Our viands

dispose the mind to study; but the Romans, on the contrary, said they made men lazy, hence the name from lentus (slow). Haricot beans, which are much more extensively used on the Continent than here, are the ripe beans of the white French bean, but in Italy a dish is frequently served which at first seemed to us to resemble the haricot bean, although much smaller : this, however, we found to be the seed of the white lupin, which is grown in large quantities, and respecting which a legend is told. It is said that, when the Holy Family were journeying to Egypt, being pursued, they hid themselves in a field of lupins, but the seeds rattled and almost betrayed them, whereupon they cursed the plant, declaring that henceforth men should eat of them and not be satisfied ; and they are certainly unsatisfying, although pleasant eating. Peas, which are more esteemed than beans at the present time, have almost as ancient a pedigree, having probably been brought from Egypt or Syria. Nevertheless, they do not appear to have been cultivated in England so early as the bean, for, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Fuller says, they were brought from Holland and were fit dainties for ladies — they came so far and cost so dear. There is an entry in the privy purse expenses of Henry VIII.: "Paied to a man in rewarde for bringing peascodds to the King's grace iiiji. viiu/. The chick pea, which is cultivated in South Europe, especially in Spain, does not boil soft, but is used to garnish savoury dishes, and always forms part of the universal Spanish dish called an olla, which is composed of bacon, cabbage, pumpkin, and chick peas, called garvanzos. This pea, when parched, is much esteemed, and is supposed to 232 OUR VIANDS be that which formed the parched pulse which was the common provision of the Hebrew soldiers : it was also probably that which was supplied to Daniel, Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego instead of meat. Parched pulse seems also to have formed a part of the ordinary food of the common people of ancient Rome. A curious property is noticed as belonging to the chickling vetch, a leguminous plant, which in the last century was used for making bread, until forbidden by the Government. Mixed with half flour it is good and harmless, but eaten alone it produces paralysis of the limbs, and swine fed upon it become very fat, but quite unable to stand. The Italians, however, still eat it mixed with three- parts of flour. There is a bean called the chestnut bean, dis- covered by Mr. Cunningham growing on a tree in New South Wales, which when roasted, is said to resemble chestnuts. There is a kind of bean which, although not used in cookery, must yet be noticed here, it is that known as the Kuara bean, growing on a beautiful tree in Abyssinia and many other parts of Africa. This tree, known as Erythrina, produces a beautiful spike of scarlet flowers, succeeded by pods containing several little scarlet beans with a black spot, which vary so little in weight, that under the name of carats they have been used from time immemorial as the standard weight for gold and gems, especially diamonds.