Al

the caitiffs of corruption were every where, in the lobby, in the street, on the steps, and at the door of every parliamentary leader--their very thresholds were worn by the members of the then administration offering TITLES TO SCME, AMNESTY TO OTHERS, and CORRUPTION TO ALL!" These are Mr. Grattan's own words, and we will not trust ourselves with what they would render an unnecessary comment. Equally unnecessary is it for us to trace Mr. Grattan's progress in the Imperial Parliament. Unlike his great rival Mr. Flood, he completely succeeded. most all his speeches, except his celebrated one on the return of Napoleon from Elba, were made in support of the Irish Catholics, a body of men who often repaid his "desperate fidelity" with gross ingratitude. Yet Mr. Grattan died in their cause. When he found his mortal complaint gaining fast upon him, he took the Catholic petition, and desired that he might be borne to London by easy stages. On his landing at Liverpool, the horses were taken from his carriage, and he was drawn by the people to his hotel. In the midst of this triumph he may be said to have died. On the very morning on which, after his arrival in London, he had determined to present the petition, he breathed his last. The task has since devolved upon Mr. Plunket, a man every way entitled to be his suc

cessor.

It was at first determined to take the remains of Mr. Grattan to the country of which, when living, he had been the ornament and benefactor; but a deputation from some of the leading political characters of the day waited on his family, and prevailed on them to accede to his public interment in Westminster Abbey, where he now rests amid kindred integrity and genius. Our limits warn us reluctantly to conclude this brief and imperfect notice of a man whose patriotism was as beneficial as it was consistent, whose life and death were devoted to his country, and whose eloquence, like his philanthropy, belonged to the world.

ON EPICURISM. BY AN AMATEUR.

Daremo" pochi momenti al cibo."

THIS is a subject which ought not to be entered upon in a state of repletion, lest the sated appetite should produce a languor and carelessness of description, most injurious to the merits of the theme: still less should it be attempted when the cravings of hunger distract our thoughts; for where is the famished gourmand sufficiently firm and resolute to sit immovable at his pen, when it is employed in the praise of curries and ragoûts; and when mock-turtle soup is called up in ideal lustre before his

eyes, will he not start from his seat, and fly to the nearest tavern, to taste its substantial charms? The interval between a light and moderate luncheon, and the hour appointed for dinner, appears to be the most judicious season for composing an essay of this nature partial satisfaction has blunted the keener edge of hunger, while the joyful prospect of the more ample and delicious meal to come, may impart vigour to the style, and suggest a thousand savoury images to the fancy. In such a state, and at such a time, I commence my present labours, anxious to do all possible justice to a subject more than commonly interesting and important.

There are, it is true, a few persons in the world who amuse themselves with decrying the merits of the art, of which I am now the humble panegyrist; who affect to despise its more refined and exquisite branches; and who talk of plain boiled beef, and roast leg of mutton, as if they were the ne plus ultra of culinary lore. To those who are sincere in these professions, I have nothing to say-I pity them, as I pity the deaf man, who depreciates the melodies he cannot hear; but I have every reason to believe, that the greater proportion of these slanderers are the victims of bile and indigestion, who delight in calumniating those rich and savoury viands, of which they dare not partake.

Others, again, are mere hypocrites, who pretend to be wiser than their neighbours, only while temptation is at a distance: place them before a well-spread table, and mark how roast-beef and boiled chicken will sue them in vain, while the rich haricot, the piquant ragoût, and the delicious turtle, are as dear to them as to the greatest of professed gourmands. As Pomfret refuted the charge of aversion from matrimony by exhibiting a wife, so a man of this description, if accused of holding heterodox opinions on cookery, might appeal triumphantly to his practice, and exclaim," Sit next me at a feast."

But where is the merit of despising good eating? Eat we must-our nature happily requires the pleasing penalty; then why not eat of the best we can procure? It would be as wise to shut our ears when Stephens or Philomel are singing, and open them only to the croaking of frogs and the clatter of termagants-to close our eyes upon Richmond Hill, and look about us in Tothill Street-as to persist in eating boiled neck of mutton and sparrow pudding, when venison and French pie are courting our acceptance. We leave such mortification to the sickly, the tasteless, and the ascetic; and we boldly avow that love of eating the best, and drinking the best, which is consistent with the aspiring nature of the human mind, and sanctioned by the example of some of our greatest patriots, and most learned divines.

Happy are we who live in the nineteenth century, and in

London; happier, still happier, those who live in the nineteenth 'century, and in Paris. Paris-one's mouth waters at the very name, and a thousand images of savoury dishes, dimly seen through rising exhalations, fit before one's eyes. Oh, Paris! well mayest thou boast of thy "Almanac des Gourmands," and glory in a work unequalled, unattempted by any other nation in the world; and though no epic poem may convey thy language to future ages, yet shall it survive while fricassées, ragoûts, and sauces piquantes, are dear to the heart, and pleasing to the palate of man. Antiquity must have been a terrible time to live in, and Sparta and Consular Rome most disagreeable places of residence. The bon-vivant of to-day turns, shocked and disgusted, from the black-broth, pulse, and meagre fare of the ancients; and his refined taste bestows due contempt on sayings like the following" The man who can dine on turnips, is not likely to betray his country," stamped though they be with the silly approbation of ages. Agesilaus, Lycurgus, and Cincinnatus, may have been brave warriors and wise men, but fortunate are we who are not obliged to accept an invitation to dine with them; they would prove but indifferent table-companions, and most unpleasant hosts. Even Athens, famed as she was for pre-eminence in wisdom and in science, appears to have been little skilled in the. higher branches of cookery; and the amiable efforts of the learned translator of Aristophanes to rescue the city of Minerva from this disgraceful imputation, proved less successful than his attempt to introduce the Greek comedian to the notice and the favour of English readers.

Triumvirate and Imperial Rome endeavoured to atone for previous barbarism, by an enormous expense and boundless profusion in the luxuries of the table; and men like Lucullus, Apicias, Cœlius, &c. deserve to have lived in the days of turtle, and of French sauces. But even by these the real art of good eating was but imperfectly understood; quantity seems to have been considered more than quality, and rarity stamped an undue value on many most insipid articles, and gave undeserved celebrity to the brains of peacocks, and the tongues of singing birds. We do not now consider that dish as necessarily the most delicious which costs the most money; and though we relish peas when they are a guinea a quart, and mackerel at fifteen shillings apiece, yet we turn with more sincere and abiding affection towards the little made-dishes, which, artfully concocted by the magic hand of a good cook, charm the palate by the judicious combination of various cheap and common ingredients.

If from Athens, Sparta, and Rome, we turn our eyes towards those nations who exist in a savage state, the Hottentots, the Esquimaux, or wild Americans, how does the benevolent mind

shrink from contemplating the barbarous and degraded state of their eating propensities! Cookery, as a science, can scarcely be said to exist among them at all; nor can we ever expect to see them attain any considerable degree of civilization, till their minds have acquired more elevated notions on the subject. Yet, in the accounts which travellers have written of inan in his lowest state, capabilities of better things are occasionally discernible; and we behold with pleasure indications of that love of eating much, eating long, and eating of the best which is to be had, which are the distinguishing characteristics of a grand Gourmand.

The Calif Merwan II. could never see a sheep without wrapping his hand in the corner of his robe, and tearing out the kidney, which he instantly devoured. After eating his bonnebouche, he used to call for a clean habit; and in consequence of this becoming attention to personal neatness, when he died, ten thousand greasy vests were found in his wardrobe. This anecdote is shocking to our delicate ears; yet we should not be too severe in our animadversions upon poor Merwan, and should remember, that if a grand gourmand of to-day could be persuaded that the Calif's favourite morceau was really and indisputably of exquisite and unrivalled flavour, he would think himself justified in endeavouring to obtain it whenever and wherever he could, and a considerable briskness would immediately take place in the manufacture of the silks and stuffs of which the gowns of our city corporation are composed.

To a single man (and all genuine gourmands ought to be single), in easy circumstances, there can scarcely ever occur, in the course of twenty-four hours, a more important and interesting event than his dinner. To order, to anticipate, to eat, and to remember it, form ample occupation and amusement for the day; and if, perchance, instead of dining at home, he is invited to share the repast of a fellow connoisseur, curiosity, wonder, hope, and fear, keep his mind in a state of agreeable agitation during the morning. It has been asserted by moralists, that in no state or condition of life can we find ourselves without duties to perform, and temptations to resist; and, assuredly, the epicure who seats himself at the well-spread dinner-table, with taste and appetite to relish its luxuries, has too often, alas! abundant opportunity for the exercise of patience, good-humour, and self-command. Perhaps he finds himself in a company which ladies form a large proportion, and he sees the venison helping, the fat diminishing, the gravy cooling; while, by an absurd custom, those least capable of appreciating their excellences, are receiving the best slices, in their best state. there no merit in smoothing the brow, and refraining the tongue, under circumstances like these?

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Or, peradventure his discriminating eye has detected the peculiar merits of some exquisite ragoût, whose odours he can distinguish amidst the mingled exhalations of the table, as Catalani's notes might be heard amidst the tumult of the loudest chorus. He anticipates the pleasure to come; his eye glances occasionally from his plate to the envied corner where the ragoût stands ;-alas! he perceives that others have discovered its excellences, and that the favourite dish is rapidly diminishing;-he redoubles his haste; he hurries the venison, insufficiently masticated, down his throat; he even sends his plate away, with several choice morsels upon it, and then, bending across the table, he hastily and distinctly articulates," I will trouble you, Sir, for some of -"the unfinished sentence ends in

a quaver of consternation," the last portion is this moment assigned to the plate of a more fortunate claimant, and the unhappy gourmand must content himself with a less exquisite dainty, and "dress his face with artificial smiles."

Again, some ignorant or malicious idiot helps him, in the most cruel and inconsiderate manner, to the wing of a woodcock, or gives him less than his due share of fat, or gravy, or forcemeat-balls; or sends him giblet-soup, with scarcely any of the sweet and tender article from which it derives its name; and instead of shewing his anger, the indignant gourmand courteously bows, assumes a smile of grateful obligation, and with admirable self-command, " premit altum corde dolorem." Is not this an exercise of good-temper and good-breeding rarely equalled in the common intercourse of society? And if some there are unequal to so difficult a task; if the angry glance, the impatient gesture, the fretful exclamation, will occasionally escape, let us be slow in condemning our brethren; let us remember that their provocation is great, and that, though

"What's done we partly may compute,

We know not what's resisted."

But happy he who has only to exercise his patience and politeness before a table covered with well-dressed delicacies, compared with the unfortunate man who visits at a house where a female cook is kept, or who has been betrayed, by. some sad chance, into dining in the friendly way. Odious, libellous expression! Pea-soup, a dish of cheap fish, a joint of mutton, boiled fowls, bacon garnished with greens, and a pudding, compose the entertainment; and this is called a friendly dinner, as if it were the part of a friend to feed you with the most insipid viands, and give you as little gratification as possible. Boileau has well described the horrors of such a dinner; and during my recovery from an illness which attacked me about the 10th of last November, I amused myself with composing the following free imitation of his third satire.