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    August 5, 1854.] THE LEADEE. 73S

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    LEWELZ, PASTURES. Lawcll Pastures. By th...

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    Table Traits. Table Traits, With Sonietm...

    month ; and a cold sugared entremet , at the making of which Carfeme had presided , readily fetdbed a 'higher price than the public now pay ior the ' Complete Works' of' the poet of Green- Arbour-court ! " Carenoeistudied trader < v : aiaou 6 great masters , but he perfected his-Studies . under Boucher , oltef des services of the Prince ^ Lalleyratid . The glory of Car & Bae tvbs co-eval with that oi Kajpoleon ; those Jtwo individuals were great men at the same period ; bat tlte glory of one will , perhaps , be a little more enduring than that of the other . I will not say wlwse glory will thus lust the longer ; for as was remarked courteously oy the Oxford -candidate for Ironpure , -who was more courteous than ' cranyned , ' and who was asked which were the minor > Frophe 4 s , I am not willing to draw invidious distinctions !' ¦" In the days of the Empire ,- —the era of the gteatness , of the achievements , and of the reflections of Gtufeme , —the possession of him was as eagerly contested iiy the rich as that of a-nymph iby fcbe -satyrs . He was alternately the glory of Talleyrand , the -boast of Lavalette , and the pride 4 > f the Saxon Ambassador . In their houses , too , his hand was as often on his pen as on Ubie handle of his casseiwle ; and inspiration never visited his brain without the

    call heing duly registered ia his note-book , with reflections thereon highly philosophical and gastronomic . ¦ " But Caffeine "was capricious . It was not that he "was unfaithful , but he was volume ; and he passed from kitchen to kitchen , as the bee wings from Hower to flower . The Emperor Alexander dined with Talleyrand , and forthwith lie seduced Cai & me : the seductioninoney was only lQi ) l . sterling per month , and the culinary expenses . -Car & fne did not yield without much . coy ness . He urged *< iuE lav * & r study , his desire to refine the uace of which he . made himself the model , his love for his country ; Axsd he even accompanied , for a brief moment , ' iLard Stewart' to Vienna ; but it was more io the way of policy than pastry : for Count Orloff was sent after him on admission , and Carferae , after flying , with tlie full intention of being followed , to London and Paris , yielded to the golden solicitation , and did the Emperor Alexander the honour of'becoming the head of the imperial kitchen in whatever palace his Majesty presided . But the delicate susceptibility of Caffeine was wounded by discovering tihat his book of expenses was subjected to supervision . He flung vp his appointment in -disgust , and hastened across Europe to England . The jealous winds wished

    to detain Jam for trance , and they blew him back on the coast between Calais and Boulogne , . exaaily as . they did another gentleman , -i * : ho may oot be . so widely knawxias Car-ems , but who lias beeja heard of in England under Ihe name of William Wordsworth . Careme accepted the omen , repaired to Paris , entered the service of the Princess Bagration , and -served the table of that capricious lady , tn , malitre tThouL As the guests uttered ecstatic praises of the fare , the Princess would -siafle npon him as he stood before her , -and exclaim , ¦* Heis the iiearl-of cooks , !¦ ' ¦ is itaioatter of surprise that he was vain ? Fancy being called a ' pearl' by a princess ! On reading it w * fchink of the 4 ays when Lady Mary Wortly Montague put nasty footmen into eclogues , and deified the dirty passions of Mrs . JIahony ' s lacquey . . . ¦ •" . ' .- ¦ ' , " The Princess , however , ate henselfintoa permanent indigestion , andCareme transferred his services to the English Ambassador at the Court of Vienna . There , every morning , seated in his magnificient kitchen , Carfeme i-eceiyed the visit of Mflor Stewart , ' who seldom Jeft him-without presents and encouragements . Indeed , these rained upon the immortal artist . The Emperor Alexander had consented to hare Careme ' s projects in . culinary

    architeetare rteaieated to fcitii j and , wiMi riotiee of consent , sent him a diamond ring . When Prince W-aHeonski -placed it on his finger , the « ook forgot his dignity , and burst into tears . So did all the other « ocfcs in the Austrian capital , —outpf sheer jealousy . " Cai & me , -two years before George W . was King , had heen for a short period a memher ef the Regent ' s household- J 2 e left Vienna to be present at the Coronation ; but he arrived too late ; and he does not scruple to say , very ungenerously , that the banquet was spoiled for want -of his presence , nor to insinuate that tlie colleagues with whom he would have been associated were unworthy of such association ^ - ^ an insinuation a . t once base and baseless . After being the . object of a species of ^ emi-worsliip , « nd yielding to every new offer , yet affectiug to despise tliejn all , Careme ( ultimately tabernacled with Baron Eothschild in Paris ; and the super-human excellency of his dinners , is it pot written in tlie ' Book without a Kame' of Lady Morgan ? And was not his . residence there the object of envy , and cause of much melancholy , « nd opportunity for much eulogy , on the part of George IV . ? Well , Anthony Caefoae would have us believe as much with respect to himself and tlie King ; hut we do not believe a word of it ; for the royal table was . never better cared for bv the a-oyal officers , whose duty ky in such care , than at this verj period . George IV . is said to have tempted him by offering triple salaries : but all in vain . ; ior London was too triste anjibidinc

    place for a man whose whole soul , p ut of kitchen lours , was given to study . And so Careuie remained withliis Jewish patron autil infirmity overtook his noble nature , and he retired to dictate his immortal works ( like Milton , very !) to his accomplished daughter . Les beaux restes of Carenie were eagerly sought after ; but lie would not heed what way no longer a temptation ; for he was realising twenty thousand francs a Year from the booksellers , besides ihe interest of tlie money' he had saved . Think of " it , shade of Milton ! Eight hundred pounds sterling yearly , ior writing on ldtchen-stnfc" 1 Who would compose « pics after' £ hat ? But Careme ' s books were epics sifter their soil , and they . are highly creditable to the scribe who wrote them from his notes , Finally ,, ereu Antony CiU'eme died , like cooks of Jess degree ; but he had been the imperial despot of European kitchens , had been ' bcringed * by Monarchs , and been smiled on by Princesses ; he had received lords in his kitchen , and had encountered ladies who gave him a great deal for very little knowledge in return ; and J & nally , aa Fulko GreviUo had inscribed on his toimb that he had been the friend of Sir Philip feidney , so the crowning joy of'Gareme ' s life might have been chiselled on his monument , indicating ihat JLxo luid been the lriend of one whom he would have accounted a greater man than , the kinghtly hero in question , —namely , il Maestro liossini ! ¦ Carenie ' a cup was thereat full ; and ho died , perfectly convinced that puradUu itself would he glad at his coining . "

    Ihe Fable Traits are so laden with good things , in tlie shape of information aad advice , that we Are at a loss to know what to select . Those who wish to " read medicinally , " liherdfotto , « aust buy the book and read for jthetneelvos . Let us rather take 41 poop at some of our ancestors in the last century : — " 1 liave inoticod the lovo of good eating , and tlio coarseness connected with it . There was also ft coarse economy attendant on it . The Duchess . of JUovoaahirc would call out to the Buke , wlien both were presiding lit supper after one of their assemblies , SGood God , Duke I don't cut the lutni ; nobody will eat any : ' and then she would xejute tlie circumstances of her private mtsnaye to her neighbour : * When there ' s only my Lord and I besides n pudding , wo have always a dish of roust '—^ no yeij . «] uinty f . iro for a ducnl p : \ ir , Indeed , thoro was much want of daintiness , and of dignity , toq , in many of thoso with whom both might havo boon looked for as a possession . Lord Coventry chased his lady round the dinner-table , and scrubboil tho punt oil ' hor olieeks with a napkin . The Duke and Duchess of

    iiuimlton wore more contemptible in thoir pompoalty tlutn their graces of Devonshire wore in their plainness . At thoir own houso-thvy walkcil in to dinner before thoir conmjiny , sat tocctlier nt tho upper end ot their own tnblc , ate together off one plute , and drunk to nobody beneath tl »« rttTUi . of liurl . It was , indocd , a wundwr that thoy could got any one of any rank to dino with tliem at all . But , in point , of dinners , pnoplo aro not . nioo' oven now . l ) uken very rocontly dinod with a railway potentatu , in hopes of proliting hy tho coiulosocneion ; nnd Dncbossea hoard , without « smilo , th « t pntontHto ' tj liuly sunorbly diamiss tliom wjithun ' au netervQir J '~ - ^ an exprotssion , by tho way , which is rofinod , when compared with ( that luvght by . p « r » oWUt . y , n hundred yowH « go , to thu rich Uolioxniun OouiUosb Qhainfclt ; namolv- , p—n vo * l' and , ' K . isn mo ! but it was apologetically Bwid of h « r , tlmt aho never ¦ usqatUo lormw but upon tho xniscari'lago of tho hit tor . This wuu at u tiino wbon vaut as-. sonibiios ^ erotxjflloirod by vast HupporH , vast nuppora Iiy vast , drinking , and when nymphs sum ( Wflme roatihefl illomo « t , diiwn-wilh - \ vigH , like Ranger ' n iu tho coineily , vastly biittwcd , jind not very ( fit to be men "

    Out « o » -olas 8 » cal Peudor * may like to hoar something of tho aftur-dinner on ^ oyiuen te of » llpman -emperor ; ~ - ip ' JP . lla l »» flt'hwo . boon a jnont . unplcoaant vtei-iioii io dinu with . Ho entertained liiinfioll and his guests with the night of men tortured M ) tho melt , nn « l ht > « ot up UtUo private executions on those 0 M « wionB to aulivuii tho aocno . Wo road u ( ' Iwv Mi \\ vn \ y \ nrimto concortH , iiuU how Mrs . Anderson' preaidoU at tho piano . Dut thu Kuiiuum only hoard of thuii

    Emperor s killing fun to frighten his guests with , and how his divinity ' s private headsman Niger Barbatus , performed , as usual , with his well-known dexterity . His frolics were really of afrjgfctful character . Jt was after a banquet , when the capital j « st of slaying had failed to make him as merry asiusnal , that he rushed to the sacrificial altar , attired in the dress of a victim-killer , that is , with a linen apron for his sole costume . He seized the mallet as though he were about to elay the appointed victim , but lie turned suddenly round on the resident official and butchered him instead . And thereat , all who had witnessed tlie frolicsome deed of their master , declared that' 'Fore Jove , 'twas a more capital joke than the last V His answer to the 'Consols who ventured to _ ask the cause of a sudden burst of laughter in which he indulged at a crowded feast , is-well known ; 'I laugh to think , ' said the amiable creature , ' that with oue wave of xny Land I can sweep all jour stupid heads off ! ' His method of loving was equiiU y characteristic- He would fling his terrible arm round the fair neck he professed to admire , and express his delight that he could cut it off when he pleased . There was theijrilliant Oesonia : ' I carmot tell , ' said her imperial lorer at a feast ' why it is that I am so i & nd of that girl . PJ 1 have her pat on the rack for a quarter of aa hour , that ahe may be compelled to tell me the reason . ' Blue Beard was the mildest of quaker gentlemen xiompaEed with ibis Caligula . A lady might as well have been wooed bv a boa constrictor . " " To pass from jaoebut emperors to modern aaxttors , xne eome to Peter Pindar : —

    Ihe tahle life of Peter Pindar was afar more joyous one than that of much greater poets . At Tiuro he was noted for his frugal fare , and he never departed from the observance of frugality of living throughout his career . He would sometimes , we are told , when visiting country patients , and when he happened to be detained , go- into the kitchen and cook liis own beefsteak , inorder to show a country eook how a steak was done in London , the only place , he said , where it was properly cooked . He laughed at ilie faculty . as he did at theking , and set tbe whole profession mad by sanctioning the plentiful use of water , declaring that physic was an uncertain thing , and maintaining that in . most cases all that was required on the doctor ' s part was ' to watch nature , and when she was going right , to give . hex a shove behind . ' He was accustomed to analyse the drugs which he had prescribed for his patients , before le -would allow the latter to swallow them , and he gave a decided county bias against pork ; . by remarking of a certain apothecary that he was too fond of bleeding the patients who resorted to him , and too proud of his large breed of pigs . The inference was certainly . not in favour of pork . Peter ' s practical jokes in connexion with the table were no jokes to the chief object or them . Thus , when a pompons Cornish member of Parliament issued invitations for as pompous a dinner topersonages of -corresponding

    pomposity , ' Peter , ' recollecting that the senator had an aunt who was a laundress , senther an inyitation in her nephew's same , and the old lady , happy and proud , excited universal surprise , and very particular horror iu the bosom of the parliament-man , by making her appearance , in the august and hungry assembly , who welcomed her about as warmly as if she had been a - * boule asphyxiatre' of the new French artillery praetiee . " 3 t is ^ goingia long way . back to ascend from ' Pindar' to Tasso , hut both poets lored roasted chesnuts , —aad tjiere is the affinity . Peter never drank anything but old rum j a wineglass , ( never beyond a wine glass and a halfjVserved him for a daj , after a dinner of the plainest kind . The doctor eschewed wine altogether , at least In his latter days , as generating acidity . Tasso , however , unlike our satirical friend , was a tvine-bibber . During the imprisonment whieli had beent 4 ie result of his own arroganee , he -wrote to the physician of the Duke of Ferrara , complaining of intestinal pains , of sounds of bells in his ears , of painful mental images and varying apparitions of inanimate things appearing to him , and of his inability to . study . Therdoctor advisedhiin to apply a cautery to his lee , abstain from

    wine , and confine himself to a diet of broth and gruels . The poet defended the sacredness of his appetite , and declined to abstain from generous ivine ; but he urged the medico to find a remedy for his ills , promising to recompense him for his trouble , by maldhg him immortal in song . At a later period of his life , when he was the guest of his friend Manco , in his gloomy castle of Bisaceip , the ilhjstiious pair were seated together , after dinner , over a dessert of Tasso ' s favourite chesriuts and some ^ genero us wine ; and there he affrighted his friend by maintaining that he was constantly attended by a guardian spirit , who was frequently conversing with liim , and in proof of the same , he invited Muneo to listen to their dialogue . The host replenished his glass and announced himself ready . Tasso fell into -a loud rhapsody off mingled 1 ' qlly and beauty , occasionally pansing to give his spirit an opportunity of epeaking , ; but the remarks of this ag . ithodseinon were inaudible to all but the ears of the poet . The imaginary . dialogue went oh for an hour ; and at the end of it , when Tasso asked . Manco what he thought of it , Manco , who was the most matter-of-fact man that ever lived , replied that , for his j > art , he ' thought Tasso had drunk too much wine and eaten too many chesnuts . And truly I think so too . "

    August 5, 1854.] The Leadee. 73s

    August 5 , 1854 . ] THE LEADEE . 73 S

    Lewelz, Pastures. Lawcll Pastures. By Th...

    LEWELZ , PASTURES . Lawcll Pastures . By the Author of " Sir Frederick Denvent , " " Jnbian ' s Tower , " and " Smugglers and IWesters . " JRoutledge . 1-iEweli , Pas-tubes Is an interesting and well-written < novel . " Story , G-od bless you , tlvere is none to tell . ; 1 ' or at least it is slight , and not particularly original . The hero , jilted by a fine lady , and disgusted -with the world , resigns Uis commission in the Household troops , and retires to a farm which he has inherited , a lonely , -sterile , neglected estate , to the ungrateful task of impi * oving which fee resolves to devote himself . His -existence is diversified by occasional itvtwcQurse Vith his friends the EiMskines , an ill-assorted couple ; ky -continual "warfare with a savage old miser of large property , whoso lands " march ' with hie own , but who becomes through an accident

    reconciled and greatly indebted to him ; and by a little romance about a mysterious , fair calm pre-ilaphaelite beauty , the supposed ille gitimate grand-daughter of the old iwtiser above mentioned . The hei'o and th « fair calm maiden , after the proper number of pages , are united ; and the tale ends in good orthodox fashion , with the death of the wealthy miser , who makes a will in favour of his ancient enemy , and the discovery of papers , proving ( of course ) the legitimacy of the disowned grand-daughter . So fat the framework , which is simple enough . The claims of Lewell Pastures to be considered « , good mtovel , rest , we conceive , on othei- merits . It is very pleasantly and unaffectedly written , is full of excellent description , and very true , but not comnaon-place , analysis of character . The hero ' s first arrival in th ' iB desolate place seems almost more like colonising in tho bush than settling in a civilised country ; and yet there is nothing exaggerated iii tho

    deaariptuwn of Ins various diHiculties , quietly . submitted to by the ajia-tketnc natives , but appalling to the stranger , who has not even their resources , ox in his submission to tho horrid old virago , who , with her idiot hnsl > and , compose his household , and of whom it is impossible to get rid . The two poor half-crazed old maids ,, A ope and l ' agnn , as tho country poojJe call thorn , and the good-natured -vulgar ironmaster ' s widow ., with li « r afcteittzvo servant , are good sketches ; tho old miser , Sir Jaspor , is something more . But tho cleverest and truest portraits in tho book , dolicutoly , yet most ibr ~ cibly touched , arc tho Erskinos . We have rarely soon that vague and battling scourgo of married Ufa , inrow / nitibiti % analysed with a moro masterly hand . In ordinary txovels , the faunae incomprm is a laultloHS victim , h « r tyrant suoh ai monster that , one wonder * , notwithstanding the proverbial mask worn by a lover , how who ever could have luiimed him . Ihe olil iuhi"o of " F « ults on both sides , " « «' « I J / ill < lH ' » ° » r ln tho realms oi romance . Nothing can be truer thnn the description oi these two persona

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 5, 1854, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05081854/page/19/