SECOND COURSE.—Venison, in broth, with white mottrews; cony standard; partridges, with cocks, roasted; leche lombard; doucettes, with little parneux. THIRD COURSE.—Pears in syrop; great birds with little ones together; fritters; payn puff, with a cold bake-meat. [A few notes are necessary to elucidate the above menu:—Browet was a soup or broth made from boiled meat; Cockagris was a peculiar dish consisting of an old cock and a pig cooked together; Doucettes were sweet dishes; Flaumpoyntes were ornamented tarts; and to endore anything was to glaze it with yolk of egg.—ED.] It will be remarked that there is no mention here of plain beef or mutton. These did not belong to a feast. They are, however, mentioned in plainer bills of fare. The endeavour of the cook was to serve made dishes highly seasoned and spiced. Wright, for instance, explains some of the receipts by which it will be seen that our forefathers were luxurious in their food, if not gross. Everything also points to the fact that they were very large eaters. The open-air life led by the better class, the riding and exercise, the very scanty use of vegetables,—all these contributed to make them ready for the trencher. At every course of a great banquet the cook sent up a “subtlety”—which was a composition in pastry, the last survival of which was the ornamental castle in sponge cake which used to occupy the middle of the table at a dinner party. These “subtleties” were sometimes elaborate and artistic groups with figures of animals—such as a boar, hart, or sheep. In John Russell’s _Boke of Nurture_ are presented several “subteltis.” Thus at his “Dinner of Flesche” for the first course— “And then a Sotelte. Maydon Mary that holy Virgyne; And Gabrille gretynge her with an Ave.” For the second course— “A sotelte folowynge in fere, The course for to fullfylle An angell goodly can appere, And syngynge with a mery chere Unto iij shepherdes uppon an hille.” And for the third course— “Soteltes fulle soleym: That Lady that conseuyd by the Holy Ghost Hym that destroyed the fendes boost Presented pleasantly by the Kinges of Coleyn.”[8] [8] Cologne. Chaucer alludes to the extravagances of “soteltes” in the Parson’s Tale:—“Pryde of the table apereth eeke ful ofte: for certes, riche men bene cleped in feestes and poure folk ben putte away and rebuked. Also in excesse of dyverse metes and drynkes: and namely suche manere bake metes and dish metes: brennenge of wilde fyr and peynted and castellated with papir and scurblable wast: so that it is abusive for to thinke.” [Illustration: BANQUET IN LONDON, _TEMP._ EDWARD IV. From MS. in British Museum. Royal E4.]