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A
BACHELOR'S
CUPBOARD
Concerning
Condiments
they
not
only
harmonize
with
other
pleasures,
but
re-
main
to
console
us
for
their
loss."
The
discovery
of
a
new
dish,
he
says,
does
more
than
the
discovery
of
si
planet
for
the
happiness
of
the
human
race.
The
true
epicure
has
an
intuitive
knowledge
of
taste.
He
can
tell
immediately
as
the
cover
is
lifted
from
a
dish,
by
the
aroma,
just
what
the
seasonings
are.
And
his
knowledge
of
the
condiments
of
all
nations
is
positively
uncanny,
and
suggests
more
than
one
reincarnation.
An
authority
on
curries,
a
dis-
serter
on
culinary
arts
of
the
time
of
Confucius
and
Pliny,
he
can
tell
of
the
last
feast
served
in
Pompeii
and
what
Nero
last
drank
and
how
Napoleon
fared
at
St.
Helena.
He
can
recite
a
list
of
the
dishes
at
a
feast
of
Lucullus,
and
tell
precisely
how
many
orto-
lans
were
sacrificed
for
it,
the
age
of
a
ripe
oilve,
and
the
vintage
of
a
claret,
by
its
bouquet.
The
deriva-
tion of
each seasoning
and
the
country
of
its
discovery
are
as
simple
to
him
as
the
rule
of
three
;
and
there
is
to
him
the
same
delight
in
dissecting
a
dish
and
in
rem-
iniscing
on
its
origin
as
there
is
to
the
Egyptologist
in
deciphering
some
graven
stone
found
in
a
long-closed
tomb.
The
bachelor
who
is
or
expects
to
be
an
epicure
may
begin
with
a
few
simple
facts
about
condiments,
and
from
this
knowledge
cull
an
appreciation
for
things
epicurean
that
will
enable
him
to
become
a
self-
taught
Sybarite
of
the
deepest
dye.
The
bourgeoisie
of
France
teach
us
that
it is
not
the
quality
of
the
meat,
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