Fresh mutton or beef, a variety of vegetables, and a farinaceous pudding. It is a bad practice to allow him to dine, exclusively, either on a fruit pudding, or on any other pudding, or on pastry. Unless he be ill, he must, if he is to be healthy, strong, and courageous, eat meat every day of his life. "All courageous animals are carnivorous, and greater courage is to be expected in a people, such as the English, whose food is strong and hearty, than in the half-starved commonalty of other countries."—Sir W. Temple.
Let him be debarred from rich soups and from high-seasoned dishes, which only disorder the stomach and inflame the blood. It is a mistake to give a boy or a girl broth or soup, in lieu of meat for dinner; the stomach takes such slops in a discontented way, and is not at all satisfied. It may be well, occasionally, to give a youth with his dinner, in addition to his meat, either good soup or good broth not highly seasoned, made of good meat stock. But after all that can be said on the subject, a plain joint of meat, either roast or boiled, is far superior for health and strength than either soup or broth, let it be ever so good or so well made.
He should be desired to take plenty of time over his dinner, so that he may be able to chew his food well, and thus that it may be reduced to an impalpable mass, and be well mixed with the saliva,—which the action of the jaws will cause to be secreted—before it passes into the stomach. If such were usually the case, the stomach would not have double duty to perform, and a boy would not so frequently lay the foundation of indigestion, etc., which may embitter, and even make miserable, his after-life. Meat, plain pudding, vegetables, bread, and hunger for sauce (which exercise will readily give), is the best, and, indeed, should be, as a rule, the only dinner he should have. A youth ought not to dine later than two o'clock.
331. Do you consider broths and soups wholesome?
The stomach can digest solid much more readily than it can liquid food; on which account the dinner, specified above, is far preferable to one either of broth or of soup. Fluids in large quantities too much dilute the gastric juice, and over-distend the stomach, and hence weaken it, and thus produce indigestion: indeed, it might truly be said that the stomach often takes broths and soups in a grumbling way!
332. Do you approve of a boy drinking beer with his dinner?
There is no objection to a little good, mild table-beer, but strong ale ought never to be allowed. It is, indeed, questionable whether a boy, unless he take unusual exercise, requires anything but water with his meals.
333. Do you approve of a youth, more especially if he be weakly, having a glass or two of wine after dinner?
I disapprove of it: his young blood does not require to be inflamed, and his sensitive nerves excited, with wine; and, if he he delicate, I should be sorry to endeavour to strengthen him by giving him such an inflammable fluid. If he be weakly, he is more predisposed to put on either fever or inflammation of some organ; and, being thus predisposed, wine would be likely to excite either the one or the other of them into action.
"Wine and youth are fire upon fire."—Fielding.