1906 A Bachelor's Cupboard

A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD Concerning Condiments they not only harmonize with other pleasures, but re- main to console us for their loss." The discovery of a new dish, he says, does more than the discovery of si planet for the happiness of the human race. The true epicure has an intuitive knowledge of He can tell immediately as the cover is lifted from a dish, by the aroma, just what the seasonings And his knowledge of the condiments of all nations is positively uncanny, and suggests more than one reincarnation. An authority on curries, a dis- serter on culinary arts of the time of Confucius and Pliny, he can tell of the last feast served in Pompeii and what Nero last drank and how Napoleon fared at St. Helena. He can recite a list of the dishes at a feast of Lucullus, and tell precisely how many orto- lans were sacrificed for it, the age of a ripe oilve, and the vintage of a claret, by its bouquet. The deriva- tion of each seasoning and the country of its discovery are as simple to him as the rule of three ; and there is to him the same delight in dissecting a dish and in rem- iniscing on its origin as there is to the Egyptologist in deciphering some graven stone found in a long-closed tomb. The bachelor who is or expects to be an epicure may begin with a few simple facts about condiments, and from this knowledge cull an appreciation for things epicurean that will enable him to become a self- taught Sybarite of the deepest dye. The bourgeoisie of France teach us that it is not the quality of the meat, 114 taste. are.