from his description ot Mary Pinch's first experiment in cookery. Ik would have made a good Pennsylvnni Dutchman, lor he tenderly discourses on "Boars Head, Potted," or our own "headcheeese." Pigs jowl was not un welcome, for ho picturesquely describes de-scribes it in his American Notes, ullutl ing to it facetiously as "pig's face.' Sweetbreads, stowed kidneys and oysters oy-sters are common themes, good bread and butter ho mentions in mora place than ono, pickled salmon was a favorite favor-ite dish. Recall how ho relates tho gusto with which Mrs. Gamp indulged at the Bull, in Holborn, ami when sue and Betsy Prig had their falling out over Poll Swodleplpes' barber shop In tho same neighborhood. Pigeon pies were something ho was partial to, as witness the manner in which ho causes John Browdie to get away with them at tho Saracen's Head. In short, there are but few articles In tho gamut of gastronomy Dickens did not like. Ho know the alphabet of alcohol from A to 'A. Ho writes feolingly ol choice old Burgundy when ho describes Dr. Jobling's husky voice nnd touches tho soul of the connoisseur where he tells of tho old lawyer of Lincoln's Inn Fields treating Snagsby to port that rippled from southern vineyards a hall century previous. His stories of Ma-derla Ma-derla are epics and his knowledge ol champagno unbounded. Ho wns a patriot pa-triot in his tippling, for nowhere do wo hear him borate the porter and the ale of ills native land. On the contrary, ho directs your favorable attention to it in overy book ho wrote. Nor did ho over portray a favorite character as a drunkard, ever reserving bestiality for thoso ho painted in tho colors of hide-ousncss. hide-ousncss. Nor was his knowledge of drinking confined to tho decoctions of his native heath. While here ho becamo acquainted ac-quainted with drinks both new and novel. Ho mado tho acquaintnnco of the gin sling and the cocktail, and last, but not tho least, the sherry cobbler, which ho describes in language calculated calcu-lated to Impress one's mind, for he tells us that tho man who C ink ono through a reed "turned up j eyes in ecstney and set the glass down no more until It was opmty." In short, Dickens was aesthetic in Ills appetite and must have enjoyed, for the greater portion of his llfo at least, good digestion. |