It is plain from every line of these imitations of Pope, that the science of cookery had made great strides in the reign of Anne, nor is this to be wondered at. “La Reine Anne,” says a French author, “était très gourmande; elle ne dédaignait pas de s’entretenir avec son cuisinier, et les dispensaires Anglais contiennent beaucoup de préparations designées à la manière de la Reine Anne.” The following glimpse at the table of the poet himself has an attractive interest:
“Content with little I can piddle here
On brocoli and mutton round the year;
But ancient friends, tho’ poor, or out of play,
That touch my bell, I cannot turn away.
’Tis true, no turbots dignify my boards,
But gudgeons, flounders, what my Thames affords:
To Hounslow Heath I point, and Bansted-Down,
Thence comes your mutton, and these chicks my own.
From yon old walnut-tree a shower shall fall;