BANQUETS. It was the famous Mr. Boswell who first defined man as a cooking ani mal, and yet, appropriate as the definition still is, neither mythology nor tradition offer any clue to aid the student in discovering when it was that the human animal first learned to cook. Of course, it is highly improbable that this secret was known to prehistoric man. In stead of knowing how to cook he undoubtedly ate his food raw, washing it down with pure cold water from the springs and brooks, and many years must have elapsed before he made the surprising discovery that the foods that satisfied his hunger could be vastly improved in taste if subjected to the influence of heat All this, however, is little more than mere sur mise for our only. knowledge regarding the customs of eating in vogue during the remote past has been obtained from the relics un earthed by archwology. On walls now ruined and decayed the hand of the ancient painter and sculptor left a record of the customs of his time and from this source the student has been able to gather some little information regarding the gastronomic progress of the human race.
Such records, however valuable they may be in the absence of other facts, are vague and unsatisfactory at best, and so, turning to ancient literature, one finds that the earliest references to food preparation are contained in the Bible. In Genesis, when Abraham bade Sarah malce ready three measures of fine meal that he might be prepared to entertain the angel, the student finds his first direct reference to breadstuffs, and, from that tinie, the Scriptures often make mention of some foods by means of which the reader may obtain a more or less correct idea of the slow stages by which this branch of the human race progressed from its habits of prim itive simplicity to the stately banquets of King Solomon and the extravagant feasts of Bel shazzar.
As our meagre records show the art of feasting was practically contemporaneous with the Egyptians and the Hebrews it is not im probable that the latter race may have learned the secrets of good living from the former dur ing the time of the captivity, for at the period when both Greek and Roman were still content with the simplest fare the Hebrews had been initiated into the pleasures of the table, a fact which explains the many quaint Biblical warn ings against the sin of gluttony, as in Esdras, where it is said that "the faces of them that have used abstinence shall shine above the stars.)
Among the ancient Jews all festive repasts were held toward the close of the day, after all matters of business had been concluded. If. the feast was to be one of great ceremony guests were not only invited long before the occasion, but again, on the day and as near as possible to the hour appointed, servants were sent to their houses:to deliver orally the second, or "express* invitation, which announced that the host was now prepared to receive his guests. As this °express° invitation was sent to none but those who had already declared their ac ceptance, honor and propriety required that they answer the summons at once and in person, a fact which explains and justifies the feelings of resentment which were entertained by the mas ter of the house in the parable of the great supper, on which occasion, as will be remem bered, each person invited met the bearer .of the "express* with a frivolous apology for his in ability to be present at the feast to which he had already accepted an invitation.
Guests at Hebrew banquets were required to bring their cards of invitation and these were presented to servants stationed at the entrance door. Upon being admitted the guests were conducted to the receiving-room where: water, oils and perfumes awaited them. If the: host desired to exhibit a great mark of courtesy he provided each guest with a richly em broidered garment, light and showy and cut in a flowing fashion, which all were required to wear during the feast.