Punch: Punch (32.1857)

April 25. 1857.] PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

167

THE. HORSE ON THE TABLE.

The " Dinner after the man-
ner of the Ancients," in Pere-
grine Pickle, is generally re-
garded as an extravagance.
Fact, however, in gastronomy,
as well as other things, is
stranger than fiction. Wit-
ness the following bill of
fare, served by the firm
Chevet, the other _ day, to
certain Parisian hippopha-
gists:—

Bread-soup of horse-broth;
boiled horse-flesh ; ignanas
stewed in butter; dabs, with
Dutch sauce ; vol-au-vents d'amourette of spinal marrow of horse;
chine of horse (Jilet de checal), roasted; truffled Turkey ; and pie of
horse-flesh, a, la mode.

Such was the banquet whereon—according to the Morning Post—
M. de St. Hilaire, and his disciples, lately regaled themselves. One
of these was a Dr. Yvan, the astonishment of the world, who devours
all that is eatable, and, perhaps, a few things more. This gentleman is
said to have partaken, in the course of his life, of dog, cat, monkey,
rat, lizard, shark, and even to have tried leeches. Horse-leeches would
have been an appropriate garnish to his.filet de clieval; or, perhaps, he
would have preferred them for a preliminary course, whereat they
might have been served under the denomination of " black-bait."

It may be necessary to observe, that the ignana, mentioned among
the viands above specified, is not a reptile, but a Chinese root, a sort,
of substitute for a potato.

We observe, with some wonder, that M. de St. Hilaire's feast did
not include toadstools, some of which are said to make an excellent
pickle ; though it is too early, as yet, for most, if not all, uncidtivated
fungi.

The horse meal of M. de St. Hilaire and party was, we are told,
an experimental one. They may be considered to have acted logically
in trying food which nobody can well be supposed able to fancy.

The roast horse-flesh is said to have been exceedingly rich in gravy;
but the reader will naturally remark, that he woukl rather see his
horse running with speed than with gravy, and for a plate instead of
in one.

The publication of the above details will, perhaps, create serious
alarm in studs and stables, by reason of the apprehended murrain, and
the possibility that horse may be drawn upon in. case of the failure
of beef.

Every one to his liking, for all Lord Chesterfield's objection to
that maxim. By his Lordship's leave, also, what is one man's meat is
another man's poison. Dr. Johnson would, probably, have declared,
that the man who would eat horse also would eat horse-chestnuts;
and, whatever the French may be capable of, there are, doubtless,
few Englishmen who could manage to get down horse without horse-
radish.

CONSOLATION.

Puss-in-the-Corner, dear Lord Chelsea,

Is a very pretty game,
But it needs, as you must well see,

Players, lad, who don't run lame.

I from Brentford ran to Dover,

Seized your corner with a shout:
You from thence to mine cross'd over,
And, my dearest boy, you 're out.
The Admiralty. 11. B. 0.

A SAFE POBTUNE.

An inveterate old grumbler says: " There are no women now-a-
days. Instead of women, we have towering edifices of silk, lace, and
flowers. You see a milliner's large advertising van that sidles along
with a rustling sound, and you are told that it is a woman; but as you
cannot approach within several yards of the monster obstruction, you
cannot tell what it is beyond something that looks like an entire shop-
front put into motion with all the goods exposed in it for sale. I
really believe, if any showman would open an exhibition, where one
could see a woman, such as women were in my young days, when they
used to be fair, slim, slender, graceful, well-proportioned, and every-
thing that was beautiful, instead of the animated wardrobes, and
unrecognisable bundles of fine clothes that they now are—I really
believe that an enterprising showman like that would rapidly realise a
large fortune."

COCKS AND BULLS OF THE CALENDAR.

The IJnivers has been recommending a certain St. Joseph de
Ctjpertin to the veneration, and, we may likewise phrenologically
say, to the marvellousness, of the credulous portion of the French
public. About this saintly individual the Ultramontane organ relates
some bold anecdotes. St. Joseph de Cupertin appears to have
beaten the most miraculous of mesmeric patients into fits. He not
only cured diseases without physic, but he could also peep into the
niinds of people, and read their most secret thoughts. A misfortune
is said to have once befallen him, which, if it really befel him, might
be quoted as an example to warn saints, when attempting to convert
sinners, to keep them at a distance, or get to their windward. After a
conversation with a libertine, "he was, so to say, impregnated with an
unbearable smell, which neither lotions nor tobacco would remove."
About the nature of this smell there may be some question. Many
people may suppose that it was an unpleasant one in the ordinary
sense of the word. But such was, probably, not the case. The scent,
though strong, was, of course, opposite to the odour of sanctity, which
is well known to have usually accompanied abstinence from soap and
water. It may, therefore, be presumed to have been some kind of
perfume : and perhaps the libertine infected and annoyed the holy man
with an intolerable fragrance of lavender-water or eau-de-Cologne.
But St. Cupertin was chiefly distinguished by a wonderful pecubarity
which may be called his standing miracle. The Univers says that—

" His feet appeared to touch the earth with regret, and the slightest thought of
heaven, where dwelt his desires, detached from earth this body, already spiritualised:
he was often seen to rise in the air to a considerable height in presence of a crowd
silent with astonishment. The sight of a high altar, a crucifix, or an image of the
Holy Virgin, sufficed to produce this extraordinary phenomenon."

In St. Cupertin we observe a striking exemplification of the
difference between the Popish saints and our own of Exeter Hall.
The latter are all serious; whereas the former manifest an opposition
to the laws of gravity. Hence their votaries ought not to wonder if
the relation of some of their performances should excite laughter.

St. Cupertin has been introduced into France together with a new
Roman Liturgy—a Liturgy new at least to the French Church, to
which, therefore, the Saint is new also. He will, however, doubtless
find himself at home, among friends; of whom St. Denis, for one
with his head under his arm, will keep him in sufficient countenance.

A LOST ART-TREASURE.

We hope that the exhibition of statues, pictures, and curiosities,
Germanistically called Art-Treasures, about to be held at Man-
chester, will be complete in all its departments. Every phase
and era of British art especially ought, if possible, to be represented.
There is but one particular period of our native sculpture whereof but
few illustrations have been preserved, and these few are only to be
met with in the remote corners of stonemasons' yards. It is that
which was remarkable for the production of an extraordinary statue
of his Majesty George the Fourth, which, within the memory of
not very old men, stood crowning a not less extraordinary archi-
tectural structure at King's Cross. Where is this remarkable monu-
ment of a past age ? Diligent search might yet discover it, buried,
perhaps, amid lumps of plaster of Paris, disjointed limbs of casts
from the antique, and other rubbish, on some of those numerous
statuaries' premises which impart a melancholy classical beauty to the
New Boad. It ought not to be lost if it can be found. It is - or was,
if it is no more—a great deal better, in its way, than the statue of
George the Fourth in Trafalgar Square in the same way; indeed,
than all our public statues : greatly exceeding the whole of the in in
ludicrous expression and aesthetic force of absurdity.

THE BALLOON OF LIBERTY.

We have often wondered that the notion of advertising by means of
balloons has never occurred to any of our enterprising commercial
countrymen. It has been adopted at Venice with views, however, of
a nature superior to mercantile considerations. In the foreign corres-
pondence of the Times there appeared the other day an account of the
performance of a ballet called Bianchi e Neri, wherein the niggers
throw off their chains, and rise in insurrection, the spectacle whereof
created great excitement among the audience. The writer proceeds
to say that

" During the same afternoon an enormous tricoloured balloon was seen hovering
over the quay Degli Schiavoni."

What a hint to an enslaved population ! The balloon alone would
have been significant; but with the addition of the tricolour, there
could be no mistake about the symbol. It set an example from the
skies to an oppressed people. It said, in the plainest of possible
figures, "Do as I have done. Rise ! "