Fair be their wives, right lovesom, white and small;
Clere be thy virgyns, lusty under kellis[212]!
London, thou art the flow'r of Cities all....
William Dunbar
[71]. "He opened House to All." (line 22)
The subject being good victuals, here is the "Bill of Fare at the Christening of Mr. Constable's Child, Rector of Cockley Cley, in Norfolk, January 2, 1682."
"A whole hog's head souc'd with carrots in the mouth, and pendants in the ears, with guilded oranges thick sett.
2 Oxs cheekes stewed with 6 marrow bones.
A leg of Veal larded with 6 pullets.
A leg of Mutton with 6 rabbits.
A chine of bief, chine of venison, chine of mutton, chine of veal, chine of pork, supported by 4 men.
A Venison Pasty.
A great minced pye, with 12 small ones about it.
A gelt fat turkey with 6 capons.
A bustard with 6 pluver.
A pheasant with 6 woodcock.
A great dish of tarts made all of sweetmeats.
A Westphalia hamm with 6 tongues.
A Jowle of Sturgeon.
A great chargr of all sorts of sweetmeats with wine, and all sorts of liquors answerable."
And here is another from that inexhaustible Tom Tiddler's ground, Rustic Speech and Folklore for the "funeral meats" of a farmer who died near Whitby in 1760: "Besides what was distributed to 1,000 poor people who had 6d. each in money, there was consumed
- 110 dozen penny loaves,
- 9 large hams,
- 8 legs of veal,
- 20 stone of beef,
- 16 stone of mutton,
- 15 stone of Cheshire cheese, and
- 30 ankers of ale."
For me the "great dish of tarts," the "guilded oranges" and "the great charger of sweetmeats"! But after all, fine fat feasts such as these are but a Town Mouse's crumb of Wedding Cake compared to Mac Conglinnes' Vision in No. 73, which is from the Gaelic of 1100/1200 a.d., as translated by Kuno Meyer. Bragget, line 33, appears to have been a concoction or decoction of ale, honey, sugar and spice, of which last ambrosial ingredients (according to the old rhyme) are made little girls.