Our viands

A dog sat at the door of a cottage, watching the vain efforts of a man on the hills at some distance, to collect together a flock of sheep. Up and down he ran, and as fast as he got a dozen together they would start off again to join their comrades, scattering in all directions. The dog watched and watched, started up, lay down again, and fidgeted. At last he could stand it no longer : off he went as hard as he could go, and, without asking for instructions, collected the wandering flock in a very short time, drove them up to the shepherd, and then returned home and lay down quietly as before. I asked his owner if he knew the man he had been helping, but he said, ' Oh, no, it was just his nature ; ' and a very good nature, too, I thought. We often wonder what would be the effect upon the very important industry of sheep farming should the fads of a 84 OUR VIANDS few philosophers ever induce the bulk of mankind to become vegetarian in diet. Wool is so necessary in our manufac- tures that it must be had, so that sheep must be reared ; but if the mutton is not to be eaten they could not be allowed to increase. There seems, however, little fear of that day arriving, for not one in a thousand can resist the savoury joint, or the chops and tomato sauce of the immortal Pickwick. There are three meats tabooed by the doctors, but delighted in, nevertheless, by the cook and the gourmand, who know full well how exceedingly savoury they may be made. Lamb, veal, and pork, 'all sadly indigestible and unwholesome,' says the doctor with a shake of his wise head, ' and should never be eaten except by those who have the stomach of a horse or an ostrich.' Now, of course, the horse and the ostrich being graminivorous, could not digest these foods ; but men, women, and children, with healthy stomachs, and good appetites not spoilt by physic, can certainly eat and digest all three, and derive both health and pleasure from their consumption. The crusade against lamb and veal as unwholesome because young and immature, to be carried to its legitimate conclusion should be extended to game and poultry, and a tough old hen, or a hare which has for years defied the sportsman, should be extolled before the tender chicken and the leveret. The Jews, restricted in their diet by strict laws, rejected all pork as unclean ; but veal and lamb, with kid, seem to have formed the staple of their feasts. The paschal lamb, roasted whole and eaten with bitter herbs, is familiar to every reader of the Bible ; and lambs, as we know, formed a large proportion of the sacrifices offered daily, and, of course SUNDRY MEATS 85