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

I fain would speak, my lips can frame no sound;

I hear, though all is still, a singing tone,

And a dull shadow seems to hover round;

All is now cold and dark, my panting breast

Exhausts itself in heaving one poor sigh,

To wander round my lips in frozen rest,

For I must die!"

Numerous translations of the "Physiology" have appeared in various languages. Of these the most familiar one in English, entitled "Gastronomy as a Fine Art," is well interpreted as far as it goes. But many piquant passages are condensed, and portions of chapters and at least one half of the "Variétés" are omitted altogether. The most complete rendition is the large octavo volume, with its rather unsatisfactory illustrations by Lalauze, termed "A Handbook of Gastronomy," wherein the English reader may commune with the French writer almost at first hand, and not be obliged to forgo "The Pullet of Bresse," "The Dish of Eels," "A Day with the Bernardines," and "The Pheasant"—à la Sainte-Alliance.

ALEXANDRE DUMAS