The Physiology of Taste; Or, Transcendental GastronomyBrillat-Savarin
Philosophy
The Physiology of Taste; Or, Transcendental Gastronomy
Brillat-Savarin
Gastronomy
The old man had lost none of his commercial faculties. Though he
forgot his own name and those of his servants, he was always
familiar with the price-current, and knew the exact value of every
acre and vineyard in the vicinity.
In this respect his judgment had be en uninjured, and the
consequence was, that many of the assailants were taken in their
own snares.
SECOND OBSERVATION.
At Belley, there was a M. Chirol, who had served for a long time
in the gardes du corps of Louis XV. and XVI.
He had just sense enough for his profession, but he was
passionately fond of all kinds of games, playing l'hombre, piquet,
whist, and any new game that from time to time might be
introduced.
M. Chirol also became apoplectic and fell into a state of almost
absolute insensibility. Two things however were spared, his
faculty for digestion, and his passion for play.
He used to go every day to a house he had been used to frequent,
sat in a corner and seemed to pay no attention to any thing that
passed around him.
When the time came to arrange the card parties, they used to
invite him to take a hand. Then it became evident that the malady
which had prostrated the majority of his faculties, had not
affected his play. Not long before he died, M. Chirol gave a
striking proof that this faculty was uninjured.
There came to Belley, a banker from Paris, the name of whom I
think was Delins. He had letters of introduction, he was a
Parisian, and that was enough in a small city to induce all to
seek to make his time pass agreeably as possible.
Delins was a gourmand, and was fond of play. In one point of view
he was easily satisfied, for they used to keep him, every day,
five or six hours at the table. It was difficult, however, to
amuse his second faculty. He was fond of piquet and used to talk
of six francs a fiche, far heavier play than we indulged in.
To overcome this obstacle, a company was formed in which each one
risked something. Some said that the people of Paris knew more
than we; and others that all Parisians were inclined to boasting.
The company was however formed, and the game was assigned to M.
Chirol.
When the Parisian banker saw the long pale face, and limping form
opposed to him, he fancied at first, that he was the butt of joke:
when, however, he saw the artistic manner with which the spectre
handled the cards, he began to think he had an adversary worthy of
him, for once.
He was not slow in being convinced that the faculty yet existed,
for not only in that, but in many other games was Delins so beaten
that he had to pay more than six hundred francs to the company,
which was carefully divided.
RESULT.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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