To return to Fletcher's own contributions to this subject. Next to his
dwelling on the importance of "mouth-work" he deserves most praise for
his remarks on the epicurean delights resulting from slow and rational
eating. Herein again, it must be premised, he was far from being the
original discoverer; but he probably did more to call the general
public's attention to the matter than any one else had done, thanks
largely to his habit of introducing vivid illustrations and details of
personal experiences.
"My, but I never realized that potato is so good," exclaimed the young
lady; and "Gracious! isn't this corn bully!" echoed the father.
These exclamations express the outcome of one of Mr. Fletcher's
experiments in teaching others how to get delicious pleasure from the
simplest and commonest foods if munched according to his directions.
If you bolt your food, he says, you get "none of the exquisite taste
that Nature's way offers as an allurement for obeying her beneficent
demands. The way of Nature is the epicurean way; the other way is
nothing but piggish gluttony." It is the way of animals; and Fletcher
named his book "The New Glutton or Epicure" to call attention to the
two ways of taking food.
"An epicurean cannot be a glutton. There may be gluttons who are less
gluttonous than other gluttons, but epicurism is like politeness and
cleanliness, and is the certain mark of gentility." A remark worthy of
the French epigrammatists!
Thackeray called attention to the exquisite enjoyment an epicure
can derive from a slice of buttered brown bread. In the same spirit
Fletcher writes: "For illustration, try a ship's biscuit--commonly
called hardtack--and keep it in the mouth, tasting it as you would
a piece of sugar, till it has disappeared entirely, and note what a
treasure of delight there is in it."
Again: "The most nutritious food does not require sauces. It may seem
dry and tasteless to the first impression, but, as the juices of the
mouth get possession of it, warm it up, solve its life-giving qualities
out of it and coax it into usefulness, the delight of a newfound
delicacy will greet the discoverer."