The Pleasures of the Table / An Account of Gastronomy from Ancient Days to Present Times. With a History of Its Literature, Schools, and Most Distinguished Artists; Together With Some Special Recipes, and Views Concerning the Aesthetics of Dinners and Dinner-giving

by George H. Ellwanger

Y vont rire le soir d'un bon rire sonore,

Et pour mon compte, moi dans mon for, je m'honore

D'avoir allègrement grimpé ses escaliers.

"Des escaliers du temps de la serrurerie,

Larges, la rampe en fer, ouvragés, bien dallés,

Donnant sur un cour propre à la rêverie.

"Maison Laveur! hier, c'était là qu'attablés

Devant la soupe aux choux, nous guettions, mon Lemoyne,

La petite servante aux rougeurs de pivoine."

The student of Glatigny, who must always admire the rhythm and melody of his Muse, will also remember his quaint sonnet published in "Gilles et Pasquins," entitled "Monselet devoured by the Lobsters." The works of Henri Murger are replete with epulary sketches of the old Latin Quarter of Paris, a district from which Victor Hugo has also drawn. Théodore de Banville has likewise depicted many a picturesque restaurant scene in his airy "Odes Funambulesques." The lyrists, too, have not been unmindful of the poetry of the kitchen.