de' Tucky and Ohio;[BN] the "de"
suggestive of his descent from _The Three Continents_. One of the most
remarkable discoveries he has made, is, that "the soap-makers and the
brewers are the compounders of the great staple commodities of
consumption in Great Britain, and therefore surpass even Charles himself
in the number of their additions to the Peerage." This valuable hint
should not be lost upon those employed in these useful occupations, as
hope is calculated to stimulate zeal and ambition.

The last quotations I propose making from this _vigorous volume_ are
taken from the seventh chapter, headed, "English Devotion to Dinner." On
this subject the author seems to have had his _keen discriminating
powers_ peculiarly sharpened; and the observations made are in most
_lively and racy style_, and--according to the Press--perfectly
_courteous_. The Englishman "is never free till armed with a knife and
fork; indeed, he is never completely himself without them[BO] ... which
may he as properly considered integral portions of an Englishman, as
claws are of a cat; ... they are not original even in their gluttony;
... they owe to a foreign nation the mean privilege of bestial
indulgence; ... they make a run into Scotland for the sake of oatmeal
cakes, and sojourn amongst the wild beauties of Switzerland in order to
be convenient to goat's milk.... Like other carnivorous animals, an
Englishman is always surly over his meals. Morose at all times, he
becomes unbearably so at that interesting period of the day, when his
soul appears to cower among plates and dishes; ... though he gorges his
food with the silent deliberation of the anaconda, yet, in descanting
upon the delicacies of the last capital dinner, he makes an approach to
animation altogether unusual to him; ... when, upon such auspicious
occasions, he does go off into something like gaiety, there is such
fearful quivering of vast jelly mounds of flesh, something so
supernaturally tremendous in his efforts, that, like the recoil of an
overloaded musket, he never fails to astound those who happen to be near
him." But his _keen observation_ has discovered a practice before
dinner, which, being introduced into the centre of various censures, may
also be fairly supposed to be considered by him and his friends of the
Press as most objectionable, and as forming one of the aggregate _Items_
which constitute the English beast. "For dinner, he bathes, rubs, and
dresses." How filth