and being boiled, either by itself or mixed with wild
berries, in the stomach of the animal from whence
it was taken, forms a kind of black-pudding. The
beverage of the Laplanders is milk and water, broths,
and fish-soups; brandy, of which they are extremely
fond, is a great rarity, and a glass of it will warm
their hearts towards the weary sojourner, who, but
for the precious gift, might ask hospitality at their
huts in vain. The diet of the Samoides,
resembles that of the Laplanders, save that they devour
raw the flesh of fish and reindeer. For this
people, all animals taken in the chase, and even those
found dead, afford food, with the exception of dogs,
cats, ermines, and squirrels. They have no regular
time for meals, but the members of a family help themselves
when they please from the boiler which always hangs
over the fire. It is scarcely possible to name
the variety of diet to be found among the Russian tribes;
but even in cities, and at the tables of the opulent
and civilized, late accounts mention the appearance
of several strange and disgusting dishes, compounded
of pastry, grain, pulse, vinegar, honey, fish, flesh,
fruits, &c., not at all creditable to Russian gastronomic
science. The diet of the Polish peasantry
is meagre in the extreme; they seldom taste animal
food, and both sexes swallow a prodigious quantity
of schnaps, an ardent spirit resembling whiskey.
The Dutch of all ranks are fond of butter,
and seldom is a journey taken without a butter-box
in the pocket. The boors feed on roots, pulse,
herbs, sour milk, and water-souchie, a kind of fish-broth.
In England, the edible produce of the world
appears at the tables of the nobility, gentry, and
opulent commercial classes; and upon comparison with
that of other nations, it will be seen that the diet
of English artisans, peasantry, and even paupers,
is far superior in variety and nourishment; bread,
(white and brown) vegetables, meat, broth, soup, fish,
fruit, roots, herbs, cheese, milk, butter, and, not
rarely, sugar and tea, with fermented liquors and
ardent spirits, are all, or most of them, procured
as articles of daily subsistence by the English inferior
classes. In Scotland, the higher ranks live abstemiously,
save on festive occasions; but animal food and wheaten
bread is seldom tasted by the lower orders, who chiefly
subsist on rye, barley, and oatmeal, prepared in bread,
thin cakes, and porridge; this last termed stirabout,
is simply oatmeal mixed with water and boiled (being
stirred about with a wooden skether or spoon when
on the fire) to the consistency of flour-paste, not
very stiff; this, eaten with milk, forms the chief
diet of the Scottish artisans and peasantry, and,
indeed, many of superior stations prefer it for breakfast
to bread of the finest flour which can be procured.
Both high and low are partial to the following national
dishes. The haggis, a kind of pudding,
made of the offals or interior of a sheep, and boiled